I’d like to share with you an amazing story that just happened. Fresh off the press! It’s an incredible miracle, highlighting the power of t’filah! Actually, it’s focusing on a specific aspect of kavanah – intention and focus in one’s prayers.

Our story began this past spring, a short time before Pesach 2024, in a seminary in Eretz Yisrael. The girls were listening to a shiur by one of their teachers in the seminary, Rabbi Shimon Heller. He was telling them stories describing the Jewish mother’s prayers, full of sincerity, intensity, and power. He told them about a friend of his, “Chaim,” who was in a bus bombing in Israel some 45 years ago, which happened about two weeks before Shavuos. The people around Chaim were killed, and he was blasted out of the window of the bus, critically injured. They rushed him to the hospital, where he was in intensive care for three days. After he stabilized, he was transferred to the regular ward, still requiring many surgeries. However, the doctors had little hope that Chaim would be anything more than a vegetable.

Chaim’s mother had other ideas. She gathered her family and friends, begging them to daven to Hashem, that Chaim’s mind should remain intact. Why? In order that he should be able to serve Hashem and learn Torah! She implored everyone to storm the heavens with this kavanah.

Shavuos arrived, and Chaim’s father remained in the hospital with Chaim. Early on Shavuos morning, Chaim awoke! Confused, he saw his father and began speaking and questioning him. “Daddy, where am I?’’ The doctors came running to see this amazing moment, and they would eventually admit that Chaim’s recovery was nothing less than a medical miracle. Today, baruch Hashem, Chaim is already a grandfather!

This story was told to these young ladies in the seminary to illustrate the great power of a Jewish mother’s prayers (as well as the special s’gulah of healing on Shavuos – for another article). However, Rabbi Heller didn’t even realize how much this story would affect these girls!

You see, half a year earlier, a friend of these girls, “Chavah,” from a large Jewish community in the US, had been in a horrible car accident. Hit by a truck, she was in critical condition. Countless people were davening for her r’fuah, and many people took upon themselves different mitzvos as a z’chus for her recovery. After two months (!) she stabilized enough to be out of danger. Still, chances of a full recovery were close to none. She had serious brain damage, and the doctors didn’t have anything more to offer for her. The prognosis was that either she would slowly recuperate with memory and speech loss, or she would deteriorate further. Chavah was sent home to her family, where they tended to her 24/7. She would sit limply in the wheelchair, eyes staring, not recognizing or responding to anyone, family or friend. Everyone kept on davening, hoping for a miracle.

Back to our young ladies in the seminary. “Leah’’ decided to emulate Chaim’s mother from the story they had recently heard, to try to help Chavah. Leah told her friends, let’s daven for Chavah by having kavanah that Hashem should bless her with a healthy brain, to recover and marry and have children who will serve Hashem and learn His Torah! The idea caught on, and soon Leah had many people davening for Chavah with this specific intent.

Shavuos 2024 arrived. On the Friday after Shavuos (just a short while ago), Leah received a message from the US. The girls’ shrieking was incredible! What did they hear?

Late Shavuos night, Chavah had suddenly turned to her mother and began to speak! “Mommy? I feel so weak,” along with a few more words. Everyone was shocked! That was followed by a tremendous eruption of happiness! An amazing miracle! (Her ordeal isn’t over yet. Please keep davening for Chavah bas Chayah Esther for a r’fuah sh’leimah.)

Was it everyone’s t’filos, mitzvos, and Torah learning that brought this outcome? Was it the special kavanos of these young ladies that brought this miracle? Did their special kavanos help push through? We can’t pinpoint exactly what brought the amazing result for Chavah.

There is a very powerful lesson of the importance and impact of our prayers that we can learn from these stories: Davening for our own success, in order to bring Hashem nachas.

However, there is a deeper source of the power of t’filah that we can also learn from here.

The following explanation was heard from Rabbi Yisrael Altusky shlita of Yeshiva Torah Ore, Yerushalayim.

Rabbi Chaim Volozhiner brings in his sefer Nefesh HaChayim the following insight: The proper way to daven is to ask Hashem to bring us a y’shuah (salvation) for His sake! Hashem loves us more than we love ourselves. Any pain that we have, Hashem feels it much more. When we daven for a y’shuah, we should ideally have kavanah that Hashem is suffering way more than we are, and we want the y’shuah so that Hashem should not suffer!

From here, we can gain a much deeper appreciation for t’filah. Davening is an expression of our love for Hashem, because of Hashem’s love for us! This is a key to having our t’filos answered.

In our stories with Chaim and Chavah, by having the kavanah that the y’shuah is for the benefit of Hashem, the t’filah had much stronger impact!

This kavanah for t’filah can (and should) be used as a powerful tool for our t’filos in any situation.

We should all be zocheh to be able to improve the way we speak to Hashem, and to merit to have our prayers answered in the best way possible!

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The author can be reached through the QJL.