Chapter 8. Prayer, Request and Aim

What does a prayer mean from the perspective of Kabbalah and for you personally? Do you pray and observe Mitzvot like any other rabbi?..

You say that there is a law that rules nature and man harshly, and that the Source of that law is a mighty Force called the Creator. In difficult moments I turn to Him, but I feel that if I want to change something in my life, it means that I disagree with His Actions, that I am not grateful to Him. What is the actual cry of the soul, the one the Creator listens to and answers?..

I can’t ask for myself, much less know, how to ask for the sake of the Creator! Even my suffering seems to be partial. How can I discover the Creator? By waiting for more suffering?..

What is a prayer?..

A person encounters quite a few obstacles in the course of one’s spiritual work. What should one ask for in those situations?..

How should I thank the Creator?..

What is the role of the “aim” in creation?..

Does a physical act in this world change anything in the spiritual world?..

Is every blessing uttered a vessel that is built and rises upward and takes in a certain amount of Light? Does this also happen with a prayer from the bottom of the heart? If prayer is an inner feeling, what are words for?..

What is the reaction of the mind to prayer? Can we change our feelings with our mind?..

What inner work is done through prayer?..

On the one hand, we want to draw away from our own natures and into ourselves. On the other hand, we ask the Creator to bring us near to Him – a move intended to serve our immense desire to enjoy. Is that not hypocrisy?..

What request does the Creator answer when He brings one into the spiritual world: a request for Light, or a request to resemble Him?..

If I spot a negative quality in me, and I suffer from the fact that it is in me, do I have to ask with all my might of the Creator to help me correct it, or is it better to try to ignore that characteristic because “one is where one’s thoughts are,” and think only of the greatness of the Creator, about how everything comes from Him, including that characteristic, and try to see His Guidance in everything?..

Is there anything in our world that can affect the Upper World, or raise a person to it?..

It is written: “Know now before Whom you stand” – but when you remember, it happens without your control. Is there a practical way to remember before Whom I stand? What is “intensity of thought” and how do I acquire it?..