21 Feb REVITALIZING OUR DAVENING – PART ONE

I would like to take
my dear readers on a
personal journey. Let
me explain. I’ve been
reflecting lately upon
a vital component to
a successful life – and
that is to daven to Hashem properly.
After all, the Navi tells us, “Ahm zu
yatzarti li tehilasi yisapeiru – (Hashem
proclaims), This nation [Yisroel]
I created for myself to relate my
praise.” Our national name, Yisroel,
is an anagram of shir Keil, a song
to the Almighty. Another national
name of ours is Yehudim, the people
who give thanks. The great king of
Israel, Dovid HaMelech characterizes
himself as ani sefila, I am davening.
So, I’ve been asking myself how
sophisticated is my davening and upon
contemplation, to be brutally honest, I
was very disappointed at my davening
accomplishments through the
decades. If I honestly asked myself,

‘Has my knowledge of davening
grown regularly?’ the answer is sadly
‘No.’ More appropriately would be
the blunt observation of the Gemora
in Brachos which describes davening
as, “Devorim she’omdim berumo shel
olam u’bnei adam m’zalzalim bahem
– Davening are something that goes
to the very top of the world and yet
people neglect them.”
The Tanna cautions us in Pirkei
Avos, “Al ta’as tefilosecha keva –
Don’t make your davening fixed.”
With my recent ruminations, I believe
this means, ‘Don’t let your davenings
stagnate without giving them new
thought and meaning as you grow
and mature.’ Let’s remember that in
Yaakov’s famous dream when he saw
a ladder on the ground with its apex
at the Heavens, he was being shown,
says the Zohar, a message that just
like steps are the way to get to the
next floor, the way to connect from
earth to Heaven is with davening, for

sulom, a ladder, is the same gematria,
numerical value as kol, the voice of
davening, and the melachim, the
angels that were going up and down
the ladder, were representative of the
angels who carry up our davenings
and then come down to carry out our
requests. Connecting with Heaven
is the essence of life, as Moshe
Rabbeinu taught us, “Ma Hashem
Elokecha shoel meira ki im liyirah
– What does Hashem ask of you
but that you should be aware of him
[Yirah, meanng to see].” Davening is
the root to life’s success.
Upon further reflection, I determined
that if I want to make a real change
in my davening habits, it’s not going
to happen overnight. I would need
to dedicate a little time every day to
slowly think about what I’m saying
and to study the commentaries, to
upgrade my personal devotion. Then
I thought, why can’t I take my readers
with me on my journey? So, with the
help of Hashem, let’s give it a try.
We preface our Shemone Esrei
with the words, “Hashem sefasai
tiftach, ufi yagid tehilasecha –
My (dear) G-d, open my lips
and my mouth will relate Your
davenings.” The Alei Shur
comments that although we say
much more than praise, as we ask
Hashem for health and wealth,
forgiveness and intellect, and
peace and much more, this is all
included in the word ‘praise,’ for
it is the biggest praise to Hashem
that we acknowledge that our
health, wealth, peace, etc., comes
from His benevolence.
The Talalei Oros breaks this
preface into two parts. The first
stanza, Hashem sefasai tiftach,
refers to our petitions. We
acknowledge that when it comes
to our needs we don’t really
always know what’s good for us
so we ask Hashem to open our
lips and guide us as to what to ask
for. The second stanza, Ufi yagid
tehilasecha, is referring to our
praise to Hashem, that we say we
can do, without guidance, with our
own mouths, because Hashem’s

magnificent benefits are clear and
evident to us.
Now, for the first blessing of the
Shemone Esrei. We say, “Elokei
Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak, v’Elokei
Yaakov – The G-d of Avraham, G-d
of Yitzchak, and the G-d of Yaakov.”
This is absolutely critical because this
formula is the password, our passport
to get us into the palace of Hashem.
We are saying that we are worthy to
gain entry into the inner sanctum of
Hashem since we are descendants of
Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. This
is why it is so critical to concentrate in
the first blessing.
The Likutei Torah teaches us that
when we say meivi go’el, that
Hashem will bring redemption, the
word meivi is an acronym of the four
exiles, Mitzrayim, Bavel, Yavon and
Edom. And we are hoping that just
as Hashem redeemed us from the first
three, he should quickly redeem us
from the long galus of Edom as well.
Okay! We have just started. With the
help of Hashem we should continue to
grow together and in that merit, may
Hashem answer our davenings and
bless us with long life, good health,
and everything wonderful.