Rav Kook: Tefilah | Rabbi Aaron Goldscheider | April 15th 2026

All right, why don't we get started? Good morning everyone. Boker tov. And uh great to see everyone. It's been a number of weeks since we have been together, so it's uh very very nice to be back and to be able to learn together. And uh let me just begin with the our sponsor for the shear. This is a sponsor for the 2026 academic year the l'ilui nishmas Miriam bas Avraham a shalom bas Shem tov ben zichrono livracha. So we thank our sponsors. It should be an ilui nishama. And uh special welcome to my mother who is with us this morning visiting. And and my aunt as well. She comes She's here regularly. All right, so uh this morning what I'd like to share with you uh and we're studying Rav Kook. We've been studying the book Midot HaRa'aya. I thought just to uh to kind of re-enter uh after I don't know, it's about 6 weeks or so that we have not been together. I wanted to take a topic, look at a topic that I that I thought is um very worthwhile for these days. We're still in a time that we feel very uncertain, a time that we feel unsettled. We're still in the midst of a of a war not knowing what what the next days are going to bring here in Israel and throughout the world. And I wanted to look at the topic of tfila, of prayer, because I think that's something that uh for all of us, for uh for every Jew at this time, how important it is to think about the importance of tfila and to engage in tfila, to to daven, to pray at this time. It's something that we all can do, we're all obligated to do, and and as Rav Kook will say, it's something that we are naturally inclined to do as well, to turn to God and to pray during times of vulnerability, times that are that feel uncertain, and that we that we uh want to reach out to Hashem and to feel the presence of Hashem at this time. So, I'd like to share with you I think we have four, maybe it's five different ideas. They they kind of stand stand on their own each idea, but they do relate to one another. To kind of think about the way that Rav Kook thinks about tfila in a way that can be an inspiration for us. And as the Gamara says, there are certain things that always need chizuk, that always need strengthening, and tfila is one of them. Says the Gamara in Brachot, we can always daven a little bit better with a little bit more kavana, with a little bit more intent. So, so let's take a look at a few ideas which I think will be hopefully very inspirational for all of us this morning and something that again is in Yamei Hadima, something that all of us at this time, the time that we're in, this unique time that we're in, at a time of of war here in Israel, that tfila is an essential part of how we can contribute and what we need to do as Jews. I'll begin with the following story. It's a story of one of the great students of Rav Kook. His name was Rav David Cohen. He was a Nazir. He became a Nazir. That was not something that was common to do, to take on the laws of being a Nazarite. But early on in his life, he was searching a bit and he was a very very learned young man. He actually studied with the Chofetz Chaim and Rav Kook came to Switzerland. It was part of a he was on a trip going to a convention in in Agudah convention and he got stuck at that time with World War I and he found himself in Switzerland. The Nazir wanted to meet Rav Kook. So, he went to meet Rav Kook and he went to his home. And again, at that time as a young man, he was learning, but he also had some philosophical questions and some doubts, and he wanted to speak with Rav Kook. So, he spoke with Rav Kook and uh late into the night, he slept over the home of Rav Kook. And uh he reports, he writes this in the opening of Orot Hakodesh, he said that he was impressed with Rav Kook and his learning and his personality, but he wasn't necessarily, you know, that taken by the personality of Rav Kook until the morning. He woke up in the morning, and as he woke up in the morning, he heard from the other side of the wall Rav Kook beginning to daven before they went to minyan together. He began his davening. He describes that he hears Rav Kook reciting the Akedah, Akedah Yitzchak, which is found in the siddur. A lot of people do not necessarily say that, but it's part of the early part of uh of davening. And he listened to Rav Kook, and he was just overwhelmed by the way that he that he heard Rav Kook reciting every word and the kavana and the depth and just his voice. And he said at that moment, this is going to be my rabbi. This is this is a rabbi that I will follow for the rest of my life, just from hearing the way that Rav Kook was davening, the way that he was praying. So, um Rav Kook was a person, and there are many stories about just the way he davened, his his intent, his kavana. And we'll see that in the following teachings. So, we begin with the following, and it's a story, a story that is found in the Gemara. It's found in Brachot Daf Lamed Daled, and it's a story about Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai and Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa. And I'll share with you the story, and we have the the text on top of page one, that Rabbi Chanina, who was the younger of the two, he went to Rabbi Yochanan, and Rabbi Yochanan was his rabbi, and he went to study with Rabbi Yochanan, and he spent time with Rabbi Yochanan studying. And the Gemara says during that time, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai's child became ill. That he was sick, very sick. And um so they began to daven, and Rebbe Yochanan specifically turned to his student at that time, Rebbe Chanina, and he said, "Please daven on behalf of my son that he should be well." And the Talmud says that he was healed, the young boy was healed. And and then the Gamara says the following, that the wife of Rebbe Yochanan ben Zakkai then stepped in and said to her husband, "Rebbe Yochanan, I don't understand. Why is it that your prayer was not sufficient? Why did you need to turn to your student and to say to your student that he should be the one to pray? That his prayers will be the prayers that will heal." And this is what the Gamara says, this is a very last line, or this is the statement Rebbe Yochanan answering his wife and says, "Amarlah, um who domek eved lifnei hamelach? He is like a servant before the king, the anee domek sar lifnei hamelach. And I am like a minister, or I'm like an officer before the king." That's the answer. Now, the question is, what does that mean? What's the meaning of that? And by the way, which one would you think would be the one that God would be a responsive to? The eved or the sar? Right, you