Part I
Prayer is best described as the communication link between
man and Hashem, and understanding the way prayer actually
connects us to our Creator, will enhance our appreciation for
tefilloh.
The Torah introduces the obligation for prayer with the words
that are incorporated into the first two paragraphs of the
Shema. In the first paragraph, we are commanded
(Devorim 6:5) in the singular, "Ve'ohavto es Hashem
Elokecho bechol levovecho, you should love Hashem with
all your heart." In the second paragraph, (Devorim
11:13) this concept is repeated in the plural, with the
phrase, "le'ovdo bechol levavchem, you shall serve Him
with all your hearts." Both pesukim refer to prayer as
the "service of the heart."
Rashi explains that there is an obligation to pray alone and
also an additional requirement to daven together with
the public as part of a minyan. Hence, the Torah
commands us once in the singular, and then repeats this
obligation to pray, using the plural.
In fact, the structure of our davening as part of a
minyan combines both of these aspects. Each section of
davening is first recited individually by each congregant, at
the end of which the Chazan repeats the final pesukim
aloud on behalf of the entire minyan.
In the Shemoneh Esrei, this same pattern is repeated.
Each individual prays silently, and then the entire
tefilloh is repeated aloud by the Chazan on behalf of
the entire congregation.
In these ways, every minyan incorporates an element of
private tefilloh by the individual, and a communal
part, led by the Chazan, on behalf of the entire
congregation.
The Rambam, at the beginning of Hilchos Tefilloh,
provides a short history as to how our siddur
evolved. Originally, each person would daven to
Hashem for whatever he required and whenever he required
something in particular. This type of spontaneous prayer was
guaranteed to be articulated with the required concentration
and feeling, as it was only said when something was actually
needed.
It was not until the time of the rebuilding of the Second
Beis Hamikdosh that Ezra found it necessary to
formulate a standard text that would be universally used.
The Second Beis Hamikdosh was rebuilt, but it did not
match the glory of the previous one. The gemora
enumerates five important items that were absent in the
Second Beis Hamikdosh. Furthermore, many of the exiled
Yidden did not return to Eretz Yisroel, and among
those that did, many spoke a variety of different languages
and dialects.
The Beis Hamikdosh was standing, but the unity among
the population that had been present during the First Beis
Hamikdosh, was no longer present. This resulted in a deep
depression among the Yidden, and a great danger
existed that this might develop into a lack of faith in
Hashem and in the eventual arrival of Moshiach.
Ezra, therefore, convened together all the one-hundred-and-
twenty members of the Anshei Knesses Hagedoloh who included
many prophets, and who formulated the actual words of the
siddur that we posses today. These universal words of
tefilloh would serve to unify Yidden in all
future situations.
Even today, a traveler who finds a minyan in some
obscure city prays the same way as he does at home. This
alone creates a feeling of unity and connects him with home
and all other Yidden in the world.
The siddur and the beis haknesses became a
portable Beis Hamikdosh that the Yidden could
transport to any destination during all future exiles.
However, with the introduction of a universal and standard
texts for all our tefillos, a danger existed that
people might just recite the words automatically, without any
input of thought or concentration on the words that they are
saying. Tefilloh is meant to be an avodoh
shebeleiv — a service of the heart — and mere
lip service without any input from the heart is not what
tefilloh is meant to be.
The Kuzari appropriately describes this type of lip
service as "parrot talk," as we merely repeat the written
words from the Siddur without adding any thought or
feeling. Yeshayohu (29:13) admonishes the Yidden in
very strong words, regarding this very point. "Because this
people come near with their mouths and with their lips they
honor Me, but their hearts are far away from Me . . . "
Since successful tefilloh needs to have the combined
input of the heart and the mouth, let us examine the anatomy
of both of these organs and how they work in unison in our
bodies. This knowledge will provide a better understanding of
the reproach that Yeshayohu gave and provide us with a key to
the avodoh shebeleiv, that tefilloh ought to
be.
If one were to ask what are the two most important organs of
the human body, the reply would inevitably be that they are
the heart and the head, both of which are essential for a
person to remain alive.
