Skip to main content

Thought for the Day: Prayer is Not a Response to Crisis; Prayer Seeks Crisis

At the beginning of parshas Toldos (Bereishi 25:21) we are told:

וַיֶּעְתַּ֨ר יִצְחָ֤ק לַֽיהֹוָה֙ לְנֹ֣כַח אִשְׁתּ֔וֹ כִּ֥י עֲקָרָ֖ה הִ֑וא וַיֵּעָ֤תֶר לוֹ֙ ה' וַתַּ֖הַר רִבְקָ֥ה אִשְׁתּֽוֹ

This can be translated as: And Yitzchak prayed to the Lord opposite his wife because she was barren, and the Lord accepted his prayer, and Rivka his wife conceived. To really understand this verse, we need to add some words, and read: And both Yitzchak and Rivka prayed to the Lord, with Isaac on one side opposite his wife. They were praying because she was barren; and the Lord accepted his prayer, and Rivka -- his wife -- conceived.

R' Bachya notes that the Torah orders events by cause first, followed by effect; making the cause the main thing and the effects as subordinates to the cause. Therefore, says R' Bachya, this verse is telling us: Yitzchak was davening, so his wife, Rivka, davened across from him, and so she was barren, and so HaShem overturned nature (that's really what 'וַיֵּעָ֤תֶר לוֹ֙ הֹ means), and so Rivka, his wife, conceived. That is, HaShem so loves the prayers of the Avos that He made three of the matriarchs barren.

What does that mean? R' Bachya goes on to explain why each of the matriarchs had to wait so long for children anyway. Sarah's conceiving needed to be delayed so that: (1) Yishmael could be born; and (2) so that her name could be changed to contain a  ה -- which was necessary because HaShem created the world with a ה (B'reishis 2:4, Rashi there, second explanation), so the addition ה to Avraham and Sarah demonstrates that Klal Yisrael is above nature. Rivka's conceiving had to be delayed so that Avraham would leave this world before Eisav went off to his evil ways. (The day that Avraham died, Esav went out to murder, commit adultery, and avodah zarah.) Rachel's conceiving needed to be delayed to bring out the tribes of Dan, Naftali, Gad, and Asher from Bilhah and Zilpah.

What does all that mean? Of course, I don't really know; but I'll give it the ole college try. Because of (at least) what was mentioned above, the delay in the matriarchs giving birth was inevitable; all part of the master plan. HaShem could have just told them that, just as He told Avraham that his descendants would be enslaved in a foreign nation and then emerge with great wealth -- both materialistically and be receiving the Torah. Just as He told Yaakov that he would be returning from Lavan's house. Just as He has told us that Eretz Yisrael is our home land. Instead, HaShem left them in the dark with the knowledge that (for the time being) they could not conceive.

Why would HaShem leave them in the dark? So they would daven with more passion with more love for HaShem (see Parshas Lech Lecha, B'reishis 12:2, and Rashi there). Because HaShem loves our תפילות.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thought for the Day: Pizza, Uncrustables, and Stuff -- What Bracha?

Many years ago (in fact, more than two decades ago), I called R' Fuerst from my desk at work as I sat down to lunch.  I had a piece of (quite delicious) homemade pizza for lunch.  I nearly always eat at my desk as I am working (or writing TftD...), so my lunch at work cannot in any way be considered as sitting down to a formal meal; aka קביעת סעודה.  That being the case, I wasn't sure whether to wash, say ha'motzi, and bentch; or was the pizza downgraded to a m'zonos.  He told if it was a snack, then it's m'zonos; if a meal the ha'motzi.  Which what I have always done since then.  I recently found out how/why that works. The Shulchan Aruch, 168:17 discusses פשטיד''א, which is describes as a baked dough with meat or fish or cheese.  In other words: pizza.  Note: while the dough doesn't not need to be baked together with the meat/fish/cheese, it is  required that they dough was baked with the intention of making this concoction. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Thought for the Day: What Category of Muktzeh are Our Candles?

As discussed in a recent TftD , a p'sak halacha quite surprising to many, that one may -- even לכתחילה -- decorate a birthday cake with (unlit, obviously) birthday candles on Shabbos. That p'sak is predicated on another p'sak halacha; namely, that our candles are muktzeh because they are a כלי שמלאכתו לאיסור and not  מוקצה מחמת גופו/intrinsically set aside from any use on Shabbos. They point there was that using the candle as a decoration qualifies as a need that allows one to utilize a כלי שמלאכתו לאיסור. Today we will discuss the issue of concluding that our candles are , in fact, a כלי שמלאכתו לאיסור and not מוקצה מחמת גופו. Along the way we'll also (again) how important it is to have personal relationship with your rav/posek, the importance of precision in vocabulary, and how to interpret the Mishna Brura.  Buckle up. After reviewing siman 308 and the Mishna Brura there, I concluded that it should be permissible to use birthday candles to decorate a cake on Sha...
Post a Comment
Read more

Thought for the Day: Why Halacha Has "b'di'avad"

There was this Jew who knew every "b'di'avad" (aka, "Biddy Eved", the old spinster librarian) in the book.  When ever he was called on something, his reply was invariably, "biddy eved, it's fine".  When he finally left this world and was welcomed to Olam Haba, he was shown to a little, damp closet with a bare 40W bulb hanging from the ceiling.  He couldn't believe his eyes and said in astonishment, "This is Olam Haba!?!"  "Yes, Reb Biddy Eved,  for you this is Olam Haba." b'di'avad gets used like that; f you don't feel like doing something the best way, do it the next (or less) best way.  But Chazal tell us that "kol ha'omer HaShem vatran, m'vater al chayav" -- anyone who thinks HaShem gives partial credit is fooling himself to death (free translation.  Ok, really, really free translation; but its still true).  HaShem created us and this entire reality for one and only one purpose: for use...
Post a Comment
Read more