Partners In Prayer - Siddur

  The Shofar Helps Us Battle without Fear               Elul forces us to think ahead to the coming year, and we may fear what lies ahead, visualizing a constant battle. However, “we are prohibited from panicking and retreating during battle” ( Mishneh Torah : Hilchot Melachim Umilchamot ). The Torah demands that we go beyond courage to attain fearlessness. The blasts of the Elul shofar are a call to engage in battle without fear. By: Rabbi Simcha Weinberg

  Making Requests of God               Before Rosh Hashanah, a person should ask God to help him experience an infinite prayer on Rosh Hashanah, so that when he requests, “Remember us for life,” he will have an expansive awareness of what life is.             And he should also ask God to help him attain the fear of heaven. In particular, he should ask for the fear of heaven described by the Baal Shem Tov, in which a person’s relationship with God is so powerful that he is constantly concerned not to do anything that would damage that relationship. By: Rabbi Simcha Weinberg, n''y

  Our Sincere Prayers Help Us Hear the Message of the Shofar               “And he said to me, ‘Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all of the words that I speak to you’” ( Ezekiel 3:10). “Once you have heard what I say to you, take it to heart so that you will not forget” (Radak).             The best way to prepare to hear the shofar and take its message to heart is to listen carefully to the words of prayer during Elul, discerning its messages, and applying them in our lives. By: Rabbi Simcha Weinberg

  The Shofar Expresses God’s Friendship for Us               One of the sounds of the shofar is terua , which may be translated as “friendship.” In keeping with this meaning, a verse states, “The friendship [ terua ] of the King is with [the nation of Israel]” ( Numbers 23:21).             When we blow the shofar during Elul, we experience God’s friendship. The shofar represents God calling out to us. It is the way in which He declares, “I love you.”             My rebbe, [?], once said: Imagine two scenarios. In one, as you pass by a window, you hear someone call out, “Help!” In the other, as you pass by a window, you hear a scream.             The second scenario will move you more, because a scream is primal. It expresses a person’s essence. In sp...

  The Shofar Represents Our Dealing with What Is Broken               Sins are called “breaking” (Radak on Psalms 17). Every time a person sins, he breaks something ( Akeidas Yitzchak : Chapter 67, Parshat Shoftim ). In particular, he breaks his relationship with God.             Elul is the time for us to repair or replace the things in our lives that have broken away from God. That is why, during Elul, God gave Moses the second set of Tablets to replace the broken first set . And, the Shelah says, that is why there are a great number of laws discussing whether or not a person can use a shofar that is in some way broken. During Elul, we must deal with the matters in our lives that are broken. By: Rabbi Simcha Weinberg, n''y

  We Blow the Shofar with Positive Expectations               At the time of the splitting of the Red Sea, Miriam “took her drum in her hand, and all the women went forth after her with drums and circle dances” ( Exodus 15:20).             How was it that the women had musical instruments? Rashi explains that, when they saw God’s miracles in Egypt, they expected Him to perform yet more miracles after the Exodus. Therefore, they brought musical instruments along with which to accompany themselves when they would sing His praises in thanksgiving.             The word for “circle dance,” mecholah , is related to the word for “forgiveness,” mechilah . Those who see life through the eyes of positive expectation will be forgiven their misdeeds. As a result, they will be privileged to dance in the world-to-come....

  The Shofar Helps Us Become Beautiful               The Hebrew word for “beautiful,” shafra , is related to “shofar.” When Moses ascended Mt. Sinai during Elul, the Jews in the desert blew the shofar to remind themselves that in order to receive the Second Tablets of the Covenant they would have to beautify themselves before God.             The shofar inspires us to think, speak and act in ways that make us more beautiful to God. By: Rabbi Simcha Weinberg, n''y

  The Shofar Leaves a Long-Lasting Impression               A verse states, “My people did not hear My voice, and Israel did not desire Me” ( Psalms 81:12). Because the Jews of the Exodus and the following generations did not properly desire God, they did not hear His voice in a way that left a lasting impression. And so immediately afterwards in the wilderness they refused to obey Him, and later on, in the days of the judges and during the reign of the kings, they neglected Him (Radak).             The way we hear the shofar of Elul and Rosh Hashanah is determined by the level of our desire to connect to God. If we desire to be completely attached to the Creator, we will receive a message from the shofar blowing that will make a lasting impression on us. By: Rabbi Simcha Weinberg, n''y

  The Shofar Helps Us Attain Simple Faith               In the verse, “God, your Lord, will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring” ( Deuteronomy 30:6), the acronym of the Hebrew phrase for “your heart and the heart of your offspring” is “Elul.”               The Holy One, blessed is He, searches for the truly righteous person who has achieved greatness through the application of his formidable intellect. God then takes a second look to see whether this person is able to let go of the intellect that successfully took him so far and use only his heart to search for God.             Binah L’Itim : Lecture 12               God uses the shofar of Elul to circumcise our hearts, to cut away everything but the simple faith with ...

  The Shofar Removes the Barriers between Us and God               “God, Lord of Hosts, how long will You smoke [with anger] at the prayers of Your nation?” ( Psalms 80:5). When God is angered, “smoke rises from His nostrils” ( Psalms 18:9) to form a barrier that bars the path of our prayers as they struggle upward (Alshich).             Every morning before shofar blowing during Elul, visualize this smoke blocking your prayers, hovering over you, in the same way that smoke hovered over the burning ruins of Jerusalem and the Temple. Then, as you hear the shofar blast, imagine it blowing away all of the smoke and clearing the way for your prayers to soar.             As you listen to the shofar, implore God, “Please allow the shofar blast and the feelings that it arouses in my heart to clear away all barrie...

   Blessing of Teshuva             “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you” ( Ezekiel 3:10). Radak paraphrases this verse as: “Once you have heard what I say to you, take it to heart so that you will not forget it.” Hearing a message is only the first step. A person must then take it to heart.             During Elul, while reciting the blessing of teshuvah in the Shemoneh Esrei , focus on the most intense teshuvah moments of your life.  By: Rabbi Simcha Weinberg

  We Prepare for God’s Coronation when We Recite the Shema               The Shema is our ultimate song of praise of God as King. The Chafetz Chaim states that when a person recites the Shema , he should have in mind: “You are the King, and You have asked me to recite these words; it is my privilege to obey the King’s command” ( Nidchei Yisrael ). This is especially important during this month. By: Rabbi Simcha Weinberg, n''y