Malkhuyot, zikhronot and shofarot

Excluding the shofar, perhaps the most unique aspect of Rosh Hashanah is the three special blessings of musaf, malkhuyot, zikhronot and shofarot. (They are also said on Yom Kippur of the Yovel year when the shofar is also blown, see Rambam, Laws of shofar 3:8 and Laws of shemitta and yovel 10:10,11) Each of these three blessings consists of an introduction, 10 verses from Tanakh, and a conclusion that ends with a blessing. Of the 10 verses, the first three are from the Torah, four through six are from the Ketuvim (writings), actually only Tehillim, seven through nine are from Neviim (prophets), and the last verse is from the Torah. (The one exception is by shofarot, which has 11 verses, but it seems that the fourth verse in the section from Ketuvim is a later addition as it is much longer than the other verses. Shulchan Arukh 591:4 writes that it is permissible to add more verses.)

The order of the verses differs from the usual order of Torah, Neviim and Ketuvim, as here we recite verses from Ketuvim prior to the verses from Neviim. Tosfot (Rosh Hashanah 32a, Mathil) explains that some of Ketuvim is written before Neviim. This explanation is particularly logical since, as mentioned above, all the verses quoted by Ketuvim are from Tehillim, which was written prior to the verses quoted from Neviim.

With these blessings there are nine blessings in the musaf of Rosh Hashanah, and only this prayer (Shemoneh Esrei) has 9 blessings. The first source that refers to these blessings is the Mishnah in Rosh Hashanah 4:5. The Mishnah asks, what is the order of the blessings of Shemoneh Esrei? R. Yochanon ben Nuri states that the one adds the blessing of malkhuyot within the third blessing of Shemoneh Esrei, but one does not blow the shofar after reciting this blessing, instead, one blows the shofar after reciting the blessing for the day (blessing four), the zikhronot (blessing five) and shofarot (blessing six). R. Akiva rejects this order since he asks if one does not blow the shofar by malkhuyot then why is it said? Instead his order is that the blessing of malkhuyot is combined with the blessing for the day (the fourth blessing) and then one blows shofar when reciting this blessing.

This argument is somewhat surprising. Why is there a need to combine the malkhuyot blessing with another blessing? On every Shabbat and festival, we have seven blessings in the Shemoneh Esrei, the three standard introductory blessings, the middle blessing referring to the day, and the three standard concluding blessings. If on Rosh Hashanah we have three extra blessings, then there should be ten blessings, seven plus three. Why not just have a separate blessing of malkhuyot, and then have ten blessings instead of nine?

Rav Soloveitchik (1989, pp.13,14, also see Arukh Hashulchan, Orah Chayyim 591:1) notes that the Talmud (Berakhot 28b, 29a) found sources for having 7, 9, 18, 19 and 24 blessings in the amidah. He explains that when Chazal established the blessings in the Shemoneh Esrei they could only do so if they found some hint for the prayers in Tanakh. They only found a hint for 7, 9, 18, 19 or 24 blessings, which means that there could not be 10 blessings. Yet, the Talmud quotes an opinion that the 18 blessings are based on the number of vertebrata in the spine, which means that the blessings do not need a Biblical source. The fact that a connection is made between a somewhat obscure component of people’s physical anatomy and the blessings suggests that initially there were a set number of blessings and then sources were found for these particular numbers.

Yosef Heineman (1981, p.54) makes the interesting suggestion that the structure of nine blessings matches the basic requirement of nine shofar blows (Rambam, Laws of shofar 3:1). The requirement of nine shofar blows is derived from the need to hear three truot with each being accompanied by a tekiah before the truah and a tekiah after the truah. Thus, the Mishnah (4:9) states that the order of the tekiot is three sets of three, and even the length of the shofar blasts follows this 3X3 pattern, as it records that the length of a tekiah is three truot and a truah is three cries. Thus, the musaf Shemoneh Esrei on Rosh Hashanah also follows this pattern of three sets of three blessings, and a tenth blessing would have broken the pattern.

Furthermore, Machzor Vitry (R. Simhah of Vitry, d. 1005, France, quoted by see Jacobson, 1989, vol. 5, p.135) writes that within the ten verses of each blessing, the first nine are because of the nine shofar blasts, and the tenth verse is a separate verse. (See also Rav Soloveitchik, 1989, pp.14-16, who notes that the 10 verses should be divided into two groups of 9 and 1, as the tenth verse is cited separately from the other nine verses except by malkhuyot, see below.) In addition, the group of nine verses can be further sub-divided into three groups of three, as we recite three verses from each book in Tanakh, and this again follows the 3X3 structure by the shofar blasts. Also, while the Mishnah (4:6) states that one should recite 10 verses, R. Yochanon b. Nuri adds that it is enough if one says just three verses in each blessing, which again gives the 3X3 pattern. Finally, each of the three blessings has an introduction, the verses, and a conclusion, which again follows the 3X3 structure.

