Explanation of the Contemplation Before Prayer - Part 2

00:04 Okay, let’s discuss a few more details and get to the subject of contemplation. We won’t necessarily follow any particular order, but there are a few points to fill out the picture. First, I want to mention that it says in Shulchan Aruch, the laws of prayer, section 98, paragraph 1, I think, if I’m not mistaken. It’s brought in Orach Chaim in Shulchan Aruch, and the source is the Rema: before davening, one must think about the greatness of G-d and the lowliness of man. In other words, the source for this whole idea that one needs to contemplate is actually a halachah in Shulchan Aruch. It isn’t an innovation of Chassidus. It’s an explicit halachah in Shulchan Aruch. The Rema writes that before davening one must think about the greatness of G-d and the lowliness of man. In 5727, when the Rebbe launched the tefillin campaign, there was very strong opposition from the misnagdim. All the objections they raised about the tefillin campaign: Is it permitted according to halachah to put tefillin on a Jew in the street? All kinds of questions. The Rebbe spoke at length then, based on the revealed dimension of Torah, and answered and dismissed all the objections. There were very sharp sichos. Among other things, the Rebbe spoke about their using halachah—as though they were coming in the name of halachah—to oppose the tefillin campaign. The Rebbe cried out about it: as though halachah mattered to them. The misnagdim always claim against Chabad that they come in the name of halachah and we don’t follow halachah. So the Rebbe mentioned this halachah and said: There is an explicit halachah in Shulchan Aruch that before davening one must think about the greatness of G-d and the lowliness of man. I want to know whether any of those fighting the tefillin campaign fulfill this halachah. The Rebbe spoke very sharply about it: it’s an explicit halachah. So you don’t support the tefillin campaign, the Rebbe said. You don’t support it because of all the reasons you have

03:06 according to halachah. Then why don’t you launch a campaign to get people to think about the greatness of G-d and the lowliness of man before davening? After all, it’s an explicit halachah. The Rebbe cried out about this, and, friends, it is an explicit halachah. In practice, the misnagdim don’t fulfill this halachah, I can assure you. And it can only be fulfilled through Chassidus. Because a misnaged has nothing to think about before davening. What would he think about? Chassidus gives you something to think about: the greatness of G-d and the lowliness of man. By the way, on this very point, the Rebbe brings two interpretations in one of the maamarim in Sefer Hamaamarim [unclear]. What does “the greatness of G-d and the lowliness of man” mean? Does it mean two contemplations—that one must contemplate the greatness of G-d and also contemplate the lowliness of man? That there must be two subjects of contemplation: matters in Chassidus that explain G-d’s greatness and G-dliness, and also matters in Chassidus that explain the lowliness of man, such as maamarim on avodah that speak about man’s lowliness? Or does it mean the lowliness of man that comes as a result of contemplating G-d’s greatness? These aren’t two contemplations. You contemplate the greatness of G-d, and as a result you come to recognize what you are in relation to all the greatness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. That is the sense of lowliness that results from contemplation. On the whole, in that maamar, if I’m not mistaken, the Rebbe leans more toward the second approach: in the way of Chassidus, it need not be contemplation of both things, but rather man’s sense of lowliness arising from contemplating G-d’s greatness. In simple terms, when you contemplate, say, what Chassidus explains about [unclear], the unity of Hashem, and what it says on the subject, the lowliness that follows isn’t about how bad a person is. That’s not the kind of lowliness we’re talking about

05:25 here. We’re talking about how a person is utterly insignificant in relation to His true existence, to the truth of G-dliness—that there is no existence apart from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. That kind of lowliness is more relevant to the avodah of davening. There is a contemplation of one’s lowliness, involving bitterness, that belongs to Krias Shema before bed, but that is a different matter. Not in the middle of davening. In general, one must be careful with the avodah of davening. Chassidus wants davening to be approached more with joy, so the main contemplation during davening should be on something that brings a person a feeling of closeness, a feeling of vitality, a feeling of joy, a certain feeling—not so much something connected with lowliness in the literal sense. There are also directives from the Rebbe about this. Perhaps I’ll come back to that shortly, and we’ll touch on it. So, as we said, this is an explicit halachah. Then there is Sefer Haminhagim. There is a book called Sefer Haminhagim, which I think isn’t sufficiently appreciated among us rabbis, isn’t sufficiently well known, and isn’t studied enough. The Rebbe invested a great deal of effort in bringing out Sefer Haminhagim. Most of it—almost all of it, you could say—consists of customs the Rebbe himself wrote about in various places, which were gathered into one book. But the Rebbe himself was behind it. The Rebbe himself reviewed Sefer Haminhagim, and two chassidim worked on it in the early years: Reb Leibel Groner and Reb [unclear] Gringlass. They worked on Sefer Haminhagim, and the Rebbe stood behind it, encouraged it, and invested a great deal of effort in it. And it is precisely there that you find all the main Chabad customs. Other customs were collected over time afterward. Sefer Haminhagim actually came out—I don’t know what year—at the end of the [unclear] or the beginning of the [unclear]. And since then, afterward,

