Shemoneh Esrei 35: Davening For The Majority Part II
על הצדיקים... ועלינו, יהמו רחמיך ה' אלקינו, ותן שכר טוב לכל הבוטחים בשמך באמת, ושים חלקנו עמהם לעולם, ולא נבוש כי בך בטחנו. ברוך אתה ה', משען ומבטח לצדיקים
On the righteous,… and on us – May Your compassion be aroused, Hashem, our G-d, and give goodly reward to all who sincerely believe in Your Name. Put our lot with them forever, and we will not feel ashamed, for we trust in You. Blessed are You, Hashem, Mainstay and Assurance of the righteous.
“ועלינו–v’aleinu (and on us)” – We conclude the list of elevated people we are mispalel for in this brachah with v’aleinu, which refers to the rest of klal Yisrael (including ourselves) not previously mentioned. Although we may not be at the high levels of those listed previously, we ask Hashem to arouse His compassion upon all of us in klal Yisrael. HaRav Avigdor Miller adds that it is only because of the klal that the “pleitas (beis) sofreihem,” the leaders in klal Yisrael, are chosen and elevated, as Hashem told Moshe Rabbeinu: “כלום נתתי לך גדולה אלא בשביל ישראל–Did I grant you greatness but for the sake of Israel? [B’rachos 32a]”
“ותן שכר טוב לכל הבוטחים בשמך באמת – We then ask Hashem to grant “שכר טוב–sachar tov (goodly reward)” to those who trust in and rely on Hashem with sincerity. Ordinarily, we do not request reward for serving Hashem. The Mishnah in Avos (1:3) relates: Antignos Ish Socho received the m’sorah from Shimon HaTzadik. He would often say that one should not serve Hashem as a servant who serves in order to receive his pay, but rather we must strive to serve Hashem as a servant who serves with pure intentions and not in order to receive pay. How then can we ask Hashem in this brachah for reward? Additionally, what is a “goodly” reward?
The Brisker Rav explains the pasuk of “קוה אל ה', חזק ויאמץ לבך, וקוה אל ה'–Hope to Hashem, strengthen yourself and He will give you courage, and hope to Hashem (T’hilim 27:14)” to mean that the reward for one who places his hopes in Hashem is that Hashem will enable him to strengthen his heart to even greater levels of bitachon. The same understanding can be used for this phrase in our brachah [Sefer Tal’lei Oros and HaRav Avrohom Chaim Feuer]. We ask that those who trust and rely on Hashem be granted even greater levels of bitachon, and that we, too (“ושים חלקנו עמהם לעולם–Put our lot with them forever), should merit to increase our levels of bitachon along with them. This spiritual reward is a truly “goodly” reward and far superior to any other possible reward. The Mishnah in Avos was speaking only about asking for material pay or rewards. Asking for spiritual requests and rewards is always appropriate and desired.
“משען ומבטח לצדיקים” – Hashem supports the tzadikim who trust in Him so that they can increase their level of bitachon. An example of this took place when Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim. First, Hashem performed miracles (e.g., the ten makos/plagues). Though those miracles did not directly bring about the redemption, they did serve to strengthen our bitachon, eventually culminating in Hashem taking us out of Mitzrayim. Based on a pasuk in Michah (7:15), this is what will take place at the time of Mashiach as well. Before the ultimate g’ulah, Hashem will perform miracles and wonders for us to strengthen our emunah and bitachon [HaRav Avrohom, son of the Vilna Gaon].
May that day come speedily in our times, b’ezras Hashem!