The Secret of Visualizing the Name Havayah

Class No. 38 | Tuesday and Wednesday, Parashas Ki Tavo, 17-18 Elul 5755

A profound 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 delay the time for prayer. Even those who were awake all night for various reasons must be meticulous to wake up before the end of the time for reciting the Shema. Afterward, he should study Torah, go to the mikvah, and pray. If he wishes to sleep afterward, he may complete 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 must have a calendar to know when the time for prayer and the recitation of the Shema ends, all the more so if he was awake all night and fears he might fall asleep.

"I Have Set Hashem Before Me Always"

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

"I have set Hashem before me always"

As the Ramban writes, a person must visualize the Name Havayah (the Tetragrammaton) before his eyes at all times. Rabbi Yitzchak d'min 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 Explicit Name, before his eyes. This is the true meaning of "I have set Hashem before me always"—to visualize the Name Havayah 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 Havayah 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 set the Name Havayah 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. Ordinarily, it is impossible to touch a person who visualizes the Name Havayah 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 of this is that a person must always be balanced between Chessed (Loving-kindness) and Gevurah (Severity). Chessed and Gevurah together create the attribute of Tiferes (Harmony), and Tiferes corresponds to the Name Havayah.

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

This is the secret of Hisbodedus (secluded personal prayer): The entire concept of Hisbodedus is to accustom oneself to visualizing the Name Havayah before one's eyes. Whoever merits to reveal the secret of Hisbodedus, to sit for a full hour and visualize only the Name Havayah before his eyes, will merit Ruach HaKodesh (Divine Inspiration). Through such Hisbodedus, where for a full hour he visualizes the Name before his eyes, he can reach the level of prophecy and foretell the future.

The Superiority of Studying Gemara over Prophecy

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

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

The Severe Prohibition of Pronouncing the Name with its Letters

The Midrash relates that when Menashe chased after Yeshayahu, the prophet pronounced the Explicit Name and hid inside a cedar tree. Menashe ordered the cedar to be sawn in half, and thus Yeshayahu was killed. The question arises: Why didn't Yeshayahu pronounce the Explicit Name a second time in order to be saved? The answer is that Yeshayahu did teshuvah (repentance) for having mentioned the Explicit Name the first time. While it is a mitzvah to visualize the Name in one's thoughts, it is strictly forbidden to pronounce the Explicit Name with 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 what sin did this punishment come to atone? The answer is:

"Because he would pronounce the Name with its letters."

Since he used the Explicit Name, he became liable to the death penalty. Therefore, Yeshayahu the Prophet, who used the Explicit Name to hide in the cedar, understood the severity of the matter, refused to use it a second time, and accepted the Divine judgment upon himself with love.

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