15. Many Yidden were drafted to fight the war during World War One. At that time, when communication was difficult and limited, some women didn't know whether their husbands were alive or dead for many years. A group of women once came to the Chofetz Chaim zt'l, crying and pleading that he pray for them. The Chofetz Chaim cried with them, blessed them, and told them they should also daven. He said, "Go to the beis medresh, open the aron kodesh, and pour out your heart before Hashem. Hashem wants you to daven, as it states (Yeshayah 62:6-7) תחרישו אל לו דמי תתנו ואל לכם דמי אל, "Be not silent. Give Him no rest..."
The women asked the Chofetz Chaim, "What should we say?" These women were accustomed to saying the tefillos printed in Yiddish in siddurim, such as the techinos said after lighting the Shabbos lecht and the techinos for motzei Shabbos. They didn't know how to articulate their own tefillah. The Chofetz Chaim told them, "Tell Hashem what is lying on your heart. When a child is hungry, he doesn't look for techinos. He cries in his own words. Do the same. Pour out your heart before your compassionate Father" (Sichos Chofetz Chaim vol.2, p.21).
The second plague was tzefardeia. Rashi writes that one giant frog came out of the Nile. Every time the Mitzriyim hit it, many frogs came out of it. Why did they continue hitting it if they saw the results?
The Steipler Gaon zt'l answers that this is human nature. People have bad habits; they know that they only cause them trouble, and yet they keep returning to them. In response to this tendency, the Torah urges נעליכם ברגליכם, to change your ways. We can do so, because לכם הזה החודש.
It states (Koheles 4:13) זקן ממלך וחכם מסכן ילד טוב וכסיל, "Better a poor and wise child than an old and foolish king..." Rashi explains that the young child is the yetzer tov, and the old king is the yetzer hara. The Kotzker zt'l says that the yetzer tov is called a young child because children are ready to change their ways. The yetzer hara is called "melech zakein uksil," a foolish, old king, representing someone who isn't prepared to change his ways.
Tefillah
The Rebbe Rayatz of Lubavitz zt'l said that people think all we have to do is wait for Moshiach, and when the time comes for our redemption, we will be redeemed. But waiting isn't enough. Tefillah is needed. In Mitzrayim, the time for redemption had arrived, but they also needed to daven to be saved. When they davened, the geulah happened.
Rabbeinu b'Chayei (2:23-24) writes, "The time for redemption had arrived, but they didn't deserve to be saved. They davened a lot to Hashem, and Hashem accepted their tefillos. This teaches us that the future redemption depends on teshuvah and tefillah. To be redeemed from Mitzrayim, they needed teshuvah and tefillah." Also, to be redeemed from our present galus, we need tefillos.
