Reciting Parshas HaKetores
[1] (Halacha 819)
Question: Why do we say the passage of the Ketores before Shacharis tefillah?
Answer: The saying of Pitum HaKetores before Shacharis tefillah is not mentioned in the siddurim of the Geonim nor in the siddur of the Rambam.
Indeed, in the Zohar1 it states: 'ת"ח האי מאן דדינא רדיף אבתריה אצטריך להאי קטרת ולאתבא קמי מאריה דהא סיועא איהו לאסתלקא דינין מניה ובהאי ודאי מסתלקין מיניה אי הוא רגילא בהאי לאדכרא תרין זמנין ביומא, בצפרא וברמשא דכתיב קטרת סמים בבקר בבקר וכתיב בין הערבים יקטירנה .. בגין דכתיב קטרת תמיד לפני ה', תמיד איהו קיימא לפני ה' יתיר מכל פלחנין אחרנין, חביבא איהו עובדא דקטרת דהוא יקיר וחביב קמי קוב"ה יתיר מכל פלחנין ורעותין (נ"א ועובדין) דעלמא, ואע"ג דצלותא איהי מעליא מכלא, עובדא דקטרת הוא יקיר וחביב קמי קוב"ה, ת"ח מה בין צלותא לעובדא דקטרת, צלותא אתקינו לה באתר דקרבנין דהוו עבדי ישראל, וכל אינון קרבנין דהוו עבדין ישראל לאו אינון חשיבין כקטרת, ותו מה בין האי להאי אלא צלותא איהו תקונא לאתקנא מה דאצטריך, קטרת עביד יתיר מתקין וקשיר קשרין ועביד נהירו יתיר מכלא, ומאן איהו, דאעבר זוהמא ואידכי משכנא, וכלא אתנהיר ואתתקן ואתקשר כחדא, ועל דא בעינן לאקדמא עובדא דקטרת לצלותא בכל יומא ויומא לאעברא זוהמא מעלמא דאיהו תקונא דכלא בכל יומא ויומא כגוונא דההוא קרבנא חביבא דאתרעי ביה קוב"ה' ("Come and see: one who is pursued by judgment needs this incense and to turn before his Master, for it is an aid to remove judgments from him, and by this they are certainly removed from him if he is accustomed to mention it twice a day, in the morning and in the evening, as it is written 'incense of spices morning by morning' and it is written 'toward evening he shall burn it' .. because it is written 'perpetual incense before Hashem,' it stands perpetually before Hashem more than all other services; beloved is the act of the Ketores, which is dear and beloved before the Holy One, blessed be He, more than all services and desires of the world; and even though tefillah is loftier than all, the act of the Ketores is dear and beloved before the Holy One, blessed be He. Come and see what is the difference between tefillah and the act of the Ketores: tefillah was instituted in place of the korbanos that Israel would offer, and all those korbanos that Israel would offer are not considered like the Ketores; and further, what is the difference between this and that? Rather, tefillah is a repair to rectify what is needed, while the Ketores does more — it rectifies and binds bonds and produces more illumination than all; and what is it? That which removes filth and purifies the Mishkan, and all is illumined and rectified and bound together; and therefore we need to place the act of the Ketores before tefillah each and every day, to remove filth from the world, for it is the repair of all each and every day, like that beloved korban in which the Holy One, blessed be He, desires").
Thus it is explained in the Zohar that saying the passage of the Ketores twice a day helps to remove judgments, and that the service of the Ketores is dear and beloved before Hashem, and therefore one must place its saying before tefillah.
And regarding the order of the saying, Maran the Beis Yosef wrote in the Maggid Meisharim2: 'On the eve of the day of Shabbos, the 27th of Iyar, Hashem is with you etc. Indeed, regarding the matter of the Ketores, wherein lay the truth of the matter, it is to say it before tefillah as stated in the holy Zohar, and first you should say the passage of the removal of the ashes (terumas hadeshen) as stated for every day, and thereafter you should say Pitum HaKetores with 'You are He whom our forefathers offered incense before You' etc., and after Pitum HaKetores you should say 'May it be Your will, Hashem, that You forgive us all our sins' etc., and you should say the passage of the Tamid'.
Thus according to the Maggid Meisharim one says first the terumas hadeshen, then the Ketores, and then the passage of the Tamid.
However, in his work the Beis Yosef3 he wrote in the name of R"Y bar Yakar: 'Some have the custom to say after Birkas HaTorah the passage of the laver (kiyor), for it is the first service, and thereafter one says the terumas hadeshen, and thereafter the passage of the Tamid, and thereafter the passage of the altar upon which incense is burned and the passage of the spices of the Ketores and its preparation, for after the offering of the Tamid the Ketores is burned ..'.
So too in the Seder HaYom4: 'And one should read the passage of the Tamid word for word, for it counts for him in place of the offering of the Tamid, just as we pray afterward that the speech of our lips be regarded and accepted as if we had offered the korban of the Tamid in its time etc., and thereafter the passage of the Ketores with Pitum HaKetores. And the matter of the Ketores is a great matter, to nullify every affliction and every evil occurrence, as the Zohar brought in Parashas Vayikra, that it shatters the kelipos and prevents the yetzer hara from him, and this is its language (whoever gazes upon and reads the acts of the Ketores each day will be saved from all matters of sorcery and from all evil occurrences and from evil thoughts and from death, and he will not be harmed that entire day, provided that he has intent in it). Behold, with an easy thing a person is able to be saved from several great matters, so long as he reads it with intent and full mind. Further there, and this is its language (Rabbi Shimon said: if people knew how lofty the act of the Ketores is before the Holy One, blessed be He, they would take each and every word of it and raise it up as a crown to the head, a crown of gold; and whoever occupies himself with it must gaze upon the act of the Ketores, let him have intent in it each day, and he has a portion in this world and in the world to come, and death will be removed from him and from the whole world, and he will be saved from all judgments of this world, from the evil sides and from the judgment of Gehinnom and from the rule of another dominion) — end of quote'.
And so it is also according to the writings of the Arizal, as stated in the Sha'ar HaKavanos5: 'And therefore immediately after the passage of the Tamid we say the order of Pitum HaKetores before the verse 'And may the offering of Yehuda be pleasing to Hashem etc.,' and not like those who have the custom to say it before the passage of the Tamid, which is an error in their hands'.
So too the Mechaber wrote in the Shulchan Aruch6: 'Some have the custom to say the passage of the laver, and thereafter the passage of the terumas hadeshen, and thereafter the passage of the Tamid, and thereafter the passage of the altar upon which incense is burned and the passage of the spices of the Ketores and its preparation'.
