Prayer - Prayers During Treatment
WITHOUT A HEAD, WITHOUT A HEART
Master of the Universe, grant me the merit to be mighty and strong like Shimshon (Samson) the mighty [gematria 696], whose might came from the Atik Yomin (the Ancient of Days) [696]. And all my days, may I merit to follow the true tzaddik without a heart, without a head, and without any questions or doubts. May I not be like the spies who thought, "How will we plow the earth and plant every tree?" not knowing that the moment they entered the Land, every pomegranate and fig would weigh a ton or a ton and a half, and every grape would fill the space of a wagon or a ship, as brought down in Kesubos 111b, that every grape fills a wagon or a ship.
This is the tribe of Zevulun, about whom it is said that they served "without a double heart" (Divrei HaYamim I 12:34), for Zevulun was a people who risked their lives to the point of death. Even when Devorah the prophetess came and prophesied to go out to war, saying, "Has not Hashem commanded?" (Shoftim 4:6), Rashi explains that Hashem did not explicitly command this, but rather she learned it through a kal v'chomer (an a fortiori argument): If the Children of Israel fulfill the mitzvah of pri'ah (uncovering the corona during circumcision) properly, as it says, "When acts of dedication are dedicated [b'froa pra'ot] in Israel" (Shoftim 5:2), then it is already possible to go out to war.
And the Rambam says in Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah (7:7):
"A prophet—it is possible that his prophecy is for himself alone, to expand his heart and increase his knowledge until he knows what he did not know before of those great matters. And it is possible that he is sent to one of the nations of the earth, or to the people of a city or a kingdom, to establish them and inform them what they should do, or to prevent them from the evil deeds in their hands. When he is sent, he is given a sign and a wonder so that the people will know that Hashem truly sent him. Not everyone who performs a sign or wonder is believed to be a prophet, but only a person whom we knew from the beginning to be fit for prophecy through his wisdom and deeds, in which he surpassed all his peers, and who walked in the paths of prophecy, its holiness, and its separation [from worldly matters]. If afterward he performs a sign or wonder and says that Hashem sent him,
It is a mitzvah to listen to him, as it is said, 'To him you shall listen' (Devarim 18:15).
And it is possible that one may perform a sign or wonder and not be a prophet, and this sign has an underlying reason. Nevertheless, it is a mitzvah to listen to him. Since he is a great and wise man and fit for prophecy, we establish him upon his presumptive status, for so we were commanded, just as we were commanded to decide a legal case based on two valid witnesses. Regarding these matters and the like, it is said, 'The hidden things belong to Hashem our God, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children forever' (Devarim 29:28), and it is said, 'For man looks at the outward appearance, but Hashem looks at the heart' (Shmuel I 16:7). And from where do we know that the revelation at Mount Sinai alone is the proof of his [Moshe's] prophecy, that it is true and without flaw? As it is said, 'Behold, I come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you, and they will also believe in you forever' (Shemos 19:9). This implies that before this event, they did not believe in him with a faith that lasts forever, but rather with a faith that is followed by hesitation and second thoughts. It turns out that those to whom he is sent are the witnesses to his prophecy that it is true, and he does not need to perform a sign for them, for they and he are one in the matter—like two witnesses who saw the same thing together, where each one is a witness for his fellow that he is speaking the truth, and he does not need to bring proof to his fellow. So too with Moshe Rabbeinu: all of Israel are witnesses after the revelation at Mount Sinai, and he does not need to perform a sign for them."
And regarding Yehoshua bin Nun, the Gemara in Sotah (34b) says that the spies called him "a severed head" (reisha keti'a)—meaning, a person without a head, without independent thought, and without a critical sense. Rather, he always acts with perfect temimus (innocence), doing whatever Moshe says, even to enter the Land and plow it. As Eldad and Meidad said, "Moshe will die and Yehoshua will bring them in." The Baal HaTurim says that the Hebrew acronym of "prophesying" (מִתְנַבְּאִים) stands for "Moshe, may your soul rest in the Garden of God; Yehoshua will bring them in" (מֹשֶׁה תָנוּחַ נַפְשְׁךָ בְגַן אֱלֹקִים יְהוֹשֻׁעַ מַכְנִיס). The spies, in their wickedness, did not understand the word of prophecy and argued against Moshe, and they did not enter the Land. But Yehoshua bin Nun, whom they nicknamed "without a head," did understand the word of prophecy—that Moshe lives and endures and can never die. Only Korach and his congregation were swallowed by the earth, but the word of Moshe Rabbeinu endures forever. And forever it is impossible to conquer the Land of Israel, as it is said in the Book of Eichah (4:12), "The kings of the earth did not believe, nor did any of the inhabitants of the world, that an adversary or an enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem." Only Yehoshua bin Nun, who was "without a head" and never had a head [of his own independent logic], only he could understand the strange word of prophecy that Moshe would die, which will be 3 seconds before the Resurrection of the Dead, speedily in our days, Amen. So too, may I merit to be like Zevulun and like Yehoshua bin Nun—without a head and without a heart, only to believe in the true tzaddik without a head, without thought, and without doubt.
And therefore David, who was the pinnacle of temimus, Hashem told him not to go out to war until he saw the leaves rustling in the tops of the mulberry trees [these are the angels marching in the treetops - Rashi on Shmuel II 5:24]. And the Philistines had already approached within four amos (cubits), yet he did not start the war. And ultimately, out of his great innocence, he destroyed them all [Divrei HaYamim I 14].
B'Siyata Dishmaya, L'Shem Yichud, B'Ezras Hashem Yisborach (With the Help of Heaven, For the sake of the Unification, With the help of Hashem, may He be blessed)
PRAYER – TO MERIT ACCEPTING SHABBOS ON TIME – BEFORE THE TIME, NOT AT THE LAST MINUTE...
Master of the Universe, the Omnipotent One, in the merit of my accepting Shabbos early, 40-72 minutes before sunset, and lighting candles early, may I merit to revive all the dead in the world. And to be like Serach [gematria 508] the daughter of [402] Asher [501] and David [14] = 1425 the King, peace be upon him, and to see Hashem face to face, as it is said, "When shall I come [+ 10 = 435] and appear before God?" (Tehillim 42:3). For in the merit of accepting Shabbos early, they succeeded in reviving all the dead in the world, just as Serach [508] the daughter of [402] Asher [501] = 1411 merited. In her merit, may we subdue all the enemies of Israel, as it is said, "And it was turned to the contrary, that Asher [501] had rule [355] the Jews [80] they [508] over those who hated them [414]" (Esther 9:1), and through this we will subdue the 11 chieftains of Esav = 1411. And in the merit of my lighting candles early, save me from all evil that comes to the world. "Fortunate [511] is he who considers [400] the [31] poor [34]; on the day of [58] evil [275] Hashem will deliver him [100] Hashem [26]" = 1435 (Tehillim 41:2). And in the merit of the angels marching in the treetops on Friday evening—whom anyone contemplating the sunset on Friday night can see—in the merit of those angels to whom we sing the song of the angels, "Come in peace, angels of peace, angels of the Most High," may I merit to heal all the sick in the world. In the merit that I accept Shabbos early, and in the merit that I will not wait for the last minute, may I merit that You open for me the fiftieth gate of the Fifty Gates of Understanding (Binah), especially on the eve of Rosh Hashanah of the year 5778 [778], for "In the coming of [415] the Mashiach [363] = 778, I believe."
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