The Efficiacy of Prayer
STUDENT SUMMARIES OF SICHOT OF THE ROSHEI YESHIVA
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This weeks
shiurim are dedicated by Joseph and Phyllis Eisenman
in honor of Judah L. Eisenman
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SICHA OF
HARAV
The Efficacy of Prayer
Adapted by R.
When we ask ourselves about the efficacy of prayer, we are speaking, in the
first sense, about the efficacy of
bakkasha (petition): Are we
granted what we request? Idealists ranging from the mystics to Kant have
expressed opposition to the entire enterprise of
bakkasha, claiming it is
selfish and egocentric. This position, however, is not characteristic of
Judaism. We neither countenance nor encourage a sense of human independence, the
feeling that we could somehow manage on our own. Indeed, we do not think that
there is anything idealistic or self-sacrificing in thinking we can fend for
ourselves.
It is an open question whether or not the essence of religion relates to the
sense of dependence, as Schleiermacher stated and the Maharal,
lehavdil,
suggested before him; perhaps other elements are the quintessence of Judaism.
But the sense of dependence and the recognition of human need, and the
subsequent turning to the
Ribbono shel
Olam
for succor and sustenance, are certainly critical. According to
Chazal
(Berakhot 10a-b), this is the import of the verses that speak of
Chizkiyahus illness (II
Melakhim
20,
Yeshayahu
38) when one is in need, one should turn to the
Ribbono shel
Olam with
bakkasha.
However,
tefilla
can be considered efficacious regardless of whether there is a positive response
to the request presented.
Tefilla is listed among the three elements that we declare on
the
Yamim Noraim as revoking the evil decree:
teshuva,
tefilla,
and
tzedaka.
What is common to all three is
that they can
be effective by
making one into a better person, a better
oved
or
ovedet Hashem
(servant of God), thereby nullifying the previously-issued decree.
Accordingly, not only
bakkasha,
but also the
prayer of
shevach
(praise) and the prayer of
hodaa
(thanksgiving) are certainly part of
avodat Hashem,
and they too
can lead to the desired result.
Thus, we confront the question of the efficacy on two planes. First, is
our request answered? Second, are we worthy, or worthier, of its being answered
by dint of the fact that we have turned to the
Ribbono shel
Olam
and acknowledged His control like a servant before his Master, thereby giving
expression to the quality of our relationship with Him? Every time one prays
properly, whether one says so explicitly or not, implicit in the
tefilla
is the declaration, Ana avda
de-Kudsha berikh hu,
I am a servant of the Holy One, blessed be He. This is the essence of
avodat Hashem, service of God. Maharal properly noted that this
avoda
is related to servitude, the sense of subservience to the
Ribbono
shel Olam
that is the essence of religious life Avadai hem,
They are My servants (Vayikra
25:42, 55).
Thus, a
maamin believes that his prayers are efficacious in some way even if
the particular request he makes is not granted. The Rav zl often
emphasized that tefilla is essentially an experience of standing before
the King. During shemoneh esrei in particular, one does not send a
missive to the Ribbono shel Olam, but rather stands before Him, like a
servant before his Master. Even the great mitzva of keriat shema
does not entail the awe and trembling that accompany the amida, when one
stands before the King Himself. This is the reason, according to Rashi (Berakhot
25a), that while minimal clothing is sufficient for the recitation of shema,
it does not suffice for shemoneh esrei. For shemoneh esrei,
one must conduct himself as one standing before royalty, while for keriat
shema, one is not talking before the King, but rather making a
statement about Him. There are numerous halakhot regarding how one must
prepare oneself prior to tefilla to create the proper environment for
ones interaction with God based on the principle of Hikkon likrat Elokekha
Yisrael, Prepare to meet your God, Israel (Amos 4:12; see Shabbat
10a).
Thus, tefilla is a stance, a position, a presentation, and a
communication. It entails seeking and attaining some measure of contact with the
Ribbono shel Olam. That contact is not simply an opportunity to present
what we need. Rather, the very contact with the Ribbono shel Olam is
itself meaningful and purgative; it brings one to heights of experience and of
personality that are otherwise beyond ones reach. Anyone who has had the
experience of contact with a great person knows that a sense of greatness rubs
off through that contact. That sense is infinitesimal compared to what is
produced through contact with the Ribbono shel Olam!
Thus, a prayer for a particular response that fails to achieve that goal
is not wasted or ineffective. There is merit and significance to the very
turning to the Ribbono shel Olam, a deepening and intensification of
ones sense of His presence. Prayer can be effective by ennobling and uplifting
the one praying, by making him or her a better person and a better oved
Hashem. In that respect, tefilla is efficacious even when, for
whatever reasons, the Ribbono shel Olam chooses not to respond to our
prayers in the way we had hoped.
But there is another level of efficacy as well. The verse tells us, Tov
lachasot ba-Hashem, It is good to by sheltered by God (Tehillim
118:8). In what sense is this good? From a certain perspective, it is tov
because it produces results. We believe that the possibility that our prayers
will produce results is indeed there, and we turn, humbly and with an
outstretched hand, imploring that we be given what we need. There is also, as
stated above, a sense of tov lachasot that is not simply prudential and
pragmatic, but rather spiritual and ennobling. Finally, there is a third sense
of tov lachasot that straddles the line between the pragmatic and the
idealistic.
One of the seven haftarot of consolation begins with the prophet
speaking in Gods name, Anokhi, Anokhi Hu menachemkhem, I, even I, am
your comforter (Yeshayahu 51:12). The midrash (Yalkut Shimoni,
Yeshaya, 474) expands upon this verse, explaining that there are times
when no human comfort is available, even that of a mother or father only
Anokhi, Anokhi Hu menachemkhem. That sense of comfort derives in part from
the sheer presence of the Ribbono shel Olam; it need not be verbalized by
Him or by the human. People in need of comfort can be consoled through an
embrace; often, in fact, such a gesture is more significant, more genuine, and
more profound to a mourner than any statement that could be articulated in
words. A hug is an expression of commiseration, of participation in pain, of
empathy at its deepest level.
Tov
lachasot ba-Hashem there is goodness that results from the sheer presence
of the Ribbono shel Olam. In our moments of greatest trial and need, in
our hours of greatest crisis, His presence is comforting, to the same extent
that it is humbling. In times of pain, prayer reminds us that our tower of
strength is there, the source of being, the source of all good and all value and
all worth. Much has been lost, but we have yet the Ribbono shel Olam
and that in and of itself is a source of sustenance and comfort. There is
efficacy to prayer on a psychological level, above and beyond its practical and
spiritual effects.
We are comforted when we turn to the Ribbono shel Olam in times of
crisis, but He also sometimes turns to us to offer comfort, as it were. The
midrashim describe that when we cry when tragedy strikes, the Ribbono
shel Olam cries with us, kivyachol. When we transcend the
anthropomorphic component of this description, we are left with the sense that
our pain is not only our own; it is shared at the ultimate level by Malkhut
Shamayim, by God Himself. Ke-ish asher imo tinachmenu, ken anokhi
anachemkhem, As a man is comforted by his mother, so shall I comfort you (Yeshayahu
66:13). When a mother comforts her child who has suffered a terrible
tragedy, she does not stand there dispassionately; her presence is comforting
because she cries along with her child. The Ribbono shel Olam similarly
comforts us with His tears.
Tov lachasot ba-Hashem is a pillar of our faith and of our very
existence. In that respect, tefilla is certainly efficacious if we
understand the ultimate purpose of prayer in all its fullness.
(This
sicha was delivered in Kislev 5764 [2003].)