An Age Old Question

Prayer is the oddest phenomenon. Human beings plead with G-d, who already knows what they want, who already considered and rejected their request before they ever made it and who made this decision for the very best reasons. And yet we ask an unchanging G-d to reconsider and change His mind!

Still prayer cannot entirely ridiculous if the wisest and saintliest have engaged in it for generations.  They must have had a reason, but pray tell us, what might it have been?

Standing on A Rock

G-d, in His instruction to Moses on how to produce water for the Jews in the desert, shared a thought that forms the basis of our approach to prayer. G-d told Moses, “Behold I stand there before you on the rock and you shall strike the rock and water shall flow from it.” (1)

This passage is curious. What does it mean that Moses will find G-d standing on a rock; does G-d not fill all space? How can G-d possibly be in one place more than another?

The Chassidic Masters (2) understood this phrase differently. They spoke of standing in the context of concentrating or focusing. During the course of a day our minds wander from one fragmented thought to another. We have so many tasks and projects, so many encounters and conversations, so many meetings and action items that our mind literally never rests.

Then along comes an encounter of such magnitude and grandiosity as to stop us dead in our tracks. We might see a bright smile in a child’s face or the deep love in a beloved’s eyes or receive an unexpected kindness from a stranger and time stands still. Our constant brain chatter fades into silence and we focus exclusively on the matter at hand. These moments rock our world. They bring everything to a grinding halt and we are left standing still.

This was the kind of standing that G-d did for Moses on the rock. At any given moment G-d is engaged in an infinite number of concerns. He must at once consider the whole of the world and every detail in it. Before deciding on big things like weather patterns and natural disasters or small things like when we might receive a raise or when our faucets might spring a leak, G-d must consider its ramifications on every other human and species including animal, bird and plant. He must consider the ramifications of earth events on other galaxies. He must provide for an untold number of details every single second.

When deciding what is right for me G-d considers a billion other questions that transcend my narrow interests. But there comes a time when G-d sets everything aside and looks exclusively at me. He considers the question of my life on the pure basis of my needs. This occurs every time I pray. I mean truly pray.

The Amidah Prayer

I am sure you, dear reader, are familiar with the daily prayer called Amidah. This is where we stand upright, face the general direction of Jerusalem and pray silently. Amidah means to stand. As the Chassidic Masters interpreted the word it means that everything in our life grinds to a halt and we stand or concentrate only on our relationship with G-d. We pray quietly because at this moment no one else exists; it is just G-d and me. In fact, even the dimension of myself that responds to strains of my own prayer fades away. My entire existence folds into the quintessential me and I am wrapped up with G-d, the rock of Israel. (3)

G-d is our rock. He is our strength and foundation. But to G-d, we, His children, are the bedrock of His creation. We are the reason He created the world – so that we might study His torah in this world and fulfill His commandments along the way. We are His reason for creation. Thus we, the Jewish people, are the rock of the world. (4)

When we stand before G-d during the Amidah we allow all other considerations to fade from consciousness. We still the background chatter of our mind and zero in on G-d till He fills the entire scope of our vision. He is all that exists for us at that time. There is no meditation, reflection, introspection or comprehension. There is only silent murmuring. There is only the experience of being; the essential bond between G-d and human. At this time G-d becomes our rock.

At this time we also become G-d’s rock. When we set everything aside for G-d, G-d responds by setting everything aside for us. He sets aside His infinite number of concerns and focuses exclusively and directly on us. He stops rushing along and moving about. He stands or focuses on His rock, us the bedrock of creation. This is what G-d meant when He told Moses, “Behold, I shall stand on the rock.” It did not mean He will be present on the rock and nowhere else. It was a poetic way of saying I will focus exclusively on my people, the rock of my creation. (5)

When Blessings Abound

You might have noticed that during the Amidah we ask for health, sustenance and a host of blessings. It is precisely when we are conjoined with G-d that we think of our needs because it is at this moment that G-d is focused on us in response. At this time of bonding, G-d considers the question of our needs from the unique perspective of our interests, ignoring all other considerations and deciding in our favor.

Granting our request doesn’t denote a change in G-d because both choices were perfectly known and equally available to Him before our prayer. It is a matter of choosing an option and when we pray He chooses to consider our requests from a favorable perspective and decide accordingly. (6)

This is what G-d meant when He told Moses, “Behold I will stand on the rock and you shall strike the rock.” Strike while the iron is hot, while opportunity lives. Tap into the intense flow of love brought to the fore by our momentous bond and you will see “water flow from the rock.”

Water is a metaphor for the flow of blessing. Abundant blessing, anything you ask for, can be granted at this time because it flows from the rock, our focus on G-d as the rock of our world and G-d’s focus on us,  the rock of His creation.

