Introduction
In the last year of the lifetime of Rabbi Moshe Zuriel, (of blessed memory) I asked the rabbi by email how to explain the Talmud’s account of the prayer of Calev at Maarat Hamachpela (Talmud, tractate Sotah 34b).
I wish to convince certain Jews to abide by the ruling of the Mishna Brura (581, comment 27) that they are not allowed to make requests to righteous people who have died to use their influence with Hashem on their behalf. When arguing with this group, they often will cite the precedent of Calev’s prayer at Maarat Hamachpela as proof that it is acceptable to ask righteous Jews who died for help. They claim that just as it is acceptable to ask a living sage to pray for the cure of a family member (Talmud, Baba Batra, 116a) in their view in the same way it is acceptable to ask a righteous sage, who has already died to pray on their behalf to Hashem to solve their important problems. In their view the righteous sage even after death somehow is considered “alive”.
Several counterclaims can be made to this assertion.
One counterclaim against asking the dead to pray for us, is that there is a dispute in the Talmud if the words that are said to the dead are even transferred to the dead person, that is to say, they might not be aware of what living people want from them. Rabbi Moshe Zuriel in his article on this subject in Techumin, Vol. 21 based on Maharasha on tractate Brachot page 18, understands that Rabbi Yonatan retracted his opinion that the dead do not know anything; instead they can know what is going on in the world from other dead people or from angels. However, with a few exceptions (mentioned by Rabbi Zuriel in Techumin, Vol. 21) living people in general cannot inform the dead about what is going on in the world of the living.
A bigger problem is that Maharil, Bach, and Chayei Adam rule that turning towards the dead with prayers or requests to them borders on the Torah prohibition of attempting to inquire from the dead (Deuteronomy 18:11).
The living are only allowed to pray to the Holy One blessed be He to perform kindness for us in merit of the righteous that died according to Maharil, Bach and Chayei Adam and Mishna Brura. They cannot directly make requests to the dead.
Furthermore, it is proper for a Jew to focus his requests directly to Hashem and not on any other supernatural force. As stated by the author of Mishna Brura, in Machane Yisrael, Volume 1, chapter 39.
It is found in Midrash Tanchuma that even if there is a person that is not worthy to answer his prayer and do with him kindness, nevertheless when he prays and supplicates to a great degree, kindness is done for him; and our sages stated on the verse (Deuteronomy 4:7) “what nation is so great”… etc. “as Hashem, our L-rd is, whenever we call to him”. Rabbi Yuden stated (concerning this concept), a person of flesh and blood has a patron. If trouble comes upon the person, he does not approach his patron suddenly; rather he goes and stands in the courtyard of his patron and calls to a member of his household and says, this particular man is standing outside. However, the Holy One Blessed be He is not so. If a trouble came to you, one should not call out to (the angel) Michael nor to (the angel) Gavriel. Rather, he should cry out and the Holy One Blessed be He, who answers as it is written, “whoever shall call on the name of Hashem shall be delivered” (Yoel 3:5).
In light of the strict opinion against making requests to the dead, I was looking for an alternative explanation for Calev’s prayer in order to uproot the proof offered by the side that is lenient on this issue. Knowing Rabbi Zuriel’s halachic position regarding prayers at graves, I contacted Rabbi Zuriel to offer several suggestions regarding Calev’s prayer.
Now for the translation of the email discussion.
To the honorable Rabbi Zuriel Shlit”a.
First of all I wish the rabbi a complete recovery as I heard that your health condition needs a lot of improvement.
If the rabbi has the strength to answer, I would be happy to read it, and I will understand if not.
In the near future, we will be reading Parshat Shelach.
There according to Rava’s statement in tractate Sotah – we learn that Calev prayed in the Maarat Hamachpela (Cave of the Patriarchs).
Those who support turning prayers or requests to the dead cite the story of Calev’s prayer as evidence.
And since the Mishna Brura forbids (as well as others) I looked for ways to reject the evidence from Calev.
Several possibilities occurred to me and I wanted to ask the rabbi, did an important rabbi raise the following arguments and if not, does the rabbi have another explanation.
- Option A. Calev spied the land in year 2 of the Exodus. Maybe at that point in time they still had not received the prohibition “of attempting to inquire from the dead”, so we can’t take the case of Calev as a precedent.
- Option B. There is another textual version of the Talmud, Sotah 34b of what exactly were the words of Calev’s prayer (and it is possible that according to the second version he only mentioned the merit of the Patriarchs and did not really address them).
- Option C. Perhaps because everything is in the “hands of heaven” except for the fear of heaven, only in the area of fear of heaven (such as not rebelling against Hashem through the sin of the spies) is it permissible to turn to the dead but not for any other topic.
- Option D. According to a certain viewpoint (see: Taanit 5b) our forefather Yaakov did not die. Maybe that’s why Calev did not violate a prohibition.
- Option E. Perhaps Calev prayed that he would receive a “soul transfer” that the soul of one of the Patriarchs would join him. Then as the result of the new soul that would enter his body to help him, Calev would be saved from sin.
- Option F. There is a dispute as to whether it is permissible to make requests to the dead, and Rava who mentioned the statement about Calev favored the lenient viewpoint, but according to the final Halachic ruling, the rabbis ruled in accordance to the stricter view?
What is the rabbi’s position on the matter?
Wishing you a blessing,
Shlomo Scheinman
Rabbi Zuriel on Sun, 4 June 2023 = 15th of Sivan, 5783 responded:
Two answers will explain the matter.
The Talmud tractate Taanit 16b informs us that we go out to a cemetery on a day that we are fasting on account of a drought.
