Dear Congregation Beth Ahabah,
In this last Elul message before Rosh Hashanah, let us contemplate a prayer commonly identified with and highly anticipated on the High Holy Days: Avinu Malkeinu, literally meaning “our father, our king” or “our parent, our ruler.”
The Avinu Malkeinu prayer is organized as a litany, a series of petitions or requests to God, with each line beginning with the same phrase: “Avinu Malkeinu,” addressing or speaking to God simultaneously as both parent and ruler. This is an ancient prayer, dating back at least to the oldest known siddur, Seder Rav Amram, originally compiled by Rav Amram Gaon in 9th century CE Babylonia. There are different versions of the prayer that vary slightly, but overall the themes include asking God to grant us a good year, to annul any evil decrees against us, to grant relief from physical distress, to forgive our sins and mistakes, to grant us prosperity, to grant us redemption, and to accept our prayers—if not on our own merits then on the merits of our ancestors and God’s own merciful nature.
The striking image of God as both parent and king in this prayer is illustrated in a story my father told me, which he heard from Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach (z”l). Here is the story the way I remember it: A man was going on trial. His lawyer came to him, clearly distressed, and said, “The judge assigned to our case is the harshest, most difficult judge.” As the man entered the courtroom, he quailed in apprehension of this fierce judge. Then he looked up at the judge’s bench, and laughed. His lawyer asked, “Why are you laughing?” The man said simply, “The judge is my mother.”
The point of the story is not that the man would avoid any just punishment for misdeeds, but rather that any harshness of judgment would be tempered by mercy. And indeed, this is the subtle interweaving theme of the Avinu Malkeinu prayer. When we call God both our parent and our ruler, we are invoking two important value concepts in the Jewish tradition found in almost every prayer in the High Holy Day liturgy: middat ha-din, the (Divine) quality of Judgment, and middat ha-rachamim, the (Divine) quality of Mercy.
During the High Holy Days we see a lot more imagery of judgment than in the rest of the year, since it’s one of the themes of these holy days. However, we are reminded in prayers like Avinu Malkeinu that despite this emphasis on judgment, ultimately we are asking God to favor us with mercy and love, and we believe this is God’s nature. Thus when we say, “forgive us for Your name’s sake,” the word for 'name' also means ‘knowable essence,’ so we are telling God to be true to God's own essence: middat ha-rachamim!
Even as we value boundless mercy, structure and boundaries are needed in life. In Judaism, judgment and mercy are not set up as opposites on a good-bad dichotomy where one is “good” and the other “bad.” Rather, there is a balance between these aspects which we strive to realize and fulfill. So, as we approach these Days of Awe, what are the ways that judgment is manifesting in our lives? Are we satisfied with that? What are the ways that mercy is manifesting in our lives? Are we satisfied with that? What opportunities do we have to temper our mercy with judgment, or our judgment with mercy?
May our contemplation be fruitful.
See you on Rosh Hashanah, and Shanah Tovah,
Cantor Sarah Beck-Berman
Cantor & B'nei Mitzvah Coordinator
Congregation Beth Ahabah
