בַּאֲמִירַת תְּהִלִּים (פז. ז) אוֹמְרִים כָּל מַעְיָנַי הַכָּ"ף בְּקָמַץ, בְּסֵדֶר בִּרְכַּת הַמָּזוֹן — הַכָּ"ף בְּחוֹלָם.

In the phrase kol mayanai bach (Tehillim 87:7), [the word כל may be vocalized in either of two ways]. When one is reading Tehillim, this word should be pronounced as vocalized with a kamatz; when it appears in [the readings that precede] the Grace after Meals,1 it should be pronounced as vocalized with a cholam.2

A Chassid to Remember

R. Betzalel Wilschanski, a master farbrenger who had grown up in the original Tomchei Temimim Yeshivah in Lubavitch, once shared a thought on a phrase that appears in the first blessing of the Grace after Meals.

When punctuated in the regular manner, the phrase U’vetuvo hagadol imanu tamid means, “In His great goodness that is always with us, [we do not lack…].” In addition to this plain meaning, this chassid used to picture these four words as if punctuated as follows: U’vetuvo hagadol — imanu tamid. These words then suggested to him a question and an answer:

U’vetuvo hagadol — “In what lies His great goodness?”

Imanu tamid — “He is always with us!”

*

A related insight into another phrase in the Grace after Meals has been handed down to us from R. Baruch of Mezhibuzh, a grandson of the Baal Shem Tov.

The opening words of a later paragraph in the Grace after Meals3 are commonly translated as follows: “For all this, L‑rd our G‑d, we give thanks to You.” Employing a species of poetic license, R. Baruch saw these words as intimating an additional meaning: “Above all, L‑rd our G‑d, we give thanks for You” — we give thanks for having You as our G‑d….