רְצֵה ה' אֱלהֵינוּ בְּעַמְּךָ יִשרָאֵל וְלִתְפִלָּתָם שְׁעֵה. וְהָשֵׁב אֶת הָעֲבודָה לִדְבִיר בֵּיתֶךָ. וְאִשֵּׁי יִשרָאֵל וּתְפִלָּתָם. מְהֵרָה בְּאַהֲבָה תְקַבֵּל בְּרָצון. וּתְהִי לְרָצון תָּמִיד עֲבודַת יִשרָאֵל עַמֶּךָ. וְתֶחֱזֶינָה עֵינֵינוּ בְּשׁוּבְךָ לְצִיּון בְּרַחֲמִים:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה'. הַמַּחֲזִיר שְׁכִינָתו לְצִיּון
רְצֵה ה' אֱלהֵינוּ בְּעַמְּךָ יִשרָאֵל -
We begin this tefila by asking Hashem to want our prayer. This indicates we can create a desire for our prayers. How does this work?
We say the phrase “אבינו מלכינו – our Father, our King” many times over the course of the year. The reason we refer to Hashem as both our Father and our King, is that during a period where we serve Hashem properly, we are His sons, and (ch”v) in a time where the Jews do not serve Hashem properly, the Jews are downgraded to the status of servants.
It would seem illogical for our status to be subject to change, but it isn’t. Our status is the characterization of the way a son or a servant behaves. A servant works for reward, and is motivated by economics. He does nothing extra, and earns nothing extra. A son, however, does as his father tells him out of love. And in turn, the father loves the child. But the child has a further ability. When the son enjoys or loves something, the father takes care to ensure his son has access to the thing he loves, and to a large degree, the father then cares for something, not because he values it, but because his son does. The son can create this feeling in the father, and in a very real way, we can create a desire in Hashem.
We must note however, that it is only once the son acts like a son that the father cares for him. If we expect Hashem to want what we want because He is our Father, we must indeed be His son and do His will.
We are requesting that Hashem have desire for what we have to say, because we are His people.
וְלִתְפִלָּתָם שְׁעֵה – and our prayers
The “and” adds something that was not said previously.
We are asking Hashem to not only want us as a people, but to want a connection with us, and our prayers, that are our connection with Him.
וְהָשֵׁב אֶת הָעֲבודָה לִדְבִיר בֵּיתֶךָ - and return the service
עֲבודָה classically means the Korbanos, the animal sacrifices, but it also means prayer, which is called עבודת הלב. So on a basic level, this means that we are asking for Hashem to return the daily sacrifices to His house, the Beis HaMikdash. But why would we ask for our prayers to return to the Beis HaMikdash?
In this prayer, we request that our prayers be more easily answered. We ask Hashem to take our prayers to the Beis Hamikdash because this is where Heaven and Earth meet, where physical and spiritual merge. The אבן השתיה – the Foundation Stone, after which the Dome is named, is where Creation started from. It is where Akeidas Yitzchak occurred, and the Kodesh HaKadoshim was located on it. This is where the Gates of Prayer are located.
We ask that all our prayers, whether we were concentrating or otherwise, whether they were strong or weak, spoken or thought, that they all group together, and Hashem take them where they need to go.
וְאִשֵּׁי יִשרָאֵל וּתְפִלָּתָם -
As with עֲבודָה, this classically means Korbanos. Today, it is forbidden to offer animal sacrifices, so this does not mean Korbanos, but it too, means prayer. This fits in two ways; the first is thatוּתְפִלָּתָם is our prayers, and וְאִשֵּׁי יִשרָאֵל is our passion and fervor; the second is that וּתְפִלָּתָם are the set prayers of Shacharis, Mincha and Maariv, and וְאִשֵּׁי יִשרָאֵל are the spontaneous prayers we all make in the middle of our days.
מְהֵרָה בְּאַהֲבָה תְקַבֵּל בְּרָצון -
We request Hashem’s love before Hashem’s desire, even though it would seem that desire must come before love. The reason we ask in this order is that love can be broken. Desire runs deeper than love. Desire lingers and remains, and when someone desires something or someone, it causes love. Even when the love is not deserved, desire causes the one seeing to find something they love, for example, in the father-son relationship. In this way, desire is a more powerful expression of love than love itself, and this is why we request them in this order.
We are asking Hashem that as His children, even when ch”v we are underserving of His love, that Hashem maintain a desire to want to love us.
וּתְהִי לְרָצון תָּמִיד עֲבודַת יִשרָאֵל עַמֶּךָ – And may you always want the service of your people
There are two ways to read this too. The first is that we want Hashem to always want us, His people’s, work; the second is that we want Hashem to want our עבודת הלב, because we are his people. It is a fine line, but the difference is whether the subject is our prayers or us a nation.
וְתֶחֱזֶינָה עֵינֵינוּ בְּשׁוּבְךָ לְצִיּון בְּרַחֲמִים - May our eyes see as you return to Zion.
Over time, everything that happens must eventually bring Moshiach, and Hashem, closer to Yerushalayim.
We are asking Hashem to show us how His plan unfolds and develops, and how events bring us closer.
הַמַּחֲזִיר שְׁכִינָתו לְצִיּון - Who cause his presence to return to Zion.
Why does Hashem “cause” his presence to return?
Hashem “forces Himself” to be in plaes He does not want to be in, for example, with people or in places that are טמא, impure. Hashem’s Shechina is with us in Exile, it is in Jerusalem, and it is the Makom HaMikdash. A very beautiful and key point must be noted – when a person is not worthy of Hashem’s closeness, Hashem is not any further away or less accessible than He was. He isn’t further away from the person; rather, it’s the person who sees himself as being further away from Hashem.
We are asking, just as in וְתֶחֱזֶינָה עֵינֵינוּ, that Hashem strengthen our resolve, that we see and feel Him in our lives, in the same way He is הַמַּחֲזִיר שְׁכִינָתו.
Monday 4 July 2011
שְׁמַע קולֵנוּ–Shema Koleinu–Hear our prayers
שְׁמַע קולֵנוּ. ה' אֱלהֵינוּ חוּס וְרַחֵם עָלֵינוּ. וְקַבֵּל בְּרַחֲמִים וּבְרָצון אֶת תְּפִלָּתֵנוּ. כִּי אֵל שׁומֵעַ תְּפִלּות וְתַחֲנוּנִים אָתָּה. וּמִלְּפָנֶיךָ מַלְכֵּנוּ. רֵיקָם אַל תְּשִׁיבֵנוּ. כִּי אַתָּה שׁומֵעַ תְּפִלַּת עַמְּךָ יִשרָאֵל בְּרַחֲמִים. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה', שׁומֵעַ תְּפִלָּה
This tefila is in a sense, a prayer about prayer. We are asking that the prayer that we may not have not fully understood so far to become as perfect as it might have been, just because we have tried.
שְׁמַע – Listen
To listen is deeper than to hear – to listen is to focus attention and feel what is going on, to empathise almost. The contrast is stark – hearing is something external, that travels from the outside in, whereas listening is something internal, drawing something in.
We are asking Hashem to feel for us.
