The order of blessings (on Rosh Hashanah): He says avoth [magen Avraham], and gevuroth [atah gibor], and kedushath Hashem [kadosh, kadosh], and he includes malchuyoth with them. And he does not blow. (He says) kedushath hayom [atah bechartanu], and he blows; zichronoth, and he blows; shofroth, and he blows. [These are derived from verses: It is written (Leviticus 23:24): "zichron teruah," which our sages expounded: "zichron" — these are "zichronoth"; "teruah" — these are "shofroth." And it is written (Numbers 10:10): "And they shall be to you as a memorial before your G-d; I am the L-rd your G-d." Why mention "I am the L-rd your G-d"? It is intended as a prototype, viz.: Wherever zichronoth ("memorials") and shofroth are recited (as they are on Rosh Hashanah - "zichron teruah"), malchuyoth (acknowledgments of G-d's reign) are to be recited along with them.] And he says avodah (retzeh), and hoda'ah (modim), and birchath Cohanim. These are the words of R. Yochanan b. Nuri. R. Akiva said to him: If he does not blow for malchuyoth, why does he mention (them)? Rather, he says avoth, gevuroth, and kedushath Hashem; and he includes malchuyoth with kedushath hayom and he blows; zichronoth, and he blows; shofroth, and he blows. And he says avodah, hoda'ah, and birchath Cohanim. [The halachah is in accordance with R. Akiva.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
אבות – “The Shield of Abraham.”
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English Explanation of Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
Introduction
The Amidah prayer said at Mussaf on Rosh Hashanah is the longest and most unique Amidah of the year. It contains the three blessings which begin every Amidah “patriarchs”, which concludes ‘magen Avraham’; “powers”, which concludes ‘mehayeh hametim’; and “the sanctification of the day”, which concludes ‘hael hakadosh’, or ‘hamelekh hakadosh’ between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
The Amidah ends with the same three prayers with which it always ends, “blessing of the Temple service (begins with R’tzeh) and “thanksgiving” (begins with modim) and the blessing of the priests (sim shalom it is called the blessing of the priests because it begins with the priestly blessing).
There are three middle blessings, but the rabbis in our mishnah disagree about what these are. There are actually four topics which are mentioned in these three blessings. The first is the sanctification of the day, a blessing said on every festival. The other three are unique to Rosh Hashanah. They are “kingship (Malkhuyot)”, “Remembrance (Zikhronot)” and “Shofarot.” Each of the sections contains the recitation of relevant biblical verses, along with a liturgical composition and a concluding blessing.
In our mishnah the rabbis argue about the composition of these three middle blessings. We should emphasize that they agree concerning the content, and they agree that there are three and not four blessings. They also all agree that we blow the shofar three times during the Amidah. They also agree that “kingship” is not a separate blessing. In the points of agreement are far greater than the points of disagreement. They disagree only concerning which blessing “kingship” is combined with, and when precisely we blow the shofar.
You might want to look at a Rosh Hashanah Mahzor while studying this mishnah.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
גבורות – “You are mighty”
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English Explanation of Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
The order of blessings [in the Musaf Amidah of Rosh Hashanah]: He says “patriarchs”, “powers” and the “sanctification of the name” and includes the kingship verses with them and does not blow [the shofar]. The sanctification of the day and blows [the shofar], the remembrance-verses and blows [the shofar], and the shofar-verses and blows [the shofar]. Then he says the blessing of the Temple service and “thanksgiving” and the blessing of the priests, the words of Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri. According to Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri the special kingship verses are combined with the “sanctification of the day” blessing but the shofar is not blown during this blessing. He then recites the sanctification of the day blessing (kedushat hayom) and finally the other two special Rosh Hashanah blessings remembrance and shofarot. He blows the shofar during all three of these blessings. He then completes the Amidah in the normal fashion.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
קדושת השם – “Holy, Holy, Holy” (Isaiah 6:3)
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English Explanation of Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
Rabbi Akiva said to him: if he does not blow the shofar for the kingship-verses, why should he say them? The kingship-verses are one of the three sections of the Amidah that are unique to Rosh Hashanah. According to Rabbi Akiva, it wouldn’t make sense to recite these verses without blowing the shofar.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
קדושת היום – you have chosen us
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English Explanation of Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
Rather he says: “patriarchs”, “powers” and the “sanctification of the name” and includes the kingship verse with the sanctification of the day and blows the shofar, then he says the remembrance-verses and blows, and the shofar-verses and blows. Then he says the Temple service and “thanksgiving” and the blessing of the priest. Therefore, Rabbi Akiva suggests a different order. First he should recite the normal three blessings which begin each Amidah, without any deviation. Then he includes “kingship” with the sanctification of the day blessing, and blows the shofar as well. Then he recites the other special Rosh Hashanah blessings remembrance and shofarot. He then completes the Amidah in the normal fashion. Our Rosh Hashanah Mussaf Amidah today follows that of Rabbi Akiva.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
זכרונות ותוקע שופרות ותוקע – It is derived from Biblical verses, as it is written (Leviticus 23:24): “a sacred occasion commemorated with loud blasts.” And the Rabbis expounded upon this that the word זכרון/remembrance – means Zikhronot; תרועה/loud blasts – are Shofarot, and the Bible states (Numbers 10:10): “They shall be a reminder of you before your God; I, the LORD, am your God.” What do the words, “I, the LORD, am your God” come to teach us? It teaches that in every place where there is Zikronot and Shofarot, there should be Malkhuyot with them.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Rosh Hashanah
אר"ע וכו' – And the Halakha is according to Rabbi Akiba.
