Yearning for the Real Thing

By Moshe Feiglin


One of the high points of the Rosh Hashanah prayers is when we prostrate ourselves before the Creator, proclaiming that He is King. Like all other years, I bowed down this year, too, along with the other worshippers in the synagogue. I anticipated the feeling of spiritual elevation that comes from nullifying oneself before G-d. But all that I could think about was the feeling that enveloped me when I prostrated myself in G-d's courtyard on the Temple Mount. There, in the royal palace, there was no barrier between me and the Creator.

After that, the bowing down that has always been a high point for me on Rosh Hashanah has lost its essence. It is nothing more than a reminder of the real thing; the genuine service of G-d. All that we have to do is to reach out and touch it. If we want to.

May we merit this year to bow, en masse, in the courtyard of G-d's palace on the Temple Mount.

Shabbat Shalom