בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְקוָק, אֱלֹקינוּ וֵֽאלֹקי אֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ, אֱלֹקי אַבְרָהָם, אֱלֹקי
יִצְחָק, וֵֽאלֹקי יַעֲקֹב. הָקל הַגָּדוֹל הַגִּבּוֹר וְהַנּוֹרָא, אֵל עֶלְיוֹן,
גּוֹמֵל חֲסָדִים טוֹבִים, קוֹנֵה הַכֹּל, וְזוֹכֵר חַסְדֵּי אָבוֹת, וּמֵבִיא
גוֹאֵל לִבְנֵי בְנֵיהֶם לְמַֽעַן שְׁמוֹ בְּאַֽהֲבָה:Love 13
Instead of paraphrasing Rabbi Kaplan, I thought it important
to quote him directly as this is such an incredible lesson, I doubt there is a
single person who would not benefit tremendously,
He writes: The first paragraph in the Amidah concludes with
four words that are designated to bring Hashem closer to the worshiper. These four
words are 'Melech - King, Ozer - Helper, Moshia - Rescuer, and Magen -
Shield,'
Whereas in the first part of this paragraph we relate to
Hashem in a general manner, here we develop our personal relationship with Him.
These four words are the key to the entire Amidah. If one says them correctly,
one is left in a perfect spiritual space for the rest of the service. Even if
one has said the first parts of this paragraph without proper concentration, if
these four words are said properly, they will bring the worshiper to such a
closeness to Hashem that the rest of the Amidah will be perfect. Let us look at
these four words in detail.
The first word is 'King' (Melekh). We begin by
looking at Hashem as our king and at our relationship to Him as that of a
subject to a king. A king is far away, in his capital city, in his palace. If
you want something from the king, you must send him a formal request, and it
goes through his staff, his ministers, his secretary. Then, if you are lucky,
after a few months you may get a reply. Therefore, when we address Hashem as
King, we see Him as majestic but distant. Help is available from him, but not
closely available.
In the next word, we address Hashem as 'Helper'
(Ozer). Now we see him as much closer than a king. A 'helper' is
someone whom we can readily approach. He is a friend whom we know we can
always call on and who always will make himself available.
Therefore, when we call Hashem 'Helper,' we realize that we can call
on Him at any time and He will be there for us. This is a relationship
much closer than that to a king. In saying this word, we are
beginning the process through which we draw closer to Hashem. Third, we
address Hashem as 'Rescuer' (Moshia). Again, a rescuer is much closer
than a helper. A rescuer is someone who is available to save you when you are
drowning in a river; he is right there to jump in and pull you out. A helper
may have the best intentions in the world, but if he is not close to you at all
times, he cannot save you when you are in danger. Therefore, when we speak to
Hashem as our 'Rescuer,' we see Him as being available whenever we
need Him, ready to rescue us in an instant. We recognize that Hashem is always
close enough to help us, even when we are in imminent danger. Thus, the
relationship of Rescuer is much closer than that of Helper. This word brings us
yet a step closer to Hashem.
Finally, we speak to Hashem as our 'Shield'
(Magen). A shield is even closer than a rescuer. A shield can help even when an
arrow is flying at me and there is nothing else that can stop it. When the arrow
is flying, there is no time for even the rescuer to intercept it. The shield
must be there in place—right in front of me. Thus, when I address Hashem as my
'Shield,' I can feel Him right in front of me. Hashem is all around
me, surrounding me like a suit of divine armor. I am totally aware of Hashem's
protective power, surrounding me on all sides. I feel that I am being protected
by Hashem, so that nothing in the world can harm me.
Thus, in the four words 'Melech - King, Ozer -
Helper, Moshia - Rescuer, and Magen - Shield,' we become more and more
aware of Hashem's closeness. First we see Him as a benevolent but distant king,
then as a willing helper, then as a nearby rescuer, and finally, as an immanent
shield. In these four words, we make the transition from viewing Hashem as a
remote transcendental force to seeing Him as a protector who is closer than the
air around us.
