8 Elul 5770
If it's looking like there's a theme to this year's posts, it's purely by coincidence. But it is important, I guess, to define basic concepts before going on to more difficult ideas.
Perhaps the most misunderstood concept in Judaism is Davening. Most people think of Davening as "Prayer." After all, that's how we've been translating it for decades. The problem is that the word "prayer" gives off the wrong connotations - in fact, almost pagan connotations.
Thinking of Davening as "Prayer" implies that you're begging God for something. And if you don't tell Him about it, you won't get it, because He won't know what you want. It's much better to pray in a minyan, because the more people storm the heavens with their grovelling, the more likely it is that God will listen. After all, He probably won't care about you all by yourself, but if enough people inform Him they want something, He might change His mind. And by the way, who in the h-e-double-hockey-sticks do you think you are, asking God for stuff? He's freaking G-o-d; if He wanted something to happen, He would do it. If He decided to make someone sick, what, just because you ask Him, He's going to change his mind? He already decided to make them sick! What are you trying to accomplish, begging God to heal this person?
And if I don't tell God about what I want - which, by the way, happens to be the exact same thing, three times a day, every day - I won't get it. Sure, I couldn't care less about having Jewish judges, or bringing the lineage of David back to the throne of Israel - but I'll throw it in there just for kicks, just to make sure God likes me and will listen to my pleading for a livelihood.
Sound familiar, right?
I bet you're feeling a little meek right now. Maybe a little red in the face. Because that's how most of us view davening. AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHY MOST OF US HATE IT. What, you want me to beg for stuff from a God Who won't end up telling me whether I'm going to get it or not? And what do I need half this stuff for? Of the nineteen brachos in Shemonah Esrei, how many do you actually relate to? Eight? Ten? Twelve max, and if you think it's more, you're lying to yourself.
Think about it. The above definition of Davening is ridiculous. God knows all. He is all-powerful. He doesn't need us to inform Him of our desires. He knows our innermost thoughts and feelings. In fact, the whole concept of prescribed prayer is ridiculous if you think of davening as begging. What, the rabbis need to script my prayer? I know what I need - what do I need to use a siddur for?
That last line is the key; remember it and we'll come back to it. By now you've probably realized that Davening is not Praying, and that God does not need to hear our tefillos to know what we want. But then, who are our tefillos for? What IS davening?
Regarding this most basic question, I was enlightened by Rav Binny Freidman and Rav David Aaron of Isralight and Orayta.
The Hebrew word for "to daven" is להתפלל. If you know a little about Hebrew grammar (and I don't, really), that word is in the reflexive form - hitpa'el. This is key - words in that hitpa'el form mean to do something to yourself. It is reflexive - the doer is doing an action to his or herself.
Now, the verb in question here is פלל. What does that word mean? Going back to the first time we see that word - Yaakov Avinu uses it when he is about to bless Yosef's sons in Parshas Vayechi. After twenty-two years of being apart, Yaakov says ראה פניך לא פללתי. I did not "pilel" to see your face. What does pilel mean?
Rashi defines "Pilel" as (using Artscroll Rashi English translation): My heart did not fill me to think the thought. The word "pilalti" denotes "thinking," like the verse, "produce an idea, do some thinking."
Therefore, the word "pilel" means to think. In reflexive tense, you do something to yourself, so the word "להתפלל" means "to think about yourself."
And, by now, the meaning of Davening should start to become clearer. If God doesn't need to know about what we want, because He is all-knowing, why are we saying it?
The answer is: of course God doesn't need to hear it. We need to hear it. This is what we should be doing when we pray - thinking about ourselves. Do I really want to see Yerushalayim and the Beis HaMikdash rebuilt? That is a seriously intraspective question. If the answer is no, why not? Do we care about having Jewish judges? If we don't, why not? And on and on and on. The Anshei Kneses HaGedolah set up nineteen brachos, nineteen basic spiritual tenets that we should think about every time we daven.
Finally we can begin to understand how some people take five, ten, even fifteen minutes to say Shemonah Esrei. They're not begging God with all their hearts - they're thinking about their own hearts and what they should want from God.
Since this is a difficult and perhaps provocative redefinition of Davening, I'll let you guys ask questions about anything I may have left out or left unexplained. Then I'll continue next week and hopefully answer those grey areas. Ask away!
Hatzlacha Raba!
Showing posts with label davening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label davening. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
The Power of Prayer
24 Elul 5768
Very few of us appreciate the power of prayer. Let's schmooze about it for a moment.
