The first promise given to Avraham (Bereishit 12:2) was that he would be made into a goy gadol, “a great nation,” but it is only in this week’s Parsha (Devarim 4:7-8) that we can see what that greatness implies:
“For what great nation (goy gadol) is there that has a God so close at hand as is Hashem our God whenever we call upon Him? Or what great nation (goy gadol) has laws and rules as perfect as all this Torah that I set before you this day?”
Evidently, the greatness of Klal Yisrael—the quality of goy gadol—is defined not by our size or prominence but by our relationship with God as reflected by the power of our Tefillah and the wisdom of our Torah.
From the time of Avraham, our story is punctuated by the Tefillot offered by our avot and imahot at every juncture. The children they bore, the crises they averted, and the Exodus itself all came about by—and were attributed to—their prayers. And the story of our own time, the Nachamu Ami revival of our people post-Holocaust, must likewise be seen as the product of the millennia of our prayers. Three times a day and every time we concluded a meal, each and every time we ask of God that He not only allow us to continue as a people, but that He restore our people to Yerushalayim, and Yerushalayim to our people.
The story of our people similarly brings forth the greatness of Torah as a system of truth and of justice that demonstrates principle, wisdom and understanding (Devarim 4:6): “Observe them faithfully, for that will evidence your wisdom and discernment to other peoples, who on hearing of all these laws will say, ‘Surely, that great nation is a wise and discerning people.’” Lived properly, the Torah presents a value system for life and a framework for a true and just society. While the demands of our ritual life may appear puzzling to some, the fuller picture demonstrates how Torah life and observance produce a community of people living with awareness of and gratitude towards their Creator, motivated by the values of caring and compassion and the pursuit of wisdom and truth in theory and in practice.
Tefillah and Torah are the core elements of our greatness as a people. They are at the center of our original promise and mission, and the key to our thriving as a people. Sadly, we well understand that Jewish history and current events are replete with tragedy and failure, periods where we do not manifest this greatness. It is for this reason that as we transition from our focus on the grief of those tragic failures to the comfort and consolation of rebuilding, Nachamu Ami, that we double down and focus on living our mission as a people: strengthening and deepening our relationship to God through Tefillah and living lives that reflect the truest values of Torah, both as individuals and as a community. We will reach our purpose as a nation and will be blessed with Hashem’s redemption when we live up to this charge, living lives of deep relationship to God and commitment to the truest values of Torah.
Rabbi Moshe Hauer is executive vice president of the Orthodox Union (OU), the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization.
