- B'NAI NOAH AND PRAYER
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- Rabbi Saul Zucker
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- B'nai Noah are often asked what form of prayer
exists for them. We know that prayer per se is not one of the seven
mitzvot [commandments]; yet it is of
great concern to many people. Therefore the first question we must ask
is, ``Can prayer indeed have a place at
all in the life of the ben Noah?'' I believe the answer is a
resounding ``YES.'' The Talmud states (Berakhot
26b) that Abraham established the morning prayer, Isaac established
the afternoon prayer, and Jacob established
the evening prayer. Now, it is important to remember that the
patriarchs did not have the halakhic status of Jews;
they were legally considered B'nai Noah. (Although they were the
Patriarchs of the people who were to become Jews during
the time of Moses, and Abraham and his family were known as Hebrews,
the law binding upon them was that of B'nai Noah).
From the Talmudic passage cited, describing that it was they who
established the prayers, we may deduce that B'nai Noah
can have meaningful experience in prayer. Yet, we must nevertheless
define precisely what the nature of that prayer is.
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- I propose with this article to begin a
series on the nature of prayer, to explore this fundamental yet
sometimes enigmatic issue from the Torah
perspective. Prayer is referred to in the Torah as ``worship of the
heart'' (Deuteronomy 11:13). It is interesting
to note that the category of internal worship encompasses two areas,
prayer and study (see Miamonides' Book of
the Commandments, Positive Commandment 5). The Talmud refers to prayer
by the Hebrew Tefillah, which means
- judgement, or organized thoughts. (In fact,
the Hebrew prayer book is the Siddur, which literally means,
organization). In both references to
prayer, whether as internal worship or as thought, we find the concept
of the engagement of man's mind, rather
than a mere outpouring of felling without thought. This important to
remember when reflecting upon prayer in general.
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- Upon close scrutiny of the Talmudic passage
cited above, we find six verses introduced to demonstrate the
patriarch's role in prayer. Briefly
stated, the passage proceeds as follows: Abraham' arose to the place
where he stood before God (Genesis 19:27).
This standing refers to prayer, as it is written, (Psalms 106:30) that
Pinchas stood and prayed. Isaac went to speak in
the fields (Genesis 24:63). This speech refers to prayer, as we find,
(Psalms 102:1) the afflicted pours out his speech before
God. Jacob reached in the place (BethEL). This reaching refers to
prayer, as we find, (Jeremiah 7:16) that God told Jeremiah
at a certain point to refrain from praying, from reaching out to God.
While there are three distinct aspects or facets regarding
prayer here, there is one element common to all, i.e. prayer occurs
``before God.'' However, one aspect of prayer is
depicted as standing before God; another is speaking before God;
another is reaching before God. A proper
- understanding of prayer necessitates an
analysis of these distinct facets of prayer.
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- Additionally, it would be nice if we could
understand why the aspect of standing occurs in the early morning
(Abraham), why speech is the aspect as
the sun sets (Isaac), and why reaching is that aspect emphasized at
night (Jacob).
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- In the next article, I propose to focus
on Abraham's prayer and what it can teach us about our own sense of
prayer. In the meantime, I would like to
encourage readers to look up the verses and passage herein referred
to, and to contemplate an analysis of the
issues. In this way, we can maintain a type of dialogue and study
group through these pages. As always, let us
continue to utilize the Divine part of our nature, our minds, in the
continued worship of the Creator!
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