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Tefillah

תפלה

Prayer (tefillah)

“The service of the heart”: the soul’s love, fear and bittul raised up as mayin nukvin, joining it to its root, and through this a request that G‑dly light from above hishtalshelus be drawn down.

The word תפלה is usually the prayer service itself or one of its parts (Shemoneh Esreh, Minchah, “one may not eat before prayer”), or a request; תפלה של יד / של ראש means tefillin. It names the inner service when the text calls it עבודה שבלב, העלאת מ״ן, a ladder set on the ground, ל׳ חבור / התקשרות (נפתולי), צלותא as “inclining,” or maps it onto the worlds (Shemoneh Esreh in Atzilus); in "ואני תפלה" Malchus herself is called prayer.

Where it’s explained

  1. Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 29, ¶5Mitzvos and the subduing of the body raise mayin nukvin in an outer way; prayer is chiefly the inner raising of mayin nukvin, being stirred with fiery love, fear and bittul, like the angels who say “holy.” Therefore it is called the service of the heart: to give over one’s soul and will to G‑d.אך התפלה עיקרה העלאת מ״ן דפנימית שהוא קיום מצות ואהבת והיראה והביטול ולכן נקראת עבודה שבלב
  2. Likkutei Torah, Acharei 1, ¶9Of thought, speech and action (Torah, prayer, charity), prayer corresponds to thought and to Beriah: its essence is the intention in thought, the will of the heart, and its spoken words serve only to arouse that intention. So it stands in place of the offerings.התפלה שהיא עבודה שבלב זו הכוונה במחשבה ברעותא דליבא
  3. Likkutei Torah, Balak 3, ¶10The main intent of prayer is to ask that the Or Ein Sof above hishtalshelus (“Atah”) be drawn down into the Name Havayah (“Baruch Atah Havayah”). The requests of Shemoneh Esreh are vessels for G‑dliness to change created things below, as when the sick are healed and rain falls.שעיקר המכוון בתפלה הוא שמבקשים שיהיה אור א״ס ב״ה שלמעלה מהשתלשלות ברוך ונמשך למטה בבחי׳ ההשתלשלות
  4. Torah Ohr, Ki Sisa 1, ¶3The Sages praise both Torah study (“equal to them all”) and prayer (“in place of the offerings”), and both are true, for they differ: prayer moves from below upward, Torah from above downward. Prayer is the fulfilling of the Shema and “you shall love,” and the whole order before the Shema was set to bring one to accept it truly.שהתפלה היא בבחי׳ מלמטה למעלה והתורה היא בבחי׳ מלמעלה למטה
  5. Torah Ohr, Terumah 1, ¶5Three times a day, at the three prayers, the keruvim raise their wings and rise from Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah into Atzilus; the wings are the love and fear aroused in Israel. Hence tefillah means joining, as broken earthenware is joined (hatofel): in the service of G‑d it is the bond and cleaving of the soul to its root.ולכן תפלה הוא ל׳ חבור כמו נפתולי נפתלתי

Stated differently

Whether prayer is an ascent from below upward or a drawing down from above

Torah Ohr, Ki Sisa 1, ¶3שהתפלה היא בבחי׳ מלמטה למעלה והתורה היא בבחי׳ מלמעלה למטה

Prayer is from below upward; Torah is from above downward.

Torah Ohr, Mishpatim 6, ¶17ודרך כלל התורה נקרא אכילה בחי׳ המשכת מ״ד. והתפלה היא בחי׳ שתיה בחי׳ העלאת מ״ן

Torah is “eating,” the drawing down of mayin duchrin; prayer is “drinking,” the raising of mayin nukvin (“pour out your heart like water”), and each needs the other.

Likkutei Torah, Balak 3, ¶10וזהו ענין הבקשות בשמו״ע היינו שיהיה ברכה והמשכה הארה רבה ועצומה מלמעלה מסדר ההשתלשלות

The requests of Shemoneh Esreh are for a great drawing down of light from above the order of hishtalshelus; the main intent of prayer is that the Or Ein Sof be drawn down.

Likkutei Torah, Pinchas 2, ¶16ותפלה הוא ביטול והמשכה מלמעלה למטה

In the morning service, after Yotzer Or (Beriah), the prayer (Shemoneh Esreh) is bittul and a drawing down from above to below; Minchah, from menuchah, has the Shemoneh Esreh alone.

Whether prayer reaches above the Torah or the Torah is above prayer

Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 34, ¶5הוא הבקשות להיות שינוי הרצון למעלה מבחינת תורה כי אורייתא מחכמה נפקת

The requests of Shemoneh Esreh ask for a change of will above the level of Torah, since the Torah issues from Chochmah and the world is conducted by its law; the mesirus nefesh of the Shema, which makes this possible, is also above the Torah.

Likkutei Torah, Behar 3, ¶10הגם שהתורה היא למעלה מתפלה מ״מ להיותה נשפלה בקול גשמי לכן צריכה להתעלות על ידי התפלה

The Torah is above prayer, yet because it is brought low into physical voice it must be raised through prayer, the bittul of Shemoneh Esreh, which is in Atzilus.

Likkutei Torah, Emor 3, ¶20מתן תורה בשבועות שהוא גילוי רצונו ממש מלמעלה למטה שהוא למעלה מתפלה

The giving of the Torah on Shavuos is the revelation of His very will from above to below, which is above prayer, the “running” (ratzo) of the Exodus.

Main sources

Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 29, ¶5Likkutei Torah, Balak 3, ¶10Likkutei Torah, Balak 3, ¶20Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 34, ¶5Torah Ohr, Ki Sisa 1, ¶3Torah Ohr, Terumah 1, ¶5

Where it appears

In 572 paragraphs of 241 maamarim.

Written with AI from the paragraphs of Torah Ohr and Likkutei Torah, each entry checked by a second AI reader and every Hebrew quote checked by code; not yet reviewed by a person. Our English: CC BY-NC 4.0.

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