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By Rabbi Naftoly Bier
In this week’s Parsha (פרק כ”ד:ס”ג) it states: “ויצא יצחק לשוח בשדה” “And our patriarch Isaac went…”. There are two explanations given. Rabbeinu Bachye teaches that the ‘simple’ meaning is that Yitzchok went to the field to enjoy the beauty of nature, “שיח בשדה”, the trees, flowers, etc. The other interpretation is that he went to speak, ‘שיחה’; he instituted תפילת מנחה, the “afternoon service” (of prayers). Three questions: What is the Torah’s relative to Yitzchok enjoying nature? Why is the מנחה the shortest of the three services? Is there a common theme to both explanations?
Each of the three daily prayers was originally instituted by one of the Patriarchs. This arrangement is explained by Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi as follows (Kuzari III, V): “The hour of prayer is the climax, the flowering and the goal, of the day; all other hours are merely preliminary to it. The blessing of one prayer lasts until the next, just as the strength gained from one meal lasts till the one after. The longer the interval between one prayer and the next, the more man’s soul occupies itself with worldly pursuits – the more it is dulled by them. During the time of prayer, however, man purges his soul from all that has contaminated it. He prepares his soul for the future.”
However, the fact that the prayers are each tied to certain hours of the day requires explanation. As יעב”ץ explains: “No other hours are better fitted to turn men towards G-d, than the hours of sunrise and sunset. At sunrise, Nature springs to life in rejuvenated splendor. Man, refreshed by new strength, enthusiasm, and vigor, takes up his appointed task once more. At sundown, when the veil of darkness is spread over man, all that breathes entrusts its fate in the Omnipotent Creator.” Thus, the hours of morning and evening arouse differing moods in the heart of man.
“Human life then moves along the two different sectors; the day-sector, its events being the product of the free creative activity of man; and the night sector, where man appears as the passive object of cosmic influences. There man is the power and the world his material; here he is the material, and the universe is the power that masters and molds him.” (Rav S.R. Hirsch)
The morning and evening services correspond to these two contrasting themes. The morning prayer bears the imprint of gratitude for liberation from the grasp of the night. In its first part we offer the blessings for the rejuvenation of body and soul (ברכות השחר); then glorifying the splendor of nature (פסוקי דזמרה); finally, in the שמע and its ברכות culminating in the historical reflections of the thankfulness for the redemptions of Israel.
The paragraph אמת ויציב recited in the morning, has reference only to the mercy shown by G-d to our fathers in the past. The evening section אמת ואמונה points to future events, to the faith “that He will sustain our lives and let us overcome our enemies etc.” Thus, חסד the Divine mercy is the main idea underlying the morning prayer. On the other hand, אמונה, the faithfulness shown to us by G-d during all the “nights” of our lives, is the motif of the evening prayer.
We are taught, Abraham inaugurated the morning prayer, Isaac the Mincha, Jacob the evening prayer. Abraham’s life was like the rising sun, that waxes ever brighter. Blessed with abundant success in all his undertakings, he stood alone facing the entire world and summoning it to embrace monotheism. He was highly revered as נשיא אלוקים a prince of G-d.
During Isaac’s life the light began to dim. He was greeted only with envy by his contemporaries for the Divine blessings he received. Finally, with Jacob the shadows of night close in. His entire life was a concatenation of trials and tribulations. They left as their heritage the means of elevating ourselves to G-d from the most divergent times of life: when the rays of morning rouse all to life, when the waning of the sun turns us to earnest self-contemplation, and when the night summons us to rally our thoughts towards G-d. Isaac’s life was subjected to greater severity than Jacob. For, to have to descend from the heights we have climbed, is a harder blow to bear, than to begin life in suffering and struggle with the possibility of ultimately reaching the summit.
This too, is reflected in the composition of the Minchah service. All the exultant hymns of praise uttered in the morning are omitted. The worshipper stands silent before G-d engrossed in earnest self-examination.
The Talmud lays great stress on the importance of the מנחה, for this prayer consists only of spiritual self-appraisal before G-d, the Judge. The night, however, the hour when Jacob approached G-d, already points to the morning. It bears assurance of the existence of a merciful G-d, who in faithful solicitude, watches over sleeping mankind.
As the day closes, during which one is occupied with their focus on their productivity- be it Torah Study, teaching, earning a living- medicine, science, computer, plumbing, carpentry, etc., one needs to honestly reflect and constantly imbue oneself with the critical understanding that it is Hashem who gifts us with the talent and acumen to accomplish. In short, unmitigated, relentless, pure appreciation that everything is a present from Him. This is the idea of Mincha, selflessly ascribing today’s success to Him. This is the eternal challenge of life, it’s His world, not mine! When יצחק אבינו came back from גן עדן (ע’במדרש) the first task he took upon himself was to acknowledge that Hashem creates a beautiful world, a world of nature where its obvious that only He can create. This הכרת הטוב is the segue to all success in life, always appreciating that all is a gift from Hashem.
