As a shepherd examines his flock, making his sheep pass under his staff... -- High Holiday Musaf Prayer
Why the emphasis on "His flock" and "His sheep," and not simply "a flock" and "the sheep"?
A shepherd may be tending either a herd of sheep which belongs to someone else or his own herd. When the sheep are not his, he handles them more roughly and beats them more often, sometimes beating them viciously when they go out of line. With his own sheep, however, he is more gentle and merciful. When they need to be reprimanded, he does not hit them, but merely shows them a whip so that they get the message.
We beseech G-d that He deal with us not as a shepherd who is watching over someone else’s sheep, but as a shepherd who is pasturing "his own flock." In such a case, when reprimand is necessary, all he does is lead his sheep under the "staff." He raises the whip over them and shows it to them, but out of love and concern for his own sheep he does not strike or inflict pain on them.1
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