would think the sar, the minister. In other words, the let's say the prime minister of Israel, he has a cabinet, he has ministers, he has hired that are people of great wisdom that he turns to for their advice. So you would think that he would want to hear from the sar. And yet, the Gamara says, "I'm like the sar, and God is less interested in the sar, but God is interested in the eved, is interested in the in the servant. So what's the difference between a sar and a eved?" So a sar, a minister, has his own thoughts. And he may argue with the with the king. In other words, he's somebody he's actually been hired to do that, to express his own ideas. Whereas the eved, what is the responsibility of the eved? The eved is purely one who surrenders before the king. There are no questions that are asked. That's what the eved is. That's what the eved does. That's the role of the eved. I'm here to serve. So, Rav Kook said, "When it comes to prayer," this is an interesting idea. And he I'll I'll read a line from Rav Kook. We'll share line from Rav Kook. When it comes to prayer, what is the posture that one is to have when one enters into prayer, one stands before God? That one should be like an eved. It's not a time And he says the following, "It's not a time for intellect. It's not a time for the mind. It's a time for the heart. It's a time for the neshama. We have to put aside all thoughts. We have to put aside the the analysis that we generally have. And when we're studying together, we're studying with a lot of analysis. Right now, everybody is thinking analysis. But analysis, that's not the role and that's not the posture for prayer. The posture for prayer is to be like an eved. And sometimes we come to prayers with questions about God, not understanding exactly how prayer works. Why is it that if I say this, God responds? Why is it that this person is sick? All of that we should put aside, says Rav Kook. And when when we are praying, we're praying just as a as an eved before the king. That we're there just to surrender, putting aside and he emphasized the idea of put aside mind, put aside intellect, and let it be a um let it be an engagement of the heart and of the soul. And let me just read one line to you. I I think I have it in brackets in the uh in the middle of the page. This is from the Enei Ayah, from the commentary of Rav Kook on this piece of Gemara. Al kein af she ba avodah ba avodat ha seichel na'aleh me avodat ha regesh, even though generally we talk about the seichel, the intellect, as being on a higher level than the regesh, than emotion, ke she she am she ha seichel hu koach yoter na'aleh me ha regesh, again intellect is considered to be higher, ve chol zot, but even though that may be true in general, ke ulot ha tefillah, when it comes to the act of tefillah, she er le me she sam ma'ayanav be taharat ha regesh, it's a time just for purity of the soul. Le romem ruho, it's a time to lift up one's spirit, be shvichat siach, it's a time just to allow the the siach, just just to speak to God in a in a natural way. Shvichat, that it just flows. Ha argashot ha tiyot tiviyot le davka, ba shem Elokim chayim, it's a time just to feel the presence of God and to and to feel that bond with Hashem. Ha deveikut ba Hashem. So that's a posture of prayer. When we come to prayer, and by the way, what's it what I find very interesting about this Gemara is that Rebbe Yochanan says that he's able to be like an eved and I'm not. Now why is Rebbe Yochanan not able to do that? In other words, can't he do that as well? Can't he also be the eved before the king? Well, somehow he doesn't do that easily. He's somebody who is an intellect. He's somebody who's an academic. It's hard for him to kind of push all of that aside and just be in that space and in that place of just being like a child or being like the eved before the king. And I think about that in my in my own like upbringing and and Yeshiva University and that style of learning. Like sometimes it's hard for us to daven because there's so much By the way, we're we're reading like all the commentary on the bottom like the siddur that Are you supposed to be doing that during davening? Like reading all the commentary? Or during chazarat hashatz, you know, taking out a you know, a sefer and you're reading something else and you're learning something while you're davening. Is it a time for learning? It's not a time for learning, says Rav Kook. It's a time to be be effort, just to be the just to be the servant and to be in service to God. So, that's lesson number one. There's a uh Rabbi Salanter who was the founder of the Mussar movement. So, he said that I learned three things from a baby. He says the first thing that I learned from a baby that a baby just sits and is happy. That's not always the case, but what baby when they're sitting and when they're happy, they're just sitting there in their chair and they're happy. And he says we should learn from that that we should just be happy. We don't need a reason to be happy. Just be happy that we're here, that they're alive. So, he says I learned that from from a baby. He says I also noticed from a baby that they're always they're always playing with something. Always they they need something in their hands, right? They're So, he says that a person should also always be engaged in something. This idea of kind of being laid back, right? They use in uh modern lingo to be chill, right? To chill out. Rabbi Salanter said that's not a Jewish idea, right? That's not a Jewish idea. We should always be We're involved in things, right? A baby is always in We we have to be involved in things and and fill our days with uh with with involvement in good things. And one other thing and this is the point here. He says that when a baby cries, he continues to cry until the mother answers. He cries and cries until the mother picks up the baby. And he says that's what we need to learn from a baby as well, how to be in service to God, that we just as like a child, like a baby, that we come before God and we cry before God. And it's not like a baby, it's not about the intellect. There's no thought involved. It's just feeling that you're in the presence of your Avinu Shebashamayim, in the presence of Shekinah, in the presence of a mother, your father, and you're pouring out your heart to to Hashem. So, that is that's lesson number one. And I'll just add one other very interesting idea to this. What is the correct posture for when you say the Amidah? What is the correct posture for the Amidah? So, you know that we're supposed to be standing for the Amidah. But, the Rambam writes, and it's brought in the Shulchan Aruch as well, you