Teϔillah at the Beginning of the Year
The Aruch L'Ner writes that tefillos said throughout the year are generally answered, but sometimes they aren't. However, tefillos said at the beginning of the year are always answered.
A kehillah needed a new beis medresh. They bought a beis medresh building from a prefab company. A crane was brought to the site, and as the construction workers were lowering the beis medresh with a remote control, some members of the beis medresh were also there, directing the workers exactly where to lower the structure. The members of the beis medresh were saying, "Right... A drop left. Go back a bit. No, now come forward..." until it was placed precisely where they wanted it. Mission accomplished (and money collected), and the crane and the construction crew left. The shul members went inside to celebrate the new beis medresh when they realized they had made a severe error. They shouted, "The beis medresh is backward! The aron kodesh was on the wrong side!"
A child asked, "What's the problem? Just say, 'Right, left, front, back' like you did before, and the problem will be solved." The adults patiently explained that saying "right and left" only helps when the crane and the workers are there, not after they've left. The nimshal is that the beginning of the year is an eis ratzon, and our tefillos are answered; our tefillos aren’t as potent the rest of the year. Although the mashal isn’t entirely accurate because tefillah helps the entire year, there is an extraordinary power to tefillos at the beginning of the year.
As a child, Reb Yitzchak Tuvyah Weiss zt'l (the gavad of Yerushalayim) lived in a city some four kilometers from Pressburg. When the Germans entered his city, they ordered all the Jews to board trains. The Germans said they were taking them to a work camp, and whoever disobeyed would be shot. The Jewish community didn't know whether to believe the Germans or whether it was a ruse to bring them to the gas chambers. The rabbanim and community leaders didn't know whether to encourage the people to cooperate with the Germans or to hide or escape.
Reb Tuvyah Weiss (still a child) was sent to Pressburg to seek counsel from the הקהל ראש of Pressburg. The Rosh hakahal replied that their lives were in grave danger either way, and he didn’t know what to advise. The rosh hakahal added that the king of England had arranged a children's transport to save one thousand children and bring them to England. The rosh hakahal said, "I have some tickets to the children's transport, but I don't know who to save and who has precedence over whom. Since you came here, here's a ticket. Go and save yourself."
Reb Tuvyah relayed the bleak report to his city’s community leaders, then went home to quickly pack his bags, said goodbye to his parents, and left on the transport. His mother's parting words were that he should never forget that he's a Yid. Soon, he was safe on English soil with a thousand other children. A short while later, the king of England requested to see the thousand children he had saved. The children stood respectfully on either side of the road as the king drove between them. Suddenly, one of the children, a courageous young boy, jumped forward and asked to speak to the king. The king's servants wanted to send the boy away, but the king stopped and called for the boy. The child thanked the king for saving him and the other children, "But it upsets me that the king's compassion isn't complete because I left my parents and family behind. How can I be happy with my salvation when I'm worried about the safety of my parents and family?" The king asked him for his parents' address. Two weeks later, his parents and extended family arrived in England.
Reb Tuvyah Weiss zt'l recounted this episode and said, "There were another 999 children there. None of us thought of coming forth to beg the king to save their families. Only this boy did, and he benefitted so much from that. Let this be a reminder to take advantage of the opportunities that come our way." For our topic, let's take advantage of our power of tefillah, especially at this time of year. The King is present, as it states בהמצאו 'ה דרשו. If we call out to Him, He will answer us and grant our requests.
Reb Pinchas Feldman Shlita, a rosh kollel in Yerushalayim, knows how to read palms and tell the future. However, Reb Feldman doesn't see people from Rosh Hashanah until after Hoshanah Raba. He explains that there is no purpose to do so because the lines on the hand move every day at this time of year. (Most people don't recognize the movements, but he says that if you bring him pictures of your hand from two different days, during this time of year, he can show you where the lines have moved and changed.) This is because people daven a lot this time of year, so their destiny constantly changes. (I heard this from other palm-readers as well. They don't see people from Rosh Hashanah until after Hoshana Rabba because their destiny is constantly changing.)
Reb Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld zt'l wouldn’t listen to shidduchim for his children unless he davened for their shidduch during the yamim noraim. Once, a shidduch was suggested for one of his children, and he was pressured to look into it. He didn't want to consider it because he hadn't prayed for that child's shidduch on Rosh Hashanah. Due to the pressure, he proceeded with the shidduch. Sadly, the marriage didn't last long, rachmana litzlan. This is because success needs tefillos. Ideally, tefillos at the beginning of the year.
It states (Iyov 22:28), לך ויקם אומר ותגזר, "You will decree, and it will occur." This pasuk discusses the power of tefillah, and the Gemara (Bava Metzia 106., Rashi) teaches that this pasuk refers especially to tefillos said at the beginning of the year. Whatever you ask for at the start of the year is given to you. The Gemara is referring to a hired worker who didn't listen to his employer. He planted barley instead of wheat, and since there was a flood that season, all the crops of his field (and other people's fields) were destroyed. The hired worker claimed that although he didn’t follow instructions, he didn't cause any harm. Even if he had planted wheat kernels as instructed, the flood would have destroyed the crop. However, the Gemara rules that he must pay for the damages. Rashi explains that the field owner can tell him, "Had you planted wheat kernels as I told you to, the wheat would have grown. At the beginning of the year, I prayed that my wheat crop should succeed. I didn't daven for a barley crop." The worker is held responsible since a miracle could have occurred, and the crops would have been spared.
