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SPEECH & TEFILLAH

           Most of us are pretty confident that we know how to pray to Hashem. There are those of us who take ten minutes to pray the morning prayers and there are those who take two hours. Some of us leave overconfident when our prayers have just gone down instead of up while others leave realizing their lack of knowledge how to come close to Hashem through prayer.

            Let us be honest and admit we have very little idea why the Great Assembly laid out the Siddur the way they did. We never attended the Board meetings they had and even if we did, we still wouldn’t have a clue as too what they were talking about. These remarkable Sages had an understanding of pasukim and shas that goes beyond our faintest imagination. They wove together letters and words like a seamstress preparing a beautiful garment for a King.

            With this in mind, the best way to try to understand the siddur would be understand the purpose and meaning of prayer as it was intended from Hashem. Then it also makes sense to try and learn how the greatest and simplest Jews used the prayer service as a guide to drawing closer to Hashem. 

            Since the beginning of man’s creation, he has been given the opportunity and privilege to approach his Creator via speech. We have so much to be thankful for just being privileged to speak to the King of Kings, Master of the World. How many of us get to speak to people of notable stature? They are too busy and they don’t have time for everyone. When was the last time you spoke to the President? It is difficult enough just to reach your best friend on the phone! When Hashem created man, he desired that there be constant feedback between his important creations. Not only does he expect us to constantly praise Him but also we are to ask Him for all of our physical and spiritual needs. There is no human or terrestrial being that can come even close to being there for us as our Creator, Blessed Be He.

            There is a story in the Talmud, in which a King provides his children their monetary allowances each day. Even though the King could have given them their allowances in a lump sum once or twice a year, he knew that his approach would ensure that he saw his children on a daily basis.[1]

            “To love the Hashem your Hashem and to serve Him with all your heart.” The terminology ‘with your heart’ means prayer. Pray with love and Hashem will love your supplications, as Reb Zeira explained: a man may have a loving friend, but as soon as he asks for a favor of him or needs his help, he turns to be his enemy and rebuffs him. But Hashem loves a man better the more he begs, invokes and prays. He even suggests man to pray to Him, as it is said, “Call unto Me and I will answer you.”[2]

            Let us review for a few moments the abilities we have been given to communicate. We can write, use hand signals and physical gestures, type and of course speak. All these forms are good but nothing can compare to our ability to talk. The tongue is the pen of a person’s heart.[3] 

            It is remarkable how just by listening to people in his surroundings; a child is able to learn how to speak mostly on its own. Given this ability it then learns how to communicate its needs and yearnings to its parents. We too need to learn how to communicate to our Creator, Blessed Be He through prayer.

            The Koznitzer Magid said, “We are bits of dust, full of sin and evil. Even so, we are worthy of speaking and petitioning before the King of Glory, the Creator of all, of whom it is said, and “No thought can grasp Him at all.” [4] We can also call Hashem, “YOU”, as if we were talking to another person standing in front of us. This is certainly a great expression of Hashem’s love. It is the miracle of Hashem’s love and mercy toward all creatures.[5]

            It is written, “Fear not, O worm Jacob”.[6] Why is Israel likened to a worm? A worm can fell the mightiest cedars, but only with its mouth. It is a soft creature, but it can fell the stiffest tree. Israel similarly can make use of prayer…[7]

            It is important to understand the strength we have in our tongues. Putting prayer aside for a second let us explore this strength in a more general sense. Just by speaking we have the ability to fix or destroy a person. Shlomo Hamelech said, “Life and death are in the power of the tongue.”[8] A shochet[9] was suspended on suspicion that he had used a dented knife. Rabbi Yisrael Salanter having been approached about this replied, “Who knows how many dents were in the knife that slaughtered the Shochet?”

            Rabbi Yisrael Meir kagan, author of Chofetz Chayim spells out thirty-one mitzvos that may be desecrated when one speaks or listens to loshan hara[10].[11] With ten trials were our forefathers tried and in all of them their fate was not sealed except for the sin of gossip.[12] After telling over a nice piece of Loshon hara, how are we able to then pray using the same tongue? It is important to understand, “There is a time for silence and a time for speaking.”[13]

          Rabbi kagan, used to say that some people are mistaken about his book on loshon hara. “It’s not a book against speaking,” the he would say. “On the contrary. The book gives a person permission to speak. Before you know the laws, how can you speak? You might be violating a Torah prohibition. Once you have studied the laws, however, you know what is permissible to say.”[14]

