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0:00 Dear friends, a good morning. I hope that this message finds you well. Today is the third day of the Omer. And as such again, when we think about three, because our heads are still in the city we think about the Avos, Shlosha Avos, three patriarchs, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. And Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch says something truly beautiful. He says, you know, when we begin Shmoneh Esrei, so we begin by mentioning the Avos, the patriarchs. 0:22 Why? On the most basic level, Rav Hirsch explains, because Shmoneh Esrei is a petitionary tefillah. It's where we ask Hakadosh Baruch Hu for all of our needs, our physical needs, our material needs, our spiritual needs. And sometimes we come before Hashem and we ask him for things that we may not have the requisite merits to have all of our requests answered in the way that we would like it. And so we begin with a mention of the patriarchs, indicating we don't just come kind of by ourselves, 0:45 but we come as the children of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. So even if I don't have the requisite merit, Hashem, for you to answer my requests, I'm asking you to tap into the collective spiritual bank account, so to speak, of Klal Yisrael. I am the child of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. And even if my merits can't carry the day, I ask Hakadosh Baruch Hu to please tap into the merit of my ancestors and grant that which I daven for. But then Rav Hirsch 1:09 goes on and he says something beautiful. He says, if you look at the Avos, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, as much as we always kind of look at them as a patriarchal cohort, you really couldn't find three people who are more different than each other. Avraham Avinu, again, the dawn of monotheism, Shacharis, he introduced Hakadosh Baruch Hu to humanity, and he did so through chesed, achilah, shtiyah, linah, eshel. I mean, he had an open home. He offered people an opportunity to come and eat 1:33 something. It was through chesed, hachnasas orchim. Avraham Avinu was this individual of tremendous chesed, and that's how he had an impact. Yitzchak, Yitzchak is willing to give his life for Hakadosh Baruch Hu, who was literally ready to lie down on the altar of Hashem. Yitzchak Avinu represents din, strict justice, a willingness to give anything and everything to Hakadosh Baruch Hu without explanation. Yaakov, 1:56 Yaakov Avinu's life was total turbulence. From the time that he was struggling with Esav in the womb, then again, the whole argument over the birthright, Lavon, relocating to Egypt, the whole episode with Yosef. Yaakov Avinu's life is just simply ongoing turbulence. But yet, with all of that, Yaakov Avinu never gave up his connection to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. He maintained his connection and fidelity to the Ribono Shel Olam, no matter what was happening in life. And as such, says 2:20 Rav Hirsch something absolutely amazing. When we come to Shmoneh Esrei, as much as we all recite the same words, but we relate to Hakadosh Baruch Hu differently. Some of us are more Avraham, some of us are more Yitzchak, some of us are more Yaakov. There may be certain pro forma parts of our Yiddishkeit. We may all daven the same exact Shmoneh Esrei, but we are encouraged to create our own individual 2:43 relationship with Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Avraham's relationship was not Yitzchak's, Yitzchak's was not Avraham's. And Yaakov was really so dramatically different than both his father and his grandfather. See, even though we all daven the same words of Shmoneh Esrei, we begin that Shmoneh Esrei, that pro forma tefillah, that organized and structured prayer, and we begin it with acknowledging that every Jew has a 3:07 different relationship with Hashem. And that individuality in our relationship with Hashem is encouraged. It's mandated. Yes, we all have the same 613 mitzvahs. We all have the same Shacharis, Mincha, Maariv. But our sacred duty, our sacred task, is to cultivate that unique relationship. 3:23 Avraham had his relationship, Yitzchak had his relationship, Yaakov had his relationship, and each of us are encouraged to do the same, to find our own unique, singular, personal relationship with Hakadosh Baruch Hu, even though we all have the same structure of Yiddishkeit. So on this third day of Sefirah, on this day of the Avos, this day of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, may we merit, so to speak, 3:47 Hashem, to embrace the beautiful structure that Yiddishkeit offers us, while at the same time finding our beautiful and unique, personal, singular relationship with Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Wishing everyone a wonderful day and a good morning.
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