The Oneness Bond Between Hashem and Yisroel, As Explained by the Maharal and the Pachad Yitzchok

The Oneness Bond Between Hashem and Yisroel,  As Explained by the Maharal and the Pachad Yitzchok

By Eliakim Willner

Eliakim Willner is author of “Nesivos Olam – Nesiv HaTorah: An Appreciation of Torah Study”, a translation with commentary of a work by the Maharal of Prague, published by Artscroll/Mesorah. This article is adapted from his forthcoming continuation of the Nesivos Olam series, “Nesivos Olam – Nesiv HaAvodah: The Philosophy and Practice of Prayer”.

Introduction

We are now in the midst of the days which epitomize the barrier between Hashem and Klal Yisroel that was erected after the churban, the destruction of the holy Temple in Yerushalayim. It is a depressing segment of our calendar, and it behooves us to be depressed at the thought of what we have lost. At the same time, though, we cannot lose sight of the fact that the bond between Hashem and Yisroel, although obscured, remains steadfast. There is a bond of oneness between us that will not come into full bloom until the end of days, but which exists today as well. An understanding of this bond will help us get through this difficult time, and also assist us in preparation for the yimei hadin, the days of judgement that follow it.

The Source: Shma Yisroel

We begin with a verse that Jews recite twice daily to accept the Kingship of Heaven on themselves: Shma Yisroel, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad, "Listen Yisroel, Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is one". The Maharal analyzes this verse in detail in Nesivos Olam, Nesiv HaAvodah, Chapter 7. He considers other permutations of the verse that seemingly might more efficiently accomplish the same purpose as the actual Shma verse, and systematically rejects them one by one. Here is an excerpt:

“...We also cannot say ‘Listen, Yisroel, our G-d, is one’,  because Hashem’s Singular Name, in particular, is associated with Yisroel.   We must therefore precede ‘our G-d’ with ‘Hashem’. In this way we affirm that [the Bearer of] the Singular Name is ‘our G-d’, yet He is intrinsically one, and this will become apparent in the future, when the language of all the nations will transform into an unequivocal and universal declaration of Hashem’s oneness.  In this world, however, the oneness inherent in Hashem’s Singular name is not apparent. That is reserved for the future, per the verse,  ‘[And on that day…] it will come to pass that Hashem shall become King over all the earth; on that day Hashem will be one, and His name will be one’.”

The name of Hashem used in the context of this verse is the four-letter “Havaya” name which is spelled with the letter yud followed by hai followed by vov followed by hai, but it has no vowelization and is therefore unpronounceable in our current world. It is the name most closely associated with Hashem’s oneness; His singularity – with the concept that the only “real” existence is Hashem, that nothing exists besides Hashem, and the existence we perceive is an emanation of Hashem. That is why this name, in particular, is used in the verse that declares Hashem’s oneness and why it is sometimes also referred to as the Singular Name.

The Maharal is saying that when we declare that Hashem is our G-d we must explicitly use the Singular name (where we here write “Hashem”) because there is an association between Hashem’s singularity – His oneness –  and Yisroel’s oneness. Hashem's oneness is absolute - there is no other existence besides Him. That attribute is, of course, unique to Hashem. But Yisroel can also be said to partake of the quality of oneness because Yisroel and only Yisroel is the nation that “matters”, the nation on behalf of whom the world was created and continues to exist. All else is subsidiary. Only Yisroel is primary. That is our oneness, and it is integrally bound with Hashem’s oneness, as we shall see.

Hashem replicated, as it were, his attribute of oneness in Yisroel. The Maharal writes in Ner Mitzva, Section 1, that Yisroel and only Yisroel was created in order to further the honor of Hashem by proclaiming his oneness; the four nations that usurped Yisroel’s ascendancy after the destruction of the Temple (and who presided and continue to preside over our exile) obscure Hashem’s oneness. Yisroel is suited for its role as sole standard bearer for Hashem’s oneness by virtue of their own attribute of oneness. The verse (Yeshayahu 43:21) states, “This people I formed for Myself; they shall recite My praise”. The Hebrew word for “this”, zu, has the numeric value 13 – the same value as the three letters aleph-ches-dalet, echad, which means one.

More on the Oneness Attribute of Yisroel

In the same vein the Maharal in Netzach Yisroel 10 cites the verse (Shmuel 2, 7:23) “And who is like Your people, like Israel, one nation in the world”. There are indeed other nations but they are subsidiary to Yisroel, who are the raison d’etre of the universe, and ideally they would be limited to playing supporting roles to Yisroel’s lead role, as the Maharal writes in Derech Chaim, in his introduction to the Mishna, “kol Yisroel”.

The oneness attribute of Yisroel in relation to the oneness of Hashem also appears in the prayer service. The Mincha Shmoneh Esrai of Shabbos, referencing the verse in Shmuel 2, begins, “You are one, Your name is one, and who can be likened to Your nation Yisroel, one nation in the world?”. Similarly the liturgical hymn Om Ani Choma, recited on Hoshana Rabbah, declares that Yisroel is “the one and only, who declares Your oneness”.

