Parshas Ki Seitzei - Still Waiting?

By R' Shaya Gross, z'l
Posted on 08/27/20

[Ed. Note] Out of the respect and recognition of the impact made by longtime BJL friend and contributor, Reb Shaya Gross, z’l, we will maintain a living memoriam to Shaya through the sweet words and thoughtful insights of  his Divrei Torah. BJL readers will remember his weekly column on the Parsha and on various Torah ideas and concepts. These meaningful words will help us remember this special young man who will be sorely missed and for those who did not merit to know him, this will be the most appropriate way for them to become familiar with who he was.

The Haftora of Parshas Ki Seitzei [my Bar Mitzva Parsha!] begins with the words 'rani akara lo yalada,' which means 'Sing- barren one who did not give birth.’ The Gemara in Brachos tells a story, where a heretic once asked Brurya [Rav Meir's wife], that 'if the Barren Woman did not give birth, why should she sing?'

The heretic’s question is at first glance strange, as why did the heretic only ask on the phrase "who didn't give birth" and not on the fact that she was barren, the earlier description in the Pasuk?

I saw a very nice answer from the Mahari Hakohen.
We know that Sarah, Rivka, and Rochel were barren because Hashem desired their tefilos. However, we only know this reason holds true because they had children later on. That reveals that the years that they didn’t have children were because Hashem wanted their tefilos. Hence, there was no question why a barren woman should sing praise to Hashem, as maybe Hashem wants her tefilos and that is why she is still barren. It is only if in the end 'lo yalada' and she never ended up having children is there a question. That is why he only asked on the fact that she didn’t have children, and not on the fact that she was barren!

To all those waiting for a Shidduch, a Refuah Shilema, for children, for Parnassa, or any other of the myriad human needs and desires, let us take this lesson to heart. Perhaps the reason it is being withheld is because Hashem loves us and wants to hear our Tefillos. Let us all strengthen ourselves in tefila [and in any other area where we need fixing], and then Iy"h soon our tefilos will be answered, we will be granted our wishes, and we will be able to sing joyously our thanks and praises to Hashem.