תְּפִלָּה

The primary reason prayers are not accepted is because the words lack grace; therefore, everyone must strive to make their words truly words of grace. This is merited through engagement in Torah, and then their prayer will be accepted (1, 1).

The primary weapon of a Jew is prayer, and all the battles a person must conquer, whether the battle against the evil inclination or other battles with those who obstruct and oppose, all are through prayer, and from there comes all his vitality. Therefore, one who wishes to truly merit the holiness of Israel must increase prayers, requests, and conversations between himself and his Creator, for this is the primary weapon to win the battle (2, 1).

And if a person increases prayer and solitude for many days and years, yet sees in himself that he is still very far from Hashem, blessed be He, and it seems to him that Hashem, blessed be He, is hiding His face from him, Heaven forbid, he should not err, Heaven forbid, thinking that Hashem, blessed be He, does not hear his prayers and conversations at all. Rather, he should believe with complete faith that Hashem, blessed be He, hears, listens, and attends to every single word of every prayer, supplication, and conversation, and no word is lost, Heaven forbid. Rather, every word makes an impression above, little by little, arousing His compassion, blessed be He, each time. But the structure of holiness he needs to enter has not yet been completed. And with the passage of many days and years, if he is not foolish and does not falter in his resolve in any way in the world, and he strengthens, fortifies, and exerts himself in prayer more and more, then through the abundance of prayers, His compassion, blessed be He, will be aroused, until Hashem, blessed be He, turns to him, shines His face upon him, fulfills his desire and will through the power of true tzaddikim, and draws him close with great mercy and compassion (there, 6).

It is impossible to merit complete prayer except through complete guarding of the covenant; therefore, everyone must connect his prayer to the true tzaddikim of the generation, for they know how to elevate each prayer to its necessary place and build from them the stature of the Shechinah. Through this, the coming of the Messiah is brought closer (there, 2, 6).

One must set aside charity before prayer, and through this, one is saved from foreign thoughts during prayer (there, 4).

It is not fitting to think of receiving reward for anything, for all good deeds are entirely from Him, blessed be He. Therefore, even if a person sometimes merits some salvation or slight closeness, he should not think he merited this through his Torah, prayer, or good deeds, for everything is from Him, blessed be He, as mentioned above. And were it not for His great kindness, he would already have been drowned, Heaven forbid, in what he would have been drowned, may the Merciful One save us (there, at the end).

Torah and prayer strengthen and illuminate each other; therefore, one must engage in both specifically (there, 6).

The greatest, most distinguished tzaddikim draw the radiance of the Infinite Light upon all who draw close and are included in their name. This is what we see: sometimes a person becomes impassioned during prayer and says several words with great fervor; this is through Hashem’s compassion upon him, that the Infinite Light opened and shone for him. When a person sees this radiance, even though he does not see, his destiny sees, immediately his soul is impassioned with great cleaving to attach himself to the Infinite Light. According to the measure of the revelation of the Infinite, based on the number of words that opened and radiated, all those words he says with great cleaving, self-sacrifice, and nullification of his faculties. All this is merited through the great true tzaddikim, for only they know from Him, blessed be He, the Infinite Light, and only they illuminate us with the sweetness of this radiance, each according to what he estimates in his heart (4, 9).

Every person must say, “The entire world was created only for me.” Therefore, every person must see and consider at all times the rectification of the world, to fill its lack, and to pray for it (5, 1). One must pray with all his faculties, and through this, the voice will reach his mind, and then he can focus, meaning that the heart hears what he speaks.

Through this, he merits to remove the crookedness in his heart and come to joy, until he performs the mitzvot with great joy from the mitzvot themselves, and he merits to clothe his prayer in narratives and nullify all decrees, even after a decree has been issued (there, 3). One must be exceedingly careful to clear the mind of external wisdoms and foreign thoughts, from leaven that would ferment his wisdom with external wisdoms and desires, for they dull and defile his mind, making it impossible to focus in prayer and to rejoice.

