The constant prayer of the soul¹ The constant² prayer of the neshama strives continually to move from hidden to revealed, to spread over all the forces of life of the spirit and of the vital soul, and all the powers of embodied life. She yearns as well to reveal her essence and the power of her actions over all her surroundings, over all the world and life, and toward this end we require the accounting of the world (See Baba Batra 78b) which comes through Torah and wisdom. And so we find that the whole work of the Torah and all its wisdom is the constant revelation of the hidden prayer of the neshama³. “Let the breath of all life (nishmat kol chay) bless Your name, oh Lord our G–d…”⁴

footnotes: ¹ There are three primary aspects of soul which Rav Kook addresses in the introduction. When appropriate, neshama has been left in transliteration, ruach translated as spirit, nefesh as vital soul. Here are examples of how Rav Kook uses these terms elsewhere.נשמה – התכונה הרוחנית העליונה של שפעת חיי המחשבה והרצון, המתעלה בעילוי האלוקי (ע"ר א טו)The neshama is the highest spiritual aspect, the outpouring of the life of thought and will which rises up in Divine elevation (see Olat Reiyah I p.15)רוח – הרצון (ע"ר א רנ), מכון השכל (שם קיט) The ruach is the will (ibid p.250), the dwelling place of the intellect (ibid p.119)נפש – היסוד התמציתי של החיים הטבעיים (ע"ר א יז), מכון הרצון (ע"ר א קיט)The nefesh is the essential foundation of natural life (ibid p.17), and the dwelling place of the will (ibid. 119)See this source text from Olay ReiyahLove the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mightThe heart is the dwelling place of the spirit (ruach), and the essence and primary foundation of choice reside in the aspect of ruach, which is the definitive level of humanity. Through the ruach the vital soul (nefesh) is elevated, drawing down upon itself more of the light of the higher soul (neshama). The place of the ruach and the nefesh is within man’s body, and they are certainly bounded by it. But the neshama can never in its entirety enter the body, rather the embodied intellect is illuminated by her sparks, because in her greatness she cannot enter into and be limited by any vessel. The vessel cannot bear the light, and this is why she is called ‘might,’ which indicates something abundant and magnified. This is the precision of meaning found in the homily of our Sages: ’and all your might (m’odecha)’ with every measure (middah) which He measures (moded) out for you.” The feeling of love in the heart could never be from the aspect of the nefesh, certainly not toward something which might cause one pain. So too, the love of a sick person for the doctor who amputates a painful limb does not flow from the nefesh, because one’s nefesh suffers from this act. Rather it comes from the ruach, the will that receives its impression only after awareness of the ultimate good which flows from this act has been fixed in one’s intellect. But the love of God must be magnified by things whose ultimate good cannot be quantified, but rather simply draw us toward the love of His great glory. This cannot be impressed on the will and is also not possible from the perspective of ruach, but rather only ‘with all your might,’ which is the neshama, can such a love come, where for every measure that He measures out for you, you can be filled with a mighty gratitude, through the exalted value of the highest intellectual feeling.ואהבת את ד' אלהיך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך ובכל מאדך.הלב הוא משכן הרוח ,ועקר הבחירה וראשית יסודה הוא בבחינת הרוח,שהוא מדרגת האדם, וע"י הרוח מתרוממת הנפש, וממשיך עליו יותר אור הנשמה. והנה הנפש והרוח מקומם בגוף האדם ומוגבלים בו בודאי, אבל הנשמה אי אפשר כלל שתכנס בשלמותה בגוף, רק מאיר ממנה אור בניצוץ השכל המורגש בגוף, כי לפי גדולתה אי אפשר לה להכנס בכלי ולהגבל בו ולא יוכל הכלי לסבול את האור, ולכן היא נקראת בשם מאד שהוא מורה על הרבוי וההפלגה. ולפיכך מכוונת היא דרשת רז"ל בכל מאדך בכל מדה ומדה שהוא מודד לך. כי הרגש האהבה שבלב אי אפשר כלל שיהיה מצד הנפש למה שהוא מרגיש ממנו דבר מכאיב, כמו שאהבת החולה לרופא החותך אבר המכאיב אינה מצד הנפש, שהרי נפשו מצטערת במעשה זה, רק מצד הרוח שהוא הרצון המתרשם אחרי שכבר נקבעה בהכרת השכל תכלית הטוב היוצא מזה. אבל אהבה להשי"ת צריכה להתגבר מצד דברים שלא ישער כלל תכלית טובם, רק ימשך לאהבת כבודו הגדול לבדו, וזה לא יתרשם בחלק הרצון ולא יתכן גם מצד הרוח, רק בכל מאדך, שהיא הנשמה, תוכל לבוא אהבה זו, אשר על כל מדה ומדה שהוא מודד לך תהא מודה לו במאד מאד, ברוממות ערך ההרגשה השכלית העליונה. ² The vision of prayer as one’s natural state of being is rooted in the second story of creation, particularly as read through the midrashic lens provided by Rashi (see Bereshit 2:4-8 with Rashi). Rashi (on 2:5), in the words of the midrash, makes it clear all of creation is in a state of potential, in a state of ‘not yet.’ Even the rains themselves await the prayer of man. Rashi then outlines a process in which prayer is man’s tool for moving creation from potential to actual. He says that man was needed to begin working the ground, to see the goodness that rain could bring, to feel its lack in the world and then turn to G–d in prayer. There is a practical approach to prayer which can be explored in this structure, but the question here is – how was Adam to know that rain was good if it had never yet fallen? The answer comes in lines 6 and 7. When G–d forms Adam from the dust of the earth, Rashi notes that the mist which rose from the ground allowed G–d to knead the raw substance of Adam into his form. This means that the water which the world required, which the prayer of man was meant to evoke, was the very stuff of Adam’s being. “The very waters that man is going to pray for, become the stuff of which he is made. Do you realize how deep that is? And I believe the deep understanding of that, is that man is made of that which he prays for