Dear Friend,

Ah, the convenience of online application forms. Filling out forms by pen and paper is long a relic of the past. But can it get even easier? Enter Autofill, the little utility that fills in much of the info for you, saving you countless minutes and hours, until filling out a form is almost robotic.

Robotic, did I say? Since form builders wanted to make sure there is a human on the other end, they’ve invented the CAPTCHA: those little challenges to make sure your brain is made of cells, not silicon.

This week we conclude the retelling of the 10 plagues G‑d unleashed against ancient Egypt. His back to the wall, Pharaoh calls on Moshe to pray to G‑d to stop them.

We, too, pray daily regarding the issues that plague us. Our sages have prepared a standard siddur text with catchall requests prepared, all blanks autofilled. But is that alone an ideal prayer? Prayer is described as “service,” or work. It should be an active application, where we make meaningful and personal requests of G‑d.

So, how do we find personal meaning in form-alized prayers? Start by becoming intimately familiar with the siddur, and you will discover personal significance with its deceptively generic-looking words. Also, there are specific places within the text where you can insert your own prayers. I also recommend our updated online siddur with translations and commentaries, so you can discover more ways the prayers can have deeper meaning to you.

And remember, when you submit to the Creator, you can be sure your request will be processed immediately.

Moshe Rosenberg,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team