Are You A Davening Robot? The Parshah On Fire - Balak

This Torah class is brought to you by tora anytime.com. In the long and seemingly neverending list of murderously villainous Jew haters, Bullock certainly ranks pretty high on the list. Bullock, the king of Maya, made it his supreme mission to annihilate the entire Jewish people, every man, woman, and child. and he employed horribly evil tactics to ensure our demise. He tried witchcraft. He tried adulterous seduction. He tried using dark magic emanating from the astrological interpretations of the constellations all to wipe us off the face of the earth. In short, Bullock was a patently evil Jewhating villain. So it seems rather strange that such a ruthless person would be rewarded by Hashem with a reward so great it's almost spiritually incalculable. The Gamaran Hurist of Yodal from Bay says that because Bulock in his attempt to beseech Hashem to kill the Jewish people brought Carbonos and passionately pleaded his case before Hashem, he was rewarded with having a granddaughter named Russ, one of the greatest Jewish women of all time and the eventual grandmother of David Aamelik, the greatest king in the history of our people. Now, here's an obvious question. Why would a man who wanted nothing more than to see all of us die get rewarded by Hashem for pleading for our own deaths? Does that make any sense? He brings carbonos to Hashem so that the Jewish people should get annihilated and he is rewarded with rous and how in the world does that make any sense? And this phenomenon isn't limited to bullock. Mosher Abenu when he's battling Kyra he saw that Kyak was dominating to Hashem. So Moshe felt the need to also dive into Hashem that he not accept Kyra's prayers. Now why did Moshe need to ask Hashem not to accept Kyra's felis? Kyra was on a rebellious campaign against Tyrish for which he would end up getting swallowed up alive. Hashem considered Kyak's movement so bad that he literally ground the systems of nature to a halt and opened up the earth at its core to swallow the man alive. Why was Moshe concerned about the prayers of a man such as Kyra? And we again say that see this strange phenomenon in part in in Paras Masi. The Tyra states, "Someone who murders another person by accident has to run for his life to the ear mikllet to avoid getting killed by the victim's relatives and the murderer has to remain in that ear mikllet until the death of the cayen and then and only then can he leave." And the Garam Makus Yalif says that the mother of the Cayen would go from time to time to the Mikllet and bring the murderer cookies and muffins in order to lessen the likelihood that he davin for the death of her son, the Kangut. She's basically ensuring that his living conditions were comfortable to the point that he wouldn't feel the need to pray for her son's death. Now, let's ask a question. Why would this woman be afraid of the murderer's telis? Did she really think that the mighty and holy coen in his full spiritual glory, the holiest person on the face of the earth would get affected by some outcast locked up in a prison city for killing someone? So all of these questions point to a very powerful answer and that is that the single most powerful force in the entire world, more powerful than intercontinental ballistic missiles and more powerful than the collected brain power of the world's smartest men and more powerful than the world's most sophisticated computers is the single utterance of a sincere prayer. And it makes absolutely no difference who is uttering it. Prayer uttered in sincerity can turn Hashem away from the stature of the person talking. It can overshadow previous deeds and external scenarios. It makes no difference what you've done in life. It makes no difference who you are or what you stand for. It doesn't even seem to make a difference what you do for. What matters is that you're sincere and that your heart is on fire. If there is passion and meaning in your prayer, Hashem is going to listen to it no matter who you are. Balac in a horribly gruesome way genuinely wanted the Jews out of the way. When he was offering Hashem carbonas, he was doing so with 100% of his heart and his soul. He was as sincere as a man could be. And therefore, in sort of a backhanded way, he developed a spiritual connection with Hashem. He was seeking Hashem out. He lifted his eyes towards the sky and relied on Hashem's help. He used every cell in his heart to sincerely plead with Hashem. And therefore, he was rewarded. He recognized Hashem's presence. He understood Hashem's power. He thrust his burden on Hashem and therefore connected himself spiritually to his creator. And therefore, he was to have David come out of him. the person who would teach the world how to truly connect to Hashem through prayer. Because it's not about the man uttering the prayer. It's about the prayer being uttered. Moshe knew that Kyra was wrong. He knew he was power- hungry and misguided and selfish. He knew that all of Kyra's claims were worthless. Yet, he also knew that Kyra was unquestionably sincere in his prayer to Hashem. Moshe knew that although Kyra was making a majorly selfish miscalculation, Kyra still poured his heart out to Hashem, his victory over Moshe was such a desperate need of his that he would plead for it from the depths of his heart. And therefore, Moshe feared Kyra's