Search

Home > Daily Emunah Podcast - Daily Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear > Every Prayer
Podcast: Daily Emunah Podcast - Daily Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear
Episode:

Every Prayer
Category: Religion & Spirituality
Duration: 00:00:00
Publish Date: 2018-12-26 07:00:00
Description: Every Prayer Sometimes people get discouraged from prayer . They prayed the same Tefila over and over, and it seems that Hashem is not helping them. So why should they continue? First of all, every single prayer is a Mitzva in its own right, and that is the greatest gain. Furthermore, we must know that every prayer is answered. Every prayer accomplishes something. We might not see how, but Hashem is using our prayers to benefit us the best way possible. We know Moshe Rabbenu prayed 515 times to be allowed to enter Eretz Yisrael. Then Hashem told him: " רב לך אל תוסף דבר אלי בדבר הזה "-Enough! Don't continue praying over this matter. Rather, " עלה ראש הפסגה "-Ascend the mountain and view the land from there. The simple meaning of the Pasuk is that Moshe's prayers were denied. Yet, right after this, Moshe says, " מי גוי גדול אשר יש לו אלוקים קרובים אלויו כה' אלוקנו בכל קוראנו אליו "-Who is like us who have Hashem so close that whenever we call out to Him, he answers us. Rav Menashe Reisman brings a question from Reb Leibe'le Eger: How could Moshe say that Hashem always answers us, if he was just denied after praying 515 times? Reb Leibe'le explains that, in reality, Moshe was answered. He got everything he wanted and more. When the Torah said, " רב לך, אל תוסף דבר אלי "- it means that Hashem told him, "I' m giving you so much; you don't need to pray for this matter anymore." The Gemara says in Baba Batra (p. 56) that every place that Moshe looked at in the land, while on the mountaintop, became obligated in the laws of the land- Teruma and Ma'aser etc. there were places within the boundaries of Israel that were promised to Avraham that did not become obligated in those Mitzvot because Moshe didn't see them. The Gemara in Sota asks why Moshe prayed so hard to enter the land. Did he merely want to eat its delicious fruits? The Gemara answers that he only wanted to fulfil the Mitzvot that are dependent on the land. He wanted to be there for one Shemita cycle, to perform all the Mitzvot just once. The Belzer Rebbe once explained that if someone does a Mitzva first, he has a share in everyone else's performance of that Mitzva afterwards. Since through Moshe looking at the land, all the Mitzvot of the land became obligatory, it was Moshe Rabbenu who enabled the Jewish people to perform all the Mitzvot there. It all was to his credit. That is what Moshe prayed for, and that is what he got. In fact, the Gemara in Masechet Berachot says in the name of Rabbi Elazar: "Come and see how great prayer is. It's even greater than good deeds. We know this from Moshe Rabbenu. Nobody had more good deeds than him, nevertheless, he was answered only because of his prayers, not his deeds, as it says: " אל תוסף דבר אלי...עלה ראש הפסגה "-The Gemara brings this episode to prove how great prayer is. Although it appeared that Moshe was not answered, he really was. Every prayer works. Moshe wasn't allowed to physically enter the land, because then he would have built the Bet Hamikdash , which the Zohar Hakadosh writes would never be able to be destroyed, since everything Moshe did was נצחי -eternal. Years later, when the Jews sinned, Hashem, as it were, would not be able to destroy that building and would have to exact the punishment from the Jewish people instead. So Moshe was answered in the best way possible. He got everything he wanted, and Hashem insured that the Bet Hamikdash would remain available to be destroyed instead of the Jewish people, which, of course, Moshe would have preferred. Therefore, this is the perfect place for Moshe to teach us how lucky we are that Hashem answers all our prayers, every time we call on Him. In the situation that looked as though he was denied, he was really answered. That is how we should view all our situations, as well. Hashem is answering all our Tefilot, and He is using them in the best way possible for us. Every prayer is precious. Every prayer does wonders for us. Never be discouraged. Even when it seems that we are not being answered, it's only because we don't know what is going on behind the scenes. We are so fortunate that we have Hashem close to us, answering all our prayers, all the time.
Total Play: 0

Some more Podcasts by Torah Learning Resources.

1K+ Episodes
Daily Halach ..     2