About Prayer - Avimelach

Torah study Genesis 20:6-10 – About Prayer!

Avimelach asks God: What were you thinking? v6. God says “I kept you from sinning.”
Grammatical. How sinning is spelled het tet aleph usually. Here it is without the aleph unusual spelling. Mystical interpretation Zohar. Similar to the word for needle. Every sin is like a needle into God.
Interpretation that our sins effect God. Different from the interpretation by Maimonides he says that nothing that you do "shakes"God. Maimonides is so abstract and doesn't like metaphors like this.

Things you do effect others? Does it effect God?
v7 Avimelach doesn't know the reality of the situation.

First time in Torah noted about someone praying for someone else.
Prayer – one interpretation – from the same word as ‘to argue’

SRHirsch. Derived from word. To judge. To judge one self against Gods laws. Bring self to trial against external truths and laws.
When pray we encounter truths beyond ones self. This is what we do with formalized prayer.

Prayer attempt to get a true judgement of oneself. Work on self. Align oneself with powerful truths outside oneself.

Prayers of Spontaneous thanks are not part of this.

Prescribed prayers are a way of reminding us on a regular basis.
Hirsch - "The less we feel in the mood for prayer the greater is the need for prayer ".
Why?
Concept that you can pray anywhere. But formalized service in the community is to have the words act upon us. If not in the mood it is a warning that you really do need it.

Maimonides - Contemplation is prayer. Hirsch - prayer is finding truth.

Intercession: Pray for someone else. Jews do not have intercession. Don't need to go through someone else.
Pray for healing: King is suffering. Abraham will pray for him.
If the one who prays is a tzedek or if the community prays
Desire to pray for others is a way to participate in others pain. A way to help.
A righteous person feels anguish when others are in pain.
Why pray for sick? Law of the leper. Need to announce. Infection control and to request prayer from others. Leveticus tells us that you need to tell others and to request help. Need to let the community know so you can get help.
Community prayer is more powerful. Links individual to the community.

On Shabbat - why pray for sick? Should focus on pleasure and gratitude. Should not focus on negative. One exception is to pray for healing. Express confidence that healing will come.
Does it work? Larry Dossey physician in Texas convinced that prayer works. Interview with him. Sites example of when prayer worked in an aids study and heart attack cases.
http://www.dosseydossey.com/larry/QnA.html - Sam Harris critique. Says that this cannot be true.