קולֵנוּ – to our voices
The voice is the way in which we say something. There is a story told by R’ Schwab, about a gentleman whose estranged son sent him a letter asking for money. The man went to R’ Schwab and lamented that his son was so detached and rude. R’ Schwab explained that the man had read the letter wrong – it was his son crying out for his father’s aid, and not an ungrateful demand as the man had thought.
The same is true of ourselves – we need to express ourselves in the proper manner to be accepted in the proper manner. If we do not do so, we cannot expect Hashem to accept our requests.
The קולֵ – the voice, is not limited to the words said. There are certain prayers we wish, but cannot put into words. When we say שְׁמַע קולֵנוּ, this is even a request for the things we are not saying at all. This can be a double-edged sword however; we need to be careful that the things we want are all in the right mind.
We are asking Hashem to listen to how we feel.
ה' אֱלהֵינוּ – Hashem our God
We say ה' אֱלהֵינוּ in most brachos. This should seem odd, as they are opposites – ה is an expression of Midas HaRachamim (mercy), whereas אֱלהֵינוּ is an expression of Midas HaDin (judgement). Why do we invoke the name of judgment, when we surely want Hashem’s mercy and kindness?
When the Jews were enslaved in Egypt, they groaned from suffering and desperation, and Hashem heard this. This was an act of mercy. Conversely, when Yishmael was dying of the thirst in the desert, Hashem heard this too, in spite of how he was not righteous, nor have righteous descendants. This was mercy, but with judgment as a result.
Hashem hears us when we need Him.
חוּס וְרַחֵם עָלֵינוּ – take pity and have mercy on us
Our bodies are given to us, and we have a responsibility to Hashem to use it properly, but He does not ever want it back. Not so with our soul; we are entrusted with it, and Hashem does want it back eventually.
The pity we ask for, חוּס , is for our bodies. It is like a defective handmade gift from someone you love; you don’t know what to do with it, and you can’t get rid of it as it was made personally for you.
We are asking for Hashem to have pity on our bodies as our Maker, to guide us.
The mercy we ask for, וְרַחֵם , is for our souls. The soul is dynamic – it constantly and perpetually changes. We are the ones empowered with the ability to effect this change, due to our free will.
We are asking Hashem to have mercy on our souls, as we have not utilised our ability to change it.
וְקַבֵּל בְּרַחֲמִים וּבְרָצון אֶת תְּפִלָּתֵנוּ – And accept our prayers with mercy and wanting
The mercy, בְּרַחֲמִים, we are asking for is that in spite of the fact we don’t deserve it, it should be accepted. If a child tries to draw a picture of a beautiful sunset, and just scribbles some colors, the parent will still hang up the picture and display it. It’s not a good picture, and not actually close to being a picture of anything at all, yet the parent wants and cherishes it. This is how our prayers are – lacking in depth and form, but we are asking that we’ve tried, and hope that this be enough.
The wanting, בְרָצון, is that we ask that each prayer be viewed subjectively. Hashem desires the prayers of tzaddikim; this is בְרָצון as opposed to בְּרַחֲמִים – if our prayer is worthy, we want Hashem to accept it because He wants it, and not out of pity. If someone were to tell a bad joke, the right thing to do would be to laugh so the joke teller doesn’t feel bad. However, if he were to tell a great joke, someone who laughs out of pity didn’t get the joke at all.
We are asking that our prayers be accepted because they are wanted, and if they aren’t, then at least out of mercy.
כִּי אֵל שׁומֵעַ תְּפִלּות וְתַחֲנוּנִים אָתָּה -
תְּפִלּות are the spoken prayers, the words we say and the way formulate them. תַחֲנוּנִים are the emotions we use and how we express them.
We are confirming our belief that Hashem really understands us.
וּמִלְּפָנֶיךָ מַלְכֵּנוּ. רֵיקָם אַל תְּשִׁיבֵנוּ – and before Your Face, our King, don’t send us empty handed.
The answer to prayer can sometimes be “no”. We are asking that the prayers to which we receive such an answer do not go to waste, that they be used for something else. This can be that we find the resolve to accept the thing we are praying for will remain how it is or deteriorate, or that the prayer help someone else. We use the phrase אַל תְּשִׁיבֵנוּ – don’t send us empty handed – we ask that if our prayers aren’t going to help ourselves, then let it help the collective people.
We are asking that our prayers for things that cannot happen do not go to waste, that they instead be utilised for another purpose.
כִּי אַתָּה שׁומֵעַ תְּפִלַּת עַמְּךָ יִשרָאֵל בְּרַחֲמִים -
We use the phrase תְּפִלַּת עַמְּךָ, which is singular, the prayer of your nation, as opposed to the plural תְּפִלּות. This is revealing – the nation is a collective that becomes a singular, and the prayers are united by this to form one body of prayer. This further develops the idea that if one person cannot have his prayers answered in the way he desires, then let the prayer aid someone else in need. This is not a “transfer” – the prayer is part of the collective, as are all the members of the nation, so if one person cannot use the prayer, another can.
We are asking again that our prayers aid our nation.
כִּי אַתָּה שׁומֵעַ….בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה', שׁומֵעַ תְּפִלָּה -
This is our final plea for mercy. Why should Hashem accept our prayers at all? כִּי אַתָּה שׁומֵעַ – because You are the one who hears prayers – there is no one else who can help us.
The process of prayer is that we are lacking something, that G-d is withholding from us. We ask for it, and hopefully, we achieve it. When challenged why we deserve anything at all, our answer is simple – this is what we know how to do, this is what we were told to do. We turn to Hashem because that is what we know – Hashem can hear our prayers.
We must take note that we said שְׁמַע קולֵנוּ, that Hashem should hear us, and וְקַבֵּל בְּרַחֲמִים וּבְרָצון, that our prayers should be accepted; at no point do we mention results. This too is revealing – we must have faith in Hashem that He knows, and moreover, will do, what is right and best for us and Klal Yisrael.
This tefila is in a sense, a prayer about prayer. We are asking that the prayer that we may not have not fully understood so far to become as perfect as it might have been, just because we have tried.
שְׁמַע – Listen
To listen is deeper than to hear – to listen is to focus attention and feel what is going on, to empathise almost. The contrast is stark – hearing is something external, that travels from the outside in, whereas listening is something internal, drawing something in.
We are asking Hashem to feel for us.
קולֵנוּ – to our voices
The voice is the way in which we say something. There is a story told by R’ Schwab, about a gentleman whose estranged son sent him a letter asking for money. The man went to R’ Schwab and lamented that his son was so detached and rude. R’ Schwab explained that the man had read the letter wrong – it was his son crying out for his father’s aid, and not an ungrateful demand as the man had thought.
The same is true of ourselves – we need to express ourselves in the proper manner to be accepted in the proper manner. If we do not do so, we cannot expect Hashem to accept our requests.
The קולֵ – the voice, is not limited to the words said. There are certain prayers we wish, but cannot put into words. When we say שְׁמַע קולֵנוּ, this is even a request for the things we are not saying at all. This can be a double-edged sword however; we need to be careful that the things we want are all in the right mind.
We are asking Hashem to listen to how we feel.
