Judaism teaches that man lives as long as he has a mission to complete. Once his mission in life is completed, he is terminated, similar to the worker who is hired for a specific job and released upon completion (Job 14:6).
The Rav quoted the story (Yerushalmi, Peah 3:2) regarding the mother of Rabbi Tarfon who broke her shoelace and could not walk. Rabbi Tarfon placed his hands under her feet and she walked on them until she reached her bed. When Rabbi Tarfon became deathly ill, the rabbis visited him. His mother begged them to pray on his behalf, citing his extreme Kibbud Eym from the preceding story as a merit for his recovery. The rabbis said that even had he acted in this manner thousands of times, he would not have fulfilled even half of the requirement of Kibbud Eym.
Why did the rabbis dismiss the merit that she mentioned? After all, we look to accentuate the good deeds of the sick so that Hashem may heal them. If Rabbi Tarfon’s mission in life was to take care of his elderly mother, and his mother is stating that he accomplished all there is to do for Kibbud Eym, then Rabbi Tarfon has completed his mission and is ready to return to Hashem, who sent him on his mission. However, the rabbis insisted that he had not yet fulfilled his mission, hence there is still a great purpose to his life and a need for him to return to health and continue his mission.
Hashem told Avimelech that if Avraham had no need for Avimelech, then Avimelech’s mission was complete and it was time for him to die. However, if he could convince Avraham that he was necessary, and move Avraham to pray earnestly on his behalf, Hashem would accept Avraham’s prayer, because he is a prophet, Ki Navi Hu.
Navi and Niv, as in Niv Sefasayim, share the same root. Niv derives from fruit, Tnuvos Sodoy. If the prayer for the sick flows gracefully, if it rolls off the tongue without stutter or stumble, it is indicative that the one praying for the sick person is anguished by his situation. He is expressing his own emotional need for the individual to be healed and what a terrible personal loss it would be if something were to happen to him. He is capable of expressing all that his heart feels in this situation. Such a prayer will be heard and accepted by Hashem. One who clearly understands a topic or appreciates a need does not stumble for words to express it. However, if a person can’t motivate himself on behalf of the individual in need, he will falter in his prayer and it will be rejected.
If the prayer is Niv Sefasayim, then it will be Shalom Shalom Larachok V’Lakorov, there will be peace for those far and near, and the prayer will be accepted. If the Shatz cannot motivate himself to pray carefully and fluently on behalf of his congregation, it must be because he does not empathize with them. Such a Shatz will not be an effective representative for his congregation.
The Rav portrayed Rabbi Chanina Ben Dosa as “the Chofetz Chaim of his generation.” While there were many gedolim in his generation, the Chofetz Chaim was asked to pray on behalf of a person in need. As the Gemara says, even Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakai asked Rabbi Chanina to pray on behalf of his son, even though Rabbi Yochanan was the greater scholar. Rabbi Yochanan himself said that Rabbi Chanina was considered a servant before Hashem while he was considered an officer before Hashem. The prayer of the King’s servant is more readily accepted. A Rabbi Chanina or a Chofetz Chaim is able to empathize with the person in need and to eloquently express the anguish he personally feels because the person he is praying for is distressed.