in his most initial prayer, because the world, so to speak, produces man, so that man will pray for it.” R. Daniel Kohn ³ Notice that this is a revolution in the traditional understanding of the relationship between Torah learning and prayer. Here the purpose of learning appears to be to give us an orderly conception of the world which will then allow the soul’s prayer to reveal itself to the fullest. Compare to the Maharal at the very end of Netiv haTemimot “Torah comes from the highest source, where as tefillah is the inner source itself, which reaches to the source of highest blessing…” ⁴ The poem Nishmat kol chay is said at the transition in Shabbat morning prayer between psukei d’zimra (songs of preparatory praise) and the acceptance of Divine kingship that comes through saying Shema Yisrael and its blessings. See translation at the end of this comment for more on this transition. The oldest reference to the poem is found on gem. Pesachim 118a, where R. Yochanan says it is the “blessing of the song” named by the Mishna as the concluding blessing to Hallel of seder night, which it remains in the present Haggadah. The standard translation is “let the breath of all living things bless Your name…” In light of the role that the soul’s prayer plays in giving voice to all creation (see paragraphs 6 7 in this section) R’ Kook is pointing a reading as – “let the breath of all Life bless Your Name… (through the soul which reveals herself in prayer as an engagement of the wholeness of creation.) See Olat Reiyah, Pesukei dezimra 122 .

Prayer comes in its perfected form only with the consciousness that the neshamais always praying⁵. Does she not fly, and join to her beloved (Shir haShirim 8:5) without any break⁶ at all? It is only that, in the time of active prayer, the soul’s ceaseless prayer is revealed in actuality. This is her fineness and her pleasure, the glory and beauty of prayer, which is like a rose that opens its fair petals to greet the dew or the sun’s rays which appear on her in her radiance⁷; therefore, “Oh, that one would pray all day long!” (Berachot 21a) ⁸

footnotes: ⁵ “For a person to be praying without this awareness is almost as if prayer is unnatural to his condition, and unnatural to the condition of the world, but for a person to pray with the awareness that really all the time I’m in the state of prayer, it’s just there are times when that comes to manifestation and times when it does not, is to recognize that I’m embedded in something which is the ongoing reality of myself – which is a whole different relationship with the act of praying. It’s not something which is external to what I am. When I come to pray, this is what I am, this is happening now not because I’ve been told to do it, not because I’m under obligation to do it, not even because I currently have a need to be doing it, but rather that all of those circumstances are actually the means by which, and the context within which, I come to the fullness of the expression of what it is that I really am.” R. Daniel Kohn ⁶ The word הפסק means that which separates. In Orot HaTorah 9:7, Rav Kook comments on the mishna in Pirke Avot 3:7 "Rabbi Yaakov said: One who walks on the road while learning and interrupts (ומפסיק) his learning and says: 'How beautiful is this tree! How beautiful is this plowed field!' – The Torah considers it as if is liable to death." He explains that there are many levels of the world. Individuals who possess exalted spirituality obviously see the light of G–d shining in a tree, but the light of G–d which is found in the Torah is even brighter. A tree contains life, but the Torah contains the very source of life. Rav Tzvi Yehudah Kook adds that everything depends on how one looks at the tree: Is it an independent creation detached from the source of life or is it connected to the Living G-d? The problem is when one "interrupts” his learning, meaning that he breaks his connection to G–d in order to relate to the tree as something separate and disconnected. (from R’ Zvi Yehudah Kook, L’Netivot Yisrael vol. 2, p. 144). ⁷ “That’s the beauty, in a sense, of the circularity, or the relational aspect of prayer. It is a calling from G-d. It’s His sun shining on you which is then drawing out of you what it is that he has planted within you: that drive for fulfillment and for wholeness, which is reflected in words in tefillah. And so anytime you experience that movement towards growth and fulfillment, anytime you are expressing in your life, either an aspiration or an activity, that moving towards greater expression of what it is that you are, you are like this flower that is opening up….. But certainly it’s the case that when it comes to the Ribbono Shel Olam, who’s drawing out of our fulfillment, is as it were, drawing out His own fulfillment, because it is He who is us, who is in the expression of our souls.” R. Daniel Kohn ⁸ “This means that prayer, in the externality of the halachic issue, is something you can do anytime, but in the inner understanding of it - prayer is something which is being done all the time” R. Daniel Kohn

Prayer asks that the neshama fulfill her role. When days and years pass without properly aligned⁹ prayer, battering-stones¹⁰ accumulate around the heart, through which we feel an inner spiritual lethargy. And when the good¹¹ spirit¹² returns, and the gift of prayer is given from above, we move forward with each prayer, removing the obstacles, and the many blockages which have gathered in the flowing river of the highest¹³ soul of life begin to clear. And with that neshama elevation gained through each prayer, relative to the value¹⁴ of its time, come known achievements¹⁵ as cures for the deficiencies of the past. Indeed, the lack is not filled all at once, but rather step by step, and the brilliance¹⁶ of prayer progressively reveals its lights.

