Questions for today:
Unpacking the process of prayer as a means to connect to the Creator, what does this tell us about our emotional exercises during this process?
We learned yesterday that prayer is the ladder that gets us closer and closer to the creator, the high level of return.
This is why the Mishnah tells us that before we pray, we have to be serious.
Most of our laws of our prayer come from the Prophetess Chanah, and it says ‘vehi maras nefesh’, “she was bitter”.
This is because we learned that before becoming one with the Creator, we have to get rid of everything that's blocking us. We get rid of all the bad by being tough with it.
Of course, that's only the preparation. Once we are actually one with the Creator when we're praying, we have to be happy - The Mishnah tells us we have to pray with joy.
Even the times of the Tanya, it wasn't possible for people to do both in one sitting. The recommendation then was to get up at midnight to be bitter, and then to get up in the morning and be joyous to pray.
If people couldn't get up at midnight every night, at least once before Shabbat when the whole world becomes one with the Creator, as though the creator is inhaling.
In today's day and age, there are other recommendations for this process.
216 21 Tanya Tammuz 27 ~ m244 21 Menachem Av 2
Tanya book 3, Ch 10, pt2
Study today’s Tanya in full:
https://www.chabadmed.com/dailystudy/tanya.asp?tdate=7/30/2022
See today’s video: