(Deut. 3:23:) “I besought the Lord.” This text is related (to I Kings 8:30 // II Chron. 6:21), “And may You harken unto the prayer of Your servant and to his supplication.” See, prayer is designated by many names:<sup class="footnote-marker">11</sup><i class="footnote"><i>Sifre</i> to Deut. 3:23 (26); Deut. R. 2:1.</i> (1) prayer, (2) beseeching, (3) call, (4) cry, (5) outcry, (6) chant, (7) encounter, (8) falling and (9) <i>amidah</i>.<sup class="footnote-marker">12</sup><i class="footnote">Standing, which is the name given to The Eighteen Blessings (<i>Shemone ‘Esreh</i>) of the daily liturgy.</i> Why did Moses only pray under the word, "beseeching (rt.: <i>hnn</i>)"? [This is the usage here] where it is stated (in Deut. 3:23), “I besought (rt.: <i>hnn</i>) the Lord.” It is simply that when Moses stood there and said to the Holy One, blessed be He, (in Exod. 33:18), “Please show me Your glory,” he said to Him, “Master of the world, please show me by what principle You run Your world.” It is so stated (in Exod. 33:13), “please show me Your principle.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “Yes, I will show you; (in Exod. 33:19:) ‘I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will call….’” [The Holy One, blessed be] He, said to him, “I have no obligation to [any] creature. Anytime a person does a commandment, I give him [reward] as a favor. Not that I have any obligation to any creature, but I do it as a favor.” Thus it is stated (ibid., cont.), “I will be gracious (rt.: <i>hnn</i>) to whom I will be gracious […].” Moses said to him, “If so, do me a kindness, make a commandment for me and grant [the reward] to me as a favor (rt.: hnn).” Ergo (in Deut. 3:23), “I besought [the Lord].”
Midrash Tanchuma, Vaetchanan 3
Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team
·