The Secret of Visualizing the Name of Hashem

Lesson No. 38 | Tuesday and Wednesday, Parashas Ki Savo, 17-18 Elul 5755

An in-depth article on the great principle of...

A person must strengthen himself like a lion to arise in the morning for the service of his Creator, so that he awakens the dawn. At the very least, he must be careful not to miss the time for prayer. Even those who were awake all night for various reasons must be meticulous to get up before the end of the time for reciting the Shema. Afterwards, he should study Torah, go to the mikvah, and pray. If he wishes to sleep afterwards, he may catch up on his sleep, but one cannot sleep at the expense of the time for prayer or the recitation of the Shema, Heaven forbid. Therefore, every person needs to have a calendar to know when the latest time for prayer and Shema is, all the more so if he was awake all night and is afraid he might fall asleep.

I Have Set Hashem Always Before Me

When the congregation prays, the great principle that stands before our eyes is the verse:

"I have set Hashem always before me."

As the Ramban writes, a person must visualize the Name of Hashem before his eyes at all times. Rabbi Yitzchak of Akko, a disciple of the Ramban, writes that this is the tradition we have received from all the early sages: that a person should picture the Unique Name, the Ineffable Name, before his eyes. This is the true meaning of "I have set Hashem always before me" — to visualize the Name of Hashem before one's eyes at every single moment.

Why is this so important? Because the continuation of the verse promises:

"Because He is at my right hand, I shall not falter."

When a person visualizes the Name of Hashem before his eyes, he will never falter, because the Holy One, Blessed be He, walks with him constantly and is the Master at his right hand. King David says: Since I visualize the Name of Hashem before my eyes, it is impossible to kill me and impossible to do me any harm, except in the case of decrees of religious persecution (shmad). Otherwise, it is impossible to touch a person who visualizes the Name of Hashem before his eyes. No random occurrence in the world will have any power over such a person.

The Secret of Hisbodedus and the Names of the Sefiros

The Sages say that a person should always enter through two doors. The inner meaning is that a person must always be situated between Chesed (Loving-kindness) and Gevurah (Severity). Chesed and Gevurah together create the attribute of Tiferes (Harmony/Beauty), and Tiferes corresponds to the Name of Hashem.

Every Sefirah (Divine emanation) has its own unique Divine Name, as brought down in the Etz Chaim: Kesser (Crown) is the Name Eheyeh, Chochmah (Wisdom) is Y-H, Binah (Understanding) is the Name of Hashem punctuated with the vowels of Elokim, Chesed is the Name E-l, and Gevurah is the Name Elokim. Tiferes is once again the Name of Hashem. Therefore, when a person enters between Chesed (E-l) and Gevurah (Elokim), he reaches Tiferes and visualizes the Name of Hashem before his eyes, so that his thoughts are constantly bound to the Name of Hashem.

This is the secret of Hisbodedus: the entire purpose of Hisbodedus is to become accustomed to visualizing the Name of Hashem before one's eyes. Whoever merits to discover the secret of Hisbodedus, to sit for an entire hour and visualize only the Name of Hashem before his eyes, will merit Ruach HaKodesh (Divine Inspiration). Through such Hisbodedus, where for a full hour he visualized the Name before his eyes, he can reach the level of prophecy and foretell the future.

The Superiority of Gemara Study Over Prophecy

Nevertheless, the Tikkunei Zohar reveals an immense secret: the attribute of Chochmah (Wisdom) is higher than prophecy. When a person studies Gemara, he attains higher spiritual comprehensions than a prophet.

There are prophets who merited to see supernal visions, such as Yeshayahu and Yechezkel, who saw the likeness of a man upon the Heavenly Throne. Because of these prophecies, King Menashe persecuted the prophet Yeshayahu and killed him.

The Severe Prohibition of Pronouncing the Name by Its Letters

The Midrash relates that when Menashe chased after Yeshayahu, the prophet pronounced the Ineffable Name and hid inside a cedar tree. Menashe ordered the cedar to be sawn in half, and thus Yeshayahu was killed. The question is asked: Why didn't Yeshayahu pronounce the Ineffable Name a second time in order to be saved? The answer is that Yeshayahu did teshuvah (repentance) for having mentioned the Ineffable Name the first time. While it is a mitzvah to visualize the Name in one's thoughts, it is absolutely forbidden to pronounce the Ineffable Name by its letters.

We find this as well with Rabbi Chanina ben Teradion. The Gemara in Tractate Avodah Zarah relates that he was punished by being burned at the stake. Even though his death was a tremendous Kiddush Hashem (sanctification of God's Name), the Gemara asks: For which sin did this punishment come to atone? The answer is:

"That he pronounced the Name according to its letters."

Since he used the Shem HaMeforash (the Explicit Name of Hashem), he became liable to the death penalty. Therefore, Yeshayahu (Isaiah) the Prophet, who had used the Shem HaMeforash to hide inside the cedar tree, understood the severity of the matter. He refused to use it a second time and accepted the Divine judgment upon himself with love.

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