<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.19088">
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I think it is very simple. Our davening
cannot affect other people's behira because that would tamper with a fundamental
defining characteristic of tzelem Elokim (retzono shel adam kevodo) and wreak
havoc with issues of personal responsibility and the validity of sehar va'onesh,
among other things. However, our davening for others can affect
*us* and the way in which we relate to the people we daven for. A
person who davens with any sincerity for someone will feel differently
about him and treat him better, even in very subtle ways and perhaps
without being conscious of this. A case in point: when
Rabbi Meir stopped davening for the biryonim to die and began to daven that they
do teshuva, *he* changed. He became their neighbor, as opposed to a
person who hated them, and began to relate to them differently. When his
attitude to them changed, they began to change, not because he had set in
motion some mystical effect through his tefilla, but because he had set in
motion a psychological effect through his behavior. When you are Rabbi
Meir's enemy, you have no reason not to behave like an animal. When you
are the neighbor of an exalted sage who smiles and says hello in the
morning, you pick your socks up. Don't we see this with kids all the
time? A lot of their self-esteem is dependent upon what we expect of them
and how we treat them.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>The principal operates on a larger scale,
too. When we daven for our soldiers, we are contributing to the
elevation of the spiritual atmosphere in society in a very concrete way, and
that has a knock-on effect on the behavior of others.
Leaders (e.g., the kohen gadol) who set a good
example effectively do the same thing. So a kohen gadol who
really puts his heart into his job (i.e., davens with attention to
detail and with true kavana) can have a very tangible, practical effect on the
society, thereby lowering the probability of accidental murder. Conversely,
think about how often people justify corruption or other bad behaviors with
'Everyone does it.' or 'Even cabinet ministers are corrupt. Why
should I be a frier?' In a society where 'everyone does it' means 'everyone
is very virtuous', things would look very different. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>We are social creatures (lo tov heyot ha'adam
levado!) and very much affected (consciously and unconsciously) by the behavior
of others. </FONT><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Malcolm Gladwell (The
Tipping Point) makes a good case that what drastically reduced
crime in the NYC subways was, in part, cleaning the graffiti off the cars and
fixing the turnstiles. The population of the city did not change, but when
people felt like they were in a 'clean, well-lighted place' they behaved
better--in response to a better atmosphere.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Of course, when we daven for our children's
spiritual welfare, we are really asking Hashem to make the circumstances of
their lives conducive to their spiritual welfare (the right opportunities, like
good teachers and friends, etc.) Even God himself cannot change our behira
(hakol biyedei Shamayim hutz miyir'at Shamayim)--that is, in fact, what behira
*means*. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>The rare exceptions to that (like the hardening of
Par'o's heart and the preventing of teshuva in the case of Hofni and Pinhas) are
actually a form of punishment. The other possible exception (lev melahim
ve'sarim beyad Hashem) is really talking about decisions that are not about
personal morality, but could change the course of history. So a king's
ability to sin (or not) in his personal life would not be affected by
Divine intervention, but Hashem would intervene to prevent him from starting a
war (or not) because those decisions have ramifications for *God's*
plan.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Kol tuv,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Simi Peters</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>