AMIDA, TENTH BERAKHA: Jewish People or Jewish Religion?

תקע בשופר גדול לחרותינו
Let the great shofar which will announce our freedom be heard.
And raise a mast to gather our exiles. 
And make us return, united, from the four points of the planet, to our land, Israel.
Blessed are You, HaShem, who brings back the displaced of Your people Israel.
[Non-literal translation. YB]
As we have already explained, the ‘Amida is divided into three sections. The first section, which includes three blessings, consists in praising HaShem. The third section, also with three blessings, is about thanking God. And the second section, with thirteen blessings, contains our petitions to God. This section is divided into two main themes: 1. Personal requests, where we ask God to grant us: intelligence, forgiveness, good health, means of subsistence, etc. And 2. National requests, that is, what we ask HaShem to do for us, not as individuals, but as a “nation.”
Our Berakha, teqa beshofar gadol,  inaugurates this sub-section of the ‘Amida, which deals with our national aspirations.
“Let the great shofar, which will announce our freedom, be heard.”
The first thing we ask of God as a nation is to gather all of us from the four corners of the Earth and bring us back to our land, Israel (קבוץ גלויות). The rabbis who wrote the Amida relied for the wording of this phrase on a verse from the prophet Yesha’ayahu (27:13) where it says that the return of the people of Israel to their land, and our independence from the nations (חרותינו), will be announced with the voice of the Shofar.
“And raise a mast to gather our exiles.” 
This phrase is also taken from Yesha’ayahu (11:12). This mast or banner raised high, will show the “refugees” of Israel, the way back home. And so, united in our land and independent, we will return to our “normality” as a people: עם ישראל, בארץ ישראל, על פי תורת ישראל. “The people of Israel, living in the Land of Israel, ruled by the Tora of Israel. “
NATION OR RELIGION? This Berakha, incidentally, clarifies to us a very important and absolutely relevant point for our days. The enemies of Israel justify their rejection of the Jewish State by saying that Israel is a country that discriminates against members of non-Jewish religions. In 1975, the United Nations voted for a resolution that equated Zionism with racism. Why? Because Israel established the “law of return” by which Israel grants citizenship to any Jew. From the point of view of the United Nations, it is as if, for example, Japan would grant citizenship only to people who practice Buddhism, or something like that. That would be considered racism! Now, a very important lesson we learn from our berakha, and from the next five blessings, where we address HaShem as a Nation, is that defining Judaism as a religion might create some confusion.  Judaism is originally viewed in the Tora as the spiritual but especially “legal” legacy (the Constitution) of the People of Israel. It is more accurate to say that we belong to the Jewish Nation, rather than to the Jewish “religion.”   Israel’s law of return then, makes sense, and it is as racist as if Japan would establish a law saying that “Japan grants citizenship to all  Japanese, and their descendant” living in exile.
Our Berakha explicitly mentions the terms “exile”, “return from exile”, “displaced” (or “refugees”), i.e., those Jewish citizens who were expelled from Israel, and their descendants.
Being Jewish is a “nationality”, inherited by the mother’s side, which does not expire even when a Jew lives in exile for centuries. In this sense, Judaism cannot be compared to other religions. There is no “Christian Nation”. Christians do not have a land of reference. Christian do not aspire to return to Rome,  or to reestablish a Christian State in the Vatican where all Christian should eventually live. There are no Christian national aspirations, on the contrary, the State and the Church are deliberately disconnected. The same can be said of Islam. There is no specific land to which all Muslims aspire to return. (Farrakhan’s “Nation of Islam” is the name of his religious movement, not the way Islam sees itself, as can clearly be seen in the concept of League of Arab Nations).
Judaism, as we learn from this Berakha, does not make sense without the Land of Israel, and the aspiration to return to it.
We, Jews who live outside Israel, are proud citizens of the country in which we live, we are absolutely grateful and respectful of their laws of the countries where we live. But at the same time, we are part of the Jewish nation (nation = history in common, language in common, law in common). And as we say in this Berakha, our hope is that one day we will “normalize” our situation as a Jewish people, returning to our land Israel, from all the corners of the planet, thus fulfilling the vision of our prophets, and the Sages who established this Berakha.


AMIDA, NINTH BERAKHA: The Benefits and Risks of Material Abundance

ברך עלינו…את השנה הזאת
 
Bless HaShem our God, [the harvest] of this year and all the produce [of the earth] for good.
Grant the dew and the rain for blessing, on the whole face of the earth.
Satiate [with rain] the face of the planet, [so] that everyone may be satisfied, thanks to Your goodness.
Fill our hands with Your blessings and with the abundance of the gifts of Your hands.
Protect it and save it, [the crop] of this year, from all kinds of pests and all kinds of [natural] disasters.
Help it [our harvest] arrive to a good term and allow us to conclude our year in peace.
Have compassion and mercy on it, [this year’s crop] and on all its produce and fruits.

