What
Is
the
Main
Deficiency
for
which
One
Should
Pray?
Article
12,
1986
It
is
known
that
Creation
is
called
“deficiency.”
This
is
why
it
is
called
“existence
from
absence.”
Man
was
created
full
of
deficiencies.
Therefore,
for
man
to
succeed
in
the
work
when
he
is
going
to
satisfy
his
deficiencies
he
must
first
know
what
is
the
main
deficiency
to
which
he
should
give
preference
over
all
his
deficiencies.
Since
there
are
spiritual
deficiencies
and
corporeal
deficiencies
we
must
first
clarify
which
we
defined
as
“spiritual”
and
which
we
defined
as
“corporeal.”
In
the
essay,
“Preface
to
the
Wisdom
of
Kabbalah”
(item
11)
it
is
written,
“Now
you
can
understand
the
real
difference
between
spirituality
and
corporeality:
anything
that
contains
a
complete
desire
to
receive,
in
all
its
Behinot
[discernments],
which
is
Behina
Dalet,
is
considered
‘corporeal.’
This
is
what
exists
in
all
the
elements
of
reality
before
us
in
this
world.
Conversely,
anything
above
this
great
measure
of
desire
to
receive
is
considered
‘spirituality.’”
It
follows
that
corporeality
means
that
which
relates
to
satisfying
our
will
to
receive.
Thus,
everything
that
one
does
for
one’s
own
benefit
is
called
“corporeality,”
and
what
he
does
to
benefit
the
Creator
is
called
“spirituality.”
It
is
therefore
clear
that
we
do
not
need
to
create
the
Kli
[vessel]
for
corporeality,
meaning
the
desire
to
satisfy
the
self-gratification,
a
Kli
of
wanting
to
receive
in
order
to
receive,
since
the
Creator
gave
us
such
Kelim
[vessels]
at
the
onset
of
Creation,
as
it
is
known
that
the
thought
of
creation,
called
“His
desire
to
do
good
to
His
creations,”
created
the
will
to
receive
existence
from
absence,
that
we
should
want
to
crave
to
receive
delight
and
pleasure.
Also,
the
Creator
satisfies
that
Kli
as
He
wishes.
Thus,
we
do
not
need
to
ask
for
vessels
of
reception.
Therefore,
the
prayer
we
give
for
corporeality
is
only
for
the
filling,
meaning
that
the
Creator
will
satisfy
everything
we
feel
we
need
since
the
sensation
of
lack
is
what
makes
us
suffer.
And
the
suffering
we
feel
are
the
reason
that
we
do
everything
we
can
to
satisfy
our
wishes.
This
is
not
so
when
we
need
to
pray
for
spirituality,
that
the
Creator
will
satisfy
our
deficiencies,
since
the
lack
for
spirituality
was
the
reason
for
the
prayer
that
the
Creator
will
grant
our
wishes
since
we
are
suffering
because
our
deficiency
has
not
been
fulfilled,
as
this
deficiency
has
yet
to
be
born
in
us,
meaning
the
lack
to
satisfy
the
Kli,
called
“vessel
of
bestowal,”
which
is
the
difference
between
spirituality
and
corporeality.
The
corporeal
Kli
is
called
“vessel
of
reception,”
and
wants
to
satisfy
its
self-gratification.
A
spiritual
Kli
is
called
“a
Kli
that
wants
to
satisfy
the
benefit
of
the
Creator,”
contrary
to
one’s
own
benefit.
This
Kli
is
absent
in
the
nature
of
creation
since
by
nature,
man
is
born
with
only
a
Kli
for
self-
gratification.
The
reason
we
say
to
our
bodies
that
we
must
work
to
benefit
the
Creator
is
that
it
does
not
understand
what
is
being
said
to
it,
as
it
cannot
grasp
not
considering
its
own
benefit
and
thinking
all
day
about
benefitting
the
Creator.
It
is
especially
so
when
it
hears
that
we
should
relinquish
pleasures
that
pertain
to
self-love
in
favor
of
benefitting
the
Creator.
This
thing
is
so
foreign
to
the
body
when
it
hears
that
one
should
work
only
in
order
to
bestow
that
it
immediately
becomes
a
smart
aleck
and
asks,
“I
would
like
to
know
if
you
see
other
people
walking
in
this
line
for
whom
you,
too,
want
to
do
the
same?
True,
I
would
agree
with
you,
but
see
for
yourself
how
many
people
you
see
whose
every
thought
in
life
is
only
to
see
to
the
benefit
of
the
Creator
and
not
their
own?
If
we
assume
that
you
know
that
there
are
people
who
are
walking
on
this
line,
how
much
time
and
effort
did
they
put
into
having
the
ability
to
do
everything
only
to
bestow?
And
especially,
how
long
should
this
take,
a
month,
two
months,
a
year,
two
years?”
And
it
becomes
even
more
of
a
smart
aleck
and
asks,
“Did
all
those
who
invest
time
and
effort
achieve
this
degree
of
being
above
to
aim
all
their
works
to
bestow?”
