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February 12, 1999/26 Shevat 5759, Vol. 51, No. 20
It is not enough to pray; real faith requires action
Torah Study
RABBI SHLOMO RISKIN
Mishpatim/Exodus 21:1 - 24:18
When we think of religion, we usually think in terms of houses of worship - synagogues, churches, mosques. And if you ask the average Jew, Muslim or Christian what transpires in his/her house of worship, more likely than not the answer will be "prayer."
Indeed, when the prophet describes the Holy Temple during the future redemption, he quotes the Lord as saying: "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples" (Isaiah 56:7).
And yet, if prayer is so much at the heart of our religion, why is it that the Torah never explicitly commands us to pray?
Maimonides does list prayer as a daily Torah commandment, but for his biblical source he turns to a verse in our portion of Mishpatim, which if it indeed refers to prayer, uses an ambiguous term at best. The great philosopher writes: "Daily prayer is a positive commandment, as it is said, 'You shall serve the Lord your God.' "
The verse cited by Maimonides, "You shall serve the Lord your God" (Exodus 23:25), appears toward the end of our Torah portion. But the concept of "serving" God is so general a term that it could be understood in any number of ways, certainly not necessarily as prayer.
There is a fascinating dialogue several chapters earlier involving God and Moses that may bring us closer to an understanding of prayer from a biblical perspective. When the Israelites leave Egypt, and Pharaoh changes his mind and pursues them, they find themselves between a rock and a hard place. Pharaoh is ready to subdue them from behind, and the Red Sea ready to drown them if they move forward.
"Greatly frightened, the Israelites called out to the Lord" (Exodus 14:10). A few verses later, after Moses likewise prays to God, the Almighty chides him: "Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward" (Exodus 14:15).
Here we see the unfolding of a new dimension of our relationship to the Divine. Although crying out to God is an exquisite expression of one's deepest emotional state, nonetheless there are times when beseeching alone is not what is called for. Indeed, if our relationship to God were limited to sacrifices and verbal propitiation, how would we be different from pagan cultures who sacrificed to the gods and prayed to them?
The overriding message of the Bible is that we human beings are created in the Divine image. It is important for us to turn to God, but primarily in order for the Divine to give us the wisdom and courage to perfect the world, to be God's true partners in repairing the broken vessels and bringing light to the places of darkness. We must always unite our prayer to God with proper human activity.
Just as we depend on God for the very breath we take into our lungs, God depends on us for the unfolding of the master plan for redemption. The Israelite nation dare never allow itself to be depressed into paralysis; God will act only if we to move, with faith and confidence. Prayer is important, but it must always be accompanied by action on the part of the Israelites.
The kaddish prayer opens, "May his great name be magnified and sanctified," implying that at the present time, in an imperfect, incomplete world, God's name has yet to become magnified and sanctified. The message is continually the same - as much as we depend upon God, God also depends upon us.
Returning to our Torah portion and to Maimonides' theory that it is the source for a Torah-based prayer mandate, take notice of the context: "I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have made ready. ... If you obey him and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes" (Exodus 23:20,22).
Additionally, God commands the Israelites to smash the false idols of the seven nations. The commandment to serve the Lord, which Maimonides interprets as a commandment to pray, is preceded by the commands to liberate Israel and destroy idolatry. Prayer without action is not enough. Only those who act to purify themselves and their world have the right to pray to and be aided by the Lord.
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is the spiritual leader of the Jewish community in Efrat, Israel.
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