How to Find Your Path to Meaningful Prayer

It is said that once a rumor reached the town of the Baal Shem Tov that a nearby village housed a righteous man capable of performing miracles. The students of the Baal Shem Tov wanted to visit him, and they asked their teacher how they could determine if he was a true tzaddik. The Baal Shem Tov advised them to ask him one question: does he have a solution for the problem of foreign thoughts during prayer? "If he says he does," he said, "it's a sign he's a fraud."

Prayer accompanies us at least three times a day, and yet, intention during prayer is one of the greatest challenges. What is the reason for this? The Jerusalem Talmud recounts that even great rabbis struggled to pray: one spoke of counting chicks during prayer, another thought of the king's court, and a third rejoiced that his spine bowed on its own during the "modim" prayer. Even if we don't understand these accounts literally, if such great individuals describe their concentration difficulties, how can anyone expect be expected to pray with intent? Indeed, some of our sages suggested that today no one can truly focus during prayer (Tosafot Bava Batra 164b).

The difficulties in praying do not indicate our deficiency, but rather that something inherent in the act of prayer is fundamentally challenging. There are various techniques and methods that can awaken intent in prayer, but anyone who has tried them can testify that they only help for a short time. Instead of being discouraged, discussions about prayer difficulties can be quite empowering- one must embark on a personal journey to discover what aids them in concentrating during prayer. Considering the external stimuli and distractions we are faced with today, each person must find their way to intentional prayer. The holy Ari spoke of twelve gates of prayer, with each tribe's prayer ascending through a different gate. Since in our generation we don't know our tribe, the Ari suggests everyone should follow their ancestral custom, implying that each one of us has the "frequency" of a different tribe. The path to intentional prayer is a unique and individual journey, because only I know what works for me, what opens my heart, and what doesn't. Perhaps for my friend, praying at the graves of tzaddikim brings immense excitement, but for me, reciting Psalms awakens my soul. Thus, in the absence of "prayer recipes" that always work, I must awaken within myself the unique ways to connect to Hashem.

In upcoming columns, we will delve further into the intent in prayer and how to connect to it.