Mishpatim 5775
This week’s 3 Minute
Shiur is dedicated in memory of Sally Abramovitz,
a longtime family friend
May her family be comforted, and her memory be a
blessing for her family and friends.
In his Hilchot Tefilah, the Rambam quotes two verses as the
Torah sources for tefilah, prayer. The first verse he quotes comes from this
week’s Parsha, Mishpatim. “You shall serve Hashem your Lord, and He will bless
your bread and water; and I will remove illness from your midsts.” (23:25).
From
the text of the verse, our introduction to prayer focuses on its self-serving
benefits. This is what I have called “the gunball machine model of prayer”. God
owns the gumball machine, and it is filled with all of the things we need and
want: health, prosperity, physical pleasures of This World. The way we access
the contents of God’s gumball machine is by inserting the proper coins. Here in
Mishpatim we are informed that the coins that can access God’s candy for us is
tefilah.
However the context surrounding this mention of prayer teaches us
something more. Parshat Mishpatim is full of mitzvoth, many which govern civil
society and our interpersonal relationships. It is specifically within this context
that we should appreciate another, more sophisticated, aspect of prayer. Although
prayer can be viewed as an egotistical endeavor, it is really a most selfless activity.
Our prayers are not only for us; they are also on behalf of our Jewish brethren
and all of humanity. Our requests in the Amidah are phrased in the first person
plural (ie “heal US”) to emphasize this point. Prayer is an opportunity to contemplate
and appreciate our responsibilities towards others.
When studying Torah we must look at both the text and the
context. In the case of Parshat Mishpatim and prayer, the actual text focuses
on the benefits of prayer for the individual. While the context of that verse
encourages us to utilize prayer as an opportunity to strengthen our empathy and
concern for others.
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