Rabbi Heshy Kleinman: Unlocking Your Prayer's Power for Life (Part 1)

Good evening, everyone, and welcome to tonight's special event. Tonight's the start of a special series called Unlocking Your Prayers' Power for Life. This is going to be a series every Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time right here on torahanytime.com/haka-live. torahanytime.com/h l i v e or you can call in to this year at 718-298-2077, extension 57. Again, you to watch this year, if you have access to the internet, torahanytime.com/haka-live, or if you can call in to this year at 718-298-2077, extension 57. This will be presented by the Khazak organization, the the Haka organization, Project Inspire, Torah Anytime, and the Needs Fila Foundation. We want to thank, um, um, Rabbi Yisrael Chaim Gelber from Haka for all his efforts in helping, um, put together, um, tonight's, um, event and this this whole entire series that we worked, Khazak and Haka worked very closely to put together this amazing program. And, um, and before we introduce Rabbi Kleinman, we want to remind everyone that that we're going to be starting starting tomorrow, we're going to be having a special special, um, um, it's not only going to be it's not only going to be this weekly Sunday show which is going to be unbelievable, but it but we're going to be we're going to be having a WhatsApp a WhatsApp broadcast and an email broadcast, an email, um, e-blast. Whoever doesn't have Whoever doesn't have Whoever doesn't have WhatsApp, they can use email or whatever whatever you prefer, and you can, um, we're going to be we're going to be sending out clips three three times a week of 5-minute clips from Rabbi Kleinman. Um, it's going to be unbelievable, and to end, for more information or to sign up, um, there's um, email either um, either text or WhatsApp the number 516-455-7710, or you can email us at [email protected]. e v e n t s @chazak.org. Again, to sign up for this amazing, uh, broadcast, either on WhatsApp or or an email, um, three times a week of short 5-minute clips from Rabbi Kleinman, contact 516-455-7710 or email us at [email protected]. And that's a little bit of background about Khazak. Khazak not only organizes amazing events like tonight, not only tonight's event, but every single night to inspire There's a There's amazing inspirational shiurim and programming for, um, to inspire Jewish people. And Khazak's main mission to help Jewish public school students transfer to yeshiva. That's 3 and 1/2 years alone Khazak has helped transfer over 900 children from public school to yeshiva, which is an unbelievable accomplishment. And if somebody And And if someone watching right now, they know if they know a friend, a family member, a neighbor who has children in public school that can transfer to yeshiva, reach out to Khazak, and Khazak will help them in that process. Reach out to Khazak at 718-285-9132, or you can email us at [email protected]. e v e n t s @chazak.org. [email protected]. If anyone wants to sponsor either this series of of Rabbi Kleinman's or any of the other or any of the other shiurim, if you have someone who has a yahrzeit coming up, dedicate your for for someone's for a yahrzeit, for a in for the for a shlema, reach out to Khazak at 516-455-7710, 516-455-7710. And we It's our great honor to call upon Rabbi Yisrael Chaim Kleinman, um, who's such a tremendous speaker, author, and the and the author of the Praying with Fire series. And, uh, we hope you you join not only tonight, but join on in this amazing series, and then this is our first part of this amazing series. Rabbi Kleinman, shlita. Good evening. First, I'd like to thank Torah Anytime and Khazak for being makhzik thousands thousands, literally, of Klal Yisrael with their thousands of hours of learning. We live in a very frightening world. For almost a year, the coronavirus has killed over literally over a million people around the globe. The coronavirus has been our reality. No place has been spared, and no one has been spared. The virus first emerged almost a year ago. It swept across the world, leaving havoc in its wake. More than any other event in memory, the pandemic has been a global event. On every continent, households have been devastated. Joblessness, lockdowns, death. The coronavirus has left many many with feelings of tremendous fear and pain. And just when the heralded vaccine was beginning to be distributed, there's another reason to be afraid has come upon us. A new and seemingly more contagious vaccine, a strain of the of the a more contagious strain of the coronavirus has been detected in Britain, in Canada, in Japan, and other countries around the world. In fact, over 50 countries have slapped tough travel restrictions to the United Kingdom, Canada to India, many other countries have no longer allowed their citizens to travel there. In fact, France barred trucks from entering with much-needed food to Britain. And every indication is that this variant of the virus is 70% more transmissible and is driving the rapid spread of the coronavirus. After all the