Print PDF
By Rabbi Nafoly Bier
In our daily תפילות, prayers, we entreat Hashem, “ויחד לבבינו לאהבה וליראה את שמך”, “and unify our hearts to love and fear Your Name.” (דוד המלך entreats the same in singular Psalms 86:11). Aren’t these two, to love and fear, diametrically opposite emotions? Many explain the attribute that משה רבינו gave to Hashem, designated as נורא (awesome) is the trait of רחמים, mercy. How do mercy and fear synthesize?
In the Amidah, it states, זוכר חסדי אבות… באהבה, “And He remembers the kind deeds of the patriarchs and therefore will bring the ultimate redemption with love.” Though we won’t be meritorious to merit the ultimate redemption, Hashem in His infinite mercy and compassion will redeem His people with unmitigated love. This idea corresponds to our Patriarch, Yaakov who represents the idea of mercy and truth.
In this week’s פרשה, Ch. 28:12-15, the Torah relates the dream that יעקב, our Patriarch Jacob, experienced. “And he dreamt and there was a ladder set earthward, and its top reached heavenward; and behold angels of G-d were ascending and descending on it.” At first glance, one would ask, shouldn’t the reverse be correct, that angels descend from Heaven and subsequently return there? (see Rashi, Ramban) The חזקוני (see Rav Hirsch) and similarly, דעת זקנים explain as follows:
The angels would first go to Hashem to get instructions and then would reside in this world; analogous to one who goes to an attic and then returns to the lower level, the true place of residence in a home. Yaakov Avinu exclaimed, “How awesome is this place, how fearing I must be, for this physical world is also the residence of Hashem Himself.” Yaakov Avinu, upon realizing that Hashem is directly involved with His “lowly creation”, expressed in awe; “His love, His dedication to us is so awesome that He actually ‘lowers’ Himself to be with us.”
His love is so infinite. An expression of His infinite love is His constant mercy, His connection to us is constant, eternal, inspiring, and invigorating. It’s awesome!
מה נורא , Yaakov Avinu realizing this relentless benefaction from Hashem, experienced fear and trepidation. Due to my unequivocal appreciation of His infinite dedication, I must continually selflessly follow His dictates, His Torah, with perfection and integrity!
“לאהבה וליראה , to love and fear” is the level that Yaakov Avinu inculcated in us. If we truly appreciate all that Hashem bestows upon us, we will naturally come to love Him and in turn always ask, “Am I doing His will?” Due to His “mercy” an affirmation of his boundless love, we dedicate ourselves to Him in awe.
Hashem benefacted us a gift, a vehicle through which we constantly experience His boundless love and in turn our obligations – עבודה, תפילה, prayer. He lets us speak to Him. He lets us know we’re important to Him. He actually brings Himself to us so we can speak to Him! But one can ask, why the expression תפילה, which the root explanation is to judge? Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch enlightens us with the following: (Genesis p. 454)
“התפלל means: to infuse every aspect of one’s being and existence with God’s truth, and thus attain for oneself harmonious integrity of all of life by the light of God’s Countenance. Jewish תפילה, then, is antithetical to the common conception of “prayer.” תפילה is not an outpouring from within, an expression of what the heart already feels. Rather, תפילה means infusing the heart with truths that come from outside oneself.
תפילה is עבודה שבלב; מתפלל means to work on refining one’s inner self, to elevate one’s mind and heart to the lofty heights of recognition of truth and desire for serving G-d. If this were not the case, if תפילה were but an outpouring of our emotions, it would make no sense to have fixed times and fixed texts for our prayers. How could we assume that all the members of the community would be imbued with the same thoughts and the same emotions at certain predetermined times?
Moreover, prayer that is merely an expression of feeling is superfluous. Thoughts and emotions that are already alive within us do not require expression, least of all expression in set phrases formulated by others than ourselves. It follows, then, that the whole purpose of our fixed prayers is to awaken the heart and to revive within it those timeless values that still require reinforcement and special care. One can truly say that the less we feel in the mood for prayer, the greater is our need to pray, and the greater is the redeeming power and sublime value of the work upon ourselves that we perform through תפילה.”
When we constantly, three times daily, in a timely way, truly inculcate in ourselves His Omnipresence, giving, love, graciousness, and mercy; we in turn will selflessly dedicate ourselves to His greatest gift to us, His Torah.
“When God preserves and blesses a person in the struggle for existence, He reveals Himself as ‘ה, in His מדת הרחמים, mercy and kindness, and there is no one who would not wish for such treatment from God. But only the Jew says: והיה ה‘ לי לאלוקים meaning: God, Who showered upon me the bounty of His love and goodness, will be to me a God Who not only gives and bestows but also demands that His Will be done with all that bounty. To accept upon yourself the yoke of the Lawgiver’s kingship, and not just thank Him for His munificent blessings; to direct all the inclinations of your heart, and to use every penny that you own, only in accordance with God’s Will – that is the meaning of והיה ה‘ לי לאלוקים . May Hashem enable us to use the gift of תפילה!
