אתה אחד...ומי כעמך ישראל
Understanding the Shabbat Minhah Prayer
In the Amidah prayer recited during Minhah on Shabbat, we emphasize the theme of singularity – the fact that both Hashem and the Jewish People are unique:
אַתָּה אֶחָד וְשִׁמְךָ אֶחָד. וּמִי כְעַמְּךָ כְּיִשְֹרָאֵל גּוֹי אֶחָד בָּאָרֶץ.
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“You are one and Your Name is one, and who is like Your nation, Yisrael, a singular nation on earth?”
Why do we focus on this particular theme at this time, at Minhah on Shabbat?
The answer emerges from the comments of the Tur (Orah Hayim 292) regarding the widespread custom to recite the verse, ) וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּתִי לְךָ ה'עֵת רָצוֹן (“And me, my prayer is to You, Hashem, at a time of acceptance”) when the Torah is taken from the aron (ark) at Minhah on Shabbat. We recite this verse, the Tur explains, because Shabbat afternoon is a very special עת רצון – an auspicious time for our prayers to be answered. Members of other nations generally spend their off-days drinking and partying, and so by the late afternoon hours, they are inebriated and involved in frivolity and nonsense. We, however, after feasting on our day of rest, return to the synagogue to pray and listen to the Torah reading. This contrast makes Shabbat afternoon an עת רצון, a time of special love and closeness between us and Hashem. King David speaks of this contrast in Tehillim (69), where he describes the drunkards who waste their time when they do not work ( יָשִׂיחוּ בִי יֹשְׁבֵי שָׁעַר וּנְגִינוֹת שׁוֹתֵי שֵׁכָר), and then proclaims, the verse, וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּתִי לְךָ ה'עֵת רָצוֹן “ – that on his day off, he engages in prayer and devotion to Hashem. We therefore recite this pasuk on Shabbat afternoon as we prepare for the Torah reading, noting that this is a special time that demonstrates our nation’s singularity.
More generally, one of the important themes of Shabbat is the unique relationship between us and Hashem. The Maharit (Rav Yosef of Trani) writes in one of his published lectures that just as through our observance of Shabbat we testify to Hashem’s singularity, likewise, on Shabbat Hashem testifies, as it were, to our singularity. When we spend our free time engaged in meaningful pursuits, Hashem celebrates, so-to-speak, our uniqueness, just as we proclaim on Shabbat Hashem’s singular stature as Creator and Ruler over the world.
The Maharit notes that this relationship is expressed by the Gemara’s discussion in Masechet Berachot regarding Hashem’s tefillin. The Gemara comments that the Almighty wears tefillin, and inside the tefillin’s four sections are verses that speak of the unique stature of the Jewish Nation:
1)
וּמִי כְּעַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל גּוֹי אֶחָד בָּאָרֶץ".
– “and who is like Your nation, Yisrael, a singular nation on earth” (Divrei Hayamim I 17)
אַשְׁרֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל מִי כָמוֹךָ עַם נוֹשַׁע בַּה’ מָגֵן עֶזְרֶךָ ….
“Fortunate are you, O Yisrael, who is like you, a nation saved by Hashem?” (Devarim 33)
2)
כִּי מִי גוֹי גָּדוֹל אֲשֶׁר לוֹ אלקים קְרֹבִים אֵלָיו כַּה’ אלקינוּ בְּכָל קָרְאֵנוּ אֵלָיו:(ח) וּמִי גּוֹי גָּדוֹל אֲשֶׁר לוֹ חֻקִּים וּמִשְׁפָּטִים צַדִּיקִם כְּכֹל הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי נֹתֵן לִפְנֵיכֶם הַיּוֹם:
“For who is a great nation who has G-d close to them, like the way Hashem our G-d is close to us?”
And who is a great nation that has statutes and justice like the entire Torah that I placed infront of you today”
(Devarim 4)
3)
אוֹ הֲנִסָּה אלקים לָבוֹא לָקַחַת לוֹ גוֹי מִקֶּרֶב גּוֹי ……..
