[Avodah] R Asher Weiss

[Micha Berger]

On Mon, Sep 10, 2012 at 10:52:45PM +0300, Eli Turkel wrote:
: R. Weiss also stressed that we always say avinu malkenu. G-d is both a king
: and a father but he is first a king and only second a king. So even when in
: judgement he hints that blowing the shofar will help. The main point is
: that even then G-d is a judge and not a prosecutor. If G-d would prosecute
: we could never win

Something I like to repeat
<http://www.aishdas.org/asp/2008/09/coronating-g-d.shtml> takes a very
different perspective on Melukhah.

Rosh haShanah is about accepting Hashem as Melekh not in contrast to
anarchy. After all, perforce He runs the universe. Rather, it's to shift
our relation to HQBH from being to a Mosheil to being a Melekh. Melukhah
is by the acceptance of the masses (ein melekh belo am). As the Ibn
Ezra translates the brothers' response to Yoseif's dreams: "You think
you would be melekh, an accepted king over us? No, you would only stand
as mosheil, in opposition to our will."

The Gra finds this shift in pesuqim like "Ki Lashem haMelkhah, umosheil
bagoyim" and "Malkhusekha malkhus kol olamim, uMemshaltekha bekhol
dor vador."

(Then there is the difference between accepting the fact that Hashem is
King and accepting H' as one's personal King. See Pachaq Yitzchaq RH #11;
the blog entry has more discussion.)

By our accepting Hashem as Melekh, He no longer has to impose His Will on
us despite our desires. Instead, we take on ourselves to work together
with that Will. This is why it's the centerpiece of the day on which
we're judged; we enthrone the "Keil Melekh al Kisei Rachamim".

Thus, even our calling Him "Malkeinu" is discussing a diminution of
Middas haDin.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             I always give much away,
micha at aishdas.org        and so gather happiness instead of pleasure.
http://www.aishdas.org           -  Rachel Levin Varnhagen
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