Praying for Hashem
A lesson from the Tiferes Shlomo Parshas Beshalach
ה' ילחם לכם ואתם תחרישון
Hashem will fight for you and you shall be silent.
Hashem will fight for you and you shall be silent.
When the Jewish people are in a situation of distress and difficulty, this causes anguish to Hashem. When we are in exile, Hashem’s Shechina is suffering in exile alongside us.
When we Daven, rather than focusing on asking for our own needs and suffering, we should be focused on the hour of Hashem and seek the restoration of the Shechina from suffering in exile. When Hashem sees that our primary concern is for His sake, He responds by answering and fulfilling our needs and lackings.
The Tiferes Shlomo reads this message into the verse ואני תפלתי לך ה' עת רצון, “and as for me, my prayer to you Hashem at an auspicious time”. With a slight change in punctuation, the verse can be read as “My prayer is to (for you) Hashem”. If we do so, it will be “an auspicious time” as Hashem will fulfill our needs.
This message can also be read into the verse from our Parsha. We could read the verse as “For Hashem you shall fight”, meaning that our prayers, concern and efforts should be for the honour of Hashem. “And you shall be silent”, means that for you, for your personal needs, you should be silent, and not focus on them in prayer.
Afterwards, Hashem says to Moshe מה תצעק אלי דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו , “why do you cry out to me. Speak to the Jewish people and they shall travel.” This verse can also be read with a different meaning. When He sees that the focus of our prayers is to cry out for His sake, Hashem responds by seeking our wellbeing.
He says “Why do you cry out for Me?”, why are you praying for My honour?. What I desire is “Speak to the Jewish people that they shall travel”, that they should have redemption.
When we Daven, rather than focusing on asking for our own needs and suffering, we should be focused on the hour of Hashem and seek the restoration of the Shechina from suffering in exile. When Hashem sees that our primary concern is for His sake, He responds by answering and fulfilling our needs and lackings.
The Tiferes Shlomo reads this message into the verse ואני תפלתי לך ה' עת רצון, “and as for me, my prayer to you Hashem at an auspicious time”. With a slight change in punctuation, the verse can be read as “My prayer is to (for you) Hashem”. If we do so, it will be “an auspicious time” as Hashem will fulfill our needs.
This message can also be read into the verse from our Parsha. We could read the verse as “For Hashem you shall fight”, meaning that our prayers, concern and efforts should be for the honour of Hashem. “And you shall be silent”, means that for you, for your personal needs, you should be silent, and not focus on them in prayer.
Afterwards, Hashem says to Moshe מה תצעק אלי דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו , “why do you cry out to me. Speak to the Jewish people and they shall travel.” This verse can also be read with a different meaning. When He sees that the focus of our prayers is to cry out for His sake, Hashem responds by seeking our wellbeing.
He says “Why do you cry out for Me?”, why are you praying for My honour?. What I desire is “Speak to the Jewish people that they shall travel”, that they should have redemption.