personal, social, economic pain, after all the death and the shutdowns, the question is, what does God want from us? And it's true, we've heard from many people that Hashem wants us to become a bit better. And baruch Hashem, many people around the globe have been mekabel takanos, anything that they can do, whether it's large or small, to help themselves and to become better. But the pain and the fear continues. To try to pinpoint exactly what Hashem wants is nearly impossible to do. After all, we are not nevi'im, we do not have nevi'im. This past Yom Kippur, Rabbi Yisrael Friedan gave a lecture, and in his mussar, this would be before Yom Kippur, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, he suggested that even if people are unsure what they should do, but do something, he said. He said, "After 120 years on this earth, we'll come to the Beis Din Shel Ma'alah, there's no way they'll be able to have a ta'anah, 'Why didn't you do something?' Because we'll say, 'We didn't know, we didn't have nevi'im. We did something.'" Anything that we can do there's no doubt helps. But I believe there's an even greater question. And the question is, you ever wonder why would a loving God instill and inflict so much fear and pain upon the Jewish people? And the answer is, I believe, that even fear and pain, or perhaps especially fear and pain, there is a tremendous purpose in the fear and pain that is spreading amongst the world. The Gemara tells us, "Kol ma shebarah Hakadosh Baruch Hu ba'olamo, whatever God created in this world, lo barah davar echad uvatala." Everything has a purpose. There is no such thing that something that is in this world has no purpose. The Gemara tells us, "If somebody stubs his toe, the pain that he feels is also with a purpose." Because machrizin lo min Hashamayim that he has to become better. The question is, what exactly is the message from the coronavirus? The Gemara tells us, "Lo nivra'u ra'amim ela l'yashar akimumiya shebalev." Thunder was created only to straighten the crookedness of the heart. Because the pasuk says, "V'Elokim ossah shiyum milifanav." God wants us to fear Him. Now, if you think about it, scientifically, thunder occurs when a flash of lightning heats up the air around it, making the air expand very rapidly or explosively. In fact, it is estimated that the air around a lightning bolt heats up up to five times hotter than the air on the sun's surface. But superficially, thunder doesn't appear to serve any positive purpose. Because oftentimes, in fact, most of the times, it rains even without thunder. So, the question is, what exactly is the purpose? And that's why the Gemara said, "Lo nivra'u ra'amim ela l'yashar akimumiya shebalev." The thunder is created to be able to straighten out the crookedness in a person's heart. But it's not just thunder alone. We need to understand that anything anything that happens in this world, because everything has a purpose. Anything that happens in this world, if it doesn't have a purpose, a positive purpose that can help humanity, it must be another purpose. And the question is, what exactly is our purpose? It's curious that the Gemara uses the metaphor of the thunder to make its point. And there are several possible explanations, but b'ezras Hashem tonight, I would like to focus on one possible explanation. If you take a moment and you go back in time, we were growing up as little children. For me, that was wasn't yesterday. It was a while ago. If you remember, you went to sleep, it was raining, and then smack in the middle of the night, you heard this frightening clap of thunder. So, what did we do? We instinctively ran to our parents. And we ran to them to comfort us. How did they comfort us? You think our parents ran outside, stopped the thunder, came back and said, "Tatala, shafela, you can go back to sleep. It's not going to thunder anymore." That never happened. So, how would running to the parents, how did that help us? And the answer is, you know how it had helped us? Because we knew that there was a higher authority who loves us, who takes care of us, who cared for us, who provides for our well-being, who was there with us. If you think about it, in the same metaphor of the thunder, and when we were a child many years ago, if you look outside now, it's really thundering. And boy, is it thundering. And the forecast is even more thunder. So, what do we need to do? We need to do the exact same thing we did as a little child. We need to go to our parents for comfort. And who is the parent who can provide the ultimate comfort? Avinu Sheba Shamayim. In fact, the Mishnah in Maseches Sota tells us that the ikvesa d'meshicha, when there'll be all sorts of havoc being perpetrated, there'll be all sorts of fear about the unknown and what's going to happen. Everything is topsy-turvy. All sorts of things are happening that's out of the realm of normal behavior. You know what the solution is? Says the Mishnah, "Yesh lanu l'hisha'en ela Avinu Sheba Shamayim." We need to rely on our Father in Heaven. The same way we relied on our parents