36. Another benefit of praying for material needs is that such a tefillah is often more sincere since these needs lie heavily on people’s hearts. The Tzemech Tzedek said that when one davens for his personal needs, it is teshuvah iloya (a very high level of teshuvah) because his words come forth with sincerity and truth from the depths of his heart to Hashem.
37. The tzaddikim of Karlin zy'a advised their chassidim to read Parashas Haman every day of Aseres Yemei Teshuvah because this is the time of year that Hashem designates our parnassah for the entire upcoming year. Therefore, it is an ideal time to daven for parnassah.
38. This can be compared to going to a great, mighty king and asking him for help changing a lightbulb or for a ride to the store. Some things aren’t fitting to ask from a king. Similarly, it doesn't seem correct to ask Hashem for gashmiyos.
The students were surprised because they knew that the Zohar says we shouldn't daven for gashmiyos on Rosh Hashanah. The Baal Shem Tov explained that when Hashem grants their gashmiyus requests, it will enable them to be devoted to avodas Hashem. Thus, even asking for gashmiyos can be considered davening for ruchniyos.
Therefore, asking for gashmiyos doesn't contradict the Zohar since we don’t ask for gashmiyos for its own sake. We don't daven to become wealthy to make our neighbors jealous, or so we can take luxurious vacations. Such tefillos aren't appropriate on Rosh Hashanah. But when we daven for gashmiyos to have the peace of mind to serve Hashem, it is certainly permitted and even admirable to daven that way.
Reb Meir of Premishlan zt'l once said, "If you take apart and look at the essence of all the tefillos of Bnei Yisrael, you will see that all of it is about money. But if you consider the essence of their money, it is all about mitzvos." Klal Yisrael uses their money to pay for chedarim and girls' schools, to marry off their children, to pay for Shabbos and Yom Tov seudos, etc. In this sense, asking for gashmiyos is like asking for ruchniyos.
Reb Pinchas of Koritz zy'a also encouraged his chassidim to daven for their material needs on Rosh Hashanah. He said, "Those who don’t ask don’t get."
Reb Asher of Stolin zy'a says, "The Zohar prohibits shouting 'hav hav — Give more! Give more!' This prohibition is when he has enough, and he only wants more. But for one who doesn’t have enough, there is nothing wrong with asking.
We say in the Rosh Hashanah Shemoneh Esrei, מבלעדיך ה-אלו ואין שמך ונורא אתה קדוש. Reb Moshe of Kobrin zt'l explains that here we are saying that Hashem is קדוש, extremely holy, and it doesn't seem right for us to ask Hashem for parnassah and other worldly matters.
However, we say, מבלעדיך ה-אלו אין, "There is no other G-d other than You." We are telling Hashem, "Perhaps it seems disrespectful to ask You for our worldly needs, but to whom else can we turn? Who can help us if not You? Only You can provide for our needs. Therefore, it is proper that we request them from You."
