According to the Rabbi’s words, is there any point at all in praying to God? More than that, could it be that when I pray I’m simply talking to the wall and nobody hears me?

What’s the problem?
Just say:
Hello, if You hear me, please help me………..

But basically there’s no obligation to pray?

Why is there no obligation? There is a rabbinic law, and an obligation to pray. Does your prayer book contain nothing besides requests? It’s true that with requests there is a problem of intention, so at most one could forgo them. But one can still ask—maybe after all the prayer will be answered (though that happens only rarely). And if you pray for the community and not only for yourself, maybe that makes more sense (because it is more likely that there will be a case that does in fact require intervention).

According to the Rabbi’s words:
1. Seemingly, the events of the Scroll of Esther were not through the intervention of the Holy One, blessed be He. If so, then the entire holiday is founded on the Sages’ mistaken understanding of reality, because there was no miracle here?
2. Are the Jewish people given over to the mercies of nature like the other nations? Logically, that does not seem all that reasonable, since we are called His children (“You are children…” etc.) and the chosen people.
3. Continuing from point 2: if the Holocaust was within the natural system, is it reasonable that a father would not intervene on behalf of his children to save them?
4. The return to Zion in our time—doesn’t that show divine intervention? Especially in light of what is said in the portion of Nitzavim: “And the Lord your God will return…” etc.
5. Seemingly the Jewish people could, Heaven forbid, be completely destroyed, and that contradicts the verse, “I have not rejected them… to destroy them utterly.”

,
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Israel, Israel, trust in God.

We are very far from God, God is very angry with us, for 2,000 years we have been in hiddenness of face… I wonder why?

Maybe because we are not united, maybe because we do not serve Him out of love but out of fear! Maybe we are acting out of self-interest… maybe the spice is missing from our service of Him, maybe we serve Him out of habit and not love… and that affects the distance…

The Holy One, blessed be He, sees and hears everything, even your thoughts, just as He saw that Sarah laughed within herself—He heard.
“The Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.”
We need to humble ourselves and listen to His voice… if that were the situation, we would be redeemed now.

Never despair: “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.”
Do His commandments out of love for Him, may He be blessed, nullify your will before His will, and you will see His salvation—that is His promise.

Give yourself over to Him and you will see His power….
The Jewish people are not subject to the mercies of nature, for they are above the constellations, but by the measure a person measures, so he is measured.

“For a people should seek its God—on behalf of the living, to the dead?”
“For the Lord hears the needy and does not despise His prisoners.”

“He has turned to the prayer of the destitute and has not despised their prayer.”

Give charity and you will see salvation—“Test Me now in this”….

Israel,
1. I do not know what the situation was then. It is possible that in that period there was still involvement by the Holy One, blessed be He. And even nowadays there are situations in which it is possible that the Holy One, blessed be He, intervenes, but without a prophet we have no way of knowing that.
2. I do not see any necessity in that logic.
3. Indeed, it is reasonable. What do you propose according to your approach—that He does intervene in creation? That very difficulty is proof for my approach.
4. I don’t know. It is possible that it does, although in practice we do not see clear intervention.
5. Then the Holy One, blessed be He, will intervene if there is such a danger. As stated, sometimes He intervenes.