"A prayer of the poor"

184. If the prayer is not complete, many demons pursue it, as it is written: "All her prosecutors overtook her within the straits" (Eichah 1:3). This is why people pray, "But He was full of compassion, forgiving iniquity... (Heb. vehu rachum...)" (Tehilim 78:38) AGAINST THE FOUR KLIPOT. "INIQUITY" REFERS TO Samael, who is the Serpent; "and He did not destroy" alludes to the Angel of Destruction; "often He turned away His anger" refers to THE KLIPAH CALLED anger; and "not stirring up all His wrath" refers to THE KLIPAH CALLED wrath. AND WE PRAY that these FOUR KLIPOT do not pursue the prayer, as many demons are attached to these KLIPOT. There are seven ministers, who have seventy more attached to them. Those seventy bring allegations in each and every firmament through which the prayer passes and 700 million demons are attached to them.

185. If the prayer ascends complete, with the precept of covering of TALIT AND Tefilin of the head and of the arm, it is said of them: "All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of Hashem; and they shall be afraid of you" (Devarim 28:10). The phrase: "The name of Hashem" has already been explained as the Tefilin of the head. Whoever sees the name Yud Hei Vav Hei over the head in the prayer, which is THE NAME Adonai, shall immediately flee, as it is written: "A thousand shall fall at your side" (Tehilim 91:7).

186. Because Jacob saw through the Holy Spirit the oppression of the last exile, in the end of days, it is said of him, "Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed" (Beresheet 32:8). As a result, he divided the holy nation in exile into three parts, as it is written: "And he put the handmaids and their children foremost" (Beresheet 33:2). THIS MEANS at first in the exile of Edom, "and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph last of all." Because he saw their eventual poverty and suffering, HE PRAYED FOR THEM: "So that I come back to my father's house in peace" (Beresheet 28:21), SO THAT THEY MAY HAVE THE MERIT TO BE REDEEMED AND RETURN TO THE TEMPLE. He said IN PRAYER: "And will give me bread to eat, and clothing to wear" (Ibid.), THAT THE KLIPOT WILL NOT OVERCOME THEM TO STOP THEIR ABUNDANCE.

187. Because of this exile, David described THE SHECHINAH AS "hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness" (II Shmuel 17:29), because he saw the Shechinah desolate and withering and then joined in her sorrow. After he saw that the children of Yisrael repented with joy, he composed ten types of psalms. At the end of them all, he said, it is written: "A prayer of the afflicted (lit. 'poor'), when he faints..." (Tehilim 102:1). This prayer encompasses all other prayers AND ASCENDS BEFORE ALL OTHER PRAYERS. THE OTHER PRAYERS, SUNG WITH A MELODY, ARE DELAYED IN BEING PRESENTED BEFORE THE KING, AND DO NOT ENTER, UNTIL THE PRAYER OF THE POOR DOES. This is why THE PRAYER OF the poor comes before all the others.

188. HE ASKS: Which is the prayer of the poor? HE ANSWERS: It is the evening prayer, WHICH IS THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE WHEN SHE IS ON HER OWN WITHOUT HER HUSBAND. Since she is without her husband, she is poor and withered, LACKING ALL ABUNDANCE, and may be taken freely by anyone, MEANING THAT ANYONE MAY ENSLAVE HER FOR HIS OWN PURPOSES. The Righteous are withered and poor. This refers to the seed of Jacob, which is under the rule of all nations of the world; THAT IS, ALL NATIONS ENSLAVE THEM AND RULE OVER THEM. This is similar to the evening prayer, because it is the aspect of night in the exile. JUST AS THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE IN THE ASPECT OF THE EVENING PRAYER IS FREE FOR THE TAKING BY ALL, THE DESCENDANTS OF JACOB IN EXILE ARE UNDER THE RULE OF THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD.

189. The prayer of Shabbat is a charity given to the poor, as the sages of the Mishnah explained that the sun during Shabbat is charity given to the poor. Therefore, on all weekdays, a person should make himself a pauper at the gate of the King during the prayer of Amidah for the sake of the Shechinah, WHICH MEANS THAT HE SHOULD PARTICIPATE IN THE SORROW OF THE SHECHINAH, AS DID DAVID. He should cover himself with the proper vestments, NAMELY TALIT WITH TZITZIT, as a poor man stands at the gate to the temple OF THE KING, who is Adonai, because THE NUMERICAL VALUE OF 'ADONAI' adds up to that of 'temple' (Heb. heichal). This is WHY IT IS SAID, "Adonai, open my lips..." (Tehilim 51:17).

