Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Daf Yomi - Taanis 8 - PRAYING TO ELIMINATE TWO CALAMITIES

In the days of R' Shmuel bar Nachmeini, a plague as well as a famine raged through the land.

"How should we act?" the rabbis asked, "to pray that Hashem nullify them both is impossible. We cannot pray [effectively] for two things at once. Let us then pray that the plague should come to an end, and we will suffer through the famine."

"Not so," R' Shmuel bar Nachmani may told them, "rather, we should pray for the end of the famine, and Hashem will remove the plague as well. For, Hashem does not send His abundance to those who will die, only to those who will live. This the Torah teaches when it says, "You open your hand, and satisfy the living with their desires."

The Shulchan Aruch (O”C 576:15) rules based on our Gemora that if the community has two difficulties at once, they should only pray for one of them.

The Kosos L’maor asks that how can we daven Shemoneh Esrei every day when we are praying for so many different things. He answers that the halacha is only when the calamities are here already upon us but we can pray that they shouldn’t come upon us even if we are praying for multiple things.

The Ben Yehoyada writes that we do not daven for two calamities outside Eretz Yisroel where our tefillos do not ascend to Hashem directly and there is a concern that the agents carrying our tefillos to Hashem will prosecute against us; however we are permitted to daven in Eretz Yisroel for multiple calamities since our prayers ascend directly to Hashem with no emissaries in the middle.

The Peri Megadim comments that if there are two sicknesses, we are permitted to daven for both of them since it is considered one tefillah – we are beseeching Hashem that sicknesses should not come upon us.

The Kaf Hachaim infers from the language of the Shulchan Aruch that this halacha only applies by a communal tefillah; however an individual can daven for more than one calamity.

The Iyun Yaakov writes that Moshe requested of Hashem two things and therefore he wasn’t answered. He asked to be able to cross over into Eretz Yisroel and he requested to be able to see Eretz Yisroel. (I would have thought that this would be regarded as one request.) This seemingly is not consistent with the Kaf Hachaim since Moshe was an individual and nevertheless he could not daven for two things.

The Chasam Sofer answers that all of our requests are actually only one. Dovid Hamelech requested only to be able to dwell in Hashem's midst his entire life. That is the underlying theme of all our tefillos. Klal Yisroel just wants to be able to bask in the presence of the Shechina.

The Satmar Rebbe in Divrei Yoel states that if the requests are for the honor of Hashem, there is no limit to how many one can ask for. This is why we recite by hoshanos “l’maancho,” we are asking for all types of salvation for the sake of Hashem. If that is our intent, we can ask for multiple things.

The Ben Yehoyada brings a proof from Eliyahu that it would be permitted to ask for two different things by tefillas Mincha. That is when Eliyahu prayed “Aneini Hashem aneini.”

There are those that say that this halacha is limited to a prayer on an ominous occasion, when an impending disaster is looming; however by Shemoneh Esrei which has its set time and has a set arrangement, there is no concern for this.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

If you could provide a mareh mokom for the Divre yoel it would be highly appreciated

Avromi said...

hoshana rabbah 401
moadim 1:111 and 316

let me know if you can't find it

Avromi said...

Didn't it have more to do with the times? what was needed at that particular time

Anonymous said...

Ben the Gemurah says only after they realized it was an Eis Ratzon that they decided to go after the Arayos

Anonymous said...

Quoting Avromi: "The Iyun Yaakov writes that Moshe requested of Hashem two things and therefore he wasn’t answered. He asked to be able to cross over into Eretz Yisroel and he requested to be able to see Eretz Yisroel. (I would have thought that this would be regarded as one request.) This seemingly is not consistent with the Kaf Hachaim since Moshe was an individual and nevertheless he could not daven for two things."

1. It seems to be that entering E.Y. and being there are two different requests. Just to see the miracles of the splitting of the Yarden would have been enough. (Even though you can differentiate that once Moshe Rabbeinu saw Krias Yam Suf, then the Yarden would've been "child's play", except for that all the Yotzei Mitzraim didn't live to see the Yarden, so the new generation needed it.)

2. It's possible to say that Moshe Rabbeinu isn't considered an "individual", just like at the end of Rosh Hashana it says that "Hashem remembered Sora" is a rememberance of a "tzibbur", not a "yochid."

Avromi said...

Actually, yesterdays Gemora says that Moshe was like a tzibbur in regards to the man and therefore the man came because of him