ה' אֱלהֵינוּ – Hashem our God
We say ה' אֱלהֵינוּ in most brachos. This should seem odd, as they are opposites – ה is an expression of Midas HaRachamim (mercy), whereas אֱלהֵינוּ is an expression of Midas HaDin (judgement). Why do we invoke the name of judgment, when we surely want Hashem’s mercy and kindness?
When the Jews were enslaved in Egypt, they groaned from suffering and desperation, and Hashem heard this. This was an act of mercy. Conversely, when Yishmael was dying of the thirst in the desert, Hashem heard this too, in spite of how he was not righteous, nor have righteous descendants. This was mercy, but with judgment as a result.
Hashem hears us when we need Him.
חוּס וְרַחֵם עָלֵינוּ – take pity and have mercy on us
Our bodies are given to us, and we have a responsibility to Hashem to use it properly, but He does not ever want it back. Not so with our soul; we are entrusted with it, and Hashem does want it back eventually.
The pity we ask for, חוּס , is for our bodies. It is like a defective handmade gift from someone you love; you don’t know what to do with it, and you can’t get rid of it as it was made personally for you.
We are asking for Hashem to have pity on our bodies as our Maker, to guide us.
The mercy we ask for, וְרַחֵם , is for our souls. The soul is dynamic – it constantly and perpetually changes. We are the ones empowered with the ability to effect this change, due to our free will.
We are asking Hashem to have mercy on our souls, as we have not utilised our ability to change it.
וְקַבֵּל בְּרַחֲמִים וּבְרָצון אֶת תְּפִלָּתֵנוּ – And accept our prayers with mercy and wanting
The mercy, בְּרַחֲמִים, we are asking for is that in spite of the fact we don’t deserve it, it should be accepted. If a child tries to draw a picture of a beautiful sunset, and just scribbles some colors, the parent will still hang up the picture and display it. It’s not a good picture, and not actually close to being a picture of anything at all, yet the parent wants and cherishes it. This is how our prayers are – lacking in depth and form, but we are asking that we’ve tried, and hope that this be enough.
The wanting, בְרָצון, is that we ask that each prayer be viewed subjectively. Hashem desires the prayers of tzaddikim; this is בְרָצון as opposed to בְּרַחֲמִים – if our prayer is worthy, we want Hashem to accept it because He wants it, and not out of pity. If someone were to tell a bad joke, the right thing to do would be to laugh so the joke teller doesn’t feel bad. However, if he were to tell a great joke, someone who laughs out of pity didn’t get the joke at all.
We are asking that our prayers be accepted because they are wanted, and if they aren’t, then at least out of mercy.
כִּי אֵל שׁומֵעַ תְּפִלּות וְתַחֲנוּנִים אָתָּה -
תְּפִלּות are the spoken prayers, the words we say and the way formulate them. תַחֲנוּנִים are the emotions we use and how we express them.
We are confirming our belief that Hashem really understands us.
וּמִלְּפָנֶיךָ מַלְכֵּנוּ. רֵיקָם אַל תְּשִׁיבֵנוּ – and before Your Face, our King, don’t send us empty handed.
The answer to prayer can sometimes be “no”. We are asking that the prayers to which we receive such an answer do not go to waste, that they be used for something else. This can be that we find the resolve to accept the thing we are praying for will remain how it is or deteriorate, or that the prayer help someone else. We use the phrase אַל תְּשִׁיבֵנוּ – don’t send us empty handed – we ask that if our prayers aren’t going to help ourselves, then let it help the collective people.
We are asking that our prayers for things that cannot happen do not go to waste, that they instead be utilised for another purpose.
כִּי אַתָּה שׁומֵעַ תְּפִלַּת עַמְּךָ יִשרָאֵל בְּרַחֲמִים -
We use the phrase תְּפִלַּת עַמְּךָ, which is singular, the prayer of your nation, as opposed to the plural תְּפִלּות. This is revealing – the nation is a collective that becomes a singular, and the prayers are united by this to form one body of prayer. This further develops the idea that if one person cannot have his prayers answered in the way he desires, then let the prayer aid someone else in need. This is not a “transfer” – the prayer is part of the collective, as are all the members of the nation, so if one person cannot use the prayer, another can.
We are asking again that our prayers aid our nation.
כִּי אַתָּה שׁומֵעַ….בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה', שׁומֵעַ תְּפִלָּה -
This is our final plea for mercy. Why should Hashem accept our prayers at all? כִּי אַתָּה שׁומֵעַ – because You are the one who hears prayers – there is no one else who can help us.
The process of prayer is that we are lacking something, that G-d is withholding from us. We ask for it, and hopefully, we achieve it. When challenged why we deserve anything at all, our answer is simple – this is what we know how to do, this is what we were told to do. We turn to Hashem because that is what we know – Hashem can hear our prayers.
We must take note that we said שְׁמַע קולֵנוּ, that Hashem should hear us, and וְקַבֵּל בְּרַחֲמִים וּבְרָצון, that our prayers should be accepted; at no point do we mention results. This too is revealing – we must have faith in Hashem that He knows, and moreover, will do, what is right and best for us and Klal Yisrael.
אַתָּה קָדושׁ–Ata Kadosh-You are holy
אַתָּה קָדושׁ וְשִׁמְךָ קָדושׁ וּקְדושִׁים בְּכָל יום יְהַלְּלוּךָ סֶּלָה, בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה', הָאֵל הַקָּדושׁ
אַתָּה קָדושׁ וְשִׁמְךָ קָדושׁ – You are Holy, and Your Name is holy.
The word קָדושׁ is always translate as “holy”. But what is “holy”?
The concept of קָדושׁה, of holiness, is one of separation, uniqueness, and it distinguishes between different things. This is what הקדש, donations to the Beis HaMikdash are. They are קָדושׁ – they are set aside from your other possessions.
We describe Hashem as קָדושׁ. It is clear why – he is infinitely separate from us and our existences. He is distinctly beyond anything we can understand or imagine. He is different. This is אַתָּה קָדושׁ.
But we also say וְשִׁמְךָ קָדושׁ – Your Name is holy. A Hebrew name describes the inner being of a person or thing. When parents are naming a child, they get the briefest hint of ruach hakodesh to decide their child’s name. This is also what the pasuk means when it describes Adam naming all the animals. He did not formulate sounds and noises that were different – anyone could have done that. He had an extra ability – he could see the inner being in an animal, and decide that the word that fit was ari if it were lion, etc.
It follows that if a name describes the inner being, since Hashem is beyond our understanding, we would not understand his name. And we don’t really – it too is separate from us. This is וְשִׁמְךָ קָדושׁ.
Hashem is different from us for reasons beyond the fact we don’t understand His being. We are created beings, and we exist within the sphere of creation. But Hashem is the Creator – He is outside of our experience.
וּקְדושִׁים – and holy ones
There are different degrees of קָדושׁה, and therefore, different קְדושִׁים. The basic level is Yisrael – the Jewish nation are קָדושׁ because we are the am hanivchar – the chosen people. The act of choice separates us from other nations. As Jews, we have the ability to connect with Hashem.
וּקְדושִׁים also means tzaddikim. They have an influence on how things on Earth result from things decided in Heaven. The קְדושִׁים are the ones who see Hashem in everything, good and bad.