It is not fitting to think of receiving reward for anything, for all good deeds are entirely from Him, blessed be He. Therefore, even if a person sometimes merits some salvation or slight closeness, he should not think he merited this through his Torah, prayer, or good deeds, for everything is from Him, blessed be He, as mentioned above. And were it not for His great kindness, he would already have been drowned, Heaven forbid, in what he would have been drowned, may the Merciful One save us (there, at the end). One must be exceedingly careful to clear the mind of external wisdoms and foreign thoughts, from leaven that would ferment his wisdom with external wisdoms and desires, for they dull and defile his mind, making it impossible to focus in prayer and to rejoice. Also, one must guard himself greatly from having external fears, fearing nothing but Hashem, blessed be He, alone, for external fears also make it impossible to focus in prayer and prevent joy. The essence is to guard his mind from becoming leavened, not to entertain evil thoughts and desires, which are the aspect of leaven, the side of death. One must rebuke these thoughts, which are from the Other Side, and expel them from his mind and thoughts so they do not approach him, and guard himself greatly so that these thoughts do not enter his mind, Heaven forbid. Also, one must combine love with fear, and then specifically he can purify his mind to pray with great intention with all his strength, until his prayer becomes the aspect of thunder, through which he merits joy, and so on, as mentioned above (there, 4).

Torah and prayer strengthen and illuminate each other; therefore, one must engage in both specifically (there, 6). Also, one must guard himself greatly from having external fears, fearing nothing but Hashem, blessed be He, alone, for external fears also make it impossible to focus in prayer and prevent joy. The essence is to guard his mind from becoming leavened, not to entertain evil thoughts and desires, which are the aspect of leaven, the side of death. One must rebuke these thoughts, which are from the Other Side, and expel them from his mind and thoughts so they do not approach him, and guard himself greatly so that these thoughts do not enter his mind, Heaven forbid. Also, one must combine love with fear, and then specifically he can purify his mind to pray with great intention with all his strength, until his prayer becomes the aspect of thunder, through which he merits joy, and so on, as mentioned above (there, 4). Prayer, faith, miracles, and the Land of Israel are one aspect and dependent on each other. According to the blemish caused in them, Heaven forbid, the exile is prolonged. And according to how much one merits to engage in them and rectify them, so too does one bring the redemption closer (7, 1). Prayer is the aspect of faith and is effective for memory, saving from forgetfulness, which depends on a blemish in faith (there, at the end).

The greatest, most distinguished tzaddikim draw the radiance of the Infinite Light upon all who draw close and are included in their name. This is what we see: sometimes a person becomes impassioned during prayer and says several words with great fervor; this is through Hashem’s compassion upon him, that the Infinite Light opened and shone for him. When a person sees this radiance, even though he does not see, his destiny sees, immediately his soul is impassioned with great cleaving to attach himself to the Infinite Light. According to the measure of the revelation of the Infinite, based on the number of words that opened and radiated, all those words he says with great cleaving, self-sacrifice, and nullification of his faculties. All this is merited through the great true tzaddikim, for only they know from Him, blessed be He, the Infinite Light, and only they illuminate us with the sweetness of this radiance, each according to what he estimates in his heart (4, 9). Prayer is the aspect of faith and is effective for memory, saving from forgetfulness, which depends on a blemish in faith (there, at the end).

Every person must say, “The entire world was created only for me.” Therefore, every person must see and consider at all times the rectification of the world, to fill its lack, and to pray for it (5, 1). The source of the wisdom of Torah flows from prayer; therefore, the primary clarification of a halachic ruling is merited through prayer, and it is considered as if one renewed the world. One merits to clarify the good from the evil in all four elements, which is the rectification of everything, and through this, one merits to humble the disputers to the ground (8, 6–7).

One must pray with all his faculties, and through this, the voice will reach his mind, and then he can focus, meaning that the heart hears what he speaks. Through this, he merits to remove the crookedness in his heart and come to joy, until he performs the mitzvot with great joy from the mitzvot themselves, and he merits to clothe his prayer in narratives and nullify all decrees, even after a decree has been issued (there, 3). The primary vitality is received from prayer; therefore, one must pray with all his strength to infuse his strength into the letters of the prayer and renew his strength there, and through this, one merits faith (15, 1).

One must be exceedingly careful to clear the mind of external wisdoms and foreign thoughts, from leaven that would ferment his wisdom with external wisdoms and desires, for they dull and defile his mind, making it impossible to focus in prayer and to rejoice. Also, one must guard himself greatly from having external fears, fearing nothing but Hashem, blessed be He, alone, for external fears also make it impossible to focus in prayer and prevent joy. The essence is to guard his mind from becoming leavened, not to entertain evil thoughts and desires, which are the aspect of leaven, the side of death. One must rebuke these thoughts, which are from the Other Side, and expel them from his mind and thoughts so they do not approach him, and guard himself greatly so that these thoughts do not enter his mind, Heaven forbid. Also, one must combine love with fear, and then specifically he can purify his mind to pray with great intention with all his strength, until his prayer becomes the aspect of thunder, through which he merits joy, and so on, as mentioned above (there, 4). The primary vitality is received from prayer; therefore, one must pray with all his strength to infuse his strength into the letters of the prayer and renew his strength there, and through this, one merits faith (15, 1).

