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Why was Yitzchok's prayer answered over Rivka's? Rashi (רש"י) says a tzaddik ben tzaddik's prayer is greater, yet the Rosh rules that for a shaliach tzibbur, one from a lowly family is preferable. The shiur resolves this by distinguishing personal prayer—where ancestral merit adds weight—from communal prayer, where humility makes the davening itself superior.
The shiur opens with the pasuk describing Yitzchok and Rivka praying for children, noting that "Hashem (ה׳) answered his tefillah"—Yitzchok's prayer specifically. Rashi (רש"י) explains based on a Gemara (גמרא) that there is no comparison between the prayer of a tzaddik ben tzaddik (righteous son of a righteous person) and a tzaddik ben rasha (righteous son of a wicked person), and therefore Yitzchok's prayer was answered because he was a tzaddik ben tzaddik. The Tur, however, brings a Rosh discussing the qualifications of a shaliach tzibbur (prayer leader), stating that family lineage (yichus mishpacha) is irrelevant. In fact, the Rosh rules that if a person comes from a mishpacha bazuyah (a family of low standing) and is righteous, he is preferable to a tzaddik ben tzaddik for the role of shaliach tzibbur. The Maharshal qualifies this, saying that if both candidates are equal in righteousness, one should choose the person from the better family because of the principle that there is no comparison between a tzaddik ben tzaddik and a tzaddik ben rasha.
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Parshas Toldos, Bereishis 25:21
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Why didn't Noach daven for his generation while Avrohom advocated for Sedom? Noach viewed each person as an independent island responsible only for their own teshuvah. Avrohom understood that all humanity is interconnected through shared perspective and values, making prayer for others both possible and necessary.
