God of Meir Answer Me
Adapted from Rabbi Braun’s sermon in 5769
I received a letter from a charity organization in Israel seeking a contribution. I get so many and discard most of them but this one caught my eye. I guess that was their intention although I don’t think that my reaction is what they were looking for. The organization is located in Tiberias at the grave of Rabbi Meir baal Haness. They proudly proclaim that this is” the shrine where tens of thousands pray every year: God of Meir, answer me”. Out of the 12 columns on the bi-fold the most prominent says: God of Meir, answer me”
The next sheet that it came with is a special prayer and the large box on the front proclaims- “The prayer with an answer!” and the little box next to it reads: this prayer has a long tradition…is usually effective…one offers charity for the sake of the soul of RMBHN”
The third sheet is a request form for a pushke, which reads “to many this box is a must. It is a natural companion to the prayer with an answer”
Everything about this bothers me but I want to try and highlight some of the issues and connect them to the parsha and book of Vayikra that we read and began, respectively, this morning.
- I hate the assertion or the suggestion that your prayers will be answered because you gave them money. You cannot buy prayers and you certainly can’t buy the right answer to your prayers. That is not Judaism.
- Trying to guarantee an answer to prayers is just obscene.
- Hinting that Rav Meir Baal Haness has anything to do with your prayers being answered borders on heresy. God answers our prayers, and no one else!
- I believe that these kinds of advertisements actually corrupt our understanding of prayer and negatively impact our own prayer.
It is this fourth idea that I want to focus on this morning although I believe that the underlying issue speaks to the third issue as well but that I leave for you to work out at your Shabbat tables.
For so many of us the concept of prayer is limited to asking for something that we need and hoping that our prayers will be answered. While there certainly is a place for that kind of prayer and there is no one better to turn to in a time of need than God; that is not what the essence of prayer is.
First and foremost, and I touched upon this last week, prayer is about our relationship with God. It is not about getting a, or b, or c- it is about coming closer to Hashem.
Simply look at the words you say and you will arrive at that conclusion.
That is the very same message that is blatantly clear from Parshat Vayikra, which describes the sacrifices, which represent the service of God that preceded prayer and it is that which our prayers come to replace.
Parshat Vayikra describe five types of korbanot, three voluntary the olah, mincha and shlamim and then two obligatory for one who sins, the chatat and the asham.
Why does a person bring these korbanot, and for what purpose? The Torah does
not give a specific reason although in a moment I will offer one good suggestion, but the one thing that is crystal clear is what the Torah does not say. There is no hint at all in the Torah or in any of the commentaries that we are looking for something in return, or that we davening for a,b, or c. It is no where to be found!
I would suggest that the real answer lies in 3 words in the third verse of the sefer.
ויקרא פרק א
ג) אִם עֹלָה קָרְבָּנוֹ מִן הַבָּקָר זָכָר תָּמִים יַקְרִיבֶנּוּ אֶל פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד יַקְרִיב אֹתוֹ לִרְצֹנוֹ לִפְנֵי יְקֹוָק
3. If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the Tent of Meeting before the Lord.
Voluntarily you would like to stand before God; you bring a korban because you wish to be before Hashem- that is the secret of the korbanot.
The Ramban says the same thing in his introduction to the sefer. Without formulating it in this manner he is looking to explain why Vaykra is placed between Shmot and Bamidbar. At the end of Shemot we are told that the Mishkan is complete and God’s glory filled the Mishkan and when God’s cloud moved they should move and when it stays put they stay put. The continuation of that story is the beginning of Bamidbar when the Jews get their marching format and orders. Why place Vayikra in between? The Ramban writes that before you can travel you need some way to ensure that the presence of God that came into the camp at the end of Shmot, the shechinah, will remain with the Jews through their travels even if they sin. Thus Sefer Vayikra and its korbanot are taught before the Jews begin their travels because they are the method of maintaining our relationship with God and repairing it after we sin. Here too, we see very clearly that korbanot are about our relationship with God and nothing else.
That same idea is inherent in the word Korban. Listen to the words of Samson Raphael Hirsch from his commentary to Shmot:
After lamenting the lack of a good translation for the term korban he writes- I cannot get away from the idea of gift, or present. But the idea of Korban is far way from all this. It is never used for a present or gift; it is used exclusively with reference to man’s relationship to God, and can only be understood from the meaning which lies in its root, K-R-V. K-R-V means to approach, to come near, and so to get into close relationship with somebody.
That is what korban is all about and that, at its core, is what prayer is all about. We don’t pray to get something perse; first and foremost we pray to connect to God, to be Lifnei Hashem, to stand before God and develop a relationship. Highlighting “the prayer with an answer” contributes greatly to the misconception that this is what prayer is all about and does us a great disservice. I understand that it sells, but there are many other things that sell that are spiritually dangerous.
Tzedaka is wonderful. Turning to God in a time of need is great and there is a place for that in our religious world. But do not think for a moment that is what daily prayer is all about. Prayer is about standing before God and building a relationship with God. Parenthetically I would add that within such a context your requests have a better chance of being answered when you make them. And so I would tell you, tens of thousands a year should be praying God – come close to me, not God answer me. To such an organization I would send money.
