Concentration in Prayer

27 Teves 5782

Pharaoh said: “Sacrifice to the L-rd your G-d in the wilderness, but don’t go too far; pray for me” (Shemos 8:24)

“The animal soul of man, which embodies his selfish and material desires, knows that it is futile to try to dissuade a Jew from serving his Creator. So when a Jew wants to pray, it doesn’t try to stop him; instead, it seeks to transform his service into just another selfish endeavor. Go ahead, says the ‘Pharaoh’ within, serve your G‑d. ‘But don’t go off too far. Pray for me as well …’” (Chassidic saying)

“It is different, however, with something entrusted to the heart, i.e., involving one’s feelings” (Lessons in Tanya, Likutei Amarim, middle of Chapter 14)

The matters entrusted to the heart, like intense love of Hashem, great inspiration while praying, and joyful delight in performing a mitzvah, are not attainable through our own volition. They are granted as a reward, and not every man is privileged enough to receive them in his lifetime. It is in the nature of a reward received from above that it can only be received, not taken.

“A song of ascents. Out of the depths I call to You, O Lord.” (Tehillim 130:1)

Still, it is incumbent upon every person to strengthen himself always, with all his power, to focus during prayer. By calling to mind the above Chassidic saying, seeing through our yetzer hora, actively contemplating the Greatness of Hashem before prayer, constantly refocusing on the individual words of the prayer to the best of our ability as soon as we catch ourselves slipping, and calling from the “depths” of our heart, however shallow we might perceive this to be at the current moment, we can put in our side of the equation to have a real prayer. Even if the reward of joy and fulfillment is Hashem’s to bestow at His own discretion, as we learned in Tanya above, we have still put in our best, albeit limited effort.

As Rav Kanievsky Shlita says in his book Orchos Yosher, one “must at least want to concentrate as much as possible, and be distressed over this; and one who makes the effort to purify himself will be supported with Divine assistance.”