Rosh Hashanah Prayers: Gevurot The Gift of Choice

The beracha of Gevurah: What’s G-d’s ultimate Gevurah – G-d’s ultimate strength? What’s the most powerful gift G-d has given us?

Life?

Free choice.

A life would be meaningless, you’re right. Life, but that life would be meaningless without free choice.

Mechalkel chaim b’chesed is based, this beracha is based on a simple principle. If you notice we also include in this beracha the idea of techiyas hameisim – the resurrection of the dead.

Resurrection of the dead means that Hashem created us and created us with the gifts, especially free choice that Hashem gave us because Hashem wants us to achieve olam habo, the ultimate attachment to Hashem.

It is not enough for Hashem to have created us with the potential for olam habo and then say okay guys, do with it what you will, because that would be not fair.

Mechalkel chaim b’chesed means that the same commitment that Hashem has to give us olam habo, means that Hashem that will sustain us and guide us while we are alive to help us maximize the olam habo we can achieve.

Mechalkel chaim b’chesed means that in the same way I have a commitment to be mechayei meisim – to give life to the dead in olam habo, I have the same commitment every second of your life to sustain you in such a way that you can use the opportunity of that moment to maximize your existence and to attach to G-d.

That’s the second beracha of Shemoneh Esrei, that’s the power.