02 Jan SHEMOS: TEFILLAH IS THE KEY

The Rayatz of
Lubavitch zt’l says,
“People think that all
they need to do is wait
for Moshiach, but they
forget that in
Mitzrayim, they needed
tefillah, too, and only
then they were saved.”
This is perhaps
surprising. Hashem
promised Avraham that
he would take the
Jewish nation out of
Mitzrayim. The time
had arrived, but they
required tefillos.
Without tefilla, the
Yidden wouldn’t leave Mitzrayim. Everything
is attained through tefillah.
It states (2:23-24) “And Bnei Yisrael sighed
from the labor, they cried out, and their cry
ascended to Hashem from the labor.” “And
Hashem heard their cry, and Hashem
remembered His covenant,” and Hashem
remembered his promise to the Avos that he
will take the Yidden out of Mitzrayim.
The Rabbeinu b’Chayei writes, “The time for
redemption had arrived, but they didn’t
deserve to be saved. They davened a lot to

Hashem, and Hashem accepted their tefillos.
This teaches us that the future redemption
depends on teshuvah and tefillah. To be
redeemed from Mitzrayim, they needed
teshuvah and tefillah”, and also, to be
redeemed from our present galus, we need
tefillos.
Hashem performed many miracles by Yetzias
Mitzrayim, but one miracle didn’t occur, the
healing of Moshe Rabbeinu’s speech
impediment. Moshe said to Hashem (4:10) “I
am heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue.” The
Ramban writes, “Moshe said, ‘Don’t
command me to go to Pharaoh because it isn’t
proper that the Master of all should send a
messenger with a speech impediment to speak
to a king of a country.”
The solution was that Hashem heals Moshe.
The Ramban writes, “Hakadosh Baruch Hu
didn’t heal Moshe because Moshe didn’t
daven for it.” Nothing happens without
tefillah.
Think about a person who has permission to
take whatever he wants from the king’s
treasury. He arrives at the treasury but doesn’t
have the key! He can’t get inside! He can’t
take anything! This is what happens to a
person who doesn’t daven. Hashem wants to
give us so much, but we must open His
treasury. We open it with tefillah.

The Chofetz Chaim zt’l gives a mashal of a
wealthy person who says to a poor man,
“Come to my office, and I will give you
money.” The poor man never came, so he
never received. Hashem wants to give us
wealth, shidduchim, health, and more, but
sometimes, the only way to get it is with
tefillah. If you don’t ask, you don’t get it.
Rebbe Dovid’l, the Tolna Rebbe zt’l arrived at
the inn of a Jewish couple, and he asked them
to give him a lot of money. The amount he
asked for was their entire savings. The couple
debated it among themselves until they
decided to give what the Rebbe requested.
The Rebbe went outside the inn, pointed to the
left, and said to his gabbai, “It would be good
if a large inn is built over there.” Then, he
pointed to the right and said, “and a large
stable over there,” and he spoke about other
renovations that would benefit the grounds.
There was a misnaged in the inn at the same
time, and he was upset that the Rebbe asked
the innkeepers to give away all their savings
to him. Moreover, he found it strange that the
Rebbe spoke about an imaginary, large inn
and a stable.
But years later, he returned to the inn and saw
that everything Rebbe Dovid’l said occurred.
There was a large inn where the Rebbe had
suggested and a large barn. Everything was

exactly as the Rebbe had said. The couple who
owned the inn was now very wealthy.
He immediately traveled to Tolna and said to
the Rebbe, “Everything you said occurred.
Now I know that you are a holy man. But
please explain to me why you took away from
the couple their savings?”
The Rebbe replied that it was destined from
heaven that this couple becomes rich, but
without tefillah, it wouldn’t happen. They
weren’t davening because they never felt the
need to daven for their parnassah. So, I took
away their financial security, they poured out
their hearts to Hashem, and they received the
financial blessings that were due to them.”
We don’t know what Hashem has in store for
us. Perhaps wealth, children talmidei
chachamim, or other beautiful blessings. But
Tefillah is the key to attaining it.