The inspiring story was heard by the well-known maggid and educator Rabbi Menachem Stein, shlita, from the person it happened to, an erudite avreich. Rabbi Stein was in the midst of a fiery drashah about the power that is concealed in tefillah from the heart, when it appears that there is no recourse and he shared this fascinating and unbelievable story that perfectly reflects this concept.
It was Thursday afternoon. Like every week, upon reaturning home from his day’s work as a melamed of young children in a well-known cheder, Reb Moshe took out his wallet to get a few bills to buy some things for Shabbos. He looked in every compartment of his wallet, and then in his pockets, but nothing – aside for a few coins, his wallet did not contain even a single bill.
Reb Moshe didn’t understand how such a thing could have happened, because he was a very organized person. From the day he got married, he was careful to record every monetary transaction in a ledger, both ingoing and outgoing. Each month, he would set aside various envelopes with the amount of money they needed for the planned expenses of that month. A credit card was not an option for him. He was afraid it would take them over budget – a natural outcome of using this form of payment.
This month as well, he had allocated his funds, and that’s why he was surprised to find his wallet empty. It took him a moment to remember what had led to this situation. Apparently, even the most organized person can be hit with surprise expenses. Hashem ordained it that one week, a few unusual expenses piled up, among them an urgent dental treatment for one of the children, shoes that tore suddenly, the washing machine that had broken down – and these had liquidated the cash reserves in his pocket. His wallet had emptied before he’d expected, and now, he had nothing to do but gape at it helplessly.
Reb Moshe recovered quickly. He had to find a way to procure money for his Shabbos expenses. The large grocery near their home, where he usually made his purchases, did not sell on credit. So he tried to call a few friends who had small gemachim for exactly this purpose. But to his dismay, the ones who picked up the phone had to turn him down. Today, they told him, their coffers were empty, and none of them could lend him the sum that he needed.
Distraught, he tried to call two friends who might be able to lend him the sum he needed, but nothing was forthcoming. “Apparently the end of the month is a pressured time for everyone,” he thought.
Now Reb Moshe felt like he’d exhausted every avenue. He saw no way to get money to be able to pay for his Shabbos needs. He had one avenue left: to turn to Hashem, Who possesses all the money in the world, and Who sustains all His creations, even in their most trying times.
Reb Moshe went into his room and locked the door. In the darkened room, he began to speak to his Father in heaven, like a repentant son to his father:
“Ribbono shel Olam, merciful Father, I know that there is no other power in the world aside for You. You have the strength, the rulership, You are the sole Ruler over parnassah and sustenance, and only You can decide if I will be able to purchase my Shabbos needs or not. Please help me and sustain me at this time.”
For about half an hour, Reb Moshe communed with his Creator, with words of tefillah that came from the deepest part of his soul.
After his fervent prayers, Reb Moshe left the room, bleary-eyed, but with hope in his heart. His children knew nothing about why their father had closeted himself in his room early one evening, and were waiting for him with sparkling eyes: “Abba! You won’t believe what happened!” the youngest cried to him. “A few minutes ago, Yoni, from the grocery, knocked at the door, and he pushed inside two big carts loaded with stuff for Shabbos: meat, chicken, fish, cans, cakes, nosh, fruits, vegetables, challos, drinks and other stuff.”
Two weeks earlier, Reb Moshe remembered, there had been a raffle at the supermarket among all the people who made their Shabbos purchases for a sum of more than NIS 100. The grand prize was products for a whole Shabbos for two weeks from the store. It was the first time in their lives they had won anything of such a nature...
Reb Moshe did not even have time to process this surprise, when there was another knock at the door. This time, the surprise superseded any imagination: it was the neighbors from the top floor, a very organized family who always cooked their Shabbos by Thursday. They had finished all their cooking, when they suddenly got a phone call that there was an unexpected simchah, and they would have to be out of town for Shabbos. “Please take the food; it’s such a shame it should get spoiled and be thrown out,” they pleaded. Reb Moshe and his family didn’t hesitate to accept the surprising offer...
That is the power of truly heartfelt tefillah when all else fails and the eyes of the mispallel are turned solely to the Creator. Reb Moshe knocked at the gates of Heaven with pure emunah in the power of tefillah, and from Above, faithful emissaries were sent to knock at the door of his home. His request was answered quickly – and doubly.
