Do We Really Believe?

 There are so many who are ill who need our tefilos. There are people hanging on to dear life who so desperately need our heartfelt tefilos. Even those who are healthy need tefilos to remain healthy. The Gemara teaches us that when we are healthy, we must constantly ask Hashem to keep us in good health. There are people whose livelihoods have been shattered. They need our tefilos. So many amazing organizations have been badly hurt by very significant cutbacks in donations from supporters who are hurting. They need our tefilos. The list of those who need tefilos is simply too long and the needs are too many to list.

We hope and pray that these segments will help to increase our awareness of the urgency and of our immense potential to help klal Yisrael and the many individuals in need, by intensifying our tefilos. In the last two segments, we focused on two vital points:

I. The words of Shemoneh Esrei are words of prophecy and ruach ha’kodesh, and by gazing intently on each word before we say it, those words rise up to the highest spheres and accomplish great things for the worlds above as well as for our world.

II. The words of Shemoneh Esrei were “preprogrammed” with every possible need throughout time for both the Jewish nation as a whole as well as for each individual. Therefore, each individual may think about any meaning that could apply to his needs even if that is not the simple straightforward meaning.

We now add a third crucial ingredient in order to succeed in our tefilos:

The Gemara (Rosh HaShanah 18a) states that two men were scheduled to be executed on the same day. They both davened to be saved. One was saved and one was not. What was the difference? One’s tefilah was complete and one’s was not. Rashi explains this to mean that one had kavanah. This is most difficult to understand. How can someone scheduled to be killed not have kavanah? Would he be thinking about his investment portfolio while davening for his life to be spared? HaRav Elyah Lopian explains that one of the two men really believed that Hashem could save him, even at this late stage, while the other did not.

Tefilah works. It really works!

We must be vigilant at all times to remember that doctors are only messengers of Hashem. Too often, a doctor will inform us that there is no hope for someone who is critically or terminally ill. We must not let that affect our hope and our tefilos, other than to intensify them even more. 

HaRav Noach Isaac Oelbaum shlita very strongly stated that one must never utter words of hopelessness. Based on a Gemara, one should never verbally state that someone is past the point of recovery and will die. That actually can prevent the person from a miraculous recovery. In fact, most of us know people who have miraculously come back after doctors gave up hope, and went on to live long lives thereafter.

Our tefilos (the Shemoneh Esrei in particular) need to be focused, passionate, with bitachon that Hashem can save anyone from anything at any time, and hopeful that Hashem – with His compassion and lovingkindness – will bestow salvation and save whomever we are davening for, from whatever situations they are in.

May we merit to see the ultimate salvation of Hashem’s Honor and all of klal Yisrael speedily in our days. Until that day, may we merit to see salvation for each of our communal and individual needs, b’ezras Hashem.