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Meaning in Mitzvot -
Lesson 11

Siman 18 - Laws of Tefilla

21.09.2014
Text file

 

1. AMIDA - MEETING OUR MAKER (1)

 

At the beginning of siman 12 we gave a general introduction to the meaning of prayer.  Prayer is meant to reveal our will at the deepest level - revealing it to God in the words of our prayers, and through the fixed prayers that relate to all of the Jewish people revealing our true will even to ourselves.  The heart of these fixed prayers, the heart of the entire prayer service, is the Amida (standing) prayer, whose general rules are outlined in our siman (2).

 

The key to understanding the Amida lies in its very name.  In the Amida we stand before God, communicating with Him.  The Kitzur rules (se'if 3) that as we stand in prayer we must be aware that the Divine Presence is before us.  Though we learned in siman 1 that a person should ALWAYS be aware that he stands before God, there is an important difference.  A worker (one who cares about getting ahead) is especially careful to do a good job when he knows that his supervisor is observing everything he does, but that type of care does not compare to the deference displayed when called for a meeting with the top boss.  We are always observed by God, but during the Amida prayer we meet Him (3).

 

2. FIXED TIMES FOR PRAYER (se'if 1)

 

Viewing prayer as a meeting with HaShem can explain the importance of fixed times for prayer, as explained in se'if 1.  In private prayers, which we may utter at any time, it is perfectly appropriate to relate to God as our loving Father who is always ready to hear our troubles (4).  But in our fixed prayers, we relate to God as our boss who summons us before Him at a time that He determines.

 

3. RULES OF DECORUM IN THE AMIDA (se'ifim 4-9, 12, 14, 22) 

 

Our employee analogy also helps understand many of the rules of prayer decorum.  Any low-level employee meeting the big boss would certainly do well to: concentrate on what he is saying (se'if 4); speak in a way that others do not hear the conversation (se'if 6); stand or sit straight (se'if 7); avoid holding extraneous objects as he speaks (se'if 8); and refrain from burping, yawning, and spitting (se'if 9).  He would also be careful not to wink and not to signal someone else in the middle (se'if 14), and to take leave in a respectful way (se'if 12).  It goes without saying that he wouldn't appear for such a meeting in an inebriated state (se'if 22).

 

4. ADJOINING REDEMPTION AND PRAYER (se'if 2)

 

The Kitzur rules that no interruption is permissible between the words "ga'al yisrael" - redeemer of Israel - which close the blessings of Shema and the beginning of the Amida.  The Talmud attaches great importance to adjoining these two; indeed, adjoining ge'ula and tefilla - redemption and prayer - is considered even more important than praying with a minyan (5)!

 

Our redemption from Egypt, our material freedom from slavery, was certainly a very important event in our history.  In fact, the Exodus serves as the central freedom metaphor in all of Western culture.  And certainly our thrice-daily encounter with God in prayer is a unique blessing.  But our Sages did not allow us to view these blessings in isolation.  By adjoining redemption to prayer, we emphasize that our material freedom is important because it enables us to serve God.  Prayer depends on redemption, because, as we explained in the beginning of siman 12, part of the essence of prayer is self-definition, and servitude limits our ability to define ourselves independently.  Additionally, by requiring that prayer immediately follow our commemoration of the redemption, we also remind ourselves that our encounter with HaShem does not occur in a vacuum, but in the context of the revelation of God's will in this world, in human behavior and history (6).

 

5. INTENTION IN PRAYER

 

There is a general principle in halakha that "mitzvot tzrikhot kavana" - an act must be accompanied by intention in order to fulfill a commandment (7).  If a person picks up a ram's horn and starts tooting just for fun, he has not carried out God's bidding merely because the day happens to be Rosh HaShana.  Proper intention to fulfill the commandment must accompany the blowing.

 

However, in prayer it is not even enough to intend to fulfill a commandment through our words.  Uttering words from a prayer book is not even defined as an ACT of prayer unless there is an awareness of standing before and communicating with God.  That is the meaning of the word "to pray!"

 

But, having intention for the meaning of the words is NOT indispensable.  A Jew who can read the prayers in Hebrew (either in Hebrew script or transliterated) and understands that as he does so he is standing before HaShem, praising Him and asking for the needs of the Jewish people, has fulfilled the requirement to pray.  The one exception is the first blessing of the Amida, "Avot."  We MUST understand and mean the words of this berakha as we say them (8).  The commandment to pray the Amida has not been fulfilled if the one praying does not understand the meaning of the words of the opening benediction "Magen Avraham," or even if he understands but did not mean what we he was saying as he said it.

