Har Nof Tragedy: Awakening Rachamim Through Tefillah for Others

Transcript

This Torah class is brought to you by TorahAnytime.com. Tragic events that took place in Eretz Yisrael, I feel we need to say a few words, a few words of divrei hisorerus. We find in this week's parsha that Rivka cannot have children, so there's tefillah. Whenever there's tzaar, the response of the Yid is tefillah. וַיֶּעְתַּר יִצְחָק לַה' לְנֹכַח אִשְׁתּוֹ, כִּי עֲקָרָה הִיא; וַיֵּעָתֶר לוֹ ה', וַתַּהַר רִבְקָה אִשְׁתּוֹ. So Yitzchak is mispallel, וַיֶּעְתַּר, the lashon of tefillah, וַיֶּעְתַּר. We're going to have to discuss why is that one of the leshonos of tefillah, וַיֶּעְתַּר Yitzchak. But why the tzaar? The response is tefillah, but why the tzaar? Chazal tell us the tzaar is because HaKadosh Baruch Hu mis'aveh l'tefilosan shel tzaddikim, medrash the alkut, Chazal many places, HaKadosh Baruch Hu is mis'aveh, He longs... For tefilas tzaddikim. Why does the Ribono Shel Olam long for tefilas tzaddikim? Why is there a taiva for tefilas tzaddikim? I want to begin with an interesting ha'arah from Reb Chatzkel, mashgiach zecher tzaddik livracha from Ponovezh, Reb Chatzkel. Reb Chatzkel says, why do we need tefiloson shel tzaddikim if anyway they're davuk in the Ribono Shel Olam? A tzaddik is anyway completely and fully attached all day long to the Ribono Shel Olam. Mani teisef, it's the loshon of Reb Chatzkel, what is added? What becomes more now that they're davening? The tzaddik is completely attached, completely, his mind, his actions, 24 hours a day. So what's more in the tefillah that we have, that the Ribono Shel Olam nis'aveh l'tefiloson shel tzaddikim? Reb Chatzkel answers, if anyone who read about Reb Chatzkel, anyone who studied Reb Chatzkel's avodah, this is a teretz only Reb Chatzkel would say. And he says this, that for a person as great as he is, but his guf is in this world. Through the tefilas tzaddikim, the tzaddik is nisaleh yoiser mizeh. Af hagedolim b'yoiser yesh lahem makom l'salois. It's a long shmooze. I'm just taking one part of one piece, one nekudah from the entire shmooze, that the tzaddik is close and is davuk yoser in the Ribono Shel Olam. With tefillah, he's nisaleh even more. He doesn't clearly explain in the shmooze what that means. Hashtei tzarich, like I explained to you when Reb Chatzkel davened, it's pretty evident what he meant. But the truth is, it's based on Kelim, in Kelim, the Chochmah Musar, chelek beis, page kuf lamed daled. Reb Simcha Zissel, the heilige Reb Simcha Zissel Altufen Kelim, explains that tefillah takes a person to an entire different world. It's maleh him from this world, that he's mamash Shechinah lefanav. So as much as the tzaddik, on a daily basis, constantly throughout the day, is davuk in the Ribono Shel Olam, there is an hisa'alus even greater and even—

More, when he davens, and of them, zokt Reb Chatzkel, HaKadosh Baruch Hu mis'aveh לתפילותן של צדיקים. Very tiefe reid, rabosai. For us to daven that way, it's the greatest madreges. What are we to take from this Chazal? HaKadosh Baruch Hu mis'aveh לתפילותן של צדיקים. Yes, avada, the Gemara says when there's a tzarah, yeilech אצל חכם; you should go to the tzaddik, for he should daven for you. That's true. But how does this apply to us in our tefillos and our daily davening? Is there anything that we could see in this Chazal? And of course, we are not on the madreigah of the tzaddikim that Chazal are talking about, what Reb Chatzkel meant in his understanding of this Chazal. So how and in what way could we apply something in this Chazal to our tefillah? And I believe the pshat is as follows. וַיֵּתַר יצחק לה' לנוכח אשתו. What is the taich, לנוכח? Rashi says opposite. One was standing b'keren zavis זו, and the other one was b'keren zavis opposite, on the other side of the room. If you look at the Rashbam, the Rashbam explains לנוכח אשתו, בשביל — one word. L'noichach, says Rashbam, l'noichach means bishvil ishto, for his wife. Yitzchak is not davening for himself, though he didn't have children. He's davening for what? He's davening for Rivka. Now why is he not davening for himself and davening for