The Relationship Between the Oneness of Hashem and the Oneness of Yisroel – Pachad Yitzchok

Rav Yitzchok Hutner discusses the relationship between the oneness of Hashem and the oneness of Yisroel in Igros U’Ksovim 55. A correspondent pointed out an apparent contradiction between Rashi’s commentary on the Shma verse and a Gemara in Pesachim 50a. Rashi, based on the Sifri cited earlier, comments, “Hashem, who is currently our G-d but not the G-d of the nations [of the world], will, in the future be one [i.e. universally accepted], per the verse in Tzefania 3:9, “For then I will convert the peoples to a pure language that all of them call in the name of Hashem”, and the verse in Zecharia 14:9, “And Hashem shall become King over all the earth; on that day Hashem will be one, and His name one.” In other words, Rashi is implying that it is a fact that as things now stand, we cannot truthfully say that Hashem is one.

The Gemara in Pesachim, however, on the same verse in Zecharia, asks incredulously, “[On that day Hashem will be one…?] Does the verse seriously intend to imply that on this day Hashem is not one?” The Gemara answers that this world is not like the future world. In this world, for good news we recite the blessing, hatov v’hameitiv, “He is good, and He does good”, while for bad news we recite the blessing, dayan emes, “Blessed be the true Judge”; whereas in the future world we will only recite the blessing “He is good and He does good”.

So, is it a matter-of-fact truth that the oneness of Hashem is reserved for the future, or is it something that merits incredulity?

Rav Hutner responded by referencing the Shabbos Mincha prayer we mentioned earlier, “You are one, Your name is one, and who can be likened to Your nation Yisroel, one nation in the world”. The manifestation of Hashem’s oneness, this prayer declares, and the elucidation of the quality of oneness of Yisroel, are two sides of the same coin and are, in fact, interdependent.

Dayan Emes and Tov Umeitiv

How are we to understand this? We begin with a consideration of the blessing of dayan emes, “Blessed be the true Judge”, recited over bad news, and there is no more egregious an example of bad news than the antipathy the non-Jewish nations have toward Yisroel. This antipathy can only exist in the context of a world where dayan emes holds sway; where the forces of evil that create bad news have power. In that world the oneness of Yisroel is obscured, since Yisroel is beaten down by the nations of the world.

In the world to come, however, hatov v’hameitiv, “He is good, and He does good”, dominates, and dayan emes is nullified. Evil ceases to exist. There is only a blessing for good. The opposition to Yisroel caused by evil melts away, and the unique status of Yisroel – their oneness – shines forth.

This is the message of the Gemara in Pesachim. Why, the Gemara asks, do the verses in Tzefania and Zecharia imply that Hashem’s oneness is impinged in this world? Because, the Gemara answers, the oneness of Yisroel is obscured under the weight of dayan emes as evinced by the oppression they suffer on the part of the non-Jewish nations, and when the oneness of Yisroel is obscured, the oneness of Hashem is obscured as well. The oneness of Hashem and the oneness of Yisroel are intertwined.

Only in the world-to-come, when dayan emes is vanquished for good, and the oneness of Yisroel is apparent, will the oneness of Hashem also be apparent. “On that day Hashem will be one, and His name one”.

Reconciling the Gemara in Pesachim and the Sifri

The reason the Sifri and Rashi are matter-of-fact about the reality that, today, we cannot truthfully say that Hashem is one, while the Gemara in Pesachim is incredulous about the possibility that we cannot today say that Hashem is one (the issue raised by Rav Hutner’s correspondent) is chronology: the Gemara’s question and answer predated the Sifri!

Until we know the Gemara’s answer we cannot help but be incredulous. How can we possibly say that Hashem is not one, in any context? But, once we understand, as the Gemara explains, that Hashem is linking His oneness to our oneness, and our oneness is not revealed until the world-to-come, we appreciate that this linkage is the message of the verses in Zecharia and Tzefania. “On that day [when our oneness will be revealed due to the cessation of the evil that hides it today] Hashem will be one, and His name one”. The Sifri presumes knowledge of the Gemara’s question and answer and merely restates the Gemara’s conclusion as established fact, without detailing the Gemara’s linkage explanation.

Truth in Davening

A question remains, however. If the oneness of Yisroel, and therefore the oneness of Hashem are not revealed until the world-to-come, how can we honestly declare, in Shabbos Mincha, “You are one and Your name is one”, in the present tense? The oneness of Hashem is, after all, obscured in this world. Now, it might be thought that since we know with certainty that Hashem’s oneness will be revealed in the future, there is no harm in speaking of it in the present tense, as if it were a fait accompli. In fact, though, we have a definitive indication that our Sages understood that Hashem is the essence of truth and does not abide falsehood of any kind, and they were therefore scrupulous about keeping even a hint of falsehood out of the prayer service.

What is this indication? After the destruction of the Temple our Sages were prepared to excise the phrases “mighty and awesome” as attributes of Hashem from the first blessing of the Shmoneh Esrai on the grounds that, with heathens cavorting on the site of the Temple, Hashem’s might and awesomeness were no longer apparent. The Sages surely understood that these phrases remained valid attributes of Hashem and were destined to be revealed again in the future. Yet, because they lacked present-tense validity, using them would not live up to Hashem’s rigorous standard of truth. How, then, can we permit “You are one and Your name is one” to remain in the prayer service if they, too, lack present-tense validity?

(In fact, the phrases “mighty and awesome” were allowed to remain in the first blessing of the Shmoneh Esrai when our Sages came to realize that Hashem’s self-restraint in the face of the intense provocation of heathens cavorting on the Temple site was in itself an act of supreme might and awesomeness, giving the phrases a present-tense validity. But is there an equivalent present-tense understanding of “You are one and Your name is one”, from Shabbos Mincha?)