One line of reasoning for this practice is to induce the dead to pray on our behalf.
The second line of reasoning is that we will feel brokenhearted, because without rain, we will be like those dead people.
There is a difference between the 2 lines of reasoning because Rashi writes, that if we are dealing with dead Gentiles, it is a waste of time to pray there. They won’t pray on our behalf.
Rambam (and Raavad was silent) brought only the second line of reasoning, and so too, do we find in the Shulchan Aruch, chapter 579 that Rabbi Yosef Karo brought this (second) line of reasoning while Rabbi Moshe Isserles was silent. Namely, that we should feel brokenhearted (by visiting a graveyard).
Calev son of Yefuneh held by the first view but the halacha was not decided like his viewpoint.
A second answer is based on Tosafot to Sotah 34b that established that Calev prayed outside the 4 cubits of the cemetery. And this (under the following conditions) would be permissible. He requested from Hashem that he would transfer his request to the dead person. In our days, who knows, if Hashem will listen to act as an agent for every person that prays (to transfer a request to the dead)?
Also regarding that which is stated in Baba Kama 16b that for Chizkiya they made a yeshiva by his grave, this was specifically outside of a four cubit range from the grave!
In our days where all the graves are placed together very densely, in the end you would have to leave the boundary of the entire cemetery (in order to comply with the four cubit rule)!
In a new email I further commented to Rabbi Zuriel.
BS”D
To the honorable Rabbi, Shlit”a,
I wish to attempt to improve the answer of Tosafot that the Rabbi recounted, namely, that Calev prayed to Hashem that he would transfer his request to the dead.
First I will present a difficulty, and then I will suggest an improvement.
By flesh and blood, seemingly it would be considered shaming the king, to request from the king that he transfer our request for mercy to the minor official.
If the king has the ability (to grant our request for mercy) why is there any need to recall the minor official?
Now as an introduction to the answer, it is written in the Talmud tractate Brachot 28a:
It was taught: On that day that they removed Rabban Gamliel from his position and appointed Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya in his place, there was also a fundamental change in the general approach of the study hall as they dismissed the guard at the door and permission was granted to the students to enter. Instead of Rabban Gamliel’s selective approach that asserted that the students must be screened before accepting them into the study hall, the new approach asserted that anyone who seeks to study should be given opportunity to do so. As Rabban Gamliel would proclaim and say: Any student whose inside, his thoughts and feelings, are not like his outside, i.e., his conduct and his character traits are lacking, will not enter the study hall.
The Gemara relates: On that day several benches were added to the study hall to accommodate the numerous students. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Abba Yosef ben Dostai and the Rabbis disputed this matter. One said: Four hundred benches were added to the study hall. And one said: Seven hundred benches were added to the study hall. When he saw the tremendous growth in the number of students, Rabban Gamliel was disheartened. He said: Perhaps, Heaven forbid, I prevented Israel from engaging in Torah study. They showed him in his dream white jugs filled with ashes alluding to the fact that the additional students were worthless idlers. The Gemara comments: That is not the case, but that dream was shown to him to ease his mind so that he would not feel bad.
According to this, it is possible to answer, that Calev was uncertain should he accept the words of the spies or not. Now he wanted that Hashem would reveal to him by a dream, should he oppose what the spies were plotting or not. Yet he was afraid that even if he was informed by a dream, that there is a possibility that heaven would provide for him an answer that does not really fit the will of Hashem but only to ease his mind.
Therefore he prayed that the answer from heaven would be by means of the patriarchs as a true sign, not just to ease his mind but rather to actually reveal the will of Hashem.
According to a midrash from the Gaonic period (see: Pitron Torah Parsha, page 154), thus did the Holy One Blessed be He respond to Calev:
What is the intent of what the Torah stated “and he came to Chevron (Hebron)” etc. Rabbi Shmuel stated, it is not written they came to Chevron, rather and he came.
Namely, that Calev went and prostrated by the graves of the patriarchs, and he said to them my forefathers request mercy upon me, that I won’t be swept away with this group. A prophetic echo came from Yaakov from the Maarat Hamachpela and said to Calev, go tell Moshe your master, your children are coming into the land of Israel but you are not going into the land of Israel, for it was stated, “if you do not know, O fairest of women”, etc. (Shir Hashirim 1:8) “go follow the tracks of the sheep”, namely, their children will be entering the land of Israel but they will not be entering; and even you have stated prophecy upon yourselves, “they shall be brought in and they shall be planted” (Exodus 15:17).
Wishing you a blessing,
Shlomo Scheinman
Rabbi Zuriel on Mon, 5 June 2023 = 16th of Sivan, 5783 responded:
“בסדר גמור” (which means, the answer is fine).
Editor’s note: Because there is some dispute how to interpret Maharil’s stance on praying at graves, I provide his exact statement in Hebrew:
ספר מהרי”ל (מנהגים) הלכות תענית
[יח] אמר מהר”י סג”ל מה שרגילין ללכת לבית הקברות בתעניות, יש כמה טעמים בגמ’, לומר שאם אין אתה מרחם עלינו לראות בעינוי תעניתנו הרינו מתים ח”ו. ואמר דנראה לו טעם אחר משום דבבית הקברות מקום מנוחת הצדיקים, ומתוך כך הוא מקום קדוש וטהור והתפלה נתקבלה ביותר על אדמת קדש. והמשתטח על קברי הצדיקים ומתפלל אל ישים מגמתו נגד המתים השוכבים שם, אך יבקש מאת השם יתברך שיתן אליו רחמים בזכות הצדיקים שוכני עפר תנצב”ה.