Rivka, zogt der Meshech Chochma? Because he was not an עקר. Ki עקרה היא. She was the עקרה. She was the one that needed the tefillah, zogt der Meshech Chochma, and therefore, l'noichach ishto, bishvil ishto. That's a discussion for itself. Yitzchak was roi l'holid, not roi l'holid. I don't want to go into it right now. But I do want to say over another pshat from the She'eilos Uteshuvos. Meirdike טהערע, boys. L'noichach ishto, because how does the tzaddik daven? Nit far zich, but he davens for yenem. That's the l'noichach ishto. What was the tefillah of Yitzchak? It was not about him. It was not for himself. But it was l'noichach ishto, bishvil ishto, because that is how tzaddikim are mispallel. They don't think of themselves, but rather for yenem, for the other person. And he quotes the famous Gemara. Kol hamevakeish rachamim al chaveiro, v'hu tzarich l'oso davar, v'eino techilah. The Gemara, Bava Kamma daf tzadik beis amud aleph. And this is how he understands the Gemara, the pasuk, excuse me, the pasuk of L'nei chachishtei. He was davening for Rivka, not for himself, because of this Gemara. I believe, rabosai, possibly that that's the pshat in the Chazal, sheHaKadosh Baruch Hu mesavel l'tefiloson shel tzaddikim. He doesn't bring the Chazal; he just says, why did he daven for Rivka, not for himself? But that's the pshat. What is HaKadosh Baruch Hu mesavel for? For a certain type of davening, and that davening is, He's mesavel l'tefiloson shel tzaddikim. What is tefiloson shel tzaddikim? Tzaddikim don't daven for themselves. The tzaddik is fully immersed, fully engrossed in tefillah, and the ... likten of yenem un yenem tzar. That's what it means. It doesn't mean HaKadosh Baruch Hu notices; it doesn't say HaKadosh Baruch Hu mesavel l'tefillah, which there are Chazal like this, it's true, but in this particular lashon of the Chazal, it's specific: HaKadosh Baruch Hu mesavel l'tefiloson.

Tefiloson shel tzaddikim. With this she'eilah, I understand, based on this Gemara, what does it mean, tefiloson shel tzaddikim, and there's a Ramban like this. The Ramban, yes, in this same sugya of speaking about davening for children, we find that, Rochel imeinu ta'anis, to Yaakov Avinu, Hava li banim, v'im ayin, meisah anochi. And the Ramban says he doesn't understand what's pshat, that Yaakov responded by saying, Hatachas Elokim anochi. And the Ramban says, V'chi lo zeh derech hatzaddikim? Is this not the way of tzaddikim, shemispalelim al acheirim? They daven for others. That's tefiloson shel tzaddikim. The tefilah of a tzaddik means that he doesn't daven for himself, but rather he davens for others, and that's what HaKadosh Baruch Hu is mesabev for. Now let's go a little deeper, rabosai. Let's understand what does that mean, tefiloson shel tzaddikim. Let's begin: why is it, kol hamevakeish rachamim al chaveiro, v'hu tzarich l'oso davar, ne'eneh techilah? Why is it that way? What's so special about a tefilah when he's davening al acheirim, and therefore he himself gets answered? So there's an interesting Chasam Sofer, Chasam Sofer in the Drashos v'Agados, Drushim v'Agados, page kuf yud tes, says a chiddush nifla. Now it's a little bit deep, but it's a Chasam Sofer. Chasam Sofer says, V'ha'inyan ki lechal adam tzinor v'shefa l'maalah. When a person davens, he taps into a certain tzinor of bracha. V'hinei Reuven ha-mevarech mispallel ba'ad Shimon, hu mamash oila birchaso u'tefilaso l'maalah, makom sherosh tzinor v'shifa. So when you daven for the other person, that other person follows you up to where you're going in your tefillah. We know the famous pasuk, Ki shoma Hashem kol bechi. Rabbi Elie Guttmacher at the end of Mesechta Shabbos explains that this is going on the kol ha-naar, b'eis ha-milah. When he cries, his cries of pain, his cries of milah, of l'shem yahdus, goes very high up. Your tefillos during that time follow up with those tefillos. They reach the kisei hakavod. Rabbi Elie Guttmacher, Mesechta Shabbos. When you're mispallel b'ad acheirim, it goes all the way up. And the needs of those acheirim follow, as if that person himself also davened. And he explains that this is a koach that