Tefillah Tips - Ashrei IV

"Aromimcha Elokay Hamelech Vaavarcha Shimcha Leolam Vaed - I will exalt You, my G-d the King, and I will bless Your name forever." This is the first verse in the acrostic Psalm 145. It is composed of two phrases that express King David's desire to exalt and bless Hashem. The question is "what exactly does it mean to exalt and bless the Creator?"

The Etz Yosef explains that the two parts of the sentence refer to the present world and the eternal World To Come. The verse therefore means "Aromimcha Elokay Hamelech - I will exalt You in this world, Vaavarcha Shimcha Leolam Vaed and bless You in the World To Come." This is a beautiful insight, but we still don't know what it means to exalt and bless G-d.

The Kad Hakemach explains that the Pasuk means- that before we bless/pray to G-d, we first need to elevate Him in our eyes and try to recognize His omnipotent and omniscient strengths. Therefore the verse reads - "Aromimcha Elokay Hamelech - I will elevate/exalt my G-d the King, Vaavarcha Shimcha Leolam Vaed - and then I will approach Him in prayer."

The Gaon of Vilna advances a completely different idea that is based on the logical premise that there are dimensions of G-d that we can relate to, i.e. His creation of nature, forces in the universe, natural beauty of the universe. On the other hand, there are dimensions of G-dliness that we cannot and will not grasp as finite human beings. The Gaon states that our verse reflects these two ideas.

Aromimcha Elokay Hamelech (Aromimcha is related to the word Meromaim which means High above) - My G-d, You are way above and beyond any praise or prayer that I express, but Vaavarcha Shimcha Leolam Vaed. Nevertheless, I will appreciate and praise all of Your handiwork that is in front of my eyes.

May we all pay attention to G-d's handiwork in order to praise it, and may we be cognizant of in front of whom we stand in prayer, so that we will merit not only to serve Hashem in our lifetimes but in the World To Come as well.