Following the incident of the spies, Hashem exclaims to Moshe Rabenu: "How long will this people provoke Me, and how long will they not have faith in Me, despite all the signs that I have performed in their midst? I will smite them with the plague and annihilate them"! (Bamidbar 14:11-12).  Moshe answers him: "then Egypt, from whose midst You brought up this nation with Your power - will hear, and they will say ... 'because Hashem lacked the ability to bring this people to the Land that He had sworn to give them, He slaughtered them in the Wilderness'"(ibid. 13-16).  In other words, destroying the Jewish nation will bring about a great chillul Hashem (similarly, following the "chet haegel", Moshe's response to Hashem's desire to destroy the nation was "why should Egypt say the following: 'with evil intent did He take them out, to kill them in the mountains and to annihilate them from the face of the earth'"
(Shmot 32:12)).

Moshe's response was not some clever negotiating tactic aimed at saving a nation that had no merit of its own.  True prayer emanates from the heart, and Moshe Rabenu's prayers were sincere.  Moshe was truly pained by the potential chillul Hashem that would result from destroying the nation.  Although the recent exodus from Egypt produced a great Kiddush Hashem, should the Jewish people be destroyed, the other nations could say: "against one king (Pharaoh) He could stand up, but He is unable to stand up against thirty one kings (the kings of the land of Canaan)" (Brachot 32a and see Rashi Bamidbar 14:16).  Undoubtedly Moshe did not wish to see the Jewish people annihilated, yet this was not the focus of his prayer for he realized that their merits did not justify his praying on their behalf. He could only beseech Hashem to save them and thereby avoid a tremendous desecration of G-d's Name.

How do we know that Moshe was truly concerned over the potential chillul Hashem and his prayer was heartfelt and not some cunning strategy to convince Hashem to rescind this terrible decree? Chazal point out that in the Torah Moshe Rabenu describes Hashem as "HaKel HaGadol HaGibor veHaNorah" "the great, mighty, and awesome G-d" (Devarim 10:17).  Along came Yirmiyahu and limited this description to: "the great and mighty G-d" (Yirmiyahu 32:18).  What happened to His being awesome?  Chazal tell us that Yirmiyahu charged: "strangers are croaking in His Sanctuary where are the displays of His awesomeness?" (Yoma 69b).  It would not be appropriate to use the term "awesome" under such circumstances.  Later on we find Daniel and Nehemiah describing Hashem as: "the great and awesome G-d" (Daniel 9:4 and Nehemiah 1:5). What happened to His being mighty?  They claimed "strangers are enslaving His children, where are the displays of His power?" (Yoma 69b) - it would be inappropriate to describe Him as mighty in such a situation.  Along came the Anshei Knesset Hagedola and announced: "on the contrary! this is His magnificent display of strength, for He restrains His will in that He shows a long-suffering countenance to the wicked, and these are indeed the great displays of His awesomeness because if not for the awe of the nations for the Holy One, Blessed is He, how could one solitary nation survive among the seventy nations of the world?" (ibid.).  Similarly it says in the Gemara: "'who is like You among 'eilim' - the mighty ones, Hashem' (Shmot 15:11) - who is like You among 'ilmim' - the mute ones? (in Hebrew the spelling is almost identical)(Gittin 56b). According to Chazal Hashem's might and awesomeness is specifically manifested in His hearing the other nations cursing Him, yet remaining silent.  The Anshei Knesset Hagedola therefore instituted the words "the great, mighty, and awesome G-d" as the opening of the Shmone Esrei prayer. The Gemara questions the actions of Yirmiyahu, Daniel, and Nehemiah: "now the Rabbis, how did they act thus and abolish the institution that Moshe instituted?" (ibid.).  The Gemara's response is: "because they knew about the Holy One, Blessed is He, that He is truthful, they therefore would not speak falsehood to Him" (ibid.).  Hashem is a G-d of truth, and therefore desires that our prayers be truth.  Of course, if the Torah refers to Hashem as "the great, mighty, and awesome G-d", then it must be true. 

