Parshat Shoftim: Spheres of Prayer

עגלה ערופה is a strange halacha. Instructions are given for a governing body, not directly related to the welfare of the people of the town to come atone for the sins of the members of the city. An unidentified cadaver was found within a short distance of the town. The gemara explains, we can only assume that had the members of this town had better taken care of travelers leaving their village they would have had the emotional confidence to overcome whatever overtook this poor individual who died alone.

And yet, the people of the town are not the ones who bring the עגלה ערופה. That responsibility lies with the בית דין, the governing political body of the city. The point is obvious. Leaders that are responsible with complicated nuances of governing, cannot assume that they should not be bothered for the welfare of the common people. Rav Soloveichik explains that the position of this מצווה at the end of פרשת שופטים is quite purposeful. The entirety of the פרשה deals with the responsibility of leadership, laws of judges, police, kings and waging ware. But even with all this awesome responsibility, they must not forget the needs of the common people. They must ensure all are taken care of.

It is quite telling however that the repercussions of this grave error is not one where the בית דין goes to call the בית דין of the local town to collaborate on how to ensure the infrastructure is in place that all are taken care of. That is important, but is not the immediate response. First, the local בית דין must perform the ritual of עגלה ערופה, specifically follow the formula of begging God for forgiveness through תפילה. Their תפילות cannot be limited to their own power and control of people, their תפלות must include the needs of all the citizens of their city, even those just passing through.

In fact, this is reflected in our own תפילות as well. Note how even in our intimate conversations with God that we engage in three times a day we do not ask for personal requests. The תפילות are in the plural. We never request things only for ourselves, we request them for all of us.

There is however a specific methodology that we follow when we consider how to position our requests in תפילה. The כהן גדול on יום כיפור asks God for forgiveness three times. Never requesting forgiveness for just himself, he always includes others. However, there is an order; there is a sphere of influence that he must consider when positioning his תפילה. The כהן גדול starts with his wife, his kids and himself. The next time he asks for כפרה he expands his circle. He now asks for his cousins as well. The second time he begs for forgiveness he asks for his wife, his kids the כהנים and himself. The third time he beseeches God for forgiveness he once again expands his circle. Now, he asks for forgiveness for all of the Jewish people, his cousins the כהנים, his kids, his wife and himself.

The כהן גדול’s model is one that we too should follow. In our own תפילות we also have our spheres of influence. Never praying for just ourselves we must first concentrate on the needs of our families, followed by that of the people in our shul followed by those needs of the Jewish people.