If we reduce the thousands of words recited during High Holy Day prayers to one sentence, what would it be? This page of Talmud returns to one prayer several times which is, "May my mercy overcome my anger." Often, the path to tshuva is blocked by anger, sometimes even righteous anger. In order to take that first step toward reconciliation with ourselves, our fellow humans or Divinity our compassion must grow stronger than our anger.
אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי יוֹסֵי: מִנַּיִן שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מִתְפַּלֵּל? שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וַהֲבִיאוֹתִים אֶל הַר קָדְשִׁי וְשִׂמַּחְתִּים בְּבֵית תְּפִלָּתִי״, ״תְּפִלָּתָם״ לֹא נֶאֱמַר, אֶלָּא ״תְּפִלָּתִי״, מִכָּאן שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מִתְפַּלֵּל. מַאי מְצַלֵּי? אָמַר רַב זוּטְרָא בַּר טוֹבִיָּה, אָמַר רַב: ״יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנַי שֶׁיִּכְבְּשׁוּ רַחֲמַי אֶת כַּעֲסִי, וְיִגּוֹלּוּ רַחֲמַי עַל מִדּוֹתַי, וְאֶתְנַהֵג עִם בָּנַי בְּמִדַּת רַחֲמִים, וְאֶכָּנֵס לָהֶם לִפְנִים מִשּׁוּרַת הַדִּין״.
Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei: From where is it derived that the Holy One, Blessed be He, prays? As it is stated: “I will bring them to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in the house of My prayer” (Isaiah 56:7). The verse does not say the house of their prayer, but rather, “the house of My prayer”; from here we see that the Holy One, Blessed be He, prays.The Gemara asks: What does God pray?Rav Zutra bar Tovia said that Rav said: God says: May it be My will that My mercy will overcome My anger towards Israel for their transgressions, and may My mercy prevail over My other attributes through which Israel is punished, and may I conduct myself toward My children,Israel, with the attribute of mercy,and may I enter before them beyond the letter of the law.
According to Isaiah God has a house of prayer and according to R. Yochanan God prays in there!? Before we evaluate what it means that God prays, what does it mean that humans pray? What exactly is the act of prayer for us?
Now, what does it mean that God prays?
Break God's prayer into three parts. Where are the breaks and how would you explain each of the three parts?
Of all the things that God could pray, why might this be the prayer God chooses to recite?
תַּנְיָא, אָמַר רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל בֶּן אֱלִישָׁע: פַּעַם אַחַת, נִכְנַסְתִּי לְהַקְטִיר קְטוֹרֶת לִפְנַי וְלִפְנִים, וְרָאִיתִי אַכְתְּרִיאֵל יָהּ ה׳ צְבָאוֹת, שֶׁהוּא יוֹשֵׁב עַל כִּסֵּא רָם וְנִשָּׂא, וְאָמַר לִי: ״יִשְׁמָעֵאל בְּנִי, בָּרְכֵנִי!״ אָמַרְתִּי לוֹ: ״יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ, שֶׁיִּכְבְּשׁוּ רַחֲמֶיךָ אֶת כַּעַסְךָ, וְיִגּוֹלּוּ רַחֲמֶיךָ עַל מִדּוֹתֶיךָ, וְתִתְנַהֵג עִם בָּנֶיךָ בְּמִדַּת הָרַחֲמִים, וְתִכָּנֵס לָהֶם לִפְנִים מִשּׁוּרַת הַדִּין״. וְנִעְנַע לִי בְּרֹאשׁוֹ. וְקָמַשְׁמַע לַן, שֶׁלֹּא תְּהֵא בִּרְכַּת הֶדְיוֹט קַלָּה בְּעֵינֶיךָ.
