OHR LASHAMAYIM'S DAVENING
His was a life of almost constant hardship and poverty, yet a life of total devotion to Hashem.
Orphaned of his father as a child, Rav Meir was brought up by his mother. One early morning before daylight, he felt his mother gently waking him to rise for davening and Torah learning. Seeing it was considerably earlier than usual, the young Meir turned over onto the other side to continue his sleep. After a few minutes, he felt again that he was being awoken. This time he got up, but was astonished to find his mother still asleep in bed. She had not woken him at all.
The realization at that point struck him that he was being prodded from Heaven to rise and serve his Master.
From that day on Rav Meir decided to devote his entire existence to avodas Hashem.
His mother eked out a meager living by making and selling liquor. Every morning after he had finished davening, she would present her son with two rolls.
One day at the usual time she approached Meir and said sadly, "Today you didn't pray as well as usual and cannot have your rolls."
Her accuracy was uncanny. "How do you know my dear mother, that today I didn't manage to daven with as much kavonoh as I should have?"
His mother then revealed to him that every day while he davened she cooked the liquor and in the zchus of his tefillos the results were excellent.
"Today, however, everything burned and I immediately understood that your tefillos did not rise straight to Heaven, as usual." After promising to invest greater effort in his tefillos, he once again received the rolls.
(Ohel Shlomo Radomsk page 37 #29)
