ת”ח During the years terrible massacres ות”ט befell the European Jewish communities. The Tosfos Yom Tov zt’l, who lived during this time, proclaimed that the massacres were a punishment from Hashem because people spoke during the tefillah. The Tosfos Yom Tov composed the following tefillah, to be said after קריאת התורה , to encourage people to refrain from speaking during davening (some מי שברך אבותינו – :)communities still say it אברהם יצחק – ויעקב משה ואהרן – דוד ושלמה הוא – יברך את כל – מי ששומר פיו – ולשונו שלא לדבר – בעת התפילה וקריאת – התורה. הקב”ה ישמרהו – מכל צרה וצוקה – ומכל נגע ומחלה – ויחולו עליו כל – הברכות הכתובות בספר – תורת משה רבינו – ובכל ספרי – הנביאים והכתובים – ויזכה לראות בנים – חיים וקיימים ויגדלם – לתורה ולחופה ולמעשים – טובים ויעבוד – את The” , ה’ אלקינו – תמיד באמת ובתמים – ונאמר אמן One Who blessed our forefathers: Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Moshe and Aharon, Dovid and Shlomo, He should bless all those who refrain from speaking during the tefillah and kriyas haTorah. May Hakadosh Baruch Hu protect him from all troubles, hardships, and illnesses. All the brachos written in Chumash and Tanach should be upon him. He will merit having healthy children and raise them to Torah, chuppah, and good deeds. He will

always serve Hashem with truth, amen.”
A man complained to his rebbe that he tried everything: segulos, tefillos, and hishtadlus by doctors to bear children, but so far, there wasn’t

any hope on the horizon.
His rebbe replied, ”I understand that you

came to me because you think I can help you. I’m sorry. I can’t help you. However, there is a rebbe who can. Are you willing to go to Him?”

”Of course,” the man replied.

”But I’m warning you,” the Rebbe said, ”This rebbe will ask something very hard from you. If you pass the test, you will receive his blessings for children.”

The man replied, ”I’m willing to do anything to bear a child. Who is this great rebbe?”

”I’m referring to the Tosfos Yom Tov. If you receive his blessings, you will bear children. But the Tosfos Yom Tov grants his blessings only to those who don’t speak during davening. ויזכה לראות בנים :And as he writes in his tefillah חיים וקיימים ויגדלם – לתורה ולחופה ולמעשים – טובים , ”He will merit healthy children and to raise them to Torah, chuppah, and good deeds.”

The man wanted the Tosfos Yom Tov’s brachah, so he stopped speaking during the tefillah. A year later, he bore twins. He said, ”I saw many doctors and endured excruciating treatments, but the hardest remedy of all was the Tosfos Yom Tov’s. I was so accustomed to speaking in the tefillah, and it was very hard for me to stop.” But he remained firm in his resolve and was blessed with children, as the Tosfos Yom Tov promised.

A beis medrash opened in Williamsburg for yungerleit who are careful not to speak during davening. Unfortunately, one of their friends became very ill, r’l, so his friends from this minyan made a kabbalah to refrain from talking during davening, regardless of whether they daven in their beis medrash or elsewhere, and they ”donated” the merit of this kabbalah to their friend’s refuah sheleimah.

Rosh Hashanah, one person from this minyan

was davening in another beis medrash, and a friend came over to him and asked him a question. He signaled that he couldn’t reply because he didn’t speak by davening. The man replied, degradingly, ”Oh, you are from those people…”

The kabbalah brought results. After forty days, the friend recovered from his illness.

And there was an added benefit. The yungerman who was humiliated and shamed on Rosh Hashanah had his personal yeshuah too. During the forty days of the kabbalah, his wife was diagnosed with ”the illness.” Their rebbe advised them to get a second opinion from a doctor that the rebbe recommended.

That doctor’s diagnosis was the same. All specialists agreed that she required emergency surgery.

A couple of days afterward, she was brought to the operating room. While the operation was underway, the husband went to a room where he could daven privately. He said, ”Ribono Shel Olam, You know how hard it was for me to keep quiet during the tefillah for forty days, and You know the great humiliation I suffered on Rosh Hashanah for being silent. Please give my wife a refuah sheleimah, and I will continue to be silent in beis medrash for a half year.”

The operation was supposed to take an hour and a half, but it took fortyfive minutes longer. The chief doctor surgeon explained that they could not find the tumor they had previously detected of the M.R.I. The operation took longer than expected because they were looking for something that wasn’t there! (There was something minor, which wasn’t dangerous and life-threatening, which they removed.)

Her life was saved in the merit of her husband’s not speaking during the tefillah. Because just as speaking during the tefillah causes the worst troubles, refraining from speaking brings on the greatest blessings and שתיקה יפה – בשעת ,yeshuos. As tzaddikim said it is good to be silent during the” , התפילה tefillah” is roshei teivos שיבה , old age.

Refraining from speaking brings life, old age, health, and many blessings.
The Greatness of Tefillah

When you don’t Speak The Mishnah (Avos עשרה ניסים – נעשו לאבותינו – בבית ,teaches )5:5 , המקדש… מעולם… לא – נצחו הרוח את – עמוד העשן ”Ten miracles happened to our forefathers in the Beis HaMikdash…

[One of the miracles is]:

Winds never dispersed the pillar of smoke [that ascended from the korbanos].” This means that the smoke of the korbanos rose straight up, like a column, and was not dispersed by the wind.

The Avodas Yisrael explains, ”There’s a Beis HaMikdash in heaven, which is directly above the Beis HaMikdash that was in this world. The smoke of the korbanos of the Beis HaMikdash below rose to heaven and reached the Beis HaMikdash above.

