14 Dec PARSHAS VAYECHI

Davening with a Minyan

It says says in Pirkei Avos “Be careful with the Shema and with Tefillah [to read them at the correct time]. Don’t treat tefillah like an obligation [that you wish to get over with]… ve’al tehi rasha befnei atzmecha — don’t be a rasha by yourself (2:18) “. The last phrase seems out of place. The entire mishnah speaks about prayer, and the final line discusses something else entirely. Reb Chaim Volozhiner zt”l explains that the final words of this mishnah are also teaching a lesson in tefillah. They teach us the importance of davening with a minyan. In this week’s parashah, it states, “vayikra Yaakov el banav vayomer hei’asfu — Yaakov called for his children, and said, ‘Gather…’” What was Yaakov Avinu telling them? The Zohar (Bereishis p.234.) explains, Yaakov was telling them that when they daven, they should gather and daven together with a minyan. They shouldn’t daven at homes, by themselves. “Hei’asfu — gather” with a minyan. In Tehillim, we say, “panah el tefillas ha’arar velo bazah es tefillasam — look at the tefillah of the arar, and don’t be disgusted from their tefillos” (Tehilim 102:18). The Zohar notes that “look at the tefillah” is an unusual phrase, because does Hashem look at tefillos or does Hashem listen to them? Wouldn’t it be better and more fitting if Dovid HaMelech would say, “listen to the tefillah of the arar”? The Zohar answers that arar is from the word ariri, which means a loner (see Rashi on Vayikra 20:20). And when a person prays alone, it says, “panah el tefillas ha’ararar — look at his tefillah,” because Hashem won’t accept this prayer without first scrutinizing the tefillah, to see whether it is good enough to be answered. And Hashem also looks carefully at the person saying the tefilah, to determine whether he is worthy that his tefillah be answered. As the Zohar writes, “There are many tefillos said by people who aren’t worthy, and nevertheless, their tefillos go up to HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and He doesn’t pay attention to their sins. [However, when one prays alone] Hakadosh Baruch Hu takes the tefillah and looks at it from all sides. He checks to see if the tefillah was said with a desire. He also examines the person and his deeds. Therefore, a person must pray with a minyan. Why? [Because] “velo bazah es tefilasam — Hashem isn’t disgusted from their tefillah” (Tehilim 102:18). When it is their tefillah — a minyan praying together – Hashem is never disgusted from such a tefillah, even when they don’t pray with kavanah and with desire.” Based on this Zohar, Reb Chaim Volozhiner explained the final words of the Mishnah: “Ve’al tehi rasha befnei atmecha – don’t be a rasha by yourself.” If you will pray with a minyan, Heaven will not check your deeds. But if you will daven by yourself, your deeds and virtues will be weighed, and you just may end up being found a rasha in Hashem’s eyes. So this final line of the mishnah is telling the person, “Don’t daven by yourself, so you won’t be judged and called a rasha.”

Don’t Talk – Just Daven

Tefillah betzibur (davening with a minyan) is extremely powerful. The community’s tefillos are answered even when the tefillah, and the community, aren’t perfect. But there is something which can cause tefillah betzibur to be rejected. That is when people speak during the tefillah. The Chida zy”a teaches that if one knows that he is going to speak, he’d be better off davening at home, because by speaking, he is preventing the tefillah from reaching the Kisei HaKavod. The Mishnah Berurah (56:1) writes, “One must be extremely careful not to speak in the middle of Kaddish or Kedushah, because in Misechta Derech Eretz, is states that Reb Chama saw…thousands of camels, loaded with af vecheimah (anger and rage) to punish the people who speak during Kaddish and Kedushah… The Sefer Chasidim writes, ‘A righteous person (a chassid) saw another chassid after his death, whose face was green. “Why is your face green?” “This happened to me because I used to speak by Kaddish and when the Chazzan would say Vayichulu (on Friday night).” The Mishnah Berurah continues, “The Matteh Moshe (414) quoting a midrash, tells of a student who saw his Rebbe in his dream, and saw that the Rebbe had a mark on his forehead. “Why did this happen to you?” “I would speak during Kaddish.” In Shulchan Aruch (124:7) it says, “Don’t speak idle talk when the chazzan is saying chazaras hashatz (repeating the Shemonah Esrei). And if one speaks, he is sinning, and his sin is too severe to carry, and people should shout at him.” The expression, “his sin is too severe to carry,” (gadol avono m’neso) is also written by Kayin, after he killed his brother Hevel (Bereishis 4:13). Is there a connection between Kayin’s great sin to someone who speaks during the tefillos? We are sad to say that there is. The Arizal taught that idle talk in the beis kneses causes a mageifah (plague) to come to the Jewish people, chalilah, and it causes people to die (may Hashem have mercy on us). This is the reason the same term, (gadol avono m’neso) referring to Kayin killng Hevel, is used for the person who speaks by chazaras hashatz. With these ideas, the following Gemara is understood: Chazal say, “When there is a plague in the city, don’t go to the beis kneses by yourself because the Malach HaMaves (Angel of Death) stores his weapons there” (Bava Kama 60:). Why does the Malach HaMaves store his weapons in the beis kneses? It is because the Malach HaMaves’s gets its strength to punish from the idle words that are spoken in beis knesses. It is known that by the terrible massacres of years Tach Tat, 5408-5408/1647-1648, when thousands of Yidden perished, the Tosfos Yom Tov said that the castigation came because people were speaking during the tefillah. He therefore composed a tefillah, a Mi SheBeirach, (which is printed in many siddurim and is said in several communities). In this prayer, we bless, “kol mi sheshomeir piv velishono shelo ledaber be’eis hatfilah — Anyone who guards his mouth and lips from speaking during the tefillah… veyizkeh liros banim chaim vekayamim veyegadlem laTorah u’lechupah u’lemaasim tovim — he will merit to see children who will live and survive, and he will raise them to Torah, to chuppah, and to good deeds…” A Yid who was, lo aleinu, childless, went to many doctors, from all over the world, but they weren’t able to help him. He tried various, painful treatments, but he remained childless. One year, during the days of Slichos, he came to his Rebbe for a brachah and said, “I am not leaving this room until you promise me that I will have a child this year.” The Rebbe said, “If a true tzaddik would ask you to give a large sum of money for your salvation, how much would you be ready to give?” “Rebbe! To have children I would give all my money away!” “Well, there is a tzaddik who is greater than me, and greater than all tzaddikim of our generation. I am referring to the Tosfos Yom Tov. He promised that whoever will be careful not to speak during the tefillah will merit having children, and he will raise them to Torah, chuppah and maasim tovim. Since you said that you are prepared to pay any price for your salvation, I advise you to accept upon yourself never to speak during the tefillah. If you will do so, you will have children. He immediately accepted this on himself, and a year later, around Selichos time, he had a child. He said that holding back from speaking during davening was harder than all the treatments that he tried until then. But he passed the test and bore a child.