The Attribute of “Chanun”
Now let us return to the words of the Tiferes Shlomo we learned above. The Ribbono shel Olam has many modes of conduct. There’s the conduct of chessed and there’s the conduct of din. There’s an attribute of rachamim, and there’s a trait of chanun—which dictates that a person should receive shefah despite his unworthiness. This is not a contradiction to the person having aveiros, and it doesn’t contradict the fact that HaKadosh Baruch Hu is not a ותרן, he doesn’t simply wave away aveiros. It is simply that in this instance, the Ribbono shel Olam conducts himself with the trait of חנון, looking away from the negative, because the person davening has aroused that conduct. The question is which conduit a person opened... and which key did he use to open it.
Now, usually, when a person davens, he knows the truth that he is davening with himself in mind. Nevertheless, he must daven—because this is what we’re commanded to do. It is a mitzvah d’Oraisa to daven when we’re in need. It is not our intention, chas v’shalom, to say that if a person thinks about his own needs during his davening, he shouldn’t even bother davening, because the Ribbono shel Olam will reject his tefillos. Chas v’shalom!
But he must understand that—when davening for his tzarah—it is possible to daven on a higher level. A person must stop and think, “How can I make my tefillah about more than my personal interests and needs?” He will elevate his tefillah, and it will become a better tefillah, and when his tefillah is more elevated, it opens the conduit of חנון, and thus, he will be answered even if he isn’t worthy.