בְּכָל יום יְהַלְּלוּךָ סֶּלָה – praise You every day
A מסלה is a path. סלו are the people who walk the path. This is סֶּלָה – it is the process of how to praise Hashem. To be קָדושׁ, our service to Hashem must be a journey. The קְדושִׁים are the ones who discover new things every day as they advance along the path. This is why people are judged subjectively – there is no specific milestone on the path where one can say they have become something; rather, every person is travelling their own path.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה', הָאֵל הַקָּדושׁ – Blessed are You, the God Who is holy.
הָאֵל הַקָּדושׁ is a fascinating phrase. הָאֵל is an expression of רחמים, of mercy, and yet at the same time, Hashem is קָדושׁ, separate. This is because however separate Hashem is from us at any time, He will still interact with us. What makes a great person great is that they make other people feel great too, and not make them feel small to make the distinction. Hashem loves and cares for each of us. In spite of being entirely קָדושׁ, Hashem is הָאֵל, He is merciful.
אַתָּה קָדושׁ וְשִׁמְךָ קָדושׁ – You are Holy, and Your Name is holy.
The word קָדושׁ is always translate as “holy”. But what is “holy”?
The concept of קָדושׁה, of holiness, is one of separation, uniqueness, and it distinguishes between different things. This is what הקדש, donations to the Beis HaMikdash are. They are קָדושׁ – they are set aside from your other possessions.
We describe Hashem as קָדושׁ. It is clear why – he is infinitely separate from us and our existences. He is distinctly beyond anything we can understand or imagine. He is different. This is אַתָּה קָדושׁ.
But we also say וְשִׁמְךָ קָדושׁ – Your Name is holy. A Hebrew name describes the inner being of a person or thing. When parents are naming a child, they get the briefest hint of ruach hakodesh to decide their child’s name. This is also what the pasuk means when it describes Adam naming all the animals. He did not formulate sounds and noises that were different – anyone could have done that. He had an extra ability – he could see the inner being in an animal, and decide that the word that fit was ari if it were lion, etc.
It follows that if a name describes the inner being, since Hashem is beyond our understanding, we would not understand his name. And we don’t really – it too is separate from us. This is וְשִׁמְךָ קָדושׁ.
Hashem is different from us for reasons beyond the fact we don’t understand His being. We are created beings, and we exist within the sphere of creation. But Hashem is the Creator – He is outside of our experience.
וּקְדושִׁים – and holy ones
There are different degrees of קָדושׁה, and therefore, different קְדושִׁים. The basic level is Yisrael – the Jewish nation are קָדושׁ because we are the am hanivchar – the chosen people. The act of choice separates us from other nations. As Jews, we have the ability to connect with Hashem.
וּקְדושִׁים also means tzaddikim. They have an influence on how things on Earth result from things decided in Heaven. The קְדושִׁים are the ones who see Hashem in everything, good and bad.
בְּכָל יום יְהַלְּלוּךָ סֶּלָה – praise You every day
A מסלה is a path. סלו are the people who walk the path. This is סֶּלָה – it is the process of how to praise Hashem. To be קָדושׁ, our service to Hashem must be a journey. The קְדושִׁים are the ones who discover new things every day as they advance along the path. This is why people are judged subjectively – there is no specific milestone on the path where one can say they have become something; rather, every person is travelling their own path.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה', הָאֵל הַקָּדושׁ – Blessed are You, the God Who is holy.
הָאֵל הַקָּדושׁ is a fascinating phrase. הָאֵל is an expression of רחמים, of mercy, and yet at the same time, Hashem is קָדושׁ, separate. This is because however separate Hashem is from us at any time, He will still interact with us. What makes a great person great is that they make other people feel great too, and not make them feel small to make the distinction. Hashem loves and cares for each of us. In spite of being entirely קָדושׁ, Hashem is הָאֵל, He is merciful.
וְעַל כֻּלָּם - v’Al Kulam
וְעַל כֻּלָּם יִתְבָּרַךְ וְיִתְרומַם שִׁמְךָ מַלְכֵּנוּ תָּמִיד לְעולָם וָעֶד: וְכל הַחַיִּים יודוּךָ סֶּלָה. וִיהַלְלוּ אֶת שִׁמְךָ בֶּאֱמֶת. הָאֵל יְשׁוּעָתֵנוּ וְעֶזְרָתֵנוּ סֶלָה. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה', הַטּוב שִׁמְךָ וּלְךָ נָאֶה לְהודות:
וְעַל כֻּלָּם יִתְבָּרַךְ וְיִתְרומַם שִׁמְךָ מַלְכֵּנוּ תָּמִיד לְעולָם וָעֶד -
When something does what it was supposed to, the act expressed appreciation for the command and the person who gave it. In this way the entire Creation demonstrates it’s thanks to Hashem. The Creation being put to work fulfills it’s purpose, and is it’s way of expressing gratitude to Hashem. All of nature reflects this – when a tree grows, it’s leaves change colour, fall, and bloom again, it is working the way a tree works, and it is what trees were created to do. It is fulfilling it’s function.
The same is true of ourselves – each of us is put on earth to fulfill a particular mission, and we are built with everything we need to perform our mission. For example – Yishmael’s name is a portmanteau of the words ישמע אל – God will listen. Yishmael’s role was to introduce prayer to the world. He did not do this by being a holy person. He became a murderer. Nonetheless, his existence had a purpose, to introduce prayer to the world. When his mother, Hagar, was sent away with Yishmael, they found themselves in a desert, and Yishmael was dying of the thirst. His mother could not bear to see her son die, so abandoned him.
The pasuk says: וַיִּשְׁמַע אֱ־לֹהִים אֶת קוֹל הַנַּעַר וַיִּקְרָא מַלְאַךְ אֱ־לֹהִים אֶל הָגָר מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ מַה לָּךְ הָגָר אַל תִּירְאִי כִּי שָׁמַע אֱ־לֹהִים אֶל קוֹל הַנַּעַר בַּאֲשֶׁר הוּא שָׁם - And God heard the lad's voice, and an angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, "What is troubling you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the lad's voice in the place where he is”. (Bereishis 21:17)
He brought prayer into this world, even if he had not tried to.
The same is true of Yishmael’s descendants. They can either be holy people who pray, or they can choose not to, and every terror attack, gunfight and war causes others to pray. (What is frightening is when Yishmael prays and fights, as we say today). But there must be prayer in the world instigated by Yishmael. The Creation must fulfill it’s purpose. It is worth noting that the use of the bechira – the free will, is to go against this purpose, but that the natural course would be to fulfill the mission the correct way. When a machine is perfect at serving a function, the right thing to do would be to switch it on, although we can choose not to.
This is why we say that everything will thank Hashem forever. The Creation “wants” to fulfill it’s purpose and is geared towards doing so. This is the ultimate expression of thanks.
וְכל הַחַיִּים יודוּךָ סֶּלָה – gggg
We can understand “הַחַיִּים” in three ways, and they are not mutually exclusive.
The first way is that we thank Hashem for every breath we take. Every breath sustains life, and life is a gift worth thanking Hashem for, whether in good times or bad times. We thank Hashem for חַיִּים.
The second is that a person is meant to pray with life – that is, with their entire body. (This is the source of swaying or shaking during prayer). We thank Hashem with חַיִּים.
