Part 3
A Tefilloh that is not prayed brings tribulations
Every pain that Hashem sends, G-d forbid, to a man in this
world is to arouse him to tefilloh.
Chazal said concerning the posuk: "Pharaoh approached"
(Shemos 14:10)—"This can be compared to a king
who wanted to hear the voice of his mistress" (Shemos
Rabbah, Parsha 21). In the gemora it is said: "The
Ovos were barren because HaKodosh Boruch Hu
desires the tefillos of tzaddikim" (Yevamos
64a).
The gemora says in regards to this: "A man should
always precede prayer to tribulation" (Sanhedrin 44b).
One must arouse himself to prayer beforehand, so that he will
not need the tribulation to arouse him, G-d forbid. All the
exiles and sufferings are only for the purpose of elevating
all the worldly matters to the highest place of the world by
means of prayer.
(HaRav Tzoddok HaCohen of Lublin zt'l, Resisei
Lailah)
***
We are accustomed to understand that tefilloh is
necessary because of troubles and when we are suffering, we
hope for Hashem's deliverance and we pray for it. According
to this, it would be better if we never suffered and never
had to pray, since the purpose of the prayer is just to be
relieved of the troubles. The Midrash, however, shows
us that the truth is the opposite. All the troubles and
suffering that the Am Yisroel suffered were in order
that they would pray to Hashem and be rescued.
The essence of tefilloh is, "And [Avrom] invoked
Hashem by Name" (Bereishis 12:8), as the Targum
Onkelos renders: "And he prayed in the Name of Hashem."
We need to understand the simple meaning of invoking the Name
of Hashem. It is as a person calls and asks his friend to
come over. The same applies to calling the Name of Hashem.
When we call the Name of Hashem, His Name immediately has an
effect in the place where He is called, as it is written:
"Wherever I allow My name to be mentioned, I will come to you
and bless you" (Shemos 20:21). All the salvations and
successes we could achieve, we achieve only when His Name
comes to us, for Hashem's Name is the source of all success,
and He is the source of salvation.
All that Yisroel merited in the revelation of Yetzias
Mitzrayim, they achieved and acquired by means of, "And
they cried out." The revelation of Yetzias Mitzrayim,
which was the greatest salvation ever and forms the basis for
what is written in the pesukim, "To be a G-d to you,"
and, "To be to Him a treasured people," was born and came
into being from their crying out to Hashem in their time of
trouble, which is calling in the Name of Hashem.
When a person has trouble of some kind and he is rescued from
it, he thanks Hashem for the salvation. However, he would be
much happier if he never had the trouble in the first place.
But this is not truth. The reason for the salvation is
Hashem's revelation, and it was the trouble that gave rise to
this revelation for, because of the trouble he called out in
Hashem's Name amidst tribulation, which gave rise to the
salvation.
Without the trouble there would have been no calling on the
Name of Hashem, and he would not have been privileged to
receive that Divine assistance. According to this, the
salvation was not because he needed to be saved from the
trouble. It was not caused by the trouble, and it was not
because of the trouble that he needed the salvation. The
opposite is true: the entire reason for the trouble was so
that there could be a salvation. It all follows the logic of
cause and effect. The cause of all troubles is so that there
would be a "crying out" and the Name of Hashem would come to
them.
(Maran HaRav Yeruchom Levovitz zt'l, Daas Chochmoh
UMussar)
Torah and Tefilloh as well
The avodoh of tefilloh has a special importance
in our generation, and therefore we need to make efforts to
pursue it.
It is cited in the name of Rav Chaim Vital that in the first
generations of the Amoraim, the teachers of the
gemora, their Torah was keva. Their main
avodoh was in Torah. But now, in the generation of the
Heels of the Moshiach, the main avodoh is in
tefilloh.
It is obvious that Rav Chaim Vital's intention is not that
the general rule, "the study of Torah is equivalent to them
all" (Shabbos 127a) has changed. Certainly, today as
well it is the case that one word of the Torah is equivalent
to more than all the mitzvos and all the tefillos, as
the Nefesh HaChaim cites from the words of Chazal at
length.
Rather, his words are explained by the example of the
shofar on Rosh Hashonoh. Certainly, one page of
gemora studied on Rosh Hashonoh is more important than
all the shofar blasts of the day, as the Mishnah
taught: "The study of Torah is equivalent to them all"
(Ibid.). However, the day's main avodoh is to
blow the shofar, and someone who disparages fulfilling
the mitzvah of shofar and studies gemora all
day does not have even the mitzvah of Torah. It is
specifically the mitzvah of shofar that is the special
avodoh of the day, and a person's main focus must be
on this matter, for that is the main matter of the day.
The same applies to our generation with regard to the
avodoh of tefilloh. Although one needs to make
his Torah the permanent thing and every other endeavor should
be secondary to Torah for the main spiritual elevation of a
man is only through his toil in Torah study, nevertheless,
there is a special importance for the avodoh of
tefilloh in our generation. Therefore, one needs to
expend the effort and pursue it, and to give it special
importance, because it is the special focal point for our
days.
(Rav Shimshon Pincus, Shaarim BeTefilloh)
