The Four Catagories of People that Chazal Consider as if "Dead"

The Gemara in Avodah Zara and Nedarim 64: says that there are four catogories of people that are considered "As If Dead"

• Ani-a poor person, 
• Metzorah-a Leper, 
• Suma- a blind person, 
• Umi She'eyn Lo Bonim-One who has no children.

There are many explanations and discussion surrounding this Gemara. A famous Pshat being R' Chaim Shmuelevitz who says that a person needs to feel like a "Giver" to feel alive and if he must live as a taker then his existence feels muffled. As Chazal say "Soneh Matanos Yichyeh".

R Chaim brings an example to this perception. The story of the two women who came to Shlomo Hamelech with one child and one said its my child with the other one claiming that it was HER child. There were two children initially but one of the children died and both mothers claimed it was the other mother's child that died. Ultimately it was found who the real mother was. R Chaim shows that the mother that claimed the child was her's falsely wanted so badly to be a "Giver" to take care of a child that she went so far as to try and kidnap another women's child for that purpose. Interesting to see how far a person will go to take from another in order to give. How twisted yet powerful. I think we see a lot of this in our society.

Tosfos in Nedorim asks "Limai Nafka Minah" what Halachik significance is there to this concept of the four catagories? Tosfos answers "Limibai Aley Rachamim" To ask for mercy from God-To pray for these people. What does this mean? Are we to pray more for a poor or blind person because Chazal put him in this catagory? Furthermore, how does one pray for a blind person? Are we praying for a miracle that the blind person should wake up in the morning and be able to see? If we were looking to push people to pray for them why would categorizing them as "Dead" be the impetus? Shouldn't Chazal say something more obvious that would indicate that they are in need of prayers?

We can possibly say, and it seems from the language used by chazal, that in fact it is the exact opposite than would seem from the simple reading of Tosfos. We don't pray for dead people other than the prayer of "Yanuach Beshalom Al Mishkavam" "They should rest in peace in their eternal resting place" There is no prayer that the dead should wake up the next morning that would constitute a Tefilas Shav- a false or useless prayer which the Mishna explicitly prohibits. However that the dead should rest in peace is a legitimate prayer. When the Gemara tells us that these four catagories of people are considered as dead and Tosfos adds that it is for the purpose of Tefila maybe Tosfos is indicating that the correct approach to prayer for these afflictions is the same type of approach to Tefilah regarding dead people, the correct approach to prayer should be a prayer as such - "Oh God make them as comfortable as possible in their affliction so that they should not suffer so much" Considering them as "Dead" Tosfos is saying is a reason NOT to pray for them in a typical fashion but to pray for them to be able to survive their affliction without pain, suffering, and embarrassment. This is why a blind person is one of the people in that category. This is why Chazal say "Kruim Meisim" Davka!