07:43 they published further customs, things discovered later and practices learned from the Rebbe. But Sefer Haminhagim is an absolutely fundamental book for every Chabad chossid who wants to know Chabad customs. There are many things I see bochurim not doing, or doing incorrectly. They simply don’t know the basic Chabad customs. Among other things, Sefer Haminhagim has a whole page about contemplation before davening, and that’s interesting. After all, Sefer Haminhagim is a book of customs. Nevertheless, it includes the idea that one must think before davening. It says that the Rebbeim, our Rebbeim and leaders, established the practice of contemplation before davening, and that it is something everyone must do. In other words, it presents this as part of Chabad custom. So much so that Sefer Haminhagim says the Rebbeim wanted people to contemplate before davening to such an extent that, at certain times, they even allowed it to come at the expense of davening with a minyan. Directives came from our Rebbeim that one could even forgo davening with a minyan in order to daven with contemplation, if that was needed. Of course, each person needs permission and guidance from his mashpia on this. But I’m just saying that it’s written in Sefer Haminhagim, which means this isn’t something reserved for people on a lofty level. People think that contemplating before davening is something you do if you’re a very chassidish bochur and want to reach for the heavens, if you want to be holy. But what does Sefer Haminhagim imply? That it’s one of the Chabad customs, just as, for example, Chabad custom is to put on Rabbeinu Tam tefillin starting from bar mitzvah, or to wash each hand three times with negel vasser before eating. These are Chabad customs, things everyone does.

09:43 That’s simple. Or you wash your hands using a towel. Along the same lines, contemplation before davening is one of the Chabad customs. We need to observe it. Of course, one person contemplates at greater length and another less so, but contemplation itself is one of the Chabad customs, and we need to accept and observe it out of respect for the sefer. I mentioned the Rebbe Rashab earlier. There’s something interesting he writes in Sefer Hamaamarim 5669. I don’t remember exactly which page or which maamar, but it’s there in the sefer. In avodas Hashem generally, as we said earlier, a strong distinction is made between the avodah of Krias Shema She’al Hamitah and the avodah of davening. Krias Shema She’al Hamitah is an avodah of bitterness, teshuvah, and taking stock of oneself. Davening is an avodah of joy and love. In particular, the contemplation before Krias Shema She’al Hamitah is about things that prompt a person to take stock, to do teshuvah and feel bitterness. The contemplation before davening is about things that arouse a feeling of closeness, joy, and love. So what does the Rebbe Rashab write in 5669? He writes that we see a number of people engaged in avodas Hashem, particularly those at the beginning of their avodah—he presumably means people, bochurim—who find it hard to awaken feelings of teshuvah during Krias Shema She’al Hamitah. That’s what he writes. They find it hard to reach a feeling of arousal and bitterness in that avodah, in whatever form. Presumably—though he doesn’t say this explicitly—it might be because of tiredness, or any number of other reasons. During davening, by contrast, they’re already in a state of alertness, so it’s easier for them then to enter into a feeling of bitterness. Bitterness. He’s talking about teshuvah. During Krias Shema She’al Hamitah,

12:21 they find it hard to awaken those feelings. A person who has been serving Hashem and fearing Hashem for a long time, he writes, has already trained himself. When Krias Shema She’al Hamitah comes, he can enter into a state of teshuvah and bitterness, and during davening he can enter into a state of joy. But someone who is still finding avodas Hashem difficult can more easily be aroused to the avodah of teshuvah in the middle of davening. So the Rebbe Rashab says that although this is not the proper way, not the desired approach—davening should specifically be joyful—nevertheless, it can be done. Since he still finds it hard to bring himself to a state of arousal during Krias Shema She’al Hamitah, and the arousal to teshuvah comes to him in the middle of davening, you can leave it as it is. You don’t need to suppress it. And in practice, it will have an effect on him. That’s what he writes there. That too is worth knowing from time to time. Now, when we speak about this, we also need to know that our Rebbe wasn’t especially fond of—or how should I put it—didn’t generally encourage an avodah of bitterness. The Rebbe maintained that in our generation we don’t have the capacity for an avodah based on bitterness, and because we don’t have that capacity, we shouldn’t pursue it either. That isn’t the path of avodas Hashem. The Rebbe spoke very strongly about the path of avodah being one of joy. The Rebbe even said that Krias Shema She’al Hamitah should be done with joy. At first glance, what does Krias Shema She’al Hamitah have to do with joy? It’s hard to understand. Nevertheless, the Rebbe spoke about

