INTRODUCTION:
In this article, we will analyse two very different
approaches to the concept of prayer and the notion of influencing the Infinite
One.
The first, which is the popular approach, emphasizes much engagement in
prayer and highlights the effectiveness of man’s ability to influence G-d.
The
second approach which is Rambam’s view, will come as a surprise to many as it
counter-intuitively negates much of the ‘default setting’ of the typical
religious personality.
I) THE MAXIMALIST[2]
APPROACH:
We hear so much about how we can all engage in a personal
relationship with G-d, and talk to Him in abundance about anything and the more
often we do so the better. There is even a Psalm for everything.
Here are some sources which
convey this idea:
R. Nachman of Breslov writes that Hitbodedut, which
is private, personal and informal prayer in any language one understands, is “the
highest asset and greater than everything [else].”
Private prayer should be performed:
“...using words that evoke favor, placate
and conciliate...
Everything that is in his
heart he should express and tell to God...
[I]t is a practice that is
accessible to all people, from the least to the greatest...and thereby [he
will] come to a high level.”[3]
When R. Nachman was ill, he asked his grandson to pray for
him. The child asked first to have his grandfather’s pocket watch before he
would pray for him. Only after he got what he wanted, did he cry out “Heal my
grandfather” and then continued playing with the watch. The other Chassidim
laughed at this but R. Nachman rebuked them pointing out that the most powerful
prayers are carried out in such ways of absolute childlike simplicity.
R. Nachman continues:
“It is good to turn Torah into
prayer. That is, when one studies...he should make it into a prayer...This
manner of conversation rises to a very high place...which results in very great
delight on high.”
R. Nachman's student, R. Natan, composed 210 private prayers in a collection entitled Likutey Tefilot, and readers are encouraged to use these inspirational texts as springboards for their personal prayers, and to: "express our personal needs and spiritual yearnings, whether at home, in the synagogue, in the office, in a quiet park or out in the countryside, etc."
Many have the practice today, with the ever-increasing popularity of the Challah Bake, to use the baking experience as an auspicious time to pray for healing, a marriage partner, happy and healthy children and so on, as the spiritual gates are considered to be open at that time. The baking of Challah becomes a conduit for all blessing to the home and different prayers are said with the addition of each of the seven ingredients; with the eighth ingredient - the soul of the baker - being the most effective to facilitate the blessing.
Many have the practice today, with the ever-increasing popularity of the Challah Bake, to use the baking experience as an auspicious time to pray for healing, a marriage partner, happy and healthy children and so on, as the spiritual gates are considered to be open at that time. The baking of Challah becomes a conduit for all blessing to the home and different prayers are said with the addition of each of the seven ingredients; with the eighth ingredient - the soul of the baker - being the most effective to facilitate the blessing.
One Challah baking site suggests:
“When kneading the challah dough with one’s hands,
one can mention the names of each person in their family, sending personal
prayers to G-d. It is also an opportune time to pray for others who are in need
of blessings. From pouring the ingredients through braiding the dough, prayer
can be whispered through each step, and the power of these prayers is strong
and far-reaching”.
II) THE MINIMALIST APPROACH:
Rambam writes about the human condition in which man often
considers it necessary to define and praise the Infinite One with, ironically,
many finite descriptions and characterizations – such as G-d being Great, Kind,
Loving etc.
However, the more one thinks one knows and understands G-d,
the more one shows how little one understands the concept and nature of the
Infinite, because an Infinite Essence cannot be described nor
comprehended.
Thus, essentially, the deepest way to praise G-d is not even
through prayer, but rather through silence.
[NOTE: Of course, Rambam is not negating the Halachic injunction to 'daven' (pray from a siddur) as he believes it is a Torah obligation to do so - as opposed to (ironically the mystical) Ramban, who says daily prayers are of rabbinic origin, and it is only a Torah obligation to pray during times of trouble.]
[NOTE: Of course, Rambam is not negating the Halachic injunction to 'daven' (pray from a siddur) as he believes it is a Torah obligation to do so - as opposed to (ironically the mystical) Ramban, who says daily prayers are of rabbinic origin, and it is only a Torah obligation to pray during times of trouble.]
RAMBAM’S ‘FAVORITE’ TALMUDIC SOURCE:
Rambam bases himself on a Talmudic source[4]
which refers to an incident where someone led the prayer service before R. Chanina.
This individual began praying with much flamboyant hyperbole and overstatement
describing G-d with numerous and various adjectives such as:
“G-d the Great, the Mighty,
the Awesome, the Powerful, the Indomitable, the Awe-Inspiring, the Strong, the
Fearless, the Steadfast and the Honored...”
R. Chanina waits for him to finish and then asks the
worshiper if he has concluded all his praises. Establishing that the prayer
session is now over, he asks him why he went to such an exaggerated extent to
praise G-d?
Before the worshipper can respond, R. Chanina says that he
personally limits himself to just three adjectives to describe G-d – and he
uses these expressions almost begrudgingly and only because he has to. This is
because they were used by Moshe in the Torah, and thereafter, incorporated into
the official (Shmonei Esrei) prayer by Ezra and the Men of the Great
Assembly.