With
these
words
they
can
divert
a
person
from
the
work
pertaining
to
the
path
of
bestowal.
It
follows
from
all
the
above
that
concerning
spirituality,
called
“bringing
contentment
to
one’s
Maker,”
a
person
has
no
such
deficiency.
On
the
contrary,
if
he
does
get
a
thought
that
we
should
do
something
to
bestow
upon
the
Creator
without
any
reward,
all
the
body’s
thoughts
and
desires
immediately
protest
and
cry
out,
“Do
not
be
a
fool
and
an
exception
to
go
against
the
majority,
who
know
that
the
reason
that
compels
one
to
work
is
self-benefit.”
Only
with
this
force
he
can
engage
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot
[commandments].
Although
he
knows
that
he
should
engage
Lishma
[for
Her
sake],
but
there
is
a
general
answer
to
this,
that
he
is
keeping
what
our
sages
said,
“One
should
always
engage
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot
Lo
Lishma
[not
for
Her
sake]
because
from
Lo
Lishma
he
will
be
rewarded
with
Lishma.”
However,
he
should
not
be
concerned
with
this,
meaning
to
test
if
he
has
really
come
closer
to
Lishma.
Rather,
he
knows
that
the
good
is
bound
to
come,
meaning
that
he
will
certainly
achieve
Lishma,
so
he
does
not
need
to
think
about
the
meaning
of
Lishma
because
he
need
not
scrutinize
the
details
of
things
he
is
not
supposed
to
do.
Rather,
he
lives
like
the
majority.
Therefore,
there
is
a
big
difference
between
the
prayer
that
one
prays
for
corporality
and
the
prayer
one
prays
for
spirituality.
For
spirituality,
one
must
first
pray
for
the
Kli,
meaning
for
a
deficiency,
to
feel
pain
and
sorrow
at
not
having
this
Kli,
called
“desire,”
meaning
to
crave
to
bring
contentment
to
one’s
Maker.
It
therefore
follows
that
he
need
not
pray
for
satisfying
the
deficiency,
as
in
corporality
when
he
has
a
need
and
asks
for
the
satisfaction
of
the
need,
since
he
still
has
no
Kli
of
spirituality.
Hence,
when
one
comes
to
pray
for
spirituality
he
must
pray
for
the
Kli—that
the
Creator
will
give
him
a
Kli
of
wanting
to
bestow
upon
the
Creator.
Afterwards,
when
he
has
a
Kli
that
pertains
to
spirituality
he
will
be
able
to
pray
for
the
abundance
to
enter
the
spiritual
Kli.
It
follows
from
the
above
that
the
real
deficiency
for
which
one
must
pray
to
the
Creator
should
be
the
Kli.
This
follows
the
rule,
“There
is
no
light
without
a
Kli.”
When
he
prays
for
a
real
deficiency
that
he
is
lacking
comes
the
granting
of
the
prayer
when
the
Creator
gives
him
a
new
Kli,
as
it
is
written,
“And
I
will
remove
the
stony
heart
from
your
flesh,
and
I
will
give
you
a
heart
of
flesh.”
I
heard
about
this
deficiency
from
Baal
HaSulam,
who
said
in
the
name
of
his
teacher,
the
ADMOR
of
Pursov,
about
the
verse,
“Command
Aaron”
(Leviticus,
6:2).
“RASHI
interprets,
‘‘Command’
means
rushing
promptly
and
for
posterity.
Rabbi
Shimon
said,
‘the
writing
should
rush
primarily
where
the
pockets
are
empty.’’”
He
interpreted
it
to
mean
that
“pocket”
is
a
Kli
in
which
to
put
money.
Usually,
we
exert
and
worry
about
getting
money.
And
he
said,
“One
should
be
most
concerned
where
the
pockets
are
empty,
meaning
where
there
is
no
Kli.”
It
is
as
we
explained
that
in
spirituality
one
need
not
pray
that
the
Creator
will
give
him
abundance
and
lights.
Rather,
first
he
must
see
that
he
has
a
Kli,
meaning
a
desire
and
craving
to
bestow
upon
the
Creator,
since
by
nature
we
want
only
to
receive
and
not
to
give.
It
follows
that
when
one
enters
the
holy
work
and
wants
to
achieve
completion,
he
must
exert
with
all
his
might
to
obtain
the
desire
to
want
to
bring
contentment
to
one’s
Maker.
This
is
where
one
should
focus
all
one’s
prayers—that
the
Creator
will
help
him
and
give
him
this
new
Kli.
He
must
say
before
Him:
“Lord
of
the
world,
as
You
have
given
me
when
I
first
came
into
this
world
a
Kli
to
only
receive
for
my
own
sake,
I
now
ask
that
You
will
give
me
a
new
Kli,
to
have
a
desire
only
to
bestow
contentment
upon
You.”
We
might
ask,
“How
can
one
pray
to
be
given
a
Kli
called
‘desire
to
bestow,’
when
we
say
that
he
does
not
need
this
Kli
because
he
does
not
feel
that
he
will
lack
it?”
