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The True Purpose of Tefillah

Parashas Va’eschanan

Maran Rosh Hayeshiva HaGaon Harav Nosson Tzvi Finkel zt”l

Regarding the first word in the parashah, ואתחנן, Rashi notes that the term חנון, imploring, always denotes asking for a free gift. Although tzaddikim could base their requests on their merits, they ask Hashem only for a gift.

Chazal teach that Moshe Rabbeinu offered 515 prayers to be allowed to enter Eretz Yisrael, as alluded to by the gematria of the word ואתחנן, which is 515 (Devarim Rabbah 11:10). Despite his relentless tefillah, his request was denied. But had he offered one more tefillah, it would have been granted, which is why Hashem commanded him, רב לך אל תוסף דבר אלי עוד בדבר הזה, It is too much for you! Do not continue to speak to Me further about this matter (Devarim 3:26).

Rashi derives from ואתחנן that although no one possessed greater zechusim than Moshe Rabbeinu, he approached Hashem as a pauper pleading for undeserved kindness rather than relying on his merits.

The Sfas Emes (Va’eschanan 5646) questions how Moshe serves as the paradigm for all tzaddikim if his request was not granted. Perhaps had he asked to enter Eretz Yisrael due to his merits, the request would have been granted! Shouldn’t all tzaddikim take the very opposite lesson from this episode and ask that their requests be answered because of their merits?

R’ Chaim Kamil explains that Moshe’s primary objective was not simply to gain entry into Eretz Yisrael. His deepest aspiration was to achieve kirvas Elokim, which is best reached when a person beseeches Hashem for a matnas chinam. Certainly, he longed for Hashem to grant his request, but even more, he longed for the closeness to Hashem that sincere tefillah creates.

Rashi is teaching that this is the perspective of every tzaddik. While he naturally desires that his tefillos be answered, his greatest yearning is to stand before Hashem with complete dependence, recognizing that everything comes solely from His kindness, because that is the vehicle through which we attain kirvas Elokim.

This idea is illustrated by a story in the Gemara (Taanis 23b) about R’ Yitzchak bar Elyashiv, whose talmidim asked him to daven that they be granted wisdom. “I once had it, and I banished it,” he replied. He was saying, Rashi explains, that there was a time when whatever he prayed for was immediately granted, but he no longer possessed that gift.

The mefarshim note that R’ Yitzchak bar Elyashiv “banished it,” meaning that he willingly relinquished this extraordinary power. Why would he do that? Moreover, his talmidim sought wisdom in Torah, surely a worthy request — why wouldn’t he have retained that power for at least such sincere desires?

The answer is that the essence of tefillah is not the fulfillment of one’s requests, but the closeness to Hashem attained through heartfelt supplication. If every prayer is answered instantly, a person may lose the sense of helpless dependence that gives tefillah its depth. R’ Yitzchak therefore preferred to return to the experience of standing before Hashem as a pauper pleading for kindness rather than possess the ability to secure immediate results. Even the power to perform spiritual wonders, such as securing wisdom for his talmidim, is of little value if it comes at the expense of deeper kirvas Hashem.

A few pesukim into the parashah, the Torah states: כי מי גוי גדול אשר לו אלוקים קרובים אליו כה’ אלוקינו בכל קוראינו אליו, For what great nation has a God Who is close to it, as is Hashem our God whenever we call to Him? (Devarim 4:7).

Onkelos interprets this to mean that Hashem is close to accept the prayers of Klal Yisrael whenever they call upon Him.

Can we honestly say that we feel this way? Every Jew has experienced times when he prayed sincerely and his request was not fulfilled. Indeed, Chazal teach that every Jew undergoes periods of hester panim, when he cries out to Hashem but receives no apparent answer (Chagigah 5a).

The answer is that the passuk does not promise that every request will be granted. Rather, it promises that whenever a Jew truly turns to Hashem in tefillah, he can experience אשר לו אלוקים קרובים, the kirvas Elokim that comes from standing before Hashem sincerely. A tefillah that accomplishes this is succcessful even if the specific request is not granted. This is why R’ Yitzchak bar Elyashiv valued closeness to Hashem over having his requests granted.

Closeness Brings Success

In describing the events surrounding Creation, the Torah states:

וכל שיח השדה טרם יהיה בארץ… כי לא המטיר ה’ אלהים על הארץ ואדם אין לעבוד את האדמה, Now all the trees of the field were not yet on the earth… for Hashem God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to work the soil (Bereishis 2:5).

Chazal ask: how could vegetation still be absent if it had already been created on the third day and Adam was created only on the sixth? They answer that the plants were created on the third day, but remained beneath the surface until Adam Harishon prayed for rain. Only then did they begin to emerge (Chullin 60b).

Rashi (to the passuk in Bereishis) explains that before Adam existed, there was no one who recognized the value of rain. Once Adam understood that the world depended on rain, he prayed, and Hashem sent it.

This teaches us, the Gemara concludes, that Hakadosh Baruch Hu desires the prayers of tzaddikim.

More fundamentally, it reveals that Hashem structured His world so that His blessings come when humans turn to Him in tefillah. The objective is not merely to receive rain, but to achieve kirvas Elokim. Only after man acknowledged his dependence on Hashem and sought Him through prayer did rain, the most basic necessity for survival, begin to fall.

That is the enduring lesson of ואתחנן. The greatest achievement of tefillah is not simply that it changes circumstances, but that it changes the person who prays, drawing him ever closer to Hashem.

