Chayei Sarah: Praying in the Fields
Original author - Drew Kaplan, edited by the GrowTorah Summer Inchworms 2021
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Ever since Yitzchak went to the field to pray in this week’s Torah portion, the world has not been the same. The Talmud offers two sources for our requirement to pray three daily prayers; one is the prayers of the three forefathers of the Jewish people themselves. Avraham is credited with instituting shacharit, Yitzchak grants us minchah, and Yaakov gives us ma’ariv.
The Talmud cites a verse from Bereisheit to establish each prayer. For Yitzchak, on whom we will concentrate, it is written: “Yitzchak instituted the afternoon prayer service, as it is said, ‘And Yitzchak went out lasu’ach in the field before evening’ [1]; and there is no sichah except prayer, as it is said, ‘A prayer of the afflicted man when he swoons, and pours forth his supplications (sicho) before Hashem’”[2].[3] [4]
The verb lasu’ach can take on a range of meanings, most familiarly “to converse.” The Sages read the ambiguous use of lasu’ach in our parsha in light of the use of the related term sicho in Tehillim to signify prayer. Without this connection, as the Tosafot, points out, one might have thought that Yitzchak simply went out to speak with someone in the field.[5]
However, the term evokes a striking similarity to a word of the same root found earlier in Bereisheit: “Now all the trees (siach) of the field were not yet on the earth and all the herb of the field had not yet sprouted, for Hashem had not yet sent rain upon the earth and there was no man to work the soil.”[6]
Now our verse about Yitzchak takes on an additional dimension – it seems as if there may have been an agricultural element to Yitzchak’s outing in the field. In fact, the Rashbam suggests that what Yitzchak was actually doing in the field was planting trees and checking up on his agricultural efforts.[7]
Rashi’s comment on Bereisheit 2:5 reframes the agricultural use of siach as also having to do with prayer: “For what is the reason that Hashem had not yet sent rain? Because there was no man to work the land and there was no one to acknowledge the goodness of the rain, and when man came and knew that they (the rain) are a need for the world, he prayed for them and they came down, and the trees and grasses sprouted.”[8]
In this interpretation of the verse, prayer is a primary, essential part of the creation of the natural world. Without man to pray for rain, without humankind’s appreciation of its goodness, there is no growth.
The use of the same root to refer to trees, conversation, and prayer, might suggest that all three meanings are intertwined and interconnected. As in Rashi’s commentary on Bereisheit 2:5, prayer is integral to our connection not only with an abstract G-d but to our impact and relationship with nature. Yitzchak goes out in the field lasu’ach: perhaps to converse with nature, perhaps to pray, but in the end, those options are not so different.
In line with this, Rabbi Yochanan, the late third-century Talmudic sage, said that one may not pray in a house without windows.[9] Rashi explains that this is because looking outside causes one to focus towards heaven and humbles one’s heart. Windows connect us to the natural landscape. Windows provide us an opportunity to appreciate Hashem’s handiwork, which in Rabbi Yochanan’s perspective is not only a method of elevating prayer but a necessary part of the activity.
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov instructed his followers to engage in hitbodedut, or to speak with Hashem in the field for an hour every day. While this may not be possible for all of us, this kind of consistent interaction with nature can facilitate an appreciation of how intricate the natural world is.
The litany of ecological problems we face — from air and water pollution to species extinction and climate change — testify to a disconnect from the natural environment that Hashem gave us.[10] Even with windows, in urban settings and in our post-industrial reality, the fields and nature of our ancestors could not feel further off.[11] But understanding how Jewish tradition depicts prayer and nature as mutually dependent, and re-connecting to inspired outdoor prayer like Yitzchak, can help us regain a sense of the grandeur of Hashem’s world and of our responsibility to live in balance with it.
Suggested Action Items:
Connecting our prayer to the environment can be a powerful act. Davening outside, can surround you with Hashem’s creations and help inspire greater kavannah. Praying for the success and healing of our land, whether that means praying the produce in your garden will grow, or praying for the end to forest fires, can help guide us, invigorate our communities, and bring Hashem into every aspect of our experience.
Notes:
[1] Bereisheit 24:63
[2] Tehillim 102:1
[3] Brachot 26b
[4] In another Talmudic statement, these two verses are switched around to derive an imperative for prayer (Avodah Zarah 7b):
Rabbi Eliezer says, “One should request one’s needs and, after that, one should pray, as it is said, ‘A prayer of the afflicted man when he swoons, and ours forth his supplications (sicho) before Hashem’ (Ps. 102:1) – there is no sihah except for prayer, as it is said, ‘And Yitzchak went out to siah in the field’ (Bereisheit 24:63).”
[5] See Avodah Zarah. 7b, Tosafot, s.v. ve-ayn sihah.
[6] Bereisheit 2:5
[7] By contrast, Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra suggested that what Yitzchak did in this verse was merely to walk between the shrubs (Bereisheit 24.63, s.v. la-su’ah) – simply enjoying them.
[8] Bereisheit 2:5, “ki lo himtir”
[9] Brachot 34b
[10] On air pollution. On water pollution. On species extinction. On climate change.
[11] Around 80% of the American population lives in “urban areas,” with around 45% of the population living in cities of over a million. This is not in and of itself problematic: cities maintain the possibility of being denser and more sustainable for a growing population, and it makes it more possible to provide the infrastructure required for a higher standard of living. But it does create new problems in caring for our communities and our environment, like the issue of urban heat islands, and means that we are largely disconnected from the fields of our ancestors.