This is the secret of prayer and the reason the Amidah is considered the highest and holiest point of the prayer experience.

May our prayers be accepted on high and may all our wishes be granted for the good. Amen.

Footnotes

1. Exodus 17: 7.
2. Kedushas Levi ibid.
3. This is in concert with the statement of our sages (Brachos 6:b) there is no standing like the standing of prayer.
4. The reference to G-d as our rock is from Psalms 19: 14. The reference to Israel as a rock is from Samuel II 23: 3. Admittedly the literal reference in Samuel II is to G-d, the rock of Israel, but Kedushas Levi claims poetic license in rearranging the meaning of the words to refer to Israel as the rock of G-d’s creation. In fact, Kedushas Levi takes the word Tzur, rock, out of its literal meaning and translates it as form from the Hebrew word Tzurah. Effectively he states that Jews are the image G-d envisioned when first contemplating the endeavor of creation and they are still engraved on the panels of His throne. This follows the statement of our sages, (Bereishs Rabbah  as quoted by Rabbeinu Bacheye in Genesis chapter 1) “With whom did He consult? With the souls of righteous of Israel.” As Chabad Chassidism understands this statement it means that G-d envisioned the pleasure He would derive from the good deeds of the righteous and created the world on that basis.
5. Of course this doesn’t mean that others are made to suffer for the benefit we receive. It simply means that G-d will put other systems into place to ensure that others are not made to suffer any fallout from our benefit. In other words, the most efficient way to ensure the global wellbeing would have been to deny our request, but considering His immense love for us He chooses to go the extra distance, grant our request and arrange separately the wellbeing of all others.
6. When we say that G-d unchanging we mean that nothing new can be added to Him that is not already part of Him. In this case both options were available to Him upfront. He chose to consider our request from a global perspective before we prayed. Once we pray and tune into our relationship of love He chooses to look at the other option that was before Him all along.

The Split

I once asked an audience to tell me which historical factor contributed most to our continuity and one fellow insisted that the correct answer was anti-Semitism. When the nations reject us we have no choice, but to turn inward. When the nations befriend and accept us we tend to blend into the global culture and dilute our own culture. The problem is that once we sacrifice our culture on the altar of globalism we lose our identity and without that there is little to keep our children involved. (1)

The story of Chanukah demonstrates this truth. About a century and a half before the Common Era Israel was under occupation by Syrian Greeks, who sought to impose their culture on our people. Sadly there was no intersection between the cultures of Hellenism and Torah, which left Jews with only two options: Assimilate into Hellenism or fight for Judaism on pain of death.

Indeed, the Jewish people split into two camps. There were those, who succumbed to the Greek overtures and assimilated and those who maintained allegiance to Torah Judaism. The Greeks treated Jewish Hellenists with friendship and granted them all kinds of freedoms. The Torah idealists, however, were persecuted by the Greeks and were forced to take refuge in the Judean Hills.

The split experience of our people at that time is emblematic of our history. When persecuted by others we tend to coalesce into a single unit and strengthen our bonds with G-d. When we enjoy prosperity and freedom we loosen the reins of our discipline, water down our commitment and soon thereafter assimilate.

Back To Chanukah

The observant camp eventually organized an army under the leadership of Judah the Maccabee. They engaged the enemy and miraculously defeated the larger Greek army. Returning to the Temple they found only one jar of unblemished olive oil with which to light the candelabra. There was enough oil for one night, but the candles would burn miraculously for eight days.

This miracle is the focus of our Chanukah celebration as we kindle lights for eight days. Our sages taught that the olive is a symbol for the Jew under oppression. Just as the olive produces its purest oil only when it is squeezed so do Jews elicit their purest dedication when they are squeezed. (2) By performing a miracle with the oil G-d seemed to be sending a message that championed those who chose oppression over Hellenism and loyalty over freedom. It was a Divine proclamation that their focused dedication had produced a bright and enduring spiritual energy that overcame its natural constraints and illuminated the night eight consecutive times.

The Olive and the Oil

King David’s wrote, “Your children are like planted olives around your table.” (3) We understand the symbolism of olive oil as explained above, but what does the olive symbolize?

The Talmud has a curious quote about the olive. “Eating an olive,” says the Talmud, “causes one to forget the Torah that one has known for seventy years, but drinking olive oil restores this Torah knowledge.” (4) Olives are free and whole, but olive oil emerges from a crushed olive. According to our earlier discussion this means that conditions of freedom can trigger neglect of Torah even after seventy years of study and observance, but when we are oppressed our connection with G-d is restored.  If this is the case it begs an obvious question, why did King David choose the negative metaphor of olives rather than that of oil?

