Illustration credit: Rivka Tsinman
Prayer in the Parashah תְּפִלָּה
When Moshe warns Pharaoh about the plague of locusts, Pharaoh seems almost ready to let Benei Yisrael go. But then he asks Moshe: Who is going?
וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה בִּנְעָרֵינוּ וּבִזְקֵנֵינוּ נֵלֵךְ
בְּבָנֵינוּ וּבִבְנוֹתֵנוּ בְּצֹאנֵנוּ וּבִבְקָרֵנוּ נֵלֵךְ…
Moshe says: “We will go with our young and old; we will go with our sons and daughters, with our sheep and our cattle…”
Pharaoh says no, only the men can go.
Moshe doesn’t give in to this demand, and the locusts come.
Compare the language in the pasuk above to this line from Tehillim that we say each morning in פְּסוּקֵי דְּזִמְרָא (Pesukei Dezimra), the opening section of our morning prayers:
בַּחוּרִים וְגַם בְּתוּלוֹת זְקֵנִים עִם נְעָרִים׃
יְהַלְלוּ אֶת־שֵׁם ה'...
Boys and girls, elderly with youngsters will praise the name of God…
- Why do you think it’s important for old people and young people to worship God together?
Here’s one answer:
“זְקֵנִים עִם נְעָרִים” - שֶׁהַזְּקֵנִים יְלַמְּדוּם הֵיאַךְ יְהַלְלוּ אֶת ה'... כִּי אֵין בַּנְּעָרִים לְבַדָּם דַּעַת לְהַלּל.
“Elderly with youngsters” - The elders will teach them how to praise God…because youngsters don’t know how to praise God on their own.
- What have you learned from people older than you about how to pray?
- How is it different when you pray only with kids your own age vs. with people of all ages?
- Can adults also learn something from kids about how to pray?
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