And bless it with desirable rains; [rains] of blessing and abundance

And may the end of this year be [beneficial] for life, prosperity and peace, like the best years of blessing.
Because You are a kind and a generous God, who blesses the crops.
Blessed are You, HaShem, who blesses the harvest.
We are exploring the ninth berakha of the Amida, barekh alenu, which is the blessing in which we ask HaShem to grant us our sustenance (parnasa). In today’s Halakha we will analyze the Sephardic version of this blessing (the Ashkenazi version is much shorter. but its ideas are somehow implicit in the Sephardic version). We will also focus on the text that is said during the winter, when we ask for  rain.
As we can see, this blessing focuses explicitly on requesting rain (or “dew” in summer); a good harvest (the Hebrew word “shana”, which is usually translated as “year”, meaning “annual harvest” or “crop”) and a successful production of fruits of the earth. In other words, we ask HaShem to grant us sustenance, so that we do not suffer poverty or starvation.
In particular, we ask God to send rain. One of the most disastrous scenarios for Israel’s economy, still true today, is a year of drought. Rain, in due time and in good measure, is the blessing of HaShem for His people Israel, as it is explicitly stated in the Shema Israel, where we also affirm that the rain in the land of Israel is conditional upon the Jewish people keeping its covenant with God. The Tora describes an interaction of cause and effect  between the behavior of the people of Israel and the behavior of the heavens of Israel. Divine Providence rewards Israel’s loyalty with rain in abundance (and vice versa).
Although this Berakha refers exclusively to the agricultural aspects of the economy, because it was formulated at the time the Yehudim lived in Israel, when we dedicated ourselves to work the land, it also alludes to our economic success in general. When we say this blessing we should think, or we can explicitly ask HaShem,  to bless our businesses, our endeavors and our professional life, and not allow us to suffer economic hardship.
Something very important that we learn in this Berakha is implied in the word “leToba” (bless [the harvest] of this year and all the produce [of the earth] “for good”). Sometimes the abundance of money can have a negative effect on a person, for example, causing him or her to be arrogant or to move away from the Tora  (וישמן ישורון ויבעט ). Sometimes abundance can be counterproductive. Material excess can become a psychological or moral disorder, popularly known in English as “Affluenza”, consisting of: (1) The feeling of permanent dissatisfaction and frustration when trying to keep up with the Joneses. (2) Excessive dedication to work, not to have what we need but to elevate our material social image,  at the expense of our spiritual dedication and growth. And (3) a compulsive addiction to consumerism.
May HaShem bless us all materially, providing us with everything we need, and protecting us from “Affluenza” .


AMIDA, EIGHTH BERAKHA: A Prayer for Good Health and Healing

רְפָאֵנוּ ה’ וְנֵרָפֵא, הוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ וְנִוָּשֵׁעָה, כִּי תְהִלָּתֵנוּ אָתָּה
Heal us, HaShem, and we will be healed, save us and we will be saved, because You are our praise.
And grant health and relief for all our diseases, all our pains and all our wounds,
Because we trust that You are the one who heals us with compassion,
Blessed are You, HaShem, who heals the sick of Your people Israel.
This berakha deals with a very specific subject: our health. In it, we ask HaShem to heal us of our ailments and diseases, physical or mental, and we recognize that ultimately our physical well-being depends on Him.
Heal us, HaShem, and we will be healed, save us and we will be saved, because You are our praise.
In the text of this blessing we say: “Heal us, and we will be healed.” Does this mean that when we are sick we should just pray to HaShem and we should not go to a doctor?
This Berakha, and the subject of being sick and get cured, is a great example of the complex dynamics between man’s freedom choice and Divine intervention.
First,  the way one gets sick. In many cases a disease may be the result of our wrong choices, in terms of unhealthy eating habits, physical inactivity or carelessness. The Rabbis expressed this aspect of our responsibility for our own health in the Gemara Ketubot 30a:  הכל בידי שמים חוץ מצינים ופחים  “Everything is in the hands of God, except for colds and heat exhaustion .” In other words, if I deliberately expose myself to extreme cold or heat  I cannot expect HaShem to miraculously protect me from the consequences. Taking care of my health is my responsibility. On the other hand, certain diseases (perhaps most of them or the most serious) are not a consequence of our behavior or our bad habits, but an adversity beyond our control. In any case, we ask HaShem to help us and cure us of all illnesses, regardless of their origin.
Secondly, we must know that the Tora forbids a person to entrust himself to HaShem for healing without going to a doctor. We are obligated to seek the intervention of a physician (verapo yerape). We cannot expect the disease to disappear just by praying. However, what this Berakha makes clear is that when we visit the doctor, we know that it is ultimately HaShem who heals us. We believe that it is HaShem who inspires the doctor’s recommendation for our cure. We believe that it is HaShem who guides or holds the hands of the surgeon in the operating room. We know that ultimately, and through a myriad of human agents – doctors, researchers, nurses – it is HaShem who grants healing and relieves the sick. Doctors are the privileged agents of HaShem in the art of healing.
In short, we must do everything we can to avoid getting sick, and we must do everything humanly possible to heal ourselves. Including praying and asking HaShem to protect us from all sickness and to prolong our lives, recognizing that it is ultimately He who has the last word.
“And grant health and relief for all our diseases, all our pains and all our wounds…”
At this point I want to share something I learned from the Mr. Nessim Bassalian (who is now, BH, the great grandfather of two of my grandchildren). We had a small discussion among a few rabbis about praying for a person with a terminal illness. She was already in the last moments of her life, and one of the rabbis suggested that we should not pray for this person anymore, because that Tefila could be considered a prayer in vain, since the end of that woman was inevitable and imminent. I consulted with Hakham Bassalian and he told me something very interesting, which I believe is implicit in the above mentioned  sentence : “When we pray and we ask HaShem for Refua (health), we are not only asking HaShem to heal us; we are also asking HaShem to relieve us from pain, and prevent us from suffering, even as we die…”. Thus, we decided to continue praying for this person, for her relief. We pray that, if she has to go, that may HaShem spare her from pain and suffering in the final hours of her life.
May HaShem bless us all with good health and may He heal all those who need it. AMEN!