How,
then,
can
one
ask
for
something
that
one
does
not
need?
Although
he
sees
that
he
does
not
have
the
Kli
called
“desire
to
bestow,”
it
does
not
mean
that
one
needs
everything
that
he
does
not
have.
It
is
written
about
the
upper
Sefirot
that
the
Sefira
[singular
of
Sefirot]
Bina
desires
mercy
although
we
learned
that
through
Tzimtzum
Bet
[second
restriction]
she
departed
from
Rosh
de
AA
[Arich
Anpin].
Still
it
is
regarded
as
though
she
did
not
depart,
for
although
she
has
no
Hochma,
it
is
not
considered
a
deficiency
because
she
does
not
need
it.
We
see
that
something
that
one
does
not
have
is
regarded
as
a
lack
precisely
when
he
needs
it.
Moreover,
one
must
feel
pain
at
not
having.
That
is,
even
when
he
feels
he
needs
it
but
is
not
tormented
at
not
having
it,
it
is
still
not
considered
a
deficiency.
Hence,
how
can
one
pray
for
something
for
which
he
has
no
deficiency?
This
is
why
one
must
think
about
the
purpose
of
creation,
which
we
know
is
to
do
good
to
His
creations.
When
one
begins
to
criticize
that
good,
which
is
among
the
creatures,
meaning
their
delight
in
the
world
from
the
delight
and
pleasure
that
the
Creator
wants
to
give
to
them,
yet
he
cannot
find
it
among
the
creatures,
it
makes
him
realize
that
there
must
be
a
reason
that
denies
the
delight
and
pleasure
from
the
creatures,
and
for
which
the
upper
abundance
cannot
be
revealed,
and
why
the
purpose
of
creation
cannot
be
completed.
When
he
looks
at
himself
he
says
that
everything
he
sees—that
the
creatures
did
not
receive
the
abundance—must
be
because
they
are
not
observing
Torah
and
Mitzvot
as
one
should
observe
the
commandments
of
the
King.
It
is
as
our
sages
said,
“The
Creator
wished
to
reward
Israel,
therefore
He
gave
them
plentiful
Torah
and
Mitzvot
[commandments].”
This
means
that
through
Torah
and
Mitzvot
we
can
be
rewarded
with
the
delight
and
pleasure.
However,
the
question
is,
“Why
are
we
not
observing
the
Torah
and
Mitzvot
as
is
appropriate
when
serving
the
King?”
He
says
that
it
is
because
we
lack
the
sensation
of
the
importance
of
Torah
and
Mitzvot,
and
that
we
lack
the
importance
of
the
Commander
who
commanded
us
to
keep
His
Torah
and
Mitzvot.
At
that
time
a
person
comes
to
a
resolution
that
only
the
Creator
can
correct
this.
That
is,
if
He
reveals
to
us
a
little
bit
of
light
of
Torah
and
Mitzvot
so
we
may
feel
the
pleasure
in
them,
we
will
certainly
be
able
to
serve
the
King
with
our
hearts
and
souls,
as
it
should
be
with
those
who
feel
the
greatness
of
the
King.
Hence,
for
what
should
we
pray
to
the
Creator?
To
give
some
upper
abundance.
Then
everyone
will
engage
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot
properly,
without
any
negligence.
However,
we
see
what
the
holy
ARI
says,
that
the
Nukva
was
improper
there,
hence
there
was
the
breaking.
The
Ohr
Pnimi
[“Inner
Reflection,”
commentary
inside
The
Study
of
the
Ten
Sefirot]
interprets
the
words
of
the
ARI
that
since
the
upper
abundance
should
come
into
the
Kli
to
receive
the
abundance
in
order
to
bestow,
since
the
light
was
greater
than
the
Kli
was
ready
to
receive—meaning
that
the
Kli
should
receive
light
precisely
according
to
its
ability
to
aim
in
order
to
bestow,
and
it
could
not
aim
to
bestow
with
such
a
great
light—the
light
had
to
enter
Kelim
[vessels]
whose
desire
is
in
order
to
receive.
This
is
called
Klipa
[shell/peel].
It
follows
that
the
Kelim
broke.
Thus,
should
abundance
come
into
these
Kelim
it
will
all
go
to
the
outer
ones,
to
the
Klipot
[plural
of
Klipa].
This
is
similar
to
saying
that
the
Kli
was
broken
so
we
do
not
place
anything
in
it
because
it
will
all
spill
out.
Therefore,
one
must
not
pray
to
be
given
abundance
from
above,
since
it
will
all
go
to
the
outer
ones.
Instead,
he
should
pray
to
the
Creator
to
give
him
a
Kli,
which
is
a
desire
and
craving
to
bestow
upon
the
Creator.
When
he
has
that
Kli,
the
upper
abundance
will
appear
to
man
and
he
will
feel
the
delight
and
pleasure
that
were
in
the
thought
of
creation
to
do
good
to
His
creations.
Therefore,
we
should
ask
the
Creator
for
what
we
really
need,
which
is
a
vessel
of
bestowal,
and
we
need
not
pray
for
anything
else.