Yirmiyahu, Daniel, and Nehemiah, although they knew these descriptions to be true, because of the circumstances of their times they could not truly express it from the heart and felt that prayers using these descriptions would not be authentic. It is because "they would not speak falsehood against Him", that they were not prepared to recite words by rote simply "because they are written in the siddur" (or in their case written said by Moshe Rabenu in the Torah)?

We do not possess this quality of truth that the prophets had.  We recite "the great, mighty, and awesome G-d" whether we feel it or not, for that is the text that the Anshei Knesset Hagedola established for us.  The prophets, however, were not satisfied with reading from the siddur - they followed the dictates of their heart.  It is therefore clear, that when Moshe Rabenu said "then Egypt will hear..." he was not reciting words from Parshat Shlach but was speaking from the heart.  The pain he felt for the possible slight to Hashem's honor moved him to pray.

Another person whose prayers were very sincere was Avraham Avinu.  Avraham feared that the destruction of Sodom would bring about a great chillul Hashem and he therefore prayed on their behalf: "It would be sacrilege to You to do such a thing, to bring death upon the righteous along with the wicked" (Bereishit 18:25).  Avraham's prayer was accepted, and Hashem responded: "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous people in the midst of the city, then I would spare the entire place on their account" (ibid. 26).  What did Avraham Avinu then do? He continued to beseech Hashem - what if there were only forty five righteous residents, forty, and so forth down to ten (for the reason that he stopped at ten, see Rashi Bereishit 18:32).  If Avraham had decided at the outset that he would continue praying on Sodom's behalf so long as there were at least ten righteous inhabitants, why did he not begin with that number immediately.  Rashi explains (Bereishit 18:24 and 29) that the merit of ten righteous people would only have been able to save one city from destruction (from among the five destined for upheaval).  Should Avraham therefore not have immediately attempted to save one city, and then proceed to worry about the others afterwards?  Why did he pray in stages? 

The answer is that Avraham's prayers were dictated by his heart - as were those of Yirmiyahu, Daniel, and Nehemiah.  At the beginning Avraham was able to feel and identify with the great chillul Hashem that would be caused by the destruction of fifty righteous people.  At a certain point his fervent prayer elevated him to an even higher level, so that he was able to feel the chillul Hashem that would be caused by the deaths of forty five righteous people.  From his tefilla he was able to rise higher and higher until the potential for chillul Hashem that the deaths of ten righteous inhabitants of Sodom would cause pained him such that it spurred him to try to pray in attempt to avoid it. When he first began beseeching Hashem, his spiritual level was not such that he would feel the chillul Hashem caused by the deaths of ten righteous people, and a prayer on their behalf would not have been from the heart, while the prayers of the prophets need always be very sincere.

Chazal tell us that the prayer uttered by Iyov is similar to Avraham Avinu's prayer on behalf of Sodom (with slight changes in wording).  Iyov said: "it is all the same; therefore I say 'He destroys the blameless with the wicked'" (Iyov 9:22).  Chazal compare the tefillot of Avraham and Iyov in the following manner: "Avraham's prayer was completely ripe, Iyov's was unripe" (Bereishit Rabba 49:9). In what way was Iyov's prayer unripe?  My Rebbe HaRav Dessler zt"l explained that Iyov's tefilla was not completely "leshem Shamayim". Iyov was a prophet, "a wholesome and upright man, who fears G-d and shuns evil" (Iyov 1:8), and he was certainly pained by the chillul Hashem his suffering had produced, his tefilla, however, was not totally devoid of personal involvement.  Together with his bemoaning the great chillul Hashem we find a man crying out in pain for an end to his own suffering.  Such a prayer is not totally "leShem Shamayim".

Avraham Avinu's prayers were the exact opposite.  From a personal perspective, he would have been quite happy to have Sodom wiped off the face of the earth.  After all, Sodom represented the exact opposite of what Avraham Avinu was trying to teach.  Avraham was trying to spread a Torah of chesed, while Sodom was attempting to spread its ways of evil.  Avraham's prayer on Sodom's behalf could only be to avoid the chillul Hashem that would be caused by the destruction of the righteous along with the rest of the city.  Avraham's tefilla was completely devoid of any personal involvement and is thus compared to a ripe fig in contrast with Iyov's unripe tefilla.

