Shemoneh Esrei 55 - True, Sincere Appreciation

ויהללו את שמך באמת, הא-ל ישועתנו ועזרתנו סלה

...and praise Your Name sincerely, O G-d of our salvation and help, Selah!

Imagine eating at Shimon’s home on Shabbos. We are served a delicious and plentiful meal. We understand clearly that while we must thank the family member helping to serve, the bulk of our thanks and praise must be reserved for Shimon’s wife who spent the entire Erev Shabbos and more, preparing the delicious and plentiful meal.

The same is true when we search for the “best” doctor. In today’s times, we are obligated to go to the doctor because our bitachon is not absolute, the way it once was for those on a very high level. Though an absolute precondition, searching for and seeing a doctor often creates confusion in our minds with respect to reliance and thanks. However, we must remember Who the real healer is. How much effort do we put into our tefilos, t’hilim, and t’shuvah as compared to the effort we put into finding the “best” doctor and all that we must do in our physical worldly efforts?

Which do we think of as primary, and which do we think of as “going through the motions” because we must? When we have a successful surgery, Whom should we thank profusely for His lovingkindness, and whom should we thank as a kind and skilled messenger? (And where, after all, did the skill come from?)

Too often, we get caught up in attributing success and profusely thanking the messengers, while barely expressing thanks to the One Who is really completely responsible for the success or goodness we received. Only thanking and praising Hashem for whatever we have received is emes. Thus we say, “viyhal’lu es shimcha be’emes (and praise Your Name sincerely).” Only thanking Hashem is truly emes, because whatever we are thankful for is from Him alone. The messenger needs to be thanked for the effort and kindness exhibited in his role as messenger, but not for the actual goodness we receive.

“HaKeil” refers to the powerful compassionate One, Who is All-capable and All-powerful, especially in exercising His midah of rachamim. The more we recognize our helplessness and acknowledge Hashem as “עזרתנו–ezraseinu (our help)” and that He is the only source of our help, the more Hashem will become “ישועתנו–y’shuaseinu (our salvation).” [from Shemoneh Esrei, ArtScroll, by Rav Avrohom Chaim Feuer]

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“True tefilah is when one recognizes that, aside from the Borei Olam, there is absolutely no possibility for salvation. When a person arrives at this crystal-clear recognition, he has reached a level of pure emunah, and he can cry out to the Borei Olam with complete faith that there is absolutely no other power in the world.

“Rav Shimshon Dovid Pincus zt”l once told me that, to rip open the Heavens, a person does not have to scream at the top of his lungs. He can be standing silently by his shtender, and the piercing cries of his heart permeate Above. The main thing is that he should feel an urgent need for salvation and know that the Borei Olam is the only address to turn to.” [excerpt from “Living on” by Rabbi Daniel Yaakov Travis]

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Whom do we praise and thank most? The answer often tells us how deep our emunah is.