רַבֵּנוּ זִכְרוֹנוֹ לִבְרָכָה (הוּא אַדְמוֹ"ר הַגָּאוֹן הַקָּדוֹשׁ אוֹר הַגָּנוּז וְהַצָּפוּן מוֹהֲר

Our Master [Rabbainu], of blessed memory — [he is the Admor, the Gaon, the holy one, the hidden and concealed light, Moharar [Moraraynu ViRabbainu HaRav Rabbi — Our Teacher and Our Master, the Rav, Rabbi] Nachman, of blessed and holy memory, the author of Likutay Moharan] — warned us many times, in many different expressions of language, to fashion tefilos [prayers] from the Torahs [Torah-teachings]. And he said: that from this, great sha'ashu'im [divine delights] are made on high. And he said: that never yet have such sha'ashu'im risen before Hashem, may He be blessed, as these sha'ashu'im that are made from these tefilos that one fashions from the Torahs. And he further spoke of this again and again, many times, with very many people.

However, he did not explain the matter fully — how his holy intention [kavanah] was in this. Yet from the general thrust of his words we understood that his essential intention was, simply, that we should endeavor to study the holy and awesome Torahs that he revealed to us — in order to understand and discern the intent of that Torah as it pertains to practical action. (For that is the main point — it is not the study [midrash] that is the main thing, but the deed [ma'asah], as has been explained to us many times: the whole essential intention of our holy and awesome Rabbainu, of blessed memory, in all the Torahs that he revealed, was entirely only for the sake of practical action — that we should strive, and exert ourselves, and strengthen ourselves with all our might to guard and perform and fulfill all that is said in each and every Torah.) And we should take stock of our ways — how far we are from those matters mentioned in each and every Torah — and we should pray and petition Hashem with abundant supplications and requests and entreaties, that He have mercy upon us and grant us merit and draw us near, through His abundant mercies, so that we merit to fulfill all that is said there in that Torah; and we should pour out our speech before Hashem, may He be blessed, regarding all the matters stated there, that we merit to fulfill them and to attain them in their fullness.

And whoever merits to engage in this — to fashion tefilos from the Torahs as mentioned above — will certainly always be able to pour out his speech before Hashem, may He be blessed, and all that is in his heart he will be able to express through each and every Torah. For even though at first it may seem to him that that particular Torah does not speak of his particular urgent need, nor of the deficiencies and blemishes that are his at that time — even so, when he begins to speak by means of that Torah, Hashem, may He be blessed, will certainly help him, and he will be able to put all his speech within it; and all that is in his heart he will be able to express through each and every Torah. For the words of our Rabbainu, of blessed memory, are of an all-encompassment [kelaliuss] that is very, very great — and each and every Torah includes within it the entire Torah, and the all-encompassment of Israel, and the all-encompassment of everything in the world. And every person, just as he is — whether he stands at the ultimate peak of the highest level, or whether he stands at the very lowest rung — all, across the board, from the head of all the levels to the end of all the levels, all of them can find themselves, with all their particular aspects, within each and every Torah of our holy and awesome Rabbainu, of blessed memory. And therefore, through each and every Torah, every person in the world, at every time and every moment, can pour out his speech — in whatever state he may be.

And even on the simple, straightforward level, one can understand this — that one can pour out one's speech through each and every Torah. For example: the Torah of trumpets and the sound of the shofar [Likutay Moharan I, §5], which begins with the teaching that every person is obligated to say: the world was created for my sake — which means that since the world was created for my sake, I must always look to the rectification [tikun] of the world, and to fill the world's deficiency, and to pray on its behalf, etc.; and one must know whether he is praying before a sealed verdict or after a sealed verdict, in order to know how to pray — etc., see there. Now, Rabbainu the holy one, of blessed memory, himself spoke personally with people from among his followers regarding this Torah, concerning the matter of prayer — he warned them to fashion tefilos from the Torahs, and he taught them the proper order of prayer. And he took this very Torah as an example for them, and guided them simply: to begin by looking at themselves — how far they are from all of this. For every person is obligated to say: the whole world was created only for my sake — and to pray regarding the world's deficiency, and to know whether he is before a sealed verdict or after a sealed verdict. And so, now let him look at himself — how far he is from all this — and pray and petition Hashem, may He be blessed, that he merit to attain all this.