prayers. He feared that his prayer were so sincere and heartfelt that they might actually be listened to by Hashem. Moshe knew more than anyone the secret of prayer and that is sincerity and Kyra had lots of it. Therefore, Moshe had to get up and do prayers of his own. A man who in one horrible moment of negligence killed someone and lost his freedom and is now languishing in an ear mikllet prison. Has one thing that the average person might not have. He has an aching heart that day in and day out pleads with Hashem to save him from his plight. He turns to Hashem every minute of every day with a soul on fire and prays. He has nothing else left in his life. The only thing he resorts to is therefore the words that pour out of his mouth are packed with so much spiritual energy that they ascend straight to the throne of Hashem. And no one on the planet was more acutely aware of this than the Cayen's mother. She was petrified of this and she therefore made it her business to make his life as comfortable as possible limiting his need to davin for the death of her son. For she knew that if he would in fact davin, those telos would be infused with so much unimaginable spiritual energy powerful enough to climb the highest of staircases in heaven. Because there is nothing more cherished by Hashem than the sincere prayer of a soul on fire. Often pressing and difficult predicaments in life are the ultimate catalyst for lighting the soul on fire. The prayers that such soul souls exude reach heights that words uttered by others in more calm environments would never reach. It's easy to stand in shining to Hashem when life is great and you're coasting along. But you run the risk of having your telis ins snared by the dangers of the world of monotonous word uttering with little to no meaning in the words coming out of your mouth. Sometimes the greatest match to light those words on fire is a challenge that Hashem places in your life because suddenly daydreaming during tila is not an option. Suddenly spacing out during tila is not an option. Suddenly taking a mental trip around the world during tila is not an option. Suddenly the welfare of your life rests on those prayers and the words take on an entirely new significance and they become powered by sincerity causing those words to burst into flames ascending heavenward. Nothing is more powerful than the prayers of someone in distress. And no one should ever think that someone's predicament or history or upbringing or level of religiosity will ever hinder the pre the power of their para proves the very contrary. Those tilos aren't loved by Hashem despite one scenario and predicament. Those are loved by Hashem specifically because of it. Listen to this story. I once gave a speech in a small town about the prayer power of prayer. And after the speech was over, an older woman came over to me and said,"I want to tell you a story." She said, "I'm a 60-year-old woman. 25 years ago, I began having pains in my kidneys. So, I went to the doctor and he tells me, I don't know how this makes any sense, but you, despite being an Ashkanazi American Jew, have a kidney disease that is only found in people from Africa. not African-Americans, but like people from the continent Africa. So I said, "Okay, so what's the cure? There is no cure. You will sadly need dialysis in 3 months." So I said, "Okay, so what's the chance that I'll need dialysis? 100% chance that you will need dialysis." And I left the doctor's office and I went into my car and I broke down and I started crying. I can't go on dialysis. I'm a 35-year-old woman with kids with a job. Going on dialysis was not an option for me. It would mean several times a week going to a dialysis center and sitting there for a few hours while the machine painfully extracts all my blood and filters it for me and then puts it back into my body. I couldn't let that happen to me. So I turned to Hashem and I said, "God in heaven, I am committing myself right here, right now to pray for you every day. Just don't make me go on dialysis." So the very next day I showed up to the daily minimar and I sat in the back of the women's section. No one knew I was there and I prayed. I don't even know Hebrew. I just prayed. I sat there and I cried. And then I came back the next night and I came back the next night and the next night and then three months later I go to the doctor and a miracle happens. I don't need dialysis. So I run right back to Schul and I keep on praying. And six months go by, no dialysis. Nine months go by, no dialysis. A year goes by, no dialysis. This woman who barely knew Hebrew, who didn't grow up domining every day, she stood before Hashem day in and day out like a warrior, never missing a day. And she shows up to the doctor after a year. And the doctor looks at her charts and calls another doctor. And then they call a third doctor and they say, "Lady, I don't know what you're doing, but whatever you're doing, keep on doing it." I know what she was doing. She was choosing Hashem. She was ding to Hashem when it was hard, when it hurt, when she felt like she had nowhere else to go. Such tilos are tilos on fire. Such tilos are the most powerful force on the face of the earth. Because it's not about what you pray, it's about how you pray it. Here's another story. My grandfather, Reordai Glick, a former rabbi and teacher and psychologist, he suffered in