The Language of Blessing

The question

Hebrew comes in two registers: leshon hamikra, the Torah's own words, and leshon chachamim, the idiom of the Mishnah and the Sages. Chazal composed our blessings, but whose Hebrew did they use? Rav Yaakov notices that the Shulchan Aruch (the Mechaber, R. Yosef Karo) and the Rema (R. Moshe Isserles) disagree on the wording of three blessings, and in each case the split is the same.

Theory one: a real dispute about style

ונראה שפליגי אי חז״ל תקנו הברכות לפי לשון התורה או לפי לשון חכמים

“It seems they disagree whether Chazal instituted the blessings according to the language of the Torah or the language of the Sages.” The Vilna Gaon already read the challah dispute this way: באיזו סגנון צריך לברך, אם בלשון המקרא או בלשון המשנה. On this reading the Mechaber and the Rema are each consistent (אזלי לשיטתייהו): the Mechaber picks Torah language every time and the Rema picks the Sages' language every time.

Theory two: they don't disagree at all

דאם המצוה היא דאורייתא תקנו ברכתה בלשון המקרא, ואם קיום המצוה אינה אלא מדרבנן גם נוסחת הברכה בלשון חכמים תקנוה

“If the mitzvah is from the Torah, they instituted its blessing in the language of Scripture; if fulfilling the mitzvah is only rabbinic, they also instituted the blessing's text in the language of the Sages.” Both agree on the rule. What differs is the mitzvah's status:

• Challah: the Mechaber lived in Eretz Yisrael, where challah is a Torah obligation, so he writes להפריש תרומה. The Rema lived in Poland, where challah is rabbinic, so he writes להפריש חלה.
• Havdalah: the Rambam holds havdalah is d'oraita, like Kiddush. The Mechaber rules נשים חייבות בהבדלה כשם שחייבות בקידוש, so for him it is from the Torah: בין הקודש ובין החול. The Rema rules לא יבדילו לעצמן, worrying that it is only rabbinic, so he writes בין קודש לחול.
• Shemini Atzeret: in Eretz Yisrael it is one day and always from the Torah, so the Mechaber uses the Torah's name. Outside the Land there are two days, and the second, Simchat Torah, is rabbinic. If the Rema said “Yom Shemini” on day one and “Shemini Atzeret” on day two, אתי לזלזולי ביום טוב של שמחת תורה: the different wording would lead people to belittle Simchat Torah. So he says יום שמיני עצרת on both days.

Source: Emet LeYaakov (new edition), Vayikra, Parashat Shemini (on 10:10) and Parashat Emor (on 23:36), pp. 443–444, with Shulchan Aruch O.C. 296, 299, 668 and Y.D. 328.

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