{"id":146,"date":"2006-10-07T12:29:16","date_gmt":"2006-10-07T12:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/summametaphysica.com\/ge\/prayer\/"},"modified":"2018-04-23T20:56:05","modified_gmt":"2018-04-23T20:56:05","slug":"prayer","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/prayer\/","title":{"rendered":"PRAYER (pps.176-183)"},"content":{"rendered":"

hard cover page 176<\/p>\n

Introductory<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prayer:<\/strong><\/em> the offering of petition, confession, adoration or thanksgiving to God.613<\/sup><\/p>\n

First it should be noted that the English word “prayer” is a somewhat misleading translation for the Hebrew tefillah.<\/em>614<\/sup> “Prayer” implies request more than does tefillah<\/em>. “Prayer” does not have the reflexive aspect embedded in tefilla<\/em>615 <\/sup>“Prayer” is more universally applicable than the distinctively Jewish tefillah<\/em>. “Prayer” is possibly not as metaphysically charged as the Hebrew tefillah<\/em>. Therefore we will generally employ the Hebrew term tefillah<\/em> for the balance of this section.616 <\/sup>There are many definitions and understandings of tefillah<\/em>. Our concern is not to provide a full-scale analysis of the concept. Rather, it is to demonstrate that our formulation is reconcilable with tefillah. If teftllah as we know it is not easily reconcilable with our formulation, it does not necessarily follow that our formulation is wrong.617<\/sup> However, if our formulation is reconcilable with tefillah, an important hurdle is surmounted.<\/p>\n

However, even if tefillah<\/em> remains problematical, we will have advanced Jewish philosophy. For, we would be trading in the vexing, severe core challenge of the theodicy dilemma, and would remain with a pre-existing philosophical friction area<\/p>\n

===================================
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d- NOTES \u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d-<\/p>\n

613 <\/sup>Encyclopaedia Judaica,<\/em> S.V. “Prayer.” vol. 13, col. 978.<\/p>\n

614 <\/sup>See Gordis, A Faith for Moderns<\/em><\/em>, p. 258. “The English word ‘prayer’ is derived from the Latin verb precare,<\/em> ‘beg, entreat,’ exactly like the German Gebet. . . . The Hebrew verb ‘to pray’ is derived probably from a root meaning ‘to judge.’ and its original meaning may therefore be ‘to examine or judge oneself.’ ”<\/p>\n

615 <\/sup>See Breuer’s introduction to the Hirsch Siddur.<\/em> “Tefilluh<\/em> (from which derives hitpalel<\/em>) requires that we imbue ourselves (palel<\/em>) ever anew.” 616. See Gordis, A Faith for Moderns<\/em><\/em>, p. 257. “The first prayer recorded in Scripture is that of the Patriarch Jacob at Beth-el. When, as a lad, Jacob left his father’s home to go toward an unknown destiny, he found himself at nightfall in an open field. With a stone as a pillow, he fell asleep, and in a dream saw a ladder stretching from earth to heaven.”<\/p>\n

617 <\/sup>Berkovits notes that “theoretically it is possible for one to be a pious Jew in the strictest orthodox sense of the word without ever uttering a word of prayer.” See his entire paragraph in Stitskin, Studies in Torah Judaism,<\/em> p. 93. The Ramban, in contradistinction to the Rambam, holds that there is no requirement for tefillah except b’sh’as tzarah (“in time of distress7).<\/em> See Nachmanides’ comments on Maimonides’ Sefer ha-Mitzvot,<\/em> Positive Commandment 5.<\/p>\n

~continued~
\n<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
CONVERSION TABLE for this multi-page unit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
you are currently on hard cover p. 176
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
< BACK<\/a><\/td>\n<\/td>\nNEXT PAGE><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\t\t\t\tPages pointer<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\nhard cover page<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1
\n2
\n3
\n4
\n5
\n6
\n7
\n8<\/td>\n		>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n><\/td>\n		176
\n177
\n178
\n179
\n180
\n181
\n182
\n183<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

hard cover page 177<\/p>\n

with tefillah<\/em>. The theodicy dilemma has always contained within itself, as one of several subthemes, the dilemma between the efficacy of prayer and evil befalling the innocent.<\/p>\n

