The efficacy of prayer is displayed right from the start in this week’s parshah. Moshe made a final plea to be allowed to enter the Land: וָאֶתְחַנַּן אֶל ד’ בָּעֵת הַהִוא לֵאמֹר… אֶעְבְּרָה־נָּא וְאֶרְאֶה אֶת־הָאָרֶץ הַטּוֹבָה אֲשֶׁר בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן… – “And I entreated Hashem at that time, saying: … ‘Please, may I cross into and see the good land that is on the other side of the Yarden (River)…” (Devarim 3:23,25). However, Hashem responded that the decree was final: וַיֹּאמֶר ד’ אֵלַי רַב־לָךְ אַל־תּוֹסֶף דַּבֵּר אֵלַי עוֹד בַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה… – “And Hashem said to me: ‘It is enough for you! Do not continue to speak to Me further of this matter…’” (ibid. v. 26).
Yes, Moshe’s initial request was denied. But the P’nei Yehoshua (Berachos 32b) makes the point that it was necessary for Moshe to be instructed to refrain from further prayer – for had he continued, it is quite likely that the decree would indeed have been annulled. Thus, from the fact that Moshe was told “Do not continue…” we get a sense of the potential potency of tefillah. As stated explicitly and unequivocally later in the parshah: כִּי מִי־גוֹי גָּדוֹל אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ אֱלֹקִים קְרֹבִים אֵלָיו כַּד’ אֶלֹקֵינוּ בְּכָל־קָרְאֵנוּ אֵלָיו – “For who else is a great nation that has a G-d that is close to it, as is Hashem our G-d, in all instances of our calling out to Him?” (Devarim 4:7).
Never Too Much, Never Too Late
Commenting on the aforementioned passuk, the medrash (Shocher Tov, ch. 4) illustrates the idea by comparing the responsiveness of Hashem to that of man:
“If a person has a friend, as long as that friend continually appeals for help and assistance, his benefactor will (eventually) come to despise and distance him. But Hashem does not conduct Himself in this way. (On the contrary,) as long as a person continually appeals for help and assistance, he becomes dearer and dearer to Him…
If a person has a close friend who visits him constantly, the first time, the host places his visitor on an elegant couch. When he arrives the second time, he is placed on a chair; the third time, on a bench; the fourth time, the host declares: ‘What a tiresome burden this one places upon me!’ But Hashem does not conduct Himself in this way. (On the contrary,) the more that Yisrael press and come to the house of prayer, it elicits great joy from before Him. Thus it states: ‘… as Hashem our G-d, in all of the instances of our calling out to Him.’”
If one maintains this consistency, then – as the P’nei Yehoshua remarks – prayer can be remarkably effective in overturning even those decrees that appear completely intractable. This notion is highlighted most dramatically by the episode regarding the failing health of the great sage and leader Rebbi (R’ Yehudah Hanasi), redactor of the Mishnah. The Gemara (Kesubos 104a) relates that the rabbinical leaders at the time issued a most interesting directive: they forbade anyone to make mention of Rebbi’s passing. “Whosoever shall say that Rebbi is deceased,” they declared, “shall be pierced by the sword.” Why, indeed, were they so adamant in suppressing this information? Quoting Rashi, the Shitah Mekubetzes (ibid.) clarifies their intent. With Rebbi on his deathbed, the masses were engaged in fervent
prayer and supplication. The rabbis feared that should news of his demise be revealed, the people would become discouraged and halt their prayers. In other words, the leaders desired that the prayers continue even after Rebbi’s passing – for in this way, there was still a chance that the sage could be returned to life.
Out of View
Of course, while consistency in prayer is necessary and praiseworthy, there is a certain danger that human nature might interfere. That is, when people accustom themselves to repetitive behavior, they tend to relate to the endeavor as if by rote. In connection with our daily prayers, Chazal exhort us to overcome this tendency, as they state in the Mishnah (Avos 2:13):
וּכְשֶׁאַתָּה מִתְפַּלֵּל, אַל תַּעַשׂ תְּפִלָּתְךָ קֶבַע, אֶלָּא רַחֲמִים וְתַחֲנוּנִים לִפְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם בָּרוּךְ הוּא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר כִּי חַנּוּן וְרַחוּם הוּא אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם וְרַב חֶסֶד וְנִחָם עַל הָרָעָה.
“And when you pray, do not treat the prayer as a fixed burden, but rather as an (appeal for) mercy and graciousness before the Omnipresent One, Blessed is He. As it states (Yo’el 2:13): ‘For He is gracious and merciful, long-suffering and abundant in kindness and rescinds evil (decrees).’”
Now, there is another challenge that people often face with respect to consistent prayer over a prolonged period. There is, of course, the difficulty alluded to above of confronting discouragement. How, indeed, does one maintain hope and faith in the efficacy of prayer in such instances? He could be praying and praying for salvation in a certain area but does not seem to detect much improvement.
It is helpful to bear in mind the words of the Medrash Tanchuma (parshas Beshalach), which offers a most illuminating teaching in this regard. The medrash comments on the fact that Yisrael is referred to as “Tola’as Ya’akov (the worm of Ya’akov)” in the passuk inYeshayah(41:14). The medrash states:
“Why is Yisrael likened to a worm? This tells you: Just as a worm strikes the cedars only with its mouth, and it constitutes a delicate entity striking a formidable one – so it is with Yisrael, whose only recourse is prayer.”
R’ Yechiel Michel Stern explains the significance: It is actually quite remarkable to consider the abilities of the worm in contrast with other creatures. Of course, there are so many animals much stronger and more impressive than the worm. Nonetheless, when it comes to the cedar – one of the stoutest, most sturdy of trees – even a lion or elephant cannot knock it down. But a worm can. And how does it do so? Using little more than its tiny mouth, it eats its way through the body of the tree. Of course, this doesn’t happen in a single moment. But slowly but surely, day by day, the worm nibbles through another miniscule amount. And so it is that after a prolonged period, enough of the tree is bored through that it eventually collapses.
And so it is with Yisrael, who utilize their mouths to utter prayers to Hashem. We may not see the salvation right away. Nonetheless, if we keep at it day by day – as an appeal for rachamim v’sachanunim – each prayer does its part in bringing the deliverance that much closer (Middos V’hanhagos Tovos, pp. 546, 559, 560).
