Prayer is a Gate to God / When Prayer is in Exile, it Causes a Person to Become Egotistical / To Break Free of the Exile of Prayer, a Person Must Pray Forcefully A person connects and clings to God through prayer. For prayer is the gate through which we enter into the presence of God, and from there we can know Him. The word TeFiLah (תפילה, prayer) connotes connectedness, as it is written, “”With Divine bonds (נפתולי, naFTuLei) have I been bound (נפתלתי, niFTaLti)” (Genesis 30:8). Often, however, when a person prays, he experiences thoughts of self-importance. This is because prayer — which is associated with malkhut (sovereignty) and the “I”— is in exile within the malkhut of wickedness, which seeks to gain prominence and rule. And when his prayer wishes to leave, the kingdom of wickedness holds onto it. The antidote is for a person to pray forcefully, which empowers his prayer to rectify his ego and the “woman of valor,” malkhut. Then his prayer can leave that exile. When malkhut is in exile, it wears black clothing When a person prays forcefully and takes it out of exile, it becomes a nest for the Holy One. A person’s basic intent should be to rectify the Divine Presence so that She can unite with her Husband. Initially, one needs an arousal from below — the rectification of the Divine Presence — so that She will be clothed in shining garments. Then God’s vow to the Patriarchs is renewed. Forceful Prayer “My God, open my lips, and my mouth will speak Your praise.” Master of the world, You Who hear prayer, You compassionately choose the prayer of Your nation, the Jewish people.

In Your vast compassion, help me always pray a great deal. May I pray forcefully with great concentration and self-sacrifice.

Help me and save me so that I will bring all of my abilities into my words of prayer, strengthening that prayer — which is the sovereignty of holiness — to overcome the kingdom of wickedness.

As a result, may I subdue, break and nullify all egotistical ideas, impure motives and foreign thoughts that perturb my prayer, Heaven forbid.

You know that I can nullify them only with the aid of Your vast compassion and great love.

Have compassion on me for the sake of Your Name. Save me, help me, strengthen me and bolster me with Your great power so that I will bring all of my abilities into my prayer. May I always pray to You with great forcefulness.

As a result, may I entirely nullify all of my egotistical ideas, impure motives and foreign thoughts, so that none of them will have the slightest power to disorient my prayer, Heaven forbid.

Instead, may I expel them, remove them and nullify them entirely so they will be unable to arise in my mind at all, and my prayer will be pure, well arranged, acceptable and welcome to You.

May I bring my prayer forth from its coverings, from the garments of the “husk.” May I separate it and clarify it, purifying it from the grasp of the “husks,” from the grasp of the kingdom of wickedness.

May I raise it and clothe in garments of light, the lights of the Patriarchs.

May my prayer attain ultimate rectification. May it have the power to arouse Your supernal love so that You will bind it to You in love, fellowship and friendship.

May our prayers bring about a complete, perfect unification of the Holy One and His Divine Presence.

Remember and maintain Your covenant that You swore to our forefathers as on this day. Renew Your vow to them as though You are making that vow today.

Have compassion on us. Quickly deliver us from this long, bitter exile. Redeem us with an everlasting redemption. Bind together the “tent” so that it will be unified.

Help Us Attain Perfect Prayer You who are filled with compassion, Redeemer of Israel, have compassion on the Congregation of Israel, which is associated with Your mighty Divine Presence. The entire revelation of Your Godliness, the knowledge of Your exaltedness, and the yearning for Your faith comes about by means of Israel, Your nation, whom You have chosen.

You revealed to us that prayer brings about the essence of connecting and clinging to You. Prayer is the gate through which we come into the presence of HaShem, and from which we recognize Him.

Have compassion on us for the sake of Your Name. Help us truly pray perfectly, with unlimited power. May we always increase our prayer, as You indicated we should do through Your holy sages, who said, “If only a person could pray the entire day.”

Arise to help us and save us always — in particular, when we are praying, since at that time foreign thoughts, distractions and obstacles overwhelm us to an unimaginable extent. Have compassion on us and compassionately fulfill our requests to pray with great vigor, until we break and nullify all of our foreign thoughts entirely.

May we always attain perfect prayer, until with its aid we will come close to You and truly recognize You, truly bonding with and clinging to You — completely, perfectly, in accordance with Your good will.

May we cling to You in this world and in the World to Come, forever and ever.

Quickly may the verse be realized in us, “You who cling to HaShem your God are alive, all of you, today.”

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing before You, HaShem, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Amen forever, selah forever.