{"id":88331,"date":"2021-02-04T12:34:11","date_gmt":"2021-02-04T10:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=88331"},"modified":"2021-02-04T12:34:11","modified_gmt":"2021-02-04T10:34:11","slug":"one-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/one-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"One Thing"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"88331","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":86824,"related_cahpter":"594","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"How not to pray like a beggar\r\n\r\n","content":"

One of the most moving of all the Psalms in the whole Book of Tehillim is Psalm 27, which we read twice every day during the entire High Holiday season. The most significant and characteristic verses in this deeply religious passage are the ones beginning ahat sha\u2019alti me\u2019et ha-Shem, otah avakesh<\/em>— \u201cOne thing I ask of the Lord, that do I seek: that I may dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the graciousness of the Lord and seek Him in His Temple.\u201d Here is a deeply spiritual prayer of a sensitive, devout soul.<\/p>\n

And yet when we turn to the Rabbis for their comment, we find one statement that, at first glance, is almost shocking. Rabbi Abba bar Kahanah said, malkhut sha\u2019al<\/em>, what David had in mind when he said ahat sha\u2019alti<\/em>, I ask for one thing from the Lord, was malkhut<\/em>, the kingdom of Israel. Imagine! David clearly says that the one thing he asks is to dwell in the House of the Lord–and Rabbi Abba accuses him of political designs on the Israelite throne!…Are not the Rabbis being unfair to the memory of the \u201cSweet Singer of Israel?\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course they are being fair. On the contrary, if we understand their remarks properly, they are not only being fair, but they are paying David a handsome compliment. For this is what Rabbi Abba meant. Look at David. He is throughout most of his life surrounded by enemies on all sides. Here are Philistines, there is Saul, and then his own son Absalom–all scheming to kill him, to do away with him once and for all. He is forced to flee for his life, to act insane lest he be trapped, hounded and hunted like a wild animal, hungry, cold, and tired.<\/p>\n

What would you imagine should be the first prayer of such a man? \u201cO Lord destroy my enemies\u201d…<\/p>\n

Yet these are not the prayers of David. Caught in an almost hopeless situation, David has a vision that transcends the battlefield, that surpasses mere food, that stretches out beyond the din of war and reaches to heaven itself: \u201cOne thing I ask of the Lord, that I do seek: to dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

This then, is what Rabbi Abba meant: David did not pray like a beggar! David did not grovel for crumbs! David did not limit himself to the petty needs of the hour! Malkhut sha\u2019al<\/em>: David asked like a king–he prayed like a sovereign, he never forgot he was destined to become the great monarch of Israel\u2026<\/p>\n

The question that confronts us this holiest day of the year is: how shall we define our own goals and ambitions? How shall we pray: like beggars, seeking only a bigger share of the pie; or like aristocrats of the spirits, striving for nothing less than malkhut shamayim<\/em>, the Kingdom of Heaven?<\/p>\n

September 16, 1964 \/ Reprinted with permission from <\/span>The Lamm Heritage Archives<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":87306,"id":87306,"title":"Lamm Archives","filename":"Lamm-Archives.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Lamm-Archives.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/tuning-up-to-play\/lamm-archives\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"lamm-archives","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":86845,"date":"2021-01-21 17:18:36","modified":"2021-02-09 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