2.4.08

prayers cleaving to prayers

We recently mentioned Rebbe Natan's explanation and understanding of the verse תפילה לעני כי יעטוף - "a prayer for the pauper when he will wrap.." He explained that prayer from the place of utter lack encompasses in its earnest simplicity all the prayers of others and brings them before HaShem.

The Noam Elimelech (Parashath Balak, i believe) explains it a little differently: He says that there are those people who are not on the level to have proper intentions, proper Kavanoth, while praying. In this case their Tefillah is like a body with no soul. Similarly they perform their mitzwoth as well, without lofty intentions, and so they too are compared to a soulless body.

The Tzaddik then, through his prayer, invests the body of other people's mitzwoth with a soul -- even their tefilloth, through his deep kavanoth. In this way, the prayer of the kavanah-poor person clothes and garbs the kavanoth of the Tzaddik's prayer. This is what is meant that the poor person's prayer will wrap [the Tzaddik's prayer.]

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