Portion of the Portion

Portion from the Portion- Parshat Ki Tavo

We cried out to G-d… and G-d heard our voice

This week’s portion contains the verses recited when one brings his BIKURIM to the Temple. ARAMI OVED AVI… We are familiar with these verses because they are used as the backbone of the Passover Haggada describing how we ended up as slaves in Egypt, how we cried to Hashem, and how he redeemed us and brought us to the land of Israel.
The verse says, VANITZAK EL HASHEM ELOKEINU VAYISHMA HASHEM ET KOLEINU (D’varim 26:6). We cried out to G-d and He heard our voice.
We called to Hashem and He answered us. When the Rabbis looked for a paradigm of true and authentic prayer, they turned to the prayer of a woman, Chana, the mother of the prophet Shmuel. (B’rachot 31a-b). Scrutinizing every detail of her prayer for a child (Shmuel Alef 1-2), they discovered the basic components of halakhic prayer, a model for the “shemoneh esrei” prayer, which is considered the heart of the Jewish prayer book. The two chapters about Chana and her prayers are read as the Haftara on the first day of Rosh Hashana and the nine blessing in the Rosh HaShana Sh’mone Esrei correspond to the nine times she says G-d’s name in her prayer.
Chana was barren and suffered doubly because her husband Elkana’s other wife, Penina, was fertile and had many children. Each year Chana would accompany the family to Shilo and be brought to tears and wouldn’t be able to eat because of her sorrow. Her husband Elkana could not understand her behavior and tries to console her telling her, “Am I not more devoted to you then ten sons?” Elkana’s consoling remarks seem touching but point to his lack of true understanding of her feelings of despair. His endearing response drove Chana to the Mishkan to pray. She had never doubted the efficacy of prayer, but until then she had been relying on Elkana’s prayer on her behalf. Once she realized that he could never truly feel her pain she realized that only she could be her true advocate before G-d. She went to speak to Hashem. And what a conversation she had!
We pray many times a year and now we are coming to Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur when we will spend many hours in shul at prayer. How can we make every prayer as meaningful as Chana’s? Do we have to be in such severe emotional pain as Chana was in for our prayers to be sincere? What can we learn from Chana to apply to our prayers?
Our prayers are made up of a number of components: SHEVACH, HODA- YA, and BAKASHA - Compliments, thanksgiving, and requests. See if you can find those in Chana’s prayer.
It says that Chana, HIRBITA L’HITPALEL LIFNEI HASHEM, she prayed a lot - before Hashem. When praying we must be aware that it is G-d that we are addressing. Everyone must “know before Whom you are standing” (B’rakhot 28b). When we pray we have the opportunity to stand in the presence of G-d. When “one directs one’s heart towards heaven” (B’rakhot 31a) he begins his AVODA - work of praying with kavana.
Then he must fully understand the meanings of the prayers. There are many sidurim with English translations. One can take time each week to study the meaning of a new section of the prayer service to make it more understandable. There is still time before Rosh HaShana to take out your machzor and go over the words of the prayers to make them more understandable.
Another aspect of kavana is to free one’s mind of all extraneous and interfering thoughts. In this day and age, this can be quit difficult. We are all so busy with so many things that are minds never stop. For help in this area I recommend reading Rav Aryeh Kaplan’s book titled Jewish Meditation, in which he explains how reciting the same words every day act as a kind of mantra to clear our minds to help us pray.
At the highest level, KAVANA means to think about the deeper meaning of what one is saying and praying with extraordinary devotion. Kavana is so important that the Shulkhan Arukh (Orach Chayim 1:4) states that if circumstances make it necessary for a person to choose between saying more prayers without kavana or saying fewer prayers with kavana, he should say fewer prayers with kavana.
Like Chana, we must realize that we can’t rely on anyone else to say our prayers for us. The Chazan in shul is there to help our KAVANA but he is not there to pray for us. We must invest our whole selves in our prayers. Even in our structured prayer service, there are many opportunities for a silent, personal supplication to G-d.
Prayer is an introspective process. A process of discovering who one is, what one could be, and how to achieve that transformation. By improving ourselves with prayer, we become capable of absorbing G-d’s blessing.
May the words of the verses from this week’s portion be fulfilled - “We cried out to G-d and G-d heard our voice. “
By writing a request to G-d and placing it in the Kotel we may not be fulfilling all aspects of prayer but it may act as a beginning in the process - by focusing us on what we will pray for. This week’s recipe is for a cookie we all know as a fortune cookie - which are sometimes also filled with prayers. They actually are originally from the Japanese Tsuji- ura Senbei, a cracker made from unsweetened rice dough.

PRAYER COOKIES (aka as Chinese Fortune Cookies)
2 egg whites
1/2 tsp (2.2g) of vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)
3 Tbsp (41g) of vegetable oil
8 Tbsp (62.5g) of flour
11/2 tsp (4g) of cornstarch
1/4 tsp (1.5g) of salt
8 Tbsp (100g) of sugar
3 tsp (15g) of water

Write prayers on small strips of paper and fold.
Beat the egg whites in a bowl. Add vanilla extract, almond extract and vegetable oil. Put flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt into a separate bowl. Stir in the water. Combine flour and egg mixtures. Beat until the batter is smooth. Grease a cookie sheet. Pour batter from a spoon to form 3-inch circles. Flatten with spoon.  Leave about 2-3 inches (5-7.5cm) space between them.
Bake at 300F(150C) for 10-15 minutes or until the outer half turns to a golden brown color, and they are easy to remove from the baking sheet. Be careful not to burn them. Remove the cookie with a spatula, and flip it over in your hand. Lay a prayer request on each circle, Fold the cookie in half, then gently pull the edges downward over the rim of a glass or wooden spoon. Place the finished cookie in a cup or muffin maker to hold its shape. If the cookies get too hard to bend, put them back in the oven for a minute.
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A reminder to all those who would like to register for Melabev’s annual walkathon to benefit Alzheimer’s care…
http://www.melabev.org/posts/243

• Other Portion of the Portion
• The Hide & Seek of Purim
• SHOV'VIM TAT
• The Women in Sh'mot