No Room for Despair

Moshe Rabbeinu’s conduct demonstrates both the immense power of tefillah and the proper way to approach it. Even after Hashem decreed, כי לא תעבור את הירדן הזה, You shall not cross this Yarden (Devarim 3:27), Moshe did not despair. Instead, he continued to beseech Hashem with 515 heartfelt tefillos.

Although his request was ultimately denied, his prayers were not ineffective. Hashem instructed him, עלה ראש הפסגה ושא עיניך… וראה, Ascend to the top of the cliff and raise your eyes… and see (ibid. 27). Rashi explains that although Hashem did not allow Moshe to enter the Land, He did grant him the privilege of seeing it in its entirety. Even when a tefillah does not achieve everything a person seeks, it is never in vain.

Furthermore, tefillah is so potent that it can tear through all heavenly barriers. When Moshe Rabbeinu begged for mercy on behalf of Klal Yisrael after the cheit ha’eigel, he did so with mesirus nefesh, as alluded to by the passuk, ויחל משה את פני ה’ אלוקיו, Moshe pleaded before Hashem, his God (Shemos 32:11). The Gemara expounds (Berachos 32a): “Shmuel said: It teaches that [Moshe] risked his life for their sake … R’ Eliezer Hagadol says: This teaches that Moshe stood in prayer before Hakadosh Baruch Hu until he was seized by achilu. What is achilu? R’ Elazar said: Fire of the bones [i.e., infection].”

The paradigm of Moshe Rabbeinu’s tefillah conveys that we must never despair of Hashem’s compassion; instead, we should intensify our prayers for salvation.

The same lesson emerges from the story of Chizkiyahu Hamelech, who had foreseen that he would bear a sinful child, so he deliberately abstained from bearing children. Yeshayah Hanavi rebuked him on the grounds that a person may not intervene in Hashem’s ways, which are hidden (Berachos 10a), and informed him that he would die as a result of his decision: כה אמר ה’ צו לביתך כי מת אתה ולא תחיה, Thus said Hashem: Instruct your household, for you shall die; and you shall not live (Yeshayah 38:1).

Upon hearing this, Chizkiyahu immediately began to pray, as it is written, ויסב חזקיהו פניו אל הקיר ויתפלל אל ה’ וכו’ ויבך חזקיהו בכי גדול, Chizkiyahu then turned his face to the wall and prayed to Hashem … And Chizkiyahu wept an intense weeping (Yeshayah 38:2-3). His prayers were answered, as Hashem told Yeshayah, הלך ואמרת אל חזקיהו וכו’ שמעתי את תפילתך, ראיתי את דמעתך, הנני יוסיף על ימיך חמש עשרה שנה, Go and tell Chizkiyahu … “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I am going to add fifteen years to your days” (ibid 5). The Gemara (Berachos ibid.) reveals that before Chizkiyahu poured out his heart in prayer, Yeshayah informed him, “The verdict has already been sealed,” to which Chizkiyahu replied, “Son of Amotz, end your prophecy and exit! I was taught by my ancestors that even if a sharp sword rests on man’s throat, he should not desist from begging for mercy.”

A Jew must know that there is never room for despair; if your tefillos have yet to be answered, continue davening!

Our Tafkid During Troubling Times

The Gemara teaches, “Hakadosh Baruch Hu does not spurn the prayers of a multitude” (Berachos 8a). While the tefillah of an individual possesses tremendous power, the tefillah of the tzibbur is exponentially greater.

The Midrash relates that before his passing, Moshe rebuked Klal Yisrael for not praying on his behalf. One individual had saved six hundred thousand Jews through prayer after the cheit ha’eigel, he said, yet six hundred thousand did not pray to save one individual. The Sefer HaIkarim explains that Moshe sought to teach them an essential principle: although his tefillos on his own behalf were not accepted, the tefillos of Bnei Yisrael — despite their being ovdei avodah zarah, having bowed to Baal Pe’or — could have accomplished what his did not.

[Editor’s Note: Though the following idea is strikingly relevant today, it was expressed by the Rosh Yeshiva zt”l many years ago in response to a previous war.]

Rabbosai! This lesson is profoundly relevant to us, both as individuals and as a tzibbur. We are living in extremely difficult times. The war continues, and the danger intensifies with each passing day. In such times, each of us is assigned a unique tafkid, and we must clearly understand our role.

During the war between Bnei Yisrael and Midyan, Hashem commanded Moshe Rabbeinu: אלף למטה אלף למטה לכל מטות ישראל תשלחו לצבא… וימסרו מאלפי ישראל אלף למטה שנים עשר אלף, A thousand from a tribe, a thousand from a tribe, from all the tribes of Yisrael shall you send to the legion. Thus, twelve thousand were sent (Bamidbar 31:4–5).

The Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 22:2) explains that for every Jewish soldier who went to battle, there was a corresponding Jew davening for his safety.

In times like these, our tafkid is to strengthen both Torah and tefillah: to toil in limud Torah with all our might and to daven with mesirus nefesh as a tzibbur, thereby attaining kirvas Elokim.

At the same time, we must be exceedingly careful to avoid bitul Torah, which diminishes the immense benefits of our learning. And we must never despair of the power of tefillah, for Hakadosh Baruch Hu eagerly awaits our heartfelt prayers in order to bestow His infinite bounty and siyata diShmaya.

May Hashem help us stand before Him in tefillah with a true appreciation of its boundless power — davening with sincerity, like we have nothing and are pleading for our very lives — so that we may merit the fulfillment of ואני קרבת אלוקים לי טוב, But as for me, God’s nearness is my good (Tehillim 73:28).