Having Our Prayers and Requests Accepted
It is taught (Chullin 60b): רבי שמעון בן פזי רמי כתיב “ויעש אלקים את שני המאורות הגדולים” וכתיב “את המאור…הגדול ואת המאור הקטן” אמרה ירח לפני הקב”ה רבש”ע אפשר לשני מלכים שישתמשו בכתר אחד אמר לה לכי ומעטי את עצמך (R’ Shimon ben Pazi raised a contradiction. It is written [Bereshit 1:16], ‘And G-d made two great lights’ and it is written, ‘the big light…and the small light.’ The moon said before Ha-Kadosh, baruch Hu, ‘Master of the World, Is it possible for two kings to make use of one crown?’ He [G-d] said to her [the Moon], ‘Go and diminish yourself’).
If you knew that there was something you could do to guarantee that all of your prayers and requests were accepted, would you do it? Don’t be too quick to answer in the affirmative because the truth is that it’s not so simple. For example, what if that ‘something’ would take up a lot of time, or effort, or could result in opposition or persecution? Would you still do it? Would you buy the guarantee (and its resultant consequences), or would you just roll the dice and take your chances hoping that your prayer would be accepted?
The answer to our question is literally the very first statement in R’ Nachman’s important work, Likutei Moharan (L.M. 1:1): דַּע כִּי עַל יְדֵי הַתּוֹרָה נִתְקַבְּלִים כָּל הַתְּפִלּוֹת וְכָל הַבַּקָּשׁוֹת שֶׁאָנוּ מְבַקְּשִׁים וּמִתְפַּלְּלִים (Know! By means of the Torah, all the prayers and all the requests that we request and pray are accepted). So there you go, it’s as simple as that. And yet, it’s not as simple as that, for R’ Nachman goes into great detail throughout the entire teaching (which goes on for a number of pages) explaining the depth of what he means by that statement.
Before we dive into this teaching, we should address why he felt compelled to use two terms, prayers and requests. Different answer have been given, but the one which we feel fits the context is that prayers are petitions that we ask of Hashem whereas requests are petitions that we ask of others. So whether we have needs from G-d or from man, be they spiritual or physical needs, the likelihood of their acceptance increases to the extent that we involve ourselves in Torah.
Why is this? What does the Torah have to do with having our petitions accepted? It is because involving oneself in Torah increases חֵן [chen, ‘favor, grace’]. How do we know this? In Mishlei 5:19, Shlomo ha-Melech likens the Torah to אַיֶּלֶת אֲהָבִים וְיַעֲלַת־חֵן (a beloved female deer and a graceful female ibex). Why would he liken the Torah to a graceful ibex [ya’alat chen]? Chazal explain (Eruvin 54b): שֶׁמַּעֲלָת חֵן עַל לוֹמְדֶיהָ (because it bestows chen [ma’alat chen] upon those who learn it). Chen arises, or is enhanced, in those who learn Torah. The more Torah one learns, the more one’s chen is enhanced. Therefore, one’s petitions, whether to G-d or to man, whether for spiritual needs or for physical needs, are more readily accepted – even to the point of having their acceptance guaranteed! – when one is involved in the learning of Torah.
How many times have you read in the Torah, Prophets and Writings that ‘Ploni found favor in the eyes of another Ploni’? Examples abound. We’ll bring down just a few to illustrate: Noach found chen in the eyes of Hashem (Bereshit 6:8), Yosef found chen in the eyes of the chief jailer (Bereshit 39:21), B’nei Yisrael found chen in the eyes of the Egyptians (Shemot 3:21), Moshe found chen in the eyes of Hashem (Shemot 33:17), and Esther found chen in the eyes of everyone who saw her (Esther 2:15). Have you asked wondered what it was about these people that they were able to find favor [chen] in the eyes of others? Now you have an answer. They found chen in the eyes of others because they were involved in the learning of Torah. Therefore, if we want others to be favorably deposed toward us, we need to involve ourselves in the learning of Torah.
But one may say, ‘I am involved in the learning of Torah and it certainly doesn’t seem like my prayers and requests are always accepted.’ And another may say, ‘I know all kinds of people who learn Torah all day long, and they seem to have all kinds of unmet needs, so how can R’ Nachman claim such a thing?’
These are good questions, so let’s explore further and learn the secret of the word חֵן. In short, to receive the aspect of חֵן we need to connect ourselves to the aspect of the ח and to the aspect of the נ. If we don’t connect to both aspects, then חֵן doesn’t arise in us. We may have connected to the aspect of the ח or to the aspect of the נ individually, but if we don’t connect to both we won’t be given the aspect of חֵן. Only when we connect to both aspects does the attribute of חֵן arise in us.
