Q&A: Prayer in Our Time as a Higher Need
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Prayer in Our Time as a Higher Need
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Does a person who has accepted your approach, and the only reason he prays is because the Sanhedrin so commanded, fulfill a higher need? Does the very fact that God created a structure that requires continuing to pray even when there is no real benefit in the world imply that there is a higher need here?
In other words, is there a difference between observing the Sabbath and petitionary prayer that the Sanhedrin instituted, in terms of the value inherent in the act?
Thank you very much!
Answer
I didn’t understand the question. I’ll just note that, simply speaking, prayer is a rabbinic obligation.