Praying with the Words of Moses and David: Crafting a Masterpiece

The renowned Jerusalem preacher, R' Shalom Shvadron, once recounted an incident in the Mahane Yehuda Market. He approached a stand to select fruits and vegetables for his home. Suddenly, he felt a strong fist against his chest. Stunned by the force, he restrained himself and continued his actions. Moments later, another strong punch! This prompted him to think, until he realized he was actually in the midst of prayer, and the fist against his heart was none other than his own, striking during the "Forgive us" blessing. His body was praying, while his mind wandered into the market.

For many, one of the challenges of prayer is the routine and repetition. Addressing Hashem with intent three times a day using words not written by us is a challenge, making it no wonder that our minds wander. Additionally, various pressures often trouble us: livelihood, health, family peace, child education, and other difficulties. In such moments, the words of prayer may not seem to precisely express our heart's desires, causing us to "escape" to other places. Below are some directions to help cope with this challenge.

Thompson, a renowned American screenwriter and author, shared that transcribing entire works verbatim of great authors on a typewriter advanced his writing talent. When asked why he did it, he replied, "I wanted to feel what it's like to write a masterpiece."

This action holds an incredible insight. We are told that our patriarch Isaac re-dug the wells of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had filled, and only then began to dig his own new wells. The great educational traditions worldwide understood that the path to becoming a paragon begins with imitation. Beginners train by mimicking great works, master chefs start by replicating the successful recipes of others. Only after extensive study and training from others does one succeed in developing their own independent foundations, allowing them to find their unique path.

The same is true for prayer - initially, we use words written by others, and from them, we gain the special divine light of our personal conversation with Hashem.

When viewed comprehensively, the prayer book is constructed with layers from various periods. It contains Torah verses (Shema Yisrael, the Binding of Isaac) heard from Moses himself, alongside verses from the great prophets. It is packed with psalms and verses from Tehillim composed by King David (verses of praise, and more), but also blessings and prayers from the Men of the Great Assembly (Yishtabach, the Amidah prayer), excerpts from the Mishnah and Talmud, and liturgical poems by great poets (Lecha Dodi, Selichot, and more). Our prayer book is infused with four thousand years of Jewish history, and we recite this every morning, noon, and evening - a remarkable phenomenon illustrating our ancient connection with our heritage.

Rather than seeing the repetition of words as a burden, we can view it as a personal connection with the great figures of our nation: the patriarchs, Moses, King David, Isaiah the prophet, the Men of the Great Assembly. Have you thought that when we say a psalm, we are actually repeating the words that King David himself prayed? The recitation of Shema Yisrael consists of words taught to us by Moses himself! Is there anything more moving than having the privilege to repeat those words, internalize them, and make them part of ourselves? Perhaps, as we deeply internalize these sacred and elevated words, succeeding in imitating the patriarchs' prayer, we will also find words that emerge from within ourselves.