8. Come and see, when man rises at midnight from his bed to be occupied with the Torah, a crier announces over him, saying, "Behold, bless Hashem, all you servants of Hashem, who stand by night in the house of Hashem" (Tehilim 134:1). Now IN THE MORNING, when he stands in prayer before his Master, the crier proclaims about him saying, "I will give you access among these who stand by."
9. After finishing his prayer favorably before his Master, it was explained that it behooves him to deliver his soul with a willing heart to the required place, NAMELY MALCHUT. Man has many counsels about anything. When he is in prayer, all the words a man utters in his mouth in that prayer rise up and cleave airs and firmaments until they reach wherever they reach. They are adorned on the head of the King, who turns them into a diadem. The friends explained that when a man asks the Holy One, blessed be He in his prayer, he should meditate for it to be a prayer of supplication. Whence do we know that? From Moses, as it is written, "And I besought Hashem" (Devarim 3:23). Such is a goodly prayer.
10. Come and see, whoever stands in prayer should straighten his legs, which has already been explained. He should cover his head as one standing before the king and cover his eyes so as not to behold the Shechinah. In his book Rav Hamnuna Saba said, Whoever opens his eyes during prayer or does not lower his eyes to the ground, the Angel of Death comes to him earlier. When his soul goes out, WHEN HE DEPARTS FROM THE WORLD, he will not see the light of the Shechinah nor die by a kiss. Whoever treats the Shechinah lightly is treated lightly when he needs Her. This is the meaning of, "for them that honor Me I will honor, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed" (I Shmuel 2:30).
11. YOU TALK ABOUT he who beholds the Shechinah when he prays, yet how can he look at the Shechinah? AND HE ANSWERS, It means knowing the Shechinah is surely before him WHEN HE PRAYS. HENCE HE MUST NOT OPEN HIS EYES. This is the meaning of, "Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall" (Yeshayah 38:2), where the Shechinah rested. For that reason there must be nothing between him and the wall WHEN HE PRAYS. This has already been explained.
12. Whoever stands in prayer should first arrange the praise of his Master and then recite his own prayer. For this is what Moses said first, "You have begun..." (Devarim 3:23), and at last HE RECITED HIS PRAYER, "I pray You, let me go over..." (Ibid. 25). Rabbi Yehuda said, What is the difference here in first saying Adonai spelled Aleph Dalet Nun Yud and then Yud Hei Vav Hei, which we pronounce Elohim, NAMELY "ADONAI ELOHIM, YOU HAVE BEGUN..." HE ANSWERS, The order is so, from below upwards, SINCE ADONAI IS MALCHUT AND YUD HEI VAV HEI IS ZEIR ANPIN. HE SAID IT SO in order to include the quality of day with night and the quality of night with day and unify everything together properly. THE QUALITY OF DAY IS ZEIR ANPIN AND THE QUALITY OF NIGHT IS MALCHUT.
13. "You have begun to show Your servant" (Devarim 3:23). HE ASKS, What manner of a beginning is here, IN SAYING, "YOU HAVE BEGUN?" AND HE ANSWERS, Surely Moses was a beginning in the world, in being absolutely perfect. You may say that Jacob was perfect PRIOR TO MOSES. For the tree, ZEIR ANPIN, was perfected through him below as it was above, BECAUSE HE HAD TWELVE SONS THAT CORRESPOND TO THE TWELVE BORDERS OF ZEIR ANPIN AND SEVENTY SOULS THAT CORRESPOND TO THE SEVENTY BRANCHES IN THE SUPERNAL TREE, ZEIR ANPIN. It is surely so. But Moses attained what no one else did, by being more completely bedecked with many thousands and tens of thousands of people of Yisrael, with the Torah, with the Tabernacle, with the priests and Levites, with the twelve tribes, WITH TWELVE princes appointed over them, with the seventy members of the Sanhedrin. He was completed in a whole body, THE SECRET OF TIFERET THAT INCLUDES RIGHT AND LEFT. For Aaron was to his right, Nachshon to his left and he was between them.
14. For that reason IT IS WRITTEN, "YOU HAVE BEGUN TO SHOW YOUR SERVANT Your greatness," NAMELY from the right, Aaron; "and Your mighty hand" (Ibid.), NAMELY from the left, which is Nachshon. We already learned that. It was Moses therefore who was a beginning in the world, AND NOT JACOB. You may ask who was the ending. AND HE ANSWERS, King Messiah is the ending, because then there will be perfection in the world, which was not the case for generations. At that time perfection will abide above and below, and all the worlds will be united as one. Then it is written, "on that day Hashem shall be one, and His name One" (Zecharyah 14:9).
15. "And Hashem said to me, Let it suffice you; speak no more..." (Devarim 3:26). Rabbi Chiya said, The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: 'Moses, "Let it suffice you" to have joined the Shechinah. From now on, "speak no more." Rabbi Yitzchak said, "Let it suffice you," the light of the sun that was with you; "no more" because the time for the moon has come, WHICH IS JOSHUA, and the moon cannot shine until the sun is gathered. "But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him" (Ibid. 28). You, who are the sun, should illuminate the moon. We have already learned this.
16. "But you that did cleave to Hashem your Elohim" (Devarim 4:4). Rabbi Yosi said, "Happy is that people, that is in such a case" (Tehilim 144:15). Happy is the people whom the Holy One, blessed be He, has chosen above all heathen peoples and raised to His lot, and blessed them with His blessing, with His name's blessing. This is the meaning of, "they are the seed which Hashem has blessed" (Yeshayah 61:9), Hashem has actually blessed, NAMELY, THE BLESSING OF HIS NAME.
17. Come and see, the Holy One, blessed be He, gave all the rest of the nations in the world to the appointed ministers that rule over them. As for Yisrael, the Holy One, blessed be He, held to them for His lot and portion, to actually unite with them. And He gave them the holy Torah in order to unite with His name. Hence, "you that did cleave to Hashem," and not to any other minister as the other nations. This has been explained in different places.