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Jewish World Review August 1, 2008 / 29 Tamuz 5768, We have the power to alter another's destiny — use it well By Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz Maximize your innate Divine gifts “And he will live there until the death of the Kohen Gadol …. .”                         —  Numbers 35:25 If a man kills another by accident, the perpetrator is exiled to live in an ir miklat — a city of refuge. As long as he remains there, he cannot be harmed by the relatives of the deceased, who seek to avenge the blood of their family member. The unintentional murderer must stay in the city of refuge until the Kohen Gadol (Chief Priest) dies. The Talmud (Makkos 11a) explains that the term of the exile is linked to the Chief Priest's life span because the Kohen should have prayed for Hashem's mercy that there be no accidental deaths. Obviously, the Kohen's prayers were somewhat lacking and he now bears the burden of this shortcoming. The Talmud proves the validity of this responsibility by relating that a man was once killed by a lion near the home of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, and the Prophet Elijah blamed Rabbi Yehoshua for not praying sufficiently for his people. We know that there is really no such thing as an "accident." Everything that happens to a person is ordained by the Divine. The Talmud teaches that one doesn't stub his toe or hurt his finger unless it is preordained in Heaven (Chullin 7b). The man who was killed by the accidental killer, as well as the unfortunate soul who was eaten by a lion in Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi's neighborhood, were decreed by G-d to die at that given moment. If each of these violent acts were destined to occur by the Divine master plan, how could even the most fervent prayers of the Chief Priest stop them from happening? If the Divine weighed the facts and decided that a man's life must come to an end at that exact moment, how could Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi stop the Heavenly decree? With this teaching, the Talmud enlightens us about the ultimate power of prayer. A heartfelt, meaningful plea to the Divine has the ability to change the course of what "should" have happened. The Divine is a G-d of compassion and He does not lightly decide that a man should die. Every action is based on precise, exact consideration of the thousands of factors and is absolutely justified in its impact on every person who will be influenced by the ripple effect. Nevertheless, prayer has the ability to change the cosmic balance, to tip the scales of Divine Justice in the other direction and override this original decision. Had the Chief Priest or Rabbi Yehoshua prayed with more feeling, the Divine would have torn up the decree and spared the victim's life. One might think that this lesson only applies to a Chief Priest or a great, saintly Torah scholar like Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi — but what about a regular person? The Sforno (Genesis 32:1) tells us that the Torah relates the wicked Laban's blessing to his daughters, "because a father's blessing to his child with all his soul, will undoubtedly have more effect [than the blessings of others] because it harnesses the power of his tzelem Elokim — the Divine image or spark within the person giving the blessing." This is true about the blessing or prayer of a wicked, deceitful scoundrel like Lavan. Imagine the potential of a "regular" person who taps into the Divine power of his tzelem Elokim ! As the philosophical tract Mesilas Yesharim (Duties of the Heart) teaches (Chap. 19), "If a person says, 'Who am I and of what significance am I that I should pray about the exile and about Jerusalem? Will my prayers cause the exiles to gather together and the redemption to sprout forth?' The answer is nearby, as it says, 'For this reason man was created alone, so that every individual will say "For my sake alone the entire world was created"' (Talmud, Sanhedrin 37a) — for it already brings pleasure to the Divine that his children ask and pray for this. And even if their request is not granted, because the time is not yet ripe or for some other reason, they did their part and the Divine rejoices in it." Apparently, as long as one's prayers had the proper Intent and concentration that would have made the redemption happen (had it not been for other interfering factors), the Divine is happy with the person's prayers as if he had done the job. Anyone can receive this zechus — the merit of having brought the Redemption! Every one of us has the earth-shaking power of prayer within us that can change Heavenly decrees, save lives, and even be credited with bringing the Messiah. We need only to reach inside ourselves and harness the unique force of that Divine spark — the tzelem Elokim — through the power of prayer. Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes inspiring articles. Sign up for our daily update. It's free. Just click here. INSPIRED BY THIS ARTICLE? BUY THE BOOK ... at a discount by clicking HERE . Comment by clicking here. One of America's senior Torah sages, Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz has been the dean of the Rabbinical Seminary of America, in Queens, New York for more than 50 years. The institution has branches and affiliates all across North America and Israel. This article was prepared by two of the sage's disciples, Rabbi Aryeh Striks and Rabbi Shimon Zehnwirth, and excerpted from the just released book, "Pinnacle of Creation: Torah insights into human nature". Previously: The Crowning Glory of Creation The Divine's eternal, unconditional love Perverting sincerity Do 'clothes make the man'? Divine vindictiveness? © 2007, Mesorah Publications, Ltd.