וְלַמַּלְשִׁינִים אַל תְּהִי תִקְוָה וְכָל הָרִשְׁעָה כְּרֶגַע תֹּאבֵד וְכָל אֹיְבֶיךָ מְהֵרָה יִכָּרֵתוּ וְהַזֵּדִים מְהֵרָה תְעַקֵּר וּתְשַׁבֵּר וּתְמַגֵּר וְתַכְנִיעַ בִּמְהֵרָה בְיָמֵינוּ: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ שׁוֹבֵר אֹיְבִים וּמַכְנִיעַ זֵדִים – Let there be no hope for informers and may all wickedness instantly perish; may all the enemies of Your people be swiftly cut off, and may You quickly uproot, crush, rout and humiliate the wicked ones, speedily in our days. Blessed are You, Hashem, Crusher of enemies and Subduer of the wicked.
Background and history
The Amida prayer, also known as Shemoneh Esrei, is named for the eighteen original component blessings. This blessing is the nineteenth and was a late addition to the received text.
The era of the Second Beis haMikdash was a time of significant cultural, philosophical, political, and religious change and upheaval. The age of prophecy had ceased, and the land of Israel was under foreign occupation, variously between the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans, each bringing powerful influences with them. Multiple religious factions and sects emerged at this time, including the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Sicarii Zealots, and early Christians.
This period was marked by constant internal strife and civil war between competing factions; our sages highlight that even the sacred role of Kohen Gadol became a point of political and religious contention.
The end of this era is marked by the last of many Jewish-Roman wars, the Bar Kochba revolt. Roman rule was deeply unpopular among the Jewish population, especially after the destruction of the Second Beis HaMikdash. The Romans maintained a sizeable military presence across the province. They pushed unpopular changes, including the desecration of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount the building of a pagan shrine where the Beis haMikdash had stood.
Bar Kochba was a charismatic figure who captured the hearts and minds of the people; he led an uprising against the Roman Empire, with multiple initial rebel victories allowing for the establishment of a stable, independent Jewish territory that lasted several years. Bar Kochba was appointed leader of the provisional state and, as a result of his successes, was widely regarded as the Mashiach who would rebuild the Beis Hamikdash and permanently restore Jewish national independence and sovereignty.
Apart from popular support, Bar Kochba also had rabbinic support from no less than Rabbi Akiva, the legendary sage who was eventually executed as one of Judaism’s Ten Martyrs. Rabbi Akiva was the spiritual leader of the revolution, proclaiming him as Mashiach, and actually gave Bar Kochba his name, rather than his actual name, Simon Bar Koziba, meaning “Son of a Star,” a reference to the Star Prophecy in Numbers 24:17: “A star rises from Jacob.”
But the revolution failed; Hadrian assembled a large army and launched an extensive military campaign, ultimately crushing the revolt, leading to a total defeat of Bar Kochba’s forces and catastrophic consequences for the Jewish population, with profound loss of life, extensive forced displacements, and widespread enslavement.
After losing many strongholds, Bar Kochba and the remnants of his army withdrew to the fortress of Betar, which subsequently came under Roman siege and was the site of their final defeat.
The Jewish resistance had provisions and would not give up; our sages teach that the saintly Rabbi Elazar, Bar Kochba’s uncle, was present, and people believed that his prayers shielded the city and that the fortress would not fall as long as he lived. Among the factions in the town were Samaritans, whose loyalty to the Jewish People was doubtful. One day, as Rabbi Eliezer was deeply immersed in prayer, a Samaritan came up and whispered something he could not hear; this was reported to Bar Kochba, who became suspicious. Under interrogation, the Samaritan would not share the secret he whispered and incriminated Rabbi Eliezer. Bar Kochva guessed that Rabbi Eliezer was negotiating peace with the Romans behind his back and killed his uncle. The people within the fortress lost their war spirit, and the Samaritans found it a relatively easy task to bring in the Romans, who massacred the defenders and went on a genocidal rampage, slaughtering Jews up and down the country. Our sages teach that the fortress was breached on Tisha B’av, the archetypal day of mourning, and describe the scale of suffering in colossal and monstrous terms, describing rivers of blood with body counts in the millions.
The Samaritan understood that Bar Kochba’s power was derived from prayer and righteousness, not skill, strategy, or strength; he recognized and believed in its power enough to understand that it had to be sabotaged, and everyone died. This is particularly shocking because it’s one thing not to share a belief and dismiss it but another to believe in it and still work to undermine it.
It was in this period of deep rift and division that this blessing was arranged.
Drafting
Our sages teach how Rabban Gamliel stood before the gathered sages in Yavneh and asked if anyone knew how to draft a prayer against the traitors among and all around them. This was challenging because it is different from every other prayer, which are all prayers for the benefit of our families, communities, and people. This is a prayer against something, a group, or an archetype that stands against us: the prayer is loaded with negative sentiment, wishing for the destruction of another.
