>> torah portion
Praying
For Help
Parshat Chayei Sarah:
Genesis 23:1-25:18; I Kings 1:1-1:31.
S
pontaneous prayer is a natu-
ral part of human life. The
moment we recognize a lack
of control in any given situation, we turn
to the One who we believe to be in con-
trol of every situation.
Of course, we know the old saying
that there are no atheists in foxholes.
Perhaps to this one might add in our
own day that there are few atheists in
hospital rooms as well. In those times,
one's expression of prayer can truly be a
window into the soul.
Take for example three dif-
ferent prayers quoted in the
Torah. In our parshah this
week, Chayei Sarah, Abraham
sends his servant to find a
wife for his son, Isaac, among
Abraham's extended family
still located in the patriarch's
birthplace.
The servant Eliezer, looking
for a suitable wife for Isaac,
appeals to God for help in his
holy task "0 Lord, God of my
master Abraham, grant me
good fortune this day and provide deal
graciously with my master Abraham ..."
by sending a woman who offers both the
servant and his camels water to drink
(Genesis 24:12).
Upon discovering Rebecca, a rela-
tive of Abraham, who fits the descrip-
tion requested by Eliezer, the servant
then bowed to the ground and uttered,
"Blessed be the Lord, the God of my
master Abraham, who has not withheld
His steadfast faithfulness from my mas-
ter" (Genesis 24:27).
Eliezer's prayer of great humility and
strong faith echoed the relationship
Abraham had with God (though Eliezer's
faith might be called into question), and
demonstrated Abraham's belief that all
life could be controlled by our Creator.
We can then compare Eliezer's lengthy
prayers of humility, faithfulness and
gratitude with two other significant indi-
viduals in the Torah. During the Exodus,
Moses, too, offers a spontaneous prayer.
When Miriam became stricken with
leprosy, the shepherd of our people says
simply, "Please God, heal her" (Numbers
12:13).
Like Abraham's servant before him,
Moses demonstrates a strong faith in
God, but in a style much more terse.
Were Moses' strong words out of des-
peration or were they simply reflective of
Moses' perception that he held a special,
intimate relationship with God?
A third example of prayer in our
Torah comes from the patriarch Jacob.
Fleeing his brother Esau, Jacob turns to
God and offers, "If God remains with
me, if He protects me on this journey
that I am making and gives me bread to
eat and clothing to wear, and if I return
safe to my father's house — the Lord
shall be my God ... and of
all that You [God] give me,
I will set aside a tithe for
You" (Genesis 28:20-22).
Like Eliezer before him
and Moses after him, Jacob,
too, seeks God's help. But
rather than a humble
plea or a bold request,
Jacob negotiates with God
through his prayers: a
demonstration of weaker
faith, perhaps, or at least a
chutzpah-filled attempt at a
quid pro quo with the Almighty.
For better or for worse, most of us will
encounter that moment in the proverbial
foxhole. How then will we respond?
May the prayers we utter in those times
demonstrate, like Eliezer, an abiding
faith that provides us and our loved ones
with lasting comfort, and may we, like
Moses, utilize that faith to attain both
strength and humility in our most dif-
ficult hours. ❑
Aaron Starr is a rabbi at Congregation
Shaarey Zedek in Southfield.
Conversations
• In your times of greatest
joy, do you express gratitude
through prayer?
• In your times of greatest
challenge, do you seek strength
in faith?
• In what ways might you
seek to strengthen your "prayer
muscles" so that in times of joy
and challenge, prayer and faith
become tools for greater mean-
ing?
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November 13 • 2014
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