Parshat Mishpatim  27 Shevat 5762, 9 February 2002

By Shlomo Riskin

Efrat, Israel - What, if any, are the limits to prayer? When is it proper to pray, and when is it more important to act? Surveying the parameters of prayer is especially fitting for this week's Torah portion, since it includes the Biblical source for prayer, at least according to the pre-eminent authority on halakhah and philosophy, Maimonides: "And you shall serve the Lord your G-d" (Exodus 23:25; Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Prayer 1,1).

Our question becomes particularly compelling when we take note of a very curious statement of Rashi when commenting on a Biblical verse we read just two Sabbaths ago. Immediately following the exodus, the Hebrews find themselves in an impossible position, being chased after by the Egyptians from behind and facing the tumultuous waves of the Red Sea in front. The Israelites complain to Moses ("It would have been better for us to be enslaved in Egypt than to die in the desert"), Moses prays to G-d, and the Almighty responds, "Why do you cry out to me? Speak to the children of Israel, and let them begin their journey" (Exodus 14:15). Rashi expands on the Almighty's response: "The Holy One Blessed be He said to Moses, 'This is not the time for lengthy prayers, when the nation of Israel is in mortal danger.'" (Rashi, ad loc).

How can we possibly understand the additional words placed in G-d's mouth (as it were) by Rashi. When ought we engage in lengthy prayer if not when our nation is in such a tragically painful predicament? If not then, when?

I believe that a most insightful Talmudic tale provides the key to understanding. Once R. Yosi was walking on the road, and he entered one of the ruins of Jerusalem to pray. Elijah the Prophet waited until he concluded his prayer at the doorway. Elijah said (to Rabbi Yosi), Peace unto you, my Master. Rabbi Yosi said Peace unto you, my Master and Teacher. He (Elijah) said, Why did you enter the ruins? He (Rabbi Yosi) said, To pray. He (Elijah) said, You ought to have prayed on the way. He (Rabbi Yosi) said, I was afraid lest I would be stopped by the passers-by. He said, You ought have prayed a shortened prayer.

At that time I learned three things: one must not enter a ruins to pray, one ought pray on the way, and when one prays on the way, one is to pray a shortened prayer" (B.T. Blessings 3a)

Now Elijah the Prophet is the great herald of the Messiah, the religious leader about whom the Almighty declares, 'Behold, I shall send you Elijah the Prophet before the advent of that great and awesome day" (Malachi 3). Elijah the Prophet, the greatest expert in laws of redemption, gives a Torah lesson to Rabbi Yosi after the destruction of the Second Temple. "Do not go into a ruins to pray," he teaches. You dare not wallow in sorrow, bury yourself in your tears. You must rather begin the journey to redemption, actively engage yourself in planting and building, reclaiming and reforesting, our Jewish national homeland; you must pray on the road, on the way to salvation. Yes, you fear that you will be stopped by passersby who will attempt to destroy you with cruel terrorist attacks, to pick you off and lower your morale with drive-by shootings. But that is the price of redemption, the necessary pain which is the precursor to our claiming of our homeland and our achievement of redemption. Pray for G-d's protection, but make it a short prayer accompanied by action. It must be a t'filat haderekh, a prayer on the road!

This is the deepest meaning of Rashi's magnificent commentary. G-d does not tell Moses not to pray; he tells him rather not to engage in lengthy prayer, in prayer exclusively, in prayer without deeds! "Speak to the children of Israel, and let them begin their journey!"
Let us now re-visit Maimonides' source for prayer "And you shall serve the Lord your G-d" (Exodus 23:25) in Mishpatim, this week's Torah reading. The context is worthy of study: "Behold I am sending an angel (Elijah the Prophet?) before you, to guard you on the way, and to bring you to the place which I have prepared (Israel). My angel shall walk before you and bring you to (the land of) the Emorites, Hittites, Prizites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, And I shall deliver it (to you). And you shall serve the Lord your G-d" (Exodus 23: 20-25). The entire context of these verses is the conquest of the Land of Israel. The message is clear: alongside of active warfare there is to be prayer; prayer alone will never bring us to our land.

Similarly the source for Biblical prayer as suggested by Nahmanides (Strictures on Maimonides Book of Commandments, Positive Commandments 5): "When there will be war in your land, against the enemy who attacks you, you shall sound the broken, staccato sounds with your trumpets, you shall be remembered before the Lord your G-d, and you shall be saved from your enemies." This staccato trumpet sound is interpreted by the Talmudic Sages to mean sighing and sobbing, tears of pain in prayer before the Almighty (B.T. Rosh Hashanah 33). In time of trouble and distress we are to pray, insists Nahmanides, but together with warfare, a battle against the enemy who could destroy the Israeli nation. Once again the message is clear: Pray, but make it a short prayer on the road to redemption.

Shabbat Shalom.

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