Amen (Part 2)

  1. According to the midrash (Yalkut Shimoni 429) the wicked in
    gehenom who recite amen even once are released: In the future, G-d will
    be sitting in the Garden of Eden teaching Torah and all the tzaddikim will be
    sitting before Him. When He is done, Zerrubabel Ben Shealtiel will get up and
    say yisgadal veyiskadash and his voice will be heard from one end of
    the world to the other. Everyone will say amen; even the wicked in
    gehenom. When
    He hears the voices of the wicked saying amen, his
    compassion will be
    awakened and He will give the key to gehenom to
    Michoel and Gavriel and say to them, “Go, open the gates of gehenom and
    bring them up.” This teaches us how important it is to recite the Kaddish and
    to answer amen.

  2. When a person dies and passes on to the World of Truth, his
    children and family recite the Kaddish for the sake of the deceased so that
    the congregation can respond and recite “amen,” and in the time to come all
    the wicked will be released from gehenom by the merit of their saying
    amen. So, just as we are so dedicated to reciting the kaddish for the
    deceased, we should listen to the Kaddish and answer amen yehay shmei
    rabbah
    and thereby sanctify the name of G-d in public.
  3. Even a child who answers amen has a portion in the
    world to come.
  4. After the destruction of Beis Hamikdosh and the cessation
    of the daily sacrificial service, G-d mercifully left us in our exile a
    mikdosh me’at: prayer and
    song and praises of G-d. Because prayer is such
    an important matter, a person should make an effort to pray in a synagogue,
    which is compared to the Beis Hamikdosh because the Presence of G-d resides
    there. In the synagogue, his prayer will be more powerful because of the
    holiness of the place and because his prayer is said along with the
    congregation.

Similar Posts