Sources – Chapter C/4 – Telephone (Tel Peh) – The Secret of Prayer

Speech

Our Sages of blessed memory said: lashon hara (evil speech) is as grave as idolatry, sexual immorality and bloodshed. One must examine closely: what does idolatry have to do with lashon hara? But the matter is as it is written (Psalms 73:6): “By the word of Hashem the heavens were made” – that all the worlds and all the creatures were created by speech, by the twenty-two letters of the Torah, which is called Malchut Shamayim (the Kingship of Heaven). For when the king does not speak, people do not know how to do his will, and when he speaks his will is revealed; and this is the Kingship of Heaven, “and His kingship rules over all.” And it is stated in Sefer Yetzirah: “He fixed them in the mouth” – that Hashem, blessed be He, fixed the twenty-two letters, the world of speech, the Kingship of Heaven, the attribute of Adnut (Lordship) – “Adonai, open my lips” – He fixed it in the mouth of man.

Now Hashem, blessed be He, does not speak lashon hara about Israel, just as a father does not speak ill of his son. It follows that when a person speaks lashon hara he shows that he denies that his speech is the Kingship of Heaven, the attribute of Adonai, and therefore he is like one who worships idols. And this is the saying of King David, peace be upon him (Psalms 12:5): “Who have said: With our tongues we will prevail” – meaning, the wicked say, we will make our tongues mighty to speak, for “our lips are with us; who is lord over us?” – meaning, they deny that the Lordship is in their mouths. But one must believe that his speech is the Kingship of Heaven. And this is the saying of the Sages of blessed memory: “And who rules over Me? The tzaddik” – meaning, the tzaddik rules with Me, with My speech, which is the Kingship of Heaven that rules over all the worlds and all the creatures. And how does one come to this faith? Through engagement in Torah: when he speaks words of Torah and binds his speech to the letters of the Torah, he draws the Kingship of Heaven into it.

Now, there is a dispute brought in [Tractate] Arachin: one says that one who has spoken [lashon hara] has no remedy, and one says, let him engage in Torah, as it is said (Proverbs 15:4): “A healing tongue is a tree of life.” Surely they do not truly disagree, for it is a rule throughout the Torah that “these and these are the words of the living God.” Here too: when he engages in Torah not for its own sake, surely he has no remedy; but when he engages in it for its own sake and binds his speech to the letters of the Torah, he draws the Kingship of Heaven into it, and this is “a healing tongue is a tree of life.”

And this is “This shall be the law (torah) of the metzora (the leper)” – meaning, the Torah and the study of the motzi ra (one who brings out evil [speech]) on the day of his purification shall be in order to elevate and bind his speech, which is the Kingship of Heaven, called “zot” (this), to the Torah; and then “he shall be brought to the kohen” – meaning to Hashem, blessed be He, who is called Kohen (Priest).

(Me’or Einayim – Metzora)

“Each man by his banner, with the signs (otot), of their fathers’ house.” This is what is written (Psalms 20:6): “We will sing for joy in Your salvation, and in the name of our God we will raise our banners (nidgol).” And how do we know that it is of love? As it is said (Song of Songs 2:4): “And his banner over me is love.” It is already known that the Patriarchs are themselves the Merkavah (the Chariot), and each person, through the aspect of the Patriarchs within him, is the Chariot; only that the children are in the aspect of “the legs of their father,” and the Chariot must be complete. And we say “God of Abraham…”, which are the aspect of the Patriarchs themselves in their completeness. Now it is written (Numbers 21:18): “And from the wilderness (midbar) – Mattanah (a gift)” – that Hashem, blessed be He, gave us His speech (dibbur) as a gift. For Abraham fulfilled the entire Torah before it was given, since his love was complete, and he fulfilled the Torah, the Torah of kindness, before it was given. But Israel, who are “the legs of their father,” needed to be given the speech of Torah as a gift. And speech (dibbur) is a term of leadership (Psalms 47:4): “He subdues (yadber) peoples under us” – for through speech everything is conducted. And they need to enter the level of the Patriarchs, as said in “God of Abraham” etc. And this is “Each man by his banner, with the signs (be-otot)” – meaning, every person can come, through the letters (otiyot), to the house – be-otam – to the aspect of the Patriarchs; they will be returned to their root.

Now, all the souls that have fallen – a person must elevate to their root those which belong to his own root, as explained elsewhere. And in truth there is no soul that will not be rectified, God forbid; for it will rise from level to level until it reaches the place of its rectification, for He, blessed be He, “devises means so that the banished one not be cast away from Him.” But all this is when there is no one to rectify it: then it must go from level to level in order, and the matter takes long. But when there is someone who rectifies it with words of Torah and prayer – for the soul is letters that have fallen, and therefore its elevation too is through letters – then it can skip several levels and be rectified at once. And this is “Each man by his banner, with the signs” – that through the letters he will gather all those that belong to his root, so that they reach the house of their fathers, their root. And it has already been explained that the salvation of Israel is the salvation of the Holy One, blessed be He. And this is “We will sing for joy in Your salvation” etc. And it says, “And how do we know that it is of love? As it is said” etc. – meaning, that through the great love with which he binds himself to the Holy One, blessed be He, he raises the sparks that fell above their level, and they skip several levels at once. And this is “Do not read ve-diglo (and his banner) but ve-dilugo (and his skipping) over me is love” – for the Holy One, blessed be He, greatly loves it when some spark is rectified and brought up. And this is “ve-diglo” – what he gathers – “over me is love”; and why is it “ve-dilugo”? Meaning, like one who skips several levels, because of the love.

(Me’or Einayim – Bamidbar)

It is known what our Sages of blessed memory said in the Talmud: “And God spoke all these words, saying” – this teaches that the entire Torah was said in a single utterance, which the mouth cannot speak and the ear cannot hear, until Israel said to Moses, “You speak with us and we will hear” etc.

To understand this: did not the Creator, blessed be He, know that Israel did not have the strength and ability to hear in this manner, with the whole Torah included in one utterance? If so, for what purpose did He say it in one utterance? But the truth is, as is known, that the Torah was given as general and particular (klal u-prat): the general needs the particular and the particular needs the general. For the secret of the giving of the Torah is in Sefer Yetzirah: “He fixed them in the mouth” – that the lights of the twenty-two letters of the Torah were fixed in the mouth of man, the aspect of inner and holy speech, from His holiness, blessed be He, which is the intellect and the holy life-force from Him, blessed be He. And this is the difference between Israel, the people close to Him, and the nations of the world: although they too have speech, it is only external speech. As is known, this is called “a living soul” (nefesh chayah), as Targum Onkelos renders the verse (Genesis 1:7) “And man became a living soul” – “a speaking spirit” (ruach memalela) – which is the essential holy life-force within man, and through it he cleaves himself above. As is known, this is the essence of the giving of the Torah in a general way: that the general speech was fixed in the mouth of man, and this general [gift] is present in each and every Jew, even an unlearned person (am ha-aretz); only the general needs to be elaborated, so that one must learn the Torah in its particulars. But had the general holy speech not first been given inwardly, a person could not come to complete perfection and to understanding the Torah in its truth. And through the five articulations of the mouth (motza’ot ha-peh) in their inwardness he can reach the particular and conduct himself in everything, even in the matters of this world, according to the Torah.

For it is known that the secret of speech is the conduct of the world, as the word davar is a term of leadership, as in (Psalms 47:4) “He subdues (yadber) peoples under us.” As is known, it is the secret of the final Heh of the Unique Name, which is the aspect of Adnut (Lordship) – “the Lord of the earth” – for all the conduct of the world is through this attribute. And therefore every aspect and every conduct of the world in all its affairs is all through speech – such as commerce and everything similar – which is the speech by which all the creatures were created, as it is written (ibid. 33:6): “By the word of Hashem the heavens were made” etc. And it is the aspect of the five articulations, which is the Torah, as it is written, “And I was with Him as a nursling (amon)”; for it is the utterance of the mouth of Hashem, that He, blessed be He, flows into the five articulations; for the light of Ein Sof (the Infinite), blessed be He, flows into the letters and into everything that was created by the letters, which is all the worlds and their fullness. For “the Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, are one,” and the power of the Maker is within the made. And in everything there are the five articulations in concealment, and the Life of all life, the light of Ein Sof, blessed be He, flows in the concealment of the letters that are clothed and hidden in that thing – and especially in the Torah, the light of Ein Sof, blessed be He, flows into the letters.

And a person must not defile the five articulations that were fixed in his mouth, for the light of Ein Sof also flows into these five articulations, which are the general giving of the Torah. Let him guard his mouth and his tongue from evil, so as not to defile it with words of falsehood, lashon hara, gossip (rechilut) and idle words, so that he not separate the five articulations fixed in his mouth from the Life of all life, the light of Ein Sof, blessed be He, as said. And when he guards himself from defiling his mouth, it will then be easy for him, in his engagement in Torah and prayer, to cleave himself through the letters fixed in his mouth to the light of Ein Sof, blessed be He, which flows within the letters – since he has not been separated from Him, blessed be He, and he has guarded his speech.

As we have said elsewhere on what is written (ibid. 58:2): “Do you indeed speak righteousness, O silent ones (ha-umnam elem tzedek tedaberun)?” – What is a man’s craft (umanut) in this world? Let him make himself like a mute (ilem). Could it be even regarding words of Torah? Therefore the verse says: “speak righteousness.” For when the Jewish person believes that this speech fixed in his mouth is nothing but the aspect of the giving of the Torah and the aspect of His Shechinah (Divine Presence), blessed be He, which dwells in the lower realms through the opening of the body, which is speech in the five articulations; and that He, blessed be He, flows into and enlivens that speech in his mouth, and the Lordship that dwells within him is the one speaking, as it is written (ibid. 51:17), “Adonai, open my lips” – the intent being that the Lordship will open my lips, so that they speak the words with the life-force flowing from Him, which is the aspect of Adnut, as said – surely, if he believed this with complete faith, he would know that in himself he is like a mute, and that He, blessed be He, as it were, is the one speaking these words in Torah and prayer. And he would not act for his own sake at all, and he would cleave himself to His great light, and would yearn with fierce love to cleave himself to the Primordial Speech (ha-dibbur ha-kadum) from which all words emanated. All the more so he would not speak words separated from Him, blessed be He, such as words of lashon hara and gossip. And even in all the necessary affairs of this world he would not be interrupted from his cleaving to Him, blessed be He, for there too is the hidden Primordial Speech, since by it they were created, as said; and there would be no speech separating him, for his conversation would not be mundane conversation, as is known. And this is “What is a man’s craft in this world?” – even in all the matters of this world let him make himself like a mute, that in himself he be like a mute, through his faith that the speech is the Lordship, His Shechinah, blessed be He, dwelling in his five articulations, as said.

“Could it be even regarding words of Torah?” – Explanation: as is known, the secret that “the husk precedes the fruit,” that a person must go from level to level. Before he sets his heart to learn His Torah, blessed be He – even though he does not yet have this level of learning for its own sake (lishmah), that is, for the sake of the five articulations, which is the Primordial Speech – let him not say “I will not learn at all”; rather, “speak righteousness,” for “from [learning] not for its own sake one comes to [learning] for its own sake.” For in any case it is Torah, and according to his intellect at that time, so is the contraction (tzimtzum) of His Godliness for him at that time; only let him not remain on one level. Afterwards his earlier learning will also be rectified. Understand this; and we have already explained this elsewhere at length.

And therefore with each and every commandment it is said, “And Hashem spoke to Moses: Speak to the Children of Israel” – which is to draw the Primordial Speech, the aspect of the five [articulations], to Israel in a general way. For all this is the essence of the giving of the Torah: that the aspect of the five, which is His very Name, blessed be He, and a portion of Hashem, is drawn and flows into the Children of Israel through the speech that emanated from the Primordial Speech, as is known – provided that he acts as said, that he not separate, God forbid,

the speech from Him, blessed be He; rather, that he bring himself close, together with everything in the world in which there is the aspect of the five articulations, and with all the words, upward to the light of Ein Sof, blessed be He, since he does not separate the speech from the light of Ein Sof that enlivens it, as said. And then in everything he sees he will see the good in that thing, and there will be no partition separating between him and the good, as King David, peace be upon him, said: “You have held my right hand,” and as it is written (Psalms 16:5): “You support my lot” – as the Sages of blessed memory expounded on this, that He, blessed be He, places [a person’s] hand and shows him the good portion, as it is written (Deuteronomy 30:19): “And you shall choose life.” For since he is not separated from Him, blessed be He, and has not cut off his speech from Him, blessed be He, then the Creator, blessed be He, who is the light of Ein Sof, the Life of all life, flows within his five articulations; and wherever he looks among the creatures, he sees the good hidden in them, which is also the light of the letters by which the creatures were created. If so, surely He, blessed be He, supports his hand so that he chooses life, since he is with Him, blessed be He, and cleaves to the Life – the light of Ein Sof, blessed be He; he already cleaves to life and will surely always choose life.

As is known, “one who comes to purify himself is helped,” for the holiness within him, to which he cleaves, is what helps him; and surely he will turn away from all evil, which is something opposite to him, since he is with the Primordial Speech and cleaves to the Life of all life – understand this. And therefore “one who comes to defile himself, [the way] is opened for him,” for automatically, by coming to defile himself, he has presumably already separated himself from His light, blessed be He, and his five articulations, which are the palace of the light of Ein Sof, blessed be He, have been cut off; thus the life has been cut off, and automatically, without help, he falls into evil and does not see the good.

As we have said regarding that peddler who went around the towns near Tzippori (Sepphoris), proclaiming, “Who wants the elixir of life?” Everyone gathered, and he said to them (Psalms 34:13): “Who is the man who desires life, who loves days to see good? Guard [your tongue from evil]” etc. His intent was to make known to them, as all that has been said, that the main thing is guarding one’s speech; and through guarding speech, “You have held my right hand” will be fulfilled in him, that he will always go to the right side of the Torah, which is “and you shall choose life,” as said. For it is known that the body is called a city, as the Sages of blessed memory said: “A small city” etc. – this is the body; and Tzippori is called the resting of the Shechinah, as it is written (Proverbs 27:8): “Like a bird (tzippor) that wanders from its nest” etc. And he went around the towns – in the bodies of people – that are near Tzippori, who want to bring themselves close under the wings of the Shechinah, and he taught them this knowledge: “Who is the man who desires life” – that the Life of all life be fixed in him permanently; “who loves days” – which are the attributes (middot), that in all the attributes he will see the good; “guard your tongue from evil” – to guard the speech fixed in him, as said. And through this his speech will be a palace for the light of Ein Sof, blessed be He, so that he will merit to cleave to the Life of all life and see only the good in everything.

And all four elements of the building of his body will agree, each in its service, for they too have their root in His Name, blessed be He, as is known that they are the chain of descent (hishtalshelut) of the four letters of the Name Havayah (YHVH). And when speech is not guarded properly and is blemished, he strengthens the evil within him and draws it, through himself, into the four elements, toward bad traits, which are in the aspect of separation – as is known, the good is the aspect of unity and the evil is the aspect of separation. For from the side of fire he desires and is inflamed with evil lusts; from the side of the element of water, love of pleasures; from the side of the element of air, haughtiness and pride; and from the side of the element of earth, laziness in His service, blessed be He. If so, when the elements fall into the dominance of evil they do not agree on one thing, but each one draws toward something that the other does not agree with. And when the elements are in the good – all the more so as the light of Ein Sof, blessed be He, flows in his five articulations – they all agree on one thing, each one: for at the time of the service of Hashem there is need for great fervor (hitlahavut) and for spiritual delight in His service, blessed be His Name, which is the essence of the unification (yichud); and words, which are the aspect of spirit (ruach), as it is written, “a speaking spirit”; and the element of earth is in the sense of what is written, “All was from the dust and all returns to the dust” – even the sphere of the sun, which is the aspect of the supernal dust from which all the creatures came into being, which is the aspect of the lowest attribute, as is known that even the sphere of the sun came into being from it. If so, even his soul and his speech bind and return to that aspect of dust, which is the aspect of the five, as said.