There is, and it is an even more direct understanding than that of “mighty and awesome”, as Rav Hutner explains in Pachad Yitzchok, Pesach 60, 21-23. It is a mistake to believe that our oneness will not make an appearance until the end of days. In fact, our oneness was implanted in us when our nation was formed. It is not a future attribute, but a present one, latent in its fullest sense until the world-to-come but present as a reality in our nation since our formation as a nation during the exodus from Egypt. At that time, as Hashem promised Avrohom years earlier, Egypt was drained of its wealth, and that wealth was transferred to Yisroel. This, Rav Hutner explains, was a pre-enactment of the ultimate destiny of the newly formed nation of Yisroel at the end of days, when the strengths of the other nations of the world will similarly be transferred to Yisroel, to be used by them in their service of Hashem.

Thus our oneness is not merely a promise of things to come, it is a present-day reality, albeit not yet in full-blown form.

We return to the prayer of Shabbos Mincha, where we say, “You are one and Your name is one”, and we continue, “and who is like Your nation Yisroel, one nation on earth?” Notice that the prayer’s description of Hashem and His name as one appears as a declarative statement, while the description of Yisroel is couched as a question. A question implies immediacy; it demands an answer that has an application here and now. This signals that the oneness; the uniqueness of Yisroel is not something that we merely await, it is, in fact, present-tense.

As we said earlier, though, the manifestation of Hashem’s oneness and the elucidation of the quality of oneness of Yisroel are two sides of the same coin and are, in fact, interdependent. The immediacy of Yisroel’s oneness (“Who is like Your nation, Yisroel?”) brings the reality of Hashem’s oneness into the present tense as well, and thus our declaration that “You are one and Your name is one” is not merely a reflection of what will be some day, but a totally accurate description of present day reality that can be uttered without at all impinging on Hashem’s absolute standard of honesty.

May we merit seeing the fulfillment of the prophecies of Tzefania and Zecharia speedily in our days, when Hashem's oneness and Yisroel's oneness will be apparent to all, without question!

The Long and the Short; the Loud and the  Soft – Approaches to Prayer from the Torah of the Maharal, with Elucidations from the Chofetz Chaim and Pachad Yitzchok

By Eliakim Willner

Eliakim Willner is author of “Nesivos Olam – Nesiv HaTorah: An Appreciation of Torah Study”, a translation with commentary of a work by the Maharal of Prague, published by Artscroll/Mesorah. This article is adapted from his forthcoming continuation of the Nesivos Olam series, “Nesivos Olam – Nesiv HaAvodah: The Philosophy and Practice of Prayer”.

Introduction

The Gemara (Brachos 31a) teaches: 

“Rav Hamnuna said, ‘How many important laws can be learned from these verses relating to Chana! “And Chana spoke in her heart”  – from this we learn that one who prays must concentrate in his heart. “Only her lips moved” – from this we learn that one who prays must form the words with his lips. “And her voice was not heard” – from this we learn that it is forbidden to raise one’s voice when engaged in prayer.’”

Volumes can be, and have been, written about Tefillah; it is a massive subject that is well beyond the scope of a single article. Here we examine some specific issues regarding audibility and length of prayer, as explained by the Maharal, and as explicated by the Chofetz Chaim, Rav Yitzchok Hutner in Pachad Yitzchok, and others.

Why Must Prayer be Spoken?

In Nesiv HaAvodah 2:2 the Maharal writes that man’s uniqueness among the living creatures that inhabit the world is identified with his power of speech. If a person does not verbalize his needs in prayer he has not identified himself as an appropriate “address” to which the prayer fulfillment may be sent. In order to qualify as a “recipient” he has to articulate his desire to have his needs fulfilled. Thus a person must speak out his desire to have his needs fulfilled. If he does so he is asking as a human with a need and this makes him eligible to have his prayer responded to. Man alone qualifies for the relationship of closeness to Hashem that can lead to prayer fulfillment and man alone was elevated with the power of speech, so articulating one’s prayer requests is the equivalent of presenting to Hashem the “documentary evidence” that entitles him to have his prayer accepted.

Only as humans asking as humans, are we able to have our needs fulfilled by the Creator – since, only then, are we humans who are lacking. A person who prays mentally and without verbalizing has failed to present his needs as a human. Even though Hashem certainly knows our thoughts, if we fail to articulate our needs, we fail to qualify ourselves as a valid recipients of Hashem’s response.

In Derech Chaim 2:13 the Maharal, in explaining the Gemara that states that prayer must be in the form on an entreaty, notes that not only the attitude of the prayer, but also its spoken wording, must be in the form of an entreaty. He explains that speech turns a thought into an action – the action of speaking – and that positioning oneself as subservient to Hashem via acts is a much more powerful expression of subservience than merely having those thoughts. And the Maharal explains in Nesiv HaAvodah, prayer is speech-centric.

This is why we must express ourselves verbally when we pray. Speaking identifies us as humans. A person who prays mentally and without verbalizing has failed to present his needs as a human.

As a corollary to this rule, a person must articulate his requests precisely, when he prays, and not be careless with his words on the assumption that Hashem will understand what he wants even if he misspeaks. In Gur Aryeh, Bamidbar 22:11, with respect to the wording of Bil’am’s request of Hashem for permission to curse Yisroel, the Maharal writes, “Do not think that Hashem will act on the basis of His knowledge of a person’s intent when he makes a request. Rather, Hashem responds only on the basis of what a person actually says”.

