Mighty
Rock
of
My
Salvation
Article
No.
13,
1985
In
the
Hanukah
song
we
say,
“Mighty
rock
of
my
salvation,
to
praise
You
is
a
delight;
Restore
my
House
of
Prayer,
and
there
we
will
bring
a
thanksgiving
offering.”
The
song
begins
with
words
of
praise,
“To
praise
You
is
a
delight,”
and
then
begins
with
words
of
prayer,
“Restore
my
House
of
Prayer.”
Afterwards,
it
returns
to
words
of
thanksgiving
and
praise,
“And
there
we
will
bring
a
thanksgiving
offering.”
Thus,
there
are
three
things
here,
similar
to
the
order
of
the
prayer:
-
The
first
three
of
the
Eighteen
[a
sequence
of
prayers]
are
praise
and
thanksgiving.
-
The
middle
three
are
pleas.
-
The
last
three
are
praise
and
thanksgiving
once
more.
Thus,
we
begin
with
the
present,
as
it
says,
“To
praise
You
is
a
delight,”
meaning
we
thank
and
praise
You
for
the
good
we
have
received
from
You.
It
is
as
our
sages
said,
“One
should
always
praise
the
Creator
and
then
pray”
(Berachot
[Blessings],
32).
The
reason
is
that
one
who
believes
that
the
Creator
is
merciful
and
gracious,
and
that
He
desires
to
do
good
to
the
creations,
has
room
for
prayer.
This
is
why
we
must
first
establish
the
praise
of
the
Creator,
meaning
a
person
himself
should
establish
praise
of
the
Creator.
This
does
not
mean
that
the
Creator
should
see
that
the
person
is
praising
Him,
since
the
Creator
doesn’t
need
people.
Rather,
the
person
himself
should
see
the
praise
of
the
Creator,
and
then
he
can
ask
Him
to
help
him,
since
His
conduct
is
to
do
good
to
His
creations.
Thus,
after
he
said,
“To
praise
You
is
a
delight”
comes
the
prayer,
and
we
say,
“Restore
my
House
of
Prayer.”
What
is
“My
House
of
Prayer”?
It
means,
as
it
is
written,
“Even
them
will
I
bring
to
My
holy
mountain,
and
make
them
joyful
in
My
house
of
prayer.”
“My
holy
mountain.”
Har
[mountain]
comes
from
the
word
Hirhurim
[thoughts/contemplations],
meaning
that
He
will
bring
them
thoughts
of
Kedusha
[holiness]—that
all
their
thoughts
will
be
only
of
Kedusha.
“And
make
them
joyful
in
My
house
of
prayer”
is
man’s
heart,
so
there
will
be
a
place
for
the
presence
of
the
Shechina
[Divinity]
there.
The
Shechina
is
called
“prayer,”
as
it
is
known
that
Malchut
is
called
“prayer,”
as
it
is
written,
“But
I
am
all
prayer.”
After
“Restore
my
House
of
Prayer”
comes
“And
there
we
will
bring
a
thanksgiving
offering.”
It
follows
that
first
there
is
praise,
then
there
is
prayer,
and
then
praise
once
more,
like
the
order
of
the
prayer,
which
concludes
with
praise
and
thanksgiving.
But
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.”
And
then,
“There
we
will
bring
a
thanksgiving
offering,”
meaning
that
he
will
give
thanks
for
having
been
privileged
with
offering
the
vessels
of
reception.
This
is
called,
“There
we
will
bring
a
thanksgiving
offering”
for
having
been
rewarded
with
sacrificing
his
will
to
receive.
In
return
for
it
came
the
will
to
bestow,
which
is
called
“the
place
of
the
Temple.”
But
the
important
thing
is
for
a
person
to
first
have
a
desire
to
sacrifice
the
will
to
receive.
And
since
the
will
to
receive
is
the
very
essence
of
the
creature,
the
creature
loves
it
and
it
is
very
difficult
for
him
to
understand
that
it
must
be
annulled
or
else
it
is
impossible
to
be
rewarded
with
anything
spiritual.
In
corporeality,
we
see
that
a
person
has
a
desire
and
deficiency
that
concerns
him,
which
comes
from
inside
his
body,
and
there
is
a
desire
that
one
acquires
from
the
outside,
not
from
himself.
In
other
words,
if
there
were
no
people
outside
who
begot
this
desire
in
him,
he
would
never
feel
that
he
needed
it,
but
people
on
the
outside
begat
this
desire
in
him.
For
example,
a
person
alone
will
still
want
to
eat,
drink,
sleep,
and
so
on,
even
when
there
are
no
other
people
around
him.
However,
if
there
are
people
around
him,
there
is
the
matter
of
shame,
where
others
compel
him.
Then
he
must
eat
and
drink
what
people
around
him
compel
him
to.
This
is
apparent
primarily
in
clothing.
At
home,
a
person
wears
what
is
comfortable
for
him.
But
when
he
is
among
people,
he
must
dress
according
to
the
way
others
see
it.
He
has
no
choice,
since
shame
compels
him
to
follow
their
fancies.
It
is
the
same
in
spirituality.
A
person
has
a
desire
for
spirituality
within
him,
which
comes
from
himself.
In
other
words,
even
when
he
is
alone
and
there
are
no
people
around
him
to
affect
him,
or
from
whom
to
absorb
some
desire,
he
receives
an
awakening
and
craves
to
be
a
servant
of
the
Creator.
But
his
own
desire
is
certainly
not
big
enough
for
him
not
to
need
to
enhance
it
so
he
can
work
with
it
to
obtain
the
spiritual
goal.
