The Depth of a Cry

I want to share with you something that will offer a path of understanding of what is happening in our times and is the key to redemption. The Ariza"l teaches that it is only at the End of Times that we will have the ability to create the strongest connection with the highest levels and to awaken the hidden love. The awakening is beginning, the redemption is coming, and our souls are forging this deep relationship which emanates from the hidden-most places, brought about by our inner cries.
In no generation have their been souls that are as distant and thoroughly lost to the extent that exists nowadays. They are chained in the depths of disconnection and disbelief until they have forgotten the most basic concepts of Judaism, frequently intentionally and with great anger. But this terrible apostasy comes from God as there is not one Jewish soul, no matter how forgone that is not inspired to connect to God. Even those who have sunk to the depths of the klipot and who are buried under deep piles of debris, from there their souls cry out, from the depths of the seas arise their cries, the shouts of their hearts and the soul that will never sleep. This awakens the deepest love of God.
It is like an angry child who runs away from his parents and does not communicate with them for years. Suddenly, one day he has a twinge of missing his family. This slight expression awakens the greatest love on the part of his father, much more so than any expression of love by all of his siblings who are found every day around their father's table. It is the distant son, with the slightest movement that is perhaps not even visible, who can awaken the deepest love of the parent.
We see this paradigm in our earlier redemptions. In Egypt the Jewish Nation had sunk to the lowest levels of depravity. It was only then that their cries were heard by God. God then "knew," He felt the deepest possible love and brought forth the majestic miracles of the Exodus from Egypt. In the time of Purim, the people were asleep with regards to their Mitzvah performance. They were distant from God and felt completely abandoned by Him. When they then cried out, the love engendered brought about a great redemption.
The same is true in our times as millions of Jews cry out to God in the depths of their hearts, the cry of children who are far from their father, awakening His love and desire for them.
א"ב רס"א

Torah and Prayer

If a person neglects to immerse himself in the study of Talmud and Halacha, in all its depth and breadth, and delve into the understanding of belief and the deeper understanding of Torah, and instead he focuses on listening to lectures that are meant to inspire, but lack a depth of Torah and do not deepen one's understanding, he is like someone who wishes to create a bonfire out of twigs. The fire will ignite quickly, but just as quickly it will burn itself out.
In the same vein, someone who views Torah as a means to inspire himself to pray better and to live a more inspired life, but does not delve into its study with an appreciation of the value of the Torah and its study, then his prayer will end up lacking consistency, strength and depth which can only arise from chopping the strong trees of delving deeply within Torah, in all its facets, with toil and effort. Otherwise, he is embarking on a path that is weak and contains many pitfalls as he is lacking balance by overdosing on the emotional without having a solid, logical base. It can also lead a person to only following his emotions, and to think that his emotions are defined by Torah.
On the other hand, if a person only studies Torah, but neglects his prayer, it is like building a bonfire out of many logs, but with nothing with which to ignite it. If a person just learns with his intellect, but does not inspire his heart and invest in its purification, he is likely to have a constipated soul that is truly distant from what he is studying. The Torah is lofty and disembodied, and can only be appreciated with inspired feelings that need prayer, Tehillim, songs and desire for a divine relationship. By focusing solely on Torah study and ignoring the service of the heart, his prayer will lack life and substance and he will never understand the depth of the Torah in which the light of God is found.
א"ב רמ"ב