footnotes: ⁹ The term kavana is central to the practice of prayer, and difficult to translate. Common renderings as ‘focus’ or ‘intention’ strike me as indicative of a process centered outside the self (focus on… intention toward…) Alignment adds the sense of prayer as relationship and right inner orientation of self which allow something to flow through the self (alignment with...) See section 4:8, 11, 12 for further discussion, as well as footnote 17. ¹⁰ Isaiah 8:14. These are the stones which themselves do the damage, as opposed to the stumbling blocks to which they are joined in the verse (seen Malbim ad loc). Perhaps the proper image is that of a rock-like accretion which accumulates around the heart from a lack of proper prayer. Then when you reach for the heart, you hurt yourself on the hard, sharp surface that has built up. This pain breeds lethargy, meaning a lack of desire or motivation to try and touch the heart. ¹¹ Translating the word tov as good is literally accurate, but not so helpful in understanding in context. This is because Hebrew is a word-poor language, and relies on context to communicate nuance of meaning. Therefore understanding the meaning of tov, where ever it is used, comes in context of its classic usages. In the first chapter of Genesis, before we hear of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the tree of moral distinctions, there is good. When G–d looks at creation and sees that it is good, there is no evil to define it by contrast. This is good in the existential sense - that which perfectly conforms to the will of its Creator (see Rashi Bereshit 1:7מעל לרקיע ). Humanity does not have the perfection as a creator to fully actualize our inner conception of the good which we desire be. However, an essential expression of our Divine Image is the ability to recognize the potential good in the world, that which is in a state of “not yet,” and to bring it to fruition through prayer and action (see comments on Rashi Bereshit 2:5 in note 2). After the eating from the tree, our access to good comes through relative experience (good as opposed to evil), and our expression of good through words and deeds that move creation toward a state of deeper Divine intention. Thus the following two definitions offered by R’ Kook in Olat Reiyah Pesukei dezimra 14 - ¹² The good spirit can be understood as a type of Divine spirit which fills man, like ruach hakodesh. Compare Tehillim 143:10 with the comments of the Malbim and the Radak. For a parallel text from R’ Kook see Olat Reiyah, Modeh Ani 2. ¹³ Translating the superlative עליונה poses a similar problem to translating טוב Here are some usages by R’ kook which may suggest its general meaning – עליון – אידיאלי, אצלי, אלוקי (עפ"י א"ק ב שיג, ושם א רלב) רם במעלתו מכל העניינים הזעירים שלבני אדם (עפ"י ע"ר א קיג)Transcendent – ideal, noble, G–dly (Orot Kodesh 2:313, 1:232) Elevated in its level from all the small, human matters (Olat Reiyah I p.113)Additionally, it implies an ideal but dynamic state, one which lies beyond the ability to manifest, but toward which we may continually strive in an asymptotic relationship. ¹⁴ The word erech is rendered as value in the sense of a thing’s place or essential nature in relation to its particular framework ערך – מקומו וענינו (ע"ר א של) ¹⁵ And with each prayer as it comes fit to the system of alignment in time of day, week, month, year unique in the sameness intersecting a moment which will never be again, deficiencies of the past are healed through attaining accomplishments already known. This already known is in the sense of territory which we already have, we are just recovering it in an active sense. See the word’s biblical usage as a portion which we will inherit in the land and recall that inheritance is not like other processes of acquisition. Rather than acquiring something foreign to us, we are growing into something which was inherent but not yet attained. ¹⁶ See Bereshit 6:16, and the midrash Bereshit Rabba 31:11 brought by Rashi on whether the tzohar in Noah’s ark was a window or a gemstone. Is this illumination a window on a different world or a refraction of the light of the soul within?

