Likutay Moharan - Torah-teaching 97

Torah 97: G-d, Be Not Silent to You, Be Not Deaf and Be Not Still, G-d

[In the Words of the Colleagues]

G-d, be not silent to You; be not deaf and be not still, G-d (Psalms 83).

The matter is as follows: It is known that there is a place above called Eldad and Meidad, from where abundance [shefa] descends to the world, for the two letters alef-lamed are dad [breast], and the two letters mem-yud are dad (as brought in Likutei Torah of the Ari, Parashat Behaalotecha). And the abundance is called hei, as it is written (Genesis 47): “Here is seed for you.” And the Name Elokim is completed from shalem [complete]. But sometimes, due to our many sins, there is a withdrawal of the abundance, and from the hei is made a dalet, in the name of “it has nothing of its own” [dalit la mah gara]. And every individual of Israel must hasten oneself to make from the dalet a hei. And how does one make from the dalet a hei? (Psalms 60): “Gilead is Mine, and Menasheh is Mine; Ephraim is the strength of My head; Yehudah is My lawgiver.” The explanation is as follows: Before the creation of the world, Hashem, blessed be He, adorned and beautified Himself with the prayers and good deeds of the tzadikim that He foresaw would exist, for through their good deeds, they would rule with their prayers and accomplish whatever they desire, in the manner of: “The tzadik rules the fear of G-d” (II Samuel 23) (see Mo’ed Katan 16). And every individual of Israel can attain this level, to rule with one’s prayer, except that there are two hindrances. One is before the prayer, namely, that one stands to pray in greatness, whether because one is of great lineage or because one has toiled and labored in the service of the Creator. And because of this, it is impossible for one’s prayer to have dominion. Rather, one must forget all this, and imagine as if one was created today, and one is alone in the world. And this is the aspect of Menasheh, in the language of forgetfulness [nishyan v’shichchah] (Genesis 41): “For G-d has made me forget all my father’s house,” this is the lineage, “and all my toil,” that one has toiled in the service of the Creator.

And the second hindrance is during the prayer, for due to previous sins committed willfully, or willful thoughts, foreign thoughts [machshavot zarot] fall into one’s prayer. And because of the foreign thoughts, it is also impossible to rule with one’s prayer. Therefore, one must break the foreign thoughts through holy thoughts of the prayer. And through this, the willful acts, namely, the foreign thoughts, become like merits for one. And this is the aspect of Ephraim, as it is written (Genesis 41): “For G-d has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.” The explanation: For the thing that was in poverty previously, namely, dry and barren, through holy thoughts becomes like merits. And when one prays with these two aspects, Menasheh and Ephraim mentioned above, then certainly one attains humility and lowliness (Proverbs 22): “The reward of humility is the fear of Hashem.” It follows that one also prays with fear [yir’ah], and fear is called kingship [Malchut], as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Pirkei Avot, Chapter 3): “Were it not for the fear of the kingship…” It follows that the prayer has the aspect of kingship, and such a prayer has the aspect of dominion [memshalah]. And this is the delight [ta’anug] of Hashem, blessed be He, and the will of the Creator is fulfilled. And what was initially only this delight that Hashem, blessed be He, foresaw from afar, that there would be tzadikim who would pray in this manner, and from this delight the world was created with ten utterances [ma’amarot], all the more so now, when this delight comes, that Hashem, blessed be He, renews His world with ten utterances, as it is written: “And in His goodness He renews every day continually the work of creation.” And this is the meaning of the verse: “Gilead is Mine,” in the language of gal ed [reveal the witness], that the delight that Hashem, blessed be He, had before the creation of the world, adorning and beautifying Himself with the prayers of the tzadikim, when one attains the two aspects of Menasheh and Ephraim, as mentioned above. “The strength of My head,” namely, that one strengthens the holy thoughts. “Yehudah is My lawgiver,” and Rashi explains: in the language of authority and kingship [Malchut], namely, that the prayer will have dominion, and the aforementioned delight will be revealed, and one will renew one’s world with ten utterances, as mentioned above. And the ten utterances mentioned above are yud, yud and dalet mentioned above, made into hei (Psalms 89): “I have said,” namely, the utterances: “The world is built with kindness [chesed],” and kindness is called El, as it is said (Psalms 52): “The kindness of El all the day.” And this is the meaning of the verse: “G-d, be not silent to You,” namely, when You see that from the Name Elokim are made the letters al domi [be not silent], namely, that from the hei is made a dalet, say to Yourself: “Be not deaf and be not still, El,” that You should see to arouse the aspect of El through prayer with the two aspects mentioned above, and through this make from the dalet a hei, as mentioned above. And then is made alef-lamed the aspect of dad, and mem-yud the aspect of dad, and the hei is the abundance, for the hei in its three forms [tziyurim] is numerically chalav [milk], including the two inclusions [kelalot], as known to those who know grace (see Ma’orei Or, entry chalav, and see Etz Chaim, Sha’ar HaKelalim, Chapter 3).