{"id":12929,"date":"2025-12-20T23:05:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T23:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.kabbalah.info\/?post_type=book&p=12929"},"modified":"2025-12-20T23:05:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T23:05:00","slug":"the-eighteen-prayer","status":"publish","type":"book","link":"https:\/\/www.kabbalah.info\/en\/the-eighteen-prayer\/","title":{"rendered":"113.\u00a0The Eighteen Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I heard on Kislev<\/em> 15, Shabbat<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Shmone Esrei<\/em> [eighteen] Prayer, \u201cfor You hear the prayer of every mouth in Your people, Israel, with mercy,\u201d it seems perplexing since first we say, \u201cfor You hear the prayer of every mouth,\u201d meaning even an unworthy mouth\u2014the Creator still hears. It is written, \u201cevery mouth,\u201d meaning even an unworthy one. Afterward, it says, \u201cYour people, Israel, with mercy,\u201d meaning specifically a prayer that is in mercy. Otherwise, it is not heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thing is that we must know all the heaviness in the work of the Creator is because of the oppositeness that is in every step. For example, there is a rule that man must be humble. But if we follow this end, although our sages said, \u201cbe very, very humble,\u201d this end still does not mean that it should be a rule, since it is known that one should go against the whole world and not be canceled by the many views that abound in the world, as it is written, \u201cAnd his heart was high in the ways of the Lord.\u201d Hence, this rule is not a rule that we can call complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if we go by the other end, which is pride, that, too, is wrong, since \u201cAnyone who is proud,\u201d says the Creator, \u201che and I cannot dwell in the same abode.\u201d And we can also see oppositeness in the matter of suffering. That is, if the Creator sends suffering to some person, and we should believe that the Creator is good and does good, then the suffering He sent is necessarily to that person\u2019s benefit. Thus, why do we pray for the Creator to remove the suffering from us?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And concerning suffering, we should know that suffering only comes to correct us to be qualified to receive the light of the Creator. The role of the suffering is only to cleanse the body, as our sages said, \u201cas salt sweetens meat, suffering cleanses the body.\u201d In the matter of prayer, they constituted that it would be instead of suffering. Thus, prayer, too, cleanses the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, a prayer is called \u201cthe path of Torah.\u201d This is why prayer is more effective in sweetening the body than suffering. Therefore, it is a\u00a0Mitzva<\/em> [commandment] to pray over the suffering, since additional benefit stems from that to the individual and to the whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this reason, the oppositeness causes one heaviness and cessations in the work of the Creator, and he cannot continue the work and feels bad. It seems to him that he is unworthy of assuming the burden of the kingdom of heaven \u201cas an ox to the burden and as a donkey to the load.\u201d Thus, at that time, he is called \u201cunwanted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, since one\u2019s sole intention is to extend faith, called Malchut<\/em>, meaning to raise the Shechina<\/em> [Divinity] from the dust, meaning that his aim is to glorify His Name in the world, His greatness, so the Shechina<\/em> will not take the form of meagerness and poverty, so the Creator hears \u201cthe prayer of every mouth,\u201d even of one who is not so worthy, who feels that he is still far from the work of the Creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the meaning of \u201cfor You hear the prayer of every mouth.\u201d When does He hear every mouth? When Your people, Israel, pray with mercy, meaning simple mercy, when one prays to raise the Shechina<\/em> from the dust, to receive faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is similar to one who has not eaten in three days. Then, when he asks of another to be given something to eat, he is not asking for any luxuries or extras; he is simply asking to be given something to revive his soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, in the work of the Creator, when one finds himself standing between heaven and earth, he is not asking the Creator for something redundant, but only for the light of faith, for the Creator to open his eyes so he can take upon himself the quality of faith. This is called \u201craising the Shechina<\/em> from the dust.\u201d This prayer is accepted from \u201cevery mouth.\u201d That is, whatever state a person is in, if he asks to revive his soul with faith, his prayer will be answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is called \u201cwith mercy,\u201d when one\u2019s prayer is only to be pitied from above so he can sustain his vitality. This is the meaning of what is written in The Zohar<\/em>, that a prayer for the poor is immediately accepted. That is, when it is for the Shechina<\/em>, it is immediately accepted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I heard on Kislev 15, Shabbat In the Shmone Esrei [eighteen] Prayer, \u201cfor You hear the prayer of every mouth in Your people, Israel, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":6231,"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 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