How Can Davening Change Hashem’s Will?

Okay, I just want to begin by expressing condolences to one of the pillars of our sheer, Mrs. Gitty Klein, on the loss of her mother. I know she's not here now, sitting Shiva. The funeral was yesterday. Sunday. I think Sunday. But I did want to use the opportunity to express my our hearts for heartfelt condolences to her and of course the entire mishpacha and community. Today's class is dedicated by Mehran Javarian. And Mehran says it's in memory of my father Bashi ben Mashallah. Back in the days he was a physician in Iran who would help all sorts of people without expectations and even though I left him as a teenager already had instilled deep values in me in terms of a direction and a goal to follow. So, thank you, Mehran. And thank you for your gracious friendship and partnership and dedication. And a good year to you and to your entire family and to all of our people and to all good people. Everybody knows the story of Hannah that we recite, we repeat in the Haftarah of Rosh Hashanah. The Haftarah of the first day of Rosh Hashanah tells that story in the beginning of Shmuel where Elkana had two wives, Peninnah and Hannah. Peninnah had numerous children, lo Hannah ein yeladim, Hannah did not have a child. And her husband, Elkana, would go with the family each year to Shiloh. Shiloh was then the location in Israel where the Mishkan was, where the sanctuary was. This is of course before the base hamikdash was built. And he would go up there. He would go there for Pesach and for Shavuot, for Sukkot, for Yom Tov. Different occasions. And after Eli tells the famous story how one year Hannah seemed extremely bitter, extremely hurt, extremely in pain. And she goes to the Mishkan. She goes into the Mishkan and she's davening there. Eli, who is the high priest, the kohen gadol, considers her. He looks at her and he thinks she's intoxicated. Vayachsheveha Eli leshikora. He's watching her pray and he thinks that she's inebriated and he chastises her. Ad matai tishtakarin? How long are you going to drink? You got to join the 12-step program. Got to open a chapter of AA where you live. He really lets her have it and Hannah corrects him and says, "You mis- you're misreading the situation. I'm not a drunkard woman. Isha kashat ruach anochi ve'eshpoch nafshi lifnei Hashem. I'm a woman who's hurt, who is in pain. And I I'm pouring out I poured out my soul to Hashem." Eli then blesses her and says, "May God fulfill your request." Indeed, she goes home. She conceives, she has gives birth to her son, her little baby who she named Shmuel. Ultimately, she would bring him back to the Mishkan. He would remain with Eli. He would grow up there and he would become Shmuel Hanavi, the greatest prophet among the Jewish people. The Gemara says, says in Tehillim, Moshe ve'Aharon bekohanav u'Shmuel bekorei shemo, that Shmuel was shakul keneged Moshe ve'Aharon. He was equivalent to Moshe and Aharon in his greatness, in his righteousness, even though when it comes to the prophecy, it says like come Navi Kamasha, there was no prophet like Moshe. But in some areas, Chazal say Shmuel was the equivalent of Moshe and Aaron together. This was the son of Chana. Who was, I think, 2 years ago before Rosh Hashanah, we had a class here and we explored the question of how can Eli make such an error? Even if he wasn't a coin God, even if he was just, you know, a regular man from the street, to be able to misread a situation so dramatically from one extreme to another extreme, accusing her of uh consuming large quantities of alcohol instead of reading the situation of what this was about. Now, even though Chana corrected her and Eli, of course, retracted his words, but just to understand the story. And we delved in to one dimension, incredible explanation of what Eli really meant when he spoke about intoxication, not alcoholic intoxication, but a different type of intoxication. Discussed how people daven, what we daven for, etc. Today, that if you want to watch those, it was a very interesting sheer, actually. It was a very interesting topic. And uh some very interesting comments from the people as well. That was 2 years ago. You could watch it on the Yeshiva.net if you go to Rosh Hashanah. But today I want to address a different, also fascinating angle about that story. And that is the Gemara in Maseches Brachos, page 31, tractate Brachos, page 31, quotes Reb Hamnuna. Reb Hamnuna says that some of the most fundamental halachas about davening we learn from Tefilas Chana, how Chana prayed. That's what the Gemara's language in Aramaic is, kama hilchesa gavrisa ikla mishma meha noi kriya d'Chana. Some of the most important, fundamental, vital, powerful laws about prayer we learn from the Tfilat Chana. And he goes through. He goes through the story of how the Tanakh describes the posture of Chana, the state of mind of Chana, the way in which Chana davened. All of these see in as paradigms. Not just Chana did it, but these actually become law. It's fascinating. They become encoded in Jewish law in the Shulchan Aruch about how one ought to daven or not to daven. A few of the examples that he quotes, he says, you take a look at the story. It says, "V'Chana hi mitdaberet al liba." Literally means Chana spoke to her heart or spoke on her heart or spoke with her heart. And this is the source, "Mikan l'mispalel tzarich sheyichaven libo." Davening is not about words. I could say the words robotically. The primary element of davening is the heart, kavanas halev. Intent, intent, meditation, mindfulness, being focused, being emotionally present as we call it today. That's what we learn from Chana, "V'Chana hi mitdaberet al liba." It's not an exercise in words. There are words we say, of course, but the primary element is kavanas halev, that emotional presence. Chana was emotionally there. "Mitdaberet al liba." She spoke She spoke with her heart. The story continues, "Rak sfaseha na'os." Her lips were moving. Her lips were moving. From this he learns that the mispalel, the one who davens and says the words, "Yach tuch b'sfosav." He or she should actually articulate the words with their lips. You know, sometimes one could mumble jumble, but it's actually they should articulate it. The lips should be moving. In other words, clearly defining a word. As they say in Yiddish, "Nisht chappen verten, nisht einschlingen verten." The Gemara continues, "As v'kola yishama." Her voice was not heard loud. From here we learn that when somebody is davening, the main part of davening is Shemoneh Esrei, they should not raise their voice. We learn it all from Chana. "V'yachsheveha Eili l'shikora." Eili thinks she's drunk. From here we also learn something, that when somebody is intoxicated, they're not in a state of davening. Could somebody say "L'chaim" and then go to daven? So, from here we learn you're not allowed to. That's why Eili was upset. All of these halachos about davening are learned from T'filas Chana. Now, this is interesting and also enigmatic and difficult to understand. Chana is not the first person to daven. Chana is not the first person in Tanach to daven to the Ribono shel Olam. Chana lives hundreds of years after the Jewish people were formed. Remember that Chana was the mother of Shmuel HaNavi, the one who coronated both Shaul HaMelech and David HaMelech. David HaMelech lived a few hundred years after the Jewish people entered into Eretz Yisrael because the Beis HaMikdash that was built by David's son was built years after the Jews entered into Eretz Yisrael. That's almost five centuries. That was built by Now, this is some decades earlier because Shmuel coronated Shlomo's father David and before that, David's father-in-law, the first king, Shaul HaMelech. So, Shmuel's mother Chana did not live right in the beginning of Jewish history. She lived already hundreds of years after Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Moshe, and even after the Jews going into Eretz Yisrael. In fact, the Torah itself records many t'filos in the genesis of Jewish history by our patriarchs and matriarchs. You would think that that should be the source of how to daven. And yet, the primary for the most important fundamental halachas hilchos hagavris of tvilah come from Chana. We have for example in Torah, not only in Navi, not only in Nevi'im. This is in Nevi'im. This is in the safer Shmuel. Right in the beginning of Shmuel. Shmuel Aleph. In the beginning. But you already have Avraham Avinu davening. You have Yitzchak Avinu davening. You have Rivka davening. You have Yaakov davening. And nonetheless their tfilos are not seen as the source of the halachas of davening. We