"HERE I STAND BY

THE SPRING AS THE DAUGHTERS OF THE TOWNSMEN COME OUT TO DRAW WATER; LET THE

MAIDEN TO WHOM I SAY, 'PLEASE, LOWER YOUR JAR THAT I MAY DRINK,' AND WHO

REPLIES, 'DRINK, AND I WILL ALSO WATER YOUR CAMELS'- LET HER BE THE ONE WHOM

YOU HAVE DECREED FOR YOUR SERVANT ISAAC. THEREBY SHALL I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE

DEALT GRACIOUSLY WITH MY MASTER."… THE SERVANT

RAN TOWARD HER AND SAID, "PLEASE, LET ME SIP A LITTLE WATER FROM YOUR

JAR." "DRINK, MY LORD," SHE SAID, AND SHE QUICKLY LOWERED HER

JAR UPON HER HAND AND LET HIM DRINK. WHEN SHE HAD LET HIM DRINK HIS FILL, SHE

SAID, "I WILL ALSO DRAW FOR YOUR CAMELS, UNTIL THEY FINISH DRINKING."

 (Bereishit 24: 13-14, 17-19)

Beliefs and Superstitions

Rabbi Shmuel bar Nahmani said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: Three

answered improperly. These are: Abraham's servant, Eliezer, Saul son of Kish,

and Yiftah Ha-Giladi.

Abraham's

servant, Eliezer, for it is written: Let the maiden to whom I say, 'Please,

lower your jar that I may drink,' etc. Even

if she is lame or blind? He was answered properly, and Rivkah was sent

to him.

(Ta'anit 4a)

One should not divine

the future like an idolater, for it says, You shall not practice divination (VaYikra

19:26). What is divination? For example, those who

say, "Since my bread fell from my mouth, or my staff fell from my hand, I

will not go to such-and-such a place today, for if I go, my wishes will not be

fulfilled"… and those who hear the bird chirp and say: "This will

happen, and that will not," "it is good to do this thing and bad to

do that thing"… and one who sets signs for himself [thinking], "If

such and such happens to me, I will do this thing, and if it does not happen, I

will not do it," as did Eliezer,

Abraham's servant… all of these are prohibited, and anyone who performs a

deed because of [the outcome] of one of these [forms of divination] is caned.

(RaMBaM Hilkhot Avodat Kokhavim 11:4)

RAVaD's Gloss: Abraham [ben David] said: This is a great error, for this ["one

who sets signs for himself"] is

certainly allowed, and perhaps he [RaMBaM] was misled by the formulation he

saw [in Hullin 95b],

"divination which is not like that of Eliezer and Jonathan is not

divination." He thought that it was meant to define a prohibition, but

that is not true. Rather, this is what it is saying: "It is not worth

depending [on a method of divination], unless it is like that of Eliezer and

Jonathan." How could he have

attributed this transgression to such righteous men?!

On Public Prayer

And Private Prayer

Jonathan Chipman

Towards

the end of Parshat Hayyei Sarah, we encounter the figure of Yitzhak, who "went

out toward evening to meditate [la-suah] in the field" (Gen 24:63). Rashi

interprets the phrase la-suah as implying prayer, as in the phrase, "he

shall pour out his entreaty" (Psalm 102:1)

– from whence the notion that Isaac introduced the Minhah Prayer. Isaac is thus

a kind of paradigm for the individual who engages in meditative, inward prayer.

There is something mysterious about this lone figure, ambling through the

desert while the sun is setting, perhaps enwrapped in profound thoughts about

the secrets of creation, or crying out to his Maker from the depths of his

heart. Such figures reappear, in varied and different forms, throughout the

spiritual history of the Jewish people.

The difficulty emerges when the Yitzhak mode is

counterpoised with the great emphasis placed by the halakhah upon public

worship. The ideal, perfect prayer is always thought of as being recited in

public, with a minyan of ten Jews – whether on festive days, such as Simhat

Torah or Purim; on days of high solemnity, such as the Days of Awe, when there

is hardly a serious Jew who doesn't find his way to the synagogue; in times of

crisis and trouble, as on the public fast days of ancient times, when the

entire community gathered in the city square; or simply on ordinary weekdays,

when it is a mitzvah to pray with the public. The subject is succinctly

presented in Rambam's Hilkhot

Tefillah 8.1, as follows:

The

prayer of the public is always heard; and even if there were sinners among

them, the Holy One blessed be He never rejects the

prayer of the multitude. Hence a person must join himself with the public, and

should not pray by himself so long as he is able to pray with the public. And a

person should always go to the synagogue morning and evening, for his prayer is

only heard at all times in the synagogue. And whoever has a synagogue in his

city and does not pray there with the public is called a bad neighbor.

