We are now up to the 6th pasuk of the Musaf prayers:
שְׂא֤וּ שְׁעָרִ֨ים ׀ רָֽאשֵׁיכֶ֗ם וְֽ֭הִנָּשְׂאוּ פִּתְחֵ֣י עוֹלָ֑ם וְ֝יָב֗וֹא מֶ֣לֶךְ הַכָּבֽוֹד
The gates should lift up their heads,
and lift up the openings of the world,
And let the King of glory and honor come in
(and the gates respond)
מִ֥י זֶה֮ מֶ֤לֶךְ הַכָּ֫ב֥וֹד ה׳ עִזּ֣וּז וְגִבּ֑וֹר ה׳ גִּבּ֥וֹר מִלְחָמָֽה
Who is this king of honor and glory,
Hashem the powerful One ,Hashem who is the mighty One of war
But that doesn’t work, so again,
שְׂא֤וּ שְׁעָרִ֨ים ׀ רָֽאשֵׁיכֶ֗ם וּ֭שְׂאוּ פִּתְחֵ֣י עוֹלָ֑ם וְ֝יָבֹ֗א מֶ֣לֶךְ הַכָּבֽוֹד
Lift up your gates, your heads ,And let the King and His glory come in
מִ֤י ה֣וּא זֶה֮ מֶ֤לֶךְ הַכָּ֫ב֥וֹד ה׳ צְבָא֑וֹת ה֤וּא מֶ֖לֶךְ הַכָּב֣וֹד סֶֽלָה
Who is this King of glory ?
God of the hosts, He is the King of glory forever.
First we have to understand the simple explanation of this pasuk.
All of the commentaries say that this refers to when Shlomo HaMelech wanted to bring the Aron, the holy Ark, into the Bet HaMikdash. The gates had locked themselves, so Shlomo HaMelech told them to open, once, and then a second time, and then they opened up.
What exactly is this give-and-take about?
The first time the words
וְ֝יָב֗וֹא מֶ֣לֶךְ הַכָּבֽוֹד
Let the King of Honor come in, were said, the gates thought that Shlomo HaMelech was referring to himself.
You’re the king of glory? You’re taking the honor for yourself?
All of the honor that you have is only supposed to be for Hashem.
When he asked again, referring to the King of Honor, the gates clarified, once again: What is the glory of Hashem? And Shlomo HaMelech answered, The glory of Hashem
ה׳ צְבָא֑וֹת ה֤וּא
is the God of Hosts
What does that mean?
The commentaries explain that “ Seva’ot/hosts” refers to the Jewish people. We are God’s army. Like it says, Adon-ei Sevaot Imanu
God of the hosts is with us.
It is a term that refers to the special connection that God has with the Jewish people. And that is what makes Him King.
That is what the gates wanted Shlomo HaMelech to understand- that of course, he was not the glorious king. And even if he had said that his kingdom was from Hashem, it’s still not enough. He had to recognize that the glory of Hashem comes from the Jewish people and the connection Hashem has to the Jewish people, not to one individual.
This is a lesson that cannot be reiterated enough in our Rosh Hashanah Musaf prayers. It is not about one individual, his success, his career, or his glory. It is about the God of the Jewish people. That is what causes the gates to open.
That is our first approach to these pesukim- that Shlomo HaMelech was talking to the gates, and the gates would only open when he gave the secret password, which is that Hashem’s glory comes from the Jewish people.
Rav Wolbe once said a nice thought about this, which I still remember. He said the words שְׂא֤וּ שְׁעָרִ֨ים ׀ רָֽאשֵׁיכֶ֗ם
Gates, open, while he banged and knocked on the table.
The gates that he was referring to were the gates of our hearts. Our hearts are also called the Bet HaMikdash.
We want to bring Hashem into our hearts. We want to open the gates of our hearts. We have to talk to our hearts, and let the King into our hearts. We have to appreciate, who the King is. He’s not this powerful, scary Warrior. Fear tactics might not open up our hearts, but realizing that God wants to connect to us, that He gets His glory from us, that will open up the gates of our hearts and let Him in.
Furthermore, the Chatam Sofer points out that there is a seemingly superfluous word here
שְׂא֤וּ שְׁעָרִ֨ים ׀ רָֽאשֵׁיכֶ֗ם וְֽ֭הִנָּשְׂאוּ
Open up the gates, and they will open up themselves.
He explains that first you have to open up your heart a little bit, and then, once you open it up a little, Hashem will do the rest. He is not asking us to do everything, but especially on Rosh Hashanah when you are praying, open up your heart a little bit. Let Hashem into your heart. He wants us to come close. He wants to have a connection to us. Let Him into our lives, and appreciate what He is doing for us. Appreciate how He is helping us.
Our last thought on this pasuk from the Midrash, is another important lesson for us.
Going back to our first explanation that the gates opened up, it says in Eicha,
“The gates were swallowed up by the ground.”
When the enemy came to Jerusalem, God did not let the enemy destroy the gates. The gates were saved, by being swallowed up by the ground.
Why were the gates saved? Because the gates showed honor and glory to God.
That is another lesson for us on Rosh Hashanah. Even if, has v’shalom, there are destroyers, and negative things might happen during the year, has v’shalom, the one that showed respect to God will be protected.
Giving kavod/honor and glory to God and to His Torah is what will protect us.
There are many beautiful lessons in these pesukim, to appreciate ה׳ צבאות God of the Jewish people.
You may need to take notes in order to remember and digest all of this, but try to focus on those last two words ה׳ צבאות
Hashem is the God of the hosts, the God of the Jewish people. He is the Melech HaKavod. That’s what brings Him His honor and His glory. Let that honorable, glorious God into our hearts. And when we give Him that honor and glory, that will protect us. Have a wonderful day.