The olive obviously has a positive property in addition to its negative dimension for which reason David singled it out.

The olive is unique in that no other tree is grafted onto it because the hybrid produced by an olive and any other fruit is inferior to the pure olive. This is precisely like the Jew because though the Jew assimilates under conditions of prosperity, this is not the natural state of the Jew. Jews are by nature conditioned to remain loyal to Judaism and not intermarry or assimilate. Jews know that despite the glittering opportunities that the world offers, nothing compares to the dearest and highest values that are found in the Torah. Only the Jew was chosen to serve G-d through the Torah and only the Jew was chosen to serve as a light to the nations and this cannot possibly be substituted by anything else. (5) (6)

The olive thus has a dual message. On the one hand it is free and unencumbered, reflecting the kind of conditions that entice one to the forbidden and the non-kosher. (7) On the other hand, even the olive knows that it was neither designed nor intended to be grafted onto others. The olive remains alone. Unique.  Above the pinnacle of all that is exalted.

A Loving Education

If the olive’s character is in the Jew’s nature why do we so often assimilate under conditions of freedom?  It is because this nature is deeply embedded and must be nourished to be brought forth. How is this accomplished? How do we empower our children to enjoy Shabbat dinner when their favorite cartoon is on TV? What inspires our teenagers to opt for the Passover Seder on the night that Major League Baseball plays its opening game? What enables us to celebrate the lone Chanukah flame, when the glamorous and more colorful lights beckon outdoors?

King David enlightens us with the end of his statement, “Your children are like planted olives around your table.” When our children are raised around our table, a Jewish table that is kosher, holy and G-dly, they are like olive branches, which do not graft. If our homes are filled with love, warmth and devotion, if our children discern in us a passion for G-d and Torah, they will absorb it too. Their principles rooted in a sacred foundation that wavers in no storm.

If they are raised at our table, they will be olive branches. If they know that there is always a place for them at our table and a home for them in our hearts, if they discern the love, dedication and passion for G-d that permeates our very beings they will not be swayed by what’s beyond Judaism. Despite the temptations, they will remain true to their inborn nature, committed to their faith and dedicated to their tradition. (8)

The most obvious example was Joseph, who was appointed viceroy of Egypt. Joseph had every opportunity to break with his family’s tradition and embrace Egyptian culture, practice and faith, but he didn’t. Despite the acclaim, gratitude and appreciation he would have garnered Joseph remained a Jew. He was alone with his principles, alone in his practice, alone in his faith, but he never wavered. (9) (10)

Footnotes

1. In June of 1967 Jews across the world trembled with fear for our country was in peril. An unprecedented unity gripped the Jewish world as they streamed to the Synagogue in droves. This powerful unity sadly unraveled shortly after the war. The split between our factions asserted themselves once again and we quickly turned divisive. The story is told that when Napoleon invaded Russia in the 18th century Jewish rabbis were undecided which outcome would be better for the Jews. If Napoleon would defeat the Czar, enlightenment, freedom and tolerance would arrive to Russia, which would benefit the material and financial standing of the Jews, but it would also threaten the pure and single minded focus of the Russian Jew to Torah.
2. Babylonian Talmud, Menachot 53b.
3. Psalms 121
4. Babylonian Talmud, Horayot 13b.
5. This is encapsulated by the Talmudic dictum,” just as there is no grafting an olive so is there no inferior property in [the nature of Israel.” Jerusalem Talmud, Kilayim 5:7.
6. This is in addition to the Midrashic Dictum (Shemot Rabbah 36:1 “Just as oil doesn’t mix with liquids so do Jews not mix with the nations.” This statement is not surprising since it discusses oil, which is the metaphor for a Jew in suffering and we already know that the best of the Jew comes out when squeezed. What makes the Jerusalem Talmud statement unique is that it claims that even the olive, which represents the Jew in times of freedom, is also designed by nature to remain unencumbered.
7. This is indicated by the fact that the olive is sour whereas its oil is not.
8. Note the statement in the Zohar (III p. 126b) “Just as the olive remains on its branch despite the storms of winter and the heat of summer and emerges as a precious fruit… so are the children of a modest woman.”
9. Today, once again, we are fortunate to live in conditions of prosperity and acceptance. While it is true that intermarriage and assimilation have reached record numbers it is also true that we are in an unprecedented era of Torah study and observance. Since the beginning of our Diaspora, there have never been as many Academies of higher Torah learning and as many strictly observance Torah Jews.
10. This essay is based in part on a talk delivered by the Lubavitcher Rebbe of blessed memory on the 15th of Shevat, 5732.

