The Yidden proclaimed, וַאֲנִי בְּחַסְדְּךָ בָטַחְתִּי יָגֵל לִבִּי בִּישׁוּעָתֶךָ – My enemies think that there is no one to save me, but I trust in Your infinite kindness, my heart will rejoice in Your salvation. אָשִׁירָה לְהַשֵּׁם כִּי גָמַל עָלָי – I will sing to Hashem because he has dealt kindly with me (Tehillim 13:6)!
Asaf davens to Hashem to restore Klal Yisroel to the Land – to reestablish His vineyard, to protect it and draw it near to Him once again.
In a sincere spirit of optimism, we recite the words of Modim, offering an enthusiastic affirmation of Hashem’s great goodness. We thank Him and consciously accept everything He sends our way – whether or not it fits our ideal of a blissful and carefree existence.
What better way to begin our Shavuos preparations than with a timeless niggun of devotion and faith, united in declaring our readiness to accept Hashem as our One and Only King.
Banim Atem LaMakom – We are all Hashem’s Children. This special tefillah reinforces this powerful idea, and is a timely reminder of the awesome relationship and responsibility that we share with our Father in heaven.
Tu B’Shvat is the ideal time to ask Hashem to afford us the ability, mental capacity, and clarity of understanding to reach new heights in our Torah study and to be able to develop and elucidate original Torah thoughts and ideas. For us, the 15th of Shvat is the day on which we can aspire to reach new heights in learning Torah, achieve new levels in understanding the wisdom of Hashem, and embark on a new year of learning. We ask Hashem to provide us the necessary resources to produce beautiful new peiros of our own.
You don’t have to be told where your health, food or livelihood comes from. We all know that everything comes from the Ribono Shel Olam – we daven to Him that He grant us health, wealth and success. However, it may not occur to us that we must daven that He grant us peace as well. Peace isn’t just something that exists in the absence of war and discord. Shalom, just like everything else, is a gift from G-d, and can only be given (or taken away) by the Master of the universe Himself. Such a powerful thought, especially during times of such open displays of hatred and violence.
Chazal teach us that the power of prayer is not a matter of kavanah as much as it is our emunah in the efficacy of our prayer and in its intrinsic strength.
Year after year, a barren Chanah would cry from her sorrow, and would even be ridiculed for her inability to bear children. Finally, after 19 years of pain, she felt she could no longer accept her childless fate. Chanah lifted herself up and tapped into the most potent vehicle for change that exists in the world – Tefillah. At that moment, she davened the most heartfelt prayer she had ever prayed – clear and to the point, from the depths of her broken heart.
Mordechai, Esther, and the entire story of Purim showed us that the correct response to all our troubles is a healthy dose of genuine remorse, earnest prayer, and the commitment to help those around us. And when we follow these steps, we can trust that Hashem will do His part and tear up any detrimental decrees.