Explanations of the Prayer - Hodu - Part 9

00:00 Speaker 1 “And praise Hashem.” That’s where it ends. We said that this is where the entire section from Divrei Hayamim ends, right? “Blessed be Hashem, the G-d of Israel, from world to world; and all the people said, ‘Amen,’ and praised Hashem.” That is the end of the passage from Divrei Hayamim. In other words, up to this point, these were the words said in connection with the Holy Ark. When the Ark was there, they would say this every day—part in the morning and part in the afternoon. Here they would finish the entire prayer connected with the Holy Ark, which begins with Hodu and ends here. Perhaps we didn’t explain the meaning of “Blessed be Hashem, the G-d of Israel, from world to world.” This is also the Rebbe’s chapter—no, the Frierdiker Rebbe’s. All right, chapter 26 of this year. Hm?

00:45 Speaker 2 [unclear].

00:46 Speaker 1 Ah, yes, that’s [unclear]. There is a maamar of the Rebbe about it. First, the point as explained in Chassidus. Regarding this verse, “Blessed be Hashem, the G-d of Israel, from world to world,” what does “from world to world” mean? It means this world and the World to Come. But in the language of Chassidus, it is called “from the hidden world to the revealed world.” Chassidus always explains that “blessed” means drawing down—that a blessing draws down G-dliness. When we say, “Blessed be Hashem, the G-d of Israel,” we mean that there should be a drawing down from Hashem, the G-d of Israel. As we discussed, the whole world and all the nations receive from the name Elokim, while Israel receives from the name Havayah—He was, He is, and He will be—above nature. So we say, “Blessed be Hashem, the G-d of Israel”: may there be a drawing down from Havayah, the G-d of Israel, “from world to world,” from the hidden world to the revealed world. In other words, may it be drawn down from the very highest levels all the way down here. “And all the people said, ‘Amen,’ and praised Hashem.” “Blessed” is the drawing down. Then comes “and all the people said, ‘Amen.’” That is the receiving of it: when we say “Amen,” we affirm that it should be so, that it should take hold on the part of those receiving it as well. This is what the Gemara explains in Tractate Nazir: answering “Amen” has an advantage over making the blessing. “The one who answers ‘Amen’ is greater than the one who makes the blessing.” The Gemara in Tractate Nazir gives an analogy for this. There is a discussion in the Gemara about which is more important, making the blessing or answering “Amen.” At the end of Tractate Nazir, the Gemara says, “The one who answers ‘Amen’ is greater than the one who makes the blessing.” Answering “Amen” is more important than the blessing itself. And the Gemara gives an analogy from a war. When they would go out to war, the weaker ones would begin the fighting. But who wins the war? The stronger ones who arrive at the end, and they

02:42 Speaker 1 deliver the final blow and win the war. So it is precisely those who come at the end who are stronger; they finish the job and bring the victory. The Gemara says that this is the difference between the one who makes the blessing and the one who answers “Amen.” The one who makes the blessing is like the beginning of the battle, the beginning of the drawing down. But it still has to come down here, where it may encounter opposition; it has been drawn down, but it may still remain on a spiritual level. That is where the one who answers “Amen” comes in. By answering “Amen,” we give the blessing permanence: we bring it down here in a way that it can be contained and endure. That is the advantage of answering “Amen.” This whole subject is explained at length in Chassidus. That was just an aside. He brings up here that after King David said this entire prayer, then...