Uvimakhalot Rivivot

After the Chazzan chants “Befi Yesharim Tithallal,”“Through the mouths of the righteous He shall be praised,”
the congregation continues with “Uvimakhalot Rivivot Amcha Beit Yisroel,” “In the tens of thousands of
congregations of the House of Israel Your Name shall be glorified from generation to generation.” It is truly
fitting that this moment that the prayers read “In the tens of thousands of congregations Your Name shall be
glorified” is customarily the first time in our Shabbat morning prayers that the congregation joins together in
song.
Just as in all of our prayers there are mystical messages interwoven within, here, too, the Anaf Yosef writes
that there are intentionally forty words in this prayer, reflecting the forty days Moshe stood at Mt. Sinai. The
Tefillah begins with a Vav = 6 and ends with a Chaf=20, which together equals 26, the numerical amount of the
ineffable name of G-d, Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh – 10+5+6+5=26.
The Etz Yosef writes that this tefillah foretells of the great day when everyone and everything will join
together in praise of Hashem – “Shekeyn Chovat Kol Hayetzurim,” “It is the obligation of all of His Creations to
praise.” He also states that the phrase Bechol Dor Vador is specifically chosen to reflect the passage in the
Torah wherein G-d states that until the enemy Amalek falls, His presence will not be fully realized in our world
(Exodus 17:16). The implication is that in the time of moshiach, our enemies, including Amalek, will indeed be
squashed and G-d’s name will be experienced to the fullest. It will be a time of unadulterated joy: “Berinah
Yitpaer Shimecha” – “With joy Your Name will be glorified.”
Rav Yaakov Emden zt”l, in his siddur Beit Yaakov, explains why there are specifically nine languages of praise
invoked in our prayer : “Lehodot, Lehallel, Lehsabayach………Lekales”. He teaches that the nine forms of
praise represent the original nine maamarot (it excludes Bereishit, the tenth, which is represented by King
David’s Lyre) – divine creative expressions which G-d invoked 5771 years ago when He created the world
anew.
The teachings of the Anaf Yosef, the Etz Yosef, and the Beit Yaakov synthesize a beautiful understanding of our
Tefillah: Just as Moshe stood at Mt. Sinai for forty days and experienced G-d as never before, so too, we sing
of the future redemption when all of our enemies will perish and we will sing and praise G-d with purity,
precision, and completion, and when the world will be recreated like it was In the Beginning.