Teβillah
I heard the following story from the baalei maaseh:
Two people were travelling to Mezhibuzh, Ukraine, where they would spend Shabbos Chanukah. While driving their rented car, they found themselves on a narrow road with oncoming traffic. A truck was driving towards them, forcing them onto the side of the snowy passage. Their car landed on top of a miniature mountain of snow, and they couldn't get down. It was freezing outside, and they didn't have much gas to warm the car. Walking to the nearest town for help was also impossible, because the closest location of civilization was forty kilometers away.
They realized that they were in a situation of pikuach nefesh, and they needed a yeshuah. They decided that they would sing songs of hisorerus, to strengthen their emunah and bitachon that Hashem can help them. They fell asleep, and were awoken by a Ukrainian goy, who came with a shovel to help them get out of the snow. They didn't know how long they sang songs or how long they slept. They couldn't communicate with the goy who was helping them because of the language barrier. But they understood that Hashem saved them with the merit of their emunah, bitachon, and tefillos. Hashem sent someone to find them in their predicament, to have compassion for them, and save them from their distress. Indeed, ...בך לו עוז אדם אשרי בך בוטח אדם אשרי ...ישכחך שלא איש אשרי, fortunate is the person who trusts in Hashem!
It states (22:26) ָנִיא ַנּוּןח כִּי ִּיְתַעָמׁוְש ַיֵלא ַקיִצְע כִּי ָיָהוְה, "If he cries out to Me, I shall listen, for I am compassionate." This pasuk refers to a poor person who took a loan and gave his blanket to the lender as collateral. The Torah obligates the lender to return the blanket at night, when the poor person needs it, because if he cries out to Hashem, Hashem will listen to his tears and answer his prayers. Rebbe Shaul Yedidyah of Modzhitz zt'l asks why the phrase begins with the word ָיָהוְה, which is a lashon of joy. Why would the poor person be joyous in this situation? The Rebbe of Modzhitz replies that when a person has bitachon, he is certain that Hashem will help him, and he shouts with joy because he is certain that Hashem will answer his tefillos and save him. Indeed, in the merit of his bitachon, ָנִיא ַנּוּןח כִּי ִּיְתַעָמׁוְש, Hashem will hear his tefillos and save him.
The Ramban discusses the words כִּי ִּיְתַעָמׁוְש ַנּוּןח. ָנִיא ַנּוּןח means that Hashem accepts the prayers of every person, even if he isn't worthy. The Ramban writes, "The root of the word ַנּוּןח is the same as חנם, which means for free, for no reason." Hashem will have compassion on him and listen to his tefillos.
The pasuk is telling the lender that he should return the collateral when the poor person needs it. The Ramban writes, "The concept is that a person shouldn’t say that for a tzaddik, I won't hold onto his clothes as collateral, but the collateral of someone who isn't a tzaddik, I will take it, and I won't return it to him. Anyway, Hashem won't listen to his prayers. Therefore, it states ָנִיא ַנּוּןח כִּי ִּיְתַעָמׁוְש, Hashem listens to everyone who shouts out to Him."
It states (22:25-26) בֹּא ַדע ֶָךֵער ַתַלְמׂש ְבֹּלַּחת ָבֹלח ִםאֶּהבַּמ לְעֹרוֹ ָתוְֹלִמׂש ִואה ַּדָּהלְב כְסוּתוֹ ִואה כִּי ,לו ֶנּוִּׁיבְּשת ֶׁשֶמַּׁשה ָנִיא ַנּוּןח כִּי ִּיְתַעָמׁוְש ַיֵלא ַקיִצְע כִּי ָיָהוְה ְׁכָּביִש, "If you take your fellow's garment as security, until sunset shall you return it to him. For it alone is his clothing, it is his garment for his skin – in what should he lie down? – so it will be that if he cries to Me, I shall listen, for I am compassionate."
It is repeated in the name of the Sfas Emes that the beginning of these pasukim speaks to the מלוה, lender, and the end speaks to the borrower. This isn't the standard explanation of the pasuk. Most meforshim say that both pasukim are speaking to the lender. He should give back the collateral when the borrower needs it. If it is clothing, he should return it to the borrower every morning. And if the collateral is a blanket, he should return it to the borrower every night, if he comes and asks for it because he needs it. The Sfas Emes says that the end of the phrase is speaking to the borrower. It is saying, "Why do you need this tirchah (chore), to go every morning to the home of the lender to ask him for your collateral, your clothes, and then at the end of the day, you return it to him. The next day, you do the same. And if the collateral is a blanket, you will have to come every evening to ask for it back, and then you return it to him again, each morning. Why do you need this hardship and toil? It is foolish to do this. Dear borrower, our advice for you is that you should call out and daven to Hashem. This is the meaning of the words, ַקיִצְע כִּי ָיָהוְה ָנִיא ַנּוּןח כִּי ִּיְתַעָמׁוְש ַיֵלא, "If he cries to Me, I shall listen, for I am compassionate." Daven to Hashem, ask for bounty, and you will be able to pay up your debts, and you won't need to ask daily favors from the lender.
