6 Minute
Siddur Snippets with Rabbi Efrem Goldberg Thanks to Yonatan Kurz for creating the graphic and for writing up and editing the Snippet
עזי פנים ועזות פנים The word “ "רצוןdoes not only mean “will,” where we ask Hashem to let our will conform to what He thinks is best for us. It can also come from the word “ריצוי,” which means appeasement and satisfaction. When the Rabbis instituted how we appeal to Hashem, they wanted us to invoke this dual, parallel relationship. Part of my connection with Hashem stems from my own independent journey and self-discovery: I have carved and formed my own relationship with Hashem, and I reciprocate His love for me. Even when I struggle, I nevertheless rely on אלקי ;אבותיI come from a tradition, and my lineage allows me to be in a community that has been transmitted to me by my ancestors. Even when it does not do something for me and I lack that direct connection, I can still indirectly connect to it through these two relationships that we see in our davening, with the most poignant example coming at the beginning of the עמידה, when we say אלוקינו ואלוקי אבותינו. We have these two connections with Hashem: one of them is universal, and one of them is personal. What words did Rav Yehudah Ha’Nasi insert at the end of his עמידהthat we incorporate into the beginning of our day? “”ׁש ַּתּצִ ילֵ נִ י ַהּיום ְּובכָ ל יום ֶ - that Hashem should save us. Yet, the previous יהי רצון, which we said after המעביר שינה, was written in the plural, where we were invoking the merit of the community to be spared from the litany of threats. In contrast, this יהי רצוןis ;ׁש ַּתּצִ ילֵ נִ י ֶ we are focusing on our own relationship and no longer resorting to the merit of the many. The Tur points out that at this point in the prayer, a person should insert whatever challenges they think they will face on that day. Regardless of the difficulty, it should be inserted so in this way a person can say to Hashem, “Save me from my personal challenges.” The first thing we ask for is to be saved from ַעּזֵ י ָפנִ יםand עּזּות ָּפנִ ים.ַ What do those things mean? They represent two sides of the same coin. On one hand, we want to be saved from the people who are aggressive and will mistreat us with no shame, lacking any sense of respect or dignity. עַ ּזֵ י ָפנִ יםis the opposite of בשת פנים, which is when a person has a level of shame that enables them to have a sense of courtesy and kindness, enabling them to recoil
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when something is beneath them or their behavior. We want to be saved from obnoxious and disgusting people who may come up throughout our day. But the other side is עַ ּזּות ָּפנִ ים- we want to be saved from reciprocating that utter lack of kindness. If someone is aggressive to us, our animal instincts are triggered, and we are able to able to dish out the ַעּזּות ָּפנִ יםas easily as we were able to receive the עּזֵ י ָפנִ ים.ַ We are asking Hashem profoundly to not only spare us from being the victim of an obnoxious human being with chutzpah and a complete lack of shame, but also to prevent us from reacting inappropriately. When someone tests our patience or crosses the boundary of appropriateness, we want to be spared from reacting to them in that way as well. We said in the previous יהי רצוןthat we do not want to identify with bad people, or even good people who are bad neighbors. When we say “ּומ ָּׁשכֵ ן ָרע ִ ּומ ָח ֵבר ָרע ֵ ”מ ָא ָדם ָרע, ֵ we are expressing that we want to be spared not only from bad people, but even those who are good but do not behave well as neighbors and have a bad influence. What is a “?”ּשטן ַה ַּמ ְׁש ִחית ָ This translates to “the שטןwho destroys,” but does this imply there is a “good” שטןwho enriches our life? Rav Schwab translates it as a destructive antagonist, or criminal. To him, the ּשטן ַה ַּמ ְׁש ִחית ָ is not some conceptual or spiritual force, but rather an antagonistic adversary. Human beings can be angels for one another, and they can also be the שטןfor each other. We want to be spared from someone who is trying to destroy us. The Yaavetz explains it differently. He says that there is, in fact, a good שטן: when we feel that something is blocking success and our happiness, sometimes that שטןblocking our way is for our benefit. In the story of Bilaam, there is an angel blocking his way, but it is for his benefit; the angel was trying to save him from himself! There can be something we perceive as a שטן, whether a business deal that does not go through, an appointment that does not happen, or a relationship that falls through. Sometimes, that roadblock is actually for our advantage; we simply cannot see it.
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