The Maharal makes a similar point in Nesiv HaTorah chapter 4 about the need to verbalize the study of Torah. Speech, he writes, is identified with life and the Torah is called the source and extender of life. By verbalizing Torah study one connects life (the power of speech) with the source of life (Torah). This allows the Torah’s life-giving power to take effect. That connection does not take place when Torah study is confined to the mind and not verbalized. For this reason, adds the Maharal, one does not make the Torah study blessings if the study is not verbalized. See Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 47:4.

The Power of Speech and the Power of Torah – The Potency of Spirituality (Chofetz Chaim)

In Nesiv HaLashon chapter 5 the Maharal refers to the power of speech as that which gives man his tzurah, his form – that is, it is man’s defining feature. Tzurah is identified with ruchnius – with man’s intellect and spirituality. Torah, of course, is also identified with ruchnius.

In that light, the Chofetz Chaim, in Shmiras HaLoshon, Shaar HaZechira 1, citing a Yerushalmi in Peah 1, writes that just as the reward for Torah learning is of equal weight to the reward for all the other commandments combined, so is the punishment for loshon horah, defamatory speech, of equal weight to the punishment for all the other prohibitions combined. The positive commandment of  Torah learning and the negative commandment of loshon horah are at opposite ends of the Torah’s spectrum; Torah learning is at the height and loshon horah is at the nadir.

The basis for the special status of these commandments lies in their relative detachment from the physical and their association with the spiritual. Torah study utilizes the intellect. Loshon horah utilizes the power of speech. Both are more spiritual than physical in nature and therefore both are far more potent in terms of the affect that they have in the spiritual realm than the other commandments, both positive and negative, since those all involve physical actions of the body.

An analogy from the material world: Of the four elements that comprise this world – fire, water, earth and air – the two non-physical elements, fire and air, have far wider-reaching consequences than the others and are capable of wreaking significantly greater havoc than the others. Similarly, the two commandments that are most detached from the physical body, loshon horah in the negative sense, and Torah study in the positive sense, have the most significant spiritual consequences. And since the spiritual consequences of the commandments directly affect the physical world, as the Nefesh HaChaim details, these two commandments have a major impact on the physical quality of our lives; on our security and well-being.

All the commandments effect the spiritual and physical realms, but Torah and loshon horah, because of their spiritual nature, have the most dramatic effect. That is why the reward for Torah study is so magnified that it outweighs that of all the other commandments together. And it is why the punishment for loshon horah is so magnified that it outweighs that of all the other negative commandments together.

The Relationship of Thought and Speech in Prayer

In Beraishis 48:22 Yaakov bequeaths the city of Schem to Yosef as a reward for Yosef’s undertaking to return the body of Yaakov to the Meoras HaMachpela burial cave in Israel for internment. He describes Schem as the city that he took from the Emorites “with my sword and my bow”. Rashi explains that as a meaning “with my wisdom and my prayer”. The efficacy of prayer is compared to that of bow and arrow weaponry.

Rabbi Yehoshua Dovid Hartman, in his commentary on the Maharal in Gur Aryeh on this verse, cites the Maharal’s explanation of prayer in Beer Hagolah 4. There the Maharal explains that the Hebrew word for prayer, tefilla, comes from the root pallal, which means “thought”. Prayer at its core is a will; a desire, that takes form as thought, that Hashem should fulfill the needs that he is praying for. Without that crucial thought, the words of prayer are devoid of meaning and cannot properly be called prayer at all.

In that light we can understand, Rabbi Hartman, explains, the appropriateness of the bow and arrow metaphor to prayer. A bow provides the force that propels the arrow. It is the arrow that strikes the target but it is the force of the bow that creates the effect of the strike. With respect to prayer, the thought, the will, like the bow, provides the “force” that propels; in this case, it is the spoken words of prayer that are being propelled. The analog to the “arrow” that carries the force are the words of the prayer, that articulate and “carry” the thought/will that constitute the core of the prayer itself.

Why is the force – the thought – itself not sufficient? Why is a “carrier” needed in the form of the spoken words of prayer? In the terminology of the Maharal here, the answer is that since speech is man’s signature characteristic, and since man’s sole entitlement to having his prayers responded to by Hashem is his status as man, he needs to stamp his prayers with man’s exclusive imprimatur – that is, he needs to “package” them in speech – in order to establish that he has a “right” to having his prayers answered. The thought, like the bow, indeed supplies the force. But without the “arrow” of the spoken word, the thought alone would be as impotent as a bow without an arrow.

Not Too Loud!

Although one must verbalize prayer, it is important that prayer not be too loud (as the Gemara with which we began derives from the prayer of Chana).

Ideally, writes the Mishnah Brurah in Orach Chaim 101:2, one should pray so quietly that even the person standing next to him should not hear him. This is to avoid disturbing the prayers of others.

But there is another, deeper reason for keeping the volume down when praying. The Maharal in Nesiv HaAvodah 2:3 quotes the Gemara in Brachos 24b.: “The braiso taught, ‘One who prays so that it can be hear is among those of little faith. One who raises his voice in prayer is counted among the false prophets.” The Gemara explains that the prophets of the idol Baal screamed to him for a response so one who prays loudly is compared to them.

The Maharal writes that such prayer indicates “little faith” because prayer is an expression of faith that Hashem will fulfill the supplicant’s requests, and this faith is indicative of an attachment to an exalted and hidden plane. This faith goes back to the very origins of the world when Hashem willed the world into existence from nothing. He therefore controls every last detail of the world’s operation and it is in His sole power to fulfill prayer requests. One who prays with the knowledge that Hashem and only Hashem can help him thus attaches himself to this lofty and primordial plane of existence. Loud prayer flies in the face of this kind of prayer.

