[Mesorah] FW: Psalm 145, Zecher vs. Zeicher

[Mandel, Seth]

Oh, R. David, this was really an overt invitation for my ha’penny’s worth.
You do not need to await; for oldun’s like you and I, it is not derekh eretz to make us wait.  The custom of the descendents of R. Chaim Volozhner is to repeat all p’sukim with zekher, whether in Ashrei, or in the Torah, or in the novi.  I grew up hearing RYBS doing that.  He did not say that others should do it; he just said it was the minhag of Beis haRav.
But I share the impatience of many who see the modern-day yeshiva fellows or others adopting all sorts of customs in the name of the Gra without understanding any of them.  The limmud z’chus is that they are not actually adopting minhogim of the Gra, but just doing what others do the way they understand the Mishna Berura.  I laugh inwardly when I hear these people proclaiming loudly “yisgaddel v’yisqaddesh,” but saying “khir‘useh.”  As is known, the Gra insisted that it should be kir‘useh, because it is really after a slight pause, and the absence of such pause changes the meaning.  Yisgaddel is not a change in meaning.
As our esteemed list member R. EM Teitz once said (excuse the quotation marks, because this is just my memory), “When I see the parsha changed to Va’eschannen, then I will consider saying yisgaddel.


Rabbi Seth Mandel



-----Original Message-----
From: D&E-H Bannett [mailto:dbnet at zahav.net.il]
Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2012 7:17 AM
To: Mandel, Seth
Subject: Re: [Mesorah] Psalm 145, Zecher vs. Zeicher



At the request of R' Seth, I can verify his statement that all masoretic Tanakh texts have zeikher and add that those siddurim influenced by Ma'asei Rav have zekher in ashrei. Of course,  if one wants to follow the Gr"a, he must read only the text of Ma'asei Rav which states that the Gr"a said zekher and ignore the words of R' Hayyim mi-Volozhin in the introduction where he states that it is not true and that he heard the Gr"a say zeikher.



If one is interested in the history and details of the development of zekher and double readings, there is nothing better than the 44-page article of R' Yitzhak Penkover, "Zeikher Amalek, Hamesh o Shesh Nekudot" where he proves quite conclusively that there  is no basis for ignoring the mesorah of the Tanakh and adding an extra nekuda.  I don't think it is on the internet.



Despite the above, I am awaiting the next step in the development, which is repeating the sentence in Ashrei twice to be yotzei l'khol ha-de'ot.



David


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