×
Friend,    With Purim right around the corner, Sefaria is busy preparing for the “Purim bump” — the increase in users who visit Sefaria to celebrate the holiday. Last year, more than 100,000 people visited the library or used the app to connect with the holiday or read along with Megillat Esther. This year we’re expecting even more.    To help with our text and tech preparations ahead of this busy time, a generous Jewish foundation is matching all gifts to the library up to $36,000.    Please give today to help us meet your learning needs!     
Save "Tefilah / The Jewish way to pray
"
Tefilah / The Jewish way to pray

This source sheet is intended to help us experience tefillah/prayer.

First - open with Alan Lew's (z"l) This is Real and You are Completely Unprepared / link between 9Av and RH/YK - "the program of Judaism is not to ameliorate suffering the way the program of Buddhism is. The program of Judaism is to realize the sacred at every moment. Those are not contradictory programs, because if we realize the sacred at this moment we are less likely to jump towards the next moment and flee, and we are less likely to suffer in it." (interview)

So this is the time to begin thinking about the changes that are important to our own existence, in personal terms and in communal terms. One such change is this siddur, and I would like to use this morning as the opportunity to renew our own tefilah, our own service, personally and communnaly.

1. One of the ideas of prayer is that prayer makes for a betterment of us as human beings.

In that sense - AL's idea: why are you crying out to me? tell Bnai Israel to get going!" Get going to recreate ourselves anew every year, beginning by examining destruction of structures and the causes for it. As Freud learned: we are happy being miserable, and it takes a lot for us to embrace change.

2. Another is that prayer is needed in the world, ie, it is an energy that we put out that helps the energy flow in the universe as we experience it. Thankfulness is essential not only to our own happiness but to the world's. Mode ani / kol haneshamah /

The virtue of the narrative, therefore, is that it engages with the ambivalences, the attraction and the repulsion, of one who, against all odds, approaches Sinai. If therapeutic language is to give life, it must address a real trauma, a wound inflicted, in a sense, by the very encounter with God.

Zornberg, Avivah Gottlieb - The Particulars of Rapture: Reflections on Exodus.

So after Freud, if we are to take him on his own terms, our knowledge of his, or of anyone else’s, life— and indeed our wish for knowledge about his life— has to be tempered with a certain irony. Where we love we always hate, and vice versa. We are wanting more life for ourselves but we are also wanting, in one of Freud’s memorable phrases, “to die in our own way.” We are full of vitality but, he tells us in Beyond the Pleasure Principle (1920), we crave inertia, insentience. We want to get better but we love our suffering. What Freud increasingly found most difficult to cure in his patients was their (mostly unconscious) wish not to be cured. In his search for cures, Freud found just how incurable we are; that is, he found how much pleasure we can get from our suffering...

Phillips, Adam - Becoming Freud (Jewish Lives) (pp. 11-13). Yale University Press.

(ד) וכבר יצאנו מענין הפרק אבל בארנו למה הספיק לו הנה מזכרון פעולותיו זכרון אלה לבד והוא - מפני שהוא צריך אליהם בהנהגת המדינות. כי תכלית מעלת האדם - ההדמות בו ית' כפי היכולת - כלומר שנדמה פעולותינו בפעולותיו - כמו שבארו בפרוש "קדושים תהיו" אמרו "מה הוא חנון אף אתה היה חנון; מה הוא רחום אף אתה היה רחום".

(4) We have gone too far away from the subject of this chapter, but we have shown why it has been considered sufficient to mention only these (thirteen) out of all His acts: namely, because they are required for the good government of a country; for the chief aim of man should be to make himself, as far as possible, similar to God: that is to say, to make his acts similar to the acts of God, or as our Sages expressed it in explaining the verse, "You shall be holy" (Lev. 21:2): "He is gracious, so be you also gracious: He is merciful, so be you also merciful."

(יג) רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי זָהִיר בִּקְרִיאַת שְׁמַע (וּבִתְפִלָּה). וּכְשֶׁאַתָּה מִתְפַּלֵּל, אַל תַּעַשׂ תְּפִלָּתְךָ קֶבַע, אֶלָּא רַחֲמִים וְתַחֲנוּנִים לִפְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם בָּרוּךְ הוּא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (יואל ב, יג) כִּי חַנּוּן וְרַחוּם הוּא אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם וְרַב חֶסֶד וְנִחָם עַל הָרָעָה. וְאַל תְּהִי רָשָׁע בִּפְנֵי עַצְמָךְ:

(13) Rabbi Shimon says: Be careful in the reciting of Shema and praying. When you pray, do not make your prayer fixed, rather prayers for mercy and supplication before the Omnipresent blessed be He, as it says (Joel 2:13), "For He is gracious and merciful, long-suffering and full of kindness, and repenteth Him of the evil." And do not be wicked in your own eyes.

