Tefila is one of the areas in which we constantly need chizuk. We must remind ourselves from time to time what it says in the Kad HaKemach that tefila is so great, it has the power to even change nature. We must remind ourselves of the Meiri who writes that we should feel confident in the power of one good tefila to break a decree. The effectiveness of any tefila depends on the amount of mesirut nefesh a person is willing to put into it. The more we put in, the more powerful it becomes. And a truly powerful tefila can do wonders.

I read a story about a boy named Shimshi Gelles who had outstanding middot and a very strong drive to learn, but he just didn’t have the brain power to understand what he was learning. His rebbe in elementary school watched him toil every single day and even shed tears, frustrated, that he just couldn’t understand. The rebbe was willing to stay after school and clarify the Gemara for Shimshi, but after many weeks and months of trying, the boy just could not understand. The rebbe was deeply pained, seeing this boy suffer so much. He decided to bring him to Bnei Brak to get a beracha and guidance from Rav Chaim Kaniensky, zatzal. When they arrived, the boy’s rebbe praised the boy’s yirat Shamayim, sincere tefilot and great efforts in trying to learn, to the Gadol. Rav Chaim smiled and said, “Looks like you need a little more yegia(effort) in Torah.” The rebbe assured Rav Chaim that the boy was putting in every last bit of effort he was capable of. Rav Chaim then asked the boy himself if he davened for hatzlacha in learning, to which the boy replied that he did, and even with tears sometimes.

Rav Chaim told the boy to accept upon himself to never miss tefila with a minyan, even if it would require mesirut nefesh. Then he gave him a beracha and the meeting ended.

The months and years passed and Shimshi always made sure to never miss minyan. When it was time for him to apply to yeshiva gedola, everyone was surprised when Shimshi got accepted to an excellent yeshiva, although it was due to his yirat Shamayim and exceptional character, as opposed to his learning skills. A few years later, when Shimshi was 19, he came back to his old rebbe and handed him a pamphlet entitled Chidusheh Torah al Masechet Yevamot. The rebbe looked through it and was very impressed by the clarity and depth of each chiddush there. It was obvious that the author was a brilliant talmid chacham. The rebbe asked Shimshi who wrote this? And with a shy smile, Shimshi said, “Hashem helped me put this out. I have so much hakarat hatov to you for putting so much effort into me and now I wanted to show you the fruits of your labor.

The rebbe couldn’t believe what he was hearing, reminding Shimshi how he couldn’t even grasp a simple Tosafot. “What changed?” he asked.

Shimshi’s eyes shone as he shared the events of the past few years with his rebbe. His first year in yeshiva gedola was very difficult. Sitting in the shiur every day, not understanding a word the Rabbi was saying. At the end of the winter’s zeman, the yeshiva went on a trip to holy places in the North of Israel. And by the time they got home that night and this boy walked into his house in Ramot, it was very late. His parents waited up for him, served him dinner and they talked for a while. He was finally getting ready to go to bed at 1:30 am when he realized he didn’t say Arbit yet. He knew there were no minyanim in his neighborhood, but he also had the words of Rav Chaim ringing in his head to never miss minyan even if it would require mesirut nefesh. The only definite option he knew of was Zichron Moshe in Geula. He didn’t even have a car and there was no public transportation at that time of night. So with tremendous self-sacrifice, he managed to get there close to an hour later. When he arrived, there were six others and they were waiting for a minyan. They waited a long time until close to 3:00 am in the morning and they finally got the tenth. “It was the most special tefila in my life,” Shimshi exclaimed. “From the moment the chazan said Barchu, I felt an overwhelming wave of kavana and passion that I never felt before. Yet it wasn’t until I reached אתה חונן לאדם דעת that I felt a change. It was as if a dam opened in my heart and, suddenly, I cried harder than I ever cried before. I stood there in the corner of the shul for about 45 minutes, begging Hashem to open my heart to Torah and to fully understand everything I learn.” After he finished, he looked at the clock and saw that the netz minyan would be starting soon and decided to stay and wait for it and borrow a pair of tefillin. While waiting, he opened a Gemara to the spot they were learning in yeshiva and began to review. For the first time in his life, he actually understood everything he was reading. He then learned Rashi, Tosafot, Maharsha and it was all crystal clear. He cried the entire Shacharit, thanking Hashem for the incredible gift He had just given him. From that day on, he learned with such diligence for hours and hours straight with no interruption. And that is how he was able to write this pamphlet on Masechet Yevamot. He had prayed for years to have success in his learning, but this one extremely powerful tefila was the one that broke nature and changed his life forever.

This is the awesome power of a truly heartfelt tefila.

More lectures from Rabbi David Ashear

Mishna Berura Yomi 115B סימן פט סעיף א מרן

Alleviate the Stress

Mishna Berura Yomi 115A סימן פח

A Completely Different System

Mishna Berura Yomi 114B סימן פז סוף סעיף א-סעיף ג

The Awesome Power of Tefila