Prayer as a Steering Wheel & Not as a Spare One

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In a famous joke, a question is asked: how do we know that Ya’akov , our forefather wore a kippa? The answer is that this week’s parasha begins with the verse: “Ya’akov went out of Be’er-Sheva and he walked to Charan…” Could it be that Ya’akov walked without a kippa?? – Obviously not! The next verse says about Ya’akov : “He encountered the place and stayed for the night” [28:11]. Our sages derived from this that Yaacov instituted the Ma’ariv prayer, just as Avraham instituted Shacharit and Yitzchak instituted Mincha. Rabbi Avshalom Katzir points out that the three prayers ascribed to our forefather correspond to three periods in human life. Avraham was at the high point of both material and spiritual success, and his prayer is one of thanks to G-d for His kindness and His good: “It is good to thank G-d… to tell of your kindness in the morning” [Tehillim 92:2-3]. Yitzchak was described in the verse, “And G-d blessed him, and the man became great, and he continued to grow, until he was very great” [26:12-13]. His prayer was therefore Mincha, in the middle of the day, when the sun shines and gives light. One who goes out to his work in the field is also able to “converse in the field” [24:63], he can sense the wonders of G-d and express his appreciation for the divine creations. Yaacov flees from his father’s house alone with nothing, pursued by Esav, who wants to kill him, and his future is very uncertain. There can be no doubt that he prayed, as the Midrash quotes Eliezer, Avraham’s slave, “From where will my salvation come?” [tehillim 121:1]. as darkness falls, when a man finds himself at the low point of his life and may feel completely hopeless, his inner voice of faith turns in prayer to the Almighty. Even in his darkest hour, a person should not despair of mercy: “A prayer for a pauper who becomes faint and pours out his words before G-d” [Tehillim 102:1]. “Your faith appears in the night” [92:3] – prayer can overcome a person’s suffering and fill his heart with hope. “The guardian of Yisrael will not slumber or sleep”[121:41] I heard a very interesting analogy from a Christian friend of mine, and it’s very much related to us Jews as well. There are 2 kinds of believers. For both of them prayer, tephila, is compared to a wheel. There are those who use tephila as a steering wheel, to guide and lead them the right way. And there are those (unfortunately too many of us) for whom tephila is like a spare wheel. It’s stored at the back of the car for a time of need, only when a crisis arises do they remember to take it out. We should try and remember to combine all 3 forefathers. Like Ya’akov, in our parasha, we should obviously pray to G-d in a time of trouble, but like Avraham and Yitzchak we should also remember G-d when the sun is shining on us.
Shabbat shalom!

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