ELOHAY NETZOR: Praying for our own good behavior?

The Amida, technically, ends with the nineteenth and last blessing: Sim Shalom (see our explanation here). But before we finish, there is another prayer "Elohay, netzor..." which is a late addition to the Amida: A private prayer composed by Mor bar Rabina (approx. 500 ACE).

In this prayer, he asked God: "save my tongue from evil, and my lips from falsehood". speaking evil (lashon hara) and deception, are considered by the rabbis the source of most conflicts between man and man.

Then it says: "May I behave with humbleness and patience" and "May I keep my composure and calm",  for example, if someone would offend or aggravate him.

What is so unique about this prayer? In the Amida, we ask God to grant us things we want or need: health, wisdom, livelihood. In this prayer, however, we ask God for something we have not asked in the Amida. We ask God's help with our character and behavior. We request God to help us and inspire us to do good and, and assist us, preventing us from doing evil.

Perhaps, because of this fine line between what is up to us to do and what is up to God's help, this prayer is not part of the official Amida. Because, formally our behavior depends on us. We are endowed with freedom of choice to make moral choices.

When saying this prayer, therefore, remember, that we are not asking God to control our lives. That is our responsibility! We ask for His help and inspiration, to reach the best of our potential and behave with integrity.

The 19th Blessing: SIM SHALOM

Today is the 19th of Sivan, 5771

The last berakha of the Amida, Sim Shalom, is the blessing in which we ask haShem for Shalom/peace.

Grant peace, goodness, and blessing,
grace and kindness and mercy,
on us and on all Israel Your people.
And bless us, our Father, all of us, as one,
with the light of Your Presence...

Shalom is considered the highest blessing and the ultimate aspiration of the Jewish people, from the beginning of our history until our own days. Peace was never considered the "normal" situation of the Jews. For the Jewish people, Shalom is a God given blessing. Furthermore, we assert in this blessing that our peace with the rest of the world, depends on our peace with God

The text of this berakha is modeled after the most important blessing to be found in the Torah: birkat kohanim. In both blessings we ask God Almighty to protect us, shine His countenance on us, and radiate the light of His countenance (=His presence) to us.

We don't ask here for any specific request, rather, we express our desire to build a close relationship with God. To be known by Him (isa haShem panav elekha), to find grace in His eyes (veichuneka) and to be illuminated by His light, (=a relationship based in mutual love). We want God to look at us, and not to ignore us.

Maimonides explains that hashgachat haShem, "God's providence", is not the same for every human being. Rather, God would be involved in my life, as much as I would involve Him in my life, and vice versa.

ISRAEL TODAY

Click HERE to read: "The anti-Israel agenda prevails" - by JPost - Opinion

The 18th Berakha: MODIM ANACHNU LAKH (Part 2)

Today is 12 of Sivan 5771

Modim (=Gratitude) is the longest blessing of the Amida and the second in importance, after Magen Abraham (First berakha). It starts with the words Modim Anachnu Lakh (We thank You...) and ends with "...haTob Shimkha ulkha na-e lehodot". "You, God, are known as The Good [One], and to You we should convey our gratitude".

We have previously explained the first part of this blessing (see HERE). Now let's explore what is considered the be the core of this berakha.

"We shall thank You and recite Your praises -

For our lives which are entrusted in Your hands,

and our souls which are deposited with You,

and for Your miracles which are every day with us,

and for your wonders and goodness at every time,

evening, morning, and afternoon".

This text consist in our existential realization. In other words, in regaining consciousness that we are alive solely by the will of haShem.

One of the main barriers which prevent our spiritual growth is taking everything for granted. Beginning with the very fact that we are alive. We must appreciate the privilege of being alive, and the multitude of miracles that need to happen to warrant our existence.

Right now, we are not enumerating the miracles that God performed to our forefathers in Egypt or in the past, rather, we are focusing on the daily miracles and gifts which God constantly grants us individually: our lives, our health, our food.

This blessing opens our eyes to appreciate. Appreciation is the prerequisite for gratitude, in Hebrew "Hoda-a", which is the name of this berakha.