Out of all the great sages alive, Shmuel haKatan stepped forward and volunteered to draft it.
There is a remarkable teaching nested within this teaching.
Our sages teach that Shmuel haKatan was worthy of being a prophet, except his generation did not merit prophecy; he is famed for one particular teaching: do not rejoice at the downfall of your enemy.
The person who introduces and embodies this teaching is the only person who could design this blessing; there is no joy to be had in destroying another; it is purely functional, neutralizing the destructive capacity of the enemy.
Other sources of this teaching
There are other illustrations of this teaching. When the Jewish People crossed the Red Sea and the almighty Egyptian army was drowned and vanquished forever, our sages teach that the angels tried to sing, and God would not allow them to. The destruction of the Egyptian military might have been necessary, but singing about it would be inappropriate, and any sense of joy is misplaced; in other words, do not rejoice at the downfall of your enemy.
So, instead of song, they share the sentiment of this blessing, as taught by the sage who eventually would draft it.
The Rambam teaches that although a parent can forgo their honor, a scholar cannot and must take revenge like a snake because mocking a scholar is mocking the Torah, not just the person and it is not the scholar’s honor to forgive. The imagery utilized here is to strike precisely like a snake; the archetypal snake of Eden is cursed to have no taste buds, so anything a snake eats is as bland as dust.
As the famous line goes, revenge is sweet. A scholar must not taste that sweetness; it can’t be personal. The correct action is to defend the Torah’s honor, not your own; in other words, do not rejoice at the downfall of your enemy.
Twelfth blessing
This is the twelfth blessing of the Amida. The number twelve in Judaism corresponds to the twelve tribes that constitute the united Jewish People. Since twelve is associated with unity, it doesn’t seem like a prayer for the destruction of the enemy matches the theme at all.
The bracha was inserted as the twelfth bracha – this parallels the twelve shevatim of Bnei Yisrael. With twelve tribes, we are a unity. The parallel runs deep – the history of the twelve tribes shows the danger of what takes place when they are fragmented. The split between the brothers is described in Bereishis 37:17 – the pasuk tells us that Yosef was told נָסְעוּ מִזֶּה – “They have traveled away from here” – Rashi remarks that the deeper meaning of the brothers had traveled from there is that they had left where Yosef was – הסיעו עצמן מן האחוה – “they had taken themselves from brotherhood.” (We can further add that they departed from זֶּה – which has the value of 7+5=12. They had left the idea of twelve brothers). Troubles begin when the idea of unity fragments.
Zusha
A story is told about Reb Zusha of Hanipol, whose humility was legendary. One day on his anonymous travels, someone bumped into him at a shul and yelled at him, thinking Reb Zusha was just another beggar. Later that week, the man heard the famous Reb Zusha was in town and was dismayed to find that this was the beggar he had screamed at. He came begging and crying for forgiveness.
Reb Zusha responded that as Zusha, he could happily forgive, but as an anonymous beggar, how could he forgive the abuse of a poor, simple Jew? He couldn’t forgive that.
Textual variants: לַמִּינִים וְלַמַּלְשִׁינִים / וְלַמַּלְשִׁינִים
The word for heretic in this prayer is MIN, named for a person called MANNI, who popularized the belief in dualism, the belief in two opposed powers or gods, or sets of divine or demonic beings that cause the world to exist. Another word for heretic is apikores, and adopted variant of Epicureanism, a highly influential school of ancient Greek philosophy that teaches that although the gods exist, they have no ongoing involvement in human affairs.
The Sefardic text reads לַמִּינִים וְלַמַּלְשִׁינִים, whereas the Ashkenaz variant only reads וְלַמַּלְשִׁינִים. The Sefardic text is original, and the Ashkenaz variant is censored because European Jewry lived in the shadow of the all-powerful Church for well over a millennium; there are many instances of Jewish self-censorship to prevent backlash or reprisal. Among others, references to Gentiles were frequently modified to AK” UM, meaning pagan, a definition that would exclude Christians, who are not pagans. The Sefardic communities did not live with the religious suppression that Ashkenaz Jewry suffered.
וְלַמַּלְשִׁינִים – And the informers
Aside from the incident of the Samaritan in Betar, our sages record many stories of Jews who turned on each other. In the last siege of Jerusalem, the city had a twenty-one-year supply of food and water and could outlast any siege. But there was a faction of zealots that didn’t want to stay behind the walls – קנאים / בריונים. They wanted to fight, so they burned the supplies and provisions, forcing the city to fight. Jerusalem starved, Jerusalem fought, and Jerusalem was destroyed.
