One day, Rabbi Shalom Schwadron entered into a conversation with a secular Jew. About what and why? We will not know. How in between his words he asked the Jew, "Are you praying?" the Jew shook his head in the negative. "No, Rabbi. I am not allowed to pray." Rabbi Shalom raised an eyebrow and another. He has already heard of Jews who do not pray because they are not familiar with the siddur, and even of Jews who do not feel the desire to pray, and even of Jews who feel rejected from praying because they were accustomed to it in the wrong way when they were young... But about a Jew who is forbidden to pray – he has not yet heard of it... And the Jew said:
I am not observant of Torah and mitzvot, and I have never observed. One day my wife and I learned that our only daughter, who was born after many treatments, has a rare disease that may lead to her death in her teenage years... At the moment of truth, when a Jew knows that the only one who can help him is the one who sits on high, there is no room for external considerations and what they will say. I ran to the nearest synagogue in a desolate morning. I opened the Holy Ark, put my head inside and wept bitterly. When I speak to Him in my own words: G-d, I know that I have no right to ask You for anything. I have never kept what You asked of me and it is not fair to ask You. But beyond the letter of the law, I beg You to save the life of our daughter who is lying on her deathbed. And at the same time, you will save my life and the life of my wife... I promise you I won't ask you for anything more! Forever!
I returned home, the Jew continued the chilling monologue, and within a few weeks the doctors and I witnessed the miracle of the resurrection of the dead. The girl was healthy. And since I promised the Creator that I would not bother Him anymore, I am not allowed to pray... Rabbi Shalom Schwadron was moved to tears by the innocence of the Jew. In soft words, he explained to him the essence of prayer: God wants us to be in constant contact with Him. He wants us to give us His goodness, but He wants us to turn to Him, to ask Him. He is a father who loves to hear his sons ask. It is clear that despite your promise, you must and are permitted to pray, for this was the advice of the inclination so that you will no longer turn to your loving Father in heaven.
