אֵין אוֹמְרִים אָב הָרַחֲמִים וְצִדְקָתְךָ.

[When Shushan Purim Katan1 falls on Shabbos,2 ] the passage beginning Av HaRachamim3 is omitted [after the Torah Reading], and [in the Afternoon Service] the passage beginning Tzidkas’cha4 is omitted.

רוֹשְׁמִים עַל הַלֶּחֶם קוֹדֶם בִּרְכַּת הַמּוֹצִיא, אֲבָל נִזְהָרִים שֶׁלֹּא לַחֲתּוֹךְ. גַּם בְּקִדּוּשׁ עַל הַפַּת אוֹמְרִים סַבְרִי מָרָנָן.

[On Shabbos,] before reciting the blessing HaMotzi, we make a mark on the loaf [with the knife], though we take care not to cut it.5

[Not only when Kiddush is recited over wine, but] also when Kiddush is recited over bread, [the blessing is preceded by the phrase], Savri maranan (“Gentlemen, attention!”).6

אוֹיף לֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא שְׁטעֶהְט: אֶבֶן מִקִּיר תִּזְעָק וְכָפִיס מֵעֵץ יַעַנֶנָּה. אִיצְטעֶר שְׁווַייגְט דעֶר דּוֹמֵם, מְ'טרעֶט אוֹיף אִיהם אוּן עֶר שְׁווַייגט. אָבּעֶר עֶס וועֶט קוּמעֶן אַ צַייט אִין דעֶם גִילוּי פוּן לֶעָתִיד, וואָס דעֶר דּוֹמֵם וועֶט אָנְהוֹיבּעֶן רֵיידעֶן, דעֶרצֵיילעֶן, אוּן עֶר וועֶט מאָנעֶן, אוֹיבּ מעֶן האָט גֵייעֶנְדִיג נִיט געֶטראַכט אָדעֶר געֶרעֶדט דִּבְרֵי תוֹרָה, פאַרְוואָס האָט מעֶן אוֹיף אִים געֶטראָטעֶן. דִי עֶרְד וואָס מעֶן טְרעֶט אוֹיף אִיהְר, וואַרְט טוֹיזעֶנטעֶר יאָהְרעֶן, פוּן שֵׁשֶׁת יְמֵי בְּרֵאשִׁית, אוּן עֶס טְרעֶטעֶן אוֹיף אִיהְר דעֶרְווַייל כַּמָה בְּרוּאִים בַּעֲלֵי חַיִּים כו', בִּיז עֶס וועֶט דאָרט טְרעֶטעֶן אַ אִיד, צְוֵויי אִידעֶן, אוּן וועֶלעֶן רֵיידעֶן אַ דְּבַר תּוֹרָה. וּבְאִם לַאו - זאָגְט זִי: דוּ בִּיזְט דאָך אוֹיך וִוי אַ בְּהֵמָה.

With regard to the Ultimate Future, it is written:7 “A stone will cry out from the wall and a sliver will answer it from the beams.” At present, inanimate objects are silent; even when trodden on, they hold their peace. However, there will come a future time of revelation when inanimate objects will begin to talk, to relate, and to accuse: If a person did not think or speak words of Torah while he was walking, why did he tread on them?8

For the thousands of years since the Six Days of Creation, the earth upon which we tread has been waiting — while numerous creatures have trodden on it — for one or two Jews to walk on it and exchange words of Torah. For if they do not, [the earth] declares: “You are no different than an animal.”9

A Story with an Echo

In Likkutei Dibburim,10 the Rebbe Rayatz tells of how the Baal Shem Tov once sent one of his disciples on a mission to redeem the words of Torah studied by a great sage who had strayed from the path of observance. While carrying out his mission, alone in a forest, the disciple pronounced a blessing over some water he drew from a nearby stream. He also washed his hands there before praying the Afternoon Service. By doing so, the Baal Shem Tov later explained, the disciple had fulfilled the wish of the stream. For until that day, no one had ever used its water for a pure and holy purpose, and the stream had long yearned for someone to come and elevate it.