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| Praised are you O' Lord God
who is King who loves justice,
(during the Ten Days of repentance King of Judgment). |
Barukh ata adonai eloheinu melekh ohev tzedakah
u'mishpat,
(during the Ten days of repentance
HaMelekh Hamishpat) |
This blessing can be found on page
112 of Siddur Sim Shalom.
A few weeks ago we discussed one of the blessing
founding the Amidah. Now we have another. In fact, by the time
we have completed the year we will have incorporated all 19 into
our bracha vocabulary and regular regimen. This blessing, I bring
at this time of year because it is slightly changed for the High
Holiday season. Like a few other prayers the liturgy throws us
a curve in suggesting that we ought not get to comfortable with
reciting prayers by route. By offering a subtle adjustment in
the text, the worshiper is forced to concentrate on the content
and not just the form. That is true of our blessing and the change
is remarkable.
During the year the hatima (the conclusion) of the
blessing is melekh ohev tzedakah u'mishpat, praising God who is
king and loves justice. During the Ten days of Repentance (the
ten days including Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and considered
the greatest opportunity for change during the year) the phrase
is altered to read Hamelekh HaMishpat, King of Judgment. It is
a transformation with which I am clearly taken.
During this season of the year we want to call on
God, who is compassionate, with Whom we associate kindness and
acts of tzedakah, good deeds. We want to be judged not based on
what we have done in the past year, but on the potential in the
coming year. For if the scales were held exact, we most certainly
would fail. Yet the prayer at this time of year reminds us of
God, king of judgment.
Therefore, I resolve to the following understanding.
When we pour out our souls and stand essentially naked before
God we feel our frailty. On Rosh Hashanah we ask who will live
and who will die? We look towards the future while we understand
all rests in the hands of the Almighty. We speculate about what
will be and we are afraid. When we are most vulnerable. To which
responds the texts and the bracha. God is in control.
When the world seems to spin out of control, know
God is with us. Though the world may appear chaotic, realize,
the bracha instructs us, reminds us God will bring order. The
story of creation is a story in its core about organizing, categorizing
confusion and uncertainty. God is our surety. God is the Rock
in Whom we trust, God is the King of all kings and therefore,
provides a protection unparalleled in human history.
Through emphasizing judgment, this bracha reminds
us that God will hold all people responsible for their actions.
In this season of repentance, we understand how easy it is for
to want to rush to judgment and take matters in our own hands.
This bracha cautions us against both of those ill-conceived approaches.
God is the true Judge.
When we say this bracha, we reassure ourselves that
everything will be all right, even if we are unable to envision
it ourselves.
Copyright © 2001 Rabbi
Yohanan Stein. All rights reserved.
New Jersey Region United Synagogue
of Conservative Judaism
PO Box 390; 1025 St. Georges
Ave
Linden, NJ 07036-0390
Phone: 908-925-USCJ (8725)
/ Fax: 908-486-USCJ (8725)
E-mail: njersey@uscj.org
Copyright © 2000 -
2003 New Jersey USCJ. All rights reserved.
Last Updated: July 2003
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