“Remember the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, when your glory was revealed to your faithful nation, Strength of Jacob, listen to the voice of my plea, and my prayers unto you, O Hashem”.

We will once again use a parable to explain this verse.

A newborn child was the pride and joy of his parents.  At the age of three, the father’s joy knew no  bounds as he wrapped him in a talis, and brought him to the cheder. The child’s excellent progress surpassed all other children, and he gave his parents great joy.

But as he grew older, he unfortunately became involved with bad friends, who had a negative effect on his behavior. The boy strayed from the right way, and left home.

Eventually these bad friends turned against him, beating him until he was severely bruised beyond recognition.  He wandered the streets with nothing to eat and no place to sleep.  Finally, he wanted to return home hoping that his parents would take him back. He knocked at their door, but when they looked out the window his parents could not recognize their own son, due to the beatings that changed his appearance.

The son cried out to his parents, ‘How can you forget your own son?’ But the parents said, ‘You cannot be our son. Our son looked noble and was dressed nicely. He did not look like a lowlife.’

Standing outside, the boy pleaded, ‘Father, don’t you remember how you brought me to cheder wrapped in a talis? Don’t you remember how you used to test me in my studies, and how well I knew?  I promise that from today onwards, I will improve my ways.’

At Mount Sinai, Hashem made us his Chosen people. He told us ‘You shall be a kingdom of Kohanim, a holy nation, the chosen of all the peoples.’  After all the hardships we have gone through - we say to Hashem: ‘We may have fallen very low, yet we are the same souls who received the Torah at Sinai, and yearn to the right path.’

As we say now during the Hakofos: “Remember, how pure we were at Har Sinai to receive the Torah, and you revealed your beauty to your faithful nation.”

A king once announced, ‘Whoever wants to request something from me, may do so now.’ Among those who came, was a lame person, with maimed hands and feet.

‘What do you want?’ asked the king. The unfortunate man answered, ‘You need not ask. Just take one look at me and you will see how broken I am.’

This is what King David meant when he said “Vaani Tefilasi” I myself am a “tefillah”.

We ask Hashem to open our hearts to do His Will. May He accept our prayers, and let His blessings flow to all the Jewish People, now and forever.