Likutay Moharan - Volume 2 - Torah-teaching 84

The exact words of Our Rebbe, of Blessed Memory

Know that the essence of connection and attachment to Hashem [G-d] is through tefillah [prayer]. For tefillah is the gate through which one enters to Hashem, may He be blessed, and from there one becomes known to Him. For tefillah is malchus [sovereignty], as it is written: "And I am tefillah" [Psalms 109:4]. And tefillah is the language of connection, as it is written: "The wrestlings [naftulay] of G-d, I have wrestled [niftalti]" [Genesis 30:8], its translation being the language of connection [from the root: P-T-L]. Therefore, generally, when a person prays, thoughts of gadlus [grandeur] fall upon him. For tefillah, which is the aspect of malchus, the aspect of "ani" [I], is in exile within the malchus harasha [wicked sovereignty], as it is written: "And I am in the midst of the exile" [Ezekiel 1:1]. And when it desires to go out, then the malchus harasha, which is gadlus, clings to it, for gadlus is from the malchus harasha, which seeks to aggrandize itself and to rule. And this is why when praying with strength, one gives strength to the tefillah to be strengthened against the malchus harasha to go out from exile. And this is: "Give strength to G-d, over Israel is His grandeur" [Psalms 68:35]. When the grandeur, which is the malchus harasha, prevails over Israel, the remedy for this is that you pray with strength and strengthen G-d, which is the aspect of "ani." And this is: "And you shall remember Hashem your G-d, for He is the One giving you strength to make wealth" [Deuteronomy 8:18]. Meaning, through the strength, you repair the eshes chayil [woman of valor], the aspect of malchus. And this is the meaning: "lemiknay niksin" [to acquire assets, the Aramaic translation of "to make wealth"]. Meaning, for the malchus, when it is in exile, then it says: "Do not look at me, for I am blackened" [Song of Songs 1:6], for it is clothed in black garments, in garments of husks, and is covered by them. And then: "Like a bird wandering from its nest, so is a man wandering" [Proverbs 27:8], for it is His nest. And when a person prays with strength and brings it out from exile, from its coverings, it becomes a nest for the Holy One, blessed be He. And this is the meaning: "lemiknay"—the language of a nest [K-N]; "niksin"—the language of coverings [K-S-H]. And the essence of your intention shall be to repair the Shechinah [Divine Presence] in order to pair it with its Husband. And this is the meaning: "In order to establish His bris"—establishing the bris [circumcision/sexual purity] alludes to pairing. For initially, an awakening from below is needed, which is the repair of the Shechinah, and when the Shechinah is clothed in radiant garments—white, red, green, the aspect of the Patriarchs [Abraham, Isaac, Jacob], and it is the aspect of an oath, the aspect of seven. And it is as if now an oath is made to the Patriarchs. And this is: "Which He swore to your fathers, as this day"—specifically "as this day." Thus, through tefillah with strength, the oath to the Patriarchs is renewed.