לזכות רפואה שלימה אחינו כל בית ישראל הנתונים בצרה ובשביה
This week’s Parshah, Parshat Vayeira, contains the rather astonishing saga of the city of Sodom, and the efforts that our patriarch Avraham put forth to try and save the city of evildoers from total catastrophe. The fact that Avraham went to great lengths to pray and try to save a city of rampant immorality is not what arouses curiosity; we would expect no less from our ancestor who represents the paragon of Chessed\kindness. What does inspire feelings of bewilderment is the reality that Hashem chose to include the story as part of our Torah—-and yet Avraham’s prayers were apparently entirely unsuccessful! [As is well known, Avraham’s nephew Lot was saved from the conflagration of Sodom; however, that does not appear to have been because of Avraham’s prayer–see Rashi, Bereishit 19’ 29’ who offers an approach as to why Lot was saved that is not tethered to the prayers of Avraham].
The Sefer Tifferet Yehonasan [Bereishit 18’ 33’] offers, that in reality, Avraham’s prayers and efforts to save the wicked people of Sodom did not go unreturned; rather, Hashem “stores’’ those prayers for the children of Israel, and uses those heartfelt pleas from our Patriarch to ensure that even those from among his descendants who perhaps didn’t live their lives to the fullest potential will merit eternal reward because of Avraham’s Tefillot.
Chid’’a, in his Sefer Penei David, Parshat Ki Tavo [para. 3] comments, that this idea is the meaning of the verse in Tehillim [chapter 31, Verse 20: “How abundant is the goodness that You have hidden away…”--as the “goodness” that G-d has “hidden away” refers to the prayers of Jews who over millennia have poured out their heart to Hashem for the salvation of His people, and although the immediate answer to those prayers may not be visible, the Possuk assures us that those prayers are stored and hidden away by G-d, where they can be disbursed to the Jews when needed.
A valuable lesson is gleaned from this concept by the Sefer Be’’i Chiy’’a. Oftentimes, people can wonder, “I prayed so hard that so-and-so should merit salvation, and yet, my Tefillot were not successful!” Certainly, after October 7th of last year, many Jews have embraced additional prayers with fervor and sincerity, and still the battles rage and hostages are suffering. One may wonder about the value of these prayers that are not being met with readily visible success. However, we can glean from the lesson presented here, that every Tefillah put forth by a Jew has a tremendous beneficial impact—even if those results are not always readily apparent, just like the prayers of Avraham our forefather!
Dedicated in memory of all those who have perished and sacrificed for Am Yisrael.
Have a Great Shabbas.