Ladder of Prayer

4 Nissan 5782

“This is the law of one in whom there is a lesion of tzara’as, who cannot afford [the full array of sacrifices], when he is to be cleansed.” (Vayikra 14:32)

The cleansing from tzara’as, even for a poor person, is a complicated process that involves many steps until the final goal is reached, declaring a person pure from his affliction and making atonement for him before G‑d.

“The same is true of prayer without kavanah, as discussed in the Zohar.” (Lessons in Tanya, Likutei Amarim, end of Chapter 39)

Just as the cleansing from tzara’as is a multi-step process, so is our daily prayer. In this chapter, the Alter Rebbe reveals to us the concept of the ladder of prayer and its four rungs; the prayers preceding Baruch She’amar corresponding to Asiyah; the Verses of Praise to Yetzirah; the Shema to Beriah; and the Shemoneh Esrei to Atzilus.

Shemoneh Esrei, especially, is a most propitious time, for it is “at the level of Atzilus, and especially when bowing in the four designated places in this prayer, for every such act of bowing represents the level of Atzilus for it embodies the idea of self-nullification in G‑d’s light—to be accounted as absolutely naught before Him.” Before we reach this lofty level, however, we must first pass through the lower levels of Asiyah, which is Malchus, feeling grateful for what we receive from Hashem, Yetzirah, which means drawing on our innate love for Hashem by realizing that we would rather give up our life than deny His unity, Beriah, which is understanding, reflecting on Hashem’s greatness and generating an intellectually grounded love for Him, until we get to Atzilus, which is beyond words.

Even if this drawn out process seems too exalted for us at first, the Alter Rebbe assures us in the above quote that shelo lishmah (not for its own sake) will certainly lead to lishmah (for its own sake), even in prayer. Full kavanah is not required at first. When we later reach a higher level, all our previous prayers are uplifted with it. Furthermore, “even if from all one’s prayers throughout the year only one full prayer with kavanah can be assembled piecemeal (from one part of prayer said with kavanah one day, another part on another day, and so on), this one prayer is sufficient to elevate all the prayers of the entire year.”

“Who may ascend the mountain of the L‑rd, and who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not used My Name in vain or sworn falsely.” (Tehillim 24:4)

Here again we see that standing with Hashem is a process of ascent, it is a veritable mountain we must climb. Who will be successful in this endeavor? He who works on himself to order his affairs, purify his heart and perfect his practice and speech.