Davening for Moshiach
The Chidushei HaRim zt'l told the following mashal:
A king became angry with his son for his wayward behavior, and he banished him from the palace. The king sent him to live among beggars. The prince lived among the beggars for a long time. He almost forgot about his past, the days when he lived a life of royalty.
One day, the king reminded himself of his son's plight and took pity on him. So, he sent a messenger to his son to ask him what he needed and what the king could send him. The king's son said, "My bag for begging is worn out. Tell my father that I need a new bag."
The nimshal is that we are in galus for so long, we forgot our prestige. Sometimes, our tefillos are about receiving a new bag for begging, or some other small matter. We forget how distant we are from where we should be.
The Chasam Sofer zt'l told a mashal about a child whose parents were niftar, and the house he lived in was taken away, and now he had to live outdoors. Once, a wise man saw the boy crying hysterically in the middle of the street because he had lost one of his toys. The wise man commented, "The child's lot is so bitter. He lost his parents, his home, a roof over his head, and even worse, he lost his mind. He doesn't realize the bitterness of his lot. He thinks his only problem is that he lost a toy." The same is with Bnei Yisrael in galus. We lost our Parent, our home, the roof over our heads, and we cry over small matters. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is our Father in heaven, and we became distant from Him. Our house is the Beis HaMikdash, and it was destroyed. We were sent into galus, and yet we cry over foolish matters, the games we lack. This means we also lost our sanity because we don't realize the bitterness of our situation.
On the other hand, there is a limud zechus for klal Yisrael. Although we "totally lost our minds", the yeshivos and the kollelim are full. People desire to study Torah, to daven well, to experience the joy of Shabbos. What greater limud zechus is there than this!
Nevertheless, we should remember what we lost, and daven for a speedy salvation. There is a halachah (Devarim 24:15) תִתֵּן בְּיוֹמוֹ שְׂכ ָרוֹ, "On that day, you shall pay his wages." And it states (Vayikra 19:13) ָאִתְּך שָׂכִיר פְּע ֻלַּת תָלִין לֹא בֹּקֶר עַד ,"A worker's wage should not remain with you overnight until morning." These pesukim teach us that a person must pay his workers on time. Nevertheless, there are situations where the obligation doesn't apply. The Gemara (Bava Metzia 111a) and Shulchan Aruch (Choshen Mishpat 339:10) tell us, ;הַש ָּׂכִיר תְּב ָעוֹ כֵּן אִם א ֶלָּא תָּלִין בַּל ּ ׁוּםמִש עוֹבֵר ה ַבַּיִת בַּעַל אֵין עוֹבֵר אֵינוֹ ...תְּב ָעוֹ לֹא , "The transgression of תלין לא, postponing payment, is solely if the worker asked you for his wages. If the worker doesn't ask for the money... you don't transgress the aveirah."
The Chofetz Chaim zt'l repeated this halachah to encourage us to daven for Moshiach. He explained that if we ask for Moshiach, this will be likened to when a worker asks for his wages, and the employer must pay him on that same day. If we ask, there will be immediate results.
It often occurs that a chasunah doesn't begin on time. Many things can cause delays. Sometimes, the chassan is already standing under the chuppah, and it will still take some time until the chasunah begins because they have to wait for the kallah. But the moment the kallah arrives, the chasunah immediately begins. It is a disgrace to push off the chuppah when everything is already in place and everything is ready. The Chofetz Chaim zt'l teaches that keviyachol, Hakadosh Baruch Hu is the chassan and the Jewish nation is the kallah. Many years have passed, and the geulah hasn't arrived yet. Nevertheless, if we go under the chuppah, the redemption will occur immediately. Because when the kallah arrives, there is no more reason to delay.
If we shout out to Hashem that He save us from this galus, it shows that the kallah is ready, and she has come to the chuppah. And then, Hashem will redeem us immediately.
The Chofetz Chaim zt'l once said to Reb Binyamin HaTzaddik, the Magid of Radin, "Oy, Reb Binyamin, what will be? The galus is so long!"
Reb Binyamin replied with a mashal: A group of people were traveling from Petersburg to Odessa on a sled, pulled by powerful horses. It was a long trip; it would take several days. The passengers became cold in the freezing winter night, so they drank some vodka. The vodka made them tired, and they fell asleep. When they awoke, it was already the next night. The Russian winter days are very short, and they thought it was still the same night as when they fell asleep.
They were cold once again, so they drank some more and fell asleep again. When they awoke, it was the following night. They asked the wagon driver, "What is going on? The night is so long!"
The wagon driver told them, "You're sleeping, that's why you think it's a long night."
The nimshal is that there are times that Hashem wants to save us and to take us out of galus, but we are sleeping, and we don't take advantage of the opportunities. We don't ask for Moshiach, and we don't prepare ourselves for the redemption. This is alluded to in the pasuk (Yeshayah 21:11-12) מ ִלַּיְלָה מַה שֹׁמֵר בְּע ָיוּ ת ִּבְע ָיוּן אִם ל ָיְלָה וְגַם בֹקֶר אָתָא שֹׁמֵר אָמַר .מִלֵּיל מַה שֹׁמֵר אֵת ָ יוּ שׁ ֻבוּ , "Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?'' The watchman said, 'Morning is coming, but also night. If you really desire it, repent and come.'"
We ask the שֹׁמֵר, who is Hashem, מ ִלַּיְלָה מַה, how long is this galus! How long will we suffer? ל ָיְלָה וְגַם בֹקֶר אָתָא שֹׁמֵר אָמַר, Hashem replies that the day has already come. In fact, the opportunity for the geulah had come several times, only you slept through it and missed the opportunity. בְּע ָיוּ ת ִּבְע ָיוּן אִם, Rashi says that this refers to tefillah. The pasuk is saying that if you will daven for the geulah, אֵת ָ יוּ שׁ ֻבוּ, and if you do teshuvah, the geulah will come.
