A Vessel for Bitachon
These exalted tzaddikim defined tefillah for us: It is merely a vessel to attain bitachon and to internalize bitachon into our hearts. By the time one finishes his davening, his heart should be overflowing with trust in Hashem. This is the transformation that must occur in his heart. Prior to his davening, he lacked the feeling that “without the Ribbono shel Olam I have nothing, and with the Ribbono shel Olam I have everything.” After he has davened, he is filled with this feeling!
We have previously mentioned in the name of the great tzaddikim that bitachon does not mean “I’m confident that Hashem will do I want I want Him to do.” Bitachon means trust in Hashem. This person doesn’t rely on his own abilities and might: “I’ll get it done.... I’ll take care of it....” He recognizes that he can do nothing alone. He removes his trust from everything else, and he casts all his worries and trust upon Hashem.
Thus, tefillah is a vessel and a vehicle for internalizing bitachon deep within our hearts. It enables us to think bitachon and speak bitachon—and to perform this important institution designed by the Anshei Knesses HaGedolah in the way that it was meant to be. Truly, it is essentially a d’Oraisa obligation, for when a person finds himself in trouble, he’s obligated to daven to Hashem.
According to this understanding, not only isn’t tefillah a contradiction to bitachon—they’re the best complement to one another. Tefillah, in fact, helps us attain bitachon! There are various levels of internalizing a thought or attitude: We can think about it in passing. Then there are deeper thoughts of bitachon that we may think after hearing a good shiur on bitachon. But then there’s intense internalization that comes from tefillah! Our davening brings us the feelings of bitachon and serenity in the strongest way.
Connection Brings Shefa
There’s a well-known teaching from the Ropshitzer Rav (Zera Kodesh Vayigash) that תפלה is an expression of deveikus—for tefillah and deveikus are the same thing. Through tefillah we become tethered and connected to Hashem, and it is this tefillah of connection that makes an impression On High, and our requests will surely be granted.
This is the same idea that we have learned above from the Mabit.
When a Yid davens with the understanding that only the Ribbono shel Olam can help him, he will automatically have his wishes granted. If one davens with this kind of bittul and submission to Hashem, his tefillah is sure to be answered. If he abandons his own wishes and desires, and he casts himself completely on Hashem, he has now tethered himself to Hashem with deveikus. And when one is connected, this brings shefa. Thus, according to this model, the shefa didn’t come from his insistent and persistent davening—but rather as a direct outgrowth of the connection and reliance that he has cemented through his davening! To the contrary, when we daven without any of our own desires, then we become connected, and then our wishes are automatically fulfilled. If we daven with our desires in mind, then we haven’t tethered ourselves to the Ribbono shel Olam, making it more difficult for the shefa to come.
Shefa only comes when we’re tethered and connected to the Source of shefa!
Less Distraction—More Shefa
The more we abandon our own desires and ideas of what is good for us, the more the shefa will come, and it will come with more intensity. Just as we understand that when we seek to learn Torah, we understand that we must put everything aside—even if we have very important things to do. We know that if we sacrifice for learning Torah, despite all our concerns, we will see the shefa come to us—because Torah learning tethers us to the Ribbono shel Olam, and when we’re connected, the shefa automatically comes with more clarity and blessing.
The same applies to tefillah. Precisely when we distract ourselves from our personal concerns and desires is when the shefa comes.
Dwelling on Desire
There’s a common hazard in tefillah—for, after all, it is a time when we voice our requests. This makes it harder to put our desires aside.
Sometimes, a Yid comes to daven, and he comes with the right attitude...until he comes to עלינו ברך. That’s when he begins dwelling on the many blessings that he needs... and he thinks about his parnassah, until he finds himself at the end of Shemoneh Esrei focused on these very thoughts.
Why did this happen? Because he dwelled on his problem at a time when he should have distracted himself from it. He should have thought: The Ribbono shel Olam knows all my problems, and I believe that He will give me everything that is good for me. If the person would do so, he would conclude עלינו ברך and move onto the next berachah with serenity and peace of mind.
Whatever We Do Have Is Just as Much at Risk
It’s indeed difficult. We’re human, after all, and our thoughts race furiously. But we must at least try to distract ourselves from our problems and needs as we’re davening—not to focus on our deficits so much.
