20 Oct ALL PRAYERS ASCEND THROUGH THE WESTERN WALL

A fascinating question
was once brought
before Rabbi Arye Zvi
Frumer, author of
Eretz Zvi. In one city,
a man was unhappy
with a particular shul
and wanted to force it to close. To
accomplish this, he rented the floor above
the shul and turned it into a filthy place,
hoping that the congregation would be
unable to continue praying below. His
plan was based on the ruling of the Taz,
who discusses the danger of living above
a shul, although other poskim disagree
with his position and permit it under
certain circumstances.
The man’s reasoning was that the filth
above the shul would prevent the prayers
from ascending to Heaven. Rabbi Frumer,
however, explained that the congregation
had nothing to fear. Their prayers did not
ascend directly upward from the shul;
rather, they were directed toward Eretz
Yisrael, from where they could ascend to
Heaven.
This response reflects a profound idea

discussed by several great Torah
authorities: the prayers of Jews throughout
the world are directed toward Eretz Yisrael
and Yerushalayim, ultimately reaching the
site of the Beit Hamikdash, where the
heavenly gate is located.
Rabbi Yosef Gikatilla, one of the great
masters of Kabbalah who lived centuries
before the Arizal, discusses this concept in
his sefer Sha’arei Orah. He explains that
prayers offered in the Diaspora face
spiritual obstacles because the Jewish
people live under the dominion of the
nations and their appointed spiritual
ministers. He writes that the gates of
Heaven are in Eretz Yisrael and that
prayers offered outside the Land must be
directed toward Yerushalayim, from
where they ascend on high.
Rabbi Gikatilla connects this idea to the
conduct of Daniel, who continued to face
Yerushalayim when praying even while
living in exile. The pasuk states:
“His windows were open in his upper
chamber toward Yerushalayim” (Daniel
6:11).

Daniel’s conduct reflects
the principle established
by Shlomo Hamelech
when he inaugurated the
Beit Hamikdash: even
when the Jewish people
find themselves far from
their homeland, they
should direct their prayers
toward the holy city.
Rabbi Yeshayah Halevi
Horowitz, known as the
Shelah Hakadosh,
develops this concept in his siddur, Sha’ar
Hashamayim. He offers an interpretation
of the expression satam tefilatenu, which
describes our prayers as being blocked or
closed. The Shelah notes that although the
word satum ordinarily means closed, the
way the word is written with a shin allows
for an interpretation associated with
openness, as indicated by its use in other
contexts. He explains that this alludes to
the fact that the gates of Heaven are not
equally accessible from every place; Eretz
Yisrael has a special connection to the
heavenly gate through which prayers
ascend.
According to the Shelah, prayer offered
in the Diaspora does not ascend through
the same direct spiritual path as prayer
offered in Eretz Yisrael. Since the
Diaspora is under the dominion of
spiritual ministers, he explains, the
proper course is to direct one’s prayer
toward Eretz Yisrael, then toward
Yerushalayim and the site of the Beit
Hamikdash, and ultimately toward the
Kodesh Hakodashim, through the
heavenly gate.
In the introduction to Sha’ar
Hashamayim, the Shelah emphasizes
that this principle applies not only to the
inhabitants of Yerushalayim, but to the
entire Jewish people:
“This is the Gate of Heaven, the gate
through which prayers ascend. This
matter does not apply only to the prayers
of those who dwell in Yerushalayim, but
to the entire community, for the prayers
of all the exiles of Israel ascend through
the Gate of Heaven.”
Rabbi Yaakov Emden expresses a similar
idea in the introduction to his siddur. He
explains that although the Shechinah is
present everywhere, prayer offered
outside Eretz Yisrael does not ascend
along a single, direct path. Rather, it
must be directed toward Eretz Yisrael
and Yerushalayim, toward the place of

the Beit Hamikdash, opposite which
stands the heavenly gate that Yaakov
Avinu saw in his prophetic vision.
Rabbi Emden supports this concept with
the words of Shlomo Hamelech, who
prayed that the Jewish people should
direct their prayers toward their Land, and
with Daniel’s practice of praying while
facing Yerushalayim. He concludes by
urging the reader to keep the holy city
before his eyes and to envision himself
standing before Hashem in the Beit
Hamikdash, before the Aron Hakodesh.
These teachings reveal the profound
significance of directing our prayers
toward Yerushalayim. According to these
great Torah authorities, this is not merely
a matter of physical orientation. It reflects
the spiritual connection between the
Jewish people, Eretz Yisrael, and the place
where the Shechinah rests.
When a Jew stands in prayer thousands of
miles from Yerushalayim, he is not
spiritually disconnected from the holy
city. By directing his prayer toward
Yerushalayim and the site of the Beit
Hamikdash, he expresses his connection
to the place through which, according to
these teachings, the prayers of the entire
Jewish people ascend to Heaven.
Thus, the poskim instruct us to direct our
prayers toward Yerushalayim. But how is
this accomplished? There is a machloket
among the authorities. Some maintain that
one must physically face toward
Yerushalayim, while others emphasize
that one should focus his heart and
imagine himself standing in the Beit
Hamikdash as he prays. Lehalachah, one
should do both: face toward Yerushalayim
and direct his heart toward the Beit
Hamikdash.
The Mishnah Berurah (beginning of siman
98) writes that this intention should be
contemplated before beginning the
tefillah, but not during the actual prayer,
since one must concentrate on the words
he is reciting.