R'Elimelech Biderman related the following story which shows us the power of prayer (and our actions).

There was a new ordained rabbi who was eager to start teaching. He was offered a position in Dallas, Texas and decided that he would take it. He moved down to Dallas and although he was talented with outreach, he wasn't very skilled at raising money to build an institution which would allow him to actually realize his potential. The rabbi was frustrated with his inability to build the community as he desired.

There was an extremely wealthy single man in his late 40's who was not very affiliated with Judaism. Nevertheless he felt he was missing something in life and decided to visit Israel to explore his religion a bit. He toured all around the country and he made his way to the Western Wall in Jerusalem. As he approached the Wall he encountered a man who was praying fervently from the depths of his heart. The visitor from Texas was moved by the site of this man pouring out his soul in front of G-d. The man from Texas returned home but the image of the man praying at the Wall left an enduring impression upon him. When he got back to Texas he related the story to some of his friends and they told him that there is a rabbi like that here in Dallas as well. The man told his friends that they must introduce him to the rabbi and they did. The wealthy man met the newly ordained rabbi and he was very inspired by the rabbi. He decided to bankroll the rabbi's efforts to build up the community outreach programs and he wrote him a check for $6,000,000. A few months later the wealthy man died, and the rabbi succeeded in using those funds to build the community.

When we think about this story we can understand how extremely powerful the prayers of that man at the Western Wall were. How much did he accomplish through his prayers? He has no idea the impact his prayers had and he may even think that his prayers were never answered. He is clueless to the fact that his prayers built an entire community on the other side of the world.

The Ramchal stresses many times both in regards to prayer and in regards to actions, that we may feel that our prayers or mitvos have very little impact. The truth is though that through our prayers and deeds we impact the entire world.

Shabbat Shalom,

Heath