Introduction: The Foundation of Prayer
The Fundamental Teaching from Gemara
Gemara in Brachot - Rabbi Eliezer said: "Greater is Tefilah than good deeds."
- When you do a mitzvah and get a "thank you," you receive your reward - you were paid for your mitzvah
- When you daven, you don't get a round of applause
- When you daven, you anoint H'shem as King, showing in action that you believe H'shem is the only One who can help
Why Did Moshe Need to Beg?
What does "Mitchanane" mean - that Moshe needs to beg?
Why specifically 515 Tefilot?
- Mamloez explains: When the malachim (angels) want something, they daven 515 tefilot with a straight leg (Regel Yeshara). Yeshara equals 515 (gematria). One more tefilah and Moshe would have surpassed the malachim
- Moshe deserved to go into Eretz Yisrael more than anyone else, yet he needed to beg. Teaching: Never rely on what you think you deserve - there is no such thing. Everything is chesed
The Timeline: Tu B'Av to 7th of Adar
Why did Moshe begin praying specifically on Tu B'Av?
Tu B'Av is the day that was m'chaper (atoned) for the 9th of Av
- Two forms of comfort needed (Nachamu Nachamu):
- Guf (body) and Nefesh (soul)
- Beit HaMikdash (destroyed twice)
- 1. Against Hashem (Chet HaMeraglim - sin of the spies)
- 2. Against fellow Jews (Sinat Chinam - baseless hatred)
The Calculation:
- From Tu B'Av until Mincha of 7th of Adar 3 times a day minus Chagim and Shabbatot = exactly 515 tefilot
Why Tu B'Av Specifically?
Multiple reasons from the sources:
- Abarbanel: Moshe believed he was really being punished for the Chet HaMeraglim. together with Am Yisrael as their leader, and had to stay with his people.
- Imrei Shamayim and Pnei Yehoshua: This was the day all those who sinned in the desert stopped dying. We see H'shem's mercy canceling the decree, creating an opportunity for Moshe to daven that his decree also be nullified.
- Multiple sources agree: Moshe was told to begin capturing Eretz Yisrael. After conquering Sichon and Og on the other side of the Jordan (considered part of Eretz Yisrael), Moshe thought maybe H'shem was telling him he now had a chance to enter Eretz Yisrael proper.
- The Chida agrees with this interpretation
- Rashis also say this
- Moshe assumed if they were to bring Bikurim, it also meant being in Eretz Yisrael proper
The Power of Moshe's Prayers
From the Lubavitcher Rebbe:
- Hashem stopped Moshe at Mincha of the 7th of Adar at exactly 515 prayers
- One more tefilah and H'shem would not have been able to stop him
- There are 6 Batei Din (courts) in Heaven, each one equals 86
- 6 times Elokim (86) = 516 - this would break through each barrier
- H'shem pleaded with Moshe: "Please stop! There is a decree not to come in."
Why Moshe needs to remain in the desert:
- When Mashiach comes, those who were buried there from the Chet HaMeraglim should not be forgotten. When we go to find Moshe, we will remember those buried in the Midbar and wake them up for Techiyat Hamesim as well.
- If Moshe had gone into EY, he would have built the Beis Hamikdash, and when we would need to be punished, H'shem would Chas Vishalom destroy us and not what His beloved Moshe built for His honor
The Nature of Answered Prayer
Every Prayer is Answered
Moshe's prayer WAS answered - there is no such thing as a prayer not answered:
- Not in the way you want, perhaps
- According to Mifarshim, he was let into EY spiritually, not physically
Mashal: Story of a child praying with his friend instead of playing soccer, for his friend to have a brother. Ended up being a girl. He was upset - he sacrificed, and his prayer wasn't answered. Then he ended up marrying her.
The lesson: No one knows how many tefilot they need or exactly what they need. But if you resent it, you begin again - from one.
Practical Teachings About Prayer
Tips for Effective Prayer
- Believe in your Tefilah
- Daven with your Tefilah (put yourself into it)
- Daven for every word, for exactly what you want
- Be careful - you may get it
- It's hard to daven when you have everything you want
Be Specific in Prayer
Story from Gemara: A man who was tired of walking asked for a chamor. One was born in front of him, and he had to carry it home.