What is the aspect of the ח? It stands for Divine wisdom [the sefirah of חָכְמָה, chochmah]. In the words of R’ Nachman (L.M. 1:2): כִּי אִישׁ הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִי צָרִיךְ תָּמִיד לְהִסְתַּכֵּל בְּהַשֵּׂכֶל שֶׁל כָּל דָּבָר, וּלְקַשֵּׁר עַצְמוֹ אֶל הַחָכְמָה וְהַשֵּׂכֶל שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּכָל דָּבָר, כְּדֵי שֶׁיָּאִיר לוֹ הַשֵּׂכֶל שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּכָל דָּבָר לְהִתְקָרֵב לְהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ עַל־יְדֵי אוֹתוֹ הַדָּבָר, כִּי הַשֵּׂכֶל הוּא אוֹר גָּדוֹל, וּמֵאִיר לוֹ בְּכָל דְּרָכָיו (The Jew must always look into the Supernal Intelligence [Seichel] that is in everything, and connect himself to the chochmah and to the Supernal Intelligence that is in everything, in order that the Supernal Intelligence that is in everything would shine to him to bring him close to Hashem, may He be blessed, through that thing, for the Supernal Intelligence is a huge light, and it shines for him in all his ways). This means that we must accustom ourselves to look at everything deeply. When we look at a rock or a flower or an ant, etc., we should ask ourselves, How come Hashem created this thing with the particular shape and properties that it has? What is its purpose? How does this thing help me serve Hashem? Etc. etc.
Why is this important? It is important because there is chochmah and Supernal Intelligence, i.e. Torah, in everything, as David ha-Melech testifies (Tehillim 104:24): מָה־רַבּוּ מַעֲשֶׂיךָ יְיָ כֻּלָּם בְּחׇכְמָה עָשִׂיתָ (How abundant are Your works, Hashem; You made all of them with chochmah). Therefore, since there is Divine chochmah in everything, to connect ourselves to Hashem fully we should work on connecting ourselves to the Divine chochmah that is in everything; for otherwise, we would be cutting ourselves off from an aspect of Hashem’s Supernal Intelligence, chas v’shalom, and we certainly wouldn’t want to do that, would we?
In truth, there is an outer dimension [חִיצוֹנִיּוּת, chitzoniut] and an inner dimension [פְּנִימִיּוּת, penimiut] to everything that Hashem created, and it is the penimiut, which is the spiritual core, that actually gives everything its existence. In our context here, the ח [chet], which represents the chochmah [חָכְמָה] that is in everything, represents the חַיוּת [chayut, life-force] that is in everything. In other words, to acquire the aspect of the ח we need to connect ourselves not just to the chitzoniut of the Torah, but also to the penimiut of the Torah that is in everything. This is the secret behind the ladder that Ya’akov saw at the place of the Beit ha-Mikdash when he was on his way to Padan Aram. R’ Nachman’s talmid muvhak, R’ Natan Sternhartz, explains this in Likutei Halachot (Choshen Mishpat, Hilchot Pikadon 4:19): וְעַל כֵּן רָאָה שָׁם “סֻלָּם מֻצָּב אַרְצָה וְרֹאשׁוֹ מַגִּיעַ הַשָּׁמַיְמָה”, הַיְנוּ שֶׁרָאָה שֶׁהָאָדָם וְכָל הַתָּלוּי בּוֹ וְנִלְוֶה אֵלָיו הַכֹּל בִּבְחִינַת “סֻלָּם מֻצָּב אַרְצָה וְרֹאשׁוֹ מַגִּיעַ הַשָּׁמַיְמָה”, כִּי כָּל דָּבָר יֵשׁ לוֹ שֹׁרֶשׁ לְמַעְלָה וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁבְּכָאן הַדָּבָר מֻצָּב אַרְצָה, כִּי מְלֻבָּשׁ בְּאַרְצִיּוּת וְגַשְׁמִיּוּת, אֲבָל רֹאשׁוֹ מַגִּיעַ הַשָּׁמַיְמָה (Therefore, he [Ya’akov] saw “a ladder situated on the ground but its top reaching to the heavens” [Bereshit 28:12], i.e. he saw that man and all who depend on him and accompany him – everything – is in the aspect of “a ladder situated on the ground but its top reaching to the heavens”, because everything has its origin above, and even though the thing is situated on the ground, for it’s clothed in earthiness and physicality, its top reaches to the heavens).
We, as Ya’akov’s children, have a responsibility to continue in his path, and to see the penimiut in everything and to connect it with the chitzoniut in everything. In the words of R’ Natan (Hilchot Pikadon 4:21): לְקַשֵּׁר הַחִיצוֹנִיּוּת אֶל הַפְּנִימִיּוּת, דְּהַיְנוּ לְהִסְתַּכֵּל בְּכָל דָּבָר עַל הַשֵּכֶל הָאֱמֶת שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ וּלְהִתְקָרֵב עַל יְדֵי כָּל הַדְּבָרִים לַה’ יִתְבָּרַךְ (to connect the chitzoniut to the penimiut, i.e. to look deeply into everything, to its true Supernal Intelligence that is in everything, and by means of everything draw near to Hashem, may He be blessed). This is no easy task. In a nutshell, he is describing the essence of the path of Breslev chasidut, a life-long process of drawing close to Hashem. That’s what it is all about. And everything – everything – needs to be seen and appreciated for what it is, i.e. a tool made by Hashem to help us connect to Him as completely and intimately as possible.
