Knowing who we’re davening for takes our tefillah up a notch

When we daven for specific individuals, context and connection are of the essence. Who is this name I’ve added to my Tehillim list? Is it a relative, a friend, the child of my coworker? Knowing who we’re davening for takes our tefillah up a notch.

Al hatzaddikim, v’al hachassidim, v’al ziknei amcha Beis Yisrael, v’al pleitas sofreihem, v’al geirei hatzedek. Who are these people we daven for daily? Why do they deserve our continuous tefillos?

A List

Al hatzaddikim v’al hachassidim. What distinguishes a tzaddik from a chassid, and why do they merit inclusion in this brachah?

The Avudraham differentiates between tzaddikim, “who are the greatest of all, as they’ve never sinned,” and chassidim, who have sinned and repented. Generally, we correlate chassidim with the concept of “lifnim mishuras hadin,” those whose service of Hashem reaches beyond the absolute letter of the law. Rav Chaim Friedlander (Sifsei Chaim) explains that once a person sins, he’s advised to behave stringently in the areas where he previously stumbled to safeguard against another misstep. Thus, chassidim are associated with lifnim mishuras hadin as a security measure to circumvent future sins.

“In the brachah of ‘al hatzaddikim,’ pay heed to daven for the good of the tzaddikim, for we exist in their merit. And as long as there are tzaddikim in the world, there is blessing and good in the world” (Rav Yehonasan Eybeschutz, Yaaros Devash 1:1). Here we have perspective on including tzaddikim, and perhaps also chassidim, in our daily tefillos. We need them! Not only are they impactful by virtue of their spiritual counsel, but their very existence in the world is a merit for us all.

Who Are the Ziknei Amcha Beis Yisrael?

A classic interpretation (Eitz Yosef) identifies them as the chachmei Torah who lead the generation. However, Rav Yehuda bar Yakar classifies them as people who dedicate their life to public service, whether as a dayan, a gabbai, or someone who’s accepted upon himself the obligation to daven for others.

Here again, we understand the rationale for their inclusion in this brachah. As people who have prioritized Klal Yisrael’s needs over their own, they're certainly worthy of the klal’s continuous tefillos.

V’al pleitas sofreihem. These are the talmidei chachamim who author chiddushei Torah (Eitz Yosef). This is the group responsible for the multitudes of seforim that grace our bookshelves, and fill seforim stores across the world. Through their efforts, Torah concepts, even the most obscure, are rendered comprehensible and available for study. Clearly this dedicated faction is worthy of our tefillah.

Why the Convert?

Perhaps the geirei hatzedek are included in this esteemed group in deference to the commandment, “Va’ahavtem es hager — Love the convert.” Including geirim in our daily tefillos certainly fulfills our obligation to extend them extra measures of love, care, and concern. However, Rav Yehonasan Eybeschutz (ibid.) presents an aspect unrelated to the mitzvah itself that renders the ger deserving of continual tefillah.

In a world where Torah principles are at best ridiculed and more often demonized, these spiritually perceptive people sifted truth from trash, filtered eternity from oceans of absurdity, and abandoned everything familiar, choosing to become Jewish. “He identified truth, and this is an utterly inconceivable proposition, to recognize Hashem from a world opaque with darkness (ibid.).” For this feat alone, Rav Yehonasan advises that we develop such intense feelings of love for the ger that we are literally compelled to kiss his feet!

Of the five cohorts included in our brachah, our conduct with the “geirei hatzedek” is where we may often fall short. We are thrilled to include geirim at our Shabbos and Yom Tov tables, answer their questions, guide them, and study with them. But what happens when a family of geirim applies to our girls’ schools, our chadarim and yeshivos, or their children are suggested as shidduchim for ours? Is our inclusiveness that far-reaching? Are we still as enamored of the geirim in our communities? Or is our profound respect for them ultimately revealed as virtuous theory, not virtuous practice?

Who Are We?

After enumerating five truly worthy groups, we include one more: “V’aleinu — and us!” What commonality do we share with tzaddikim, chassidim, public servants, Torah authors, and geirim who have shunned falsehood? Perhaps including ourselves is more an act of beseeching, a tefillah, that we, too, merit the outstanding characteristics, selflessness and spiritual fortitude evident in these venerable individuals.

Most of our serious requests to Hashem include an appeal for rachamim. Our brachah adds another dimension to rachamim, “yehemu na rachamecha.” Rav Chaim Friedlander (Sifsei Chaim) explains that the verb “yehemu” evokes a famous pasuk in Yirmiyahu (31:19): “Haben yakir li Ephraim… hamu mei’ai lo — my beloved son Ephraim… my innards yearn for him.” Often, when we're struck with ardent passion or emotion, our stomach and digestive organs respond involuntarily. This “yearning of the innards” is an uncontrollable expression of intense, deep-seated emotion. This is the rachamim we daven for, a rachamim so pervasive, it erupts from Hashem in a torrent of love.

When we consider the reward due the tzaddikim, chassidim, sofrim, geirim, and ziknei amcha, we assume they’re being compensated for their mitzvos and acts of spiritual merit. However, “v’sein sachar tov l’chol habotechim b’Shimcha b’emes — and give rich reward to those who truly trust in Your Name” implies that their reward issues from their trust in Hashem, exclusive of their mitzvos.

Rav Chaim Friedlander, drawing on an explanation of the Maharal, explains that although reward for mitzvos is guaranteed, the amount and scope of reward hinges on how much bitachon we have that we will indeed receive this reward. Therefore, an integral component to meriting reward is the confidence we have in Hashem that He will compensate us for our mitzvos.

How do I prove that my bitachon in Divine reward has endured? The importance I accord the mitzvos, the primacy they occupy in my day-to-day life is an excellent indicator of my bitachon in their ultimate reward.

Imagine you purchased a lottery ticket. If you’re five percent convinced it’s a winner, you’ll likely treat it with minimal care, by using it as a bookmark or for scribbling your grocery list. But if you’re 95 percent convinced it’s your ticket to financial stability, you’ll ensure it’s in a safe place and check on it regularly. In short, you’ll treasure it!

When we relate to mitzvos as an ancillary part of our busy life, with our energies focused on other, more important pursuits, our intentions are clear: We don’t believe they hold the key to millions.

“It is dependent on the value and importance of mitzvos in a person’s eyes; there are unfortunate people for whom the pleasures of the world are of ultimate concern, however because of their allegiance to tradition, they recognize the imperative to care for their share in the Next World. Therefore they engage in mitzvah observance, however, they don’t regard mitzvos as their prime focus or as the essential essence of life” (Sifsei Chaim).

V’sein chelkeinu imahem. Once again, we append ourselves to this cohort of spiritual greats and ask that we, too, merit the clarity of purpose they enjoy.

Ultimately, this brachah is a bid for the spiritual giants who live in our generation. However, embedded within the text is our covert wish that someday, we, too, will merit their accomplishments and subsequent reward.

Mrs. Elana Moskowitz has been teaching in seminaries for nearly 20 years.

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 875)