Prayer - Prayers in Preparation

RASHI

Master of the Universe, the Omnipotent One, grant me the merit as I approach to put on the Tefillin of Rashi, both the hand-Tefillin and the head-Tefillin, in the mystical secret of "and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes" (Deuteronomy 6:8). May I merit to see You face to face, as it is stated, "Hashem spoke with you face to face" (Deuteronomy 5:4).

And may I awaken true thoughts of teshuvah (repentance) before I put on the Tefillin, so that my evil sins will not form a barrier preventing me from seeing You face to face. As it is stated, "For You, Hashem, appear to them eye to eye" [Numbers 14:14], in the mystical secret of the eye, 'Ayin Mor' (the eye of myrrh). For through the Tefillin of Rashi, we merit that Hashem reveals to us all seventy faces (facets) of the Torah, in the mystical secret of "Vayikra (And He called) to Moshe" with the miniature letter Aleph. This contains the secret of Rabbi Akiva [299], connecting to the verse, "You ascended on high, you took captives" (Alita lamarom shavita shevi), the acronym of which spells Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. For Moshe Rabbeinu could only draw down the Torah by connecting with the souls of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva would expound mounds upon mounds of halachos (Torah laws) on every single crown of the Torah's letters, revealing six hundred thousand explanations for every single crown. All of this is revealed at the moment one puts on the Tefillin of Rashi. This serves as the tikkun (rectification) for all the blemishes of the eyes throughout all generations. For all the destructions—whether of the Generation of Enosh, the Generation of the Flood, the Generation of the Dispersion (Tower of Babel), or Sodom—were entirely due to the blemish of the eyes (improper gazing and desires). For in Kabbalah, the World of Nekudim (the primordial realm of divine lights) emerges from the "eyes" (of the supernal Partzuf). Therefore, it is stated, "and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes," to rectify the blemish of the eyes caused by the Generation of Enosh, the Generation of the Flood, the Generation of the Dispersion, and the Generation of Sodom, who caused the Shechinah (Divine Presence) to withdraw back up above the seven firmaments. Through the Tefillin, about which it is said, "and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes," we rectify all the blemishes of these four generations. The blemish of the eyes preceded all the terrible destructions, causing a third of the globe to sink [and this is the secret of the Atlantic Ocean, where houses and streets can be seen on the ocean floor]. All destructions, whether on an individual or global scale, happen solely because of the blemish of the eyes. For every moment and second that a person sins, they blemish the World of Nekudim that emerges from the "eyes," through which all the Sefiros (Divine emanations) and all four spiritual worlds—Atziluth (Emanation), Beriah (Creation), Yetzirah (Formation), and Asiyah (Action)—are built. To atone for this, one would normally need endless fasts. However, through the Tefillin, about which it is stated four times, "And it shall be for a sign upon your hand, and for frontlets between your eyes"—and we recite this four times daily: in the Korbanos (morning offerings), in the Shacharis (morning) Shema, in the Maariv (evening) Shema, and in the Bedtime Shema—through these four times, we completely rectify all four worlds of Atziluth, Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah. This ensures that we will never again, Heaven forbid, need any rectification through destruction for all eternity. For through the blemish of the eyes, all the worlds are destroyed, but through the Tefillin, "and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes," we rectify all of this.

BS"D

RABBEINU TAM

The Tefillin of Rabbeinu Tam come to rectify the terrible blemish of the destruction of the First Temple, which occurred in the year 3338 (ג' שלח), in the mystical secret of "You shall surely send away (Shalach Teshalach) the mother bird" (Deuteronomy 22:7). It also rectifies the destruction of the Generation of the Dispersion, which likewise occurred in the year 338 (של"ח) [for there were 340 (ש"מ) years from the Flood until the Dispersion, minus two years until the birth of Arpachshad]. This is the mystical secret of 'Efer Kasd' (the ashes of the Chaldeans - an anagram of Arpachshad). For Shem (the son of Noah) wanted to sweeten the harsh judgments of the destruction of the First Temple, which was carried out by the Chaldeans (Kasdim). He did this through his son Arpachshad, who lived for 438 years—which is 338 (של"ח) plus 100, corresponding to the 100 blessings we recite daily.