 

In the benediction of "Avot," we define our relationship to God.  It is indeed enough if we are aware that we are standing before and communicating with HaShem saying the Amida prayer - but we have to know what that means!  Saying "I do" creates a civil marriage only if there is knowledge and intention that these words have legal force, but it is even more important that you know who it is you are marrying!

 

The opening benediction of our prayers affirms that we are not praying to some abstract "first cause" or "principle of love" or other platitude, but to HaShem, who is present in the world and Who, in particular, is the God of the Jewish people, Who made a covenant with our forefathers and since then has a special relationship with us.  We not only know that we are praying - we know Whom we are praying TO!

 

6. DIRECTION OF PRAYER (se'if 10)

 

Rav Ganzfried rules that during the Amida we must stand facing the direction of the Holy Temple, so that all Jews the world over are praying towards the same place.  This unity of geographical direction testifies to a unity of spiritual direction and ultimately to our belief in the unity of HaShem.

 

The Kitzur, following the language of the Talmud, explains that we should face the Land of Israel, Jerusalem, the Temple, and ultimately the Holy of Holies - the inner sanctum.  As a practical direction, it is enough to inform us that we should direct ourselves towards the inner sanctuary of the Temple (9) - why are all the other levels mentioned?

 

This way of expressing the halakha emphasizes the fact that each level has its own importance (10).  The land of Israel is not holy merely because it contains the Holy City of Jerusalem - it has its own unique sanctity.  Likewise, the sanctity of Jerusalem is not solely due to the presence of the Temple (though it does derive from the fact that the Temple was built there).  And the Temple has its own holiness, quite apart from the presence of the Holy of Holies (11).

 

7. BOWING DURING THE AMIDA

 

The Kitzur Shulchan Arukh directs us to bow in a very special way: we bend the knees as we say "Barukh," and bow forward as we say "ata," then straighten as we say God's name.

 

The source for first bending the knees and then bowing forward is in the Zohar (12).  One way of understanding the profound words of the Zohar is as follows:

 

Our subjugation to God has two aspects.  He is both our ruler and our provider. We DIMINISH ourselves (bend the knees) as a demonstration that He is our ruler, and we LOWER OUR HEADS (bow forward) in gratitude in recognition that He is our provider.  The formulation "barukh ata" includes both aspects: sovereignty (when Yosef was made viceroy his retinue declared "avrekh" - cognate with "barukh") and providence (the fact that God is involved in our mundane world, enabling us to have a relationship with Divinity and even address God in the second person - which is never done to a king).

 

The source for straightening at HaShem's name is in the Yerushalmi, which cites the verse that HaShem "straightens the bent" (13).  As we explained in the last siman regarding why we say "Barukh Shem" in a whisper, our very permission to utter God's name implies a unique spiritual status, one which is improper to deny through false modesty.  As members of God's holy people, we can and should stand upright when we mention God's name (14).

 

Since at the beginning of "modim" we do not say the word "barukh," it follows that we do not bend the knees but merely bow forward from an upright position.

 

We explained that bending the knees and bowing give expression to God's sovereignty and His providence.  The declaration "modim" - "we are grateful" - relates to God's providence only, and so it is appropriate that we only bow.

 

8. BODILY NEEDS DURING AMIDA (se'if 16)

 

The Kitzur mentions that one may not pray if he feels any need to go to the bathroom.  The requirement for bodily cleanliness during prayer and blessings was discussed at the end of siman 2.

 

9. PASSING NEAR SOMEONE WHO IS PRAYING (se'if 21)

 

Rav Ganzfried informs us that one may not pass within four paces (almost two meters) in front of someone praying the Amida.  Rav Ganzfried permits approaching the side or back, but since the Mishna Berura cites the stringent view as well (15), it is best to avoid this if there is not a great need.

 

Two reasons are adduced for this prohibition.  The first is simply that someone who is engrossed in prayer is likely to be distracted by someone passing near him.  The other is that since each Jew in prayer stands before the Divine Presence, passing in front of him is like intervening between the one praying and the Shekhina!  In other words, it is not a simple question of deference to the one praying; rather, a fundamental religious principle is at stake.

 

Due respect for this restriction engenders a heightened awareness of the awesome responsibility and privilege we partake in by approaching the Master of the World in our thrice-daily prayers.

 

10. ORDER OF THE BLESSINGS OF THE AMIDA PRAYER

 

The Kitzur Shulchan Arukh does not discuss the various benedictions we say in the Amida.  Nevertheless, we will mention here a few of the insights discussed in the Talmud.

 

The benedictions of the Amida are arranged in three sections, based on the analogy of a servant who first arrays the praises of his master (first three blessings), then makes a request of his master (middle blessings), and then when his request has been granted, gives thanks to his master (final three blessings) (16).

