Praying through the Mind of Yishayahu Leibowitz, R. Kook R. Hutner and beyond

After a week of eco-construction, Niggun-singing, malawa-absorbtion, Gemara-deduction and Tanakh-exploration, I finally have time to reflect.
The week has reached its culmination in Thursday night. The communal clock of our Beit Midrash reads 9:10 PM. At 11:00, we will hear from a member of the chiloni, or secular, community of Israel on the meaning of prayer. Last night, in our weekly sicha,  or open forum discussion, with Rav David Bigman, we talked about the benefits of prayer. To the sound of the tranquil eloquence of the kibbutz night, Rav Bigman presented three models of Tefillah, each illuminating in a different way the significance of daily effort to communicate with the realm of the beyond. The respective models were as follows:

1) Professor Yeshayahu Leibowitz, true to form in maintaining his powerful and poignant view that the sole purpose of religious commandments is to unconditionally accept God and the “Yoke of Heaven”, opined that the purpose of Tefillah is in it of itself exclusively a manifestation of the obligation to obey God’s commandments.
2) Rav Abraham Issac Kook suggests an alternative approach. His esoteric philosophy of prayer highlights process, and not action, as the crucial element of prayer’s significance. Through the process of Davening, one experiences internal change and hence becomes more deserving of receiving divine reward. To Rav Kook Tefillah should ideally repair thoughts and restore spirit. Within this framework, the combination of the two aforementioned growths provides for the awakening of the soul. Through prayer, one encounters and embraces the journey of becoming a better person. Through consistent praying, one continues on his or her journey to the esteemed, albeit vague, plateau of reaching one’s own ethical potential.
3) Rav Yitzchok Hutner approached Tefillah as a meditation meant to invigorate the senses of man kind as expressed in the prayers of the Jewish tradition. When one prays with Kavannah, or consciousness, intention, and awareness, one becomes more receptive to the ideas and values found in the siddur, among which are Binah, wisdom; Refuah, healing; and Seleicha, forgiveness. Rav Hutner felt that God does not necessarily answer specific prayers, but nevertheless, through meditation man benefits from both a deeper consciousness and a strengthened connection to God.

Tefillah was presented to us as a mitzvah, a stepping stone towards, and in, improvement, and a mediation, and therefore an act, of self -improvement.  

Although our sicha continued late into the night, it was only the beginning of a conversation that will be extended by the presentation this evening. The experience of Wednesday evening’s sicha framed the question of why and how Jews pray, and will serve as a fitting framework entering the discussion of secular prayer.

In preparation for this evening, my mind has raced through the possibilities that could make traditional Jewish prayer pertinent even to the chiloni. Rav Hutner’s opinion could suggest that even the non religious have what to gain in the mediation that Tefillah offers. With an understanding of Rav Kook’s philosophy of prayer, perhaps a secular Jew could benefit from the contemplative and self-improvement aspect of Davening. Through tefillah, perhaps a secular person could recognize the merits of the committed lifestyle advocated by Professor Leibowitz.

The ideas of three modern Jewish scholars provoke the realization that the community of the halachic observant does not hold a monopoly on prayer. What they clearly assert, is, regardless of affiliation, dedicating time for prayer contains a powerful message particularly relevant to becoming a contemplative, disciplined, and appreciative human being.

-- Gavi Brown and Josh Trachtenberg