The third is that all living things thank and praise Hashem, ie Perek Shira goes through all the praises for each animal . There are two ways to understand this; that the animals noises are the thanks they give; or that when we see the beauty of the animals, the praise we say is for the animal. Or in other words, everything that is חַיִּים thanks Hashem.
וִיהַלְלוּ אֶת שִׁמְךָ בֶּאֱמֶת – and they will praise Your Name with truth
The way to praise Hashem is with באמת. This is commonly translated as “Truth”, but is better translated as “reality”. We say that קרוב ה’ לכל קוראיו, יקראוהו באמת – Hashem is close to those who call him with reality. If a person calls out to Hashem with their entire being, that becomes their reality. This is how to pray. This is also the way to praise Hashem, that the persons reality should be consumed with the need to praise Hashem.
We are saying that the way to praise Hashem is with our very being.
הָאֵל יְשׁוּעָתֵנוּ וְעֶזְרָתֵנוּ סֶלָה -
Why do we say that Hashem both saves us and helps us? There are several ways to explain why Hashem is both.
They are different characteristics, used in different situations. This means that Hashem is not both at the same time, but both are His characteristics.
In a different vein, perhaps we are asking that although being saved from a situation is one option, we would prefer to be helped so that we can persevere and grow from such situations.
The third explanation is that the two are parts of the same thing. We can give an analogy of a child learning to ride a bike. At first, the child needs a parent to hold him, and maybe even extra wheels. If the parent lets go, the child will fall and hurt himself. But eventually, the child is comfortable enough to try riding on his own, and once he can, he has learnt to ride a bike.
The same is true of us – Hashem saves us when we are unable to help ourselves. But gradually, Hashem loosens his hold on us, until we are capable of facing adversity without needing direct intervention. When we are capable of doing so, we will have succeeded and passed our test.
This is why we say סֶּלָה - a מסלה is a path. סלו are the people who walk the path. This is סֶּלָה – it is the process of how to praise Hashem. Hashem is always looking to help us in the long term, in order for us to grow and succeed. Once we have grown, He holds back from direct intervention because we are better off – and we can therefore praise Him more for it having grown.
In the bracha נשמת כל חי we say that it is impossible to thank Hashem enough for what He has done for us, because He has done so much. Yet we go on to thank Him anyway, and this should be educative to us. We go on to discuss all the organs Hashem gave us – that is to say that whatever it is we were given must be enough to do what we have to do. So this is not just to praise Hashem, but to tell us that no matter how distant we may feel, Hashem will always hear us because wherever we are, we are fully equipped with all the tools that we need to do what we need to, and if what we need to do is to thank Hashem, we are capable.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה – zzzz
When we say בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה, we bend our knees and bow slightly. There are two ways to recognize someone’s greatness; that whatever you may be, the other person is greater; or that you are nothing in comparison to the other person. This shows our subservience and deference to Hashem – also knows as שפלות האדם.
We straighten up when we say Hashem’s name though. In the morning, we say זוקף כפופים – that Hashem straightens the bent. We recognise that the ability to stand is from Hashem – this is why when we stand, a sign of strength, and therefore possibly arrogance, we only stand at Hashem’s name.
When we bend and stand, we are recognising Hashem’s greatness, and our own insignificance in comparison.
הַטּוב שִׁמְךָ וּלְךָ נָאֶה לְהודות –
When we say וּלְךָ נָאֶה לְהודות – to Hashem it is fitting to praise. It is a wonderful midda to be grateful, but what we are saying is that every kindness that someone shows us is not really theirs – the kindness they showed, and the fact they were kind at all, is from Hashem. Hashem is the source of all kindness; it is good to give thanks to people who are kind, but the only one to whom it is fitting to show thanks, is Hashem. A person’s kindness is a manifestation of Hashems kindness, and one must thank them for choosing to be kind, but we must recognise that Hashem was truly kind and sent the kindness our way.
This is why we say וּלְךָ נָאֶה לְהודות – to You it is fitting to praise.
וְעַל כֻּלָּם יִתְבָּרַךְ וְיִתְרומַם שִׁמְךָ מַלְכֵּנוּ תָּמִיד לְעולָם וָעֶד -
When something does what it was supposed to, the act expressed appreciation for the command and the person who gave it. In this way the entire Creation demonstrates it’s thanks to Hashem. The Creation being put to work fulfills it’s purpose, and is it’s way of expressing gratitude to Hashem. All of nature reflects this – when a tree grows, it’s leaves change colour, fall, and bloom again, it is working the way a tree works, and it is what trees were created to do. It is fulfilling it’s function.
The same is true of ourselves – each of us is put on earth to fulfill a particular mission, and we are built with everything we need to perform our mission. For example – Yishmael’s name is a portmanteau of the words ישמע אל – God will listen. Yishmael’s role was to introduce prayer to the world. He did not do this by being a holy person. He became a murderer. Nonetheless, his existence had a purpose, to introduce prayer to the world. When his mother, Hagar, was sent away with Yishmael, they found themselves in a desert, and Yishmael was dying of the thirst. His mother could not bear to see her son die, so abandoned him.
The pasuk says: וַיִּשְׁמַע אֱ־לֹהִים אֶת קוֹל הַנַּעַר וַיִּקְרָא מַלְאַךְ אֱ־לֹהִים אֶל הָגָר מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ מַה לָּךְ הָגָר אַל תִּירְאִי כִּי שָׁמַע אֱ־לֹהִים אֶל קוֹל הַנַּעַר בַּאֲשֶׁר הוּא שָׁם - And God heard the lad's voice, and an angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, "What is troubling you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the lad's voice in the place where he is”. (Bereishis 21:17)
He brought prayer into this world, even if he had not tried to.
The same is true of Yishmael’s descendants. They can either be holy people who pray, or they can choose not to, and every terror attack, gunfight and war causes others to pray. (What is frightening is when Yishmael prays and fights, as we say today). But there must be prayer in the world instigated by Yishmael. The Creation must fulfill it’s purpose. It is worth noting that the use of the bechira – the free will, is to go against this purpose, but that the natural course would be to fulfill the mission the correct way. When a machine is perfect at serving a function, the right thing to do would be to switch it on, although we can choose not to.
This is why we say that everything will thank Hashem forever. The Creation “wants” to fulfill it’s purpose and is geared towards doing so. This is the ultimate expression of thanks.
וְכל הַחַיִּים יודוּךָ סֶּלָה – gggg
We can understand “הַחַיִּים” in three ways, and they are not mutually exclusive.
The first way is that we thank Hashem for every breath we take. Every breath sustains life, and life is a gift worth thanking Hashem for, whether in good times or bad times. We thank Hashem for חַיִּים.
The second is that a person is meant to pray with life – that is, with their entire body. (This is the source of swaying or shaking during prayer). We thank Hashem with חַיִּים.
The third is that all living things thank and praise Hashem, ie Perek Shira goes through all the praises for each animal . There are two ways to understand this; that the animals noises are the thanks they give; or that when we see the beauty of the animals, the praise we say is for the animal. Or in other words, everything that is חַיִּים thanks Hashem.