Rashi explains that these three adjectives are “Gadol,
Gibor and Norah’ (Great, Mighty and Awesome):
R. Chanina then makes the point that overstating one’s
prayers is comparable to a king who has thousands of golden coins yet
only gets praised for a few specific silver ones. The lesson being that
man should not think that he appeases G-d even with very great platitudes.
RAMBAM'S ELABORATION:
Rambam obviously favoured this Talmudic source because he
writes:
“Here ends the dictum of this
perfect [rabbinic statement]...[It is perfect because had our prayers not been
formulated by the Sages, we] should not have had recourse to them in our
prayers.”[5]
In other words, were it not for the fact that our Sages
obligated us to pray, we would have been even more minimalist in our prayers.
This ‘perfect and well-known’ statement of R. Chanina
is Rambam’s favourite rabbinic statement, and he “wishes that all their
other statements were like this”:
Rambam lived in a society that was, in his view, unsure
where to draw the line between superstition and religion and the populace were dictating spiritual norms and standards to their leadership.
Rambam can’t help but continue:
“Thus what we do is not like what is done by the truly ignorant who spoke at great length and spend great efforts on prayers that they composed and on sermons that they complied[6]
and through which they, in their opinion, came nearer to God.”[7]
In Rambam’s own words, it is only the ‘truly ignorant’
that ‘spend great effort on prayer’.
By saying that these are not things that “we do”,
Rambam is clearly differentiating his (and his followers) approach from that of
the masses of the “truly ignorant” – an expression he is not averse to
using when referring to the mainstream. [See here.]
“For they do not understand
those sublime notions that are too strange for the intellects of the vulgar and
accordingly took God...for an object of study for their tongues;
[T]hey predicated attributes
of Him and addressed Him in all the terms that they thought permitted and
expiated at such length in this way that in their thoughts they made Him move
on account of an affection...”
Rambam maintains that the intellectually “vulgar”
mainstream is unable to understand that they cannot comprehend the Infinite
One, and instead they turn spirituality into “an object of study for their
tongues” (but not their minds[8]).
Thus they overstate their prayers and create and expound on a vast construct of
‘spiritual techniques and technicalities’ in an attempt to create a philosophy
- “an object of study” - and try, almost, to bribe and manipulate G-d
and “make Him move on account of an affection”.
Rambam, therefore, offers an alternative position:
“Accordingly if you are one
who has regard for the honor of his Creator, you ought not to listen in any way
to these utterances, let alone give expression to them [i.e. to these philosophies
and injunctions to extra prayers][9]
and still less make up others like them...and ought not go beyond that which
has been inserted in the prayers...
[f]or this is sufficient from
the point of view of [Halachic][10]
necessity;
[I]n fact, as Rabbi Haninah
said, it is amply sufficient...
Solomon...has rightly directed
us...: For God is in heaven and thou upon the earth; therefore let thy words be
few.[11]”
Thus Rambam suggests that if one is looking for a more realistic
G-dly experience as opposed to a formulated or what he considers to be a
contrived spiritual one, then Less is More. When it comes to prayer, one
should ‘give expression to them” but “not go beyond that which has
been inserted in the prayers” and certainly not “make up others like
them”.
RAMBAM UNSURE WHETHER TO 'LAUGH' OR 'WEEP':
Rambam even extends his objection to quoting verses of
praise from the Prophets!
“They did this especially when
they found the text of a prophet’s speech regarding these terms. Thereupon they
had full license to bring forward texts that ought to be interpreted, and to
take them according to their external meaning, to derive from them inferences
and secondary conclusions...
This kind of license is
frequently taken by poets and preachers or such as think that what they speak
is poetry, so that the utterances
of some of them constitute an absolute denial of faith, while other utterances
contain such rubbish and such perverse imaginings as to make men laugh when
they hear them...and to make them weep when they consider that these utterances
are applied to God.”
In Rambam’s system, when we must pray it should be minimalist
and not exaggerated beyond that which is prescribed because essentially the
deepest way to communicate with the Infinite is through silence.
ANALYSIS:
We have looked at two very different if not extreme ways in which the
concept of prayer is dealt with.
One system adopts a More is More approach while the other suggests
that Less is More.
As this is not a competition, the intention is not to come up
with a ‘winner’ but rather to show just how diverse and complex the various
approaches to such a fundamental issue actually are.
Investigation into the sources reveals that these paradoxes
surface time and time again - we truly are One Nation with Multiple Systems.
[For more see Rationalism,
Mysticism and now Superstition?]
[1] A play on "One country, two systems" which refers
to the constitutional principle formulated by Deng Xiaoping, the Paramount
Leader of the People's Republic of China, for the reunification of China during
the early 1980s.
[2] A
‘maximalist’ is also defined as ‘one who favors a radical and immediate
approach to the achievement of a set of goals or the completion of a program.’
[3]
Likutei Moharan II #25.
[4]
Berachot 33b.
[5]
Moreh Nevuchim 1:59.
[6]
This is most likely a reference to ‘inspirational’ spiritual writings.
[7]
Translation is from the Pines edition.
[8] In
other words, they create a spiritual theology that ‘sounds right’ and ‘makes
sense’ especially for the spiritual seeker, but in Rambam’s view, has no
relevance in ‘reality’ because the ‘bridge’ from finite to Infinite is too
sublime to attempt to articulate.
[9]
Parenthesis mine.
[10]
Parenthesis mine.
[11] Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 5:2.