This past week I had the privilege of completing the section of Trei Asar and Nevi'im in general as part of the OU’s Nach Yomi learning program. As part of this completion we had a siyum in our community and I had the opportunity to deliver the Dvar Torah at the siyum.
Rabbi Berel Wein published a book in 2015 called Who Knows Twelve about Trei Asar (which I used for part of my Dvar Torah), and he wrote in his introduction:
“I was 14 years old when I first encountered Trei Asar as a subject of study at my beloved yeshiva in Chicago. Sixty five years later in Jerusalem, as I study Trei Asar once more, the words are the same but their meaning is far different than what it was when I was an adolescent. Much has happened to me and to the Jewish people over the past sixty five years. This book was completed and edited in the shadows of the pain and costs of war against Hamas in Gaza. I never imagined that I would experience such a conflict in my lifetime or live in such an openly anti-Semitic world as I do in 2015. The words of the prophets of Trei Asar have been a personal comfort to me in these difficult days.”
Incredible. Gaza, Hamas, anti-Semitism. He wrote these words in 2015, but he could have written those words today. And, in truth, the words of Trei Asar have in fact served as a comfort to those of us learning it during this Gaza war against Hamas.
It made me think of my yearly introduction in my Navi class as I learn with my students as it famously says in Gemara Megilla 14a:
הרבה נביאים עמדו להם לישראל כפלים כיוצאי מצרים אלא נבואה שהוצרכה לדורות נכתבה ושלא הוצרכה לא נכתבה
Many prophets arose for the Jewish people, numbering double the number of Israelites who left Egypt. However, only a portion of the prophecies were recorded, because only prophecy that was needed for future generations was written down in the Bible for posterity, but that which was not needed, as it was not pertinent to later generations, was not written.
Clearly, the words of Trei Asar were “הוצרכה לדורות” as they so apply to and are relevant to what we our going through today in our generation. We need the words of any of the neviim that were written down to give us strength and hope.
This past Shabbat I discussed how Chagai, Zecharia and Malachi were the last neviim, as prophecy was over after their time. How dejecting! The intimate connection between Hashem and the people of Bnai Yisrael is over. Where is the hope that Rabbi Wein was referencing?
Yet, Rav Soloveitchik in his article in Tradition “Lonely Man of Faith” points out that that connection that existed in the days of nevuah is in no way over. There are two ways that the miracle of revelation takes place. The first way is when G-d initiates and reaches out to speak to man. That is the prophetic community.. But, the second way, no less holy, is when man calls out to G-d and “the same miracle happens again” - that is the prayer community. “The prayer community was born the very instant the prophetic community expired and, when it did come into the spiritual world of the Jew of old, it did not supersede the prophetic community, but rather perpetuated it. Prayer is the continuation of prophecy and the fellowship of prayerful men is ipso facto the fellowship of prophets. The difference between prayer and prophecy is, as I have already mentioned, related not to the substance of the dialogue, but rather to the order in which it is conducted…” With prophecy G-d takes the initiative and with prayer man takes the initiative. The dialogue with G-d was shifted from prophecy to prayer.
(And, it therefore makes sense that Chaggai, Zecharia and Malachi, the last of the prophets, were part of the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah who established Tefillah).
It is so incredible to remind ourselves that with the end of Nevuah- we need not be despaired. And, every day when we daven and connect to Hashem this is instead of Nevuah- what a gift and a privilege! In essence we have the privilege of each having a mini- nevuah experience each day as we connect to Hashem with tefillah!
This piece of presentation really hit home to me after I read an article this past Shabbat about Lena Troufanov- mother of Sasha who was just released, “From the Depths” by Ariella Schiller. Lena herself was taken captive and released early on along with her mother while her husband was murdered on October 7th and her son taken captive. The article shares that a rabbi named Rabbi Raanan reached out to provide some support over these months, and called her regularly with different ideas. “‘Maybe a call to a foreign minister could free Sasha, or perhaps she should reach out to those in Russia, or maybe, maybe…’ Lena, who was not observant, cut off the rabbi and said, ‘Rabbi, the only hishtadlut (effort) I need is tefillah. All else is irrelevant. Rak b’Tefillah (only with prayer) will my son come home…’ Because something changed for Lena down in the tunnels in Gaza. ‘At long last, I understood the words of Dovid HaMelech, Min hameitzar karati kah” - from the depths I called out to You, G-d. I called out to Him and He heard me.’” And, today, Lena finishes Tehillim every day.
