The Power of Tefillah During the Yamim Noraim
The following story reveals the enormous power of tefilla, especially during the Yamim Noraim. As you will see from the sequence of medical records attached on page 25, tefilla during this period can literally smash the rules of nature and effect miraculous change.
A friend of ours didn’t feel well throughout the summer of ב"תשפ. He went to a doctor for testing. The results showed a mutation in the JAK2 gene, indicating a severe illness r'l. Further testing confirmed that he was indeed stricken with the “dreaded Machala” r’l. The doctors recommended he begin immediate treatment at the Davidoff haemato-oncology clinic at the Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikva. He replied, "Yom Kippur is approaching. Please give me a chance to daven for my life on Yom Kippur." After begging and pleading, the doctors agreed to postpone the start of treatment until after Yom Kippur.
He went for testing again on the fifth of Cheshvan, which showed an improvement in the condition but nothing conclusive. As such, the recommendation was not to treat and return for further testing in a month. On the tenth of Kislev, another test was conducted; this time, the results clearly showed he was clean from the condition (In the words of medical record #4, “שלילי JAK2” – Negative”). His life was saved with the power of his tefillos.
Now, this isn’t a story of a person who lived in the past or about one of the great tzaddikim of our generation. This is about a person who lives with us; a good Jew, but not known to be someone exceptional. The story demonstrates the power of tefillah, especially during this time of the year.
It is known that when it comes to money matters, the rule is הראיה עליו מחבירו המוציא, that to obligate someone to pay, you must be sure that he owes the money. You can't obligate someone if you are unsure he owes it. It seems that we are certain that the wheat crops would have grown because of the field owner's tefillos. This Gemara demonstrates the incredible power of tefillos, especially those said at the beginning of the year.
The Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 18.) tells us that each person stands before Hashem in judgment on Rosh Hashanah. The Gemara describes that they go before Hashem one by one, like מרון בני. The Gemara offers three explanations for the words מרון בני. One is אמרנא כבני, like sheep. Rashi explains that this refers to sheep walking one by one through a narrow gate when counted for maaser. Every tenth animal is marked with a red marker to indicate that this animal is maaser. The second explanation of מרון בני is מעלות מרון בית. This is a narrow passage atop a mountain in northern Eretz Yisrael. The road is dangerously narrow. There is a slope on either side of the road, and only one person can pass at a time. This is how people pass before Hashem on Rosh Hashanah, one after the other. The third explanation is that מרון בני refers to דוד בית חיילות, the soldiers in Dovid HaMelech's army, who would go out to war, one by one, so they could be counted.
The first explanation is אמרנא כבני, like sheep. Rebbe Mordechai of Nadvorna zt'l added that אמרנא can also be translated as speech. The Gemara is saying that the judgment will be אמרנא כבני, according to how we daven. If we daven well, the judgment will be good. The Gemara also says that the judgment is דוד בית כחיילות, like Dovid’s soldiers. This can be explained to mean that the outcome of the judgment will be according to the amount of Tehillim we say during these days.
Reb Matisyahu Solomon zt”l was a chazan in Gateshead. When the mispallelim came up to the words וצדקה ,תפילה ,תשובה, everyone shouted, and Reb Matisyahu zt”l shouted even louder so that his voice would be heard. His throat discharged some blood and covered the words הגזירה רוע. (This machzor with the covered words is now in London.) That year, no one died young in Gateshead.
We can now better understand that it is foolish to complain about the tefillos taking too long. The long tefillos are for our benefit for us to gain from each word at this time of year. The Or HaMeir writes, "A rebuke to the many people of our nation who consider the long tefillos of Rosh Hashanah as a burden. There is nothing sweeter! The Master, Hashem, requests that we say Malchiyos and Zichronos so that Hashem will remember us and bestow His kindness upon us. Hashem is solely seeking our benefit so that everything will be good for us."
