My workday begins in the early-morning hours, and this means that I need to daven early, in a vasikin minyan. Usually this works out with my job, even in the winter, when vasikin comes out later.
All is well until Rosh Chodesh comes along. We add Hallel, krias haTorah and Mussaf, and this interferes with my work hours. This time, since I realized I would be really late, I decided to change my normal routine, and on the first day of Rosh Chodesh I davened with a quicker minyan. I swallowed up Pesukei D’zimrah, and during Yotzer Ohr the davening was rushed as if it were in flight. Chazaras Hashatz was more of the same, and the pace of Hallel was even faster.
I found it really hard to keep up. I said to myself, Never again! Tomorrow, on the second day of Rosh Chodesh, I will daven at my regular speed. I’ll have time to thank Hashem for another month of life and to ask for another month of goodness and brachah and ahavas Torah and yiras Shamayim.
What would be with work? Nothing would happen if I’d lose one hour from my salary. While the hourly rate is relatively high, it was worthwhile for me to daven to Hashem, even if it would cost me money. I called someone who works in the same field and asked him to fill in for me, and I would pay him.
While I was speaking to him, I saw that someone was trying to call me. I concluded the conversation with the substitute I’d found, and he told me that he would happily fill in for me. Then, a moment after I hung up, my phone rang again.
The person who’d been nudging me on the phone asked whether I worked in the specific field in which I indeed have much experience. I replied in the affirmative, and he immediately asked me, “Could you do a job for me?”
He explained what he needed, and we agreed that I would do the job privately for him and he would pay appropriately.
The amount of money I made on this job was eleven times the amount of money I had to pay the substitute to take over for me on the second day of Rosh Chodesh.
This comes to teach us that one only gains from davening slowly and carefully.
