The Apter Rav zt'l had a kollel in his beis medresh, and would hand out stipends to the yungerleit every Rosh Chodesh. One of the kollel members thought, "I don't have to pray for parnassah since my parnassah is given to me by the Rebbe." That Rosh Chodesh, after musaf, the yungerleit lined up in the Rebbe's room to receive their monthly stipend. When it was this yungerman's turn, the Rebbe ran out of money. The Rebbe excused himself and left the room to get more money. The yungerman also had to leave his place in line for some reason, and when he returned, he went to the end of the line. The Apter Rav returned and resumed handing out money, but when this yungerman's turn came, there was, again, no money left. The Rebbe said, "Hashem gives me the money I need to support the yungerleit every month. There must be a reason you didn't receive your stipend this month. Check your deeds and see whether you can find the reason." The man understood that it was because he didn't daven for parnassah. Even if the Rebbe supported him, he still needed tefillah because parnassah comes from Hashem.
Tefillah is Essential
Siddur Rokeach writes, "From the time the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed, Hakadosh Baruch Hu doesn't give goodness to Bnei Yisrael without tefillah." Similarly, the Hafla'ah (Kesubos 67:) writes, "It is known to all believers in Hashem's hashgachah that in galus, parnassah comes solely through tefillah. The Gemara (Kesubos 10) tells us that מזבח means מזין, sustainer, for it gave sustenance to the Jewish people. Today, tefillah fills this function (tefillah is in place of the korbanos placed on the mizbeach). Tefillah brings parnassah and blessings to Klal Yisrael."
It states (32:42), בנתיה ואת קנת את וילכד הלך ונבח בשמו נבח ָהל ויקרא, "Novach conquered Knas and its surrounding villages and named it Novach, after his name." Rashi tells us that this name didn't last. The hint is that לה is written without a mapik heh, which means the heh isn't pronounced. "It is read like לא נבח because this name didn't last." The Pnei Menachem zt'l teaches that a dot in the 'ּה hints at the heart, which is in the middle of the body. The pasuk teaches us that whatever is done without heart doesn't last. This is why placing our heart and soul in tefillah is important. Indeed, tefillah is called שבלב עבודה, the service of the heart.
In parashas Masei, we study the laws of someone who accidentally killed his fellow man. He must flee to arei miklat and remain there until the kohen gadol dies. When the kohen gadol dies, he goes free (see 35:25). Rashi explains (in his second explanation) that the murderer's freedom depends on the kohen gadol's life because the kohen gadol is somewhat responsible for the murder that occurred inadvertently. Rashi writes, שהיה לפי בחייו לישראל זו תקלה תארע שלא להתפלל גדול לכהן לו, "The kohen gadol should have davened that such a calamity shouldn’t occur in his lifetime."
The Mishnah (Makos 11) states, "The mothers of the kohanim gedolim would supply food and clothing [to the murderers who escaped to arei miklat] so they won't pray that their son die." She wanted the people living in arei miklat to feel content and satisfied so that they wouldn't pray for her son's death. However, we wonder how food and clothing parcels would appease them. Being detained in arei miklat was like being in prison. Wouldn't they still daven for the kohen gadol's death regardless, so they could go free?
The answer is that, true, they would still daven for the kohen gadol's passing, but due to the care packages they received, they wouldn’t pray with all their heart and soul, and such a tefillah is less effective.
Rashbam (Bava Basra 121.) writes, "The Midrash Eichah states that every Tisha b'Av evening [in the desert], it was announced that everyone must dig a grave and lie in it. In the morning, it was announced that the living should separate from the dead. They discovered that fifteen thousand people died each year. This is what occurred for forty years. In the final year, they checked and saw that everyone remained alive. They said, 'Perhaps we counted the dates wrong [and it isn't yet Tisha b'Av]. They lay in their graves on the tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth [of Av] until the moon was full. When the moon was full, they said, 'Hakadosh Baruch Hu annulled this harsh decree from us,' and they celebrated with food and drink and made a yom tov."
Fifteen thousand people died each year. 15,000 x 40 years in the desert equals 600,000. It was destined that 600,000 people die. This was their punishment for the sin of the meraglim. However, in the final year, they were granted forgiveness. No one died that year.
We can explain that when the men climbed into their graves each year, they didn't daven with all their might to be saved. They knew that 15,000 people would die that night, but they thought that perhaps others would die and not them, so they didn't daven with all their heart and soul. But in that final year, the last fifteen thousand people of the previous generation (who sinned with the meraglim) climbed into their graves, knowing they were all destined to die. We can be certain that on that night, they davened for salvation with all their heart. And when one davens with all his heart, his tefillos are answered. This might be the reason that this time they all survived.
Stories of Sincere Tefillah
Rav Eliyashev zt'l’s parents were childless for many years. Once, they traveled to the medical center in Vienna for treatment, but the doctors informed Rebbetzin Eliyashav that there was no cure. "There's nothing we can do." She didn't want to cry on the train ride home, but when she arrived home, she went into a silo where she could be alone, and she wept copiously. Her father, noticing her red eyes, asked her what happened. She gave some lame excuse, but the father asked her again for an explanation. Finally, she admitted that her tears resulted from the devastating news the doctor delivered. "I didn't cry throughout the two-week trip home, and now I am letting my tears flow freely. I am pouring out my heart before Hashem." Her father told her, "It states (Tehillim 145:18), באמת יקראוהו אשר לכל קוראיו לכל 'ה קרוב, 'Hashem is near to all those who call Him, to all who call Him with sincerity.' When does one pray sincerely? When he knows he has nowhere to turn other than Hashem. And since you said such a tefillah, I'm confident you will soon bear a child." A year later, she gave birth to Reb Yosef Shalom Eliyashev zt'l, who illuminated the world with his Torah.
There's another story on how this righteous woman merited bearing a holy son, Reb Yosef Shalom Eliyashev. One day, in Yerushalayim, Rebbetzin Eliyashev hung out laundry to dry, and a neighbor purposely cut the ropes, toppling the clean laundry into the mud. Rebbetzin Eliyashev didn’t complain, although she would have to clean all the clothes again by hand. She didn’t even tell her husband about it. Late that night, there was frantic knocking at their door. At the door stood the neighbor in tears. Her child suddenly developed a high fever, and she came to ask forgiveness for the laundry incident. The husband, who had answered the door, was surprised to hear about the event. His wife immediately and wholeheartedly forgave the woman and wished her child a full and speedy recovery. About a year later, this righteous woman gave birth to an extraordinary son — Reb Yosef Shalom Eliyashev, zt'l, one of the leading rabbanim of Yerushalayim.
