1. Baal HaSulam, Shamati, Article No. 57, "Will Bring Him as a Burnt Offering to His Will"
It is known that in order to extend abundance from above, one must precede an awakening from below. We must understand why we need an awakening from below. Because of this, we pray that there will be a will above. It means that we must evoke a desire from above to impart below.
It is not enough that we have a desire, but there has to be a good will on the part of the Giver, too. Even though above there is a general desire to do good to His creations, He still waits for our desire to awaken His desire.
In other words, if we are unable to evoke His desire, it is a sign that the desire on the part of the receiver is still incomplete. Hence, precisely by praying that there will be a will above, our desire is made to be a genuine desire, to be a fitting Kli [vessel] to receive the abundance.
2. RABASH, Article No. 576, "I Will Remove the Stony Heart"
if there is no awakening from below, one does not receive help from above for this. This is called “man’s work,” meaning what man should do, since answering a prayer pertains to whether there is a prayer from below, which is called “raising MAN,” meaning that a person raises the lack that he has and asks the Creator to satisfy his lack.
Hence, if he has a lack that he cannot work not in order to receive reward, the Creator gives him the Mayin Duchrin [MAD], which is the filling of the lack, namely the Creator gives him that strength. However, if a person does not ask for this, meaning about not being able to work not in order to receive reward, then we cannot speak of filling a lack.
3. RABASH, Article No. 22 (1986), "If a Woman Inseminates"
The only way to obtain a deficiency, that we are lacking the desire to bestow, is by prayer, which is a “medium” between man and the deficiency. That is, one prays for the Creator to give him something for which he has no deficiency, that he will lack it. It follows that the Kli that is called “deficiency” is a deficiency with respect to the feeling, meaning that he does not feel its lack, and the prayer is that the Creator will give him the light, which is the filling of his lack. It therefore follows that the filling is a lack. Thus, he has no other choice but to pray to the Creator to give him a deficiency, and this is what connects the Kli with the light.
It is as Baal HaSulam said in the name of the ADMOR of Pursov about what Rabbi Shimon said, “The writing should hasten primarily where the pockets are empty.” A “pocket” means a Kli where one puts money. A “pocket” means deficiency, and “money” is the filling of the deficiency.
4. RABASH, Article No. 27 (1990), "What Is, 'Every Blade of Grass Has an Appointee Above, Who Strikes It and Tells It, Grow!' in the Work?"
We should interpret what the ARI says, that no degree ascends unless through the ascent of Mayin Nukvin [Aramaic: female water, MAN], for Nukvin [Aramaic: females] means lack. “Water” means Bina that received within her the quality of Malchut, where Malchut is called “a lack,” from the [Hebrew] word, “hole.” Hence, the upper one must give to the lower one what it needs.
Since “There is no new light in the world except from Ein Sof [infinity/no end], hence, the upper one ascends in degree in order to receive abundance for the lower one. In the work, we should interpret that upper and lower mean that the first state is called “upper” and the second state is called “lower.” This means that if in the state one is in, he does not feel any lack and he is satisfied, clearly, he has no need to advance in the work, since he sees no deficiency that will push him to go forward.
For this reason, if a person is successful, he elicits a lack in the state he is in.
5. RABASH, Article No. 7 (1986), "The Importance of a Prayer of Many"
raising MAN, meaning causing a deficiency above. But we should understand how we can say that the lower ones cause a deficiency above. And we should also know the meaning of “deficiency.” It is known that a Kli is called “a deficiency,” meaning that if there is a deficiency, there is room to place the filling there and fill the deficiency.
There are no delays in bestowing on the part of the Emanator, for His wish is to do good. The reason why we see that there is concealment of the light is because the lower ones have no Kelim to receive the abundance. Hence, when the lower one awakens to purify himself but lacks the strength, he asks the Creator to help him. Then this deficiency rises, so now the upper one has a Kli for giving him abundance, and this is called raising MAN.
6. RABASH, Article No. 183, “Work Is the Most Important”
Man’s work is to do good deeds, meaning Torah and prayer to the Creator that the Creator will help us raise the Shechina from the dust, which is called an “awakening from below,” meaning that the lower ones evoke a lack, which is what we say, “May it please You,” meaning that there will be a desire above to satisfy our lacks.This is the meaning of “Let them take Me a donation,” which The Zohar interprets, to exalt the Creator, which is Tarum-Hey [“raise the Creator” or Trumah (donation)], meaning Malchut that is lowered to the dust, to raise her from her lowliness. However, this requires that the Creator will raise her, as it is written, “The Merciful one
will raise for us the fallen hut of David.”
7. RABASH, Article No. 27 (1989), “What Is the Meaning of Suffering in the Work”
what our sages said (Shabbat 152), “What I did not lose, I seek.” That is, an old man walking bent, always looking at the ground as though searching for something. He says, “I have lost nothing, yet I search.” We should interpret “Old is he who has acquired wisdom.” That is, he is “Wise, who sees the future.” Since he can come to a descent in order acquire empty Kelim, so the Creator may fill them or he will remain in a state of lowliness because he will not feel deficient. Then, when he loses the state of ascent, he begins to seek advice how to ascent in spirituality once again.
Therefore, one who is old, meaning wise and sees the future, begins to search how to ascend in spirituality even before he loses the state of ascent. He begins to follow all the counsels about the ways to ascend on the spiritual degrees, and this is done by seeking deficiencies in the state he is in. In that case, there is no need to throw him down in importance so he will find and see deficiencies in himself, since he himself will be looking for deficiencies so as to have empty Kelim that the Creator may fill.