And this is “And Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes (rashei ha-mattot)”: the letters are called “heads of the tribes,” for they are the leaders, as said, since it is a term of speech that indicates leadership; for he drew to them the speech from the Primordial Speech. And this is “to the Children of Israel, saying” – to tell them on this basis: “This is the thing (davar)” that they speak, so that they know “which Hashem has commanded” – that He, blessed be He, enlivens the speech and commands it and binds it to His light, which is Ein Sof, blessed be He, and He, as it were, is the one speaking those words. And therefore, “If a man vows a vow to Hashem or swears an oath” – as is known from the Zohar: “A soul that sins” – this is astonishing! – “and hears the voice of an oath (alah)” – that the soul is made to swear before it comes into this world not to turn away from the words of the Creator, blessed be He, and His Torah. And this is “This is the thing which Hashem has commanded,” as said, that it is the very word of Hashem. And even so, since a man who vows a vow or swears an oath is already sworn and standing [from before], therefore it is fitting only “to bind a bond” – which is to bind with his soul, which is the “living soul,” which is the “speaking spirit,” as said. And “al” (upon) is a term meaning “im” (with): that he bind and tie with his soul, which is the speech, upward to the light of Ein Sof, blessed be He, by “not profaning his word” – that he not profane the speech fixed in his mouth; “according to all that proceeds out of his mouth he shall do” – that is, according to all that proceeds out of the mouth of the Creator, blessed be He, as it were, which is His intent that he cleave to Him, blessed be He, through speech and not cut it off from Him – so shall he always do; and then it will be good for him in this world and in the next. Blessed be Hashem forever, Amen and Amen.

(Me’or Einayim – Matot)

And therefore the verse says, “Take words with you” – this is the aspect of the Primordial Speech, which is the active force dwelling in all created and made things, which is the aspect of His Shechinah, blessed be He, dwelling in the lower realms, as explained above. For the verse teaches us knowledge of Hashem: that after one has merited to be the aspect of a throne for the Creator, blessed be He, he should take the words that are in every thing in this world, and not look at the externality but at the speech dwelling in that made thing, to return it to Hashem and elevate it to its root; and also the words fixed in his mouth, which are also the aspect of the Lordship dwelling in the mouth of the complete Jew, who speaks the words in cleaving to Godliness – to return them and bind them to Hashem.

And this is “Take words with you and return to Hashem.” For the words of the nations are external speech and kelipot (husks) from the side of their root; but “not like these is the portion of Jacob,” whose speech is the very Shechinah of Him, blessed be He, dwelling in the Jewish mouth, as it is written in the Writings [of the Ari] on “Adonai, open my lips”: the aspect of the Lordship is what speaks the words from the mouth of man, as is known to us elsewhere. Moreover, when he comes to this level – to look in all things at the Divine speech contracted in that thing and to return it upward, which is the aspect of “the whole earth is full of His glory” – through this he connects and elevates all the lower levels to the root of all, Ein Sof, blessed be He, and through him there is an ascent for all the creatures. And this is “Say to Him: all (imru elav kol)” – “imru” is a term of joining and cleaving, like the imra (hem) at the edge of a garment, which holds the garment together. And this is “imru elav kol” – meaning, join to Him, to Hashem mentioned at the beginning of the verse, “all” – meaning all the words. And all this is through your having returned to Hashem, until “your God” is contracted within you. That is not so when you are not on this level, when the lusts and the power of the elemental fire in you have not been buried, [so that you] see the external lusts in every thing – then surely you do not accomplish this; understand this. And then “Forgive all iniquity” (tisa avon), for his willful sins are reckoned for him as merits, and there is an ascent also for all the iniquities he did previously. “And take the good” – for all this is through your having taken and acquired within you the good, which is the Creator, blessed be He, who is called good, as it is written (Psalms 148:9): “Hashem is good” etc. – that you have become a dwelling place for Him, blessed be His Name, as mentioned above.

