This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

The Importance of Daily Prayer

THE IMPACT OF DAILY PRAYER

 

 

Find out what's happening in Maplewoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Rabbi Yeheskel Lebovic

Cong. Ahavath Zion Maplewood

Find out what's happening in Maplewoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

 

The Pressing Need for a New Leader

 

"Let God establish (lit. "command") a (new) leader over the

congregation", says Moses to God in Numbers 27:16, after hearing that his time to leave this world is near at hand-- “after this you will be gathered unto your people” (ibid 27:13).  In the next paragraph, God hints a retort to him:  to the extent that you "command" Me (appoint a new leader), rather “command” my children about Me! One can ask: Why did God, if one reads in between the lines, respond "rather than commanding Me regarding my children, do command them regarding their relationship with Me?  Is there anything that carries more weight than the need of a people to have a suitable leader to follow in the footsteps of a Moses or a similar leader worth his salt?  What would such a Jewish leader, for example, do today: he would probably fearlessly protect Jewish lives and provide security by annexing all territories that are part and parcel of the God-given Holy Land, and once and for all, after putting all terrorists out of the way, he would impose a just and lasting solution for the Arabs currently used as pawns by their coreligionists? What would such a leader in Egypt do today? One wonders, as the Egyptians seem to have lacked for a long time a true leader whom to emulate.

 

My Daily Bread

 

  God, though the Supreme King, is not always viewed as such.  To many, God is indeed entitled to some attention amidst their many other interests, which, frankly, are a bit more interesting and which fill most of their busy daily schedule.  They'll make room for Him once a week, at most.  Besides that, they say “let's get on with the real important business that makes the world revolve”.  It is in regard to such a position that God retorts to Moses:  Rather command them regarding Me, for I also need the "morsel of bread":  the daily communal offerings called "My Continuous Bread" in the Bible.  Thus, you Moses, are right in demanding that your children not be bereft of true leaders, but you have no idea what is accomplished by the daily Temple Service:  Just as bread connects soul to body and sustains the connection between them, so, too, did I decide that the way to have My Infinity connected to this limited physical world should be through the daily prayer Service which I consider My bread.  So that, if you Moses see to it that the people continue the daily prayer services-- which are the true elements that make the world revolve--, I, God, will see to it that all your needs, including that of a fearless, nonintimidated Godly leader, be met.  And I might even see to it that Egypt and the whole Middle East finally be blessed with true leadership which will put to rest the travails and upheavals of the past decades.

 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?