The Me’or Vashemesh asks why the pasuk begins with the words “and from there you shall seek”, which is in the plural tense, and continues with the words “and you will you will find Him, if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul”, in the singular tense.
He answers by explaining that every individual is obligated to purify himself, and, in our times, the main way to do this is through tefillah with kavanah. When one davens with ahavah and yirah, he can cleanse his neshama and reach very lofty heights. In this vein, the pasuk states (Tehillim 102:18): “He has turned to the prayer of those who cried out, and He did not despise their prayer. Let this be inscribed for the last generation.” Rav Moshe of Pshevorsk zy”a explains this to mean that in the last generation, the main avodah will be tefillah.
The Me’or Vaeshemsh continues to say that the main form of prayer is tefillah b’tzibur. One should push himself to daven specifically with a minyan, even if the davening is too fast or too slow for his liking, as one can reach great heights by praying together with the tzibur.
He adds that even if 1,000 men are part of a minyan, none of their prayers are the same. Each one is able to connect to Hashem on his level of kavanah, and in accordance with the preparations he put in before starting to daven.
With this in mind, he explains the pasuk to mean that the tzibur will see Hashem (which is why these words are written in lashon rabim), but each individual person will find him with his full heart, and on his own level (which explains why those words are written in lashon yachid).
The Tefillah of the Tzibur Cannot be Silenced:
Chazal use the expression: “Dovor sheb’minyan afilu b’elef lo batul.” (If something is with a number, it cannot be annulled even by something 1,000 times its size.) Sefer Divrei Yisroel says that this is a hint that when one davens with a minyan, even 1,000 prosecuting angels cannot annul his prayers. This is as Chazal say (Brachos 8A) that Hashem never rejects the prayers of the rabim.
Like the Tefillah of the Tzadik Hador:
Rav Aharon of Karlin zy”a would say that tefillah b’tzibur is more effective than the tefillos of the tzadik hador.
