וּמֶ֤ה ׀ חֵ֣לֶק אֱל֣וֹהַּ מִמָּ֑עַל וְֽנַחֲלַ֥ת שַׁ֝דַּ֗י מִמְּרֹמִֽים׃
װאָרום װאָס איז דער חלק פֿון גאָט פֿון אױבן, און די אַרב פֿון אַלמאַכטיקן פֿון דער הײך?
Olat Reiyah
Prayer is for us, and for the whole world, an absolute necessity27If you don’t really recognize the world as a place that ought to be more perfect, and you don’t live that strain, that desire that the world be more perfect, in such an intense way that you just can’t put up with the world staying the way it is, so you’re really not going to be praying from the place of depth that tefillah is meant to come from. Rav Daniel Kohn, and the most fitting pleasure28Pleasure seems to have gained a bad name in religion, and how many people associate prayer with the experience of pleasure? See the introduction to the Eglei Tal and Tomer Devorah perek sheni which explore oneg Shabbat as the experience of harmonious existence. Here is a line on the subject from R’ Kook Orot Hakodesh II
הרעיון שכל ההויה כולה היא רק ענין האלהות ואין עוד דבר לגמרי מבלעדי ד', הוא מענג את הלב מאד. התענוג הרוחני שהרעיון הזה מסבב הוא המופת על צד האמת המתבטא על ידו
The idea that all existence is Divine, and there is absolutely nothing other than G–d, causes the heart great pleasure. The spiritual pleasure which this notion brings about is indicative of the truth which it expresses.
Also taste this wisdom on pleasure from the Holy Rebbe of Piaseczno –
אמור מעתה שלא רק מי שזוכה להתלהב אך גם מי שמתרגש, התרגשותו ראשית התגלות הנפש היא אשר עליה גם אור ממרום הופיע, ורגשי ענג עם התרגשות קדש אשר ירגיש האיש בתפלתו, עבודתו ותורתו, הברקת ניצוץ הענג ולהבי קודש מן חלק הגן עדן שלו היא, אשר ירגיש אחר אריכות ימיו ושנותיו בעולם הנצח שלו, בשירתו, תפלתו ותורתו וכשיכסף הוא אליו ותברך, ויבוא ד' להשתעשע בגן עדן עם הצדיקים ועמו. וקדושי החסידות מצאו רמז לזה בדברי הגמרא (ברכות יז) עולמך תראה בחייך, שרמזה הגמרא להאיש, שאת עולמך, עולם העתיד שלך, תוכל לראות בחייך. כי ההתרגשות והענג שאתה מתרגש ומתענג בעבודתך בעולם הזה הארת עולמך של עולם העליון היא.
הכשרת אברכים פרק ג
And now we can say that not only one who is on fire with holiness but also one excited by emotion, his excitation is the first step in the revelation of his soul, upon which the light from on high shines; and the feelings of pleasure which one feels in his prayer, his service, his Torah, together with holy excitation, are a flash of the spark of pleasure and holy flames from his portion in Paradise, which he will feel (after a long life) in his eternal world, in his song, prayer and Torah and when he longs for the Holy One and G–d comes to sport with the righteous in Paradise, and with him. And the holy chassidim found a hint to this in the gemara (Berachot 17) “may you see your world in your lifetime.” The gemara is hinting to you that you can see your world, your future world, in this life. Because the emotional excitation and the pleasure which you feel, and the taking of pleasure in your service in this world are a reflection of the light of your portion in the highest world. among all pleasures. The waves of our soul29A wave is an important metaphor which can help us hold the mystery of an existence which is separate but not discreet. A wave is not something other than the sea from which it emerges, it of the same substance but its form is expressive of energy moving through the sea. In the same way, the waves of the soul are not something other than the soul, they are pulses of emotional and spiritual energy which flow through and give specific form in a particular moment. In a sense, this is one way to navigate the relationship between our individuality and the all-encompassing nature of G–d as “there is none beside Him” (Dev. 4:35), we are not other than G–d, but our particular existence gains form through the waves of Divine will we experience, particularly in prayer. The specificity of our lives is shaped by G–d passing through. pour outward, and we desire from ourselves and from the world a wholeness of the sort which bounded existence cannot provide30One of the great mysteries of human existence is the sense of the potential wholeness and perfection which humanity and creation could achieve which so many cultures have, whatever their particular articulation may be. What is the source of this sense? Surely not looking at history or the world round us. Here Rav Kook posits it as a driving force for the constant prayer of the soul, and one might say that if the soul is truly ‘a piece of G–d from on high’ (Job 31:2) as the chassidim teach then it itself is the source of this longing. See section 1:7., and because of this we find ourselves mired in great anguish, whose sadness has the potential to remove us from our consciousness of self and of Creator31See gemara Eruvin 41b for the rabbinic usage of this phrase. In general, we must define da’at in order that we can engage in transformative prayer.
See Olat Reiyah, Songs for Motzei Shabbat 3. But before much time passes, before these shallows32שרטון is a sandbar can manifest within us, we come and pray. We pour out our plea and are lifted up to a world of existence whole to the utmost wholeness. Then our inner world is made truly whole, to the utmost wholeness33By letting the world, the Divine will for wholeness, flow through us we give voice to the most primal desire of creation and become fully participant in its process, no longer a broken of fragment of the world.