Click HERE to read: "SKELETON KEY, Gratitude opens every door" By Sara Yoheved Rigler

The 18th Berakha: MODIM ANACHNU LAKH

Today is the 20 of Iyar, 5771/ 35 days of Omer (5 weeks)

The eighteenth berakha, Modim, is the longest one of the Amida. This blessing is at the center of the section called: hoda-a or gratitude.

It consists of a list of facts, for which we acknowledge God as the real or ultimate source of what we are, we have, and all the good things that happen to us. We express as Jews, that we feel privileged --and perhaps unworthy-- to be the recipients of so many blessings.

The list is long, but, of course, does not pretend to be exhaustive. The Rabbis realizing that we could only enumerate 'some' of the favors we want to thank God for, composed what is known as Modim deRabanan, a supplementary prayer of gratitude, that the public recite in the repetition of the Amida.

We feel (or we need to train ourselves to feel) a sense of endless gratitude toward God. Imagine you want to thank your parents for "all they have done for you". Except, perhaps, in your Bar Mitzvah speech... you would not say just: "Thanks for all, Mom and Dad". If you really mean to thank your parents, you will have to elaborate a very long list of deeds, favors, actions for which you feel you owe gratitude to your parents. You would probably begin by thanking them for giving you your life.

Similarly, we begin by thanking haShem for being our God. In other words, for having chosen us among the nations. The second aspect we feel so grateful about is that haShem was, is and will be the Protector (Rock) of our lives, our eternal shield (magen) and savior.

"We are thankful to You, that You HaShem are our God,

and the God of our fathers. (You are our God) for ever.

You are the Rock of our lives, and our Protector and Savior.

You are!"

(to be continued...)

Mastering the gratitude attitude

The 17th berakha "Retze"

Today is the 13th day of Iyar, 5771/ 28 days of Omer (4 weeks)

May You, HaShem our God, accept Your people Israel,
and attend to their prayers; and return the Holy service
to the sanctuary of Your house...
and with Your great mercy, love us and accept us...
and may our eyes see Your return to Zion with mercy....


In this blessing, we ask God Almighty to find our prayers acceptable, and to find favor in His eyes. In a sense, we pray to be worthy of the privilege to serve Him.

This blessing inaugurates the third section of the Amida, hoda-a, 'gratitude': this blessing hints our gratitude to God for having chosen us to serve Him, for the privilege he granted us to address Him.

God chose our ancestors out of pure love (see Debarim 7,7). Now, we ask God to consider us too, worthy of that privilege. To love us as He loved our fathers. To accept our prayers as He accepted the prayers of our ancestors. Even though we might not be meritorious as our fathers. That is the meaning of the statement: "and You, with Your great mercy, love us and accept us...". In other words, love us, despite our lack of merits (that is why we need Your mercy) and accept us: do not abandon us!.

Our biggest desire and aspiration, we say, is to be fully worthy of Your choice. This aspiration will be fulfilled to its full extent only when Your Presence will return back to Zion --by rebuilding our sanctuary-- and embrace us again as the People You have chosen, to serve You.

WATCH AND ENJOY: http://www.aish.com/v/is/Israel_Then__Now.html

Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC | 130 Steamboat Rd. | Great Neck | NY | 11024

The 16th Berakha: 'Listen to our prayers'

Today is the 4th day of Adar I, 5771

Hear our voice, HaShem our God, our compassionate father have mercy and compassion on us, and accept our prayers with mercy and favor... and from before You, our King do not dismiss us empty handed.

This is the sixteenth and last berakha of the section called 'requests' (baqashot).

In practical terms, in this berakha we can (or according to many Rabbis, we 'should') add our own personal and particular requests, those petitions which were not specifically covered by the berakhot we just recited --for example, we can ask here from haShem to help us or our children to find their shiddukh, the right man or woman to marry--. Or we can ask God in more in detail for something which belongs to an area that we have already covered, for example refua shelema --good health-- for a loved one who is sick.

It is important to notice that in this berakha we are not 'pressuring God to fulfill our prayers', but we are begging Him to 'listen' to our prayers. We can not impose on God, no matter how good we are or how just our cause is, to comply with all our requests. There is no guarantee that we will receive all what we have asked for.

We ask God to 'listen'. Knowing that God Almighty 'listens' to our prayers means that when my wishes are not fulfilled is not because HaShem did not hear me, rather because His answer was 'no'.

