Shemoneh Esrei 36: Bringing The Mashiach Closer – Part 1

ולירושלים עירך ברחמים תשוב

And to Jerusalem, Your city, may You return in compassion

Before we begin to discuss the specifics of Yerushalayim and our request to see it rebuilt in all its beauty with the Sh’chinah residing in the Beis HaMikdash, allow us to digress, to address some fundamental questions about our tefilos for the g’ulah, our ultimate redemption, may it be soon in our days.

First, if the tefilos of the generations of the Tana’im, Amora’im, G’onim, Rishonim, and Acharonim – all previous to us – were insufficient to bring the g’ulah, why would we think our t’filos can possibly be effective?  Second, do we really believe that our tefilos can bring the g’ulah?  Third, we have been asking for the g’ulah for almost 2,000 years unsuccessfully.  Am I really accomplishing anything by each day continuously repeating that same request, day after day?

The answer is “Yes, we are” – we are accomplishing something for ourselves, for the klal, and in fact we are hastening the g’ulah.

כל חכם מישראל שיש בו דבר תורה לאמתו, ומתאנח על כבודו של הקדוש ברוך הוא ועל כבודן של ישראל כל ימיו, ומתאוה ומצר לכבוד ירושלים ולכבוד בית המקדש ולישועה שתצמח בקרוב ולכנוס גלויות, זוכה לרוח הקדש בדבריו וכו' [תנא דבי אליהו רבה, הובא במסילת ישרים פ' י"ט]

“Every chacham in Yisrael who possesses the words of Torah according to their true significance, and grieves for the honor of Hashem and for the honor of Yisrael all his days, and desires and feels pain for the honor of Yerushalayim and of the Beis HaMikdash and for the swift flowering of salvation and the ingathering of the exiles, attains to the infusion of the Divine spirit [ruach ha’kodesh] in his words…” [Tana D’Vei Eliyahu Rabbah, perek 4, quoted by M’silas Y’sharim, perek 19]

The M’silas Y’sharim (in perek 19) tells us that one should constantly daven for the g’ulah and the return of k’vod Shamayim to the highest level.  He continues: “…and if one will ask, ‘Who am I to daven for the g’ulah?  Is my tefilah really going to bring the redemption?’”  The Ramchal [Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, 1707-1746, author of M’silas Y’sharim]  then brings the Gemara in Sanhedrin (37a), which states that man was created alone, as an individual, so that each person should say: “Bishvili nivra ha’olam” (for me the world was created).  M’silas Y’sharim concludes:

וכבר נחת רוח הוא לפניו יתברך שיהיו בניו מבקשים ומתפללים על זאת, ואף שלא תעשה בקשתם מפני שלא הגיע הזמן או מאיזה טעם שיהיה, הנה הם עשו את שלהם והקדוש ברוך הוא שמח בזה

“It is Hashem’s pleasure that his children desire and pray for this.  And though their desire may not be fulfilled because the proper time has not yet arrived or for some other reason, they will have done their part and Hashem rejoices in it.”

The Mabit (Rav Moshe ben Yosef miTrani, 16th century), amongst others, explains that our tefilos combine with those of all the previous generations before us.  They laid the foundation and did the bulk of the work.  We need only finish the job.  It is all of our tefilos joining together through the generations that will merit to bring the g’ulah soon in our days.  He also says that one who is mispalel for the g’ulah and k’vod Shamayim will receive “שכר גדול בלי ספק–sachar gadol bli safeik” despite the fact that he has not been affirmatively answered as of this moment.

We see how valued and important our heartfelt tefilos for the g’ulah and the increase in revelation of k’vod Shamayim truly are.