have Avraham Avinu davening to Hashem about S'dom. It's a pretty pretty fascinating prayer for S'dom. We have Avraham Avinu davening for Avimelech. We have Avraham Avinu says the Gemara says in Brachos Chovav Avraham Avinu is the one who instituted tfilas shacharis. The whole institution of morning davening comes from Avraham Avinu. The Gemara learns it out from verses in sefer Bereishis. The same is true with Yitzchak. Chazal say Yitzchak is the one who instituted tfilas mincha. Vayeitzei Yitzchak lasuach basadeh lifnei arev. Our sages learn out from the pesukim that he's the one who instituted the afternoon prayer at dusk before sunset. You also have clearly Yitzchak Avinu davening for a child together with his wife. It says that Rivka couldn't have children. Vayeitar Yitzchak Hashem lenochach ishto ki akar hi. Yitzchak and Rivka were both davening to Hashem because of the infertility. So Yitzchak and Rivka are both davening and it's clearly articulated in Chumash. Vayeitar Yitzchak and Hashem answered her and ultimately Rivka would carry a child and the famous story of the twins Yaakov and Eisav and so forth. You also have Yaakov davening. Again, the Gemara in Brachos Chovav learns that Yaakov is the one who instituted tfilas arvis, the evening. That means the daily structure of davening that defines Klal Yisrael for thousands of years come not from Chana. Chana davened, but it comes from Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. You would think that would be the source for the halachas of tfila. But it's not. It's from Chana. Of course, you have Moshe's tfilas in Chumash. Moshe often davens to Hashem. There's a long tfila after the creation of the golden calf, Moshe. It's a long tfila of Moshe Rabbeinu asking for forgiveness for the Jewish people and other tfilas that Moshe Rabbeinu prays, including tfilas of the Jewish people, for example, at the Red Sea. They called Hashem. They screamed to Hashem. The Chumash is filled with individuals, with great people, with men, and with women who are davening. Nonetheless, when Chazal are looking for the source, where do we learn out the main halachas of davening? It doesn't even come from Chumash. Doesn't come from Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Rivka, Sarah, Rachel, Leah, Moshe. It comes from Nevi'im, from the Sefer Shmuel, and from Chana. One way of looking at it would be, well, Chana's tfila was unique because Chana was davening for a child. She wasn't just praying for other blessings or other things she needed. She was davening for a child. Please bless me with with a child, which is obviously one of the greatest, if not the greatest, blessings. The Gamora says it's the key that that lives in Hashem's hands himself. It's one of the keys that he did not give over to a shliach. It's one of the three keys that he's him himself, Chaya, the key of childbirth. So, tfila we learn from Chana because this is something we daven directly to Hashem. He is the one ultimately responsible completely for a child without any emissaries. Perhaps, that's why we choose this Tfilo. It's also not just that it's such a fundamental thing and something that is Hashem holds the key to it, but as Rachel told Yakov, without it, V'im ayin, may son oyche. I feel like I'm I'm lifeless. That's what Rachel told Yakov. So, this represents how important it is. How how relevant it is for a person's life. And because the Tfilo for children is so fundamental and so powerful and so relevant, maybe that's why they chose the Tfilo of Chana. But, it doesn't really answer the question cuz Yitzchak and Rivka daven exactly for the same thing. They couldn't have children. They daven exactly the same thing. And that's all the way in Chumash, the second Jew, Yitzchak, the son of Avraham Avinu, Rivka, his wife. Rashi says, "Vayetar Yitzchak Lashem." Rashi says, "Here bo v'hiftsi v'Tfilo." Wasn't even a short Tfilo. He and Rivka really engaged excessively in davening. And yet, Chana remains the source for prayer. Some might want to say because the previous Tfilos were before Matan Torah. Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yakov lived before the Torah was given. So, perhaps, the Halachos of Tfilo need to be learned out from somebody who lived after the Torah was given. And that, of course, would be Chana. So, that would might explain Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yakov, but it wouldn't explain Moshe Rabbeinu, who certainly lived after Matan Torah and also davens. Besides the point, we're not looking to these stories to learn out Halachos from before Matan Torah, but it's rather what's called a Giluy Milsa. We see what's the appropriate way of davening. You're not trying to learn out a Mitzvah after Matan Torah from before Matan Torah, when they didn't have the Mitzvah. We're learning from them the proper disposition, the proper for the appropriate behavior, the appropriate posture. This you can even learn from before the Torah was given, especially that our whole structure of davening three times a day, Shacharis, Mincha, might have come from before Matan Torah. They come from Avraham, Shacharis, Yitzchak, Mincha, and Yaakov, Yaakov, Maariv. So, we have to say that there was something about the tefillah of Chana that sets it apart. It puts it in a unique genre, if you wish, even different than the prayers of Yitzchak and Rivka and Avraham and Yaakov, Rachel and Moshe Rabbenu himself. There's something about Chana's davening which we read on Rosh Hashanah, on the haftarah of Rosh Hashanah, that puts it apart, it's it's a a world apart. And that's why it's that story that becomes the source, until today, for the most fundamental, greatest halachas of how to daven. The explanation in this is to understand for a moment, what is davening? What is davening? Well, davening is davening. I mean, what is what's there to explain? But if we think about it, I often get this question from people, it's interesting. I get emails from a lot of people with questions. So, it's a question I get very often from uh teenage girls. Uh interesting, from teenage girls, very often this question. And that is, if Hashem knows everything that he's doing and he's good, so why you trying to interfere and daven? Obviously, it's it's set up the way it's set up, and there's a reason for it. And he probably knows the reason much better than anybody else. So, why are you interfering? As somebody once wrote to me, it seems that tefillah is represents absolute heresy. In other words, where is the faith? If you believe that God knows what he's doing, so he decided it, so let it be. Why would you want to even change it? And even if you want to change it, who gives you a right and a chutzpah? Where do you get this audacity? What are you going to change God's mind? Or you think he doesn't know the problem before you spoke about it with him? And if he does know the problem, so now what's going to happen? He's supposed to say, "Oh, you're right. Yeah, you're right. You know better." What is this whole idea What is this whole idea behind tfillah? What does it really mean? What is it about? There's a very interesting argument between the Rambam and the Ramban and other halachic authorities if biblically there's a mitzvah to daven every day or not. The Rambam holds that the mitzvah of tfillah is every single day. That every single day a mitzvah of davening. The rabbis were the one who made times for davening and the text for davening. Sh'ma Yisrael doesn't come from Chumash, it comes from the Anshei Knesses HaGedolah. But the fact that there's a mitzvah to daven every day, that the Rambam holds is min haTorah. The Ramban and others say from Mitzvas Katan, the Rashba, others hold not. The biblical mitzvah of davening is only when a person finds themselves in a unique situation where they really need something special. That's when there's a mitzvah in the Torah to daven. But a regular daily routine davening, it's a mitzvah mid'Rabbanan. It's like lighting Shabbos candles. Just like saying Hallel on Rosh Chodesh. Just like washing our hands before bread. Just like celebrating Yom Tov a second day. These are called mitzvos mid'Rabbanan. The Rabbanan instituted to daven every day. They gave us a text. The Rambam holds, "No, biblically there's a mitzvah to daven every day, but there's no It could be 1 minute. It could be 30 seconds. There's no time. Could be middle of the night, middle of the day, in the morning, late." The rabbis gave it a time and a structure and a text. The Anshei Knesses HaGedolah. Other poskim say not that the mitzvah min haTorah is only when a person has a choleh v'lo tzarah or something