The Ultimate
Purpose of Prayer
Synopsis – Coming close to God is the
ultimate purpose of prayer. Once the
level of closeness has been reached, there is a higher level of faith
manifested by silence. This is the
reason God told Moshe Rabbeinu not to pray when the nation was trapped at the
Reed Sea. God had already heard his
prayer even before he mouthed the words.
The primary lesson is that striving, through prayer, to reach a level of
preparedness to cry out to God is the main goal of prayer.
The nation of Israel was encamped on the shores of the Reed
Sea. The Egyptian army was hard upon
them. God says to Moshe, “מַה־תִּצְעַק אֵלָי דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל
וְיִסָּעוּ/Why are you crying out to me?
Speak to the children of Israel and they will move forward.” (Shmos
14:15) This is a difficult pasuk to
understand because there is no prior indication that Moshe Rabbeinu cried out
to God. Previous pesukim relate that the
nation cried out to God but not Moshe.
The Midrash[1]
addresses this question and says that God is not telling Moshe to stop crying
out to Him. Rather God is telling Moshe
not to cry out to Him.
Why, though? This
seems like the best time to ask God for help.
To answer this question, the Midrash[2],
according to the Chiddushei HaRim, teaches us a fundamental principle of
prayer. The Midrash says that God
bequeathed prayer (lit. sound) to Ya'akov, “הַקֹּל קוֹל יַעֲקֹב ... .../… the voice is the voice of Ya’akov …” (Breishis 27:22) What does this mean? Is prayer reserved only for the descendants
of Ya’akov? Cannot anyone pray? The Chiddushei HaRim explains that our prayer
awakens the connection between us and our spiritual source. While anyone can and should turn to God for
his needs, God specifically bequeathed to the descendants of Ya’akov the power
to use prayer as a means for coming near to Him. In fact, coming close to God is the ultimate
purpose of prayer. Once the connection
is established and strengthened, the prayer has accomplished its purpose. Crying out to God has been used for its true
purpose – to reach the higher level of faith manifested by silence.
This is the reason God told Moshe not to cry out to Him. On Moshe Rabbeinu’s level God already heard
his prayer even though he had yet to mouth it as the Midrash ends, “… Why will
you cry to Me? I have already heard your
cry.” This concept is also apparent from
the Midrash[3] later
that cites the pasuk, “וְהָיָה טֶרֶם
יִקְרָאוּ וַאֲנִי אֶעֱנֶה .../It will be that even before they call
out, I will answer …” (Yeshaya 65:24) to explain our pasuk. In certain instances, God answers prayers
that have yet to be spoken.
We find this concept in another pasuk in Yeshaya (45:11)
as well, “... הָאֹתִיּוֹת
שְׁאָלוּנִי עַל־בָּנַי וְעַל־פֹּעַל יָדַי תְּצַוֻּנִי/… Ask me about the
wonders (of the heavens). Do you command
me regarding my children and the work of my hands?” God is telling us, through the prophet, that
regarding His children, He has already created their salvation.[4]
The Sfas Emes takes the concept a step further. He explains that reaching a level of
preparedness to cry out to God is the main goal. Generally, this level is reached by actually
praying, however, once it is reached the cries are no longer needed. Moshe Rabbeinu reached this aspect of crying
out, hence God told Him that there was no need for the actual cries.
This concept is further embodied in a pasuk in Eicha (2:17),
“צָעַק לִבָּם אֶל־ה' .../Their heart
cried out to God …” and in a pasuk in Tehillim (34:18) cited by our
Midrash, “צָעֲקוּ וַה' שָּמֵעַ .../They cried out and God hears …” The implication is that even if they cried
out in their hearts – a cry that is not heard at all – still, God hears and
there is no need to actually cry out with the mouth.
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