the davener has more than the person who you're davening for, because ki ein chavush matir atzmo mibeis ha'asurim, Brachos daf hei amud beis. We have tremendous koiches of tefillah. And when we daven, says the Chasam Sofer, when our davening reaches certain places, we could take others with us, bakashos. And like I showed you, the time of milah, the Klal Yisroel was bedamayich chayi. It's a tremendous eis ratzon. There's milah, which of course is a type of Kiddush Hashem Shamayim, Ki lecha haragnu kol hayom is milah, rabosai. And when those tefillos go up, all the tefillos go up. Ki sham Hashem koel bechi. I'd like to go a little bit further, rabosai.

There's an interesting Mabit that also discusses this shaila: why is there a מעלה when you daven for somebody else that the Ribono Shel Olam listens to your tefillah? Says the Mabit in Beis Elokim, Shaar Tefillah, perek yud-beis, סיבת הדבר. He says the מעלה of davening for someone else, and that's why it's niskabel, סיבת הדבר, כי בזמן שאדם מתפלל על עצמו, נראה שהכנותיו וכוונותיו בתפילה לתועלת המושג. It's personal. It's for you. When a person davens, you seem to want it for you. ואינה תפילה לשמה. אמנם כשמתפלל על אחרים, כוונותיו בתפילה... If you daven for others, what are you showing? That you're not davening for yourself, but rather להשגת תועלת המושג, something bigger and greater than yourself. Tefillah is a great—something much greater than oneself. It's bigger than oneself. And if a tefillah is made into something personal, סינורא פזיך, that's still not tefillah. Therefore, the tefillah, when it's for others, then the pshat is it's a tefillah to the Ribono Shel Olam, כי הם שמודיעים ומכיר כי אין מי שיכול... because then you're showing that only the Ribono Shel Olam, and therefore the tefillah is much greater, and that's what HaKadosh Baruch Hu looks at, such a tefillah. There's a sefer, Zechriankoif. It's a history book. It's the memoirs of the secretary of the Kovner of Reb Yitzchok Elchanan, zecher tzaddik livrachah. Very interesting history stories there, and there's a story about a shul of the communists. Now, it's possible you've heard this because this is a used story, but I tracked it down to get the mekor of it. These were soldiers. Actually, the thing, I'm not sure if it's communist or actually Cantonist. I don't even know how to say the word. Cantonist, fine. It's in Hebrew in the sefer, so I wasn't sure exactly how to pronounce. A shul full of such. Now, in Europe there were such shuls. There was the Shuster shul and the Schneider shul. They used to hang around together, so they were cliques then also. Done. So they used to daven together. These were soldiers that were taken away from their families, and they had to serve in the Russian army for the czar, and they had no life. But they would come together and daven in a shul Yom Tovim, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur. And one such Yom Kippur, the head, the elder amongst them got up and said, Moirai v'rabosai, and this was before Kol Nidrei, he says, What are we to daven for on Yom Kippur? We do not have families. We don't need parnassah. We are fed by the government. We have no personal things that we could daven for. Maybe, I guess they could daven they could survive the wars and so on, but they didn't see that as a point. They said there is nothing that we have what to daven for. The one thing we could daven for is Yiskadal v'yiskadash shmei rabbo, the Rabbeinu Shleim. And they began Kol Nidrei as such. I tracked down this maiseh because so much amkus in the story. I found that in many of the sefarim it's brought down that the Reb Chaim Brisker actually told over this story to the Netziv. The Netziv was very nis'orer from it. The Netziv and Reb Chaim Brisker saw in this story that tefillah, when it's personal, then it's true, a good thing, a tefillah. But the yesod of tefillah is actually much greater. It's got to be beyond negius, so to speak. It's Yiskadal v'yiskadash shmei rabbo, and this is this mabit. So kol hamispalel ba'ad chaveiro, einah techilah, because he's showing in his tefillah, and it's not about him, but it's actually with the hakarah.