(We should add that the Mishnah Brurah 95:2 writes that, aside from prayer decibel level, it is inappropriate to make unusual movements or sounds of any kind when praying publicly.)

 

When a Shorter Prayer is Better (Pachad Yitzchok)

In Nesiv HaAvodah 6:7 the Maharal speaks of the benefits of a long prayer, as long as the pronunciation of the words is not artificially elongated and the person praying is not fixated on his expectation of a positive response. However, there are occasions when a shorter, albeit complete prayer, is better.

With the Egyptians gaining on them from behind and the Red Sea blocking their way in front, and with no salvation in sight, Moshe cried out to Hashem in prayer, as the Torah relates in Shmos 14:16. Rashi explains that Moshe intended to pray at length but Hashem told him that when Yisroel is in distress, it is not the time for extended prayer. Hashem said, “Why do you cry out to me? Speak to Yisroel and have them travel”.

The Maharal in Gur Aryeh on that verse writes that the reason a long prayer was not appropriate at that juncture was that no prayer response could be forthcoming until the prayer ended. The salvation would have to be deferred until the prayer was completed. To avoid prolonging Yisroel’s distress, then, Hashem told Moshe to pray briefly, so as to accelerate the salvation.

Why, though, was it necessary to defer the salvation until the completion of the prayer? Why could Hashem not have alleviated the distress of Yisroel even while Moshe continued his prayer? To answer this question we turn to Rav Yitzchok Hutner’s Pachad Yitzchok, Pesach Maamar 14. He cites the Medrash (Shmos Rabbah 21:5) which asks, why did Hashem wait until Yisroel was literally cornered before delivering His salvation? The answer, says the Medrash, is that Hashem yearned for their prayers and thus brought about a situation that compelled prayer. In other words, Rav Hutner explains, although ordinarily a predicament is cause for prayer, there are times when Hashem’s desire for prayer is cause for a predicament.

On those occasions – and the crisis at the Red Sea was one of those occasions – it is impossible for the salvation to be delivered mid-prayer. That would defeat the purpose of the predicament, which was to engender the very prayer that would be cut short by a premature salvation. In such cases the prayer is not a means to an end, but is the end itself, and preserving its integrity is paramount.

That is why Hashem told Moshe to complete his prayer before delivering the salvation. When the prayer was complete, the objective of the predicament – to engender the prayer – was accomplished, and the salvation could be delivered without further delay.

But there is more, Rav Hutner continues. Ordinarily, after being rescued from disaster, the prevailing attitude is deep gratitude for the salvation. The salvation is the focus. After the miraculous events at the Red Sea, however, Yisroel’s focus was not so much on the salvation itself, as it was on the knowledge that their prayers had found a ready ear, as it were, in Hashem. They gloried in this demonstration that Hashem is attuned to their prayers. The rescue itself? That was but a means, whose end was this great realization.

Just as, for Hashem, the predicament was a means to extract Yisroel’s prayers, so for Yisroel, was the rescue a means to an appreciation that Hashem is listening to those prayers. As King Dovid expressed it, “I love when Hashem hears my voice in my supplications. For He extended His ear to me…” (Tehillim 116:1-2).

When Even a Deficient Prayer is Effective (Pachad Yitzchok)

Regarding our three daily prayer services, the Gemara in Brachos 26b says:

“Rabbi Yosi son of Rabbi Chaninah said, ‘Our [three] forefathers established the [three] prayer services… There is a braiso supporting Rabbi Chaninah’s position: ‘Avrohom instituted the Shachris morning service, as is written,  “And Avrohom arose early in the morning to the place where he stood  before Hashem” and ‘standing’ can only mean prayer, as is written,  ‘And Pinchas stood and prayed, and the plague was stopped’.

‘Yitzchok instituted the Mincha afternoon service as is written,  “And Yitzchok went out to meditate  in the field towards evening”, and meditate can only mean prayer, as is written, “A prayer for a poor man when he enwraps himself and pours out his meditation before Hashem”.’

‘Yaakov instituted the Maariv evening service as is written,  “And he encountered the place and lodged there because the sun had set”, and encounter can only mean prayer, as is written, “[And you, pray not on behalf of this people,] lift up neither cry nor prayer, and do not encounter me”.

Let us shift our focus to the events of kriyas yam suf. With the Egyptians gaining on them from behind and the Red Sea blocking their way in front, and with no salvation in sight, Yisroel cried out to Hashem in prayer, as the Torah relates in Shmos 14:10. Rashi explains that in so doing, Yisroel clung to the prayer practices of their forefathers. He cites the verses brought in the Gemara in Brachos 26b regarding the prayer services established by each of the forefathers.

The Maharal in Gur Aryeh explains that there was nothing particularly special or meritorious about their prayer; indeed, at the same time they prayed, they complained, and expressed regret on having left Egypt. Rather, they were simply following their forefathers’ prayer tradition. It was a half-hearted, rote effort.

Rav Yitzchok Hutner, in Pachad Yitzchok, Purim Maamar 19:3, explains that it might be thought that Rashi and the Maharal are implying that the deficiency in Yisroel’s prayer at the Red Sea resulted in its inefficacy, but in reality they are describing a singular feature of this prayer; a feature that made this prayer accomplish its intended result notwithstanding its deficiency. Indeed, the result of the prayer was that “Hashem will fight for you, but you will remain silent” (Shmos 14:14).

