Praise Before Requesting In Tefillah

במדרש רנה זו סידור שבחו של מקום אח"כ תפלה כו' סימן לתפלה כיון לבו לתפלה כו' ע"ש

In the Midrash it is taught: 'rinnah (joyous song)' refers to the arrangement of the praise of the Omnipresent, and afterward comes tefillah, and so forth; this is a sign for tefillah — when one has directed his heart to tefillah — see there.

The Midrash reads the order of prayer as first arranging praise of Hashem and only afterward making requests; directing the heart to tefillah is the key sign.

כי הנה עיקר התפלה שקראוהו חז"ל עבודה שבלב הוא התפלה בעבודת הבורא ית' שצריך כל אדם סיוע ועזר מן השמים

For behold, the essence of tefillah, which Chazal called 'the avodah of the heart,' is tefillah within the service of the Creator, may He be blessed, for every person requires assistance and help from Heaven.

Real tefillah is the avodah of the heart, rooted in serving Hashem, because a person cannot accomplish his service without Heavenly help.

וכל מה שברא הקב"ה לא ברא אלא לכבודו ונמצא עיקר בריאת האדם הי' ע"ז לסדר שבחו של מקום כפי היכולת שבו כדכת' עם זו יצרתי כו' תהלתי יספרו

And everything that the Holy One, Blessed is He, created, He created only for His honor; thus it emerges that the essential purpose of the creation of man was for this — to arrange the praise of the Omnipresent according to the capacity within him, as it is written, 'This people I have fashioned for Myself; My praise shall they recount' (Yeshayahu 43:21).

Since all of creation exists for Hashem's honor, man's core purpose is to voice Hashem's praise as far as his ability reaches, as the pasuk in Yeshayahu states.

ובהיותו מסדר שבחו של מקום כפי כחו אז שייך תפלה על היתר שאינו בכח עצמותו

And when a person is arranging the praise of the Omnipresent according to his strength, then tefillah is fitting — regarding that which is beyond, that which is not within his own power.

Once a person has done his part in praising Hashem with his own strength, it is then appropriate to ask for what lies beyond his own ability.

ואז נקרא תפלת אמת בדבר שצריך העזר מן השמים וזהו הרמז כיון לבו לתפלה שהוא בדבר ובזמן שצריך באמת העזר מן השמים ואז בוודאי נענה

And then it is called a tefillah of emes — concerning a matter in which one truly requires the help of Heaven; and this is the hint in 'he directed his heart to tefillah,' that it is in a matter and at a time in which one truly requires the help of Heaven, and then he is surely answered.

True tefillah is a request for something one genuinely cannot achieve alone; asking precisely where Heavenly help is truly needed is the prayer that is answered.

וזה הי' תפלת מרע"ה אתה החילות להראות כו' אעברה נא כו'

And this was the tefillah of Moshe Rabbeinu, 'You have begun to show, and so forth, let me please cross over, and so forth' (Devarim 3:24-25).

Moshe Rabbeinu's plea to enter Eretz Yisrael is the model of such a tefillah.

שהי' דבר שאין בכחו בעצמו כאשר באמת לא הי' יכול להגיע לזה ונענה בענין הראי'

For it was a matter that was not within his own power, since in truth he was unable to attain it — yet he was answered in the matter of seeing.

Entering the land was beyond Moshe's own power, and though he was denied entry, his request was granted in part by being shown the land.

וע"ד זה נתקן פסוקי דזמרה וק"ש קודם תפלה

And along these lines were Pesukei DeZimra and Krias Shema instituted before tefillah.

Pesukei DeZimra and Krias Shema were arranged before Shemoneh Esrei to fulfill this order of first praising Hashem.

וזהו ענין סמיכת גאולה לתפלה גאולה הוא זה המעט דביקות שיש לכל אדם מישראל כפי מה שהוא

And this is the matter of placing geulah adjacent to tefillah: geulah is this small measure of dveikus that every individual of Bnei Yisrael possesses, according to what he is.

Joining geulah to tefillah expresses the small bit of dveikus each Jew already holds, each according to his level.

שהקב"ה בחר בנו והוציאנו ממצרים לספר תהלות ה'

For the Holy One, Blessed is He, chose us and brought us out of Mitzrayim in order to recount the praises of Hashem.

Hashem chose us and redeemed us from Mitzrayim precisely so that we would recount His praises.

ועל הנשאר מתפללין ה' שפתי תפתח כו' וזה יסוד התפלה כנ"ל:

And concerning that which remains, we daven: 'Hashem, open my lips, and so forth' (Tehillim 51:17) — and this is the foundation of tefillah, as explained above.

After voicing that praise, we ask Hashem to open our lips for what we still lack — and this sequence is the very foundation of tefillah.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains, based on the Midrash, that the proper order of tefillah is first to arrange the praise of the Omnipresent and only afterward to make requests. Since all of creation exists for Hashem's honor and man's purpose is to voice that praise according to his capacity, real tefillah — the avodah of the heart — is a request for precisely what lies beyond one's own power and truly demands the help of Heaven; such a tefillah of emes is surely answered. He brings Moshe Rabbeinu's prayer to enter Eretz Yisrael as the model: a matter beyond his own ability, which was answered, at least in part, through being shown the land. This is why Pesukei DeZimra, Krias Shema, and the joining of geulah to tefillah were instituted before Shemoneh Esrei — geulah being the small measure of dveikus every Jew possesses, since Hashem chose us and took us out of Mitzrayim to recount His praises. Only after voicing that praise do we daven, 'Hashem, open my lips,' which is the very foundation of tefillah.