Tefillah: Structure and Purpose<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tefillah<\/em> contains a plethora of elements-not all in consonance with each other.<\/p>\n

The direct question would be as follows: If we are currently in a state of severely contracted real-time Divine consciousness, what is the purpose of tefillah<\/em>? The direct answer would be twofold: (1) tefillah<\/em> is first a cry that our words be heard in the here-and-now, and (2) most aspects of tefillah<\/em> do not require a here-and-now Divine consciousness, as will be elaborated in the balance of this section.<\/p>\n

Regarding the aspects which require a here-and-now Divine consciousness, the individual’s cry must be that his tefillah pierce the veils of time and consciousness, that the gates of prayer be opened;618<\/sup> it entreats the Divine to manifest His consciousness in the here-and-now.619<\/sup><\/p>\n

Open for me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter and praise the Lord.
\n-Psalm 118:19<\/p>\n

May the Lord cause His face
\nto shine upon thee
\nand be gracious unto thee,
\nMay the Lord lift His face to thee
\nand give unto you peace.
\n-Numbers 6:24-26620<\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

God’s receptivity (or lack thereof) to prayer also finds echo in Hasidic621<\/sup> and kabbalistic literature.622<\/sup> “The mystical classic, the Zohar<\/em>, points out that when the heavenly gates are closed to prayers couched in words, they remain open to prayers couched in tears (Terumah)<\/em>.”623<\/sup><\/p>\n

===================================
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d- NOTES \u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d-<\/p>\n

618 <\/sup>See Midrash Psalms 17: “My children, return to me as long as the gates of prayer are open.” As cited by Berkovits, in Stitskin, Studies in Torah Judaism<\/em>, p. 159. See Nachmanides on Exodus 2:25 as translated in Ramban, Commentary on Exodus, vol. 2, p. 25. “. . . it was only on account of the cry [of Israel in Egypt] that He and His mercies accepted their prayer.”<\/p>\n

619 <\/sup>See Berkovits, in Stitskin, Studies in Torah Judaism,<\/em> pp. 96, 102, 156.<\/p>\n

620 <\/sup>These are the second and third of the Divinely ordained Priestly Blessings.<\/p>\n

621 <\/sup>R. Menahem Mendel of Vitebsk is reported as saying that in his prayers he was like a miserable beggar who seeks entrance to the king’s palace but is thrown out again and again, yet persists in trying to gain entrance to the king. As cited in Jacobs. Hasidic Prayer,<\/em> p. 98.<\/p>\n

622 <\/sup>See also Berkovits, in Stitskin. Studies in Torah Judaism,<\/em> p. 92, and his citations on the discussion of “the closing of the gates of prayer.”<\/p>\n

623 <\/sup>Gordis, A Faith for Moderns,<\/em> p. 271.<\/p>\n

~continued~
\n<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
CONVERSION TABLE for this multi-page unit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
you are currently on hard cover p. 177
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
< BACK<\/a><\/td>\n<\/td>\nNEXT PAGE><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\t\t\t\tPages pointer<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\nhard cover page<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1
\n2
\n3
\n4
\n5
\n6
\n7
\n8<\/td>\n		>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n><\/td>\n		176
\n177
\n178
\n179
\n180
\n181
\n182
\n183<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

hard cover page 178<\/p>\n

Prayer is fundamentally a twofold cry: first, a call that God hear our prayer in the here-and-now\u00e2\u20ac\u201d that Hester Panim<\/em> not be effected. We are mevakesh oenei Elohim<\/em> (“seekers of the face od god”), asking that God manifest his consciousness in the here-and-now.624 <\/sup>We call for the Rachok,<\/em> the “Far One” to become Karov,<\/em> the “Near One.”<\/p>\n

Prayer is an attempt to pierce the veils of contracted consciousness.625<\/sup><\/p>\n

Hear my words, O Lord;
\npenetrate my thoughtful meditations;
\nHearken unto the voice of my cry …
\n-Psalms 5:2-3<\/p>\n

Incline Thine ear, O Lord, and hear;
\nopen Thine eyes, O Lord, and see. . .
\n-Isaiah 37: 15<\/p>\n

Ye fast not this day
\nSo as to make your voice to be heard on high.
\n-Isaiah 58:2<\/p>\n

