Queen Elizabeth And The Secret Towards Powerful T’filah

We all have needs. Health, parnassah, success with our children, accomplishing our spiritual goals, and the list goes on and on. We all know that t’filah is an incredibly powerful force that we are so fortunate to have and can utilize daily to connect with our Creator and share our needs.

So, what can we do to maximize on this great gift of prayer?

I read an amazing story that was going around after Queen Elizabeth’s passing. The Queen was vacationing in Scotland at The Balmoral Castle, a large estate owned by the royal family. On one of her walks with her security officer she bumped into two American tourists who clearly did not recognize that she was the Queen of England. They struck up conversation and asked where she was from? The Queen responded, “I live in London, but I happen to have a summer home around here.” They asked her, “How long have you been vacationing here?” and she said, “Well, for the last 80 years or so my family has been coming here?” “Wow 80 years? Have you ever met the Queen of England?” She said, “Well it happens to be this fellow that’s with me over here, he sees her all the time.” They turned to him and said “Whoa, you see the Queen of England all the time, that’s amazing, can we take a picture with you?” When he said relented, they then handed the camera to the Queen of England and asked her to take the picture of them with her security officer. She proceeded to take the photo and after that the security guard said, “How about we take a picture with her as well?” They took the picture together with her while still having no clue that they were taking a photo together with the Queen of England. After they all continued on their way, the Queen said to her security guard, “I would love to be the fly on the wall when they get back home, and somebody points out to them that they had taken a picture with the Queen of England.”

A humorous story indeed with a profound lesson as well. Could you imagine if those tourists understood who they were talking to at that moment. Had they realized that they were conversing with the Queen of England, it would have been a totally different conversation. The moment would have been the opportunity of a lifetime, and every word would have been so carefully calculated recognizing the magnitude of who they were speaking to and what she can do. On a daily basis we have numerous opportunities to converse directly with the King of all Kings, our Creator, who is infinitely greater than any human being, (even the Queen of England).

The Rambam tells us that when it comes to the Shemoneh Esrei if a person doesn’t have k’vanah, intent, for any of the brachot that they not yotze and would not have fulfilled their obligation. However, elsewhere the Rambam says that a person should have k’vanah for all the brachot, but if he only had intent for the first one then they have fulfilled their obligation even if their intent waned afterwards. Rav Chaim Brisker pointed out that this seems to be a contradiction in the Rambam. On the one hand, if you don’t have k’vanah for any one of the brachot they are not yotze, while simultaneously he feels that all you need is k’vanah for the first brachah. What’s going on? He answers that there are two types of k’vanah that a person needs to have in their davening. The first is the one we are most familiar with, having a knowledge of the translation and the explanation of the words that are being said. Regarding this k’vanah, the Rambam states that intent for the first brachah alone and not for the rest is still okay. But the second type of k’vanah which is even more important than the first, is having a recognition of who one is talking to right now in this conversation. When we recite our beautiful t’filot, we need to have an understanding that we are actually having a conversation with the Ribbono Shel Olam, the Borei Olam, the one who created us and the entire world, the loving father that continuously takes care of all of our daily needs. The Rambam says that having this understanding when we daven is so critical, that if a person didn’t have this recognition for any of the brachot then they wouldn’t have fulfilled their obligation. Don’t worry! Practically speaking, we don’t rule like that Rambam and one is still yotze Shemoneh Esrei even without that intent. However, the concept that the Rambam is teaching is so critical for our prayers. When we daven, we are literally talking to the Ribbono Shel Olam and are being given the opportunity to tell Him all that we require. We are conversing with the power that has given us everything we have and who is the only source for anything we will have in the future.

The Shulchan Aruch tells us an important tip that we should try to do before we start davening. We should try to take just a little bit of time to remind ourselves, “I’m about to have a conversation with the Ribbono Shel Olam,”’ and when we do that, even for just a few seconds that will transform our entire prayer. Davening for health, parnassah, success etc. doesn’t need to look like the conversation the tourists in Scotland had with the Queen, but rather it can be so real if we develop a clear understanding that we are conversing with the one and only being that makes all that happen. Hashem.

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Rabbi Yaakov Moskowitz is a motivational speaker who has inspired Jews around the world through his engaging lectures and videos on a wide array of practical Jewish topics. To receive Rabbi Moskowitz’s short clips, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..