Amidah, The

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When attaching yourself on high in the silent prayer, The Amidah, which is to be said in an inaudible voice. you will merit to be raised yet higher during that prayer. Cf. above, sect. 32. Our sages thus said, “He who comes to be purified will be helped.”...

מוֹדִים אֲנַחְנוּ לָךְ שָׁאַתָּה הוּא יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּWe thankfully acknowledge You: that You are G-d our Lord – Elokeinu, translated as "our Lord,"is the possessive form of G-d's name Elokim. Elokim is associated with the natural vitality and strength ...

וְנַפְשִׁי כֶּעָפָר לַכֹּל תִּהְיֶהMay my soul be as dust to all – Dust is an analogy for a consummate level of humility; everyone treads on it.Eruvin 54a. Similarly, a person whose “soul is like dust” has no independent will of his own. His motivation is...

שִׂים שָׁלוֹםBestow peace – After drawing down G-d’s blessings in the preceding blessings of the Shemoneh Esreh, we conclude by praying for peace. As our Sages state,Mishnah, the conclusion of Tractate Uktzin. “The Holy One, blessed be He, could not find ...

וְכָל הַחַיִּים יוֹדוּךָ סֶּלָהAnd all living beings shall give thanks to You for eternity – G-d’s infinite light shines into the souls of the Jewish people, enabling them to continually ascend to higher levels of Divine light. At each level, their connec...

מוֹדִים אֲנַחְנוּ לָךְWe thankfully acknowledge You - This is the literal meaning of the phrase. Nevertheless, as explained previously,See the section beginning Hodu LaA-donai kiru…. the term modim, “acknowledge,” also possesses a second meaning: to accep...

רְצֵה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ בְּעַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵלG-d our Lord: Favor Your people Israel – רצה shares the same root letters as the word רצון, meaning “will.” We are asking G-d to look at us from the standpoint of His ultimate will and desire (raava dichol raavin...