In spite of this, Iyov's prayer is Torah and we can learn from it. Chazal derive from Iyov's supplication that "Anyone who makes the Name of Heaven a partner in his distress - they double his livelihood for him" (Brachot 63a).  How does one "make the Name of Heaven a partner in his distress"?  It would appear to me that when a person davens in an attempt to alleviate his suffering, he must realize that Hashem is suffering with him.  When the Jewish people are in pain, so is Hashem: "At the time a person suffers, what expression does the Shchina articulate: I am burdened by My head; I am burdened by My arm" (Sanhedrin 46a).  The Divine Presence suffers when a person is in pain, it suffers not only when the righteous are in pain, but the wicked as well - even those who have violated transgressions punishable by death at the hands of Beit Din (see Gemara there).

It is with this in mind that we recite in our daily Shmone Esrei: "for You are G-d, King, the faithful and compassionate healer". What do we mean when we say He is compassionate?  That the A-lmighty is suffering together with the sick.  We therefore ask: "heal us Hashem - then we will be healed; save us - then we will be saved, for You are our praise, bring complete recovery for all our ailments", so that He will no longer have to endure our suffering.  We are of course forbidden to speak this way of Hashem, but what we have just said is rooted in Chazal.  The Gemara tells us: "there are three types of people whose lives are not lives: those who are overly compassionate, those who are easily angered, and those who are highly delicate" (Pesachim 113b).  One cannot live a normal life if he feels too much mercy for others.  Everything hurts him - he is affected by every tragedy that he hears and he has no peace and tranquility.  It is in this way that Hashem feels our troubles, so to speak.  For each and every Jew that suffers, Hashem suffers as well.  We must therefore pray for an end to Hashem's suffering(see Nefesh Hachayim Shaar 2, perek 12).

Generally we first and foremost pray for our own welfare - that we and our families should enjoy good health, and then for our friends and acquaintances. After that we pray that all the Jewish people should be well. But our prayers do not stem from a concern for the honor of Heaven. In spite of all this, we must do our utmost to "make the Name of Heaven a partner in our distress".  As mentioned above, the text of the tefillot, as established by the Anshei Knesset Hagedola, contain this idea of feeling Hashem's pain.  Is it not therefore preferable for us to actually feel His pain and not simply make mention of it?  Praying with genuine feeling for Hashem's suffering is true "avoda shebalev" - a worship of the heart, referring to tefilla (see Rambam Hilchot Tefilla 1:1).  Even a person who is not on this level and who only prays for his own welfare is also serving Hashem.  The mere fact that he turns to Hashem for help and acknowledges that salvation comes from the A-lmighty - and not from Sharon, the political left wing, or America, is a clear indication that he knows where to turn for help.  A person who is sick, may need to go to the doctor, to kuppat cholim, etc, but in the final analysis healing is in the hands of Hashem and no one else.

Even our very tefilla cannot happen without Divine assistance. It is for this reason that our Shmone Esrei is preceded by the words: "O L-rd, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Your praise" (Tehillim 51:17), for without s'yata d'Shmaya we have no chance of succeeding in davening properly.  This too, is a way to serve Hashem - to realize that without His assistance we cannot even pray properly, for He is the only one we can turn to for help with all our needs.

The ultimate prayer, is to realize that when Am Yisrael is suffering that this constitutes a chillul Hashem and to pray from that perspective. This is well and good when the troubles that come upon the Jewish nation are clearly a cause of the chillul Hashem.  Our situation today is a much more complex one.  The enemies shout that they believe in god - "Allah akbar".  Our army never officially calls for Hashem's help and refuses to even write "b'ezrat Hashem" on any of its official documents.  Would victory bring about a Kiddush Hashem?  We must pray for an end to this situation as well. We must be pained by the chillul Hashem caused by today's kefira. We find little comfort in saying that today's secular Jews are "tinokot shenishbu" (literally children taken into captivity - referring to their never having been given the opportunity to learn about the ways of Torah). We were once a nation of "tinokot shenishbu" in Mitzrayim, and Hashem was not satisfied with that. He removed us from there and give us the Torah.  Had He desired "tinokot shenishbu", He would have left us in Egypt.