AMIDA, SEVENTH BERAKHA: Goel, our next of kin

ראה נא בענינו וריבה ריבנו
1. Please [HaShem] see our oppression, defend us in our struggle, and rescue us
2. Grant us a complete salvation, by Your name, for You are a Mighty Redeemer.
3. Blessed are You, HaShem, the Redeemer of Israel.
In this berakha we ask HaShem to help us and free us from oppression.
This berakha (blessing) lends itself to confusion. Let’s see why. In each of the blessings before and after this berakha, the subject at hand is very simple to identify: we ask for wisdom, forgiveness, absolution, health, sustenance … but, what are we asking for in this Berakha?

 

Let’s start with what we are NOT asking HaShem here. Evidently the key word of this blessing is, as expected, at the end of it: “goel Israel,” which we translated as “the Redeemer of Israel.” But what redemption are we referring to here? In modern Hebrew the concept of redemption (in Hebrew גאולה) is associated with the return of the Jewish people to the land of Israel and the messianic times. But these subjects are fully developed explicitly later, when we speak of the needs of the Jewish people as a nation. We have already explained that the berakhot in which we ask HaShem for our needs are divided into two very distinct groups: personal and national. The first six berakhot of this section deal with our personal needs and the next six, with of our needs or longings as a nation. And that is where we ask for our return to Israel, the rebuilding of Yerushalayim, the arrival of the Mashiah, etc. In this berakha, as Rabbi Israel Ya’aqob Algazi (1679-1756) explains, we are asking HaShem for help to free us from personal constraints and difficulties. What kind of difficulties? The Hebrew word this berakha uses is ONYENU, which means “oppression”: when we are under the yoke of an oppressor. For example, when we are slaves, prisoners or captives, something that in ancient times was not al all uncommon. “Oppression” could also be applied in circumstances of political or religious persecution or in any other scenario of physical abuse, or illegitimate deprivation of liberty. In all these cases, our problem is not lack of means, health or food, etc. but the oppression we suffer at the hands of an individual, a tyrant, a corrupt society, etc.

 

Now that we have understood what the theme of this Berakha is, let us review what are we really asking of HaShem.

 

1. “Please [HaShem] see our oppression,” that is, do not ignore our suffering.“Defend us in our struggle,” we ask Your intervention to rescue us from our oppressors.
2. “Grant us a complete salvation by Your name, for You are a Mighty Redeemer.” We ask HaShem to act promptly and rescue us in a definitive and total way from the oppressor. “For Thy Name,” because you promised it in the Tora, and also because You, HaShem, are Almighty, and there is nothing that is impossible for You.

 

3. “Blessed are You, HaShem, the Redeemer of Israel.”
We must explain this important word “redeemer”, in Hebrew “goel”.
In the earlier berakhot we spoke, for example, of Teshuba, something for that, although we might need Divine help or inspiration, we can (and must) do it ourselves. The idea of Geula refers to scenarios in which one does not have or has already exhausted the possibilities of saving himself, and needs external help from a “goel”. 
In biblical Hebrew “Goel” means “next of kin,” a technical and legal term that appears many times in the Tora. According to Jewish law, it is the duty of that ‘nearest relative’ or ‘goel’ to help and rescue his or her relative in times of imperative need.
Some illustrations.

 

1. In ancient Israel, if a person lost all that he had, he was forced to sell himself as a slave. And it was the duty of the next of kin, his “goel”, to help, pay the debts and rescue this person from captivity.

 

2. Boaz, a relative of Elimelekh, acts as a “goel” and assists Naomi, the widow of Elimelekh and takes care of her and their daughter-in-law Rut. He supports them and rescues them completely from the situation of misery in which they were.
3. Another example of the idea of “Goel” in similar contexts is the expression we say in Tefilat Arbit: וגאלו מיד חזק ממנו, that when HaShem freed us from slavery in Egypt “he rescued Israel from the hands of an oppressor, who was more powerful than the Jewish people. “
In this berakha, then, we address HaShem as “our closest relative,” our “father” (or in some poems and metaphors “husband”) asking Him, our “goel” to listen to us or to our brothers who suffer, and free us from oppression and rescue us.



AMIDA, SIXTH BERAKHA: How Many Times Will God Forgive Me?