It is part of our faith that haShem knows better than anybody else, including myself, what is ultimately better --or necessary-- for me.

Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC | 130 Steamboat Rd. | Great Neck | NY | 11024

The 15th Berakha: Mashiach

Today is the 20th day of Shebat , 5771

et tzemach David abdekha

This berakha ends the sequence of six 'requests' in which we ask God Almighty for our normalization as the nation of Israel. Which will come when the people of Israel will be reestablished in the land of Israel, following the Law of Israel.

The salvation/normalization process will culminate with the coming of the Mashiach.

The Mashiach (Melekh haMashiach) we are waiting for won't be a saint or a son of a god. He will be a King, a Political Leader, like King David, with a total commitment to serve God.

Maimonides mentions the three conditions for a Jewish leader to be 'regarded' as the Mashiach.

First, he needs to be a proven descendant of the lineage of David (today, some families are known descendants of David haMelekh: Maimon, Dayan, Abarbanel among others).

The second condition is that he will be entirely committed to Torah study and observance (hoge baTorah ve'osek bamitzvot) aspiring to establish a Kingdom where Jews will follow God's commandments.

The third condition is that he will be a military man, fighting the wars of Israel (not fighting in a symbolic way, like a 'Salvation Army' but in a real Jewish army).

Everything we know about the Mashiach is learned from Bar Kokhba, who was himslef an heroic commander of the Jewish army in the time of the romans (ca. 150 CE).

If a Jewish leader has these three conditions he could be considered the Mashiach.
If he then brings the Jewish people to the land of Israel and builds the bet haMikdash he is 'declared' the Mashiach.

Recommended reading: 'The Real Messiah?' by Aryeh Kaplan.


Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC | 130 Steamboat Rd. | Great Neck | NY | 11024

The 14th Berakha: Jerusalem.

Today is the 13th day of Shebat , 5771

tishkon betokh Yerushalayim irekha...

In this blessing we ask God Almighty

1. To restore His presence in Yerushalayim.

2. To reestablish the Kingdom of David in Yerushalayim.

3. To rebuild Yerushalayim, soon in our days.

2. Like Washington D.C for America, Jerusalem was -and B'H 'is'- the political capital of the Jewish Nation. It consisted of the area of the King's palace (the White house), the residing place of the Bet Din haGadol (the Supreme Court of Justice) and the Sanhedrin (the Senate). When we mention the 'destruction of Jerusalem' we imply the destruction of the Jewish Nation, through the eradication of its national infrastructure of political and legal governance.

1. But Yerushalayim -Jerusalem- is not merely a city. Yerushalayim is, above all, the city of the Bet haMikdash, the Holy Temple, where the presence of God (shekhina) used to reside. The Bet haMikdash makes Yerushalayim the holiest city on this planet. When you visit the Western Wall -a reminiscence of the Bet haMikdash- you can experience a tiny echo of the incomparable feeling of being in the Presence of God. A feeling that inspires thousands of Jews to pray, rejoice, and cry.

3. The Bet haMikdash is the 'soul' of Yerushalayim. This is why we still pray to God to rebuild Yerushalayim, although today Yerushalayim is already the capital of the State of Israel, and to many -me included- the most beautiful city in the world! And if this amazing Yerushalayim that we have today, is Yerushalayim without its soul, can you imagine Yerushalayim 'with its soul'?!

We long and pray for the full connection with the Almighty that a rebuilt Yerushalayim
will allow.

Must see: From Jerusalem to the world, by Aish
http://www.aish.com/v/is/49498552.html



Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC | 130 Steamboat Rd. | Great Neck | NY | 11024

The 13th Berakha: Protect the righteous

Today is the 6th day of Shebat , 5771

In this beautiful blessing we ask haShem to protect and help the righteous (Tsadikim), those who are committed to pursuing the knowledge of God and following His commandments.

We ask for a special protection for them because we all need to look up to the righteous people as our role models and inspiration.

The berakha mentions two types of good people: righteous and pious (Chasidim).

Righteous are those who strictly follow God's commandments. Chasidim -pious -is a level above righteousness. Chasidim are righteous people who outdo their religious duties in one specific category of Mitzvot: Chesed. 'Chesed' means kindness, and includes the practice of everything we do for other people: visiting the sick, comforting the mourners and of course helping widows, orphans and people in need.

While 'excess' in ritual areas might be counterproductive or a symptom of arrogance, in the area of Chesed is unquestionable and noble.

It is important to notice that anyone can be a righteous or a pious Jew. Depending exclusively on one's actions and motives. And because it depends also on motives, the only One qualified to identify who is a real Tsadik is God Almighty. That is why we ask Him to protect the real Tsadikim and inspire us to follow their footsteps. vesim chelkenu 'imahem.

Maimonides explains that to increase, so to speak, God's awareness of us (hashgacha peratit), we must increase our awareness of God. The first step to become a Tsadik is having God Almighty in your mind (shiviti haShem). And the more you think about God Almighty, the more He will 'care' about you, and vice versa.

Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC | 130 Steamboat Rd. | Great Neck | NY | 11024

The 11th Berakha: Inspire our leaders.

Last week I explained that the blessing (teka bsehofar gadol ) "Make sound the Shofar... that will announce our redemption...and bring us back to Israel" initiates a series of six blessings by which we express our requests as a nation. In a good sense, one can see in the sequence of these six blessings the ideal order of the steps of our redemption (geula) toward our 'national normalization', which for us means: The people of Israel, in the land of Israel, following the Tora of Israel.

In this blessing 'Bring back our leaders' (hashiba shofetenu) we ask God to help us finding the right political leaders (shofetim/yo'atsim) like those we had in the past (Moshe, David, etc.) . Leaders who should lead us to a very specific goal: to proclaim You as our King, (umlokh alenu mehera ata..). In other words, unlike 'common' political leaders who might seek their own private political agendas, the mission of a true Jewish leaders is to inspire his people to consider HaShem Almighty the real and only Leader, following His commandments, as the subjects obey the King's edicts.

Without the right leaders, this blessing seems to imply, it will be very difficult to find the way of our national normalization. The wrong leaders will bring upon the people just 'sorrow and pain' (yagon vahanacha).

With the help of our right leaders, we will become a Kingdom of "kindness, compassion justice and righteousness". Because as we say at the end of this blessing, our God is a King who is not infatuated with power, rather, He loves justice and righteousness.

Click here for the first 10 berakhot of the Amida:
http://rabbibitton.blogspot.com/search/label/Understanding%20the%20Amida



Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC | 130 Steamboat Rd. | Great Neck | NY | 11024

The 10th Berakha: Gueula, redemption.

Today is the 14th day of Tebet, 5771

The Amida is divided into three sections, according to three different subjects. The first, which includes three blessings, consists of praising God. The third section (3 blessings) is about gratitude to God. And the middle part, (13 blessings) deals with our requests to God and it is subdivided into two major subjects: Personal requests and national requests.

As individuals we request God to grant us: intelligence, inspiration, forgiveness, protection, good health and a decent livelihood.

The tenth berakha of the Amida, -teka beshofar gadol- initiates the series of 6 blessings where we, not as individuals but as members of the Jewish people, convey our national aspirations. Every day, three times a day, we remind ourselves that we are not a religion but a nation. As such, we acknowledge that we are living in exile and we beg God to bring us back to our original homeland, Israel. We ask God Almighty to 'Gather our exiles from all the corners of the world' and to show as the signs of redemption: the sign of the Shofar's blow (hinting to the messianic
era) and the flag (=nes. Leadership?) pointing out at Zion as our final destination.

In this category of national berakhot we will find a key word, sometimes more than once in the same blessing: the word is 'mehera', which means: fast, now, 'make it happen in our own days', expressing our deep desires to be once again in our land, as the Nation of God.

Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC | 130 Steamboat Rd. | Great Neck | NY | 11024

The 9th Berakha: Grant us livelihood with dignity

The 9th berakha of the Amida, barekhenu or barekh alenu, is the blessing in which we ask haShem Almighty to bless us, providing our livelihood (parnasa).

The text of the blessing deals specifically with dew, rain, the year's crop, the harvest and the products of the earth. We ask haShem to grant us His natural blessings and protect our sources of livelihood from weather inclemencies and other natural disasters.

And although this berakha seems to refer exclusively to the agricultural aspect of economy - because it was conceived for the livelihood of the people of Israel, which, from its beginnings in their land, dedicated mostly to agriculture- it alludes to our general financial and economic success, and implies our requests for God's intervention to bless the sources of our livelihood, whatever they are.

