Demeaning is related to diminished, which is what happens to prayer when it is reduced to a commercial slogan

IS it hypersensitivity to feel discomfort at the multicolor notices blaring out that certain fine organizations will pray for you at the kever of tzaddikim “For Free”? (“For Free,” in case you missed it, is usually in capital letters.)

This implies that this is a special opportunity, and that most of the time, prayer is not free but comes with a price tag.

Is it too fastidious and finicky to find such notices redolent of advertising gimmickry, and a a denigration of Jewish prayer — tefillah — a cheapening of something that is sacred and holy?

In my naivete, I always presumed that the gates of prayer are constantly open, that no fees are required, that our Father welcomes us into His precincts and expects nothing in return except a sincere heart ( and if one is so moved, an optional gift to tzedakah — but not as a quid pro quo).

Demeaning is the word that comes to mind. Demeaning is related to diminished, which is what happens to prayer when it is reduced to a commercial slogan.

But then again, everything is commercialized, so why not entrée to G-d as well? Professional salesmen know that the two most powerful advertising words are “70 % off” and “free.” Will we soon be reading: “This week only — 70 % off all davening charges”?

This is yet another example of the creeping infiltration of the secular culture even into the most sacred Torah institutions. Even the inviolate can become violated.

If the ad writers for this event want to indicate that no contribution is required, they could do so with dignity and elegance, such as with a small note at the end informing us that there is no financial obligation to participate.

Serving G-d in a dignified and beautiful way is a concept that permeates halachah. From the verse “zeh Keili v’anveihu —this my G-d and I will beautify Him” (Shemos 15:2), the Sages derive, in Maseches Shabbos 133b, that we must serve G-d elegantly and aesthetically: “a beautiful succah, a beautiful esrog, beautiful tefillin.” By extension, this also refers to the kind of language we use in relation to G-d: refined rather than mundane and vernacular. Throughout the Talmud, the Sages prefer the use of lishna ma’alya, “elevated language.”

“Free” is just a little word, but words have power to create or destroy, to build or to tear down. The Torah’s “motza sefasecha tishmor — heed what emerges from your lips”(Devarim 23:24), refers not only to vows, but also to gossip and slander and falsehood — and to the avoidance of language that does not enhance the sanctity of our religious life.

Genuine prayer costs nothing. It requires only a serious longing for connection with our Creator, and words and language that reflect and enhance that relationship — plus concentration and emotional honesty. These are not easy to achieve, they require sincere effort — but they are always free. And not just this week only, but forever.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1050)