Shabbat Prayers: Taking it With You: Rabbi Samson R Hirsch: Ein Kelokeinu

The 9th of Iyar is the Yahrtzeit of Rav Yitzchak Bernays (Barneis) (1792-1849), teacher of Rav Shamshon Rafael Hirsch. “There is none like our Lord; there is none like our Master; there is none like our King; there is none like our Savior.” The burning, on the golden altar in the Sanctuary, of the incense was intimately linked with the tending of the lamp in the sanctuary, a rite which had to be performed every day, morning and evening. The offerings that were brought upon the Copper Altar as elevation offerings, symbolized the ultimate goal to have every aspect of man’s life, every facet of his personality and all of his endeavors and possessions purified in the fire of the law of God so that man in his entirety may become, “an expression of obedience to God to be fashioned by an offering of fire.”