סלח לנו אבינו כי חטאנו
(1) Forgive us, our Father, because we have sinned;
(2) Absolve us, our King, because we have rebelled [against You],
(3) For You, God, are Kind and forgiving.
(4) Blessed are You, HaShem, who is compassionate and generous in forgiving.
In the previous berakha (blessing) we have asked HaShem for help to repent. And once we repent, in this Berakha, we are asking HaShem to forgive us, to absolve us and not punish us for our transgressions.
Transgression impacts us negatively on two levels.
אבינו: First, it affects us on a personal level. Sin, transgression leaves harmful consequences and sequels in our personality. For example: Maintaining Kashrut, the Jewish diet or other similar restrictions, trains us to control our appetites and refine our character. However, when we totally give in to our basic instincts we expose ourselves to falling into other vicious and addictive circles, as we have giving up control of our drives and desires. In a certain way, when we sin, we are acting against our own good. When a young man disobeys his parents and smokes, who is harmed by this disobedience? The young man who smokes! After all, the parents forbade their child to smoke for his own good.
מלכנו: Secondly, when we sin we have also committed “a crime”. Let me explain: The Tora is not a manual of religious ritual. The Tora is a book of Laws. Perhaps the best way to understand the Tora is defining it as “The Constitution of the Jewish People.” Thus, when we transgress the Tora, we are violating the Constitution, and as such, our actions deserves a penalty. Today, we do not have rabbinical courts to judge and penalize crimes, all transgressions to our Constitution are judged by the Celestial Court, i.e., God. HaShem is the King, that is, the supreme Judge who judges and sanctions our actions.
Now we can better understand what this berakha is saying:
(1) Forgive us, our Father, because we have sinned;
First, we ask HaShem, calling him “OUR FATHER”, to forgive us for our sins. In Hebrew, HATAIM, which are the transgressions that we commit for lack of conscience. As that young man who smokes because he is not fully consciously aware of the danger of smoking for his health. In this first sentence we refer to HaShem as “Our Father”,  implicitly recognizing that all the restrictions He imposed on us are ultimately for our own good.
(2) Absolve us, our King, because we have rebelled [against You],
Then, in the second sentence, we refer to the “legal” aspect of our transgression. We have violated our Constitution, our covenant with HaShem. In Hebrew this level of transgression is called PESHA, crime, when someone consciously rebels against an authority. That is why in this sentence we call HaShem “OUR KING”. We are not asking now for simple forgiveness. We are asking God, our King to absolve us of the punishment we deserve.
(3) For You, God, are good and forgiving.
We appeal to the goodness of HaShem as Father and to His compassion as King.
And finally we declare:
(4) Blessed are You, HaShem, who is compassionate and generous in forgiving.
What does “generous in forgiving” (המרבה לסלוח) mean?
Many times we commit a transgression, and then we repent. We ask for HaShem’s forgiveness, and beg Him to erase our rebellion. In our supplication, we also assure Him that He does not need to punish us, because we have learned our lesson, and we will NEVER sin again. We feel good because we are sure that HaShem, with His great compassion, has forgiven us. But then, after a short time, we forget the whole process of repentance, and we again commit the same transgression … at this point, we would not normally dare to start the whole process again and ask forgiveness of HaShem … it seems like a bad joke, or a rebellious act of CHUTZPA. How am I going to have the nerve to ask HaShem “again” for His understanding, His forgiveness and His absolution?
That is why this berakha tells us that HaShem is “HAMARBE LISLOAH”,  infinitely “generous in forgiving”. And only when I become aware of HaShem’s infinite indulgence I can I arm myself with courage and ask forgiveness again, even for the same sins for which I have repented previously. It is as if our endless CHUTZPA (nerve) is balanced with the infinite generosity of HaShem to forgive us.
These final words invite us to avoid the yeush, the desperation to think that there is no second (or third, etc…) possibility of return. And it teaches us that HaShem, as a loving Father, is always ready to accept the sincere repentance of his children.


AMIDA, FIFTH BERAKHA: Coming back to You

 השיבנו אבינו לתורתך
וקרבנו מלכנו לעבודתך
והחזירנו בתשובה שלמה לפניך
ברוך אתה ה ‘, הרוצה בתשובה
“Bring us back, our Father, to your Tora; bring us closer, our King, to Your service;
And make us [help us] return to You, in complete repentance.

Blessed are You, HaShem, who desires [our] repentance.”

We are in the section called in Hebrew, baqashot (requests). In this section, we beg HaShem to grant us our requests. In the previous blessing, we asked for wisdom. But what are we exactly asking for in this singular berakha that is about repentance? What do we expect HaShem to do here for us? After all, if it is a matter of repentance, is something we have to do ourselves… not God!

1. Let us first look at the order of this blessing. Is there any connection between this Berakha and the previous blessing, where we have asked God to grant us wisdom? The Rabbis define sin as a temporary state of insanity … אין אדם בא לידי חטא, “a person would not sin unless he is possessed by a [temporal] spirit of dementia.” To sin, to disobey God, is not a logical thing, it is not a wise decision. Quite the opposite. We are only capable of disobeying God when we are psychologically “possessed” by ambition, anger, lust, passion, etc. In these scenarios, our mind is clouded and we lose our common sense. The wisdom and intelligence that we have asked for in the previous Berakha, is the best guarantee to avoid impulsivity. Animals are carried away by their instincts, but we humans are able to dominate our passions with our intelligence. In the previous blessing, we have asked for wisdom. In this blessing, we realize that the less wisdom we have, the more exposed we are to sinning, and vice versa.