Our relationship with tefillah is very similar to our relationship with one of those schnorrers on the streets of Meah Shearim – most of us pass right by, too busy to notice. Some of us stop, annoyed, and pull a few agurot from our pockets. Very few of us take out even a shekel, and even fewer of us take the time to say “Hatzlacha Rabbah,” or to even show a true sense of concern.
The reason we don’t show enough concern with our tefillos is because we don’t understand how powerful they are. Shimon HaTzaddik tells us in פרקי אבות א:ב that the world exists for three things – תורה, עבודה, וגמילות חסדים. Nowadays, we do not have עבודה (i.e. the sacrifices in the Beis HaMikdash). What is the substitute? So the gemara tells us in Brachos that our tefillos are substitutes for עבודה in Beis HaMikdash. They literally keep the world going.
Now, that’s very fluffy. Does that mean if you sleep through Shacharis the world is going to disappear, and it’ll be your fault? Well, maybe. And if that happens I’ll be the first to track you down in the next world and punch you in the face. But let’s talk about something that speaks to us.
There’s a very famous פסוק in Chumash, when Yaakov appears before Yitzchak wearing sheepskins on his arms, pretending to be עשו. The פסוק tells us that Yitzchak, in his confusion, said: הקול קול יעקב והידים ידי עשו.
That, say Chazal, was not just some off-the-cuff comment that Yitzchak made. Those words tell us how we can impact the world. Those words tell us what our weapons are when we go out to battle – literally and figuratively. We spoke about our weapons to fight the Yetzer Hara – tefillah is our weapon in every other realm of life.
What does prayer do? I used to think that prayer was for Hashem – we were blessing Him when we said “Baruch Atah Hashem.” Little did I know that this is what people call heresy (apikorsus). If we have to bless Hashem, that means He is less than infinite – He can gain from us. Which is ridiculous – He is all-powerful, all-worldly – he does not need our blessings. So if prayer does not impact Him, who does it impact?
Clearly the answer is us. We have what to gain from prayer. Prayer increases our awareness that we are dependant upon Hashem for everything. But where does that get us? So we recognize what Hashem does in this world. What does that do for us? That’s going to make us a better warrior? That’s going to improve my income the following year? That's going to make my relative feel better?
The answer is: YES. The רמבן at the end of בא writes that the whole purpose of creation is to: a) know Hashem runs the world, and b) to thank Him for it. So when we internalize that Hashem runs every single aspect of our lives, we grow closer to that goal. We become better people. More of our actions are performed לשם שמים. When more of our actions are performed לשם שמים, we become holier. When we become holier, Hashem is more likely to answer our tefillos in a more immediate fashion, even if they are the straight, generic nineteen ברכות of שמונה עשרה.
There many stories throughout תנ"ך that demonstrate this perfectly. One of this is the following: when בנ"י encountered עמלק right after they left מצרים, what happened? Moshe went up on the mountain to pray, and the פסוק tells us that whenever his hands were lifted in prayer, בנ"י were victorious. Whenever his hands became heavy and fell back down, עמלק started winning. What in the world does that mean? Some קישוף, some hocus pocus? So רש"י there brings down the גמ' in ר"ה – I wonder why this גמ' is there – that says that whenever בנ"י would look towards Shamayim, they would realize that Hashem runs the world, and they would start winning. Whenever they looked away from Shamayim, i.e. they started relying on their own “might,” they started losing.
This is what tefillah does, this is how it helps us. This is how we can use the tefillos on Rosh HaShana – they’re long, no doubt – but we can use them to our advantage. They can impact us, and when Hashem sees that we’re trying, He will give us siyata d’shmaya, and guide us along His path.
הצלחה רבה!
Very few of us appreciate the power of prayer. Let's schmooze about it for a moment.
Our relationship with tefillah is very similar to our relationship with one of those schnorrers on the streets of Meah Shearim – most of us pass right by, too busy to notice. Some of us stop, annoyed, and pull a few agurot from our pockets. Very few of us take out even a shekel, and even fewer of us take the time to say “Hatzlacha Rabbah,” or to even show a true sense of concern.
The reason we don’t show enough concern with our tefillos is because we don’t understand how powerful they are. Shimon HaTzaddik tells us in פרקי אבות א:ב that the world exists for three things – תורה, עבודה, וגמילות חסדים. Nowadays, we do not have עבודה (i.e. the sacrifices in the Beis HaMikdash). What is the substitute? So the gemara tells us in Brachos that our tefillos are substitutes for עבודה in Beis HaMikdash. They literally keep the world going.
