Three Daily Prayers of Renewal

ויפגע במקום וילן כו' אחז"ל שתיקן תפלת ערבית.

“And he encountered the place and lodged there,” and so on. Our Sages said that he instituted the evening prayer.

Jacob’s encounter at Beit El is the source of Maariv.

אברהם אבינו תיקן תפלת שחרית דכ' וישכם כו' אשר עמד אין עמידה אלא תפלה.

Abraham our father instituted the morning prayer, as it is written, “And he rose early... to the place where he had stood,” and “standing” always means prayer.

Shacharit comes from Abraham.

יצחק תיקן תפלת מנחה כו'.

Isaac instituted the afternoon prayer, and so on.

Minchah comes from Isaac.

הענין הוא שצריכין אלה הג' תקונים בכל יום שהקב"ה מחדש בטובו בכל יום מעשה בראשית והאדם צריך לקבל התחדשות היורד בכל יום ולהיות נמשך אח"ז ההתחדשות ולהחזירו בכל לילה.

The point is that these three repairs are needed every day. The Holy One in His goodness renews the work of creation each day, and a person must receive the renewal that comes down each day, be drawn after that renewal, and return it each night.

The three prayers are how we receive and hold each day’s new life.

וזה ענין הג' תפלות והם בחי' נשמה ורוח ונפש.

This is the matter of the three prayers, and they correspond to neshamah, ruach and nefesh.

Three prayers, three levels of the soul.

כי בשחרית צריכין להתקשר בראשית הכח הבא מלמעלה והיא מעלת הנשמה דכ' ויפח באפיו כו' ויהי לנפש חי'.

For in the morning one must connect to the first beginning of the power that comes from above, and that is the level of the neshamah, as it is written, “And He breathed into his nostrils,” and so on, “and man became a living soul.”

Morning prayer binds us to the highest level, the breath God gave.

א"כ תחלת הכח שהוא בדביקות עליון זה בחי' הנשמה.

If so, the beginning of the power, which is in the highest attachment, is the aspect of neshamah.

The neshamah is our first point of contact with God.

לכן נק' עמידה שהוא תכלית העליות שאין למעלה ממנו.

Therefore it is called “standing” (amidah), which is the peak of ascent with nothing above it.

Standing is the highest place one can reach.

כי האדם הוא נקרא מהלך ממדריגה למדריגה וכשבא לשורש העליון נק' עמידה.

For a person is called “one who walks” from level to level, and when he reaches the highest root, it is called standing.

We usually move between levels; at the root we stand still.

וזהו שכ' וישכם אל המקום אשר עמד שם את פני ה'.

This is what is written, “And he rose early to the place where he had stood before God.”

Abraham returned in the morning to his place before God.

כי הנה הנשמה עולה בכל לילה ונשמת הצדיק עומדת את פני ה' כמ"ש בזוה"ק בפסוק אשר עמדתי לפניו ע"ש.

For the soul rises every night, and the soul of the tzaddik stands before God, as the holy Zohar says on the verse “before whom I have stood.” See there.

At night the soul ascends, and the righteous stand before God.

וכשהשכים אברהם אע"ה נתדבק באותו מקום אשר עמד את פני ה' כנ"ל.

When Abraham our father rose early, he attached himself to that place where he had stood before God, as said above.

In the morning he held on to where his soul had been at night.

ומעין זה השאיר לכל בנ"י מי שמשתוקק להתדבק בשורשו.

Something of this he left to all Israel: whoever longs to cling to his root

Every Jew can do the same,

מסייע לו זכות האבות שתקנו אלה השלשה זמנים.

is helped by the merit of the Patriarchs, who instituted these three times.

with the help of the Patriarchs who set the prayers.

ובשחרית התפלה להתדבק בנשמה עליונה כנ"ל.

In the morning, prayer is to cling to the higher neshamah, as said above.

Shacharit reaches the highest level.

ואח"כ להיות עובד כל היום בקדושה הנשארת בו.

Afterwards one should work the whole day in the holiness that remains in him.

The day is lived from what the morning gave.

והיא תפלת מנחה בחי' רוח.

This is the afternoon prayer, the aspect of ruach.

Minchah corresponds to the spirit.

רמז לדבר ורוח להולכים בה שהוא עיקר בחי' האדם בעוה"ז.

A hint to this is “and spirit (ruach) to those who walk in it,” which is the main aspect of a person in this world.

Ruach is the level of active life in the world.

וז"ש ויצא יצחק לשוח כמ"ש לנפש חי' לרוח ממללא.

This is “And Isaac went out to converse (lasuach) in the field,” as in “a living soul, a speaking spirit.”

Isaac’s prayer in the field is speech, the work of ruach.

ותפלת ערבית היא בחי' הנפש שהיא הארה המתקשרת בגוף לעולם.

The evening prayer is the aspect of the nefesh, the light that is always bound to the body.

Maariv corresponds to the lowest, most bodily level.

לכן נק' תפלת ערבית שמתערב בגוף האדם.

Therefore it is called tefillat arvit, for it mixes (mitarev) with a person’s body.

Arvit, the evening prayer, shares a root with mixing.

ואפילו בשכבו נשאר בחי' הנפש.

Even when he lies down, the aspect of nefesh remains.

The nefesh stays even in sleep.

וכמו כן בקבר הנפש שורה על הגוף.

So too in the grave, the nefesh rests upon the body.

It stays even after death.

והוא נפשא דשלטא בלילה כמ"ש בזוה"ק ע"פ נפשי אויתיך בלילה.

This is the nefesh that rules at night, as the holy Zohar says on “My soul, I have yearned for You at night.”

The Zohar ties the nefesh to night.

ויעקב שנכנס בעובי הקורה הוצרך לתקן מדריגה התחתונה ולכן תפלת ערבית זמנה כל הלילה שהיא נמצא לעולם מקושר בגוף.

Jacob, who entered into the thick of things, needed to repair the lowest level. Therefore the time for the evening prayer is the whole night, for it is always bound to the body.

Jacob dealt with the hardest material, so his prayer has no fixed limit through the night.

ותפלות הראשונים יש להם זמנים מיוחדים כי נשמה ורוח הם עולין ויורדים.

The first prayers have special times, because neshamah and ruach rise and fall.

The higher levels come and go.

ולפעמים מתגלים הארותיהם ולפעמים מתעלמים.

Sometimes their lights are revealed and sometimes they are hidden.

They are not always felt.

והארת הנפש לעולם נמצא באדם:

But the light of the nefesh is always found in a person.

The nefesh is always present.

Summary: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob instituted the three daily prayers, which receive the renewal God brings each day. They match the three levels of the soul. The morning prayer binds us to the neshamah, the highest point, where Abraham returned to stand before God. The afternoon prayer is ruach, the spirit that guides us through the day, as Isaac spoke in the field. The evening prayer is the nefesh, always bound to the body, which Jacob repaired by entering the thick of the world. That is why Maariv can be said all night, while the higher levels come and go.