his later years from a painful case of dementia. And it was sadly severe enough to prevent him from remembering his grandchildren's names or how to knot a tie, but not severe enough to blind him of the fact that he had the disease in the first place. And it pained him deeply. I used to spend Shabas with him from time to time to keep him in my grandmother company. And one shabus afternoon, probably around 5:00 p. p.m., he came down from his afternoon nap, and walked into the kitchen wishing me a good morning. And he then made his way into the kitchen, made himself a cup of coffee, and proceeded to put on his talis and fillin, and began davening shakrist felos for Sunday morning. And he swayed and he shuckled and he sang and he cried and he stood firm as a rock while angelically saying tears rolling down his cheeks. My grandfather was a man who took Fela extremely seriously. He prayed for his children and he prayed for his grandchildren and his former students and he davined for his patients who were often too helpless to davin for themselves and he prayed for all of Cl and for all of Israel and he davined for all the childless couples that he had helped over the years and all the marriages that he had saved. He davened for all the special needs children in camp and all the people he knew suffering in psychiatric wards all around the world. He thanked Hashem for the wonderful gifts he had and requested that Hashem should give health to his aging mind. And with that he finished his prayer, put away his talis and fillin and sat down to read a book. Did he say the correct file? No. He said shak for Sunday instead of for shabas. Was he wearing the correct attire? No. He was wearing fillin on shabas when tells us not to. But did his telos ride on the wings of angels and pierce the heavens bringing on heavenly tears? Did his telos send shock waves throughout the world injecting it with holiness and spiritual energy? A resounding 100% yes. For those were the tilos of a man on fire. Those were the tilos in their most sincere form. Those were the tis of a man whose entire unadulterated connection to Hashem was completely infused in those prayers. Such prayers burst through the gates of heaven and rest at the very feet of Hashem's throne. That's the type of prayer we need to have that comes from the heart. that's sincere and real that angels wait by the gates of heaven to accept from people who are far from perfect but offer Hashem their heart every time they din that's the Hashem is looking for the Gmorrah in Shabas says that Abay originally used sesame oil while lighting his kanagana because it lasted a long time and one year he saw Rab Yeshua Ben Levy using olive oil and he explained that although it doesn't last nearly as long as sesame oil. It's still better in the sense that its light is clearer and brighter and Abay was inspired and switched to olive oil which he lit for the rest of his life. It's the same thing with Hashem isn't looking for quantity in prayer. He's looking for quality. Better to use a great flame with a short lifespan than a dull flame that lasts a while. Here's another story. On May 16th, 2004, my father was walking up a flight of stairs in a Schul in Rochester and collapsed. He had a terrifying cardiac arrest and his heart stopped working completely. He was given a 4% chance of living out the rest of that day. Not 44, not 24, 4% chance of living until the end of the day. And as you can imagine, the community erupted in prayer and people from around the world dove for my father's recovery. And two weeks later, he was released from the ICU. And days after that, he walked out of the hospital, a completely healthy man. And a few days after coming home, he was taking a walk around the block. And he bumped into our non-observant Jewish neighbor who, despite being Jewish himself, had less than pleasant views on Jews and Judaism. And he ran over to my father and he said, "Dr. Eisenberg, you owe me a thanks." Why is that? My father asked. The man looked at my father with a smile and he said,"For it is because of me that you are alive." Really? How so? Well, because when I heard that you collapsed with a cardiac arrest, I whispered a prayer to God for your recovery. And he must have been so utterly shocked and flabbergasted and surprised that I of all people prayered an prayed an actual prayer that he must have answered the prayer. How could he not? And seeing you today alive and well has only confirmed my suspicions that God must have listened to my prayer. You hear that? Tens of thousands of people do for my father's recovery. Dozens of Rabanim and Rashi Yeshiva and holy people around the world pounded on heaven's door so that I shouldn't be an orphan. Hundreds of thousands of prayers emanating from pure and sacred lips were thrown God's way for my father's recovery. And yet this non-observant, disgruntled man believed it was his prayers that kept my father alive. Incredible. You know what's even more incredible is that the man might even be right. Because God isn't impressed by credentials. He's moved by truth. He doesn't check your background. He checks your heart. And in his world, a single genuine moment can outweigh a lifetime of silence. Because Hashem doesn't measure prayer by who you are, but by how deeply you mean it. You've just experienced another Torah class brought to you by tora anytime.com.