THE PRAYER THAT IS WORTHY TO BE RECORDED
Yisro
What type of prayer does Hashem consider worthy of being recorded in His Torah?
When Yisro comes to the camp of Bnei Yisroel, he declares; “Blessed is Hashem who has saved you from the hand of Egypt and the hand of Pharaoh…”
What is so significant about this blessing that it is included in the Torah? The Jewish people in their thousands, already back in Egypt, would have blessed and thanked Hashem for their Redemption. Why are none of these prayers recorded for us in the Torah, but the blessing of Yisro is?
The Tiferes Shlomo of Radomsk shares a beautiful insight in answering this question, showing how the Torah is teaching us a lesson about what prayer is truly worthy of being heard and recorded.
The verse in Shir Hashirim reads; השמיעני קולך כי קולך ערב, “let me hear your voice, because your voice is sweet”. The word ערב also means a guarantor. The voice is a metaphor for the voice of prayer. When does Hashem say “let me hear your voice”, desiring to hear our prayers? When our prayers are in the manner of a guarantor.
A guarantor puts themselves out on behalf of and to benefit someone else. Even though they become personally liable and exposed to risk, the guarantor is prepared to accept the liability in order to help their fellow.
What does it mean to pray in the manner of a guarantor?
A person should not Daven only for themselves and their personal needs and only rejoices in their own success and blessings. Praying in this way is selfish, crass and lowly. Rather we should Daven on behalf of others and beseech Hashem that they should be blessed. And we should genuinely rejoice in their good fortune, success and blessings.
Not only that, we should be willing to put ourselves out on behalf of our fellow, just so that they should see goodness and blessing.
After the Bnei Yisroel rebelled against Hashem by demanding a king, Shmuel Hanavi said “as for me, far be it from me to sin against Hashem by refraining from praying for you”. We see from this, that not Davening on behalf of others would be considered a sin against Hashem!
The Tiferes Shlomo explains that this type of prayer was instituted by Yaakov Avinu. The Gemara teaches that Avraham instituted the prayer of Shacharis, Yitzchak instituted the prayer of Mincha and Yaakov instituted the prayer of Aravis. The word Aravis can be related to the word ערב (guarantor), suggesting that Yaakov, the father of Klal Yisroel, gave us the ability to Daven on behalf of others.
So back to Yisro. Whereas the Jewish people would have certainly offered infinite prayers and blessings to thank Hashem for saving them from Egypt, these would have all been prayers of thanks for their own personal benefit and salvation. There is nothing unique and special about this type of prayer that warrants recording for posterity.
Yisro did not personally benefit from the Exodus from Egypt. He was not a slave under the hand of Pharaoh. His blessing was an expression of pure joy over the good fortune and salvation of someone else. This is the sweetest prayer, the prayers that Hashem wants to hear and wants recorded in His Torah for all time.
Based on the Tiferes Shlomo of Radomsk
When Yisro comes to the camp of Bnei Yisroel, he declares; “Blessed is Hashem who has saved you from the hand of Egypt and the hand of Pharaoh…”
What is so significant about this blessing that it is included in the Torah? The Jewish people in their thousands, already back in Egypt, would have blessed and thanked Hashem for their Redemption. Why are none of these prayers recorded for us in the Torah, but the blessing of Yisro is?
The Tiferes Shlomo of Radomsk shares a beautiful insight in answering this question, showing how the Torah is teaching us a lesson about what prayer is truly worthy of being heard and recorded.
The verse in Shir Hashirim reads; השמיעני קולך כי קולך ערב, “let me hear your voice, because your voice is sweet”. The word ערב also means a guarantor. The voice is a metaphor for the voice of prayer. When does Hashem say “let me hear your voice”, desiring to hear our prayers? When our prayers are in the manner of a guarantor.
A guarantor puts themselves out on behalf of and to benefit someone else. Even though they become personally liable and exposed to risk, the guarantor is prepared to accept the liability in order to help their fellow.
What does it mean to pray in the manner of a guarantor?
A person should not Daven only for themselves and their personal needs and only rejoices in their own success and blessings. Praying in this way is selfish, crass and lowly. Rather we should Daven on behalf of others and beseech Hashem that they should be blessed. And we should genuinely rejoice in their good fortune, success and blessings.
Not only that, we should be willing to put ourselves out on behalf of our fellow, just so that they should see goodness and blessing.
After the Bnei Yisroel rebelled against Hashem by demanding a king, Shmuel Hanavi said “as for me, far be it from me to sin against Hashem by refraining from praying for you”. We see from this, that not Davening on behalf of others would be considered a sin against Hashem!
The Tiferes Shlomo explains that this type of prayer was instituted by Yaakov Avinu. The Gemara teaches that Avraham instituted the prayer of Shacharis, Yitzchak instituted the prayer of Mincha and Yaakov instituted the prayer of Aravis. The word Aravis can be related to the word ערב (guarantor), suggesting that Yaakov, the father of Klal Yisroel, gave us the ability to Daven on behalf of others.
So back to Yisro. Whereas the Jewish people would have certainly offered infinite prayers and blessings to thank Hashem for saving them from Egypt, these would have all been prayers of thanks for their own personal benefit and salvation. There is nothing unique and special about this type of prayer that warrants recording for posterity.
Yisro did not personally benefit from the Exodus from Egypt. He was not a slave under the hand of Pharaoh. His blessing was an expression of pure joy over the good fortune and salvation of someone else. This is the sweetest prayer, the prayers that Hashem wants to hear and wants recorded in His Torah for all time.
Based on the Tiferes Shlomo of Radomsk