Prayer actualizes and brings to light, to complete life, that which is hidden in the depths of the neshama. And according to the measure of one’s inner purity, so is the magnitude of the impact of prayer’s appearance when their inner will¹⁷ emerges from their depths, as they turn to the Source of the life of all the souls and all the worlds. Great and wondrous is the effect of their expressions on life. A great light pours forth with a properly derived word,¹⁸ it is taken from secreted storehouses of a rich life, abundant in its opulence. And according to the depth of its inner penetration, so is the scope of the luminous flight which the word reveals, brings to being, births. The clarification of expression elucidates the particulars of this illumination, solidifies existence through a clear and specific desire, and things progressively come to be. It is impossible that prayer not make her impression. Whether she makes her impact according to her particular designated purpose, or sets in motion many complicated paths – these are the wondrous¹⁹ works of the One perfect in knowledge. (Iyov 37:16) In any event, the building of a whole world is revealed in prayer, whether in the one fixed, ordered and equal for all, or in that individual cry which issues from the depths of the heart of each individual and community according to their needs and situation. Together with all of the worldly traits, higher and lower; with all the practical and social, intellectual and artistic aspects through which humanity gradually perfects itself, arriving in a rectified fashion to a sweet and expansive life, the world orders in its exterior and, in known ways, even in its inner state - there comes at the head of all that internal order, the chief cause of all desires: prayer, which adds power and intensity into all the myriad branches of life, to all cultural stratagems and their enhancements, and one will know clearly how to apportion prayer and action, and their inter-inclusion one in the other. “For My House will be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” (Isaiah 56:7)

footnotes: ¹⁷ Shulchan Aruch O’Ch 51:7 requires one to have kavana when saying the verse פותח את ידיך ומשביע לכל חי רצון. Typically this is translated as ‘You open your hand and satisfy the will of every living creature.’ But it can also be read as ‘You satisfy every creature with will.’ The clarification of our will is an essential aspect of prayer. When we tell children to pray for everything, it is because we want them to know that the first reading is true – that for G–d, anything is possible. But as we get older and begin to wonder if the things we want are worth praying for, then prayer becomes an opportunity for clarification of our deeper will. What is it that moves us to pray? There is another level of this question – what is the relationship between the Divine will and my will when I pray? If I am moved to pray because I believe that G–d is all-wise and powerful, then how could I possibly assert my will to say that something in the world ought to be other than He made it? See supplementary text in note 153. For more on kavana, see footnote 9 as well as sections 4:8, 11, 12 in the body of the text ¹⁸ See Shmonah Kvatzim, Kovetz 6:79שטף הדבוריט האדם יכול לדעת את מעמדו הרוחני על פי הבהירות של הדיבור שלו. מה שהאור הנשמתי יותר חי בקרבו, כפי אותה המדה יחוש, איך כל דיבור ודיבור שלו יוצא כחץ, וכשטף מים חיים, ואיך שהוא בא ונמשך ממקור חיים, ופועל את פעולתו בעולם. מובן שהאיכות הפרטית של הפעולה של הדיבור תשוער על פי המדה הפרטית של העילוי הנשמתי, כל חד וחד לפום דרגיה. כשמדבר דברים קדושים, ובקרבו הוא מצטער מפני הופעת הקדושה שמשתפכת בקרבו , ידע שהנפש הטמאה היא מתמעטת והולכת, והיא מתכאבת על פחיתותה שפוחתת, וממילא הטוב מתגבר והולך. ובידיעה זו עצמה, ובאמונה והעמקה בה, הנפש הטהורה מתעוררת בשמחה, ויודעת שהיא מתקדשת ומתעלה, מתרחבת והולכת. ד' עז למו ומעוז ישועות משיחו הוא, ויעלז לבי ומשירי אהודנו. Orot Hakodesh - The flow of speech19. One can know their spiritual standing by the clarity of their expression. The more that the neshama’s light lives within them, to that extent they will feel how each word shoots like an arrow, like a flood of living waters, and how it is drawn from the source of life, making its impact in the world. It is understood that the particular quality of the affect which speech makes is measured by the specific standard of the neshama’s elevation, each according to their level. And when one speaks of holy matters, but feels discomfort because of the holy manifestation pouring out within, know that the impure soul is gradually shrinking away. It is this soul which is pained by its reduction, and of its own accord goodness progressively overcomes. And through this very knowledge, and the deep faith within it, the pure soul awakens in joy, knowing that it is becoming holy, rising up, and spreading out more and more. “The LORD is their strength; He is a stronghold for the deliverance of His anointed,” (Psalms 28:8) “…and my heart exulted, so I will glorify Him with my song.” (Ps. 28:7) ¹⁹ The first usage of peleh is Bereshit 18:14, see Rashi there who offers a definition based on nothing being disconnected from G–d. See also Tomer Devorah 1st chapter - she’erit nachalato. One understanding of peleh is the wonder evoked by opposites which when held in relationship evoke a sense of higher whole. On that note, see this vision of peace from Rav Kook - אמר ר' אלעזר אמר ר' חנינא תלמידי-חכמים מרבים שלום בעולם, שנאמר וכל בניך למודי ד' ורב שלום בניך, אל תקרי בניך אלא בוניך.