Therefore,
there
is
a
way—just
like
in
corporeality—to
enhance
that
desire
through
people
on
the
outside
who
will
compel
him
to
follow
their
views
and
their
spirit.
This
is
done
by
bonding
with
people
whom
he
sees
that
also
have
a
need
for
spirituality.
And
the
desire
that
those
people
on
the
outside
have
begets
a
desire
in
him,
and
thus
he
receives
a
great
desire
for
spirituality.
In
other
words,
in
addition
to
the
desire
that
he
has
from
within,
he
receives
a
desire
for
spirituality
that
they
beget
in
him,
and
then
he
acquires
a
great
desire
with
which
he
can
reach
the
goal.
Hence,
the
issue
of
love
of
friends
is
where
each
person
in
the
group,
besides
having
a
desire
of
his
own,
acquires
desire
from
the
friends.
This
is
a
great
asset
that
can
be
obtained
only
through
love
of
friends.
However,
one
should
take
great
care
not
to
be
among
friends
who
have
no
desire
to
examine
themselves,
the
basis
of
their
work—whether
it
is
to
bestow
or
to
receive—and
to
see
if
they
are
doing
things
in
order
to
reach
the
path
of
truth,
which
is
the
way
of
nothing
but
bestowal.
Only
in
such
a
group
is
it
possible
to
instill
the
friends
with
a
desire
to
bestow,
meaning
that
each
will
absorb
a
lack
from
the
friends,
namely
that
he
himself
lacks
the
power
to
bestow,
and
wherever
he
walks,
he
is
eagerly
searching
for
a
place
where
perhaps
someone
will
be
able
to
give
him
the
power
to
bestow.
Hence,
when
he
comes
into
a
group
where
everyone
is
thirsty
for
the
power
to
bestow,
everyone
receives
this
strength
from
everyone
else.
This
is
considered
receiving
strength
from
the
outside
in
addition
to
the
small
power
that
he
has
within
him.
However,
opposite
that,
there
is
a
force
from
the
outside
from
which
it
is
forbidden
to
receive
any
assistance,
even
though
this
force,
which
he
can
receive
from
the
outside,
will
give
him
fuel
for
the
work.
One
should
be
very
careful
not
to
receive
it.
And
one
needs
take
great
care
because
the
body
tends
to
receive
strength
for
the
work
specifically
from
people
on
the
outside.
It
comes
to
a
person
when
he
hears
that
it
is
said
about
him,
for
instance,
that
he
is
a
virtuous
person,
or
a
wise
disciple,
or
a
man
with
fear
of
heaven,
or
when
it
is
said
about
him
that
he
is
a
man
who
seeks
the
truth.
When
a
person
hears
these
things,
that
his
work
is
appreciated,
these
words
give
him
strength
for
the
work
because
he
is
receiving
honor
for
his
work.
And
then
he
doesn’t
need
faith
above
reason
and
the
power
of
bestowal,
meaning
that
the
Creator
will
help
him
and
this
will
be
his
motivation.
Instead,
he
receives
fuel
from
the
externals.
In
other
words,
the
external
ones
compel
him
to
engage
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot
[commandments].
This
is
the
issue
with
being
humble—one
of
its
reasons
is
so
that
there
will
be
no
nursing
to
the
external
ones.
This
is
why
one
must
walk
humbly,
as
it
is
written,
“And
to
walk
humbly
with
the
Lord
your
God.”
The
external
ones
are
people
who
are
outside
of
him.
They
nurse
on
his
work
by
afterwards—meaning
after
he
hears
that
he
is
respected—he
learns
to
work
for
the
outer
ones
and
not
for
the
Creator.
This
is
so
because
he
no
longer
needs
the
Creator
to
bring
him
closer
to
His
work,
since
now
he
is
the
operator
because
people
on
the
outside
give
him
the
fuel
to
study
and
work
for
them.
In
other
words,
they
are
the
ones
who
are
compelling
him
to
work,
and
it
is
not
the
Creator
who
compels
him
to
work
for
Him.
Rather,
others
are
compelling
him
to
work
for
them—so
they
will
respect
him,
etc.
It
follows
that
this
is
similar
to
working
for
a
foreign
god.
That
is,
they
order
him
to
work
for
the
reward
of
respect
and
the
like,
which
they
will
give
him
in
return
for
engaging
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot.
This
means
that
if
they
do
not
know
of
his
work,
and
he
did
not
see
that
there
is
someone
who
sees
and
engages
in
the
Torah,
there
is
no
one
to
obligate
him
to
work.
This
is
called
“the
grip
of
the
external
ones,”
and
this
is
why
a
person
must
work
in
a
concealed
manner.
However,
working
in
a
concealed
manner
is
not
enough.
Although
it
is
true
that
now
only
the
Creator
compels
him
to
do
the
holy
work,
there
must
be
one
more
thing:
a
person
must
work
not
in
order
to
receive
reward.
This
is
a
completely
different
matter
because
it
is
against
our
nature.
We
are
created
with
a
nature
called
“will
to
receive.”
But
now
we
must
work
only
in
the
work
of
bestowal
and
receive
nothing
for
ourselves.
For
that,
we
must
seek
out
a
society
where
each
one
believes
that
we
must
work
to
bestow.
Since
this
is
a
small
force
within
a
person,
he
must
look
for
people
who
are
seeking
such
powers,
too.
Then,
united,
each
of
them
can
receive
strength
from
the
others,
and
this
is
all
that
one
needs.
And
the
Creator
will
send
him
help
from
above
that
we
may
be
able
to
walk
on
the
path
of
bestowal.