14:13 doing the avodah of teshuvah with joy. There are several sichos in which the Rebbe explains this. We won’t get into them now, because that would take us away from the subject of contemplation. But the Rebbe’s approach was that, in our generation, throughout avodas Hashem we should always try to arouse ourselves specifically to a state of joy, rather than bitterness and a broken spirit. Reb Dudin[?] has a well-known story: once, in yechidus, the Rebbe told him to go say Krias Shema She’al Hamitah. The Rebbe told him to do it with joy—“with joy and gladness of heart.” Reb Dudin[?] said he had never had a Krias Shema She’al Hamitah like that one. It was a truly glatt Krias Shema She’al Hamitah. The Rebbe told him, “Krias Shema She’al Hamitah? With joy and gladness of heart.” It was already morning. He said to the Rebbe, “It’s already morning.” The yechidus, I think, had ended; it was already seven in the morning. He told the Rebbe, “It must be morning.” So the Rebbe told him to close the—lower the shades, and then it would be night, and to say Krias Shema She’al Hamitah with joy. Yes. Incidentally, that’s something each young man needs to work out for himself. But let’s return to our subject, contemplation. There was a chossid named Reb Nissan Nemenov. Reb Nissan Nemenov had a vort. Actually, it wasn’t his vort; it came from earlier chassidim. But Reb Nissan would repeat it often. He would say the following about contemplation. It says, “And Hashem saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb.” He would cite the explanation in Chassidus of what Rachel and Leah represent: Rachel is the world of speech, and Leah is the world

16:18 of thought. That’s how Chassidus explains it. You’ll see in Torah Or, in Parshas Vayeitzei, that the difference between Rachel and Leah is that Rachel is the world of speech and Leah is the world of thought. So, “And Hashem saw that Leah was unloved.” Leah, of course, represents the higher world, while Rachel represents the lower world. The older and the younger—the two daughters. “The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.” The larger hei and the smaller hei correspond to binah and malchus. In the teachings, binah is thought and malchus is speech. “And Hashem saw that Leah was unloved.” People don’t want to think. Leah is unloved. The world of thought is... When you speak, you speak, and people hear you. You’re a speaker, a preacher. But thought—people don’t... “And Hashem saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb.” It is specifically Leah, thought, whose womb is opened, and from her come the tribes. In other words, the birth of a person’s middos—all these things—comes specifically through the world of thought. There is a very fundamental point in 5659, and in Hemshech 5666, that brings us to contemplation. The Rebbe Rashab discusses three approaches to the avodah of davening. One is to daven with an understanding of the meaning of the words: to say the words while considering what they mean. That is the usual way of davening. Then he says there is an approach in which a person contemplates not only the meaning of the words, but their meaning according to Chassidus. That is, he contemplates their meaning more deeply—not just their plain meaning, but as Chassidus explains it. You have a verse, a chapter of Tehillim, various passages, and you know how Chassidus explains them. Certainly, when you say them with their meaning in Chassidus in mind, it is much deeper. This itself can be done in two ways. One is to consider the Chassidic explanation briefly. And there is a third approach, the loftier one, which is

18:50 Extended contemplation means contemplating a concept, a verse, or a chapter at length, according to Chassidus. It is detailed contemplation. Afterward, when he says that verse or chapter during davening, it affects him in a much more inward way. These are three approaches to the avodah of davening. Of course, in the order of avodah, you must not skip steps; everyone has to proceed at his own pace. First, you need to understand the plain meaning of the words. Then you need to learn their meaning according to Chassidus, though not yet with all the details at length. And of course, we are not talking about the entire davening. We mean one part of davening, one chapter, another chapter, and so on. After that, there is a kind of contemplation in which you take a particular concept, verse, or chapter and contemplate the subject at length. Then, when you say that chapter during davening, it has an entirely different effect. For example, there are several stories. The first concerns davening with an understanding of the words. There is one story about the Rebbe Rashab and another about the Rebbe. I heard the story about the Rebbe Rashab from Reb Mottel Kozliner, who related it in the name of chassidim who were there. Once, there were some young men in Lubavitch. One of the mashpi’im at the time was Reb Michoel der Alter, and he said that the younger students had begun davening at length. They were a group of younger students, not yet older bochurim, who had begun davening at length. The Rebbe Rashab said to him, “[unclear], we need to tell them that if one davens for seventy years, for the first sixty years one should daven simply with an understanding of the words, [unclear].” They thought they wanted to daven at length, but davening with an understanding of the words throughout one’s life is itself a tremendous avodah. That is to say, it was not that he wanted to dismiss the matter of

