Explanations of the Prayer - Hodu - Part 3

00:00 Simply put, “Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek Hashem rejoice.” “Glory in His name”—to praise, to take pride in it. In other words, he is telling the Jewish people: “Glory in His holy name.” We should take pride and draw strength from the name of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. What does that mean? When Moshiach comes, everyone will see the wonders that Hakadosh Boruch Hu performs for the Jewish people. All the nations will see it, as the following verses describe. They will understand all that Hakadosh Boruch Hu does for the Jewish people, all the wonders. So we glory in His holy name. We rejoice and take pride in Hakadosh Boruch Hu, in His holy name, for everything He has done for us. “Let the hearts of those who seek Hashem rejoice.” In other words, continuing the previous verses, the name Havayah will be revealed. The whole passage is connected to Havayah. The name Havayah, a revelation beyond the world, will be revealed, and then we will see the wonders of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. So “glory in His holy name”: we draw strength and take pride in the name Havayah, the name that is beyond nature, His holy name. “Let the hearts of those who seek Hashem rejoice”—those who have been seeking. This means every Jew who seeks that revelation, who seeks Havayah, who seeks Hakadosh Boruch Hu. He will rejoice to see the holiness of Havayah. That is the point. In any case, that is the plain meaning. According to Chassidus, there is a very interesting interpretation here. Chassidus explains “glory in His holy name” a little differently. What does Chassidus say? “Glory” refers to a Jew praising Hakadosh Boruch Hu. A Jew praises the name of Hakadosh Boruch Hu in prayer and praises Hakadosh Boruch Hu in all these ways. But he must know that all the power we have to praise Hakadosh Boruch Hu does not come from us. It is

03:04 not from me. Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives us the power to praise Him. That is a completely different interpretation. What does “glory in His holy name” mean? The praises I offer to Hakadosh Boruch Hu actually come from Hakadosh Boruch Hu, who gives me the power to praise Him. On my own, I do not have the ability or the power to praise and glorify Hakadosh Boruch Hu. “Glory” suggests that this praise comes about through something given from above. His holy name gives a person the power to offer praise. It is like what we say before Shemoneh Esrei: “Hashem, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare Your praise.” I cannot praise Hakadosh Boruch Hu on my own. I feel that I have no standing at all. Who am I to go and pray, to ask, or even to offer praise? It is only Hakadosh Boruch Hu who opens my mouth, and the praises are His praises: “My mouth shall declare Your praise”—His praises passing through my mouth. The same is true here. “Glory in His holy name” means that the praises and what seems to be my own expression to Hakadosh Boruch Hu are actually possible because Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives me everything. In serving Hashem, this means that when a Jew goes from one level to the next, when he is stirred to love and awe during prayer and is moved to praise Hakadosh Boruch Hu, he must know that even after attaining all those levels, he should not think, “I myself love Hashem,” or “I reached this through my own strength.” Rather, he must know that Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives him the power for all of it. “Glory in His holy name”—

05:03 the Master of the Universe gives us the power. This is also connected to the story behind this prayer. We already discussed in the first class how this prayer was said in connection with the Ark. When they brought the Ark to Jerusalem from the Philistines, it says that King David placed the Ark on a wagon drawn by cows. The cows that carried the Ark sang “Give thanks to Hashem.” Everyone understands that the cows could not sing “Give thanks to Hashem” on their own. They sang because the revelation affected them and caused them to sing. Their song came through a power from above that gave them the ability. Similarly, it says of those who carried the holy Ark that they felt it was not they who were carrying the Ark; rather, the Ark was carrying them. They carried the Ark on their shoulders, yet “the Ark carried its bearers.” It was as though the Ark moved on its own and gave them the strength to walk. That is what the kohanim, the Levi’im, felt while carrying the Ark. Likewise, when the cows sang “Give thanks to Hashem,” they were not singing on their own. The revelation that rested upon them brought it about. In the same way, when we come to pray to Hakadosh Boruch Hu and recite all our praises of Him, we must know that this is “glory in His holy name.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives us the power to pray; it comes from His strength. So when a person comes to this understanding, he will not feel pride or self-importance as he prays. Even if his prayer is filled with love and awe, and he feels that love

06:59 and awe, he still will not display self-importance or pride, because he knows that his entire prayer comes from above. From above, he is given the opportunity and the strength to pray. “Let the hearts of those who seek Hashem rejoice.” Knowing this awakens joy. “Let the hearts of those who seek Hashem rejoice”—it brings joy to those who seek Him, people who seek the name Havayah, who seek bittul. Havayah is associated with bittul. As we learned, [unclear]. So “let the hearts of those who seek Hashem rejoice”: this knowledge awakens joy in a Jew. Everything we do, all our actions, is possible because Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives us the strength and ability to do it. That itself awakens joy. “Let the hearts of those who seek Hashem rejoice.” That is the point of this verse.