Somehow, Lena intuits that Tefillah is our way of connecting to Hashem. It is prophecy of today. And, prayer for her, and for other hostages, became a source of psychological strength and hope. As written in “The Power of Prayer Personal Perspective: How thought and faith can strengthen our inner resolve.”
Prayer can act as a protective factor by providing individuals with comfort and a coping mechanism to manage stress during difficult situations. According to research, prayer can reduce stress, anxiety, and negative emotions, often functioning as a coping mechanism that can promote overall well-being by providing a sense of connection to a higher power and fostering feelings of support and control, particularly when faced with challenging situations.
So, how do we convince our children that the ability to daven, connect with and form relationships with Hashem is a privilege? How do we create a “mini-nevuah” experience for them? In the over 30 years I have been in both informal and formal Jewish education this question has been on my mind. Why is it that some students daven with their full hearts and while some, no matter how hard we try, just go through the motions? I can spend weeks addressing this question, but I want to highlight a few practical strategies we can implement immediately.
This topic is addressed in a 2013 article in Jewish Action “Can Schools Do A Better Job of Teaching Tefillah?” He quotes a research study by Chana Tanenbaum of Bar-Ilan University who surveyed 350 yeshiva day school graduates who were in their gap year in Israel. Only 16.4% said they found tefillah to be a “spiritually uplifting event…In contrast, 20% of the same group found participation in sports teams to be fairly or extremely meaningful to their religious growth.” This survey is from 2013, so I hope the results are better today, but clearly that data is disappointing. (And, we are proud of our Beur Tefillah curriculum here at Yavneh).
Two very basic ideas in the article suggested were:
The simplest, most powerful way to have an effective davening is to stop before you open your siddur and think about what you are about to do. We encourage our students to look at the siddur when not in davening. Write little notes next to different brachot concerning areas of focus and what different pieces of tefillah mean.
I have a little notebook that I keep in my purse. When I hear about someone whom I want to daven for, I jot it down. I take the list out when I daven. It jogs my brain; reminds me that these are things I want to address. I always keep the book with me. It keeps tefillah on my mind throughout the day. What a great idea for anything that is on your mind to ask Hashem about- not just other people to daven for!
One other idea which has helped my Tefillah- I often recommend to students to use the Metsudah Inter-linear siddur. I daven with it daily. The way the translations are written one can look at the Hebrew and English at the same time. What a wonderful way to understand what one is praying.
In a 2016 article in the Jewish Link Rabbi Daniel Alter writes about “Teaching Meaningful Tefillah: Directions and Guidelines.” He stresses that “ How can we instill the sense of value and importance of tefillah in our children? The home environment has the lead role in achieving this goal. Your child’s day school is your partner…Parents should not delegate the responsibility of tefillah education to the school. A child who davens every day in school, but does not daven on Sundays, Shabbat or during vacation, is a child who thinks that tefillah is something we do in school but not in our ‘real lives.’ And, when our children see us taking davening seriously, they learn the importance of davening.”
So, if we as parents, model for them being invested in davening, write notes in our siddur, show our children we are thinking about what Tefillah means, and help them see that davening is a privilege, we can change their Tefillah experience.
As I watched the hostages being released and as we suffered the fate of those whose bodies were returned this week, I know that the only thing keeping us going is Tefillah. As Rabbi Wein noted, whether due to Hamas or anti-Semitism, we need that personal comfort. I want our students to know that Hashem is always listening, even and especially during tough times. We, the school, will continue to partner with you to help our children connect with prayer in both good and not so good times.
Advisory Update:
Sixth Grade: Students learned about the pitfalls of popularity- and that it’s not all that it appears to be!
Seventh Grade: Students learned about the different characteristics between someone who is resilient versus someone who cracks under difficulty. They also heard a presentation by Rabbi Yitzy Haber about how he coped through his battle with illness as a teenager.
Eighth Grade: Students discussed their changing relationship with their parents.
No comments:
Post a Comment