Kabbalah Library

186. It is written, “A prayer for the poor when he wraps.” There are three for whom a prayer is written. One is Moses, one is David, and one is a poor, who is incorporated with them and connects to them. But it is written, “A prayer for Prophet Habakkuk,” so are they four? However, Habakkuk was not said because of a prayer; although a prayer is written in regard to him, they are praise and gratitude to the Creator for reviving him and doing miracles and wonders with him, for he was the son of the Shunamite whom Elisha revived.

187. Three are called prayer: 1) A prayer for Moses, the man of God. This is a prayer that there is none like it in another person. 2) A prayer for David. This is a prayer of which there is none like it in another king. 3) A prayer for the poor, the most important prayer of those three. This prayer precedes Moses’ prayer, precedes David’s prayer, and precedes all other prayers in the world.

188. Because the poor is brokenhearted, and it is written, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted,” and the poor always quarrels with the Creator and the Creator listens and hears his words, when the poor has prayed his prayer, he opens all the windows of the firmament, and all the other prayers that rise up, the brokenhearted poor pushes them away, as it is written, “A prayer for the poor when he wraps.” It should have been written, “when he is wrapped”; why is it written, “when he wraps”? He causes delay, delaying all the prayers in the world, which do not enter until his prayer enters. Wrapping means delaying.

189. The Creator said, “Let all the prayers unite, and let this prayer rise up to Me. I do not need a courthouse here to judge between us; let his complaints be before Me, and he and I will be alone.” The Creator secludes Himself with these complaints in that prayer, as it is written, “And before the Lord, he will pour out his words.”

190. All the hosts of heaven ask one another, “In what does the Creator engage? In what does He exert?” They are told, “He secludes Himself with passion with His vessels, with the brokenhearted.” All of them do not know what is done with the prayer of the poor, and with all his complaints, since there is no passion to the prayer except when he pours tears in complaint before the holy king, and there is no passion to the Creator unless when He accepts them and they are poured out before Him. This is the prayer that detains and postpones all the prayers in the world.

191. Moses prayed his prayer and was delayed several days in this prayer due to the prayer of the poor. David saw that all the windows and all the gates of heaven were ready to open for the prayer of the poor, and that in all the prayers in the world, there is none to which the Creator listens as to the prayer of the poor. Since he saw this, he pretended to be poor and destitute, took off the royal attires and sat on the ground like a destitute person, and said a prayer, as it is written, “A prayer for David, lend Your ear, O Lord, answer me, for I am poor and destitute.”

The Creator told him, “David, are you not a king and ruler over mighty kings, that you pretend to be poor and destitute?” David promptly returned his prayer in a different way, and left the words destitute and poor, and said, “Protect my soul, for I am pious.” Nevertheless, it was all in David, both the poor and the pious.

192. For this reason, one who prays his prayer should pretend to be poor so his prayer will enter among the prayers of all the poor, since all the guards of the gates do not let all the prayers in the world in, as they let the prayer of the poor, since they enter without permission.

If a person always pretends and makes his desire the same as that of a poor one, his prayer rises and meets the prayers of the poor, connects to them and ascends with them, enters among them, and is willingly accepted before the holy king.