Siman 230

It is a matter understood by the intellect that the matter of prayer is only regarding the future and not regarding the past, for what would it avail regarding the past? Regarding the past, only the language of thanksgiving is relevant, to give thanks to Him, may He be blessed, for the good He has done for him. And regarding the future it is the opposite, for thanksgiving is only relevant regarding what has been, and prayer is relevant regarding the future, that he requests from Hashem, may He be blessed, that He should do for him such and such.

Therefore, one who enters a city and hears a sound of crying in the city from some distress that has occurred in it, and says: "May it be Your will that this should not be within my house"—behold, this is a vain prayer, for this is a prayer over the past, and what has been, has been. However, he may say: "I am confident that this is not within my house" if he is a complete tzaddik, like the incident of Hillel the Elder who said so, and regarding him it is said: "He shall not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is firm, trusting in Hashem" (Berakhot 60a). And the matter is explained in two ways: one according to its plain meaning, that he is confident that this is not in his house; and the second, because he accustomed the members of his household to receive everything with joy, whether the good or its opposite, and if so, automatically, even if, Heaven forbid, some distress occurred, they would not cry out with voices but would rather receive it with love and with silence.

And similarly, one whose wife was pregnant and he desires a male child, until forty days he may pray and say: "May it be Your will that my wife give birth to a male," for until forty days it is merely water. But after forty days when the form of the fetus has been fashioned, if he prays then: "May it be Your will that my wife give birth to a male" — behold, this is a vain prayer, for what has been has been and will no longer change. And even though we find that Dinah was transformed from a male to a female, this was within forty days, and even if there it was after forty days, one does not mention miraculous acts (ibid.), and the matters of our holy forefathers were all through miracle.

One who enters a city says: "May it be Your will, Hashem our G-d and G-d of our fathers, that You bring me into this city in peace," and this is a prayer for the future. And when he enters in peace he says: "I thank You, Hashem my G-d, that You brought me into this city in peace," and this is a thanksgiving for the past. And likewise upon his departure, when he seeks to depart he says: "May it be Your will... that You lead me out of this city in peace," and when he has departed he says: "I thank... that You led me out of this city in peace, and just as You led me out in peace, so may You guide me in peace, etc.," and this is the tefillat haderekh that was explained in siman 110, see there. And the Rambam wrote in the Commentary on the Mishnah that this is neither a prayer nor a blessing, but merely a request. Therefore, nowadays we are not accustomed to this, because Rashi, of blessed memory, explained that it is because in a city false accusations are common, see there, and in our times this is not applicable. Nevertheless, one who is careful with the words of our sages of blessed memory, it is proper for him to say it, and all the more so since there is no blessing involved such that we would be concerned about a blessing in vain.

One who enters to measure his granary says: "May it be Your will, Hashem my G-d, that You send blessing upon this pile," for this is a prayer for the future. Once he has begun to measure, he says: "Blessed is He who sends blessing upon this pile," because he is assured that there will be a blessing. If he measured and afterwards recited a blessing—this is a vain prayer, for blessing is only found in something hidden from the eye, so that it should not appear explicitly as being truly against nature, for most miracles are hidden. And one who enters a bathhouse—and in their bathhouses, which were heated from underneath and were always in a state of danger—says: "May it be Your will, Hashem my G-d, that You bring me in in peace and bring me out in peace, and save me from this fire and the like in the world to come." And when he exits in peace, he says: "I give thanks before You, Hashem my G-d, that You saved me from this fire." And nowadays, the custom is not to do this, as the furnace stands to the side and there is no danger (Bach, and Taz, and Magen Avraham), and so it is explicitly in the Yerushalmi of the tenth chapter of Berakhot. And one who enters to let blood says: "May it be Your will... that this matter be for me a healing, for You are a free healer." And after he has let blood, he should say: "Blessed is the Healer of the sick." And there is one who says it with the Name and Sovereignty (Taz, subsection 3), and also in the Rambam it is with the Name, see there (and so wrote the Beit Yosef in the name of the Smag). And it is proper that for every medicine one takes, he should say: "May it be Your will, Hashem my G-d, that this be for me a healing," and so the meticulous are accustomed to do. And a person should always be accustomed to say: "All that the Merciful One does, He does for the good." The general principle of the matter: a person should always pray for the future and request mercy before Him, may He be blessed, and give thanks for the past, and thank and praise according to his strength; and whoever increases in thanking Hashem, this is praiseworthy, as the verse says: "It is good to give thanks to Hashem and to sing to Your Name, O Most High."