have it here on the page. He says that you take your right hand, put it over your left hand, and you place it on your heart, and you bend over slightly. That's that's how the Rambam says you should say the Amidah. And he says like an eved, like a servant. A way that one like a servant would stand before their master. By the way, how many people here see people doing this when they recite the Amidah? I don't think I've ever seen anyone I I But, it's the Rambam says and the Shulchan Aruch both write that this is the posture, that this is the right way to daven the Amidah. Just like this. That you place your right hand over your heart over your left hand, placing on your heart, bending over slightly, and that's the posture of an eved. Interesting, that's the same language that we have in the Gemara. The Gemara says, "And Rebbe Yochanan said that the beauty of the davening of Rebbe Chanina that he davens like an eved before Hashem." So, an eved, part of what it means to be an eved is that you surrender your will, that there's no thought. Right? When you hire you have somebody you hire to work for you, so that's he whatever it is that you tell them to do, that's that's what they do. Okay, good. So, that is You see where the Shachter davened like that. Good. Okay, so How do you do it if you have to hold the siddur in your Ah, so okay, so that's one answer, by the way. That's one answer why people don't do it because they're holding siddurim in their hand. Yes, that's that's good. Um but I don't know, I looked around. I asked some rabbis. I'm not sure that somehow that this custom by this again and it's it's brought in the, you know, in these uh in the classic sources of the way that we're supposed to daven, somehow it's not the way that people they do not follow that. Okay. I don't know. I don't know. No, it's a good question. I haven't seen it there either. I daven in a in a Sefardi shul often and I don't see people davening this way. But it's you you can give it a try. I tried to do it. Sometimes I feel like everyone's going to look at me if I'm like doing this in shul. I'm the only one doing it. Um yeah. get step three steps back >> Yes. and steps forward to Yeah, so that's a minag as well and uh also having your feet together which the Rambam writes that as well. That we all know, right? That we wouldn't think twice about not having not having our feet together. But then the Rambam writes that you do this as well and the Shulchan Aruch paskens that way. Okay, good. So that is uh that's that's thought number one. Coming before God, we put aside intellect for for that time and it's time just to be in service to God like a child like an eved. Uh a second thought from uh from Rav Kook and I'll begin actually with Rabbi Soloveitchik which is something that Rabbi Soloveitchik pointed out. Rabbi Soloveitchik loved the Rambam, the Brisker's loved the Rambam, they loved every word of the Rambam and they also took note of where the Rambam put certain halacha. That was That was uh something where they put a lot of emphasis in studying the Rambam. Why did the Rambam put this halacha in this section? Okay. So we have what's called Hilchot Tefillah, the laws of Tefillah. And there is another section in the Rambam which is called Hilchot Brachot, which is called the laws of Brachot. But now we're going to see something which is interesting and Rabbi Soloveitchik took note of this. He says uh the Rambam writes the following and this is you can see in the bottom of page one, tiknu chachamim tfilot elu when the rabbis established the prayers, brachot levarechotam bechol yom. With that, they also established blessings that are are to be recited throughout the day. So, we have the prayers themselves, and we also have the bracho. Now, right away, Rabbi Soloveitchik is asking the question, why put the why put this law of bracho here? Okay. That's I mean, you can see why there he wants, you know, why the Rambam wanted to make this connection, but then he has the following, a little bit further on in this paragraph, "Mayah brachot bein hayom vehalaila." That a person has obligation to recite a hundred blessings a day. Now, here Rabbi Soloveitchik asks the question, why is this halacha found here? There's there is a section of brachot to the laws of bracho, we should have it in that section. Why does the Rambam include it here? So, here Rabbi Soloveitchik says the following, if you look at the very bottom of the page, and the last two lines, this is from Kol Kovetz Mesorah, which is collection of Rabbi Soloveitchik's teachings, "Venir ed tfil of meyah brachot chuk chelek mechiuv tfila." Now, that's an important line. Says Rabbi Soloveitchik, we should think about the blessings that are we are reciting throughout the day as part of the tfila that we say. It's an extension of the tfila that we started in the morning. Now, I think there's a there's like an important nuance here. I think we often tfila that we you know, we ended our prayer in the morning, and then we no longer have the next prayer to Hashem until Mincha or Maariv. In other words, those are the times that we pray, and other than that, that's not a time for prayer. But here, Rabbi Soloveitchik suggests that we should think about those brachot as an extension, and that's what the Rambam is telling us, that we're We're that tfila, and we're bringing tfila into our day and throughout the day that relationship with God through tfila. The yesh tfila, let me read one more line from Rabbi Soloveitchik. The yesh tfila the gimel tfilot. There's an obligation of the three formal tfilot. Or the hashlamot me'a brachot. And you are to make complete, you are to complete the prayers by saying the brachot throughout the day. And I just thought that was very interesting to think about prayer in that way. And we'll see right now with what Rabbi Kook is going to say, how do we bring prayer beyond just the formal times that we are praying? How do we bring prayer into the day itself and throughout the day? And let let's just say okay and I and I think that's what Rabbi Soloveitchik in the way that he's reading the reading the Rambam is what he's suggesting or emphasizing. If you go now to page two. And this is from Rabbi Kook has a beautiful siddur. It's called Olat Re'iyah. In the very beginning of the siddur he has a number of paragraphs. They're just some general ideas. And this is how it opens. It's called Inyanei Tfila, topics of tfila. And look at what he writes. Ha tfila ha matmedet shel ha neshama. What does that mean? It's the prayer that the soul is always praying. That the soul is always praying to Hashem. And let's read one line from the Hebrew from Rabbi Kook and then