“Or has G-d [ever before] ventured to take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation?” (Devarim 4)
4)
וּלְתִתְּךָ עֶלְיוֹן עַל כָּל הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לִתְהִלָּה וּלְשֵׁם וּלְתִפְאָרֶת….
“And to make you supreme over all the nations that He made, for glory, for renown and for grandeur” (Devarim 26)
These pesukim all speak of Beneh Yisrael’s special stature. Our tefillin contain the pasuk, שמע ישראל ה'
אלוקינו ה' אחד, proclaiming Hashem’s singularity, and His tefillin contains pesukim which proclaim our singularity.
Of course, Hashem does not actually wear tefillin. However, tefillin signifies a connection, a close bond, and thus the Gemara speaks here of Hashem’s unique relationship with the Jewish People. We are bound to Him because we recognize and appreciate His uniqueness and singularity, and He is bound to us because He recognizes and appreciates our uniqueness and singularity. And thus just as we proclaim Hashem’s singularity by wearing tefillin, Hashem is described as wearing tefillin in that He recognizes and cherishes our singularity just as we recognize and cherish His.
On Shabbat, we do not wear tefillin, because the purpose served by tefillin is served by Shabbat itself. Tefillin express our unique relationship with Hashem, and we therefore do not need tefillin on Shabbat, the entire observance of which revolves around this concept, our special bond with the Almighty. As mentioned, this bond is particularly manifest in the afternoon, when we return to the synagogue to pray and learn, showing that we use our free day not for indulgence and frivolity, but to nurture our relationship with Hashem.
For this reason, the text of the Amidah prayer recited at Minhah on Shabbat contains several references to the verses contained in our and Hashem’s tefillin:
אַתָּה אֶחָד וְשִׁמְךָ אֶחָד. וּמִי כְעַמְּךָ כְּיִשְֹרָאֵל גּוֹי אֶחָד בָּאָרֶץ. תִּפְאֶרֶת גְּדֻלָּה וַעֲטֶרֶת יְשׁוּעָה
The phrase אתה אחד ושמך אחד, proclaiming the oneness of Hashem, resembles the pasuk, שמע ישראל ה' אלוקינו ה' אחד. The phrase ומי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד בארץ is one of the verses in Hashem’s “tefillin,” and the words תפארת and גדולה appear in other verses in His tefillin (לתהילה ולשם ולתפארת, and ומי גוי גדול).
Later in this section of the Amidah of Minhah, we say about Shabbat, יַעֲקֹב וּבָנָיו יָנוּחוּ בוֹ.
– “Yaakov and his sons shall rest on it.” This also relates to the theme of אחד – oneness. The Shelah Ha’kadosh notes that the letters of אחד in gematria 1 (א), 8 (ח) and 4 (ד). This word thus alludes to Yaakov, the father of the twelve tribes; the eight sons born from his two wives, Rachel and Leah; and the four sons born from his maidservants. This phrase in our Minhah prayer thus speaks of Yaakov and his sons who together comprise a single, unique unit, just as Hashem is singular and unique.
Because we are אחד, together and unified, Shabbat is described in this prayer as a time of מנוחת שלום – “a rest of peace and tranquility.” As the Maharal explains, when we come together as one, we can experience true “peace and tranquility,” and this is the unique quality of our Shabbat experience.
In truth, this theme of oneness features prominently in our prayers recited at the onset of Shabbat, as well. In the Lecha Dodi prayer, composed by the famous Kabbalist Rav Shlomo Alkabetz, we refer to Hashem as א-ל המיוחד – “the G-d who is unified,” and then declare, ה' אחד ושמו אחד – “He is one, and His Name is one.” We continue, לשם ולתפארת ולתהילה – “for renown, for grandeur and for glory” – a variation of one of the verses in G-d’s tefillin: לתהילה לשם ולתפארת. Already at the beginning of Shabbat, we emphasize the theme of אחד, the fact that Shabbat is our “tefillin,” an eternal testament to our unique, everlasting relationship between the unique, singular G-d with His unique, singular nation.