190. When a person opens his lips during the weekdays at Arvit (the evening prayer), an eagle descends to carry the prayer of the night upon its wings. THIS EAGLE IS CALLED Nuriel. It is called Uriel from the aspect of Chesed and Nuriel from the aspect of Gvurah, which is a burning fire about which it is written: "A fiery stream issued and came forth" (Daniel 7:10).

191. During Shacharit (the morning prayer), the lion descends to receive the prayer with its arms and wings - every living creature has four wings. This is THE ANGEL Michael. During Minchah (the afternoon prayer), the ox descends to receive the prayer with its horns and wings, and this is THE ANGEL Gabriel.

192. On Shabbat, the Holy One, blessed be He - ZEIR ANPIN - descends with the three patriarchs - CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET - to receive His only daughter through them, REFERRING TO THE PRAYER WHICH IS THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE. This is the secret of Shabbat WHICH CONSISTS OF Shin and Bat (Eng. 'daughter'). THE THREE LINES OF THE LETTER SHIN REFER TO THE THREE PATRIARCHS. THROUGH THEM, THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, RECEIVES THE PRAYER, SHABBAT, HIS ONLY DAUGHTER. At that time, the celestial living creatures that are called by the name Yud Hei Vav Hei say, as it is written: "Lift up your heads, O you gates; and lift them up, you everlasting doors; that the King of glory may come in" (Tehilim 24:9).

193. At this time, seven chambers are opened. The first chamber is the chamber of love, the second is the chamber of awe, the third is the chamber of mercy, the fourth is the chamber of prophecy FROM THE ASPECT of the shining mirror, the fifth is the chamber of prophecy FROM THE ASPECT of the opaque mirror, the sixth is the chamber of justice and the seventh chamber is in the chamber of judgment. THESE CHAMBERS CORRESPOND TO THE SEVEN SFIROT. THE CHAMBER OF LOVE IS CHESED, AWE IS GVURAH, MERCY IS TIFERET, THE SHINING MIRROR IS NETZACH, THE OPAQUE MIRROR IS HOD, JUSTICE IS YESOD AND JUDGMENT IS MALCHUT.

194. About them, it is written: "Beresheet" which consists of bara sheet (Eng. 'created six'), ALLUDING TO THE CREATION OF THE SIX CHAMBERS; and Elohim is in the seventh chamber. There are seven chambers below, and seven chambers above. The seven voices that correspond to them APPEAR IN THE PSALM, "Ascribe to Hashem" (Tehilim 29), which includes eighteen mentions OF THE NAME YUD HEI VAV HEI. By these mentions, the Holy One, blessed be He, glides through eighteen worlds ACCORDING TO THE SECRET OF THE VERSE: "The chariots of Elohim are twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands..." (Tehilim 68:18) and there are 180,000 worlds. Many guardians of the gates stand before the chambers to receive the prayers and no prayer enters without being measured and weighed.

195. No one can stand before the gate of prayers AND PREVENT ANY PRAYER FROM ENTERING. Of such a one it is written: "They shall not be put to shame, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate" (Tehilim 127:5). This is the gate of the King, NAMELY THE GATE OF THE CHAMBER. Since the prayer is a precept and is the Shechinah, NAMELY THE FEMALE PRINCIPLE OF ZEIR ANPIN, and the Torah is the Holy One, blessed be He, NAMELY ZEIR ANPIN, they must not be separated. The Torah and the precept should be elevated with love and awe. All the precepts, positive and negative, derive from the name Yud Hei Vav Hei as this secret has been explained. The letters in "My name (Heb. shmi)" together with the letters Yud-Hei ADD UP TO 365 negative precepts, and "My memorial (Heb. zichri)" (Shemot 3:15) together with the letters Vav-Hei ADD UP TO 248 positive precepts. So here, IN THE NAME YUD HEI VAV HEI, there are 365 NEGATIVE PRECEPTS and 248 POSITIVE PRECEPTS, NAMELY 365 FROM THE LETTERS YUD-HEI AND 248 FROM THE LETTERS VAV-HEI. HENCE, ALL 613 PRECEPTS EXTEND FROM THE NAME YUD HEI VAV HEI.

196. There are the 248 words in the reading of Sh'ma that were given in love and awe, and that are contained in the letter Hei OF THE NAME YUD HEI VAV HEI. Therefore, THE BLESSING 'He who chooses His nation Yisrael with love' is RECITED BEFORE THE READING OF SH'MA TO INDICATE THAT WE DRAW SOLELY THE ASPECT OF LOVE, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE 248 POSITIVE PRECEPTS. These 248 POSITIVE PRECEPTS are included within Abraham, BECAUSE THE NUMERICAL VALUE OF ABRAHAM EQUALS 248 AND HE IS THE ASPECT OF LOVE. It is written of him: "The seed of Abraham My friend" (Yeshayah 41:8).