            On no account let anything be uttered by you unless you know that it is the will of Hashem that you say it.[15] Rabbi Yosi Ber of Brisk always had a snuffbox on his table. When he was about to converse with someone, he would begin by opening it up, glance within it, and then he would begin to have a discussion. Someone close to him could not overcome his curiosity, and took a look inside, where he found carved the abbreviation W.K.H.M.A.T.K.H.F.T. Not understanding what this meant, he asked the rabbi about it, who told him: “It is from the verse of Scripture: ‘Whoso keeps his mouth and tongue, keeps himself from trouble’[16]”.[17]

            We are taught, “The mundane speech of scholars requires study”[18]. Rabbi Moshe of Dolina said, “I heard the following explanation from the holy lips of the Baal Shem Tov, The main perfection of the righteous is that their attachment to Hashem does not cease, even for an instant. The same is true of all their speech. Even when they must speak to people about worldly things, they seek to do it in a way so that their attachment to Hashem is not broken off… Since such a person remains attached to Hashem even in his mundane speech, even such words require study.”[19] 

            The tone in which one speaks is very important. One should always speak gently and calmly to everyone. This will prevent a person from anger, which is a serious character flaw that causes one to sin.[20] When speaking to me, Rabbi Shalom Friedman would talk in a sweet whisper. Never would he raise his voice so as to continue his attachment with the Shechinah. When he had to tell me I was doing something wrong, he spoke so softly that he only drew me closer. This is the way all of us should talk. If we did, it would remove anger from our hearts entirely. When a person is angry, people don’t want to associate with him and to the same degree, the Shechinah turns aside.

            We can also affect life in the spiritual world through our mouths. The Vilna Goan once told, “Just as rain and all existence on earth are dependent on the evaporation of water, so is all the heavenly activity that affects life on earth dependent upon human speech.

            It is also important to always think before one speaks. A person should weigh their words as if their entire being is on a balance and can tip over to the good or negative side.  When one has such caution, it brings them to fear of Hashem that enables their mouth’s to be a holy arrow in the hands of a mark smith. Those who are wise will understand this.

            When your words are so used to flying out of your mouth without thought and reason, you can’t possibly apply yourself properly when it will come time to pray. A person, who prays without knowing what he prays, does not pray.[21] One must concentrate their whole heart upon the prayers. It is no good if the heart is far from the words the mouth is speaking. Therefore, one must listen carefully to what they are saying.[22] A person should attain a level in prayer where there is only Hashem and himself.[23]

            Rabbi Elimelech suggested, “pray with all your strength. Use your voice to arouse your feelings, and connect your thoughts to your words. Face the wall, look into the Siddur morning and evening, and do not look to the side from the commencement of the service until the end. When the reader repeats the Amidah, look into the Siddur and answer Amen to each blessing with all your strength.” [24]

            Rabbi Akiva’s concentration in prayer was exceptional, when he prayed with the congregants. But when he prayed by himself, it was with such fervor, that a man could leave him in one corner and find him later in another.[25]

            The holy Rashi once said, “When the Miler Rebbe would say Tehillim, and his yarmulke would be drenched through and through!”[26]

            I once had the opportunity to be with the Tush Rebbe from Montreal during his private minyon. When the Rebbe davened, he was on fire so to speak. To my disbelief, I glanced down at his feet as I was studying all of his motions. Even his little toes were shaking when he said Hashem’s name. When he said Hashem’s name, even I was filled with fear of Heaven.

            When I visit the holy Nikesberger Rebbe, I am always eager to hear his every word while he prays. This is because when he open’s his holy lip in prayer, everything becomes clear to me. The truth of the Torah I feel wholeheartedly and all I know thereafter is that I want to come close to Hashem without exception.

            It is understandable that a great Rabbi should be able to pray with a lot of kavanah, but what about the common Jew. Proper prayer is not boneaf us as it is the simple Jews prayer that Hashem truly desires. The most simple word recited with all ones heart, even without understanding can pierce the gates of heaven like a rocket ship.