And in truth — if Hashem, may He be blessed, grants us the merit to fulfill his words as they are literally stated, according to the way explained here simply — then certainly every single person will be able to pour out his speech, in this way, through each and every Torah. For even if one is the least of the least and the lightest of the light, and even if he has transgressed whatever he has transgressed, G-d forbid — if he truly stirs himself to return to Hashem and begins to pour out his speech before Hashem, may He be blessed, he will be able thereby to express precisely all that is in his heart. For he will begin to say, with bitterness of soul: "Was not the world created for my sake?" — for so have our Sages, of blessed memory, cautioned us: it is an obligation upon every person to say so — that the whole world was created only for my sake; and how very, very far am I now from this. And even if it seems to him that he is immeasurably far from this — so far that it is not at all appropriate for him to speak of the world having been created for his sake, given his lowly and diminished level that he knows in his soul — even so, on the contrary, it is specifically through this that he will be able to pour out his speech even more. For truly and in truth, the obligation indeed rests upon him to say that the world was created for his sake — as our Sages, of blessed memory, have said: “Every person is obligated to say…” [Sanhedrin 37a] — every person, specifically, whoever he may be. It is only that he has distanced himself so greatly that it is difficult for him to speak of this. If so — then on the contrary, it is specifically through this that he should pour out his heart like water before the face of Hashem [Lamentations 2:19] — when he looks at himself and sees how far he is from this through his deeds, etc. And it is specifically through this that he will enter into the words, until he will be able to speak and pour out his entire heart — all the afflictions of his heart and the pains of his soul at that time. And similarly with each and every matter in this Torah.

Therefore — whoever wishes to spare his soul and to look with truth and sincerity upon his eternal purpose, and wishes truly to draw near to Hashem, may He be blessed — and this is known and clear: that it is impossible to draw near to Hashem, may He be blessed — that is, to break and nullify all the bad character traits [midos ro'os], and to merit all the good character traits [midos tovos], and to walk in His ways, may He be blessed — this is impossible except through prayer and supplications and outcry and wailing and crying to Hashem, may He be blessed, for many days and many years. And all the true tzadikim and the truly righteous attained their levels only through this — through prayer and supplications — as has been explained to us many times already. But even this itself is difficult and burdensome for a person — namely, to multiply prayer and supplications — for most often there is no word on his tongue with which to speak and pour out his speech. But according to the way mentioned above — to fashion tefilos from the Torahs as mentioned above — through this he can easily pour out all that is in his heart, as mentioned above. Yet even for this there are many obstacles and difficulties — for not every person is sufficiently versed in the words of our Rabbainu, of blessed memory, to the extent that he can fashion tefilos from the Torahs — and similarly many other obstacles. Therefore I took it to heart to transcribe from the prayers that I had written down for myself, as our Rabbainu, of blessed memory, had instructed me — for it is good to write down one's prayers for oneself, when one merits to formulate a certain orderly prayer, so that one may recite it again on another occasion. And so I did. Afterward, I saw that it was good to transcribe them in a language of all-encompassment [kelaliuss], in such a form that they would be equally applicable to every soul, and to deliver them to the people of our community [anshay shlomaynu], so as not to withhold the good from its rightful recipient. For I saw that they are of very, very great encompassment [kelaliuss], and they are matters needed by every soul — for every single person according to his level; all need them, from great to small; and there is no matter that a person lacks in the service of Hashem that he will not find in these prayers. And when I transcribed some of them and delivered them to some people, they were very, very pleased, and they urged me to transcribe all of them for them. Although my heart went back and forth in this, nonetheless I surrendered myself to Hashem, may He be blessed, alone, and depended upon Him alone — according to His will, may He be blessed, and the will of our Rabbainu, of blessed memory, so shall I do.

Now — the greatness of these prayers every discerning person who desires truth and simplicity will understand. For prayers such as these have never yet been in the world, and they are filled with all good for the House of Israel: prayers, entreaties, requests, importunities, supplications, appeasements, confessions, arguments, justifications, outcries, cries, and great wailings to Hashem, may He be blessed — to arouse His abundant mercies upon us, that He draw us near to His service, may He be blessed, swiftly and speedily. And included in them as well is a great awakening that a person should say to his soul — to arouse himself not to let his world pass him by in sleep, G-d forbid. For speech has great power to awaken a person. Therefore, even the things that a person already knows himself — even so, when he says them with his mouth and arouses himself — through this he will become stronger, and more powerful, and yearn even more to draw near to Hashem, may He be blessed, until he merits true and complete teshuvah [repentance]. And whoever is accustomed to these prayers in truth and simplicity will certainly merit eternal life.

Yet it is good to hold fast to this and also not to let go of that — meaning, to engage every day in hisbodidus [personal secluded prayer-conversation], and to pour out one's speech before Hashem, may He be blessed — all that is in one's heart — in the Yiddish language [leshon Ashkenaz] (as explained in his holy books many times); and to fashion tefilos from the Torahs on one's own, as mentioned above. For it is impossible to put into writing every individual need of a person in its particulars — especially according to the changes that occur in a person at every time and moment. And our Rabbainu, of blessed memory, has already warned us many times to say many entreaties and requests every day — all the types of entreaties found in some of the great prayerbooks, or in Sha'aray Tzion [Gates of Zion] and in other places — and all the more so to be engaged with the book of Psalms [Tehillim]. And whoever wishes to fulfill his holy words and to engage in prayer in order to merit eternal life will certainly find these prayers very, very pleasing to his soul — for there are no prayers in the world in which a person can find himself as in these prayers, which speak of every character trait and every matter in the world. As the beholder will see with his own eyes — fortunate is he who holds fast to them.

