Paths of Faith: Bringing Faith from Potential to Action

Rabbi Binyamin Efrati explains how prayer transforms faith from potential to action: "In our time, an era of hiddenness and distance from the divine light, a person who does not feel a connection with their Creator finds it difficult to stand before Him in prayer. To solve this problem, we must consider the essence of prayer."

And what is the essence of prayer? It is that it awakens faith, as we will explain based on his words in detail:

Work – means bringing energy from potential to action

The Sages said: "What is the service of the heart? It is prayer" (Sifrei Deuteronomy 11). The concept of 'work' in the context of prayer must be clearly defined. This is done by comparing spiritual concepts to physical ones:

Prayer is called 'work', and defining 'work' according to the science of physics clarifies the nature of the 'work' of prayer.

'Work' means the movement that overcomes obstacles. The greater the obstacles and the longer the movement, the greater the work. Work is performed by energy, which is the body's capacity to perform work. When the body encounters an obstacle, its energy is transformed into work.

There are two types of energy: potential energy, meaning energy that has not yet been actualized, and kinetic energy, meaning energy that has already been actualized. Work is the transition of energy from potential to action, converting potential energy into kinetic energy.

In the human soul, energy is stored, manifesting in various forms. Here we discuss one – the power of faith, the primary force in the soul.

Prayer brings our faith from potential to action

It is accepted that every person in Israel has an ingrained power of faith. This power does not change or transfer. It is passed down from generation to generation according to spiritual laws of inheritance. Sometimes this power of faith remains in a potential state, and sometimes it becomes kinetic and actualizes. When in a potential state, its impact is negligible as if it does not exist, but its destiny is to be actualized, at which point faith will mobilize all the soul's forces and influence practical life.

This emergence of faith from potential to action encounters significant obstacles: the gravitational pull of material matters and the inertia of bodily habits. Overcoming them requires work. Spiritual work, serving Hashem, is thus the expression of the power of faith into action, overcoming all impeding obstacles.

In comes prayer, which is the stance of a person before Hashem, and speaking to Him, creating movement: the soul's movement toward its God. In this movement, the power of faith emerges from potential to action, transforming from potential energy to kinetic, leaving its marks and performing its functions.

Faith is imprinted in each of us, but sometimes it is in a dormant state – it is not active. We believe deep down, but not actively.

Even those who believe in Hashem sometimes have dormant parts of their faith – not active, meaning potential. Sometimes we don't believe sufficiently that all is from Hashem, and only He can provide everything for us. We exert excessive effort while forgetting to turn to Hashem, who controls everything. We may trust people to help us and forget that Hashem is the one who grants us what we need, and people are merely messengers, and so on. Prayer develops within us the faith imprinted within us – bringing it from potential to action – making it tangible, strong, and active. It makes us feel tangibly that everything is in Hashem's hands, the keys to all the details of our lives, small and large, are in His hands, and we should trust only Him.

Rabbi Efrati continues to explain that prayer activates true faith in us because faith is not merely a thought or feeling, but a living connection with Hashem.

Active faith is a conduit through which divine abundance flows from Hashem

Active faith is a spiritual connection channel between a person and their God, through which divine abundance flows. "For man is as a tree of the field" (Deuteronomy 20:19): and this tree's root is above in the higher realms, where it draws nourishment. Active faith is the root of nourishment, giving life to the tree, as "You who cleave to the Lord your God are alive, all of you, today" (Deuteronomy 4:4). This channel of divine abundance is frequently blocked by the storms of time when a person is too engrossed in material matters and sometimes forgets that everything is from Hashem. At that moment, the movement of faith halts, and the state reverts to being static – potential rather than active.

Prayer comes and reconnects the severed connection by reviving the active flow of faith, which connects us to Hashem, and through it, divine abundance flows to us.

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