In the Avodah service, several prostrations were instituted for the congregation, as already stated in the Mishnah (Yoma, chapter 6): He came to the goat sent away and placed both hands upon it and confessed. Thus he would say: Please, Hashem, Your people, the House of Israel, have acted perversely, transgressed, and sinned before You. Please, by the Name, atone for the iniquities, transgressions, and sins that Your people, the House of Israel, have perversely committed, transgressed, and sinned before You, as it is written in the Torah of Moshe Your servant, saying (Vayikra 16): “For on this day he shall atone for you, to purify you; from all your sins before Hashem, you shall be purified.” The Kohanim and the people standing in the Azarah, when they heard the Explicit Name emerging from the mouth of the Kohen Gadol, would kneel, prostrate themselves, fall upon their faces, and say: “Blessed be the Name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever.”
However, in the Avodah service today, the shaliach tzibbur recites everything as follows: Atone, please, for the iniquities … as it is said, “For on this day he shall atone for you, to purify you; from all your sins before Hashem,” [without the words “you shall be purified”, and he continues:] “The Kohanim and the people standing in the Azarah, when they heard,” etc. “He too would intend to complete the Name together with those reciting the blessing,” [and here he concludes the verse] and says, “you shall be purified.”
This seems difficult to me, for we rule: “Any verse that Moshe did not divide, we may not divide”! Especially since it concerns the most sacred Name, which atones for our sins—how can we, chas v’shalom, treat it improperly?
It would seem preferable that there was a note for the prompter[3] to recite the section: “The Kohanim and the people standing in the Azarah,” etc. … “would kneel, prostrate themselves, and say: Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuso l’olam va’ed. He too would intend to complete the Name together with those reciting the blessing and would say …” [Here the shaliach tzibbur would complete the verse:] “you shall be purified”—without interrupting the verse. This is supported by two reasons:
- For this is indeed how it occurred in the Beis HaMikdash! The Kohen would recite the entire verse and prolong it reverently, with kavannah for the Explicit Name, while the congregation would recite the praise of Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuso l’olam va’ed. This is precisely like the enactment that we say “Blessed is He and blessed is His Name” whenever we hear Hashem’s Name (as the commentators there explain).
- Moreover, this is in fact the wording of the Mishnah: Please, by the Name, atone for the iniquities … (Vayikra 16), “For on this day he shall atone for you, to purify you; from all your sins before Hashem, you shall be purified.” [Afterward, the Mishnah teaches:] “The Kohanim and the people standing in the Azarah, when they were…”
Therefore, this requires further examination in the formulations of the early authorities, or whether any of the poskim discussed it. If it is possible to amend it, it would not seem invalid for the prompter to say, “The Kohanim and the people,” for after all, this is a beautiful piyyut describing the Avodah service. It is not proper to interrupt such an awe-inspiring verse.