21:17 the Frierdiker Rebbe, but he wanted to discourage young bochurim who were still at the beginning of their avodah from jumping ahead to daven at length before they had even begun davening with an understanding of the words. So that is one story about understanding the words. The second story took place with the Frierdiker Rebbe, after he was already in America. The bochurim who had left Russia wrote to the Frierdiker Rebbe from Paris, from Brunoy. This was in 5705, 5706, 5707, 5708—those years. They wanted guidance in the avodah of davening. The Frierdiker Rebbe wrote them a very sharp letter, rather short and very sharp. He wrote that they should stop trying to “climb the walls,” to ascend to higher levels. They were still lacking the alef-beis of being G-d-fearing Jews, the alef-beis of kabbolas ol. First of all, you need to know that during davening you must sit in one place, look in the siddur, say it word by word, and think about the meaning of the words. You must not talk during Shema, or during Kaddish or Kedushah, and you must give all the required responses. After they had done that for a few years, then they could talk. The Frierdiker Rebbe really laid it all out for them... It was very sharp. I saw the letter; it was published. I think it is letter 401. He completely cut through all of that. That is one side of it, because that is the proper order of avodah. As for davening with the meaning of the words according to Chassidus, there is a very interesting yechidus that was published a few years ago. They found it—I don’t know where; perhaps it appeared in Tzefunos some years ago, and now it has come out in He’aros. It is a yechidus, now published in Toras Menachem, volume 30, between the Rebbe and the Toldos Aharon Rebbe, the [unclear] Rebbe, in 5721. The Rebbe speaks with him about the avodah of davening, and he tells the Rebbe that they daven according to the Alter Rebbe’s instructions. He tells the Rebbe that they daven

23:52 according to the Alter Rebbe’s instructions. What are the Alter Rebbe’s instructions? The Alter Rebbe writes that davening should take an hour and a half. It says in Tanya, in Igeres Hakodesh, that Shacharis should take an hour and a half, so they make sure their davening takes an hour and a half every day. If only we did that. Anyway, that is still how it is there today, you know. They daven Shacharis for an hour and a half, as it says in Igeres Hakodesh. The Rebbe asked him, “What do you do? What do you do for an hour and a half?” He said, “We daven the words with a lot of vitality.” “And what do you contemplate?” “The meaning—the plain meaning.” So the Rebbe said to him, “Well, if it’s only the words and their plain meaning, where is the life in the davening?” He said, “The life is in saying the words with... with...” For them, it means saying the words, shouting them, crying out intensely. So the Rebbe told him that the approach should be through contemplation. The Rebbe explained to him that if you truly want real vitality, you need contemplation. So he said to the Rebbe, “Contemplation? What is that? That belongs to learning. This is davening. It has to be davening. It isn’t...” So the Rebbe said to him: “Imagine”—it is recorded that the Rebbe gave him an example—someone says the verse in Az Yashir, “This is my G-d and I will glorify Him; my father’s G-d and I will exalt Him.” If he knows the plain meaning, what is it? “This is my G-d and I will glorify Him” means He is my G-d and I praise Him. “My father’s G-d and I will exalt Him” means He is my father’s G-d and I exalt Him. That is the translation. It says the same thing in different words; that is what Rashi says. Then there is the explanation of the Shelah. The holy Shelah explains that “This is my G-d” refers to understanding

26:07 and contemplation: He is my G-d because I came to this through contemplation and understanding. “And I will glorify Him,” ve’anveihu, can be read as ani v’Hu, “I and He”: when He becomes my G-d through understanding and contemplation, then He and I are united as one. “Ve’anveihu”—I and He become one. “My father’s G-d” refers to faith. My father’s G-d is the G-dliness that comes through faith. “And I will exalt Him” means that I exalt Him and hold Him close to my heart. So the Rebbe repeated the holy Shelah’s explanation to him. Then the Rebbe said, “Imagine your students knew this explanation of the holy Shelah. When they said this verse, they would contemplate not only its plain meaning but the Shelah’s explanation of the verse. Surely that would have a different effect. There would be much greater enthusiasm in those words. [unclear]—it stifles that.” That was the example the Rebbe gave. I don’t think he quite understood it. But in any case, we can understand our Rebbe. Yes, so the point is that there is contemplation of the meaning of the words. Then there is davening with the meaning of the words according to Chassidus. Beyond that, there is davening with a verse: you contemplate a concept at length, and then, during davening, that concept you contemplated at length is present in the verse, passage, or chapter you are saying. That is detailed contemplation. It is specifically this that the Rebbe Rashab discusses at length in chapter 6 of Kuntres Hatefillah, as we have mentioned in previous classes. He explains how much can be achieved specifically through detailed contemplation. Although on the surface you might think that detailed contemplation does not stir the heart—it is, after all, detailed contemplation—it actually has a much deeper, more inward effect, as he explains at length in chapter 6 of Kuntres Hatefillah. So, here.