וִיהַלְלוּ אֶת שִׁמְךָ בֶּאֱמֶת – and they will praise Your Name with truth
The way to praise Hashem is with באמת. This is commonly translated as “Truth”, but is better translated as “reality”. We say that קרוב ה’ לכל קוראיו, יקראוהו באמת – Hashem is close to those who call him with reality. If a person calls out to Hashem with their entire being, that becomes their reality. This is how to pray. This is also the way to praise Hashem, that the persons reality should be consumed with the need to praise Hashem.
We are saying that the way to praise Hashem is with our very being.
הָאֵל יְשׁוּעָתֵנוּ וְעֶזְרָתֵנוּ סֶלָה -
Why do we say that Hashem both saves us and helps us? There are several ways to explain why Hashem is both.
They are different characteristics, used in different situations. This means that Hashem is not both at the same time, but both are His characteristics.
In a different vein, perhaps we are asking that although being saved from a situation is one option, we would prefer to be helped so that we can persevere and grow from such situations.
The third explanation is that the two are parts of the same thing. We can give an analogy of a child learning to ride a bike. At first, the child needs a parent to hold him, and maybe even extra wheels. If the parent lets go, the child will fall and hurt himself. But eventually, the child is comfortable enough to try riding on his own, and once he can, he has learnt to ride a bike.
The same is true of us – Hashem saves us when we are unable to help ourselves. But gradually, Hashem loosens his hold on us, until we are capable of facing adversity without needing direct intervention. When we are capable of doing so, we will have succeeded and passed our test.
This is why we say סֶּלָה - a מסלה is a path. סלו are the people who walk the path. This is סֶּלָה – it is the process of how to praise Hashem. Hashem is always looking to help us in the long term, in order for us to grow and succeed. Once we have grown, He holds back from direct intervention because we are better off – and we can therefore praise Him more for it having grown.
In the bracha נשמת כל חי we say that it is impossible to thank Hashem enough for what He has done for us, because He has done so much. Yet we go on to thank Him anyway, and this should be educative to us. We go on to discuss all the organs Hashem gave us – that is to say that whatever it is we were given must be enough to do what we have to do. So this is not just to praise Hashem, but to tell us that no matter how distant we may feel, Hashem will always hear us because wherever we are, we are fully equipped with all the tools that we need to do what we need to, and if what we need to do is to thank Hashem, we are capable.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה – zzzz
When we say בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה, we bend our knees and bow slightly. There are two ways to recognize someone’s greatness; that whatever you may be, the other person is greater; or that you are nothing in comparison to the other person. This shows our subservience and deference to Hashem – also knows as שפלות האדם.
We straighten up when we say Hashem’s name though. In the morning, we say זוקף כפופים – that Hashem straightens the bent. We recognise that the ability to stand is from Hashem – this is why when we stand, a sign of strength, and therefore possibly arrogance, we only stand at Hashem’s name.
When we bend and stand, we are recognising Hashem’s greatness, and our own insignificance in comparison.
הַטּוב שִׁמְךָ וּלְךָ נָאֶה לְהודות –
When we say וּלְךָ נָאֶה לְהודות – to Hashem it is fitting to praise. It is a wonderful midda to be grateful, but what we are saying is that every kindness that someone shows us is not really theirs – the kindness they showed, and the fact they were kind at all, is from Hashem. Hashem is the source of all kindness; it is good to give thanks to people who are kind, but the only one to whom it is fitting to show thanks, is Hashem. A person’s kindness is a manifestation of Hashems kindness, and one must thank them for choosing to be kind, but we must recognise that Hashem was truly kind and sent the kindness our way.
This is why we say וּלְךָ נָאֶה לְהודות – to You it is fitting to praise.
וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם עִירְךָ–vl’Yerushalayim Ircha-And Jerusalem Your city
וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם עִירְךָ בְּרַחֲמִים תָּשׁוּב. וְתִשְׁכּן בְּתוכָהּ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתָּ. וּבְנֵה אותָהּ בְּקָרוב בְּיָמֵינוּ בִּנְיַן עולָם. וְכִסֵּא דָוִד מְהֵרָה לְתוכָהּ תָּכִין. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה', בּונֵה יְרוּשָׁלָיִם
With most of our prayers, we are lacking something, but we have a clear picture in our mind’s eye what we are requesting, and in this way we connect with Hashem over our deficiencies. However, when we pray for Yerushalayim to be rebuilt, we don’t know how it was, or how it will be – we only understand the concept, that a rebuilt Yerushalayim is where we are meant to be, physically and spiritually.
This tefila is a perfect proof that all our prayers join together. This prayer and it’s variants have been said for nearly two thousand years by our ancestors. Their prayers cannot be said to go to waste – the Ge’ula is monumentally massive, one prayer will not bring it; it will be the sum-total of all the thousands of years of prayers. It is not just the prayers that join – we may not understand what Yerushalayim is or was, but along the way, there were people who did – our tefillos merge with these.
וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם עִירְךָ - And Yerushalayim Your city
The first letter, the vav, means “and” – it connects what precedes to what follows. There are several explanations of what this is connected to.
The first is that it is related to תְּקַע בְּשׁופָר גָּדול – where we ask Hashem to bring an end to the Exile so all the people can return to Israel, and we are now asking for the place to which we return, ירוּשָׁלַיִם עִירְךָ, to be rebuilt.
The second explanation is that ירוּשָׁלַיִם is a plural word. This is because there are two Jerusalems. There is the ירוּשָׁלַיִם של מעלה – the Heavenly Jerusalem, in addition to the ירוּשָׁלַיִם של מטה – the Jerusalem on Earth. When we are worthy of it, the two Yerushalayim co-exist together, which is what occurs in times of peace and harmony. So we daven וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם – we want Hashem to reside in both, the של מעלה and the של מטה.
There third explanation, by R’ Yisroel Reisman, that וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם continues from עַל הַצַּדִּיקִים. The Yerushalayim of today, of bars, restaurants, and shopping, is not the Yerushalayim we daven for. We want the Yerushalayim of tzaddikim back.
בְּרַחֲמִים תָּשׁוּב – Return with mercy
Mashiach can come at different times, under different circumstances. We ask Hashem that whenever the time of Mashiach arrives, it should always be through רַחֲמִים, mercy, and not anger, even if we don’t deserve it.
We are asking that the Exile end through רַחֲמִים and not דין.
וְתִשְׁכּן בְּתוכָהּ – And reside within it.
The Vilna Gaon explains that we can ask for וְתִשְׁכּן בְּתוכָהּ without necessarily having וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם עִירְךָ. Even if we may not be worthy of having Mashiach and the rebuilt Jerusalem today, it does not stop Hashem from being felt there. Obviously, we would prefer וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם עִירְךָ וְתִשְׁכּן בְּתוכָהּ, but וְתִשְׁכּן בְּתוכָהּ does not have to be the result of וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם עִירְךָ. So we are asking that if we cannot have our prayer answered fully, that they be answered somewhat anyway.
We ask Hashem to rebuild Yerushalayim, not for us to be safe, but so we can be close to Him.
כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתָּ – as You told us
We affirm that Hashem told us He would rebuild Yerushalayim, and we depend on this. It is not possible that Hashem would not keep His word.
