Friday, July 10, 2009
Prayers
Although G-d knows all the thoughts of a person, it is most appropriate, that your prayers should be verbalized with the mouth (since only that is called "prayer"); at least loudly enough, so that you can hear your own speech.
In that way, not only your mind, but also your body, is praising and praying to G-d; as we are told to do, in many verses of the Psalms.
It's a very good thing for a person to start the day, with a deep awareness of the Creator. It is also valuable, to consider the potential for doing good, that G-d grants us with each new day. ______
Some Noahides have a custom, of trying to devote their very first conscious thought of the day, to G-d.
One way of doing this is to say the following (or something like it), immediately upon waking: "Thank you, living and eternal King, for giving me life, and placing a soul within me.
"After getting ready for your day, you can put some coins aside for a proper charity.
And continue by saying Psalm 145, or Psalms 145-150, which give praise and thanksgiving to the Al-mighty. [1]
In verbally accepting upon yourself G-d's Kingship, you may then say: "Hear, O Israel, the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is One." (Deut. 6:4)
__________
You might conclude your prayers with the following affirmation, which is from an ancient prayer that is attributed to Joshua.
(In fact, it is said, that this prayer was written on a piece of parchment that came down to him from Heaven.)
Offer praise before the supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He; who stretches forth the heavens, and establishes the earth.
The seat of whose glory is in the heavens above, and the abode of whose majesty, is in the loftiest heights. He is our G-d; there is none else.
Truly, He is our King; there is nothing besides Him.
As it is written in His Torah: Know this day, and take unto your heart, that the L-rd is G-d; in the heavens above, and upon the earth below, there is nothing else.
And therefore we hope to You, L-rd our G-d, that we may speedily behold the splendor of Your might, to banish idolatry from the earth - and false gods will be utterly destroyed;
to perfect the world under the sovereignty of the Al-mighty.
All mankind shall invoke Your Name. And then all the wicked will turn to You.
Then all the inhabitants of the world, will recognize and know, that every knee should bend to You, every tongue should swear [by Your Name].
Before You, L-rd our G-d, they will bow and prostrate themselves, and give honor to the glory of Your Name; and they will all take upon themselves Your kingdom.
May you soon reign over them, forever and ever; for kingship is Yours; and to all eternity You will reign in glory, as it is written in Your Torah: The L-rd will reign forever and ever.
And it is said: The L-rd shall be King over the entire earth; on that day, the L-rd shall be One, and His Name One.**
__________
If you choose to print out any Psalms from the Chabad.org web site, please be very careful with the printed pages.
The text contains sacred literature, which should not be defaced, or improperly disposed of; or taken into a washroom, without first being placed in a container within a container.
_________
There is also a special custom, that every day in your prayers, you can include "your" Psalm, which is the one corresponding to the age, you will be on your next birthday.
A person who is praying in a time of need, can include his or her Psalm, and also Psalms 20 and 150, in particular.
In any event, you should have in mind, and verbalize from time to time, that you are not taking on any particular prayers or any particular times of prayer as an obligation, with the force of a vow.
_______
It is important to express feelings of gratitude, when praying to G-d. We may already be inspired with this feeling, when we start to pray; or we may need to reflect on our blessings for a short time, in order to arouse this well-justified emotion.
_________
The book "A Time for Prayer" (pub. Yeshivath Beth Moshe, 1996) gives the following introduction to their section of "Psalms for Gratitude."
"THOUGHTS BEFORE PRAYING IN GRATITUDE
1) The primary purpose that Hashem created this world, is for His creations to acknowledge, that He created them, and that all they have come from Him.
2) One should praise Hashem, when he realizes, that Hashem is sustaining his life every second. This is expressed in the verse "He who placed our souls amongst the living," and in the verse "All souls shall praise the L-rd."
Our sages teach us, that for each breath, one should praise Hashem.
3) If one went through difficulties, and was saved, or he feels that he has been blessed with special favor, or at a time of celebration; he must give added thanks to Hashem.
He should realize, that he was saved or granted favor, only by the grace of Hashem, and not because of his own merit.
4) Besides thanking Hashem for His salvation, one should also increase his service of Hashem, with concrete actions, such as Charity and Prayer.
5) Man's success comes from the revelation of Hashem; and hardship comes when Hashem hides His face.
One merits the revelation of Hashem [the awareness of His divine providence], through constant acknowledgement of Hashem."
_________________
PSALMS WHICH EXPRESS GRATITUDE:
17, 18, 23, 30, 33, 42, 63, 65, 66, 68, 70-72, 92, 100, 104, 105, 107, 108, 111, 114, 124, 136, 145-150.
