Tefillah: Journey of a Lifetime - Introduction {B'yomeinu}

[music] >> Imagine if you could enter the holiest spot in the world. It would change your life forever. You'd be a new person. >> [music] >> The matters tells us about a Jewish rebel. His name was Yoisi Mashisa. The Romans, as they set [music] siege to Shalaim and the base of Migdash, they were somewhat hesitant to enter the temple the base of Migdash. So, they asked this Jewish rebel Yoisi Mashisa, "Do us a favor. Go into the temple, violate it, you could take whatever spoils you want." Yoisi Mashisa came out with the holy menorah. So, the Romans said, "Wow, good choice. You have good taste, Yoisi. One problem. The menorah is reserved for the general. Just go in one more time and take whatever you want. You could take anything." He said, "I'm not going." They said, "Just go. Anything's yours. We'll We'll relieve you of taxes." He said, "I'm not going." They said, "If you don't go in, we're going to kill you." Yoisi said he's not going. They killed him and he died a martyr's [music] death. Asked the Ponevezh Rav, "What happened to the man? Just moments ago, he violated the base of Migdash. He took the holy menorah and now he's catapulted to the highest level where he's giving up his life al Kiddush Hashem. What happened? What changed?" Says the Ponevezh Rav, "What happened to him? He entered the base of Migdash. When you enter the base of Migdash, you are changed forever. Imagine if we had the opportunity >> [music] >> to enter the Beis Hamikdash. Imagine how it would elevate us and transform us. Friends, we do have [music] the opportunity to enter the Beis Hamikdash. We could do it every single day. With the upcoming presentation, we will discover how this opportunity is available to us every single day of our lives. Come join us on this life-changing, transformative journey that we can experience every single time we stand before Hakadosh Baruchu in tefillah. >> [music] >> We all appreciate the siddur. We value the siddur. We love the siddur. We know what the names of the different parts of davening are called. But, do we actually appreciate what the purpose of each part of the davening is? What each part of the davening is trying to accomplish? Or in our minds, is it just about 100 pages >> [music] >> that we need to get through from the beginning of davening until the end? But, tefillah is a lot more than that. It's a journey, and it could be a life-altering experience. Let's start at the very beginning. We know that tefillah begins with a brachah, asher kidishanu bimitzvosav vitzivanu al netilas yadayim. [music] Did you ever stop and think why we're making a brachah al netilas yadayim? Isn't that a brachah that we only make when we eat bread? We're not eating bread in the morning before we daven. Why do we make the brachah al netilas yadayim? The Rashba writes in a teshuvah in siman kuf tsadi alef, "Every morning is a new day of avodas Hashem. And just as a kohein inaugurates his daily service in the Beis Hamikdash by washing his from the Kiyor, like the Kohain, we too inaugurate our avodas Hashem by washing our hands and we make the bracha al netilas yadayim. Which means that our tefillah is similar to the avodah of the Kohanim in the base of Migdash. Friends, let's now fast forward to the highlight, the climax, the pinnacle of davening, Shemoneh Esrei. What I would like to bring to your attention is what I consider the most misunderstood halacha in the Shulchan Aruch. The Shulchan Aruch writes in Siman 94, >> [music] >> when you get up to daven, align yourself face Eretz Yisrael. We all do that. We all face Mizrach when we daven Shemoneh Esrei. After you've aligned yourself toward Eretz Yisrael, the Shulchan Aruch continues, Yerushalayim, ulam Migdash, ulam base kodesh hakodashim. This is generally understood that after we've aligned ourselves toward Eretz Yisrael, well, now you need to micro align yourself and make sure you're precisely facing Yerushalayim, and the base of Migdash, and the kodesh hakodashim. The problem is that's not what the Shulchan Aruch means. If you're standing [music] thousands of miles away from Eretz Yisrael, and you've already aligned yourself toward Eretz Yisrael, how much more aligned could you possibly be by now aligning yourself toward Yerushalayim, the base of Migdash, and the kodesh hakodashim? >> [music] >> And therefore, the Mishna Berurah explains that this is not what the Shulchan Aruch means. Writes the Chofetz Chaim in Siman 24, what the Shulchan Aruch means, you have in libi, have in mind, imagine, even though it's impossible to actually align yourself toward the base of the Kadashim, meaning imagine in your heart and your thoughts as if you're standing in the holy of holies in the Kadashim >> [music] >> in the base of the Kadashim in Jerusalem. So the Kadashim is explaining that the is not merely saying face Jerusalem and the base of the Kadashim in the holy of holies, but we should actually imagine ourselves as if we're standing in the base of the Kadashim in the Kadashim. And then it hit me [music] like a ton of bricks that if at the beginning of the Kadashim we're like who are washing their hands from the Kadashim >> [music] >> and at the end of the Kadashim it's as if we're standing in the Kadashim. Then there's a journey that's taking place starting off at the Kadashim culminating ending [music] in the Kadashim. That has to mean that that each part of the Kadashim is another step on this journey of a lifetime beginning at the Kadashim and ending in [music] the Kadashim. Even if you're not a cohen, whether you're Israel, whether you're a levy, whether you're a man, whether you're a woman, every single Jew has the daily opportunity to enter this virtual base of the Kadashim in the course of the Kadashim. >> [music] >> Join the revolution of thousands of Jews around the world who are committing to elevate their Kadashim as a merit for their [music] families and as a merit to see the base of the Kadashim be a man in [music] our time. Contact [email protected] [music] to join.