The Prayers of Cheshvan

(an excerpt from Orchard of Delights)

Cheshvan is the only Hebrew month containing no holiday, commemorative event, or fast day. Following the month of Tishrei, which has the major holidays of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Shemini Atzeret, this lack is particularly noticeable. For this reason some call it ‘Mar Cheshvan’ (Bitter Heshvan). Yet, tradition teaches that in Messianic times, Heshvan will be “rewarded,” for the Third Temple will be inaugurated during it. For this reason some people already refer to this month as ‘Ram Cheshvan’ (Exalted Cheshvan). Alluding to this, the word ‘ram’ is actually the inverted form of the word ‘mar.’

     Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach teaches that this month’s enormous spiritual potential is created by the nature of our Heshvan prayers: prayers that reflect how we pray when it seems as if our task has been completed, the verdict for the year finalized. During Tishrei, when we are surrounded by the holiness of all the holidays, it is easy to find the incentive and inspiration to pray. But what happens when the holidays are over and we return to our ordinary routines? If we fall back into our old ways as well, then the prayers and spiritual service of Tishrei failed to touch us deeply enough. If we can actually bring to fruition those changes we strived for and keep praying with the same commitment and intensity, then we have the ability to transform a potentially bitter month into an exalted one.

     The importance of not letting go of the achievements we have attained in Tishrei is also reflected in the portion of Va’eira, which always occurs in the middle of Cheshvan. In this portion, the first recorded prayer in the Torah takes place as Abraham prays to save the wicked people of Sodom. His prayer seems to go virtually unanswered – God will save the city if there are ten righteous men, which there are not – and the verse states that Abraham “returned to his place” (Genesis 18:33). But what should interest us is the following: what does Abraham do after he has reached the heights of prayer and seen his prayers essentially rejected? A literal or peshat reading of the verse would teach us that Abraham gave up, leaving the place where he had been talking to God, but a deeper reading taught by Rabbi Carlebach sheds further light on the matter: Abraham, despite his seeming failure, returned to his original stance, “his place,” and continued to pray. Though the text seems to indicate that Abraham’s prayers go unanswered, Abraham’s prayers not only helped save his nephew Lot, but even the eventual spark of the Mashiach, who is descended from Lot through Ruth. Furthermore, in this first recorded prayer, Abraham modeled for all time what prayer means to us as individuals and Jews: Abraham implanted in the Jewish people the importance of praying for the rectification of the world, even when it appears to be so far away.

     Indeed, even though God sent angels to save Lot before Abraham prayed, it was Abraham’s prayers that saved the spark of Mashiach within Lot. For Abraham wanted to believe that nothing was beyond redemption, nothing was so broken that it could not be repaired, even the evil Sodom. This core optimism and faith that good will ultimately triumph is the very energy of Mashiach. 

The Potency of Prayer

     At the beginning of Va’etchanan, Moses recounts how he pleaded with God to let him enter the Land of Israel:

And I implored (va’etchanan) God at that time saying, “My God, you have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand, for what power is there in the heaven or on earth that can perform according to your deeds and according to your mighty acts? Let me now cross and see the good land that is on the other side of the Jordan, this good mountain and the Lebanon” (Deuteronomy 3:23).

As Moses relates in the very next verse, God while not accepting his plea, did allow him to see the Promised Land from afar.

     The numerical value of “va’etchanan,” 515, is a remez, a hint to the 515 different prayers of supplication Moses prayed (Devarim Rabbah 11:6). Rashi adds that the word “va’etchanan” is one of ten Hebrew words for praying. Amazingly the generic Hebrew word for prayer (tefillah) also has the numerical value of 515. Yet after all his efforts Moses was not granted his greatest aspiration. We could then ask: if Moses, the greatest prophet and leader, was not granted his request after 515 prayers, what can we expect to gain from praying?

      The Slonimer Rebbe writes that Moses was not really praying on his own behalf; rather, he was praying on behalf of the Jewish people and the entire world. His fervent desire to enter the Land arose because he knew that if he led the people into the Land, he would be the Mashiach, the Temple would be built and never destroyed, and the final rectification of the world would occur. Despite his noble intentions, God informed Moses that the time had not yet arrived for these redemptive acts. The world was simply not ready. Despite this explanation, the question still remains, how can we expect our prayers to be granted if such an exalted individual’s were not? And if so, what is the point of praying if not to be granted what we pray for?

     The answer to this question is that God does listen, accept, and respond to all our prayers. However, we may not always hear or understand His answers, nor like nor accept them immediately. We should not forget that according to Jewish tradition every individual’s thoughts, words, and actions are recorded and have an effect. Nothing is ever lost and no prayer in the bigger picture is in vain.

    If so, we must ask, what was the effect of Moses’ prayers? By praying so intensely and deeply to enter the Promised Land, Moses imbued the Jewish people for all eternity with the passionate desire to be connected to the Land. Although he did not personally enter the Holy Land, he bequeathed to all the Jews who lived in exile the will power and desire to never give up the hope of returning to the Promised Land.

     History has in fact tested the tenacious faith that Moses bequeathed to his people. Even 2,000 years of exile did not extinguish the Jewish people’s burning desire to return to their homeland. And we, who have merited to either visit, live for a while, or settle in the Land of Israel in this day and age, are the living proof and answer to Moses’ prayers. The potency of his prayers was tremendous; in fact, not one of his 515 pleas was lost or in vain. We must comprehend this notion of prayer and integrate it into our own lives.

     This concept of prayer may also explain why the text of the Shema, Judaism’s cardinal statement of faith in the unity of God, appears near the end of Va’etchanan, and not earlier in the Torah. When everything is going our way, it is easy to believe in God and experience His Providence in every aspect of our lives. The true test of faith arrives when we feel that God is distant, that he is not answering our prayers. Perhaps, the Shema is revealed in this portion because only now does Moses himself finally completely understand this message. He had to undergo his own trial of faith to understand that even when God seems to ignore our prayers or responds in a manner not to our liking, we must still cling to the belief in God’s oneness, that God is the source of everything and that everything He does is ultimately for the good.

     Va’etchanan is always read on the Shabbat after the Ninth of Av, the day dedicated to mourning the Jewish people’s tragic history. Perhaps this is another reason the Shema appears in this portion. After the fasting and the mourning, we need to declare once again our enduring belief in God’s oneness. Just as the Mourner’s Kaddish (recited after the death of a loved one) exalts God’s greatness despite the mourner’s recent personal loss, the recitation of Shema on the Shabbat following the Ninth of Av reaffirms our belief in the justice of God’s decrees and signals our acceptance of His Divine Providence.