Davening is something we all struggle with. The Zohar Hakodosh tells us “Shaas Tzlosa, Shaas Krova – The time of Tefillah is a time of war.” Our Yezter Hora tries to get in the way of the powerful connection to Hashem that is experienced through proper Tefillah and we are tasked to fight and struggle that he shouldn’t win. So I want to spend the coming weeks writing about Tefillah, what it’s all about, and exploring specific Tefillos that we say on a deeper level to give us an extra dose of inspiration in our Davening.

When the Jewish people went through the Yam Suf (Red Sea) they sang the Shira, a song to Hashem thanking Him for the miracle. We say this song every day during Davening. 

The Gemoro (Sotah Daf 30) tells us that when they sang Shira the babies who were nursing from their mothers, seeing the Shechina (Divine presence) lifted their heads and said “Ze Keili Veanveihu – This is my G-d and I will glorify him.” The Maharal in Gevuros Hashem asks, what is this imagery of an infant stopping to nurse? The Gemoro could have just said that everyone including the babies sang to Hashem! He answers that this is describing the level that the entire Jewish nation reached at that moment. Just like the baby believes that his mother created him and that she is his source of nourishment, we too sometimes mistakenly believe that our source and livelihood comes from this physical world and the efforts that we put In. When they saw the shechina, they all came to the realization that Hashem is the one and only true reality and source for everything. Just like the babies let go of their mother to praise Hashem, they all “let go” of their worldly outlook and turned towards Hashem and sang to him yearning to connect with him.

Based on this Marahal, the Nsivos Sholom explains the concept of praising and singing to Hashem in davening. He explains that this is the purpose of Tefillah, to take time to turn away from the world and our routine and experience true dveikus, connection to our real source – Hashem.

May we all experience that connection when we Daven!

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