Have you ever thought your tefillos weren't answered?

proudmom

Thu, Sep 29 2005, 6:41 pm

I recieved this from AdoptAcholah.com after my father passed away. I thought this was something interesting to share with you all.

We received the following from the

Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation

after the passing of nava bas fruma leah.

When praying on behalf of someone who is seriously ill and who unfortunately passes on, there is a tendency to grow despondent and to be overcome by a feeling that one's prayers are for naught. The Steipler Gaon once enumerated some areas in which such tefillos achieve significant accomplishment:

a) the tefillos may very well have diminished the patient's suffering to some degree.
b) The tefillos may have extended the patient's life by a few months, weeks, days or even a few hours. Even a moment of life, said the Steipler, is of inestimable value and is more precious than gems.
c) Even if the prayers effected no change at all in the patient's condition, they still are a source of merit for her, since all those who prayed aroused Heavenly compassion through their prayers, which were uttered because of her. These merits will stand by her in the World to Come and may also protect her offspring in the future.
d) These prayers can bring salvation to other individuals and to the community as a whole. At the End of Days, when all will be revealed, we will learn how each tefillah uttered by each individual brought about great goodness and salvation (Toldos Yaakov, p. 118-119).

Reprinted from, "More Shabbos Stories," by Rabbi Shimon Finkelman, with permission from Mesorah Publications.