BY RABBI RAFAEL ZAIDENBERG
Rebbi Natan of Breslov discusses a fascinating topic in this weeks Parasha in his Magnum Opus, Likutei Halachot (Hilchot Milah Halacha 5:5).
Why do we pray?
We all know that the Gemara (Berachot) teaches us that everything Hashem does is for the best. If so, what’s the need for Prayer? We will receive whatever Hashem determines and we should accept it happily. Obviously the latter is true, however this is not the proper Jewish approach handed down to us from our Forefathers and Tzadikim.
One must first know that prayer is a Mitzvah from the Torah, and an obligation of on every Jew, daily. The Torah, Nevi’im, Anshei Knesset Hagedolah, and the Sages of every generation have showed us how to utilize prayer as a foremost connection with Hashem.
The problem arises in a theoretical sense. If everyone is receiving whatever Hashem deems fit for them, so then who are we to start asking Hashem to change things around, to add, or subtract. He knows best, He’s all knowing, He’s G-d for goodness sakes! We are merely finite beings with very little or no understanding of what is best for ourselves and others.
If Hashem decides to make someone poor, sick, or suffer chas v’shalom, that is for sure best for them, as Hashem always gives us whats best for us, no questions asked. Hashem may need this person to learn a valuable lesson from their situation, allow the trouble to atone for his/her sins in this world and not in the next, to make a person do Teshuva, or many other reasons.
Our Sages (Masechet Berachot) teach us, that even if a person puts his hand in their pocket to pull out a coin of a higher denomination and pulls out one of a smaller denomination, and needs to reach back in their pocket another time to complete the sum, it is a atonement of their sins.
Additionally, if someone put their garment on the wrong way, and must remove and put it back on, it is also considered an atonement of their sins. So too, the Gemara says that one will be sent yissurim (forms of suffering) in order to repent.
If so, when someone is sick, poor, or suffering, this is what’s really best for them. This is now their time to step up to the plate, take the suffering lovingly, and get closer to Hashem.
With all this in mind, it really can be a compelling argument that one should not pray for a better situation. If this is what Hashem wants a person to go through, then why would I dare ask Hashem to change that.
Rebbi Natan explains that this is for sure not true. Hashem wants us to pray for ourselves and others who are going through diˀculties. However, what are we going to do with all the goodness Hashem wanted to bestow upon this person by sending them this diˀculty? If we pray, and everything goes according to plan, Hashem will hear our prayer and changes things for the better, but this person seemingly loses out on so much good he would have received!
To this Rebbi Natan reveals to us a novel and beautiful answer. One is always receiving Hashem’s goodness. Sometimes, it can come in the shape of what looks to be a curse, and other times it comes in the shape of what looks to be a blessing. However, when one uses prayer and succeeds in changing the situation, one is simply switching the channel of how one receives the goodness that Hashem is bestowing upon him. Meaning, one will never lose out on anything by praying for the situation to be “better”, as Hashem’s blessing, and all that’s included, is coming to him either way. To put it simply, one is switching the pipeline of how he receives the goodness.
This is what is meant in the first verse of this weeks Parasha, “See, I am placing before you today a blessing and a curse”. Hashem’s light comes down to us as a simple undifferentiated light. Depending on if we have the vessel to hold this light, does it look like a “blessing” or a “curse”. When one utilizes prayer to build a vessel, one receives all of Hashem’s goodness in a way that’s revealed good. However, if someone isn’t a proper vessel, it will appear as a curse.
For example, if someone asks me for water, and I begin to pour it all over their pants, that doesn’t seem too good. If the person was holding out a vessel, he would have received it in a proper manner and it would have been fine. So too with life, if one is going through diˀculties, it means his spiritual vessel isn’t rectified. Prayer recreates and rectifies one’s vessel to receive all of Hashem’s blessing in a revealed way!
