Prayer Matters

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Episode Transcript

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Thank you for joining me. I'mRabbi David Lyon from congregation Both Israel in
Houston. During the heat of thesummer, it's difficult to imagine going out
to enjoy the regular activities, whetheryou live in New York City or Seattle,
Arizona, or somewhere in Texas,as I do in Houston. The
heat is amazing this summer, andall of us need to be careful.

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But if in fact we aren't gettingout the way we do to attend our
house of worship or to participate inthe walks or hikes that help us connect
to nature and feel spiritual and introspective, Judaism actually acknowledges that there are times
during the year when we can't alwaysdo what we usually do in the way
that we ordinarily do it, andsummertime for the rabbis was particularly hot,

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especially those who lived in the MiddleEast, in Jerusalem or in surrounding areas.
Even if they were in Europe.They acknowledged at the heat and oppression
of it often was an impediment totheir study and learning, and so rather
than abandon their study and learning,they focused on lighter material, sometimes from
pure ko vote chapters of the Fathers, which comes from the Mishna, which

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was ultimately written down around the thirdcentury, around two hundred of the Common
Era, but other places to helpus appreciate the power of prayer, whether
we're in our normal pew or afamiliar setting in nature to read or contemplate,
or perhaps if we're not in ourusual place because of the weather or

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illness or something else. And sowe learn from our tradition about how to
approach prayer without guilt or concern thatwe can't be in the right place at
the right time, doing exactly whatwe need to do. And our first
queue comes from a text of midrash, or we have been an interpretation on
Psalm's first chapter four of verse nine, And here we learn in the midrash

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that God said, I have saidto you, when you pray, pray
in the synagogue in your city.If you cannot pray in the synagogue,
pray in your field. If youcannot pray in your field, pray in
your house. If you cannot prayin your house, prey on your bed.
And if you cannot pray on yourbed, reflect in your heart.

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So let's take a moment to breakit down. God gives us authority personal
responsibility that when we pray, weshould pray in our house of worship.
We pray in a synagogue, youpray in a church or a mosque or
other temple or sacred space. Ifyou can't pray in the synagogue in your
city, then pray in your field. Now before we move to the field

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in our house of worship under anycircumstance. Perhaps we have our favorite place
to sit and the favorite prayer torecite, too. But each time we
come to that familiar prayer, ratherthan reciting it, I wrote, as
we commonly do. We have alsotaught that we change over time. The
prayer may remain the same, butour experience during the week or the day,

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what we're feeling in our heart andsoul, may move us to need
that prayer differently. So rather thanjust close our eyes and were repeated by
wrote, perhaps we should look atthe words and examine them, or at
least try to approach it in afresh way. But if we can't pray
in that familiar seat in our houseof worship, then pray in your field.

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After the rabbis, they really meantthe field. If one was a
farmer or working outside a place thatwas well sheltered. It didn't mean that
one couldn't contemplate, be introspective,spiritual and pray today. I don't know
many farmers, but I do knowthat many of us when we go to

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our offices still or out in thework field where we go, it doesn't
mean that we are detached from opportunitiesand moments for prayer. If somebody is
accustomed to praying three times at daysand observant Jude does, or five times
a day as an observant Muslim does, then we find the places and the

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times to pause and reflect in thatopportunity to pray. Sometimes we bring a
little prayer book with us, butwhat this interpretation of the rabbis teaches is
sometimes the book isn't available, andsometimes it might not even be enough.
So prayers of the heart, prayersof the soul, extemporaneous prayers are widely

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acceptable, and sometimes rather than imposingprayer in the field on others, it's
really incommon upon us to find theprivate space or time at our desk,
in a workspace outside in the courtyardto find opportunities for prayer too. But
then the midrash goes on to saythat if you cannot even pray in your

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field, pray your house. Thehouse, as I've taught before in Hebrew,
is called mit dashmat, a smallsanctuary dedicated to God, to Torah,
to our people. And therefore thehouse is a very meaningful place in
the Jewish community. And in yourown home you might also have a special
place set up for the purpose ofprayer. Particularly, And if you cannot

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pray on your house, pray onyour bed. Your bed might be at
home, but it might also beelsewhere. How many of us travel during
the summer, especially on vacation,or travel for work during the week,
wherever we might be. The bedrepresents sort of the settling in place at

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the end of the day, wherewe can take an account of all that
we've done, hopefully well, putour head on the pillow, and be
grateful for the day that has been, looking forward to the day that will
come. But that in between spaceis an opportunity to pray as we would
in the evening to God. However, we might imagine God to find the

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words written for us or again inour heart and soul. And it ends
with these words. And if youcannot even prey on your bed, reflect
in your heart. The truth isthat some people are not settled. At
the end of the day. Thereare those who are driven, moving,

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transitioning. We know many people whoare in the midst of moving from home
to home, or even trying tofind a home. And so those who
might not be as settled at someof us, we know that the opportunity
for them to find meaning through spiritualexperiences and prayer and hope is available to
them too, And so reflecting inyour heart is a very meaningful way of

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helping a person feel grounded and connectedto something larger than themselves that gives them
hopefulness for tomorrow. In another textin Judaism, we turn to Brajo to
attractate of Talmud, and there welearn from Rabbi Akhiya Baraba, who said,
in the name of Rabbi Ilchanan,one should only pray in a house

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where there are windows. It's abeautiful statement, a lovely teaching that many
people have taught about and interpreted,and you might have your own interpretation after
you think about it too. Itsays one should only pray in a house
where there are windows. Now thathouse might be a house of worship.
It might be your own home too. Why the windows, Well, we

