I once noticed a man come extremely late to the tefillah. After rushing through his prayers, he turned to leave as quickly as he had come. I hurried over to him, stopping him in his tracks. I roundly rebuked him for his sham of a prayer. “Is this what you call tefillah?” I asked rhetorically.
He replied, “I am exempt from praying longer today. I must make an important call regarding business. I stand to gain a huge profit. Therefore, I could not spend more time on my prayers.”
This man came to the Beit Hakeneset, but prayed only as long as was convenient. As soon as his business transactions were at risk, he forsook his prayers to tend to his finances. His actions reminded me of Lot, who was willing to cling to Avraham as long as his materialistic lusts were not compromised.
He failed to realize that praying to Hashem for siyata di’Shemaya is what brings in profits. Had he understood this, he would have spent his time supplicating Hashem, Who is All-Powerful. In this manner, he would have accrued additional merits, which would provide him with blessing and success in all his endeavors.
