I believe that HaShem chose Chana to bring all this down, not just because she possessed exceptional personal qualities, but because it was appropriate, and even necessary, that our collective prayer bear the imprint of a woman.
It is certainly true that in chassidut and kabala, prayer is considered a feminine mode of service, and study, a more masculine one. The conventions of gender here echo the physical differences between men and women. Bestowing is a masculine role, receiving is a feminine one.
The prayer we are discussing here is a prayer of request (as opposed to prayer of praise and thanksgiving). This is the actual mitzvah of prayer, which Ramban defines as the obligation “to entreat HaShem for all that we lack.”[5] Only when prayer comes from a place of lack and longing does it attain the status of mitzvah and the unique opportunity for closeness with HaShem that such longing provides.
Rabbi Tsadok HaKohen[6] explains that prayer (unlike study) cannot happen without G-d in the picture. Prompted by lack, a person turns to HaShem and asks that his or her deficiency be removed. In this sense prayer is feminine, for in prayer we are not only receptive, we are begging to be filled. A master of prayer knows the secret of turning lack into an empty-space-of-longing that has enough vacuum power to pull its answer down from the heavens. This was Chana’s expertise. Conversely, says Rabbi Tsadok, study can happen, at least theoretically, without ever touching a place of lack. Study is empowering, and the acquisition of knowledge enables one to feel they can control their reality because of what they now know about the laws of nature (both human and physical). Knowledge is a good thing, but it is also why, in study, there is the danger of forgetting that one needs HaShem.
Nevertheless, traditionally, study is more valued than prayer. Numerous sources suggest this hierarchy. Rabbis are even rebuked for drawing out their prayer: Manichin chayei olam v’oskim b’chayei sha’a?[7] – They forsake eternal life [i.e. study] to occupy themselves with temporal life [i.e. prayer]? The idea is that study expands consciousness, which is an eternal acquisition for the soul. Once a mind opens there is no turning back. And the truths and wisdom a soul absorbs in the course of its life pass straight through the pearly gates. They are not touched by the body’s demise.
Conversely, the “good life” that we pray for—health, livelihood and even peace—are earthbound concerns. They improve our quality of life in this world, but don’t join us in the next, as the Zohar testifies, anything heavier than a mustard seed gets left behind.[8]
So the Talmud questions the wisdom of taking time that could be used for study, with its eternal fruits, and using it instead for what, by Talmudic standards, is simply a glorified form of immediate gratification.
Rebbe Nachman explains, however, that there are two kinds of prayer.[9] One is lower than study, and secondary to it, for precisely the reasons explained. Yet there is another kind of prayer, he says, that is equal to study and actually, perhaps, even higher than it. In this prayer, one asks for help in translating study into practice. One prays to be transformed by the Torah one learns, to turn its teachings into deeds, to embody its truths. This kind of prayer, says Rebbe Nachman, goes beyond study, fulfilling the Talmudic maxim, “The real goal is not study but action.”[10] Higher prayer is the secret of turning study into action.
I wrote the prayer that I share above because as I began to go deeply into the study of Jewish text I felt a gap between what I was able to absorb with my head and what I could integrate into my heart. I always saw my learning as a spiritual path, so this gap was quite painful for me. I felt the only way I could have any fighting chance of solving this dilemma was to study prayerfully, to bring HaShem into the picture because HaShem can do anything.
I say this prayer every day before I study because I believe it aids me in translating my studies into my life. One could say that in higher prayer one is seeking to become pregnant with the lights of study, which also include the lessons of daily life, as the Talmud clearly states, ein emet ela Torah[11] – There is no truth except Torah. Whenever one discovers truth, one acquires a spark of Torah.