The Olas Tamid7 disagreed with the Mechaber and wrote: 'As to what he wrote, and thereafter the altar upon which incense is burned — in my humble opinion the order is not so, but rather the passage of the Mincha after the passage of the Tamid, and thereafter the spices of the Ketores, and thereafter the passage of the chavitin; and see what the Rambam z"l wrote in the order of the service of the Tamid'.
And the Magen Avraham8 wrote: 'For after the Tamid they would offer the Ketores (Beis Yosef, OC), and in the Maggid Meisharim he wrote to say the Ketores before the Tamid, and the reason is from that which we learned in the third chapter of Yoma9 that the Ketores of the morning [was offered] between the blood and the limbs; but in the Seder HaYom he wrote to say the Tamid before the Ketores, since the essence of atonement is in the blood; and so too the students of Rabbeinu Yonah wrote at the beginning of the fourth chapter of Berachos10 regarding Mincha tefillah, that the essence corresponds to the blood, and therefore it begins from the time of the slaughter of the Tamid, that is, from six and a half hours; and Shacharis tefillah from when dawn rises; and at Mincha tefillah all agree that the Tamid precedes the Ketores as stated in Yoma; and the Olas Shabbos, who wrote to say the Mincha before the Ketores, was not precise, for Abaye would arrange the arrangement etc., see there'11.
And the Pri Megadim12 wrote: 'And the essence is like the Shulchan Aruch, for the Ketores is after the blood of the Tamid, and the essence of atonement is in the blood'.
So too the Alter Rebbe13 wrote: 'Some have the custom to say the passage of the laver, and thereafter the passage of the terumas hadeshen, and thereafter the passage of the Tamid, and thereafter the passage of the altar upon which incense is burned, and thereafter the passage of the spices of the Ketores and its preparation, for such was the order of the services in the Mikdash'.
So too he wrote in Hilchos Birchos HaShachar14: 'And it is good to say also the passage of the Ketores after the passage of the Tamid, as was explained there'. And so it is also in the siddur15.
Thus in practice one says in the morning before tefillah the passage of the Ketores immediately after the passage of the Tamid
Notes:
1 ויקהל ריט, א ↩
2 פר' בהר סיני ↩
3 או"ח סי' א ↩
4 כוונת ציצית ותפילין וסדר הנחתן ↩
5 שער הכוונות דרושי תפלת השחר דרוש ג. וראה גם פע"ח שער התפלה הקדמה ח. ושער עולם העשיה פ"ד ↩
6 או"ח סי' א ס"ט ↩
7 או"ח סי' א ס"ק ח ↩
8 שם סי' א ס"ק יב ↩
9 לא, ב ↩
10 יח, א ד"ה תפלת המנחה ↩
11 ראה מה שביארו בזה הלבושי שרד ס"ק יג. והיד אפרים ↩
12 באשל אברהם על המג"א שם ↩
13 שו"ע או"ח מהדו"ק סי' א סי"ט ↩
14 סי' מח ס"א ↩
15 ראה מ"ש בשער הכולל פ"ג אות יב ↩
[2] (Halacha 820)
Saying the passage of the Ketores at the conclusion of tefillah
In the previous halacha we saw that in the early siddurim the saying of the Ketores before tefillah was not mentioned, but rather that there is a source for it in the holy Zohar. However, saying the Ketores after tefillah is mentioned in the Siddur of Rav Amram Gaon as follows:
It is written in the Seder of Rav Amram Gaon1, and brought in the Tur2: 'And after the shliach tzibur has finished, he makes peace; the custom is to say thus: Who is like our God, who is like our Master, who is like our King, who is like our Deliverer .. You are our God, You are our Master, You are our King, You are our Deliverer. You are He whom our forefathers offered before You the incense of spices. Pitum HaKetores ..'.
And so it is in the Zohar3: 'עוד אמר בוצינא קדישא דבתר דצלותא איהי כקרבנא מאן דיימא פטום הקטרת בתר תהלה לדוד בטיל מותנא מביתא' ("The holy lamp further said that after tefillah, which is like a korban, whoever says Pitum HaKetores after Tehillah LeDavid, plague is nullified from the house").
So too the Rama4 wrote: 'And one should say Pitum HaKetores evening and morning after tefillah .. the custom is not to say it on a weekday..5'.
Thus we saw that some have written to say the passage of the Ketores before tefillah, and some have written to say it after tefillah.
The Taz6 raised a difficulty against the custom of saying it after tefillah: 'It is difficult for me from that which we say in the chapter Tamid Nishchat, page 59: The Rabbis taught, there is nothing that precedes the Tamid of the morning except the Ketores alone, as it is stated "morning by morning"; and we say at the beginning of Berachos, the tefillos were instituted corresponding to the temidin — Shacharis corresponding to the Tamid of the morning — if so, we should have placed Pitum HaKetores before the tefillah of Shemoneh Esrei, and why do we delay it until after tefillah? And it appears to me to resolve that this that the Ketores precedes the Tamid is regarding its burning upon the altar to consume it, and so Rashi explained there, "there is nothing that precedes the Ketores," that is, with regard to the fires; but its slaughter and the sprinkling of its blood — in this the Tamid precedes, as stated: Abaye arranges the arrangement, that the blood of the Tamid precedes the two lamps, and the lamps precede the Ketores; and if so, the tefillah of Shemoneh Esrei is in place of the service of the blood of the Tamid, and therefore the Ketores is after it. And further it is difficult, for in Abaye''s arrangement the Ketores is mentioned much later; but it appears to me that the tefillah is in place of the offering of the limbs, for as to the place of its slaughter and sprinkling, behold the passage of the Tamid is in its place — for otherwise, why do we need two things in place of the Tamid, namely the passage of the Tamid and the tefillah of Shemoneh Esrei? Rather it is certainly as I wrote, and there is a proof from that which the Tur wrote in siman 235, that Maariv tefillah is in place of the limbs that were not consumed during the day, which shows that Mincha tefillah is in place of the limbs that are burned first during the day; and on this basis I myself adopted the custom to say the passage of the Ketores before Baruch She''amar, so that the Ketores be between the blood of the Tamid and the limbs; and even though in the Tur it is written after tefillah, it appears to me that this too is correct'.
Thus according to the understanding of the Taz the saying of the Ketores must be before the Amidah tefillah, since the tefillah corresponds to the offering of the limbs, which was after the Ketores, and therefore he had the custom to say the Ketores before Baruch She'amar.
Saying it twice, both before tefillah and after tefillah
However, in the writings of the Arizal7 it is brought to say it twice, both before tefillah and after tefillah, and this is its language: 'And this is the secret of that which we say Pitum HaKetores at Shacharis before tefillah after the korban of the Tamid as above, and also at Mincha tefillah before the Amidah, for our intent is to elevate the worlds through the tefillos; therefore we say it so that the kelipos do not grasp on and ascend in the ascent of the worlds, and therefore we say it before the two aforementioned tefillos, and likewise at the end of Shacharis tefillah we return and say it, as is known. And the reason is so that the kelipos do not draw from the abundance that descends and flows to the worlds as above; but at Maariv tefillah we do not have the strength to do so'.
So too the Shelah8 wrote, brought in the Magen Avraham9: 'This order of the passage of the Tamid and the mention of the Ketores is a great mitzvah to say thus at Shacharis .. and also before Mincha tefillos as explained in the Zohar, and such is the custom of the Sephardim, and such is the practice. And it is good to say the mention of the Ketores also after tefillah, as is the custom of the Sephardim, as explained in the Zohar'.
The Yaavetz in his siddur wrote: 'We arranged the passage of the Ketores here at the beginning of the act of the korban, according to the Zohar Vayakhel, that one should say it always first, even though this is not its place in the order of the service, for tefillah would interpose between the service of the blood and the lamps and the burning of the incense. And further, according to what I wrote in my work Mor U''Ketziah, it appears at first glance that the tefillah of Shemoneh Esrei, which was instituted corresponding to the Tamid, stands in place of the sprinkling of the blood, and according to this it would have been fitting to set it after the conclusion of tefillah, and as is the custom to arrange Pitum HaKetores at the end; therefore we fulfilled the view of all and established saying it in halves — arranging the reading of the passage of the Ketores before tefillah, and the explanation of its acts from the words of the Sages after it — and both this and that were fulfilled in our hands; and thus it was guarded from the grasp of the outer forces, front and back; and thus my father and teacher the Gaon z"l would conduct himself, although I was small and did not merit to ask him in order to grasp the depth of his opinion'10.
The Chida11 too explained the saying of the Ketores twice and wrote: 'The passage of the Tamid in the morning and in the evening corresponds to the actual Ketores, in the manner of "and let us render for bulls the offering of our lips"; but after Shacharis tefillah, the saying of Pitum HaKetores is because of protection, and therefore we do not say the preface of "You are He, Hashem" etc., for now it is not for the sake of the mitzvah of burning the Ketores'.
And so the Alter Rebbe established in his siddur — and he wrote the text of the Ketores and Pitum HaKetores before tefillah, and likewise at the conclusion of tefillah he brought the saying of the Ketores an additional time.
[And see in the Sha'ar HaKollel12 which wrote to explain in the approach of the Alter Rebbe (the opposite of the words of the Chida above): 'After the tefillos were instituted in place of the temidin, it is no longer applicable to say that one fulfills the offering of the Tamid in the manner of "and let us render for bulls the offering of our lips" by saying the passage of the Tamid,' and he explains that saying the Ketores before tefillah is 'only of the nature of a segulah .. like the other segulos that are needed before tefillah .. and this is unlike what is written in the Machzik Bracha .. that one says before tefillah the passage of the Tamid and the Ketores to fulfill through it the obligation of the Tamid and the Ketores ..'.]
Notes:
1 סיום התפילה ↩
2 או"ח סי' קלג ↩
3 פנחס רכד, א ↩
4 שו"ע או"ח סי' קלב ס"ב ↩
5 טעם מנהג זה והחשש מהאמירה נראה בהלכה הבאה ↩
6 סי' קלב ס"ק ב ↩
7 שער הכוונות דרושי תפלת השחר דרוש ג ↩
8 בצוואתו שנדפסה בתחילת הסידור שער השמים ↩
9 סי' קלב ס"ק ג ↩
10 וראה גם מגן גיבורים אלף המגן או"ח סי' א ס"ק כא שמבאר שזה קשור גם לדיון האם אמירת הקטורת קודמת לתמיד או להיפך: 'ואפשר שלכך היה מנהגו של א"ז החכם צבי ז"ל לומר פרשת הקטורת קודם התפלה וביאור מעשה הקטורת אחר התפלה, לפי דדעת תלמידי ר"י דתפלה כנגד הדם וא"כ הוא כהחכם יודע פשר שתי הדעות ולכך היה מחלקם' ↩
11 ברכ"י או"ח סי' קלב ס"ק ו. וראה מחזיק ברכה או"ח סי' מח ס"ק ב ↩
12 פ"ג אות יב ↩
[3] (Halacha 821)
Question: What is the reason we say Ein Keilokeinu before the Ketores?
Answer: In the previous halacha we saw the words of the Tur from the Siddur of Rav Amram Gaon, that the saying of Mi Keilokeinu precedes Pitum HaKetores, and thus we find among the Rishonim1 the joining of these passages, and some had the custom to say it thus on Motzaei Shabbos, as the Manhig2 wrote: 'The custom of all Israel is to say on Motzaei Shabbos "And may He give you" and all the verses of blessings, that Israel be blessed on the coming Shabbos and from now and forever, and in Provence they say after them Ein Keilokeinu, and Pitum HaKetores in Babylonian [Aramaic], and the reason appears to be according to what we say in Yoma3: never did a person repeat with it, because it enriches, "and let us render for bulls the offering of our lips" so that we be enriched and succeed. Even (אב"ן)'.
a) And Rabbi Yehuda bar Yakar4 wrote: 'Because the day of Shabbos is like a bride who is married on Shabbos, for if the members of the wedding party were to leave her on Motzaei Shabbos she would have distress of soul, and therefore all come and sing before her on Motzaei Shabbos, and therefore we say Mi Keilokeinu etc. to praise Him greatly. And because it is the way to perfume the bride with kinds of spices each [day] after the Shabbos, which is her wedding day — for on the wedding day itself she does not need spices, since the joy of her wedding gladdens more than all kinds of spices, and after her wedding they perfume her in order to gladden her all thirty days — likewise we come to perfume the Shabbos, which is called a bride. And the day of Shabbos does not need spices, for it itself is spices, and therefore we make spices on Motzaei Shabbos and we say Pitum HaKetores all the days of the week, for we say in the Tanchuma: just as this bride, when the days of the wedding are completed, returns to her work, so too Knesses Yisrael returns to its servitude, as it is written "and the redeemed of Hashem shall return and come to Zion with song" .. And some say Pitum HaKetores every day with the praise that is said first, as we arranged Ein Keilokeinu — one says "Keilokeinu" according to the customs — but not on Shabbos, because the bride needs to be perfumed all thirty days after her wedding, and therefore one must say Pitum HaKetores the whole week until Shabbos, which is the wedding day, and then she does not need spices'.