(ברכות ס"ד.). יש טועים שחושבים, שהשלום העולמי לא יבנה כי-אם ע"י צביון אחד בדיעות ותכונות, וא"כ כשרואים ת"ח חוקרים בחכמה ודעת תורה, וע"י המחקר מתרבים הצדדים והשיטות, חושבים שבזה הם גורמים למחלוקת והפך השלום. ובאמת אינו כן, כי השלום האמתי אי אפשר שיבוא לעולם כי-אם דוקא ע"י הערך של רבוי השלום. הרבוי של השלום הוא, שיתראו כל הצדדים וכל השיטות, ויתבררו איך כולם יש להם מקום, כל אחד לפי ערכו, מקומו וענינו. ואדרבא גם הענינים הנראים כמיותרים או כסותרים, יראו כשמתגלה אמתת החכמה לכל צדדיה, שרק ע"י קיבוץ כל החלקים וכל הפרטים, וכל הדעות הנראות שונות, וכלהמקצעות החלוקים, דוקא על ידם יראה אור האמת והצדק, ודעת ד' יראתו ואהבתו, ואור תורת אמת. על-כן תלמידי חכמים מרבים שלום, כי במה שהם מרחיבים ומבארים ומילדים דברי חכמה חדשים, בפנים מפנים שונים, שיש בהם רבוי וחילוק ענינים, בזה הם מרבים שלום, שנאמר וכל בניך למודי ד'. כי כולם יכירו שכולם גם ההפכים בדרכיהם ושיטותיהם כפי הנראה, המה כולם למודי ד', ובכל אחת מהנה יש צד שתתגלה על ידו ידיעת ד' ואור אמתו. ורב שלום בניך, לא אמר גדול שלום בניך, שהיה מורה על ציור גוף אחד גדול, שאז היו הדברים מתאימים לאותו הרעיון המדומה, שהשלום הוא צריך דוקא לדברים אחדים ושיווי רעיונות, שזה באמת מגרע כח החכמה והרחבת הדעת, כי אור הדעת צריך לצאת לכל צדדיו, לכל הפנים של אורה שיש בו, אבל הרבוי הוא רב שלום בניך, אל תקרי בניך, אלא בוניך, כי הבנין יבנה מחלקים שונים, והאמת של אור העולם תבנה מצדדים שונים ומשיטות שונות, שאלו ואלו דברי אלהים חיים, מדרכי עבודה והדרכה וחנוך שונים, שכ"א תופס מקומו וערכו. ואין לאבד כל כשרון ושלמות כ"א להרחיבו ולמצא לו מקום, ואם תראה סתירה ממושג למושג, בזה תבנה החכמה ביתה, וצריך לעיין בדברים איך למצא את החוק הפנימי שבמושגים, שבזה יתישרו הדברים ולא יהיו סותרים זא"ז, ורבוי הדעות שבא ע"י השתנות הנפשות והחנוכים דוקא הוא הוא המעשיר את החכמה והגורם הרחבתה, שלסוף יובנו כל הדברים כראוי ויוכר שאי אפשר היה לבנין השלום שיבנה כ"א ע"י כל אותן ההשפעות הנראות כמנצחות זא"ז.There are those who mistakenly think that world peace will only be built through a uniformity of opinion and perspective; when they see talmidei chachamim exploring through their wisdom and the knowledge of Torah, and these explorations lead to a multiplicity of sides and approaches, they think that this causes dispute and the opposite of peace. In truth this is not so, because true peace will never come to the world except through the value of multiplying peace. The multiplication of peace is that all the sides and all the methods should be seen, and it be clarified how each has its place, according to its value, place and interest. On the contrary, also that which appears superfluous or contradictory will been seen, when all the facets of true wisdom are revealed, only through the ingathering of all the pieces and particulars, and all the apparently divergent opinions, and all the divided disciplines, especially through them the light of truth and righteousness will appear, and the knowledge of G–d, love and awe of Him and the light of the Torah of truth. Therefore talmidei chachamim increase peace, because in that they expand, clarify and birth new words of wisdom, from different perspectives on diverse and distinct matters, they increase peace, as it says “all of your children will be taught of the Lord…” (Yishayahu 54:13). Because all will recognize that everyone, even those who are apparently opposite in their ways and approaches, they are all learners of G–d, each one reveals a facet to the knowledge of G–d and the light of His truth. “…And your children will have plentiful peace…” it does not say your children will have great peace, which would indicate the image of one great body; then the words would be fitting to that mistaken idea that peace requires uniformity and equivalation of ideas, which in truth reduces the power of wisdom and the expansion of consciousness, because the light of consciousness must unfold in every direction, toward all the facets of light that it contains. This multiplicity is ‘your children will have plentiful peace,’ do not read it as your children (banayich) but rather as your builders (bonyaich), because the structure will be built from different pieces, and the truth of the light of the world will be built from many sides and approaches, because these and those are the words of the living G–d; from various paths of service, and guidance and education, each of which fills its place and value. One should not destroy any ability or wholeness rather he should expand it and find its proper place, and if concepts appear contradictory, through this wisdom builds her house (Mishle 9:1); one needs to delve into how to find the inner precept which is in concepts, because in this, things will be rectified and no longer contradict, and the multiplication of opinions which comes through the differences of soul and education is exactly what enriches wisdom and drives its expansion. In the end all things will be properly built and it will be recognized that the construct of peace was impossible to build except through those influences which appear to battle one another for victory. (Olat HaReiyah)

