Chazal tell us that the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur would daven a tefillah for Klal Yisrael in the Kodesh Hakadashim. Yonasan Ben Uziel writes Bamidbar 35,25 that the contents of his tefillah was that Yisrael should not transgress the Three Cardinal Sins, adultery, murder and avodah zarah. He continues to write that if one kills accidentally, he must run to the refuge city and remain there until the Kohen gadol passes away. He explains that the reason why the Kohen Gadol is suddenly involved in his kapparah is because the Kohen Gadol took part in the accidental killing of this Yid. For if he would have davened with more kavvanah and energy while he was in the Kodesh Hakadashim on Yom Kippur, the accidental killing would not have happened. For this reason the Kohen Gadol dies and the murderer is set free!
We see from this that the Kohen Gadol is held responsible to daven with all his heart and focus for the safety of Klal Yisrael and that the lack of such, blames him for the loss of life. In this week's parsha we have the mitzvah ואהבת לרעך כמוך. If one was in the battlefield fighting, you surely would ask others to really daven for you and your protection. This mitzvah tells us even if we are not in battle, even if we are not living in Eretz Yisrael where the battle is taking place, we must daven for the safety of Yidden as if we ourselves were in the same scenario.
Today is the yarzheit of Rebbe Menachem Mendel from Vitesbsk who is buried in the old cemetery in Teveryah amongst the talmidim of the Maggid. I visited this part of the cemetery at the beginning of the week and right before the entrance to the old section I saw a tombstone that blew me away. It read Rebbi Shlomo Zalman Leider from the greater Chassidim of Lechovitch. He left his city Lidah to the Holy Land after he heard that one can daven with more kavanah over there. טירת תבט זי (165 years ago).
Can you imagine leaving your neighborhood or country to travel a month or two on a boat to a place you don't even know how you are going to make a living never mind where you are going to live. And for what? You heard from someone that you'll be able to upgrade your davening. Firstly such a story tells you what it meant to be a big Chossid by Lechovittch. Secondly it tells us how important it is to daven and the self sacrifice needed to daven. Yet this is the only praise they could write on his matzeivah? I truly believe that if they would start writing any other praises about this Chossid you would need a matzeivah as big as a football field to fit in all the maalos. This one liner depicts and encompasses it all.
Davening is a journey towards getting closer to Hashem. As Dovid Hamelech says םיקלא תברק ינאו לי טוב and Dovid said on himself . אני תפלה When we take those first three steps forwards to daven we are not at the destination yet but rather we have just begun the journey to get closer to Hashem. We are taking this journey because we realize our lacking in so many areas, in דעת , in teshuva, selicha, parnassah geulah etc. and we understand that only Hashem has that power to fill that void. For some people just to move three steps forwards is already a sacrifice. For others over 3000 miles in not enough of a sacrifice. One individual speaks the words of davening. The other, it is the words of davening that speak to him. How much are you willing to sacrifice?
Yes this is the month of אייר whose acronym is אני ה' רופאיך the word רפא should have a special ring in our ears at the present time. Rafa is the last holdout of the evil murderers of Chamas. Am Yisrael have a deep hole and void in our present lives. And if one mistakenly thought that those in Chutz Laaretz do not feel the depth of that void, Hashem made sure that that in your cities you too are brought into the conflict whether you like or not. In other words all Am Yisrael at the present time need a spiritual and physical refuah. As we enter the month of refuah we simultaneously enter the last stronghold of Rafa. Not a coincidence at all. If we can't find and sacrifice to go to a place to make our davening better, don't worry Hashem makes the environment where you are more threatening and that alone would upgrade our davening even more than before. Even the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur in the kodesh kadoshim could have upgraded his tefillah even more.
כי אני ה' רופאך we are holding by the end of galus waiting for משיח בן דוד . The letters of רפא also spell פאר glory. In אנעים זמירות we say פארו עלי ופארי עליו וקרוב אלי בקראי אליו. By davening to Hashem to help bring on the refuah of the geulah Hashem is listening. Our tefillos can bring about the glory of Hashem for which He has been waiting to reveal over two thousand years.
UPGRADE NOW.
Rav Brazil,
Gut Shabbos
