Sunday, November 30, 2014

tefila cards: pesukim before and after amida

The pasuk we say before we start Amidah:


ה' שפתי תפתח ופי יגיד תהילתך

Hashem-- Open my lips
and my mouth will tell Your praise
תהלים נא:יז

  • Why do we ask Hashem to open our lips?  Can’t we praise Hashem without His help?
  • How does He open our lips?  He doesn’t control our speech--don’t we have free will?
  • How does it affect you to begin tefila by acknowledging that we even need help in order to daven properly?

The pasuk we say at the end of Amidah:

יִהְיוּ לְרָצוֹן אִמְרֵי פִי
וְהֶגְיוֹן לִבִּי
לְפָנֶיךָ ה' צוּרִי וְגֹאֲלִי.
May the utterings of my mouth
and the thoughts of my heart
be desirable
before You, 
Hashem, my Rock 
and my Redeemer
תהלים יט:טו

How does it benefit us to ponder whether or not our thoughts and words are something that is in line with Hashem’s ideals for the Jewish people and for humanity?

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