7c++Ruth+Schapira

Ruth Schapira

Tefilat HaDerach May it be Your will, HaShem, our God and the God of our ancestors, that You lead us toward peace, guide our footsteps toward peace, and make us reach our desired destination for life, gladness, and peace. May You rescue us from the hand of every foe, ambush along the way, and from all manner of punishments that assemble to come to earth. May You send blessing in our handiwork, and grant us grace, kindness, and mercy in Your eyes and in the eyes of all who see us. May You hear the sound of our humble request because You are God Who hears prayer requests. Blessed are You, HaShem, Who hears prayer.

When I read these words, I find it difficult to think of these words being said for anything other than a journey, leaving the safe spaces of home, and venturing where they may be danger. Tefilat HaDerech for me, is reaching out to God in a very personal way, asking for a partner in our journey to ward off all evil and things that may get us off track toward our destination. For those reasons, I don’t think I would be comfortable using the tefillah in a second life/WoW situation. For me, it would be the same reason I don’t condone a football team saying a prayer before entering a sporting event. The purpose of the activity for me don’t seem to fit with the goals of tefillah. More personally, my son right now is in special forces training in the IDF, and I can’t imagine ascribing this tefilah to a gaming situation when he and his unit may be saying this tefilah for very different life-threatening reasons. So, I don’t see encouraging my students to use this tefilah when playing WoW, or even using SL or another simulated game to teach Tefilat HaDerech. There is perceived risk in WoW, but nothing that the player can’t decide to ‘opt out of’ (even though things may occur, there‘s always an escape by turning the computer off, not so in life). While at times the experience may be frightening, I don’t see a higher power at work in WoW to pray to. Yes, there’s a sense of community, nationhood, and even ethics….but answering to a ‘higher’ power is the missing piece for me.