The power of prayer is not completely understood by us, but in the words of one of the Rebbes of Lubavitch, "If you knew how the words of Psalms ascend to the highest Heavens you would never stop reciting them."
Through his holy vision, the Baal Shem Tov saw that a decree was made Above against a certain Jewish settlement. Summoning two of his companions, Reb Mordechai and Reb Kehos, the Besht set about to annul this terrible catastrophe.
Ascending to the upper realms, the Besht learned that this decree was firm and could not be rescinded. As his soul descended to earth, he passed by the "palaces" of many saintly individuals. These palaces represented the accumulated good deeds which awaited their soul when their earthly lives had ended. One palace in particular attracted his attention, for it sparkled so brilliantly. He approached it to see to whom it belonged, and discovered that it was the palace of a certain simple villager.
What, he wondered, had this man done to merit such a reward in the next world? It was the custom of this uneducated, but pious Jew to recite the entire book of Psalms five times every day as he went about his work.
When the Besht returned to earth, he traveled to the village of that man and asked, "If you knew that your reward in the World to Come could save an entire community of Jews, would you be willing to give it up?"
The unassuming fellow replied, "If I have a portion in the next world, I would certainly give it away to save my fellow Jews."
With that utterance, the decree was abolished, and for his total self- sacrifice, the simple villager won the admiration of all the Heavenly host.
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