We specifically ask God Almighty to send rain in the way of 'blessing' (tal umatar librakha), whenever is needed for the land and not in excess.

Rain coming on its due time, is God's blessing promised to the people of Israel in the Shema Israel (be'ito -I will give you rain at its time...). We also learned in the second part of the Shema that rain in Israel -the land- is conditioned to Israel's -the people- behavior. God Almighty established a pact, a sort of cause/effect dynamics between the People of Israel and Israel's skies. Heavens of the Holy Land are not governed by the rules of nature but by God's direct intervention/retribution.

The 8th Berakha: Grant us good health

refa-enu haShem venerafe...

"Heal us, You, Oh God, and we will be cured..."

In this berakha we acknowledge God Almighty as the ultimate rofe ('healer', in modern Hebrew 'Doctor') because we Jews believe that our cure is ultimately in Gods' hands.

'Health/cure' is actually a good example of the complex dynamics and interaction between man's freedom of choice and God's intervention in our lives.

From one side, many illness are self inflicted, because we choose to eat wrong, practice wrong habits or because we don't take good care of our body to prevent sicknesses.

From the other side, if we are sick -regardless of whose fault it is- the Tora forbids relaying just on God's grace, hoping the illness will vanish and mandates to seek a physician's intervention (verapo yerape).

But this berakha makes clear that still, it is God who cures us, via His 'agents' (harbe shelichim lamakom). We believe that God acts through the brain and the hands of the surgeon in the operation room. It is ultimately Him, by means of myriad of agents -doctors, researchers, nurses- who brings healing and alleviates the sick. Physicians are God's privileged proxies. God is behind man's wisdom to develop medicines and man's ability to cure sickness.

We visit the doctor, we take the medicine and we do everything possible to cure ourselves.

But we pray and appeal to God. Recognizing Him as the ultimate 'physician'. The ONE that has the final say.

The 7th berakha: Deliver us from our suffering

9th day of Kislev, 5771

Please, God, see our suffering and fight our fights,

and hurry to grant us a complete salvation, for the sake of Your name, because You are a powerful go'el. Blessed are You , God, the go'el of Israel.

In this berakha we ask God for His assistance and deliverance.

It is important to know that in this berakha we are NOT asking God to bring the mashiach -which is also called go'el- or to take us back to the land of Israel- which is also known as ge'ula. For those specific matters we have separate berakhot which deal with our national requests.

The key to this berarkha is the precise understanding of the word go'el. go'el means'redeemer' and in the context of this berakha it should be understood technically as 'next of kin' or 'closest relative'.

According to Jewish tradition and Law it is the duty of the go'el 'next of kin' to help and assist in moments of despair and need. The best example is Boaz and Naomi. Boaz acts explicitly as the go'el taking complete care of Elimelekh's family. Virtually the whole 4th chapter of the book of Rut is devoted to this matter.

Interestingly, we could assume that once Elimelekh betrayed his own people and left to Moab -enemy territory- he or his descendents shouldn't deserve anymore the next of kin's assistance. We see, however, that the obligations of the go'el supersedes considerations of merit.

In this berakha we appeal to God as 'our next of kin', 'our closest relative', asking Him to assist and deliver us from suffering.

Knowing that perhaps we don't have enough merit to deserve God's intervention, we appeal to haShem as our go'el.

Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC 130 Steamboat Rd. Great Neck NY 11024

The 6th berakha of the Amida

2 of Kislev, 5771

selach lanu abinu, ki chatanu, mechol lanu malkenu, ki pasha'nu,

In the 6th berakha of the Amida we ask HaShem Almighty for selicha/forgiveness.

We refer to God with two key words: abinu and malkenu

abinu means: 'our father' and it points out to the love God has for us, as our progenitor. God loves us as we love our children. We appeal to HaShem first as our loving father. Confident that no matter how bad we might have behaved, we know He will always take us back. Similar to a loving parent, all He requires to grant His forgiveness is that we admit our responsibility.

But God is also malkenu, our King. King is the ultimate authority. In ancient monarchies, Israel included, the King was also the supreme Judge and among other things, He had the power to sentence one to death. It is in this specific sense that we repeatedly refer to God as melekh during Yamim Noraim, when we realize that our lives are nowpending on God's imminent verdict.

