(א) הוא שצונו לעבדו, וכבר נכפל זה הצווי פעמים באמרו ועבדתם את יקוק אלקיכם, ואמר ואותו תעבודו. ואע"פ שזה הצווי הוא גם כן מהצוויים הכוללים כמו שביארנו בשורש ד', הנה יש בו יחוד אחר שהוא צווי לתפלה. ולשון ספרי ולעבדו זו תפלה. ואמרו גם כן ולעבדו זו תלמוד, ובמשנתו של רבי אליעזר בנו של רבי יוסי הגלילי אמרו מנין לעיקר תפלה מצוה מהכא את יקוק אלקיך תירא ואותו תעבוד, ואמרו עבדוהו בתורתו ועבדוהו במקדשו, רוצה לומר הכוון אליו להתפלל שם כמו שבאר שלמה ע"ה. (בפרשת ואלה המשפטים, אהבה הלכות תפלה וברכת כהנים פ"א):
The 5th mitzvah is that we are commanded to serve God. This commandment is repeated many times: And you shall serve God, your Lord";"And you shall serve Him"; "And to serve Him." Although this commandment is of a general nature, as explained in the Fourth Principle, [and apparently should not be included in the count of the 613 mitzvos,] nevertheless it has a specific quality, since it is the commandment to pray.
[We see that "service" is not just a general command from the following statements:] The Sifri says, "The verse, 'And to serve Him' means prayer." The Sages also said, "The verse, 'And to serve Him' means Torah study.
In the Mishnah of Rabbi Eliezer, the son of Rabbi Yosi HaG'lili, the Sages said, "What is the biblical source to include prayer among the mitzvos? From the verse, 'You shall fear G‑d, your L‑rd, and you shall serve Him.' "
They also said, "Serve Him through His Torah; serve Him in His Temple." This [statement, 'serve Him in His Temple,'] means that one's goal should be to pray in the Temple or in the direction of the Temple, as King Solomon explained.
(יג) וְהָיָ֗ה אִם־שָׁמֹ֤עַ תִּשְׁמְעוּ֙ אֶל־מִצְוֺתַ֔י אֲשֶׁ֧ר אָנֹכִ֛י מְצַוֶּ֥ה אֶתְכֶ֖ם הַיּ֑וֹם לְאַהֲבָ֞ה אֶת־יקוק אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶם֙ וּלְעָבְד֔וֹ בְּכָל־לְבַבְכֶ֖ם וּבְכָל־נַפְשְׁכֶֽם׃
(13) If, then, you obey the commandments that I enjoin upon you this day, loving the LORD your God and serving Him with all your heart and soul,
(כה) ד"א: "לעבדו" - זו תפילה. זו תפלה, או אינו אלא עבודה? - ת"ל "בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך ובכל מאדך", וכי יש לו עבודה בלב? הא מה ת"ל "ולעבדו בכל לבבכם"? - זו תפלה.
(25) Variantly: "and to serve Him": This is prayer. — But perhaps it is service, literally. It is, therefore, written "with all your heart." Now is there "service" in the heart? What, then, is the intent of "and to serve Him with all your heart? Prayer.
ומה שדרשו בספרי ולעבדו זה תלמוד ד"א זו תפלה אסמכתא היא או לומר שמכלל העבודה שנלמוד תורתו ושנתפלל אליו בעת הצרות ותהיינה עינינו ולבנו אליו כעיני עבדים אל יד אדוניהם וזה כענין שכתוב וכי תבאו מלחמה בארצכם על הצר הצורר אתכם והרעותם בחצוצרות ונזכרתם לפני יקוק אלקיכם והיא מצוה על צרה שתבא על הצבור לזעוק לפניו בתפלה ובתרועה... וכבר דרשו עוד שם בספרי רבי אליעזר בן יעקב אומר ולעבדו בכל לבבכם ובכל נפשכם מה תלמוד לומר והלא כבר נאמר בכל לבבך להלן ליחיד וכאן לציבור כאן לתלמוד כאן למעשה, אמר שנצטוינו לעבוד השם בכל לבבנו בלמוד תורתו ובעשיית מצותיו, וכן זו שנויה שם אותו תעבודו עבדוהו בתורתו עבדוהו במקדשו פירושו לומר שיעבדו אותו במקדשו בעבודת הקרבנות והשיר וההשתחויות...