Similarly, it was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha, the High Priest, said: Once, on Yom Kippur, I entered the innermost sanctum, the Holy of Holies, to offer incense, and in a vision I saw Akatriel Ya, the Lord of Hosts, one of the names of God expressing His ultimate authority, seated upon a high and exalted throne (see Isaiah 6). And He said to me: Yishmael, My son, bless Me.I said to Him the prayer that God prays: “May it be Your will that Your mercy overcome Your anger,and may Your mercy prevail over Your other attributes,and may You act toward Your children with the attribute of mercy,and may You enter before them beyond the letter of the law.” The Holy One, Blessed be He, nodded His head and accepted the blessing. This event teaches us that you should not take the blessing of an ordinary person lightly. If God asked for and accepted a man’s blessing, all the more so that a man must value the blessing of another man.
Which day does the high priest enter the Holy of Holies and what is the primary task of humans on that day? What is God's task on that day and is God doing the task that's expected?
What does it mean that God asked the high priest, Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha, for a blessing? What experience is God having that might have prompted God to request a blessing?
Do you think Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha created God's prayer or do you think Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha knew God's prayer and simply reminded God what it was?
What does it mean to accept blessings from ordinary people as opposed to clergy? Do you bless people? Do people bless you? Imagine a Yom Kippur "blessing service". What might we experience if we turned to one another in synagogue and blessed one another that our compassion should overcome our anger? How might this affect current political tensions in the Jewish community?
וְאָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי יוֹסֵי: מִנַּיִן שֶׁאֵין מְרַצִּין לוֹ לְאָדָם בִּשְׁעַת כַּעְסוֹ, דִּכְתִיב: ״פָּנַי יֵלֵכוּ וַהֲנִחֹתִי לָךְ״. אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְמֹשֶׁה: הַמְתֵּן לִי עַד שֶׁיַּעַבְרוּ פָּנִים שֶׁל זַעַם וְאָנִיחַ לְךָ. וּמִי אִיכָּא רִתְחָא קַמֵּיהּ דְּקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא?
And Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei: From where is it derived that one must not placate a person while he is in the throes of his anger, rather he should mollify him after he has calmed down? As it is written, when following the sin of the Golden Calf, Moses requested that the Divine Presence rest upon Israel as it had previously, God said to him: “My face will go, and I will give you rest” (Exodus 33:14). Rabbi Yoḥanan explained: The Holy One, Blessed be He, said toMoses: Wait until My face of wrath will pass and I will grant your request. One must wait for a person’s anger to pass as well. The Gemara asks: And is there anger before the Holy One, Blessed be He? Can we speak of God using terms like anger?
After the debacle of the Golden Calf, God was so angry all God could sputter was, "My face will go and I will give you rest." Rabbi Yochanan interpreted this to mean, "Wait until my face of wrath passes and I'll grant your request that My divine presence rest on Israel again." Note, this is the same Rabbi Yochanan who declared that God prays. He created quite a narrative about God's spiritual life on this daf.
Why should we wait to placate someone until our own anger has subsided? How does the idea of not being able to engage in tshuva until our anger subsides inform our understanding of God requesting Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha's blessing on Yom Kippur?
What if the season of tshuva arrives and we want to make peace with someone but we are still angry? What options do we have?
וּמְנָא לָן דְּרֶגַע רָתַח? — שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״כִּי רֶגַע בְּאַפּוֹ חַיִּים בִּרְצוֹנוֹ״. וְאִי בָּעֵית אֵימָא מֵהָכָא: ״חֲבִי כִּמְעַט רֶגַע עַד יַעֲבׇר זָעַם״. וְאֵימַת רָתַח? אָמַר אַבַּיֵי: בְּהָנָךְ תְּלָת שָׁעֵי קַמָּיָיתָא כִּי חִיוָּרָא כַּרְבַּלְתָּא דְתַרְנְגוֹלָא וְקָאֵי אַחַד כַּרְעָא. כֹּל שַׁעְתָּא וְשַׁעְתָּא נָמֵי קָאֵי הָכִי? כֹּל שַׁעְתָּא — אִית בֵּיהּ שׁוּרְיָיקֵי סוּמָּקֵי, בְּהַהִיא שַׁעְתָּא לֵית בֵּיהּ שׁוּרְיָיקֵי סוּמָּקֵי.