very anxious or something very meaningful to them that they feel that they really need. Now it's a mitzvah to daven for Russia, but it's not part of the regular routine structure of my Torah. The rabbis who introduced the mitzvah of tfillin. What's the logic behind the second shift to the tfillah? It's not every single day in my Torah, only when there's a unique situation. There's really two concepts. There's something called bracha and there's something called tfillah. There's a blessing and a prayer, and they're not the same thing. Let's take the story of Yaakov Avinu. Yaakov Avinu crosses his hands when Yosef asks Yaakov to bless his children. So, Yaakov crosses his hands famously in Parshas Vayechi. He puts his right hand on Ephraim, puts his left hand on Menashe, even though naturally his right hand would go to Menashe cuz Menashe Yaakov was sitting Menashe was on the right towards Yaakov. Yaakov would place his right hand on Menashe cuz he was the oldest, but he crossed his hands. Ephraim got the right hand and Menashe got the left hand. So, Yosef says, "Lo chein avi, it's wrong way. Menashe is the oldest." And Yaakov says, "Yadati bni, yadati. I know. But for Ephraim's mission and Ephraim's purpose, he needs this blessing. And Menashe needs the other blessing because Achiv Menashe's going to be great, but Achiv Yigdal mimenu. So, people ask the question, "I don't understand. Yaakov could have blessed Menashe to have what Ephraim would have. You're saying that you have to cross the hands because Ephraim needs this blessing. Give the same blessing to Menashe. So, Menashe will have what you want Ephraim to have, and then he can get this bracha." Yaakov says, "No, so to speak, I'm stuck. GIVE A BRACHA MENASHE. WHATEVER IT IS THAT Ephraim needs in order to get your right hand bracha, let that but let have Menashe have that." He says, "Achiv Yigdal mimenu. Ephraim is going to be the grandfather of Yehoshua bin Nun. He's going to take the Jews in Eretz Yisrael. He needs THIS BLESSING. LET MENASHE'S GRANDCHILD TAKE HIM TO ERETZ YISRAEL. LET YEHOSHUA COME FROM MENASHE." What's the answer to this? The answer is a bracha doesn't reinvent reality. A bracha tunes in to the pre-existing spiritual source of this person and helps them access it. The word bracha in Hebrew in Yeshayahu there's an expression called brecha. Now in Hebrew what's a pool? How do you say a pool? A brecha. What's a brecha? That comes from the Tanakh. Brecha means when you have a pool that contains a huge amount of water and from there it can flow into different directions into different smaller pits, smaller canals, smaller streams, smaller cisterns, etc. But a brecha is like a place where the water is gathered and sent. That's why a pool of water where there's a lot of water they call today a brecha. In in Mishnah there's also an expression called hamavrich es hagafen. If you bend a vine, which means if you take part of a vine and you bend it because you want the vine to grow also in another place. So therefore you'll take one branch of the vine and you'll bend it and you'll put it into the earth. So now the vine will have a new source. So the idea of bracha is really milashon hamshacha. Bracha is tuning in to the spiritual source of a person, to their source of water so to speak, and then helping them access that flow. So if somebody has a bank account and they have money in the bank account, I can help you access that money, retrieve the money, fill out the right documents, whatever you need to do to retrieve the money. But I cannot put new money into the bank account or I can't help you retrieve money from somebody else's bank account. Yaakov Avinu says, "I'm looking at the soul of Menashe. I'm looking at the soul of Ephraim. This is who Menashe is. This is who Ephraim is. I'm not going to change that. What I'm going to help each one is access their own energy, access their own source." Cuz sometimes a person without a bracha has tremendous potential, but they have no way of of retrieving it, of accessing it. So there's a pool of water, but it's not being drawn down. So, that's the power of a bracha. That's the power of a blessing. Power of a blessing is to help tune in to this person's own source, own mokor v'sharesh, their own roots, their own source, and help bring down or bring forth and allow an incessant flow or a stronger flow of your own energy. We all know people have How much How much percentage of one's brain does one use during their lifetime? It's embarrassing when you look it up. It's pretty embarrassing. How much potential of people goes unmet. People are not even aware of it. THAT'S WHAT A BRACHA IS. A BRACHA is God, could you could you access your real source? And when you access your real source, you'll see how much potency there is, how much love, how much energy, how much creativity there is. That's a bracha. Tefillah, so Yakov can't say I'm going to give Efraim's bracha to Menashe. Doesn't work like that. You don't change DNA. A bracha doesn't tamper with DNA. Bracha doesn't tamper with your unique DNA access. A bracha helps access what is already yours, but you may not have so much access to it. It may be concealed. There may be blockages. That's a big one. So, we try to remove the blockages. That's what a real blessing is. And everybody can give a bracha. Obviously, people who are closer to the source could see behind the blockages a little easier. So, therefore, their brachas have a special potency and power. But as the Gemara says, "Alti brachas hadid kal b'einech." Every Jew gives a bracha. It's a powerful tool. Now, you have tefillah. Tefillah is already a whole different concept. Tefillah is much deeper than a bracha. And indeed, tefillah is connected to everybody. A bracha is I'm going to this person for a bracha. Tefillah is related to every single person. The power of davening is in davening we often have an expression yehi ratzon. Yehi ratzon milfanav Hashem Elokeinu v'Elokei avoseinu. What does it really mean yehi ratzon? May it be the will May it be the will. Imagine I come to you and I say I want to ask you that it should be your will. It's an interesting way of talking to somebody. Yehi ratzon, we don't think about this. Yehi ratzon, sure, why not? Yeah. Yehi ratzon, becomes a Chazon Ish shtickel. But if you think about it, it should be your will. In other words, it's not your will. And I want this should be your will. That's the power of davening. The power of davening is the Baal HaTanya has an expression in Shaar HaKavanos, you create a ratzon chadash. Huh? You should want You should want to give me ice cream. You should want to take me for slush. You should want it. Don't do it begrudgingly, right? In other words, a bracha doesn't create something new. It channels from the source what's already a pre-existing treasure, a pre-existing source of water, a brecha. IT'S OPENING A PIPE, A CHANNEL to be able to access the flow of water. Tefillah is a ratzon that wasn't there before, a desire that wasn't there before by Hashem. I'm saying yehi ratzon, there should be a ratzon. Which only intensifies the question. Really? You mean God's wills, you don't like what he wanted, so now we're going to convince him to have a new will and he's going to say, "Yeah, you're right." What's What's What's tachlis inyan of ratzon? So when I'm going to address something that's quite fundamental to Yiddishkeit? And that is what is the word tfila mean? Well, we all say it's no brainer. Tfila means davening. What does davening even mean? It's a Yiddish word, you know, nobody knows the etymology of it. What does davening mean? Daven, dav. It's it's not so pashut. Some people say davening comes from the words it's like it comes originally from the word davuan. Cuz our forefathers, our fathers avuan and our Americans Avraham Yitzchak and Yaakov made so it became davening, davuan. Other people give different interpretation but it's not so clear the word davening. But the word tfila by your spell tfila is a fundamental word that exists in Tanakh as well. What is tfila? What is it? So, one interpretation is Leah says Naftulei, she names Naftali Naftali Naftulei Elokim niftalti im achoti. Also very complicated word. Rashi gives more than three interpretations what Naftali Naftulei means. One of them is connection. Connection. I'm sorry, I said Leah Bilhah Naftulei Elokim niftalti im achoti. Rachel feels she's now more connected to Leah, she has more children. That's one way of looking at it. Tfila from the word connection. Hatoyfel clay cheres, the Mishna speaks about if earthenware gets shattered and you bring it back together, you you you you you you uh weld it