וַיְהִ֣י ׀ בַּעֲל֣וֹת הַמִּנְחָ֗ה וַיִּגַּ֞שׁ אֵלִיָּ֣הוּ הַנָּבִיא֮ וַיֹּאמַר֒ יְהוָ֗ה אֱלֹהֵי֙ אַבְרָהָם֙ יִצְחָ֣ק וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל הַיּ֣וֹם יִוָּדַ֗ע כִּֽי־אַתָּ֧ה אֱלֹהִ֛ים בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וַאֲנִ֣י עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ ובדבריך [וּבִדְבָרְךָ֣] עָשִׂ֔יתִי אֵ֥ת כָּל־הַדְּבָרִ֖ים הָאֵֽלֶּה׃
Sucedeu pois que, sendo já hora de se oferecer o sacrifício da tarde, o profeta Elias se chegou, e disse: ç SENHOR, Deus de Abraão, de Isaque, e de Israel, seja manifestado hoje que tu és Deus em Israel, e que eu sou teu servo, e que conforme a tua palavra tenho feito todas estas coisas.
Olat Reiyah
R. Chelbo said in the name of Rav Huna, ‘one should always take care with the afternoon prayer because Eliyahu was only answered through the afternoon prayer, as it says “And it came to pass at the time of the afternoon offering that Eliyahu the prophet drew near and said…answer me, Lord, answer me…” (Melachim I 18:36-37) R. Yochanan said, ‘so too the nighttime prayer, as it says “Let my prayer be set before You as incense; and the lifting up of my hands like the evening offering.” (Tehillim 141:2) Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak said ‘so too the morning prayer, as it says “Lord, in the morning hear my voice; in the morning I will direct my prayer to You and wait expectantly.”’ (Tehillim 5:4) [Berachot 6b]
There are limbs which are doubled, whose redundancy is for enhanced safety, that if one should be lost the remaining one will fill its place. There are limbs each of which have their own intrinsic value, and if one is lost another cannot fill its place. Each of the three prayers fixed in their times is aligned with a particular aspect of the service of prayer, in such a manner that it cannot be considered a redundant limb, that at the very least one proper prayer will rise up from amongst the three; rather each one requires particular care in itself. One stands as a foundation against the overflowing of the inclination of one’s heart with the dissolution and foolishness that are mingled into the business of the world. This prayer restores one’s spiritual loss through pouring out the heart’s conversation before G–d, cleansing it of its false veneer (See Yechezkiel 13:10 as well as 22:28) with loftiness of pure conceptions of G–d consciousness and Divine service. The afternoon prayer acts toward this end. It comes after the intensity of the mundane concerns of the day, just as Eliyahu was answered then in his battle against the worship of the ba’al.59Ba’al, which in Hebrew means master, was the foundational male deity with which Israel was in conflict in the biblical period. See Kings I 18 for the story of Eliyahu’s final showdown with the priests of the Baal. And check out theageofprophecy.com The nighttime prayer lifts the human spirit into the glorious station of its soul, through the purification of thoughts and musings. “Let my prayer be set before You as incense…,” because the incense offering is a ‘thing done in secret’ (Yoma 44a) bringing about the fixing of one’s ways in their innermost chambers. (See Yechezkiel 8:12) It atones for evil speech said in private (Zevachim 88b) which occurs primarily through the thoughts of the heart (See Bereshit 6:5) , as it is written ”let one not devise evil in his heart against his neighbor…” (Zechariah 18:17) But in the morning, when evil influences have not yet clung to the powers of the soul, but they nevertheless lack a wholeness of potency due to the ascendency of physical nature during the night’s sleep, the morning prayer awakens and orders them in a framework of holiness, in a lofty accounting of righteousness and rectitude, in the awe of G–d and His love. “HaShem, in the morning hear my voice, in the morning I direct (e’eroch) my prayer to you,” the framework (ma’arechet) of my heart and the powers of my soul, “and I wait expectantly” that you will be with me to sustain my valor, because one who comes to purify himself receives assistance. (Shabbat 104a)
There are limbs which are doubled, whose redundancy is for enhanced safety, that if one should be lost the remaining one will fill its place. There are limbs each of which have their own intrinsic value, and if one is lost another cannot fill its place. Each of the three prayers fixed in their times is aligned with a particular aspect of the service of prayer, in such a manner that it cannot be considered a redundant limb, that at the very least one proper prayer will rise up from amongst the three; rather each one requires particular care in itself. One stands as a foundation against the overflowing of the inclination of one’s heart with the dissolution and foolishness that are mingled into the business of the world. This prayer restores one’s spiritual loss through pouring out the heart’s conversation before G–d, cleansing it of its false veneer (See Yechezkiel 13:10 as well as 22:28) with loftiness of pure conceptions of G–d consciousness and Divine service. The afternoon prayer acts toward this end. It comes after the intensity of the mundane concerns of the day, just as Eliyahu was answered then in his battle against the worship of the ba’al.59Ba’al, which in Hebrew means master, was the foundational male deity with which Israel was in conflict in the biblical period. See Kings I 18 for the story of Eliyahu’s final showdown with the priests of the Baal. And check out theageofprophecy.com The nighttime prayer lifts the human spirit into the glorious station of its soul, through the purification of thoughts and musings. “Let my prayer be set before You as incense…,” because the incense offering is a ‘thing done in secret’ (Yoma 44a) bringing about the fixing of one’s ways in their innermost chambers. (See Yechezkiel 8:12) It atones for evil speech said in private (Zevachim 88b) which occurs primarily through the thoughts of the heart (See Bereshit 6:5) , as it is written ”let one not devise evil in his heart against his neighbor…” (Zechariah 18:17) But in the morning, when evil influences have not yet clung to the powers of the soul, but they nevertheless lack a wholeness of potency due to the ascendency of physical nature during the night’s sleep, the morning prayer awakens and orders them in a framework of holiness, in a lofty accounting of righteousness and rectitude, in the awe of G–d and His love. “HaShem, in the morning hear my voice, in the morning I direct (e’eroch) my prayer to you,” the framework (ma’arechet) of my heart and the powers of my soul, “and I wait expectantly” that you will be with me to sustain my valor, because one who comes to purify himself receives assistance. (Shabbat 104a)