Written by R. Avrohom Hillel Reich based on a lesson and story by Harav Ben Tzion Sneh Shlita
It certainly hasn’t been too long since we all sat at the seder table, but let’s review some important lessons learned from the yomtov of emunah. Rav Dovid of Tolna asks: “Why is it that as compensation for not barking, the dogs of Egypt did not bark during the plague of the firstborn, the dogs of Egypt were rewarded for eternity? Forever, when we have a treifah, an animal we cannot eat, we fulfill a special mitzvah by giving it to a dog!
Yet, those frogs in the plague of tzfardiim, who leapt to their death in burning hot ovens, were rewarded in that generation only (those frogs lived forever). From here we can see,” R’ Dovid says, “that remaining silent can be much harder to do than even jumping into a burning hot oven.”
We were given the divine aspect of speech in order to bring positivity into this world. But too many times, we find ourselves regretting a negative statement we may have uttered. We get emotional and shout, hurting ourselves, hurting others, but then regretting our actions. It’s true, other people’s behaviors may trigger us – those closest to us, most of all – but we must not give in.
“Silag lechochma, shtika”... a wise person holds back a sharp retort, becoming wiser still. Rebbe Nachman advises us: if our spouse or anyone else speaks in a way that upsets us, we should never respond in kind.
Simply stay quiet, he says, and pray to Hashem that the relationship will change for the better, and it will, he guarantees. The power of tefillah is great. But the yetzer harah that keeps us from using this G-dly tool can be much stronger, if we let it.
A story will illustrate this point.
Yossi told his parents, “I cannot stay here, I must go to where I can find myself, to Berlin (of all places).”
His father was understanding. “Here’s a ticket, Yossi and some money to start your journey, please promise me that you will take the time to put on tefillin and pray, even if only just a little bit.”
Yossi assured his father that he would. Life abroad was difficult. After a few months, Yossi had run out of money; his expenses were high, and income was slow in coming. WhatsApping his father yielded only one reply:
“Davening will give you all you need Yossi – pray to the Aibeshter.”
And so it was time after time – Yossi asked for money, and his father told him to daven. Finally, he pleaded to his father “Tatti, I have no food to eat!”
“Just daven, I am sure you will be answered. Have you really davened, Yossi?”
Not wishing to lie, Yossi sheepishly hung up the phone and opened his tefillin bag for the first time since he began his journey. Opening the bag, he saw a bundle containing thousands of dollars that his father had prepared for him.
And so it is with all of us – we have no greater power than tefillah. The entire world is ours for the asking. Our Father who has taken care of us until now will never abandon us, especially during these trying times. We need to only open our hearts, entering the storehouse of unlimited blessings – with our tefillos.