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could go around and I would loveto ask you for your individual opinion.
But some answers have been meaningful,and they include the idea that windows give
us access to the outdoors. Ifwe're sheltered inside, we might not be
aware of all of God's creation.In a world of God's creating, the
trees, the grass, the wind, the air of the sun, the

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rain. All that we experience innature is something that we too wrestle with
appreciate field gratitude for, especially whenrain needs to come in it sees it,
and when rain needs to stop.An ancient prayer for farmers in the
past, but still meaningful to uswho face hot summers and drought conditions in
many areas of the country and manyothers around the world. So windows help

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us to feel connected to the worldaround us, so that our prayers,
too are not only insular or justpersonal and individual. What do I need?
What do I want from my family? But to feel connected to the
larger world around us helps to findperspective and orientation that is helpful to us

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so that we can continue to becomethe persons we intend to be windows also
generally are filled with brightness. Whenwe attend a house of worship or wake
up in the morning and offer ourprayer, the window is sunlight, it's
hopefulness. It's a way to lookup to that which is around us,
and not only down. But anotherteaching also helps us to learn from tract

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Ache of Amote in the Talmud,one who is praying should keep his eyes
turned down and his heart turned up. Now these verses work separately, not
only together. So while we lookthrough the window up towards the sky,
it doesn't mean that it takes anymeaning away from what I just read.
When we pray, we keep oureyes turned down so that we can focus

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more intimately towards the center of ourbeing, perhaps even out of deference to
God's presence which is all around us, but with our heart turned up.
Because the heart in Hebrew Live isnot the seat of spirituality per se.
It's actually, according to the Rabbisof Old, the seat of wisdom,
the seat of sincerity. So ifour heart is turned up, we are

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seeking something. We are looking forthat which can inspire us to be more,
and the heart is where that sinceregenuine feeling begins and from where it
continues to flow from us. Soif our eyes are down but our hearts
are turned up, it's the rightposture to begin to understand the power of

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prayer and the hope that we mightenjoy from it. Prayer is for everybody
a personal issue. From the Bema, from the place from which I lead
prayer in our synagogue, I lookout among the worshippers, and I see
a lot of different postures. Somepeople don't even pick up a prayer book.
I remember a woman who never pickedit up, and often with her

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eyes closed, was clearly enjoying theprayer, reciting its silently to herself.
On one occasion, she had theopportunity to explain that she knows the prayers,
but she loves to hear them andto recite them silently to herself.
I accepted that other people don't pickit up because they don't know what it

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is, but I hope that inthe hour of worship, they might also
a fine meaning in the time they'vespent there. But others have their favorite
prayers, recite them well, andtake great pride in not only reading them
in English, but also singing orreading them in Hebrew too, the diversity
and variety of worshippers helps us toknow that all of it is acceptable.

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We call God Shoumaya to Filah,the one who hears our prayer, and
though we don't always know every word, it is the intention, the soulfulness
that we bring, the genuine qualitythat we offer in the prayers that we
bring before God and community, thatare always acceptable. And very often we

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confuse the power of prayer. Sometimeswe feel that it is to affect a
change outside of us, external tous, and sometimes we do pray for
those things. But the Hebrew wordfor prayer in the infinitive form is lahippalaal.
It means to pray, but it'swritten in a reflexive form, which
suggests that when we pray, wenot only pray for something to occur or

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to change or to happen, butvery often that change and happening begins within
us. So when we feel weak, we pray for strength within us,
or at least to find the strengththat's already been created within us. When
we feel alone, we pray forthe ability within us to reach out to
others, to make connections and networksof friendships. And when we feel despairing.

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We pray that within us we mightfind the hope that God has already
implanted within us, especially with aheart turned up, if we could only
find the courage and the strength toturn our hearts up again because God commands
us to do it, that wemight find our way through the meaning of
that prayer. And so prayer.It sounds perhaps more complicated than it is,

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but I would say for sure thatprayer is filled with many, many
more opportunities and potential than we mightthink. And so we don't only have
to go to our house of worshipor only be on our best behavior.
Very often prayer is the opportunity tosee that we are not small, not
insignificant. We are truly meaningfully relatedto divine all around us, to that

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which is larger than ourselves, includingour hopes, our dreams, our family,
and our friends. I'm Rabbi DavidLyon from Congregation Beth Israel in Houston.
To listen again or to share thismessage with others, please find it
at my podcast called Heart to Heartwith Rabbi David Lyon. You can find
it at Sunday Com, are inthe iHeartMedia app, and so as your

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week continues and the heat persists.I can't say that prayer will make you
feel cooler or more comfortable. Perhapsif the heat is causing you to stress,
concern, or anxiety, perhaps prayercan help you to mitigate that fear,
that anxiety, so that you canfind solutions to problems where there are

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solutions to those problems, and tobe hopeful by turning your heart up to
see through the window all that ispossible. And if you're traveling, keep
prayer in your carry on to especiallyin your heart, so that even if
you're not home or in your familiarhouse of worship, you'll always know that
prayer is available to you in yourhome, in the field, on your

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bed, and always in your heart. So as the world remains complicated,
let's not only take care of ourselvesand our family around us, but keep
in our prayers those who need itmost, the most vulnerable around us,
that every everybody may feel hopeful fortomorrow and be grateful for the experience that
it can have as those who believein God, or wrestle with God,

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or just imagine something larger than themselvesin their heart for good, for well
being, and for peace. Thankyou for joining me. Let's be together
again next time.