Hashem wants us to succeed

Rabbi Yonatan Landau

Ohr Somayach Savoy

Hashem then answered their prayers and they were blessed with twins, Yaakov and Eisav.

The Midrash points out that the word used for prayer here “vayetar” is related to the word for a spade. Also the word used here for answering the prayers “vayeiasar” also shares the same similarity. What is the meaning of this?

The Midrash provides a parable to explain this: There was once a king who performed a military exercise with his son, the prince and he promised him a nice reward if he would be successful.

The king hid himself and the prince’s job was to dig down and find his hideout. As the prince would dig towards his father, so to his father would dig towards him.

Hashem is the king and Yitzchok is the prince. With every prayer Yitzchok got closer and closer to being answered, but each prayer was doubly as effective as Hashem would come closer to him in His immense desire to grant that request.

This is true for all of us. Hashem is our father who wants us to succeed. King David says that Hashem created the world in order to give to us.

He demands, though, that we make the effort and bring ourselves closer to Him through adherence to the Torah.

In life there are times of similar difficulties, whether in terms of marriages, families, health or finance, at times even hopelessness.

Yet the Midrash teaches us that we are never alone, that Hashem is not only listening to our prayers, but as we approach Him, He is approaching us; it could be the next prayer that makes the breakthrough…

The Ramban even writes that our slavery in Egypt was originally decreed to be much longer, but the Jews’ prayers changed that.

Hashem should bless us that in these difficult times for our people, we should utilise the power of prayer with the firm knowledge that the One Who listens, not only wants us to succeed, but actually actively helps us attain that goal.