Discovering the true meaning of
prayer is a journey. Superficially, one
thinks of prayer as merely a means of
asking the Divine for one’s needs and
desires. As one delves deeper, he discovers
that he himself is involved in
“Divine Service” in a way that can in
fact be compared to the Temple of Old.
As the journey continues, one discovers
that our prayer book is a great treasure
of “privileged information,” revealing
the greatest secrets not just about
man and his destiny but also about the
Creator’s relationship with mankind in
general and with His beloved people in
particular… Nowhere is this more apparent
than in the prayers of the Musaf
of Rosh Hashanah, which are built
exclusively on many verses from all
over the Torah, Prophets (Nevi’im) and
Writings (Kesuvim).
We are ever so fortunate to have available
the greatly researched work of my
dear friend, Rabbi Shimon Mordechai
Cohen, who has prepared the way for
us to continue our journey, learning
and living each verse in its full meaning
and beauty. I hope all the readers
will enjoy this work as much as I did!
Rav Yehudah Leib Wittler, shlita
Mashgiach of Yeshivas Tiferes Yaacov,
Gateshead