This Post Has Been Cross Posted to DovBear.
The morning before Rosh Hashana there is a custom to recite extended Slichos in Shul.
Led by Gary Dalin, the services this morning were wonderful. Thank you Gary.
The Slichos are mostly Medieval era poetry designed to arouse the soul within to make amends for all wrongs committed during the year. As we approach the judgment of Rosh Hashana we bolster our efforts in securing a good verdict with the extra Slichos.
As the Slichos are written using a complex, poetic formula it is necessary to use a prayer book with translated versions of the Slichos to help us understand what we are reading in the original Hebrew.
Sometimes, the translations are nearly as difficult to understand as the original. There was one very familiar word found in Slicha #38.
After Slichos this morning, Alan Danziger pointed out this little gem to me.
(Artscroll Slichos 389)
It seems that the Paytan (composer of the Selicha) was either on Twitter sometime before 1234 CE or was prophesizing ~800 into the future.
In all seriousness, Prayer can be effective through any medium. Whether you pray in your heart, with your lips, in print or digitally, the main thing is to be sincere and to use Prayer as a tool for developing a deeper relationship with God.
It is clear that from the Rosh Hashana liturgy that a primary task of Rosh Hashana is to anoint and accept God as our King. We use the Shofar and our Prayers to accomplish this goal.
There is a Mechilta in Yisro that says that gratitude for what God has done for us is the key to open the door for those feelings to penetrate and enable us to make God our King of our lives. Think about all the wonderful things that we have in life. Appreciate them and use those emotions to propel you to proclaim God as our King.
May we all merit to see the day that God’s dominion is clear to all.
Gmar Chasima Tova to each and every one of you.
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