we'll see just the rest in the translation. Ein ha tfila ba'aqit bitiquna. Ki im mitokh ha machshava she be'emet ha neshama hi tamid mitpalelot. Proper and I'll go to the translation. Proper prayer results only from the thought that in truth the soul is constantly praying. The soul is always reaching out to Hashem. The soul The soul The neshama is always praying to God. And let me read on just to see the beauty of Rav Kook in translation. She longs for and flies to her beloved without cease. Only that during the actual hour of prayer, the constant soul prayer is revealed indeed. Meaning we just we take that moment to pray, but prayer is always happening. The soul is always reaching for Hashem. It's always wants to connect with Hashem. This is the delicacy and loveliness of prayer. She is likened to a rose who opens her beautiful petals to receive the dew that should be of the sun's light ray. Therefore, oh that man would pray the entire day. That's a quote from the Gemara in Berakhot. Hallevai, if you just look at the the the Hebrew above, the last line. Hallevai she pallela adam kol hayom kullo. If only we could daven all day long, says the Gemara. We want to be davening to Hashem. We just want to speak to Hashem. We want to be in the presence of Hashem and talk to Hashem and praise Hashem and request from Hashem and turn to Hashem. That And that's happening That's happening all the time. Says Rav Kook, we take certain times during the day, Shacharit for a half hour and Mincha and Maariv, but that constant prayer of the soul is always there. Interesting. This is something that one of the great Hasidic Rebbes, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, he is well known for the idea of his hitbodedut. What's his hitbodedut? He suggested that a Jew needs to pray outside of the formal prayer. In other words, to take time during the day that you're just turning to Hashem and talking to Hashem the way that I would talk to you. In other words, Rav Rav Nachman of Breslov said that that it's too boxed in what we're doing. In other words, it can't just be the formality. That's necessary. That's the halakha. That's meaningful. But prayer is something that also needs to be organic, has to be natural, has to be something that we bring into our lives on on a regular basis. Yes, please. I opposed the Tikkun Klali. The Tikkun Klali. >> Which are 10, and I say it every day, and the whole idea of what I'm saying. What What do you mean? Because it's there Well, we're not going to breast, okay? The chick, and I Okay. said to me, I recommended she had it's all right. Recommended that she say as she says she had to start saying it, but she could not find any connection Okay. >> to her life through, and I Well, interesting. Also, so that's So, that's already more So, the the question was raised about Rav Nachman of Breslov has the idea of what's called the Tikkun Klali of saying it's 10, right? It's 10 to Hillim that serve as kind of a Tikkun. Now, by the way, I'm talking about something else, cuz that's already now you're back into more of a formal kind of reciting of prayer. But, Rav Nachman of Breslov is famous for the other. Have you seen the movie Ushpizin? Oh, yeah. Remember that? So, So, one of the ideas is that you just speak to Hashem. He says you can go out to the forest, you can go to your mirpeset, you can just walk on the street, or you find the place that you have a bit of a bit of solitude, and you talk to Hashem. You say I'm I'm having a hard day today. You're saying I'm hoping this is going to work out. I hope that I'm going to, you know, catch the bus home. I hope that What In other words, just to speak to God in a natural way. And in that way to connect a connection that's real, that's intimate. Have you tried the Hisbodedus one? The Not Not the Not the reading of something, just talking to God. >> Yeah, I I do that, too. Okay, good. So, So, this is what This is what Rav Kook says. Rav Kook says, "Those Or, let's start here again. Rabbi Soloveitchik says, 'When we recite these blessings throughout the day, we should see that as part of t'filah. You know, I I I'm on a WhatsApp group. There's uh sends Jonathan Cohen, Rabbi Jonathan Cohen. He's a member of the of uh of OU Israel. And unfortunately, he's sick. He has cancer. Something that he's very public about. And he said, you know, does talks about it. A very very very special person. And there's a WhatsApp group. Every day there's I don't know if you're shaking your head if you're on it. Okay. Many people are on it. And I get that WhatsApp, you know, I get that reminder. And and I don't always take a moment to pray. In other words, I see it. But I think what Rav Rav Soloveitchik and Rav Kook were there suggesting is that throughout the day that there are moments and there are opportunities to pray, to turn to Hashem in prayer. That could be a prayer of thanks. Something wonderful just happened and you turn to Hashem. It doesn't again, we're not talking about opening up the siddur and doing it, but to do it in in a natural way. As Rav Kook writes, the soul is always praying. In a t'filah ba'al, it's it's praying constantly. And we need to we need to bring that prayer. I think we've been brought up with a very halakhic way of thinking about prayer. And that is absolutely necessary. Right? Those halakhic confines of prayer. This is how you stand. This is what you say. This is what page. This is how you fulfill the mitzvah. Absolutely. But then how do we bring prayer, and this is more maybe the Hasidic world. And I found it interesting that Rav Soloveitchik also senses this in the Ramban that he doesn't put the laws of blessings in the section of blessings. He puts it in prayer to teach us think of those blessings as part of prayer as a way to connect with Hashem as well. Did you want to Yes. make a point? I was saying that I learned from my mother-in-law that uh before it was customary for for us for our women to learn to read Hebrew. That's something great. They just spoke. That's right. Yeah. Yeah, very nice. Very nice, beautiful. I came across something interesting a couple of weeks ago. What one of the Gedolei Torah in Israel, his name is Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein, shlita. He is considered to be one of the great poskim of the generation. He wrote a lot on on COVID. He's an expert in in medical issues as well. And they asked him the following question. You'll find this interesting. So, they came to him and said that in some of the miklats in the ma'amad, what they've done, and my mother saw this as well, that they brought in some candy or maybe some toys. And when children would come in, in order for