24 Mar Praying for Jews and Praying for Humans: Corona Diary Week 2

During the past
few weeks, we
have all prayed
as never before. Most of
us have been
precluded from attending our normal houses of prayer but, none the
less, the level of fervor and passion
with which we pray is unprecedented. Facing this global pandemic,
we pray in a universal manner- for
humanity at large. This pandemic
has highlighted our shared identity
with non-Jews. Firstly, we share
vulnerability to this disease with
all of humanity. Additionally, our
vulnerability is co-dependent: we
cannot protect ourselves and will
only remain healthy if our broader
community – Jew and non-Jewexhibits moral responsibility and
social discipline. This isn’t a Jewish issue as we have experiences
this crisis as citizens of the worldthinking about China, Italy and
Spain.
Yet, the actual text of most of our
tefillah is very national and very
“Jewish”. Personally, I have begun
reciting the complete list of Avinu
Malkeinu after Shmoneh Esrei and
there are so many resonant lines
about preventing pandemics. Each
one of them pleads for plague prevention or plague relief– for Jewish victims. We ask that our homeland (nachalatecha) be spared
from plague or that the people of
the Covenant (bnei beritecha) be
protected from a pandemic (and a
host of other threats). How can we
daven to G-d with language which
are so “parochial” and so “narrowly focused” when the clear agenda
of our tefillot is global. Without
question, we pray first and foremost for the people closest to us;
however the thought of only praying for Jews is morally grotesque
just as it is impractical. How can
we pray for an entire planet with a
text of tefilla which focuses upon
Jewish needs? It is crucial to find
that “bridge” between our overall
experience of this crisis – which
is very universal- and our actual
prayers which sound very Jewish.
We must not bifurcate ourselves
into two different people; We
cannot process the pandemic in a
universal fashion and daven in a
more national manner. That type
of schizophrenia can create disconnected experiences and listless
tefillot.
Here are four suggestions for
“bridging” between our overarching concerns for humanity and the
very national tone of our nusach
ha’Tefilla.

Adhere to Health Guidelines
Because We are Jews.
Jews are chosen by G-d to set an
example for the rest of humanity.
Under normal conditions we represent the important values of monotheism and morality. Under pandemic conditions we must exhibit
an additional value- the sanctity of
life and the willingness to make severe personal sacrifices to protect
life. The quarantined conditions
we all face may seem severe and
some are tempted to violate these
restrictions. As mamlechet Cohanim (a Kingdom of Priests) we
must be role models and demonstrate absolute fidelity to all medical guidelines – as strenuous as
they are. Saving even one life constitutes a mitzvah of Lo ta’amod al
dam reiacha which should be pursued even at the risk of personal
peril. As a chosen nation we must
lead by example. Two weeks ago,
it was obvious that proper moral
behavior in the work-place is an
essential element of our “choseness”. At this stage, fidelity to public health measures is our mandate.

Summon the Traditional
‘Components’ of Tefilla on
Behalf of Humanity
We are all familiar with the foundations of our tefillot. We summon or
evoke zechut avot, as well as perceived personal merits. Throughout the past 2000 years we
summoned zechut avot on behalf of Jewish needs- survival,
regeneration and, b”h in our
century, the protection of our
beloved State of Israel. At this
stage we must summon those
merits on behalf of humanity.
As Jews, we have so many
national zechuyot; over past
century we have displayed
incredible fortitude in recovering from the Holocaust and
building our State in the face
of such unimaginable odds.
At this stage of history, we
should summon our zechuyot
on behalf of the healing of humanity. Keep in mind that Avraham
davened for Avimelech- who hijacked his wife. He also negotiated
fiercely on behalf of the sinful city
of Sedom. I believe he would want
us to summon his zechuyot on
behalf of the millions of innocent
people whose lives are currently
imperiled.

Pray for the Shechinah
It is very challenging for many to
sense the presence of G-d during a
bleak pandemic. Hopefully, most
believing Jews appreciate that the
world is complex, and that G-d inheres within a world of suffering
and evil- in a manner that we can’t
always decipher. If we were able to
sense His presence after the Holocaust, we can certainly identify His
presence during this very challenging epidemic. However, for many
religious people and, and certainly
for non-religious, the question
of “Where is G-d” is a very vexing one. We care deeply about the
presence of G-d in our world and
whether humanity is capable of
sensing His presence. Let us daven
that humanity will see G-d despite
the suffering. Let us pray that humanity will discover that G-d is
righteous and merciful even they
are currently exposed to such suffering.

A Redeemed World is a Healed
World
There is obviously something
broken in our world- medically
and, of course spiritually. We will
try, and with G-d’s help, succeed
in overcoming this outbreak and
healing our world. However, our
efforts will always be partial and
temporary. The world will only
be fully healed when history has
concluded and been redeemed.
The core of our Shmoneh
Esrei showcases our hopes for
redemption. For Jews, national
redemption isn’t a private event
but heralds an era of universal
recognition of the G-d of Israel. The
nations will gather in Jerusalem in
a perfect world healed of all illness
– both spiritual and physical. If
we desire full healing it can only
arrive with the redemption of
history. Now, more than ever, our
hopes for that historical closure are
extremely potent and our prayers
for that era should be heartfelt.