הִתְבּוֹדְדוּת

One whose heart is strong in Hashem and who truly wishes to accept upon himself the yoke of His service, blessed be He — would need to spend the entire day in prayer and hisbodidus, in accordance with what our Rabbis of blessed memory said: "Would that a person prayed the entire day" [Talmud Bavli, Berachos 21a]. But not every person can fulfill this — and therefore it is in any case an absolute necessity that every person have each day at least some period of hisbodidus, for this too is very good.

The conversation [sicha] that a person speaks alone between himself and his Maker — since it is a new path and a new prayer, one that the person formulates fresh from his own heart — the accusers [mekattregim] do not yet know so much about it, and they are not so often lying in wait for it, as they lie in wait for other established prayers and supplications and petitions. And in truth one must also take care to increase the recitation of the other established prayers and supplications as well, as is explained elsewhere. [Translator's note: No source citation appears for this teaching in this edition.]

One who trains himself in this practice of hisbodidus and personal conversation between himself and his Maker every day, at least one hour — will certainly merit to draw close to Hashem Yisborach in truth. And even if at times he sees that he has been practicing this for days and years, and yet has still not merited to draw close as befitting — he should strengthen himself in it more and more, for in the end it will certainly benefit him.

When one of Israel wishes to speak with Hashem Yisborach — to pour out his conversation before Him and to beseech Him to draw him close to His service — then Hashem Yisborach, as it were, casts aside all His matters and all the decrees He wishes to decree, Heaven forbid, and all the affairs which He, blessed be He, is occupied with, as it were — and He casts it all aside, as it were, and turns Himself entirely to that person alone who wishes to speak with Him and beseech Him to help him draw close to Hashem Yisborach. It follows that through this, Israel is automatically saved from all harsh decrees, may the Merciful One protect us.

Winter is the dimension of ibbur [gestation/pregnancy]; and during it all the grasses and plants all die — for their strength is nullified in winter, and they are then in the dimension of death. And when summer comes, which is the dimension of birth [laidah], they all awaken and come to life. And then it is very good and beautiful when one goes out to converse in the field [lasuch ba'sadeh] — this conversation being prayer and supplication and longing and yearning [teshukah v'ga'agu'im] for Hashem Yisborach — for then all the siyach ha'sadeh [the speech and growth of the field] that are beginning to live and sprout — they all long and are absorbed within his conversation and prayer.

Every person must cry out to Hashem Yisborach and lift his heart to Him — as if he were suspended in the middle of the sea on a hair's breadth, with a raging tempest storming to the heart of the heavens, to the point where one does not know what to do, and there is barely even time to cry out. But in truth, certainly there is no counsel or refuge for him except to seclude himself [l'hisbodaid] and lift his eyes and heart to Hashem Yisborach and cry out to Him — and so must it be at all times; for a person is in great danger in this world, as every person knows within his own soul.

If a person were to merit to hear the songs and praises of the grasses — how every single blade of grass sings a song to Hashem Yisborach without any self-interest and without any foreign thought whatsoever — how beautiful and pleasant it is when one hears their song! And therefore it is very good to serve Hashem with awe among them and to engage in hisbodidus in the open field among the growth of the earth, and to pour out one's conversation there before Hashem Yisborach in truth — as has also been explained above in this matter.

Hisbodidus and pouring out one's conversation before Hashem Yisborach every day — in the Ashkenazic language [lashon Ashkenaz, i.e., Yiddish] or whatever language one speaks, etc. — this is a general practice that every single Jew is obligated in, every single day of his life. And likewise the study of the legal codes [posekim] — meaning to study the Shulchan Aruch every day — this too is a general practice in the same way. [Translator's note: No source citation appears for this teaching in this edition. Note the pairing: hisbodidus in one's mother tongue alongside daily Shulchan Aruch — personal prayer and halachic grounding as twin pillars of every Jew's daily life.]

It is better that hisbodidus take place outside the town in a place of grasses — for the grasses cause the heart to awaken. [Translator's note: No source citation appears for this teaching in this edition.]

Even though there are wholesome people [kesharim] who have no hisbodidus — they are nevertheless called hurried and confused [mevalhalim u'mevulbalim] [in the Yiddish-Ashkenazic: flaitiss]. For a tranquil and settled mind [da'as nochah u'meyusheves] without turmoil and confusion — this is attained only through hisbodidus.

It is fitting for a Jewish person that his heart should be so drawn to Hashem Yisborach — that even when he is among people, he should arouse himself at every moment toward Hashem Yisborach with great yearning [teshukah gedolah] and a powerful awakening, lifting his hand and his heart to Hashem and crying out to Him, blessed be He, with a soul-consuming intensity [b'chlus ha'nefesh] and a wondrous awakening.

Although one can engage in hisbodidus through thought — the primary form is through speech [dibur], for through speech one can overcome everything and conquer all the battles a person must conquer in this world. And it is good for a person to have two hours of hisbodidus each day: one hour in which he walks and yearns and prepares himself to speak and readies his heart for it; and afterward, one hour of actual speaking.

It is very good for a person to have a dedicated room [cheder meyuchad] in which to engage in Divine service — and in particular for hisbodidus and personal conversation between himself and his Maker. And even the sitting itself — sitting alone in a dedicated room — this too is very good. But one who does not merit to have a dedicated room can still find many strategies for this practice of hisbodidus. See the inner text.

For the virtue of hisbodidus and holy yearning [kissufin d'kedushah] in a dedicated place — see the chapter on Ratzon v'Kissufin [Will and Yearning], §3. [Translator's note: This is a cross-reference within the Likutay Aitzos itself, directing the reader to the chapter on Ratzon, which appears later in this work. No source citation from Rebbe Nachman's primary works appears here.]

The person who merits to be accustomed to engaging in hisbodidus in truth and to pouring out his conversation before Hashem Yisborach as befitting — and in particular if he merits to engage in hisbodidus in the fields and forests — he feels with every single step he takes there a taste of Gan Eden [see the discourse "I saw a golden Menorah" — Likutay Moharan I, ch. 8 — where one can find a hint and support for this]. And furthermore, afterward when he returns from there, the entire world appears new in his eyes — it seems to him as if it is an entirely different, completely new world; and the world does not appear to him at all as it did before.