These two words abinu/malkneu often stand at opposites sides. abinu refers to God as the One who granted us the gift of life and malkenu, as the One who can take life away from us.

The tension between these two words is solved at the end of this berakha: chanun hamarbe lisloach: HaShem is merciful, who forgives 'abundantly'. At the end of the day -we assert, and simultaneously wish for- God behaves to us as a loving Father, who keeps forgiving our mistakes once and again.

Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC | 130 Steamboat Rd. | Great Neck | NY | 11024

The 5th berakha: Accept our repentance

25th of Cheshvan, 5771

In this berakha we ask God for His assistance in our teshuba, repentance.

Literally, 'teshuba' menas 'coming back' , in the sense of 'coming back to the right path'.

This berakha says:

Bring us back our Father to Your Tora

'Sinning' is above all, a consequence of loosing temporarily our mind and reason. en adam ba lide chet... 'a person would not sin, unless he is possessed by a temporary spirit of foolishness'. When we recover our intelligence, as we requested in the previous blessing, the first thing we realize is that abandoning the right path was not a good idea...

And Bring us closer, our King, to Your service.

Tora is the 'Instructions Manual for life' and 'service' is God's worship, the application of what we study in Your Tora.

And make us return to You completely.

When we say: bring us , make us... we don't mean literally 'that'. Our moral actions are up to our freedom of choice. All what we are asking God is for 'help', assistance and 'inspiration' to do the right thing.

Baruch Ata.. harotse bistshuba.

Blessed are you, God, who desires/love 'repentance'. A very important Jewish principle is that God love us like a father loves his children. God does not take any enjoyment in punishing a bad son. As a loving Father, all God wants from His children is for come back to the right path. This is harotse bitshuba: God desires our teshuba, because He wants our good.

Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC 130 Steamboat Rd. Great Neck NY 11024

The 4th berakha: The blessing of wisdom

18th of Cheshvan, 5771

'Ata Chonen leadam da'at...' (YOU grant man wisdom...)

This berakha inaugurates the blessings in which we ask God for our material needs.

In total, there are 13 blessing which correspond to this category. Six of them asking God Almighty for our personal needs. Six of them for our national needs, and lastly, the all-inclusive thirteenth blessing: shome'a Tefila.

Why do we ask God for wisdom before anything else?

Because without wisdom/intelligence, we will not know what to ask. Or we can be asking the wrong things. Or even worse, without intelligence, we will not be able to identify the gifts we are constantly getting from HaShem.

'YOU' grant man wisdom (da'at) also describes a core Jewish belief. We acknowledge that da'at, intelligence/wisdom Is not a matter of neurons but a gift from God. An unnatural condition granted to man. Our brain is structurally very close to that of the monkeys, but we have what we call in this berakha 'the gift of intelligence', which is not an extension of our biological make up, like sight or hearing but a gift from haShem. Without da'at, biologically we could survive.

But we wouldn't be able to 'connect' to God or to choose between good and bad.

We recognize in this berakha 3 intellectual categories .

CHOKHMA: Associated with creativity. The capacity to discover something new. To see what no one sees, when everyone is looking at the same things. To develop a completely new idea.

BINA: The practical intelligence to apply a new idea.

DAAT: The wisdom of experience, which we acquire as we grow.

The 3rd berakha: God is beyond our understanding

11th of Cheshvan, 5771

The third berakha of the Amida is also the shortest one.

In this berakha we say that God is kadosh, and so is His name, and so are the people who praise Him every day: Am Israel, (who imitate the malakhim -angels- mentioned in the Kedusha).

What is 'kadosh'?

First, you need to know that it is impossible to translate the concept of kadosh with one single word. 'Kadosh' means: special; unique; different; consecrated and sometimes: 'out of reach'.

One example: in Hebrew kiddushin means 'marriage'. When a man marries a woman, she is mekuddeshet'consecrated' to him, becoming for him 'unique', 'special' and 'different' from the rest of the women. Now, she is 'out of reach' for all other men.

In the context of our berakha, when referring to God, kadosh hints to our human inability to 'grasp' God 'Almighty-ness'.

