No One to Daven for Me

The father watches fondly as his little boy boards the school bus for his first day of yeshiva. The knapsack is half the child’s height. With his new plaid shirt tucked neatly into his pants, the boy comically lifts his short leg high to mount the steep bus stairs. His first step into a new world, “and, please, Hashem, may it be a good world for him,” the father silently prays. “May his rebbeim love him and encourage him. May he find good friends. May he learn to love learning.”

And that’s just the first day. In the course of this child’s school years, both parents pour an unquantifiable river of prayers and tears into their children’s success in yeshiva. They provide sympathy when things don’t go well. They meet with the teachers, help with the homework and most of all, daven, for they have seen that even when parents make all the right moves, the outcome isn’t guaranteed.

For a Jewish parent, this is the way of life. It seems like the most natural way in the world, and one could not imagine not praying for one’s child. And yet, sitting in almost every yeshiva, Bais Yaakov and day school are children who must go it alone. They have no one to share their day with, no one to intercede when they need support, and no one to daven for their success.

Like orphans, these children are putting themselves through school, even though they may have a mother and father at home. While most parents are gently prodding their children to become stronger in their Torah and mitzvos, these children have parents whose great fear is that their child might become “too religious” and insist on keeping Shabbos and kashrus at home.

A Difficult Transition

Many of these parents put their children into yeshiva for the right reasons; they want them to understand, better than their parents do, what it means to be a Jew. They also want to protect them from the lure of pop culture and the morals of society at large. Nevertheless, the parents have their own, deeply ingrained idea of what is “normal,” based on their own upbringing, and it is exceedingly difficult for some of these parents to watch their children change and grow in a different direction.

In many cases, the parents themselves are victims of the culture. Plenty of the children Oorah sponsors in yeshiva come to school with hearts burdened by divorce, abuse and a host of other societal ills. Their parents may not even have enough emotional energy left over to help their children through the adjustment of yeshiva.

Yet one cannot underestimate the sacrifice these parents are making. From the point of view of the Orthodox Jewish world, they are simply making a sensible move, giving their children a chance at living a life of Torah and achieving the only success in life that really counts.

From the parents’ point of view, however, they are taking a huge gamble. They are sending their children into unknown territory, all on the faith and hope that this will be good for them. It is little wonder that for many such parents, their main “prayer” is that things won’t go “too far.”

But even against this backdrop, their children are striving with all their might to keep up with their studies, fit in with their schoolmates and open their hearts to the way of life their teachers are trying to impart to them. They fondly imagine what it would be like if there were a real Shabbos in their homes, how it would feel to walk with their fathers to shul, or watch their mothers light candles. Some try to keep kosher in their parent’s non-kosher kitchen. They are young soldiers fighting a brave battle, with no one on the home-front praying for them.

Smoothing Their Path

This year, as Elul begins, Oorah asks our supporters to give this one priceless contribution to our kiruv efforts – daven for Oorah’s children. This is the time of year when Chazal teach that Hashem is especially close to us, like a King walking among His people. Oorah urges our supporters to use this time to pray for the children who are struggling so hard to find their way in Yiddishkeit, to smooth their path with the prayers their mothers and fathers are not yet able to utter.

On these pages, you will read real stories of some of Oorah’s children. The challenges they face are truly monumental, and the courage with which they face their challenges is awe-inspiring. To protect our families’ privacy, we cannot provide you with the names of the children, but we ask you to please include them in your prayers among all the children seeking a life of Torah and mitzvos. If you would like to daven for a specific child, please call our office and we will provide you with an Oorah child’s Hebrew name.

In the merit of your compassion and prayers for Oorah’s children, may Hashem hear all your prayers with compassion, and give you a year of health, happiness, prosperity and nachas from your family.