them not to get, you know, nervous and to kind of distract them a bit, to give them candy and to to kind of play with them. And that's what the people that came to Rabbi Zilberstein said that's kind of what the psychologists were there suggesting. And he said that he did not agree with that per se. I'm not sure if he would say you don't do that at all. But he said what we need to do when children come into the ma'amad and into the miklat is that we need to daven with them. We need to sing with them. And to show them that this is how we respond to times of of danger. And there's this is this is what a Jew does. And that this that that that's Again, I I I bring that because I think that's this idea of how to bring prayer In other words, into our lives on a regular basis. Something You're facing a difficulty. You're facing a challenge. What do you do at that moment? Do you just like kind of stay in that this is a terrible moment? This is Or do you use that as an opportunity for prayer? And Rabbi Zilberstein said, use it as as an opportunity for prayer. I'm not sure if he said you can't have candy or toys also, but but he said that he would suggest doing that. And to teach children, and we need to teach ourselves as well, that that's what we do in a ma'amad. That's what we do in a miklat. Um that it it is it's it's a time to turn to Hashem in prayer as well. To say say Tehillim. He said to sing to sing Acheinu, to sing um Amokei, whatever may be, you know, whatever song Ani Ma'amin what what's meaningful. Okay, good. So, that's that's lesson number two. When we think about prayer, how to bring prayer outside of the formal sitter, the formal times of prayer, how to make it more natural, how to bring it into into our daily life. Rav Kook comments on a fascinating Gemara, which is something that we're all familiar with. And it's a basic question. Where do we have the idea of three times a day prayer? Ask a Jew how many times do we pray a day? We pray three times. Can't try this we have Mussaf. Yom Kippur we have Ne'ilah as well. But it's three times a day. So, we have the Korbanot. The Gemara talks about that. But then the Gemara talks about that each of the forefathers introduce each prayer. Abraham, and if you want to just look at the the source in front of you, it's the bottom of page two where there's a number three on top. Abraham Tikein Tefillat Shacharit. Abraham establishes Shacharit. Vayaschem Abraham Baboker El Hamakom Asher Amad Sham. Yitzchak Tikein Tefillat Mincha. Yitzchak introduces or establishes the prayer of Mincha. Vayetzei Yitzchak Lasuach Basadeh Lifnot Erev. And then, who are we left with? Yaakov. Yaakov Tikein Tefillat Arvit. And he says Vayifga Bamakom and he came to that he came to that place and he davened in that place and that is Arvit. So, the idea of three times a day prayer is based on the Avot. Now, one of the things that I think about in prayer is that it feels that it's repetitive. In other words, that we're just coming back to that Amidah again and again and again. That we're kind of we're saying the same thing on a on a daily basis, on a regular basis. So, here Rav Kook points out something very interesting and that is when we talk about Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov introducing prayer, that there's a different word that's used for each of their prayers. It doesn't say it you would think it would be the same word that they're all introducing the idea of prayer. But it says Abraham is based on the word Amida. Vayashkem Avraham baboker el hamakom asher amad sham. And by the way, that's the the source why we call it Amida, based on this pasuk. Yitzchak is lasuach basadeh, based on the word siach, which is speaking. And Yaakov is vayifga. And he and he came to that place. So here Rav Kook says the following. All of them represent a different idea of prayer, and I think something that we can all take from prayer. What does it mean that he stood in prayer? That's let's start with Avraham. He stood in prayer, Amida. Rav Kook says standing in prayer is a way in which prayer gives us fortitude. Like that we take a stance. And he says as as we start the day, that that message of prayer, or that power of prayer, to give us the faith that we need, to give us that extra energy that we need, that emunah to get through the day and the trials that we're going to face. Avraham is famous for overcoming 10 trials. So the idea of Amida, we think about tfilah, what is tfilah? Tfilah is something that strengthens us. It strength strengthens our faith to be able to overcome the challenges in life throughout the day. So that he says is one idea of tfilah. Yitzchak, what does it say? Lasuach basadeh. What does lasuach basadeh mean? Literally it means and he spoke in the field. That's referring to Yitzchak, towards the evening, right before he's going to meet his wife, lasuach basadeh. But Rav Kook says the word siach has another meaning as well. Does anybody know what the word siach A siach is what? Conversation. Good, that's of the same genre of siach, to speak or a sicha. But it also what? A shrub. Very good. Very good. That's what Rav Kook says. The word siach is also like a shrub, or it's like a flower, something that's growing. And Reb Cook says, "What does that represent? The way that we grow from tfilah." What we benefit from tfilah. How we bring out the best in ourselves through tfilah. Interesting, Rebbi Soloveitchik points out, you know, in the morning we say all of the uh all the brachot. Like, zokef kufufim, that God straightens those that are bent. Malbish arumim, that he gives clothing to those that need clothing. So, Rebbi Soloveitchik says, "God doesn't need to to be blessed that way, to hear us blessing that way. So, what is the idea that we're describing God doing those things?" He says, "V'halachta b'drachav." Brothers, we are we say them every morning praising God, and it's really a message to us. That we need to be malbish arumim, to provide for those that need clothing. Zokef kufufim, those people that are burdened, to try to lift them up. So, one of the things that we gain from tfilah, one of the great benefits of tfilah, is how it brings out the best in us. Now, that doesn't necessarily happen that naturally. But, it's something that that if we take tfilah seriously, the inspiration of tfilah, um the the ideas that are expressed in tfilah is something that that we are to learn from, and that we are to grow from. And that's what he says, lasuach or siach is from the word like a shrub, or something that grows, something that flourishes. So, we gain from tfilah, we flourish our personality, our character, our middot through the act of tfilah. And