Prayer, faith, miracles, and the Land of Israel are one aspect and dependent on each other. According to the blemish caused in them, Heaven forbid, the exile is prolonged. And according to how much one merits to engage in them and rectify them, so too does one bring the redemption closer (7, 1). Through complete prayer, one brings vitality to all three parts of the world: the lower world, the world of the stars, and the world of the angels (there).

Prayer is the aspect of faith and is effective for memory, saving from forgetfulness, which depends on a blemish in faith (there, at the end). According to the merit of the prayer, so too is his spouse given to him, and so too is his livelihood given to him (there, 2). Through complete prayer, one brings vitality to all three parts of the world: the lower world, the world of the stars, and the world of the angels (there). When a person stands to pray, foreign thoughts and husks come and surround him, leaving him in darkness, unable to pray.

The source of the wisdom of Torah flows from prayer; therefore, the primary clarification of a halachic ruling is merited through prayer, and it is considered as if one renewed the world. One merits to clarify the good from the evil in all four elements, which is the rectification of everything, and through this, one merits to humble the disputers to the ground (8, 6–7). Also through this, he will merit to break open gateways to bring others to repentance, to extricate them from the traps in which they are caught (there, 112).

The ultimate rectification for this is to ensure that the words come out of your mouth in truth, and through this, the word that comes out of your mouth in truth will create an opening in the darkness in which you are trapped, and you will merit to pray well [see inside for further explanation, and also that this is great advice for all paths of serving Hashem, see there, entry 9].

טז. לְפִי מַעֲלַת הַתְּפִלָּה כֵּן נוֹתְנִין לוֹ זִוּוּגוֹ וְכֵן נוֹתְנִין לוֹ פַּרְנָסָתוֹ (שָׁם ב One must ensure to pray with such intention that he pours out his heart like water before Hashem, and through this, the Messiah will come (there, 9).

יז. עַל־יְדֵי תְּפִלָּה בִּשְׁלֵמוּת מַשְׁפִּיעַ חִיּוּת לְכָל שְׁלֹשָׁה חֶלְקֵי עוֹלָם: עוֹלָם הַשָּׁפָל וְעוֹלָם הַכּוֹכָבִים וְעוֹלָם הַמַּלְאָכִים (שָׁם The essence of prayer is known only by the tzaddikim of the generation; therefore, one who has distress in his home should go to a sage and request mercy for him, for the Holy One, blessed be He, desires the prayers of tzaddikim. And those arrogant ones who prevent themselves and others from going to tzaddikim to pray for them delay the desire of Hashem, blessed be He (10, 4).

יח. כְּשֶׁאָדָם עוֹמֵד לְהִתְפַּלֵּל, אֲזַי בָּאִים מַחֲשָׁבוֹת זָרוֹת וּקְלִפּוֹת וּמְסַבְּבִין אוֹתוֹ וְנִשְׁאָר בַּחֹשֶׁךְ וְאֵין יָכוֹל לְהִתְפַּלֵּל. וְתַכְלִית הַתַּקָּנָה לָזֶה, שֶׁתִּרְאֶה שֶׁיֵּצְאוּ הַדִּבּוּרִים מִפִּיךָ בֶּאֱמֶת, וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה הַתֵּבָה הַיּוֹצֵאת מִפִּיךָ בֶּאֱמֶת, הִיא תָּשִׂים לְךָ פֶּתַח בַּחֹשֶׁךְ, שֶׁאַתָּה נִצּוֹד בּוֹ וְתִזְכֶּה לְהִתְפַּלֵּל הֵיטֵב [וְעַיֵּן בִּפְנִים מְבֹאָר יוֹתֵר בָּזֶה, וְגַם שֶׁזֶּה עֵצָה גְּדוֹלָה לְכָל דַּרְכֵי עֲבוֹדַת ה' עַיֵּן שָׁם בְּסִימָן ט']. וְהָעִקָּר שֶׁבִּתְפִלָּתוֹ וּתְחִנָּתוֹ וְשִׂיחָתוֹ, אַף־עַל־פִּי שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר לוֹ לְדַבֵּר שׁוּם דִּבּוּר מִגֹּדֶל הַחֹשֶׁךְ וְהַבִּלְבּוּל הַמְסַבֵּב אוