06 Jun REVITALIZING OUR DAVENING – PART ELEVEN

Last week, we started
our discussion of the
seventh bracha, R’eih
v’anyeinu. We mentioned
the opinion of Rashi who
says the blessing refers to
daily afflictions, a petition
for redemption from
present challenges rather
than referring to the final
redemption. We offered
the explanation of the Siddur Hameforush
– that “afflictions” is referring to problems
which occur from antisemitic sources. In
this article, we will discuss some alternate
understandings of this bracha.
The simplest interpretation is that “R’eih
v’anyeinu – See our afflictions,” means the
daily challenges we experience from people
who are unfair to us – perhaps a boss, who
is riding us unfairly. It might be a business
competitor who is acting wrongly or an
envious associate, neighbor, colleague, who
out of jealousy is harassing us. We ask
Hashem to ‘take note,’ V’rivah riveinu, fight
our battles. In other words, please Hashem,
we don’t want to get involved in the poison
of machlokes, starting fights. We don’t want
to get our minds dirty with bearing grudges
or with thoughts of hate, nor do we want to
get our hands dirty with acts of nekamah,
vengeance. We don’t want to get our mouths

dirty with sins of lashon hara and rechilus,
evil gossip and tale bearing. So, we ask You,
Hashem, please step in, fight our fights and
remove the problem.
We cap off this request by pleading that
Hashem should do it lema’an Sh’mecha, for
the sake of Your Name. This refers to His
Name of Shalom, Peace. Please Hashem, for
the sake of Peace, remove the friction between
me and others.
Another important idea to have in mind when
saying this blessing is shared with us by the
Yaaros Devash. He says that we should pray
for the redemption of the nidchei Yisroel, those
Jews who have been ‘pushed away.’ This can

refer to the children in pain, the many off-the-
derech. We say to Hashem, see our pain as we

watch Jewish children sporting tattoos, body
piercings and nauseating hair styles, as we
watch the casualties of the woke generation
-adolescents who are confused about their
sexual persuasion or even their gender. We ask
lema’an Sh’mecha, for the sake of Your Name,
for You are known as the Rachum v’Chanun,
the Merciful and Gracious One. We cap it off
with Ki go’eil chazak Attah, For You are a
powerful redeemer, since although turnabout
for these children looks bleak and hopeless,
for You, Hashem, anything is possible.
I would like to suggest another delicate
meaning to this blessing. When attempting

to define what v’anyeinu means in this
bracha, let’s take a look at the Hagaddah shel
Pesach. There it says, “Vayar es anyeinu; zu
prishus derech eretz – And Hashem saw our
afflictions; this refers to the lack of marital
intimacy (because the Egyptians blocked the
women from going to the mikvah and kept the
husbands in the field and the women at home).
The Hagaddah continues, Vayeida Elokim,
that only Hashem knew the problem for this
is a matter of privacy only revealed to Hashem
Above.
Thus, this blessing also refers to couples
that are suffering from dissatisfaction or
dysfunction in marital intimacy. They say
R’eih v’anyeinu, “Hashem, You can see our
pain.” Please help resolve our issue, be it
physical, emotional, or because of friction
in the home. Please Hashem, do it lema’an
Sh’mecha, for the sake of Your Name, for
when a husband and wife successfully become
as one, the yud in the word ish (husband) and
hei in isha (wife) fuse to make Hashem’s
Name Ka”h, yud and hei.
This is the meaning of “Ish v’isha, shalom
beineihem, shechina shruya beineihem –
Husband and wife, if there is peace between
them, the shechina rests between them.” This
also the reason why the Talmudic word for
marital intimacy is bi’ah, which is an anagram
of Ba Kah, Hashem comes. Unfortunately, it
is also an anagram of eivah, enmity because if

it is an unsuccessful pursuit, it creates enmity
between the husband and the wife. Thus, we
petition Hashem to help in this area, Ki go’eil
chazak Attah, for He is a mighty Redeemer
and He can aid us in resolving our issues. It
is interesting to note that in nusach Ashkenaz
there are 17 words in this blessing which is the
gematria of Tov which refers to the blessings
of a good wife.(matza isha matza tov).
In the merit of realizing that our salvation
is in the hands of Hashem, may He bless us
with long life, good health, and everything
wonderful.