We continue to discuss pesukim related to Musaf of Rosh Hashanah
(Today’s pasuk can be found on page 20 of the Machzor pamphlet that was attached to yesterday’s lesson)
לֹא הִבִּיט אָוֶן בְּיַעֲקֹב
Hashem gazed at no inequity in Yaakov (referring to the Jewish people)
וְלֹא רָאָה עָמָל בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל
He does not see anything bothersome in the Jewish people.
ה׳ אֱלקיו עִמּוֹ
Rather, Hashem, his God is with him,
וּתְרוּעַת מֶלֶךְ בּוֹ
The friendship of the King is upon them
(Rashi tells us that the root of the word Teru’ah is friendship)
This pasuk was said by Bilaam, as he was about to curse the Jewish people. Instead, he had a prophecy, and responded to Balak, who wanted to curse the Jewish people, by telling him it was impossible to curse the Jewish people because, in Rashi’s beautiful words:
שכשהן עוברין על דבריו אינו מדקדק אחריהם
Even when the Jewish people sin, Hashem is not exacting with them; He doesn’t look too carefully at their sins. Therefore, my cursing won’t work, because Hashem looks at them positively.
It’s important that we read these pesukim on Rosh Hashanah, because we want to strengthen our belief in the concept of the love that Hashem has for the Jewish people. He doesn’t look at them in a evil way. This connects to how we look at our friends, because the way we look at people is the way Hashem will look at us. So we should not look upon the Jewish people negatively.
ה׳ אֱלקיו עִמּוֹ
Hashem is with them,
As Rashi says,
אפילו מכעיסין וממרים לפניו אינו זז מתוכן
Even if they anger Him or rebel against Him
He doesn’t leave them.
Hashem loves the Jewish people, dwells with the Jewish people, and therefore your curses won’t work.
וּתְרוּעַת מֶלֶךְ בּוֹ
The friendship of the King is with them
Rashi says
לשון חבה ורעות
this is a term of endearment and friendship
The Targum says
ושכינת מלכהון ביניהון
The Shechina of the King is amongst them.
The King dwells with them.
This is a beautiful pasuk that talks about the love of God for the Jewish people.
But it is also a pasuk of Kingdom. The main reason we read this pasuk is because talks about the Melech/King-
The friendship of the King is with them.
The Chatam Sofer explains that what makes the Jewish people so special is that Hashem is always on their minds. Like it says in the beginning of Shulchan Aruch
שיותי ה׳ לנגדי תמיד
Have Hashem opposite you at all times -this is a great principle in the ways of the Sadikim.
He is always on our mind- that is how we stay away from sin, and why Hashem looks at us in a positive way.
We aren’t just talking about how much God loves the Jewish people. The Kingdom aspect comes at the end of the pasuk, when we say that the friendship of the King is with the Jewish people.
That is our Malchut. Our kingdom is realizing how Hashem is taking care of us, how close He is to us, and how positively He looks at us. Realize how much He wants us to be successful. Therefore, if Hashem is, so to say, sticking His hand out for us, and showing us so much warmth and friendship, we have to reciprocate. We have to show our desire to fulfill His will.
These are the thoughts that we should be thinking when reading Musaf this Rosh Hashanah. Our whole job here is to get ready for these very important days, and to have feeling for every pasuk. Writing notes inside your Machzor is a wonderful idea (or inside the pamphlet that was sent yesterday).
Try to feel and get the flavor of every pasuk, and when you say them in your Tefila, say them with emotion:
הִבִּיט אָוֶן בְּיַעֲקֹב
God does not look closely at the sins of Yaakov (the term Yaakov refers to the lower level of the Jewish people- on this lower level, Hashem doesn’t see the sin
וְלֹא רָאָה עָמָל בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל
And he doesn’t see tiredness in Yisrael
(in the higher level of Am Yisrael, where they may not sin, they might look at religion as hard or effortful, but Hashem doesn’t see this toil- He sees it as enjoyable for them )
ה׳ אֱלקיו עִמּוֹ
Hashem their God is with them
וּתְרוּעַת מֶלֶךְ בּוֹ
And the friendship of the King is with them.
What a beautiful pasuk!
It’s good to know it all year long, but, let us enjoy it and prepare it for our special Rosh Hashanah Musaf.
Have a wonderful day.