Rashi gives an alternate translation for קנך meaning שקננך , for He nested you. The Chafetz Chaim says that's what the posuk is telling us. Is He not your father and your nest? Never stray far from Him. Just like the dove to which the Jewish people are compared always keeps in sight of the nest, so, too, we must always keep Hashem in our sight to be able to return to Him at any time.
Reb Chaim Berlin explains this beautifully by narrating a story that happened to him when he was the rabbi of Moscow. One day, a man came to him & asked him to circumcise his son in his house secretly. When Reb Chaim asked why the secrecy, he explained that he didn't live his life as a Jew & didn't want anyone to know what he was doing, so that no one would suspect that he was a Jew. Even more perplexed, the rabbi asked, why are you going through all this trouble? Why do you care if your son has a bris or not? After all, you’re embarrassed to be a Jew!
The man answered, “That's all true; however, I don't want to close the door on my son. Let him have the opportunity to make his own decision.”
Like the dove who, when it leaves the nest, always looks back to make sure the nest is still in sight, so too, the Jew, even when he leaves his roots & strays from the ways of Hashem, still הלוא הוא אביך קנך he doesn't go so far that he can't see the nest & return to it when he's ready.
Where does this come from? How is it that Hashem is willing to take us back & that we want to come back?
Rabbi Reisman relates an interesting thought from Reb Isaac Sher. When we enter into the ten days of repentance, we add different things to the davening. One of them, זכרנו לחיים , asks Hashem to remember us for life while another states, המלך הקדוש , proclaiming Hashem our king. Interestingly enough, the more important one seems to be המלך הקדוש for if you forget the change, you have to go back. However, if you forget זכרנו לחיים asking Hashem to give us life, you don't go back. What is so special about המלך הקדוש ?
There are two kinds of laws: the law of beis din which is black & white. If something was done wrong, there is an exact punishment for it. For example, whether someone stole food because his children were hungry or just because he wanted to hurt the other person, the law is the same. Then, there is the king’s judgment which is not based on rigid laws. When Nosson Hanavi came to Dovid Hamelech & asked him what the law was in the case where a rich man, who had everything, stole the only sheep this poor man had. Dovid said, “kill him!” Normally, the punishment for stealing isn't death. How could Dovid say that, with no dispute from anyone? This shows us that a king has the power to take mitigating circumstances into account & then render judgment.
In selichos we say אל תבא במשפט עמנו don't come into judgment with us which seems like a pretty odd request when we are being judged now for the whole year.
What we are asking for, says Reb Sher, is for the king’s judgment, not the black & white judgment. We want the king’s judgment where He could take all mitigating circumstances into account.
Perhaps, this is why one can always come back & Hashem will always take him back because He’s the king & the king sees all the mitigating circumstances. He can forgive an individual’s dissension & let him back in the nest. Let's take the opportunity that's upon us to receive the King’s judgment for He will understand why we messed up & will take us back with open arms!
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