Q&A: Standing Before God
Standing Before God
Question
In the second book of the trilogy, p. 302, you wrote that standing before God should be shifted from an emphasis on prayer to an emphasis on study.
I didn’t really understand why. I was convinced that prayers are not answered, that there is a separation between God and nature. Okay. But why not see prayer, in the sense of Maimonides and Leibowitz, as the major focal point of standing before God? Maybe one should develop the first level of prayer and place the emphasis on that? (And really give up on the second level.)
Answer
Because on the first level, prayer (in the Leibowitzian sense) is a commandment like any other commandment (rabbinic, according to most opinions). Its centrality probably stemmed from the assumption that there is interaction between us and the Holy One, blessed be He. If that does not exist, I do not see a reason for it.
By the way, the discussion is only about the requests in prayer, not about thanksgiving or praise.