We are saying that we have perfect faith in what Hashem told us.
וּבְנֵה אותָהּ בְּקָרוב בְּיָמֵינוּ – and build it soon within our days
We ask Hashem that Yerushalayim and the Beis HaMikdash be rebuilt בְּיָמֵינוּ. The beis has a double meaning – it can mean with, and within (inside). So we are asking that Yerushalayim be rebuilt not just within our days, but בְּיָמֵינוּ – with our actual days. The mitzvos and merits we earn each day will be the building blocks of the Ge’ula. We should take heed that each day has a new power and potential to do so.
We are asking that our days be fit to use to help rebuild Yerushalayim and the Beis HaMikdash.
בִּנְיַן עולָם – an eternal building
This too has a double meaning – it is a בִּנְיַן that is לעולם, a building that is forever, but it is also a בִּנְיַן for the עולָם – the Beis HaMikdash is a building that rebuilds the world.
וְכִסֵּא דָוִד מְהֵרָה לְתוכָהּ תָּכִין – and the throne of David speedily return within it
Apart from returning the Kingdom of David to Israel and Jerusalem, we asking for the “throne” to return to the Beis HaMikdash. Only one person is allowed to sit in the Beis HaMikdash, the king. We want a full restoration of how things were meant to be; Yerushalayim, the monarchy, the Beis HaMikdash, and the fusion of them all – the king sitting in the Beis HaMikdash in Yerushalayim.
We can also look at this as a metaphor. In a time where people daven to Hashem, Hashem is close to us, His כסא הכבוד is closer to us, it is in this world. In a time where people are distant from Hashem, Hashem is distant from us, and the כסא הכבוד is missing form this world.
We ask Hashem that the כִסֵּא, the throne, both His own and that of David, return to this world.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה', בּונֵה יְרוּשָׁלָיִם – Blessed are You Hashem, who builds Jerusalem
The bracha of וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם ends in the present tense. This is because every day, we get closer to the Ge’ula, not just in time, but in merit as well. The more mitzvos we do, the closer get to Mashiach.
With most of our prayers, we are lacking something, but we have a clear picture in our mind’s eye what we are requesting, and in this way we connect with Hashem over our deficiencies. However, when we pray for Yerushalayim to be rebuilt, we don’t know how it was, or how it will be – we only understand the concept, that a rebuilt Yerushalayim is where we are meant to be, physically and spiritually.
This tefila is a perfect proof that all our prayers join together. This prayer and it’s variants have been said for nearly two thousand years by our ancestors. Their prayers cannot be said to go to waste – the Ge’ula is monumentally massive, one prayer will not bring it; it will be the sum-total of all the thousands of years of prayers. It is not just the prayers that join – we may not understand what Yerushalayim is or was, but along the way, there were people who did – our tefillos merge with these.
וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם עִירְךָ - And Yerushalayim Your city
The first letter, the vav, means “and” – it connects what precedes to what follows. There are several explanations of what this is connected to.
The first is that it is related to תְּקַע בְּשׁופָר גָּדול – where we ask Hashem to bring an end to the Exile so all the people can return to Israel, and we are now asking for the place to which we return, ירוּשָׁלַיִם עִירְךָ, to be rebuilt.
The second explanation is that ירוּשָׁלַיִם is a plural word. This is because there are two Jerusalems. There is the ירוּשָׁלַיִם של מעלה – the Heavenly Jerusalem, in addition to the ירוּשָׁלַיִם של מטה – the Jerusalem on Earth. When we are worthy of it, the two Yerushalayim co-exist together, which is what occurs in times of peace and harmony. So we daven וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם – we want Hashem to reside in both, the של מעלה and the של מטה.
There third explanation, by R’ Yisroel Reisman, that וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם continues from עַל הַצַּדִּיקִים. The Yerushalayim of today, of bars, restaurants, and shopping, is not the Yerushalayim we daven for. We want the Yerushalayim of tzaddikim back.
בְּרַחֲמִים תָּשׁוּב – Return with mercy
Mashiach can come at different times, under different circumstances. We ask Hashem that whenever the time of Mashiach arrives, it should always be through רַחֲמִים, mercy, and not anger, even if we don’t deserve it.
We are asking that the Exile end through רַחֲמִים and not דין.
וְתִשְׁכּן בְּתוכָהּ – And reside within it.
The Vilna Gaon explains that we can ask for וְתִשְׁכּן בְּתוכָהּ without necessarily having וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם עִירְךָ. Even if we may not be worthy of having Mashiach and the rebuilt Jerusalem today, it does not stop Hashem from being felt there. Obviously, we would prefer וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם עִירְךָ וְתִשְׁכּן בְּתוכָהּ, but וְתִשְׁכּן בְּתוכָהּ does not have to be the result of וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם עִירְךָ. So we are asking that if we cannot have our prayer answered fully, that they be answered somewhat anyway.
We ask Hashem to rebuild Yerushalayim, not for us to be safe, but so we can be close to Him.
כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתָּ – as You told us
We affirm that Hashem told us He would rebuild Yerushalayim, and we depend on this. It is not possible that Hashem would not keep His word.
We are saying that we have perfect faith in what Hashem told us.
וּבְנֵה אותָהּ בְּקָרוב בְּיָמֵינוּ – and build it soon within our days
We ask Hashem that Yerushalayim and the Beis HaMikdash be rebuilt בְּיָמֵינוּ. The beis has a double meaning – it can mean with, and within (inside). So we are asking that Yerushalayim be rebuilt not just within our days, but בְּיָמֵינוּ – with our actual days. The mitzvos and merits we earn each day will be the building blocks of the Ge’ula. We should take heed that each day has a new power and potential to do so.
We are asking that our days be fit to use to help rebuild Yerushalayim and the Beis HaMikdash.
בִּנְיַן עולָם – an eternal building
This too has a double meaning – it is a בִּנְיַן that is לעולם, a building that is forever, but it is also a בִּנְיַן for the עולָם – the Beis HaMikdash is a building that rebuilds the world.
וְכִסֵּא דָוִד מְהֵרָה לְתוכָהּ תָּכִין – and the throne of David speedily return within it
Apart from returning the Kingdom of David to Israel and Jerusalem, we asking for the “throne” to return to the Beis HaMikdash. Only one person is allowed to sit in the Beis HaMikdash, the king. We want a full restoration of how things were meant to be; Yerushalayim, the monarchy, the Beis HaMikdash, and the fusion of them all – the king sitting in the Beis HaMikdash in Yerushalayim.
We can also look at this as a metaphor. In a time where people daven to Hashem, Hashem is close to us, His כסא הכבוד is closer to us, it is in this world. In a time where people are distant from Hashem, Hashem is distant from us, and the כסא הכבוד is missing form this world.
We ask Hashem that the כִסֵּא, the throne, both His own and that of David, return to this world.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה', בּונֵה יְרוּשָׁלָיִם – Blessed are You Hashem, who builds Jerusalem
The bracha of וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם ends in the present tense. This is because every day, we get closer to the Ge’ula, not just in time, but in merit as well. The more mitzvos we do, the closer get to Mashiach.
