Shemoneh Esrei 7: Who Is Truly Mighty?

הא-ל הגדול הגבור

The G-d, Great, Mighty…

הא-ל  – HaKeil represents Hashem’s midas ha’rachamim (attribute of mercy).  It also means power or strength.  Hashem, in His strength, humbles the midas ha’din (attribute of judgment) and performs chesed.

הגדול  – HaGadol represents the midas ha’chesed.  It also refers to Hashem’s greatness, which is made known through His creations.  The Rambam writes that Avraham Avinu anxiously anticipated the day when a complete nation would testify to the Kingship of Hashem.  This is what Hashem’s brachah to Avraham of “v’e’escha l’goy gadol” means.  Hashem’s Malchus is spread when we recognize that all of nature and all of creation only exist through Hashem.  Taken together, HaKeil, HaGadol, HaGibor represent recognizing Hashem’s awesomeness, which is beyond our comprehension.

הגבור – An important insight can be gleaned from the word “HaGibor”: “Who is truly mighty?  One who suppresses his desire” (Avos 4:1).  Imagine the following parable, found in sefer Nafshi Cholas Ahavasecha:

A father has a very sick child.  He tirelessly toils day and night to search for the very best doctor available for this illness.  He then spends hundreds of thousands of dollars for doctors, hospitals, and other medical costs.  He cannot sleep nights, out of worry and fear.  He davens and says T’hilim constantly.  Finally, Hashem allows the doctors to diagnose the child properly and prescribe the correct medication to cure his illness.  The father brings the medication to the child but the child refuses to take it.  The child cries and begins to complain that his father doesn’t love him and is forcing him to swallow these bitter pills.  He begs his father to have compassion on him and not to be so cruel to him.  As much as his father attempts to calm the child and explain how much he loves him and how much he has gone through to get this medication, the child nonetheless continues to intensify expressing his feelings about his father’s cruelty.

Can we begin to imagine the pain and anguish of this father?  After all his pain and tireless efforts, his heart is now being ripped to pieces.  If not for his great compassion and love for his son, he would be unable to continue listening to his son’s tirades.  He strengthens himself to overcome the pain and anguish and continues doing whatever it takes, with full strength, so that his son is healed.  He does this with love and compassion despite the son’s behavior towards him.

We have no understanding of the extent that Hashem loves us.  He knows exactly what each of us needs.  Many times, we need to experience pain and sorrow before we can be rewarded with the tremendous goodness Hashem wishes to bestow upon us.  As an example, we had to endure slavery and more in Egypt before receiving the Torah.  We need to endure this long and bitter galus so that we can reap the ultimate and eternal reward in the near future, b’ezras Hashem.  With compassion and chesed, Hashem always does what He knows is best for our eternal good.  (based on drashas Chasam Sofer)

David HaMelech teaches us “עמו אנכי בצרה – imo Anochi b’tzarah (I am with him in distress)” (T’hilim 135).  Hashem is “pained” when He has to bring tzaros upon us.  Yet, He suppresses His desire to reveal Himself now and, instead, absorbs the pain for our good.  Can we imagine the additional “pain” to Hashem if we complain and wonder how Hashem can be doing this to us?

Let us always recall that, when we daven, we are speaking directly to Hashem Who loves us and always does what is best for us.