in our home many years ago. When it thundered, it's the same solution now. When something is happening that instills tremendous fear in us, we still need to go to Avinu. But in this case, it's Avinu Sheba Shamayim. Said Rav Tzadok Hakohen in Sifkes Tzaddik Ois, Kuf, Sameach, Tes. You know what the purpose of the pachad, of the fear and of the pain is? Listen to this wonderful lashon of Rav Tzadok Hakohen. Kashe noifel al adam pachad me'eizeh davar, when there's a fear from any reason, from any source on an individual, az then take up right away, "Yevakesh rachamim l'hinatzel mizeh." He has to seek God's mercy and compassion. He has to daven to be saved. And Rav Tzadok goes one step further, because "Kilu kach ayara min hashamaim b'pachad zeh." That's the whole reason for the pain. Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants us to daven. Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants us to reach out to him. Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants us to run to our Avinu Sheba Shamayim when there's fear and when there's pain. And Rav Tzadok finishes that little piece, and he says, "V'zeh he says, 'V'yadoa d'ika hatfila hu, the main yesod hatfila is al dei hagashas hatza'ar v'chesaron.'" When a person feels the tza'ar, when he feels the pain, when he feels the chesaron, when he feels that there's something missing, it's not the normal regular life that we're used to, the calm and the security and the comfort. No, we're living in a time of pain. We're living in a time of fear. The whole reason for the pain, the whole reason for the fear, said Rav Tzadok, "Yevakesh rachamim, kilu kach ayara min hashamaim b'pachad zeh." You know what the purpose of the pain is? The purpose of the COVID pain. Of course, we individually have to do teshuvah, we have to become better, there's no doubt. But collectively, Klal Yisrael needs to know that when there's a tremendous fear upon us, the Eibershter is calling us to rely on him. As the Mishnah said that in ikvesa d'meshicha, we need to "Yesh lanu l'hisha'en ela Avinu Sheba Shamayim." We all feel this tremendous pachad. And we all feel the pain. We are all affected by this never-ending virus. Add on top of that, there's an election that's coming up. In Eretz Yisrael, there was an election that just happened in the United States. All sorts of unknowns and ramifications that perhaps we're anxious about. It's normal to feel anxious when things are unsettling, when things are not going in the normal regular way. The question is, what does one do with that anxiety? What does one do when they have this fear? Rav Tzadok Hakohen has the answer. "Kashe noifel al adam pachad me'eizeh davar, again, az take up right away, 'Yevakesh rachamim l'hinatzel.'" "Kilu kach ayara hu." That's the whole reason why there is that pain. It's true, we have to do teshuvah, we have to be better. But we also have to lean on Hakadosh Baruch Hu for the security and for the help when we are in our moment of anxiety and distress. The truth is, that's really our ultimate purpose in life. Mesillas Yesharim tells us that the ultimate mission, the core of all of life is to find Hakadosh Baruch Hu everywhere, to come close to him. And when things are good and when things are plentiful and we're all the recipient of many blessings and brachos, of course, it's easy. We say, "Baruch Hashem, thank Hakadosh Baruch Hu." But we need to find Hakadosh Baruch Hu who is with us even in the times of pain. Daily, the experts tell us what we need to do during the coronavirus. We need to protect ourselves, we need to mask ourselves. We need to stop traveling. We need to exercise social distancing. You and I, we all know exactly what the experts are telling us. But Baruch Hashem, we have our own expert. We have someone who's been there, who's gone through difficult, dire situations. And he wrote for us a legacy that will last literally eternity for what Klal Yisrael needs to do when they go through these difficult situations. I'm referring to none other than Dovid Hamelech. Dovid Hamelech Dovid Hamelech who wrote most of the Tehillim. One particular Kapitel that is perek chof gimmel, when he looked back at his whole life, and he saw the many times that Hakadosh Baruch Hu saved him when he was on the brink of death, without any food or any drink, Dovid Hamelech composed a mizmor, a song. And we're all familiar with that. "Mizmor l'Dovid, Hashem ro'i lo yechsar." A song of Dovid Hamelech, "Hashem is my shepherd, I shall not want." "Bin'os deshe yarbiteini." He causes me to lie down in green pastures. "Al mei menuchos yenahaleini." He leads me beside still waters. "Nafshi yeshovev." He restores my soul. "Yancheini b'maglei tzedek l'ma'an sh'mo." He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. And the ultimate, the ultimate comfort and security, the belief that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is always with us, even in the moment of pain and fear and distress. "Gam ki eilech b'gei tzalmaves." Even when I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, no matter where one walks, you never know. You never know, will I catch the coronavirus then and there? "Lo ira ra." I will fear no evil. "Ki ata imadi." You are with me. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is always with us. "Shivtecha umishantecha heimah yenachamuni." Your rod and your staff, they will always comfort me. Dovid Hamelech describes how his trust in Hakadosh Baruch Hu never ever falters, and how even when he walks through the valley of the shadow of death, Hakadosh Baruch Hu shields him from harm. He vanquishes his enemies and he protects them. This perek, this song was created by Dovid Hamelech. It's a timeless testament to the rock-solid faith of the Jewish people in knowing that Hashem is always with us, protecting and always guiding our path. And if you think about it, Dovid Hamelech did not sing just for himself. Dovid Hamelech sang for every single Jew who was facing the coronavirus in our own day and age. In April of this past year, when the virus really began to spread, and when the yeshivas and the batei yaakovs and the shuls unfortunately had to close, the Vaad Harabonim of Torah Mesorah gave chizuk and advice with the following comforting words. Quote, "We are being called at this historic moment to turn to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, to call out in tefillah from the very depths of our soul," they said. We need to turn our hearts upward. Each of us needs to rouse our deepest feelings to need to grow in our connection to tfila. We need to recognize that now we beseech Hakadosh Baruch Hu for our very lives, for the nefesh of klal Yisrael. As Dovid Hamelech said, gam ki elech b'gei tzalmavet, for our very lives. Lo ira ra, ki ata imadi. The Abishter's with us. Yet, if we go back to the metaphor of the thunder, our situation of thunder is different than the personal ones we experienced as little children. You see, our parents, as I mentioned earlier, could not stop the thunder. They helped us, they calmed us down, because they were there, ki ata imadi. But, with Hakadosh Baruch Hu, the Abishter can stop the thunder at a moment. There's no thing that the Abishter can't do. But, we need to unlock the power of our tfila by beseeching the heavens. We need to empower our tfila. It's not enough stam just to daven. We need to empower ourselves to maximize the potential power and the koach of our tfila to unlock the power of our prayers. And then, that's first we'll see, b'ezras Hashem, yeshuos and the geula. Thunder makes us realize that we're not in control of our lives, not now and not ever. And that we exist only because Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants us to. And that's why the Gemara says that when we hear thunder, what bracha do we make? Shekoach u'gvuraso malei olam. God's strength and power fills the world. Everywhere in the world, it's only because the Abishter's strength, it's only because the Abishter's power. That's the whole purpose of the thunder, to remind us of that. And we verbalize it, we utter those words, shekoach u'gvuraso malei olam. You ever wonder why Hakadosh Baruch Hu makes thunder occur specifically in the middle of a rainstorm? If the whole purpose of the thunder is to straighten the quickness in our heart, to urge us and to inspire us to become better people, why not at a different time? Why specifically during the phenomena of rain? Why is thunder associated with rain? So, I believe the answer is because rain represents bracha. Rain represents productivity. Rain represents it makes things grow, it provides material nourishment for the world, it gives life to the world. And that's why if we want life, if we want bracha, if we want yeshuos, the thunder comes at the same time as the rain. Because we will be zocheh to the rain, to the bracha, if we listen to the thunder. If we recognize the purpose of the thunder is to get us to become better, is to get us to reach up to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. It is to daven. And that's really the main reason, I believe, lifnei Hashem Daati, why the thunder is during the rain. If you go back to Sefer Bereishis, v'chol siach hasadeh terem ba'aretz, all the plants of the field were not yet on the earth, v'chol esev hasadeh terem tzomach, before anything grew. You know why? Ki lo himtir Hashem Elokim al ha'aretz, it did not rain. Why didn't it rain? So, the pasuk tells us, v'adam ayin la'avod es ha'adamah, there was no man that brought the rain. That's a plea. What do you mean? Man does not bring the rain. Says Rashi, Rashi explains, when Adam Harishon appeared on the scene and he davened for rain. You know why it thunders during a rainstorm? Not just to remind us that if we want the bracha of the rain, then we need to heed the message of the thunder. It's more than that, it's deeper than that. The whole yesod of the rain that gives bracha was only because Adam Harishon davened. That's what the pasuk and Rashi tells us in Parshas Bereishis. Look it up, it's by Shaini. And therefore, you want rain, the whole yesod of rain, of bracha, is built into the