Indeed, Maimonides devotes more than half of Hilkhot

Tefillah, his "Laws of Prayer" – Chapters

8-15 – to public manifestations related to prayer: the order of tefillah

betzibbur, the synagogue (whose sanctity derives from the regular presence

therein of public worship), the public reading of the Torah, and the priestly

blessing. In many places, the Sages likewise emphasize the importance of public

prayer (see Berakhot 8a). Moreover,

according to Hazal's world-view, in public worship

the merits of the public somehow compensate for the shortcomings and lacks of

each individual therein. Indeed,

they even find a certain note of arrogance or haughtiness in the behavior of a

person who does not feel the need to pray with others, as if he is confident

that his prayer will be accepted by the Master of the Universe on the basis of

his own righteousness alone.

Moreover, the centrality of public worship is rooted in

basic Jewish concepts. The covenant is seen as in essence being made between

God and the Jewish people; even when the Almighty speaks with individuals, as

He does constantly in the Book of Genesis, which we read during these autumn

months, the covenant is made "between Me and yourself, and with your seed

after you throughout the generations" (Gen

17:7)

 – that is, with a

collective which will come into being through the patriarchs, and not with them

as individuals per se.

On this count, there is a striking difference between

Judaism and Christianity. As Soren Kierkegaard phrased

it: "'The individual' – that is the decisive Christian category, and it

will be decisive for the future of Christianity." He even eschewed

marriage with the love of his life, Regina Olsen, because he saw his religious

calling as somehow fulfilled through his remaining "the Single One."

Admittedly, his approach was an extreme one even within Christianity,

but the attitude per se is in some way integral to that faith. Hence the

institution of monasticism, and the requirement of

celibacy even among lay priests in the Catholic Church, in contrast to Judaism's

emphasis on marriage, family, and the mitzvah of procreating and educating

children.

In principle, one might say that Christians are converted

to the faith, while Jews are born into the covenant community. Conversion, as a

cognitive act, is by definition individual (hence the requirement for adult

baptism and consciously "accepting Christ" in many Protestant

groups); while birth is a matter of belonging to a certain family, to a group –

so much so that even giyyur is understood as being "born" as a

Jew, the mikveh and the womb being symbolically equated.

Nevertheless, there are various values in halakhah that at

times came into conflict with that of public prayer. For example, some of the

Sages saw Torah study as so central to their being that they preferred to

worship in solitude where they studied, rather than with the public in the

synagogue. Thus, it is told of Rav Assi and Rav Ami that "Even though

there were thirteen synagogues in Tiberias, they only prayed between the

pillars where they studied" (Berakhot 8a; cf. the debate on the

application of this approach in practice in Tur, Orah Hayyim §90).

I have heard that there were great sages closer to our own time, such as the

Vilna Gaon, who followed this approach.

Another aspect of prayer that may lead to conflict with

public prayer – one that takes us to the very essence of the meditative, "Yitzhak"

model – is that of kavvanah, of the need for spiritual focus or

concentration during prayer. Prayer is defined as avodah shebelav, "service

of the heart"; hence, by its very nature it must be an expression of the

person's heart and soul. If prayer is lacking in kavvanah, in the inner

feeling of standing before the Almighty, it is no more than a heap of words. Here,

too, Rambam's words, based upon the Talmudic

discussion, are both clear and insistent: "intention of the heart" is

defined as one of the "five things whose absence disqualify prayer" (Tefillah 4.15),

alongside the laws pertaining to basic physical obstacles to prayer, in

contradistinction to those things that, while desirable, are not essential,

such as the direction faced during prayer, bodily posture and gestures, being

dressed in a respectful manner, etc. Thus, by rights, a person

who prays without kavvanah ought to recite Shemonah Esreh a

second time. The only reason we don't require this is that the poskim

considered it likely that the person will pray by rote the second time

around as well! (Shulhan Arukh, Orah Hayyim §101).

In a similar vein, the Talmud says that a person must devote time to

preparation prior to prayer itself: "The pious men of old would wait one

hour and thereafter prayed, so as to focus their hearts upon their Heavenly

Father" (Mishnah

Berakhot 5.1).

