Halakha: A Weekly Shiur In Halakhic Topics
Yeshivat Har Etzion

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This shiur is in honor of the birth of our bechor. May he be zoche l'Torah, l'chupa ul'maasim tovim. Aaron and Malka Simkovich.

Mazal tov to his grandparents, Moshe and Laurie Simkovich and Allen and Naomi Zeiger, and great-grandparents, Beatrice Simkovich, Dan and Joan Kunitz, Ann Zeiger and Aaron and Ferol Sabghir.

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Personal Requests in Shomeia Tefilla

By Rav Shlomo Levi

WHERE REQUESTS ARE TO BE MADE

The gemara in Avoda Zara (7b) quotes a number of tanaim's opinions about where personal requests are to be made in the silent prayer, the Shemoneh Esrei.

1. Nachum Hamadi and the sages say: "One should make requests during 'Shomeia Tefilla' ('He Hears Prayer' - the 16th blessing of the Shemoneh Esrei)."

2. Rabbi Eliezer says: "One should make his requests and then pray."

3. Rabbi Yehoshua says: "One should pray and then make requests."

The gemara explains that the argument between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua revolves around whether to accept Rabbi Simlai's directive, "One should always first praise God and then make requests." Rabbi Yehoshua agrees. But Rabbi Eliezer rejects this approach which derives from the prayers of Moshe; only the spiritually powerful Moshe Rabbeinu is able to pray that way. For others this would be considered presumptuous (Rashi).

The gemara then quotes a number of other opinions.

A. Rav Yehuda son of Rav Shmuel son of Rav Shilat quoting Rav -- "Even though they say that personal requests are to be made in 'Shomeia Tefilla,' they can be added on to the end of each of the other blessings as long as it is in line with the blessing's topic."

B. Rav Chiya son of Ashi quoting Rav -- "Even though they say that personal requests are to be made in 'Shomeia Tefilla,' if there is a sick person in one's house he can be mentioned in the blessing on the sick (Refaeinu), and if one needs sustenance it can be mentioned in the blessing about the year (Bareikh Aleinu)."

C. Rav Yehoshua son of Levi says, "Even though they say that personal requests are to be made in 'Shomeia Tefilla,' if one wants to, after the Shemoneh Esrei he can even pray as much as the Yom Kippur prayer."

ADDING PERSONAL REQUESTS TO SHEMONEH ESREI

The desire to include personal requests within the Shemoneh Esrei, not as an independent prayer, seems to be two-fold: it enhances the requests and enhances the Shemoneh Esrei.

It enhances the requests: A personal request is much more powerful in the context of Shemoneh Esrei. During Shemoneh Esrei, standing before the Divine King in His inner sanctum, is the most opportune time to make a request. Furthermore, the Shemoneh Esrei is formulated in the plural, so his personal requests are bound up with that of the whole people of Israel.

It enhances the Shemoneh Esrei: They add an element of freshness and individuality to the standard prayer and strengthen the individual's connection with his prayers.

On the other hand, there are a number of possible difficulties with including personal requests in the Shemoneh Esrei. First, any additions involve a deviation from the standard text instituted by the Anshei Knesset Hagedola (Men of the Great Assembly). Second, personal requests increase the danger that prayer becomes more self-centered, a way of attaining things and taking care of personal problems. This raises questions about how much our "trivial" issues can be introduced into prayer. True, God provides for all of our needs, as petty as they may seem to us. But how much should they be part of the text of prayer? How does inserting personal requests into prayer fit with Rabbi Meir's statement on Berakhot 61a?

THE STATUS OF SHOMEIA TEFILLA

We will now attempt, to investigate the status of personal requests added to Shomeia Tefilla and how advisable it is to use this track of prayer.

The gemara, as quoted above, explains the argument between Rabbi Eliezer (personal requests precede Shemoneh Esrei) and Rabbi Yehoshua (Shemoneh Esrei precedes) without explaining how they argue with Nachum Hamadi and the sages (who say to add requests to Shomeia Tefilla). If we assume that both Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua agree about the importance of inserting personal requests, we are forced to explain that they must be concerned about tampering with the text of the Shemoneh Esrei. It is, therefore, impossible to make additions in the midst of Shemoneh Esrei. The dispute can be explained, then, in one of two ways:

A. The sages were less concerned about preserving the text, and therefore permit making additions to Shomeia Tefilla;

B. According to the sages, adding to Shomeia Tefilla is not considered tampering with the text of Shemoneh Esrei because the blessing of Shomeia Tefilla was originally intended to be the framework for personal requests.

Whereas the first approach (A.) views personal requests in Shomeia Tefilla as an extraneous addition to Shemoneh Esrei (that is, however, not considered a prohibited break, a "hefseik"), the second (B.) views them as an integral part of the text of Shomeia Tefilla.

What also emerges are two possible understandings of the nature of the Shomeia Tefilla blessing. In general, understanding the place of Shomeia Tefilla is a bit difficult. The blessing seems somewhat superfluous, apparently just a prayer that the other prayers will be accepted. There are a number of possible resolutions.

As the Responsa Hillel Omeir (#46) writes, it might simply be a prayer that God should listen to our prayers despite our lack of proper concentration.

