Parashat Chayeh Sarah, 5786, 2025: "Yitzchak and Tefilah"

Rabbi David Etengoff
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
The concluding section of our parasha presents the first narrative of the Yitzchak and Rivka story. These pasukim contain a verse that conceals far more than it reveals: “Yitzchak went out lasuach ba’sadeh lifnot erev—to meditate in the field toward evening. He raised his eyes and saw camels approaching.” (Sefer Bereishit 24:63, translation, The Living Torah, Rav Aryeh Kaplan zatzal) The phrase, “lasuach ba’sadeh lifnot erev” is quite obscure, fortunately, Talmud Bavli, Berachot 26b helps us understand its meaning: “It has been taught in accordance with R. Jose b. Hanina, ...Isaac instituted the afternoon prayer, as it says, ‘Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening,’ and “meditation”—lasuach—means only prayer...’” (Translation with my emendations, The Soncino Talmud)
 
Rashi (1040-1105) embraces the Talmud’s analysis of lasuach, and interprets the beginning of our pasuk as, “And Yitzchak went forth to pray in the field towards evening.” (Translation, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach) The Chasidic master, Rabbi Ya’akov Yosef of Polonne zatzal (1710-184), follows Rashi’s lead regarding lasuach and connects it to the words, “lifnot erev.” Moreover, he looks beyond the straightforward meaning of lifnot erev (toward evening), and suggests a kabbalistically-infused interpretation of this phrase:

Prior to praying, Yitzchak was punctilious in his efforts to remove and distance himself from all manner of “erev.” Erev refers to negative and extraneous thoughts [that can prevent a person from being able to pray effectively and meaningfully]. Yitzchak achieved this to the point that his prayer was as pure as Heaven itself and reached the highest level of utmost purity. (Toldot Ya’akov Yosef, Sefer Bereishit, Parashat Vayishlach, s.v. v'nireh li b’biur, translation my own)
 
Rabbi Ya’akov Yosef’s statement regarding the purity Yitzchak achieved in his tefilah is reminiscent of a well-known formulation in the Iggeret HaRamban, wherein the Ramban (1194-1270) emphasizes the importance of removing “negative and extraneous thoughts” to achieve a meaningful prayer experience: “Remove all worldly concerns from your mind during prayer. Prepare your mind before the Omnipresent One, may He be blessed, purify your thoughts and deeply focus upon about the words [of prayer] before you utter them.” (Translation, my own)
 
The message from these sources is clear: Taharut b’tefilah, purity in prayer, requires hachanah l’tefilah, preparation for prayer. In particular, the Ramban teaches us three steps of hachanah l’tefilah that will enable us to approach the level of taharut b’tefilah:
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• Prepare your mind before the Omnipresent One, may He be blessed
• Purify your thoughts
• Deeply focus upon the words [of prayer] before you utter them

 
The first step in preparing our minds to stand before the Almighty prior to embarking upon the prayer experience is given voice in a phrase found above many an Aron Kodesh, “Da lifnei Mi atah omeid—Know before Whom you stand.” This means that we must try to achieve a palpable feeling that we are in the presence of Hashem when we attempt to encounter Him in tefilah. Next, we must do everything in our power to “remove all worldly concerns from our minds during prayer,” to purify our thoughts and prepare ourselves to engage with Him. While this is a difficult task, the reward is surely equal to the effort. Finally, we need to understand the content of what we are about to say to Hashem so that we may focus upon each word and pray with kavanah, intention; for only then will we be able to convey our innermost thoughts to Him.
 
With Hashem’s help, may our tefilot ever ascend to the Kisa Hakavode, Throne of Glory, and may they be answered b’chane v’chesed v’rachamim—with favor, kindness and mercy. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
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