Rouse Thyself!
\nWhy sleepest Thou, O Lord?
\n-Psalms 44:18626<\/sup><\/p>\n

From Thy Abode, our king, appear…
\n-Kedushah627<\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Prayer is also a cry that God intervene,628<\/sup> that God should, in effect, increase our dependence, inasmuch as the price we pay for our independence is too heavy.<\/p>\n

Prayer is secondly a call that God hear and accept the specifics of our tefillot<\/em> (prayers), our supplications and entreaties, our praise, our thanksgiving (tachnunim, shevach, ve-hodaya)<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Though our tefillot<\/em> are heard out-of-time, if the real-time consciousness of God is contracted to the point where the probability of short-term efficacy of tefillah<\/em> is low, what then is<\/p>\n

===================================
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d- NOTES \u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d-<\/p>\n

624 <\/sup>See Buber, Eclipse of God,<\/em> p. 126. “. . . prayer . . . ultimately asks for the manifestation of the divine presence, for this Presence’s becoming dialogically perceivable.”<\/p>\n

625 <\/sup>See Heschel, Man’s Quest for God,<\/em> p. 11. “In all his prayers he begs, explicitly or implicity, ‘Do not forsake me, O Lord.’ ”<\/p>\n

626 <\/sup>T B. Sotah 48 records that the Levites of the First Temple recited this very psalm to awaken the slumbering God.<\/p>\n

627 <\/sup>See Luban, “The Kaddish,” p. 214 (juxtaposing the Kedushah and the Kaddish). “[The Kaddish] is not only a prayer to God. It is a prayer for God, for the manifestation of His presence.”<\/p>\n

628 <\/sup>See Heschel, Man’s Quest for God,<\/em> p. 15. “Prayer is an invitation to God to intervene in our lives, to let His will prevail in our affairs; it is the opening of a window to Him in our will, an effort to make Him the Lord of our soul.”<\/p>\n

~continued~
\n<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
CONVERSION TABLE for this multi-page unit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
you are currently on hard cover p. 178
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
< BACK<\/a><\/td>\n<\/td>\nNEXT PAGE><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\t\t\t\tPages pointer<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\nhard cover page<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1
\n2
\n3
\n4
\n5
\n6
\n7
\n8<\/td>\n		>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n><\/td>\n		176
\n177
\n178
\n179
\n180
\n181
\n182
\n183<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

hard cover page 179<\/p>\n

the purpose of tefillah<\/em>? As noted above, tefillah<\/em> is extremely complex.<\/p>\n

Judaic dialectic plays mischievously with two opposites, two irreconcilable aspects of prayer. It [first] announces prayer as selfacquisition, self-discovery, self-objectification and self-redemption. . . . Yet there is another [second] aspect to prayer: prayer is an act of giving away. Prayer means sacrifice, unrestricted offering of the whole self, the returning to God of body and soul, everything one possesses and cherishes.
\n-Soloveitchik629<\/sup><\/p>\n

It [prayer] is an introspective process, a clarifying, refining process of discovering what one is, what he should be, and how to achieve the transformation.
\n-Sherman630<\/sup><\/p>\n

Prayer is the soul’s yearning to define what truly matters.
\n-Sherman631<\/sup><\/p>\n

At times prayer is [partially] described as an unburdening of the soul, a pouring out of the heart.
\n-Berkovits632<\/sup><\/p>\n

It is a cry, an elementary outburst of woe.
\n-Berkovits633<\/sup><\/p>\n

It is an ultimate reliance on God.
\n-Berkovits634<\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Embedded in tefillah<\/em> are also other very important elements, for tefillah<\/em> also goes by the term avodah she-balev (“service\/ offering of the heart”).635<\/sup> Pluralistic Jewish tradition incorporates the following elements within tefillah:<\/em><\/p>\n

It is a thrust for spiritual upliftrnent.636
\n<\/sup>It is an exercise in spiritual growth.637<\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

===================================
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d- NOTES \u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d-<\/p>\n

629 <\/sup>Soloveitchik, “Redemption, Prayer, Talmud Torah,” p. 70.<\/p>\n

630<\/sup> Nosson Scherman, “An Overview: Prayer,” xii.<\/p>\n

631<\/sup> Cited by Scherman, ibid.<\/p>\n

632<\/sup> Berkovits, “Prayer,” in Stitskin, Studies in Torah Judaism,<\/em> p. 90.<\/p>\n

