Musar sobre II Reyes 4:46

Nowadays prayer takes the place of the sacrifices, therefore a person must pray with a broken heart and have in mind to prepare adornments for the Shechinah with his supplications. Those who have this in mind when they perform good deeds bring satisfaction to the Shechinah. These individuals are known as “men of deeds” because the word “deed” [ma’aseh] has the connotation of “fixing” [tikkun]. Thus the word “And He did” [vaya’as; Bereishis 1:7] means in context, “And He fixed” [vetiken]. Similarly, the woman of Shunem said to her husband, “Let us fix up [na’aseh] a small walled-in attic room and place for him there a bed, a table, a chair and a lamp” (II Melachim:4:10). This woman also had in mind to honor the Shechinah, for the four items she mentions are the things that the children of Israel must prepare for the Shechinah. Thus when a person prays the evening Amidah he should have in mind that this prayer corresponds to the “lamp.” And when he recites the evening Shema he should have in mind that it corresponds to the “bed.” The Verses of Praise and the morning Shema correspond to the “table” and the morning Amidah corresponds to the “chair.” He should have all these intentions in mind for the honor of the Shechinah, as is discussed in the Zohar at length (2:133a).

A person should also refrain from mentioning his name when praying because this induces the Heavenly court take notice of him and examine his deeds and accusers may be found to cause him harm, Heaven forbid. The Zohar (ibid. 69b) brings a proof to this from what the prophet Elisha said to the Shunamis: [Elisha asked,] “Do you have need to be spoken of to the king?” (Melachim II:4:13). This refers to the Holy One Blessed is He, for the day [that Elisha spoke to her] was Rosh HaShanah, when the Holy One Blessed is He is called the “Holy King” and “King of Judgment.” “And she said, ‘I dwell among my people’” That is, [she said,] “I do not wish for you to should mention my name, lest they examine me in particular. Rather, “I dwell among my people.” Come and see [a proof to this,] for all the while that Divine wrath was in the world, Noach’s name was not mentioned. But once the judgment was over it is stated, “And God remembered Noach.” That is, only then did He bring Noach’s name to mind. From here we learn that a person is judged on a balance scale and every good deed creates a defender while every bad deed creates an accuser.

In the הפטרה of פרשת החודש in Ezekiel 46,1 we read: "The gate of the inner court which faces East shall be closed on the six working days; it shall be opened on the Sabbath, and it shall be opened on the day of the New Moon. The prophet says that the holiness of the Sanctuary is open on both the Sabbath and the New Moon, whereas no mention is made of it being open on such festivals as Pessach, Shavuot or Sukkot. We have a simliar anomaly in Kings II 4,24 where the husband of the Shunamit asks her why she is going to see the prophet Elisha, seeing its is neither the Sabbath nor the New Moon? Some commentators believe there is no need to mention the festival days separately since they are included by simple logic. If even the lesser sanctity of the days of the New Moon qualified for such special opening of the gates, then the festivals would certainly qualify. If that were so, then the question is why the prophet bothered to mention the Sabbath, seeing that the sanctity of the Sabbath is of a higher order than that of the festivals or New Moons. There is a quote by the Mordechai in the name of the Pessikta commenting on Exodus 12, that the "light" [I presume heat Ed.] of the Gehinom ceases on both the Sabbath and the New Moon. In recognition of this we do not recite the prayer צדקתך צדק, during the afternoon Service on the Sabbath. The reason we do recite this prayer when the Sabbath occurs on a date which coincides with one of the festivals is that the wicked people in Gehinom do not experience this relief from their suffering on the festival days. If nonetheless we have the practice not to recite צדקתך צדק on a Sabbath immediately preceding a festival, this is in honour of the festival, and not to publicise the plight of the wicked who are returning to Gehinom at that time. The puzzling aspect of the whole matter is that the New Moon seems to be of greater significance than the Sabbath itself, why else is the prayer צדקתך צדק recited on the Sabbath at all?

In the הפטרה of פרשת החודש in Ezekiel 46,1 we read: "The gate of the inner court which faces East shall be closed on the six working days; it shall be opened on the Sabbath, and it shall be opened on the day of the New Moon. The prophet says that the holiness of the Sanctuary is open on both the Sabbath and the New Moon, whereas no mention is made of it being open on such festivals as Pessach, Shavuot or Sukkot. We have a simliar anomaly in Kings II 4,24 where the husband of the Shunamit asks her why she is going to see the prophet Elisha, seeing its is neither the Sabbath nor the New Moon? Some commentators believe there is no need to mention the festival days separately since they are included by simple logic. If even the lesser sanctity of the days of the New Moon qualified for such special opening of the gates, then the festivals would certainly qualify. If that were so, then the question is why the prophet bothered to mention the Sabbath, seeing that the sanctity of the Sabbath is of a higher order than that of the festivals or New Moons. There is a quote by the Mordechai in the name of the Pessikta commenting on Exodus 12, that the "light" [I presume heat Ed.] of the Gehinom ceases on both the Sabbath and the New Moon. In recognition of this we do not recite the prayer צדקתך צדק, during the afternoon Service on the Sabbath. The reason we do recite this prayer when the Sabbath occurs on a date which coincides with one of the festivals is that the wicked people in Gehinom do not experience this relief from their suffering on the festival days. If nonetheless we have the practice not to recite צדקתך צדק on a Sabbath immediately preceding a festival, this is in honour of the festival, and not to publicise the plight of the wicked who are returning to Gehinom at that time. The puzzling aspect of the whole matter is that the New Moon seems to be of greater significance than the Sabbath itself, why else is the prayer צדקתך צדק recited on the Sabbath at all?