[Mesorah] L'Sakkein Olam

[Mandel, Seth]

It is a pleasure and a joy for me as well to renew our forth and back.
It is even more of pleasure to admit that I was wrong about some things.  My Novardeke family taught me that finding out one was wrong is a golden opportunity given you by HQBH to get your head on straight and not to get uppity.
The broad lines of what I wrote are correct: All Ashk'naz sources, from the times of the Roqeach and the Machzor Vitri on, have tikkanta with a kaf.
However, R. S‘adya Gaon and also the Siddur of R. Shlomo b'R. Natan from the time of the G'onim both have tiqqanta with a qof.  So does the printed edition of the Seder of R. ‘Amram Gaon, although the printed edition is not completely reliable.
In addition, several siddurim of the early followers of the Ari in Ashk'naz have a qof, such as R. Yaakov Tzemach.  This may have been the source for the Alter Rebbe to used tiqqnata with a qof in his siddur, if that indeed was authentic.
However,  we now have evidence that proves that the Ari used tikkanta with a kaf.  The original manuscripts of Sefer haKavvanot of R. Chaim Vital, in his own handwriing, and also manuscripts from his son R. Shmuel Vital in his handwriting have tikkanta with a kaf.  That also corresponds to the text of Sha‘ar haKavvanot, which says, "Know that you are supposed to say according to the Ashk'naz custom, namely the text tikkanta shabbat etc."  It specifically refers to the Ashk'naz nusach, not just tikkanta shabbat, and the Ashk'naz nusach, as mentioned, always had a kaf to best of our knowledge.
The root is well evidenced in the T'NaKh, not only with nouns like tokhen, tokhnit, matkonet, but also with the Piel itself, the same as in tikkanta shabbat, twice in Isaiah 40, p'suqqim 12 and 13 ('v'shomayim bazeret tikken), and Psalms 75:4 (anokhi tikkanti ‘ammudeha).

God willing, I will post a little later a case where I was more egregiously wrong, nothing to do with tikkanta.

Rabbi Dr. Seth Mandel
Rabbinic Coordinator
The Orthodox Union
11 Broadway, New York, NY  10004

Voice (212) 613-8330     Fax (212) 613-0718     e-mail mandels at ou.org
________________________________________
From: D&E-H Bannett [dbnet at zahav.net.il]
Sent: Saturday, July 06, 2013 4:06 PM
To: Mandel, Seth; mesorah at lists.aishdas.org
Subject: Re: [Mesorah] L'Sakkein Olam

R' Seth:  After you caught me on my not looking for l'taken
'olam in musaf of Rosh Hashana, I did check and can verify
that it is with a kaf. But that makes it even more
surprising that R' Sa'adia has a kuf in tikkanta shabbat.
Perhaps, R' Sa'adia was not aware that you had posted that
all ancient sources have a kaf.

Oops, I did it again, wrote before getting my mind in gear.
You wrote that all old Ashkenazi sources have a kaf.  From
this I learn that R' Sa'dia was not an Ashkenazi.  But wait,
on Shabbat he was not an Ashkenazi but on R"H he was?  Was
he a mixed breed.

Etma'ha!

This momentary renewal of our old "back and forth 2 cents
added" postings gave me great joy.   I'm probably getting a
bit too old to keep it up but, if the opportunity arises. I
hope to be able to manage it at least for a while.