>>>The clear assumption here is that רחמים is the standard. Never are we asked to follow God's wrathful ways, God's destructive ways - in any of our texts. In Aramaic, prayer is called "Rachamei" - "Rachamei" - it's incument in every creature. This defines what a creation is.

הַרֵינִי מְקַבֵּל עָלַי מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה שֶׁל וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ

קודם שהאדם יסדר תפילתו בבית הכנסת... צריך שיקבל עליו מצוָת ואהבת לרעך כמוך ויכוין לאהוב כל אחד מבני ישראל כנפשו. כי על ידי זה תעלה תפילתו כלולה מכל תפילות ישראל ותוכל לעלות למעלה ולעשות פרי ובפרט אהבת החבריםהעוסקים בתורה ביחד. צריך כל אחד ואחד לכלול עצמו כאלו הוא אבר אחד מן החברים שלו... ואם יש איזה חבר מהם בצרה צריכים כולם לשתף עצמם בצערו (דרושי השחר א, ע"ב.

-Attributed to the R. Isaac Luria ("Ari") in Sefer Ha'Kavanot by R. Chaim Vital

Song.

Song that includes care for others,

care for creation that transcends narrow self interest.

(ו) כֹּ֣ל הַ֭נְּשָׁמָה תְּהַלֵּ֥ל יָ֗הּ הַֽלְלוּ־יָֽהּ׃

(6) Let every thing that breathes praise Ad-nai. Hallelu-Yah.

(לז) ואהבת את יי אלהיך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך - מהו בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך? בכל נפש ונפש שברא בך. אמר ר' מאיר: על כל נשימה ונשימה שאדם מעלה חייב לקלס את יוצרו. מנין? שנאמר ( תהלים קנ): כל הנשמה תהלל יה.

And you shall love Ad-nai your God with all your heart and with all your soul - what is "with all your soul"? With every soul and soul that was created within you. Rabbi Meir said: for every single breath that a person brings up, that person is obligated to praise her Creator. From where do we know this? From "Let every thing that breathes praise Yah" (Ps. 150)

>>>>> Hakarat haTov - awareness of the interlinking of all things. First - hakarat haTov for myself - awareness of all of the pieces that make me up, not as foreign, but as part of me, and appreciated. This Hakarat HaTov readies us for the presence of Schehinah - and joy.

It's not about thinking. The thinking may lay the ground work, but there has to be a hiatus of thinking. Prayer is ultimately about emotion and imagination.

(c.f. Rambam Sefer HaMitzvot 3.)

(ד) אֵ֣לֶּה תוֹלְד֧וֹת הַשָּׁמַ֛יִם וְהָאָ֖רֶץ בְּהִבָּֽרְאָ֑ם בְּי֗וֹם עֲשׂ֛וֹת יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶ֥רֶץ וְשָׁמָֽיִם׃ (ה) וְכֹ֣ל ׀ שִׂ֣יחַ הַשָּׂדֶ֗ה טֶ֚רֶם יִֽהְיֶ֣ה בָאָ֔רֶץ וְכָל־עֵ֥שֶׂב הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה טֶ֣רֶם יִצְמָ֑ח כִּי֩ לֹ֨א הִמְטִ֜יר יְהוָ֤ה אֱלֹהִים֙ עַל־הָאָ֔רֶץ וְאָדָ֣ם אַ֔יִן לַֽעֲבֹ֖ד אֶת־הָֽאֲדָמָֽה׃ (ו) וְאֵ֖ד יַֽעֲלֶ֣ה מִן־הָאָ֑רֶץ וְהִשְׁקָ֖ה אֶֽת־כָּל־פְּנֵֽי־הָֽאֲדָמָֽה׃ (ז) וַיִּיצֶר֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֗ם עָפָר֙ מִן־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה וַיִּפַּ֥ח בְּאַפָּ֖יו נִשְׁמַ֣ת חַיִּ֑ים וַֽיְהִ֥י הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה׃

(4) These are the generations (products) of the heaven and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven. (5) No shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no grass of the field had yet sprouted; for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to work the ground; (6) but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. (7) Then the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

(ג) כי לא המטיר. ומה טעם לא המטיר, לפי שאדם אין לעבוד את האדמה ואין מכיר בטובתם של גשמים, וכשבא אדם וידע שהם צרך לעולם התפלל עליהם וירדו, וצמחו האילנות והדשאים:

What is the reason there was no rain? Because the was no man to work the land, and no one to appreciate/recognize the goodness of the rains...