The principle: "V'atah moshel bakol" - It's all Yours and You decide where to put it.
Timing: Et Ratzon
Tefilot and Tehillim
- Tehillim: Tikun Klali - Rabbi Nachman picked these specific chapters (Perakim). They are like filling the body with the essential vitamins from all the Tehillim.
- L'shem Yichud - Say this before every Mitzvah and Tefilah to connect properly.
Doresh Tzion says: Must pray when there is an Et Ratzon, by a brit when the baby cries.
- Mincha of Shabbat: "V'ani tefilati et ratzon" - You stop your day to come back and pray - that is huge.
- Ramban, Mitzvah D'orasa to pray in time of war and need
Rav Chaim Palagi: If you learn Torah or do a mitzvah, then pray - that is the biggest time of Et Ratzon. You broke your yetzer hara, now you have no yetzer to bother you - you can pray and will be answered.
The Power to Change Nature
Shelah says: You can change teva (nature) with your tefilah - white wall to black with tefilah.
Story about Tosafot - Reb Yitzchak HaLavan (story details to be added)
The Absolute Power of Belief in Prayer
Complete Faith in Prayer
Kobriner Rav says: Every Jew has the koach (power) to pray and be answered immediately. Why didn't he get it? Because he did not believe in the power of tefilah. A person who believes in his tefilah can accomplish anything immediately.
Rav Lopian says: Two can be on a deathbed - one is answered, the other is not. Two can be in front of a decree - one is answered, one is not. Why? Because one prayed a "Tefilah Shleimah" (complete prayer).
What is Tefilah Shleimah? Prayer with Kavanah (intention/focus).
How can someone about to be killed not have kavanah? What other thoughts are in his head? Rav Lopian says: He did not believe this tefilah could save him - that this tefilah will do what needs to be done to spare his life.
The Problem of Underestimating Prayer
Rav Biderman, in the name of his father, says: "Davar Sheadam Mizlazlelim Bo" - Not that Tefilah is small, but their tefilah is small. How they daven - because they underestimate it. Like appraising a million-dollar diamond for ten thousand dollars.
A person needs to be mechazek that tefilah works, because when I believe in something, I do it with all my heart.
Great Teachers on Prayer
Rabbi Nachman
"All a person's success comes from the koach of tefilah."
There is a specific number of prayers a person needs to buy anything he wants. A person usually gives up before the time
Yanuka
"Al tira tolat Yaakov" - All the power is in their tefilah, not their hands, not their weapons.
- We were born from the tefilah of the Imahot (matriarchs)
- We were not born for war - we were born for tefilah
- If you davened for it, you will keep it. If not, it can be taken away. Why? Because tefilah is a kinyan (acquisition).
The Ultimate Trust
"Hashem yilachem lachem v'atem tacharishun" - H'shem will fight your fight. You must pray to the H'shem by doing so, you are anointing Him as King and Melech of the world.
Rav Rafael Abuchatzeira
H'shem wants us to keep coming back and asking him. The more we request from H'shem, the more we pray for everything - the more H'shem desires our Tefilot.
- The more you pray for it, the more you earn it
- Just like you pray for food before and after, everything you want - pray for it
- Mincha on Shabbat is the most powerful Tefilah
The Direct Connection
Prayer Goes Directly to H'shem
The Yerushalmi says: When a person is in tzara, don't call out to the malachim - call to Me directly. "V'ani ona lo miyad" (And I will answer him immediately).
When you pray from your heart, you prove you trust in no one else
True Prayer Comes from Need
When a person prays like a poor person who has nothing and is completely dependent on H'shem, he really prays because he has nowhere else to turn - only to H'shem.
Trusting in something else is not prayer.
This Week's Significance
This week is huge:
- Nachamu
- Aseret HaDibrot (Ten Commandments)
- Shema
- Tu B'Av
Personal Prayer Priority
Chofetz Chaim: When asked by someone to daven for his friend, he said, "You must daven for yourself" - the most powerful tefilah.
Prayer Changes Who You Are
There is purpose in tefilah as you pray and keep on coming back and building your trust and relationship in H'shem- it changes who you are. Then you become the person who deserves it
Photo by Alex Woods on Unsplash
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