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<DIV>In Avodah Digest, Vol 25, Issue 108 dated 3/25/2008 Arie Folger <A
href="mailto:afolger@aishdas.org">afolger@aishdas.org</A> writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000
size=2>>>While I wholeheartedly endorse the idea of becoming an avid
student of <BR>nussa'h, I must stress that there are changes and there are
chnages. Many <BR>changes are based on theological positions that may or may
not be compatible <BR>with O belief. Hence, there is a world of a difference
between C changes and <BR>O changes.<BR><BR>Please do not use this as a
springboard to discuss shalom 'aleikhem or <BR>malakhei ra'hamim, as we have
beaten that horse to death - not all O is <BR>Rambam, but we do generally
recognize what is an O compatible theology and <BR>what is not. Sufficiently
to make my point.<BR><BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
<DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV>>>>>></DIV>
<DIV>I am sorry to beat this horse, but you have reminded me that in that long
extended thread about Sholom Aleichem, I kept waiting for someone to say the
obvious but (afaicr) no one ever did, so I would like to say it now, for the
sake of my own closure:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>When we say, "Borchuni lesholom, malachei hasholom" we are NOT davening to
the angels! The Medrash or the Gemara or something says that when a man
comes home from shul Friday night, he is accompanied by two angels, a good one
and a bad one. If the house is not clean and there is no Shabbos food
prepared and everything is unShabbosdik, the bad angel says, "So may it always
be" and the good angel perforce says "Amen." If the table is set and the
house is clean and everything is pretty and nice and Shabbosdik, then the good
angel says, "So may it always be" and the bad one says, "Amen."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>When the man comes home from shul and his house looks nice and his wife and
kids look nice and the table is set and the food smells good, he sings Sholom
Aleichem and says to the malachim, "Borchuni lesholom" -- "do your part,
fulfill the promise of a bracha that my home will always be this
way."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>It is implicitly obvious in the medrash about the malachim that they are
merely agents of G-d's will and that it is Hashem who is sending them to bless
(or otherwise) the household each Shabbos. No one is davening to them and
so the Rambam's principle of "don't daven to anyone else" is not violated by
singing Sholom Aleichem.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I would also like to say that those individuals who mentioned that they
sing Sholom Aleichem but don't sing the third stanza are implicitly criticizing
the behavior of thousands of rabbanom and roshei yeshiva who are gedolim
meihem. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I can see more grounds to skip Sholom Aleichem altogether (although I think
this would be unwarranted, given its broad acceptance in Klal Yisrael) than to
pointedly skip just one stanza on such theological grounds -- implying that your
private understanding of theology, philosophy and halacha is superior to anyone
else's. Even to R' Shlomo Alkabetz's understanding -- he who
(foolishly?) wrote a song with three kosher stanzas and one stanza of
heresy. I think you're sending your children a (subliminal?) message of
arrogance. I don't remember who the person or ppl were who said they don't
sing the third stanza, so "you're" in the previous sentence is generic.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>And here it is not only close to Shabbos but just a week before Pesach, and
if I don't get moving right now who knows what the malachim will be saying in my
house tonight??</DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"><B><BR></B><BR><B>--Toby
Katz<BR>=============<BR></B><BR></FONT></DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">Planning your summer road trip? Check out <A title="http://travel.aol.com/travel-guide/united-states?ncid=aoltrv00030000000016" href="http://travel.aol.com/travel-guide/united-states?ncid=aoltrv00030000000016" target="_blank">AOL Travel Guides</A>.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>