VaYikra
Rabbi Bernie Fox
The Prayer Encounter
And Hashem called unto Moshe, and spoke unto
him out of the tent of meeting, saying:
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them:
When any man from among you brings an offering unto Hashem, you shall bring
your offering of the cattle, even of the herd or of the flock. (Sefer VaYikra 1:1-2)
1.
The Temple is
a place of sacrificial service
The
latter portion of Sefer Shemot
deals with the design and construction of the Mishcan
– the Tabernacle. Parshat VaYikra
describes many of the basic sacrifices offered in the Mishcan.
The close association between the
Torah's discussion of the Mishcan and the
sacrifices offered in it can be easily misunderstood. One might conclude that the sole or
essential function the Mishcan was to serve as
a place for sacrificial service. It would follow that sacrificial service would
also be the central feature of the Bait HaMikdash
– the Sacred Temple – that replaced the Mishcan.
That conclusion is not completely correct.
It
is true that once the Bait HaMikdash was
established all sacrificial service was restricted to it. It became prohibited to offer sacrifices
outside of its domain. Even before
the Bait HaMikdash was built most types of
sacrifices were restricted to the Mishcan. There is a close association between the
Mishcan or the Bait HaMikdash
and sacrificial service. The Mishcan served serving as the primary location for
sacrificial service. The Bait HaMikdash was the exclusive location for sacrificial
service. However, it does not
follow from this that the essential role of the Mishcan
and Bait HaMikdash is to serve as a place for
offering sacrifices.
Any prayer and any supplication that be made by any man of all Your
people Israel, one who shall know the plague of his own heart, and spread forth
his hands toward this house; then hear Thou in heaven Your dwelling-place, and
forgive, and do, and render unto every man according to all his ways, whose
heart You know – for You, even You only, knows the hearts of all the
children of men – that they may fear You all the days that they live in
the land which You gave unto our fathers. (Sefer Melachim Alef 8:38-40)
2.
The Temple as
a place of prayer
The Bait HaMikdash
was built in Yerushalayim by King Shlomo. After completing the construction of the Temple, Shlomo offered a dedication prayer in which he described
the purpose of the Bait HaMikdash. In his
prayer Shlomo makes no mention of the sacrifices
offered in the Bait HaMikdash. Instead, he
describes the Bait HaMikdash as a place of
prayer. The above passages are
taken from ShlomoÕs prayer. He describes the Temple as the place for
the prayers of the nation and for the individual. It is the place to which both
Jew and non-Jew should come to pray or to which oneÕs prayers should be
directed.
Shlomo's
emphasis on the function of the Bait HaMikdash
does not suggest that sacrificial service was not a fundamental element of the Temple.
Instead, it communicates the dual
function of the Temple. It is a place designated for sacrificial service. It is
also the place to which we turn in prayer at times of danger, suffering, and
affliction. It is a place to which the nation and every individual comes to seek Hashem and to petition
Him for rescue and salvation.
When Your people Israel are smitten down before the enemy, when they do
sin against You, if they turn again to You, and confess Thy name, and pray and
make supplication unto You in this house, then hear Thou in heaven, and forgive
the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back unto the land which You gave
unto their fathers. (Sefer Melachim
Alef 8:33-34)
3.
There is no
agency for prayer
There
is an interesting distinction between prayer and sacrificial service. A person
can send his sacrifice to the Mishcan or to
the Bait HaMikdash in the hands of an agent
and the sacrifice can be offered on his behalf. He does not need to participate
in the sacrificial service or even to be present when the sacrifice is offered.
This
is not true of prayer. In the above passages, King Shlomo
prays to Hashem that He accept the prayers of His
nation that will be offered to Him in His Temple. Shlomo consistently
describes the petitioner as praying on his own behalf. This is because prayer
is different from sacrificial service.
As explained above, a sacrifice can be brought by an agent of its owner.
Prayer cannot be offered by an agent.
Only the petitioner can offer his own prayers. No one can offer my
prayers for me. What is the reason for this distinction? Why can one send a
sacrifice to be offered in the Temple through an agent and not be present or
involved in its offering but not appoint an agent to offer one's prayers?
And Shlomo stood before the altar of Hashem in the presence of all the congregation of Israel,
and spread forth his hands toward heaven.
And he said: Hashem, the G-d of Israel, there
is no G-d like You, in heaven above, or on earth beneath; who keeps the
covenant and mercy with Your servants, who walk before You with all their heart
É (Melachim Alef 8:22-23)
4.
Prayer is a
physical and material action
Prayer
is performed by reciting praises to Hashem,
petitioning Him, and acknowledging His kindness to us. All of these elements of
prayer must be expressed in words. Our expressions must be precise and our
words clearly enunciated. In order to assist us in expressing ourselves
properly, the Sages established fixed text for the central prayer of the prayer
service – the Amidah. Prayer is not a
merely mental or meditative process. It is a material or physical action. It is
only accomplished through the actual verbalization of one's words.[1]
However, pronouncing the words of the prayer is inadequate. The mental or meditative
element is also essential. Maimonides explains that mere pronunciation of the
prayers formulated by the Sages does not satisfy the requirements of prayer. It
is essential that the person be mentally engaged in order for the verbalization
of one's words to be regarded as prayer. What is the nature of this mental
engagement? Maimonides explains that the petitioner must cleanse his mind of
all distractions and envision himself standing before Hashem.[2]
This
idea is expressed in the above passages.
King Shlomo begins his prayer by spreading his
hands out to heaven. He addresses
himself directly to Hashem. The image communicated by the passages
is of the petitioner standing before Hashem and
directing his prayers to Him.
5.
An encounter
cannot be accomplished through agency
This
understanding of prayer provides a response to the above question. Prayer
cannot be accomplished through the agency of another. This is because prayer is
an encounter between the petitioner and Hashem. The
petitioner does not perform a mere material action and thereby, discharge his
obligation. He must sense the presence of Hashem
before whom he stands. This encounter is the essence of prayer. An agent can
perform an activity on another's behalf. He cannot engage in an encounter on
another's behalf. An encounter is intimate and personal. It can only exist
between the two actual participants.