BS’D

A Journey through Jewish Prayer

Unit 1: The Virtue of Prayer

Semester OneEight Grade

Based on the MorashaSyllabus.com Curriculum

Introduction

In this unit we shall explore the exalted status of prayer in the Jewish worldview. The point here is

simply to establish clearly just how significant prayer is. As we progress through the slides we

will begin to understand why.

Part A. The Craft of Our Fathers

• Informal, individual prayer was established by the Avot (the Patriarchs) prior to the Temple period.

• The Avot are our forefathers – Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov.

Maarat HamachpelaIn Chevron, Israel

Burial place of Avraham & Sarah, Yitzchak & Rivkah, Yaakov & Leah

Source #1Talmud Bavli Berachot 26b

• The Avot introduced three prayers:

• (This source continues on the next slide.)

Notes:14. Bereishit, Perek 19, Passuk 2715. Tehillim, Perek 106, Passuk 3016. Bereishit Perek 24, Passuk 6317. Tehillim, Perek 102, Passuk 118. Bereishit Perek 28, Passuk 1119. Yirmiyahu Perek 7, Passuk 16

• Later in Jewish history, the practice of the Avot (forefathers) stood the Jewish people in good stead.

• Being chased by the Mitzrim (Egyptians) after the mass exodus from Mitzrayim (Egypt), trapped between the advancing army on one side and the vast sea on the other, the Jewish people prayed to Hashem.

Source #2Shemot, Perek 14, Passuk 10

• Before the sea split, the Jewish people prayed:

• Rashi comments on the word "ויצעקו" -

Source #3“Rabbi Kadoozy”

• Visit http://www.chabad.org/240369.

• Watch the video there, in which Rabbi Kadoozy answers a question about prayer and Jono asks G-d to write his term paper.

Part B. The Mitzvah to Pray

• Aside from being the “craft of our forefathers,” prayer is also a mitzvah.

• For the Jewish people, it is a mitzvah to pray every day.

Source #1Devarim, Perek 11, Passuk 13

• We are commanded to serve Hashem with our heart:

Source #2Rambam, Hilchot Tefillah (the Laws of Prayer) 1:1

• The connection of prayer to Avodah is derived in the Talmud as the service (Avodah) of the heart:

• The essence of the mitzvah to pray, called “service of the heart,” is daily and has three elements to it:

• The actual source for this is on the following slide.

Source #3Rambam, Hilchot Tefillah (the Laws of Prayer) 1:2

Prayer is comprised of praise, request, and thanks to G-d:

• There is an additional mitzvah: to pray at a time of need. Every person (Jew and non-Jew alike) is required to believe in Hashem. Praying at a time of need demonstrates that we believe in Hashem.

• The actual source for this is on the following slide.

Source #4: Rabbi Moshe FeinsteinIgrot Moshe, Orach Chaim Vol. II, Ch. 24

Prayer demonstrates a basic belief in Hashem:

“The essence of belief in Hashem is that only He can ultimately guarantee our livelihood or cure our diseases. And when a person does not trust in Hashem and does not pray to Him, it is as if he is denying belief in Hashem for the sake of belief in something else.”

Since Jews and non-Jews alike are required to pray to Hashem in a time of need, the Bait Hamikdash (the Holy Temple in Jerusalem), was called by the prophet Yeshayahu “a house of prayer for all the nations” (see source on the next slide).

Source #5Yeshayahu Perek 56, Passuk 7

The Bait Hamikdash (the Holy Temple in Jerusalem) was, and will be again, a house of prayer for everyone:

Part C. Pillar of the World

Source #1Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) 1:2

• “Divine Service” is one of the three principal goals of Creation:

“Shimon the Righteous was one of the last survivors of the Great Assembly. He used to say, 'The world rests on three things: On Torah, on Avodah (Divine service; serving Hashem) and on acts of kindness.’”

• The importance of prayer is derived from its direct relationship to Avodah (Divine service in the Bait Hamikdash, the Holy Temple in Jersualem). After the destruction of the Bait Hamikdash, prayer replaced Avodah as a primary means of building a relationship with God on both a personal and national level.

• This idea is hinted to in the next source.

Source #2Hoshea, Perek 14, Passuk 3

• No longer with a Bait Hamikdash (Holy Temple), our prayers replace the sacrifices:

“So we will render for calves [i.e., sacrifices] the offering of our lips [i.e., prayer].”

• In other words: We will offer the words of our lips instead of calves.

Source #3: Rabbi Aryeh KaplanThe Handbook of Jewish Thought, Vol. II

“Just as a sacrifice unites the spiritual and material by making a lowly animal the object of serving God, so does prayer unite the spiritual and material by making the request of our material needs a service of God. It is for this reason that, when it is impossible to bring sacrifices, prayer can be offered in their stead, as the prophet exclaimed, “We will offer the words of our lips instead of calves” (Hoshea 14:3)”

Key Themes of Unit 1