Man and Prayer: Prayer as an Inner Attribute of Humanity

Man is the "Crown of Creation," a notion that is necessary and proven by the fact that he is the last and most sophisticated of creations. He is the purpose of all creation, meaning all was created for him [Note: As in all forms of creation, there is a hierarchy – so it is with humans, nations, and the nation of Israel at the top, for receiving the holy Torah from Hashem].

Our sages have already revealed in the Gemara (Niddah 31a) that there are three partners in man: Hashem, his father, and his mother. Hashem provides the soul, while his father and mother contribute the body and its organs. In essence, Hashem chooses the father and mother to be co-creators in forming the physical aspect of man, while He personally breathes the soul, the spiritual component, into the body to give it life.

In the natural order, every species enjoys connecting with its kind. Since man comprises both spiritual and physical elements, the body, being physical, is inclined towards physical connections, while the soul, being spiritual, yearns for spiritual connections. It is noteworthy that the Torah likens man to a candle, as is written (Proverbs 20:27): "The spirit of man is the lamp of Hashem," because nothing in creation resembles man as much as a "candle" does: having the combustible material – which is physical, the flame – which is immaterial, and the "wick" – which links them.

The highest level of spiritual delight is connection with the Creator of the world; thus, the soul constantly strives to connect with its Creator, consciously or unconsciously. This spiritual bond is called "prayer" [manifested in speech, even subconsciously, in prayerful expressions such as "if only", "may it be", "who will grant" etc]. It is not surprising that the "wick" of the "candle," which connects the physical to the spiritual within it, consists of the letters: "prayer"]. This natural trait is beyond man’s control, just as he cannot cease to breathe – he cannot stop longing for a spiritual connection with his Creator, whether he acknowledges it or not. Moments of distress are compelling evidence of this connection, such as when one realizes there is no natural escape from his predicament and calls out to the supreme power that created him. This trait is hinted at in the letters of the word – "ADM", as will be explained shortly.

As known, in sacred language, a name expresses the potential traits inherent within an entity, and the letters themselves are named – each letter by its name, each name composed of foundational letters – spoken and articulated, and hidden filling letters – which are not pronounced, providing, in effect, a complement to express the internal meaning of that name. Therefore, every combination of letters acquires the expanded meaning of the letters composing it, according to the meaning of the filled letters. For instance, the letter א' is pronounced: "Aleph", ב' is pronounced: "Beit" etc. It is found,

that the name "Adam", consists of letters: "Aleph", "Dalet" and "Mem".

If we construct a chart, we’ll discover that the pronounced and hidden letters composing the name "Adam", are:

As mentioned, the pronounced letters, namely "Adam" – form the recognisable name of man; whereas the hidden letters, unpronounced, namely "Lphtlm" – the filling letters – express, as stated, the inner characteristics inherent in man, astonishingly forming the word "Prays".

In the well-known and widely accepted dictionary, "Even Shoshan", under the entry "Prayer", we find the definition of this linguistic term as follows: a request from God, supplication, words of pleading.

From this definition we understand that the one who prays acknowledges the superiority of God and the fact that He can deliver, a trait inherently embedded in man, bursting forth during distress. Indeed, many prayers are mentioned in the Torah throughout the generations and their outcomes, proving that man's prayer is beneficial to him and the world. This is evidenced from the writings in Genesis (2:5), from the first human, as it is written: "And no shrub of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprouted, for Hashem had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to work the ground:" And Rashi explained (there, commentary "for Hashem had not caused it to rain"), in these words: And why had He not caused it to rain? Because there was no man to work the ground and appreciate the benefit of rain, and once man realized they were essential to the world, he prayed for them, and they came, and the trees and grasses sprouted.

In reality, no one has lived without experiencing such an emotional outburst of prayer from the depths at some point in their lives – whether they admit it or not. To illustrate the power of connecting to the Creator of the world, blessed is His name forever, through prayer emanating from the depths of the heart, we present the following story:

Many years ago, an Israeli family from a particular kibbutz went on a mission in London, the capital of Britain. The family consisted of five members: father, mother, two daughters, and a son. The general conduct in this family was democratic, so no decision was made without a democratic vote, which also covered family-related activities involving the children.

Naturally, this often led to the daughters’ wishes prevailing, much to the dismay of the son. When it became unbearable for the eight-year-old, he decided to act and called out desperately to the Creator of the world from the depths of his heart, as follows:

God! Once, in a Bible lesson at school, I heard that You exist and that You are all-powerful. If You indeed are all-powerful, I have a request for you, and if you accept it, I promise to start learning and keeping Your commandments. Here is my request:

"Since I am the only son in the family and am a minority compared to my sisters, my opinion is not considered at all. Therefore, I ask You to give me a brother, so I will no longer be in the minority, and they will take my opinion into account."

After a short thought, the child wisely added:

"Perhaps, actually, a brother is already destined to be born to me, and I would unjustly be indebted to keep my word. Therefore, I ask You, that the brother to be born will be born on my birthday, as an unmistakable sign that he is a result of my request."

Indeed, within the year, another boy was born, to the joy of the family and the delight of the praying child. However, there was a gap of several days between his birth date and that of his brother. Once again, the child turned to Hashem, and said:

"God, I thank You for giving me a brother. Although he wasn’t born exactly on my birthday, maybe it was hard for You to arrange, and even so, I will keep my promise."

The child approached his father, requesting to study Judaism, and the father agreed to buy books for him – for humanitarian reasons, as there is no harm in learning to honor parents, to refrain from stealing, etc. Indeed, the son began learning to keep the commandments, and as he approached the age of mitzvot, the father made an effort to take him to study with a local rabbi and bring him back.

One day, the father arrived early at the rabbi's house and knocked on the door, having never met the rabbi. When the rabbi opened the door with a warm welcome, the father introduced himself. Seeing the father, the rabbi exclaimed in amazement: "I have seen religious parents whose children are observant, but religious children whose parents are not observant – I have never seen; how can this be?"

The child recounted the sequence of events to the rabbi and added: "Although my brother was not born exactly on my birthday – I kept my word."

The rabbi asked: "Do you remember the birth dates of yourself and your brother?" The answer was affirmative, and the Gregorian dates of both were presented. Then the rabbi opened a book that shows the Hebrew dates corresponding to those Gregorian dates, and now it was the father’s and the child’s turn to be amazed – both Gregorian dates, distinguished, were exactly the same date on the Hebrew calendar. Then the rabbi added with a smile: "It seems Hashem knows how to arrange things, and adding more can spoil."