2. “Bring us back, our Father, to your Tora; and bring us closer, our King, to Your service.”

Now, once we acknowledge our wrongdoing and we repent, we want to repair our mistakes. But the transgression we committed left sequels. It affected nothing less than our relationship with God. This connection develops on two different planes: First, HaShem is our Creator, He gave us life. He is our “Father”. Secondly, He gave us laws and we are His subjects. Thus, HaShem is also our King. By violating His commandments we have broken our relationship with our Father and with our King. That is why in this Berakha we appeal to HaShem as Father and King. Something else: coming back to HaShem begins by returning to the observance of His Tora. We serve HaShem by applying the teachings of the Tora in our lives, and by not deviating from them. That is why we first mention studying Tora, which will lead us to serve HaShem properly.

3. “And make us return to You”

When we say, “Make us return to you,” we do not mean literally that we expect God to “make us repent”, while we remain passive. We, human beings, were granted freedom of choice, and we are completely responsible for our moral actions. What we are asking HaShem here is His help and His inspiration to return to Him and His Torah. We are encouraged to ask for His help because the Sages taught us הבא להיטהר מסייעין אותו, when a Yehudi wants to purify himself, repent of his or her transgressions, HaShem helps him, assists him to make his way back easier and to find the least amount of moral challenges (נסיונות) in his path.

4. Barukh Ata HaShem, haRotse bitshuba. “Blessed are you, HaShem, who desires (our) repentance.”
We affirm now that HaShem “wants” us to return to Him; He “desires” us to repair our bond. And since this relationship is personal, it can not be repaired by our unilateral decision to repent. As in every other relationship, here too it is necessary that the other party, in this case HaShem, accepts our apologies. How do we know that HaShem will accept our repentance? One of the most important principles of Judaism is knowing that HaShem loves us as a parent loves his children. There is no greater desire for a parent than feeling his or her children close to him. As a good father, HaShem does not take pleasure in punishing His children when they misbehave. All HaShem wants from us, His children, is to return to the right path, “for our own good.” Therefore, knowing that He also wants our closeness, we dare to ask Him to help us finding our way back. HaShem “desires” our repentance because He loves us, and because He wants what is good for us.


AMIDA, FOURTH BERAKHA: The Miracle of Human Intelligence

אתה חונן לאדם דעת ומלמד לאנוש בינה

“You grant humans knowledge, and You teach mortals understanding. Grant us from Yourself wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. Blessed are You, HaShem, Who grants knowledge.”

After finishing the section devoted to praising (שבח), we begin the second section of the ‘Amida with this blessing , the first blessing of “requests” (בקשה).

In these blessings, we ask God to grant our material needs. And in this first berakha we ask God to grant us “wisdom” and “intelligence”. But why asking for “wisdom” before anything else?

Firstly, wisdom is different from every other request. We say in this berakha that HaShem is the “direct” source of the wisdom and intelligence bestowed upon us (אתה חונן לאדם דעת), something we do not pronounce in any other blessings. To stress this important point, we also assert וחוננו מאתך, which means something like “and give us FROM YOURSELF”, an expression we do not use in any other berakha, or for any other request! Why is wisdom something we describe as coming “directly” from God? Because wisdom (da’at) is not an element created by HaShem; it is an attribute of HaShem! As Maimonides explains (Yesode haTora 2:10): אבל הבורא הוא ודעתו וחייו אחד “[unlike humans, that we ‘acquire’ knowledge from an external source] the Creator, Him, His existence and His knowledge, they are all one.” In a sense, we are not asking HaShem to grant us knowledge, we are requesting Him to “partake” of His knowledge.

Second, this blessing teaches us a very important principle about the nature of man. Intelligence/wisdom is God’s special gift to the human species. Our brain is remarkably similar to that of monkeys. Yet, we humans are endowed with “intelligence” which is not an extension of our biological make-up and cannot be justified in evolutionary terms. Intelligence is not a biological natural feature like sight, hearing or a digestive system. Intelligence is not an evolutionary gift by which chimpanzees became humans. Apes are perfectly able to survive without intelligence. But without intelligence, we humans would not be able to connect with God, to learn or teach His Tora, or to distinguish and choose between right and wrong. Intelligence is what make humans unique among all living species. In this berakha we assert that intelligence is a God-given, miraculous, super-natural gift, humans are exclusively endowed with.

This berakha describes three levels of “wisdom”, as they apply to our human experience.

HOKHMA: This refers to creativity. The capacity a person has to see or discover something new. When everyone is looking at the same things, the man with this wisdom is able to see deeper, or further or differently. It is the ability to develop a new idea, a Hiddush of Tora or a new invention. This is also, we say, a gift from HaShem

BINA: Once a new idea is discovered we need “bina”, practical wisdom to articulate this new idea or to effectively apply the new discovery. Some people may be gifted with “bina” but not “hokhma”, or vice-versa.

