O, GOD, CAN YOU HEAR ME?

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D.

Prayers are our way of reaching out to the divine. The prophet Jeremiah wrote, “Call to Me, and I will answer you” (33:3). Yet, we seem to be having a number of problems with prayers. God is not answering. This is not new in Judaism. Even the old psalmist cried out: “Why, O Lord, do you reject me? Do you hide Your face from me? (88:15), and the prophet Habakkuk sobbed, “How long, O Lord, I cry out, and you do not listen “(1:2). This is the critical issue: If God can hear our plea and does not respond, God would be deemed cruel or uncaring. If God can hear but does not respond, that would imply that God is unable or lacking in power.

However, these two arguments go against the basic definition of a theistically viewed God as a loving, caring, responding yet most powerful divinity. But, you tell that to the innocent who suffer and pray continuously, with no answer from on high (or is it from below?).

There are various types of prayers but the basic ones are: thanksgiving, praise, and petition. The problem is not that much with prayers of thanksgiving or praise but with those that deal with petitions. It is easier to express praises or thanks for life gifts. It is more difficult to deal with prayers that go unanswered.

Maybe the problem lies in the fact that we expect from petitionary prayers more than they can yield. Maybe these prayers need to be refocused. The medieval Jewish/Aristotelian philosopher Maimonides wrote: “True worship is possible only when correct notions of God have previously been conceived” (Guide 3:51). To whom should petitionary prayers be directed? I like how Rabbi Roland Gittelsohn of Boston, and a religious naturalist of the past generation, defined prayer “as a magnified wish” (Wings, p. 292).  I, too, approach prayer as a means to appeal to my highest self. Nature will not change its course because of what I say, even with great concentration. As the Hebrew saying has it, “olam keminhago oleh (“The world follows its own course”). Which means that, if the world will not change for me, I need to change for the world, namely, I must extract the best of what nature can offer me.

That expectation, however, requires that we must reformulate our petitionary prayers so as to appeal to what is possible and what is best in us. So, don’t ask God to heal us; ask so that we may be able to use the most up-to-date scientific information for our benefit; Don’t pray to God to establish peace in the world, but pray so that we may be able to use all the political and social tools available to us in order to bring about better social conditions for all the inhabitants of the world. Start these prayers with “Let us/me…”The problem is not with God, but with our expectations from God. If God is the energy of the universe, as I maintain, we must live according to its dicta, and do the best we can.

This approach would require a revision of our entire liturgy. We need to create new prayers for all occasions, and it can be done. It will not disappoint anyone and will benefit everyone.

Anyone willing to tackle this enormous task?

May 14, 2020

P.S.For more details, see my book, Six Jewish Spritual Paths, 2002, under “Spirituality through Prayer.”