When Death Was at the Door: A Rabbi’s Three Prayers—and the Astonishing Rescue

Prayer carries immense power—to tear up harsh decrees, overturn nature, and spark miracles. Hashem hears prayer, and anyone paying attention tries to make the most of this extraordinary gift we have been given.

During the years when the Mir yeshiva was in Shanghai, having fled the horrors of the war in Europe, the city was under Japanese rule, closely allied with Nazi Germany. From the outset, the Japanese eyed the foreign yeshiva students with suspicion and wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible. To make matters worse, the Nazis urged their Japanese partners to do to the Jews there what they were doing to the Jews of Europe. Although they did not carry this out, the hostility was open, and the Japanese restricted the yeshiva refugees at every opportunity.

Despite the many difficulties, the head of the yeshiva, Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz, strove to keep it going. By roundabout routes, funds sent by friends of the yeshiva in the United States reached him. But that created a serious problem: holding sums of money like these was strictly forbidden by the Japanese authorities—especially funds from the U.S., which they classified as an enemy state. They therefore had to be extremely careful that the existence of the money would not become known under any circumstances.

The Japanese were not naive. A yeshiva operating under their noses made them question its financial sources, and one day the head of the yeshiva was summoned for a police interrogation about the institution’s funding.

The tension and worry were immense—how could he satisfy the stern Japanese investigators, who were intent at all costs on exposing the sources of the funds? Especially when their goal was to ensnare him and find a pretext to get rid of the yeshiva.

Summoning all his faith and trust in Hashem (blessed be He), he realized that in a moment of mortal fear it was the right time to pray. As he walked to the interrogation room, he offered a quiet prayer to Hashem (blessed be He) and asked for three things:

1. That Hashem would help him—that if he merited to be saved, he could devote himself entirely to the toil of Torah, and the yeshiva’s financial burden would not rest on his shoulders.

2. That he merit to raise sons who are Torah scholars.

3. That he merit to marry off his daughters to sons-in-law who are Torah scholars.

Rabbi Chaim told this story at the wedding celebration of his youngest daughter and said: \"Blessed is Hashem; in His abundant mercy, Hashem helped me and fulfilled my requests. The yeshiva’s financial burden is no longer on my neck; my sons are Torah scholars who immerse themselves in learning—offspring blessed by Hashem; and my sons-in-law are Torah scholars who teach and spread Torah. Now my prayer has been realized completely, as we marry off our youngest daughter to a groom who is a Torah scholar.\"

His prayer in a time of crisis did not go unanswered.

Rabbi Yosef Ashkenazi — How do you manage to pray with intention when distracting thoughts interfere?