English translation — ויצא ב

Talk, p. 125

A.

We learned

: "The morning prayer until midday..

The afternoon prayer until evening..

The evening prayer has no fixed time".

And already the commentators stood

on the reason for the change,

that regarding the Shema the Tanna began

with the Shema of the evening

("From when do we recite the Shema in the evenings"),

while here regarding prayer the prayers were taught in the order of morning, afternoon, and evening.

And it is more difficult for the one who holds in the Gemara<sup>3</sup>,

that the reason he began with the evening Shema is like the creation of the world, as it is written<sup>4</sup>

"And there was evening and there was morning, one day"

[And not because it relies on the verse "when you lie down and when you rise up",

for "if so, the verse does not insist except on the Shema"<sup>*4</sup>],

And if so, also in the order of prayers it should have been taught thus.

And they explained,

that prayer is different from Shema,

for regarding the essence of the institution of prayer, the order of prayers is — morning, afternoon, evening: according to the one who holds<sup>5</sup>

"Prayers were instituted by the Patriarchs" — Abraham instituted the morning prayer, Isaac the afternoon prayer, and Jacob the evening prayer<sup>6</sup>,

and according to the one who holds<sup>6</sup>

"Prayers were instituted corresponding to the daily offerings",

then morning and afternoon correspond to the two daily offerings,

and evening corresponds to "the limbs and fats that were not consumed in the evening are offered and go on all night"<sup>7</sup>,

and it is found that the evening prayer is the last prayer,

just as the offering of limbs and fats at night is the completion of the offerings that were offered during the day.

And superficially it is puzzling from that which is brought in the Gemara<sup>8</sup>

: "He erred and did not pray the evening prayer, he prays in the morning two,

the morning prayer he prays in the afternoon two..

It was asked of them: He erred and did not pray the afternoon prayer, what is the law that he should pray the evening prayer two,

If you say: He erred and did not pray the evening prayer, he prays the morning prayer two, because it is one day, as it is written<sup>4</sup>

And it was evening and it was morning, one day, but here, prayer is in place of a sacrifice, and since its day has passed, his sacrifice is void,

Or perhaps, since prayer is mercy, whenever he wants he prays and goes."

Behold it is explained,

that the order of the three prayers is — evening, morning, afternoon,

according to the order of "the creation of the world"

(like the Shema),

"One day..

And it was evening and it was morning, one day",

and therefore it would enter your mind to say that it is impossible to complete the afternoon prayer in the evening prayer that follows,

since its day has already passed<sup>9</sup>

(And also according to the conclusion that we do not say "its day has passed, his sacrifice is void",

this is only according to<sup>10</sup>

<pg>126</pg>

Prayer is mercy, whenever one wishes to pray, one may pray).

And so we find in the Gemara¹¹

: "One might think a person may pray all day long; it is already explained by Daniel¹²

three times etc..

One might think he may include them all at once,

it is already explained by David, as it is written¹³

evening and morning and noon etc." — behold, the order of the prayers is "evening and morning and noon"¹⁴.

2.

And one must say the explanation in this:

Known is the rule in halacha¹⁵,

that "in the work of creation the day follows the night",

and "in holy matters the night follows the day".

And based on this, it can be said,

that the two orders of the three prayers,

whether the evening prayer is the conclusion of the three prayers

(night follows after the day),

or that it is the beginning of the three prayers

(the day follows after the night),

depends on whether prayer is in the category of "holy things" or in the category of "the work of creation".

And it can be said that both are present in it,

that there is in the matter of prayer the category of "holy things",

from which side "night follows after the day"¹⁶

and the order of the prayers is morning, afternoon, evening; and also the category of "the work of creation" in which "the day follows after the night",

and according to this the order of the prayers is — evening, morning, afternoon^*16.

Behold,

In the essence of prayer we find two matters:

On the one hand, prayer is "service of the heart",

and as our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said¹⁷

that the obligation of prayer is learned from what is said¹⁸

"and to serve Him with all your heart" — "Which is the service that is in the heart? You must say this is prayer"; and on the other hand,

the simple explanation of "prayer" is from the language of request,

namely, that a person asks for his needs from the Holy One, blessed be He.

These two matters — service of the heart and requesting one's needs — are completely different from each other,

for "service of the heart" means

(according to the simple meaning of the expression)

— to serve G‑d,

whose content is acceptance of the yoke of the kingdom of heaven and attachment to G‑d¹⁹,

and as it is stated in the Mishnah²⁰

that "the early pious ones would wait one hour and then pray in order to direct their hearts to their Father in heaven",

and it is explained in the Tur²¹,

"<pg>127</pg>

that they would seclude themselves and concentrate in their prayer until they would reach a state of divestment from physicality and strengthening of the intellectual spirit until they would reach close to the level of prophecy",

and it is understood simply,

that when they were in this state of connection "to the Master of all, blessed be He, with fear and intense love and true attachment"²²,

they do not think about their own needs²³.