together, you bake it together again so that the pieces, the shards become reconnected. Hatoyfeld with a tes with a taf. But there's another interpretation of tfila and of course it's all connected. Pun intended, it's all connected. Ah. Tfilin is also connected. What's that exactly? So, there's an expression that Yosef Yaakov tells Yosef when he sees him. Yaakov haven't hasn't seen his son Yosef in 22 years. When he sees him the first time after 22 years I I'm sorry, after they meet then they he's together and then he sees his grandchildren Manasseh and Ephraim and he blesses them mentioned a few moments ago. He tells Joseph before his death I never imagined to see you again. I thought you were gone. And now I see you and I see your children as well. The word he uses light feel all tea. Feel all tea in Hebrew means I didn't imagine. I didn't anticipate. This wasn't part of my imagination light feel all tea. I couldn't even entertain the thought. It was so far-fetched. It was so remote. That it was not part of my thinking. It was not part of my hopes because Jacob believed that Joseph was devoured by an animal. How's he going to see him again in this world? Light feel all tea. Feel all tea is something imagining. I never imagined and I never looked towards it. I never anticipated it. I never entertained it. Now let's speak when somebody say I'm going to Darwin we say I need a laugh. The his pal ale or the hit pal ale if we need the pronunciation. For the his pal ale and for the hit pal ale. But the point is the same. So now if I want to say I want to feed my child or I'm going to I'm going to feed my if a person wants to say I want to go dress my child. I need a laugh to be shut up what if I say I'm going to get dressed myself. I need a laugh to be shut up. I want to give my child a bath but I if I want to bathe myself I need a laugh to be shut up. So the hit pal ale is what? It's not you should imagine the hit pal ale back to that word feel all tea is I should imagine. It's my imagination Lehitpalel, just like I'm going lehitlabesh or lehitrachetz. Et cetera, lehitpalel, I'm going to engage in this experience of filoti. Now, it's interesting, the person who represents the community by davening is called a chazan. Shliach tzibur. Shliach to the shliach of the tzibur, and the title for him is chazan. So, we understand chazan is chazones, a cantor, but the word chazan comes from the word chazain, which means vision. Because who is the one who's going to help me lehitspalel to imagine? For that, you need somebody to lead me, to mentor me with chazan, with vision. Like the possuk says, "Chazain Yeshayahu." Yeshayahu had a vision. "Asher chaza Yehuda u'Yerushalayim." This is about vision. What is the vision that I'm searching for? What is the imagination that I'm searching for? The imagination that one is searching for by davening is Yaakov says, "Lo filoti." I couldn't imagine this. What I'm doing by tfila is I'm imagining my life the way Hashem imagines my life. I'm trying to align my perspective on my life the way Hashem sees my life. That requires vision. What does this mean? Was verstayen in a minute. Chamas b'zay. What does this mean? Align my vision. There's a famous expression that the Tanya once said in Yiddish, I'll translate it. It says, "Af a Yid darf men kucken far yer shtayen in machshava hakduma de Adam Kadmon." Translation, when you look at a Jew, you should see him or her the way they're standing in the primordial thought of the divine. What does this mean? In every person there's two states. There's who I am, there's who I think I am. What does it mean who I think I am? Every person has a certain imagination of what their life is, what their life was, what their life ought to be, what their life can be. That's my imagination based on my resources, my tools, my neural pathways, my nature, my genes, my nurture. Every person has the orbit in which we revolve. My past, my present, how I anticipate my future. It comes with gratitude and it comes with disappointments. It comes with anticipation of great things and sometimes anticipation of other things. But every person has their way in which they see their life story, past, present, and future. Fila is upending that imagination. It's sublimating that imagination. Can I look at myself and can I see myself for a moment the way Hashem sees me? Because every person, even before they were born, they were conceived, their souls and bodies were conceived in Hashem's mind. What did Hashem see in this person? So, the Balatanya said, "When you look at somebody, don't just see what you're seeing. Can you see what God saw in them when he decided to create them? He decided to create this person. This person's soul, this person's body, this person's life. So, let's finish this I posit. But it's enriching when you can do it. I always tell this to teachers, including myself. I said, "When you go into a classroom, there's children and you have to see what you see. And you get reports and there's questionnaires and there's diagnosis of everybody, every expert in the world. That's all good. It's all good. Just put in one more diagnosis. One more in the piece of paper one more and that is when God decided to create this child, this little boy, this little girl, or big boy, or big girl. Little with little ones sometimes is a little easier. What did Hashem see in this? If I cannot see this or even relate to this, I may not belong standing in front of these people. I have to be able to ask, "WHAT DID HASHEM HASHEM SAW SOMETHING. HE DECIDED TO create her, not me." He decided to create this child. HE SAW SOMETHING. WHAT DID HE SEE? You know when a person builds a company or a website or a movement, before you create it, you What's your vision? WHAT WAS YOUR IMAGINATION? I WANT TO MAKE $10 billion tomorrow. That's like a good Jewish imagination, very realistic. But everybody, I'm building a show, I'm building a school, I'm building a home, I'm building a family, I'm building a business, I'm building a corporation, I'm building a movement, I'm building a website. YOU'RE IMAGINING SOMETHING. WHAT WHAT WHAT ARE YOU SEEING in it? You're seeing potential. You're seeing great potential. We have this cuz Hashem had it. He created somebody also with imagination. AS the possuk says in Tehillim. Can I tune in to that imagination? To the best of my ability, of course. So the Baal Hatanya said, "When you look at a Jew Dofman cooking IN MACHSHAVA HAKDUMA THE ADAM KADMON. Fabulous words. You have to be able to look at the person the way he or she stands in the primordial PRIMAL THOUGHT PROCESS OF THE RIBONO SHEL OLAM. THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO SEE. THIS DOESN'T MEAN TO DENY the facts. On the contrary, it means to align the person down here with who the person really is. What does Hashem see in them? And if I can't see that, I am like missing 99% of the picture. I can have all the earthly diagnosis, but I'm missing the key, the soul. I can only do it with other people if I can do it with myself. With other people, sometimes it's easier if you're a nice person. With yourself, if you have good Jewish guilt, it becomes a little more complicated. Somebody once said, "When a Jew doesn't feel guilty, he blames himself." So, if you if we can get out of that, that's what feeler really means. It's a very exciting experience. I know the word exciting is the best, but it that's actually it's it's it's it's a very exciting experience. And what makes it exciting is it's imagining me, imagining me or imagining you, the way Hashem imagines my life, which means imagine, if I can hold up a mirror to myself or to somebody else, which reflects back not just what my nose looks like and my eyes look like and my hair looks like and my face looks like, but a mirror that reflects back to me the infinite light that God saw in me and sees in me, creating me then and creating me every moment. It's reflecting back to me not only my ponim, but my pnimiyus. Not just the external face, but the whole everything that's inside of me. An X-ray, but not just an X-ray of bones. And not even just an X-ray that shows a cellular level or at levels of the genome, but an X-ray that shows back the pnimiyus of the pnimiyus, the inner of the inner. Like we say in the David Hamelech, "I call my libi, bakshu panai." To you my heart says, seek my face. Let me seek my face, not my back. But you upon I. Be my bakash. Be my bakash ponai. ES PONACHA HASHEM AVAKESH. THOSE ARE THE WORDS of David Hamalach. Continues last week's theme of achas shaalti malchus Shaul. Bakshu ponai. Can you see MY PONAI? CAN I ALSO SEE MY PONAI? Tefillah is that