For through the Tefillin of Rabbeinu Tam, one ascends to the Kesser (Crown) of Adam Kadmon (the Primordial Man, the highest spiritual realm). Through this, all evil inclinations, all foreign thoughts, and all forbidden gazes are completely nullified. One will know no illness, no sorrow, and no harm. Every single person will merit to find their true soulmate (shidduch) destined from the Six Days of Creation, from the Light of the Seven Days. They will merit to have ten sons and ten daughters, fulfilling the verse, "There shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your livestock" (Deuteronomy 7:14). And all his haters and enemies will fall beneath him, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 7:23-24): "But Hashem your God will deliver them to you, and will confound them with a great confusion, until they are destroyed. And He will deliver their kings into your hand, and you shall make their name perish from under the heavens; no man shall be able to stand against you, until you have destroyed them." And further (Deuteronomy 7:20-21): "Moreover, Hashem your God will send the hornet among them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you are destroyed. You shall not be terrified of them, for Hashem your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God." And (Deuteronomy 9:4-5): "Do not say in your heart, when Hashem your God has thrust them out from before you, saying, 'Because of my righteousness Hashem has brought me in to possess this land'; whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that Hashem drives them out from before you. Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart do you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations Hashem your God drives them out from before you, and that He may fulfill the word which Hashem swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob."

BS"D

Master of the Universe, the Omnipotent One, grant me the merit, as I wrap myself in the Tallis, to draw down all the lights of the Tallis and the Tzitzis. These correspond to the twelve precious stones of the Choshen (High Priest's breastplate): "Odem, Pitdah, and Barekes; Nofech, Sapir, and Yahalom; Leshem, Shevo, and Achlamah; Tarshish, Shoham, and Yashfeh.

Through the wrapping of the Tallis, may the Sefirah of Malchus (Kingship) ascend to the Kesser (Crown) of Zeir Anpin (the Divine Persona of the emotional attributes), in the mystical secret of "A woman of valor is the crown of her husband" (Proverbs 12:4). At the moment of wrapping myself in the Tallis, may I merit the mystical secret of the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) entering the Holy of Holies. Through this, one merits to ascend to the Kesser of the Kesser of Adam Kadmon. Then, the secret of the Fiftieth Gate of Understanding is revealed to him—the very level that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob merited to attain. This is also what Rabbi Akiva merited when all the souls of the Patriarchs and the Seven Shepherds became impregnated within him at the moment his flesh was combed with iron combs during his martyrdom. He merited the secret of the letter Shin (ש) with three heads, representing Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the secret of the Shin with four heads, representing the secret of David, Joseph, Moses, and Aaron. For it is written in Tractate Sukkah (52b): "And I will put My spirit within you" (Ezekiel 36:27). The Talmud states that there are three things Hashem regrets creating every single day: the Chaldeans who destroyed the Holy Temple; the Ishmaelites, as it is stated, "The tents of robbers prosper, and those who provoke God are secure, into whose hand God brings abundance" (Job 12:6); and He regrets creating the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination), as it is stated, "And whom I have afflicted" (Micah 4:6). "And this shall be our peace: when Assyria comes into our land, and when he treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men" (Micah 5:4). The seven shepherds are: David in the middle; Adam, Seth, and Methuselah on the right; and Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses on the left. "And eight princes of men" correspond to the eight threads of the Tzitzis. They are: Jesse, Saul, Samuel, Amos, Zephaniah, Hezekiah, the Mashiach, and Elijah. For the light of the Tallis shines from one end of the world to the other. This is the mystical secret of the skin of the Leviathan, which in the future, Hashem will spread over the walls of Jerusalem, illuminating and shining from one end of the world to the other, in the mystical secret of the verse, "Can you fill his skin with barbed irons?" (Job 40:31 - reading 'sukos' as booths/coverings).