“Then Yehudah approached him and said: If you please, my lord, may your servant speak a word in my lord’s ears…” (Berishis 44:18)
We learn (Shulchan Aruch 98:1) that when one prays, he should visualize the Shechina (Divine Presence) standing before him. Such thoughts will humble his heart. The Rema codifies that the way to approach tefillah is to contemplate the greatness of Hashem and the smallness of man before he begins to pray.
However, the Sefer HaGedulah V’Ha’anavah cautions that such self-effacing thoughts could chas v’shalom discourage the person from uttering intense prayers to Hashem, the King of kings.
The Sefer Tiferes Shlomo says that that expression of vayigash (he approached) alludes to prayer. We learn from here the great value of tefillah. One should never despair with thoughts like, “Who am I to make requests of Hashem? Why would Hashem listen to me?” Such sentiments are generated by the yetzer seeking to undermine one’s spiritual self-esteem.
The pasuk tells us (Vayikra 16:16) that Hashem dwells amid the impurity of the Jewish people. With the Divine Spirit in our presence, every individual has a unique intimacy with Hashem and is imbued with His light. Thus, once the person has confirmed his humility, he can then make his requests of Hashem. Everyone has the capacity to call out to Hashem.
The Sefer Afikei Chaim notes that a person who is aware of his inadequacies and faults may still doubt the potency of his prayers. In fact, many who would otherwise be more diligent in their prayers are not because of their disheartening thoughts. Truthfully, though, prayer has the power to shatter all obstacles.
We learn in Divrei HaYamim (33) that King Menashe led the Jewish people astray and he was punished. The Assyrians captured him, bound him in chains and subjected him to great suffering. In his pain he cried out to Hashem. The Medrash relates that when he began to pray the angels closed all the windows to Heaven so that Hashem should not accept his tefillos. Hashem then bore a hole underneath the Heavenly Throne, where the angels have no control, and Hashem listened to the entreaties of Menashe and he was forgiven.
The Talmud (Brachos 30b) states that one may only stand and begin to pray from an approach of gravity and submission. The Sefer Noam Megadim suggests that this state can be achieved by contemplating the greatness of Hashem. When he has sincerely engaged in such deliberation, he will truly appreciate his exalted spiritual level and recognize the power of his tefillos.
In Kibbutz Be’eiri on that difficult morning, the inhabitants were awakened early by sounds of large explosions. One couple, together with their three-and-a-half-year-old twins, immediately ran into the safe room and locked the door, confused and certainly concerned.
Within minutes they realized that the worst had happened and the terrorists had entered the house. As the terrorists tried to penetrate the room, the father held on tightly to the door’s handle with all his might to prevent their entry. Yet the terrorists persisted relentlessly when they realized that a family was indeed hiding behind the door. The father steadfastly maintained his hold on the door, so the terrorists instead went about setting the house on fire.
As the fire intensified, the safe room began to fill with smoke. The family had to make a choice either to exit and face the murderers or die in the room. They decided to leave the room, but the door handle had broken off and they could no longer open the door. They opted to climb out the window which faced the road. The terrorists had moved further down the road to continue with their incursions after setting the fire, but their weapons were drawn ready to shoot down anyone they saw.
The parents understood that this could very well be the last moments of their lives. But miraculously nothing happened. Apparently, the terrorists did not see them. Remarkably, they noticed a pail of water nearby. Although they had no idea where it came from, and they didn’t recognize it as theirs, they quickly took articles of clothing and dampened them with the water, to put over their mouths and noses. Even more extraordinary was the fact that the little children did not scream or cry.
Notwithstanding the fact that this was a family who was not yet Torah-observant, they could not help but recognize ein od milvado – there is none other than G-d. They sat under the window of their burned-down home for three hours and no one disturbed them as they prayed for salvation from Hashem.
They could still hear shooting all around them and were afraid to remain in their exposed position. They espied a huge woodpile about 300 feet away from the house and ran to hide in the pile. They had experienced many miracles in the past few hours, but they were afraid that the end was now near. The man texted his mother goodbye.
His mother texted back that his two sisters had accepted upon themselves to keep Shabbos for his protection and that of his family. He replied that he too had accepted to keep Shabbos with his entire family if they would be saved.
And so, for 13 hours – what seemed like an eternity – the family remained hidden in the woodpile. Then they heard the low voices of people approaching and the man again texted his mother: I hear people coming. Our path has ended. Thank you for everything.
How grateful they were when they saw the Tzahal soldiers who had come to rescue them from Gehennom. As they were led to safety, the young man cried out, “Hashem, I want to return to You in complete teshuva.”
