Zohar on Tehillim 25 — the prayer of “Nefilat Apayim” (falling on one's face)
Tehillim 25:1
Rabbi Shimon said: לדוד אליך ה' נפשי אשא אלקי בך בטחתי וגו' — “Of David. To You, O L-rd, I lift up my soul; my G-d, in You I trust.” (Tehillim 25:1)
He asks: Why did David formulate this praise in this manner? In other praises whose stanzas follow the order of the alphabet, there is completeness; yet this one lacks a verse beginning with the letter “vav”. And why did the verses of this psalm become part of the prayer of נפילת אפים, which is customarily recited with one's face bowed low onto one's hand?
And he answers: This is a lofty secret known only to the Companions. When night falls, Malchut, on the side of judgment — the lower Tree upon which death depends — spreads out its branches and conceals everything. Thus it becomes dark, and all people experience a taste of death.
Of his own free will, a person gives his soul to her as a pledge for the night, in order to receive it back in the morning. Since Malchut has taken the soul as a pledge, it is returned to its owner when morning comes. In the morning, having received his soul back, a person must bless the Almighty.
A person awakens, rises, goes to the synagogue, crowns himself by putting on tefillin, wraps himself in the mitzvah garment, the tallit, and first purifies himself by reciting the korbanot, the prayers that take the place of sacrifices. He then accepts the yoke of the Almighty through David's praises, in the order corresponding to the attainment of the levels of the yoke of Malchut.
As he recites these praises, he receives their influence — the effect of these levels. Then come the prayers associated with the level of Malchut, which are recited while seated. The culmination of the service is the Amidah, which corresponds to the level of Zeir Anpin, and is therefore recited while standing. All the actions described unite Zeir Anpin and Malchut.
See the secret. Although prayer is primarily connected with speech, it must first be established through certain actions. A person should not pray before performing the necessary actions and deeds that correspond to the prayer.
Explanation. There is a correspondence between the actions of the body and the levels of prayer. Purifying the body corresponds to reciting the korbanot before prayer; putting on the arm tefillin corresponds to the prayers recited while seated; putting on the head tefillin corresponds to the Amidah.
When a person awakens, his first act should be to purify his body (washing his hands, using the bathroom, and so forth). He must then accept this yoke upon himself, symbolized by the tallit, which rises above his head, imbued with the mitzvah. He must bind the knot of unity by putting on the arm and head tefillin, and secure them with a single knot on the left side, where the heart is.
As it is written: שמאלו תחת לראשי — “His left hand is beneath my head.” And it is said: שימני כחותם על לבך כחותם על זרועך — “Set me as a seal upon Your heart, as a seal upon Your arm.” This refers to the arm tefillin, symbolizing Malchut, which is secured on the left arm, opposite the heart. These are the actions that must be performed even before prayer.
Explanation. Malchut is built along the left line.
Therefore, when a person enters the synagogue, he should first purify himself through the prayer of his lips, reciting passages about the sacrifices — the korbanot. He must then accept upon himself the yoke of Malchut, spreading it over his head through the praises of King David.
This corresponds to an action: the mitzvah of the act of tzitzit is thus spread over his head. After this comes the Amidah — the secret of the level of Zeir Anpin and of putting on the head tefillin. We see, then, that deed and speech are two corresponding levels, and prayer depends upon them.
If there is a flaw at the level of the action that precedes prayer, then what is said in the prayer cannot find its proper place — and it is no longer prayer. Such a person himself is considered flawed above and below, because the deed corresponding to the prayer being recited must be performed.
Then prayer is complete. Woe to the person who has damaged his prayer — the service of the Creator, the service of the Master. It is written about him: כי תבואו לראות פני וגו', גם כי תרבו תפלה אינני שומע — “When you come to appear before Me… even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen.” For everything depends on a person's deeds and on what he says.
(Zohar on Bamidbar, Sulam, translated by Rabbi Tzvi Nisanzen)