…והנה השיר מורה על השלמות, שהשמחה וההשגה כשהן מצורפות הוא השלמות האמיתית, וכשהם במילואם ימצא השיר… (עין איה א א ה)
…Song indicates the existence of wholeness, because when joy and comprehension are joined this is the true wholeness – and in their fullness is found song… (from Ein Ayah I 1:5), and our consciousness is filled with serenity, and that weight which our inner decision works on existence, of which our inner life is also a part, tips (see Kiddushin 40a, Rambam Hilchot Teshuva 3:4) the entire world to the side of merit.
הרעיון שכל ההויה כולה היא רק ענין האלהות ואין עוד דבר לגמרי מבלעדי ד', הוא מענג את הלב מאד. התענוג הרוחני שהרעיון הזה מסבב הוא המופת על צד האמת המתבטא על ידו
The idea that all existence is Divine, and there is absolutely nothing other than G–d, causes the heart great pleasure. The spiritual pleasure which this notion brings about is indicative of the truth which it expresses.
Also taste this wisdom on pleasure from the Holy Rebbe of Piaseczno –
אמור מעתה שלא רק מי שזוכה להתלהב אך גם מי שמתרגש, התרגשותו ראשית התגלות הנפש היא אשר עליה גם אור ממרום הופיע, ורגשי ענג עם התרגשות קדש אשר ירגיש האיש בתפלתו, עבודתו ותורתו, הברקת ניצוץ הענג ולהבי קודש מן חלק הגן עדן שלו היא, אשר ירגיש אחר אריכות ימיו ושנותיו בעולם הנצח שלו, בשירתו, תפלתו ותורתו וכשיכסף הוא אליו ותברך, ויבוא ד' להשתעשע בגן עדן עם הצדיקים ועמו. וקדושי החסידות מצאו רמז לזה בדברי הגמרא (ברכות יז) עולמך תראה בחייך, שרמזה הגמרא להאיש, שאת עולמך, עולם העתיד שלך, תוכל לראות בחייך. כי ההתרגשות והענג שאתה מתרגש ומתענג בעבודתך בעולם הזה הארת עולמך של עולם העליון היא.
הכשרת אברכים פרק ג
And now we can say that not only one who is on fire with holiness but also one excited by emotion, his excitation is the first step in the revelation of his soul, upon which the light from on high shines; and the feelings of pleasure which one feels in his prayer, his service, his Torah, together with holy excitation, are a flash of the spark of pleasure and holy flames from his portion in Paradise, which he will feel (after a long life) in his eternal world, in his song, prayer and Torah and when he longs for the Holy One and G–d comes to sport with the righteous in Paradise, and with him. And the holy chassidim found a hint to this in the gemara (Berachot 17) “may you see your world in your lifetime.” The gemara is hinting to you that you can see your world, your future world, in this life. Because the emotional excitation and the pleasure which you feel, and the taking of pleasure in your service in this world are a reflection of the light of your portion in the highest world. among all pleasures. The waves of our soul29A wave is an important metaphor which can help us hold the mystery of an existence which is separate but not discreet. A wave is not something other than the sea from which it emerges, it of the same substance but its form is expressive of energy moving through the sea. In the same way, the waves of the soul are not something other than the soul, they are pulses of emotional and spiritual energy which flow through and give specific form in a particular moment. In a sense, this is one way to navigate the relationship between our individuality and the all-encompassing nature of G–d as “there is none beside Him” (Dev. 4:35), we are not other than G–d, but our particular existence gains form through the waves of Divine will we experience, particularly in prayer. The specificity of our lives is shaped by G–d passing through. pour outward, and we desire from ourselves and from the world a wholeness of the sort which bounded existence cannot provide30One of the great mysteries of human existence is the sense of the potential wholeness and perfection which humanity and creation could achieve which so many cultures have, whatever their particular articulation may be. What is the source of this sense? Surely not looking at history or the world round us. Here Rav Kook posits it as a driving force for the constant prayer of the soul, and one might say that if the soul is truly ‘a piece of G–d from on high’ (Job 31:2) as the chassidim teach then it itself is the source of this longing. See section 1:7., and because of this we find ourselves mired in great anguish, whose sadness has the potential to remove us from our consciousness of self and of Creator31See gemara Eruvin 41b for the rabbinic usage of this phrase. In general, we must define da’at in order that we can engage in transformative prayer.
See Olat Reiyah, Songs for Motzei Shabbat 3. But before much time passes, before these shallows32שרטון is a sandbar can manifest within us, we come and pray. We pour out our plea and are lifted up to a world of existence whole to the utmost wholeness. Then our inner world is made truly whole, to the utmost wholeness33By letting the world, the Divine will for wholeness, flow through us we give voice to the most primal desire of creation and become fully participant in its process, no longer a broken of fragment of the world.
…והנה השיר מורה על השלמות, שהשמחה וההשגה כשהן מצורפות הוא השלמות האמיתית, וכשהם במילואם ימצא השיר… (עין איה א א ה)
…Song indicates the existence of wholeness, because when joy and comprehension are joined this is the true wholeness – and in their fullness is found song… (from Ein Ayah I 1:5), and our consciousness is filled with serenity, and that weight which our inner decision works on existence, of which our inner life is also a part, tips (see Kiddushin 40a, Rambam Hilchot Teshuva 3:4) the entire world to the side of merit.