The Warmup

 

In Forest Fields, Part 12

 

The only way to overcome the evil inclination is by prayer. The Gemara (tractate Succa, 52b) says, “A person’s evil inclination overcomes him every single day, and unless The Holy One blessed be He helps him, he cannot prevail.” Therefore, our prayers requesting Divine assistance are crucial to the success of our prayers. We therefore must “pray to pray.”

 

Rabbi Joseph Caro (Shulchan Oruch, Orach Chaim, Ch. 98) cites the Talmud (tractate Berachot, Ch. 5, Mishna 1), that the pious of former generations would meditate for an hour before praying so that their prayers would be properly intent. One might ask, why does Rabbi Caro, author and compiler of the classic Shulchan Oruch Code of Jewish Law, tell an anecdote from the Mishna in the middle of his extrapolation on the laws of the morning prayers? Since when is the Code of Jewish Law a place for the tales of tzaddikim?

 

 

Rabbi Caro isn’t merely telling tales of yesteryear – he is showing how a person must conduct himself to attain a level of sincere prayer. Since the evil inclination vehemently obstructs our efforts to pray, we must make the proper preparations in reinforcing our prayers. Therefore, before we pray, we should take a few moments to contemplate what we’re about to do and before Whom we will be standing – Hashem, the King of Kings. We should ask Hashem to help us pray in moderation, with love, and from the heart, not emptily repeating the words like a parrot. And, if the righteous men of former generations invested an entire hour of meditation in preparation of each prayer, then we certainly need to prepare our weak and materially-oriented minds if we want to pray with intent and enthusiasm.

 

The fact that Rabbi Caro included the above anecdote in the Code of Jewish Law shows that even the great Mishnaic sages needed to compose themselves, collect their thoughts, and prepare for an entire hour in order to properly pray. Without proper preparation – comparable to a warmup before a big game – a person comes into prayer “cold,” and his prayer is liable be sorely lacking in intent and concentration.

 

Imagine how much you’d prepare yourself before an important meeting with the head of your company or with a head of state. We have to stop and contemplate what we’re about to do before we pray. In other words, we’re about to speak to the Master of the World, the King of Kings. It goes without saying that the more we believe that we are standing before our awesome, great and mighty Creator, the more we feel the need to prepare ourselves.

 

Our daily commitments and pressure for time don’t always leave us with adequate pre-prayer preparation time. Nevertheless, we should at least try to say a short personal preparation prayer, like this: “Master of the World, here I am standing before You, about to pray. You know how strong the evil inclination’s resistance is to my prayers. This evil inclination makes me feel like the prayer is a heavy burden on my back, something I want to be quickly over and done with. Please have mercy on me and help me defeat the evil inclination so that I won’t take my prayers lightly. Instead, help me say each word deliberately while connecting my heart and my mouth together so that my prayers will be sincere and worthy. Help me attain the spiritual and material abundance that prayer is capable of invoking, and grant me what I need in material and spiritual blessings – peace, good health, a good income, food, clothing, etc. and above all emuna, so that I can serve You properly.”

 

The above prayer, or something similar in your own words and thoughts, is a wonderful preface to any prayer, whether prescribed prayer, Psalms, Likutei Tefillot, or personal prayer. Personal prayer is always stronger when we begin by asking Hashem for help in giving us the write words in expressing our innermost feelings. The evil inclination’s distractions are especially strong when it come to the three daily prayers of Shacharit, Mincha, and Maariv. People are so used to thrice-daily prayers that they sometimes fall into a complete spiritual slumber during these prayers. This is especially true when it comes to the “Shemona Esrei” prayer, also known as the “Amida.” Anytime a person feels that prayer is becoming rote, routine, or a burden, then he must stop and immediately pray for urgent Divine assistance. One must also be careful not to let daily personal prayer become rote, routine, or a burden.

 

The only way to insure that our prayers are sincere and heartfelt is to pray for Hashem’s assistance in praying. Prayer is not only a person’s main weapon; the entire redemption of our people depends on prayer.

 

To be continued.