Prayer deepens within us the highest holy feeling, which is the essence absorbed of the light of the Life-giver²⁰ of the Worlds in our souls; she plants within us holy lights that sprout fruits of salvation. Not only for us isolated individuals in our particularity, but rather everything which prayer does for us and with us is in relation to all that is, to all life and existence according to all their value²¹ – past, present and future. And how wondrous the manifestations, how lofty the scintillations that intensify with each prayer, even when it is haphazard, individual and isolated; and all the more so when fixed²², encompassing and communal. She flows from the transcendent Divine spring in which all that is elevated and holy are combined, all that is raised up, and from which they flow; and to it she returns in mighty strength, in power and potency, filled with the holiest of holy, adding blessing to the wellspring of life, girding the whole Tree of Life and glorifying its branches. Its rivulets join one to another, moistures various and abundant, each one brimming with radiance and light (Iyov 3:4. See also 4:14 below) , filling rivers of delight which satisfy with joy and eternal noble pleasures, united as a source of blessing and rivers of worldly love²³ and abundant love, and blessing and peace for all the cosmos. And when the prayer of Israel is lifted to the holy height, when she is centered in the Land of eternal desire, in the lofty sanctuary of the G–d of the world²⁴, of the Master of all works²⁵, blessed be He, streams flood all the worlds, myriad souls are renewed in the radiance from above, and the transcendent ideals²⁶ are lifted up in holy pride, and the transcendent glory receives blessing forever. ‘Blessed is the glory of G–d from His place.’ (Yechezkiel 3:12)

footnotes: ²⁰ This name of G–d is closely associated in prayer with the conclusion of Pesukei d’Zimra, the songs of praise which precede the declaration of unity found through the shema. As Rav Daniel days “Through Pesukei d’Zimra we have come a little closer to understanding the unity of the individual elements of creation. By calling God ‘Unique One, Life-Giver of the worlds’ at the conclusion of Pesukei d’Zimra and then declaring Him the One ‘who makes light and creates darkness’ at the beginning of the blessings of shema, we are transitioning to a consciousness of the unity of all and of the One who is its root.” Here is a parallel text from R’ Kook which sheds light on his usage of this name of G–d.התשובה העליונה באה מהברקה של הטוב הכללי, של הטוב האלהי השורה בעולמות כולם, אור חי העולמים. נשמת כל האצילית מצטירת לפנינו בהודה וקדושתה, כמה שהלב יכול לספוג ; והלא באמת הכל הוא טוב וישר כל כך, והיושר והטוב שבנו הלא הוא בא מהתאמתנו אל הכל, ואיך אפשר להיות קרוע מן הכל, פרור משונה, מופרד כאבק דק שכלא נחשב. ומתוך הכרה זו, שהיא הכרה אלהית באמת, באה תשובה בחיי הפרט ובחיי הכלל. (אורות התשובה סוף פרק ב(The highest form of repentance comes as a flash from the all-encompassing good, the Divine goodness which dwells in all the world, the light of the Life Giver of the Worlds. The emanated and noble neshama of all is depicted before us in all its majesty and sanctity, to the extent that the heart can absorb. In truth, is everything not absolutely good and right? And are the rectitude and goodness within not the result of harmonizing ourselves with all? How is it possible to be torn from this wholeness, an estranged fragment, separated off like an insignificant mote of dust? From this awareness, which is true Divine awareness, comes repentance in the life of the individual and the all. (Orot HaTeshuva, end of 2nd chapter) See also Kuzari Ma’amar revii, 3 p.162 ²¹ See footnote 14 ²² The role which keviyut, permanence or fixity, plays in prayer has two faces in the mind of the Sages, and in this introduction. The mishna in Pirke Avot 2:18 and Berachot 4:4 warn against making one’s prayer kavuah (see below section 2:3) However the gemara Berachot 6b teaches – “R. Helbo, in the name of R. Huna, says: Whoever has a fixed (kavuah) place for his prayer has the God of Avraham as his help. And when he dies, people will say of him: Where is the pious man, where is the humble man, one of the disciples of Avraham avinu! — How do we know that Avraham Avinu had a fixed place for his prayer? For it is written: And Avraham got up early in the morning to the place where he had stood. And ‘standing’ means nothing other than prayer. For it is said: Then stood up Pinchas and prayed.” Perhaps the resolution lies in the distinction between a prayer which is itself kavuah and one which has a kavuah place (makom.) The significance of the concept of makom is explored in section 2:5. ²³ אהבת עולם – האהבה העולמית. אהבת העולמים כולם, כל היצורים וכל חוג החיים וההויה שלהם. אהבת כל ההויה. תולדתה של האהבה רבה כשיורדת מעולם האצילות לעולם הבריא (עפ"י א"ק ב תמב, תמג)The worldly love, the love of all the worlds, all creatures and categories of life and theire being. Love of all being, a consequence of ahavah rabbah when it descends from the world of Emanation (atzilut) to the world of Creation (briah) adapted from Orot HaKodesh II, 442-443 ²⁴ Translation of God’s name presents a unique challenge. Even were I to be systematic with using specific translations for specific Hebrew terms, this would still not give the reader access to the meaning which these names often embody, in that every name is a modes of relationship between Creator and creation. The various meanings held by these names sometimes influence the reading of the piece as whole. I opted here for maximum readability over any attempt to convey meaning or attain specific consistency. I encourage the English reader to always look at the original name being presented, and ask those working with both texts not to get confused. ²⁵ See Talmud Bavli Chagigah 3b:3-5 for an illumination on the special nature of this Divine name. ²⁶ This word is borrowed from Plato, for whom it refers to an intellectual world of perfect conceptions which are reflected like pale shadows in our sensible world. In truth the concept appears in the Tanach, though not the word – see Iyov 36:3-4 with the Malbim’s comment. There you will see the difference as well. Ultimately the Torah rejects the absolute dualism of ideal and manifest realities, though it embraces the paradoxical tension of essence and form.

Prayer is for us, and for the whole world, an absolute necessity²⁷, and the most fitting pleasure²⁸ among all pleasures. The waves of our soul²⁹ pour outward, and we desire from ourselves and from the world a wholeness of the sort which bounded existence cannot provide³⁰, and because of this we find ourselves mired in great anguish, whose sadness has the potential to remove us from our consciousness of self and of Creator³¹. But before much time passes, before these shallows³² can manifest within us, we come and pray. We pour out our plea and are lifted up to a world of existence whole to the utmost wholeness. Then our inner world is made truly whole, to the utmost wholeness³³, and our consciousness is filled with serenity, and that weight which our inner decision works on existence, of which our inner life is also a part, tips (see Kiddushin 40a, Rambam Hilchot Teshuva 3:4) the entire world to the side of merit.

footnotes: ²⁷ If you don’t really recognize the world as a place that ought to be more perfect, and you don’t live that strain, that desire that the world be more perfect, in such an intense way that you just can’t put up with the world staying the way it is, so you’re really not going to be praying from the place of depth that tefillah is meant to come from. Rav Daniel Kohn ²⁸ Pleasure seems to have gained a bad name in religion, and how many people associate prayer with the experience of pleasure? See the introduction to the Eglei Tal and Tomer Devorah perek sheni which explore oneg Shabbat as the experience of harmonious existence. Here is a line on the subject from R’ Kook Orot Hakodesh IIהרעיון שכל ההויה כולה היא רק ענין האלהות ואין עוד דבר לגמרי מבלעדי ד', הוא מענג את הלב מאד. התענוג הרוחני שהרעיון הזה מסבב הוא המופת על צד האמת המתבטא על ידוThe idea that all existence is Divine, and there is absolutely nothing other than G–d, causes the heart great pleasure. The spiritual pleasure which this notion brings about is indicative of the truth which it expresses.Also taste this wisdom on pleasure from the Holy Rebbe of Piaseczno – אמור מעתה שלא רק מי שזוכה להתלהב אך גם מי שמתרגש, התרגשותו ראשית התגלות הנפש היא אשר עליה גם אור ממרום הופיע, ורגשי ענג עם התרגשות קדש אשר ירגיש האיש בתפלתו, עבודתו ותורתו, הברקת ניצוץ הענג ולהבי קודש מן חלק הגן עדן שלו היא, אשר ירגיש אחר אריכות ימיו ושנותיו בעולם הנצח שלו, בשירתו, תפלתו ותורתו וכשיכסף הוא אליו ותברך, ויבוא ד' להשתעשע בגן עדן עם הצדיקים ועמו. וקדושי החסידות מצאו רמז לזה בדברי הגמרא (ברכות יז) עולמך תראה בחייך, שרמזה הגמרא להאיש, שאת עולמך, עולם העתיד שלך, תוכל לראות בחייך. כי ההתרגשות והענג שאתה מתרגש ומתענג בעבודתך בעולם הזה הארת עולמך של עולם העליון היא.