The Gemara (Moed Kattan 28a) states, "חיי בני ומזוני – Children, life, and parnassah aren't dependent on one's merits and good deeds. They are dependent on one's mazal." This means that if a person was born with a good mazal for parnassah, he will have parnassah. The same applies to long life or bearing children. They are not necessarily given to those who deserve them. It depends on one's mazal. But what should a person do if he doesn't have a good mazal? Is he forever doomed, never to attain these matters?
The sefarim give us advice on how a person can change his mazal. One primary counsel is tefillah. The Panim Yafos says that this is alluded to in the following pesukim (23:25-26): ֶָיךֵיממ ֶתוְא ְָךְמַחל ֶתא ַ ךְֵרוּב ֶםֵיכֱלקא 'ה ֵתא ֶּםַדְתֲבוַע ֶתא ֶָךַרְצבְּא ָהָרֲקוַע ָהַכֵּלְׁשמ ְיֶהִהת לֹא ,ִָּרְבֶּךִקמ ָהֲלַחמ ִיִרֹתֲסוַה ַלֵּאֲמא ֶָיךיָמ ַּרְפִסמ, "You shall worship Hashem, your G-d, and He shall bless your bread and your water, and I shall remove illness from your midst. There shall be no woman who loses her young or is infertile in your land; I shall fill the number of your days."
Panim Yafos explains that these pesukim are discussing the three matters that are dependent on mazal: ומזוני חיי בני, children, life, and parnassah. ְָךְמַחל ֶתא ַ ךְֵרוּב, "He shall bless your bread," alludes to מזוני, parnassah. ֶָךַרְצבְּא ָהָרֲקוַע ָהַכֵּלְׁשמ ְיֶהִהת לֹא, "There shall be no woman who loses her young or is infertile in your land" alludes to בני, having children. ַלֵּאֲמא ֶָיךיָמ ַּרְפִסמ ֶתא "I shall fill the number of your days" refers to חיי, long life. This pasuk is discussing ומזוני חיי בני, children, life, and parnassah, and the Torah says that they will be given to those who daven. As it states at the beginning of the pesukim: 'ה ֵתא ֶּםַדְתֲבוַע ֶםֵיכֱלקא, "You shall worship Hashem, your G-d." The avodah (worship) mentioned is tefillah, as the Gemara (Taanis 2a) states, איזהו תפילה זו ,שבלב עבודה, "What is the avodah of the heart? It is tefillah." The pasuk is saying that the power of tefillah accomplishes a lot. Even a person who didn't have a mazal for children, parnassah, or life, can attain these matters with his tefillos.
It states (22:24) ָּ ךְִמע ָנִיֶעה ֶתא ִּיַמע ֶתא ַּלְוֶהת ֶףכֶּס ִםא ךְׁנֶש ָיוָלע ִימוּןְׂשת לֹא ֶהׁכְּנֹש לוֹ ְיֶהִהת לֹא, "When you lend money to My people, to the poor person who is with you, do not act toward him as a creditor; do not lay interest (ribis) upon him."
This pasuk teaches halachos related to lending money. One of the halachos are לֹא ֶהׁכְּנֹש לוֹ ְיֶהִהת, "Do not act toward him as a creditor". Rashi explains, "Don't demand the money back with force if you know that he doesn't have money to pay..."
The concept of ֶהׁכְּנֹש לוֹ ְיֶהִהת לֹא means you shouldn't keep asking him for the money if you know that he is unable to pay you back. The Chozeh of Lublin zt'l said that the pasuk emphasizes that the prohibition to be a ֶהׁכְּנֹש, someone who asks and asks repeatedly, is specifically for לוֹ, the lender. However, when you want something from Hashem, you can ask and ask many times. Hashem wants us to be like a ֶהׁכְּנֹש. He wants us to turn to Him in prayer and to beg Him again and again.
The Beis Yisrael explained that the reason we shouldn’t be a ֶהׁנֹש towards one's fellow man is that he doesn't have money to pay up the debt. You need to be considerate about that, and not place extra pressure on him. However, Hashem can give us. There is nothing Hashem cannot provide. Whatever our requests are, it is in Hashem's hands to give them to us. So, there is no reason we can't ask for it from Hashem, repeatedly.
It states (22:28) ֵרַחְאת לֹא ֲָךְעוְדִמ ְָךָתֵאְלמ. The Shlah Hakadosh (quoting Reb Menachem HaBavli) explains: ְָךָתֵאְלמ, when your heart feels heavy due to your hardships and troubles, ֲָךְעוְדִמ, and you pray with tears due to your tzaros,ֵרַחְאת לֹא, the salvation will not come late. In the merit of your tears and sincere tefillos, Hashem will answer your tefillos right away and grant you your needs. As Chazal (Brachos 32b) say, ננעלו לא דמעות שערי, the gates of tears are never locked. Tefillos said with tears are always answered.