            Not long ago in Russia, a young lady wanted so much to pray to Hashem on Yom Kippur. The communists who employed her would never understand her request of a day off from work. It meant so much to her to pray to Hashem on the holy day so she did the craziest thing. She went to the dentist complaining of a pain her tooth. The doctor felt the tooth and could not find anything wrong with it. She screamed and shouted as he touched it until finally he asked her, would you like me to just pull it. She responded affirmative and she showed her doctors note to her employers who gladly told her to stay home a day and recover from the extraction. The young lady’s prayers opened the heavens and went strait through that Yom Kippur.[27]

             Having just returned from a trip to Eretz Yisrael, a Chassid of the Tzemach Tzedek took his Rabbi that he was disappointed, having expected to find many people of greater spirituality there. The Tzemach Tzedek asked, “What makes you assume you are a maven, expert on people of spirituality?” His Rabbi continued with the following story, “In Eretz Yisrael there lived in the country a farmer who had no access to a Rabbi. He was very devout, but completely ignorant when it came to learning, so much that he was unable to read the calendar. Therefore, each month he would make a trip into the city and the Rabbi would write out for him a detailed sheet of instructions as to what prayers he was to say each day of the upcoming month. One year, the Rabbi fearing the worst, called for a public fast day to pray for an end to the terrible drought they seemed to be experiencing. It just so happened that the day of the fast the farmer happened to need something in the city so he came into the town. He was surprised to hear that the Rabbi had called for a public fast, as he never informed him during his prier trip to the city. The Rabbi explained that this was not a regular fast day and he had no advanced knowledge of its coming. There has been no rain and this is a very serious matter that requires us to fast, his Rabbi explained. The man seemed puzzled, “Why do you have to fast if there is no rain he asked? If I need rain for my farm, I just go out and look towards the sky, and say, ‘Father, I need rain,’ and then it commences to rain.” Quite impressed, the R?” he responded. The Rabbi then followed him as he went outdoors, lifted his eyes to the sky, with a tearful tone and said, “Father, your children are in need of rain!” Moments later, clouds began to appear and the need rainfall began. “Now,” the Tzemach Tzedek said, “Do you think you can tell who is a spiritual person?”[28]

            I heard from my Rebbe [the Baal Shem Tov] that even after Rabbi Nehunia ben Hakaneh knew all the [kabalistic] meditations connected with prayer, he would still pray like a small child.[29]

            It is important to not overcomplicate ones prayers. Just by forcing yourself to concentrate on the simple meaning of the words, you can reach great levels of kavanah. Rebbe Nachman says, “The essence of prayer entails straightforward, simple understanding of the words.”[30] When the Rebbe was deathly ill, he asked his grandson, Yisrael, to pray for him. “Hashem, Hashem!” Little Yisrael called out, “let my grandfather be well!” Those nearby started smiling from hearing his cute response. To there surprise, the Rebbe responded, “This is how you are supposed to pray, with simplicity. What other way is there?[31]

            An individual should pray with all his might and strength. If a person were just to concentrate on his prayers, the words themselves would give him the energy to pray with all his might.”[32]

            Reb Noson of Nemerov explains, “Pour out your heart before Hashem…”[33] If you can’t pray suitably, then pour your heart out, even without Kavanah, just as water might pour out accidentally.[34] Eventually, your heart will open in the right way and you will start praying in the appropriate way with Kavanah.         

            After completing ones prayers, a person should ask themselves, did I have say one word with all my heart! Do you know how great of a feeling it is to say one word b-emes [with truth]? There is an elderly gentleman in our community, Rabbi Potoki who understands the meaning of praying with all his heart. He is a survivor of the gas chambers in Auschwitz. When he prays, he has in his mind and heart the six million Jews who passed on in the Holocaust. The other week, I mentioned to him that when he says Kaddish, all six million get an aliyah. He responded, “I try, I really try”, with a tear drop. Even when Rabbi Potoki speaks normal every day conversations, he doesn’t forget the six million. He once said to me, “Moshe, when I talk, people don’t realize, I really mean what I say with all my heart”. When the war first broke out, his Rebbe told his disciples, stop learning Talmud. You can’t learn Talmud when there is a knife to your back. For the next eight weeks, they were to memorize the entire sefer Tehillim he instructed them. Many of them knew it in two, some in four, because when they recited it, they said it with all their hearts. Until this day, Rabbi Potoki says all of Tehillim twice daily and he recites it with all his heart! 

            After prayers one day, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berdichov went over to one of the congregants and wished him a very warm shalom alechem! Startled, the man replied, “But I’ve been here the whole time.” The Rabbi responded, “But during the prayers your mind wandered to Warsaw where you were pondering about your business. Now that your prayers are completed, you have returned here to Berdichov!”

            One thing we lack, especially in our generation when we are so impatient and used to the moving distractions of computers and movies is the ability to focus. In order to pray to Hashem though, you must have some strategy as to how to deal with your wondering mind. An important approach is to attach your thoughts on the holiness of the words and Hebrew alphabet. Every word is a complete concept, and therefore, you must place all your strength into it. If you do not, then it remains incomplete.[35] Have respect not only for the meaning of the words but also for the letters of the words themselves. Each letter is an entire world just waiting to be created from your lips.

