Suddenly, a blood-curdling cry tore through the forest, and the hunter saw a lion crashing through the trees directly ahead of him. Realizing that his very life depended on his accuracy in hitting the target with only one attempt, he slowly positioned his last arrow in the bow and carefully aimed his weapon.
Forty days of rachamim and selichos have passed. As we get to tefillas Ne’ilah on the holy day of Yom Kippur, those special days set aside for our teshuvah are coming to a close. We have expended all our arrows being mispallel to Hashem and supplicating Him, however we are not certain about the measure of our success. The sifrei chaim and the sifrei meisim are both open, and our lives depend on the precision of our avodah of Ne’ilah. That is the last arrow remaining in our stockpile and every member of Klal Yisroel wants to guarantee that his tefillos prevail.
Showing posts with label NE’ILAH. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NE’ILAH. Show all posts
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Our Fears By Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser
In the Sefer Hirhurei Teshuvah, a parable is cited from the Maggid of Lublin concerning the import of the moment when we reach the juncture of Ne’ilah in our tefillos of Yom Kippur.
A hunter who was traveling in the forest lost his way and with each further step he wandered deeper into the dense woods. All he had with him for protection was his quiver of arrows, with his bow in hand. Afraid of a wild animal that could jump out at any moment, he jumped at every rustle and noise that he heard.
When the trees stirred rather loudly, he shot an arrow in that direction, hoping to waylay a tiger that might jump through the branches. However, when he approached the trees he saw that some large withered branches had fallen off the tree.
He walked a little further and heard the leaves crunching behind him. He turned and shot another arrow, but when he looked for the arrow he found it had become trapped very high up in a tree.
As the wind blew through the trees, he heard strange sounds, and again he pulled an arrow from his quiver to eliminate whatever danger lurked in the dark. By now the hunter was so frightened that he kept plucking arrows from his cache, until he realized that he only had one more arrow in his possession.
A hunter who was traveling in the forest lost his way and with each further step he wandered deeper into the dense woods. All he had with him for protection was his quiver of arrows, with his bow in hand. Afraid of a wild animal that could jump out at any moment, he jumped at every rustle and noise that he heard.
When the trees stirred rather loudly, he shot an arrow in that direction, hoping to waylay a tiger that might jump through the branches. However, when he approached the trees he saw that some large withered branches had fallen off the tree.
He walked a little further and heard the leaves crunching behind him. He turned and shot another arrow, but when he looked for the arrow he found it had become trapped very high up in a tree.
As the wind blew through the trees, he heard strange sounds, and again he pulled an arrow from his quiver to eliminate whatever danger lurked in the dark. By now the hunter was so frightened that he kept plucking arrows from his cache, until he realized that he only had one more arrow in his possession.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Maintaining our Holiness By Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser
Ne’ilah marks the concluding tefillah of Yom Kippur. In the Shemoneh Esrei of Ne’ilah we entreat Hashem, “… v’chasmeinu b’sefer hachaim – and seal us in the Book of Life,” replacing the version we recited throughout the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah of “… v’chasveinu … -- inscribe us.”
The Sefer Mo’adim B’Halacha asks: Why do we make this change, and what is the implication of the word “v’chasmeinu”?
He explains that usually when one would send a letter they would affix a seal on the outside of the envelope to ensure that nobody tampered with the contents of the letter and it would arrive to its destination intact.
When we come to the tefillah of Ne’ilah we have already progressed through forty days of teshuvah. We have performed the avodah of Elul, Rosh Hashanah, the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, and almost completed the entire day of Yom Kippur. At this point we have purified our souls, elevated our spiritual level, and feel closer to Hashem than at any point during the year.
The pasuk in Tehillim (24:3) states: “Mi yaaleh b’har Hashem – who may ascend the mountain of Hashem.” When we do merit to achieve a lofty spiritual level, the nisayon (challenge) is to maintain that holiness. So we pray to Hashem that the achievements we have attained over the past forty days should remain untouched and intact, and we should be able to continue along this same derech throughout the year.
The Sefer Mo’adim B’Halacha asks: Why do we make this change, and what is the implication of the word “v’chasmeinu”?
He explains that usually when one would send a letter they would affix a seal on the outside of the envelope to ensure that nobody tampered with the contents of the letter and it would arrive to its destination intact.
When we come to the tefillah of Ne’ilah we have already progressed through forty days of teshuvah. We have performed the avodah of Elul, Rosh Hashanah, the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, and almost completed the entire day of Yom Kippur. At this point we have purified our souls, elevated our spiritual level, and feel closer to Hashem than at any point during the year.
The pasuk in Tehillim (24:3) states: “Mi yaaleh b’har Hashem – who may ascend the mountain of Hashem.” When we do merit to achieve a lofty spiritual level, the nisayon (challenge) is to maintain that holiness. So we pray to Hashem that the achievements we have attained over the past forty days should remain untouched and intact, and we should be able to continue along this same derech throughout the year.
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