Indeed, there were more than a few great Torah sages,

particularly within the Hasidic movement, who found themselves on the horns of

this dilemma. Many Hasidic rebbes were in the habit

of praying in solitude: some prayed in a separate, side room, with the door

slightly opened so that they might hear Kaddish and Barkhu and Kedushah

and so on, while there were others who prayed in complete seclusion.

In quite a few synagogues, prayer is conducted in a rapid,

perfunctory manner – in some cases even on Shabbat, all the more so on weekdays

– that in many cases may disturb those seeking to pray in a more serious manner

to properly fulfill the mitzvah of "service of the heart." Prayer is

a very subtle business. Some people are easily disturbed and lose their ability

to concentrate if they need to keep up with someone else's pace, and hence

prefer private devotions. Although at times it may seem that there has been a

decline in the status and dignity of public prayer in recent generations, this

is not a new problem. Already two hundred years ago this issue was discussed in

the writings of Habad Hasidism.

The Habad

approach, as is well known, greatly emphasized prayer as a central part of a

person's avodah – wherever possible,

protracted, meditative prayer. The worshipper is called upon to reflect

upon the sublime greatness and majesty of the Holy One blessed be He; to prepare himself by studying a chapter or two of a

Hasidic devotional text, and thereafter to pray slowly, word by word, with a

melodious chant and with focused attention. The psalms of Pesukei de-Zimra and

the first two blessings of Shema in the Morning Prayer are seen as

playing a special role, their purpose being "to awaken the love hidden in

the heart of every Jew" so that it might thereafter "be openly

manifested in his heart at the moment of reciting Shema, which is the

mitzvah of love implied by the verse 'and you shall love [the Lord your God].'"

In two passages in Tanya, the basic text of Habad

Hasidism, the "Alter Rebbe," R. Shneur

Zalman of Lyady, relates to this conflict: i.e., between the need for proper kavvanah

during prayer, and the requirement of public prayer. In the first chapter

of Iggeret ha-Kodesh (the forth section of Tanya), and again on

the final pages of Kuntres Aharon (the fifth and final section), he

refers to reports he has heard of places where "businessmen," who

hurry to complete their prayers so as to go about their affairs, serve as

prayer leaders, determining the pace of the daily prayer, thereby preventing

others from praying slowly and attentively. He protests against this

phenomenon, and counsels that

Only

those who have the time… who are able to pray the morning

prayer for about an hour and a half all the days of the week (!) shall

be the prayer leaders… But on Shabbat and festival days, when also those who

have businesses are at leisure, it is a suitable time for them to pray at

leisure, at length, with concentration of their heart and directing their soul

toward God (would that this were true today!-jc), [they too may lead the prayers]. All the more so that

the obligation is imposed upon them with greater force… as is written in the

Torah of Moses, "Six days shall you work … and the seventh day is a

Sabbath to the Lord your God" – specifically, that it is entirely for God.

(Iggeret

ha-Kodesh, Ch 1; in Tanya, p. 103a)

How many people can we imagine agreeing to spending an hour and a half davening every weekday morning?!

We live in an age when certain minyanim pride themselves in finishing in 25

minutes! Nevertheless, our synagogues could stand a certain slowing of pace, in

most cases; perhaps the popularity of "Carlebach

minyanim" and other new ways of conducting the

service with a slower, more musical or meditative style of prayer, are the

first "swallows" heralding a spring of renewed Jewish spirituality.

The second solution to this problem, current in Habad among

the ba'alei avodah

who daven at length, is to come to the synagogue with everybody else, to sit

and study something while the public worships, and while doing so to fulfill

the various mitzvot connected with public worship: Kaddish, Barkhu,

Kedushah, and listening to the Torah reading on days when it is read. To

these I would add: to listen to the entire repetition of the Amidah (hazarat

ha-shatz), and to answer Amen to each blessing, preferably while standing,

which is considered by Rambam to be the essence of tefillat hatzibbur. Only thereafter do they pray at length by

themselves, with love and fear of God, each one according to their inner resources.

It seems to me, that this approach on the part of Habad

represents an interesting effort to maintain both values at once: on the one

hand, participation with the public, expressing the sense of common destiny,

the notion that "all Israel are responsible bound to one another,"

that finds concrete expression in public worship; on the other hand, the

spiritual goal of kavvanah, of emotion, of prayer as service of the

heart – things that, by their very nature, occur within the soul of each

individual, and which are rooted in his/her own inner life.