            Our main link to Hashem is through words – words of Torah and prayer. Every single letter [in these words] has an inner spiritual essence. You must fasten your thought and innermost being to this essence. This is the mystery of, “Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth”[36] – the attachment of spirit to spirit.[37] It is also the mystery of, “If you lie between the lips”[38] When you draw out a word, and do not want to let it go, then you are in such a state of attachment.[39]

            Rabbi Moshe of Kobrin said, “When someone says the word Baruch[40], he should say it with all his energy, until he does not even have the energy left to say the next word ata[41]. The Holy One, blessed be He, will then give him new energy to say ata. So ought it be for each and every word, that he gives up all his energy [to Hashem] in saying it, and Hashem will bestow on him new energy to say the next word.[42]

            Place each of your thoughts into the power of your words, until you see the light of the words. You will then be able to see how one word shines into another, and how many lights are brought forth in their midst. This is the meaning of the verse, “Light is sown to the righteous, and joy to the upright at heart” (Psalms, 97:11). The lights in the letters are Hashem’s chambers, into which He transmits His emanations.[43]

            When we go to shul, it is difficult to just look in the prayer siddur for a long period of time and not look around at the people in our surroundings. It is human nature for this to be difficult but it is something we must fight. If we are not looking at the words in the siddur, our eyes belong closed trying to grasp a more spiritual state of mind. Wondering our minds around the room will certainly not help us to concentrate. Talking during prayers not only violates the Shulchan Oruch but it is disrespectful to those around us who are trying so hard to concentrate. It is forbidden even to speak words of Torah in the middle of our prayers let alone talk of worldly matters. Talking in a low voice is not excusable and it usually affects others. I know it is a long service and it is difficult to be still but it is not worth hurting ones fellow Jew. There are many people who don’t go to shul to daven as they are in so much pain from others talking. A shul is a place to increase ones fear of Heaven and know one would dare stand in the Kings office and talk to someone else!  

            Our davening should be strictly for Hashem and not in order to showoff our kavanah to our neighbors. At the same time though, we should not feel embarrass to properly arouse ourselves towards kavanah during our prayers. After all, that is the purpose as to why we are here

            When you first begin to pray, it is important to wake up your physical body with sounds and movements. Therefore, at the outset, you should arouse your body with all your might. Only then will the power of your soul shine for you. The Zohar thus teaches, “If fire does not burn intensely, tap the wood, and it blazes forth. To the same effect, if the light of the soul does not burn brightly, tap the body, so that the light of the soul should blaze forth.”[44] When Rabbi Mordechai of Lechovitz prayed, he roared like a lion until the hearts of all who heard him would shatter and melt like water.[45] Others would make use of rocking and swaying their bodies.

            Once you have succeeded in lighting up your soul, your body should become less and less significant to you. In fact, your goal should be to freeze in place screaming in a whisper, praying with your soul alone. This is not always an easy level to reach but it is within all of our capabilities. 

            When a person does this successfully, he can worship in thought alone, without any motion on the part of his body. When a person is linked to Hashem in a Supernal Universe, he must be careful not to allow his body to move, since this will spoil his attachment.[46]

            Accustom yourself to pray and recite the Psalms in a very low voice. Scream quietly, reciting the words with all your strength. This is the significance of the verse, “All my bones shall say [Hashem, who is like You]”[47]. A scream that results from total attachment [to Hashem] is absolutely silent.[48]

            Rebbe Nachman say’s “A Jew’s main attachment to Hashem is through prayer”,[49]therefore we must never give up trying to pray with all our strength. I am unsure if it is because of pure laziness that we don’t apply ourselves to our prayers or if it is our tendency to give up too easily.

            A man approached Rebbe Nachman [telling him the great difficulty he was experiencing speaking to Hashem in prayer] asking for advice. In response, the Rebbe shared with him the following parable. Once a great general girded himself for battle and had to surmount a mighty wall. When he came to the gate, he found it blocked with a spider web. Could you envision anything more foolish than returning in defeat because a spider web is blocking your path? This parable teaches us a most crucial lesson. You may find it difficult to speak before Hashem. This is mere foolishness. It is nothing more than laziness, bashfulness, and a lack of virtuous boldness.[50] Here you are ready to use your words [of prayer] to overcome the great battle of evil within you. You are right on the verge of victory and about to break down walls with your words. The gates are ready to fly open any second. Should you then hold back because of mere bashfulness? Should you remain silent because of a minor barrier like this? You are about to break down a mighty wall. Will you be discouraged and turn away because of a spider web?[51]