mirror. A mirror that I am trying to lift up and look at that will show me and allow me to imagine what my life is, was, could be, will be from the from God's perspective. What does he see as my potential? What does he see as my calling, as my vocation, as my destiny? Does he also see me as a shmata? Does he also see me as a depressed, despondent creature? Does he also see me as an insecure, fearful, traumatized victim? Is that what he saw when he created? He's like, "Okay, time to create a shmata." And that's really the celebration of a birthday. Rosh Hashanah, we celebrate a birthday of Adam and Hava, which is everybody's birthday in that sense. A birthday is the day that God said, "You matter and that the world is incomplete without you. I need you, we need you for your contribution." That is what a birthday is from a Jewish perspective. It's not a day only that day deals with one detail or another detail. It's re-aligning that vision. So, let's say I had no fear. Can I imagine my life? What would your life look like if you had no fear? What would it look like? What would my life look like if I didn't have any blockages? Tefillah is the ability to imagine myself and see my posture as a citizen feel a active guy in my mind. It's a ladder that's etched on the ground. It's top reaches heaven. So I am that ladder. In feel I become a ladder that's etched on the ground, two feet on the ground. But the ladder's head reaches heaven, which means my posture is a continuum of the posture. So I am completely one with my source. I'm a manifestation of a sham in this world, but I have to see that ladder and that ladder got to be straight. That's why it says by davening we stand. What does he care if I sit and if you sit? It's not something to be somebody. It's because standing really is the physical is a physical posture when a person's posture is supposed to be erect. Not when you know how people sit and talk. Then you come to the to the chiropractor and he says you you sit by a computer all day, right? That's your problem. Nobody used to sit by your computer. You should harvest cotton. Then you also got to bend a little bit. So because of that, when a person when a person's posture is standing straight, I don't only mean physically, much more than that. I'm talking physically is also good, also healthy. But I'm talking about emotionally, psychologically, spiritually. The opposite of what the adversary of Jacob tried to do to him. When he maimed Jacob. You know, and Jacob is he's limping. We're not just talking about the physical posture as the says, we're talking about a spiritual posture. A person who's limping, person who's caved in. We're not again not talking here biologically, physically. We're talking about in terms of my emotional self-perception. For this you need a cousin. You need a cousin. I need person has to be able to have such a vision. Let hispalel to be able to imagine my life from Hashem's perspective. To be able to imagine my child's life from that perspective. To be able to imagine the future from that perspective. And when I daven from that space, then I'm not davening selfishly. I'm actually as the famous magid explains and after Shacharis explains ain't nothing to spell element of kovid rosh. You daven kovid rosh for the heaviness of the rosh of the head when you realize that you are the real manifestation of Hashem in this world. So, when you're davening for something you need, you're really davening for Hashem's need. Because you're one. You say, "Come on. I'm davening for cleaning help. God doesn't need cleaning help. I need cleaning help." And I'm saying that you're wrong. Cuz if you go into most Jews' psyche and you speak to them for a few minutes, you'll see the reason you need cleaning help. Should I explain? Better better better to stop here. Okay. I'm getting confused with all the tense. People don't know who they are. We often give ourselves bad rap. I'm selfish. I'm self-centered. My mother never had cleaning help. Did your mother have cleaning help? It was a machshavah zarah. Your bubbe? Cleaning help? Really? Hastash tub. You have two bedrooms. There's food in the refrigerator. Who invented this type of spoiled attitude? Like in South Africa. Like in South Africa. But the truth is that when you really tune in to yourself by t'fillah, you have to know who you are. If you need something, if you need something, if a Jew needs something, whether it's material, emotional, psychological, spiritual, the deepest truth of it is that it's Hashem's need. We see ourselves as separate. And that's what feeler tries to change. There's me, there's God. God is in heaven, I'm in I'm on earth, and I desperately turn to you. Please, you're big, you're strong, you got the money, you got the cash, you got the creativity, you got the power. Just send a little bit down here. But feeler is much, much deeper than that. Feeler is revealing back to connection that you're actually one. I'm not selfish. I'm not detached. I'm not separate. My posture is a manifestation of divine oneness and infinity in this world. A soul is called a chelek eloka mimaal mamash. The guf, it says in Zohar, is guf to the kadusha. The guf is sacred. When you're praying for the body, you're praying for a kadusha. You're praying for your home, you're praying for a Beis Hamikdash. That's Hashem's need. Hashem wants a Beis Hamikdash in this world. You're praying for a child, you're praying for a grandchild. You know, being my child, so I should be able to go to sleep at night. That's a very impoverished way of looking at it. I'm actually praying for Hashem's child. This child is Hashem's light in the world. I have the source, the privilege, the responsibility to have this child, to have this diamond as a pikadon. Feeler then is not personal. It's not only personal. It's not I'm a nebach case, and I need this, I need this, I need that, I need that. It's much deeper than that. Feeler is actually you're Hashem's mouthpiece. You are Hashem's mouthpiece. Because your needs are his needs. IF YOU HAVE MONEY AND you have health and you have a a clean home, what is it? That's Hashem has a clean presence in this world. There was an avoida to clean up the base of mikdash. Not something guilty. It's not guilty. One doesn't have to feel guilty about it. The Baal Shem Tov once saw somebody, he was a chazan, talk about a chazan, and he was dancing by Al Chet. Imagine somebody singing Al Chet, you know, like Al Chet Al Chet shechatanu da da da. So, people wanted to throw him out. It's pasnish. AL CHET, YOU CRY, YOU don't sing. Al Chet shechatanu They asked the Baal Shem Tov if they should get rid of him, you know, maybe he's a heretic, maybe he doesn't believe in Hashem. So, the Baal Shem Tov said, "I'll speak to him." So, he said, "Why do you dance and sing by Al Chet? You're confessing your sins." So, he said as I Listen to what he said. He said a king has a palace and different people have different jobs in the palace. And each of them celebrate their privilege of working with the king. You have the chef, you have the economy minister, you have Sar Habinyah, the the the building minister, you have the the you have all the departments of the palace. He says there's also a janitor in the palace. His job is to sweep up the dirt so that the palace should be splendid. He says, "And now I ask you a question. The one who's the janitor, he doesn't sing while he's sweeping? He shouldn't be happy that he gets to clean up the king's palace?" He says, "Al Chet, I'm cleaning up Hashem's palace. The Shechinah lives inside of me. But there's a little dirt there. I GOT TO CLEAN IT UP. WHY SHOULDN'T I SING? I shouldn't dance?" The Baal Shem Tov told them you can leave him. He's a good chazan. It's the same thing, but he gave perspective, he gave depth, he gave vision. I could start saying Al Chet and say, I'm a sick person. I'm guilty. I'm always guilty. I'm evil. I was evil. I will be evil. Please have a little compassion on such a stick. Whatever it is, you'll finish the sentence on your own. And and you know, extricate me. I'm in a very very impoverished perspective state. I'm in I'm in gallus within gallus. Person has to see the truth. I may have made some serious mistakes. I had limited tools. I have my own traumas. But what what I why I'm calling it a mistake is because it's alien to who I really am. And therefore I of course celebrate for cleaning up the palace of us only mikdash bishakanti. Besoicham doesn't say besoichoi. So that Moshiach writes why besoicham? It was one mikdash cuz besoicham means within them, within the people. So you're that plate. I'M I'M THAT SPACE. YOU'RE THAT