The Ribono Shel Olam is toiv u'meitiv, and to Him we daven. And this becomes tefillah that the Ribono Shel Olam, in its purest form, is mesaveh for, tefillah shel tzaddikim. And I'd like to share with you, rabosai, another pshat in this Gemara. Kol hamispalel, and that's the way people always say it, b'ad chaveiroi, v'hu tzarich l'oso davar, אינה תחילה, but that is actually not what the Gemara says. The lashon of the Gemara is: Kol hamevakeish rachamim b'ad chaveiroi, minaho milsa, the Amora Rabbanan, kol hamevakeish rachamim al chaveiroi, v'hu tzarich l'oso davar, hu neneh techilah. It doesn't say mispalel; it says mevakeish rachamim. Why did the Gemara use this lashon? So you could say it's lav davka, means tefillah. But there efsher, rabosai, it's davka. It's mevakeish rachamim. It's not about the tefillah; it's about the bakashas rachamim. Kol hamerachem al habriyos, HaKadosh Baruch Hu merachem alav. Found this in a Ksav Sofer. The Ksav Sofer in Parshas Vayeira says pshat in this Gemara, that the Ribono Shel Olam sees in the person that he's mevakeish rachamim about the other, and therefore the Ribono Shel Olam is merachem on him. And that's how he understands the Gemara. The Gemara did not say, Kol hamispalel baad chaveiro, but mevakeish. He's searching to find rachamim. He's trying to be me'orer rachamim baad chaveiro, so the midas harachamim becomes nis'orer, and then the Ribono Shel Olam is merachem. This is the yesod of tefillah, rabosai. We find that by Rachel Imeinu, Kol beramah nishma, Rachel mevakah al baneha. And we know Chazal tell us that Rachel was able to find the Pesach to be me'orer rachamim. How did she find that Pesach? What was it that she said? What was in her tefillah that that tefillah opened the gates where the Avos HaKedoshim couldn't open? They couldn't tap into that tefillah. What was her tefillas tzaddikim? What was her tefillah that was able to go l'maalah and open where nothing else was able to open? What key did she use? And the answer is, Valo richamti al achosi. I had rachmanus on my sister. To be me'orer rachamim. That was the rachamim. The tefillah of Rachel Imeinu, throughout the doros, Rachel mevakah al baneha, is accompanied. It's accompanied with the rachmanus sherichma al achoyso. I believe that's the pshat. And where do I find this? It's a Gemara, rabosai. The Gemara in Sotah, daf lamed gimmel, tells us that tefillah could be b'chaloshon, says the Gemara in Sotah. How do we know it? Because tefillah, rachami hi. Tefillah is rachami. Kolecha d'boi matzli. Tefillah is rachami. It's interesting, Vayetar Yitzchak laShem lenochach ishto. There are ten leshonos of tefillah. One of them is atirah, vayetar. This is a seferi, that there are ten different leshonos of tefillah, and vayetar is one of them. What is the lashon of vayetar? Why is that a lashon of tefillah? It's a mefurasha Gemara in Yevamos, rabosai. The Gemara in Yevamos says, daf samech daled amud aleph, atirah is a rake that you hold things with. A rake. Vayetar. It's a Gemara. What does a rake have to do—

Tefillah. So, the Gemara, the child, like a rake, is able to take from one place to another, and that's how you do. You move things around. You rake the wheat to the sharet, mimakom l'makom. Kach tefilosan shel tzaddikim is able to take mimidas hadin and to take it to a different place, midas harachamim. Furisha Gemara in Yevamos. Vayeter was the koach of taking the din and moving it to midas harachamim, mimakom l'makom, from one place to another. And that was—how did he do it? He understood he did it by what? L'neichach ishto, by not davening for himself, but to show the Ribono Shel Olam that he's selfless, and he's davening bishvil ishto. Kol hamerachem al habriyos, merachamim alav. He knew how to be me'orer rachamim tzaddikim. Tzaddikim know how to be me'orer rachamei HaKadosh Baruch Hu. This is—HaKadosh Baruch Hu is mesaveh l'tefilosan shel tzaddikim. You know, rabosai, tefillah