A pronunciation error can make angels disappear

Can you see the problem?

"Shalom aleichem mal'chei hasharet

mal'chei elyon

mimelech mal'chei ham'lachim

hakodesh baruch hu"

 

"Mal'chei" means "sovereign of," and it's being used in the first three lines above.  But "Shalom Aleichem" is supposed to be a song about the angels that are traditionally said to visit Jewish homes on Erev Shabbat (Sabbath Eve).  Where did the angels go?

The problem is this:  The first two lines are not spelled "mal'chei" in the siddur (prayer-book)--they're spelled "mal'*a*chei, which means "angels of."  So yes, being careful to pronounce properly does make a difference, which is why I try to be careful and to avoid praying from memory when I'm leading or co-leading a service.

Retired Production Editor (with a B.A. in French) at your service--I used to get paid to spot errors such as this one.  :)