633<\/sup> Ibid., p. 107.<\/p>\n

634<\/sup> Ibid., p. 109.<\/p>\n

635<\/sup> T. B. Taanit 2a.<\/p>\n

636<\/sup> See Heschel, Man’s Quest for God,<\/em> p. 18. “Through prayer we sanctify ourselves, our feelings, our ideas.”
\nCf. Albo, as explicated by Bleich in With Perfect Faith,<\/em> p. 240. “Prayer effects a positive change in the worshipper’s state of spiritual perfection, thereby preparing the individual to receive beneficience and to avert evil. Prayer is thus efficacious in the sense that it effects a changed state of human preparation without effecting a change in divine will since the benefits associated with this state were always willed by God, but are willed by Him to be contingent upon man achieving the requisite state of
\nCf. Hirsch, Hureb, p. 477. “He who desired to raise himself up from trouble and darkness had to be guided by words of prayer that declared life’s truth.” Ibid., p. 478. “. . . the inexhaustible source of its [Israel’s] elevation to God . . . ‘tefilloth’ in which Israel of today still raises itself up to God.”<\/p>\n

637<\/sup> See Heschel, Man’s Quest for God,<\/em> p. 8. “Prayer is the essence of spiritual living. . . . Sometimes prayer is more than a light before us; it is a light within us.”<\/p>\n

~continued~
\n<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
CONVERSION TABLE for this multi-page unit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
you are currently on hard cover p. 179
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
< BACK<\/a><\/td>\n<\/td>\nNEXT PAGE><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\t\t\t\tPages pointer<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\nhard cover page<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1
\n2
\n3
\n4
\n5
\n6
\n7
\n8<\/td>\n		>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n><\/td>\n		176
\n177
\n178
\n179
\n180
\n181
\n182
\n183<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

hard cover page 180<\/p>\n

It is an appreciation of the munificence of creation.638
\n<\/sup>It is an aspiration for personal spiritual fulfillment.639<\/sup>
\nIt is an aspiration for personal spiritual transformation.640<\/sup>
\nIt is reflection.641
\n<\/sup>It is an exercise in humility, contemplation, and loss of selfhood.642
\n<\/sup>Man prays for the sake of the Divine (Hasidic).643
\n<\/sup>It is ritual.644<\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And independent of Divine contraction or decontraction, man quests for spiritual heights.645<\/sup> It is man’s attempt to achieve a sense of unity with the Divine.646<\/sup><\/p>\n

Out of the midst of the personal experience of God’s hidden face one faces God as if His face were not hidden from one.
\n-Berkovits647<\/sup><\/p>\n

Do we stand overcome before the hidden face of God as the tragic hero of the Greeks before faceless Fate? No, rather even now we contend [like Job] with God, with the Lord of Being Himself whom once we, not our fathers only, chose for our Lord. We do not accept the world as it is but rather struggle for its redemption, and in this struggle appeal for help to our Lord, who on His part is once more, and still. One who hides. In this condition we await His voice, and whether it comes out of the storm or the stillness that follows it. And although His coming manifestation may resemble no earlier one, we shall nevertheless recognize again our cruel and merciful God.
\n-Buber648<\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Tefillah<\/em> is multifaceted and multileveled. Its efficacy is but one of many important components, and that aspect as well is not precluded,649<\/sup> although it is often limited, by our formulation.650<\/sup><\/p>\n

Study and Tefillah<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Study and tefillah<\/em> have intersecting goals and components.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

===================================
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d- NOTES \u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d-<\/p>\n

638<\/sup> See ibid., p. 5. “To pray is to take notice of the wonder, to regain a sense of the mystery that animates all beings, the divine margin in all attainments.”
\nCf. Bleich, With Perfect Faith, p. 238. “According to kabbalistic teaching . . . Man, through prayer and good deeds, causes the divine influence to produce a state of harmony and balance within the sefirot which, in turn, enables divine grace to flow throughout creation by providing the necessary channels for the manifestation of divine goodness and beneficence.”<\/p>\n

639<\/sup> See Heschel, Man’s Quest for God,<\/em> p. 13. “Prayer is a spiritual source in itself. .. . But prayer goes beyond the scope of emotion; it is the approach of the human to the transcendent.”<\/p>\n

