Inner And Outer Dimension

This week those that follow the daily schedule of learning Tanya made a siyum on the entire sefer.  The sefer ends with a letter in which the Alter Rebbe bemoans the lack of proper decorum during prayer and sets up guidelines for proper conduct during prayer.  The end of the letter ends with a description of keeping Shabbos בפנימיות וחיצוניות.  The Alter Rebbe calls the actual laws of keeping Shabbos the וחיצוניות and the פנימיות is thinking about Hashem in an extended davening, learning and not even speaking any idle words.  What does the ending of Shabbos have to do with the main content of the letter which deals with prayer?  Prayer is to the day as what Shabbos is to the week.  Just as on Shabbos the day if kept properly is spent dedicating the day to coming close to Hashem, so too prayer is the time one takes out of the day to connect to Hashem.  Strengthening Shabbos and davening is the same principle; to put a deeper focus on one's connection to Hashem. 

The Alter Rebbe mentions that there is keeping Shabbos בחיצוניות, to not do work on Shabbos and to keep the positive mitzvot.  Then there is the פנימיות which is to put one's focus on Hashem.  In the Egeret Hakodesh (#4)  the Alter Rebbe describes there is חיצוניות ופנימיות of the heart.  It is from חיצוניות הלב, from the course of habit and rote that one does the actions, the חיצוניות of the mitzvot.  It is when one does mitzvah with פנימיות הלב that one is able to connect to Hashem, מצוה מלשון צוותא through the mitzvah.