The one person who reached the level where he could
constantly see Hashem as his shield was Abraham. Hashem had told him, 'Do
not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you' (Gen. 15:1). From that time on,
Abraham had a constant perception of Hashem as his shield. He was always aware
of Hashem being very close to him, surrounding him and protecting him on a most
immanent and direct level…. Of all the levels of relationship to Hashem, the
level of shield is the closest. Here we see Hashem close enough to us to stop even
a flying bullet. This was the level attained by Abraham, and at this point in
the Amidah, we aspire to it.
Even unaware of the danger and oblivious to even call
out for help, Hashem is there protecting us.
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוּדָ֗ה
מַה־נֹּאמַר֙ לַֽאדֹנִ֔י מַה־נְּדַבֵּ֖ר וּמַה־נִּצְטַדָּ֑ק הָאֱלֹקים מָצָא֙
אֶת־עֲוֺ֣ן עֲבָדֶ֔יךָ הִנֶּ֤נּוּ עֲבָדִים֙ לַֽאדֹנִ֔י גַּם־אֲנַ֕חְנוּ גַּ֛ם
אֲשֶׁר־נִמְצָ֥א הַגָּבִ֖יעַ בְּיָדֽוֹ׃
The word גם may be
understood as הגם, i.e. 'even though the goblet has not been found in our
pouches.' Inasmuch as the sin the brothers had been guilty of did not
include Benjamin at all, seeing he had been far too young to participate in the
sale of Joseph, they said: 'as well as the one in whose pouch the goblet
has been found;' they attributed Benjamin's having been found with the
goblet in his pouch as a misfortune that had befallen Benjamin only because he
had travelled with sinners such as they. We find a similar use of two
apparently not only unrelated but completely contradictory phenomena when the
Talmud in Sanhedrin 93 compares 'two dried out trees and one moist
one,' saying that when the dry trees go up in flames even the green tree
is burnt up together with them.
וַיֹּ֕אמֶר חָלִ֣ילָה
לִּ֔י מֵעֲשׂ֖וֹת זֹ֑את הָאִ֡ישׁ אֲשֶׁר֩ נִמְצָ֨א הַגָּבִ֜יעַ בְּיָד֗וֹ ה֚וּא
יִהְיֶה־לִּ֣י עָ֔בֶד וְאַתֶּ֕ם עֲל֥וּ לְשָׁל֖וֹם אֶל־אֲבִיכֶֽם׃ {ס}
According to our
view Yehudah reasoned with Joseph as long as he felt that they were all being
punished for something they had done in the past. When he realised that
innocent Benjamin was being singled out for punishment whereas they, the guilty
ones, were allowed to go free, he realised that he did not confront divine
judgment in the person of Joseph, but that Joseph was a capricious ruler who
had framed Benjamin for reasons of his own. There was therefore no cause for
the brothers to submit to what they had previously considered as divine
retribution.
וַיִּגַּ֨שׁ אֵלָ֜יו
יְהוּדָ֗ה וַיֹּ֘אמֶר֮ בִּ֣י אֲדֹנִי֒ יְדַבֶּר־נָ֨א עַבְדְּךָ֤ דָבָר֙
בְּאׇזְנֵ֣י אֲדֹנִ֔י וְאַל־יִ֥חַר אַפְּךָ֖ בְּעַבְדֶּ֑ךָ כִּ֥י כָמ֖וֹךָ
כְּפַרְעֹֽה׃
The word אליו may
have been inserted in order to deflect an accusation against Yehudah who had
previously offered that all the brothers including Benjamin would be slaves to
Joseph whereas now he wanted Benjamin released. How could he dare reverse
himself? The Torah therefore explains that the word אליו refers to Joseph who
wanted to keep only Benjamin.
