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The Power of twenty-four

Ultimately, there are 24 gates for the Amidah Prayer;  and the Migaleh Amukos  speaks about it when talking about this verse:

וְשַׂמְתִּ֤י כַּֽדְכֹד֙ שִׁמְשֹׁתַ֔יִךְ וּשְׁעָרַ֖יִךְ לְאַבְנֵ֣י אֶקְדָּ֑ח וְכָל־גְּבוּלֵ֖ךְ לְאַבְנֵי־חֵֽפֶץ (Isaiah 54:12)

I will make your battlements of rubies, Your gates of precious stones, The whole encircling wall of gems.

כַּֽדְכֹד֙ as the numerical value of twenty-four  twice. 

“Learn how to use the twenty-four, find ways to go on the journey of the twenty-four, especially if you're in a situation of “Aniya Soara” … when you are feeling like, “I'm in a storm of suffering”. The way I do it -- and it's not authoritative -- is that I take one step; and I picture myself about to enter the palace. I have to have the courage to push open that first gate. And I understand that this means there's responsibility that comes with stepping through the open gate, which is the responsibility to face my Creator, to face myself, to face my inadequacies, to face my confusion. But, I'm making a decision ---I can't live without this contact with my Creator! So, I push open that first gate, I pause, and then say, “ … I have to get closer I'm still not close enough...” After the third step, I stop, and I understand that the only way to open the fourth gate is almost to call out to the gate Master, so to speak. "Ado---Nai (My Master) “Sifasay Tiftach” (Open my lips)… And the gates begin to open.” That “simple thing” that the gate is open Ufee Yagid Tehilasecha, (and my mouth will tell your Tehillos , praises) … these are the personalized expressions of light and praise of Hashem we created by having a relationship with Him! What a feeling this is…. I am being granted this access , Ufee Yagid Tehilasecha. Now I'm ready for the next gate. I say, “Ado- nai Sifasay Tiftach” and then in my mind I see the next gate opens with the blessing of the Patriarchs, and I say, “Baruch Atah...” It's an incredible feeling because now I'm connected to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, … and then I'm ready for the next gate. And I stop. I find myself in a situation where I don't have clarity because I'm dealing with so many different issues. I am dealing with so many different people, and davening for them and all of their various concerns. How do you daven for this one with the Parnassa issues, that one with the health issues, and the other one with the children issues, and all the issues all of us know about, including for ourselves? If I have one of “Those Days” , I can use the courtyard approach of “Hashem, Sifasay Tiftach", the “Open The Gates” technique that I use to open the “many different” gates to first, help me articulate what I need, in order to be specific which is the a way that I need to discuss my concerns in order to have clarity. Articulating includes the skill of learning how to ask my questions, how to talk, in order to find my answers. When you have that powerful experience of “Hashem Sifasai Tiftach” -- of being able to articulate an issue … notwithstanding all you are dealing with… so by the time you arrive at the 24th gate, the final thing you want from HaShem before you leave His palace is “Nitzor Lishonee Mayra”, -- “Guard my tongue from limitations” -- because then you discover that you are not limited, because you now begin to see what you can do.


Concepts Shared By: Rabbi Simcha Weinberg


For more see...


https://thefoundationstone.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Nachamu-Week-3_part-2_FINAL.pdf
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