Described in the Talmud as “the service that is in the heart,” prayer has a somewhat anomalous status in Jewish law: the medieval rabbis dispute to what extent there is a biblical obligation to pray at all, and the tradition has always struggled to strike a balance between the need for spontaneity and sincerity, on the one hand, and the need for regulation and routine on the other. Natan Oliff suggests trying to understand Jewish prayer not so much as a required activity but as the cultivation of a virtue. He begins by examining a debate among the ancient sages over which verse is the Torah’s most important:
Ben Zoma argues for the opening line of Sh’ma—the theological pillar of Judaism—and Ben Nanas argues for “Love thy neighbor as thyself,” the ethical pillar of Judaism. In contrast, Ben Pazi points to the more humdrum command to bring the twice-daily sacrifice. A tangible act of devotion, the sacrificial order served as the building block of ancient Judaism. In Ben Pazi’s eyes, the sense of constancy and commitment that underlies the sacrificial order makes this the most important verse in the Torah. Following the destruction of the Temple, prayer replaced the sacrificial order. Thus, precise as the ticking of a clock, [the faithful Jew] prays three times a day. His schedule flows around the fixed times of prayer as river rapids swirl around a rooted tree, yet this sense of commitment flows beyond the floodgates of the synagogue walls.
Another consideration . . . is the connection one builds with God through prayer. Often, in human relationships, the goal of an interaction is to get requests fulfilled. . . . A worker rejoices when his request for a raise is fulfilled. . . . The human-Divine relationship reverses this [state of affairs]. The Psalmist (116:1) confesses that: “I love the Lord for He hears my voice, my pleas; for He turns His ear to me whenever I call.” The Psalmist rejoices because God hears his voice. In other words, God responds, and the fulfillment of the request is merely the proof that God heard one’s voice. [The] pinnacle of prayer is not the fulfillment of requests, but the affirmation of connection.
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