רְאֵה בְעָנְיֵנוּ–Re’eh v’anyeinu–see our affliction
רְאֵה בְעָנְיֵנוּ. וְרִיבָה רִיבֵנוּ. וּגְאָלֵנוּ מְהֵרָה לְמַעַן שְׁמֶךָ. כִּי גּואֵל חָזָק אָתָּה. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה', גּואֵל יִשרָאֵל
ראה בענינו - see our affliction
The concept of עניות – poverty, is a sense of lacking, in any sense of the word. We are asking Hashem to see our suffering the way we see it. The suffering doesn’t have to be physical – it can be when something doesn’t go our way, or we don’t get the outcome we want.
What we ask Hashem to see is בענינו – into our suffering. There can be suffering that a person does not acknowledge or is not aware of, and it is still a perfect prayer as all people want to be better, and this is what the prayer is requesting. Furthermore, בענינו encompasses our deepest yearnings, even the ones we dare not ask for for fear of sounding silly. בענינו – we are asking to Hashem to analyse us to our cores, plumbing our depths, and stop our pains.
We ask Hashem to see the pain we go through fighting our battles for Him, and that He help us.
וריבה ריבנו – and fight our battles
We are eternally at war, and our enemy is the Yetzer Hara. It stands for everything the Torah does not, and it is overrunning each of us. It is essential that we recognise that this is a battle – there are battle lines, distinctions between the warring factions. Just as in a battle, we can reinforce areas isolated for attack by the enemy. It extends beyond the Yetzer Hara though – by asking us to help us in the real fight, by default the reverse reaction is that we are also asking Hashem to help us abandon our pointless fights – be they with parents, teachers, siblings, friends.
We are asking Hashem to aid us in our fight against the Yetzer Hara and help us fight where we ought to.
וּגְאָלֵנוּ – and redeem us
The concept of גלות – exile, is that it is foreign – it’s not where we’re supposed to be or where we belong. When a person is occupied with the Yetzer Hara one way or another, he’s not where he’s supposed to be, by nature of what the Yetzer Hara is.
We are asking Hashem to remove the Yetzer Hara from us, in order to return us to where we ought to be.
מְהֵרָה לְמַעַן שְׁמֶךָ – speedily, for Your Name’s sake
Much like with an individual prayer versus a group prayer, when a person prays on his own behalf, Heaven weighs up this person’s merits and evaluates his worthiness to receive his request. But what this bracha is about is strongly weighted towards the spiritual angle – we are not in this fight for ourselves, we are “holy warriors” – we fight our every day struggles for Hashem, and this removes the evaluation process that an individual on his own behalf would go through.
We have to mean this when we say it – we are asking for aid to be a Kiddush Hashem.
כִּי גּואֵל חָזָק אָתָּה – because you are the Mighty Redeemer
Hashem is גּואֵל חָזָק because this is Hashem’s creation – as such, when we face adversity of any kind, Hashem has caused one part of creation to battle another – the mightiness is that this situation is sustained. This is the might – the redemption is mightier as this situation can be stopped – when there is no reason to. We can be entirely undeserving, and Hashem can still have mercy on us.
In effect, this bracha has two parts to it. The first is that we are requesting something, and the second is that we are recognizing Hashem’s ability to do anything in our lives and everyone else’s, and part of the recognition is that we are undeserving of being sheltered from this ability.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה', גּואֵל יִשרָאֵל – who redeems of Israel
This is written in the present tense, and is the key to the whole bracha. Hashem is always and continually redeeming. Consistent redemption on the spiritual side from the Yetzer Hara; and constant redemption from dangers that we may or may not know of. As we say in והיא שעמדה on Pesach, in every generation we are saved from genocide, and we are protected from it.
We are meant to recognize that if nature took it’s course, and survival of the fittest was in effect, we could not possibly be here. We are being perpetually sustained by Hashem.
ראה בענינו - see our affliction
The concept of עניות – poverty, is a sense of lacking, in any sense of the word. We are asking Hashem to see our suffering the way we see it. The suffering doesn’t have to be physical – it can be when something doesn’t go our way, or we don’t get the outcome we want.
What we ask Hashem to see is בענינו – into our suffering. There can be suffering that a person does not acknowledge or is not aware of, and it is still a perfect prayer as all people want to be better, and this is what the prayer is requesting. Furthermore, בענינו encompasses our deepest yearnings, even the ones we dare not ask for for fear of sounding silly. בענינו – we are asking to Hashem to analyse us to our cores, plumbing our depths, and stop our pains.
We ask Hashem to see the pain we go through fighting our battles for Him, and that He help us.
וריבה ריבנו – and fight our battles
We are eternally at war, and our enemy is the Yetzer Hara. It stands for everything the Torah does not, and it is overrunning each of us. It is essential that we recognise that this is a battle – there are battle lines, distinctions between the warring factions. Just as in a battle, we can reinforce areas isolated for attack by the enemy. It extends beyond the Yetzer Hara though – by asking us to help us in the real fight, by default the reverse reaction is that we are also asking Hashem to help us abandon our pointless fights – be they with parents, teachers, siblings, friends.
We are asking Hashem to aid us in our fight against the Yetzer Hara and help us fight where we ought to.
וּגְאָלֵנוּ – and redeem us
The concept of גלות – exile, is that it is foreign – it’s not where we’re supposed to be or where we belong. When a person is occupied with the Yetzer Hara one way or another, he’s not where he’s supposed to be, by nature of what the Yetzer Hara is.
We are asking Hashem to remove the Yetzer Hara from us, in order to return us to where we ought to be.
מְהֵרָה לְמַעַן שְׁמֶךָ – speedily, for Your Name’s sake
Much like with an individual prayer versus a group prayer, when a person prays on his own behalf, Heaven weighs up this person’s merits and evaluates his worthiness to receive his request. But what this bracha is about is strongly weighted towards the spiritual angle – we are not in this fight for ourselves, we are “holy warriors” – we fight our every day struggles for Hashem, and this removes the evaluation process that an individual on his own behalf would go through.
We have to mean this when we say it – we are asking for aid to be a Kiddush Hashem.
כִּי גּואֵל חָזָק אָתָּה – because you are the Mighty Redeemer
Hashem is גּואֵל חָזָק because this is Hashem’s creation – as such, when we face adversity of any kind, Hashem has caused one part of creation to battle another – the mightiness is that this situation is sustained. This is the might – the redemption is mightier as this situation can be stopped – when there is no reason to. We can be entirely undeserving, and Hashem can still have mercy on us.
In effect, this bracha has two parts to it. The first is that we are requesting something, and the second is that we are recognizing Hashem’s ability to do anything in our lives and everyone else’s, and part of the recognition is that we are undeserving of being sheltered from this ability.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה', גּואֵל יִשרָאֵל – who redeems of Israel
This is written in the present tense, and is the key to the whole bracha. Hashem is always and continually redeeming. Consistent redemption on the spiritual side from the Yetzer Hara; and constant redemption from dangers that we may or may not know of. As we say in והיא שעמדה on Pesach, in every generation we are saved from genocide, and we are protected from it.
We are meant to recognize that if nature took it’s course, and survival of the fittest was in effect, we could not possibly be here. We are being perpetually sustained by Hashem.
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