Now, that’s very fluffy. Does that mean if you sleep through Shacharis the world is going to disappear, and it’ll be your fault? Well, maybe. And if that happens I’ll be the first to track you down in the next world and punch you in the face. But let’s talk about something that speaks to us.
There’s a very famous פסוק in Chumash, when Yaakov appears before Yitzchak wearing sheepskins on his arms, pretending to be עשו. The פסוק tells us that Yitzchak, in his confusion, said: הקול קול יעקב והידים ידי עשו.
That, say Chazal, was not just some off-the-cuff comment that Yitzchak made. Those words tell us how we can impact the world. Those words tell us what our weapons are when we go out to battle – literally and figuratively. We spoke about our weapons to fight the Yetzer Hara – tefillah is our weapon in every other realm of life.
What does prayer do? I used to think that prayer was for Hashem – we were blessing Him when we said “Baruch Atah Hashem.” Little did I know that this is what people call heresy (apikorsus). If we have to bless Hashem, that means He is less than infinite – He can gain from us. Which is ridiculous – He is all-powerful, all-worldly – he does not need our blessings. So if prayer does not impact Him, who does it impact?
Clearly the answer is us. We have what to gain from prayer. Prayer increases our awareness that we are dependant upon Hashem for everything. But where does that get us? So we recognize what Hashem does in this world. What does that do for us? That’s going to make us a better warrior? That’s going to improve my income the following year? That's going to make my relative feel better?
The answer is: YES. The רמבן at the end of בא writes that the whole purpose of creation is to: a) know Hashem runs the world, and b) to thank Him for it. So when we internalize that Hashem runs every single aspect of our lives, we grow closer to that goal. We become better people. More of our actions are performed לשם שמים. When more of our actions are performed לשם שמים, we become holier. When we become holier, Hashem is more likely to answer our tefillos in a more immediate fashion, even if they are the straight, generic nineteen ברכות of שמונה עשרה.
There many stories throughout תנ"ך that demonstrate this perfectly. One of this is the following: when בנ"י encountered עמלק right after they left מצרים, what happened? Moshe went up on the mountain to pray, and the פסוק tells us that whenever his hands were lifted in prayer, בנ"י were victorious. Whenever his hands became heavy and fell back down, עמלק started winning. What in the world does that mean? Some קישוף, some hocus pocus? So רש"י there brings down the גמ' in ר"ה – I wonder why this גמ' is there – that says that whenever בנ"י would look towards Shamayim, they would realize that Hashem runs the world, and they would start winning. Whenever they looked away from Shamayim, i.e. they started relying on their own “might,” they started losing.
This is what tefillah does, this is how it helps us. This is how we can use the tefillos on Rosh HaShana – they’re long, no doubt – but we can use them to our advantage. They can impact us, and when Hashem sees that we’re trying, He will give us siyata d’shmaya, and guide us along His path.
הצלחה רבה!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Selichos
22 Elul 5768
The ר"ן asks a very simple question: Why is ראש השנה the יום הדין? He comes up with two different answers:
1) Chazal tell us that Adam HaRishon was judged for eating from the עץ הדעת on the first day of the seventh month, which is Tishrei. Since that day was used as a יום הדין that very first time, it was established for generations as the day Hashem would judge us.
2) When בנ"י sinned with the Golden Calf, משה רבינו went up to Har Sinai to daven for us. Those 40 days of tefillah spanned all of Chodesh Elul and the first ten days of Tishrei, culminating on Yom Kippur. That forgiveness was sealed on Yom Kippur, but Hashem began forgiving us on Rosh HaShana.
This is the basis for the two minhagim of when to start Selichos. The Sefardim start from Rosh Chodesh Elul - after all, that was the first day Moshe davened on Har Sinai, that was the first day of the teshuva process. Ashkenazim start Selichos a week or so before Rosh HaShana, aligning themselves with the few days before Adam's sin, when the world existed without sin.
Whatever your minhag, Selichos can be tough. You have to stay up until 12:30 at night, or get up a half hour before davening to say a lot of Hebrew words you don't understand. What is the point? Wouldn't it just be better to take five minutes in the middle of the day and say some prayers in English?