This prayer did not operate as traditional prayers do, through intense focus, concentration and merit. Rather this prayer was effective because it served as a credential – it identified Yisroel as descendants of the forefathers. We can best understand this concept through a metaphor. A person petitions the King for something and while he is making his case the King cuts him off, telling him, “I do not need to hear your appeal. I am going to grant your request not because of your argument but because I recognize, in the manner of your speaking, your pedigree”. Similarly, when Hashem told Yisroel, “… you will remain silent”, the intent was not to dismiss their prayer, but rather to inform them that through their prayer, He recognized their ancestry, and the merit of that ancestry made prayer in the traditional sense unnecessary, and mooted the inherent deficiency of the prayer.

Yisroel’s prayer at the Red Sea operated on a different basis than traditional prayer. It identified Yisroel as children of the forefathers, and that in itself was an entitlement to salvation. This prayer was a path to deliverance that bypassed the need for traditional prayer.

Conclusion

It is important to articulate our prayers carefully, and, when we add personal entreaties to our prayers, to choose our words carefully. Prayers connect us back to our forefathers and they connect us to Hashem, who awaits them.

Prayers are potent weapons; they have the potential to move worlds, and we must take care that we are moving worlds in the right direction.

The Power of Ashrei – From the Torah of the Maharal and Other Commentators

The Power of Ashrei – From the Torah of the Maharal and Other Commentators

By Eliakim Willner

Eliakim Willner is author of “Nesivos Olam – Nesiv HaTorah: An Appreciation of Torah Study”, a translation with commentary of a work by the Maharal of Prague, published by Artscroll/Mesorah. This article is adapted from his forthcoming continuation of the Nesivos Olam series, “Nesivos Olam – Nesiv HaAvodah: The Philosophy and Practice of Prayer”.

Introduction

We recite the Ashrei prayer three times every day – twice during Shachris and once during Mincha – and unfortunately, for many, familiarity breeds contempt. The prayer, which has immense potency, is often taken for granted, and its full benefit not realized. This is a great pity. We will try to understand, based on the words of Chazal, why Ashrei is so powerful, and what we need to do in order to benefit from its great power.

It All Starts From a Gemara.

The Gemara (Brachos 4b) teaches us that “Whoever recites the Tehillah L’Dovid psalm three times every day is guaranteed a place in the world-to-come.” This, of course, is a reference to the Ashrei prayer, Tehillim 145, which actually begins with the words Tehillah L’Dovid. (The first two verses of the prayer are not part of that chapter of Tehillim. Various explanations are provided to account for their addition. On explanation is that those two verses, like Tehillim 145 itself, begin with the word “Ashrei”, making in total three instances of the word “Ashrei” in the prayer – an allusion to the “three times a day” that, the Gemara teaches, is a guarantee for a place in the world to come.)

The Gemara explains that Ashrei has this power because it contains the verse, poseiach es yodecha… “You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing”, and because its verses form an alphabetical acrostic using the entire Hebrew alphabet.

The notion that one can acquire as weighty a thing as the world-to-come with so seemingly mundane a measure as reciting a particular psalm three times a day is the subject of much discussion among the commentators.

How it Works- the Maharal

The Maharal in Nesiv HaAvodah 6:11 explains that the two features of Ashrei mentioned by the Gemara directly relate to the reward. Moreover, they are not two disparate and unrelated features. Rather, they work in tandem to create the relationship between Ashrei and the world-to-come.

Let us begin with the “You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing”, feature. Parnoso, sustenance is synonymous with life itself, since sustenance fuels the life of all living beings. Sustenance and life amount to one and the same thing. Therefore we praise Hashem with the verse, “You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing”, and in so doing we establish a point of commonality with the world-to-come, the inhabitants of which live the ultimate form of life – an eternal life. Despite the more limited version of life we  experience in this world, life is the common denominator between this world and the world-to-come.

Following the order of the alphabet – the second feature of Ashrei mentioned by the Gemara – assures that all twenty-two letters that comprise the Torah are utilized and this propels the Ashrei praise to the exalted level occupied by the Torah.

How do these two feature work in tandem to create the bond to the world-to-come? Certainly, the “You open your hand…” verse is not in itself sufficient to create a bond to the world-to-come because, while life in this world – which that verse is describing – is physical, life in the world-to-come is not. The alphabet-ordering feature of Ashrei is also not sufficient to earn a person a place in the world-to-come because, even though that feature demonstrates that the praises of Ashrei achieve the exalted world-to-come level of the Torah, it does not of itself attach the individual to life, which is a necessary condition in order to merit the world-to-come.

That is why both features are needed. It is the combination of Ashrei’s alphabet sequence, along with the “You open your hand…” verse that brings about the attachment to the world-to-come. The verse creates the association with life. The alphabet sequence, with its twenty-two letters, extends that life to the world-to-come. The end result is that through the life feature communicated by the verse and the praise arranged in the order of the twenty-two letters of the aleph-bais a person becomes worthy of the world-to-come.

How it Works – Rabbeinu Bechaya and the Pnei Yehoshua

Rabbeinu Bechaya says that ruminating on the deep meaning of these verses strengthens one’s faith in and service to Hashem and that brings a person to merit the world to come (See Rabbeinu Bechaya on Vayikrah 7:37). Similarly the Ben Yehoyada writes that this prevents a person from transgressing, and therefore reduces the chances of his losing his portion in the world-to-come because of his sins.