SPACE. YOUR HOME, YOUR KITCHEN, YOUR LIVING ROOM, your dining room, your family room, YOUR PORCH IS THAT SPACE. So when a Jew realizes who he or she is, my tfilos not coming from a place of separateness. You'll see that which you're really focused on my tfila. That which was really bothering you if you go a little deeper, you'll see you're actually davening for something that Hashem wants, Hashem needs, Hashem desires. Which goes back to what we discussed 2 years ago Rosh Hashanah. Eli was accusing Chana of being drunk. Drunk on herself. Stop thinking about yourself. Ask not what God can do for you. Ask what you can do for God. Ask not what America can do, what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country. And Chana explained to Eli something deeper. When I'm asking for a child is ashpachas nafshi lifnei Hashem. It's part of my dveykus with the Ribono shel Olam. What am I really asking for? Not Chana is a selfish person. And she's getting jealous of Penina. Penina is getting the attention. She's not getting the attention. She's embarrassed to come to a simcha. And even if a person is feeling that because of their own blockages, if you go deeper, you'll see what you're really looking for is you're really looking for dveykus. You're really looking for oneness. You're really looking to be able to be the person who you are, which is a manifestation of Hashem's infinite light in this world. So, tefillah in a many ways is a very deep avodah because it's the ability, the courage to transcend my own orbit, my own imagination. For example, I may be stressed about something, overwhelmed, anxious, afraid, scared, angry, jealous, frustrated, annoyed. What's the issue? The issue is right now I'm stuck in a very small orbit of what's supposed to make me happy, what's not supposed to make me happy. So, tefillah Chazal says ka'av d'kamei mari. You find that says in Shulchan Aruch you find nuchas me mikol hamachshavos. I go away from all my thoughts. What does it mean I go away from all my thoughts? It's a state. This is what it says in halacha to go away from all thoughts before davening. It's real description of mindfulness in the ultimate sense. Can I go away from my expectations and my fears of what my life is supposed to look like and completely align myself with Hashem's vision for my life. Right now, right here, right now. Hashem's vision for my life. I'm transcending my own evaluation of the situation, whatever it looks like. And it's usually an intelligent evaluation, but it's mortal human frail and can be sprinkled with quite a few traumas and fears. And I tune in I tune in to me as a manifestation of Hashem in this world. If I can experience that, if I could feel that, what am I asking for? What do I really really want? What do I really really need? BUT THIS I THAT I'M TALKING about is an I that's a mirror of Hashem. Panim b'panim, divrei Hashem el macham. That's the filoti l'hispalel. Can you see your day? Can you see your interactions? Can you see your relationships? Can you even see the conversation you're going to have with your daughter OR YOUR SON? WITH YOUR HUSBAND, WITH YOUR WIFE, WITH YOUR SHVIGER, with your shver, with an employer, with a stranger. Can you foresee THAT CONVERSATION? BUT IMAGINE it the way Hashem imagines it for you. What would that look like? Then I'm emancipated from so many of the pressures and the anxiety that guide it because I'm living in an impoverished orbit. That's l'hispalel. That needs chazon. That needs chazoin. Now here is something else happens in the equation. And that is the pasuk says, "K'mayim ha'panim b'panim, ken lev adam l'adam." The face I show the water, the water reflects back. The heart I display to people comes right back to me. What I show the mirror, the mirror reflects back to me. That's what HaMelech says in Mishlei. And we all know if you're experienced with life, you know how true it is. The energy we the energy we display, the energy we exude, the energy other people get from us, it comes back. You know, sometimes you see somebody, you never met them, you never spoke to them. You just know that you like them. You don't even know why you like them. Now, you may like everybody, but you just like feel this warm feeling. Like then they But, of course, you'll find out one day that they really love you. You just It's just being reflected back. They feel very positively about you, and your heart experiences it, and it just goes right back. The energy I give you, I get back. You see especially with children and parents. Children are the best mirror of the parents' inner moods. When father and mother are in an inner certain state, it's right away comes right back to them from their kids. You say, "Yeah, but how does your daughter know? How does my son know?" They know everything. They don't have to know. They experience it in their subconscious. That's why people often talk about changing their children. I don't No, no, no, no, no. You got to change yourself. Your children will get the memo immediately when you get it. We I want to send the memo to my kids. I don't want to send it to me. Send the memo to yourself. When you get the memo, read it and internalize it. Trust me, they'll get the memo. Kamaim uponim uponim k'neina malada Here is something about the koach of t'fillah. When a Jew has that ability to say, "I'm going to let go of my version of how life looks and is supposed to look like. I'm going to let go of my stress, anxiety, trauma, tension, tension, fears. I'm going to let go of that. And I'm going to say, "I'm just Hashem's shliach in this world. I'm not separate. I don't have any issues. I'm just a channel. I'm the ladder. I'm the ladder in this world. That's who I really am." In other words, I'm an ambassador of infinity in this world. I have that ability to go out of my machshavas, my retzoin, my figuring it out, and therefore my being frustrated or so intense with a lot of tension and heaviness, and I let go. I let go because I don't have anything to hold on to. It's Hashem's world. I am his channel. I am Hashem's light in this world. What am I holding on to? The biggest avodah in the world is to let go, not to hold on. Holding on doesn't allow me to have anything because it causes me to limit everything. Here, look. If I go like this, what do I do? Instead of having access to infinity, and I only have access to that which is You see? If I let go, now I have access to everything. If I have to say I have to control you, what do I have? I have my little my little tsatskes that I have. Like a teacher once told Rothschild, he was a very poor man. He told Rothschild, "If I would have your money, I would be richer than you." Rothschild says, "How?" He says, "Cuz I wouldn't quit my teaching job." Right? That's a kiss of a teacher. I grew up in shul where I grew up there was a beggar. He was a very cute guy. His name is Teddy. His name was Teddy. I'm not going to say his name. He was a very holy man. He would go and today everybody would give him. You just felt like, you know, sometimes people come for They're like upset at you that you didn't, you know, transfer the deed of your house to them. But Teddy was the opposite. You know, Teddy was an holy man. So, everybody always gave him. Somebody once saw Teddy, a friend of mine, in a grocery store one block away. He was buying a lottery ticket for 200 million bucks. So, he says, "Teddy, what are you going to do with the money?" He says, "The first thing is I'm going to hire bodyguards and put them at all the entrances to the shuls so I would be the only one who can go in in the morning to collect the money. That's the first thing I'm going to do when I get the money." That's a kiss. But the truth is, isn't this true about everybody's life? Okay, so I have other hasagas for $200 million. I'm not going to hire bodyguards to access to close all the doors to the show. But is that also not limit? Everyone has their paradigms. So the hispalil filote is can I let go of all of that? Let go and imagine myself the way God sees me when he created me as shluchim shalom kamisa. I let go of everything. Now you say, that's easy. It's really the easiest thing to do, but it's also the hardest thing to do. It's really the easiest thing to do cuz it's just it's natural. Just going back to who you are, just letting go. But letting go, as you know, is the hardest thing to do. Because I feel like I'm going to lose control. I'm going to lose me. The truth is when I let go, for the first time I'm going to have me. But I'll have the real me, the me without blockages. No down information. Huh? Uh uh Now something very powerful happens. When a Jew