the last one, Yaakov, what does he what what does what does Yaakov do in that place? Higia. What is pigia? That's the word that's used for Yaakov's prayer. Right? The Gemara says, ein pigia ela tfilah. What is the word lifgoa mean? It means to meet. What? It means to meet, right? It means to meet, to make contact with. So, what are we doing in tefillah? We are meeting Hashem. We are feeling the closeness to Hashem, and even beyond that, Rav Kook writes, and this is very much Rav Kook-like. Uh this is on the top of page three, the second paragraph, two lines down. She'al Yedei HaTefillah Two lines down in the middle paragraph, page three, if you just want to see a line one line from Rav Kook. She'al Yedei HaTefillah Yaromu, a person is uplifted. Af Yinasu, a person flies high. Lema'alah Tanivu'ah that a person can reach Nivu'ah, o Karov Lah, or maybe something close to Nivu'ah. What is Rav Kook referring to? The Pigi'ah What it means prayer is an opportunity for a person to feel and to experience something beyond what they would feel within the Dalet Amot of their life, to be uplifted and to feel something that is heavenly. I want to read to you something and I just came across this. There's a new uh a new biography just came out of the great nephew of Rav Kook by ArtScroll. It's very nice to see ArtScroll doing Rav Kook uh biographies. Rav Simcha HaKohen Kook. He was the chief rabbi of Rechovot, passed away not that long ago. And he said he loved this in the beginning of the book. It begins actually, he said he he he loved this Halacha. And he would often uh quote this. This is from I'm You don't have it on the source sheet. I'm just reading it to you. And how to pray. And this would I think this is something that we all know. Bikum Olei B'Elo, when a person gets up to pray, In Hayah Omed B'Chutz La'Aretz, if you're outside the land of Israel, Yachzir Panav Keneged Eretz Yisrael. We all know that you then have to face Eretz Yisrael. V'Chavein, and you should have Kavanah Gam Yerushalayim You should have Kavanah for Jerusalem, V'Lamikdash and the Beta Migdash will be the Bait Kadshay Kadashim. And for the Kodesh Kadashim, that's I'm reading that's the Shulchan Aruch. And then for all of us here, Hiya Omed Be'Eretz Yisrael, if you daven in Israel, Yachazir Panav K'Neged Yerushalayim, you need to face Yerushalayim. Well, we're already in Yerushalayim. And then Vi'Chavein Gam La'Migdash, U'L'Bait Kadshay Kadashim. And you should think about the Beta Migdash and Kodesh Kadashim. I just want to read you and this is what Rav Simcha Cook, the Chafetz Chaim in the Mishna Berurah then writes, "What does this mean?" V'Eretz Elo Mar, She'Yachshov B'Libo V'Rayano K'Ilu Hu Omed B'Migdash, Asher B'Yerushalayim B'Makom Kodesh Kadashim. What should you think about when you daven according to the Shulchan Aruch and the way it's interpreted by the Mishna Berurah, is you should think that you are standing, you should envision, that's what he writes, you should envision that you're standing inside the Beta Migdash. You should envision that you're standing inside the Kodesh Kadashim. Standing in front of the Aron as you are davening. That's what the Shulchan Aruch and that's what the Chafetz Chaim writes. I'm not sure if people do that. I don't think so. I'm not sure if I've ever done that. But this is what the Shulchan Aruch writes. So this is when you talk about P'giya, right? This idea, which is really the loftiest idea of prayer, is not only something that gives us strength, something something that helps us flourish, to bring out the best in us, but it's it's prayer allows us to feel something that is beyond this world. To feel something that is heavenly. And actually to have that in mind that you're standing inside the Beta Migdash, that you're standing inside the Kodesh Kadashim as you are davening. And to feel that closeness with Hashem. That's quite an amazing mindset to kind of that it require it requires concentration. Requires a special person to to think that way during davening, but that's I'm just reading that's not a cabalistic source. I just read the Shulchan Aruch and the Mishna Berurah who said that that's how you daven when you say when you're about to say the Amidah. So we're learning new ideas about how to say the Amidah, which many of us didn't do. Okay, two more two more ideas from Rav Kook and we'll we'll come to a close. So here, this is a halacha of davening, which I think for many of us it was we grew up with it being just every so often, but we now have it on a daily basis, at least for men that are in shul. What am I referring to? Something that here in Yerushalayim in Eretz Yisrael that's done on a on a daily basis. Birkat Kohanim. Birkat Kohanim. So we know outside of Israel that it's only on the Shalosh Regalim, that only on the holidays, a whole discussion why that's the case. Some say because there isn't the simcha that's necessary, that's only and you need a certain joy for for the Birkat Kohanim, and that you can only find in Israel. So here the Gemara has the following statement. This is from Gemara Berachot Daf Lamed Bet. Amar Rabbi Yochanan, we're in the middle of page three if you want to take a look at that. Kol Kohen, any Kohen she-harag et ha-nefesh that takes the life of another soul, lo yisa et kappav. Nisiat Kappayim means the Birkat Kohanim, that's the way the halacha refers to. So if a Kohen kills, murders another person, he no longer is allowed to do Birkat Kohanim, she-ne'emar yedeichem damim male'u, that your hands are filled with blood. Okay. So here Rav Kook has a very interesting comment on this Gemara. Before we get to his comment, so I'll ask you the following question. Somebody who kills, again, a Kohen that kills, let's say in war. He's a He's a member of the IDF and he kills a terrorist. Is he no longer allowed to do Birkat Kohanim? Yes. So, you're both right. So, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who was a great posek, so he said this is the greatest mitzvah in the world to defend Am Yisrael, defend the land of Israel. How can you say that a person who who kills a terrorist or a war that he killed somebody that he no longer can can do the Birkat Kohanim? Says absolutely. Rabbi Soloveitchik disagreed. Rabbi Soloveitchik felt that this is a law across the board. It's called a low plug. If you've taken a life, you've taken a soul of another person, you can no longer do Birkat Kohanim. I will point out something interesting that is Rav Aharon Lichtenstein of the Gush, who was the Rosh Yeshiva of the Gush, so there were students that were soldiers that killed Were they allowed? and they did duchan, they did do the Birkat Kohanim. He did