Thursday, Sivan 17, 5782 / June 16, 2022
At the end of this week’s Parsha, Beha’alotcha, we read how Moshe prayed for his sister, Miriam, that
G-d heal her from her affliction when she was punished for speaking against Moshe. Moshe’s prayer for Miriam consisted of only three words – “G-d heal her.”
Our sages say that G-d hears our prayers at all times. It dosen’t matter how long or how short one prays. It is the dedication, feeling and intent which matter.
Prayer is very important in a Jew's life. The three daily prayers originated with our patriarchs. The morning prayer with Avraham; the afternoon prayer with Yitzchak and the evening prayer with Yaakov.
Although it is preferable to pray each of the three daily prayers in synagogue with a minyan (quorum), if this is not possible, one should still pray wherever they are.
One can liken prayer to a faucet and reservoir. No matter how much water may be on the other end, if the faucet is not connected to the reservoir or turned on, the water will not flow where it is needed.
The same is with prayer. On G-d's side there is an abundance of blessings, but to receive the blessings on our end, we have to be connected and turn on the faucet. This is done through prayer, through which we acknowledge that we are dependent on G-d and have full trust in Him.
A group of very wealthy Bedouins, with vast oil resources, decided to have a 10 day convention at one of the prominent hotels in New York. When the convention was over and they all left for the airport, the rooms were inspected and to the amazement of the hotel manager, they found that in each of the rooms where they stayed, the faucets were missing!
The police were notified and they caught up with them as they were about to board the airplane. A thorough check of their bags revealed that each one had a faucet carefully packed away in their bag.
"Just name the price. We will pay you as much as you want for the faucets," they said.
"Why do you want these faucets?" the police asked in amazement.
They replied: "We live in the desert where finding water is a tremendous hassle. But in the hotel we saw this wonderful gadget which, just with a simple turn, gave as much water as we needed. This is exactly what we need in the desert and we are willing to pay any price…"
In order to get the flow, there must be a connection. One of the translations for "Tefilah" (prayer) is "connection." Just like water flowing from the faucet has to be connected to the reservoir, so too, in order for G-d's blessings to flow to us, we have to connect to G-d Who is the source of blessings. This is accomplished through prayer which is our connection to G-d and keeps G-d's blessings flowing.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY