Article 8, 1988<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Zohar<\/em> (VaYishlach<\/em> [And Jacob Sent], Item 70) brings evidence that one who prays should explain his words properly through what is written about Jacob, who said, \u201cDeliver me, I pray Thee.\u201d It writes, \u201c\u2018Deliver me, I pray Thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he might come and strike me and the mothers with the children.\u2019 This implies that one who prays his prayer should explain his words properly. He said, \u2018Deliver me, I pray Thee.\u2019 It seems as though it should have sufficed, since he does not need more than deliverance. Yet, he said to the Creator, \u2018Should You say that You have already delivered me from Laban?\u2019 This is why he explained, \u2018from the hand of my brother.\u2019 And if you say that other kin are called brothers, too, as Laban said to Jacob, \u2018Because you are my brother, should you serve me for nothing?\u2019 he therefore explained, \u2018from the hand of Esau.\u2019 What is the reason? It is because we must explain the matter properly. If you say, \u2018Why do I need deliverance?\u2019 It is because I fear that he might come and strike me. All of this is to explain the matter above, and not obscure it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is very difficult to understand this. When a person prays to the Creator, who knows the thoughts of man, should we interpret our words properly, or He might not know what the person needs? Rather, we should interpret this with respect to man. That is, the person himself should know what he needs and scrutinize every single lack separately. A person should not say in general, that he is not okay and he would like the Creator to help him. The reason is that there is a rule: \u201cThere is no light without a Kli<\/em> [vessel], no filling without a lack.\u201d Hence, it is upon man to arrange for himself all the things he needs. That is, deliverance from Laban is not like deliverance from Esau, and so forth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We can understand this the way Baal HaSulam said about what is written concerning Laban, who said to Jacob, \u201cLaban replied to Jacob, \u2018The daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine.\u2019\u201d Concerning Esau, when he spoke to Jacob, it is written that Esau said the opposite: \u201cAnd he said, \u2018What is this company of yours that I have met?\u2019 And he said, \u2018To find favor in the eyes of my lord.\u2019 And Esau said, \u2018I have plenty, my brother; let what is yours be yours.\u2019 And Jacob said, \u2018then take my present from my hand.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said that sometimes the evil inclination dresses as Laban, who is righteous, and walks with a white garment. Sometimes it dresses as Esau, saying that man has already done everything completely, and there is nothing more to add, installing in him a spirit of pride. The order is that before the work, it tells him: \u201cYou should not get into the work Lishma<\/em> [for Her sake], as this is difficult and no work for you. Rather, you, everything you do is for me, and you cannot aim anything for the sake of the Creator.\u201d With these arguments, the evil inclination can prevent a person from engaging in Torah and Mitzvot<\/em> [commandments\/good deeds] in truth. This is before the work, and this is the meaning of what Laban said, \u201cThe daughters are my daughters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the work, Jacob comes and tells him, \u201cNow I see that you are right, meaning that all my thoughts were only for you,\u201d meaning Lo<\/em> Lishma<\/em> [not for Her sake]. \u201cThus, now I must ask the Creator to give me repentance so I will have the strength to work for the sake of the Creator.\u201d The evil inclination comes and dresses as Esau, from the word Assiya<\/em> [doing\/action], that \u201cYou really did everything for the sake of the Creator and you are a great righteous, and you are not like your friends.\u201d Then Jacob told him, \u201cthen take my present from my hand,\u201d meaning he said, \u201cI have plenty,\u201d meaning that all the work I did so far has been for you. But Esau told him, \u201cLet what is yours be yours,\u201d meaning you did not work for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Accordingly, we should explain why we need to interpret \u201cWhen he prays, he should explain his words properly.\u201d It means that the person himself should scrutinize the order of his work so he will clearly know what to pray for, since sometimes a person prays for the opposite of what he needs. The prayer is the disclosure of a lack within a person, for a lack is called a Kli<\/em> [vessel], and there is no light without a Kli<\/em>. Hence, a person should pray so as to have a Kli<\/em> that the Creator will fill. If there is no Kli<\/em>, it is impossible to speak of the Creator filling the lack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is similar to what we pray in the Beginning of the Month Prayer: \u201cMay the Lord grant our heart\u2019s wishes favorably.\u201d \u201cWishes\u201d are Kelim<\/em> [plural of Kli<\/em>]. When there are Kelim<\/em>, the Creator can fill the Kelim<\/em>. We should understand what we are saying in this prayer of the blessing of the month, \u201cMay the Lord grant our heart\u2019s wishes favorably.\u201d What does it imply that we add the word \u201cfavorably\u201d? Would one ask for the unfavorable?<\/p>\n\n\n\n We can understand this by what The Zohar<\/em> says, \u201cOne who prays should explain his words properly,\u201d as it is written, \u201cDeliver me from the hand of my brother.\u201d Laban is also called \u201cmy brother,\u201d as it is written that Laban said to Jacob, \u201cBecause you are my brother.\u201d This is why he clarified, \u201cfrom the hand of Esau.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to what Baal HaSulam explained, at times the evil inclination is called Laban, and at times it is called Esau. The difference between these names relates to before the fact and after the fact. Before the fact, it is called Laban. After the fact, it is called Esau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By this we should interpret that when a person prays for the Creator to help him since he wants to do some good deed but feels that he does not have the power to overcome, he must not pray that the Creator will deliver him from Esau, meaning to think about how he does everything not for the sake of the Creator and that his work is worthless. He should ask the Creator to deliver him from Esau\u2019s words, who says, \u201cYour work is indeed worthy and highly regarded above, and your intention is not to work for me,\u201d meaning for the evil inclination, which is now regarded as Esau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead, he wants the Creator to help him feel that he is doing everything not for the sake of the Creator, and will see the truth\u2014that his work is worthless. It follows that if he really feels that his work is worthless, what will he gain by receiving such help from the Creator? He will certainly not succeed in doing anything good, since a person cannot work for a lost cause. Rather, one must see some benefit from the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the meaning of what The Zohar<\/em> says, that \u201che should explain his words properly.\u201d It is because a person must know what he is missing so he can observe Torah and Mitzvot<\/em>. For this reason, his prayer should be \u201cDeliver me, I pray Thee, from the hand of Laban,\u201d meaning from what Laban would make him see, that \u201cAll that you see is mine.\u201d Laban claims that all he did was for his own sake, for the sake of the evil inclination, and his work is worthless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At that time he prays that the Creator will give him the feeling, and that he will see that the Creator enjoys everything he does, and every little thing in spirituality is a very important matter, and we cannot appreciate its importance. Then he will have the strength to work because now he is working for a purpose, meaning that with his work, he will do a great thing for the entire world. It is as our sages said (Kidushin<\/em>, p 40), \u201cRabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon, says, \u2018Since the world is judged by its majority, and the individual is judged by its majority, if he performs one Mitzva<\/em> [commandment\/good deed], happy is he, for he has sentenced himself and the entire world to the side of merit.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When he has this feeling, he certainly gets energy for the work. But if he asks, \u201cDeliver me from the hand of Esau,\u201d it will be to his detriment. Since there is no light without a Kli<\/em>, when a person prays, he should \u201cexplain his words properly.\u201d What is \u201cproperly\u201d? It means that his prayer should be suitable for reception because it is to his benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, after the fact, one should shift to the left line. That is, he should examine and see if the work was really in utter completeness, and check if he has more to correct so that through the Torah and Mitzvot<\/em> he is doing, he will achieve Dvekut<\/em> [adhesion] with the Creator. At that time, the evil inclination dresses as Esau and tells him: \u201cYou have no flaw that anyone can point to, since everything you do is only for the Creator.\u201d This is called Esau, from the word Assiya<\/em> [action\/doing]. That is, your work is called \u201ccomplete work,\u201d and there is nothing to add to it. At that time comes the prayer, \u201cDeliver me from the hand of my brother, Esau, since I want to have the strength to examine and see what I really should correct.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n If, after the fact, he asks, \u201cDeliver me from the argument of Laban,\u201d who said that everything he did was not for the sake of the Creator, but for his own sake, which is the authority of the evil inclination, then he is controlled by Esau, meaning he is doing everything for the sake of the Creator. In that case, he would always remain with his flaws because Esau claims that he has nothing to correct and he is doing everything for the sake of the Creator. He would never be able to see the truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is why The Zohar<\/em> says that he should explain his words properly. That is, one should obtain the right Kli<\/em> where the right help may enter, since \u201cThere is no light without a Kli<\/em>.\u201d With this we will understand what we asked, \u201cWhat does it mean that we say that the Creator should grant our heart\u2019s wishes favorably?\u201d Would a person ask the Creator for something bad? Rather, it is that each prayer should be in its place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Article 8, 1988 The Zohar (VaYishlach [And Jacob Sent], Item 70) brings evidence that one who prays should explain his words properly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":6243,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"topic":[26],"class_list":["post-10697","book","type-book","status-publish","hentry","topic-rabash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n