Pray for the World
The services of prayer and blessing demonstrate the profound interconnectedness we all share with the world.
In the previous parsha, Vaetchanan, we witness Moses' heartfelt prayer imploring God to allow him toenter the land of Israel, which, in the end, was not granted.
עְבְּרָה־נָּ֗א וְאֶרְאֶה֙ אֶת־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַטּוֹבָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּעֵ֣בֶר הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן הָהָ֥ר הַטּ֛וֹב הַזֶּ֖ה וְהַלְּבָנֹֽן
Let me, I pray, cross over and see the good land on the other side of the Jordan, that good hill country, and the Lebanon.”
Parshat Eikev expands on this idea of prayer by introducing the mitzvah of prayer to the Jewish people, along with the second paragraph of the Shema, “v’haya im shamoa,” which commands us to serve God with all our hearts. The Gemara in Mesechet Ta’anit 2a interprets the phrase "serve God with all your hearts" as a reference to prayer, which is considered a service of the heart.
וְהָיָ֗ה אִם־שָׁמֹ֤עַ תִּשְׁמְעוּ֙ אֶל־מִצְוֺתַ֔י אֲשֶׁ֧ר אָנֹכִ֛י מְצַוֶּ֥ה אֶתְכֶ֖ם הַיּ֑וֹם לְאַהֲבָ֞ה אֶת־יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶם֙ וּלְעׇבְד֔וֹ בְּכׇל־לְבַבְכֶ֖ם וּבְכׇל־נַפְשְׁכֶֽם׃
If, then, you obey the commandments that I enjoin upon all of you this day, to love your God and serve [God] with all your hearts and souls.
״לְאַהֲבָה אֶת ה׳ אֱלֹהֵיכֶם וּלְעׇבְדוֹ בְּכׇל לְבַבְכֶם״, אֵיזוֹ הִיא עֲבוֹדָה שֶׁהִיא בַּלֵּב — הֱוֵי אוֹמֵר: זוֹ תפילה .
“To love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your hearts” (Deuteronomy 11:13). Which is the service of God that is performed in the heart? You must say that this is referring to prayer.
However, the use of the plural form in "your hearts" raises a question: Why is the individual act of prayer is presented in a collective manner?
This question leads us to consider a similar question about the Amida prayer, as it is also composed in the plural form. Moreover, it is traditionally recited in public, with its words codified in advance. It may seem counterintuitive that this central prayer in our tradition is expressed in such an impersonal way. What happened to “tefila” and “hitboddidut,” personal prayer, and private meditation, which are critical aspects of Jewish spirituality?
It is clear that there are two distinct modes of prayer: the private mode, offered in a very personal way, and the public mode, offered in the plural and ideally as a group. The public mode, referenced in this week’s parsha, is called “avodah” or “service.” This mode of prayer is referred to as avodah also because it aligns with the concept of korbanot, the sacrifices offered at the Temple, which were also referred to as avodah and were done in public. It is important to understand why one mode of prayer is less personal than the other.
To shed light on this, we turn to the story of Creation. In the Garden of Eden, God commanded Adam with two tasks: l’ovda u’lishomra, to serve and to watch the garden. From the words of the Talmud, one may posit that one aspect of "service" was to pray for rain, because the growth of vegetation depended on Adam's prayer for rain.
וכל שיח השדה טרם יהיה בארץ במעלי שבתא מלמד שיצאו דשאים ועמדו על פתח קרקע עד שבא אדם הראשון ובקש עליהם רחמים וירדו גשמים וצמחו ללמדך שהקב"ה מתאוה לתפלתן של צדיקים
And it is also written: “No shrub of the field was yet in the earth” (Genesis 2:5)… Rav Asi explains: This teaches that the grasses emerged on the third day and stood at the opening of the ground, but they did not grow until Adam, the first man, came and prayed for mercy upon them, and rain came, and they sprouted. And this is meant to teach you that the Holy One, Blessed be He, desires the prayers of the righteous. (Chullin, 60b)
On the other hand, the Zohar interprets the act of "serving" the garden as making "brachot," blessings before eating the fruits of the trees, perhaps connecting the concept of blessing (something or someone) to the act of prayer through avodah or service.