640 <\/sup>See also Berkovits, “Prayer,” in Stitskin, Studies in Torah Judaism,<\/em> p. 157.<\/p>\n

641<\/sup> See Schulweis, Evil and the Morality of God<\/em>, p. 139. “Prayer is not only ‘poetry believed in’ (Santayana), it is poetry acted upon.”<\/p>\n

642<\/sup> See Jacobs, Hasidic Prayer,<\/em> p. 32. “The Hasidic ideal then is contemplative prayer in which the Hasid practices self-annihilation.”
\nCf. ibid., pp. 17, 31.<\/p>\n

643<\/sup> See ibid., p. 28. “.. . there is no reason to doubt that the basic doctrine of prayer for the sake of the Shekhinah is an authentic doctrine of the Baal Shem Tbv.” Cf. ibid,, pp. 23-24, 29.<\/p>\n

644<\/sup> See also Soloveitchik on “prayer equals sacrifice” in “Redemption, Prayer and Talmud Torah,” pp. 71-72.<\/p>\n

645<\/sup> See Heschel, Man’s Quest for God,<\/em> p. 70, citing J. T. Berachot 4:4, 8b; and Jacob Levy, Neuhebraeisches und Chaldaeisches Woerterbuch.<\/em> vol. 4, p. 368b. “A third-century scholar avers that it is improper to call upon the person who acts as the reader of prayers for the congregation by saying, Come and pray;<\/em> we must rather use the words, Come, karev . . . \u00e2\u20ac\u201dbring us close to Him!<\/em>”<\/p>\n

646<\/sup> See Rivka Schatz’s elaboration on the doctrine of the Baal Shem Tov, as cited in Jacobs, Hasidic Prayer,<\/em> p. 17.<\/p>\n

647<\/sup> See Berkovits, “Prayer,” in Stitskin, Studies in Torah Judaism, <\/em>p. 92.<\/p>\n

648<\/sup> Buber, At the Turning<\/em> (New York: Farrar, Straus & Young, 1952), pp. 61 ff..<\/p>\n

649<\/sup> See Jacobs, Hasidic Prayer,<\/em> p. 21. “The logical conclusion of the Hasidic doctrine [of loss of self in prayer] would have been to reject all petitionary prayer as a hindrance to the attainment of self-annihilation. But such a solution was not open to Hasidim who believed, like their contemporaries, that the traditional liturgy, which contains numerous petitionary prayers, was divinely inspired and divinely ordained.
\n“The quietistic and radical way out of this dilemma generally adopted by the early Hasidim is that petitionary prayer is not, in fact, a request to satisfy man’s needs but to satisfy His own [God’s] needs.”
\nCf. ibid., pp. 23-33.<\/p>\n

650<\/sup> See Frankl, The Will to Meaning: Faundations and Applications of Logotheraphy,<\/em> p. 145, as quoted in Tradition<\/em> 19, no. 4 (Winter 1981):330. “I would say that God is not dead but silent. Silent, however, he has been all along. This ‘living’ God has been a ‘hidden’ God all along. You must not expect him to answer your call. If you probe the depth of the sea. you send off sound waves and wait for the echo from the bottom of the sea. If God exists, however, he is infinite, and you wait for an echo in vain. The fact that no answer comes back to you is proof that your call has reached the addressee, the infinite.”
\nAs Gordis, A Faith for Moderns<\/em><\/em>, p. 270, notes: “One medieval thinker went as far as to declare that there is only one true prayer: ‘May it be Thy will that Thy will be done.’ ”<\/p>\n

~continued~
\n<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
CONVERSION TABLE for this multi-page unit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
you are currently on hard cover p. 180
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
< BACK<\/a><\/td>\n<\/td>\nNEXT PAGE><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\t\t\t\tPages pointer<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\nhard cover page<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1
\n2
\n3
\n4
\n5
\n6
\n7
\n8<\/td>\n		>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n><\/td>\n		176
\n177
\n178
\n179
\n180
\n181
\n182
\n183<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

hard cover page 181<\/p>\n

We must bear in mind that all such religious acts as reading the Law, praying, and the performance of other precepts, serve exclusively as the means of causing us to occupy and fill our mind with the precepts of God, and free it from worldly business; for we are thus, as it were, in communication with God.
\n-Maimonides651<\/sup><\/p>\n

