This article is dedicated in memory of the author’s mother in law, Razl Fink, z”l, who was recently niftar in EY, Razl bat Reb Chuneh. She taught her children to love the Torah, Eretz Yisroel and every Jew without prejudice.
Existence is a quandary for most. Regardless of age we are as small children, even elderly men want to be strong and elderly women want to be pretty. Many spend a lifetime running after toys and looking to tag one another, however, there is a small fraction who want to know what is behind the curtain, what is the reality behind our existence. They live their lives seeking meaning, purpose and direction. They strive to figure out what is the interface between this world and the next. We are maimonim bnei maimonim (believers and children of believers) so why don’t we know? Why didn’t we get the connection in Cheder? It seems we should look to Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch who had what today would be considered a radical thought “Yeshivahs should be shut for 100 years, because one doesn’t learn to be a Jew in Yeshivah, he learns to be a Jew in his home.” The only interface we should hopefully be able to get from our home, that would give us access to this world and the next is Love, which as my feisty Litvisher mother would say is right in front our faces. Surely, it pervades all of Judaism. Love requires intimacy and mutuality; therefore, it is the aim and raison d’etre of our prayers. It is inherent in the priestly blessing, where the Kohanim bless us with love. If we truly yearn for spiritual connection, we look forward to prayer, and whenever and wherever we open our siddur, we are comforted by the letters sparkling and greeting us like old friends whom we in turn take pleasure in seeing.
Our initial communal prayers open with korbonot (sacrifices); a great equalizer since at least in our liturgy we can all participate and yearn for the restoration of the Temple service. Ketoret (Incense)purify the environment and the dark forces that pervade Olam Hazeh (this world). We move forward to psukai d’zimrah (songs of praise), which helps us rev our engines as we start to envision G-d as omnipresent and almighty. Maker of heaven and earth, releases the bound, feeds the ravens, cares for the orphan and widow, heals the broken hearted, he gives snow like wool, and scatters the frost, etc.
We enter Borchu (a call to prayer) in which awe lingers for the first bracha of luminaries. Awe is a prerequisite for the love since there is no love without respect and there will be no unification in Shma without love. So, we continue with Ahavah Rabbah (a great love) and proceed to bless by day … he chooses his people with love and by night when things are not clear, and we are shrouded in the darkness of exile and persecution we are given love for the sake of love…. who loves his people Israel; which is the Segway to Shma, the official commandment of prayer, the first subject of the Mishna, the continuous offering of prayer with which we rise and lay down. Shma lets us know in one sentence Ein Ode Mevado & Hu Koneh Et HaKol there is nothing else, but Hashem and He owns everything. We declare Hashem’s oneness in unison and follow up with Boruch shem Kavod (blessed be his name) etc. A phrase we use on Yom Kippur and as a means of correction for a blessing said in vain. On Yom Kippur it is shouted out loud three times because we have been cleansed and have a temporary standing of angels. So why is it used here and why quietly? There is a always a disconnect between who we are and who we want to be and so the phrase is a means to catch ourselves and recalibrate with the intention to be more of what our Tatta in Himmel (father in heaven)wants us to be, therefore, we acknowledge the things we do in vain silently with contrition. We are now free to declare our attachment to the Divine with all of our heart – lavavecha written with two vets; notwithstanding the traditional view of Yetzer Harah & Yetzer Tov, one who loves would posit that when you love someone you would not do anything to lose respect in their eyes. Therefore, the first vet indicates we will not do anything to diminish our standing in Hashem’s eyes and the second vet acknowledges that when you truly love someone, including God, nothing is too much. Thereafter, we can dedicate our lives to Kol Nafshechah (all our soul) living a proper Jewish life, and use kol meodecha (all our possessions), freely offering all our worldly possessions in order to transmit this great love from generation to generation.
By Yisroel Settenbrino
