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By Rabbi Naftoly Bier
In the weekday שמונה עשרה, we beseech Hashem: סלח לנו אבינו כי חטאנו מחל לנו מלכנו כי פשענו כי מוחל וסולח אתה, “Forgive us, our Father for we have erred, pardon us (it means not to even harbor resentment) our King for (though) we have willfully sinned – for You pardon and forgive.”
When we ask for forgiveness for a sin done unintentionally, we beseech our “Father”, whereas when we refer to Hashem as our King, we ask Him to pardon our intentional sins. Shouldn’t it be the opposite – a father is more apt to forgive than a king, after all the father loves their child, it’s his extension?
The אבודרהם explains that to a father, all mistakes and intentional misdeeds are in his eyes a minor infraction and therefore it’s easy for him to forgive, while to a king all negative behavior is considered as rebellious behavior and therefore necessitates complete absolvement by the “King” for one to truly “walk away scot free”.
In contrast to this the כתב וקבלה posits that an intentional negative action is impossible for a father to pardon. After all, the father’s hopes and dreams are reflected in the child, for after the father’s death he looks to the child as the continuance of his life long aspirations and achievement. A king who has myriad subjects and therefore not personally involved, for him it’s much easier to pardon.
Both are teaching us that when we relate to Hashem as our Father; it is a reflection of our understanding the intimate, unyielding love Hashem has for every individual – a ramification of our love of Him based on our endless appreciation of His gifts. Hashem, as our King, is due to one’s awe of Hashem, our Creator to whom we act with the responsibility that He demands from us, in order not to be punished, or better yet to be a recipient who will be a beneficiary of His gifts.
Another explanation proposed by HaRav Friedlander זצ”ל is that every עברה, misdeed, sin has two components to it. 1) One has committed rebellious behavior towards one’s Creator, 2) one has harmed oneself by acting in a manner detrimental to one’s spiritual growth.
We pray to Hashem, our Father to please forgive us for not acting in the proper manner, but to our King we ask, please pardon us for the disrespect we conveyed to you. מוחל וסולח – You Hashem, our Master, is a Being who pardons one for disrespect, but the sin itself you will also expunge so it won’t eternally affect us.
Even though one can argue that one who disrespects one’s father is worse for a father is more directly involved, nevertheless due to the position of monarchy that affects the lives of countless people, one’s disrespect to Him is a greater violation.
In פ’ האזינו, verse 5:6 read: “Corruption is not His – the blemish is His children’s, a perverse and twisted generation. Is this to Hashem you do this, O vile and unwise people? Is he not your Father, your master, Has He not created you and firmed you?” The אלשיך explains: ”עם נבל ולא חכם”, a vile and unwise people corresponds to, “אביך קניך, your Father and your Master (King).”
A נבל is one who has no appreciation, one who is an ingrate, כפוי טוב – that is a disparaging, depraved trait associated with one’s interaction with a loving father, an eternally loving Hashem. An “unwise people” corresponds to a King – how immature, imprudent and preposterous is it for one not to respect one’s master who is in charge and control of all?
We approach Hashem these days by articulating constantly אבינו מלכינו, Our Father our King.
We are inculcating in ourselves to rigorously and relentlessly to approach Hashem in the dual manner of a Father, whom we respect with love and adulation and as a king who is limitless in what He can do for us, as His subjects, and accordingly approach Him with awe and trepidation.
They are both logical consequences of our true, unmitigated הכרת הטוב, veneration of Hashem. The feeling of awe should constrain one from living selfishly in a self-absorbed state and the emotion of love should engender a constant desire to follow His dictates.