And that which the Sifrei expounded, "'And to serve him' this means learning Torah; alternatively, this means prayer" is merely an Asmachta (Rabbinic mnemonic and not a Torah law), and it is saying either that from serving God– by learning his Torah and praying to him in a time of need– our eyes and hearts will be turned to him like those of servants to the hand of their master. And this is that which is written, "When you enter into war in your land, regarding the enemy that opposes you, and you shall blow on the horns and be remembered before Hashem your God," and it is a Mitzvah when suffering befalls the congregation to call out before God with prayer and cries...
And in the Sifrei [quoted by the Rambam as the source for the Mitzvah of Tefillah] there is already another opinion, of Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov, who says: "And to serve him with all your heart and all your soul"– why does the Torah repeat this after already saying "Serve him with all your heart?" to teach that there is both a commandment on the individual and the congregation to serve God, and a congregation to both learn and to act in service of God. And it is taught "You shall serve him," serve him with his Torah, serve him in his Temple, meaning, serve him in the temple by the sacrifices and temple service. [Prayer, however, is not considered "service", unlike the Rambam]
איתמר רבי יוסי ברבי חנינא אמר תפלות אבות תקנום רבי יהושע בן לוי אמר תפלות כנגד תמידין תקנום... אמר לך רבי יוסי ברבי חנינא לעולם אימא לך תפלות אבות תקנום ואסמכינהו רבנן אקרבנות דאי לא תימא הכי תפלת מוסף לרבי יוסי ברבי חנינא מאן תקנה אלא תפלות אבות תקנום ואסמכינהו רבנן אקרבנות:
The dispute between the Rabbis and Rabbi Yehuda with regard to the times beyond which the different prayers may not be recited is rooted in a profound disagreement, also manifest in a later amoraic dispute. It was stated: Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: The practice of praying three times daily is ancient, albeit not in its present form; prayers were instituted by the Patriarchs. However, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said that the prayers were instituted based on the daily offerings sacrificed in the Holy Temple, and the prayers parallel the offerings, in terms of both time and characteristics... Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, could have said to you: Actually, I will say to you that the Patriarchs instituted the prayers and the Sages based the times and characteristics of prayer on the Temple offerings, even though they do not stem from the same source. As, if you do not say so, that even Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, would agree that the laws of offerings and those of prayers are related, then, according to Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, who instituted the additional prayer? It is not one of the prayers instituted by the forefathers. Rather, even according to Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, the prayers were instituted by the Patriarchs and the Sages based them on the laws of the offerings.
וחייבין בתפלה: דרחמי נינהו מהו דתימא הואיל וכתיב בה ערב ובקר וצהרים כמצות עשה שהזמן גרמא דמי קמשמע לן:
We also learned in the mishna that women, slaves, and children are obligated in prayer. The Gemara explains that, although the mitzva of prayer is only in effect at particular times, which would lead to the conclusion that women are exempt, nevertheless, since prayer is supplication for mercy and women also require divine mercy, they are obligated. However, lest you say: Since regarding prayer it is written: “Evening and morning and afternoon I pray and cry aloud and He hears my voice” (Psalms 55:18), perhaps prayer should be considered a time-bound, positive mitzva and women would be exempt, the mishna teaches us that, fundamentally, the mitzva of prayer is not time-bound and, therefore, everyone is obligated.
ורבי אלעזר אמר ספק קרא קריאת שמע ספק לא קרא חוזר וקורא קריאת שמע ספק התפלל ספק לא התפלל אינו חוזר ומתפלל ורבי יוחנן אמר ולואי שיתפלל אדם כל היום כולו:
פסקי רי“ד, ברכות שם.