אַל תְּהִי תִקְוָה – Let there be no hope
When people turn on each other, it’s because they hope for something, whether it’s power, money, or revenge. This is a request to neutralize their incentive, that any thought of gain is hopeless and empty – אַל תְּהִי תִקְוָה.
This can be true on multiple levels. At the most basic level, this is a prayer to neutralize enemies of the Jewish People, external and internal. But beyond that, it can also be true of an aspect within ourselves.
Everyone gossips; it’s a sociological feature of human culture and can have certain critical positive functions. That being said, there are many rules about when it’s permitted, and most gossip is probably of the unauthorized kind. We gossip about others to hurt them, to take them down a peg or two, that they’re not better than you in any way – we have a right to correct that false impression!
We can direct this prayer internally to lose the hope of having the right to that. If you didn’t hope to feel better by gossiping, you wouldn’t do it – אַל תְּהִי תִקְוָה.
There is no question of free will in this prayer. Praying to avoid the situation is a free exercise of your choice; you are choosing to avoid gossip, asking for help neutralizing an ugly aspect of your personality and behavior. Let the evil inclination have no hope – אַל תְּהִי תִקְוָה.
In a mystical sense, it can be a reference to the accusing angels, the divine prosecution in the Heavenly court – let there be no hope for them – אַל תְּהִי תִקְוָה.
וְכָל הָרִשְׁעָה כְּרֶגַע תֹּאבֵד – and may all wickedness instantly perish
This prayer targets the notion of evil; it’s not a prayer for the destruction of individuals – רִשְׁעָה not רשעים. It’s essential to remember to hate the sin, not the sinner – אֹהֲבֵי ה שִׂנְאוּ־רָע. It can even be a prayer directed at ourselves, that if we say something wrong, let it be harmless and weak.
Fascinatingly, this has also been interpreted as a reference to the evil inclination in all it’s forms; Moshe called it the stubborn heart, David called it impure, Shlomo called it the enemy, Isaiah called it the stumbling block, Ezekiel called it the heart of stone, and Joel called it the hidden one.
The prayer anticipates the destruction of evil in one moment, not in the sense of quickly, but in the sense that when a moment passes, it’s gone, irretrievably lost forever. There is a similar sentiment in the Rosh Hashana prayers – Ke’ashan tichleh
The moment of God’s revelation is the moment any proofs, theories, or disagreements are redundant; ambiguity is obliterated – תֹּאבֵד. We believe that in the days of Mashiach, the essence of evil would be eliminated.
וְכָל אֹיְבֶיךָ מְהֵרָה יִכָּרֵתוּ – may all the enemies of Your people be swiftly cut off
This prayer was drafted at the assembly in Yavneh. Yavneh is an acronym for wine, spice, candle, and separation, the Havdala ceremony that divides the sanctity of Shabbos from the mundane week – YUD BEIS NUN HEIH ETC.
Yavne holds a special place in Jewish history because of its contribution to Judaism’s recovery following the destruction of the Second Beis haMikdash and marks a crucial point in the development of the Judaism we know today.
The assembly at Yavneh was the preparation for the unprecedented that followed, and that continues to this day; it established separation for the Jewish People in exile.
This prayer is a request to separate and filter out the harmful elements and destructive influences we encounter.
וְהַזֵּדִים מְהֵרָה תְעַקֵּר וּתְשַׁבֵּר וּתְמַגֵּר וְתַכְנִֽיעַ – may You quickly uproot, crush, rout and humiliate the wicked ones, speedily in our days
These words seem pretty similar but specifically seem to use imagery of a tree: uproot, break, cast down, and humiliate, which are different from destruction and cutting off – תֹּאבֵד / יִכָּרֵֽתוּ. Something you’re acting on exists and hasn’t been destroyed; something that’s destroyed doesn’t exist and can’t be acted upon.
There is a lot of evil in our world. There always has been, and although we’re a little more civilized in some respects, there’s still plenty of evil out there. There is insatiable greed
and materialism; lawless violence; poverty; hunger; corruption; human traffricking; endless wars; pollution; and an assortment of other moral failings.
We ask for the destruction of evil; the root of these evils is often a distorted view of morality where people worship themselves or worship a god made in their image who hates all the same people they hate. The cure for both is a correct understanding of what is right and good, and we ask God for revelation that will make evil disappear; wickedness will collapse into nothing.
When we ask for enemies to be cut off rather than destroyed, it’s a reference to internal enemies, members of the Jewish People trying to hurt us. We ask for them to be isolated so they can’t hurt us. You are in grave danger if you’re standing in front of a tiger. But if there is a fence between you and the tiger and the tiger is confined to a zoo exhibit, you are not in danger at all; some things are only dangerous if they interact directly, but perfectly safe when isolated.
Evil in the Modern Wrold
One of the ugly developments in the post-Second World War order is the rise of global terrorism as an effective strategy, the use of intentional violence and fear to achieve political or ideological aims, mostly against innocent civilians.
