World Kabbalah Convention, October 2025 - ״In One Prayer"

Lesson 4 "A Prayer Above Reason"

Selected Excerpts from the Sources

1. RABASH, Article No. 12 (1991), “These Candles Are Sacred”

"The most important is the prayer. That is, one must pray to the Creator to help him go above reason, meaning that the work should be with gladness, as though he has already been rewarded with the reason of Kedusha, and what joy he would feel then. Likewise, he should ask the Creator to give him this power, so he can go above the reason of the body.

In other words, although the body does not agree to this work in order to bestow, he asks the Creator to be able to work with gladness, as is suitable for one who serves a great King. He does not ask the Creator to show the greatness of the Creator, and then he will work gladly. Rather, he wants the Creator to give him joy in the work of above reason, that it will be as important to a person as if he already has reason."

2. RABASH, Article 13 (1985), "Mighty Rock of My Salvation"

"What can one do if he wants to begin with praise but his heart is closed, and he feels that he is full of faults and cannot open his mouth and sing and praise? The advice is to go above reason and say that everything is “covered Hassadim [mercies].” In other words, he should say that everything is Hesed [grace/mercy], but it is covered from him because he is not yet qualified to see the delight and pleasure that the Creator has prepared for His creations.

And after he establishes the praise of the Creator—meaning that he believes above reason that everything is good and gracious—he should pray that the Creator will mend his heart to become “My House of Prayer,” meaning that the mercies of the Creator will appear there. This is called “revealed Hassadim.”"

3. RABASH, Article No. 25 (1987), What Is Heaviness of the Head in the Work?

"We should interpret what is written, “One does not pray unless with heaviness of the head.” In other words, our sages advise us how one should pray. They tell us, “only with heaviness of the head.” This means that one should see what he needs before he prays, and on this lack he prays that the Creator will satisfy his lack.

Therefore, one should first check oneself to see if he can take upon himself to walk in faith above reason, called “heaviness of the head,” and only then will pray that the Creator will establish the faith in his heart, for if there is faith above reason, then he has everything, as was said, that the small one annuls before the great one."

4. RABASH, Article No. 638, "Man’s Inclination"

"The thing is that faith is called above reason, meaning above nature, since everything that is within reason is called “within nature and reason,” for that which a person understands, he can do, unless he is lazy. But above reason, he cannot do this. Therefore, anything that is above nature is regarded as a miracle.

All the miracles are attributed to the Creator, meaning regarded as an awakening from above and not as an awakening from below, since the lower one cannot do something that is above nature. But in order for a miracle to be done to him, a person should pray that a miracle be done to him."

5. RABASH, Article No. 5 (1990), "What It Means that the Land Did Not Bear Fruit before Man Was Created, in the Work"

"We must believe that ‘You hear the prayer of every mouth,’ as we say in the prayer, ‘For You hear the prayer of every mouth.’ Thus, the Creator should have heard your prayer, as well. Moreover, if He does not hear the prayer of every mouth, then why do you need to pray?”

Then, when a person comes to such a state, he can say that he is going above reason. That is, although reason is very important, and he sees that the body speaks with reason, but a person should say that we must go above reason. That is, we, too, see contradictions, such as that many times he prayed but received no answer for his prayer. But then, when he overcomes and goes above reason, this is called “faith above reason.”"

6. RABASH, Article No. 23 (1989), "What Is, If He Swallows the Bitter Herb, He Will Not Come Out, in the Work?" 

"When he comes to know that the Creator can help him, and he understands that the real advice is only prayer, the body comes and makes him see that “You see how many prayers you have already prayed but you received no answer from above. Therefore, why bother praying that the Creator will help you? You see that you are not getting any help from above.” At that time, he cannot pray. Then we need to overcome once more through faith, and believe that the Creator does hear the prayer of every mouth, and it does not matter if the person is adept and has good qualities, or to the contrary. Rather, he must overcome and believe above reason, although his reason dictates that since he has prayed many times but still received no answer from above, how can he come and pray once more? This, too, requires overcoming, meaning to exert above reason and pray that the Creator will help him overcome his view and pray."

7. RABASH, Article No. 236, “The Whole Earth Is Full of His Glory"

"If one pays attention to trying to walk in faith above the intellect, by this he qualifies it and establishes it so as to achieve the revelation of the face, as is presented in The Zohar, that the Shechina [Divinity] said to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, “There is no place to hide from you,” meaning that in all the concealments that he felt, he believed that here was the light of the Creator. This qualified him until he achieved the revelation of the face of His light.

This is the meaning of the measure of the faith that pulls one out of every lowliness and concealment if a person strengthens himself in this and asks the Creator to reveal Himself."

8. RABASH, Article No. 6 (1989), “What Is Above Reason in the Work?"

"The work, “faith above reason” means we must believe although the mind does not see that this is so, and it has several proofs that it is not as he wants to believe. This is called “faith above reason,” meaning he says that he believes as though he sees it within reason. This is called “faith above reason” in the work.

In other words, it is a lot of work for a person to take this upon himself; it is against reason. This means that the body does not agree to this, yet he accepts it nonetheless as though it were within reason. Such faith requires help from the Creator. For this reason, for such faith, a person needs to pray that He will give him the power to be similar to Him as though he had attained it within reason.

In other words, a person should not pray to the Creator to help him understand everything within reason. Instead, he should pray to the Creator to give him the strength to assume faith above reason as though it were within reason."

9. RABASH, Article No. 266, "Anyone Who Is Settled in His Wine"

"One who believes in the Creator, that He hears a prayer, although each day when he prays and does not see that the Creator hears a prayer, he still believes that the Creator hears a prayer. But when he is rewarded with the Creator answering all his requests, he no longer needs to believe that the Creator hears a prayer, since he sees with his own eyes that the Creator is giving him what he wants.

Hence, the place where he must believe is called “a secret,” and the place of the revelation is called “the wine of Torah.” Man must strengthen himself in faith even in a place where he can receive the revelation that the Creator hears a prayer."

10. RABASH, Article No. 28 (1987), "What Is Do Not Add and Do Not Take Away in the Work?"

"He must believe above reason and imagine that he has already been rewarded with faith in the Creator that is felt in his organs, and he sees and feels that the Creator leads the entire world as the good who does good. Although when he looks within reason he sees the opposite, he should still work above reason and it should appear to him as though he can already feel in his organs that so it really is, that the Creator leads the world as the good who does good.

Here he acquires the importance of the goal, and from here he derives life, meaning joy at being near to the Creator. Then a person can say that the Creator is good and does good, and feel that he has the strength to tell the Creator, “You have chosen us from among all nations, You have loved us and wanted us,” since he has a reason to thank the Creator. And to the extent that he feels the importance of spirituality, so he establishes the praise of the Creator."