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| VaYeitzei: Prayer Before Sleep |
Leaving Beersheba at his father's command,
Jacob spent the night in Bethel.
There, before laying down to sleep on the ground, he prayed to God.
The Sages taught that Jacob established the third prayer of the
day — Ma'ariv, the evening service. While less obligatory than
the morning and afternoon services, Ma'ariv has its own spiritual
benefits. The Talmudic sage Abba Benjamin testified that he took great pains every
day of his life to recite Ma'ariv before going
to sleep (Berachot 5b). What is so special about the evening prayer?
Refining the Desires and Imagination
While we sleep, our cognitive and rational functions cease,
and our involuntary bodily processes take over. Only our powers of imagination
remain active, guiding our dreams as we sleep. Without the control
and regulation of our intellectual faculties, a measure of impurity
descends on the body in the night. We remove this impurity
by washing our hands when we wake up in the morning.
Holy individuals may experience sublime visions in their
sleep, like Jacob who dreamt of angels ascending and
descending a heaven-bound ladder as he slept in
Bethel. However, only the soul experiences these visions. The
body is detached from the soul during sleep, and is not influenced
by the soul's uplifting experiences.
We have two tools for spiritual growth: Torah study and prayer.
Abba Benjamin's testimony helps clarify how each tool ennobles
a different aspect of the human soul.
When we study Torah, we refine and elevate our powers of intellect.
The function of prayer, on the other hand, is to uplift our faculty of ratzon.
Through prayer and meditation, we refine our will and powers of imagination.
As we express our inner needs and aspirations in prayer, our
desires are elevated to holier, more spiritual goals.
Our imaginative faculties are closer to our physical side than
the intellect. Thus they function even as we sleep, in
our dreams. Since it is through prayer that we can
most effectively direct those faculties still active during
sleep, it is logical that prayer before sleep will have the
strongest impact on this aspect of life. For this reason, Abba Benjamin
stressed the importance of his nighttime prayer.
(Adapted from Ein Eyah vol. I, p. 19)
Copyright © 2006 by Chanan Morrison
"He entreated at the place and stayed overnight, for
it suddenly became night." (Gen. 28:11)