So, we’ve gone through another Tishah b’Av, and Moshiach has not yet arrived. We still have all the unknowns and uncertainties of the current situations. Many are wondering: What has happened to all of the tefilahs that we’ve been saying? There are many answers to this question. We’ll share a few ideas.
The Sefer Hachinuch in this week’s parshah discuses the mitzvah of tefilah (mitzvah 433). He explains that Hashem wants the best for all of His creations, and gives them the mitzvos as the currency to merit receiving all His blessings. Additionally, Hashem commands us to speak and request from Him, in order to receive all the good He has to offer. Tefilah is the special, private audience we have with Him; He is always listening to us, and there is nothing stopping us from reaching out to Him. (He continues that there are different complications which prevent ones tefilahs from being answered, but we’ll focus here on the power and purpose of tefilah.)
Recently, I had the great z’chus to be by Rav Gamliel Rabanovitch shlita. For those unfamiliar with him, he is a Yerushalmi talmid chacham and Rosh Yeshivah of Yeshivat Shaarei Shamayim, a Yerushalmi yeshiva for mekubalim. (Yes, he is a great mekubal). It wasn’t my first time going to him. The previous time I was by him, about two years ago, he asked if I was careful to always daven with a minyan. I answered, “I think so.” He said to enhance it. When I shared and discussed this with my rebbi (who knows Rav Gamliel), my rebbi said that he had heard from many people that Rav Gamliel told them same thing. Some were people who literally didn’t daven with a minyan at all, but there are also those who weren’t careful about it all the time. Baruch Hashem, I am careful, so I wasn’t sure what Rav Gamliel meant. We reviewed the halachos of tefilah b’tzibbur, and I realized that I wasn’t always careful to begin shemonei esrei with the minyan, and other details like that. My rebbi suggested to work on that.
When I went to him recently, he again asked me if I was careful with tefilah b’tzibbur. I was able to answer, “I’m trying,” and then he went on speaking about other things. When I was leaving, he gave me a pamphlet he had just published on emunah and tefilah. So, I had to learn it. Amazing! I’ll share with you just a few incredible ideas from what he wrote.
He quotes the Chinuch we brought earlier and emphasizes that tefilah isn’t just three times a day; it’s the entire day, at any moment that we want a connection with Hashem. For example, Yosef Hatzadik was so successful in the house of Potiphar because he was always praying to Hashem. Constantly. That’s what gave him so much success.
Tefilah and emunah are intertwined. Emunah is the key for everything, because we realize that everything comes from Hashem. Tefilah is an expression of our emunah. Because we believe, we praise Hashem for everything, and we can ask for anything!
Chazal teach us that soldiers going to war are protected, even if they only have the merit of saying Shema Yisrael. Why is that? Because saying Shema Yisrael is a declaration of belief in Hashem! We believe that everything, all powers and all decrees came from Him! That power of emunah unlocks all the other blessings that the soldiers can receive.
What’s the power of tefilah b’tzibbur? Individual prayer needs to pass through levels, and it gets examined on the way up. If one’s not worthy, then their tefilah can be weakened or blocked. Tefilah b’tzibbur takes our tefilos through all the levels straight up to Hashem, riding along in the merit of the tzibbur, without being examined based on our individual merits, which may not be so flattering. We need that power desperately! (This is where women have the upper hand over men. Their individual tefilah is powerful enough without the minyan, but that’s a discussion for another article.)
Perhaps this is why Rav Gamliel stresses tefilah b’tzibbur, because he understands that Hashem wants to hear us speaking to Him, and He wants to answer us. Just that we need that boost to have our tefilah answered.
We are currently in a time of hester panim, where Hashem hides Himself from us and we have no clarity in what’s happening or what we should be doing. This is generally understood as a bad thing for us. However, Rav Gamliel explains, it’s really the opposite! The hidden is actually a sign of closeness! The Ba’al Shem Tov explained that if Hashem needs to hide from us, it’s because we are really so close! If He were distanced, then He wouldn’t need to hide from us.
There is a fascinating Yalkut Shimoni (Pinchas 29) that says: Says Rabbi Levi, in every month of the summer, Hashem wanted there to be a Yom Tov. Beginning from Nisan (Pesach), then Iyar (Pesach sheini), then Sivan (Shavuos). In Tamuz, Hashem wanted there to be a great Yom Tov, but along came the cheit haeigel which ruined everything. Tamuz, Av, and Elul became months of pain, teshuvah, and forgiveness. Tishrei received Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, and Succos all together to compensate for the three missing months, and Tishrei received Shemini Atzeres (the culmination of them all), for itself to have its own Yom Tov.
Tamuz has passed, but perhaps we can still be zoche to the great Yom Tov during this month, this Av!
We can still daven! As we’re still “waiting” for the unknown, with all our enemies threatening us - both the physical and spiritual enemies - we need to realize the great opportunity Hashem is giving us! We have more opportunity to connect to Hashem, to express and strengthen our belief in Him and to show our loyalty to Him. More time to overturn any decrees against us and to ask for the arrival of Moshiach!
By R’ Dovi Chaitovsky