Intellectual redemption through study of Torah resembles in its structure, the redemption through prayer.
\n-Soloveitchik652<\/sup><\/p>\n

When tefillah<\/em> and talmud Torah<\/em> (study of Torah) unite in one redemptive experience, prayer becomes avodah she-balev<\/em> (offering of the heart).
\nSoloveitchik653<\/sup><\/p>\n

As the real-time consciousness of God continues to contract, study and ritual become more important.654<\/sup> In turn, the ritualistic\/purely spiritualistic aspect of tefillah<\/em> assumes an increasingly greater importance relative to the petitionary aspects of tefillah. Finally, within the “communication” realm of prayer, the “praise of God” aspect and the “expression of humility” aspect655<\/sup> assume an increasing importance relative to the literal efficacy aspect.656<\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Difficulties and Limitations<\/strong><\/p>\n

The difficult question, which theologians call the problem of the efficacy of prayer, actually includes a whole complex of issues. Does man have a right to intrude his own petty desires and limited objectives upon the will of the Almighty? Does the infinite wisdom of God stand in need of the instruction of man?
\n-Gordis657<\/sup><\/p>\n

Although it is the most fundamental and most universal form of religious expression, prayer is fraught with theological difficulties. Ostensibly, prayer is an attempt on the part of man to effect a change in God’s conduct vis-\u00c3 -vis man. God has afflicted man<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

===================================
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d- NOTES \u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d-<\/p>\n

651<\/sup> Maimonides, Guide<\/em> 3:51.<\/p>\n

652<\/sup> Soloveitchik, “Redemption, Prayer and Talmud Torah,” p. 69.<\/p>\n

653 <\/sup>Ibid., p. 70.<\/p>\n

654<\/sup> See Lamm, Faith and Doubt,<\/em> p. 29. “God is especially immanent in Torah, and the study of Torah is therefore a means of achieving an encounter with the divine Presence. (Lamm, The Study of Torah Lishmah in the Works of Rabbi Hayyim of Volozhin,<\/em> chap. vi.) . . . Torah, as such, is far more than a document of the divine legislation; it is in itself, mystically, an aspect of God, and hence the student’s cognitive activity on Torah serves the higher end of binding him to God. (Ibid., chap. vii.)”
\nCf. ibid., p. 29. “For R. Hayyim [of Volozhin], every religious performance-prayer, Torah, the mitzvot\u00e2\u20ac\u201d<\/em>is an effort to bring God out of His selfcontained and impersonal Absoluteness into His Relatedness, by which alone man can achieve a personal relationship with Him. . . . whether Torah or tefillah is the more effective method depends entirely upon the personality of the individual in question.”<\/p>\n

655<\/sup> Both tefillah <\/em>and karbanot<\/em> (the Temple sacrifices) are avodah<\/em> (service); they are both expressions of dependence\/humility.<\/p>\n

656<\/sup> See T B. Shabbat 1 la. “Scholars like R. Shimon bar Yohai . . . whose sole occupation was study of the Torah, would not interrupt their studies in order to pray.” As noted in Jacobs, Hasidic Prayer,<\/em> p. 18.<\/p>\n

657<\/sup> Gordis, A Faith for Moderns, p. 258.
\nCf. Omar Khayyam:
\nThe moving Finger writes, and, having writ,
\nMoves on; nor all your Piety nor Wit
\nShall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
\nNor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.<\/p>\n

~continued~
\n<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
CONVERSION TABLE for this multi-page unit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
you are currently on hard cover p. 181
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
< BACK<\/a><\/td>\n<\/td>\nNEXT PAGE><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\t\t\t\tPages pointer<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\nhard cover page<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1
\n2
\n3
\n4
\n5
\n6
\n7
\n8<\/td>\n		>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n><\/td>\n		176
\n177
\n178
\n179
\n180
\n181
\n182
\n183<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

hard cover page 182<\/p>\n

with, or allowed man to be afflicted by, sickness: man wishes God to restore him to good health. God has placed man, or allowed man to be placed, in a situation of poverty; man aspires to good fortune. He pleads with God to grant that which heretofore has been withheld. Is it not the height of audacity and unseemliness for man to presume to “pressure” God with prayer and argument in an attempt to dictate to God how He shall act! Moreover, the very act of prayer, unless it be completely futile, assumes that prayer is efficacious. The apparent implication is that the will of God is subject to change. Yet God and His will are one. Hence, God’s will, which is identical with His essence, is itself eternal and immutable. Thus any change in the divine will is an impossibility. What. then, is the purpose of prayer?
\n-Bleich658<\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The notion that an individual who prays fervently, and with faith that the prayer will be answered, will necessarily receive a favorable response to his petition is not explicitly formulated in classical Jewish sources. . .<\/p>\n

