The very first Rashi in this week’s parshah teaches us an amazing basic rule about tefillah. The word va’eschanan comes from the word chanun, which means to beseech (How’s that for an ArtScroll word?). Chanun means to ask for a matnas chinam, a free gift. Rashi brings this from a Sifri, which explains that really tzaddikim can base their prayers upon their righteous deeds; however, they always beseech Hashem to answer them for free, not because of their righteousness. The Medrash brings several different words to describe tefillah. Moshe Rabbeinu only used this one. Why? Because this is the trait through which Hashem runs this world, giving free gifts to us.
Let’s pause for a moment to contemplate on that…Okay, time’s up. From the time a person is born… no, from the moment the child is first conceived…no, from when the child’s parents… no, from when one’s grandparents got married…we can keep going back. Don’t we need to thank Hashem for all that? Why did He do that for us? He orchestrated everything because He owed us, or because it’s all a matnas chinam for us? How about all of one’s surroundings? Where’d that come from? All the shelter, clothing, and food someone ever had, a person received them for free! As a baby or child, did they do enough righteous deeds to warrant receiving so much? Everything we need to live, in any situation, came from our merits? Matnas chinam! We owe Hashem so much already!
In sefer Chovos Halevavos, shaar Avodas Hashem, the author discusses this topic at length. We aren’t receiving anything because of our merits. We owe Hashem for everything He’s given us until now! We don’t need to go back through the entire history of the universe to realize how much Hashem has done for us until now. Just from when a person is born until the time that they come to be makarir hatov- recognize how much He’s given them, for that one needs to give endless thanks! As we say in the prayer of Nishmas, there’s no way that we can adequately thank Hashem for all He’s done for us until now. But we need to try to say thank you and to realize how much we already owe Him. On Mondays and Thursdays, we say in the extended tachanun, “for such is your manner, to do chesed chinam - kindness for free in every generation.” This is just one example of what we say in tefilah.
So now, when we come before Hashem in prayer to request anything from Him, we can only ask to receive a matnas chinam. When we are makir tov for all He’s done for us already, we certainly aren’t deserving to say, “you owe us!” Moshe Rabbeinu and all the tzadikim knew this basic rule, and even if they were deserving to be answered because of their righteous deeds, they would only ask for a matnas chinam. Why? Simply, they would receive more that way!
To illustrate this point, I’ll bring the following famous story. This happened about 100 years ago in Yerushalayim, the time around the world wars. Poverty was rampant. Basic necessities were hard to come by, and luxuries were unheard of. A young Jewish boy, we’ll call him Zundel, was walking in the shuk when he spotted a treasure in one of the stalls. A large glass jar of candied cherries! Such a treat he could only dream of. So, Zundel did just that - stared at the jar, imagining their good taste. The Jewish stall owner noticed Zundel staring and decided to treat him. He offered Zundel to take some, for free. Zundel looked at him, but didn’t move. The owner repeated his offer. Zundel stared back at him, but didn’t budge. The owner reached for the jar, opened it, stuck his hand inside, and pulled out a large fistful of the cherries. He pressed them into Zundel’s hands and said, “here, take and enjoy! Share with your family too!” Zundel happily grasped his treasure in his hands and raced home. He excitedly showed his momma and told her what had happened. She asked him, “Zundel, why didn’t you take when he offered you? Why did you wait for him to give you?” Zundel answered, “Momma, my hands are small, his hands are big! How much would I have gotten had I taken by myself? This way, he gave me with his hand and I received so much more!”
Rav Yisrael Atusky shlita, Yeshiva Torah Ore, Yerushalayim, applied the story in this way. How big are our “hands”? How much can we really be deserving of from our good deeds, from our Torah and mitzvos? However, Hashem’s hands are so much bigger than ours, and it is His pleasure is to give to us. Tefilah is the way to access His generosity, by asking for the matnas chinam.
He further quoted Rav Moshe Shapiro zts”l, who explained the following. The treasury in Heaven from which Hashem gives based on matnas chinam is much greater than the treasury for which He gives based on merits alone. Merits come from Torah and mitzvos and are limited, as they are calculated by weighing many factors. However, when Hashem gives from the treasury of matnas chinam, they can come without limitation! It’s all from Hashem’s kindness!
One of the reasons why Tu b’Av is such a special day is because that’s when the Romans allowed those killed in the great city of Beitar to be buried. For seven years after the massive slaughter of the inhabitants of Beitar, the Romans’ evil decree was to forbid burial of the bodies. The pain of seeing all the bodies lying in disgrace was enormous. What was even worse (as brought by Tosfos and the Rosh) was that the non-Jews disgraced the bodies, using them to build walls around their vineyards, and fertilized the vineyards with blood from the bodies (the Nazis ym”sh did similar things). The fact that they were taking blood from bodies of people killed years prior, whose bodies miraculously remained fresh, didn’t bother them. The nations are okay living with contradictions (things haven’t changed; we see that very clearly today). This pained Klal Yisrael immensely!
When permission from the Romans to permit burial was finally received, the miracle came to completion. This was a great miracle that was seen by many! Why did Hashem need to do that?
It was a matnas chinam at a time of great despair, to cast a ray of light through the darkness. After the great Churban, destruction, Hashem showed us that He was still there with us, even at the darkest time, even when we weren’t deserving of the miracle. By making this miracle for us, He showed that would never leave us and would continue to provide and sustain us because of His love for us. For free! This is among the reasons that Chazal added the fourth brachah of bircat hamazon, hatov v’hameitiv. After eating, we should recognize the good, be makir tov for what He’s given to us, to constantly remind us how He gives to us matnas chinam. He does good for us, and He will continue to do good for us. (It’s also one of the reasons that the brachah of hatov v’hameitiv was enacted when drinking wine - a different halachic discussion).
As of this writing, Moshiach has not yet arrived. With our enemies all around us threatening us with physical destruction, and those threating us with spiritual destruction, let us not despair. Remember these important points! Increase the power of out tefilah by focusing that Hashem loves us and constantly answers us and gives matnas chinam, even when we’re not deserving! We should recognize all the good which He’s done for us already and increase our belief and loyalty to Him! To use the lessons of Tu b’Av to be makir tov and thank Hashem with all our might for the amazing miracles He’s done for us and will do for us!
Be’ezras Hashem, we should be zoche to the arrival of Mosiach and the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash very soon!
By R’ Dovi Chaitovsky
