Lost in Prayer | Rabbi Simcha Schwartz

Being a Rebbe for Mesivta-age Bochurim, it is so easy to notice how every boy wants to taste the sweetness of Torah. Every boy wants to feel the connection to Hashem when they pray. But it doesn't come so easily. That's why many Bochurim ask for a blessing to attain this. And it's not only young Bochurim, it's young and old. We all strive to have ‘And please make [them] pleasant, Hashem our God.’ to taste the sweetness of Torah. R’ Avigdor Miller said he learned the concept of enjoying prayer when he was a young boy. He was in shul. At the end of prayer, an elderly Yid was walking out. And as he was walking out, he clapped his hands together and he said: Ah! A geshmake davening! What an enjoyable prayer. To young Avigdor Miller, he thought prayer is something we have to do. He learned it could be enjoyable. How do we attain this? Firstly, we have to ask the Ribono shel Olam, when we say the blessing: ‘And please make [them] pleasant, Hashem our God’, Hashem give us the sweetness of Torah. Let us feel the connection. But the holy books add, If a person is careful with guarding his eyes he's connected to holiness, then he could attain the connection to Hakodosh Boruch Hu when he learns Torah, to taste the sweetness of Torah, and also when he prays, to feel the enjoyment of prayer. R’ Shimshon Pincus said over a story. He was once traveling from Eretz Yisroel to New York, and there was a stopover in Europe. He sat near the connecting flight, and when it was around 10 minutes to board the flight, he stood up and was about to go onto the plane. But he noticed in the corner, there was a Yid who was praying Mincha, and he could tell from the way that he was praying, there was nothing going on in the world but his Shmoneh Esrei. And he took a better look. He saw it was the famous Mashgiach, R’ Don Segal shlit”a. And he saw there was a peaceful expression that adorned his face. And R’ Pincus understood, if he doesn't finish praying quickly, he'll miss his flight. A few moments passed and the agent announced, Final boarding call for flight so-and-so to New York. The gate will be closed in 3 minutes. And the Mashgiach continued praying. R’ Pincus was in awe and he said to himself, Whatever happens to the Mashgiach will happen to me. I'm staying behind with him. 3 minutes passed. For some reason, they didn't close the gate. And R’ Don continued praying. Finally, after 10 minutes, he walks back three steps, he says Aleinu, he picked up his head, he sees R’ Pincus and he says: Come, let's go. And R’ Pincus thought it was too late, but they walked towards the gate. They let them on the plane. As soon as they arrived on the plane, they closed the doors, ready for takeoff. It turned out there was a suspicious baggage which boarded the plane, and they had to call backup security, and that's why there was a 15-minute delay. When the flight was in the air for quite some time, R’ Pincus stood up and he walked over to R’ Don Segal and he wanted to ask a question, he wanted to understand. With utmost respect, he asked the Mashgiach, Is this the proper way one should act? Forget about his flight and just continue praying? I'm not asking if a person should pray or not. I'm asking should a person maybe shorten his prayer or not? And R’ Don Segal smiled and he said, But what should I do? I didn't know it was time to board the flight. And therefore, I was enjoying my prayer so much, I didn't know. And R’ Pincus said afterwards, Only someone who saw the Mashgiach praying can understand the genuine pleasure of someone standing before Hakodosh Boruch Hu. This is what we all could attain. If we watch our eyes, we will all merit to have the pleasantness in our learning and our connection to Hashem in prayer.