DA’AT: Da’at, knowledge, as it applied to us, refers to the good judgment that we acquire by our life-experience. People differ in what or how they learn from experience. Some people are so gifted in their da’at that they have the ability to learn from other people’s experiences. Some can learn only from their own experience. And others have a hard time to learn even from their own experiences.

Finally, we need all this wisdom to identify the gifts and blessings that we already got from God, which is essential for knowing what do we really need to request from God. We need wisdom to differentiate between what we “need” and what we just “want” or “wish”. Moreover, without wisdom, we will not even know “what” to ask from God. Or what to do with the blessings that God would eventually grant us. We might think that we need urgently money or success. But without wisdom, money and success might be counterproductive.

Wisdom is a prerequisite for all other requests.


AMIDA, THIRD BERAKHA: How Much Can We Know About God?

The third blessing of ‘the ‘Amida is also the shortest blessing of  this Tefila. In this berakha we declare that HaShem is “qadosh”, that His name is “qadosh” and that those who praise Him every day, the people of Israel, are “qedoshim” (plural of qadosh).
HaShem, His Name and His people are: “qadosh”. What does this refer to? Understanding the word “qadosh” would help us solve this puzzle.
It is impossible to translate this Hebrew term with a single word in English. “Qadosh” has a very broad semantic field, that is, it has several meanings that somehow relate to each other. Depending on the context, “qadosh” might mean “special”, “unique”, “different”, “consecrated for a mission”, “exclusive” and sometimes means “inaccessible” or “out of reach”.
An example containing almost all the meanings of “qadosh”: in Hebrew  קידושין  “quiddushin” (of the same root as “qadosh” קדש) means “marriage”. When a man marries, he “consecrates” a woman as his wife. For him she is now מקודשת “unique”, “special” and “different” from the rest of the women. At the same time, being consecrated to her husband, this woman is now in terms of marriage, “inaccessible” and “out of reach” for any other man.
Let’s go back to our Berakha. When we say “qadosh” in reference to HaShem, we refer to this latter meaning of “qadosh”. We are recognizing our limitations to perceive “the reality of God” (so to speak).
אתה קדוש. By saying “[HaShem] You are Qadosh” we affirm that God is beyond our intellectual reach. “God ad intra remains hidden to us. Why do we emphasize this message here, at the end of these blessings of” praise “? During the two previous berakhot of praise, we have naturally referred to the intervention of HaShem in history to protect Israel, we have affirmed that He is Great, Mighty and Revered, etc. In the second Berakha we described how HaShem directs His Planet, humanity and His People.  We have praised His power, His actions, His blessings and His miracles. Now, by saying ATA QADOSH, we are transmitting a very important message: a (epistemological) disclaimer, recognizing that no matter how much we have spoken of His actions, we can not presume that we really “know” HaShem. ATA QADOSH is a declaration of humbleness. Our admission of smallness and limitations before the Creator of the universe
ושמך קדוש And “Your Name is qadosh”. We also recognize that although we have articulated and pronounced His name several times during the ‘Amida, we are unable to grasp the nature of His Name. HaShem’s name of four letters conveys the idea of infinity and eternity, concepts that are definitelybeyond our intellectual capacities. And something else: we recognize that despite praising Him and His name, we have not done it “exhaustively” (= leaving nothing out). What we have just said about HaShem refers only to the little we understand about Him, from our very narrow human perspective. An almost identical message constitutes the core of the “qaddish” (also of the same root קדש). In the Qaddish, after praising HaShem with no less than eight different adjectives, we say לעלא מן כל ברכתא “Your praise is still beyond any praise that can be said of You.”
וקדושים בכל יום יהללוך סלה. The people of Israel are called “qedoshim”. In this context “qadosh” or “qedoshim” is not referring to as our inaccessibility to the knowledge of HaShem or to our limitations. Here “qedoshim” means: “consecrated”, “different from the rest, as to one’s mission”. Qedoshim refers to “us”, the individuals of the Jewish people, who consecrate ourselves to HaShem, and praise Him every day, as much as we are able to do so.

 