_________
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, a great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov and a Holy Tzaddik, specified ten Psalms, that he said contain a general remedy, for matters of the soul.
These ten Psalms, about which he said, that they were revealed to him from Heaven as being "Tikkun HaKlali" (The Complete Remedy) are:
16, 32, 41, 42, 59, 77, 90, 105, 137, 150.
__________
Here is the translation of the prayer, which Abraham taught his Gentile guests to say, after they ate food to their satisfaction, in order to teach them that there is only One True G-d:
"Blessed is G-d of the Universe, whose food we have eaten."
_________
Here are some suggestions for verses and Psalms, that a Noahide could include as prayers, before going to bed at night, selected from the traditional Jewish prayers:
"Hear, O Israel, the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is One." (Deut. 6:4)
Psalms 91:1-9, 51, 121, 32:7, 16:11, 102:14, 31:6, and 59:9.
_________
The above suggestions, are in addition to one's prayers of repentance and for forgiveness, from G-d, according to one's appropriately chosen days and times for such prayers.
(At bedtime, this can be included before Psalm 51).
_____________
According to Torah, there is a three-step formula for "repentance" (teshuva = returning to G-d, by returning to the proper path).
Quoting from Mishneh Torah by the Rambam (Maimonides):
"And what is repentance? It is when the sinner abandons his sin, removing it from his thoughts [i.e. he will from now on push out from his mind, any idea to do, or to imagine doing, this sin], and is completely resolved, not to do it again.
Consequently, he [verbally] regrets what has happened in the past [i.e. what he thought, said or did], and [verbally] accepts G-d, the Knower of secrets, as his witness, that he will never return to such a sin again.
And he needs to confess verbally, and state the resolutions, that he made in his heart."
_________
Purely mental meditation and communication, directed to G-d, definitely should have its time and place in every person's life, and this is very dependent on the circumstances, time and place, etc.
Rest assured, that G-d is fully aware of all our thoughts, at all times!
So you should NOT stop meditating about ,and mentally praying, to the One True G-d; but you should also look for opportunities of privacy, when if you have needs that you wish to pray for, you can verbalize your prayers.
_____
The patience of a human being will eventually wear thin, if he is approached with requests for forgiveness many times; but G-d's patience has no limitations. His patience for those who sincerely turn to Him, is infinite.
(Although His patience in waiting to be asked for forgiveness, is limited to the length of the person's physical life!)
A person should strive to be a "master of accounts," setting aside some time on a regular basis, to review his thoughts, speech and actions; to recall what was not proper, and what needs repenting for.
But it needs to be done in a positive way, and not in a way that would lead one to fall into depression, G-d forbid; since that is one of the tricks employed, by the evil inclination.
______________
A person should have absolute faith, that when he approaches G-d in proper repentence, G-d accepts it - even if the sin was repeated many times.
On the other hand, one should not then put the sin that he did totally out of his mind, from then on. As King David said in Psalm 51, "... my sin is always before me."
The person will thus remain humble before others, no matter what spiritual level they are on; even though he himself is now advancing spiritually, way beyond his former level.
Also, since the person has that weakness, his vigilance should be maintained.
____________
And it may be, that G-d desires for the person to reach for more sincere levels of repentence. But this is only one aspect of a person's relationship with G-d; and it should be given full attention only, at designated propitious times.
The main aspect of a Noahide's relationship with G-d throughout most of the day, should be with joy, at the opportunity one is graciously given by G-d, to serve Him, (and connect with Him), through making the world a better place, by observing the Seven Noahide Commandments.
________
G-d wants us to bring down His blessings, through these physical channels which He creates.
There are even some short prayers to say, before and after taking medication. From the Mishneh Brurah - this prayer should be recited BEFORE taking medicine, or when one undergoes a medical procedure:
"May it be Your will L-rd G-d, that this use of medicine bring me good health, for You heal graciously." [Orach Chaim 230:4]
AFTER taking medicine ,or after a medical procedure, it is traditional to say: "Blessed, is the Healer of the sick."
_______
PRAYER has the connotation of a REQUEST, that you make to HaShem, for something that you need; such a safety, health, income, forgiveness, a sign from Above, etc.
In WORSHIP, the emphasis is not on communicating your own tangible needs, but rather, you open up your heart, to express to HaShem the love and devotion that YOU FEEL for Him.
This is based on your desire, to put aside your liming physical perspective, and concentrate on a higher spirituality, with awe and reverence.
_________
You should read Psalms from an authentic (i.e. traditional Jewish) scriptural translation, such as the Artscroll Psalms, or complete Hebrew Bible.
The Psalms are also available on the chabad.org website at:
www.chabad.org/library/archive/LibraryArchive2.asp?AID=15770
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