The theme of this week’s parsha is davening. The name of the parsha itself, Vaeschanan, means tefilla. Moshe Rabenu davened 515 tefilos, the numerical value of Vaeschanan, to merit to enter Eretz Yisroel. Also, in this week’s parsha the first chapter of the Shema, a central part of davening is found.
This week is Shabbos Nachamu. Hashem sends to us the Navi to comfort us and bring us hope regarding the future. This is related to davening as well. Many parts of davening are pleas to Hashem to take us out of galus. Also, davening takes the place of karbonos in the Beis HaMikdash.
In davening, before Baruch Sheamar and after Shir Shel Yom we say the tefilla of Hosheanu. We say; “Deliver us, Lord our G-d; gather us from among the nations that we may give thanks to your holy Name and glory in your praise.” We are davening to Hashem that Klal Yisroel be gathered from among the nations and be redeemed.
There is a story about the fifth son of the Tzemach Tzedek, Rav Yosef Yitzchcok. Rav Yosef Yitzchcok married the daughter of Rav Yaakov Yisroel of Chekas and later became the Father in Law of the Rebbe Rashab. The Previous Rebbe was named after him. Once, the Shver of Rav Yosef Yitzchcok asked him how he davens. The answer he gave was that he davens; “b’tzibur”. His Shver took that to mean that he davens with a minyon. As it happened, on a particular occasion, the Shver of Rav Yosef Yitzchcok sent a messenger to inform him that he needed to speak with him. The messenger returned saying that he was in the middle of davening. Later, he sent another messenger who returned the same answer. The Shver, noticing that it was already late in the day, wondered how he could still be davening as there were no longer any minyonim to be found. He questioned his Son in Law; “I thought you davened b’tzibur with a minyon. Where was there a minyon at such a late hour?” He explained that what he meant when he said that he davened “b’tzibur” was something he had heard from his father, the Tzemach Tzedek who had heard it from the Alter Rebbe. The Alter Rebbe said, that when a person davens, he needs to gather together all the 10 powers of his soul, and daven with them b’tzibur, together. He then told his Shver, that to do that properly takes a long time.
What lesson does this teach us today? We have many sparks of Kedusha, parts of our neshama’s attention that are scattered and invested all over in different areas of our lives. We are involved in business ventures, in the chinuch of our children, in paying bills and taking care of our homes. We need to pull all of these aspects together with one focus. Then the whole person is davening with one intention; to serve Hashem. To be able to focus, it would be helpful close our cell phones, not even on vibrate, and stop answering text messages. It would also be helpful to learn Chassidus before davening and to learn the pirush hamilos, the meaning of the words of davening. This will help us to place our focus into the davening. Then each one can do his or her best to daven b’taibur.
To daven this way is kibutz golius-the ingathering of the exiles of each person. The purpose is that this should be for Hashem. This is the proper preparation for the geula, to be together with Hashem in the third Beis HaMikdash, Now!
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