[Avodah] Sh'foch Chamas'cha

[Akiva Miller]

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Please note the text of Tehillim 79-6, which appears in the Haggada as the
very first thing we say after benching.

שְֿׁפֹךְ חֲמָתְֿךָ אֶל הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר לֹא יְֿדָעֽוּךָ וְֿעַל מַמְלָכוֹת
אֲשֶׁר בְּֿשִׁמְךָ לֹא קָרָֽאוּ.

It is composed of two similar phrases, the first of which contains the
preposition "el" and the second uses the preposition "al". And yet, despite
this contrast, the great majority of English Tehilims and Haggadas
translate both of them as "upon".

The main exception is The Psalms, with the perush of Rav RSR Hirsch. He is
emphatic that "el" must be translated as "toward" and not as “upon”. He
explains that the first half refers to the nations who have merely failed
to recognize God, and we pray for His anger to go *toward* them, that they
might come to know and understand. It is only in the second half, which
refers to the evil kingdoms who have tried to destroy us, that we pray for
God's anger to pour down *upon* them.

Personally, I don't know how he sees such a distinction between those who
"do not know You" and those who "do not call on your name". To me, both can
refer to people who are simply ignorant of Hashem, or perhaps both can
refer to people who actively deny Hashem. But I don't see how one group is
more or less evil than the other. Perhaps he gets it by contrasting
"nations" and "kingdoms". If anyone can offer ideas, I'd appreciate it.

In any case, it seems clear to me that the author of this Tehillim strove
to distinguish between "el" and "al", and those who recite the Haggada in
English might want to take note of this.

Hat tip to ArtScroll's Interlinear Tehillim, from which I've been reciting
Tehillim recently. True to the advertising, I have found it very helpful in
understanding what I'm saying. It really does take no more than a glance to
see what the more difficult words mean. A few days ago, I wasn't even
paying much attention to the English - not on a conscious level at least!
But my peripheral vision was surprised to see "el" being translated as
"upon", and it jarred me into further research.

I will also note that although the preposition "el" is best translated as
"to" or "towards" in the vast majority of cases, there are indeed some
exceptions, as noted by Rashi on Bereshis 20:2. It is possible that some
might consider Tehillim 79:6 to be in that category, but in my view, the
contrast between "el" and "al" makes that very unlikely.

Akiva Miller
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