That is, the saying of Ein Keilokeinu corresponds to the song and praise that is made for the bride, and the spices and Pitum HaKetores correspond to her spices; and some said this on Motzaei Shabbos and some said it the whole week.
b) And R"Y bar Yakar further wrote there: 'And because the Ketores enriches, as we say in Yoma, never did a person repeat with the Ketores, therefore they made it customary on Motzaei Shabbos as a good sign, and several things our Rabbis would do as a good sign, as we say in Horayos .. and so that a person not err to say that the power of the Ketores is without another power, we come to hint that Hashem impoverishes and enriches, and therefore we began to say by way of praise thus, and not that the Ketores enriches by its own power, for it is You, Hashem, who impoverishes and enriches; and therefore we say first Ein Keilokeinu, Mi Keilokeinu, You are our God, before whom they offered incense, and the meaning is that from You is the power of the Ketores'.
So too the Noda BiYehuda5 wrote: 'As to what he asked, why is the order of Pitum HaKetores different, that we say "You are He, Hashem, our God and God of our fathers," which we do not find with the other korbanos in the passage of the Tamid and the like — behold, the text in the Tur, OC siman 132, does not mention "You are He, Hashem, our God and God of our fathers," but only "You are He whom they offered incense" etc. And if he is asking also about this, why with the passage of the Tamid and the other korbanos we do not say "You are He whom they offered" — behold, the reason is simple, because before this they said Ein Keilokeinu etc., "You are our God" etc. until "You are our Deliverer," and therefore, with what he concludes, he opens "You are He whom they offered incense" etc., and this is simple. And that they had the custom to say these verses before this is because it enriches, and therefore we say Ein Keilokeinu, so that one not say "my strength and the might of my hand made this wealth," but rather that all is given to us from Hashem, and it is fitting for Him to bless over the wealth. And see the Abudraham'.
c) And in the Sefer Minhagei Maharil6 it is written: 'Maharai Segal was asked why we do not say Ein Keilokeinu on Yom Kippur as on other Yom Tov. And he answered that the essential reason for Ein Keilokeinu is because of the hundred brochos one is obligated to say each day, and on Shabbosos and Yom Tov one says only seven of the Shemoneh Esrei of tefillah, and they instituted in Ein Keilokeinu twelve "amen"s — "Ein," "Mi," "Nodeh," each one four times — and thereafter "Baruch Attah," and it is as if one said "Baruch Attah, Kel Melech Ne''eman" twelve times; and your seven make eighteen, that is eighteen brochos, and with the bracha of the heretics nineteen; and so it is in the Machzor Vitry. However, on Yom Kippur one says in any case "I will praise You aloud," and in it eighteen brochos were instituted. And further, Ein Keilokeinu was instituted corresponding to korbanos, and on Yom Kippur one brings many korbanos'.
And the Magen Avraham7 wrote: Ein Keilokeinu. It was instituted corresponding to the eighteen brochos that we say on a weekday, and on Yom Kippur they have already said "I will praise You aloud" etc. (Mateh Moshe, Maharil) and further, it was instituted corresponding to korbanos, and on Yom Kippur they bring many korbanos (ibid.), and if so, Pitum HaKetores should be said'.
That is, we see in his words that since Ein Keilokeinu was instituted corresponding to the korbanos, therefore it should be said on Yom Kippur, and consequently one should also say Pitum HaKetores.
★ ★ ★
Question: Why on Shabbos do we say the Ketores after Musaf tefillah?
Answer: The Magen Avraham8 wrote: 'And it requires examination why we say it after Musaf, seeing that the Ketores preceded the Musafin according to all opinions, and it belongs to the korban of the Tamid; and it is possible that our intent is to take leave from words of Torah, and in the writings it is stated that the reason is to drive away the kelipos'.
And in the Siddur Tzelosa D''Avraham9 he wrote: 'But it appears to me that the reason is certain: for this that we say the tefillos were instituted corresponding to the temidin means corresponding to the entire act of the Tamid according to its mitzvah — slaughter, sprinkling of the blood, the burning of the limbs, the Mincha, and the libations — all these are counted in the verse in the passage of the Tamid, and if so, it is impossible to say it before the Ketores in order, for even if one said it after Shacharis tefillah, it would also be out of order, since it precedes the limbs, the Mincha, and the libations; and since it was pushed off, it was pushed off until after the Musafin, in order to join together all the services that are performed outside, and afterward we say the Ketores, which is performed inside'.
Notes:
1 אמנם בנוסח התפילות שברמב"ם מובאת אמירת מי כאלוקינו ולא מובא לומר אחריה פיטום הקטורת ↩
2 הל' שבת עמוד ר ↩
3 כו, א ↩
4 פירוש התפלות והברכות ע' קכד ↩
5 מהדו"ק או"ח סי' י ↩
6 הל' יום כיפור [כד] ↩
7 או"ח סי' תרכב ס"ק א ↩
8 או"ח סי' קלב ס"ק ג ↩
9 ח"א ע' תה ↩
[4] (Halacha 822)
Question: When is the time for saying the Ketores at Mincha tefillah?
Answer: The Abudraham1 wrote: 'And the Rav Rabbeinu Yonah wrote in Iggeres Teshuvah that it is a mitzvah to say in the evening, before Ashrei, the passage "My offering, My bread" just as one says it in the morning, in place of the two temidin that were offered each day in the morning and in the evening, so that the mention be counted as an act, and so it says "and let us render for bulls the offering of our lips." And so is the custom in some places'.
So too the Rama2 wrote: 'Some have written that the custom is to say the passage of the Tamid before Ashrei of Mincha tefillah, corresponding to the Tamid of the afternoon, and it is a good custom'.
Thus according to their words the order of tefillah is the passage of the Tamid, Ashrei, Shemoneh Esrei (although in their words the saying of the passage of the Ketores was not mentioned, but rather the passage of the Tamid).
But the Rama MiPano3 wrote: 'And at Mincha there is room to say that the order of the service should be after tefillah; however, Israel, the children of prophets, did not conduct themselves so, but rather it is proper to instruct as R"Y explained, and as the custom of some communities, that Tehillah LeDavid precede everything, and it is agreed according to the view of the Zohar, since it is written in it "You open Your hand," to place the praise and the appeasement over sustenance before judgment is aroused; and after it the custom of all Israel is to place the passage of the Tamid before Mincha tefillah, and how good it is to mention Pitum HaKetores with the Tamid, and after them our own order of the service which includes them in all their rectifications, for certainly they do not arouse the measure of their time as much as the service itself, that we should be pressed on account of this to place tefillah before them; on the contrary, these are great helpers to plead advocacy for the tefillah that comes after them, that it be accepted with favor. And one who places the order of the Tamid first and delays the order of the Ketores and prays in between is found to be arranging them in halves, for this that the Rabbis taught, the tefillos were instituted corresponding to the temidin, its meaning is corresponding to the services of the day; and the Ketores itself, morning and afternoon, is among the preparations of the Tamid, as this that we learned, the Ketores of the morning was offered between the blood and the limbs, and that of the afternoon between the limbs and the libations; and from this Tanna we learn regarding his dispute that all are equal, as I wrote; and the remnants of the Levites alone are delayed to after every tefillah, as is fitting for it, "the praise of Hashem my mouth shall speak, and let all flesh bless His holy name forever and ever"'4.
