Making a Vessel to Hold the Blessing
Opening A Jewish man, a working man with a family, told me his story with tears in his eyes. For six full years he traveled every year to the holy grave of a righteous man. For six years he stood there praying and crying for his son, a young man already twenty-six years old, who had not yet found his match. He did not lack faith, heaven forbid. He believed in the power of the holy leader, and he prayed with a whole heart. And still, six years passed, and the heavens seemed sealed shut. Then one night, at four in the morning, he heard a story about a man who gave charity to a Torah school and was helped. He got up and gave a hundred dollars. He made a promise: if his son became a groom, he would add to the gift. Four days later his son called him: “Someone suggested a match. And we want to move forward.” What changed? He had been praying for years! What did that hundred dollars do that six years of prayer did not? The Answer: The Vessel The answer is in the Bible, in the Second Book of Kings, chapter 4. The wife of the prophet Obadiah comes to the prophet Elisha and begs to be saved from a man she owes money to. The prophet asks her, “What do you have in the house?” She has only a small jug of oil. He tells her to go and borrow empty vessels from outside, many vessels, then close the door and pour the oil into all of them. And here is the wonder. The oil kept flowing and filled one vessel after another. Only when she was told, “There are no more vessels,” did the oil stop. The blessing stopped not because the prophet’s power ran out, but because the vessels ran out. This is a basic law of creation. Light without a vessel does not shine. It does not settle anywhere. It does not touch this world. The Zohar, the great book of Jewish mystical teaching, says that you need light, a wick and oil. Each one is necessary, and none of them gives light without the others. The blessing from above is the light. The holy leader is the channel. But the vessel? The vessel is ours to make. Going Deeper: Charity Builds the Vessel This is the point that Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, author of the Tanya, the classic book of Hasidic thought, explained in depth in one of his letters. Charity is called “the thing that draws down life, children and livelihood.” This is not because charity “buys” help the way you buy goods in a market. It is because charity creates the reality in which the blessing can come to rest. Charity is the “awakening from below.” It is our own stirring, down here, that awakens the flow of blessing from above and brings it down. What is the difference? When a person only prays, he is asking. That is something lofty and holy. But he stands there only as a receiver. When he gets up and does a physical act, gives from his own money, and ties himself in a real, tangible way to the holy leader and to his work in the world, he becomes a partner. He has built a vessel. Now there is a place where the blessing can rest. That is why six years of prayer stayed “in potential,” like light without a vessel. And a hundred dollars at four in the morning, given with faith and a serious heart, opened a door. It was not because the amount was large. It was because the act built a vessel. The New Point: From Asking to Partnering There is something new here that touches the heart. When a Jew hears stories of people who were helped and only says to himself, “I need that too,” he stays in the place of someone who just wants. But when he gets up, makes a decision and connects himself to a real act, he steps out of the circle of passive waiting and into active partnership. He carries on the holy leader’s work in this lowly world, and in this way he opens the channel from above to below. “An awakening from below brings an awakening from above.” This is not just a phrase from the mystical teachings. It is an exact description of what happened to that working man at four in the morning.
Putting It into Practice
My friend, if you have been praying for a while and wondering why heaven is silent, stop asking “When?” Ask instead: “What vessel do I have?” The goal is not to “buy help.” The goal is to build a reality. Get up and do one physical, real act that connects your request to this world. Give charity, take on a good resolution, tie yourself to an action. Then what has been until now light without a vessel will take on form, come to rest, and arrive. Make a vessel, and you will see Hashem’s help.
Questions and answers
Q: Why did a father’s prayers for his son’s match go unanswered for six years at the grave of a righteous man?
Rabbi Landau answers: A Jewish man, a working man with a family, told me his story with tears in his eyes. For six full years he traveled every year to the holy grave of a righteous man. For six years he stood there praying and crying for his son, a young man already twenty-six years old, who had not yet found his match. He did not lack faith, heaven forbid. He believed in the power of the holy leader, and he prayed with a whole heart. And still, six years passed, and the heavens seemed sealed shut. Then one night, at four in the morning, he heard a story about a man who gave charity to a Torah school and was helped. He got up and gave a hundred dollars.
Q: What does the story of Elisha and the widow’s jug of oil teach about making a vessel for blessing?
Rabbi Landau answers: The answer is in the Bible, in the Second Book of Kings, chapter 4. The wife of the prophet Obadiah comes to the prophet Elisha and begs to be saved from a man she owes money to. The prophet asks her, “What do you have in the house?” She has only a small jug of oil. He tells her to go and borrow empty vessels from outside, many vessels, then close the door and pour the oil into all of them. And here is the wonder. The oil kept flowing and filled one vessel after another. Only when she was told, “There are no more vessels,” did the oil stop. The blessing stopped not because the prophet’s power ran out, but because the vessels ran out. This is a basic law of creation.
Q: According to the Tanya’s author, how does charity build a vessel for blessing?
Rabbi Landau answers: This is the point that Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, author of the Tanya, the classic book of Hasidic thought, explained in depth in one of his letters. Charity is called “the thing that draws down life, children and livelihood.” This is not because charity “buys” help the way you buy goods in a market. It is because charity creates the reality in which the blessing can come to rest. Charity is the “awakening from below.” It is our own stirring, down here, that awakens the flow of blessing from above and brings it down. What is the difference? When a person only prays, he is asking. That is something lofty and holy. But he stands there only as a receiver.
Q: What changes when a person moves from just asking for help to partnering through a real act?
Rabbi Landau answers: There is something new here that touches the heart. When a Jew hears stories of people who were helped and only says to himself, “I need that too,” he stays in the place of someone who just wants. But when he gets up, makes a decision and connects himself to a real act, he steps out of the circle of passive waiting and into active partnership. He carries on the holy leader’s work in this lowly world, and in this way he opens the channel from above to below. “An awakening from below brings an awakening from above.” This is not just a phrase from the mystical teachings. It is an exact description of what happened to that working man at four in the morning.
Q: What should you do if you have been praying for a long time and heaven seems silent?
Rabbi Landau answers: My friend, if you have been praying for a while and wondering why heaven is silent, stop asking “When?” Ask instead: “What vessel do I have?” The goal is not to “buy help.” The goal is to build a reality. Get up and do one physical, real act that connects your request to this world. Give charity, take on a good resolution, tie yourself to an action. Then what has been until now light without a vessel will take on form, come to rest, and arrive. Make a vessel, and you will see Hashem’s help.