He is called loving and merciful...
From Magid Devarav Le Yaakov 269; translated by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan
This article presents basic ideas of Chasidism and prayer, as received from the Bal Shem Tov, earliest of the modern Chassidic masters.
 | | " He is called loving and merciful in order that He might be known..." | | |
We find in the Zohar that the Infinite Being
does not have any representations whatsoever, even through the simplest point.
The question then immediately arises, how can we call Him by so many names, and
speak of Him with so many descriptions? How then can we make use of so many
representations in praying to G-d?
The Zohar also provides us with an answer and
says that "He is called loving and merciful in order that He might be known."
When we want G-d to have mercy on us, then (to the extent that we can express
it) He constricts His essence in the word "Merciful", in the lights and vessels
of the letters that make up this word... | | " Men of the Great Assembly knew the transmission of G-dly life-force that is necessary at all times..." | | |
The men of the Great Assembly knew the transmission of
G-dly life-force that is necessary at all times, evening, morning and noon. They
therefore ordained [an order of worship, containing] all the words and letters
necessary [to transmit this Life Force]. G-d had granted them the wisdom to do
this...
Everything in the worship service is calculated
according to this necessity with great accuracy. Thus, in the Standing Prayer,
we call G-d, "The great, the mighty, and the fearsome". Our sages comment, "If
Moses had not used these words, and the men of the Great Assembly had not
ordained them, [we would not be able to presume to say them]. [From both Moses
and the Great Assembly, we see that] these [words and] letters are necessary in
order to bring a vital element of life-force to the universes.
When a person makes up his own prayers and does not
know the way of Truth, his word combinations cannot accomplish this. For
who knows if the transmission of life-force to the universes can take place
through the words he uses?
[Note: Nevertheless, in addition to formal service,
private prayer is extremely important.] | | " How does the transmission of life-force depend on our speech and prayer?" | | |
One question still remains: How does the transmission
of life-force depend on our speech and prayer? It is written, "From my flesh, I
shall see G-d" (Job 19:26). [By understanding the human body, we can also
understand G-d's ways.]
Man is filled with life force and breath, spread
inside him. When he wishes to speak, he must constrict this breath through his
larynx, and modulate it with his mouth, lips, tongue and teeth. He can then
express it as he desires, and only then can his speech, voice and wisdom be
detected. [He can communicate] because his life force, wisdom and voice are
constricted in his speech.
When a righteous person stands in prayer, he certainly
attaches and binds his thought and life-force to the Infinite Essence, which is
a simple formless Unity. When he begins to speak, he transmits the Creator's
Life Force into his words and speech. As these leave his lips, they are very
strongly bound to his breath and life force, constructed into the sounds that he
expresses.
Then (to the extent that we can express it), the
Infinite Essence is bound to this person's breath and life-force and is
modulated and constricted in his expression of words. (The Chasidic Masters/Moznaim Press)
For a related article on the nature of prayer,
please see
The Thirteenth Gate of Prayer
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