בְּהִבָּֽרְאָ֑ם

A very odd word - a passive gerund - "In their being created".

The ה here is a written small.

Hazal read this as "with ה created" - that the world was created without a bottom. It's possible to fall out. It's also an invitation to come and create the ground.

Falling out the bottom - it's falling out the bottom to death - little deaths. Life is a series of mortalities. Every moment.

But the ה also allows coming in, through the side, birthing. Not to come back in where you fell out, but to create anew - a new format - which integrates that which seems to have died and been lost. Constantly creating a perspective beyond the givens of the moment. Moving upwards.

Creation involves an unfolding.

The creatures are participant.

Even when you have many obligations, external obligations, the place for creative input and dynamism is vast. The דין is critical, through. The Rahamim is given precedence, but with no structure, with no womb, there's no context for רחמים.

Note - that as creatures become more complex, there's more structure needed to hold them together, and they show the greatest freedom. The more highly structured the context, the more advanced the emergent phenomena that can be realized.

Highly structured brain patterns are problematic - they're usually a sign of an epileptic seizure. For an organism this complex to be functioning - complexity and openness is the sign of health.

All of this is related to מחשבה מועלת

As for עבודה שבלב...

(ה) ... כיון שראו ישראל, שהיו מוקפין משלוש רוחות: הים סוגר, והשונא רודף, והחיות מן המדבר, תלו עיניהם לאביהם שבשמים וצעקו להקדוש ברוך הוא, שנאמר: ויצעקו בני ישראל אל ה'. ולמה עשה הקדוש ברוך הוא להם כך? אלא, שהיה הקדוש ברוך הוא מתאוה לתפלתן. מר רבי יהושע בן לוי: למה הדבר דומה? למלך, שהיה בא בדרך והיתה בת מלכים צועקת לו: בבקשה ממך הצילני מיד הלסטים! שמע המלך והצילה. לאחר ימים ביקש לישא אותה לאשה, היה מתאוה שתדבר עמו ולא היתה רוצה. מה עשה המלך? גירה בה הלסטים כדי שתצעוק וישמע המלך, כיון שבאו עליה הלסטים, התחילה צועקת למלך. אמר לה המלך: לכך הייתי מתאוה, לשמוע קולך. כך ישראל, כשהיו במצרים והיו משעבדים בהם, התחילו צועקים ותולין עיניהם להקדוש ברוך הוא, שנאמר (שמות ב, כג): ויהי בימים הרבים ההם וגו' ויזעקו, מיד (שם שם, כה): וירא אלהים את בני ישראל, התחיל הקדוש ברוך הוא מוציאן משם, ביד חזקה, ובזרוע נטויה, והיה הקדוש ברוך הוא מבקש לשמוע את קולם. פעם אחרת ולא היו רוצין, מה עשה? גירה לפרעה לרדוף אחריהם, שנאמר: ופרעה הקריב, מיד, ויצעקו בני ישראל אל ה'. באותה שעה אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא: לכך הייתי מבקש לשמוע קולכם, שנאמר: יונתי בחגוי הסלע, השמיעני קול אינו אומר, אלא השמיעני את קולך, אותו הקול שכבר שמעתי במצרים, לכך כתיב: השמיעני את קולך, כיון שהתפללו, אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא למשה: מה אתה עומד ומתפלל?! כבר קדמה תפלתן של בני לתפלתך, שנאמר: מה תצעק אלי:

Once the Children of Israel saw that they were surrounded on three sides — the implacable sea, the advancing enemy and the wild animals of the desert — they raised their eyes to their Father in Heaven and cried out to the Holy One, Blessed is He, as the verse states, "the Children of Israel cried to Hashem" (Shemot 14:10). Why did Hashem do this to them? Because He desired their prayers. [PAUSE HERE - What, God with a desire?! God needs my prayers?!]

Said R' Yehoshua ben Levi: What is this comparable to? To a king who was traveling on the road, and a princess cried out to him, "I implore you, save me from the bandits!" The king responded to her cry and saved her. After some time, he asked her to marry him. He desired to speak with her but she was unwilling. What did the king do? He incited bandits against her so that she would cry out to him and he could respond. Once the bandits descended upon her, she began to cry out to the king.He said to her, "This is what I wanted, to hear you voice!"

Similarly, when [the Children of] Israel were in Egypt and they were enslaved they began to cry out and raise their eyes to the Holy One, Blessed is He, as it says, "And it happened during those many days… and they cried out." Immediately afterwards it says, "Hashem saw [the pain of] the Children of Israel" (Shemot 2:23-25). After Hashem delivered them from Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, He asked to hear their voice again but they were unwilling.