When we remember that everything hangs in the balance, and nothing—even the things we think we have—aren’t assured, then we don’t become so perturbed by the things we don’t yet have. We understand that there isn’t much difference between the things we have and the things we don’t have. We can lose things in one instant, and we can acquire things in the same instant; everything is in the hands of Hashem. Therefore, we’re not excited or overwhelmed and focused on our needs. The only thing we are overcome with during davening are feelings of kirvas Elokim.
Desiring Our Davening
Rav Leibele Eiger says (Toras Emes Parashas Va’eschanan) that when it comes to davening, there’s no difference between the tefillah of a great tzaddik and a simple person. Tefillah is a matter of חינם מתנת, a benevolent gift, even if a person isn’t completely worthy. It doesn’t work according to our worthiness. The very idea of tefillah is predicated on the idea that we don’t deserve anything, but the Ribbono shel Olam is all merciful and all kind, and He gives us everything despite our unworthiness. It’s completely independent of our level of worthiness.
One may ask, we know that צדיקים של לתפילתן מתאוה הקב"ה, the Ribbono shel Olam desires the tefillos of tzaddikim (Yevamos 64a). This would seem to imply that the prayers of tzaddikim are special. Furthermore, we find that the tefillos of tzaddikim are especially effective in drawing down shefa. Chazal often instruct us to “approach a talmid chacham and ask him to intercede on our behalf.” We also find that Hashem preferred the tefillah of Yitzchak over Rivkah’s, for he was the child of righteous people. If so, the tefillah of tzaddikim is surely superior.
An Impossible Balance
The answer to this question lies in our yesod. A true and complete tefillah means davening with an almost conflicted feeling: On one hand, we feel as if we’re hanging on by a hair, dependent on Heavenly mercy at every turn. At the very same time, we feel complete serenity that we’re in the loving hands of the Ribbono shel Olam, Who is a ומטיב טוב, and we know that everything that He does for us is for the good.
The Imrei Chaim of Viznitz used to say that if given the choice between witnessing a person who can awaken the dead or seeing a Yid who lives with two opposing emotions—tremendous joy together with a broken heart—he would choose the latter, for it is a far greater feat to live with such a balance of emotions.
We Can All Deliver The “Prayer of the Righteous”
Tzaddikim davened such a tefillah, and this is why it’s called של תפילתן צדיקים, the prayer of the righteous, which has the power to effect incredible yeshuos.
But every single Yid can attain this level. We’ve all experienced a moment in which we felt down and out, and we’ve then gotten up to daven with the proper attitude of acceptance, humility, and submissiveness (rather than hostility, anger, and refusal to accept). Such a tefillah is surely precious before the Ribbono shel Olam!
Sometimes, it’s when we’ve experienced a blow in our parnassah, R”l, sometimes it’s when we were embarrassed by someone where it really hurts, and sometimes, it’s when we have done something we shouldn’t have. Rav Pinchas of Koretz said sometimes a person is tripped up by doing something he shouldn’t only so he should experience brokenness.
In any case, when a person accepts this downturn with humility rather than anger, and he davens to the Ribbono shel Olam with a broken heart, this is in essence of “a prayer of the righteous.”
Working Towards a Perfect Prayer
Generally, people are so filled with hubris and other negative middos that it’s too difficult to express a “prayer of the righteous” absent biases and personal desires—a davening that is focused on Hashem and remembering our dependence on Him. For this reason, we come to tzaddikim who live with humility, and thus their tefillah has a far better chance of being accepted and answered—not merely because the person is a tzaddik, but because his davening is of the sort that we outlined above. This is the reason that בציבור תפילה is so important; for we hope that among the minyan there’s at least one Yid who davens in such a manner. At the same time, we must know that we can all merit תפילתן צדיקים של, a prayer of the righteous.
The Gemara tells us that the pious men of yore would meditate before davening. It was all to arrive at this state. It’s not something to which we can arrive in an instant. It takes meditation and focus to attain this feeling in davening. The Rebbe Reb Elimelech authored an entire התפילה לפני תפילה which focuses on internalizing the truth that we’re dependent and reliant on Hashem. We also say in the beginning of Shacharis, “What are we, what are our lives, what is our power, what is our might?”—all to emphasize our powerlessness. And when we do arrive at this state of mind, we’re assured that such a tefillah will indeed be answered as a byproduct—for this is true tefillah that connects a Yid to the source of shefa.
