03 Nov Fundamentals of Tefillah: Part 5

When Hashem
allows us to
experience pain
or discomfort, it
is not simply a
punishment. Rather,
Hashem wants to
give us goodness,
and tefillah helps
prepare us to receive
it. When we turn to Him sincerely, from
the depths of our hearts, we strengthen
our relationship with Him and become
more receptive to the good He wishes to
give us.
The Positivity of Pain
The Midrash teaches that Pharaoh
brought Klal Yisrael closer to Hashem.
When the Egyptians pursued them, the
people were frightened, raised their eyes
heavenward, did teshuvah, and prayed.
Their response was more beneficial than
many fasts and prayers. Hashem wanted
to hear their voices, just as He had heard
them when they suffered in Mitzrayim.
The Midrash compares this to a king who
found a princess threatened by bandits.
She cried out for help, and the king
rescued her. Later, when he wished to
marry her, she was unwilling. He allowed
the bandits to threaten her again so she
would call to him, and then he told her
that hearing her voice was what he had
desired. Similarly, after Klal Yisrael were
safe, Hashem wanted to hear their voices
again, and Pharaoh’s pursuit brought
them to call out to Him.
Suffering can therefore serve as a
message inviting us to come closer to
Hashem. It is mistaken to think that
without pain there would be no need to
daven. The opposite lesson is that we
should build a strong relationship with
Hashem and turn to Him consistently,
rather than waiting until a crisis forces us
to do so. The chapter also acknowledges
that suffering can have other reasons; its
focus here is the role pain can play in
bringing a person closer to Hashem.
The Right Tools
The Gemara teaches that a person should
pray so that he does not become sick.
Once he is sick, he should continue to
daven and ask Hashem to remove the
illness. Some commentators explain
that a person who develops the habit of
tefillah before becoming ill already has
the tools he needs when a difficult time
arrives. He knows how to turn to Hashem

and pray with sincerity. Someone who
has not built that habit may find it much
harder to daven when suffering comes
and may have to rely on his merits.
This teaches the importance of preparing
spiritually before a challenge. Tefillah
should not be reserved only for moments
of fear or need. It is a regular way of
maintaining our connection with Hashem,
so that when life becomes difficult, we
have a relationship to lean on.
All for the Good
The Gemara says that everything
Hashem does is for the good. If suffering
is ultimately for our good, why should we
pray for it to end? The chapter explains
that we are still meant to ask Hashem
to remove pain. Through tefillah, we
can sweeten the judgment that brought
the suffering and prepare ourselves to
receive the goodness Hashem wishes to
give us.
The same idea applies to parnassah.
We may wonder why we should pray
for livelihood if Hashem has already
determined what we will have. Tefillah is
not merely a request for a particular result.
It helps us grow spiritually and recognize
that everything comes from Hashem. As
we learn to trust Him, we become more
able to receive His goodness.
Pain can also remind us that we are not
fully in control. When we turn to Hashem
during illness or difficulty, we recognize
that our healing and well-being ultimately
depend on Him. The purpose is not
revenge or rejection, chas v’shalom, but
an opportunity to correct the mistaken
belief that we control everything and can
do whatever we wish.
A serious challenge can become an
opportunity to grow and develop greater
awareness of Hashem.
Finding the Joy
Throughout Sefer Tehillim, Dovid
Hamelech describes pain as well as joy.
He was able to find joy even while facing
hardship. A person who recognizes
complete dependence on Hashem can
experience a deeper sense of happiness
because he knows that everything
comes from Him. By contrast, someone
who believes that everything depends
on human effort alone may live with
constant anxiety and disappointment.
Sometimes a person says, “I am in pain,
so I cannot daven.” Yet when life was
comfortable, he may not have felt a need

to pray because everything seemed to be
going well. When difficulty arrives, he
may feel too distressed to daven. If we
do not turn to Hashem when things are
good or when things are hard, when will
we develop that connection? The chapter
challenges us to be honest with ourselves
and not allow either comfort or suffering
to keep us from tefillah.
The Lekutei Amarim teaches that Klal
Yisrael experiences pain and discomfort
because we do not daven enough for the
pain to be removed. It is not enough to
pray three times a day; we should also
speak to Hashem throughout the day.
As we learn to rely on Him, as Dovid
Hamelech did, and recognize that our
experiences come from Him, we can find
joy even in hardship. This does not mean
that pain is easy, but that it can become
an opening to a closer relationship with
Hashem.
Davening before Sickness
A story illustrates why people should
turn to Hashem before a crisis. A man
stood on his roof throwing stones at
passersby, and the police came to find
out why. He explained that the door to
his house was stuck and he could not get
out. First, he had thrown gold and silver
from the window, hoping people would
look up and help him. Instead, they took
the valuables and walked away. He then
shouted, but no one listened. Finally, he
threw stones because he knew that would
make people look up.
The lesson is that Hashem gives us
goodness and wants us to become close
to Him, but we can become accustomed
to our comfortable lives and forget that

connection. Challenges can act as wake-
up calls, reminding us to return to Him

through tefillah. If we recognized our
need for Hashem before experiencing
pain, we would not need such reminders.
It is unfortunate when people wait until
someone becomes sick before organizing
Tehillim gatherings or praying with
urgency. The Gemara teaches that a
person should daven before pain arrives.
When life is stable and a person has a
regular job and few pressing needs, it can
be easy to forget to reach out to Hashem.
Yet praying when things are going well is
important because it acknowledges that
our blessings come from Him.
When someone only begins to pray
after becoming ill, it may seem that
he is praying solely because of the

illness. Regular tefillah shows that
our relationship with Hashem is not
dependent on an emergency. It also
builds the spiritual strength needed to
pray during difficult times.
Thanking Hashem
Everyone faces challenges. Sometimes
the difficulty is physical pain; at
other times, it may be the struggle to
concentrate during a long davening or the
irritation that comes with it. The chapter
suggests that even this kind of discomfort
can become an opportunity for growth.
When we focus only on our suffering,
we risk becoming resentful or feeling
rejected by Hashem. If we do not
thank Him during a painful situation,
the difficulty may lead us to feel more
distant from Him, chas v’shalom. Yet the
purpose of the challenge is to connect us
to Hashem, not to separate us from Him.
We should use the opportunity to thank
Him, recognize the good in our lives, and
ask that the pain bring us closer to Him
rather than farther away.
We all hope for a life filled with goodness,
but we should not assume that tefillah is
unnecessary when things are going well.
A person who says, “Why should I daven
when I have nothing to ask for?” misses
an essential purpose of prayer. Tefillah
helps us recognize Hashem’s kindness
and builds the ability to turn to Him when
life becomes difficult.
The Anshei Knesses Hagedolah
established the wording of tefillah in the
plural because we pray not only for our
own needs, but for all of Klal Yisrael.
Even when our own lives are going well,
we can daven for others and strengthen
our connection with Hashem. The goal
is to make tefillah a constant part of life:
in times of comfort, in moments of pain,
and in every ordinary day between them.