This created a nachas ruach to Hashem and brought down bounty to all worlds.

However, if a wind dispersed the pillar of smoke, it wouldn’t reach the Beis HaMikdash above.

”A beis medrash is a miniature Beis HaMikdash (see Megillah 29.). Therefore, each Beis medrash certainly has its counterpart in heaven. The tefillos of the beis medrash below go up and enter the Beis medrash in

heaven. Therefore, we must be
cautious not to speak during the
tefillah even just a few words.
We should only say the words of
the tefillah [so the pillar of
tefillah can ascend and enter the corresponding beis medrash in
heaven and not be dispersed by our talking].

”When one speaks idle talk during the tefillah, it can be compared to someone who turns to his friend while during a conversation with the king.

He says, ’My master, my king, I can’t speak to you now. I have something more important to take care of.’ This banishes the Shechinah, r’l from the Beis medrash. Another problem is that other people are davening in the Beis medrash together with him, and it is possible that their tefillos won’t be answered, all because of his speaking, chas veshalom.”

The Baal HaTanya (Igeres Hakodesh ch.24) אל יעשה אדם – עצמו רשע שעה ,writes, ”Chazal say hints to the שעה אחת The אחת – לפני המקום. 8 hour that we gather in Beis medrash to daven before Hashem. This is the time that Hashem desires and chooses, more than the rest of the day. It is an eis ratzon, auspicious time before Hashem. At this time Hashem reveals His presence in the Beis medrash, which is a miniature Beis HaMikdash, and we can meet with the Shechinah… Who is enclothed in the words of tefillah. His Shechinah becomes revealed to each individual according to his intelligence and shoresh neshamah… And those who search and yearn for Hashem find Him. But if at this time you will speak [during the tefillah], you are demonstrating that you aren’t interested in seeing Hashem’s presence which is being revealed at this time. You are showing that you don’t want to think about the beauty and majesty of the King of kings, Hakadosh Baruch Hu, Who reveals Himself at this time to those who desire to see His honor and Greatness…”

The Tanya gives a mashal to describe the disgrace one causes when he speaks during tefillah:

”The Kingship of heaven resembles the מלכותא – דרקיע ( kingships of the kings below It is the ways of kings to .) כעין מלכותא – דארעא dwell, concealed, in their innermost room, with many guards posted at the doors. People must wait their turn to speak to the king, and sometimes it can take days or even years.

They anticipate this time to greet the king and behold the beauty of his glorious kingship. However, there are times when the king comes out to the people, and then everyone can see his glory. It’s announced throughout the kingdom that all can gather before the king to behold the splendor of his majesty.

”Just think about how disgusting and foolish it would be if someone stands before the king, and then, instead of looking at him, he looks at other things, and is occupied with his own needs! Everyone will look down at him. In addition, he disgraces the king by demonstrating how uninterested he is in him. For his disrespect, he deserves the death penalty” So too, it is foolish when one doesn’t daven with kavanah. During the tefillah, Hashem is permitting us to observe a glimpse of His beautiful grandeur, and it is a disgrace if we don’t care to take advantage of this time. It is far worse if we speak at this time.

The Baal HaTanya adds that even if one

doesn’t have kavanah,
he should not allow
others to know that. He
must stand in shul as though he is davening with kavanah, because it is a disgrace to the King when one publicly shows disregard to the King.

The Tanya writes:

”It states (Mishlei 3:35), כסילים מרים קלון , ’the fools bring on disgrace.’ The pasuk is telling us that even if someone is a כסיל , a fool, he shouldn’t מרים קלון , show his disgrace to everyone.

Chazal say that when one davens, it should be as if he is standing before , כאילו עומד לפני המלך the king.

This means he should at least show as if he is standing before the King. It should appear that way to others, when they look at how he acts during the tefilla. If one doesn’t even pretend, he is chayav misah.

The Zohar writes about him that he is acting disgraceful and that he doesn’t have a portion with the G-d of Yisrael r’l.”

The Tanya concludes with some practical rules: ”Therefore, as a shaliach of Chazal, I דברים make a gezeira that no one should speak from the moment the chazan begins the בטלים tefillah until after the final Kaddish. This is for Shacharis, Minchah, and Maariv. Someone who transgresses this directive on purpose should sit on the ground and ask three people to be מתיר נידוי , to free him from the heavenly ban that he was placed into, and this will cure him.” Setting an Example

The Rambam (Deios 6:1) states, ”It is the way of man to think and to act as his friends do. Therefore, one must become close to tzaddikim, and always be among wise scholars so he can learn from their ways.

As Shlomo HaMelech says (Mishlei 13:20), Go with’ , הולך את חכמים – יחכם ורעה כסילים – ירוע the wise and you will become wise. Those who befriend fools will do bad.’ Therefore, if he lives in a country where people don’t follow the right way, he should go to a country where there are tzaddikim who act properly. And if all countries (that he knows of) are acting sinfully, as it is in our time, he should live by himself, alone…”

People learn from others. Regarding our subject, the Derech Moshe writes that if you are cautious and you don’t speak during the tefillah, this influences others to be careful as well. But if they see you talking during the tefillah, they learn to do the same.

A father told his child, ”Tonight is your bar mitzvah, so now it’s about time that you be cautious with tefillah. You must come on time and daven with kavanah. Never speak during the tefillah.”

That night, in shul, the father began talking to a friend during davening.

The bar mitzvah bachur turned to his father and asked, ”Father, when will it be your bar mitzvah?”

When trying to teach another yid to be quiet during davening, one must first train himself to do so. It is the most effective tool.