goes into that space, you don't stop davening. You don't stop davening. Your davening is much more real. Because I'm davening and I know that what I'm davening for is I'm davening actually for Hashem. A ye tells me A ye told the story, didn't tell me. He told the story that he went in a few years ago. He went to visit Rav Steinman, Rav Aaron Leib Steinman in Bnei Brak. And there was a long line of people, so he waited. Suddenly a fellow comes in and he skips the line. And he goes right in and they all got upset. You know, when somebody skips the line, they want to scream at him, but he's already in. A few minutes later he comes out. They want to attack him, so the grandson comes out and says, "No, no, no, you should just know that he's the doctor of Rav Steinman. He didn't come in to ask a question. He came in to see what Rav Steinman needs. He didn't come in to ask a question. He came to see what Rav Steinman needs. When a Jew is aligned, you could be asking for everything. But, it's a whole different type of tfillah. It's not me, my personal need of somebody who's desperate for something. It's actually I'm one with Hashem. So, if this is a need I have to be able to live and fulfill my mission, whose needs whose need is it really? It's Hashem's need. And here something unique happens. There's a system in the world, we call it nature, teva. That system was set up by Hashem. The ocean gets vaporized by the sun. It turns into steam and vapor. It forms into clouds. When there's enough pressure, the water descends back and comes right back down. But, if that would happen, the whole earth would be desert. So, Hashem also put in the winds. So, the winds scatter the clouds. So, now when the water falls, it doesn't fall back into the oceans and the seas and the ponds and the lakes and the rivers, it irrigates the soil. And we have a living planet that can sustain biological life on the planet. That's all incredible. Every detail of teva, this physical nature, the spiritual nature. When things are happening in the world, it's part of a vast eternal grand plan of the divine that certainly defies any human imagination, just as we don't know how the world was created, how it runs, the mysteries of creation. This is where the power of tfillah is. There's a structure, there's the way the world runs. But Hashem is not defined by structure. Hashem is the author of structure. He transcends the structure. So, imagine Tati and Mommy have certain rules in the house. And those rules are important cuz a house needs structure. But if Tati and Mommy become a piece of structure, then we have a problematic house. Whereas Churchill once said, we create institutions to facilitate our visions and then we become prisoners of those institutions that we create. Structure is a tool, you don't worship it. Structure is very important. They say two people fail, those who don't have a plan and those who stick to their plan. So, there's a plan, there's a structure. In tefillah, a Jew says, "I'm yours. I go out of all my structures." You know what happens? Hashem does the same thing. He also goes out k'vayachol of his structure. There's a structure to the way Hashem DOES CALLED TEVA, SPIRITUAL TEVA. And a new ratzon is created. This ratzon, this ratzon that you're asking for, that's the power of tefillah. So, it's infinitely greater than bracha. Bracha tunes into what is. Tefillah goes into the source of infinity that transcends every structure AND SOMETHING COMPLETELY UNPRECEDENTED and new can happen. And that's why it's k'mayim panim l'panim kein leiv adam l'adam. That's that power of prayer. So, you have that child who comes working AND THERE'S A STRUCTURE SITUATION. Child doesn't live up to that structure. So, the boss says, "Okay, you don't live up to the structure, leave the company." There's only one catch, the boss is his father. So, at some point you look at your parent and you says, "Can we forget structure for a moment and have a I want have a relationship with your essence. Davenning tunes into Hashem's essence which transcends all structures, EVEN SPIRITUAL GOOD, HOLY STRUCTURES. Not talking ABOUT BAD STRUCTURES. IT'S GOD'S STRUCTURES. There's a system in the world. There's science, there's physics, there's spiritual science and physics. THERE'S CHEMISTRY AND THERE'S SPIRITUAL CHEMISTRY, AND they're all interconnected. But there's the author beyond THE CHEMISTRY. WHEN I CAN GO OUT OF MY CHEMISTRY, WHEN I CAN GO OUT OF MY orbit of my separateness, and tune in to the source of all, and see myself as one with that, Kiviyochol, Hashem also transcends his previous ratzon, which was based on the plan, this is what this person is going through, this is what this person needs, THIS IS THIS JOURNEY, THAT JOURNEY. And a whole new reality is created BECAUSE THE JEW SAID, "THIS is your need. This is your REAL NEED. I'M REPRESENTING YOU IN THIS WORLD, and I'm telling you, this is what's needed." That's the unprecedented power of That's why some opinions say the real mitzvah of t'fillah is not every day. It's when there's something unique. When you need a serious change, cuz that's really the essence of t'fillah, even though the Rambam and many halachic authorities say, "No, t'fillah is every single day." And that's why within t'fillah itself, the prayer of Rivka, Yitzchak, Chana, Rachel, Sarah, and similar people throughout history to be able to have a child, that prayer is really embodies the core of t'fillah, because it's not just it should rain. Rain is a great blessing, but it's part of the science of the universe. But if somebody was infertile to have a child, something has to be transformed in nature. This is where you really see the koach of but with you see it even more than anybody else because of one reason. There is the science of nature and there is the science of Judaism. Science of nature is certain people are biologically fertile, certain people are not. It says about and that their physical situation was was impossible. So there was and it happened. But then there's something even deeper. And that's the science of Torah. The says that before a child is born the asked the this this this uh embryo should it be weak should it be strong, should it be wise, should it be not so wise, wealthy, poor, everything is established. BESIDES ONE THING. LIKE OMAR. THAT GOD SAYS I DON'T GET involved in that. How come you mind? Everything is in the hands of heaven besides fear of heaven. The says in that free choice is the foundation of and so. Comes Hannah and she for something very unique. She doesn't say I want a child. wanted a child, wanted a child. had a child. Manasseh. says the son OF MOSES AND SO. SHE ASKED FOR A CHILD AS SAY means to become. A CHILD LIKE MOSES AND AARON. AND SHE SAYS I'M GOING TO DEDICATE HIM TO ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE. ALL THE DAYS OF HIS LIFE. HOW DO YOU KNOW HE'S GOING TO AGREE with Hannah? Maybe he's going to grow up and say, "Mommy you're a nice lady but you can't control my life, right? What do they say? You can't control my life. You mean well. I'm going to support you, Mommy. But I'm not going there. She makes a promise. SHE MAKES A VOW TO HASHEM. SHE ASKS FOR A TZADDIK like Moshe and Aaron. And you know what? SHE GETS IT. SHE GETS IT. And she gets it because of her tefillah. Cuz I'll even say that she made a neder that he's going to be a nazir. AND HE BECAME A NAZIR. HE HAD TO ACCEPT IT UPON HIMSELF. CHANA'S TEFILLAH was one that was so powerful BECAUSE IT DEFIED NOT ONLY the science of the universe. It defied EVEN THE SCIENCE WITH WHICH THE RIBONO SHEL Olam created the system of Yiddishkeit. And that is everybody has choices. They're going to have to make their own choices. They're going to have to make their own mistakes. And they're going to CHOOSE IT. BUT CHANA'S TEFILLAH went into a place that completely transcended any structure, any format of what it's supposed TO LOOK LIKE, HOW IT'S SUPPOSED to be, even from a religious and spiritual point of view. Straight to the essence that transcends everything, and her tefillah happened. NOTHING UNDERSCORES the power of davening therefore like Chana's davening. Even the avos and the imahos and Moshe didn't daven for such a thing. For a child who's going TO BE A MOSHE AND AN AARON AND A TZADDIK AND DEDICATE promise he's going to be dedicated to Hashem all the days of his life. And that's why most of the halachos of kavana we learn out from Chana's davening. Because this is not about the words of davening. It's the kavana. What's kavana of davening? The mindfulness, the ability to suspend all my thoughts, and all my drama, and all my evaluations, and completely allow