Later scholars …stressed the contemplative and introspective nature of prayer and its effect upon man. The nineteenthcentury writer, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, viewed prayer primarily as an occasion for introspection rather than as an attempt to communicate with the Active Intellect. . . . A similar description of prayer as an act of self-judgement in the ongoing conflict between man’s good and evil inclinations, as well as a similar philological analysis of the term tefillah<\/em>, is found in the preface of Rabbi Jacob Zebi Meklenburg’s commentary on the prayerbook, Iyun Tefillah. The author of this work was a contemporary of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch.
\n-Bleich659<\/sup><\/p>\n

Maimonides, in his Guide, regards prayer essentially as an exercise designed to enable man to achieve spiritual perfection rather than as an attempt to elicit a response on the part of God. Indeed, in his formulation of the principle, Maimonides carefully avoids any comment with regard to the efficacy of prayer… Maimonides views prayer as an opportunity to contemplate the nature and grandeur of the Deity. This contemplation leads to intellectual perfection and the establishment of<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

===================================
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d- NOTES \u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d-<\/p>\n

658<\/sup> Bleich, With Perfect Faith, p. 238.
\nCf. Gordis, A Faith for Moderns<\/em>, p. 270. “One medieval thinker went so far as to declare that there is only one true prayer: ‘May it be Thy will that Thy will be done.’ ”<\/p>\n

659<\/sup> Bleich, With Perfect Faith, p. 239.
\nCf. ibid., p. 239. “Hirsch’s explanation of the effect of prayer on the worshipper is based upon his philological interpretation of the Hebrew word for ‘prayer,’ tefillah. Hirsch regards this term as being derived from the verb ‘pallel,’ meaning ‘to judge,’ forms of which occur twice in I Samuel 2:23. Grammatically, the Hebrew word for the verb ‘to pray’-le-hitpallel-is in the reflexive form. Prayer, then, for Hirsch, is a form of self-judgment. Prayer becomes the occasion for man to bring himself to trial, to engage in selfexamination with a view to determining whether his conduct conforms to the norms required of a true servant of God, and to reflect upon the ways in which his conduct may be improved and brought into conformity with these ideals.”<\/p>\n

~continued~
\n<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
CONVERSION TABLE for this multi-page unit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
you are currently on hard cover p. 182
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
< BACK<\/a><\/td>\n<\/td>\nNEXT PAGE><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\t\t\t\tPages pointer<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\nhard cover page<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1
\n2
\n3
\n4
\n5
\n6
\n7
\n8<\/td>\n		>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n><\/td>\n		176
\n177
\n178
\n179
\n180
\n181
\n182
\n183<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

hard cover page 183<\/p>\n

bond or contact between the human intellect and the Active Intellect.
\n-Bleich660<\/sup><\/p>\n

Samson Raphael Hirsch writes that “to ask for something, is only a minor section of tefillah.<\/em>“661<\/sup> Shem Tov ibn Falquera rejects the concept of a reacting God, negating this aspect in toto, and calling the idea that God is moved by human petition “false.”662<\/sup><\/p>\n

Prayer is also religion’s most problematic child.
\n-Stitskin663<\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We return to our initial point of departure: If petitionary prayer is efficacious throughout all time periods of Jewish history, given that we accept God as all-powerful and all-merciful why have the innocent suffered so greatly? Why were the desperate prayers on behalf of the innocents trapped by the Nazi cutthroats not answered? Surely none can argue that there were not more than a few innocents among the six million victims.<\/p>\n

The greater the absoluteness of the claim of the efficacy of petitionary prayer, the more severe and intractable the unrelenting core challenge of theodicy 1001s to the entire structure of religious belief. The thrust of the Maimonidean position on prayer must therefore be sustained.664<\/sup><\/p>\n