has so much facets to it. There's so much about tefillah. We don't really understand, and we're not really taught completely well as children. What are the buttons? We learned how to type. People are taught how to type, but there are buttons to be pushed to type tefillos. What are the buttons that have to be pushed? What are those buttons of tefillah? And Chazal are telling us something very deep over here, and those buttons are to be me'oir rachamim. And how am I me'oir rachamim? I'm me'oir rachamim by davening for others. I want to tell you over from the Alter from Kelm, and then from Reb Yerucham, two very interesting nekudos, and then we'll end with two stories, and then we'll bring out the yesodos that we need to take from a day like today. The Alter from Kelm, in Chachmah U'Musar, chelek beis, amud reish samach ches: Ha'ikar lihyos kashur im haklal Yisrael, lida'eg al tikun gufam v'nafsham. This is the ikar. The ikar is to be do'eg al tikun gufam v'nafsham. V'hu ha'inyan shekol hatefillos nisaknu blashon rabim, kal yedei zeh yisalem maaseh adam me'od neloch. Tefillah, it's not about me. Tefillah is much deeper. It's about Klal Yisrael. And therefore it's nisaken blashon rabim. Because that's the ikar. Reb Yerucham speaks many times, that in the sefarim, brought down that before you start davening, a person needs to speak out clearly that he's mekabel on himself the mitzvah of V'ahavta l'reiacha kamocha. It gives a whole different perspective about tefillah. What is the tefillah? When a person understands, when he begins to daven, the kamocha, that when I daven, it's not about me, and it really is about me, because the enemy is me. That's the pshat. A person must daven for himself. Of course you daven for yourself, but what's called yourself? And that's why we begin the tefillah with understanding V'ahavta l'reiacha kamocha. It is me. I want to tell you over from Reb Yerucham. Lefi zeh.

What is the greatest deveikus that a person could have in this world? And the answer is tefillah. But it's possible, says Reb Yerucham, and I speak it out because Reb Yerucham speaks sharp. Im rak hu madgish es atzmo, if in his tefillah he emphasizes only himself, sham gufo, there, in the greatest of deveikus, yehei rosho merusha. Hear, rabosai, Reb Yerucham, that if a person davens, he's ultimately dovek in the Ribono Shel Olam, yet in that deveikus itself, he could undermine the entire deveikus. He could be a rosho merusha. Says Reb Yerucham, yehei sham gufo, there itself, he becomes a rosho merusha. And he brings a mashal from the Dubno Maggid, that there was a fire in one of the houses in a city. If each guy would run to protect his house, that the fire shouldn't come to him, they'll never put out the fire. What they need to do is to all join together to go to where the fire is, and that's how you extinguish the fire. And as they bring Reb Yerucham a mashal from the Dubno Maggid, when there's a fire in Klal Yisroel, rabosai, a little bit— Issues that one has, those issues become minute to the fact that we all join together, come together to extinguish the fire itself, and that's through tefillah, and that's through tefillah al acheirim. I want to share with you three things, three nekudos, rabosai. There's a sefer, Moach Valev, written about Rav Chaim Shmulevitz, zecher tzaddik livrachah. Every story in there is a mussar sefer for itself. Rav Chaim was a mussar, was a walking mussar sefer. There's a story there in Moach Valev when Rav Chaim was in the hospital, days before his petirah. He could hardly move. Rav Chaim asked, Rav Chaim Shmulevitz asked if he could be dressed. He wants to get dressed. He wants to be wheeled to a different floor in the hospital. They told him, Really, it's not your koiches. Rav Chaim said, I don't care. I'm going. Where did he go, Rav Chaim? He heard of another talmid chacham that was brought to the hospital that was sick, and he asked if it's possible