not follow his father-in-law's Because he lived in Eretz What? Because he lived in Eretz Yisrael. Okay, yeah, maybe. So. So, that that's an interest that just an interesting idea. So, Rav Kook says the following. Rav Kook and he here he just talks about the Birkat Kohanim in general and he's going to connect it to this halakha. What do we do with Birkat Kohanim? So, Birkat Kohanim it's called Nesiat Kapayim. The lifting of Where are the Kapayim, by the way? Palms. The palms. That's right. These are the Kapayim. So, it's lifting of the Kapayim and then the Kapayim are supposed to remain towards the ground. In other words, it's not lifting them up, meaning you lift your hands and the Kapayim are facing downward. So, Rabbi Rav Kook says the following. He says, "The blessing is a blessing for peace. It's a blessing that the Kohen wants to bring bring blessing and peace to the nation. But he says in order to do that, there is sort of the the theoretical idea of peace. He says maybe that's the blessing represents that very spiritual idea of oneness and peace. But he says in order for there to be peace, the hands must be involved as well. What does that mean that the hands must be involved? He says it's very nice to talk about loving and and loving all Jews and loving all of Am Yisrael. But the question is person to person. The ahava and he points out the pasuk says the ahava l'recha kamocha. It doesn't say in the Torah you are to love the Jewish people. It says you are to love your fellow person. Now, that's harder to do, right? It's easier to love all of Am Yisrael. It's harder to love every individual in Am Yisrael. So, that's what it means. He says that's the lifting of the hands. The hands represent that I literally that I want to with my hands. And he talks about the fingers as well. We know that there's spreading of the fingers. He says that that represents all the pratim. In other words, all of the all the details, right? All that's necessary to help somebody else. And often when it comes to helping somebody, there's a lot that goes into that. It's not just not just a phone call, right? I got to go over that person's house. I'm going to run out and do this. I'm going to prepare food. And there's a lot that goes into helping another person. And he says that's what it really means to love. Right? It's easy to talk about love. And that's why this blessing is a blessing that includes the hands as well. I want to just just to read one line from um from Rav Kook, which I think I underlined for you. Towards the bottom of the page, ba'av u'fulot kapaim. That this bracha is a bracha that comes with the act of hands, hagashmiut. That is something it requires. Very nice, again, the hypothetical, the theoretical idea of loving is nice, but it requires gashmiut. What does it mean? Means physically that I have to be there for somebody else. That the the effort that goes into the etzba'ot hapratyot. And we know that the fingers and separating the fingers that each finger is involved as well. What does that teach us? That a person is involved in all the details, everything that's necessary to help somebody else. So I thought that was he said that that's Rav Kook says that that's the idea of Birkat Kohanim. And that's why this person who takes the life of another individual means they didn't care for one individual. And once you don't care for one individual, then that that's really what love is. Love is person to person. It's not just a general theory. It's not just a general idea. Right, how do you love somebody else? And how do you go out of your way and to do a favor and the effort? That's the hands, those are the fingers. That's the way that he that he that he interprets the Birkat Kohanim. Yes. And that's what you want to show love to somebody, action means the hands. Good. And also taking walk he's also taking walk with shoes. You have to move to do something >> Okay, good. Nice. Very nice. It doesn't talk about the shoe part, but that's a yeah, interesting add-on. But yes, to to love somebody, you know, it's interesting I've read a lot of more of like mystical ideas of that's the letter shin and spring down the shina. Rav Kook doesn't doesn't say that. I'm I'm sure he's aware of some of the mystical concepts, but he really speaks about it in a practical way. We're stretching out our hands and by the way, Birkat Kohanim, all of us are left at Kohanim we are to learn from the Kohanim. They are they're supposed to be the models of that, but that's for all of us. So when we talk about loving Rav Kook says and he's a person of love. That's a word by the way, that word ahava, it comes up in all of his writings. He loves that word, the word ahava. But here he says it's not enough just to talk about loving people or loving the nation or loving the world, it requires individual love and individual effort. Those are the arms, those are the hands, those are the fingers that go into loving somebody else. Yes, please. Dr. Cohen, in negligence cases, can he kill the patient? Can he kill him? Mhm. How does true love Yeah, that's that's a really good question. I'm not sure how to answer that. I'm not sure how to answer that. And again, maybe there's a machloket like there is with Rav Soloveitchik and Rav Soloveitchik of it say sort of like a little plug, but I don't know. That's something that that requires uh further research. But yeah, good question. Okay, our last last comment from Rav Kook uh which segues nicely from what we just uh what we just learned. This is the top of page four. One last idea about prayer, and I think one that is very uh appropriate pertinent for for the days that we're in. So, the Gemara says the following, daf hey, this is from brachot. Tanya, Aba ben Yamin omer, teaches Aba ben Yamin shnayim she nichnasu l'beit el el, two people are davening in a room together. V'kadam echad mehem l'hitpallel, and one of them finished davening first. So, two people are davening together in a room, one completed their davening. V'lo himtin v'chavero, and the person who finished their davening didn't wait for their friend to finish their davening, and that person left. Says the Gemara, torfin lo t'filato b'fanav. That prayer is ripped up, taref, it's ripped up before him. Is it private davening? Could be in shul, it could be in private. That's what the That's the That's what the Gemara says. So, here, let's just read every word of Rav Kook. It's just three, four lines. So, he writes the following, ha ha erabba zeh. What is being highlighted, what is being taught in this statement of the Gemara, sheha mitpallel ein t'filato r'tzuyah, one who davens, their prayer is not accepted by God. Kol man she covenant