A thought on פרשת קרח
"...va'yiplu al p'neihem...""...and they fell on their faces..." (16:22)
When a group confronted Moshe and Aharon, HaShem's response was one of imminent judgment. The response of Moshe and Aharon was one of pleading for Divine clemency. This plea was offered with the posture depicted in our verse: they fell forward with their faces hidden against their outstretched arms. This pleading is known as techina, and that prayer posture is called Tachanun.
The Recanati advises that a profound message is present here: the sequence which Moshe modeled for all time was that this prayer, pleading and supplicant posture are tandem processes. If there is to be a techina prayer, a tachanun posture is proper. This is related to a principle which we discussed in an earlier parsha email in explaining the principle of "somech ge'ula l'tefilla" - one must first assert a conviction in HaShem's promise of salvation before turning to Him in prayer. Likewise, prayer must precede the techina for forgiveness and clemency. We pray first, then we take the supplicant posture, then we plead for forgiveness and compassion.
What are the metaphysics of this sequence? The Recanati explains that this is known as "assembling the tent into one entity," a kabbalistic way of saying that we are asserting our understanding that HaShem is One and that all of His attributes are unified. How so?When we pray, we are turning to HaShem as we understand His middas rachamim. He is the source of kindness, and so we ask Him for the things we seek. In contrast, when we fall forward with techina, we express our awareness that there is also middas din, justice, with which His Presence in manifest in our world. The immediacy of tefila with techina in sequence proclaims our acknowledgment that He is One and that there are no separate factors or attributes. Even His judgment is a manifestation of kindness. This is how we "assemble the Tent into One entity." There is no distinction Above between HaShem and what we experience as His Presence, and there is no distinction Above between His Mercy and His Justice.
It is for this reason, writes the Recanati, that we do not recite Tachanun at night. Nighttime is when middas din is often apparent in the universe. To devote a prayer focused on that midda would imply that din is separate from the other middos, which is a distorted belief which other faiths have that there is Good and there is Evil, there is the Kindness from Above and there is Harshness from elsewhere ch'v. To pray with a focused recognition of the middas din when the world is being judged might suggest that din has a power or is an entity unto its own.
This is why we couple our rachamim-focused prayers with the din-focused techina. We know that din and rachamim are from a single and unified One Source.
Good Shabbos. D Fox
When a group confronted Moshe and Aharon, HaShem's response was one of imminent judgment. The response of Moshe and Aharon was one of pleading for Divine clemency. This plea was offered with the posture depicted in our verse: they fell forward with their faces hidden against their outstretched arms. This pleading is known as techina, and that prayer posture is called Tachanun.
The Recanati advises that a profound message is present here: the sequence which Moshe modeled for all time was that this prayer, pleading and supplicant posture are tandem processes. If there is to be a techina prayer, a tachanun posture is proper. This is related to a principle which we discussed in an earlier parsha email in explaining the principle of "somech ge'ula l'tefilla" - one must first assert a conviction in HaShem's promise of salvation before turning to Him in prayer. Likewise, prayer must precede the techina for forgiveness and clemency. We pray first, then we take the supplicant posture, then we plead for forgiveness and compassion.
What are the metaphysics of this sequence? The Recanati explains that this is known as "assembling the tent into one entity," a kabbalistic way of saying that we are asserting our understanding that HaShem is One and that all of His attributes are unified. How so?When we pray, we are turning to HaShem as we understand His middas rachamim. He is the source of kindness, and so we ask Him for the things we seek. In contrast, when we fall forward with techina, we express our awareness that there is also middas din, justice, with which His Presence in manifest in our world. The immediacy of tefila with techina in sequence proclaims our acknowledgment that He is One and that there are no separate factors or attributes. Even His judgment is a manifestation of kindness. This is how we "assemble the Tent into One entity." There is no distinction Above between HaShem and what we experience as His Presence, and there is no distinction Above between His Mercy and His Justice.
It is for this reason, writes the Recanati, that we do not recite Tachanun at night. Nighttime is when middas din is often apparent in the universe. To devote a prayer focused on that midda would imply that din is separate from the other middos, which is a distorted belief which other faiths have that there is Good and there is Evil, there is the Kindness from Above and there is Harshness from elsewhere ch'v. To pray with a focused recognition of the middas din when the world is being judged might suggest that din has a power or is an entity unto its own.
This is why we couple our rachamim-focused prayers with the din-focused techina. We know that din and rachamim are from a single and unified One Source.
Good Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 10:02 PM
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