if he could be taken to the room of that choleh so he could daven for him in front of him. And then he brings another story to bring out Rav Chaim's koach in this area, that haishaner rabba. His last one. From the hospital, Reb Chaim asked if he could be taken to the kosel. And everyone thought he wanted to be taken to the kosel so he could, so to speak, daven in part. And he said no. He took out a piece of paper when he got to the kosel and he said, they looked. Some choleh asked him to daven for him. A choleh asked. Reb Chaim wanted to go to the kosel to daven for that person. Shalaf mikiso petek, she'alav roshem haya shem shel choleh sheba'ado nizbakesh l'hispalel, u'bisheiris kocho k'ilu tefilos shavu, mitas cholav, and quickly they brought him back to the hospital. On a personal note, rabosai, and this I want to end, and then I want to just bring out a point. My father told me that there was a very chashuve Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Sankevitch, zecher tzaddik livracha. He was the gerrer Rosh Yeshiva, Rosh Yeshiva Tzfas Emes in Yerushalayim. My father told me that one Yom Kippur, I remember my zeide very well. He cried most of Yom Kippur. I remember the way he davened. And there was one Yom Kippur, my father told me that he saw that it was more than regular. There was something, something was on his mind.

And he asked him, Tata, what is it that...? He said, I'll tell you. Remember yesterday, two days ago, before Yontif, Rav Sankevich was here? He said, Yeah. Rav Sankevich visited me on his way to Brazil to collect money for tzedakah, for the yeshiva. And when he went into the taxi, I was melaveh him, taxi to the airport, I was melaveh him. And before he left, he rolled up the window and he said, Reb Shmuel David, daven for me. I don't feel well. When a Yid bet, when a Yid... as the Yid ha'tzarah, as Eide said, ... in the himmel, to rip up. Tzarich l'hachli, you have to get sick over it. It's interesting, Rav Sankevich was niftar that Yom Kippur. So Yom Kippur became the besurah he was niftar, in Brazil. All my years that I remember seeing my zeide, my zeide used to cry a lot in his tefillos. The one thing that left more roishim than anything else on me, from all of the davening that I saw from my zeide, was when Reb Baruch was sick, his cousin Reb Baruch. ... I'll never forget, something. It stands in front of me all my life. Reb Baruch was his cousin. He was almost my great-uncle. You know, Rabosai, we take news. Yes, everybody, 100% feels pain today. Pain needs to be taken into action, and the action is tefillah. And what type of tefillah, Rabosai? Rachi mamlei. Come on, there's so much suffering in Eretz Yisroel today. Why? Bnei Torah, yesomim, children, husbands. Why? You tell me that. The tefillah is that Rabbeinu Sholeilam should be me'oir rachamim, try to find the Rabbeinu Sholeilam should have rachmanus. That's what tefillah is. The Rabbeinu Sholeilam is mis'aveh l'tefilosan shel tzaddikim. That's— a person doesn't have to be only a tzaddik, doesn't have to be on the great level of tzaddikim, but it's something in the tefillah of the tzaddik that the Rabbeinu Sholeilam looks forward to. He wants to see if we daven for others, if the einam tzarah becomes our tzarah. And then even when it's akar, Rivka couldn't have children, the ma'aleh miderech hateva, the Rabbeinu Sholeilam is mekabel those type of tefillos. That the Rabbeinu Sholeilam have rachmanus on us. Let us see our tefillos. Rabosai, it's just not one day. We have to, as we get a mushpa from the goyim around us. The next news cycle kills me. Something kills me. ... one minute, and then we go to the next news cycle. It becomes part of the history. It's time. That's what I meant. It takes time to digest. It should take time to digest. Something unbelievably tragic happened. Unbelievable. ... ... ... ... ... You've just experienced another Torah class, brought to you by TorahAnytime.com.