            The Talmud talks of “things that stand in the highest places of the universe, and are taken lightly by people.”[52] The Baal Shem Tov explained that the effects of prayer are often manifest in the “highest places of the universe,” and not in the physical world. It is for this reason that prayer is “taken lightly by people,” since they assume that their prayer is in vain. The truth, however, is that all prayer has an effect.[53]

            There are a couple of prerequisites for prayer to be acceptable. The first is that one’s prayer should not be a burden and the second is that the prayer should be pure.[54] The person who is persistent in knocking will succeed in entering.[55]        

            Rebbe Nachman frequently encouraged people to meditate and converse with Hashem. He taught, “Even if many days and years pass and it seems that you have accomplished nothing with your words, do not give up. Each word makes an impact.” It is written, “Water wears away stone”[56]. It may appear that water dripping on a stone cannot make any impression. Nevertheless, after many years, it can in fact make a hole in the stone. We can actually see this.[57] Your heart may be similar to stone. It may seem that your words of prayer make no impression on it at all. Still, as the days and years pass, your heart of stone will also be penetrated.[58]

            There are periods when you feel that you cannot pray. During these days, do not give up trying. Instead, reinforce yourself all the more, and stir up your awe of Hashem. This is similar to a King in battle, who must disguise himself [so as not to be recognized by the enemy]. Those who are wise are able to distinguish the King by his motions. Individuals who are less wise can still recognize the King, since numerous guards constantly surround him. The same holds true when you cannot pray with devotion. You should know that the King is nearby and you are encountering his additional guards. The only reason why you are not able to come close to the King is because of this abundant protection surrounding Him. You must therefore fortify yourself with reverence, great strength, and additional intensity in order [to break through this barrier] and come close to Hashem. If you are successful, you will then be able to pray with the utmost possible feeling.[59]

            One way to increase your concentration during prayer is to clap your hands.[60] By doing this, Rebbe Nachman says, “the air of the place where a man of Israel prays is purified, and the air of holiness is drawn there, as if in the Land of Israel itself. And so when you pray, it is the air of the Land of Israel, which is a remedy for foreign thoughts in prayer”.[61]

            Do not pray for your personal needs, for your prayer will then not be accepted. Rather, when you want to pray, do so for the heaviness of the Head. For whatever you lack, the Divine Presence also lacks. This is because man is a “portion of Hashem from on high.” Whatever any part lacks also exists in the Whole, and the Whole feels the lack of the part. Therefore, you should pray for the needs of the Whole.[62]

            There is an unbelievable story about one of the great Rebbe’s towards the end of the war. The Nazis lemach shemo told the Jews that they were taking them to a vacation place that is more beautiful. Everyone ran around excited thinking it was for real. While all this was happening, there was one Rabbi in the corner with his siddur praying. Suddenly everyone was pushed into the train, even him but reluctantly this one Nazi lifted him off. It was just them standing there as the train started leaving. The Nazi turned and told him, “I want you to know that I watched you. Everyone was taking care of his or her physical needs. You on the other hand were standing in a corner and praying. Do you know that when you pray, Hashem always answers?” Then the Nazi just quickly ran off. [I ask you, was this a real Nazi or Eliyahu Hanavi disguising himself] 

            When you want to pray to Hashem for something, meditate of your soul as part of the Divine Presence. You should have faith that your prayer will benefit the Divine Presence. Then, if you are appropriately attached to the Divine Presence, this influence will also be transmitted to you. When a person is joyous, he unconsciously claps his hands. This is because his happiness spreads through his entire body. The same is true of the Divine Presence. Every influence is transmitted to each of its parts.[63]

            My Hashem, open my lips and my mouth will tell your praise.” We have to pray to Hashem to open up our hearts so that we should be able to pray with all our hearts. The Mishnah tells us that the pious people of yore would meditate for an hour before praying, in order to achieve a proper state of mind.[64] I am not writing this expecting us to do the same but can we take two minutes to think first? When a batter steps up to the plate, doesn’t he warm up first?

            Rebbe Nachman says, “Prayer and Torah go hand and hand.”[65]You can’t expect your prayers to be answered if you don’t prepare yourself with study Torah before and after praying. There must be a balance between the two as both are interdependent upon one another. Many fought over which has precedence over the other but Rebbe Nachman always remarked, pray, study, pray and study some more.