Tefillah Tips - Ahava Rabbah 2
ULTERIOR MOTIVES
Chemlah gedolah Chamalta Aleynu – (Not only have You showered us with love) – You have demonstrated Great Compassion unto us. What Great Compassion is it speaking of?
The ethical masterpiece- Chovos Halevavos – explains that when we humans perform kindness in this world, on some level there may be found a bit of self benefit involved. Rare if ever is there a good deed performed without some level of satisfaction achieved. Not so with G-d- there is no ulterior motive in the kindness He extends. We must recognize that our entire lives and the world around us is but from the grace and compassion of ashem.
Rav Miller zt”l explains that the specific Great Compassion alluded to in our Tefillah is the Torah that only the Jewish nation is privileged to have received. It is impossible to imagine our lives without Torah.
As Rav Dovid Liebowitz zt”l used to remark, “There is Torah Governance for every aspect of life from the first moment after birth until the last shovel full after 120”. The Torah provides for us direction how to live, how to love and how to engage the world generally.
Mark Twain was puzzled about the Jews-
If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of star dust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also away out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvellous fight in the world, in all the ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it. The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?"
Mark Twain
Mr. Twain - The answer is in our Tefillah / Prayer- Chemlah gedolah Chamalta Aleynu – You have demonstrated Great Compassion unto us. More then the Jews have kept the Torah; the Torah has kept the Jews. This is the secret of our long history, our destiny and our eternity.
May we merit fulfilling the Torah in all of its glory and be a source of pride to our Creator.
Shabbat Shalom. Rabbi Ephraim Epstein