Yaakov Cohen
The song ‘Kah Ribon Olam’, composed by Yisrael ben Moses Najara, will always remain a popular song sung on Friday night . R” Yisrael was born in Syria, 1555, and died in 1625, in Gaza. Interestingly, this song contains no mention of Shabbos at all, but still is sung then since it fits the theme of Shabbos; Hashem's sovereignty and our gratitude to him, as well as the hope for the coming of Mashiach. The most unique aspect of this song is that it is completely written in Aramaic.
Based on a Gemara in Shabbos, The Har Tzvi asks how can this song, which contains requests, be in Aramaic? Requests are not allowed to be made in Aramaic by individuals, since the Angels do not listen to him ( and this song contains requests such as “פְּרוֹק יַת עָנָךְ מִפּוּם אַרְיְוָתָא.”)
The Gemaras which the Har Tzvi asks from (Shabbos 12b, Sotah 33a), mention that one should not daven by himself in Aramaic, since the Angels are not accustomed to Aramaic, and will not attend his tefillah.(However, a sick person and someone davening in a minyan can say it in Aramaic, since Hashem himself listens to our tefillos directly. )
According to some, this means that Angels only understand Lashon Hakodesh (and not even Aramaic, which is close to it), but the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim, 101) brings down an opinion that states that even in private you can daven in any language-except for Aramaic.
Do the angels really not understand Aramaic, and if they don't, why not? The Magen Avraham and others on that Shulchan Aruch state that the Angels certainly understand Aramaic-it's just that they don’t listen to the tefilla.This is because they find the language repulsive, since they view it as a corrupted version of Lashon Hakodesh. The Eliyah Rabbah brings another possibility- Hashem created Aramaic as a language that the Angels don’t understand, for us to daven in a way that will not arouse jealousy among the Angels.
Others, such as the Akeidas Yitzchak, and Chasam Sofer each approach our Gemoros differently. Quoting our Gemorah, the Akeidas Yitzchak (1:10) comments that that the intent of the Gemorah is not saying that they don’t understand all languages; the Gemara is trying to point out to us that when we daven, we cannot use every-day familiar language that will be thoughtless-in order to let our prayers ascend, we must use Lashon Hakodesh. The Chasam Sofer on the Gemara Shabbos, explains that the Angels certainly understand Aramaic. The Hebrew language has a special status since Hashem created the world, gave the Torah, and communicated with the Neviim all in Hebrew. When a person sends a message to the king, he should use the language of the king; similarly, when we daven to Hashem, it is only proper to talk to Hashem in his chosen language.
The Har Tzvi answers that Kah Ribon can be in Aramaic- either because it is not really inherently a request, or because the requests that we’re asking are mostly regarding the future redemption. However, perhaps we can answer differently; on the special day of Shabbos, when we attain a special connection to Hashem, we don’t need the Angels to be listening, since Hashem takes care of us himself- just like by a sick person, or by a minyan. Let us always remember that even though Shabbos comes every week, it is a special opportunity to grow a further connection to Hashem, and to see everything he does for us.
