Volume 7, Number 3 - Cantors Assembly

THE RIGHT KIND OF PRAYERS
39
SAMUEL CHIEL
This sermon is dedicated by the author to Hazzan Max Wohlberg,
as an affectionate tribute to a great man who has devoted his life to
successfully teaching our people the art of prayer.
Psychologists tell us that whatever we do is a clue to our lifestyle;
the way we walk and dress, our gestures and our manner of speaking.
Everything we do is a clue to our inner personality.
The Rabbis of the Talmud add yet another dimension: they say
that the way a person prays is also a clue to his philosophy of life.
They, therefore, encourage certain kinds of prayers and discourage
others. Some prayers, they feel, give greater meaning to life: others are
harmful to the cultivation of a holy personality which is our faith’s
ultimate goal.
What are the wrong kind of prayers? The Talmud says: Hatzoek
l’sheavar harey to t’filat shav: “To cry over the past is to utter a vain
prayer.” The Mishnah cites this illustration of such a prayer. If your
wife is pregnant, you should not pray, “May it be a boy! ” because the
gender of the child has already been determined.
Hatzoek l’sheavar: So many of us cry over the past. We say: “If
only I had been a better mother or father, my child would have turned
out so differently!” If a loved one dies, we cry: “If only I had been a
better child, my parents would have been so much happier!” In our
work we complain: “If only I had gone into another field, I would have
really been happy...”
So many of us walk around burdened with guilt, constantly
punishing ourselves, torturing ourselves with all the “if onlys” that
did not happen. But the Talmud says: Hatzoek l’sheavar harey LO
t’filat shav: “To cry over the past is to utter a vain prayer.” It is
simply wasted energy and wasted emotions. The past is gone, it cannot
be changed. The real question for each of us is: what are you doing with
your life now, today? What are you doing about your relationships
with the people around you, your family and friends? How are you
doing in your work now? Are you trying to do it as well as you can?
And are you deriving from it as much fulfillment as possible?
Nobody’s work is all bliss. Don’t dwell only on the unpleasant aspects
of your job. Try to think about the parts of your work that give you
gratification as well.
Rabbi Samuel Chiel is spiritual leader of Temple Emanuel of Newton Centre, Mass.