[Mesorah] S. Baer on Shelo Assani Nochri

[R. Rich Wolpoe]

R Akivah Miller
«The ambiguity only exists for one who insists that the language is not allowed to change over time. Such a person would see a bracha thanking Hashem "for not making me a nation", and get confused.»

It's not just *change*

The term Goy means nation within davening itself

EG atah echad .... Goy echad bo'oretz. Thus the other meaning is STILL in use! And so Baer is demanding a "better" than ambiguous term.

Question 2 - is there a Halachcic precedent for modifying a Brachah to remove ambiguity?

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Question 3 just how fixed are these b'rachos and nusachos. Is there room for ambiguity and variety?
What about naharah naharah ufashteih?   Is there a range of valid options - as R Michah terms it "heuristic?

Can the following co-exist peacefully?

Gashem and Geshem 
Hameichin + Asher Heichin
Goy + Nochri
Shomer Ammo and. Shomer es Ammo
Happoreis Sukkas and Poreis Sukkas
Ha'oneh b'eis tzarah and ha'oneh l'amo Yisroel ...
Boneh Y'rushalyin and Boneh B'rachamav...

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RMB
«I also wonder how much of the variability in the language of this berakhah by choice, and how much was due to censorship.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha»

Excellent Point. I recall learning Tur with my chavrussah. He had Aku"m in his edition where I had Eino Y'hudi.

I concluded that terms like
Goy, Eino Y'hudi, Aku"m, Ovdei G'lilim, etc. were largely censor dependent.
Shalom and Regards, RRW