For more than two years, we have been reciting this prayer: “Our brethren, the whole House of Israel, who are handed over to distress and captivity, on sea or dry land, may G-d have mercy on them and remove them from distress to relief, bringing them from darkness to light, from servitude to liberty, speedily and soon; and let us say, Amen.”
And now, with the return of Ran Gvili, a hero who died in defense of others on Oct. 7, the hostage crisis is over. Our prayers have been answered.
It is worth looking in retrospect at what it meant for us to recite this prayer. There were times when we davened with passion, with tears in our eyes and pain in our heart. But there were other times when we davened by rote, repeating words we had heard so many times before, with our minds drifting to other thoughts, with our hearts feeling nothing in particular.
One might think that to the extent that G-d answered our prayers, He did so in response to our fervor. Sure, there were sometimes when our davening was less than stellar. But there were enough times that we prayed with such deep kavannah that the heavens just had to open.
So one might think—but I would suggest the opposite. G-d did not reward us for our fervent and heartfelt prayers. G-d rewarded us for the prayers we continued to say even when our davening was at its worst.
Here’s why. To pray for something you desperately want is not hard. In fact, it can be the easiest thing in the world, when overwhelmed by the immediacy and urgency of the moment. But to pray for something over an extended period of time, when hope fades and trivial daily concerns overwhelm every issue, even the most important—now that’s prayer.
Here’s a parallel. Let us envision a mother and baby. When the child is asleep, the mother can hold the baby and look longingly at her miraculous creation. That’s love. When the child is awake at 3 AM, crying inconsolably, and producing various and sundry bodily fluids, and the mother has gained a deepened understanding of why some species eat their young, and she still does everything she can to calm her despite-everything-still -miraculous creation—now that’s love!
We don’t know when or how (or even if) G-d hears our prayers. What we do know, though, is that our prayers have been answered. “And let us say…” together with all Israel “Amen.”