24 Sep Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, & Aseres Yemei Teshuva

During the Aseres Yemei Teshuva we add special requests in the first and last brachos of Shmoneh Esrei (zochreinu, mi chamocha etc.) We add more tefillos on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur to the bracha of Ata Kadosh i.e. we add u’vchein tein pachdecha.

We find a machlokes in the Tur (584) on this topic. Some of the geonim felt one should not add zachreinu and mi chamochabecause a person is not supposed to ask for bakashos during the first three brachos of Shmoneh Esrei. Rav Hai Gaon argued with this position and clarified that a person can’t ask for private bakashos; however, if you were asking bakashos for the tzibbur, then it would be allowed. In Meseches Sofrim it is brought down that we only add zachreinu and mi chamocha on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, but not during the rest of Aseres Yemei Teshuva. The reason for this is that since they are bakashos, the chachamim only allowed them to be said on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, which are yemei hadin. The Tur concludes that we say it during all of Aseres Yemei Teshuva. The Tur wonders why we don’t add the bracha of ata kadosh also during all of Aseres Yemei Teshuva. He concludes that there are places where u’vchein tein pachdecha was added during all of Aseres Yemei Teshuva.

To summarize, we have three opinions here: The first is Meseches Sofrim where we only add to our tefilos on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. The second opinion, which is the Tur, says that we add zachreinu and uvchein tein pachdecha during all of Aseres Yemei Teshuva. The third opinion is that we add zachreinu during all of Aseres Yemei Teshuva, whereas we add u’vchein tein pachdecha only on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

We can explain all opinions as follows. The shitta of Meseches Sofrim which states that we only add during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur could be because the gemara in Rosh Hashana says that we are judged on Rosh Hashana, but the beinonim have the Aseres Yemei Teshuva to correct their ways and ultimately are judged on Yom Kippur. We see from this that Aseres Yemei Teshuva are not judgment days. If we say that we add u’vchein tein pachdecha for all Aseres Yemei Tesuvos, then we would say that all ten days are an extension of the judgment and therefore we add both zachreinu and u’vchein tein pachdecha. We just need to explain our minhagthat we add only zachreinu and not u’vechein tein pachdecha. We could say that the pesukim of u’vchein tein pachdecha is a lashon of gilui malchus, bringing out the kingdom of Hashem, and that we only do on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashana and YomKippur are the days when Hashem is on his throne judging us, whereas the bakashos of zachreinu that are preparing us for Yom Kippur we need to say during all the days of Aseres Yemei Teshuva prior to the day of judgment. May we all be zocheh badin.