A Lesson in Mitzvot
Does the Torah command us to daven? That depends upon whom you ask. Rambam says YES, and points to two parts of two p'sukim in this week's sedra, to make his point. The first is 10:20 which gives us several mitzvot - to revere (fear) G-d (Yir'at HaShem), to serve Him (Prayer?), to cling to Him (by clinging to Talmidei Chachamim),and to swear in His name. Then we have 11:13, from the second parsha of the Sh'ma, which says: And if you will hearken to the mitzvot... to love G-d and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul... The first pasuk says to serve G-d; the second says to serve Him with all your heart. What is service of the heart? PRAYER.

The same can be found in 10:12 (also from this week's sedra Eikev), Hear (understand) Israel, what does G-d ask of you, but to revere G-d by walking in His ways, to love Him, and to serve HaShem your G-d with all your heart and soul. (Why did Rambam not choose this pasuk as the source for the mitzva of Prayer?) Be that as it may, Rambam says that G-d commanded us to pray daily by telling us to serve Him with our hearts — and that means to daven.

Ramban says, not exactly so. Yes, service of the heart is Prayer, and the Torah certainly often mentions serving G-d with your heart, but the Torah does not command Prayer. It rather inspired the Sages (with the very same p'sukim and many other passages in the Torah and Nach) to require us to daven.

Within the Sedra Summary, several aspects of the mitzva to daven are presented. And there are differences between the approaches of Rambam and Ramban. But here is one particular angle to ponder. What does it mean to us that there are mitzvot that the Torah did not command, but rather inspired (that is, according to certain opinions)?

If we are dealing with a mitzva that G-d commanded, and the role of the Sages was to teach us how to do the mitzva and when to do it, then we can understand who the Sages are and what task G-d set them to do. It would be that the Sages are extensions of Moshe Rabeinu in each generation. G-d dictated to Moshe what would be in the Torah and explained to him how he should explain it to the people.

But if G-d didn't command something in the first place, what role does that give the Sages?

Perhaps we can say that the Sages were/are not only the extension of Moshe Rabeinu, but the extension of G-d Himself. Not as a role they presumptuously chose for themselves, G-d forbid, but a role that G-d cast for them. It is as if G-d said to Himself, "No need to say it all in the Torah. Just give the People of Israel enough knowledge of Myself and what I want of them, and they "complete" the Torah (so to speak). Don't always command them; inspire them.

And it works! G-d shown Chazal the way, and THEY came up with PRAYER, and with the mechanism for T'SHUVA, and more.