Thus according to his words the order of tefillah is Ashrei5 and thereafter the passage of the Tamid and thereafter6 the Ketores7, and thereafter Shemoneh Esrei.
And indeed regarding what the Rama MiPano wrote that the Ketores precedes Shemoneh Esrei, so it is also in the writings of the Arizal8: 'And this is the secret of what we say, that we say Pitum HaKetores at Shacharis before tefillah, after the korban of the Tamid as above, and also at Mincha tefillah, before the Amidah, for our intent is to elevate the worlds through the tefillos; therefore we say it before the two aforementioned tefillos'9.
But regarding placing Ashrei before the Tamid and the Ketores, behold the Knesses HaGedolah10 wrote: 'Our custom is to say Pitum HaKetores after the passage of the Tamid, before Ashrei, and it is a correct custom, and so the Abudraham wrote in the name of R"Y z"l'.
And the Kaf HaChaim11 wrote: 'See the Taz and Magen Avraham s.k. 2 who wrote to say the passage of the Tamid after Ashrei, but the widespread custom is to say it before Ashrei as Moreinu HaRav Moshe [Isserles] z"l wrote in the name of the Abudraham and R"Y and the Beis Yosef, and so Rashi z"l wrote in Berachos 31a, see there, and one should not deviate'.
And such is the custom of Chabad as the Alter Rebbe wrote in the siddur in the Mincha tefillah for Shabbos12: 'After Vayedaber and the order of the Ketores you should say Ashrei and U'Va LeTzion'.
Thus in practice the order is the passage of the Tamid, the Ketores, Ashrei, Shemoneh Esrei
--------------
Notes:
1 תפלת מנחה ↩
2 שו"ע או"ח סי' רלד ס"א ↩
3 סי' יד ↩
4 בהג"ה מכת"י (מהדורת ישמח לב - תורת משה, תשס"ז) כתוב: 'מהרמא"י בהגהתו לשו"ע טור או"ח סי' רלד ס"א כתב בשם אבודרהם בשם הר"י ובית יוסף שנוהגין לומר פ' התמיד קודם אשרי של תפלת המנחה נגד תמיד של בין הערבים ומנהג יפה הוא, וזה נגד המנהג שכתב בתשובה זו המקובל הרב פאנו ז"ל המחבר הלז (אי"ג). ברם רוח אחרת היתה אתו של הקדוש המחבר הזה בסוד ה' ליריאיו כנראה מתוך דבריו' ↩
5 וראה בט"ז או"ח סי' רלד ס"ק ב, ומגן אברהם שם ס"ק ב שהסכימו לדברי הרמ"ע מפאנו ↩
6 כתב המגן אברהם סי' א ס"ק יב: *'ובתפלת המנחה כו"ע מודו דתמיד קודם לקטורת כדאיתא ביומא'*. [ומ"ש בהמשך דבריו על העולת שבת כבר תמהו הפוסקים שלכאורה אין זה כוונתו, (וראה הנסמן בהלכה 819 הערה 11 ובמאמר מרדכי סימן א ס"ק ו) ואכמ"ל] ↩
7 ולהעיר מדברי הזהר פנחס רכד, א ברע"מ: 'עוד אמר בוצינא קדישא דבתר דצלותא איהי כקרבנא מאן דיימא פטום הקטרת בתר תהלה לדוד בטיל מותנא מביתא'. ואכמ"ל ↩
8 שער הכוונות דרושי תפלת השחר דרוש ג ↩
9 וראה צלותא דאברהם ע' תו: ''ומה שאנו נוהגים לומר הקטורת קודם מנחה ולא לאחריה, נ"ל הטעם לפי שאנו נוהגין להתפלל מנחה אחר פלג המנחה עד הערב, אפילו לכתחילה, וסומכין על הירושלמי (ריש פרק תפילת השחר) דאמר ר' יוסי לא התקינו תפילת המנחה כנגד תמיד של בן הערבים, אלא כנגד הקטורת שנאמר תכון תפילתי קטורת לפניך מנחת ערב, כמ"ש בהגהות מימוני פ"ג מהל' תפילה אות ג' בשם רבינו חננאל ז"ל (והיינו טעמא דמאן דאמר בגמ' דידן התם - מצווה להתפלל עם דמדומי חמה). וא"כ צריך להקדים לה אמירת הקטורת כמו שמקדימין פרשת התמיד, מאחר שהתפלה עצמה כנגד הקטורת. ומ"מ אומרים גם פרשת התמיד, לפי שלגמרא דידן כנגד התמיד נתקנה. ובדיעבד גם התמיד קרב עד הערב, כמ"ש הרמב"ם (פ"ט מתמידין ומוספין) להכי עבדינן כתרווייהו' ↩
10 שיירי כנה"ג הגה"ט או"ח סי' רלד אות ד ↩
11 או"ח סי' רלד ס"ק ד ↩
12 סדר תפלת מנחה לחול לא הובא בסידור אדמו"ר הזקן ↩
[5] (Halacha 823)
Question: Do we say Pitum HaKetores at Maariv tefillah?
Answer: The Tur1 wrote in the name of Rav Amram Gaon2: 'And likewise in the evening, after they finish Maariv tefillah, the custom is to say Pitum HaKetores but not the song; and why do we say Pitum HaKetores in the morning and in the evening but the song in the morning alone? Because this one's mitzvah is in the morning and in the evening, and that one's mitzvah was only in the morning'. And he repeated his words3: 'And he further wrote that in the evening, after they finish Maariv tefillah, the custom is to say Pitum HaKetores, which they say as a remembrance of the Mikdash, and the Ketores was also in the evening, but the song that they would say in the Mikdash should not be said in the evening, for they would not say it in the Mikdash in the evening'.
And the Be'er Sheva4 wrote: 'One should not raise a difficulty against the Tur who wrote that the mitzvah of the Ketores was also in the evening, that is, at night, for a clear Gemara stated in Temurah, chapter two5, and likewise in the chapter HaKometz Rabbah6, that the Ketores is offered only during the day and not at night, for it may be said that since the Ketores is consumed and continues throughout the night among the limbs of the burnt-offering, as stated there in the Gemara, therefore it is well said that its mitzvah is also in the evening. And now the saying of Pitum HaKetores after finishing Maariv tefillah is comparable to Maariv tefillah itself, which also corresponds to the limbs and fats of the Tamid of the afternoon that were not consumed during the day, which are offered and continue throughout the night; so it appears to me'.
And the Prisha7 wrote: 'Learn from this that the Ketores was burned at night or close to night, and because of this our Rabbi wrote in both places that one says Pitum HaKetores after Maariv tefillah'8.
