Difference in Modim for Weekday and Shabbat
Question
I noticed a difference in weekday Modim and the Modim for Shabbat. In the weekday Modim it says – hey, mem, reish, chet, memsofit. In the Shabbat one, there is a vav added to the beginning. Do you happen to know why the difference? It essentially adds “and” but I do not know why (apologies, the keyboard I am using does not have Hebrew on it).
Answers
What a fascinating question. I have never paid any attention to such a subtle difference, so I started looking around in the several different Siddurim I have at home and found the most intriguing thing! In some Siddurim the ‘vav’ appears in both the weekday Modim and the Shabbos Modim. In some siddurim the ‘vav’ does not appear in either Modim. And, in some the ‘vav’ appears in one and not the other!
To complicate matters even more, I have not (yet) found a source that discusses the issue you raise.
Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team