ואע"ג דלעניין זמן עד חצות ועד הערב מדמינן להו לתמידין, לעניין זה לא דמו. וזהו שהוצרך לומר: והלואי יתפלל אדם כל היום כולו, למימרא דלא תדמה להו לתמידין להא מילתא, משום דתפילה רחמי היא, ולא דמיא לקרבנות.
R. Isaiah di Trani (13th c.), ibid.
"If only a person would pray through the entire day." - That is to say, that you should not compare Tefillah to the Temple offerings [which were limited in number] because prayer is fundamentally requesting mercy, and it is not similar to sacrifices.
Speaking of prayer, the Gemara relates that Rava saw Rav Hamnuna, who was prolonging his prayer. He said about him: They abandon eternal life, the study of Torah, and engage in temporal life, prayer, which includes requests for mundane needs. The Gemara explains: And Rav Hamnuna held that the time for prayer is distinct and the time for Torah is distinct. The time that one devotes to prayer is not at the expense of the time devoted to Torah study. Similarly, the Gemara relates that Rabbi Yirmeya was sitting before Rabbi Zeira and they were engaged in the study of halakha. The time for prayer was approaching and it was getting late and Rabbi Yirmeya was hurrying to conclude the subject that they were studying in order to pray. Rabbi Zeira read this verse as applying to Rabbi Yirmeya: “One who turns his ear from hearing Torah, his prayer is also an abomination” (Proverbs 28:9).
חיי עולם - תורה תפלה צורך חיי שעה היא לרפואה לשלום ולמזונות:
Eternal life - [this is] Torah. Prayer [however] is for the needs of the temporary life, as it is for health, peace, and sustenance.
סמ”ק, מצוה יא
להתפלל בכונה בכל יום שנאמר (דברים י"א) ולעבדו בכל לבבכם. ודרשו רבותינו ז"ל איזוהי עבודה שהוא בלב הוי אומר זו תפילה בכוונה... וכשיתפלל אם יבקש דבר אל יצפה לומר מחמת תפילתו יביא לי הקב"ה שאלתי. כי זה מן הדברים שאמרו חכמים (דף נ"ה) שמזכירים עונותיו של אדם. אלא יחשוב שהקב"ה יביאנו בחסדו. ומה שאני מבקש ממנו כדי להזכיר אל לבי כמה אני משועבד לבוראי שאני צריך ממנו מזה ומזה. ואין זולתו יכול להביא ולעשות שאלתי.
R. Isaac of Corbeil (13th c.), Mitzvah 11
There's a Mitzvah to pray with intent every day, as it says "And to serve him with all your heart," and our Rabbis expounded "What is service of the heart? This is prayer with intent"...
And when one prays, if one requests something, do not expect it and say "because of my prayer God will fulfill my request." For this is among the things that Rabbis said remind God of man's sins. Rather, you should think God gives you your needs out of his kindness. And that which you are requesting now in prayer is merely to remind yourself how dependent you are on your Creator, that I need this and that from him, and without him I could not fulfill my needs.
