Will You Invite the King to Your Succah Meal?
On Ya'alei VeYavo in Birkat Hamazon
Post date: Oct 19, 2016 8:58:11 AM
Two years ago, after giving a communal Pesach Seder, one of the participants congratulated me on a wonderful evening "but", so he claimed, "you said one word too much". Now, the complete Haggadah is roughly 6245 words (in Hebrew) so I wondered which word he meant. He explained that in the segment "Ya'alei VeYavo" which we add to the Grace after the Meal/ Birkat Hamazon on some festive occasions (such as Pesach and Succot), I added the word "Melech" (= King) when I said כי אל מלך חנון ורחום אתה Ki El Melech Chanun VeRachum Atta (For You are the Almighty, gracious and merciful KING).
I was very surprised to hear his complaint because I had thought this to be the regular "nussach" (accepted version) and the word "King" is never omitted but upon further investigation did I notice that although it is never omitted during the synagogue prayers, in the Birkat Hamazon (Grace After Meal) many versions have the word Melech/ King in brackets.
[Picture taken from "Birkas Hamazon" Artscroll]
As it turns out, some authorities hold that one does NOT mention the King in Ya'alei veYavo during the Grace After the Meal (Abudraham quoting Ra'avad, Shaloh, and others). The reason is that in the blessing to which we add this section, God's kingdom is not included because in it we pray for the reemergence of king David's reign and it would be improper to plead for God's kingdom and for David's as if both were of equal status (Talmidei R' Yonah, Rosh).
But if the word "King" should be omitted according to some, then why leave it in brackets? The answer is that on Rosh Hashana (The Jewish New Year) on which the concept of God as King is the leitmotiv of the day ALL agree that the word should be mentioned.
To sum up, during synagogue prayer, the "King" is always mentioned. During Grace After Meal on Rosh Hashana it is always mentioned too. Some authorities hold that on other days we should NOT say the word, hence some texts have the word in brackets or omit it all together. Seeing the word in brackets in a Haggadah is therefore slightly confusing because Pesach will never fall on Rosh Hashana! That just shows the printer/ editor took the Grace After Meal from a prayer book (which also includes prayers to be said at home) and copied it without thinking twice.
On the Festival of Sucut which we are celebrating now, we also add the Ya'alei veYavo prayer. So these days one will have to decide whether to mention "Hamelech" in Birkat Hamazon or to say "Ki El Chanun Verachum Atta".
(Based on the Artscroll "Birkas Hamazon")