One of my favorite verses of Torah occurs in the first portion of Exodus. Moses had just killed the Egyptian taskmaster, and he ran away to escape Pharaoh’s wrath. These short verses are a watershed moment for the Israelites. Shortly after his encounter with the burning bush, we read this:
… the people of Israel sighed because of the slavery, and they cried, and their cry came up to God … And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
This passage from the early part of Exodus suggests that God does indeed hear prayer. And God does not only listen. God reacts. God mentors a young shepherd named Moses. God performs 10 acts of miracle and might in the land of Egypt, culminating in the splitting of the mighty waters of the Red Sea. God frees the Israelites.
But, God frees the Israelites only after God has heard their prayer.
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As with many things these days, our Torah invites a different perspective given our “new reality” in these weeks.
Tonight, this verse reminds me that before prayers can be answered, they need to be articulated. I think of the story of two people walking through a dense forest. One of them is blind, and has a lantern in his hand. The second approaches him and asks, Pardon me, I can tell that you are blind … so why are you carrying a lantern? The blind man says, It is so that you can help both of us navigate the path together.
It can sometimes be difficult to ask for help, to pray for what we need. That’s exactly why this verse is so powerful, because it reminds us that we must be able to say these needs out loud. And of course, we also have to listen to the prayers.
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This week’s Torah portion is the beginning of Leviticus, Vayikra.
Vayikra el-Moseh va-y’daber Adonai elav mey-ohel moed ley-mor. And the Lord called to Moses, and spoke to him out of the tent of meeting, saying.
In most other instances when God talks to Moses, the Hebrew is a bit different, Vayidaber Adonai, as opposed to here; Vayikra.
The word Vayikra is more active - God calls out to Moses, beseeching him, inviting him.
This is a perfect counterpoint to our verse from Exodus, because if God is able to call upon and beseech human beings, surely we can as well. And unlike the Israelites, we can not wait for God to answer our prayers - we have to answer each other’s.
And there is some practical advice in this week’s Torah portion: Call out to each other. During these weeks ahead, make phone calls, Facetime chats, Zoom hangouts. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need, and to hear what someone else needs. In this way, we will hear each other’s prayers, and we will walk through the forest together.