Alternatively, it might relate to a whole different sphere of prayer. The gemara in Megilla (18a) explains how the later blessings relate to different stages of the redemption. "I will bring them to My holy mountain" - Matzmiach Keren Yeshua; "I will make them joyous in my house of prayer" - Shomeia Tefilla; and "Their burnt offerings and sacrifices . . ." - Avoda ("R''tzei . . .). The blessing of Shomeia Tefilla might relate to the level of prayer that will come with the messianic restoration of the Temple. There is certainly no problem of superfluity, but there would seem to be no room for making personal requests either.

A third approach (related to explanation B. above) is taken by Rabbeinu Yona. With regards to additions to other blessings, he emphasizes that restrictions on additions are aimed at preserving the text and making sure there are no extraneous breaks in the Shemoneh Esrei. In Shomeia Tefilla, though, "one can make all requests on any issue because Shomeia Tefilla includes all requests and for this purpose it was instituted." The text of the gemara lends support to his approach. Additions to other blessings are prefaced by, "Even though . . ." (still, additions can be made); additions to Shomeia Tefilla are introduced by, "If he wants to . . ." [The gemara in Megilla quoted above might just refer to the basis for the order of the blessings.]

Even though, as the Beit Yosef points out, the Rosh and other rishonim do not agree with Rabbeinu Yona's restrictions on other additions, they do not necessarily argue on his approach to the nature of Shomeia Tefilla.

What if one has no personal prayers to add to Shomeia Tefilla? Would Rabbeinu Yona say that his blessing ends up being invalid? It is clear that this is not the case. The blessing is two-tiered. It is a framework within which personal requests can be introduced (whether we add them or not), but definitely includes a general prayer for the acceptance of all of our prayers. This is alluded to in the text of the prayer, which, at first glance, seems repetitious. "You listen to prayers and supplication" refers to prayers in general; and "for You listen to the prayer of all mouths," refers to personal requests.

OBLIGATION

Perhaps, though, if one has a personal request to make, it is obligatory to make it. The Ramban argues with the Rambam about the biblical command to pray. According to the Rambam there is a daily obligation to pray. The Ramban (in his glosses to the Rambam's Sefer Hamitzvot, Mitzva 5) suggests that there might only be a biblical mitzva to turn to God through prayer in times of crisis. "It is a mitzva in times of troubles to trust that He, may He be blessed and exalted, listens to prayer and saves from troubles with prayer and crying out." Perhaps Shomeia Tefilla is the rabbinic framework within which the biblical mitzva is to be fulfilled.

The sages might have built on the biblical mitzva in two ways: through instituting a framework within which to prayer in times of crisis; and by expanding the concept of "troubles" ("tzarot") to include the broader category of "needs" ("tzrakhav").

Rabbi Yaakov Emden (in his siddur) might be in line with this approach when he says, "We hold that a person should make his requests in Shomeia Tefilla . . . and this is the main biblical level prayer ('ikkar tefilla mideoraita')." It seems to be based on the Ramban and refer to an obligation.

CONCLUSION

We have presented three possible understandings for making personal requests:

1. an addition to prayer;

2. an integral part of the text of prayer for one who adds them;

3. an obligation for the person with needs.

We now have the principles with which to deal with the following three questions (though they are outside the scope of this article):

A. Is it preferable to make requests in Shomeia Tefilla as opposed to other blessings?

B. Can one who missed one of the other blessings make it up in Shomeia Tefilla?

C. If one forgot to add the prayer for rain in its proper place and remembers during the last three blessings, should he return to the rain blessing or to Shomeia Tefilla?

The acharonim divide up into different camps on the issue of how open we are to making additions to prayer. The different approaches might also depend on whether personal requests are an integral part of prayer or extraneous additions.

The Bach (OC 119) limits making requests only to when there is a specific need. The Taz (OC 122:2) is also conservative and prohibits making a permanent personal addition to the text of prayer. He seems more concerned about the text than breaks in the prayer.

On the other hand, the Magen Avraham (OC 119) writes that it is good to add a prayer for repentance and for livelihood, apparently without any special need. His source is the Arizal and is quoted by later authorities without contest. The Chayei Adam (quoted by the Mishna Berura OC 122) writes that, "it is proper and fitting for everyone to pray every day about his livelihood and that Torah should not depart from his mouth and his children's' . . . as long as it comes from the heart." (See also the Sefer Chasidim #128)

POST SCRIPT

Making personal additions to prayer aids in strengthening the element of supplication in prayer and adds to its innovative, flowing side that the sages emphasized. It also serves to strengthen our trust in God through the power of prayer. When one adds personal requests in prayer it is also clear that he is not only praying in order to fulfill an obligation but because he desires to stand before God and serve Him.

Of course we must be cautious about how we make additions and not tampering with the standard text of the Shemoneh Esrei, along with not letting our personal prayers become rote either. However, the sources seem to push the positive aspects of the personal side of prayer, adding personal requests.

"God is close to all those who call Him, to all who call Him in truth."

(Adapted from Daf Kesher #587, Adar I 5757, vol. 6, pp. 434-438. Translated by Rav Eliezer Kwass. This adaptation was not reviewed by the author.)