Halachic and kabbalistic thought on Prayer

B"H

Many times it happens that I am collecting material for a certain article and suddenly I find some further interesting information. Again it happened and, this time, I found an interesting Halacha in the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law).

In another few weeks time we will be celebrating Rosh HaShana when G - d judges the whole world. Especially for the holidays of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur it is important to learn the right access to prayer. Here are some helpful ideas.

It says in the Tractate Orach Chaim 98:1 that someone should get rid of any negative thoughts and should only concentrate on the prayer itself. The person praying should imagine that he is standing in front of a king of flesh and blood whom he is telling personal matters.

Already the early Chassidim (even those before the chassidic movement) went into isolation in order to meditate. They used to meditate until they completely forgot about any earthly matters and almost reached the state of Nevuah. But only, if no strange thought slipped into their minds. The Shulchan Aruch 98:5 gives us instructions about how we can get rid of those strange thoughts. The person praying should only think about G - d's greatness.

Of course, I am not neglecting the chassidic opinions on this issue. One of the famous teachings of the Baal Shem Tov is that we have the power to change negative into positive thoughts and, thus, can elevate them.
How ?
As soon as a strange thought enters your mind, you should immediately think of something positive which pushes the negativity aside.

Especially the Chassidim of Chabad and Breslov meditate in two different ways before they start praying. Chabad has the Minhag to meditate on Torah concepts such as Creation of the World, and the Breslover Chassidim go into the famous Hitbodedut where they speak to G - d. Such kind of communication is seen as meditation. Generally, all Chassidim are known for their ecstatic prayers.

The Baal Shem Tov very much emphasized Kavanah (concentration). Kavanah was not such a new idea but the great chassidic master put it back into practice. Kavanah can only be reached when someone meditates before his prayer. The higher the Kavanah, the higher the Devekut.

The Mishna in Talmud Berachot 30b teaches us how to get to the optimal state of mind before we start praying. Again we hear about the early Chassidim who used to meditate an hour before their actual prayers. But as most Talmudic students know, the Talmud sometimes gives us figures or numbers which are meant to be metaphoric. There are very different opinions about this one hour but basically it means that someone can meditate less or more than an hour. Some even say that we should meditate less than an hour, as only the earlier Chassidim were worthy of meditating an hour before prayer.

It says in the Gemara in Talmud Eruvin 65a that someone whose mind isn't in such a good state should not pray. Especially those people who are unable to concentrate due to different reasons such as anger or worry. However, the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 98:2) tells us that this particular Gemara doesn't apply today, as most prayers are being said without concentration anyway.
A general rule is that you should avoid praying when you are either in a bad or in an exaggerated good mood. A clear state of mind is very important for prayer. On the other hand, you are allowed to cry during prayer. Since we don't have a Temple, the heavenly gates are closed and only tears have the power to open them up.

Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin writes an interesting thought in his famous book "Nefesh HaChaim". The Torah obligates us to love and serve G - d with all our heart and all our soul.
What does it mean with all your heart ?
Prayer is a Mitzwa coming from the heart, and all our hearts should only be filled with Kavanah.

The Baal Shem Tov taught his students the right access to prayer without telling them any particular details, but he taught them the importance of Kavanah (concentration). Every prayer and Mitzwa have to have the greatest possible Kavanah. The Besht himself reached the highest state of Kavanah by using his kabbalistic wisdom: The meditaion on G - d's Names. He acquired this kind of wisdom from the well - known book "Shaarei Ora" by the great early Kabbalist Rabbi Yosef Gikatilla. Rabbi Gikatilla taught the way of complete acceptance of all prayers in form of a metaphor:
Just imagine that you want to meet a King in his palace. In order to get to the King, you have to pass through many different rooms. The same applies to prayer. If you do not know the way, hence the right way of prayer, you can get lost in one of the rooms and never get to the King.

Basically Rabbi Gikatilla differentiates between two kinds of prayer. There are some people who only tell their private demands to G -d and want their wishes to be fulfilled. Mostly these people stay in the rooms but never reach the King's room.
And there are those who simply pray because they want to get closer to their Creator. These people can reach the King's room.

Chodesh Tov and my wishes to you that you might reach the King's room.