It states,¹⁷¹ “If I am not for myself, who is for me?” During prayer, one must be divested of physicality. This is the meaning of, “If I am not for myself.” That is to say, when “I am divested of physicality,” then “who is for me?” That is, “I will certainly be unafraid of extraneous thoughts.” The Mishnah continues, “But if I am for myself, then what am I?” In other words, “when I am self-aware, then I will be beset by many extraneous thoughts.”

footnotes: ¹⁷¹ Mishnah Avot 1:14

The statement,¹⁷² “If I am here, everything is here, and if I am not here, who is here?” may be understood in the same vein.

footnotes: ¹⁷² Talmud Bavli, Sukkah 53a