" WHAT DEFINES US ?"
הי מלך הי מלך הי ימלוך לעולם ועד Before I begin let me make note that we recite
This is not depicting the game of thrones for our Melech is מלכי המלכים and there is no game of thrones with our מלך.
Now that I got your attention permit me to continue with my thoughts:
When I was in the Rav’s shiur he reiterated the importance of נעילה. In essence, He said that נעילה encapsulates all of the previous T'filos. In fact, one cannot daven נעילה if he missed any of the other T'filos because עצומו של יום depends on the T'fila of נעילה and it is only when we recite נעילה does our atonement takes place. This may be logical in thought ,but in my opinion it all depends how we approach נעילה that will verify and bring about the true atonement. The question we need to answer is, "What attitude is required to achieve this Kapara? I will answer as a Jew always does with a question.
If I were asked, and it is rhetorical, "What word would I choose from the entire Torah that can enunciate our faith and our true essence? I would select the word that Hashem uses to Adam after he sinned in the garden of Eden - that word is איכה- where are you?
I am sure you understand that our infinite G-d knows where we are. The question is not pertaining to the geographical or physical location of Adam for G-d knew exactly where he was, but rather He wanted Adam to know who he was and what his essence was and how he saw himself in the scheme of things. Remember the answer that Adam gave to Hashem when he asked him what he did and why he went against the word of G-D? He replied, "I am not responsible for what took place" and he went on to blame חוה and she in turn, blamed the snake and even the snake blamed G-D Himself, for it was G-D who brought חוה to him.
This is my question to all of us - "Where are we after these days of repentance, as we prepare for the Holiest Day of the year? Where is our איכה, where do we stand at this most crucial hour seeking G-D'sassurance for a year of Blessing and Life. It is interesting to note that at the beginning of the שמונה עשרה, we say ,
זכרנו לחיים מלך חפץ בחיים
And at the end of the Amida we say
וכתבנו בספר חיים טובים
Why at this juncture of the Amida, do we use the word טובים ?
My answer is, "At the beginning of ourT'filos we have no specifics of what will make our lives truly good. It only after we mention all the Brachot, דעת, סליחה,רפאנו, that we begin to realize our goodness. Therefore, only, after the Amidah, do we realize what a good life is all about, and that we are truly Blessed."
As a student of the Rav, I am inclined to see man as a dialectical being. Let me clarify, what I mean by dialectical, as it reflects man in two mutually exclusive ways.
In the first place, man is an important being, for he was created with great intellectual and spiritual capabilities, as Tehilimsays,ותחסרהו מעט מאלוקים. We were created slightly less than Angels. We embody a divine element that allows man to be in proximity to Hashem, we are then עומד לפני הי. And on the other hand, Judaismsees man weak and at times helpless. On Yom Kippur we merit to have a glorious rendezvous with G-D, as a reward for spending an entire day in prayer in imitating an angelic being and beseeching Hashem, humbly, to bestow His Blessings upon us. We, then, feel confident that we are standing לפני הי- resulting in being acclaimed by Hashem תטהרו - we are inscribed in the Book of Life.
With this feeling of being close toHashem, we begin to glow with the aura of being a blessed child of G-D, imbued with greater spirituality, and confidence in a life of Bracha, Mazal and Nachas , walking into the future with this Bracha on our lips.
בספר חיים ברכה ושלום, ופרנסה טובה, נזכר ונכתב ונחתם לפניך,אנחנו וכל עמך בית ישראל, לחיים טובים ולשלום
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