While there may be many answers to this, I think that one of them is the following: Selichos shows Hashem that we're willing to go the extra mile to secure our forgiveness. We're putting in that little extra effort that says, Hashem, look! I'm trying! I know I had my ups and downs last year, but I really want to stay up! I really want this relationship between you and me to work out, and I'm doing something unusual to prove it to you!
להבדיל, it's like the husband who goes out of his way to get flowers for his wife after a long fight. Sure, these flowers are being sold out on Long Island somewhere, and they cost a little extra, and they're a little more bulky to shlep into the car - but the wife looks at all the extra effort and says, hey, you really do care! She doesn't care that there are twenty-four roses or thirty-six roses. It's the effort she looks at. So too for us - it's not so much about the Selichos as it is about showing Hashem you'll do anything to prove your dedication.
Now, don't get me wrong, the Selichos are important - it doesn't work just to stay up until 12:30am and do nothing. The Selichos are a valuable way to prepare for the יום הדין. But if you're getting depressed or upset that you're not getting the whole meaning from the Selichos, take solace - your effort in saying them is getting you much more than you realize.
הצלחה רבה!
The ר"ן asks a very simple question: Why is ראש השנה the יום הדין? He comes up with two different answers:
1) Chazal tell us that Adam HaRishon was judged for eating from the עץ הדעת on the first day of the seventh month, which is Tishrei. Since that day was used as a יום הדין that very first time, it was established for generations as the day Hashem would judge us.
2) When בנ"י sinned with the Golden Calf, משה רבינו went up to Har Sinai to daven for us. Those 40 days of tefillah spanned all of Chodesh Elul and the first ten days of Tishrei, culminating on Yom Kippur. That forgiveness was sealed on Yom Kippur, but Hashem began forgiving us on Rosh HaShana.
This is the basis for the two minhagim of when to start Selichos. The Sefardim start from Rosh Chodesh Elul - after all, that was the first day Moshe davened on Har Sinai, that was the first day of the teshuva process. Ashkenazim start Selichos a week or so before Rosh HaShana, aligning themselves with the few days before Adam's sin, when the world existed without sin.
Whatever your minhag, Selichos can be tough. You have to stay up until 12:30 at night, or get up a half hour before davening to say a lot of Hebrew words you don't understand. What is the point? Wouldn't it just be better to take five minutes in the middle of the day and say some prayers in English?
While there may be many answers to this, I think that one of them is the following: Selichos shows Hashem that we're willing to go the extra mile to secure our forgiveness. We're putting in that little extra effort that says, Hashem, look! I'm trying! I know I had my ups and downs last year, but I really want to stay up! I really want this relationship between you and me to work out, and I'm doing something unusual to prove it to you!
להבדיל, it's like the husband who goes out of his way to get flowers for his wife after a long fight. Sure, these flowers are being sold out on Long Island somewhere, and they cost a little extra, and they're a little more bulky to shlep into the car - but the wife looks at all the extra effort and says, hey, you really do care! She doesn't care that there are twenty-four roses or thirty-six roses. It's the effort she looks at. So too for us - it's not so much about the Selichos as it is about showing Hashem you'll do anything to prove your dedication.
Now, don't get me wrong, the Selichos are important - it doesn't work just to stay up until 12:30am and do nothing. The Selichos are a valuable way to prepare for the יום הדין. But if you're getting depressed or upset that you're not getting the whole meaning from the Selichos, take solace - your effort in saying them is getting you much more than you realize.
הצלחה רבה!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Talkin' to the Boss II
17 Elul 5768
We mentioned yesterday that one method of improving our כונה during Shemonah Esrei is to pause at the beginning of davening, to think about Whom we're standing in front of, and then continuing on with our tefillah.
How do we maintain this thought throughout the Shemoneh Esrei?
Insipration does not last. We get excited at the beginning of a project, we get pumped for the first few games of football season, we get ready to serve Hashem better at the beginning of each year. But very soon afterwards, the project becomes a chore. Football gets boring after our team loses a few games. Soon after the Yomim Tovim we start reverting to our old yiddishkeit habits. How do we continue our mindset throughout the four, five, six minutes of Shemoneh Esrei?
The answer lies within the Shemoneh Esrei itself. Built into each of the nineteen brachos (weird, I know) is a way to remember לפני מי אתה עומד - the words ברוך אתה at the end. Every time we say "YOU are the source of all blessing," we can take a moment to remind ourselves that we're actually speaking to the Boss Himself. That mindset can last us at least until the next bracha, where we have another reminder waiting for us. That is how we can maintain kavana and focus throughout the whole tefillah. May our prayers be that much stronger, and may they be answered that much more speedily. (I know it's lousy English, but you get the point)
הצלחה רבה!
