Do you live in a God neighborhood?
No, that was not a typo.
Hashem is often referred to as the Shechina, a term which is closely related to the Hebrew term for neighbor, shachein, which describes a state of Hashem’s nearness to us, where we live our lives as if He is around us or right next door (Rav Yosef Breuer). This mindset of”shiviti Hashem l’negdi tamid —I am ever-mindful of Hashem’s presence” is one that we strive to live by everywhere and at all times (see OC 1:1), but that has particular points of connection. As we read in our parsha, the Beit Hamikdash is where we go to be near Him, “l’shichno tidreshu uvata shama” (Devarim 12:5), and where we are commanded to travel to “see the face of God” on each of the year’s three major festivals (moadim: meeting times with God) (Devarim 16:16).
Tefillah is another such point of connection. Our main prayer is known as the Amidah, based on the biblical phrase “omed bifnei Hashem,” describing Avraham standing before God in prayer (Bereishis 18:22, 19:27). This depiction is halachically consequential, as awareness of Hashem’s presence is a core requirement of prayer (see Chidushei Rabeinu Chaim Halevi, Hilchot Tefilah, 4:1) and defines the parameters of the prayer experience beyond the actual words we express to God. Prayer as a journey towards God is why we take three steps into His presence at the outset of our Shemoneh Esrei and three steps away following its conclusion. The Talmud (Berachos 8a) even goes so far as to describe the person who foregoes the opportunity to pray in his local shul as a bad neighbor of God, “Kol mi she’yesh lo Beit Haknesset b’iro v’eino nichnas sham l’hitpalel nikra shachein ra,she’ne’emar, ‘ko omar Hashem el kol shcheinai ha’raim’” (Rav Breuer). The Torah positively describes our power of prayer as a manifestation of our nearness to Hashem, “ki mi goy gadol asher lo Elokim k’rovim eilav KaHashem Elokeinu b’chol koreinu eilav” (Devarim 4:7).
Tefillah is the opportunity to connect and return to God’s presence after the earthy rigors of getting through life have pulled us away from Him. In the beautiful words of Rav Yehuda Halevi (Kuzari III):
“This moment (of prayer) is the heart and the climax of how (the pious person) spends his time, while the other hours represent the road which leads to it. He looks forward to its approach, because while it lasts, he resembles the spiritual beings, and is removed from merely animal existence. Those three times of daily prayer are the fruit of his day and night… Prayer is for his soul what nourishment is for his body. The blessing of one prayer lasts till the time of the next, just as the strength derived from the morning meal lasts till supper. The further his soul is removed from the time of prayer, the more it is darkened by coming in contact with worldly matters.”
Aside from traveling to the Beit Hamikdash in Yerushalayim and approaching God via prayer, Rav Yitzchak Hutner noted that there is a third means to bridge the distance between us and Hashem, another process that is to be seen as a journey towards Him, what we call teshuva. “Hashiveinu Hashem eilecha —Bring us back to You, Hashem.” We will thus begin the season of teshuva on Rosh Chodesh Elul, building towards the Ten Days of Teshuva when Hashem is seen as closest to us, “behimatzo… bi’h’yoto karov,” most accessible for both our teshuva and tefillah, and then followed by Sukkot when we move into a home reminiscent of both the shadow of His presence, tzila d’hemnuta, and of the Beit Hamikdash itself.
This is the perspective needed as we enter this special season on this Shabbat Mevorchim of Chodesh Elul. Welcome to the God neighborhood! This is our chance to experience His presence, to strive to live in a manner that reflects a genuine awareness of that presence and to invest in making our tefillah experience more meaningful.
Rabbi Moshe Hauer is executive vice president of the Orthodox Union (OU), the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization.
