Wednesday, July 27, 2011

To Serve and To Praise 7

In the selichos recited before and during the Yomim Nora'im, prayers seem to be addressed to angels.  For example, every day of selichos concludes with "Machnisei rachamim," a prayer to the angels to intercede with Hashem on our behalf; "Malachei rachamim," also a prayer beseeching the angels to ask Hashem to have mercy on us; and "Midas harachamim," also recited at the end of Ne'ilah on Yom Kippur, begging the "Attribute of Mercy" to "overflow upon us" and "request mercy" of Hashem on our behalf.  Are these prayers in violation of Rambam's fifth fundamental principle of Judaism?

1 comment:

  1. I agree that the Machnisei rachamim tefila is a little weird ... that one strikes a little close to asking a malach to act as an intermediary for my tastes.

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