of rock if you're only concerned with yourself when you come to Davening you're thinking about your travails, your issues, your problem, your family, if it's only about you God is not accepting of that prayer. Al Cain ain't no Montino the person who didn't wait this person who didn't wait for his friend to finish who owed that's a sign of it means he wasn't thinking about that other person in the room when he was praying. That he could easily leave that he stepped out of the room it means he didn't wasn't thinking of that other individual. He would not have left if he was praying for that other person. He had somebody else in mind. Okay, could be. Again, I think the the the message or the you know the the message here even though again you could some of the details you could ask but the the the measure the the premise and the message I I I think is what Rav Cook is trying to highlight. Okay, therefore God rips up his prayer very strong language the going the to select me and the leaves such a setting. God's presence only wants to be there where there is true peace. The what is true peace? The when you care about the other person when you're praying for the other person then whether on a spiritual spiritual needs of the other person or whatever on the physical needs of the other person. So the way that Rav Cook interprets this in a very powerful and very beautiful way is that when we pray and this is a very important idea of prayer in general. When we pray, we can pray for ourselves, but we have to be praying for others as well. Whenever we pray, that's and we know that that's a basic idea of of Jewish prayer, of the Amidah that we pray in the plural. We're never praying for ourselves. Have others in mind. And I think when we come to shul, when we're together with other people, and we see a room full of people that are davening, Rav Kook is suggesting that we look around the room and we see the needs of others and to think of that other people and in our prayers to pray for others. I don't know if that's generally what we do. Come to shul on Shabbos, on a Shabbos morning, everybody that's there, and to think about what's the need of that person and what is that person struggling with and and to pray for others. And certainly at this time to think about soldiers and to think about families that maybe their husband is on miluim and and the challenges of these days and in our prayer to pray for others. If we have a name of of of somebody, and certainly I think we're all familiar with the idea of of those that are sick and there are people that will have a list of names that they'll include that as part of refa'enu or in their prayers and say and you know, as part of prayer. So, this is something that Rav Kook says in really quite quite powerful. The Gemara itself that says if you could leave a room with somebody that's still praying, it means that you're really not thinking about the other person. And according to the Gemara, your prayer, God is really not interested in that kind of prayer, which is really a self-focused prayer, which becomes like a selfish prayer. Prayer always has to be with other people in mind, with a community in mind, with a congregation, with Am Yisrael in mind. Um I'll just end with kind of like a a bookend to the the story that I that I started with with the with the Nazir. There was another great student of of Rav Kook. His name, we mentioned his his name many times, Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Charlap, zatzal. Rabbi Charlap, his grandson, was the uh the Dean of Reitz, Rabbi Zalman Charlap, zechutsal livracha. So, his base medrish is just you can if you have after class you want to just take a a left and a right, you'll right down the block, right across from Green's is his uh base medrish. His chair is still there. Beit Sefer What's that? Beit Sefer, very nice. Beit Sefer. And um and he was the he was the the Rav of the Shchuna of Sha'arei Chesed and Rechavia. He was the Rav and he was also the Rosh Yeshiva of Merkaz Harav. He was like the preeminent student of Rav Kook. He became the Rosh Yeshiva of Merkaz Harav of the Yeshiva after the passing of Rav Kook. One of the tzaddikim, one of the special um personalities, tzaddikim of Yerushalayim, who lived right here. This is a very special area, by the way, with Zalman Auerbach and Rabbi Charlap and others that lived here in Sha'arei Chesed, very special neighborhood. So, um he heard that this now going back to 1904, when Rav Kook arrives in um in Eretz Yisrael, where does Rav Kook settle? Where does he come? He goes to Yafo. He's invited to become the Rabbi of Yafo and the surrounding communities. And it's a little shul. He wasn't coming to a 500 family congregation, a little shul, a handful of people that were there. He wanted to come to Israel. He wanted to make his mark. Thank God he did. And when Rabbi Charlap heard that Rav Kook, and he heard about Rav Kook, he wanted to meet Rav Kook for the first time. And he traveled from he was living here, living in Yerushalayim, and he traveled to Yafo. And he came to Yafo the first Shavuot, since the first holiday of Shavuot that Rav Kook was here, to spend Yom Tov and to meet Rav Kook. And he describes the morning where he came to shul. And right before the Aseret Hadibrot, Am Vasekin, which many people do, staying up all night learning. And again, he interacted a bit with Rav Kook. But then Rav Kook got up to to read the Torah. And right before the reading of the Torah on Shavuot, there's the reading of Agdamus, which is that special poem that's read about the Torah right before the reading of the S R S D Bros. And he writes, "Over Carlub said that when I heard the way that he davened those words, the way that he prayed, right at that moment I knew that this was going to be my rabbi for the rest of my life." So, just fascinating that the Nazir and Rav Dovid Cohen and Rav Carlub, they were drawn to Rav Kook because of the way that he davened. The way that he davened. And so, hopefully these are some inspirational ideas for us, especially in these days. How important it is for us to daven, to to find strength in davening, to bring out the best in us. Times that we feel a little bit of insecurity, we feel vulnerable, it's a time to turn to Hashem. And most important, Hashem should answer all of our prayers, all of our tfilos. We should have only peace in Eretz Yisrael, the success of our of our soldiers of the IDF. We should be able to celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut next week in a in a beautiful way, in a peaceful way. And I wish every wish everyone well. Great to be back together and to see everyone. And besuros tovot told to