Good Erev Shabbat to all!
This past Sunday night, the Great Neck community was uplifted by a special appearance by world renown Torah personality and lecturer Rabbi Yissocher Frand, Shlita, for the benefit of the children of the Hebrew Academy of West Queens. We thank the Young Israel of Great Neck for graciously hosting the event. We would also again like to extend our sincerest thanks and deep appreciation to the generous sponsors of the evening, Mr. & Mrs. Charles Goldberg, Dr. & Mrs. Irving Golombeck, and Mr. & Mrs. David Kalish.
Rabbi Frand prefaced his lecture by commending the Great Neck community for the tremendous Chesed they were doing by supporting a Yeshiva outside their own community. It is an example of pure Chesed in the cause of Hatzalas Neshamos.
Rabbi Frand’s topic for the evening was " Does Hashem Listen to Your Tefilos?" Rabbi Frand suggested that one roadblock to meaningful davening is our frustration when many of our prayers are not apparently answered. When so many things that we pray for and yearn for never happen we begin to feel our efforts are futile. Rabbi Frand explained that although we don’t always see it, we should be absolutely confident that no prayer is ever wasted. Hashem listens to and answers every Tefila, somewhere, someplace, for someone. He told a moving story about a young man in Eretz Yisrael from a completely secular home, who was dragged in from the street to be a tenth man for Mincha in a Shul in Tel Aviv. The young man was so impressed with the davening that he sought out to learn more about Yiddishkeit and eventually became a Ben Torah. His secular family was shocked and devastated by this development. Everyone except the young man’s father. He understood what had happened. He recalled that his father (the young man's grandfather), a pious Jew, had davened daily in that very Shul in Tel Aviv. Obviously the fervent Tefilos of this grandfather and the tears he shed at the spiritual demise of his family, was finally answered in the Teshuva of his grandson. Rabbi Frand reminded the audience of the first sentence of Shemoneh Esray, "Hashem s’fosi Tiftach ufe yagid tehilasecha." When we daven we must remember that we are speaking to the King of Kings, who controls everything in our lives. What an unparalleled opportunity this is for us! He encouraged the audience to "dress the part" and to go to davening at least in the manner we would approach an important human personage. He pointed out that when we face crises in our lives everyone reaches out to Hashem, when all other hope is lost. But why wait until this point. Let us try fo forge a closeness with Hashem when things are going, Baruch Hashem, well. Maybe then Hashem will not need to get our attention with hardships and difficulties. Rabbi Frand concluded with the emotional story of Nachshon Wachsman, A’H. How his father and mother, while facing the terrible tragedy of burying their beloved son were concerned that people will not despair of Tefila, since the worldwide prayers on their son’s behalf where apparently not heard. He reminded us of Mr. Wachman’s powerful statement, that Hashem is our father, and sometimes a father hears our requests, but for reasons beyond our understanding must say no. But no Tefila is ever wasted!
Shabbat Shalom!
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