Revealing Hashem Through Tefillah

במדרש ומי גוי גדול כו' אדם שקורא ק"ש וסומך גאולה לתפלה כו'

In the Midrash: "And what great nation is there..." (Devarim 4:7) — this refers to a person who recites Krias Shema and joins the redemption to the tefillah.

The Midrash on the verse praising Bnei Yisrael as a great nation reads it as a reference to one who recites Shema and connects the blessing of redemption directly to the Shemoneh Esrei.

ע"ז קרובה ורחוקה והקב"ה רחוק וקרוב כו' פי' בכל קראנו אליו שאדם יכול לקרב ולגלות ההסתר להיות נגלה אליו כבוד ה' שהוא מלא כ"ה

Regarding idolatry, it is "near yet far," whereas the Holy One, Blessed is He, is "far yet near" — the meaning being "whenever we call upon Him" (Devarim 4:7), that a person is able to draw close and reveal that which is concealed, so that the glory of Hashem, which fills all, becomes revealed to him.

Idolatry seems close but is ultimately distant, while Hashem, though seemingly hidden, is truly near; a person has the power to peel back the concealment so that Hashem's all-pervading glory becomes revealed to him.

וזה ענין תפלה אחר ק"ש שכפי יחוד ק"ש שנתברר אצלו ומעיד כי ה' אחד והוא מחי' כל

And this is the matter of tefillah after Krias Shema: that according to the unification accomplished in Krias Shema, by which it has become clarified to him and he testifies that Hashem is One and that He gives life to all,

Through the unification of Krias Shema a person clarifies and testifies that Hashem is One and the Source of all life.

כמו כן יוכל להתדבק בתפילתו דכ' אליו שהתפלה לא"ס ית'

so too can he cleave to Him in his tefillah, as it is written "unto Him" (Devarim 4:7) — that the tefillah is directed to the Ein Sof, may He be blessed.

Having reached that clarity, he can then cling to Hashem in his tefillah, which is directed straight to the Ein Sof.

וכפי ההתגלות כך נתקבל התפלה

And according to the measure of revelation, so is the tefillah accepted.

The degree to which Hashem's Oneness has become revealed to him determines the degree to which his tefillah is accepted.

וזה פי' סמיכות גאולה לתפלה

And this is the meaning of joining the redemption to the tefillah.

This explains why the Sages instituted joining the blessing of geulah to the tefillah.

כי פי' גאולה מה שיודעין שגם בתוך כל הסתר וגלות מחיצוניות יש ג"כ נקודה גנוזה ממנו ית'

For the meaning of "redemption" is the recognition that even within all the concealment and the galus of the external surface, there is likewise a hidden point that is from Him, may He be blessed.

Redemption means recognizing that even inside the deepest concealment and galus there remains a hidden point of Hashem's presence.

ועי"ז בא הגאולה

And through this comes the geulah.

It is precisely this recognition that brings about the geulah.

וע"י שזוכר יצ"מ שגאלנו השי"ת ועי"ז נתברר שגם כל הסתר הוא ג"כ מחיות הש"י בלבד

And through a person's remembering Yetzias Mitzrayim, that Hashem redeemed us — and through this it becomes clarified that even all concealment is likewise nothing other than the life-force of Hashem —

By recalling that Hashem redeemed us from Mitzrayim, one comes to understand that even concealment itself is nothing but Hashem's life-force in disguise.

עי"ז יוכל להתפלל ולבקש גילוי גם עתה כי כל תפלה היא רק על גילוי כבודו ית' כי בזה נכלל הכל

through this he is able to daven and to request a revelation even now, for every tefillah is solely for the revelation of His glory, may He be blessed, for within that everything is included.

That clarity empowers a person to daven for revelation even in his own time, since every tefillah is ultimately a request for Hashem's glory to be revealed, which contains everything.

וז"ש ג"כ בשבת וזכרת כו' עבד היית כו'

And this is also what is said regarding Shabbos: "And you shall remember... you were a slave..." (Devarim 5:15).

The Torah ties the mitzvah of Shabbos to remembering that we were slaves and were redeemed from Mitzrayim.

ומה ענין זה לשבת

And what connection does this matter have to Shabbos?

The Sfas Emes raises the question of what Yetzias Mitzrayim has to do with Shabbos.

גם בקידוש היום זכר ליצ"מ

Also in the Kiddush of the day there is a remembrance of Yetzias Mitzrayim.

He notes that this connection also appears in the Shabbos Kiddush, which mentions a remembrance of Yetzias Mitzrayim.

רק כי הגאולה היא ענין שבת שבנ"י מעידין (על) שהכל מחיות הש"י שברא בששת ימים כו' כנ"ל:

Rather it is that the redemption is the very matter of Shabbos, by which Bnei Yisrael testify that everything is from the life-force of Hashem, who created in six days, as above.

The answer is that redemption and Shabbos share one essence: on Shabbos Bnei Yisrael testify that all of existence is sustained by Hashem's life-force, the same Hashem who created the world in six days.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains the Midrash on "what great nation is there" as praising one who joins the blessing of geulah to his tefillah. Idolatry appears near but is far, while Hashem appears far yet is truly near; through Krias Shema one clarifies and testifies that Hashem is One and gives life to all, and this clarity enables true dveikus in tefillah, which is accepted in proportion to how much Hashem's Oneness has been revealed. Redemption itself means recognizing that even within the deepest concealment and galus there remains a hidden point of Hashem's life-force, and remembering Yetzias Mitzrayim drives home that all concealment is nothing but Hashem in disguise — which empowers one to daven for revelation even now. This same idea, he concludes, is why the Torah and the Shabbos Kiddush link Yetzias Mitzrayim to Shabbos: redemption and Shabbos share one essence, for on Shabbos Bnei Yisrael testify that all existence flows from the life-force of Hashem, who created the world in six days.