Emunah and Immediate Results
In times of trouble, a person needs to utilize emunah, as he does not see immediate and tangible results from his actions. Lack of emunah is the reason why people break down in the middle.
For instance, let’s say somebody goes into a store, hands some money to the cashier, and walks out happily carrying his goods in a shopping bag. This is definitely a worthwhile transaction. But what if the storekeeper tells him he the goods won’t be delivered until the next day? Here, the customer thinks a moment before he goes ahead with the transaction. Does he really know what the storekeeper will do with his money? Here, the customer needs to “place faith.”
Let’s say someone goes to the hospital and visits a patient in serious condition. He offers a fervent prayer to Hashem: “Ribono shel Olam, send a refuah sheleimah to the sick ones among Your people!” He immediately notices an improvement in the patient’s condition, who is now on the road to recovery. The visitor feels great. Hey, I prayed, and was answered immediately. How wonderful!
The next day he goes the hospital again and visits another seriously ill patient. He prays and prays and even sheds tears, but this time is not answered by Heaven. The patient’s condition continues to deteriorate. The visitor feels like his words were in vain. He knows that he deposited his words in Hashem’s hands for safekeeping, but where is the result that was supposed to come from those words? The patient is not recovering!
After this happens, he hesitates to pray for sick people at all. He sees his prayers didn’t help, his words just went to waste. Maybe he should devote his time and energy to something else, rather than just speak words that produce no apparent benefit.
But if he would know that everything must pass through the stage of emunah, if he would know that the words he spoke are being safeguarded by Hashem, everything would look different to him. He would know that from these words, something will eventually grow.
And this is true even if his words were spoken without kavanah. In davening we do not recite, “You hear the prayer of every ‘heart’,” but rather: “Attah shomea tefilas kol peh – You hear the prayer of every ‘mouth’.” Every word a Jew speaks is a diamond. It is all kept by Hashem, and the day will come when fruit will grow from it.
We pray on Rosh Hashanah to our King, and we have full faith that our prayers are heard before the Kisei Hakavod.
