The Text of the Berachah
The Mishnah Berurah (561:6) quotes the Bach who says: “Someone who enters Yerushalayim and sees where the Beis HaMikdosh stood is required to bow facing its direction, tear his clothes, cry, moan, mourn and feel sorrow over the destruction of the Beis HaMikdosh — crying in a bitter way and reciting first the 79th chapter of Tehillim describing how the gentiles entered, contaminated and destroyed Hashem’s holy sanctuary. When performing keriah, he should recite the words, “baruch Dayan ha’emes”, without mentioning Shem U’Malchus [the Name of Hashem or that He is the King]. He then recites several pasukim: Devarim 32:4; Nechemiah 9:33; Eicha 2:9. (This is unlike the Shu”t Halachos Ketanos 1:211, who says that one should mention Shem U’Malchus.)
The Igros Moshe (Yoreh Deah 3:129, s.k. 5) points out that when the Mishnah Berurah says to recite the berachah שם ומלכות בלי, it is not specific, as even though one should avoid mentioning Hashem’s name due to doubt that perhaps one shouldn’t be reciting a berachah, however, there is no reason not to mention מלכות, that Hashem is our King. Since there is nothing wrong with mentioning that Hashem is our King, one shouldn’t miss it out, and one should recite:ברוך אתה מלך העולם דיין האמת – “Blessed are You King of the World, the truthful Judge.”
However, this Igros Moshe is quite difficult, as not only does the Bach which is the source for the Mishnah Berurah mention that one should say ברוך דיין האמת, without mentioning that Hashem is the King of the World, but in another place in the Shulchan Aruch (Hilchos Berachos, Orach Chaim 224:10) the Beis Yosef writes: “If one sees the houses of Yisraelim lying in destruction he should say, ברוך דיין האמת”. The source for this is the Tur, and there also the Tur makes no mention of reciting מלך העולם . Tzorich iyun.
Does One Recite This Berachah on Shabbos?
If one visits the Kosel HaMaravi on Shabbos or Yom Tov, even though he doesn’t perform keriah, one still recites this berachah, as it is no worse than all other birchas hareiyah [blessings recited upon seeing things] which are recited on Shabbos and Yom Tov (see the Chochmas Adam, Klal 151:18 who writes that we recite the berachah of דיין האמת when one dies, even on Shabbos). However, one doesn’t recite the pasukim, ותפארתנו בית קדשינו .... ציון היתה, as the purpose of these pasukim is to prepare oneself for performing keriah, and since one doesn’t perform keriah on Shabbos or Yom Tov, there is no point in saying these pasukim. (R’ Sroya Davlitsky, Zichron Betzalel, pg. 146, d.h. BeShabbos)
