אות-פז

Prayer is a person's main anchor, even when he falls from the Torah As long as a person doesn't merit to prayer in its completion, then he still has no place for Hashem, and he is still transient and vagabond. And even if he engages in Torah, he is still has no assurance that he will retain his stance, for who knows what will transpire over him. Just as we see many people that engaged in Torah with great diligence for many years, and afterwards they became estranged from the Torah, and they fell to what they fell, may the Merciful One save us. Therefore the main place and station of holiness is prayer, for through prayer they merit to remain enduring upright in their capacity always, come what may. For if one doesn't merit, only, to Torah alone, even though this is certainly extremely good, and this is the main tachlis (-ultimate purpose), “for they (-the words of Torah) are our life and length of our days,” even still, afterwards, when he falls Heaven forbid from the Torah, then he doesn't have with what to vivify himself; but when he merits to prayer, he has hope eternally, no matter what transpires over him.

For through prayer it is possible to draw close to Hashem Yisburach always, even if one is the way he is, because even though he is distant from all holiness and from the whole Torah, and he cannot vivify himself from anything, even still if he raises his eyes to Heaven, and he prays to Hashem Yisburach from the place where he is at, he still has hope, in the aspect of what King David r.i.p. said (Psalms 69:3), “I sunk in deep quagmire and there is no foothold etc.,” and he concludes afterwards (verse 14), “And I, my prayer is to You Hashem, may it be a time of grace,” for through prayer and entreaty to Hashem Yisburach it is possible to strengthen oneself always, because prayer is the aspect of a standing and place, even in deep quagmire Heaven forbid, where there is no foothold. And this is the aspect of what our Rabbis o.b.m. said (Brachos 6b): Standing refers only to prayer, because prayer is the main stance of every person. And therefore whoever desires to be a true Israelite, needs to espouse both of them; Torah and prayer, for both of them as a cohesive one, are good, so that if one of them fails Heaven forbid, its partner will uphold him, as mentioned above. (Likutay Halachos, Laws of Overpricing, law 1).