One of the reasons it emerged as an effective strategy is because the days of conventional battlefield warfare are mainly in the past; most people don’t want to face the best armies in the world. But a lone gunman or suicide bomber is exceptionally difficult to spot; they leave such a tiny trail yet cause incredible damage and chaos. How many billions of times have people had to take off their shoes, coats, belts, and watches because of one crazy fanatic?
It’s not hard to learn how to make a bomb, buy a gun, or even pick up a knife or get behind the steering wheel. It’s not hard to think how many schools and shuls lack basic security. This line of thinking is scary; that’s the point. That’s why terrorism is such an effective strategy.
Who is the latest authoritarian strongman with a radical agenda posturing against global stability? At every time in recent history, there’s always been a fear of someone crazy enough to push the red button and launch the world into nuclear war, whether it was the US, Soviet Union, Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, or whoever comes next as well.
When we pray for our enemies to be cut off from us, to separate us from their ability to harm us, the words are real in the plainest sense. Whether it’s that they have no access to us, or their missiles are out of range, or they fail to develop their technology correctly, or their infrastructure collapses, it’s all the same – מְהֵרָה יִכָּרֵֽתוּ.
What’s more, other dangers are less obvious but still dangerously subversive; there are various movements committed to outlawing circumcision and shechita, and there are multiple global movements committed to demonizing and isolating the State of Israel and any company that does business there.
It’s all the same. Let them be cut off from us, don’t let them hurt us – מְהֵרָה יִכָּרֵתוּ.
Uprooting
Whatever their roots are, wherever their power base is, uproot it, whatever they’re relying on. Whether it’s money, political support, weapons, or misinformation that sustains the pipeline of people who become terrorists
Destroy
Even after they’ve been uprooted, they may still be dangerous, destroy them.
Cast down
People may no longer follow an idea, goal, or dream, but lone individuals can still carry out that idea. The Confederacy lost the American Civil War, but there are still people committed to white supremacy. The Nazis lost, but there are still people who believe in Aryan hatred.
When things break, they can still be fixed; we ask here to make these broken things unusable and not salvageable.
Humiliated
After asking God to eliminate any destructive capacity, we ask God to humiliate the idea itself. There are people who believe that killing a bunch of innocent people on a plane, train, or bus is a glorious thing that is the fast-track ticket to heaven. Imagine a person thinking of killing. A group of people innocent people in a plane. But what if instead, everyone agreed that was ridiculous? It would be humiliating to have that belief.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ שׁוֹבֵר אֹיבִים וּמַכְנִֽיעַ זֵדִים – Blessed are You, Hashem, Crusher of enemies and Subduer of the insolent.
The first subject is hidden enemies – אֹיבִים. These are adversaries whose identities are unknown and seek our harm but are not yet active. The prayer asks for these enemies to be “cut off” or neutralized since their potential for harm is latent.
The second subject refers to the enemies in the open – זֵדִים. These adversaries are actively causing harm, and their impact is visible. The prayer requests that they be humiliated to counteract their influence.
Taking it all together
This prayer has layers that can be taken as references to external enemies, internal enemies, the parts of ourselves that are destructive, and the divine prosecution.
But beyond safety, there is also an aspect of how non-religious individuals might perceive Judaism. When people read stories about the Jewish community or misunderstand the inner workings, it has an effect. There is an impact when we tell stories about an experience at shul, yeshiva, camp, or the community.
This prayer is about much more than government informants; we can subtly lower people’s esteem for and opinion of Judaism without ever intending to. We influence people in our circles who influence people in theirs; we pray for the sharpness of these interactions to be neutralized, for bad influences to be unpopular and lose momentum, and that people shouldn’t seek advice or guidance from people with the wrong ideas.
People can think whatever they wish, but let them have no motivation to drag anyone else down; let them feel nothing to gain.
Unity and pluralism
NEEDS WORK
On the one hand, this bracha talks about unity; on the other hand, it talks about separation. The concept of unity doesn’t mean that a person says anything and everything is ok. Because then you haven’t united anything.
If unity means you can take every single person with every value they hold dear and say this is part of the Jewish value system, there is no unity. You have broken the thing itself that you’re trying to unite underneath. On the same bracha of 12, the same bracha of unity, and sometimes, for the sake of unity, we need separation. Sometimes, we must discern the difference between emes and what hurts ky. To understand the lifestyle that is working to produce well-committed Jews and the ideas, cultures, and lifestyles that produce Jews that couldn’t care less about their Judaism or their commitment to it.
Ultimately, what we are davening for is not the destruction of that thing but rather a way for that to work for a way back into their hearts. That’s why the bracha, we so carefully, just once, with only one person being able to make the bracha, remains in the position of the 12th.