===================================
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d- NOTES \u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d-<\/p>\n

660<\/sup> Ibid. pp. 238-239.<\/p>\n

661<\/sup> Hirsch, Horeb,<\/em> sec. 618, p. 472.<\/p>\n

662<\/sup> See commentary of Shem Tov on Maimonides, Guide<\/em> 3:28. “And it is necessary that the mass-man should believe that God is moved by human petitions and rituals of propition. Though this belief is false, strictly speaking it is necessary for the existence of society.” As cited in Agus, The Evolution of Jewish Thought,<\/em> p. 196 (see his notes on p. 429 for full citation).<\/p>\n

663<\/sup> Stitskin, Studies in Torah Judaism,<\/em> p. 87.<\/p>\n

664<\/sup> See Yeshayahu Leibowitz, Judaism, Human Values, and the Jewish State<\/em> (Harvard University Press 1992) Chapter: “Of Prayer” In particular, see p. 35:
\n“By understanding prayer as a worshipful stance and not as an attempt to bring about God’s intervention in His natural order, we are able to solve a problem which arises in religious education regarding prayer: why does not prayer-at times, even the prayer of the saintly and the just\u00e2\u20ac\u201d evoke a response?…”<\/p>\n

“…The essence of the Yom Kippur experience is the consciousness of becoming purified before God and the awareness of the uniqueness of man’s position before Him, even though man in himself is as nought. However, popular religiosity was unable to bear this sublimity of faith, and embellished this essential liturgy…”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
CONVERSION TABLE for this multi-page unit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
you are currently on hard cover p. 183
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
< BACK<\/a><\/td>\n<\/td>\nNEXT PAGE><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\t\t\t\tPages pointer<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\nhard cover page<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1
\n2
\n3
\n4
\n5
\n6
\n7
\n8<\/td>\n		>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n>
\n><\/td>\n		176
\n177
\n178
\n179
\n180
\n181
\n182
\n183<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

hard cover page 176 Introductory Prayer: the offering of petition, confession, adoration or thanksgiving to God.613 First it should be noted that the English word “prayer” is a somewhat misleading translation for the Hebrew tefillah.614 “Prayer” implies request more than does tefillah. “Prayer” does not have the reflexive aspect embedded in tefilla615 “Prayer” is more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":735,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nPRAYER (pps.176-183) - David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica I<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/prayer\/\" \/>\n<link rel=\"next\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/prayer\/2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PRAYER (pps.176-183) - David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica I\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"hard cover page 176 Introductory Prayer: the offering of petition, confession, adoration or thanksgiving to God.613 First it should be noted that the English word “prayer” is a somewhat misleading translation for the Hebrew tefillah.614 “Prayer” implies request more than does tefillah. “Prayer” does not have the reflexive aspect embedded in tefilla615 “Prayer” is more […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/prayer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica I\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-04-23T20:56:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"20 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/\",\"name\":\"David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica I\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/prayer\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/prayer\/\",\"name\":\"PRAYER (pps.176-183) - David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica I\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2006-10-07T12:29:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-04-23T20:56:05+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/prayer\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/prayer\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/prayer\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\"}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"PRAYER (pps.176-183) - David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica I","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/prayer\/","next":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/prayer\/2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"PRAYER (pps.176-183) - David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica I","og_description":"hard cover page 176 Introductory Prayer: the offering of petition, confession, adoration or thanksgiving to God.613 First it should be noted that the English word “prayer” is a somewhat misleading translation for the Hebrew tefillah.614 “Prayer” implies request more than does tefillah. “Prayer” does not have the reflexive aspect embedded in tefilla615 “Prayer” is more […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/prayer\/","og_site_name":"David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica I","article_modified_time":"2018-04-23T20:56:05+00:00","twitter_card":"summary","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"20 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/","name":"David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica I","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/prayer\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/prayer\/","name":"PRAYER (pps.176-183) - David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica I","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/#website"},"datePublished":"2006-10-07T12:29:16+00:00","dateModified":"2018-04-23T20:56:05+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/prayer\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/prayer\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/prayer\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home"}]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/146"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":298,"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/146\/revisions\/298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}