הכשרת אברכים פרק גAnd now we can say that not only one who is on fire with holiness but also one excited by emotion, his excitation is the first step in the revelation of his soul, upon which the light from on high shines; and the feelings of pleasure which one feels in his prayer, his service, his Torah, together with holy excitation, are a flash of the spark of pleasure and holy flames from his portion in Paradise, which he will feel (after a long life) in his eternal world, in his song, prayer and Torah and when he longs for the Holy One and G–d comes to sport with the righteous in Paradise, and with him. And the holy chassidim found a hint to this in the gemara (Berachot 17) “may you see your world in your lifetime.” The gemara is hinting to you that you can see your world, your future world, in this life. Because the emotional excitation and the pleasure which you feel, and the taking of pleasure in your service in this world are a reflection of the light of your portion in the highest world. ²⁹ A wave is an important metaphor which can help us hold the mystery of an existence which is separate but not discreet. A wave is not something other than the sea from which it emerges, it of the same substance but its form is expressive of energy moving through the sea. In the same way, the waves of the soul are not something other than the soul, they are pulses of emotional and spiritual energy which flow through and give specific form in a particular moment. In a sense, this is one way to navigate the relationship between our individuality and the all-encompassing nature of G–d as “there is none beside Him” (Dev. 4:35), we are not other than G–d, but our particular existence gains form through the waves of Divine will we experience, particularly in prayer. The specificity of our lives is shaped by G–d passing through. ³⁰ One of the great mysteries of human existence is the sense of the potential wholeness and perfection which humanity and creation could achieve which so many cultures have, whatever their particular articulation may be. What is the source of this sense? Surely not looking at history or the world round us. Here Rav Kook posits it as a driving force for the constant prayer of the soul, and one might say that if the soul is truly ‘a piece of G–d from on high’ (Job 31:2) as the chassidim teach then it itself is the source of this longing. See section 1:7. ³¹ See gemara Eruvin 41b for the rabbinic usage of this phrase. In general, we must define da’at in order that we can engage in transformative prayer.See Olat Reiyah, Songs for Motzei Shabbat 3 ³² שרטון is a sandbar ³³ By letting the world, the Divine will for wholeness, flow through us we give voice to the most primal desire of creation and become fully participant in its process, no longer a broken of fragment of the world.…והנה השיר מורה על השלמות, שהשמחה וההשגה כשהן מצורפות הוא השלמות האמיתית, וכשהם במילואם ימצא השיר… (עין איה א א ה)…Song indicates the existence of wholeness, because when joy and comprehension are joined this is the true wholeness – and in their fullness is found song… (from Ein Ayah I 1:5)

Prayer is the ideal of all worlds. All being yearns for the source of its life – every sprout and every bush, every grain of sand and clod of earth, everything in which life is revealed and all in which it is hidden, all that is little in creation and all that is great, the heavens above and the fiery holy angels, all particularity in existence, and all its universality – everything moans, longs, yearns and thirsts toward the cherished³⁴ wholeness of its transcendent source, the living, the holy, the pure, the mighty. And man absorbs these yearnings at all times and in every moment, and is lifted up and elevated through his holy pining. The time for the revelation of these longings toward the Divine loftiness comes in prayer³⁵, which strikes waves of light and emerges with vigorous freedom through her holy meditative musings into the Divine expanses. Man lifts up the entire creation through his prayer, and through it unifies with himself all that is, elevating everything, lifting all to the Source of blessing³⁶ and the Source of life³⁷.

footnotes: ³⁴ חמדת. Compare the obvious negative usage in Shemot 20:14 and Devarim 5:18 to Berachot 48: on eretz chemda. Also see Daniel’s G–dly name Daniel 10:11 ³⁵ The presentation of prayer as an articulation of the yearning creation feels for source brings this section full circle. The constant prayer of the neshama, which depends on the entirety of Torah to move from hidden to revealed, is now expressing the yearning of all creation for its source. In a sense man, through the work of Torah, expresses the desire of creation for Creator, which is the reason for which he was created – to be the voice of creation in its passionate relationship to Creator. ³⁶ יסוד האור העליון אשר ממנו נתייסדה תולדת ישראל, יסוד עולם שהוא קודם ונעלה מכל הגבלה וחוקיות מוטבעה (עפ"י אג' ג נח)The foundation of the transcendent light, from which was established the unfolding process of Israel, the foundation of the world which precedes and transcends any limitation or law imbedded in creation (adapted from Iggerot 3, 58) ³⁷ מקור החיים – מקור אין סוף, "פלג אלוקים מלא מים" (פנק' א תג) The source of the infinite, “the pool of G–d, filled with water” (Pinkas 1, 403)