Now, this Supernal Intelligence, i.e. the true Seichel, that is in everything is a huge light. That’s why R’ Nachman states (L.M. 1:2): וְזֶה בְּחִינַת שֶׁמֶשׁ, כִּי הַשֵּׂכֶל הוּא מֵאִיר לוֹ בְּכָל דְּרָכָיו כְּמוֹ הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ (This is the aspect of the Sun, for the Seichel illuminates him in all his ways like the Sun). Just as the Sun illuminates the physical steps of man, so too does this Divine Seichel illuminate his spiritual steps. The only problem is that the eyes of man, i.e. the seichel of man, cannot grasp it. Just like the physical Sun, it’s too blinding to look at. In other words, the natural man has no vessel to receive this light. Yet a pasuk tells us that it is possible to grasp it (Mishlei 4:18): וְאֹרַח צַדִּיקִים כְּאוֹר נֹגַהּ הוֹלֵךְ וָאוֹר עַד־נְכוֹן הַיּוֹם (The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn that illuminates more and more until noon). So how is it possible to receive the light of the Sun, the penimiut of the Torah, the Divine chochmah, the Supernal Intelligence that is in everything? Slowly, little by little.
This idea leads us directly to the aspect of the נ. What is the secret behind this letter? Regarding Mashiach, it is written (Tehillim 72:17): יְהִי שְׁמוֹ לְעוֹלָם לִפְנֵי־שֶׁמֶשׁ יִנּוֹן שְׁמוֹ וְיִתְבָּרְכוּ בוֹ כׇּל־גּוֹיִם יְאַשְּׁרוּהוּ (May his name be eternal, may his name continue to increase as long as the Sun shines, and all will bless themselves by him, and all the goyim will be happy in him). The key phrase for our purpose is לִפְנֵי־שֶׁמֶשׁ יִנּוֹן שְׁמוֹ. What is the meaning of יִנּוֹן [yinon]? It means to grow, expand, increase, etc. As Rashi states, the phrase means: כל ימי השמש יגדל שמו (All the days of the Sun, may his name [fame, reputation] increase). But Rashi also tells us that the word yinon is the language of מלכות [malchut, kingship]. What’s the connection between yinon and the sefirah of malchut? One understanding is that the word yinon is derived from נוּן [nun], the letter נ itself, which has the gematria of 50. As is known from the Kabbalah, malchut is represented by the final ה (gematria of 5) in Hashem’s four-letter name. It is also known that each sefirah has within it the full set of 10 sefirot in miniature. For example, there is keter of malchut, chochmah of malchut, binah of malchut, and so on. Therefore, malchut is represented by the number 50, i.e. 5 x 10. This is how Rashi knows to tells us that yinon, i.e. rooted in נ, represents malchut. And what is the essence of malchut? It is the direct opposite of chochmah. Whereas chochmah is likened to the Sun, malchut is likened to the Moon. Whereas chochmah is the source of light, malchut has no light in and of itself. It can only reflect the light of the Sun.
So how does Mashiach (and by extension, all of us if we strive to follow in his footsteps) receive the light of the Sun? Little by little, right? This is what we saw above in Mishlei 4:18. But how do we do this? Above, we translated and explained the phrase לִפְנֵי־שֶׁמֶשׁ יִנּוֹן שְׁמוֹ from Tehillim 72:17 according to its plain meaning. But the deeper meaning is that in order for us to receive the light of the Sun (לִפְנֵי־שֶׁמֶשׁ, ‘before the Sun’), i.e. before we can receive the light of the Sun, the Divine chochmah, the Supernal Seichel that is in everything, we need to make ourselves into the aspect of the Moon (יִנּוֹן שְׁמוֹ, ‘his name should be a נ’). And what is the aspect of the Moon that we need to make ourselves into? It is being able to reflect the light of the Sun by removing any light (or better, ‘apparent light’) from ourselves. We have to realize that our own seichel is worthless. That may be tough for some to hear, but it’s the plain truth of the path of chasidut. In order for one to receive Supernal Seichel we need to rid ourselves of our own seichel. Then we can become an aspect of the Moon which is an aspect of malchut, making ourselves into a vessel which can beautifully reflect the true light of the Sun.
In short, the essence of the נ is צִמצוּם [tzimtzum, constriction], making oneself into nothing. As long as we cling to our own seichel, to our own intelligence, to our own intellectual prowess, we can’t reflect the true light of the Supernal Seichel. To look at it positively, to the extent that we can diminish ourselves and realize that our own seichel is nothing, to that extent we can receive the attribute of חֵן [chen], and to that extent our prayers and our requests will be accepted by anyone from whom we have need.
Now go back and read the first paragraph, for R’ Nachman has explained what we need to do to reunify the Sun with the Moon.
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