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Last week, we wrote about some of the proper and improper pauses in davening, including:
HAMELECH HAYOSHEV AL KISEI RAM V'NISA
with the pause after KISEI, so that the meaning is that the King Who sits on a Throne (i.e. G-d) is high and lofty. This fits with the continuing descriptions of G-d as SHOCHEIN AD, MAROM, etc.
However, there are those who feel that it is the Throne of G-d that is RAM V'NISA. The pause should then be after YOSHEIV and KISEI RAM V'NISA should be said without pauses. The champion of this other opinion is TTreader and veteran TTriddler EB. He writes...
I am not sure why you are convinced that RAM V'NISA refers to Hashem rather than the throne. It seems to be that there are differing opinions. In SIDUR OTSAR HA'TEFILOT, I found two opinions:
1) refers to HAMELECH - quoted in the name of SIDDUR AVODAT YISRAEL
2) refers to KISEI - in commentary ETZ YOSEF
The obvious place to turn was YESHAYA 6:1 but there too the commentaries disagree.
The IBN EZRA holds strongly that it refers to KISEI, and this is also the opinion of the GRA... On the other hand, the MALBIM says it refers to Hashem.
Among siddurim with English translations, I found that the three most authoritative ones - Artscroll, Metsudah and Hirsch - all translate as High Throne.
Maybe one should read this phrase without any pause, in order to leave the meaning ambiguous.
Ed. note: The TROP seems to favor that it is G-d Who is being described as High and Lofty. Maybe. Siddur Rinat Yisrael has a comma after Kisei, agreeing with the first opinion. Most siddurim follow EB's suggestion of leaving it ambiguous. The RADAK says that High and Lofty goes on KISEI (Throne).
On another note, EB concludes...
Please would you remind readers to say correctly the concluding words of YISHTABACH:
...MELECH, KEL, CHEI HA-OLAMIM. G-d is... King, "Keil", and CHEI HA-OLAMIM (the Life of all worlds). Not the meaningless. KEIL CHEI (or KEIL CHAI) pause HA-OLAMIM.
CHAI (CHET/PATACH-YUD) means "live" (rhymes with 5). CHEI means "the life of". At the end of Yishtabach, the phrase is CHEI HA-OLAMIM.


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