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The Ladder

By Dovid Taub

It took me a while to settle on using the ladder/prayer imagery for this week. I kept on fighting it because… well, honestly, I’m not very good at praying. But eventually time ran out and the ladder was the best shot I had. So I decided to animate what I think my struggle with prayer is.

The siddur is a pretty big book, considering how much of it we’re expected to recite every single day. It can be daunting, and thus, I’m often tempted to do the best I can, but basically just do a running jump straight to the top of the ladder. But since prayer is a process through which we move closer and closer to G-d, just Jumping to the top won’t do any good. We have to start at the beginning, look at the world around us and see how the entirety of creation praises the Creator. And slowly we move forward, step by step, rung by rung, and at each step taking the time to experience G-d on a more personal level.

Wow, It actually sounds beautiful to me just writing about it, but for some reason I’m still heavily relating to the stick man. But hey, learning to appreciate the process can also be a process, right? Btw -- perhaps those of you who have an easier/more meaningful time with prayer can give me some pointers.

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Reader Comments
Latest Comments:

Posted: Oct 14, 2010

Victoria

Hi David, I never did see a more accurate depiction of my prayer life its an image I will not soon forget and hopefully will stop acting out :-) God bless you.

Posted By Victoria, Nairobi, Kenya

Posted: Nov 27, 2009

Why pray...

The endless amount of choices or directions to go in as we live our life can lead us to success OR failure: Meaning the results we want to achieve or avoid. There is no other way to be sure of having the results in our life turn out for the best. Prayer is the only sure way. Every other way, by simply using our thoughts, is risky business! Everything can go either way, as a gamble. Who wants to gamble their life away? Prayer is the sure way to have the outcome necessary for your sucess of your dream. So be careful of what you pray for and have faith that you will have it! Remember along the way to be gratful for what you already have.

Posted By Marlene
via jewishtrivalley.com

Posted: Nov 27, 2009

You & He

Every story we read from adam to noah from noah to abraham from abraham to moshe...its all the same story ... no different than yours, than ours, starts w/modei ani and then we visit the day...step by step ...the now is the only reality we have in this world...thank you, your animation was PERFECT! Shabbat Shalom!

Posted By steve "shlomo" brody, roslyn harbor, ny

Posted: Nov 27, 2009

rush for the top

Dovid, you have no idea how incredibly comforting it is for me to know that I'm not the only person that struggles like this with prayer. The cartoon depicts me perfectly, and I saw immediately that i too had been making a foolish rush for the top without remembering the importance of carefully establishing a footing on each rung. Another thing- in ladder safety practice we are told to always maintain 3 points of contact on the ladder, and to keep ourself centered as we climb.... i wonder if this adds a few more ideas into the mix?

Posted By Anonymous, Saskatoon, Canada

Posted: Nov 27, 2009

Connection

Once i was on Shabat without a prayer book away from home. So what i did was to have an Hitbodedut with G-d for 60 of the 90 minutes that the prayer takes me to do (Hitbodedut is when u just sit by yourself and speak aloud to G-d as if you really see Him in the room). That allowed me to obtain an enormous sense of Divine Presence and of connection with Him.
When I pray, i try to remind myself of that experience and to feel the same intensity of connection - while I'm using the prayer book.

Posted By Reuven, Hertzliya, Israel

Posted: Nov 3, 2009

Prayer and praying?

Wow, I was thinking of this more biologically. Sometimes I get too caught up in the words (and sometimes the pronunciation) and forget the point of prayer, to send a message up to G-d, or through to G-d. So I have started praying by just feeling and using that as a communication point to converse with G-d. But, I am a girl. Through research, I have come to the conclusion, alongside those at Chabad, that for whatever reason, girls have an easier time at prayer than boys. I guess we are more inward and spiritual, and prayer is a very introverted thing. Blessings are a different story, though, being the opposite of prayer. :) Maybe you would start with getting inside yourself a little more? I don't know! It was a great animation, though. Profound. I really liked your explanation! :)

Posted By Pam, Hamburg, NY

Posted: Jan 19, 2009

Favorite Topics

Prayer has always been one of my favorite topics for thought and action too. I love this little vignette AND each comment has added something to my appreciation of what it means. Thanks one and all, and what could be better than 'free awesome stuff' except, maybe: 'awesome free stuff'' ;) Just the thought of it makes me want to daven Mincha!!!

Posted By Ednah-Sarah, San Antonio, TX

Posted: Dec 6, 2008

climbing

While there are so mnay obvious and connections between prayer and rising to loftier heights, sometimes i think we spend too much time caught up in metaphores. Perhaps we place to much emphasis on prayer being above us - attainable only through a process that contains, by its very nature, the risk of falling.
The place we are going is always before us and the Holy One of Blessing is always with us. . . so, we can remove the pressure of rising to what seems to be unattainable by placing that metaphorical ladder flat on the ground - focusing our next steps not on the ACT of rising (and possibly falling) but rather, on making each choice and action like another word of prayer. The sought height will be attained through acts, and prayer will be more powerful, as it will eminate not from the desire to attain it, but from within, as the connection would have been earned.

Posted By annonymous

Posted: Dec 4, 2008

The steps

Great message!

There is a reason why there are steps on the ladder. Prayer is easy and more meaningful when you go step by step.

Posted By Shternie Esther , LA, CA, USE
via chabadpalisades.com

Posted: Dec 4, 2008

The Ladder

I don't feel adequate when praying to the
L-rd, So reading your comment on The Ladder was a help to me

Posted By James, West Monroe, LA

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