Morning Blessings: Who Straightens the Crooked

Morning Blessings:  זוקף כפופים, Who Straightens the Crooked

(1) I have applied this bracha when davening for people who for whatever reason are struggling to walk, stand straight and to notice that although it seems so natural to walk and stand, it is possible for all of us only because Hashem is a זוקף כפופים.

(2) Hashem is זוקף כפופים, through his Torah .  Meaning that we may have ideas that limit us, and do not elevate us, and through Torah we are able to get rewired properly so to speak.  I celebrate the fact that we have Torah and my distortions can become healed and straight.  

(3) Sometimes we are davening for somebody who has had distorted, false, thoughts imposed on them.  It could be a child, it could be an adult.  I like this bracha to remind myself that Hashem is a זוקף כפופים, and He gave us Torah.  So even the worst, most upside down , disturbing thoughts, manipulations, tyranny, can be straightened by Hashem as He is a זוקף כפופים.

(4) We can use as a praise of Hashem for having some very special people in Am Yisrael, great teachers of Torah who are true  agents of זוקף כפופים, Who teach and help us straighten out our thought and rewire that which was not correct, to instead be upright and ones that help us attach to Hashem.

(5) A bracha of comfort ,  celebrating the reality of Hashem’s Hashgacha and Promise to us at the end.   We live in a world of crooked, of sheker, yet we have the capacity and obligation to fix and we can do so because Hashem is a זוקף כפופים.  So no matter the difficulty or limitation we are facing we can activate this reality of זוקף כפופים with this bracha in all the areas of our lives that seem so wrong.