The act of blessing might seem peculiar. How can we presume to bless God? Some commentators, such as Rabbeinu Bachya, argue that we declare God as the source of blessings, "mekor habracha," rather than actually bestowing blessings upon God. Now, even though I am particularly biased about that phrase, given that it is the name of our shul, others, like Rashba, have a different perspective, viewing "bracha" as "avodah." As elucidated by the Nefesh HaChaim, Rashba understands that we do indeed give God a blessing that He should provide "shefa," abundance, to the world. For instance, the Talmud tells us that on Yom Kippur, in the Holy of Holies, God asked Yishmael Kohen Gadol to bless Him.
אָמַר רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל בֶּן אֱלִישָׁע: פַּעַם אַחַת, נִכְנַסְתִּי לְהַקְטִיר קְטוֹרֶת לִפְנַי וְלִפְנִים, וְרָאִיתִי אַכְתְּרִיאֵל יָהּ ה׳ צְבָאוֹת, שֶׁהוּא יוֹשֵׁב עַל כִּסֵּא רָם וְנִשָּׂא, וְאָמַר לִי: יִשְׁמָעֵאל בְּנִי, בָּרְכֵנִי
Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha, the High Priest, said: Once, on Yom Kippur, I entered the innermost sanctum, the Holy of Holies, to offer incense, and in a vision I saw Akatriel Ya, (one of the names of God), seated upon a high and exalted throne and He said to me: Yishmael, My son, bless Me. (Berachot, 7a)
This scenario is similar to God waiting for Adam's prayer to bring rain, as we find in the creation story. God relies on our blessings and prayers to sustain the world. Hence, "bracha" and "tefila," blessing and prayer, become integral to our "avodah" or service in this world.
Our Sages viewed prayer and blessing as comparable mitzvot, as evident in their decision to centralize our daily prayer service around the Amida, also known as the Shemona Esrei, which originally consisted of 18 (now 19) blessings, thereby merging prayer and blessing into one unified concept.
Now, we can better understand the significant potential of public prayer, specifically recited in the plural form. This mode of prayer reminds us that our concerns extend beyond our individual needs. It summons us to engage in wholehearted prayer for the benefit of the world, asking God to provide an abundance of blessings for all. (This is distinct from the more dubious concept of "tikun olam.”)
It is not surprising that our parsha, Eikev, addresses not only prayer but also various mitzvot related to blessings. For example, Parshat Eikev is the source of the only universally biblically mandated blessing, the "Birkat Hamazon" (grace after meals). Additionally, our parsha contains other allusions to blessings, including the mitzvah of reciting 100 blessings every day. This focus on blessings might explain why this parsha falls within the seven-week period leading up to Rosh Hashana. As discussed in my publication, "The Book of Life,” our mission on Rosh Hashana comprises two essential elements: defining who we are by creating individual aspirations for the upcoming year while also considering them within the context of the needs of the entire world, not just our personal desires.
Our belief in Divine Providence, the third and last category of Rambam's 13 Principles, aligns with this perspective. Principles 10 and 11 assert that God knows our individual thoughts and actions and cares about us personally, granting personal rewards and punishments. The last two principles, 12 and 13, emphasize that the world at large has purpose and direction, including the arrival of Mashiach, the Messianic era, and Techiyat Hameitim, the era of the resurrection of the dead. In other words, there is an ultimate purpose to world history. Taken together, these principles connect us to God as individuals while demonstrating our deep interconnectedness with the entire world. Both modes of prayer are vital, and neither can thrive without the other.
Recently, we discussed the internal strife in Israel and the sense of hopelessness it engenders. As a people who pray in public, beseeching God to bring tangible solutions and provide an abundance of blessings for His entire world, we should acknowledge the numerous global challenges and conflicts causing pain and suffering to so many. If we genuinely believe in God and Torah, recognizing that the world has purpose and direction, we must hold onto the conviction that our prayers and desire for God's overflowing blessings have a profound impact. But we must also acknowledge that this impact can only be effective when we see ourselves as connected to our Jewish brethren, the land of Israel, and the world at large.
Shabbat Shalom.