Description: Bitzur 01
She’arim BiTefillah
Bitzur 01
We have begun learning the first of the approaches to tefillah, known as ‘bitzur.’
Bitzur comes from the pasuk, ‘batzar li ekrah Hashem,’ when I am in pain or suffering, I cry out to Hashem.
This is the most basic form of tefillah, when we cry out in need, bi’ais tzarah, when it’s a time of great need. This frames how tefillah needs to be davened where we have the most extreme need, and are calling out for help. This is what sets a human apart from an animal. Once an animal’s needs have been filled, when a cow has eaten it’s fill, it’s content. It has no worries or needs. But a human always worries about the future. He can never be satisfied, because he understands he still needs and will always need. He feels what he is lacking. The greater his understanding is, the greater he feels that he is lacking.
Every human being on this world is by definition in a position of tzarah, of extreme need, and Hashem engineered it that way so that we should daven!
Essentially, it would be ideal if we could connect to Hashem through tefillah without tzarah, without great need. We should connect to Hashem simply because of all the tremendous chasadim He does for us, all the goodness He showers upon us. Our tefillah should pour out of our hearts from extreme hakaras hatov. However, it’s not easy to daven authentically from hakaras hatov, it is the domain of great people. Why? Because the nature of the chasadim that Hashem pours on us, is that they cause us to forget Hashem, and not take notice of where they are coming from. As the pasuk says, ‘pen esbah vi’kichashti vi’amarti mi Hashem.’ I might become sate and I will deny, and say ‘Who is Hashem!’ Tzaros, have the opposite effect. They have the powerful ability to bring a person’s heart close to Hashem.
There’s a famous mashal given, where someone started throwing hundred-dollar bills from his balcony to the street below. As soon as they started falling, everybody below started scrabbling to pick them up, and find where they fell, never once looking up to acknowledge where the bounty is coming from. The person got annoyed that he wasn’t being acknowledged, so he changed his tactic. He started to throw rocks! Now, immediately everybody turned up and tried to find the perpetrator of this crime!
Tzaros have the ability to give us a hislahavus and hislahatus in tefillah, a fire and bren, that can’t be achieved otherwise. The person most bored during davening, who davens three-second Shemonah Esray, when someone near and dear to him gets sick, chas v’shalom, finds the inspiration to daven for real, and perhaps shed some tears while davening. His heart really opens up! He can reach levels in tefillah that great tzaddikim strive for.
Chazal say, why were the Imahos stricken with being barren? Because Hashem desires the tefillos of tzaddikim! Now, we know, were Avraham to have had Yitzchak immediately, we can’t begin to imagine a drop of the ocean of the hakaras hatov Avraham would have expressed in tefillah, the depth of emotion and feeling and heart that Avraham would have invested in communicating with Hashem. Yet, nevertheless, the level he was able to reach because he had a tzarah, a difficulty – was much greater!
We see that large parts of Tehillim are dedicated to Tefillah of this sort. ‘Affafuni chevlei maves, u’mitzarai she’ol metzuni, tzarah viyagon emtzah uv’sheim Hashem ekrah, anah Hashem malta nafshi, and so on. Dovid Hamelech always perceived himself in a great difficulty, and that is what his tefillos revolved around.
Even a person who will do anything not to receive help from someone else, who will live in squalor, just not to have to come onto other people, but when a child gets sick chas v’shalom, they have no choice. Likewise, in tefillah, even the person who is most lazy in davening, but once he’s in a situation where he’s desperate – his tefillos will be amazing.
This is the way we need to start approaching davening – by realizing how great our needs are!
She’arim BiTefillah
Bitzur 01
We have begun learning the first of the approaches to tefillah, known as ‘bitzur.’
Bitzur comes from the pasuk, ‘batzar li ekrah Hashem,’ when I am in pain or suffering, I cry out to Hashem.
This is the most basic form of tefillah, when we cry out in need, bi’ais tzarah, when it’s a time of great need. This frames how tefillah needs to be davened where we have the most extreme need, and are calling out for help. This is what sets a human apart from an animal. Once an animal’s needs have been filled, when a cow has eaten it’s fill, it’s content. It has no worries or needs. But a human always worries about the future. He can never be satisfied, because he understands he still needs and will always need. He feels what he is lacking. The greater his understanding is, the greater he feels that he is lacking.
Every human being on this world is by definition in a position of tzarah, of extreme need, and Hashem engineered it that way so that we should daven!
Essentially, it would be ideal if we could connect to Hashem through tefillah without tzarah, without great need. We should connect to Hashem simply because of all the tremendous chasadim He does for us, all the goodness He showers upon us. Our tefillah should pour out of our hearts from extreme hakaras hatov. However, it’s not easy to daven authentically from hakaras hatov, it is the domain of great people. Why? Because the nature of the chasadim that Hashem pours on us, is that they cause us to forget Hashem, and not take notice of where they are coming from. As the pasuk says, ‘pen esbah vi’kichashti vi’amarti mi Hashem.’ I might become sate and I will deny, and say ‘Who is Hashem!’ Tzaros, have the opposite effect. They have the powerful ability to bring a person’s heart close to Hashem.
There’s a famous mashal given, where someone started throwing hundred-dollar bills from his balcony to the street below. As soon as they started falling, everybody below started scrabbling to pick them up, and find where they fell, never once looking up to acknowledge where the bounty is coming from. The person got annoyed that he wasn’t being acknowledged, so he changed his tactic. He started to throw rocks! Now, immediately everybody turned up and tried to find the perpetrator of this crime!
Tzaros have the ability to give us a hislahavus and hislahatus in tefillah, a fire and bren, that can’t be achieved otherwise. The person most bored during davening, who davens three-second Shemonah Esray, when someone near and dear to him gets sick, chas v’shalom, finds the inspiration to daven for real, and perhaps shed some tears while davening. His heart really opens up! He can reach levels in tefillah that great tzaddikim strive for.
Chazal say, why were the Imahos stricken with being barren? Because Hashem desires the tefillos of tzaddikim! Now, we know, were Avraham to have had Yitzchak immediately, we can’t begin to imagine a drop of the ocean of the hakaras hatov Avraham would have expressed in tefillah, the depth of emotion and feeling and heart that Avraham would have invested in communicating with Hashem. Yet, nevertheless, the level he was able to reach because he had a tzarah, a difficulty – was much greater!
We see that large parts of Tehillim are dedicated to Tefillah of this sort. ‘Affafuni chevlei maves, u’mitzarai she’ol metzuni, tzarah viyagon emtzah uv’sheim Hashem ekrah, anah Hashem malta nafshi, and so on. Dovid Hamelech always perceived himself in a great difficulty, and that is what his tefillos revolved around.
Even a person who will do anything not to receive help from someone else, who will live in squalor, just not to have to come onto other people, but when a child gets sick chas v’shalom, they have no choice. Likewise, in tefillah, even the person who is most lazy in davening, but once he’s in a situation where he’s desperate – his tefillos will be amazing.
This is the way we need to start approaching davening – by realizing how great our needs are!