The Rama9 wrote as halacha: 'And one should say Pitum HaKetores evening and morning after tefillah'.
But in the writings of the Arizal10 it is written: 'And this is the secret of what we say, that we say Pitum HaKetores at Shacharis before tefillah after the korban of the Tamid as above, and also at Mincha tefillah, before the Amidah .. and therefore we say it before the two aforementioned tefillos .. but at Maariv tefillah we do not have the strength to do so'.
And on this basis the Magen Avraham11 commented on the words of the Rama: 'And the Arizal wrote that one should not say it in the evening, and it is possible that this is what he [the Rama] means: after Mincha tefillah or before it'12.
And the Machatzis HaShekel explained his words: 'That the Rama does not disagree with the Arizal, for the Arizal speaks of Maariv, that one should not say it, and the Rama speaks of before Mincha tefillah or after it, but before Maariv'.
And the Olas Tamid13 wrote on the words of the Rama: 'Evening and morning. It is because they offered the Ketores in the Mikdash evening and morning, and the same applies that one may say Vayedaber before Mincha, and likewise Pitum HaKetores one may say before Mincha tefillah, but not after Maariv tefillah, for the burning of the Ketores is invalid after the lighting of the lamps, which was during the day specifically'.
The Ma'amar Mordechai14, although he agreed that the custom is according to the understanding of the Magen Avraham, nevertheless wondered at his explanation in the words of the Rama: "evening and morning after tefillah" — it appears that this "evening" means Mincha but not Maariv, and so is the custom, and so it is explicit in the Olas Tamid, who wrote that in Maariv one should not say it, for it is not the time of the Ketores, see there; and it is astonishing to me, for behold the Tur in the following siman wrote in this language: "and likewise in the evening, after they say Maariv tefillah, the custom is to say Pitum HaKetores," and so it is explained from the words of the Prisha, see there, and it appears that HaRav Magen Avraham z"l at first glance understood that the Rama z"l is speaking of Maariv tefillah, and afterward explained by way of possibility that he is speaking of Mincha tefillah, and it requires examination that he did not mention either the words of the Tur or the words of HaRav Olas Tamid'.
Thus we saw that there were places that had the custom to say the passage of the Ketores at night after Maariv tefillah, however, according to Kabbalah one does not say the Ketores at Maariv tefillah15 and such is our custom.
--------------
Notes:
1 או"ח סי' קלג ↩
2 וכ"כ במחזור ויטרי סי' א: 'וקורא בסדר קרבנות, וידבר שחרית קורין פרשת צו את בני ישראל וגו' כנגד תמיד של שחר על שם ונשלמה פרים שפתינו. *ולערב אומר פיטום הקטרת* וסייג לדבריו מצאתי בסדר רב עמרם ..' ↩
3 או"ח סי' רלז ↩
4 תמיד לג, ב ↩
5 יד, א ↩
6 מנחות כו, ב ↩
7 או"ח סי' קלג אות ט ↩
8 וראה פרי מגדים או"ח א"א סי' קלב ס"ק ג שכתב: 'ועיין פרישה מש"כ הקטורת נקטר בלילה או סמיך לה, איני יודע, דקרא כתיב [שמות ל, ח] בין הערבים, בין שני ערבים, כמו פסח [פסחים סא, א] (עיין בספר מבוא השמש למנחת כהן מאמר ראשון פי"ב), ועיין ר"מ פ"ג מהל' תמידין ומוספין ה"א'. [וראה בסידור צלותא דאברהם ע' תו שביאר מדוע אומרים קטורת בלילה: 'אבל לפמ"ש (ראה הלכה קודמת הערה 9) אתי שפיר דכיון דתפלת המנחה כנגד תמיד של בין הערביים (היינו) נגד כל מעשי הקרבתו, וא"כ נסכין בכלל, וכיון דנסכין באים אחר הקטורת, וכדאיתא (ביומא לא, א) א"כ כיון דכבר אידחי לי' מסדרו, וכיון שנהגו לתכוף תפלת ערבית מיד אחר תפלת מנחה, אידחי לה עד לאחר ערבית, אף דאין זמן הקטרה בלילה, מ"מ אמרו לה לזכר בעלמא וכמ"ש בלשונו רבינו הטור ז"ל (בסי' רלז) עיי"ש שכתב שאומרים אותו זכר למקדש'] ↩
9 שו"ע או"ח סי' קלב ס"ב בהג"ה ↩
10 שער הכוונות דרושי תפלת השחר דרוש ג. פע"ח שער עולם העשיה פ"ד ↩
11 ס"ק ג ↩
12 וכ"כ המשנ"ב סי' קלב ס"ק יג: 'ערב - היינו אחר תפלת מנחה או קודם לה דהקטורת לא היו מקטירין בלילה' ↩
13 או"ח סי' קלב ס"ק ו ↩
14 או"ח סי' קלב ס"ק ז ↩
15 ולהעיר ג"כ ממ"ש החיד"א מחזיק ברכה או"ח סי' קלב ס"ק ט: 'יש שנוהג (ראה הלכה 821) לומר פטום הקטרת במוצ"ש אחר הבדלה .. *אבל קבלתי מגדולים שלא לאומרו במוצאי שבת'*. וכתב הכף החיים קלב ס"ק כ: 'וכן לפי דברי האר"י ז"ל זה לא יתכן דאין לעורר הדינין בלילה' ↩
[6] (Halacha 824)
Question: What are the cautions required in saying Pitum HaKetores?
Answer: Mahari Abuhav1 wrote in his commentary on the Tur: 'And some say afterward Pitum HaKetores, and one should say it only from the written text, lest one omit one of the spices, and one is liable to death in the reciting as in the burning, and perhaps for this reason it is not said in some places, even though they say the passage of the korbanos'.
And in the Minhagei Maharash of Neustadt2 it is written: 'I heard from Reb Markel that those who do not say Pitum HaKetores, it is because we are concerned lest they skip, and it is written in it that if one omitted one of all its spices he is liable to death'.
So too the Maharshal3 wrote that his father was concerned for this: 'And Pitum HaKetores he did not say outside except from the book, lest he skip one word, and there we say that if one omitted one of all its spices he is liable to death, and the tefillah is in place of the korban and the Ketores, in the manner of "let my tefillah be set as incense before You"'.
Thus according to their words, since if one omitted one of its spices he is liable to death, therefore in saying the passage of the Ketores too one must be very careful not to omit.
