Sunday, January 29, 2017

Where Sin Leads

לזכות עדינה בת שבע בת נעכא גיטל

We revisit the pasuk שת [שַׁתָּה] עֲו‍ֹנֹתֵינוּ לְנֶגְדֶּךָ עֲלֻמֵנוּ לִמְאוֹר פָּנֶיךָ.

It doesn't sound good.... Hashem is placing our sins before him. Our hidden one's must face his shining countenance. Scary. 

But we know that all of the evil must bring to good, all pain and sorrow to pleasure and joy. 

Life goes and goes and goes. We are on a path. The path is to lead us ultimately to a MUCH BETTER place. That will happen when our dark and limited existence is swallowed up by a much greater Divine light. In the meantime we are FILLED with deficiencies and faults, sins of omission and commission. They will ultimately be swallowed up and absorbed into the Divine light, creating something much greater and holier.

So yes, you place our sins before you, both our hidden ones and revealed ones. But that is in order to bring them to מאור פניך - The light of Hashem's face. The light of justice and Divine kindness. A brand new, shiny world!

The siddur Olas Ri-iya renders as follows [tell me how you understand it]: