I've long felt that we should concentrate more on the first two words of each "Avinu Malkeinu" than on the rest of the words. (That's what I like about the "p'sach shaarei shomayim" song.)

Now, I'm thinking that perhaps this can be a big help to many of us here now. Like many others, I am also not feeling great today and I had an interesting thought while saying A"M by mincha.

{I posted the following elsewhere, but I'm posting it here also as an introduction}

Last week I heard R' Tzvi Meir speak. I'm sorry I don't remember which sefer he read it from, but it said straight out that the because the power of these days is so strong, the y'h really works overtime. Chazal say very clearly that we can get close to Hashem during the 10 yemei teshuva, more than the rest of the year. That means that even someone who is so far-removed from Hashem that the rest of the year he can't wake up the connection, during these days he can.

The y'h really stands to lose a lot during these days so he really goes totally wild. And all we have to do, is to NOT GET PHASED BY THE DARKNESS- TO ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES AND WEATHER THE STORM. We need to recognize the confusion for what it is, namely a dirty trick of the y'h. We need to remember that it will soon pass and we will get back in to focus. And we need to speak to Hashem and beg Him to make it pass fast and bring us back to our senses.

But in truth this very darkness is our greatest opportunity! This is the "Derech" and "Kli" -the tool and the key to tapping in to the great power of these days! The Gemoroh says הנותן בעין יפה הוא נותן When one gives a gift, we can assume that he gave generously and he also provided the "Derech"

So Hashem provides each person with the "Derech" - the tools for using the great gift of these days properly. VERY VERY often that means a feeling of darkness. Because by trying to hold on and not let go even when feeling like that, we will merit the great segulah of these days.

But how do we pick our selves up when we are feeling so weak?

At Mincha today I thought about all the HUNDREDS of times that we say AVINU! and all the hundreds of times we say MALKEINU! during these days.

AVINU- our loving Father who loves us totally, completely, unconditionally and infinitely.

MALKEINU- our King! We are the King's soldiers! We represent Him in this world! Regardless of what happened in the past, we have a shlichus to fulfill right now as a representative of Hashem!

At this time of year, when so much is at stake and the y'h is working overtime to get us down, we repeat hundreds of times AVINU! MALKEINU! OUR FATHER! OUR KING!
That's the main message we need to get in to our selves. It's not for nothing that we repeat these words so many times! Try to think about these words each time you say them!

Only after we have this straight, can we have the courage to ask Hashem for the 44 things in this special tefilah. And still, the bottom line is AVINU MALKEINU! Each time we say this tefilah we ask for each of the 44 things once. But these holy, special, key words, we repeat 44 times!

I'm just thinking right now, that if the average person needs to say it 88 times a day, then it stands to reason that we should say it much more! Or better yet, each time we say it, we should THINK about it much more!

RABOSAI! IF THE Y'H WANTS TO GET YOU DOWN THIS WEEK, TELL HIM THAT YOU ARE MUCH TO BUSY WITH YOUR FATHER AND KING!

Yes, maybe it's true that I'm a loser, a lowlife, an evil person. Yes, maybe it's true that Hashem is angry at me (lol). Maybe it's true that I can't do what others can, maybe it's true that ......(the y'h never runs out of ideas)

BUT RIGHT NOW IT'S THE JOB OF EVERY JEW TO PROCLAIM HASHEM KING! RIGHT NOW IT'S THE JOB OF EVERY JEW TO REMIND HIMSELF THAT HASHEM IS HIS FATHER AND KING! THERE'S NO TIME FOR THE Y'H'S IMPORTANT CHAKIRAS RIGHT NOW!

Of course this is true all year. But at the very least, in middle of the coronation of Melech Malchei Hamilachim -by His dear children, we have a basic right to push the y'h off.  

Take a moment to think about it. Your busy with the with the coronation of the creator Himself -Who happens to also be your Father and this scumbag comes and starts pestering you about his insanities. The strange thing is that somehow we fall for it and we start discussing it with him. "Well yeh, you got a point but lemaaseh I did x amount of days. Oh right, others do better so maybe you got a point etc. etc."

Lemaan Hashem, if this is not insanity what is? Here I am the "Ben habichor" of The King of Kings- The Creator Himself, busy with His coronation, and this jerk somehow manages to get me in to the most ridiculous conversation imaginable.

LET'S PUT A STOP TO THE INSANITY NOW!!!

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!

