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Why is prayer necessary if Hashem (ה׳) already knows our needs? The Ramchal explains that prayer serves as the catalyst for receiving divine sustenance, distinct from the natural sustenance Hashem provides to all creation. Through meaningful tefillah, we can return to the pre-sin paradigm where Hashem bears the burden of our needs rather than relying solely on our own toil.
This shiur begins the Ramchal's section on tefillah (prayer) in Derech Hashem (ה׳), exploring the fundamental question of why prayer is necessary and what it accomplishes. The Ramchal establishes that one of the conditions of creation is that in order to receive divine sustenance (shefa), a person must first turn to Hashem and request their needs. Prayer serves as the catalyst that motivates Hashem to bestow sustenance, with the amount received depending on the degree of one's turning toward Hashem. A crucial distinction is made between divine sustenance and natural sustenance. Rabbi Zweig explains through his brother-in-law Rabbi Yaakov Wincelberg's insight that Hashem provides a natural order that sustains all creation (as referenced in 'nosein lechem l'chol basar'), but divine sustenance comes directly from Hashem through prayer. The dove's message to Noach - preferring to be sustained directly by God rather than from the teivah's provisions - exemplifies this concept, as the Jewish people are compared to a dove.
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Derech Hashem, Chelek Dalet (Part 4) - Tefillah
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