And it is known that before the soul descends to this world it is made to swear: “Be righteous and do not be wicked; and even if the whole world tells you that you are righteous, be in your own eyes as one who is wicked,” as our Sages of blessed memory said. And incidentally let us explain their saying “be in your own eyes as one who is wicked,” which seemingly is difficult, for one should not regard oneself as wicked, for reasons explained in the books. But the truth is that the intent of the Talmud is not that he should regard himself as wicked; rather, it is advice given to the complete person, that all his deeds and his service to the Creator, blessed be He, should be little in his eyes, and that he not credit himself for his service. For in truth, who is it that has acted and accomplished the service of God in complete perfection? For the more he goes from level to level in service, the more he sees that he has not yet made any beginning of perfection. And even if he does accomplish, it is not fitting that he credit himself, for in truth it is the Divine portion and the supernal life-force flowing within him that does everything; and if the life-force departs, his body and bones remain like an inanimate stone. And this is the intent of the Talmud: “even if the whole world says of you, you are righteous, be in your own eyes as one who is wicked” – meaning, be pained by this praise with which the world praises you, just as you would be pained if they said of you that you are wicked; for surely you would be pained by that, as is known, “one who calls his fellow wicked descends with him into his very life.” So should you be pained by and hate this praise when they praise you and say “you are righteous,” saying [to yourself]: I know the truth of my deeds, and even if there is something in them, it is not from my side, as said above.

Let us return to our matter: before the soul comes to this world it is made to swear, and therefore it must fulfill its oath. And the main thing is to be on the level of connecting, through one’s deeds, all words and all the doings of the world – where there is also a contraction of the aspect of Lordship, the aspect of speech – and to bind them to their root, the place of the root of one’s soul. For this is the main intent of sending man into this lowly world: since he is intermediate between the upper and the lower beings, of matter and form – the form is from the upper world and the matter from the lower world – through this he can be “a ladder set on the earth whose top reaches heaven,” so that through his deeds and his speech all things, and the power of the Maker within the made, will ascend and be bound to their root above.

And this is “And Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes”: that he taught the heads of the people knowledge, to guide the people on this path, which is the main thing. And this is: to join these things and words – the aspect of Lordship dwelling in the lower realms – upward. And this is the saying of the verse “This is the thing (zeh ha-davar)” – meaning, to join the aspect of “zeh” (this) and the aspect of “davar” (word) together; as is known, the aspect of “zeh” is the masculine world (alma de-duchra), as it is written (Exodus 15:2): “This (zeh) is my God” etc.; and one must join to it, above, the aspect of “davar,” which is the speech and the Lordship dwelling in the lower realms. And this is “This is the thing which Hashem commanded, saying” – meaning, to join. And the verse explains why: because “if a man vows a vow or swears an oath” – every single person is sworn and standing from the mountain of Hashem before his descent to this world; and the main point of the oath is “to bind a bond upon his soul” – that through his soul, which he binds in all his deeds to its root above, he will also bind and join the Divine power contracted in that deed. And this is “le-esor” (to bind) – meaning to join and tie, for “issur” is a term of binding, as the Targum of “me’almim alumim” (binding sheaves) is “me’asrim isrin.” And one must “bind” – that is, join and tie all the connections of all the deeds and words – “upon his soul,” meaning with his soul: by binding his soul upward at the time of the deed, he also joins the Divine power clothed there, which is the Primordial word of Hashem through which that deed or thing was created. And let him see to it that “he not profane the word” of the Creator, blessed be He, making it profane by not raising it up to His holiness, blessed be He, God forbid; but rather “according to all that proceeds out of His mouth,” blessed be He: just as, at the time the power and the Primordial Speech went forth from the Supernal Mouth, His holiness, blessed be He, it went forth from a supernal, holy and awesome Source – so shall he do and rectify, when he does anything, to raise that thing by means of his soul to its supernal root, not to profane it, God forbid, but to bring it