Avinu:  A loving father wants to give his child everything he can to make him happy. But he's just a limited father, unable to financially or practically provide all.

Malkeinu: A king can afford to get anything from anywhere in the world for his son - but he may not want to.

Hashem, You are both father and king. Not only can You provide, but You alsowant to provide.

"Poseach es yadecha umsbia lekol chai ratzon"!

Thx mom & battleworn. Beautiful.



I tried doing this on RH, and my davening went so well. I was jst thinking about celebrating his malchus and what a good king/father he is. But somehow it felt wrong. My father by the seudos, the speeches....etc everyone was talking about yom hadin,vidui, teshuvah...Saying how many sad things happened this year, cuz we didn't daven /have enough charata last year...saying to chap arein every moment, for we are being judged, and you never know what can happen...etc The focus was on us, while I thought it was supposed to be on him. Am I getting this wrong? Is it both?

Im no Rav (or Rebbitzen) but my feeling is the focus is on HASHEM, our Melech, and how WE relate to HIM

Yeah, Im no rav (or rebbetzin either, lol!), but I def agree with what mom is saying.
I heard some interesting ideas that might be somewhat related.

One is that R"H is really a day of din. True.
Y"K is a day of rachamim.
On R"H, we surround the din with rachamim, b/c that's how we cope.
Tekiah (rachamim) Teruah (din) Tekiah (rachamim)
We focus on HKB"H and how great He is (malchiyos and shofros)
hiding our deeds that He is looking at (zichronos).
That's the only way we can deal.
A nice mashal is that in the army here in EY, people take many things home with them that they shouldn't.
They can get fined very heavily if found out. So, they're not just going to walk into an army base one day and return what they have,
cause they'd have to pay!
The army has a day when they say, bring in what you have off the record, for today, you're off the hook.
And people bring stuff back, because there's no fine...
R"H, He is watching us, He is judging, so we envelop that with how great He is and our role in being mamlich Him.
Y"K, we bring out our vidui, our al chaits, because we know He is forgiving.

Another nice idea, is in relation to our role of being mamlich HKB"H.
It is us that do it. A king is not a king w/o subjects.
By our proclaiming being His subjects, He becomes our King.
"Adon olam asher malach, bterem kol yitzir nivra,
l'eis na'asa bcheftzo kol, AZAI MELECH SHEMO NIKRA"
He is called King only after we're here to do so.
Sounds a bit crazy, but we can be marbeh the Malchus of HKB"H in this world.
Just by proclaiming oursleves His subjects.
I think everyone on this forum does this just by signing up.
We are mamash (had to add that in!) holding up the KISAY HAKAVOD!!

(I don't know if I explained this well, so feel free to comment, ask, or even disagree...)

Only a Yiddish GEVALDIGGGGGG can express my opinion Sturggle!

Kol Hakod!

You had to do it in pink? :-[

Oops Thought pink gets the most points or something like that!


GEVALDIGGGGGGG


BETTER?

Gevaaldigggg is right.  So in short would that mean that rh, is for 'him' and yk focus on 'us'?



Sounds amazing, but very theoretical. (I guess its not so shayich anymore anyway. RH is over)

TrYiNg wrote on 23 Sep 2009 12:26:


To your first question, in short, that's our focus, the way that we "paint" the days, if you will.
They are both all about our relationship with Him.
Aren't women supposed to be all about relationship?
Ya know, I hear there must be two parties to have one, so to say one day is about one side is not so pashut.
It's the connection, the kesher, that's the focus.
That in itself has many aspects and we may focus on different aspects at diff times, i.e. din and rachamim.

To your second point, it is so shayach!!
Every holiday is eternal. We don't celebrate R"H because many years ago the world was created.
We don't sit at the seder just b/c so many years ago we left Mitzrayim.
There is hischadshus every year, liros es atzmo k'ilu yatza mimitzrayim, and in connection to what I wrote above,
and I think it connects to Battleworn's and Mom's words, we are (can be at least) mamlich HKB"H every day!
These things are always going on, we just feel them stronger at certain times.

Nothing to add that Sturggle hasnt already said beautifully.

Lets see what R' Battleworn has to say about all this....

PINK

bardichev wrote on 23 Sep 2009 21:27:


Are you encouraging this crazy woman?
Thanks for the reinforcement Rebbe.
PINK it is!!

sturggle wrote on 24 Sep 2009 09:43:


Crazy woman???? :o > :-\ :-X

:o