B"H

Thursday, Mar-Cheshvan 16, 5776 / October 29, 2015

The story of the destruction of the two cities, Sodom and Gomorra, are in this week's Parsha, Vayeira. In this story we find the importance of praying with a Minyan (quorum of ten).  

G-d said, "The cry [caused by the injustice and evil] of the people of Sodom and Gomorra is great and their sin is exceedingly grievous." G-d decides to destroy the cities, but before He does that, He says, "Shall I hide from Abraham that which I am doing?” G-d tells Abraham His plan.

When Abraham heard that G-d was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorra, he prayed that G-d rescind His decree. Abraham asked G-d to spare the cities in the merit of the righteous people who live there. G-d said that he wouldn’t destroy them if He could find ten righteous people in those cities.  

When G-d told him that there aren’t ten righteous people there, Abraham had no choice but to give up.

Here we see the significance of praying with ten, which is the amount we need for a Minyan.   Had there been ten righteous people in Sodom, their merit would have protected and saved everyone. 

Although one can pray at home or office, our sages emphasize the importance and great benefit of praying in synagogue with a Minyan. 

The following is a story from the Talmud:  A woman once came before the Talmudic sage Rabbi Yossi ben Chalafta and said, "I am very old, at this point my life is very difficult. Rabbi, please pray that G-d take me from this world!" Rabbi Yossi ben Chalafta asked her, "What did you do to merit long life?"

"Each day I come early to the synagogue. Nothing has ever held me back from attending the house of worship," she replied.

"In that case," said Rabbi Yossi, "don't attend synagogue for the next three days." She did as Rabbi Yossi suggested and on the third day she passed away. Thus, we see the great reward for praying in the synagogue with the Minyan.

The power of prayer is also illustrated in the following Talmudic episode:  Rav Kahana and Reb Chiya were praying.  When Reb Chiya finished his prayers, Rav Kahana was still praying.  As a result, Reb Chiya didn’t leave his place; he did not want to disturb Rav Kahana by walking in front of him.  When Rav Kahana finally finished, Reb Chiya asked him, why he prayed so long? 

Rav Kahana answered, "I am a descendant of the household of Eli the Priest, who was cursed that his descendants will not reach old age (Samuel I 2:31-32).  Thus, I pray with great concentration; for prayer can help to rescind a bad decree, when nothing else is effective."  Indeed, as a result of his prayers, Rav Kahana lived to a very old age. 

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY

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Dedicated by his family