Welcome back to another week of MPT! This week we’re shifting gears and writing about a prayer. A prayer that is, in many cases, said after silent meditation is Yhiyu L’ratzon. This prayer is found in Psalms 19:15 and reads:
“Yihyu l’ratzon imrei fi v’hegyon libi l’fanecha, Adonai, tzuri v’goali.”
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to You, Adonai, my Rock and my Redeemer.
This prayer happens to be one of Amanda’s favorites to close silent meditation with and bring the congregation back together in prayer. Not only has it been put to countless beautiful melodies, but the meaning behind these words is incredible.
How do we make the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts acceptable? We need to make sure of a few things. First, is our kavanah (intention) pure? Second, are we following up those thoughts and words with action? And, third, are we constantly reevaluating those thoughts, words, and actions?
Is our kavanah pure? When we are praying, are we asking for blessings for ourselves and others? Or, are we asking for the downfall of others? We need to make sure that the words we speak and the prayers we pray are full of blessings. If we are praying for success with something, we shouldn’t be including a prayer for the failure of someone else. We should use prayer to improve ourselves. Use prayer as a way to examine how you fit into the world and how you can use whatever privilege or power you have to better the world around us.
Now that we’ve prayed our prayers and spoken our words, are we following up with action? Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel once said, “A Jew is asked to take a leap of action rather than a leap of faith”. For example, if we pray for an A on a test, are we also making sure we study for that test? Or are we leaving it up to God alone to work God’s magic? God’s magic doesn’t work if we don’t. We need to make sure that whatever we say we want or say we’re going to do is matched by our actions. We can talk all day about how we want the world to be a better place, but until we do the physical work to make it a better place, nothing will happen.
An example of not following up on our words with actions is performative allyship. Performative allyship can be defined as, “the practice of words, posts and gestures that do more to promote an individual’s own virtuous moral compass than actually helping the causes that they’re intending to showcase”. When we say we support a certain organization or idea, are we actually taking the steps necessary to support it or are we doing it because it’s trendy? If you posted a black square on your social media timeline for #BlackoutTuesday all those months ago, what are you doing today? Looking to learn more about performative allyship? A fun and popular read is Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid.
Once we’ve said our words and followed through (or not followed through) with our actions, are we reevaluating? Are we calling ourselves out if we haven’t done what we say we support or believe? When we make a mistake, are we looking inward and deciding how we can do better? It’s okay to make mistakes – everyone makes them. Part of the process is consistently making sure that our actions match what we say we believe. If we prayed for an A, didn’t study, and failed, are we thinking about why we failed and making a plan to pass the next time?
Introspection is full of questions. Lucky for us, we love answering questions. To make sure the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts are acceptable to God we need to ask these questions. Only when we ask questions of ourselves can we make progress as people and a community.
There was one person who instantly came to mind while we were discussing this prayer, Steve Rogers. Now, it may just be because I (Marissa) am in the middle of a rewatch of the Marvel movies, but I stand by my statement. Now before we dive deep into my explanation, I need to give my usual disclaimer for when we discuss anything Marvel. All of my knowledge is based on the TV shows I watched as a child, and the movies. I haven’t read any of the comics (yet) so my knowledge of the comic lore is very basic at best. For this post in particular, I will be focusing mostly on the movie Captain America: The First Avenger which was released in 2011. Ok, let’s begin.
Captain America: The First Avenger is the origin story of Captain America and for the most part is set during WWII. When we meet Steve Rogers he is a scrawny and sickly young man with dreams of joining the army and fighting in WWII. He gets rejected time and time again due to his poor health. But, we aren’t going to focus too much on the plot of the movie today. Instead, let’s talk about Steve Rogers as a person. Despite his size and health, Steve Rogers would always stand up against injustice. In fact, one of the first times we see Steve in the movie, he is in the back alley of a movie theater fighting a man much larger and stronger than he is, because the man was being disrespectful during a pre-movie propaganda clip to try and get people to support the troops. Eventually, Steve is recruited by Dr. Abraham Erskine for the Strategic Scientific Reserve. Steve’s dream of enlisting in the army finally comes true.
The recruits of the Strategic Scientific Reserve aren’t regular recruits though. They are all being evaluated to see who will be the test subject for Dr. Erskine’s “super-soldier” serum. In the beginning, the only one who is convinced Steve has a chance is Dr. Erskine himself. There is a pivotal moment in the movie that solidifies Steve’s spot to test the serum. A practice grenade is tossed into the group of recruits, though they don’t know it’s not live. All of the other recruits run from the grenade, but Steve immediately runs towards it and throws himself on it. He was ready to sacrifice himself to save others.
Dr. Erskine chose Steve Rogers and believed in him from the beginning. He could see that Steve was a good and pure man. He doesn’t fight to kill or to harm anyone, he does so to protect others. He is good and pure, and both his words and actions prove it. There is a scene in the movie where Dr. Erskine talks to Steve about Johann Schmidt, the movie’s villain. Schmidt took the “super-soldier” serum before Steve, and before it was truly ready. Schmidt is a very selfish, egotistical, and all around bad dude. Because of this (and because the serum wasn’t fully ready), the serum literally mutilates his physical appearance.
There is a scene from the night before Steve takes the serum and he is talking with Dr. Erskine. Dr. Erskine is explaining to Steve why he was chosen and how he differs from Schmidt. He says:
Steve: Did it make him stronger?
Erskine: Yeah. But, there were other effects. The serum was not ready. But more important, the man. The serum amplifies everything that is inside. So, good becomes great. Bad becomes worse. This is why you were chosen. Because a strong man, who has known power all his life, will lose respect for that power. But a weak man knows the value of strength, and knows compassion.
Yhiyu L’ratzon talks about how our actions need to match our words and how our intentions should be pure. This is Steve Rogers. The man will always do what he believes is right, even if it means going against direct orders from those in charge (yes, I did watch Civil War recently). We’re not saying to be exactly like Steve, he has his faults too. But, like Steve, we should all try to act with pure intentions and make sure our actions match our words. Do what is right, and don’t say something if you don’t mean it.
As we approach the High Holy Days, what can you do to make sure your words and meditations are acceptable?
Stay safe, wear a mask, and wash your hands.
Love,
Amanda & Marissa
P.S. As a little bonus, we made a playlist of some of our favorite renditions of Yhiyu L’ratzon for you to enjoy!