The very existence of "tinokot shenishbu" in itself constitutes a grievous chillul Hashem that needs prayers, it is not enough to daven only when the Arabs are shooting at us. What would our reaction be if children were taken into captivity by the Syrians, challila?  Would we remain silent?  We would cry from the depths of our souls! Let us look at what is happening.  Each and every school year, thousands of children are taken into captivity!  Why does this not move us?  Even if we were to pray for an end to this, it would not totally sincere.  Are we really so upset by with the chillul Hashem their sins are causing. Why then are we not sufficiently concerned with our own sins?  If our true aim was to sanctify Hashem's Name, we would first and foremost seek to improve our own ways.  Only after we have done something about our own sins, can we being to pray for an end to the chillul Hashem the teaching of kefira is causing, and then for the chillul Hashem caused by the Arabs firing upon us. Man must ask - what about myself? Am I living a life of Kiddush Hashem? Is my Torah a "Torat emet"?  Are my acts of chesed as they should be?  Only if the answers to all these questions are positive, can we sincerely pray for a Kiddush Hashem.

Of course, none of us are on such a level - we are not Moshe Rabenu nor Avraham Avinu.  If even Iyov, the "wholesome and upright man, who fears G-d and shuns evil" was not successful in praying wholeheartedly for a Kiddush Hashem, where does that leave us?  Despite this, to the best of our abilities, each and every one of us must attempt to "make the Name of Heaven a partner in our distress".

Chazal have given us another way in which we can be comforted that although we lack the ability to be completely sincere in our tefillot, we must do the best we can. We are told: "a person's prayer is not accepted unless he puts his heart in his hands (i.e. his prayer is sincere) as it is said: 'let us lift up our hearts with our hands' (i.e. to G-d in Heaven) (Eicha 3:41). Is that so?  But Shmuel appointed a speaker for himself and expounded the following verses: 'but they beguiled Him with their mouths and they lied to Him with their tongues, their heart was not constant with Him and they were not steadfast in His covenant' (Tehillim 78:36-38), and nevertheless 'He is merciful, He forgives iniquity'(Tehillim 85:12)" (Taanit 8a).  The first pasuk quoted by the Gemara implies that prayer is not accepted unless it is sincere, the next pasuk implies that Hashem accepts our prayers even though the sincerity is lacking.  How does the Gemara resolve this contradiction? "This presents no difficulty, here it refers to private prayer, here it refers to communal prayer" (ibid.).  The prayer of the individual is not answered unless it is sincere, that of the community is accepted even if it is not with a full heart.  We may not be on the level of Moshe, Avraham, and Iyov.  They, however, prayed as individuals, while we have the opportunity of joining any one of the many Minyanim at the Kotel, in the Yeshiva, and other places. When davening with a tzibbur, one's prayers are accepted even when not totally sincere.

For the communal prayer to take effect, however, there has to be some level of sincerity.  After all, why is it that one's prayers are accepted when he joins a tzibbur?  Because Hashem combines Reuven's partial sincerity with Shimon's fraction of heartfelt prayer and so on until we achieve the sum total of prayer from one full heart.  If there is not even a bit of sincerity coming from any of the members, what will the heart of the tzibbur be composed of?  It appears that even when davening with a tzibbur, each person must have some degree of sincerity.  In fact, the halacha mandates this.  The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 101:1) rules that one who does not have proper kavana during the bracha of Magen Avraham has not fulfilled his obligation. The Ramma adds that today this would not be cause for one to repeat his Shmone Esrei, because what is to insure that he will have kavana the second time around?  What then is to be gained by repeating the Shmone Esrei?  This ruling of the Shulchan Aruch that one's obligation is not fulfilled when kavana is lacking, applies even when one davens with a Minyan.  We see that even in a Minyan one must put "some of his heart" into his prayers.

