The Lecha Dodi hymn, which is sung in the synagogue on Friday night, was composed by the great Kabbalist Rabbi Shelomo Alkabetz, who lived in Safed around 450 years ago, during the time of the Arizal and Maran. The hymn contains eight stanzas, the first letters of which form the author’s name – "Shelomo Ha’levi." There is then a ninth stanza, "Bo’i Be’shalom." The custom in Halab, however, was to recite only four stanzas, which spell the name "Shelomo" – "Shamor Ve’zachor," "Likrat Shabbat," "Mikdash Melech," and "Hit’oreri." They would omit four stanzas – "Hitna’ari," "Lo Teboshi," "Ve’hayu Li’mshisa," and "Yamin U’smol" – and conclude with "Bo’i Be’shalom," welcoming the Shabbat queen.
One reason given for this custom to omit these four stanzas is because they make reference to the arrival of Mashiah and the redemption. (For example, we find in these stanzas a reference to "Ben Parsi," a description of David Ha’melech, who came from the family of Peretz.) Unfortunately, the Jewish community of Halab was heavily influenced by the false messianist movement of Shabtai Sevi, and many Jews were misled to believe his claims of being Mashiah. As part of the effort to discredit this movement and discourage people from joining it, it was decided that references to the Mashiah and the final redemption would be minimized. Therefore, the four stanzas of Lecha Dodi that speak of the arrival of Mashiah were omitted from the Friday night prayer service.
The simpler reason, however, is that there was a general tendency in Halab to keep the prayer service relatively brief in order not to overburden the congregation. There are several lengthy hymns of which we customarily recite only brief segments, such as "Ve’ha’so’akim Be’shibyehem," a hymn which we recite on the High Holidays. We recite only four lines, but in truth the poem is two full pages long. This is likely the reason why the community in Halab recited only half of Lecha Dodi, as well.
Although in some Sephardic congregations – including those that follow the customs of the Damascus community – the entire text of Lecha Dodi is read, we, who follow the traditions of Halab, should recite only the first four stanzas, as was done in Halab.
It is worth mentioning in this context several other customs that were observed in Halab regarding the prayer text. In the "Ve’emuna Kol Zot" paragraph (in the nighttime Arbit prayer), they would recite the words, "Ha’oseh Lanu Nissim Nekama Be’Far’o," as opposed to other communities that would omit the word "Nissim." They also recited at the end of "Hashkibenu" the verse, "Hineh Lo Yanum Ve’lo Yiyshan Shomer Yisrael," followed by, "Baruch Ata Hashem Shomer Et Amo Yisrael Mi’kol Dabar Ra La’ad Amen," whereas other communities omitted "Hineh Lo Yanum…" and "Mi’kol Dabar Ra." Once again, everyone should follow his community’s customs, and thus those of us who follow the traditions of Halab should include these passages in the prayer text.
Furthermore, the custom in Halab was to begin the Beracha of "La’minim" with the words, "La’minim Ve’la’malshinim Ve’la’mosrim," whereas others omit the word "Ve’la’mosrim" (which asks Hashem to thwart the efforts of those Jews who inform on their fellow Jews to the authorities). Some editions of the Kol Yaakob Siddur include this word, and some put it in parentheses, but regardless, we who follow the customs of Halab should include the word "Ve’la’mosrim." The custom in Halab was to conclude this Beracha with the phrase, "U’machnia Zedim," as opposed to the custom in some other communities to conclude with the word "Minim" instead of "Zedim." The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909) followed this latter opinion, and brought proof from the story in Masechet Berachot which tells that Shemuel Ha’katan was chosen to compose this Beracha of "La’minim." The first two words of this Beracha begin with the letters "Lamed" and "Vav," which are included in the name "Shemuel," and similarly the final two words begin with "Vav" and "Mem" (if the final word is "Minim"), which are also included in "Shemuel." Hacham Ovadia Yosef, however, dismisses this proof, and cites many sources proving that the correct text is "Zedim." Once again, the various editions of Kol Yaakob have different versions, but our custom is to recite "Zedim."
The custom in Halab was that the Kohanim recite the first word of Birkat Kohanim – "Yebarechecha" – without being prompted by the Hazan. They recite the Beracha, "Le’barech Et Amo Yisrael Be’ahaba," pause to allow the congregation to answer "Amen," and then recite "Yebarechecha" without waiting for the Hazan to recite the word first. The Hazan begins dictating the Beracha for the Kohanim only from the second word – "Hashem." This was the view of the Rambam and of Maran, and this is the custom followed in Halab. Hence, those who abide by the traditions of Halab should follow this practice, and the Hazan should not announce "Yebarechecha." It should be emphasized that the Kohanim must pause after completing the Beracha so the congregation can answer "Amen." It is improper for the Kohanim to recite, "Amo Yisrael Be’ahaba Yebarechecha" without pausing. Furthermore, the Hazan should recite the word "Yebarechecha" in an undertone, for if he does not recite the word, then he will be starting his recitation in the middle of a Pasuk.
(These customs are recorded in the work "Derech Eretz.")
Summary: The custom followed by those who observe the customs of Aleppo (Halab) is to recite only four stanzas of Lecha Dodi on Friday night, and the final stanza ("Bo’i Be’shalom"). The custom in Halab was to include the verse "Hineh Lo Yanum" at the end of "Hashkibenu" in Arbit, to include the word "Ve’la’mosrim" in the beginning of the Beracha of "La’minim" in the Amida, and to conclude this Beracha with the word "Zedim" (as opposed to "Minim’). It was also the accepted practice in Halab that the Hazan began dictating the text of Birkat Kohanim for the Kohanim starting from the word "Hashem"; the Kohanim should recite "Yebarechecha" without being prompted by the Hazan.
