A Gift from Moshe Rabbeinu

Translated from Rabbi Arush’s feature article in the weekly Chut shel Chessed newsletter. The articles focus on his main message: “Loving others as yourself” and emuna. 

 

Concern for Future Generations 

If we have any real gift in this world, it is the ability to daven. And, for that matter, it is the only gift that this world has to offer. Everything else in the world could suddenly turn against you. Whatever a person might have, be it wisdom, wealth, or children, could turn against him in some way. It could also swell his head and distance him from the goal for which he was created. 

But davening – that is a real gift. Anyone who knows how to daven can accomplish anything he wants in this world, and whatever he gains through davening will never turn against him, nor will it push him away from his goal. It will not bring him to haughtiness. It will only bring him closer to Hashem and closer to his real goal. 

It is so important to worry about the welfare of our loved ones, to provide our children with a better future and give them the tools they need for life, be it a savings account, education, or anything else. But what is the greatest thing we can possibly give them? It is the ability to daven, and we have no right to deny them this. 

Perhaps we do not really understand what power davening has. Well then, it is about time we began learning about the power of davening – the most powerful thing that exists in this world. 

 

Moshe Rabbeinu’s Personal Experience 

When Moshe Rabbeinu’s time came to leave the people of Yisrael, he wanted to equip them with the tools they would need for life. Whoever was willing to listen carefully had everything to gain. 

Chumash Devarim is Moshe Rabbeinu’s parting speech to the nation of Yisrael. Of course, he reviewed for them the basic principles of faith and all the Torah’s mitzvot, and he prepared them emotionally to enter Eretz Yisrael. But intertwined with all that he told them his personal story, one that is tragic and painful to hear. 

Let’s think about Moshe’s account. Moshe Rabbeinu offered 515 prayers to be allowed to enter Eretz Yisrael¹. He told them, “You know, Hashem decided many times to punish you, and He even swore to carry out those punishments, but I always managed to save you by davening for Him to nullify those decrees. Indeed, I thought that I would be able to daven for Him to nullify the decree He imposed on me as well. I tried – not once or twice; I davened for it 515 times,  until Hashem demanded that I stop davening. Had I davened just one more time I would have succeeded in nullifying the decree.” 

This personal account contains a deep and important message for all of us, and it would be wonderful if we could take this message and use it to guide our lives. You see, we can learn all the fundamental principles of davening from this story, and anyone who succeeds in doing so is very fortunate. 

 

What Really Happened? 

Let’s think about this. Moshe Rabbeinu davened 515 times, and always his prayers were for Hashem to grant his wish even though he was undeserving. His approach began with, “Really I don’t deserve anything at all!” 

How do you reach such a fantastic level of humility? Moshe Rabbeinu worked tirelessly to serve Hashem and to care for the nation of Yisrael for many decades. Can you imagine the merit that he amassed? As the Mishnah teaches, “Moshe was meritorious, and he influenced the masses to fulfill Hashem’s Will, and so their merit is attributed to him!”² Besides all that, Moshe davened for days on end. How does one do that? How could it be that in all that time he never entertained a single thought that he might deserve to be answered? And if it was true that Hashem knew all along that He was not going to give in, why didn’t He tell Moshe from the beginning to stop wasting his time davening? 

 

How to Approach Davening 

Davening is a form of battle. Every war includes military might, but there is also a psychological battle. The side that approaches the war with the better attitude is the one that will be victorious. When Avraham Avinu davened, the Torah describes it by saying, “Avraham approached, and he said….”³ Rashi commented, “This term approach is used in the Torah regarding going to battle, going to appease, and going to daven. Avraham had all these in mind.” 

Avraham didn’t just daven. He approached davening. When you daven, you need to find the correct approach. When you want to daven, your main obstacle is going to be things going on in your mind that water down your davening. You might think, “Hashem doesn’t really want to listen to me. He doesn’t really love me. My davening isn’t good enough to have any influence in Heaven.” Or you might think in the other direction: “I really deserve what I am davening for. If Hashem wouldn’t grant it to me, it wouldn’t be fair.” 

So, when you daven, your heart is beset by a whirlwind of opposing thoughts. If you succeed in finding the right approach, you can win the battle and get everything you want. 

 

A Basic Law of Nature 

Moshe Rabbeinu taught us that the number-one principle of davening is: Never stop! If your prayers are not answered, daven again. Daven hundreds of times for it, even thousands of times, but don’t stop until you see results. This is what Moshe Rabbeinu did, until Hashem demanded that he stop. 

For us, the lesson is clear. Don’t stop unless Hashem stops you. Keep on davening, and don’t say, “I’ve already spent six hours on this, and it doesn’t work.” No one knows how many times Hashem wants him to daven. Daven for another six hours. And if it’s that important to you, do it every day for years. 

I have already written in many places, including in my sefer Or Chadash, that there is a spiritual law of nature. It is based on Chazal’s teaching: “Anyone who davens long and hard is guaranteed that his prayers will be effective. If someone davened and was not answered, that is a sign that he should daven some more.”⁴ 

Davening is one of those things that need constant reinforcement. It can be very disappointing when your davening goes unanswered, but don’t let that break you. Feel good about the fact that your davening has accomplished something in your own heart, and keep on davening. 

 

Hashem Loves My Davening 

How does one do that? How can you bear constant disappointments and not become broken? Just keep one thing in the forefront of your mind – Hashem loves you, and He wants to hear your davening. This is what Moshe Rabbeinu taught us. On the surface, it seems that Hashem didn’t want to listen to his davening, and so He told Moshe, “That’s enough! Don’t speak to Me again about this!” 

But in fact the opposite is true. If Hashem didn’t want to listen to him, He would have told Moshe from the beginning, “It’s pointless. Don’t bother davening for it.” Instead, Hashem waited until Moshe had davened 515 times, and only then did Hashem stop him. What’s the idea? It was because Hashem wanted to show Moshe, and to show all of us, how much He loved listening to Moshe’s davening. Those hours of prayer were set aside in a special “bank account” to help the nation of Yisrael through the generations. Each prayer was received with love. Hashem wanted all those prayers, and they gave Him pleasure and satisfaction. 

Moshe Rabbeinu knew all this. He realized that his prayers were for more than his own benefit, that he was davening for Hashem’s benefit. He knew that Hashem wanted this, and even after his 515 davening sessions went unanswered, he still knew that Hashem had wanted him to offer those prayers. He would have continued, except that Hashem told him to stop at that point. 

Dear Jews, sons and daughters of our nation! Listen to Moshe Rabbeinu and learn from him. Anyone who follows this path can bring every yeshuah – every type of yeshuah! Not only that, but the yeshuah will bring him [the one who is praying] goodness and blessing. He will receive it with perfect faith and humility, realizing that it is all a gift that he did not deserve. The most important  yeshuah is the realization that you can change yourself for the better, and that you can do what Hashem really wants you to do.

 

---

Editor’s Notes: 

¹ Midrash Devarim Rabba 11:10. This is derived via Gematria (the numerical value of Hebrew letters) from the opening word of Parashat Va’etchanan, וָאֶתְחַנַּן (Va’etchanan), which literally translates to “and I pleaded”. The letters of this word add up to 515 (6+1+400+8+50+50).  

² Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) 5:18 

³ Devarim (Deuteronomy) 3:23 

⁴ Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 32b: 4 and 10