Parshat V’etchanan

The opening scene of this week’s parsha is Moshe pleading with G-d to allow him enter the land of Israel. “I begged G-d saying, ‘G-d, you have begun to show your servant your greatness and your strong hand, what god is there in heaven or on earth, that can do according to your works and according to your mighty acts? Please let me go over and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, that goodly hill country and Lebanon.” (Devarim 3:23-25)

In a Midrash (Devarim Raba, VeZot HaBracha 11), our sages write that Moshe prayed 515 times, which in gematria (where a number is assigned to each letter in the Hebrew alphabet,א=1, ב=2 etc.) is ואתחנן. Moshe argued that he went through so many headaches, put in so much effort with the Jewish people in the desert and he worked so hard to keep their faith in G-d all that time. Just as he was there during the bad times he should also be there for the good!

But G-d didn’t accept his appeal. “But G-d …did not listen to me. G-d said to me ‘Let it suffice you, speak no more to Me of this matter!”(Devarim 3:26)

In another Midrash (Petaron Torah, Va’Yalach) it discusses how G-d decided that Moshe would not enter the land of Israel and that this decree was so powerful that no prayer in the whole world would be able to change it. Even still Moshe’s prayers were so strong that the Midrash describes how G-d was forced to close the different levels of the heavens so that Moshe’s prayers would not be allowed in.

G-d declared a decree. What he decided is what will be and we understand that this is the right thing. In this case even the greatest, purest prayer was not able to change the decree.

In normal cases we never know how powerful a decree is so we pray and hope that G-d will listen and accept our words. Although at times, G-d doesn’t listen even though there was nothing wrong with the prayer. It is just that the decree was already written and in G-d’s eyes that is the correct and just thing.

Maran Rav Kook Z’tzl adds and expounds on this idea in the introduction to Moadai HaRieah. Although Moshe’s prayers did not change the decree, the prayers opened a deep spring of yearning for the land of Israel. They created an incredible bond between the nation of Israel and the land of Israel; one that transcends history.

The prayers of the people of Gush Katif were powerful ones, both the personal and collective ones. We all remember those very prayers given over at the Kotel. How emotional it all was.

Did those prayers go to waste? Were all the powers that were discovered during that time in vain? G-d forbid! We know that good deeds and virtue have great value and help in the building of the world. We know that the prayers of the Jewish people always have meaning.

We don’t know why G-d chooses to accept or not accept prayers. We do not understand the divine way of G-d. But two things are clear, the first “Baruch Atah Hashem Dayan Haemet,” “Blessed are you G-d, the true judge.” We know that things happen under the care and judgment of G-d and sometimes He decides things that don’t make sense to the human eye. The second, our prayers defiantly have a great influence on the world, they add credit to the Jewish people and contribute to our existence.

The essence of prayer is to show that the divine presence of G-d is on us, that we are dependent on him and that we need him. [To read more on this idea see the Ramban (the end of Parashat Boe) and The Rambam (The Guide to The Perplexed, Part III, Chapter 36) and the Maharal (Nativ Avodah, Chapter 3)]. When a person asks to be healed by G-d he announces that G-d is the one that heals the sick of Israel, and from Him grows salvation.

Prayer does not create a fear of G-d. Its purpose is not to show the greatness of G-d in order for man to see his smallness thereby distancing G-d from man. On the contrary, prayer creates intimacy; it shows that G-d cares for our needs. It is there, in prayer that we declare our dependencies on G-d and His providence over us. This is the difficulty of prayer. Naturally, man believes that his successes are dependent on himself, dependent on his hard work and talent. In prayer we implant into our heart that all our actions are dependent on G-d. Although man still has to act, he must realize that his actions and strengths are not the only factors for his success.

Prayer and good deeds creates inside all of us the deep understanding that everything around us takes place under the care of G-d. It creates a special connection between G-d and us. It is a connection that in it of its self has a goal, the connection that brings the nation of Israel closer to redemption and Mashiach.

Shabbat Shalom!