“Arm men from among yourselves … against Midyan … a thousand from a tribe, a thousand from a tribe, for all the tribes of Israel … (Bamidbar 31:3-4)
The Medrash Bamidbar Rabbah (22:2) tells us that 12,000 people went out to war, and 12,000 people went out to pray.
We know that the war with Midyan was a milchemes mitzvah (Hashem’s war), and Hashem promised that we would be victorious, so why was it necessary to have 12,000 people praying? In addition, we learn that the 12,000 people who were designated to pray went out with the soldiers to the battlefield. Why wasn’t it sufficient to have them pray at home; why did they have to leave the encampment? Also, weren’t the rest of the nation surely praying as well for the soldiers?
The Or Yechezkel writes that the thought of (Devarim 8:17), “My strength and the might of my hand made me all this wealth” is sometimes deeply enrooted in the heart of many, from the simplest person to the greatest personage. As a result, it is possible that such an individual could attribute his success to his personal ingenuity and power, instead of crediting Hashem. Every day of his life, one must consciously exert great effort to eliminate such thoughts.
Our sages teach us that only righteous individuals were selected to go to war. The Talmud (Sotah 44b) expounds that if one spoke out between donning the tefillin shel yad and the tefillin shel rosh he had a sin on his hands and he returned from war, i.e. he was not righteous enough to be a fighting soldier. Yet, it is still feasible that a righteous individual could err and not acknowledge the Omnipotence of Hashem.
For that reason, it was necessary to have an equal number of people going to war, as were assigned to pray. This was to highlight the awareness that it was not the strength of those fighting that determined their victory over the Midyanim, but the prayers of the other 12,000 “soldiers.” Their presence near the battleground allowed everyone to witness the power of their prayers with their own eyes. This is as it says (Bamidbar 15:39), “and you shall not wander after your heart and after your eyes, after which you stray.” Our sages teach us that what the eye sees, the heart desires, i.e. that which one sees makes a powerful impact on the individual.
Similarly, when the Jewish people fought with Amalek, the pasuk states (Shemos 17:11), “When Moshe raised his hand, Israel was stronger, and when he lowered his hand Amalek was stronger.” Our sages ask (Rosh Hashana 29a), “Did Moshe’s hands make war or break war? Rather, as long as the Jewish people turned their eyes upward and subjected their hearts to their Father in Heaven, they prevailed; if not, they fell.”
Rabbeinu Yonah writes (Shaarei Teshuva, Chapter 3) that the fear of G-d is the foundation of the commandments, and one must constantly remember that in order to avoid stumbling. Our sages have instituted the obligation to recite 100 brachos daily, to thank Hashem and praise Him. This serves to underscore the fact that all we have in this world, every enjoyment and every victory, is only through the beneficence of Hashem.
R’ Yeruchem Levovitz notes that, like our forefathers who did not obtain anything without tefillah, nothing in this world comes from Hashem without prayer. He cites examples from the Torah of our avos and imahos – Avraham, Yitzchak and Rivkah, Rochel and Leah — whose prayers were answered when they turned to Hashem. He says, furthermore, that the Jewish People could not have attained atonement for their sins – the Sin of the Golden Calf, the Sin of the Spies, and Korach’s rebellion – without prayer.
He related that one of the tzaddikim of the previous generation, R’ Chaim Zlutker, was renowned for his powerful ability to save people with his prayers, to the extent that HaGaon R’ Chaim Volozhin once allowed a mortally sick person to travel to the tzaddik on Shabbos so that he would pray for his recovery. R’ Zlutker’s prayer was silent, with no perceptive movement, such that one was not even aware that he was, in fact, in middle of praying. R’ Chaim Zlutker was asked how he could pray with such kavanah, and he explained in the following way.
A king commissioned experienced laborers to build a magnificent palace. He gave them the blueprints which delineated every detail of the edifice, with exact measurements, specifics and particulars. When the palace was completed, the king asked what payment was due. The project manager showed him an empty space where a built-in chest was to be installed, and he instructed the king to fill it with as many coins as would fit, and that would be his pay. To demonstrate that the palace had been built exactly as specified, the manager stated: According to the blueprints, the space can hold exactly 600 coins. If you cannot fit in all 600 coins, or there is room for one more coin, then I will not take payment for my work.
The king instructed his servants to fill the space with 600 coins. However, the space was filled with only 599 coins, and they could not fit in the last coin. “It looks like you did not build the space according to the measurements specified in the blueprint,” said the king. The manager said, “On the contrary. I built this edifice with my men, and I am certain that 600 coins can fit into that space. If the last one didn’t fit in completely, it must mean that there is some obstruction – perhaps a piece of dirt – that is taking up the space.”
The servants removed all the coins, cleaned the space perfectly and then put the coins back in, including the 600th coin, which fit in perfectly.
R’ Chaim explained: Prayer is called a service of the heart. It has nothing to do with the movements of the body. All a person needs for prayer is in his heart. If a person cannot successfully pray with his heart alone, and needs additional channels, it proves that there are other matters in his heart that are taking up space and interfering with his intent concentration. That is why some people try to make all kinds of movements to help in their prayer. An essential requirement for true and sincere prayer to be heard in Heaven is a pure heart.
