By Rabbi Dovid Sapirman, Dean, Ani Maamin Foundation
When the great Tanna Rabbi Eliezer was nearing the end of his life, his talmidim came to be mevaker choleh. They said “Rebbi, teach us the ways of life with which to be zoche to Olam Haba.” With their rebbi’s life nearing its end, they wanted an abridged version of the recipe for eternity.
Rabbi Eliezer responded with three ideas. One of them was “When you daven, know before Whom you stand.”
This is the essence of tefillah. We must realize that we are communicating with the Creator of the Universe, and stand before Him with humility and awe.
In Parshas Bereishis, Rashi tells us that although plants were created on the third day, they did not sprout, but remained beneath the surface of the earth. To sprout, they would need rain. Since man had not yet been created, there was no one to pray for it. On the sixth day, Adam came into being, and he realized what was needed: his tefillah. Only then did the plants grow.
This teaches us, says the Gemara, that Hakadosh Baruch Hu longs for the tefillos of tzaddikim. This includes any Jew who is shomer Torah u’mitzvos. Hashem wants the prayers of you and me. Every day, we have the great opportunity to connect with Him.
In the past, there was no siddur—davening was a spontaneous act of the heart, in one’s own words, as many times a day as one was moved to do. But at the end of Galus Bavel, the Sanhedrin headed by Ezra Hasofer composed formal texts for all of the brachos and tefillos, Kiddush and Havdalah.
The Rambam comments that many Jewish people could no longer express themselves in pure Lashon Hakodesh; their language had become mixed with many other dialects.
But that is not the only reason that the Anshei Knesses Hagedolah authored the siddur at this time.
To be continued.