But they are the two definitions in prayer: "service of the heart",

which is the attachment to G-d,

this is like the definition of "holy things"²⁴

[For just as the matter of the sacrifices in its simple sense,

which is an offering to G-d and in the house of G-d,

so is the matter of prayer,

that a person stands before G-d²⁵,

and also the content of the service is the attachment to G-d

(in the manner of the offering to G-d)]

; and the request for needs in prayer is in the manner and matter of "the work of creation",

that a person thinks about his own needs.

3.

And behold,

for practical law we hold

(as above)

that the order of the prayers is evening, morning, and afternoon,

therefore there is not even a possibility in the Gemara¹⁰

that one can complete the afternoon prayer in the evening prayer because it is the conclusion of the three prayers,

and it is proven that the order of the prayers according to law is evening, morning, afternoon.

And one can say the reason for the matter,

for according to halachah,

the obligation and the law of the mitzvah of prayer is the request of one's needs

(which is the definition of "Maaseh Bereishis" in prayer as above),

that this is the essence of the object of prayer; but "avodah shebalev" is only a description of the state of the person praying,

for in order that the object of the request of one's needs be as required, the person must be in a state of "avodah shebalev",

and without it there is a deficiency in the request itself,

but nevertheless this is not the essence of prayer.

And based on this one can explain the words of the Rambam at the beginning of Hilchos Tefillah: "It is a positive commandment to pray every day, as it is said²⁶

And you shall serve the L-rd your G-d,

from the oral tradition they learned that this service is prayer, as it is said¹⁸

And to serve Him with all your heart, the Sages said²⁷

Which is the service of the heart? This is prayer."

And already the commentators asked&lt;sup&gt;28&lt;/sup&gt;,

why did the Rambam bring the verse "and you shall serve the Lord your God",

behold without this he needs to bring the verse "and to serve Him with all your heart" that only from it we learn that it refers to prayer,

"which is the service that is in the heart, that is prayer"

(but not so in the verse "and you shall serve the Lord your God" that it is not explained therein "heart",

there is no compulsion that it refers specifically to prayer)

— and if so, he should have brought only the verse of "and to serve Him with all your heart"&lt;sup&gt;29&lt;/sup&gt;.

And one can say based on what is said in Kiryat Sefer&lt;sup&gt;30&lt;/sup&gt;,

that from the verse "and you shall serve etc." we learn that "it is a positive commandment to pray every day",

because "it is adjacent to its end &lt;pg&gt;128&lt;/pg&gt;

The verse that is written "And I will bless your bread and your water etc." which is a need of every day, likewise prayer every day.

("Why&lt;sup&gt;31&lt;/sup&gt;

you ask for your needs in it").

And based on this, one can say,

that the difference between the two verses "And you shall serve etc." and "And to serve Him with all your heart" is: the main emphasis in the verse "And you shall serve etc." is on the request for needs

(as it says afterwards "And I will bless your bread etc."),

whereas in the verse "And to serve Him with all your heart" only the matter of service of the heart is stated.

And this is what the Rambam&lt;sup&gt;32&lt;/sup&gt; teaches us

in that he prefaced the verse "And you shall serve etc.",

because the essence of the commandment of prayer is the request for one's needs,

and that prayer is "service of the heart" is only so that this request should be as proper,

"with request and supplication"

(in the language of the Rambam&lt;sup&gt;33&lt;/sup&gt;),

that this is only when the speech of prayer is from the feeling of the heart,

and therefore a person needs to arouse his heart properly,

so that then his request for needs is as befits one who requests his needs from the king.

[Regarding what we find in prayer itself,

that the order of prayer is,

that at first "one recounts the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He, and afterwards asks for his needs that he requires in request and supplication, and afterwards gives praise and thanks to God for the good that He has bestowed upon him"&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;,

that is to say,

that in order that his request for his needs be in a fitting manner,

one must precede it with an arrangement of the praise of the Omnipresent

(and likewise to conclude with praise etc.)].

4.

Explanation of the two above orders in the three prayers in the service of God,

will be understood by prefacing the inner explanation of the above general principle of "in the work of creation the day follows the night",

and "in holy matters the night follows the day",

that they are two orders in the service of God

[for the general principle of "in the work of creation the day follows the night" applies also to matters of commandment and service of God that are connected to time,

that the day follows the night].

Explanation of the concept³⁵

:

"Maaseh Bereishis" indicates the service to bring holiness into worldly matters,

and "Kodashim" is the service in matters where holiness is revealed in them.

And so it is in the service of each and every individual in particular,

that man is comprised of soul and body: "Kodashim" indicates the service that brings about the revelation of the holiness of the soul,

which is "literally a part of G-d above"³⁶

; and "Maaseh Bereishis" is the service of refining the body

(and likewise worldly matters).

