Description: Rinah 12
She’arim BiTefillah
Rinah 12
The mitzvah of Emunah is to believe that Hashem is omnipotent, and can do anything, and there is nothing that is beyond His ability. Emunah is to believe in what is beyond our capability to fully understand and process. We can’t truly express what Hashem’s abilities are, how much power He possesses, and what He can do. Think of someone who chas v’shalom is suffering from an untreatable illness. He hears that a doctor has just come to the hospital, who is the only person in the world who has had success treating this illness. Wouldn’t he be filled with joy and hope? Even though he doesn’t know if the doctor will take him as a patient, and he doesn’t know if the doctor will have any success treating him, and who knows how many other unknown variables there are, nevertheless, the simple fact that this doctor exists, and he is here now – will fill the sick person with a ray of light – a sliver of hope, and change his mood and outlook.
It’s important to understand something about the category of tefillah – of ‘Rinah.’ We understand that through the various forms of bakashah, as we do in all the middle brachos of Shemonah Esray, is a method of beseeching Hashem to give us something, and we hope to be answered. But we think of the first brachos of Shemonah Esray as necessary parts of tefillah, because we have to praise and recognize the greatness of Hashem, but not that they themselves serve in this capacity. But in truth, shevach and hoda’ah, the tefillah of Rinah, has as much power as bakashah to have our tefillos answered.
We find in the Gemarah, that Rav Chiyah was put forward as the Shaliach Tzibbur when there was a drought. He started to daven Shemonah Esray, and as he said the words, ‘Mashiv Haruach,’ the wind began to blow. As he said, ‘U’morid Hageshem,’ it began to rain. The real brachah which asks Hashem for rain is much later, in Baraich Alainu. This was still in the second brachah, of Gevuros, which is one of the three first brachos of praise. Yet through saying this praise, their tefillos were already answered! Through praising Hashem alone, is sufficient to achieve the answer to our tefillos.
The pasuk in Eichah says, ‘kumi roni balaylah lirosh ashmuros, shifchi kamayim libaich nochach pnei Hashem.’ Get up and sing at night at the beginning of the watches, pour out your heart like water in front of the face of Hashem. This pasuk is a heartfelt call to everyone to pour out their hearts about the chorban, Yirmiyahu Hanavi is advising us of the most opportune time and method to reach Hashem. But he says to ‘sing’! Roni! This means rinah which is saying praise of Hashem, which is done from joy. How can this possibly be the way to daven when we are in such a sad and despondent state, after the chorban and all the destruction and death that came with it, as Yirmiyahu Hanavi describes in full detail in Eichah? Shouldn’t the better word be, kumi bochi balaylah, get up and cry into the night?
But the truth is that the best method to approach a time of great darkness, when there is hester panim, Hashem seems to be hiding His face from us, and we are suffering and in pain, is to try to approach Hashem with joy and praise. If we turn to Hashem with a joyous countenance, realizing our good fortune to be able to daven to Hashem and praise Him and recognize Him in this world, Hashem will turn to us and shine His countenance upon us, as Rav Chaim Volzhiner explained to us, Hashem tzilechah al yad yeminechah, just as we turn to Hashem, Hashem turns to us, like our shade mimics us. This causes the gates of mercy and brachah to be opened and showered upon us.
She’arim BiTefillah
Rinah 12
The mitzvah of Emunah is to believe that Hashem is omnipotent, and can do anything, and there is nothing that is beyond His ability. Emunah is to believe in what is beyond our capability to fully understand and process. We can’t truly express what Hashem’s abilities are, how much power He possesses, and what He can do. Think of someone who chas v’shalom is suffering from an untreatable illness. He hears that a doctor has just come to the hospital, who is the only person in the world who has had success treating this illness. Wouldn’t he be filled with joy and hope? Even though he doesn’t know if the doctor will take him as a patient, and he doesn’t know if the doctor will have any success treating him, and who knows how many other unknown variables there are, nevertheless, the simple fact that this doctor exists, and he is here now – will fill the sick person with a ray of light – a sliver of hope, and change his mood and outlook.
It’s important to understand something about the category of tefillah – of ‘Rinah.’ We understand that through the various forms of bakashah, as we do in all the middle brachos of Shemonah Esray, is a method of beseeching Hashem to give us something, and we hope to be answered. But we think of the first brachos of Shemonah Esray as necessary parts of tefillah, because we have to praise and recognize the greatness of Hashem, but not that they themselves serve in this capacity. But in truth, shevach and hoda’ah, the tefillah of Rinah, has as much power as bakashah to have our tefillos answered.
We find in the Gemarah, that Rav Chiyah was put forward as the Shaliach Tzibbur when there was a drought. He started to daven Shemonah Esray, and as he said the words, ‘Mashiv Haruach,’ the wind began to blow. As he said, ‘U’morid Hageshem,’ it began to rain. The real brachah which asks Hashem for rain is much later, in Baraich Alainu. This was still in the second brachah, of Gevuros, which is one of the three first brachos of praise. Yet through saying this praise, their tefillos were already answered! Through praising Hashem alone, is sufficient to achieve the answer to our tefillos.
The pasuk in Eichah says, ‘kumi roni balaylah lirosh ashmuros, shifchi kamayim libaich nochach pnei Hashem.’ Get up and sing at night at the beginning of the watches, pour out your heart like water in front of the face of Hashem. This pasuk is a heartfelt call to everyone to pour out their hearts about the chorban, Yirmiyahu Hanavi is advising us of the most opportune time and method to reach Hashem. But he says to ‘sing’! Roni! This means rinah which is saying praise of Hashem, which is done from joy. How can this possibly be the way to daven when we are in such a sad and despondent state, after the chorban and all the destruction and death that came with it, as Yirmiyahu Hanavi describes in full detail in Eichah? Shouldn’t the better word be, kumi bochi balaylah, get up and cry into the night?
But the truth is that the best method to approach a time of great darkness, when there is hester panim, Hashem seems to be hiding His face from us, and we are suffering and in pain, is to try to approach Hashem with joy and praise. If we turn to Hashem with a joyous countenance, realizing our good fortune to be able to daven to Hashem and praise Him and recognize Him in this world, Hashem will turn to us and shine His countenance upon us, as Rav Chaim Volzhiner explained to us, Hashem tzilechah al yad yeminechah, just as we turn to Hashem, Hashem turns to us, like our shade mimics us. This causes the gates of mercy and brachah to be opened and showered upon us.