In the first of this week’s Torah portions, Matot, the Torah relates the War with the evil Midianites, the nation that caused the Children of Israel to sin in the dessert.

In preparation for this war, the verse states in Chapter 31, Verse 3: “Moshe spoke to the people, saying: ‘Arm men from among yourselves for the army and they will be against Midian, to bring revenge of Hashem against Midian. Verse 4: One thousand from each tribe, one thousand from each tribe, for all of the tribes of Yisroel, you shall send into the army.

The Midrash tells us that 3,000 men from each tribe were conscripted into the army to fight Midian (12 tribes = 36,000); 12,000 men to fight in the army, 12,000 men to care of the weapons and another 12,000 to pray for the success of the warriors in battle. An equal number of men were reserved for prayer as was sent out to battle and they were required to leave the camp of the Israelites and stand in prayer in close proximity to the battlefield! Why??? 

First, why should this have been necessary? The Children of Israel fought this war as a Milchemes Mitzvah – it was a war commanded by G-d - to eradicate the evil influences of the Midianites. Therefore, G-d would surely bring them to victory since the war was fought exclusively to defend His honor. Second, why were these prayer-men required to be near the battlefield? Wouldn’t it have been better for them to stay in the security of the camp and carry out their prayer vigil from there?

The answer is that the Torah is teaching us an important lesson in the nature of man; whenever man reaches a level of success, a feeling of my strength and the power of my hand have acquired this wealth (success) for me overcomes him and he is reluctant to ascribe his success to G-d, the true source of all his accomplishments. Therefore, the Israelites needed to have a “prayer battalion”, since even though the war was fought for the glory of G-d, when they would emerge victorious, they might still harbor the feeling of my strength and the power of my hand” brought about this conquest. It was also for this reason that the “prayer battalion” had to be in close proximity to the battlefield, so that the soldiers could see with their own eyes the power of prayer at work, and ascribe their entire success on the battlefield to the prayers of their brothers.

This conviction that prayer works is what needs strengthening in our times. Do we earnestly believe in the power of our own prayers?  Do we feel secure that prayer can “turn around” a bad situation?

The Talmud tells us: “Prayer reaches to the very heavens, yet people belittle it”( Talmud Bavli, Brachos 6b), because we know that every prayer that is uttered leaves its mark in heaven, but so often it seems that prayers go unanswered, people do not have much value for it (Meam Loez quoting Yekar Paz).

The first thing we must know is that G-d created the world with a built-in mechanism that nothing is achieved without praying for it. (A discussion of this concept appears in the Tehilim Hotline Newsletter Print Edition Vol. 3, Issue 1,under the title “The Obligation of Prayer”.) Of course, the primary requisite for prayer is to have a faith in G-d; otherwise to whom are you praying and who is supposed to answer your prayers?

THE TRUE BATTLEGROUND

In 1948, at the end of Israel’s War of Independence, The Brisker Rav zt”l heard some people discussing the war and its victorious outcome. Sensing that these people were impressed by the strength and power of the military, turned to them and remarked: “Do you actually think that the missiles and tanks won the war? It wasn’t the firepower and weaponry that triumphed, but the pure Tehilim and prayers of the wise and the tzaddikim (the pious) of our generation that prevailed!”

“By the Jewish people, the front lines are not on the land, sea nor air. . . they are in Heaven.  The question is: will our prayers and entreaties be accepted in Heaven? Will the Heavenly accusers be overcome by our repentance and good deeds? Or G-d forbid, the opposite?”

“If the war is won on the true battlefield, the one in Heaven, the victory is certain here on earth, but if G-d forbid, the war is lost above, it is surely lost below!”

“The truth is, that all that occurs here on earth is mere child’s play.  We have no choice but to make the necessary efforts, but the “true battleground” is above. So it is not the military or air force that wins the war, it is Rav Chechik, Rav Bloch (these were contemporary Rabbis at that time) and their like, that brings about the victory.”

And the Brisker Rav added: “If we have won the battle in Heaven, then there should not be even one casualty, so why were there so many human sacrifices? Because there are among us those that believe in the “strength and might of my arm has brought about this victory” it is because of them that we had to pay the hefty price of so many young souls!”