The Pnei Yehoshua on the Gemara in Brachos elaborates further on this approach to understanding the Gemara. He writes that the purpose of Ashrei is to reinforce, through the triple repetition, the belief in the centrality of the Torah; the idea that the world was created to provide a context for those who study the Torah – which was built out of the twenty-two letters of the aleph-bais that form the foundation of Ashrei. The, “You open your hand…”, verse reminds us that all living creatures are provided their sustenance by Hashem without any labor on their part. It does not make sense that man, the centerpiece of the universe, should be in a worse position. In fact, he is not. If man places his reliance on Hashem and makes Torah study his primary occupation, relegating his mundane work to secondary status, Hashem will provide for him adequately with a minimum investment in mundane work on his part, as He does for all other living creatures. A person who takes this, the lesson of Ashrei, to heart will indeed merit the world-to-come by dint of his focus on the primacy of Torah study.

The Maharal does not explicitly mention a requirement to ruminate on the deep meaning of the words of Ashrei in order to merit the world-to-come but presumably he would not disagree with that requirement. Ashrei has powerful potential as the Maharal explains, with the potent ingredient of life, from the verse, and the extension of life into the world-to-come, via the twenty-two letters, but it is not plausible that one can realize that potential while being oblivious to it when reciting the prayer.

How it Works – The Meshech Chochma

The Meshech Chochma discusses this subject at the beginning of Parshas Bechukosai. He writes that Hashem manages the world using one of two approaches – that of natural law and that of miracles that deviate from the laws of nature. Hashem’s preferred and “standard” approach is that of nature. Nature, however, is a misnomer; it is really nothing more than a continual series of mini-miracles that follow predefined rules. Because we are accustomed to those rules they appear to be self-running. In reality, however Hashem orchestrates world events down to the minutest detail within the “constraints” of those rules. Reward and punishment are meted out in exact conformance to what is deserved.

There is no limit, even within the bounds of natural law, to the reward possible for someone who follows the path of Hashem. The unfortunate converse is also true. The laws of nature that Hashem utilizes to deliver reward and punishment were tuned from the outset to accord with the strictures of the Torah and the consequences set forth in the Torah for those who follow – or do not follow – those strictures.

Miracles that deviate from the laws of nature are wake-up calls, to prevent us from complacently falling into the trap of assuming that nature runs on auto-pilot without divine intervention. Open miracles are not intrinsically necessary; their purpose is to bring into focus the inherently miraculous nature of what we perceive as natural law. Miracles remind us that natural law is under Hashem’s direct control; it is His “tool” for managing His world.

Tehillim 136, known as Hallel HaGadol, is primarily a series of praises to Hashem for His open miracles. The Gemara in Shabbos 118b says that one who recites this psalm daily is considered a blasphemer. A blasphemer for reciting praises to Hashem? How can this be? The Meshech Chochma explains that this is because he gives the impression that praise is due Hashem for open miracles, but, as for natural law, that runs on its own, without divine intervention, so no praise to Hashem is called for (G-d forbid). On the other hand, someone who recites Ashrei every day, as the Gemara in Brachos states, is guaranteed a place in the world-to-come because that psalm praises Hashem for His conduct of the universe using natural law. Ashrei acknowledges Hashem’s central role in the ongoing implementation of natural law.

The Meshech Chochma delves further into the significance of Ashrei, in line with the Gemara in Brachos.

Let us consider: which is more amazing, feeding a nation with the miraculous Mon during their forty-year desert sojourn, or feeding millions upon millions of living creatures, day after day, since the world was created, within the framework of natural law? Certainly, a thoughtful person would have to conclude that the latter behavior was more amazing; more reflective of Hashem’s infinite wisdom and His omnipotence. That conclusion is signaled by the full-alphabet acrostic of Ashrei. Systematically traversing the alphabet bespeaks the significance of system; of rules and order. It is in that context that the verse, “You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing”, appears. That verse, in that context, is a statement that Hashem possesses the incredible power to sustain all living beings using only natural law. Without the need to call upon open miracles!

Reciting the psalm with the combination of that verse, and the alphabet acrostic, is the most potent praise of Hashem because it recognizes the full extent of Hashem’s direction of the universe. That is why it provides a guaranteed path to the world-to-come.

How it Works – Rav Shimon Schwab

Rav Shimon Schwab, in Iyun Tefilla, writes that the provision of man’s sustenance operates simultaneously on two tracks. On the one hand, the degree to which we are entitled to sustenance is divinely decided and the considerations that go into that decision are to a large extent beyond our comprehension. Those people who are considered worthy are referred to in the verse as, chai, deemed deserving of being sustained at least to some degree (u’masbia l’chol chai…). To the extent that they are considered worthy, they are gifted by Hashem with ratzon (u’masbia l’chol chai ratzon),  or “good will”, which translates to their finding favor in the eyes of those with whom they would be transacting business and therefore succeeding in their business endeavors.

On the other hand, a person must exert at least some degree of effort in order to earn his sustenance. This is the hishtadlus track, the Torah’s “system” for business success, which includes not only effort and intelligent business sense, but also a commitment to adhere to the Torah’s values of integrity and virtue in the conduct of one’s financial affairs. Cause and effect are much more visible on this track. Adherence to the Torah’s system leads to business success. Non-adherence leads to business failure. This track is exemplified by the systematic and predictable aleph-bais sequence of Ashrei.

The Deeper Meaning of “Ratzon”

As mentioned Rav Schwab renders ratzon as “good will”. We conclude with a brief discussion of the meaning of the word “ratzon”, which is usually translated as “desire”, as in “…and satisfy the desire of every living thing”. This translation (which we have used here as well) is puzzling. Are every being’s desires really always satisfied? The Maharal cited earlier alludes to a deeper understanding of the word.

