Our greatest privilege in This World is serving Hashem, following the Torah, and keeping the mitzvot. However, not everyone is so fortunate. Some have family members who have strayed from the path. Others have not been properly exposed to religion. It’s a merit to be able to serve Hashem, and we need to constantly ask for His help to continue.
The pasuk (Tehillim 81:11) says, “Open your mouth wide and I [Hashem] will fill it.” The commentaries explain that this refers to asking Hashem for help in religion. We pray a lot for our physical wellbeing. We ask Hashem for help with health and money, but we need to beg Him for help in religion, as well. The key to religious success is to want it and ask Hashem for help.
The book V’Sargilenu B’Sorasecha tells of a boy in Eretz Yisrael who came from a secular background. As he grew up, he yearned to become religious. He begged his parents to take him out of public school and put him in yeshivah.
After months of back and forth, his mother finally took him for an interview at Yeshivat Ohr Yisrael in Petach Tikvah. The Rosh Yeshivah, Rav Yaakov Neiman, saw that this boy had no background in Torah. He explained that his yeshivah was for boys much more advanced in their learning, and recommended a different yeshivah instead.
At that moment, the boy broke down in tears. The Rabbi asked why, and the boy explained, “My mother finally let me come to this yeshivah for a trial. It’s almost a miracle. Who knows if she will let me try somewhere else?”
Stunned by the child’s outburst, the Rabbi told the mother that the boy was accepted. She was a little disturbed. “How can you accept him?” she asked. “You just told us that he doesn’t have the necessary skills. He will be a failure.”
The Rabbi explained, “When I saw your son crying, and he explained how much he yearns to grow in Torah, everything changed. Someone who wants Torah that badly will have Heavenly help. When Hashem helps, anything is possible.”
We need the desire, and then we need to ask Hashem for help.
A principal in a local day school told me that one Rosh Hashanah, he had a dream that the Rosh Yeshivah was talking to him. “You think you are a good principal,” he said. “There is a father of a boy in the school that doesn’t even know how to read Hebrew.” He told him the name and asked, “Why aren’t you helping him?”
After Rosh Hashanah, the principal called the Rosh Yeshivah and asked whether he knew anything about this student’s father’s reading capabilities. “No,” he responded. “Why do you ask?” The principal told him about the dream, and the Rosh Yeshivah was taken aback. “You must call that father directly and find out.”
The principal called and casually brought up the subject of reading and inquired about his abilities. The man acknowledged that he did not know how to read Hebrew at all. He said that it was very embarrassing for him. On the High Holy Days, he is easily frustrated sitting in shul for hours, unable to read any of the prayers. He recently began begging Hashem, in his own words, to help him with his reading. In fact, moments before the principal called, he was telling someone about his reading problem and that he needs help.
“How did you know I can’t read?” he asked the principal. “I always kept this fact as private as possible.”
The principal told him about the dream, and the man was amazed. Furthermore, the principal added, he had just taken a course on how to teach reading on all levels, even to those with disabilities!
The principal began giving lessons to this man, who knew of others who also couldn’t read; they are joining this class as well. The father had a desire to pray and learn in Hebrew. He asked Hashem for help, and Hashem helped him in a wondrous way.
We all need help in different areas of avodat Hashem. The key to success is desiring it and asking Hashem for help. If we lack the desire, we can ask Hashem for help with that, too!