But the Beis Yosef challenged Mahari Abuhav: 'And I say, if it is a received tradition (halacha) we shall accept it, but if it is a matter of reasoning there is a response, for this that "if one omitted one of its spices he is liable to death"4 Rashi explained: he is liable to death because he enters on Yom Kippur, as it is written "and let him not come at all times," "with this shall Aharon come" etc., and when he brings in Ketores not according to its halacha it is an empty entrance and he is liable to death — end of quote. This shows that he is not liable to death because he omitted, but rather because he entered the Mikdash without need. And even according to the view of the Rambam, who wrote in chapter 2 of Hilchos Klei HaMikdash5 that if one omitted one of its spices he is liable to death, for it has become foreign Ketores — it may be said that his reasoning is that since it is foreign Ketores, it is an entrance into the Mikdash without need. And even if you should say that even though he does not enter the innermost chamber but only with the burning on the golden altar he is liable to death because of burning foreign Ketores, as we find with the sons of Aharon who were liable to death because they burned Ketores with a foreign fire — it may be said that this is specifically when he actually burns, but when he omitted in the reciting, from where would we derive it? And further, I have already proved above that this that "if one omitted its spices he is liable" is specifically when he omits one of the eleven spices, and it is an easy thing to be careful not to omit any one of them in one's reciting; and if so, they should not in any place have refrained from saying it because of this reason'.
That is, according to the Beis Yosef the problem of omitting one of the spices is not because of the omission itself, but because the Ketores is not according to its halacha, consequently it is considered that he entered the Mikdash without need — an "empty entrance" — and if so, this problem does not exist in a case where one merely says the passage of the Ketores.
But the Be'er Sheva6 challenged the explanation of Rashi7 that the Beis Yosef brought, that it is proven from the Bavli and the Yerushalmi that there is a problem in the omission of the spices and not because of an empty entrance: 'A great astonishment in my eyes, for behold in Yoma, chapter Hotzi'u Lo8, it is taught: and whence that he places in it the smoke-raising herb? As it is stated9 "and the cloud of the Ketores shall cover the kapores"; hence, if he did not place in it the smoke-raising herb, or he omitted one of all its spices, he is liable to death — but let it be derived that he brings in an empty entrance .. Rav Ashi said: even if you say he acted intentionally in this and in that, such as where he brought in two Ketoros, one complete and one deficient, for the entrance he is not liable, for he brought in the complete one, [but] for the burning he is liable, for he burns deficient Ketores. Behold, before us it is well explained that this that is taught, "if one omitted one of all its spices he is liable to death," its meaning is not because of an empty entrance as Rashi explained, since the Gemara asks "but let it be derived that he brings in an empty entrance," but rather its meaning is because he omitted the Ketores and it became foreign Ketores, as it is written "the Ketores" — which implies complete and not deficient — and even if he did not enter the innermost chamber but only with the burning on the golden altar, he is liable to death, because of burning a foreign one and because of an empty entrance. And so it is implied explicitly in the Yerushalmi in the chapter Taraf BeKalpi10, which states: if he omitted from it one of its spices or did not place into it the smoke-raising herb etc., he is liable to death; Rabbi Zeira said, and he transgresses because of excessive entering — and from that he says "and he transgresses because of excessive entering," it implies that he means to say: besides being liable to death because he omitted the Ketores and it became foreign Ketores, he is liable to death also because of excessive entering, that is, an empty entrance. And thus are the words of the Rambam z"l explicitly in chapter 2 of Hilchos Klei HaMikdash, where he wrote, and this is his language: if one omitted one of its spices he is liable to death, for it has become foreign Ketores; and at the end of Hilchos Yom HaKippurim11 he wrote, and this is his language: if the Ketores lacked one of its spices or the smoke-raising herb he is liable to death for it, as it is stated "and he shall not die, for in the cloud I shall appear upon the kapores," and likewise he is liable to death for his entering without the mitzvah etc. — behold he wrote explicitly that, besides being liable to death if he omitted from the Ketores one of its spices, even though he placed in it the smoke-raising herb, because he made foreign Ketores, he is also liable to death for his entering without a mitzvah; and not as is implied from the explanation of Rashi, that he is not liable to death because he made foreign Ketores, but only because he entered the Mikdash without need'.
As halacha the Rama12 wrote like the words of Mahari Abuhav: 'And one should say Pitum HaKetores evening and morning after tefillah .. and some have written to be careful to say Pitum HaKetores from the written text, and not by heart, because the saying is in place of the burning and we are concerned lest one skip one of the spices, and we say that he is liable to death if he omitted one of its spices; and therefore the custom is not to say it on a weekday, when people hasten to their work and we are concerned lest one skip'.
On the other hand, the Magen Avraham13 brought the words of the Beis Yosef and concluded: 'Therefore the meticulous have the custom to say it every day'. So too the Pri Chadash14 wrote that such is the custom: 'And the world has the custom to recite Pitum HaKetores by heart, like the words of the Rav z"l in the Beis Yosef, and this is the essence'.
And some have written that because of the concern lest one omit, therefore one says before saying the Ketores 'You are He .. before whom our forefathers offered incense .. as it is written in Your Torah,' as the Beis David15 wrote: 'We say first "before whom our forefathers offered incense" to say that our intent is like the Ketores of our forefathers, which was in completeness .. for it is preferable that it be regarded as merely reading in the Torah'.
Thus the poskim disputed whether in saying Pitum HaKetores there is a concern lest one omit one of the spices, and therefore they wrote not to say it by heart, and some, because of this concern, say it only on Shabbos and Yom Tov; but our custom is to say Pitum HaKetores every day and not only on Shabbos.
In the next halacha we will see what else is done in order not to mistakenly omit the saying of one of the spices.
Notes:
1 או"ח סי' קלג, וכתב הב"י: 'והם דברי ארחות חיים שכתב בשם בעל הלכות' ↩
2 סי' צג ↩
3 שו"ת סי' סד ↩
4 כריתות ו, א ↩
5 ה"ח ↩
6 כריתות שם ↩
7 וראה ג"כ עולת תמיד שו"ע או"ח סי' קלב ס"ב. א"ר סי' קלב - ג ס"ק ה ↩
8 נג, א ↩
9 ויקרא טז, יג ↩
10 פ"ד ה"ה ↩
11 פ"ה הכ"ה ↩
12 שו"ע או"ח סי' קלב ס"ב ↩
13 ס"ק ה ↩
14 או"ח סי' קלב ס"ב ↩
15 סי' תקג, הובא במחזיק ברכה סי' מח. ובשער הכולל פ"ג אות יב [אלא שבסיום דברי הבית דוד נראה שיש טעות הדפוס ור"ל שאין לומר יהי רצון .. כאילו הקטרנו ..', וראה בשער הכולל שם שביאר הטעם שאדמו"ר הזקן כן הכניס בסידור אמירת *כאילו הקטרנו*, והוא מכיון שאמירת הקטורת שלפני התפילה איננה במקום ההקטרה, וראה הלכה 820] ↩
[7] (Halacha 825)
In the previous halacha we saw that many poskim wrote that in saying the spices of the Ketores one may not skip because of the matter that if one omitted one of all its spices he is liable to death
Question: What is the way to avoid this concern?