Ratzon in a more profound sense means to find favor in the eyes of Hashem. Thus the verse is not saying that Hashem fulfills our desires, but rather that we are desirous in His eyes. The word ratzon means “desire” or “will” but it also means to find favor, since, when something finds favor in Hashem’s eyes, as it were, it is because it accords with His will.

The usage of ratzon to designate finding favor in the eyes of Hashem is found in a Kabbalistic context as well. The pinnacle sefira, or “emanation” is called keser, but is also known as “ratzon” as explained in Pardes Rimonim 11:6: “The sefira of keser, which is called ratzon…”, and in 23:20: “ratzon: this is the flow that descends from the exalted keser and which causes all the sefiros to be desirous and to find favor. This is why it is called ratzon… the sefiros find favor in the ratzon elyon (in the desire of Hashem) when they absorb [this quality from the sefira of keser]”.

In Derech Chaim 3:14 the Maharal writes that we, as “children” of Hashem, as it were, have the ability to “build” a crown for Hashem, the King of kings, with our prayers. He cites a Gemara in Chagigah 13b: “[The angel] Sandalfon stands behind the Chariot and assembles a crown for his Master out of the prayers of Yisroel”. Now, in Kabbalah, keser, or crown, is the highest and holiest of Hashem’s sefiros, or “emanations” and the Shaarei Orah (Shaar 2) writes that this is the pinnacle level that our prayers can achieve (and this is why the Kedushah of Mussaf in Nusach Sefard begins, “A crown will they give You… the angels… together with your people Yisroel”).

Now, as mentioned this pinnacle sefira of keser is also known as “ratzon” . This, then, is the potency of our prayers – they are forces for “building” keser, the highest of the sefiros, and thereby, for all the sefira emanations to find ratzon, favor, in Hashem’s eyes.

Our prayers have the power to effect the heavenly spheres in ways that we cannot even begin to comprehend, and those effects rebound on our world as well. Ashrei is particularly potent in that it has the potential to propel us to the world-to-come – if we appreciate its depth of meaning, and concentrate properly on what we are saying when we recite it. May we all merit doing so, and achieving our coveted places in the world-to-come!

In Memory of My Mother, Bronnie Willner a'h

Some Thoughts בראנא אסתר ב' ר' דוד ע"ה לעילוי נשמת

Whose yahrzeit was yesterday, שבת,י"ב ניסן

Unity

The בריח התיכון was an interior cross-beam of cedar wood that went through the קרשים, which formed the outer perimeter of the משכן. חז"ל teach us that Yaakov אבינו commanded the שבטים to plant cedar trees in Egypt for the קרשים, but he himself took charge of the בריח, personally bringing the wood for it from ארץ ישראל.

The Maharal explains that the קרשים represent the twelve שבטים of כלל ישראל; there were 48 קרשים, 4 for each שבט. The total length of the קרשים was 70 אמות, the total number of כלל ישראל that went down to מצרים.

Yaakov was the first of the אבות privileged to have all his descendants become a part of כלל ישראל. He is thus the force that brings unity to כלל ישראל. The מדה of Yaakov is אחדות. The בריח, which held the קרשים together, symbolizes the unity of כלל ישראל. It is thus apropos that Yaakov, himself, supply the בריח.

We know that מעשה אבות סימן לבנים and it is a fact that throughout the generations, כלל ישראל, and the individual families within כלל ישראל, maintained an unusual degree of unity and cohesiveness, despite all the travails that we were subjected to – צרות that usually lead to disunity and fractionalization. 

שמחות. She sponsored annual get-togethers at her summer home to make sure that the cousins got to know each other. She arbitrated any disagreements that arose and insisted that they be settled equitably.

May we learn from her example, and may she be a מליצה ישרה  for her descendants, and for the entire extended family.

The Art of Persuasion

When the time came for Aharon to take over the עבודה in the Mishkan, Hashem told Moshe, קח את אהרון, take Aharon. Rashi explains that this means קחנו בדברים, take him with words – in other words, convince him to accept the role.

The Maharal explains that it is impossible to “take” a person by force; a person is defined by his דעת, his mind, and no matter what happens to a person physically, his דעת, his opinion, is impervious to force. That is why, when acquiring an object by משיכה, moving it, one can use a verbal summons to induce an animal to move, thereby acquiring it – that counts as משיכה – but one cannot acquire an עבד כנעני that way. When you summon a person, even if he obliges you by moving toward you, it is because his דעת intervened and it is what he wants to do. Your summons is not the direct inducement for his motion. Whereas an animal does not exercise independent judgment to decide whether or not to listen to you. Your summons directly caused the animal to move and that is sufficient for a משיכה acquisition.

the role of כהן גדול but it was Aharon’s דעת that caused him to accept it. This is a good rule of thumb when attempting to convince someone to do something – the most effective approach is to convince them that it is what they, themselves, want to do.

Bubby Willner excelled in this מדה. She had well thought out beliefs about what was right and wrong; appropriate and inappropriate. But she did not attempt to foist them on others. Rather, she discussed and reasoned, and accepted the other person’s decision with grace, even if their דעת did not coincide with her דעת. She acknowledged the autonomy of her family members and the people around her and was content to make her point and let them decide what they would do.

May we all learn from Bubby’s example in our dealings with our own family members and others, and may she be a מליצה ישרה  for her descendants, and for the entire extended family.