197. NOTE: THIS PARAGRAPH STARTS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ISSUE. TEFILIN SYMBOLIZE STRENGTH, AS THEY WERE GIVEN FROM THE ASPECT OF AWE, WHICH IS THE LEFT. THIS IS THE NAME "THE FEAR OF ISAAC," BECAUSE ALL THE PROSECUTORS ASCEND TO DEMAND ALL THE JUDGMENTS THROUGHOUT THE WORLDS. THUS, IT IS WRITTEN: "AND BY THE ARM OF HIS STRENGTH" (YESHAYAH 62:8), WHICH REFERS TO THE TEFILIN BECAUSE YUD-HEI IS THE ASPECT OF AWE AND VAV-HEI IS THE ASPECT OF LOVE. THIS IS WHY IT IS WRITTEN: "LOVE HASHEM, ALL HIS PIOUS ONES" (TEHILIM 31:24). BUT TIFERET OF YUD HEI VAV HEI COMPRISES ALL, AS IT IS THE CENTRAL COLUMN, WHICH INCLUDES THE OTHER TWO COLUMNS, ABRAHAM WHO IS VAV-HEI AND ISAAC WHO IS YUD-HEI. HENCE IT SAYS OF JACOB, "AND, BEHOLD, HASHEM STOOD ABOVE IT (OR: 'HIM')" (BERESHEET 28:13). THIS WAS NOT MENTIONED IN RELATION TO ABRAHAM OR ISAAC, BECAUSE JACOB IS THE ASPECT OF TIFERET, WHICH IS ALL-INCLUSIVE, SINCE IT IS THE CENTRAL COLUMN. WHEN CALLED BY THE NAME JACOB, HE INCLUDES THE ATTRIBUTE OF ABRAHAM, VAV-HEI, AND THE 248 POSITIVE PRECEPTS. LATER, WHEN HE WAS CALLED ISRAEL, he rose by Yud-Vav-Dalet, Hei-Aleph, Vav-Aleph-Vav, Hei-Aleph. The secret of YUD HEI VAV HEI, FULLY SPELLED WITH ALEPH, APPEARS IN THE EXPRESSION THAT Yisrael was thought of to be created because thought (Heb. machshavah) consists of the letters Chashav-Mah (thought Mem-Hei). MEM-HEI REFERS TO YUD HEI VAV HEI, FULLY SPELLED WITH ALEPH in which the Holy Name lies. Because of Jacob, who is called Israel, it is written: "So Elohim created man in His own image" (Beresheet 1:27) after the likeness of his Master.

198. Children, longevity and sustenance are DRAWN DOWN TO THE LOWER BEINGS ONLY through the aspect of the central pillar, about which it is written: "Yisrael is My son, My firstborn" (Shemot 4:22). This is the Tree of Life, AS IT IS WRITTEN: It is a tree "with food for all" (Daniel 4:9). As for THE SHECHINAH, WHICH DWELLS AMONG THE LOWER BEINGS ONLY, Yisrael below is considered Her life, the Torah Her sustenance, and prayer an offering - WHICH OFFERS THE SHECHINAH FOR A UNION WITH ZEIR ANPIN. During the exile, it is said THAT THE SHECHINAH SAID TO HER HUSBAND, ZEIR ANPIN, "Give me children, or else I die" (Beresheet 30:1).

199. The Shechinah is an offering for the Holy One, blessed be He, which He receives with both the right and the left arm, and with the body. HIS MATING WITH HER IS ACCOMPLISHED BY THE RIGHTEOUS, WHO IS YESOD THAT IS CALLED THE SIGN. THIS IS THE SIGN OF THE TEFILIN, OF SHABBAT AND OF THE HOLIDAYS. So when PRAYER, WHICH IS THE SHECHINAH, ascends to ZEIR ANPIN, she should be joined with him with all ten Sfirot, because there can be no holiness with fewer than ten people, which is his own holiness - HIS BLESSING AND UNITY. Therefore, when a person wishes his prayer to ascend, he should raise it with all its movement, NAMELY THE MOVEMENT OF THE CANTILLATION MARKS AND THE VOWELS - BECAUSE THE LETTERS ARE THE HORSES, THE VOWELS THE HORSEMEN, AND THE CANTILLATION MARKS THE WEAPONS. If the Serpent plans on disrupting the prayer, one should prepare a slingshot against it, and the secret behind the issue lies in Zarka, Makaf, Shofar Holech, Segolta IN THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE.