"Mom, is the water okay?"

"I think so, Chaim. Why do you ask?"

"I turned the faucet on and no water came out."

"Let's see. You're right Chaim. I wonder what's wrong?"

"Let's try another faucet. Nope. No water here either."

"What should we do Chaim?"

"I saw Dad look at the main water meter once. Let's go down into the cellar and take a look."

Chaim and his mother venture down into the cellar and find water gushing out onto the floor.

Chaim alertly rushes over to the water meter and turns off the big valve. Thankfully, the water stops.

"Mom, let's call the plumber."

"Yes, Chaim. Here's the number."

Within half an hour, the plumber arrives at the door.

"What seems to be the problem, ma'am?"

"Come into the basement, sir."

"Looks like the main pipe has burst."

"Why was so much water gushing out sir?"

"Son, that pipe provides all of the water for all of the faucets in your whole house. That's a lot of water. When it breaks, all of that water comes out. It will take me about half an hour to fix it. Then I will leave you with just the mop-up work."

"Thank you so much sir. All of the water comes through one pipe. Imagine that. The builder built this house in a similar way that G-d set up the world."

"Chaim, you certainly have a vivid imagination. How does this house resemble the world?"

"All of the water comes through one pipe. What G-d sends to the world comes also comes through one pipe."

"Pipe? Where is this pipe? It must be huge. I would like to go see it."

"The pipe that I am referring to is our prayers, Mom."

"Our prayers are like a pipe?"

"A pipeline would probably be a better comparison. G-d wants to shower this world with endless blessings. He wants to send them down from Heaven."

"What is he waiting for?"

"Us. Our prayers create the pipeline that will carry those blessings down from Heaven to earth."

"Chaim, how do you know this?"

"We learn it from this week's parsha, Mom. Rivkah Emaynu, our Mother Rivkah, did not have children for the first 20 years of her marriage to Yitzchak. Both Yitzchak and Rivkah poured out their hearts in prayer to G-d. Finally, their request was granted. Rabbeinu Bechaye explains that G-d could have given them a child right away. However, He wanted their prayers."

"Why, Chaim?"

"When we pray, Mom, we get closer to G-d. By constantly making requests, we come to realize that He is the one Who provides us with everything. As our relationship grows, the "pipeline" grows wider. That allows Him to send down more blessings."

"Chaim, that is fascinating. Twenty years of praying for a child is a long time."

"G-d never gets tired of hearing our voices. People can get annoyed if you ask too much. G-d is happy to hear our requests. They show Him how much we appreciate Him."

"Chaim, you have added a new dimension to my prayers. I am going to try to keep this in mind when I am praying."

"Mom, it is especially important now, when the Jewish people are facing some real dangers."

"I know, Chaim. We need a very big pipeline filled with blessings."

"May G-d answer all of our prayers, Mom."

"Amen."