(א) נפתולי אלקים. מְנַחֵם בֶּן סָרוּק פֵּרְשׁוֹ בְּמַחְבֶּרֶת צָמִיד פָּתִיל, חִבּוּרִים מֵאֵת הַמָּקוֹם נִתְחַבַּרְתִּי עִם אֲחוֹתִי לִזְכּוֹת לְבָנִים. וַאֲנִי מְפָרְשׁוֹ לְשׁוֹן עִקֵּשׁ וּפְתַלְתֹּל (דברים ל"ב) – נִתְעַקַּשְׁתִּי וְהִפְצַרְתִּי פְצִירוֹת וְנַפְתּוּלִים הַרְבֵּה לַמָּקוֹם, לִהְיוֹת שָׁוָה לַאֲחוֹתִי: (ב) גם יכלתי. הִסְכִּים עַל יָדִי; וְאֻנְקְלוֹס תִּרְגֵּם לְשׁוֹן תְּפִלָּה, כְּמוֹ נַפְתּוּלֵי אֱלֹקִים נִתְפַּלְתִּי בַּקָּשׁוֹת הַחֲבִיבוֹת לְפָנָיו; נִתְקַבַּלְתִּי, וְנֶעֱתַרְתִּי כַאֲחוֹתִי: (ג) נפתלתי. נִתְקַבְּלָה תְפִלָּתִי, וּמִ"אַ יֵשׁ רַבִּים בִּלְשׁוֹן נוֹטָרִיקוֹן:
(1) נפתולי אלהים WRESTLINGS OF GOD — Menachem ben Seruk explains in his Machbereth (Dictionary) that the word נפתולי is of the same root as פתיל in (Numbers 19:15) “a covering (פתיל) closely bound upon it”, so that the words here mean: By bonds from God have I been joined to my sister (made equal to her) to merit the privilege of having children. I, however, explain it in the same sense as (Deuteronomy 32:5) “perverse and crooked (עקש ופתלתול)”. I have been persistent and have made many importunities and wrestlings with God that I may become like my sister. (2) גם יכלתי AND I HAVE PREVAILED — He has yielded to my importunities. Onkelos translated it in the sense of prayer (תפלה), in this way: נפתולי אלהים נפתלתי means prayers that were pleasing to God I offered and I was accepted and was answered like my sister. (3) נפתלתי means my prayer was accepted.
Prayer is the doctrine of human needs. Prayer tells the individual, as well as the community, what his, or its, genuine needs are, what he should, or should not, petition God about. Of the nineteen benedictions in our עמידה, thirteen are concerned with basic human needs, individual as well as social-national. Even two of the last three benedictions are of a petitional nature. The person in need is summoned to pray. Prayer and צרה (trouble) are inseparably linked. Who prays? Only the sufferer prays. If man does not find himself in narrow straits, if he is not troubled by anything, if he knows not what is, then he need not pray. To a happy man, to contented man, the secret of prayer was not revealed. God needs neither thanks nor hymns. He wants to hear the outcry of man, confronted with a ruthless reality. He expects prayer to rise from a suffering world cognizant of its genuine needs. In short, through prayer man finds himself. Prayer enlightens man about his needs. It tells man the story of his hidden hopes and expectations. It teaches him how to behold the vision and how to strive in order to realize this vision, when to be satisfied with what one possesses, when to reach out for more. In a word, man finds his need awareness, himself, in prayer. Of course, the very instant he finds himself, he becomes a redeemed being.
"There are no Kabbalists in Sighet," my father would often tell me. He wanted to drive the idea of studying Kabbalah from my mind. In vain. I succeeded on my own in finding a master for myself in the person of Moishe the Beadle.
He had watched me one day as I prayed at dusk. "Why do you cry when you pray?" he asked, as though he knew me well. "I don't know," I answered, troubled. I had never asked myself that question. I cried because because something inside me felt the need to cry. That was all I knew.
"Why do you pray?" he asked after a moment. Why did I pray? Strange question. Why did I live? Why did
I breathe? "I don't know," I told him, even more troubled and ill at ease. "I don't know."
From that day on, I saw him often. He explained to me, with great emphasis, that every question possessed a power that was lost in the answer…
Man comes closer to God through the questions he asks Him, he liked to say. Therein lies true dialogue. Man asks and God replies. But we don't understand His replies. We cannot understand them. Because they dwell in the depths of our souls and remain there until we die. The real answers, Eliezer, you will find only within yourself.
"And why do you pray, Moishe?" I asked him.
"I pray to the God within me for the strength to ask Him the real questions."
