Question: Several months ago when Maran Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef zt”l fell ill, the entire Jewish nation prayed for and accepted great resolution’s upon themselves in the merit of Maran’s speedy recovery. As we all know, at the end, Maran zt”l was taken from us. The question is: How could this be?
Answer: There is no doubt that our prayers to Hashem are extremely beneficial. We cannot even imagine the great merit we have that Hashem listens to the prayers of His Jewish nation and that not even one prayer returns empty-handed.
Even so, it is indeed possible that our prayers are seemingly not answered similar to when, several months before Maran’s passing, he prayed ever so fervently that Hashem should heal his son Hagaon Harav Yaakov Yosef zt”l and at the end, his son passed away. When this occurred, Maran exclaimed the verse in Eicha (Chapter 3), “You shielded yourself with a cloud not allowing prayers to pass through” which means that it is as if there is a screen blocking prayers from being accepted. Indeed, our Sages teach us in the Midrash (Eicha Rabbati): “Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said: While the Gates of Prayer of sometimes open and sometimes closed, the Gates of Repentance are always open.” We cannot know Heaven’s exact calculations. The only thing we do know, however, is that every prayer has its place and will eventually be beneficial for the individual, even if it seems that it has gone unanswered.
This is especially true when praying for the speedy recovery of an extremely ill individual when his recovery would be nothing short of a miracle. Indeed, the Gemara (Yevamot 121a) tells us that one should not pray for a miracle. It is for this reason that prayers for an elderly, ill, and suffering individual are many times not answered, especially after Hashem has decreed that every human being must eventually die. The only way to possible avoid this decree is with complete repentance which is the only way to bring about the Ultimate Redemption at which point death will be abolished forever.
In any case, Maran zt”l’s passing was extremely out of the ordinary in that a tremendous part of the Jewish nation beseeched Heaven for his speedy recovery among the copious tears shed, massive amounts of resolutions undertaken, and thousands of chapters of Tehillim recited on Maran’s behalf.
This is similar to the time when the Jewish nation prayed whole-heartedly for Rabbi Yehuda Ha’Nassi when he lay ill on his deathbed. The Gemara (Ketubot 103b) relates that the most righteous and pious individuals of the generation prayed for him with such vigor and so incessantly in the Bet Midrash (similar to what went on when Maran was ill in our generation) that Heaven could seemingly not take his soul. When the maidservant of Rabbi Yehuda Ha’Nassi saw what unimaginable suffering her master was enduring, she took a vessel, stood behind the Bet Midrash, and broke it; as a result of the crashing noise, everyone stopped praying for a moment and Rabbi Yehuda Ha’Nassi was immediately summoned by the Heavenly Yeshiva.
The Gemara recounts that even after his passing, Rabbi Yehuda Ha’Nassi appeared in this world several times and brought about much goodness and blessing. Rabbeinu Yosef Haim explains that the reason why Rabbi Yehuda Ha’Nassi was able to do this was because of the vast amounts of prayers recited on his behalf in order for him to be healed. Since a prayer cannot go completely unanswered, Rabbi Yehuda Ha’Nassi never completely left this world. The Ben Ish Hai adds that the same applies to the leader of every generation in that he is always connected to the souls of those he lead and he does not leave this world until their demise.
We can certainly apply this to Maran, may his saintly memory be blessed, who continues to pray for us all in Heaven even after his passing, for he was our shepherd. Indeed, the Gemara (Pesachim 92a) states that any leader who led his nation gently shall lead them in the World to Come as well, as the verse states, “He who pities them shall lead them and along springs of water shall he guide them.” Maran zt”l, who led his flock mercifully and patiently, shall certainly not leave us and will pray on our behalf before Hashem’s Throne of Glory. May Hashem have mercy on us and protect us from all evil encounters and from any illness and bad tidings and reunite us with our beloved leader, speedily and in our days, Amen.
