Mevarchim Hachodesh - Blessing the New Month (Part 4)
“The greatest darkness comes just before dawn –
but most people give up one minute before the light.”
Ba’al Shem Tov
The opening prayer of Mevarchim HaChodesh concludes: …A life in which our heartfelt requests will be fulfilled for the good. Amen Selah.
Rabbeinu Nissim ben Reuven (1290-1376) of Girona, Catalonia, was one of the greatest Halachic authorities in his generation. He authored multiple works on many different facets of Judaism including the Talmud, responsa and philosophy. He is usually referred to simply as RaN – an abbreviation of Rabbeinu Nissim, and till today his commentary on the Talmud is considered a staple for all budding Talmud scholars.
Rabbeinu Nissim questions what the word “LeTovah – for the good” adds to our understanding of what we are asking for. His answer is simple but extremely profound: We do not know what is truly good for us and what is not.
Very often, we beseech Hashem for something that we desperately need or want - which is absolutely the correct thing to do, to turn to our Father in Heaven and ask for whatever we want; but being realistic, we must admit that we cannot be objective about what we truly need, no matter how convinced we may be. That thing that we “know” we need might just be to our grave detriment.
What a conundrum! On the one hand, I need to ask Hashem for what I want. On the other hand, I don’t want to ask for anything that might be bad for me. What is the answer?
The answer, explains Rabbeinu Nissim, is the word “LeTovah”!
LeTovah means that I am begging Hashem to fulfill my heart’s desires – but only if they will be for my benefit. If what I am asking for is not “LeTovah”, then I don’t want it.
So often we think something is perfect, exactly what we wanted and prayed for, only to find out that it wasn’t good at all. The opposite is true as well: how often do we experience something “negative” that later turns out to be just exactly what we needed?
So, we add the word “LeTovah” to our Tefillah to remind ourselves that only Hashem knows. Yes, I can want. Yes, I can ask. And, yes, I can cry out. But only Hashem knows whether or not the thing is truly “LeTovah”.
Seventy years ago, there was a young woman from Bnei Brak who needed a life-saving operation. The doctors were relatively confident that the operation would be a success but they were also sure that as a consequence of the operation she would never be able to bear children.
The young woman was advised to travel to Yerushalayim, an arduous journey in those days which could take many hours, and seek a blessing from the great Rabbi Yitzchak Ze’ev HaLevi Soloveitchik, known by all as the “Brisker Rav”. When she entered the Brisker Rav’s home, she told his son why she had come and that she desperately sought his blessing.
The son approached his father and asked to bring the young lady into his study. Completely uncharacteristically, the Brisker Rav told his son, “Tell her to come back tomorrow.”
His son was taken aback. The desperate young lady had come all the way from Bnei Brak desperate for a blessing; how could she be told to come back tomorrow?! With no alternative, the young lady stayed in Yerushalayim overnight and returned to the Rabbi’s home the next morning, only to be told that she should return later that evening! The Brisker Rav’s son was once again taken aback at the seeming insensitivity towards such a vulnerable, virtuous young lady.
When she returned that night, she was the recipient of a beautiful and heartfelt blessing from the Brisker Rav.
Later, the Brisker Rav explained his behavior: when the young lady first appeared, he was very close to completing the study of TractateYevamot. He wanted her to come for a blessing when he had finished the entire Tractate, because the completion of a Tractate is a time of great Heavenly favor.
Thus, what seemed like a lack of sensitivity - asking her to come back the next day - was actually an abundance of sensitivity! He wanted to bless her at the most opportune time.
The young lady in question must have been devastated when she first failed to receive a blessing. I imagine she would not describe being told to come back again (and again!) as “LeTovah”. Yet that is exactly what it was. Because, had she received the blessing when she thought she should have received it, the blessing would not have carried the same potency as the blessing that she ultimately received!
To be continued…