From where do we derive that God is only angry for a moment? As it is stated: “His anger is but for a moment, His favor, for a lifetime” (Psalms 30:6). And if you wish, say instead, from here, as it is stated: “Hide yourself for a brief moment, until the anger passes” (Isaiah 26:20), meaning that God’s anger passes in a mere moment. The Gemara asks: When is the Holy One, Blessed be He, angry? Abaye said: God’s anger is revealed through animals. During the first three hours of the day, when the sun whitens the crest of the rooster and it stands on one leg. When it appears that its life has left him and he suddenly turns white, that is when God is angry. The Gemara asks: The rooster also stands that way every hour. What kind of sign is this? The Gemara answers: The difference is that every other hour when the rooster stands in that way, there are red streaks in his crest. But when God is angry, there are no red streaks in his crest.
Ok, we've established that the rabbis of the Talmud believed God experienced anger. Now, they try to answer the question of how long God's anger lasts. The answer, according to Psalms and Isaiah, is merely a moment.
Next, Abaye establishes that Godmoment of anger happens in the early morning. Furthermore, if we observe a rooster in the early morning and note when it stands on one leg and its comb turns white, we'll know he exact moment of God's anger.
What is the significance of God's anger happening daily? What is the significance of God's anger lasting only a moment? How does this revelation that God experiences daily anger, albeit briefly, inform our understanding of God needing Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha's blessing on Yom Kippur?
הַהוּא מִינָא דַּהֲוָה בְּשִׁבְבוּתֵיהּ דְּרַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי, הֲוָה קָא מְצַעֵר לֵיהּ טוּבָא בִּקְרָאֵי. יוֹמָא חַד שְׁקַל תַּרְנְגוֹלָא, וְאוֹקְמֵיהּ בֵּין כַּרְעֵיהּ דְּעַרְסָא, וְעַיֵּין בֵּיהּ, סְבַר: כִּי מָטָא הַהִיא שַׁעְתָּא, אֶלְטְיֵיהּ. כִּי מְטָא הַהִיא שַׁעְתָּא — נָיֵים. אֲמַר: שְׁמַע מִינַּהּ, לָאו אוֹרַח אַרְעָא לְמֶעְבַּד הָכִי. ״וְרַחֲמָיו עַל כָּל מַעֲשָׂיו״ כְּתִיב. וּכְתִיב: ״גַּם עָנוֹשׁ לַצַּדִּיק לֹא טוֹב״.
The Gemara relates: A certain heretic who was in Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi’s neighborhood would upset him by incessantly challenging the legitimacy of verses. One day,Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi took a rooster and placed it between the legs of the bed upon which he sat and looked at it. He thought: When the moment of God’s anger arrives, I will curse him and be rid of him. When the moment of God’s anger arrived, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi slept. When he woke up, he said to himself: Conclude from the fact that I nodded off that it is not proper conduct to do so, to curse people, even if they are wicked. “His mercy is over all His creations” (Psalms 145:9) is written even with regard to sinners. Moreover, it is inappropriate to cause the punishment of another, as it is written: “Punishment, even for the righteous, is not good” (Proverbs 17:26), even for a righteous person, it is improper to punish another.
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi believed curses were more effective during the moment when God was wrathful. He decided to take advantage of God's anger to curse his neighbor. He went to bed with a rooster hoping to catch its comb turning white in the early morning, but he fell asleep.
Instead of feeling upset that he missed the opportune moment to curse his neighbor, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi concluded two things. First, it's wrong to curse even wicked people. Second, it's wrong to cause the punishment of another person.
Do you believe it's wrong to curse wicked people? What exactly do we mean when we "curse" them? Do you think you can cause someone else to be punished by God on Yom Kippur?