הנשמה לך

As the Selichot season are now upon us, it is important to recognize some of the recurring themes of these special prayers.

At the beginning of each סליחות service, there is a lengthy prayer that ends with the words, הנשמה לך והגוף פעלך, the soul belongs to Hashem and the body is His handiwork.

The continuation of this prayer says that we have come with reliance on Hashem's holy name. We ask that Hashem give us salvation for the sake of His holy name.

This is setting the tone as Rosh Hashana approaches. We need to be in a state of absolute humility and dependence on Hashem. The more we achieve this total הכנעה or surrender, to Hashem, the more likely it is that our prayers will be answered.

Humility is always an admired trait. Now it is needed for our very survival.