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Four Reviews

Our sages taught before appearing at Sinai, G-d reviewed the Ten Commandments four times. (1) What is the significance of these four reviews and what can we learn from them?

Four Stages in Idea Development

1. In the process of preparing for a lecture we tend to review our ideas on four basic levels. The first is purely cerebral; it is our knowledge of the core idea and its attendant questions, contradictions, resolutions, analyses and applications. When we reflect on the ideas at this core level we hardly formulate them into words. Instead, we scan the raw intellectual information and though we must formulate our ideas in some fashion even on this level, the cerebral words that we use are totally transparent to the ideas that they convey. We are barely cognizant of them; our focus is entirely on the ideas.
2. We then move to the point of self articulation. At this point we move beyond scanning the inner core of the ideas to articulating each aspect of the thesis. We articulate the ideas in our own minds exploring each element and layer, spelling out each question and answer and reviewing each application and consequence. At this level we distill the ideas into words. We are actually teaching ourselves; translating the concepts into structured sentences and laying them out in orderly fashion. At this point, our minds become orators, speaking to a most captive audience, ourselves. Letters and words become very much apparent at this point, but still the focus is primarily on the ideas that they convey. One manifestation of the word’s subservience at this point is that the idea can still be formulated in any number of words and sentences. This is because we are focused on the idea; the words serve merely as conveyors.
3. From here we move to the third level - that of transmuting our mental notes into prepared lectures. At this point we are more concerned with the organization of ideas, structure of argument and selection of phraseology than we are with analyses and comprehension. We have moved from exploration of the thesis to its presentation and accordingly seek words that best express its subtlety and distill its complexities. To be sure, we are still concerned with the conveyance of ideas, but our primary focus shifts from the ideas to the words that convey them. This is a paradigm shift; from self to others, from clarity of understanding to clarity of communication. To accomplish this we must move from principles and ideas to sentence and syntax.
4. We now arrive at the fourth and final stage; the actual oration. Standing at the lectern and facing the audience, our minds take a quantum leap outwards. No longer are we thinking of core ideas, comprehension, articulation, organization or even syntax; we are now focused on delivering our lecture with clarity. We strive to communicate and to be understood and to that end we focus almost exclusively on words; the vehicles that carry our thoughts to the audience. At this point, master orators reserve no mind space for ideas. They are consumed almost entirely with their prepared remarks. They focus on proper pronunciation and inflection, all the while feeling out their audience for the most convincing style and persuasive approach.

The Role of The Letter

When we consider these four stages and the evolution of letters from wholly transparent to wholly dominant, we realize that letters, despite being the most important vehicle of communication, are completely subservient and even redundant to the ideas that they convey. In fact, even the audience, who receives the ideas entirely through the vehicle of words, will not require those words one they grasp the essence of the ideas. They will begin by replacing the phrases selected by the orator with ones more palatable to their own style of thought. They will then mature along the intellectual curve till they internalize the teaching on the cerebral level and dispense with the letters completely.

What happens to the letters at that point? Where are they stored? The answer is that they are not stored at all. The properties of shape and sound that ideas take on when they are communicated to others, fade away (metamorphose or coalesce into their ideas) when we think for ourselves. We do not consciously discard them; we simply mature in our thinking till we find ourselves addressing the concepts themselves rather than its letters. At first the letters become transparent to the ideas and then, as their transparency increases, their independent presence decreases, till they merge completely with the concepts that they convey.

The Jew at Sinai

We can now appreciate the lesson derived from the four reviews that G-d undertook at Sinai. By conveying the four stages of preparation G-d illustrated the relation of the letter to the idea, which serves as a metaphor for the relation of creation to its Creator. Just as the letter seems to stand for itself, nearly eclipsing the idea it is meant to convey, so do we, created human beings, appear to be separate entities, completely independent from our creator.

But just as the letter becomes subservient and absorbed within the idea as we mature along the intellectual curve, so do we. As we absorb the Torah and internalize its patterns of Divine thought, we recognize the truth of our existence as mere extensions of the Creator. The rate at which our sense of independence decreases is commensurate with the rate at which our consciousness of G-d increases. We mature along this spiritual curve until we can hardly distinguish between Creator and creation; at this point we coalesce into the Divine beings that, at essence, we truly are.

The dawning of this realization was achieved at Sinai. The culmination of this realization awaits us with the coming of Moshiach. May it happen speedily in our days, Amen. (2)

Footnotes

1. Shemos Rabbah ch. 40. This is based on the following verse from Job 28: 27, “He saw and told, prepared and also researched and [then] spoke to man.”
2. This essay is largely based on the Chassidic discourse, Basi Legani, 5730.

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