Parsha: Vayechi
Tevet 11 /December 14
By: Sarah Engel
(based on the preface to Praying with Fire, by Rabbi Heshy Kleinman)
“Yesimcha Elokim K’Efraim U’K’Menasha...” Many of us have heard these familiar words before, I personally associate them with Friday nights, when our parents bless us. Attached to these words are those of bircat cohanim (Yevarechacha Hashem V’Yismarecha...)We say those words in shacharit, at shema before we go to bed and the Cohanim pronounce that blessing before the entire community on Yom Tov. This well-known blessing of the children originates in this week’s parsha, Parshat VaYechi. Yakov is at the end of his life, and he calls in his grandchildren, blessing them with these words.
The blessing of “Yevarechecha Hashem..” when looked at carefully has much more depth than what meets the eye. According to a variety of midrashim and meforshim (commentators) these three lines contain blessings for wealth, peace, good relationships, good relationship with G-d, safety, and Teshuva.
When I read this, I began thinking about blessings, prayer and the idea of wishing well for others. Okay, so these blessings are certainly very nice but how do they matter if G-d has a specific plan for each of us, determined from the High Holidays of that year?
The Chovot HaLevavot states that through the process of tefillah we change internally, causing ourselves to be different people than we were previously. After actively engaging in tefillah, a process by which you reconnect and recognize G-d as the source of all, you transform yourself into a different person than you were ten minutes before. And the evil decree that was set out for you ten minutes before is no longer necessary, as you are now a different, improved being. Additionally, he goes on to say “the purpose of tefillah is not to change the Almighty’s mind but rather to bring us to the realization that our fate is completely dependent on His will, that we can only survive through his mercy.”
So I understand now how my tefillot may help myself, as my transformation into a better person may assist me in avoiding a Heavenly Decree. But how will my prayers help another person? Rabbi Heshy Kleinman, author of Praying with Fire asked this same question to his rabbi, Rabbi Eliyahu Lopian. Rabbi Lopian answered that when one causes others to pray for him, the participants in the prayer are doing a good deed, therefore acquiring good merits for themselves. Since the instigator of the prayers has caused mass transformation in others, he himself will now have many good merits that will stand for him in the face of the Heavenly Decree.
Rabbi Mattitiyahu Salomon writes in the preface to Praying with Fire that, “Sometimes, the merit a sick person accumulates through the prayers of other people is sufficient to tip the scales in his favor and rescind the evil decree. Sometimes, however, the evil decree simply cannot be rescinded. We cannot fathom the intricacies of the Divine plan; we only know the end result of the Divine is completely good. And if the Almighty chooses not to rescind the decree despite the accumulation of mountains of merit through prayer, we accept with full faith that this is the best way to further the Divine plan for the entire world and achieve the ultimate good.”
G-d wants to connect with us, He wants to have a deep and personal relationship with every one of His children. One of the major areas we see this is in Sefer Devarim,when Bnei Yisrael are about to enter the Land of Israel. Moshe tells Bnei Yisrael that if they do good and follow in the ways of Hashem, they will receive rain and other good things, and if they do not follow in the ways of Torah, there will be drought and famine. One could ask this question, If G-d is the creator of the universe, why didn’t He create the Land of Israel with a stable water source? Even today, Israel is struggles with water and must be very scrupulous about wasting water, limiting everyone’s showers to five minutes and developing water recycling plants. However, just 600 miles south of Tel Aviv is the Nile River, one of the most fertile areas in the Middle East that accounts for most of Egypt’s water needs. How come G-d didn’t just transpose the Nile River into Israel? That would definitely solve many problems Israel faces today. The answer to this question is a surprisingly deep one. G-d didn’t create our homeland with a stable water source because He wanted a connection with us. He wanted us to be connected with Him, He wanted to hear from us regularly, have us dependent on Him for our basic sustenance.
In short, why do our tefillot matter?
1. It transforms us, and the people we pray for, causing us, and them, to be intrinsically different than we were before, causing the decrees to be different as we have evolved into different people.
2. If our prayers did not bring upon tangible change, they were not worthless and were definitely heard and will affect us some other way.
3. G-d wants to hear from us and wants to foster a deep, personal relationship with every one of His children
So, back to that profound moment in this week’s parsha when Yakov calls his children into his tent, giving them a blessing before he died. Only G-d knows if that heartfelt prayer changed the Divine plan for the children in the future. However, Yakov Avinu was certainly changed, improved and uplifted, his children were transformed and inspired and we, his descendants are certainly still affected by his powerful bracha.
Shabbat Shalom!
Sarah
No comments:
Post a Comment