into holiness. And likewise at the time of his speaking words of Torah and prayer, let him bind them too to their root, by believing that the Primordial Speech, the aspect of Lordship, is the one speaking, and from his mouth – understand this. Blessed be Hashem forever, Amen and Amen.

(Me’or Einayim – Matot)

And to make you understand what the da’at (knowledge) is that draws [one] into the world of delight: it is known what the prophet said (Isaiah 58:14), “For the mouth of Hashem has spoken” – that each one who speaks words of Torah and prayer, after he has entered the gate of awe, having accepted upon himself the yoke of awe of Him, blessed be He, must know and believe that his mouth that speaks the words is truly His mouth, blessed be He; for it is the very portion of Hashem, the Lordship dwelling within every complete Jewish person, that speaks the words by the power of the Divine portion, as it is written (Psalms 51:17): “Adonai, open my lips” – which is the world of speech contracted within the mouth of man, as explained by us elsewhere. And once he knows this with complete faith, immediately great delight will come to him, for this knowing is the complete da’at that brings him to spiritual delight; his mochin (mind) is expanded, and through the da’at, the awe that he accepted upon himself at first becomes united with the world of delight.

(Me’or Einayim – Devarim)

And all the above comes only through da’at: that he have this knowledge, that all the power he has, whether to do a deed or to speak any word, is all through the life-force given to him from above, without which he could not move any one of his limbs. And the words flow to him from above, from the world of speech, and are contracted in the mouth of man, as it is written, “He fixed them in the mouth,” and as the verse says (Psalms 51:17), “Adonai, open my lips,” and as the Ari of blessed memory said, the intent is that the Lordship, which is the world of speech, speaks within the mouth of man – and as explained by us at length elsewhere, that this is the aspect of His Shechinah dwelling within us, as it is said, “Wherever they were exiled, the Shechinah is with them” – that the power of the supernal speech is with them always, throughout their exile. And this is all their consolation in their affliction in this bitter exile: that as soon as a person wishes, he can bring himself close, through his good da’at and his cleaving to the Creator, blessed be He, by means of the speech fixed in his mouth, when he unites his heart with the speech, so that there is no division within his heart, as said – that it be with both inclinations, the good inclination and the evil inclination, in such a way that the heart turns its face from evil, so that there is the sweetening of the gevurot (severities) in the chassadim (kindnesses), as mentioned above. And through this he can annul all evil decrees and judgments, God forbid, that come upon the world, as the Sages of blessed memory said: “The tzaddik rules [through] the fear of God – Who rules over Me? The tzaddik” – “over Me” (bi) precisely: through the indwelling of the Creator, blessed be He, within him, the gevurot are sweetened; automatically his speech is rectified, for he brings His light, Ein Sof, blessed be He, into the words. And so too it is done above: the judgments are sweetened in the world of judgment, which is Adonai – “the law of the kingdom is the law” – and the world of speech is unified. As is known, the Creator, blessed be He, contracts Himself from cause to effect through ten intellects and supernal lights down to the world of speech, which is the Lordship that conducts His world with kindness: when the people of the world are not separated, in their speech and in all their deeds, from Him, blessed be He, His compassion spreads from cause to effect in the chain of descent from world to world, through ten intellects as said, to the world of speech, which is “Adonai of the earth,” and the conduct becomes one of compassion.

(Me’or Einayim – Va’etchanan)

Translated from the Hebrew sources page “מקורות- פרק ג’/4- טלפון (תל פה) סוד התפילה” by Roni Ayalon-Hirsch.