...הַיְנוּ שֶׁמִּתְפַּלֵּל בְּלִי שׁוּם כַּוָּנַת תּוֹעֶלֶת עַצְמוֹ, וְאֵינוֹ חוֹשֵׁב לִכְלוּם אֶת עַצְמוֹ, וְנִתְבַּטֵּל כָּל עַצְמוּתוֹ וְגַשְׁמִיּוּתוֹ, וְנִתְבַּטֵּל כְּאִלּוּ אֵינוֹ בָּעוֹלָם, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (תהלים מד): כִּי־עָלֶיךָ הֹרַגְנוּ כָּל־הַיּוֹם.
This is when you pray without any intent for personal benefit, without thinking about yourself at all, as if you did not exist. Following the verse, ‘It is for your sake that we are slain all day long’ (Psalms 44:23)
Prayer does not hope for anything, not even from the future.
I pray, but am I certain that I will be answered? No, I am not certain. I am also not certain that I will not, but the prayer does something. Someone hears. Who is this someone? We say “God,” but this word lacks any independent meaning. It is enough for me that “I” hear, but who is the “I” that hears? I believe in the deep “I”, an “I” with a transcendental horizon. This is what the Hasidim called the root of the soul. Where there is an “I” like this, there is God.
The essay ends on a more radical note claiming that God lacks independent meaning of our prayer or any transcendence. God is not outside standing above, rather God is our deep self or in the language of Hasidut, it is the root of our souls...
In the 1980’s Shagar used modernist existential themes to interpret the alienation from prayer. For example his student, Rabbi Dov Zinger, head of the yeshiva high school, Mekor Chaim has the students do Buber I-Thou dialogue with their classmates and then has them turn to God with the same I-Thou intimacy. Another student, Rabbi Benny Kalmanson of Yeshivat Otniel, reflects a more frustrated Existential moment by speaking of Elie Wiesel’s concept of the need to argue with God even if one does not believe or expect an effect. Prayer is like story telling, it is a form of witness and memory.
I like to refer to the prevailing modernist method of maintaining religious faith– in the face of the deep chasm between it and the world in which the modern believer lives– as the "two-world approach." This approach establishes a boundary between the internal and the external, between one's faith and the world in which one resides. On the face of it, the Torah belongs to a different world, a world of values, and has no bearing on this one, where science reigns supreme... Yet the price of this dichotomous path is unbearably high. It pulls the rug out from under basic articles of faith– or, at the very least, strips them of their traditional interpretations– such as belief in providence and in the immortality of the soul, and even in the value of prayer... For example, according to the traditional Jewish outlook, calamities are a cue for repentance; however, the two-world approach is almost entirely divorced from the belief that calamities are caused by sin and that repentance can bring salvation, for neither sin nor repentance has the power to affect the natural order...
My contention is that providence is evident not in everyday reality, but rather on the level of the [Lacanian] Real. Instead of offering a competing model of cause and effect, providence operates on the hermeneutical level, requiring me to ascribe meaning to the things that happen to me...
Here is an example from something that happened to me this morning: Our boiler cracked and the house flooded. Was it providence? Maimonides asserts that we must examine our actions when a calamity occurs– it may have been fairly minor, as calamities go, but it was annoying nonetheless. However, such an examination means asking myself not why it happened, but rather, "What does it mean?" To ask why something happened is to search for a cause, but I already know the cause. Over time the heating element became encrusted in limescale and rust, forming a crack, perhaps because I had failed to maintain it correctly. Yet when I asked myself "What does it mean?" I had a revelation: Perhaps I hadn't given enough tzedaka. Maybe I should repent, I thought. But can that truly be the meaning of a calamity? Such interpretations would be utterly arbitrary if not for the sense of uncertainty that accompanies them. The event merges with other occurrences, snippets of thoughts, impressions, and more. It strikes one as a revelation; an epiphany even. Unlike the newspapers' unrelenting interpretations of the events that befall us, this one does not grasp at external reasons. It is a revelation not of my own design, rather, it grasps me.