Do you live in Hashem’s neighborhood?
No, that’s not a typo.
Hashem is often referred to as the Shechinah, a term that is closely related to the Hebrew term for neighbor, shachein, and that describes Hashem’s state of closeness to us, as if He lives among us, even right next door (Rav Yosef Breuer). This mindset of Shiviti Hashem l’negdi tamid, is one that we strive to live by everywhere and at all times (see OC 1:1), but that has particular points of connection. As we read in our parashah, the Beit HaMikdash is where we go to be near Him, l’shichno tidreshu uvata shama (Devarim 12:5), and where we are commanded to travel to “see the face of G-d” on each of the three major festivals each year (Moadim, meeting times with G-d) (Devarim 16:16).
Tefillah is another such point of connection. Our main prayer, known as the Amidah, is based on the biblical phrase omed bifnei Hashem, describing Avraham standing before G-d in prayer (Bereishis 18:22, 19:27). This depiction is halachically consequential, as awareness of Hashem’s presence is a core requirement of prayer (see Chiddushei Rabbeinu Chaim Halevi, Hilchot Tefillah, 4:1) and defines the parameters of the prayer experience beyond the actual words we express to G-d. Prayer as a journey towards G-d is why we take three steps into His presence at the outset of our Shemoneh Esrei and three steps away following its conclusion. The Talmud (Berachos 8a) even goes so far as to describe the person who foregoes the opportunity to pray in his local shul as a bad neighbor of G-d, kol mi she’yesh lo Beit Haknesset b’iro v’eino nichnas sham l’hitpalel nikra shachein ra she’ne’emar ko omar Hashem el kol shecheinai ha’raim (Rav Breuer). The Torah positively describes our power of prayer as a manifestation of our nearness to Hashem, ki mi goy gadol asher lo Elokim k’rovim eilav KaHashem Elokeinu b’chol koreinu eilav (Devarim 4:7).
Tefillah is the opportunity to connect and return to G-d’s presence after the earthly rigors of getting through life have pulled us away from Him. In the beautiful words of Rav Yehuda Halevi (Kuzari III):
“This moment (of prayer) is the heart and the climax of how (the pious person) spends his time, while the other hours represent the roads that lead to it. He looks forward to its approach, because, while it lasts, he resembles the spiritual beings and is removed from a merely animalistic existence. Those three times of daily prayer are the fruit of his day and night… Prayer is for the soul as nourishment is for the body. The blessing of one prayer lasts till the time of the next, just as the strength derived from the morning meal lasts till supper. The further his soul is removed from the time of prayer, the more it is darkened by coming in contact with mundane matters.”
Aside from traveling to the Beit HaMikdash in Yerushalayim and approaching G-d via prayer, Rav Yitzchak Hutner noted that there is a third means to bridge the distance between us and Hashem, another process that is to be seen as a journey towards Him, what we call teshuvah. Hashiveinu Hashem eilecha, “Bring us back to You, Hashem.” We thus begin the season of teshuvah on Rosh Chodesh Elul, building towards the Ten Days of Repentance when Hashem is seen as closest to us, behimatzo… bi’h’yoto karov, most accessible for both our teshuvah and tefillah, and then followed by Sukkot when we move into a home reminiscent of both the shadow of His presence, tzila d’hemnuta, and of the Beit HaMikdash itself.
This is the perspective needed as we enter this special season on this Shabbat Mevorchim of Chodesh Elul. Welcome to Hashem’s neighborhood! This is our chance to experience His presence, to strive to live in a manner that reflects a genuine awareness of His presence, and to invest in making our tefillah experience more meaningful. n
Rabbi Moshe Hauer is executive vice president of the Orthodox Union (OU), the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization.
