T279 PNC - Saying Torah From Below to Above — The Shofar Shape

Beginner: Some people say Torah from below to above: down here it is very wide — they expand the matter and unpack it greatly — and as it rises higher it shortens, until at the very top almost nothing remains, only a tiny holy spark. Others say Torah from above to below: up high it is very, very broad, and as it descends it shortens, until below only a little remains, while above it is vast. So too in arousal from below: it should begin narrow, in the secret of "From the straits I called" (Psalms 118:5; cf. 66) — the shofar shape, where the wide end is above and the narrow end is below at the mouth. "Pi diber b'tzar li" — the narrow short side is at my mouth, the shofar's narrow opening. And we see this with David: every prayer began from constriction and distress (when it was narrow for him because of Avshalom or Naval, etc.), and from there, in the same prayer, he came into ru'ach ha-kodesh. Narrowness below opens out into broadness above. Intermediate: T279: Yesh ha-omrim Torah mi-l'matah l'ma'alah (rechavah l'matah, mit'katzeret l'ma'alah ad nitzotz katan), ve-yesh ha-omrim mi-l'ma'alah l'matah (rechavah l'ma'alah, mit'katzeret l'matah). Hitorerut mi-l'matah — k'shofar (peh tzar l'matah, racham l'ma'alah): "pi diber b'tzar li" (Tehillim 66:14). David — kol tefilah hitchilah b'tzar (Avshalom, Naval) v'higi'ah l'ru'ach ha-kodesh. LM 279.