As we mentioned above, when davening with a Minyan, even a tefilla in the category: "but they beguiled Him with their mouths and they lied to Him with their tongues, their heart was not constant with Him and they were not steadfast in His covenant" (Tehillim 78:36-38) is effective.  How does one lie to Hashem?  Is He not aware of all that is happening?  What is the pasuk referring to?  It would appear to me, that it refers to the way in which human beings fool each other, lehavdil.  A salesman who wishes to convince his customer to purchase an item that he does not want, will tell him that this is exactly what he needs "it's a great car, it is very economical - has a very low gas mileage, it travels fast, and it is very safe". The salesman is not really interested in the welfare of the buyer, but is interest in his own welfare, in the great profit he can earn from this sale.  If the salesman was only interested in the buyer's welfare, he would not necessarily convince him to buy the car. As a matter of fact this type of business dealing - convincing someone that something would be to his benefit when we know it would not, is clearly forbidden.  This is the meaning of "pitui", beguiling or lying.

This is the case when we daven to Hashem, telling Him that it is worth His while to save us - "redeem us speedily for Your Name's sake". Is this really our motivation?  We pray for the redemption because we are tired of being fired at, we have seen enough dead and injured. We try to entice Hashem, so to speak, by telling Him that it would be for His Name, when in fact we are more concerned with ourselves.

Even if we are unable to pray in such a sincere fashion, we must pray for the honor of the A-lmighty.  We are not on the level of Avraham Avinu nor of Moshe Rabenu, yet we must pray for a Kiddush Hashem even if it would constitute a form of "beguiling".  We should try to have the best kavana possible It is especially important to have this kavana when reciting the bracha of "re-e na beonyenu veriva rivenu" "behold our affliction to take up our grievance". Rashi points out that the brachot of "bonei Yerushalayim ("Builder of Jerusalem", "matzmiach keren yeshuva" ("The One Who causes the pride of salvation to flourish", and "hamachzir Shchinato leZion" ("restores His Presence to Zion") refer to the upcoming final redemption that will come speedily in our day. In the bracha of "re-e na beonyenu veriva rivenu", however, we ask Hashem to redeem us from our current troubles, a sort of intermediate salvation even if we have not yet reached our final destination. We still need to be saved from our everyday troubles whether it is the Crusaders, the Inquisition, or that evil German - may his name be obliterated, today "our afflictions" are the Arabs.  The demise of that evil German may not have been an eternal redemption, but it was at least a temporary end to the troubles we suffered.

I feel the best advice for our troubled times is to pray with more kavana, specifically this bracha - both for the Shliach Tzibbur and the individual. In order that our prayer not be classified as "beguilement", we must try our utmost to feel that we are praying "lemaan Shmecha" "for Your Name's sake" - we must be truly pained by the great chillul Hashem resulting from the Jewish people's being broken. If this is a result of the great majority of the Jewish nation not properly recognizing the Kingdom of Heaven, we must pray for this too, that we too acknowledge Hashem's Kingdom, that not only the Arabs "Allah akbar".  We too, must recognize that Hashem is "the great, the mighty, and the awesome G-d". 
Only when this happens can a victory over the Arabs create a Kiddush Hashem.

If we can properly awaken ourselves in this area, then we may merit Hashem Himself judging our actions as a Kiddush Hashem at which time He will have mercy on us.  One of Hashem's attributes is "Lo hechezik laad apo" "He does not hold on to His wrath forever" [27] (Micha 7:18).  The Tomer Devora (chapter 1, midda 5) explains this verse in the following manner: even if one is "machzik" - holds on - to sin, Hashem will not "machzik" - hold on to His wrath.  Even when He does hold on to it, it will not be forever. Hashem's anger will eventually subside even if the person does not repent. An example of this, cites the Tomer Devora, can be found in the prophets. Although the people were worshipping calves during the days of Yeravam ben Yoash, Hashem had mercy on them and returned to them the borders of Israel.  Despite the Jewish people's not having repented during the reigns of Yehoachaz king of Israel, Yoash ben Yehoachaz, and Yeravam ben Yoash we find: "Hashem had seen that Israel's suffering was very severe, with none surviving and none remaining" (Melachim II 14:26).  Hashem had mercy on them and "He restored the boundary of Israel from the Approach of Hamath until the Sea of the Arabah" (ibid. 25).  One opinion claims that this refers to all that was conquered by Yehoshua and usurped from the Jewish people throughout the generations, while another opinion claims that what the king was given went even beyond Yehoshua's conquest (see Yerushalmi Chalah 2:1).  All this took place despite their having continued to worship the calves erected by the first Yeravam.