We mentioned yesterday that one method of improving our כונה during Shemonah Esrei is to pause at the beginning of davening, to think about Whom we're standing in front of, and then continuing on with our tefillah.
How do we maintain this thought throughout the Shemoneh Esrei?
Insipration does not last. We get excited at the beginning of a project, we get pumped for the first few games of football season, we get ready to serve Hashem better at the beginning of each year. But very soon afterwards, the project becomes a chore. Football gets boring after our team loses a few games. Soon after the Yomim Tovim we start reverting to our old yiddishkeit habits. How do we continue our mindset throughout the four, five, six minutes of Shemoneh Esrei?
The answer lies within the Shemoneh Esrei itself. Built into each of the nineteen brachos (weird, I know) is a way to remember לפני מי אתה עומד - the words ברוך אתה at the end. Every time we say "YOU are the source of all blessing," we can take a moment to remind ourselves that we're actually speaking to the Boss Himself. That mindset can last us at least until the next bracha, where we have another reminder waiting for us. That is how we can maintain kavana and focus throughout the whole tefillah. May our prayers be that much stronger, and may they be answered that much more speedily. (I know it's lousy English, but you get the point)
הצלחה רבה!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Talkin' to the Boss
16 Elul 5768
In this day and age, we need things to be fast. Fast cars, fast internet, fast food. We have blackberries to make sure we get emails the moment they come into our inbox. We have cellphones in case we (chas veshalom) aren't at home to field a call. We can order food to our doorstep, all the while getting upset if it doesn't come within the half hour.
Unfortunately, this attitude often seeps into our davening. Very often we'll rush through things, not because we don't want to have kavana, but because we're used to things moving at a quick pace. They guy who finishes the quickest Shemoneh Esrei doesn't do so because he thinks that's the best way to daven - he does so because he's accustomed to doing things quickly in his life.
It is important to take a moment and think about the davening. But not only about what you're going to say, but to Whom you're saying them. When we daven, the world around us melts, and we're left in a big blue room with you and HKB"H (at least that's how I picture it). If we would only think about this for a moment, I guarantee our davening would be totally different.
So the next time you daven, try it. As soon as you take those three steps forward, wait. Don't start ה' שפתי תפתח. It'll be weird, but hear me out. Think about the fact that you are talking, one on one, with the Boss. If you took five seconds and thought about that frightening reality, I would hope to think your words would come out different.
But don't get discouraged - the Boss isn't as frightening as He might seem. Think about this also: despite the fact that HKB"H runs the entire world at every single moment, He still pays attention to every single thing you do. What a wonderful thought! The Guy who runs the whole freaking world cares about little old me? Yes He does - he cares about everything about you. So be encouraged - He's waiting for your tefillos!
הצלחה רבה!
In this day and age, we need things to be fast. Fast cars, fast internet, fast food. We have blackberries to make sure we get emails the moment they come into our inbox. We have cellphones in case we (chas veshalom) aren't at home to field a call. We can order food to our doorstep, all the while getting upset if it doesn't come within the half hour.
Unfortunately, this attitude often seeps into our davening. Very often we'll rush through things, not because we don't want to have kavana, but because we're used to things moving at a quick pace. They guy who finishes the quickest Shemoneh Esrei doesn't do so because he thinks that's the best way to daven - he does so because he's accustomed to doing things quickly in his life.
It is important to take a moment and think about the davening. But not only about what you're going to say, but to Whom you're saying them. When we daven, the world around us melts, and we're left in a big blue room with you and HKB"H (at least that's how I picture it). If we would only think about this for a moment, I guarantee our davening would be totally different.
So the next time you daven, try it. As soon as you take those three steps forward, wait. Don't start ה' שפתי תפתח. It'll be weird, but hear me out. Think about the fact that you are talking, one on one, with the Boss. If you took five seconds and thought about that frightening reality, I would hope to think your words would come out different.
But don't get discouraged - the Boss isn't as frightening as He might seem. Think about this also: despite the fact that HKB"H runs the entire world at every single moment, He still pays attention to every single thing you do. What a wonderful thought! The Guy who runs the whole freaking world cares about little old me? Yes He does - he cares about everything about you. So be encouraged - He's waiting for your tefillos!
הצלחה רבה!
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