Upon seeing Pharaoh and his army rapidly approaching, Bnei Yisrael became frightened and cried out to G-d for salvation. Now, Bnei Yisrael knew that G-d had promised to bring them to the Land of Israel, and they were well aware of His ability to deliver on His promises. Why, then, did they deem it necessary to pray that G-d save them from Pharaoh’s armies?
Rashi answers this question with his commentary on the words “and they cried out.” In Rashi’s words, “They seized the craft of their ancestors.”
For Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, crying out to G-d was part of everyday life; they prayed regularly, not only in times of crisis. Rashi therefore refers to prayer as our forefathers’ craft: prayer came so naturally to them, it was as though it was their full-time occupation. Similarly, Bnei Yisrael’s prayer did not stem from doubt that G-d would save them from the Egyptians. Rather, they prayed instinctively—“because that’s what Jews do”—despite their certainty that they would be saved.
The same is true for us in every generation and era. As descendants of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, our service of G-d through prayer, and likewise our Torah study and mitzvah observance, should not be limited to fulfilling a specific requirement. We must emulate our ancestors and “seize their craft,” engrossing ourselves in these activities constantly and instinctively—simply because this is who we are and that is what we do.
Similarly, when we endeavor to draw others closer to Torah observance, we must recognize that prayer, Torah study and mitzvah observance are the natural craft of every descendant of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. No matter how far removed from Jewish practice a fellow Jew may seem, we must approach him with the conviction that Judaism is essentially his craft—his most natural way of life.
—Likkutei Sichos, vol. 11, pp. 52–54