myself to be subsumed in the infinite, and to really see myself as that person. And when you do this, you see it's not so hard to do. Initially, it's hard because we're tense, but really you do it again and again and and the brain opens up. The brain really opens up cuz this is the most natural thing for a person to do. In that state of kavana, the person goes beyond nature, beyond my tension, beyond my stress, beyond my orbit, beyond my evaluations. I climb that ladder above and above and above until I can melt away in the ecstasy and oneness of infinity ain sof and see myself as that person. AND WHEN I'M DAVENING, WHAT AM I DAVENING FOR? You're then davening not for a selfish separate person's needs, for a person's needs, but a person who represents Hashem in this world, SO IT'S HASHEM'S NEEDS. THEN YOU SKIP ALL THE LINES. WHOOPS. Then one skips the lines. And when one skips those lines, me the connected come I'm upon him upon him can live all the all them. The response is that. Hashem byacha goes beyond all his kindness and you hear and I know it's him. And that's why it feels kind of random shana. The shala so for the say that feel of kind of happen in shana. Cuz really it captures the essence of shana. Shana has all the same as coordinate me as a king. Most of the of shana we coordinate Hashem as a king constantly. Why does he have to be coordinated as a king? And if I don't coordinate him, he's not going to be a king. If I don't scream I'm a king, Hashem Hashem is the king I'm a king you should kiss my ass. I'M A KING HE'S NOT GOING TO BE A KING. WHAT is this even idea of coordinating Hashem as a king? So one of the explanations is it's a very profound explanation is that Hashem Kiva Yachol on his own is completely beyond even the concept of Malucha, even the concept of kingship. Because what does kingship really mean? Kingship means I'm in a relationship. Ain Melech Bel Am, I'm a king of the people. I'm defined as a leader. It's It's It's a very deep relationship. It's not just a small relationship. It defines the people. It defines the king. A real king, a real Melech like Moshe Rabbeinu he was sure a Melech is now dedicated heart and soul to the people. So, it's a tremendous commitment. It's a tremendous sense of attachment. And when a person thinks about that what does that really mean? If Hashem is pure infinity if Hashem is Ain Od Milvado so the concept that Hashem is a king Hashem creates a world and he's in a relationship with the world that's extremely unnatural for infinity. Infinity means it's the only thing around. There's nothing else. Ain Sof means this is limitless. This is endless. There's absolutely nothing else. So, imagine even by people if you have a leader who's very self-confident, has a very successful life, and he or she really does not need the leadership for validation. I don't need you to elect me. I don't need to become your mayor, your governor, your president. It's a headache. I'm happy to retreat into my own life. Such a leader, how do you convince them to come out of their bubble? It's not easy. Why should I condense myself and go into a life which is extremely precious on? Now, think about this infinitely more. The whole concept of Hashem as a Borei, as a creator, is a revolution. It's a Chiddush. God transcends even being a creator cuz being a creator means I'm creating a world, I'm busy with the world, I'm concerned with the world. Where does that come to infinity? I mean, we appreciate it cuz we're here because of that, but naturally the concept of Hashem being a melech is a chiddush. It's a revolution. It's not the natural thing to do. WHY SHOULD I GET INVOLVED in this? Especially this world is not such an easy place to run. And not just Afghanistan. IT'S A COMPLICATED PLACE. WHAT'S THE CHIDDUSH of Rosh Hashanah? The chiddush of Rosh Hashanah is this is what happens. That a Jew reaches in to the essence of Hashem because of the relationship. And that kiviyachol it triggers and it arouses in Hashem to transcend his own natural reality and say, "Yes, I'm in the relationship." Imagine somebody who by nature they're more themselves. They like to be themselves. And that's where their comfort zone is. What can bring me out of that space? What can bring me out of that space is that's the power of love. When I could see the trust, when I could see the loyalty, when I could see the connection, and I could trust it. That touches a person in the deepest space. Yes, we retreat because we're afraid, we're insecure, we don't want to get hurt. But when a person can trust the relationship, there is nothing deeper. Why is that? Cuz it's by Hashem also like that. Hashem's natural phenomenon is infinity. Ain od milvado, there's nothing else. Why should we leave that space? Why should he leave that space? But when a Jew coronates Hashem, says, "I want to be with you. I'm with you. I'M HERE. I'M HERE. I'M YOURS." You're mine, then I'm yours. If you're mine, then I'm yours. So, that's the the whole idea of chamas tefillah, what tefillah represents, that's embodied in Rosh Hashanah. That's the whole Rosh Hashanah. Cuz Rosh HASHANAH IS THAT DAY when the Jew transcends everything and says, "Who am I? I'm you. I'm your shliach in this world." So, Hashem says, "You know who I am? I'm not this infinite, omnipotent God who's forever aloof. I'm yours." That's what coronation is. That's the koach of what happens in the world. That's why the Tefillah of Hannah is read on Rosh Hashanah. And that's the reason why Rosh Hashanah is Yom Hadin. We We usually think of the Day of Judgment is you're sitting here, you go into the courtroom, and the judge sits with a hammer, and he says, "You, okay, you're getting this, you're getting this, you're getting this, you're getting this." But, the Tanya says that Rosh Hashanah, Yom Hadin is a much deeper concept. Rosh Hashanah, Yom Hadin is how It's the din. This is what he says. So, Yom Hadin, cuz what's what's really happening on Rosh Hashanah? What's really happening on Rosh Hashanah is a Jew tells God, "Listen, I'm you. You're me, I'm you. So, who you really judging? You're judging me. You're judging you. You'll judge you. You're judging what's the best thing for you this year in the world." So, he says as follows, the Tanya says, "So, what's the Yom Hadin?" Yom Hadin is the din based on my maasim of last year, how much will I be able to experience this flow? How much will I really be able to experience that it's Hashem judging himself, and I'm the channel through which it's all happening? In other words, the Yom Hadin is a din for Hashem himself, cuz a Jew is one with Hashem. So, now let's get THIS WHAT'S WITH THIS WORKING TOGETHER. WHAT'S THE JUDGMENT? THE JUDGMENT IS WILL I BE TRANSPARENT ENOUGH to be able to experience this flow throughout the whole year? TO BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY KNOW AND realize that what's happening essentially is happening to you through me. Will I be able TO BE AWARE OF HOW PLUGGED IN I am when I'm not? That's really depends on me. Because if I want to be plugged into this, I need to remove all the blockages for me to be able to experience myself in that place OF ONENESS. THAT'S THE ULTIMATE YOM HADIN. THE ULTIMATE Yom Hadin is WILL I be able to open myself up to this truth that's happening, that everything that's going to happen in the next year is essentially Hashem causing himself to experience through me who is his man in this world or his woman in this world or his soul in this world. I'm saying his, it could be her, it. I don't mean his versus Shechinah's feminine. Just don't know it's not so easy to use the right terms. I'm saying his, that's the classical term, but don't get confused with that. And when a when a person realizes this, so then every day when I wake up in the morning what is at store today is basically me fulfilling this mission of Hashem. Me fulfilling and being a process and a channel and a conduit for this infinite light fulfilling this will, which is his deepest will beyond structure, which is my deepest will because we're one. And I'm the one WHO WAS SENT FROM HIM to be able to achieve this and to create this in our world. Have a wonderful day, a wonderful week. A good Gebentscher, a Shanah Tovah and a Sukkot to you, to all of your families, to all of our families, but all of Israel. A year in which all of your hearts, which is God's heart, is fulfilled with a new year of a new year of a new year of a new year of a new year of a new year of a new Next week obviously there won't be a class. It's Rosh Hashanah. But the week after we will once again meet. That's 2 days before Yom Kippur right here 12:45.