SECOND BERAKHA: God’s Power To Heal

The second berakha (= blessing) of the ‘Amida is called geburot, the blessing that describes “the powers of God.” In the first blessing, Abot,  we saw how HaShem uses His powers to protect His People, Israel. In this Berakha we will see how HaShem uses His powers to prevent and overcome death.
TEXT: 1. “You are infinitely powerful, HaShem, You restore the life of the dead, and You save [from death] in many ways,  You make the wind blow and rain fall [During summer: You bring the dew down] .
2. You sustain living beings with goodness, You restore life with great compassion, You support those who are about to fall, You heal the sick and You free the captives.
3. And You fulfill Your promise with those who sleep on the dust [our ancestors]. Who is like You, Almighty, and Who resembles You, the King who takes life away and restores life, and make salvation to flourish.
4. And in You we trust, that You will revive the dead. Blessed are You, HaShem, who retire the life of the dead”. 
The mythological gods used their powers to defeat other gods, to destroy their enemy and to spread panic among humans. The power of these gods and mythological heroes was measured by their ability to kill: the more and more efficiently a god was able to kill, the more powerful he was. We Jews see the power of HaShem in all that is beneficial to mankind. HaShem uses His powers to sustain life and to prevent death, by providing food to all living creatures, by healing the sick and freeing the captives.
This powerful prayer inspires us to act with kindness. It teaches us that similar to HaShem we must also use our powers, resources and abilities (strength, wisdom, money) to save, to heal, to help, to sustain, to nourish, to assist, etc.
The ultimate expression of God’s power is Tehiyat haMetim, the resurrection of the dead, which is the idea with which this blessing ends (TEXT 4). Resurrection (not to be confused with “reincarnation”) is a central belief in Judaism. Tehiyat haMetim means that in messianic times, God will restore life to the dead. The body and soul will be back together as before death. Maimonides explains that this does not mean that men will no longer die; men will live longer, but will continue to be mortal. Understanding how this is going to happen, how bodies will be resurrected again into , is an idea beyond our power of visualization or imagination.
Anyways, the concept of resurrection is repeated several times in this blessing, and in different contexts. And it seems to me that in a progressive way this blessing gives us some illustrations where we can see that HaShem’s intervention revives and renews life, in three different levels.
PLANET EARTH (TEXT 1): At first HaShem’s power to renew life place manifests itself in the context of producing rain “You make the wind blow and the rain to descend.” Without rainwater, death would be inevitable. Without precipitation and without the climatic system that produces freshwater no living beings could exist. Thanks to the God-given rain, a seed that seems dead and dry and buried in the ground, revives, grows back and creates new plantas, trees and fruits.  We might not realize it in our daly lives, but rain is responsible for the constant renewal of life and for overcoming the death of all living creatures.
HUMANITY (TEXT 2): The second level of resurrection refers to human society. Our berakha presents different situations in which the very delicate difference between life and death is perceived. In the first place, we affirm that HaShem provides sustenance and nourishment to all creatures, without which life could not exist. HaShem intervenes and helps to prevent death by supporting those who are about to falter, by healing the sick that are about two die and freeing the captives that are sentenced to death. In all these cases, death would be imminent, if not for the intervention of HaShem Almighty to overcome it.
PEOPLE OF ISRAEL (TEXT 3): The third part of this blessing alludes to the survival of the Jewish people. HaShem fulfills the promise He made to our ancestors, alluded in this berakha by saying, “Those who sleep in the dust,” i.e., Abraham, Ytshaq and Ya’aqob. HaShem promised that the Jewish people will prevail and survive. It might be on the verge of total extinction, as in Egypt, or in the time of King Hizhqiyahu, or in the time of Haman, or in the Shoah. But HaShem prevents Israel’s extinction, and restores the life of His People.

תחיית המתים וחזון העצמות היבשות
2500 years ago, the prophet Ezekiel (Yehezquel) had a very special prophetic vision. In this vision (chapter 37) HaShem transported him to a valley. In that valley there were bones. Many bones. Human bones. Dry bones. There is nothing more dead than a dry bone. And in that vision, HaShem said to Ezekiel: “Son of man: Do you believe that these bones can come back to life?. And Ezekiel, in a combination of humility and surprise, replied: “HaShem … only You know that”. And then there was a deafening noise. And the bones began to move. Bones were joined with other bones and formed skeletons. And the skeletons were covered with veins, nerves and flesh, and skin. Now they were no longer bones, but human bodies without life. Corpses. And then HaShem said to Ezekiel: “Prophesy that the breath of life may come to them ….and let them live again.” And so it was. “And a breath of life entered the bodies and they rose to their feet. It was a great army, very numerous.” And then HaShem told the prophet Ezekiel: “Son of man, these bones are the House [the Nation] of Israel. They say: our bones have dried up, we have lost our hope, we have been condemned [to die]. Therefore, I want you to prophesy and tell them [Israel]: thus says HaShem, God: Behold, I will open your graves, and I will raise you from your graves and lead you to the land of Israel. And thus they will know that I am HaShem, when I open your grave and take you out of them, My people. And I will give you a spirit of life and you will relive. And I will lead you to your land. And then you will know that I am HaShem. I promised and I will deliver. “
It is impossible not to connect this prophecy with 1945 and 1948. In 1945 we were doomed to disappear. We were dry bones, or perhaps worse, ashes of bones. And then, when the Goyim (and even us!) thought that we had disappeared, that we would never again be a people, that all the great prophecies would never be fulfilled, the greatest miracle occurred: HaShem opened our graves, He raised us up, restored our lives and brought us to Israel. HaShem promised it. And he delivered. This is a modern example of Tehiyat haMetim, resurrection, one we can see with our own eyes.


AMIDA, FIRST BERAKHA: How does God protect Israel?

In the coming days, BH, we will analyze one by one the Berakhot of the ‘Amida, the main prayer.
The ‘Amida consists of nineteen blessings (berakha, pl. berakhot). The first blessing of the ‘Amida is called ‘Abot’, which literally means ‘Fathers’, referring to our patriarchs Abraham, Yitzhaq and Ya’aqob.

 

This blessing belongs to the first section of the ‘Amida: “Praise”.  Our first prayer to God, before asking anything, is to praise Him for protecting the Jewish people.

