07 May USING OUR HEADS IN SHUL

Here, on the eastern
coast, spring finally
seems to be here. It
looks nearly certain that
we won’t see snowplows
until next year and, as
the plants start to bloom
and the temperatures rise,
Klal Yisroel collectively
takes out Pirkei Avos and starts its spiritual
blooming as well. During the days of sefira,
we commemorate the ethical improvement and
spiritual climb that our forefathers achieved
from the moment of the exodus until they were

deserving of greeting Hashem Himself forty-
nine days later at Mount Sinai. Therefore, it is

particularly fitting during this time of the year
to learn Pirkei Avos, the premier syllabus for
proper ethical behavior in Yiddishkeit.
Pirkei Avos is prefaced with the statement,
“Kol Yisroel yeish lahem cheilek L’Olom
Haba – Every Jew has a reserved portion in
the Afterlife.” The Chida reveals a remarkable
gematria. If you take the last letter of each
word in this statement, “Kol Yisroel,” etc.,
their numbers total to 541, the exact gematria
of Yisroel. This again emphasizes the special
privilege that each and every Jew has: An
automatic spot in the Eternal World. This
is one of the reasons why we are known as
Yidden for, as the Gemora reveals in Masechtas
Menachos, the letter yud is what Hashem used

to create the Afterlife. Thus, we are all Yidden
since we all have a passport to the World that
was created with the yud. It follows too, that
Pirkei Avos, which instructs us on how to
live a moral and spiritually productive life,
is prefaced with the Jew’s ultimate goal and
ambition: To achieve the supreme joy of the
Afterlife.
The study of Pirkei Avos contains lesson
after lesson on how we can improve our daily
behavior. Let me share with you one powerful
example. In the second perek, we are taught,
“Al taas tefilasecha k’va, ela rachamim
v’sachanunim lifnei HaMakom – Do not allow
your prayers to become fixed and habitual, but
rather let them be sincere and concentrated
expressions of supplications for mercy before
Hashem.” The Tanna is warning us that since
we say a prescribed formula of prayer day
after day, it can easily be become mere lip
service and a habit-like ritual. It is for this
reason that I always eschewed the custom of
putting before the chazan a chart of how many
minutes it should take to get to yishtabach and
then to shmone esrai etc. This seemed to me to
be exactly the way to make prayer fixed and is
precisely what the Tana is warning us to avoid
and abstain from!
I’d like to offer a mighty challenge. The next
time you go to shul to pray, tell yourself that
you’re planning to use your mind as much
as your mouth in the synagogue – for proper

service of Hashem has more to do with the
mind and the heart than with the mouth. Of
course, we have to say our prayers but, as the
Chovos Halevovos tells us, prayer without
concentration is like a body without a soul and
a peel without the fruit. Thus, I believe it is
not wrong to say that we go primarily to shul
to use our heads even more than our mouths.
Let me tell you what made me realize this
idea. In another Mishna in the first chapter
of Pirkei Avos, Shimon HaTzadik teaches us
that the world stands on three pillars, Torah,
Avoda (which is the service of Hashem), and
Gemilas Chasodim, acts of kindness. As we
know, Yaakov Avinu introduced Torah to the
world; Yitzchak introduced Avoda, while
Avraham pioneered Gemilas Chasodim. The
Chida explains more profoundly that there are
three areas of challenge in one’s life: the world
of action, the world of speech, and the world of
thought. He explains that Torah is the success
for the arena of speech. Gemilas Chasodim is
the success for the realm of action. Lastly, it is
Avoda, especially prayer, which is the ultimate
success for the world of thought. Thus we see
revealed that, if one wants to excel at Avodas
Hashem, he or she needs to be using their head
while praying to Hashem.
May it be the will of Hashem that we train
ourselves to use our minds as often as we can
whenever we open the Siddur or Bentcher,
when we say Krias Shema or the Shemona

Esrei, and in that merit may Hashem fulfill all
our prayers, blessing us with long life, good
health, and everything wonderful.