way of the world, which is we have to daven. The entire creation, the sun and the earth, and fruits and flowers, all sorts of blessings, gashmius, gashmius, all sorts of blessings in this world is because Adam Harishon davened. Nothing is more basic and nothing is more powerful than tfila. You know, we tend to think that we provide our own paychecks, that we can independently sustain our own physical selves, that we are the ones that bring the bracha and the rain. After all, we are Adam, we are mankind, we are so advanced. We know so much, we are so talented. And it's true, Hakadosh Baruch Hu gives us the koach for all of that. But, you know who really brings the flowers in our life? You know the ones who enables the bracha on this world? It's the Abishter. And we always have to remember that. And the way we remember that is what Rav Tzadok Hakohen tells us. You want rain? Listen to the thunder. And when we hear the thunder, kashe noiful al adam pachad me'eizeh davar from the thunder, os take up your bakasha rachamim v'hi notzel meizei, save yourself from the thunder, save yourself from the pain. You want blessing, you want bracha, ki lo chacha ro'em min hashamayim pachad zeh. Once when the Chofetz Chaim was already very old, he went to stay in a summer retreat in the heart of the forest. Many of his students also went with him, imagining to spend time with the heilige Chofetz Chaim. And there were several renowned roshei yeshivos. That Shabbos, when it was time for shaleshudes, several of the students came to hear the Chofetz Chaim speak in his bungalow. It was obvious to everyone that the Chofetz Chaim was feeling very emotional. And instead of speaking about the parsha, which he typically would speak about in shaleshudes, he talked passionately about the geula that still hadn't arrived. And the Chofetz Chaim wondered aloud, why didn't Mashiach come yet? He went on and he said clearly, the signs of Mashiach's imminent arrival were already apparent. Yet, Mashiach is not here. Said the Chofetz Chaim, there can be only one reason. And he pointed to a pasuk. The pasuk says, ki meitzas Mitzrayim aredenu niflaos, as in the days when you left Mitzrayim, I will show you wondrous deeds. And that is to teach us, said the Chofetz Chaim, that just like in the days when we were zocheh to go out of Mitzrayim, the exact same thing will happen, b'ezras Hashem, b'korov mamash, from we will go out of this galus and the geula, Mashiach will come. Let's go back for a moment to the time right before the imminent arrival of the geula from Mitzrayim. In Mitzrayim, the Abishter already calculated the day of the redemption. And the redeemer, that's Moshe Rabbeinu, had already been born. All was ready. The severity of the bondage had been fulfilled. The criteria for the end of the exile had already ended. And yet, Rashi tells us that the Abishter was waiting for the fulfillment of his promise to redeem the Jewish people from Mitzrayim. What was he waiting for? So, let me read to you a few of the psukim. Says the pasuk in Sh'mos, perek Yud Beis, pasuk perek Beis, pasuk Gimmel. V'yianchu Bnei Yisrael min ha'avodah, and the Jewish people were groaning from the bondage, vayitzaku, they cried out, vata'al shavasam el ha'Elokim min ha'avodah. The tzaros, the tremendous tzaros, it was so severe. They had it. They were lying, they said, Abishter, get us out. And the next pasuk said, vayishma Elokim es na'akasam vayizkor Elokim es briso, the Abishter heard their cries and remembered the covenant with Avraham, Yitzchak v'Yaakov, vayirem Hashem ro'i es onyi, ami asher b'Mitzrayim, I see the pain that is going on to my people in Mitzrayim, v'esa es kol som'ati, and I hear their cries, v'ein shutaf b'yad es mach'eiva. And then, the pasuk says, v'eired l'hatzilo miyad When klal Yisrael finally screamed out to the Abishter, Abishter, you must redeem us, that's when the Abishter heard their cries. That was the thing that was missing. So, what did the Chofetz Chaim do? The Chofetz Chaim, as soon as Shabbos was over, the Chofetz Chaim wanted he planned to travel to Vilna to see Rav Chaim Ozer, and together they would send a proclamation to Klal Yisrael the world over to arouse everyone to daven for the redemption. So vital was the need to galvanize Klal Yisrael. So real was the solution to the Chofetz Chaim. So literal was the was the atzei tfila that this was the first time that everybody said that the Chofetz Chaim waited impatiently for Shabbos to finish. Mamesh, he couldn't take it. But the Chofetz Chaim was old and frail, and everybody was concerned that such a trip would not be beneficial to his health. So, they called Rav Shimon Shkop, the Rosh Yeshiva of Grodno, who was also staying at the retreat. And they asked, "So, what should we do? The heilige Chofetz Chaim wants to go, but we cannot let him go." In the meantime, Shabbos was ending. The Chofetz Chaim instructed everybody to hurry up and to finish Maariv. When Rav Shimon Shkop went to the Chofetz Chaim to suggest that the Chofetz Chaim delay the trip, the Chofetz Chaim frowned and said