Rashi comments that Bilaam came against Klal Yisrael and exchanged his craft with their craft, for we triumph only with our mouths through prayer and supplication. He came and seized their craft by cursing them with his mouth. They, too, came against him and exchanged their craft for the craft of the other nations, who come/fight with the sword. The power of prayer is awesome – especially when it emanates with sincerity and feeling from a pure mouth. Sometimes it is critical that one know how to pray (how to present his case). A special segulah, aid, to achieving a successful Heavenly response can be had when a person prays when he feels that he is unworthy. He asks that Hashem respond positively in the merit of his wife. In other words, “Hashem, I may be undeserving of supplicating You, but my wife is a much better person. Will You respond in her merit?”
We have precedence from none other than our Patriarch, Yitzchak Avinu. The Torah teaches, Va’yetar Yitzchak l’Hashem, l’nochach ishto, “Yitzchak entreated Hashem opposite his wife” (Bereishis 25:21). Horav Levi Yitzchak Berditchever, zl, explains that Yitzchak prayed to Hashem that he be blessed with a child in the merit of his wife, Rivka Imeinu. He felt that his own merit was insufficient, judging himself as unworthy for Hashem to accede to his request. He thought that the Almighty would assent to the payers of Rivkah. This is the meaning of “Yitzchak entreated Hashem opposite his wife.” Incidentally, our Patriarch was mistaken, because the Torah says Hashem listened to “him,” not “her.” Apparently, the combination of Yitzchak’s worthiness and his father’s merit trumped the merit of Rivkah, who had no respectable lineage to speak of. We never know in whose merit Hashem will respond positively. No one’s tefillos should be ignored, because, according to the Heavenly criteria, it is quite possible that the sincere tefillah of an ordinary person might be more effective in piercing the Heavens than the prayers of a seasoned scholar. Tefillah is avodah she’b’lev, service of the heart. Thus, it depends on how much heart one puts into his prayer. No one should feel that he is worthy enough to storm the Heavens and receive a reprieve. On the contrary, he should do all that he can, but never believe in himself; rather, he should include others who, on the surface, may not be on his spiritual plane, because it may very well be that their simple, sincere tefillah will make the critical difference. Are we better than Yitzchak Avinu who hoped that Hashem would listen in the merit of his wife?
