Q:
Why does Hashem need malachim to constantly praise Him?
A:
He doesn’t need them. We need them. We say “Tis’boraich tzureinu, borei kedoshim.” “We thank you Hashem for creating those holy creatures – the malachim.”
What does that mean? The malachim act as a model for us. We say, “ni’kadeish es shim’cha li’olam, ki’sheim she’makdishim oso.” We praise your name Hashem, just like the malachim do. They are our models. And we say, “ni’kadesh es shim’cha li’olam.” “Li’olam.” Forever! Just like we know that the malachim are never finished. “Yi’fo’arucha sela.” Did you ever stop to think what that means? They are always thanking Hashem and praising Him. And we are supposed to follow that model. The malachim are made only for us.
That’s why we say, “V’al me’orei ohr she’asisa yi’fo’arucha sela.” They praise you always and thank you always for the luminaries – for the sun. And therefore we follow their model and we say every day, “Boruch atah Hashem yotzer ha’me’oros.” We say it, but we don’t think about what we’re saying. You say Yotzer Ha’me’oros every day but you’re not thinking at all. What a tragedy! It’s better than nothing – but not much better.
You have to thank Hashem for the sun. Just like the malachim are excited about the sun, you also have to be excited. Did you ever walk in the street and say, “I thank you Hashem for the sun”? You never said that?! Not even once?! Then you’re not living. You’re just sleepwalking through life. Not even once in your life did you thank Hashem for the sun?! Not once?! In English. In Yiddish. Something. “Ich dank dir Ribono Shel Olam, vus du hust gemacht ah zun!” Or in English, “I thank you Hashem for creating the sun.” Say it French, I don’t care. But say it. Say something. Not once in your whole life?!
One of my Rebbes, Reb Avraham zatzal, said that if you don’t thank Hashem for the sun, then the next bracha, thanking Hashem for the Torah is meaningless. The sun you could see. The benefits of the sun are so easy to see. So that’s the beginning. That’s the first step. First you have to learn how to say thank you for the sun. Then you can thank Him for the Torah. That’s why Boruch ata Hashem Yotzer Ha’me’oros comes first, and then Ha’bocher bi’amo Yisroel bi’ahava. If you don’t thank Hashem for the sun whose benefits are so easy to see, then you won’t really thank Him for the Torah either. And you’ll thank Hashem for the sun properly by following the model of the malachim.
TAPE #E-207