to Rav Shimon Shkop, "I thought you were on my side. I thought you would help me, not thwart my plan." But in the face of such emphatic statement by the Chofetz Chaim, Rav Shimon's hands were tied. There was nothing they can do. The Chofetz Chaim said, "We need to summon a wagon." With no choice, they went to find a local wagon driver. And when the wagon driver came to the Chofetz Chaim bungalow, they whispered in his ear to say that he cannot travel that night, that the sakana was too great, too many potholes, the mud, it would never happen. So, the Chofetz Chaim reluctantly had to wait for the morning. And they got the wagon driver. But the wagon driver was told to say something else to the Chofetz Chaim. And the wagon driver told the Chofetz Chaim he can't make it. He has an emergency. Oy, I have to leave right now. I can't take the Chofetz Chaim to Grodno to to see Rav Chaim Ozer. And with a great sigh, the Chofetz Chaim said, "What a shame. This would be an auspicious time for the Geulah to come. And now the Geulah would be delayed." Can you imagine? The Chofetz Chaim, he had no atzei. We fast forward 100 years to our coronavirus. The whole world is going through such a difficult time. There are suicides, depressions, businesses closing, loneliness, mental health issues. Everything seems to be falling apart. Countries are shut down. London is deserted. The United New York City is boarded up. 75% of LA is boarded up. Now the new strain is upon us. Billions of people are affected in such a short period of time. Last year at this time, everything was baruch Hashem fine. Literally months later, billions of people on the planet, their lives are in upheaval. It's interesting, the Chofetz Chaim once said that the upheaval of World War I, which affected every area of life, happened in such a short period of time. The Chofetz Chaim explained that in the days of chevlei Mashiach, the world of time turns around with high speed. You see, something which used to take 100 years to develop occurs in such a brief time. You know why? said the Chofetz Chaim. Because events in the world follow one after the other because the Geulah must come and everything must be finished. The Chofetz Chaim recognized that mamesh the Geulah, the imminent arrival of the Geulah. Recently, I read that Rav Chaim Kanievsky said, "A vest as may hold shine by the gates of the Geulah. May hold shine by them gates." Rav Chaim recently said that mamesh mamesh is at the end. So, what is the Abishter waiting for? The Abishter is waiting that the same thing that Moshe Rabbeinu was waiting for at the gates of the Geulah, at the time of the time that the Geulah was supposed to come by Mitzrayim. And as we mentioned the possuk before that the Geulah of Mashiach will be in the same way that was in the days of Mitzrayim. Vayitzaku el Hashem. Vayishma Hashem es kolam. We need to feel it. We need to believe in it. We need to recognize that the Abishter is waiting for our tfilos because all the tzaros have happened already. When the Chofetz Chaim recognized that in his days the Geulah is imminent, and Rav Chaim Kanievsky recognized that in our day the Geulah is imminent, where is the Geulah? It's interesting, if you look in the Mishna that mentions that by chevlei Mashiach, yesh lanu lishon el avinu shebashamayim by the ikvis of the Mashiach. It says three times in the Mishna, yesh lanu lishon el avinu shebashamayim, said Rav Moshe Feinstein. In the Vayomer Moshe, he says, "You know why it says in the Mishna three times? Because the first time when they were given the tzaros of Klal Yisrael, would have heeded the Mishna and yesh lanu lishon el avinu shebashamayim, they would have daven, the Geulah would have come, and we would not have needed more tzaros." But just like in the days of the Chofetz Chaim, nebach, he couldn't go to Rav Chaim Ozer to galvanize, to be mis'orer, to awaken Klal Yisrael to daven like they did in the days right before the end of the galus Mitzrayim, vayitzaku el Hashem. The Chofetz Chaim couldn't get that done. And the Chofetz Chaim himself said, "No, we blew the opportunity." Said Rav Moshe, "Yesh lanu lishon three times in the Mishna. Because in our times of galus, if we don't take advantage of the opportunity of yesh lanu, listen to what the Mishna tells us. Have a feresh Mishna in black and white by the heilige tanoim that are telling us, yesh lanu lishon el avinu shebashamayim, that's the atzei." Did the story with the renowned Maggid, Rav Yaakov Galinsky, who went to see the Steipler to discuss several important issues that plagued Klal Yisrael at the time. Rav Galinsky was full of all of the suggestions. I'll fix this problem, I'll fix that problem. The Steipler stopped him. And he smiled sweetly and he said, "Listen, Reb Yankele, I want to ask you a question, then I want to give you a moshel, a parable about a wagon driver." The Steipler said to Rav Galinsky, "When the wagon driver is driving his wagon and the horse breaks a leg, what does the wagon driver do?" So, the Steipler answered his own question. He said, "You know