To be personable, you need to develop your personality
In his masterful commentary on the siddur, Rav Shimon Schwab tells of a group of Jews being taken to their deaths by the Nazis. A gadol among them suggested a particular tefillah to recite as their last words before they were murdered.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t Shema Yisrael. Instead, he chose the paragraphs that immediately follow the Shema in our morning prayers.
In this tefillah, which begins with the words, “Emes v’yatziv, true and certain,” we respond to Ani Hashem Elokeichem, the last words of the Shema, by affirming its truth for all times and in all places. The emphatic, unequivocal words of this prayer express our absolute belief in HaKadosh Baruch Hu and His Torah: “Emes — the G-d of the world is our King; from generation to generation He endures… His sovereignty and faithfulness endure forever… His words are living and enduring, believed and cherished, forever and for all eternity… true and faithful, this is an unbreachable law, and we have no other G-d besides You.”
When the Jews’ dire circumstances seemed to belie this message, the rav sought to impress upon his people that Hashem and His Torah are eternal and unchanging. This is the affirmation of netzach.
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