A third possible reason for the need to have exactly nine blessings is that there are many opinions (see Jacobson, 1989, vol. 5, p.128, Tabory, 1996, and L. Finkelstein, 1925) that initially only zikhronot and shofarot were part of the initial prayers on Rosh Hashanah, and malkhuyot was added later. Leon J. Liebreich (1963, p.138) explains that from the Torah there are two aspects to Rosh Hashanah, zichron truah, Vayikra 23:24 and yom truah, Bemidbar 29:1, and these aspects correspond to the zikhronot and shofarot. Also, it is claimed that the argument between R. Akiva and R. Yochanon ben Nuri was because the blessing of malkhuyot was new in their time (1st century), and thus it had not yet been clarified where it should be said.

If this theory that malkhuyot was a later addition is correct, then it is understandable why we only have 9 blessings and not 10. The original nine were the three introductory blessings, the blessing for the day, zikhronot and shofarot, and the concluding three blessings. Once this was the accepted practice, then malkhuyot could be added but it could not be added as a separate blessing, as Liebreich argues that “an independent benediction for malkhuyot was inconceivable.” (Note that even according to this opinion the initial Shemoneh Esrei had the 3X3 structure just that the fourth blessing was only the blessing of the day.)

The fourth blessing not only combines the malkhuyot with the blessing of the day, but also the blessing is not uniqe since this blessing is the fourth blessing in all of the shemoneh esrei on Rosh Hashanah. This difference between the blessing by the malkhuyot and by zichronot and shofarot might explain another anomaly of the three blessings. By zikhronot and shofarot, the 10th verse is adjacent to the blessing, but by malkhuyot the 10th verse is with the other nine verses separate from the blessing. Maybe it was thought that had the 10th verse from the malkhuyot been adjacent to the fourth blessing this would have “forced” the blessing to only refer to malkhuyot, but this was not possible.

What is the basis for the argument between R. Akiva and R. Yochanon ben Nuri? From R. Akiva’s question, we see that he believed that the blessing of malkhuyot was intrinsically related to blowing the shofar. If the shofar blowing could not be in the first three blessings, so malkhuyot had to be combined with the fourth blessing. On the other hand, apparently R. Yochanon ben Nuri believes that there is no intrinsic connection between the shofar blowing and the blessings. Thus, in theory the malkhuyot could have been added to any of the other blessings in the Shemoneh Esrei, but the third blessing, the holiness of G-d, was considered the most appropriate. However, if R. Yochanon ben Nuri, does not believe that there is a connection between the blessings and the shofar blowing, why does he state that one blows the shofar after the zikhronot and the shofarot? A possible answer is that he thinks that these blessings relate to the nature of the day, which is source of the obligation to blow shofar. The fourth blessing is the blessing of the day so one blows the shofar after this blessing. Also, zikhronot and shofarot relate to the nature of the day due to the phrases, zichron truah, Vayikra 23:24, and yom truah, Bemidbar 29:1.

The Rambam follows R. Akiva and accepts this connection between the shofar blowing and the blessings as he writes (Laws of shofar 3:7) that one must hear the shofar blasts based on the blessings. This idea explains why we blow the shofar during musaf even though we already fulfilled the obligation to hear shofar blowing with the first thirty blows that we hear before musaf. The first thirty were not connected with the blessings, and hence we blow another thirty when we say the three blessings, malkhuyot, zikhronot and shofarot.

Yet, there seems to be some disconnect between the shofar blowing and the blessings since according to the Ashkenazi custom that the shofar is not blown during the congregation’s recitation of the musaf. On the other hand, the Sefardi custom (Shulchan Arukh, Orah Chayyim 592:1) follows R. Akiva’s ruling as they blow shofar during the congregation’s recitation of musaf. Why is the Ashkenazi custom not to blow during the congregation’s recitation of the musaf? The Mishnah Brurah (592:1) writes that it is confusing to blow the shofar in the middle of the congregation’s recitation of the Shemoneh Esrei, which is true, but R. Akiva’s position would seem to require blowing the shofar whenever the three blessings are said.

A possible answer is that the Rosh (almost the end of comments on Rosh Hashanah, see also Tur, Orah Chayyim, 591, and Elbogen, p.109) quotes R. Yitzhak Ibn Gias (Spain, 1020-1089) that during the time of the Gaonim, the tradition was for the congregation to say seven blessing on Musaf, skipping the malkhuyot, zikhronot and shofarot, and only the chazzan would recite nine blessings. However, R. ibn Gias says that he had a different tradition that the congregation was supposed to recite nine blessings, as we do today, see Shulchan Arukh, 591:1. (The rationale for the custom that the congregation only said seven blessings was because it was too difficult for everybody to know the malkhuyot, zichronot and shofarot by heart.) In any event, this custom meant that the shofar was not blown during the silent recitation of the musaf since the malkhuyot, shoforot and zichronot blessings were not recited. This custom could be the basis for the Ashkenazi custom not to blow shofar during the congregation’s recitation of the musaf, as even when the custom of only saying seven blessings was abrogated still the shofar blowing was not instituted.