ATA KADOSH, means: 'You are beyond our reach', intellectually. God remains 'concealed' to us. No matter how much we praise Him, for those of His actions that WE see, we acknowledge that the full scope of His actions, so to speak, is completely beyond our reach. VESHIMKHA KADOSH, and 'Your name is kadosh'. We state that we are not even capable of grasping His name -the name of four letters name- which conveys the idea of 'infinite' and 'eternity'.

UKDOSHIM BEKHOL YOM: still, we, the kedoshim the people 'consecrated' to You, praise You every day, as much as we are able to praise You. Nevertheless, we remain completely aware that no matter how much we praise You, it will never be enough to 'fully' praise You. (Notice that an identical message constitutes the very core of the kaddish: LEELA MIN KOL BIRKHATA, etc.)

Why do we emphasize this message here, at the end of these blessings (shebach)?

In the two previous berakhot we have praised God's intervention in history (Abot), from our ancestors until the future go'el(mashiach) and we have described and praised God's intervention in nature (geburot): His powers, His care, His miracles.

By saying ata kadosh we convey a sort of a philosophical disclaimer and we virtually 'extend' our praise to 'cover' what we haven't said: What we said of You so far, God Almighty, it is just the little we grasp from our human perspective.

BARUKH ATA HASHEM HA-EL HAKADOSH: Blessed are You, God, Whose real power, blessings and praise remains 'far beyond our reach'.

Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC 130 Steamboat Rd. Great Neck NY 11024

The 2nd Berakha: GOD'S POWERS

4th of Cheshvan, 5771

The second berakha (blessing) of the Amida, is called Geburot (God's powers). This blessing describes God's infinite (leolam) might, which He employs to nurture, support those who fell, cure the sick, deliver captives, make rain descend, etc.

God's might is about blessings, not destruction. Teaching us too, how to use our own powersto help.

The highest point of God's power mentioned in this berakha (3 times) is techiat hametim, 'the resurrection of the dead'.

Resurrection (do not confuse with 'reincarnation'!) is a core belief in Judaism which affirms that at some time in the future, God will bring life back to the dead.

Techiat hametim defies all physical and biological laws known to us.

Even today, 2010, when humans have decoded the DNA, no scientist can create life from atoms in a lab, even though they assert life appeared 'randomly' millions of years ago... Creation of life remains God's exclusive domain.

Techiat hametim in a sense, parallels 'Creation'. The 'living soul' (nefesh chaya, in Bereshit, a.k.a. 21 grams) is not a chemical but a 'divine' entity.

To understand the essence of techiat hametim think of a modern scientist provided with the legs, head, wings and body of a simple fruit fly. Can he assemble a living fruit fly in a lab?

Make it simpler: we give a scientist a fruit fly which died 1 minute ago of natural causes. Every part of its body is still in its right place. Could the scientist make it fly even for one minute? Can a human recreate, not the body, but just one minute of autonomous life in a laboratory? That is techiat hametim. haShem's exclusive power.

The 1st Berakha: You are the protector of Israel

27th of Tishri, 5771

The first berakha of the Amida is known as 'abot' (ancestors) and it refers to God's protection of the Jewish people. In this berakha we don't ask for protection: we praise God stating that our miraculous survival as Jews, is due to His eternal divine protection.

We mention that haShem Almighty protected Abraham, Ytzchak and Yaakov (E-lohe Abraham, etc). We also describe with a few words what we can 'humanly' grasp of God's protective power (hagadol, hagibbor, etc.), a power that God uses to bestow kindness (gomel chasadim tobim).

We state that because of the merit of our ancestors (zokher chasde abot), God grants us His present and future salvation (umebi go'el).

God protects us because He so promised (lema'an shemo) our ancestors, and because He loves us (beahaba). To understand these two last concepts you must read the Pasuk Debarim 7, 7.

Finally we state that God is our King (melekh), but a special kind of king: not the king that demands for his own sake, but a King ready to help when we ask (ozer) and to rescueus when we are in trouble (moshi'a) and a king who covers us with His invisible shield (magen) against harms and hazards we are not aware of.

Magen is indeed the highest level of divine protection.

The protection responsible for the survival of the Jewish people since the time of Abraham Abinu (baruckh ata hasem magen Abraham).

Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC 130 Steamboat Rd. Great Neck NY 11024