There is Nothing without Prayer
A fundamental principle of creation is that nothing is given
without prayer. "Now no tree of the field was yet on the
earth, neither did any herb of the field yet grow, because
Hashem G-d had not brought rain upon the earth, and there was
no man to work the soil" (Bereishis 2:5).
Rashi comments: "And on the third day, where it is written:
`Let the earth bring forth,' they [the plants] had not yet
emerged, but they stood at the `entrance' of the ground until
the sixth day. And why? Because He had not caused it to rain,
because there was no man to work the soil, and no one
recognized the benefit of rain. But when man came and
understood that they were essential to the world, he prayed
for them, and they fell, and the trees and the herbs
sprouted."
This is a foundation of the entire creation. Nothing is given
without prayer. It is indeed a novel concept and a great
revelation in the matter of tefilloh, but when we look
carefully at even the superficial level of the Torah's
narratives, we clearly see this foundation.
The holy Ovos never achieved a thing without
tefilloh. "And Avram said, `O Hashem G-d, what will
You give me, since I am going childless'" (Ibid.
15:2), and, "But Sorai was barren; she had no child"
(Ibid. 11:31). Hashem gave her a son only through
tefilloh.
The same was true of Yitzchok and Rivkoh. "And Yitzchok
prayed to Hashem opposite his wife because she was barren,
and Hashem accepted his prayer, and Rivkoh his wife
conceived" (Ibid. 25:21); he entreated Hashem very
much.
Similarly, we find concerning Leah and Rochel, "And Hashem
saw that Leah was hated, so He opened her womb; but Rochel
was barren" (Ibid. 29:31). Rochel entreated Yaakov:
"And Rochel envied her sister, and she said to Yaakov, `Give
me children, and if not, I am dead'" (Ibid. 30:1).
(Although Yaakov said, "Am I instead of G-d, Who has withheld
from you the fruit of the womb?" [Ibid. 2], in any
case we have sufficient proof from Rochel's assumption).
Similarly, it is written: "And Rochel said, `G-d has judged
me, and He has also hearkened to my voice and has given me a
son'" (Ibid. 6). Without tefilloh they would
not have attained anything.
In addition, we find a number of times that Yaakov prayed to
Hashem, in the tribulations of Eisov, of Shechem, of Yosef,
and of Binyamin.
The holy Ovos and Imahos surely had enough
merit for salvation in their own merit. And yet despite this
nothing came to them without tefilloh!
What greater proof is there than the promised redemption from
Egypt, about which Hashem swore to Avrohom, Yitzchok, and
Yaakov? And yet despite this it is said: "And they cried out,
and their cry ascended to G-d from the labor. G-d heard their
cry, and G-d remembered His covenant with Avrohom, with
Yitzchok, and with Yaakov" (Shemos 2:23-24). Without
tefilloh they would not have been redeemed.
Similarly, in the Sin of the Golden calf, the Sin of the
Spies, and the rebellion of Korach, they were delivered only
by means of tefilloh.
To our amazement, this law is implanted in the entire
creation from the root of its formation. Everything stands at
the "entrance" of the ground. Nothing sprouts and nothing is
given, neither a material achievement nor spiritual
achievement, until man comes and takes them from the ground.
And with what does he take them? Only with
tefilloh!
We have found that everything in the world was created for
man. However, this is only the beginning of things, and the
first assumption that man needs to know. He should recognize
that it is incumbent upon him to pray for them, and only
after his tefillos are they given to him in truth.
Without tefillos he will not be given anything, he
will not receive a thing. For this is a fundamental concept,
nothing at all is given to a person, except that which he
takes for himself. And with what? With tefilloh!
(Daas Torah Bereishis, Maran HaRav Yeruchom Levovitz
zt'l of Mir)
He will call Me and then I shall answer, but not before he
prays
"He will call Me and I shall answer him; I am with him in
distress; I shall rescue him and I shall honor him"
(Tehillim 91:16). This means that first he should call
out to Hashem, and then He will answer him and rescue him
from his distress, but not before he prays. By this means
Hashem will honor him; this is the reason a man shall be
honored.
Along these lines I would explain the following posuk
as well: "And Yitzchok went forth to pray (losuach) in
the field towards evening, and he lifted his eyes and saw,
and behold, camels were approaching" (Bereishis
24:63). Rashi comments: "Losuach is an expression of
prayer, as in (Tehillim 102:1): `He pours out his
prayer (sichoh).'" The question is, what is the
relevance of the point, "he lifted his eyes and saw, and
behold, camels were approaching" to Yitzchok's prayer?
It is possible to explain in the following way. In fact,
there is a perplexing point, for when Eliezer left to find a
match for Yitzchok his journey was miraculously shortened
(Rashi, v. 42), but on his return journey he
experienced no miracle. Why not?
It seems in my humble estimation that because Yitzchok went
out to pray for the servant's success in finding the
appropriate match for him only at this juncture, therefore,
HaKodosh Boruch Hu did not want to reveal his mate to
him until he prayed for her. HaKodosh Boruch Hu
desired his prayer. Therefore they were delayed on the
journey and they did not experience any miraculous shortening
of their journey. However, immediately after Yitzchok went
out to pray in the field, he lifted his eyes and saw the
camels approaching immediately after his prayer.
(Chasam Sofer, Parshas Chayei Soroh, Toras Moshe,
4)