How many times are the three blessings to be recited on Rosh Hashanah? Meiri (on Berakhot 29, also see Ba’al Maor (comments end of Tractate Rosh Hashanah) writes that the Rabbis of Gerona say that on all the prayers of Rosh Hashanah one should say the nine blessings. (Elbogen, 1972, p.107) writes that this is the simple reading of the Mishnah.) However, Meiri writes that the elders countered that it was too much of burden to say all nine blessings at each prayer. Meiri concludes that at a minimum the three blessings were said at shacharit since initially the shofar blowing was at shacharit, and the three blessings would have been said in conjunction with blowing the shofar.

Maybe this question of when to say the three blessings depends on whether one accepts the opinion of Rabbi Akiva or Rabbi Yochanon ben Nuri. According to R. Akiva, the three blessings would only be said once when the shofar was blown since we do not blow the shofar by every prayer. However, for R. Yochanon ben Nuri, once there is no connection between the shofar and the blessings, then the blessings could be said in every Shemoneh Esrei on Rosh Hashanah.

The Yerushalmi (Rosh Hashanah 4:6) writes that in Galilee, the people followed R. Yochanon ben Nuri, while in Judah (central Israel) the people followed R. Akiva. Furthermore, from the fact that the Mishnah records that R. Akiva questioned R. Yochanon ben Nuri’s position, and R. Yochanon ben Nuri did not respond, it would seem that the Mishnah is written from the perspective that his opinion was the accepted one, in the Galilee, and there they would have said all the blessings at each Shemoneh Esrei on Rosh Hashanah. This could then be the source for the Rabbis of Gerona’s position to say the three blessings in each Shemoneh Esrei of Rosh Hashanah.

In addition, it has been claimed (see Elbogen p. 107) that really today we also follow Rabbi Yochanon ben Nuri's opinion, as the prayer, uvechen ten pachdecha, that we add by the third blessing is a remnant from Rabbi Yochanon Ben Nuri's malkhuyot. Furthermore, we say this addition by every Shemoneh Esrei on Rosh Hashanah, since for Rabbi Yochanon ben Nuri there is no connection between the malkhuyot and the shofar blowing. (This addition is also said on Yom Kippur, and the Tur, 552, writes that he thinks it should be said all the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.)

What is the message of the three blessings? Rav Soloveitchik (1998, p.18-25, also 1989, p.15) explains that the shofar blows are a form of prayer, a cry to G-d. The blessings and the shofar blows are two types of prayers: the three blessings are well formulated verbal prayer while the shofar blows are an instinctive nonverbal prayer. This idea is also expressed in the prayer, areshet sifatenu, which we say after each shofar blowing. The three blessings are then complementary to the shofar blows since they add content to the prayer aspect of the shofar, but what is the content?

Joseph Albo’s (15th century) suggests that the three blessings teach the fundamentals of the Judaism (Sefer Ikkarim 1:4). These fundamentals according to Albo are the existence of G-d (malkhuyot), doctrines of divine providence and reward and punishment (zikhronot) and that the Torah is from G-d (shofarot). Albo’s explanation is very popular, but it is not clear to me. The zikhronot blessing is before the shofarot blessing but in terms of dogma the belief in Torah precedes the belief in reward and punishment, as for example by the 13 principles of the Rambam. Also, the blessing by shofarot is asking G-d to listen to the cry of shofar and have mercy on the people, and this has no connection with the Torah or revelation of G-d to mankind. Finally, this idea does not accord with the idea that the malkhuyot were added after the zichronot and the shofarot since if the blessings were composed at different times, then this suggests that there is no grand unifying theme to the blessings.

A second explanation is that the message of the blessings is to pray for the final redemption. Liebreich (1963, p.139) claims that due to this reason the last set of verses in each blessing are from the Prophets, since their verses relate more directly to the call for the redemption. Heineman (1981, p. 59) notes that the end of the zikhronot blessing does not specifically refer to the redemption, but such a reference appears in R. Saadiah Gaon’s version of zikhronot.

The end of each blessing suggests a third possibility as to the message of the blessings. The malkhuyot blessing ends by stating that G-d is the King of the world. While this might be a reference to the future redemption, more likely it is referring to the present, and Jacobson (above) quotes Yosef Heineman (1977, pp. 61, 62) who writes that it is likely that the malkhuyot blessing was added as a protest against the worship of the Roman Caesars, that we stress that G-d is our King and is King of the world. This theme also accords with the tenth verse of blessing, the shema, where we accept G-d as our G-d.

The zikhronot blessing ends by stating that we pray to G-d to remember the covenant, and the question is which covenant? Based on the tenth verse, the covenant is G-d’s covenant with the patriarchs, which suggests that the blessing is a plea to G-d to take account of the zechut avot, the righteousness of the patriarchs when deciding our fate.

The shofarot blessing ends by stating that we ask G-d to hear the prayer of the shofar with mercy. With this understanding both the shofarot and zikhronot blessings are pleas for mercy that G-d should judge us mercifully, which is both appropriate for Rosh Hashanah and shows their joint theme.