Now — it is not something wondrous to compose new prayers. For many, great and small, have already preceded me in this — having composed and established many prayers, such as in the book Sha'aray Tzion, in which are found many prayers composed by the later authorities; and likewise in the large prayerbooks and in other books. And even in our own days, many and many new prayers have been composed, and there are also complete books of prayers — only that they are not common among us, as is brought at the end of Seder HaDoros within the listing of book titles, where many books of prayer are cited that are not so common among us. And also all the liturgical poems [piyutim] and penitential prayers [selichos] and hymns [zemiros] — the vast majority of them did not come forth from the mouths of the ancients, from the prophets and the Tannaim and the masters of divine inspiration [ba'alay ruach hakodesh], but only from the mouths of the later authorities, who lived long after the cessation of divine inspiration from Israel. For it is understood by every discerning person that there is no prohibition against composing prayers for one who is not on the level of the elevated ones [bnay aliyah], the masters of divine inspiration — just as for other authors of books there is no requirement that they be masters of divine inspiration. For “it is not in heaven” [Deuteronomy 30:12]. On the contrary — in the composition of prayers there is no responsibility at all, and no fear of danger, as there may be in composing other books — such as in matters of rendering decisions of prohibition and permissibility, and of monetary law, where there is great danger for the one who authors them, lest he stumble in a halachic matter, G-d forbid — that he declare the impure to be pure, G-d forbid, etc. And likewise in books of commentary and explanation there is also the concern of not stating something contrary to the halacha, or of not hitting upon the true interpretation and explanation. And even so, the obligation rests upon every Torah scholar to compose books according to his ability, as has been elaborated upon in many holy works — and it is forbidden to hold oneself back due to the concerns of danger mentioned above. For “it is not in heaven” — and we are obligated to do what is incumbent upon us: to clarify and purify the halacha according to our capacity, and to always direct our minds and our intellects toward the point of truth. And Hashem, Who is good in His eyes, shall do — and all that Hashem, may He be blessed, furnishes to our intellect — any novel insight or explanation — we are obligated to set it down in writing, and to spread our wellsprings outward [Proverbs 5:16], and to benefit others from our good, and not to withhold the good from its rightful recipient due to fears and dark melancholy [moros sh'choros] such as these. For the Holy One, Blessed be He, does not deal tyrannically with His creatures [Avoda Zara 3a], and the Torah was not given to the ministering angels — and all the more so in matters of composing prayers, from which no ruling or law or commentary or interpretation emerges — certainly one should not refrain from composing them, even one who is not great in stature. Especially prayers such as these, which have been established upon a strong and enduring foundation — a firmly established foundation — and they have that upon which to rely, praise be to G-d. For all of them are built and established upon sockets of gold [adnay paz] [Song of Songs 5:15] — upon the words of the holy Torah of our great, holy, and awesome Rabbainu, the memory of the righteous and holy one for a blessing — all of whose words were spoken through divine inspiration, at a very, very lofty level. And whoever will study his holy books and his holy conversations will understand somewhat how exceedingly deep were his thoughts, and to what heights his words reach — and there is no need to elaborate on this. Therefore all these prayers — “they emanate from a holy place” [Ecclesiastes 8:10] — flowing and emerging from the holy wellspring that goes forth from the House of the L-rd, filled to overflowing with deep, wondrous, and awesome counsels for the service of the Creator, may He be blessed: “Deep waters are counsel in the heart of a man” [Proverbs 20:5]. Indeed, in all of this I was compelled to fulfill the wish of my friends who tremble at the word of Hashem — who long and yearn for these prayers — to transcribe them and print them, to illuminate them upon the face of the earth, to distribute them in Jacob and to scatter them in Israel [cf. Genesis 49:7]. And this apology is sufficient for all who desire truth. May Hashem, G-d of truth, give truth to Jacob [Micah 7:20], and may He teach us and guide us in the path of truth always, and incline our hearts toward Him to serve Him in truth — until the throne of David is established in lovingkindness and one sits upon it in truth, speedily in our days. Amen.

And may Hashem, may He be blessed, hear our outcry and give ear to our voice and attend to our prayers, and grant us merit to engage in prayers and entreaties always — both in the prayers written and arranged before us, and in the prayers and entreaties that a person must speak from his own heart, in the Yiddish language, every single day — as our Rabbainu, of blessed memory, has warned us many times, for this is the essential thing, as is explained in his holy books many times — until we merit to return to Him in truth, in complete teshuvah, according to His good will. Until we merit to ascend and to be included in Him, may He be blessed, in the light of the Ayn Sof [the Infinite] — to behold the pleasantness of Hashem and to visit in His sanctuary [Psalms 27:4]; and in the merit of this, may He bring us our righteous Messiah speedily in our days. For the chief weapon of the Messiah is prayer, as is explained in the Torah "Emor el HaKohanim" — "Say to the Priests" [Likutay Moharan I, §2]. And one must strengthen oneself greatly — very greatly — in prayer and entreaties, even if whatever must pass over him does pass over him, until Hashem looks down and sees from Heaven [Lamentations 3:50]: “He will revive us after two days; on the third day He will raise us up and we will live in His presence” [Hosea 6:2] — to walk before Hashem in the light of the living [Psalms 56:14]. Amen and amen.