 

TEXT: “Blessed are You, HaShem, our God and the God of our Fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Ya’aqob, the Great, Mighty and Awesome God, the Most High, Who makes acts of goodness, Who has created everything, Who remembers the good deeds of our ancestors, and Who will bring a redeemer to the children of his children, by His Name [=promise] and out of love. Blessed are You, HaShem, the protector of Abraham. “

 

In this blessing we affirm that HaShem protected Abraham, Ytshaq and Ya’aqob. We also describe in three words what we are able to understand, given our limitations, as to the powers of God. We say that He is Great, Mighty and Awesome (lit. “fearful” = that inspires awe, reverence and submission). That there is no power above or beyond His control (‘elion’). And that HaShem uses all His powers with kindness (gomel hasadim tobim) to protect us and ensure our continuity.

 

We declare that because of the merit of our ancestors (Zokher Hasde Abot), God grants us His protection in the present, and will bring our redemption in the near future (umebi go-el).

 

We also affirm that HaShem promised (lema’an shemo) to our ancestors that he will never allow the Jewish people to disappear. He will never abandon us because He loves us unconditionally, as the Tora says in Debarim 7: 7.

 

God protected us even before we became a nation, when we were just the family of Abraham or an incipient tribe, and we were extremely vulnerable.

 

It is worth clarifying that in this Berakha we are not ASKING for the protection of HaShem. Nor are we stating that HaShem protects every Jew by virtue of being Jewish. God’s protection of the Jewish individual is NOT the subject of this blessing. In this Berakha we affirm that God miraculously granted us our survival as the Nation of Israel, and we praise Him for keeping us alive, in spite of all who stand up to destroy us and against all odds.

 

Finally we say that HaShem is our King (melekh). A King who loves and cares for His subjects: us.

 

These four last words, מלך עוזר ומושיע ומגן “the King that helps, rescues and protects” also represents a progression of the different levels of protection that God grants Israel, which is the main theme of this blessing. “Meditating” on these levels of protection, we will get to feel how much HaShem loves us, and it will inspire us to love Him even more (which is, of course, one of the main goals of the Jewish prayer).

 

Let’s see what these four words are teaching us:

 

מלך “The King,” Melekh, it reminds us that normally the subjects are in charge of protecting the King. But in the case of HaShem, even though He is the King, it is He who protects us!
עוזר “who helps us.”  — At this level, we acknowledge HaShem for the fact that He helps our endeavors.  This means that when we are trying to accomplish something, HaShem helps our efforts and enables us to succeed.  It is not difficult to recognize HaShem’s help.  After all, if–say–I am starting a new business and ask HaShem to help me, I can recognize Him in my eventual success.  In the famous Psalm of Tehilla LeDavid (Ashré, Ps. 145), God’s help at this level is described as “Retson Yereav Ya’ase” (He fulfills the will of those who fear Him) (v. 19).  Again, this is HaShem’s intervention in the positive aspects of our lives: He enables us to succeed. 
Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan z”l suggested that in order to understand these different levels of protection, they could be analogized with a soldier fighting in the battlefield.  HaShem, the King for Whom I am fighting, not only is He in the battlefield with me (unlike most kings who stay in the safety of their encampment) but He actually helps me.  Me! His soldier.
מושיע “who rescues us,” — Now, we acknowledge HaShem’s redemption.  HaShem saves me when I get in trouble.  This kind of intervention is a little more subtle.  It takes a great person to realize that, after having gone through a difficult time and coming out from it, HaShem was the One who ended the bad situation.  Who saved me.  It is far easier to focus on the trouble I was in, than on the fact that the trouble eventually ended (as all troubles do).  But a Jew praying the ‘Amida is expected to stop and think about HaShem’s redemption. In Tehilla LeDavid, this divine redemption is described as “VeEt Shav’atam Yishma’ VeYoshi’em” (…and their [those who fear Him] cries, He hears, and He saves them) (v. 19). 
Again, in the example of the battlefield, the wounded soldier asks for help.  The soldier got in trouble.  The King, who was helping the soldier, now also rescues him from the battlefield, saving his life. 
מגן “who is our shield”. — This is the deepest level of HaShem’s protection.  It may be the most prevalent in our lives, but it also is the most subtle.  Only a very sensitive person can perceive HaShem’s guidance when nothing is happening.  This was Abraham’s greatness.  He was able to perceive HaShem behind all the troubles that could have, and didn’t, happen to him.  And so did King David when he said in Tehilla LeDavid, “Shomer A-donay Et Kol Ohavav…” (God protects all those who love Him) (v. 20).  Abraham was the one person that God ever called “Ohavi” (the one who loves me).  He also is the one after whom this Berakha follows “Magen Abraham.” 
Higher than “rescuing” us from the battlefield, is “Magen” (lit. shield).  It means that the King protects the soldier even before anything bad happens.  My enemies are shooting at me but the King shields me.  I’m not asking for His help, because I’m not aware of the dangers I’m facing…
We end this prayer by blessing (= acknowledging) HaShem for granting us our survival as a Jewish people, protecting and rescuing us when we ask for His help, and also when we do not realize that we should ask for His help. Ever since the times of Abraham Abinu (Magen Abraham, Bereshit 15: 1 אַל תִּירָא אברהם אָנֹכִי מָגֵן לָךְ) until our own days.