 

The order of the requests is explained as follows: (17)

The fifth benediction, requesting repentance (teshuva), follows the fourth, a prayer for understanding (bina), because we learn from the words of our prophets that understanding precedes repentance.  This emphasizes the fact that ideal repentance is not merely a fleeting emotion, a subjective feeling of being born again (the kind one gets at a revival meeting).  On the contrary, repentance demands a reasoned recognition of how one strayed and why the way of the Torah is proper.

 

The prayer for healing (8*) comes after the request for forgiveness (6*) to teach the healing power of God's forgiveness.

 

The MATERIAL blessings of abundant produce which we request in the blessing of the years (9*) is the harbinger of the ingathering of the exiles (10*).  Once the Jewish people are gathered together in our land, then the judges can pass judgement on the wicked (11*).  This, in turn, will bring an end to destructive heresy (12*), and then the righteous - including the righteous converts - will receive the honor due them (13*).  This will take place in the rebuilt Jerusalem (14*), and once Jerusalem is restored, then the Messiah - the Davidic King - will rule (15*).

 

Once the Jewish commonwealth is restored, then the true power of prayer will return to us (16*).  (See what we wrote above on adjoining redemption and prayer.)  Then we will be able to restore the Temple service (17*), enabling us to properly convey our gratitude to HaShem (18*). 

 

The Priestly Blessing (see siman 98) is essentially part of the Temple Service, and it is a blessing of peace (19*).

 

 

Endnotes:

 

(1)  In secular parlance, influenced by Christian culture, "meeting your Maker" is a euphemism for death.  I have purposely used this expression to emphasize that Judaism does not disdain this world; rather it affirms that we can - and must - meet and confront our Maker in our everyday lives and indeed on an everyday basis.

 

(2)  The Amida prayer is often referred to as the "shemoneh esrei" - the eighteen, referring to the eighteen blessings it originally comprised.  In the time of the Tannaim - almost two thousand years ago - a nineteenth blessing was added. 

 

(3)  This difference is also implicit in the different names of HaShem used by Rav Ganzfried.  In siman 1, he uses the name "E-lohim" - a name indicating God's judgement and power.  But here he uses the term "shekhina" - God's indwelling, indicating His immanent presence.

(4)  This analogy should serve as a reminder to parents how they should relate to their children.  Our penitential prayers in the High Holy Days beg HaShem to "have mercy on us as a father has mercy on his children."  A person should certainly give his children the kind of treatment which he himself would whole-heartedly desire and request from his Divine Father.

 

(5)  Mishna Berura siman 52 s.k. 7.

 

(6)  The Zohar talks about the "exile of speech" experienced by the Jews in Egypt.  Only at the time of the giving of the Torah was this exile fully redeemed.  Until then, the ability to pray was limited.  (Zohar Va'era, II:25b.)  So in this sense tefilla is also dependent on geula.

 

(7)  Shulchan Arukh OC 60:4.

 

(8)  In total, there are four levels of intention: 

i. "Mit'asek", happenstance - there is no intention even for the act.  Imagine someone merely blowing into a shofar, with no desire to produce a sound.  Here there is no intention even for the act of blowing the shofar.

ii. No mitzva-intention.  Someone tooted on the shofar for fun, without intending to fulfill the MITZVA of shofar.  According to most authorities, no mitzva was performed.

iii. Investing the act with a certain MEANING.  This is desirable in all mitzvot and obligatory in tefilla, because if the meaning of my mutterings is not that I am communicating with HaShem it is not tefilla at all.

iv. Understanding and meaning the actual words one is saying.  This is also desirable at all times, but is obligatory only in the FIRST benediction of the Amida and while saying the first verse of Shema.

 

(9)  Obviously from Europe or America there is no practical distinction, but if one is praying at the Western Wall there is a big difference between merely facing the site of the Temple - straight ahead - and facing the place of the Holy of Holies, which is to the left.

 

(10)  And indeed the first chapter of Mishna Kelim tells us that there are ten distinct levels of sanctity.

 

(11)  And in the second Temple, many of the material and spiritual qualifications of the Holy of Holies were lacking - and even so the Temple service continued. See Yoma 21b.

 

(12)  Zohar Ekev, III:271b.

 

(13)  Yerushalmi Berakhot 4:1.  The verse is Tehillim 146:8.

 

(14)  Avraham Avinu fell on his face when visited by HaShem before his brit milah (Bereshit 17:3) - but not afterwards.  And the uncircumcised, non-Jew Bil'am also fell on his face when he received a prophecy - see Bamidbar 24:4 and Rashi there.

 

(15)  Mishna Berura 102:16.

 

(16)  Berakhot 34a.

 

(17)  Megilla 17b-18a.  The MB in 115:1 gives an alternative explanation of the order of blessings based on Seder HaYom (by Rabbi Moshe ben Makhir, a very early Acharon).

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