On another level, there is a tension here between "fixity"

and "beseeching mercy." We read in Pirkei Avot 2.16, "Do

not make your prayer a fixed thing, but compassion and entreaty before the

Omnipresent, blessed be He." The late Prof. Yeshayahu Leibowitz used to

say that Judaism, in effect, rejected this mishnah,

preferring fixity and constancy in the mitzvot, including that of prayer, to

innerness and emotion, which are by definition subjective and transient. Unlike

Leibowitz, it seems to me that it is possible to at least attempt to have both:

there is broad support in Judaism for both constancy and for emotion, for

participation in the religious life of the congregation and for the outpouring

of the soul of each individual.

Rabbi Jonathan Chipman is a professional translator,

who specializes in Jewish studies. He writes an English-language parashat

ha-shavua sheet called "Jonathan's Arrows." Those interested in

subscribing or receiving a sample copy may write to yonarand@internet-zahav.net

I am a resident alien among you (Bereishit

23:4) – The point of his [Abraham's] claiming to be a resident alien is

based upon what the RaMBaM [in Hilkhot Zekhiyah U'Matanah

3:11] wrote: "One may give free gifts to a resident alien… because you

are commanded to sustain him, for it is written, a resident alien, let him

live by your side (Vayikra 25:35)."

You should know that

our entire holy Torah is rational, particularly in connection with earthly

behavior. Rationality requires the land's inhabitants to establish amongst themselves

the practice of sustaining people who are resident aliens in their midst, giving

them free gifts, just as we treat the resident aliens who dwell among us. That

is Abraham's claim – I am a resident

alien among you – give me. He was careful to say resident and

not merely alien in order to emphasize that while he was an alien and

not one of them, he was, nonetheless, a resident. Another reason why he said alien

is because he was concerned about calling himself a resident of this world,

which is opposite to the way of he righteous, so he first called himself an

alien.

(Or Ha-Hayyim Bereishit 23:4)

All of Abraham's Sons are Nourrished by the Same Roots and are Expected to Continue his Purpose

He is like a tree planted… (Tehillim 1:3): God took him and planted him in the

Garden of Eden.

Another interpretation:

God planted him in the Land of Israel.

…which yields its

fruit in season… :

That is Ishmael.

…whose foliage

never fades… :

That is Isaac.

…and whatever he

does prospers… :

Those are the sons of Keturah.

(Midrash Tehillim 1)

Human Beings are Measured by their Deeds

Also the sons of Adam, also the sons of a man (Tehillim 49:3): What is [the meaning of] also the sons of Adam? Those

are the sons of Abraham, of whom it is written:

The great person [adam]

among the giants (Joshua 14:15), also

includes the sons of Ishmael and

the sons of Keturah.

The sons of a man – these are the sons of Noah, of whom it

is written: a righteous man

(Bereishit 6:9).

(Midrash Tehillim 49)

Keturah – Hagar?

Isaac had just come back from

the vicinity of Beer-lahai-roi – for he had gone to bring Hagar to his father

Abraham for him to marry her (based on

Bereishit Rabbah).

(Rashi on Bereishit 24:62)

Keturah – That was Hagar, and she was called Keturah

because her deeds were as pleasing as incense [ketoret], and she tied up

her opening – she did not engage in sexual intercourse with anyone after

separating from Abraham.

(Rashi on Bereishit 25:1)

Abraham married three women:

Sarah – a daughter of Shem, Keturah – a daughter of Yafet, and Hagar – a

daughter of Ham.

(Yalkut Shimoni Iyyov 8,

section 904)

According to this aggadah, we

find that Abraham's three wives belonged to the three races of humanity known

to Scripture, in accordance with Abraham's purpose: As for Me, this is My

covenant with you: You shall be the father of a multitude of nations (Bereishit 17:4).

Through the medium of those three

women – daughters of Shem, Ham and Yafet – the midrash wants to teach us that

Abraham's significance for human history is universal, and that the recognition

of God which he founded in the world, and that the true faith which Abraham our

father was the first to actively raise up, are open to all of the races of

humankind and are relevant to them.

(From Prof. Y. Leibowitz, z"l, Sheva Shanim shel Sihot al Parashat ha-Shavua)