Divrei Torah for the Growth-Oriented Jewish Teen
Oct 7, 2026 · 33 min · 11 segments
Introduction to a series on Davening, given to alumni of Baer Miriam Seminary \*\*\*Enjoyed this shiur? Sign up for weekly Divrei Torah at zviherman.substack.com\*\**
Um, what is the problem with davening? We all have problems with davening, and they usually stem from the fact that we have the wrong approach, uh, and the wrong concept of davening, right? W- I would argue that davening is one of the most difficult aspects of practiced Judaism, if not the most difficult aspect.
Um, a- and even before we get started, right, there is no shortage of questions that a person has.
Uh, for example, how can we just daven to Hashem, you know, to change His mind, right? Hashem is Hashem.
If He decided one thing and now I, little puny hu- human being, wants something else, so what? We're just gonna daven and He's gonna change His mind? So like, just like that, right? Like, who are we to tell HaKadosh Barukh Hu what to do? And, and if HaKadosh Barukh Hu chose to get me X, right, so why in the world would He change His mind to give me Y just because I asked for it, right? Doesn't that ...
I- if Hashem wants to change His mind and give me Y, so shouldn't He have just given me Y in the first place, right? So that doesn't make sense.
People wonder why we have prescribed prayer, right? Why do we daven three times a day every single day, same exact words? We get the point, right? Uh, what, is Hashem forgetting what I said four hours ago? Obviously not.
Uh, why do we need to tell HaKadosh Barukh Hu what we want? Like, doesn't He know already? Uh, He's God.
It seems ridiculous for us to tell Him that we want our poodle to have a refuah shlema.
Like, He knows what we want, right? Uh, it's very, very silly, right? And, and also, what, if we daven, like, a lot, so then He's gonna get a- annoyed like a parent? Like a, like, like a little kid nudges their parent for candy, "Please, please give me candy." So if you ask 10 times, 100 times, or 150 times, either the parent is just gonna smack them or give them a candy.
Like, what is it? It's obviously, this can't be the relationship that we have with HaKadosh Barukh Hu.
Um, what is the problem with davening? We all have problems with davening, and they usually stem from the fact that we have the wrong approach, uh, and the wrong concept of davening, right? W- I would argue that davening is one of the most difficult aspects of practiced Judaism, if not the most difficult aspect.
Um, a- and even before we get started, right, there is no shortage of questions that a person has.
Uh, for example, how can we just daven to Hashem, you know, to change His mind, right? Hashem is Hashem.
If He decided one thing and now I, little puny hu- human being, wants something else, so what? We're just gonna daven and He's gonna change His mind? So like, just like that, right? Like, who are we to tell HaKadosh Barukh Hu what to do? And, and if HaKadosh Barukh Hu chose to get me X, right, so why in the world would He change His mind to give me Y just because I asked for it, right? Doesn't that ...
I- if Hashem wants to change His mind and give me Y, so shouldn't He have just given me Y in the first place, right? So that doesn't make sense.
People wonder why we have prescribed prayer, right? Why do we daven three times a day every single day, same exact words? We get the point, right? Uh, what, is Hashem forgetting what I said four hours ago? Obviously not.
Uh, why do we need to tell HaKadosh Barukh Hu what we want? Like, doesn't He know already? Uh, He's God.
It seems ridiculous for us to tell Him that we want our poodle to have a refuah shlema.
Like, He knows what we want, right? Uh, it's very, very silly, right? And, and also, what, if we daven, like, a lot, so then He's gonna get a- annoyed like a parent? Like a, like, like a little kid nudges their parent for candy, "Please, please give me candy." So if you ask 10 times, 100 times, or 150 times, either the parent is just gonna smack them or give them a candy.
Like, what is it? It's obviously, this can't be the relationship that we have with HaKadosh Barukh Hu.
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