And this is also the reason for the difference,

that "in the work of creation the day follows the night,"

and "in holy matters the night follows the day":

In "holy matters"

(also)

the beginning is with "day" and light,

since all his involvement is in matters where holiness is in revelation

(light and revelation)

; and afterwards he ascends from strength to strength,

to add and ascend in the light of holiness

(as the rule³⁷

we ascend in holiness),

from this it is understood,

that not only is the "night" that comes after the "day"

(in holy matters)

also a matter of light and holiness,

but furthermore,

that this "night" is superior to the light of the day that <pg>129</pg>

before Him

— for in “light” itself there are two modes: light of day,

i.e., a Divine revelation that can be received by man in a way that he remains in existence; and a higher light,

a hidden light,

called by the name “darkness”³⁸

because it is beyond man’s comprehension,

and when this level is revealed, it acts upon man that he become nullified from his existence³⁹

;

And this is that "in holy matters, night follows the day",

that the beginning is in the matter of revealed light,

and afterwards they arrive at a more elevated light,

a hidden light,

which is above the category of created beings.

But not so in "the work of creation, day follows night",

and in the order of "the creation of the world..

And there was evening

(and afterwards)

and there was morning",

"First darkness and then light"⁴⁰

— because the purpose of this service is the action in the world,

and therefore the beginning of the service is from "night",

for at the beginning of the service the world is in a state of "darkness",

world from the term concealment⁴¹,

that holiness is not visible and revealed in it; and through the service of man they come from "night" to "day",

that they illuminate the darkness,

until they transform the darkness itself into light.

5.

And from this it will be understood also regarding the matter of prayer,

that there are these two orders in it:

In the service of prayer there are⁴²

: the effort to reveal the light of his soul,

through the arousal of love of G-d and fear of Him in his heart

(and this is the "service of the heart" which is in prayer)

; and afterwards there is the speech of prayer,

that the intention of the heart is not sufficient,

but one must articulate the words of prayer with the physical lips⁴³,

and as is explained at length in the book of Tanya⁴⁴,

that this is because the purpose of prayer is to refine the body and the animal soul within a person,

for which one needs

(also)

the speech of prayer.

And they are the two orders that are in the three prayers:

Regarding the attachment of the soul to G‑d,

behold, the beginning of the day's service is in the morning prayer,

day and light; and the conclusion and completeness of this attachment are in the evening prayer,

for then a person reaches the hidden light that is above the category of created beings,

which works in him a state of absolute self-nullification to the Holy One, blessed be He.

[And it is found,

that from the aspect of this definition in prayer,

the Evening Prayer is above the Morning and Afternoon Prayers⁴⁵

; and this corresponds with that specifically our father Jacob instituted the Evening Prayer,

for Jacob is the chosen among the patriarchs⁴⁶].

But for halachah we hold

(as above),

that the order of the three prayers is Evening, Morning, and Afternoon,

for the ultimate intention of the creation of the world and the descent of the soul below is specifically to make for Him a dwelling place in the lower realms,

as explained at length in the Tanya⁴⁷,

namely in this physical world which is "the lowest..

than which there is no lower beneath it in the matter of concealment of His light and double and redoubled darkness",

<pg>130</pg>

And this is by means of transforming the darkness of the world into light;

And so it is regarding the matter of prayer,

that the main aspect of prayer is the speech of prayer,

by which is effected the refinement of the body and the animal soul,

the service specifically in the place of darkness,

and therefore the order of the prayers is evening, morning, afternoon,

that the service is in the place of darkness,

and through this they ascend from level to level,

in drawing down holiness into darkness,

until they transform the darkness into light.

And according to this order,

the evening prayer is the beginning of the service,

and the conclusion and completion of the three prayers is in the afternoon prayer.

And this corresponds with what is explained in many places⁴⁸

that the main virtue of the afternoon prayer is in that its time is in the middle of the day,

when a person is occupied with his livelihood etc. and nevertheless he interrupts and stands to pray,

and this is the virtue of the service specifically as it is connected with worldly matters.

[And these two orders are also hinted at in the wording of the blessings of the Shema of the evening prayer — "He rolls away light from before darkness and darkness from before light"⁴⁹

: "He rolls away light from before darkness" emphasizes that the darkness

(night)

comes after the light

(day),

which is according to the order that the evening prayer is the conclusion of the day's service; "and darkness from before light" means that the darkness of night is a preparation for the light of the following day,

corresponding to the order of evening, morning, and afternoon].

And it is to say,

that this is also the reason that the Minchah prayer is connected with Elijah the prophet,

herald of the redemption⁵⁰,

"A person should always be careful with the Minchah prayer, for Elijah was not answered except through the Minchah prayer"⁵¹

— because this is the elevation of the days of Mashiach,

that then "the physicality of the body and the world will be refined and they will be able to receive the revelation of the light of G-d that will shine to Israel"⁵²,

and in a manner that "the darkness of the nations will also be illuminated"⁵²,

that the entire world will become a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He.

(From the talk of the night of 6 Tishrei 5745)