The human heart of an adult is about the same size as two
fists held together. The heart, whose function is to pump
blood to all parts of the body, is divided into four distinct
parts, known as the right atrium and ventricle, and the left
atrium and ventricle. Blood which has travelled through the
body arrives back at the heart to the right atrium which thus
holds blood which is low in its oxygen content. The muscular
heart pumps this blood into the right ventricle which then
pumps it into the lungs were it receives a renewed supply of
oxygen from freshly-breathed in air. This oxygen-rich blood
then returns to the left atrium section of the heart, passes
to the left ventricle and from there it is pumped to all
parts of the body. The air sacs of the lungs possess very
thin walls, allowing oxygen to traverse its semipermeable
walls into the blood in the adjacent vessels.
The heart records about 100,000 beats per day (35 million per
year), pumping 5.6 liters of blood throughout the body three
times per minute. Every day each drop of blood travels a
total of 12,000 miles around the body, maintaining life in a
truly miraculous way.
During pregnancy, the developing child does not breathe
oxygen through its lungs, but obtains all its required oxygen
intake, through the placenta, from its mother. There are two
valves in the heart of the unborn infant that ensure that the
blood bypasses the lungs entirely at that time. As soon as
the baby is born, his first cry requires an intake of oxygen
into his lungs which automatically closes up those two bypass
valves, and the heart begins to pump blood to the lungs.
These two valves remain sealed during the entire life of a
person.
Our entire existence depends on the combination of fresh
oxygen that we breathe into our lungs and its transfer into
the bloodstream. This transfer transpires owing to the
extremely close proximity between the oxygen in the lungs and
the blood in the arteries.
Merely breathing air without any transfer of oxygen into the
bloodstream would prove fatal. Similarly, thoughtless prayer
as mere lip service without any input from the heart will do
little to keep the body spiritually alive. Yeshayohu makes
this very point when he addresses the Yidden as, "a
people who come near with their mouths and with their lips
they honor Me, but their hearts are far away from Me."
Successful tefilloh requires synchronization between
the mouth, the head and the heart. When we have accomplished
this combination throughout our tefillos, we are able
to end the Shemoneh Esrei tefilloh with the posuk
(Tehillim 108:7): "Yihiyu lerotzon imrei phi vehegyon
libi lefonecho Hashem Tzuri veGo'ali, May the expressions
of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart find favor before
you, Hashem, my Rock and my Redeemer.
The precise workings of the heart and its valves are
incorporated in the actual Hebrew word lev-heart, in a
fascinating way. The opening posuk of Tetzaveh
commands us to use pure olive oil with which to light the
Menorah, tomid-continually. Rashi explains that the
word tomid has two possible meanings: either
continually (repeatedly, on a regular basis) or continuously
(all the time).
In the context of the Menorah that was lit every evening, or
the Tomid offering that was brought twice a day, the
word tomid means continually. However in the case of
the Show-Bread that lay on the Shulchan, the word
tomid means continuously. Newly-baked loaves were used
to push off last week's bread, thereby ensuring that the
Shulchan never remained without any bread on it.
The question remains that if the word tomid has two
meanings, why do we not use two distinctly different words?
This suggests that there may be an occasion when both
meanings apply concurrently.
In the anatomy of the human body, these two meanings apply to
the heart. The baby's heart begins to beat during pregnancy
and continues continuously until death. However, a doctor
will monitor the heartbeat to ensure that it is regular.
The Hebrew word for heart is lev, spelled: Lamed
Beis. The Ben Ish Chai points out that the letter
lamed itself is spelled, lamed mem daled, and
the letter beis is spelled, beis yud tov. The
hidden letters that fill out the main letters of lev
are therefore the letters, tov, mem, yud, and
daled, that spell out the word tomid.
Appropriately, the heart beats continuously and
continually, as indicated by the actual spelling of the word
lev.
Furthermore, the letters that precede the letters of lev
in the alphabetic sequence, are alef and chaf,
that spell ach, which is always used as an
exclusive word. The letters that follow those of the word
lev, are gimmel and mem, that spell out
the word gam, which is an inclusive word. The
inclusive and exclusive words that surround the word lev,
together indicate the pumping action of the heart which
is performed by the constant contraction and expansion of its
chambers. The numerical value of the word tomid is
four-hundred and fifty-four, the same as the word chosem,
the sealed valves which are vital for the heart to
function effectively.
End of Part I