what the wagon driver does? He sells the horse at the first village that he comes to and he buys another horse. And what happens if one of the wheels begins to squeak? He says that the wagon driver stops the wagon, he goes down to oil it with the can of oil that he holds in his wagon. And what happens if the other wheel becomes loose? So, the Steipler says, "You know what he does? The wagon driver tightens it on the spot. And what happens if, nebach, the axle breaks? He parks the wagon at the side of the road. He walks quickly to the closest town to find someone to replace it." But the Steipler then asked him, "What happens if the wagon driver is on his way home? It's Erev Shabbos. Right before Shabbos. The horse becomes lame, one wheel starts squeaking, the other wheel comes loose, the axle is cracking. What does he do? But he can see his house up above. He can see it right in front of him. Oh, there's my house. He doesn't stop to fix all the problems. You know what he does? He gets on the horse and he whips the horse, he goes as fast as he can, and he starts davening at the top of his lungs, "Abishter, right before Shabbos, please get me home." I was once in a situation like that. I was in my car, I had to go speak in a certain city for Shabbos, and I got stuck in tremendous traffic, maiseh shehaya. Right before the George Washington Bridge, we were there for 40 minutes, and Shabbos was coming. So, you know what I did? I screamed in my car, I said, "Abishter, help me, maiseh shehaya." As soon as I said that, an ambulance started the siren right behind me. I followed the ambulance, all the other cars were stuck. Baruch Hashem, I made it to my destination somewhere in New Jersey. I was able to get over the bridge. There was a terrible accident, and the bridge was literally almost locked down. You see, when it's almost Shabbos Kodesh, and you don't have time to fix all the problems which take time to fix. I'm not saying we shouldn't try to do things, but ultimately, we need to know it's almost Shabbos. It's almost the Geulah. Which is comparable to Shabbos. We need to know we don't have time. We need to do just like you see your home up a frog up above in front of you. We need to cry out I got to go back home get me to Shabbos get me home before Shabbos. The possuk said the Yalkut Shimoni Sarah. Avishteh answers us in the time of trouble. The Medrash gives a parable about a son and his father who are walking on the road. The son gets tired and said to the father, "When will we get there?" And the father says, "Look at the road. There's a sign. The cemetery of the city is right outside the city right outside the town. When you see that cemetery, you know that we are almost home." Yalkut Shimoni Sarah. The cemetery is a sign that we are almost home. There's no doubt Mashiach certainly is imminent in our day. The last 80 years have seen tremendous sorrows to Klal Yisrael. The ghettos, the concentration camps, Siberia in Russia, terrorist attacks in Eretz Yisrael, anti-Semitism all over the world, and now the fear and pain of the coronavirus. What does the Avishteh want? Again, there's no doubt we individually have to do teshuvah b'ahalachah. We don't have nevi'im. Chofetz Chaim tzaddik Let's take up right away Yibakesh Rachamim l'heinal tzei mezei. And more than that Kilu Kacha As the Mishnah says B'ikvosav d'Mashiach Yishlonu As we did when it thundered when we were very young, we ran to our parents. They couldn't stop the thunder, but we felt the security. We felt confident because our parents we knew loved us. We knew we relied on them. They were a higher authority. They said Sheif ul'tatah, don't be afraid I'm with you. The new strain it never ends. The packet continues. And you know what the purpose is? It's a message. Klal Yisrael can do it. Klal Yisrael must do it. The time has come to take tefillah and to elevate it to what it's supposed to be. D'vorim b'rum sh'olam d'Gemorah tells us it's at the pinnacle. It's at the height of the heavens. B'rum of the world b'rum sh'olam. And that's why the title B'ezras Hashem some of our series on Sunday night is how to unlock our prayer's potential. B'ezras Hashem every Sunday evening at 8:00 p.m. we will build on the previous week's lesson to make our tefillah the most powerful in the world that it has ever been for us. We will help to bring the Geulah. We will do as the Mishnah tells us Yishlonu L'ishon Avinu Shebashamayim. We will take the message of our tzaddik Kilu Kacha min Hashamayim Pachad Zeh. To galvanize to do what the Chofetz Chaim wanted to do. Imagine if the Chofetz Chaim was here. And the Chofetz Chaim would come to every individual and plead with us. V'machazek yourself in tefillah. B'ezras Hashem let's make the Chofetz Chaim proud of us. When the Geulah will come because of the tefillah that we will strengthen. And they will look back and say, "How did it come? Which generation was it?" They will point to us. We were the generation that helped to bring the Geulah. V'yitz'aku el Hashem V'yishma Hashem es tz'akasam. That's the one thing that was