Answer: It is written in the writings of the Arizal1: 'It is written in the Etz Chaim. This intent is very effective in order to return the sinner in teshuvah. And it is that one should say Pitum HaKetores with the intent written before you above. And one must count the spices with the fingers of the hands, one by one, so that one not, God forbid, skip one of them. And it is also good for the one mentioned'.
So too it is written in the Mishnas Chassidim2: 'And thereafter he should say Pitum HaKetores with intent, for this will help him to return in teshuvah, and he should count with his fingers so that he not err in his spices, which are eleven'.
And the Chida3 wrote: 'The passage of the Tamid and the passage of the Ketores — one should be very careful in saying them, and it is good to count the eleven spices on one's finger'.
And regarding the manner of the counting, the Chesed L'Alafim4 wrote to count with both hands: 'And the meticulous count the spices with the fingers, and it is good to count the eleven spices on ten fingers, so that both hands merit as one and occupy themselves with a mitzvah'.
But the Ben Ish Chai5 [and the Kaf HaChaim6 agreed with him] elaborated on this and wrote that the reason is not only so that one not forget, but rather it is in order to join a bit of action to the saying of the Ketores, and therefore he wrote to count only with the right hand, and this is his language: 'The passage of the Tamid and the Ketores one should say with great intent, for its virtues are many in number, and the reading is in place of the offering. And he should count with his fingers the spices of the balm and the onycha etc. And I wrote in the holy book Mekabtziel, with God's help, that the counting indicates importance and elevation, for this reason we hold that any thing that is counted, even among a thousand, is not nullified; and further, through this the intent is aroused more; and further, there is a reason in the counting of the fingers, for even though our reading is what ascends in place of the burning, nevertheless, because of the great glory and beauty of this mitzvah we join with the speech of our lips some movement of action, and therefore we count with the fingers in order to perform a bit of an act with our hands in this matter, and then the speech and the action are joined as if we had actually burned; and therefore it appears to me that it is good to count with the fingers of the right hand specifically, and not as some wrote that one should count with both in order to have both hands merit as one — firstly, because the action of the right is more fitting in every place, and further, because the kohen who burned in the Beis HaMikdash would burn with the right, and further I wrote there a reason to count with the fingers, for the eleven spices are refinements of the seven kings, which are the seven sefiros chagas nehi"m, and it is known that the five fingers are chesed, gevurah, tiferes, netzach, and hod, as stated in the Sha'ar HaKavanos in the discourse of the tzitzis, and it turns out that most of the seven sefiros are hinted at in the fingers of the hand, therefore he counts with them. And in the Sefer Keser Malchus, manuscript, it states that also the eleven spices that are hinted at in the verse of "take for yourself spices" etc. should likewise be counted with the fingers, that is, "take for yourself spices" — count two, and with "nataf, shecheles, and chelbenah" count three more, and with the second "spices" count five more, and with "pure levonah" count one more; and he wrote well in this, and his reasoning is sound, and so I conduct myself'.
The conduct of our Rebbeim, our Nesi'im
The conduct of the Alter Rebbe is written in the Sha'ar HaKollel7: 'Only the mekubalim had the custom that each time they say the eleven spices of the Ketores they count them with their fingers8, and it is known with certainty that so the Alter Rebbe, may his merit protect us, would conduct himself, and they saw him conducting himself thus before tefillah, even so he did not write this in his siddur, which is handled by all, and this pertains only to unique individuals'.
The conduct of the Rebbe: In the testimonies of many and likewise in the diaries it is written that the Rebbe's custom was to count, and usually with the right hand9 [the main testimonies are about the korbanos before Mincha tefillah, (and regarding the Ketores at the conclusion of Shacharis — see the note)]10.
Thus we saw that in order not to forget one of the spices of the Ketores (and also in order to join a bit of action to the saying) it is brought in the writings of the Arizal, and so too among our Rebbeim, our Nesi'im, to count the spices of the Ketores with the fingers.
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Notes:
1 פע"ח שער עולם העשיה פ"ה ↩
2 מסכת תפלת העשיה פ"ה מ"א ↩
3 מורה באצבע סי' ג אות עג ↩
4 או"ח סי' מח אות ה ↩
5 ש"א מקץ ס"ח ↩
6 סי' מח ס"ק ד ↩
7 פ"ג אות יב ↩
8 הרבי בהגהות על שער הכולל כתב: כ"ה במ"ח [מס' תפלת העשי' פ"ה מ"א] ופע"ח [ש' עולם העשיה פ"ה] ↩
9 אך היו פעמים שראו את הרבי מונה ביד שמאל, וראה הליכות מנחם ע' קמב הערה 12 ↩
10 בספר ימי בראשית ע' 206 מובאים הנהגות של הרבי מחודש מנחם אב התש"י: 'כשאומר איזה שבמנין, כמו בפטום הקטורת הצרי וכו' וכיו"ב, הוא מונה באצבעותיו הק'', *וראה שם הערה 7 לגבי הנהגת הרבי הריי"צ*. עדות מוקדמת יותר לגבי מניית הסמנים באמירת קטורת שלפני תפלת המנחה, סיפר הר' ישראל גורדון שאחרי כ' מנחם אב התש"ד בשנת האבילות על הרה"ק רבי לוי"צ, הרבי ניגש לעמוד חזן בתפלת מנחה כבר מהשלב של אמירת קרבנות וראו איך שהרבי מונה את סמני הקטורת, באצבעותיו הק', וכך גם אחר קבלת הנשיאות באחת הפעמים שהוא שימש כנהג עבור הרבי, הוא ראה שהרבי אמר ברכב את הקרבנות ומנה באצבעותיו הק' את הסמנים. ובימי מלך ח"ב ע' 633 מסופר ג"כ שראו שהרבי נהג כך כשהתפלל מנחה בעש"ק בזאל הקטן לפני הנשיאות. וכן העידו כמה שראו איך שהרבי מונה עם האצבעות באמירת הקטורת במנחה של שבת. *ולגבי תפלת שחרית* במעשה מלך (ע' 3 והערה 9, וע' 24) כתבו שכן הרבי נהג בקטורת שלפני התפלה, ולא בעת אמירת פיטום הקטורת שלפני עלינו, מאידך בהליכות מנחם שם ע' קמב כתבו שהרבי כן מנה, וכ"כ בקובץ מנהגי מלך (טייכמן) אלא שציין: 'בשנים האחרונות עושה זאת באופן שאינו בולט כלל'. ויש מי שראה את הרבי מונה עם האצבעות [של היד השמאלית!] בתפילת מוסף של ו' תשרי התשל"ט ↩
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