The Sword and The Bow of Tefillah

by Rabbi Moshe Krieger, Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah (www.bircas.org)

At the end of his life, Yaakov Avinu gives Yosef an additional portion in Eretz Yisrael. This extra portion will later be divided between Menashe and Ephraim. As Yaakov gives Yosef this gift, he adds a very surprising description. He says that he is giving him the portion “asher lakachti miyad ha’emori becharbi u’vekashti” — “that I took from the Emori with my sword and with my bow” (Bereishis 48:22).

At first glance, these words sound like a description of a military conquest. A sword and a bow are weapons of war. They suggest physical strength, battle, and victory on the battlefield. Chazal are clear that this cannot be the meaning of Yaakov’s words. The Gemara says in Bava Basra (123b) that Yaakov Avinu did not mean a physical sword and bow.

Yaakov Avinu would never attribute success to his own might. He lived with absolute clarity that everything comes from Hashem. To speak in terms of personal strength or military power would be inconceivable for him. Instead, Chazal explain that charbi —my sword — refers to tefillah, and kashti — my bow — refers to bakashos, personal requests. Onkelos translates the pasuk in this way as well. Yaakov was saying that what he achieved came through tefillah.

However, this explanation itself raises a deeper question. Why are there two different expressions — sword and bow — if they both refer to tefillah? Why do Chazal distinguish between tefillah and bakashos, and why are these two forms compared specifically to a sword and a bow?

The Meshech Chochmah explains that the sword refers to our regular, established tefillos, particularly Shemoneh Esrei as formulated by the Anshei Knesses HaGedolah. These tefillos were created with tremendous wisdom and a deep understanding of the upper worlds. They were given a built-in koach that operates in the heavens. Because of this, they are compared to a sword. A sword is already sharp. It does not require great sophistication from the one who uses it. Once a sword has been properly forged, it already has power. Even without special skill, it can still be effective.

So too with our fixed tefillos. Certainly, a person should strive to daven with kavanah, and Chazal emphasize especially the importance of kavanah in the first berachah of Shemoneh Esrei. Even when one’s concentration is lacking, the tefillah still has effect. The koach is built in. This itself is a great chesed from Hashem.

Hashem knows our limitations. He understands that we cannot always summon deep emotion or perfect focus. We are distracted, tired, and weighed down by life. Therefore, He gave us tefillos that already carry power, even when our kavanah is incomplete. The words themselves, established by the Anshei Knesses HaGedolah, rise upward and accomplish something.

Alongside this form of tefillah, there is another type: bakashos — personal requests. These are moments when a person speaks to Hashem in his own words and expresses his individual needs. Within Shemoneh Esrei itself, there are places for this. In Refaeinu, a person can speak about his personal need for refuah. In Bareich Aleinu, he can speak about his need for parnassah. At the end of Shemoneh Esrei, in Elokai Netzor, there is even more space to speak directly to Hashem.

These bakashos are not part of the fixed text. They are not pre-formulated. They are the person’s own words, and that is why they are compared to a bow. A bow only works according to how much strength is invested in it. The more it is drawn back, the further the arrow travels. If only a little strength is applied, the arrow goes only a short distance.

So too with personal bakashos. Their power depends entirely on a person’s kavanah. The more heart, honesty, and depth that are invested in the tefillah, the further it reaches. Here, the Anshei Knesses HaGedolah are not carrying us. The individual stands alone before Hashem, and the strength of the tefillah depends on how much of himself he puts into it.

This teaches us that while we should strive for kavanah  throughout Shemoneh Esrei, there is a special responsibility when it comes to bakashos. What, then, does real kavanah actually mean?

Chazal give us clear guidance. The Gemara in Taanis (8a) says, “yasim nafsho bekapo” — a person must put his soul into his tefillah. This does not mean speaking louder or saying longer requests. It means expressing what is genuinely inside. A person must feel his needs, not merely state them. He must speak honestly about his pain, concern, and urgency, and ask Hashem for rachamim.

In addition, a person must feel that he is standing lifnei  HaMelech. Hashem is present and listening. You are speaking, and He hears every word. The Mesillas Yesharim (perek 19) writes that this awareness requires effort and imagination. A person must picture himself standing before Hashem and speaking directly to Him, explaining every difficulty clearly.

Rav Chaim Volozhiner taught that this awareness — that one is standing opposite Hashem Who is listening — is of the very essence of Shemoneh Esrei. There is a well-known story of a chassid who davened with great movement and emotion. When he was asked why he did not daven calmly like the Chofetz Chaim, he answered, “The Chofetz Chaim already lives with the awareness that Hashem is right here. I need movement to remind myself.” Each person must find his own way to awaken this awareness.

There is a third element that gives bakashos their power: recognizing total dependence on Hashem. A person must feel and say that nothing else can help — not intelligence, not effort, not connections. All hishtadlus only works if Hashem wills it. When a person says, “I have no one else to rely on but You,” this awakens divine compassion.

The Midrash Tehillim gives a mashal of a poor man who relied totally on the king. When the king heard this, he said, “If you relied on me, I must have mercy on you.” So too, when a Jew tells Hashem that only He can help, the reliance itself opens the gates of rachamim.

Chazal say that after the churban, the gates of tefillah are sometimes blocked (Bava Basra 59a). The Maharsha explains that regular tefillos may not always pass through, but tefillos that awaken great rachamim are never blocked. Great rachamim is awakened when a person expresses complete dependence on Hashem with anavah and humility.

The Ben Yehoyada offers a different understanding of bakashos. According to him, bakashos are not additional requests. The requests themselves are tefillah. Bakashos are the reasons behind the request. A person may say, “Hashem, I need parnassah.” That is tefillah. Bakashos go deeper: “I need parnassah so that I can serve You better, learn Torah properly, daven with kavanah, and perform mitzvos correctly.” When a person frames his needs as being for the sake of avodas Hashem, those requests receive special koach.

This also explains why bakashos are compared to a bow. A sword is effective only at close range. A bow reaches far. Tefillos that are directed l’shem Shamayim have extraordinary reach. The Maharal writes that even when there is a gezeirah, a request made for the sake of Heaven can override it, because Hashem says, “This is for Me.”

Rav Moshe Mandel would teach that even when a person needs physical things like parnassah or refuah, he should speak about them as being ruchniyus. He should say, “Hashem, I need this so that I can do mitzvos better, with more beauty and more kavanah. I want to learn more and serve You more fully.” In this way, even physical needs become ruchniyus.

He also gave an additional eitzah: always include someone else in your tefillos. When you daven for another person, that person’s physical needs are considered ruchniyus for you. Rav Moshe Mandel himself said, “I never daven for myself. I only daven for someone else.” He felt that he personally lacked nothing, but his tefillos for others burned with great intensity.

May we strengthen our tefillot  and may they all be heard before the Ribbono Shel Olam.