missing. And the same way the Geulah happened in Mitzrayim, that's the same exact way it'll happen now. The tzaros are gefelich. It's been going on and on for who knows how many years now. But one thing that we need to do, we need to empower our tefillah. It's not enough just to daven. Imagine, we're davening anyways, why not empower it? That's like someone going to work and you're making just enough paycheck to paycheck. No. Build your business so it can be the most powerful, the most successful business in the world. And you know what you can accomplish with that. Successful business means you can help others. You can give tzedakah. You can help You can hold up moisdois. You can do unbelievable things. You can help your family, your community, your shul. Doesn't everybody wouldn't everyone want to do that? Let's take our tefillah and empower ourselves. In addition to the Sunday night lecture, we will have three times a week five-minute clips. You can sign up. The information is on the flyer. Sign up. And B'ezras Hashem going back to the Sunday night lecture, I hope to be able to take questions from the oilam and to be able to answer as many as I can. And B'ezras Hashem I hope to take the best questions or the ones that I feel are most relevant and try to address them in the shiur on Sunday night. We can make the Chofetz Chaim proud. We can heed the call of the Chofetz Chaim of our tzaddik, of the Tanoim and the Mishnayos. And really this is what the Avishteh wants. Kilu Kacha min Hashamayim. The Avishteh is trying to awaken us. Daven, rely on him. And that's what's will galvanize all of Klal Yisrael. Will bring the Geulah yeshu'os and bring the Yom Shekulo Shabbos. Make the Avishteh proud and happy that the Geulah is here by Yom Hashem Echad Ushmo Echad. Thank you very much for listening. Thank you so much Rabbi Kleinman for your inspirational powerful words about tefillah. And we really have to and we we really have to um machazek ourselves um strengthen ourselves in this important area. And um and this is and we are on our mind and this is this is just the first shiur of this amazing series. And and and um and next Sunday night as well as every Sunday night going forward at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time right here on torahanytime.com/hakhel live, we're going to have the great honor to hear um a shiur from Rabbi Kleinman on the supporting topic. And you can access it at torahanytime.com/hakhel live h a k e h a k h e l l i v e where you can call in to the shiur at 718-298-2077 extension extension 57 718-298-2077 extension 57. And everyone should everyone should sign up right now what what what what you're still watching you're listening to this amazing shiur. You can sign up you should sign up for this amazing um um email or or WhatsApp broadcast where you're where where where three times a week you're going to be receiving a a short five-minute clip from Rabbi Kleinman about about um about tefillah. And it's such a such an impactful series which you everyone should hop on board and jump and and jump at this at this amazing opportunity. This was presented by the Khazak organization, the Va'ani Tefillah Foundation. Hakhel Project Inspire and TorahAnytime. We want to thank our dear friend uh Rabbi Mordechai Gilbert from Hakhel for for really working together with Khazak um to spearhead this amazing um shiur and this whole entire series of shiurim and the WhatsApp and and the and and the email um series. It's going to really going to be life-changing and very impactful. And um we want to we want to tell everyone to sign up for the for the um WhatsApp three times a week um or or email three times a week of of a short five-minute clips. Reach out to reach out at 51 reach text or WhatsApp the number 516-455-7710 516-455-7710 or email us at [email protected] e v e n t s @ c h a z a q.org. [email protected] at 516-455-7710. And as we know the Khazak organization really needs no introduction. They they do so much for the Jewish people. And um Khazak organizes amazing shiurim and events just like tonight every single night to inspire Jewish people. And if anyone wants to find out about more upcoming Khazak events, virtual amazing programming, reach out to Khazak at [email protected] email us events at [email protected]. And Khazak's main mission to help Jewish public school students transfer to yeshiva in less three and a half years alone. Khazak has helped transfer over 900 children from public school to yeshiva which is an unbelievable accomplishment. If someone watching right now, you know a child you know you know you you you know you know a neighbor, friend, a co-worker who has children in public school to transfer to She'ar Reach out to Khazak. Khazak will help them. Reach out at 718-285-9132. 718-285-9132. And we will see everybody next Sunday night right here on the same website, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time every every Sunday night. Or you can call into the show at 718-298-2077. Extension 57. Thank you so much everyone for joining us and have a great week.