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וְכָל כָּךְ לָמָּה אֲמָרוּ לֵיהּ, בְּגִין דְּקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא אִתְרְעֵי תָּדִיר בִּצְלוֹתְהוֹן דְּצַדִּיקַיָא, וּמִתְעַטֵּר בִּצְלוֹתְהוֹן, כִּדְאַמְרִינָן דְּהַהוּא מַלְאָכָא דִּמְמַנָּא עַל צְלוֹתְהוֹן דְּיִשְׂרָאֵל, סַנְדַּלְפוֹן שְׁמֵיהּ, נָטֵיל כָּל אִינוּן צְלוֹתִין וְעָבֵיד מִנַּיְיהוּ עֲטָרָה לְחֵי הָעוֹלָמִים וְאוֹקְמוּהָ, וְכָל שֶׁכֵּן צְלוֹתְהוֹן דְּצַדִּיקַיָּא, דְּקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא אִתְרְעֵי בְּהוֹ, וְאִתְעַבְדָן עֲטָרָה, לְאִתְעַטְּרָא בְּאִינוּן צְלוֹתִין לְקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא. וְאִי תֵימָא, מַשִּׁרְיָין קַדִּישִׁין הֲווֹ אַתְיָין עִמֵּיהּ, אַמַּאי דָּחִיל. אֶלָּא צַדִּיקַיָיא לָא סַמְכִין עַל זְכוּתַיְיהוּ, אֶלָּא עַל צְלוֹתְהוֹן וּבָעוּתְהוֹן לְגַבֵּי מָארֵיהוֹן. |
Zohar,Berg,Vayishlach 44
Why was all this specified? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, always longs for the prayers of the righteous and adorns Himself with them. As we have already said, the angel in charge of the prayers of Yisrael, whose name is Sandalphon, receives all their prayers and weaves them into a crown for the Life of the Worlds. The Holy One, blessed be He, desires the prayers of the righteous all the more; they become a crown with which to adorn the Holy One, blessed be He. You may wonder why Jacob was fearful, since camps of holy angels accompanied him. He was fearful because the righteous do not rely on their merit, but on their prayers and supplications before their Master.
From The Master of Prayer ,Rebbe Nachmann
Once there was a Master of Prayer, who always devoted himself to prayer, songs and praises to the Holy One, Blessed be He. He dwelled outside of the settlement, but he often entered into the settlement. He would engage someone in discussion, typically people of low standing, such as destitute people and the like. He would speak to them heart to heart, about the purpose of life. That in essence, the only true purpose is to serve the L-rd all the days of one's life, to spend one's days praying to the L-rd, and in songs and praises. He would expound in such words of arousal, until they made an impression upon the person, until he wanted to join forces with him. As soon as the person showed readiness to join with him, he would seize him and spirit him away to his camp located outside the settlement. For the Master of Prayer had chosen a place outside of the settlement. And in that place, a river flowed, and there were also fruit trees. They would eat the fruits, and he was not strict about clothing at all.
(ח) וְעַל כֵּן יַעֲקֹב, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת הַשֵּׂכֶל כַּנַּ"ל, עַל כֵּן זָכָה לְחֵן, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (בראשית לג): כִּי חַנַּנִי אֱלֹקִים וְכוּ'. וְעַל כֵּן בֵּרַךְ אֶת הַשְּׁבָטִים בְּחֵן, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (שם): הַיְלָדִים אֲשֶׁר חָנַן וְכוּ'. וּבִנְיָמִין לֹא הָיָה אָז, וְעַל כֵּן בֵּרְכוֹ יוֹסֵף בְּחֵן, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (שם מג): אֱלֹקִים יָחְנְךָ בְּנִי. וְדַוְקָא יוֹסֵף הָיָה יָכוֹל לְבָרְכוֹ בְּחֵן, כִּי יוֹסֵף הָיָה כָּלוּל בְּיוֹתֵר מִבְּחִינַת יַעֲקֹב, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (שם לז): אֵלֶּה תֹּלְדוֹת יַעֲקֹב־יוֹסֵף, כִּי הוּא הָיָה עִקַּר תּוֹלְדוֹתָיו, כִּי יַעֲקֹב וְיוֹסֵף כְּחַדָּא חֲשִׁיבֵי. וְעַל כֵּן נֶאֱמַר בְּיוֹסֵף (דברים לג): בְּכוֹר שׁוֹרוֹ הָדָר לוֹ. בְּכוֹר הוּא בְּחִינַת הַשֵּׂכֶל כַּנַּ"ל. וְזֶהוּ שׁוֹרוֹ – לְשׁוֹן הִסְתַּכְּלוּת, כִּי צְרִיכִין לְהִסְתַּכֵּל בְּהַשֵּׂכֶל שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּכָל דָּבָר כַּנַּ"ל. וְזֶהוּ הָדָר לוֹ, תִּרְגֵּם אוּנְקֶלוּס: זִיו לֵיהּ, לְשׁוֹן אוֹר, כִּי הַשֵּׂכֶל מֵאִיר לוֹ בְּכָל דָּבָר; אֲפִלּוּ בְּמָקוֹם שֶׁהָיָה אֹפֶל וָחֹשֶׁךְ, מֵאִיר לוֹ הַשֵּׂכֶל, כְּשֶׁזּוֹכֶה לְהִסְתַּכֵּל עַל הַשֵּׂכֶל שֶׁיֵּשׁ שָׁם בְּכָל דָּבָר, וּמְקָרֵב אוֹתוֹ לְהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ:
(8) And therefore Ya`akov -- who is the idea of intellect as mentioned above -- therefore he merited to grace, as is written (Gen 33): "Because Elohim has dealt graciously with me" etc. And therefore he blessed the tribes with grace, as is written (there): "The children which Elohim has graciously given" etc. And Binyamin was not born yet, and therefore Yosef [later] blessed him with grace, as is written (there, 43): "Elohim be gracious unto you, my son." And specifically Yosef was able to bless him with grace, for Yosef was the most made up from the essense of Ya`akov, as is written (there, 37): "These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph…" for he was the essence of his generations, for "Ya`akov and Yosef are counted as one" [Zohar]. And therefore it is said of Yosef (Deut. 33): "B’khor shoro (his firstling bullock), hadar lo (majestic is he)." B’khor/Firstling is like the intellect as mentioned above, and this is [why it is expounded] that shoro[related to a word for vision]/bullock is a term for gazing, for one must look at the intellect that there is in every thing as mentioned. And this explains: “majestic is he;’ Onkelos renders it “radiance is his,” a term for light," for the intellect shines for him in every thing; even in a place that was darkness and gloom, the intellect shines for him, when one merits to look at the intelligence that exists there in every thing, and draws him closer to Hashem Yithbarakh:
From The Master of Prayer ,Rebbe Nachmann
So the Master of Prayer went and tempted people to service of the Holy One, Blessed be He. Yet it was not possible to recognize or catch him. For the Master of Prayer would act with cleverness, and would change and transform himself with each individual with whom he spoke. With one person he would appear a poor man, and with another a businessman, and with another, another identity, and so on.
A Parable of the Shiur by Karl Malchut
Who is the Master of Prayer?Surely Jacob merited it but everything in his life up until this point would not exactly qualify him as a Tzaddik but maybe it is not about what qualifies him but what does not qualify him?Like a teacher in a classroom the first day what do they know of their students ?Nothing yet everything.