Priceless Protection

“The men of the army plundered, each man for himself…” (Bamidbar 31:53) 

Own Your Morning 

From the moment a person wakes up, the Yetzer Hara tries to hijack his focus — convincing him that his livelihood must take priority. 

It pushes him to start thinking about work right away, urging him to rush through davening or even skip parts of it. As a result, he arrives at shul late, leaves early, and misses the chance to fully participate — responding “Amen” to all the brachot. 

At times, the Yetzer Hara goes even further — convincing a person not to attend shul at all, but instead to rush through a quick tefillah at home. 

This challenge is even greater during the summer months, when minyanim are not as frequent or accessible, making it all the more tempting to settle for less. This is an extremely difficult challenge to face. 

The Power of the Many 

Therefore, a person must recognize the tremendous value of praying with a minyan. Tefillah b’tzibur has unique power—far beyond what one can achieve alone. As Chazal teach (Berachot 8a) on the verse “Behold, God is mighty and does not despise” (Iyov 36:5), Hashem never rejects the prayers of the many, of the individuals who daven with a minyan. 

The Responsibility and Opportunity to Say “Amen” 

Even more important is to stay for the entire tefillah—from beginning to end—to answer ninety Amens each day. The Zohar (Tikkunei Zohar 18) explains that the word צדקה (charity) is an acronym: צ’ – 90 Amens, ד’ – 4 Kedushot, ק’ – 100 brachot, ה’ – 5 Books of the Torah. This is a form of spiritual tzedakah, through which a person brings vitality to the higher worlds. 

By answering “Amen, Yehei Shmei Rabbah” with strength and intention, a person draws down powerful blessings and an abundance of goodness as Chazal (Shabbos 119b) teach that such a response tears up harsh decrees, opens the gates of Gan Eden, and nullifies evil decrees. 

The Pele Yoetz writes that if people truly understood the reward for saying “Amen, Yehei Shmei Rabbah,” they would run to hear it and answer—rejoicing over each one like a priceless treasure. 

A Wondrous Segulah 

The Zohar (Parshat Vayeilech) adds that this offers special protection from the enemies of Israel. When we are careful to answer “Amen” properly, our prayers are accepted, and we merit divine protection from those who seek to harm us. 

The Chafetz Chaim, zt”l, writes in Ahavas Chesed (Part II, Ch. 5):  

“It’s astonishing how people chase after segulot, spending hundreds or even thousands on remedies that often don’t help at all. Their money is wasted, and their energy is drained for nothing. Wouldn’t it be wiser, he asks, to focus on the powerful segulot that Chazal themselves revealed? Right in front of us is a wondrous segulah—available many times each day—the act of answering “Amen” aloud. Chazal say it brings forgiveness of sins, rips up harsh decrees, and surrounds a person with protective angels”. 

The Chafetz Chaim, zt”l, wrote in a letter during the outbreak of World War I (1914 / 5674): 

“It is a personal obligation for every Jew to go to the Beit Midrash with his children and respond to Amen, Yehei Shmei Rabbah, Kedushah, and Barchu. Through this, countless harsh decrees are nullified each day. If entire communities would gather and respond together, the salvations for Klal Yisrael would be immeasurable—certainly saving thousands from death. Those who encourage this practice bring great merit and protection to the entire Jewish people”. 

The Brisker Rav zt”l once said that at first, he struggled to understand why the horrors of the Holocaust devastated European Jewry but did not reach the Land of Israel. But after arriving in Eretz Yisrael and hearing how the Jews of Yerushalayim responded to “Amen, Yehei Shmei Rabbah“— aloud and with deep kavanah (focus, concentration) — he understood: it was in that merit that Eretz Yisrael was spared. 

Answering Amen also protects a person from the greatest enemy of all—the Yetzer Hara. As my holy grandfather, Rav Yitzchak Eizik of Komarno zt”l, writes in Zohar Chai (Parshat Noach), answering “Amen” refines and purifies the soul, bringing divine light and vitality to one’s Torah and mitzvot. 

I also heard from the pious chassid R’ Dovid Perkowitz z”l, who in turn heard from the tzaddik Rebbe Aharon Katzenelbogen of Sorotzkin zt”l—descendant of Neschiz and overseer of sixty shtiebels (small, informal house of prayer) in Poland. He explained the verse “Each man shall give a ransom for his soul to Hashem” (Shemot 30:12) by noting that the word אי”ש (“man”) is an acronym for אמן יהא שמיה — and that this is the true ransom for one’s soul. As the Gemara (Shabbos 119b) teaches — even one who carries within him a trace of idolatry is forgiven if he answers “Amen, Yehei Shmei Rabbah” with all his strength. 

The Soldier’s Weapon 

In this vein, we may explain this pasuk that is speaking of Bnei Yisroel’s soldiers who needed protection from the enemies of Israel: 

“The men of the army plundered each man [ish] for himself”—meaning that each soldier took for himself a personal weapon of protection: the spiritual power of the word “ish“—an acronym for אמן יהא שמיה. They strengthened themselves to pray with the minyan and to respond to “Amen, Yehei Shmei Rabbah” with full force, knowing this would grant them the highest level of protection. 

From this, we learn a vital lesson for our own times—when both physical and spiritual dangers are so present: 

Every person must strengthen themselves not to fall into the Yetzer Hara‘s trap of arriving late to shul or leaving early. Rather, we should commit to praying all three daily tefillot with the tzibur, from beginning to end, and respond with focus and strength to “Amen, Yehei Shmei Rabbah.” 

This response is a channel for immense brachah—for us and for the entire world—and it is through this that we are shielded from all harm, both spiritual and physical. 

*** 

The Kalever Rebbe is the seventh Rebbe of the Kaalov Chasidic dynasty, begun by his ancestor who was born to his previously childless parents after receiving a blessing from the Baal Shem Tov zy”a, and later learned under the Maggid of Mezeritch zt”l. The Rebbe has been involved in outreach for more than 30 years and writes weekly emails on understanding current issues through the Torah. Sign up at www.kaalov.org.