Hashem is Close to All who Call Him

“קָרוֹב יְהוָה, לְכָל-קֹרְאָיו לְכֹל אֲשֶׁר יִקְרָאֻהוּ בֶאֱמֶת..”

Hashem is close to all who call to Him, to all who call to Him with truth. Every Orthodox Jew who davens three times a day says this phrase in Ashrei. Now, what exactly do we mean at the end when we say “to all who call to Him with truth?” The ultimate emes is Torah. The Zohar HaKodosh in the first chelek asks “What time is Es Ratzon?” The answer that gets brought out is the time when someone is learning Torah. From here, and from a gemoro in Brochos, we can see that the best time to daven is after learning Torah, because that time is an Es Ratzon, literally a Time of Will, essentially meaning a time when our tefillos are more likely to be accepted. The reason for this is expressed in this posuk, the ultimate emes is the Torah, therefore the best time to call out to Hashem is right after learning Torah. The deeper reason according to Toras HaNistar is that Hashem and the Torah are completely one, so when a person learns in depth and contemplates Torah they are cleaving to Hashem to whatever degree they can accomplish. Operating from this level of existence, that being a level of D’veikus, then one can truly call out to Hashem and He will be close to you. Hashem should help us all attain the highest states of D’veikus, and grant us the Geulah Shleimah swiftly without delay!