What did He do? He incited Pharaoh to chase after them, as it says, "Pharaoh closed in." Immediately afterwards, "the Children of Israel cried out to Hashem." At that moment the Holy One, Blessed is He, said, "This is what I wanted, to hear your voices!" as the verse says, "My dove is in the clefts of the rock, let me hear your voice" (Shir HaShirim 2:14). It does not say, "Let me hear a voice"; rather, "Let me hear your voice," referring to the voice that was already heard in Egypt.

Once the Children of Israel had prayed, the Holy One, Blessed is He, said to Moshe, "Why are you standing and praying? The prayers of My children have preceded yours," as it says in the verse, "Why do you cry out to Me?" (Shemot 14:15).

(Translation from Tefilla: Creating Dialogue with Hashem, by Rabbi Reuven Leuchter.)

(ג) ולכן בעת קריעת ים סוף. אמר הוא ית' למשה מה תצעק אלי דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו. ר''ל דבדידהו תליא מלתא. שאם המה יהיו בתוקף האמונה והבטחון ויסעו הלוך ונסוע אל הים סמוך לבם לא יירא. מעולם בטחונם שודאי יקרע לפניהם. אז יגרמו עי''ז התעוררות למעלה שיעשה להם הנס ויקרע לפניהם. וזהו לססתי ברכבי פרעה דמיתיך רעיתי. ר''ל כמו בסוסי פרעה שהיה היפך מנהגו של עולם שהרוכב מנהיג לסוס. ובפרעה וחילו הסוס הנהיג את רוכבו כמשרז''ל. כן דמיתיך והמשלתיך רעיתי ע''ז האופן ממש. שאף שאני רוכב ערבות. עכ''ז כביכול את מנהיג אותי ע''י מעשיך. שענין התחברותי כביכול להעולמות הוא רק כפי ענין התעוררות מעשיך לאן נוטים. וזש''ה רוכב שמים בעזרך. וכן משרז''ל העבודה צורך גבוה:

"At the time of the splitting of the Red Sea, Hashem said to Moshe, "Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to Bnei Yisrael and let them journey!" meaning that the matter depends on them. If they will be firm in their belief and trust and travel towards the sea, secure in their hearts and not fearful, due to the strength of their faith that it will definitely split, then this will cause an awakening Above and ensure that a miracle will be done for them. Then the sea would split before them.

(Translation from Tefilla: Creating Dialogue with Hashem, by Rabbi Reuven Leuchter.)

Each one has their own way

(א) אנכי יי אלהיך, הה"ד (דברים ד): השמע עם קול אלהים. המינין שאלו את ר' שמלאי, א"ל: אלוהות הרבה יש בעולם? אמר להם: למה? אמרו לו: שהרי כתיב, השמע עם קול אלהים! אמר להם: שמא כתוב מדברים, אלא מדבר. אמרו לו תלמידיו: רבי לאלו דחית בקנה רצוץ, לנו מה אתה משיב? חזר ר' לוי ופירשה, אמר להם: השמע עם קול אלהים, כיצד? אילו היה כתוב קול יי בכחו, לא היה העולם יכול לעמוד, אלא קול יי בכח, בכח של כל אחד ואחד. הבחורים לפי כחן, והזקנים לפי כחן, והקטנים לפי כחן. אמר הקב"ה לישראל: לא בשביל ששמעתם קולות הרבה, תהיו סבורין שמא אלוהות הרבה יש בשמים, אלא תהיו יודעים שאני הוא יי אלהיך, שנאמר (שם ה): אנכי יי אלהיך:

“I am God your God …” (20:2). It is written, “Has a people ever heard the voice of God …?” (Deut 4:33). Heretics asked R. Simlai: “Are there many gods in the world?” He asked, “Why?” They answered: “Because it is written, ‘Has a people heard the voice of elohim,’ in the plural!” He told them, “But it does not say, ‘God speaking—medabrim’—in the plural, but medaber—in the singular!” His students then said to him: “You have fobbed them off with a reed (i.e., easily): what do you answer us?” So R. Levi explained again: “Has a people ever heard the voice of God …?” If it had said, “The voice of God is in His strength,” the world would not have been able to stand. But the text says: “The voice of God is in strength” (Ps 29:4)—that is, according to the strength of each individual—young men, according to their strength, and the old, according to their strength, and children, according to their strength. God said to Israel: “Just because you heard many voices, do not think that there are many gods in heaven, but be aware that I am God your God, as it is said, ‘I am God your God …’ ”

We use cookies to give you the best experience possible on our site. Click OK to continue using Sefaria. Learn More.OKאנחנו משתמשים ב"עוגיות" כדי לתת למשתמשים את חוויית השימוש הטובה ביותר.קראו עוד בנושאלחצו כאן לאישור