There is always cause for hope, even if our actions do not merit this. At some point Hashem will call an end to our troubles, but would it not be better if we are worthy of it?  The prophet tells us "He does not maintain His wrath forever", but who knows the length Hashem's "not forever"?  Chazal tell us that when Hashem uses the term "mehera" - speedily - it translates into eight hundred and fifty two years! (see Gittin 88b).  We do not have the patience to wait that long, we all desire for the redemption to come about sooner.  Some opinions claim that the reason we use the expression "bimhera beyamenu" "speedily in our day", when we wish something soon, is because we are referring to the way WE define it - during "our day" - our lifetime which can be compared to a mere passing shadow.  Although His wrath does not last forever, we must awaken ourselves to cause it to come even sooner.

How do we accomplish this?  I am not advocating a dismantling of the IDF, after all Hashem commanded us to protect ourselves, but at the same time we must realize that this is not the source of our salvation. The pasuk tells us "falsehood is the horse for salvation" (Tehillim 33:17).  It does not mean that the horse is partially responsible for our redemption - the horse has no power to save at all on its own it needs Divine assistance, a form of "zeh vezeh gorem" "this and this cause" (Pesachim 26a).  Giving any credit to the horse is a total falsehood.  We use the horse because that is what we are commanded to do, our true salvation can only come about through Mitzvot and good deeds - nothing else!

The prophet in fact tells us that Mitzvot and good deeds are the path to tshuva - "return Israel, unto Hashem your G-d, for you have stumbled in your iniquity, take words with you and return to Hashem" (Hoshea 14:2-3).  How do we go about returning?  "Say to Him 'May You forgive all iniquity and accept good intentions'" (ibid.). We must always remember "Ashur will not save us (and neither will America), we will not ride upon horses (or missiles, or tanks, and anything else)" (ibid. 4).  The prophet is not telling us that we should not ride upon these horses, but that we should realize that they will not be our salvation - "for truly in Hashem, our G-d, is the salvation of Israel" (Yirmiayhu 3:23). Without Hashem's help, the horse will be to no avail.

Hashem will not maintain His wrath forever, but we would rather not totally rely on this - for who knows when His wrath will subside. He may have had mercy on His nation during the days of Yehoachaz king of Israel, but let us examine what dire straits the people were in by that time. "Aram left no armed people to Yehoachaz except for fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers, for the king of Aram had destroyed the rest and made them like dirt to be trampled on" (Melachim II 13:7).  Is this what we strive for, to have only fifty people capable of riding horses?  It is time to awaken and bring about Hashem's salvation sooner.  This tragic war of ours has already been going on for nine months.  More and more Jews are dying and being injured.  There is no end to the number of orphans and widows. When will this all end?  It is time to cry out: "behold our affliction, take up our grievance, and redeem us speedily for Your Name's sake!!!"  For this wee need to strengthen our Torah study, for "out of the mouths of babes and sucklings You have established strength, because of Your enemies, to silence foe and avenger" (Tehillim 8:3).  Torah can silence the enemy and avenge what they have done to us, as can prayer, love of our fellow Jews, and all other areas that need strengthening.  If we do our part, Hashem will certainly do His.  When that happens there will be a true Kiddush Hashem in the world.  The Arabs may shout all they want about their god, but they certainly do not act in the ways of Hashem.  Hashem is "Compassionate, and Gracious, Slow to Anger, and Abundant in Kindness and Truth" (Shmot 34:6) - we have not seen too many of these traits in the Arabs. If we can truly act in the ways of Hashem, then we will merit a "complete redemption for Your Name's sake", speedily in our day.