Printed fromJewishTO.org
ב"ה

Hashem, He is our G-d

Friday, 10 October, 2008 - 6:43 am

There are five Services on Yom Kippur (the first on the eve, the remaining four over the course of the next day).  These five Services correspond to the five Levels of the soul.  The last Service, called Neilah, corresponds to the highest, holiest Level of the soul, called the Yechidah (literally meaning One-the soul and G-d are bound as One), forever connected to G-d Himself, it can never be "excommunicated" from Him, ever.  It transcends any and all of our actions, good or bad.
 
It is the pure Yechidah that gave strength to our brothers and sisters to hold on fiercely to our precious Torah and mitzvot, with tremendous sacrifice.
 
It is the pure Yechidah that impassioned our brothers and sisters (both observant and not) to give up their lives rather than convert or denounce their Judaism, their very essence.
 
It is the pure Yechidah that-here in this 20th century, when we are not dying for Judaism but living for it, thanks to our free society-allows every Jew to stand at the Neilah prayers at sunset as this awesome day comes to a close, at the end of a long fast, running on soul-power, to proclaim with a mixture of intense emotion, seven times, that Hashem Hu Ha-Elokim, Hashem, He is our G-d.
 
A little girl just being introduced to the Hebrew Alphabet excitedly reads Hashem, He is our G-d.
A little boy tragically orphaned at the age of twelve demands of Hashem, He is our G-d.
A mother lovingly holding her precious newborn thanks Hashem, He is our G-d.
A father struggling to provide for his family turns to his father in heaven, Hashem, He is our G-d.
A woman hurting from the ache of loneliness talks to her friend in heaven, Hashem, He is our G-d.
 
Every Jew, with a heart of gladness, proclaim G-d's name.
Every Jew, with a heart of sorrows, yet again, with the belief that it is He Who orchestrates our world, proclaim G-d's name.
 
May G-d send us a year of revealed good so that next year in Jerusalem, we might proclaim with only joyfulness:
 
Hashem, He is our G-d.
Comments on: Hashem, He is our G-d
10/17/2008

RD wrote...

Write more, Shula, please!