Q&A: Trouble and Distress
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Trouble and Distress
Question
When someone promises on the Sabbath to give money to the synagogue sexton, he blesses him with a “May He who blessed…” formula and says that God should save him from every trouble and distress.
A. What is “distress” here?
B. Why is this considered such an important blessing?
Answer
“Trouble and distress” (= hardship). It is possible that the sexton is using a Hasidic/Polish pronunciation that turns a shuruk vowel into a hiriq.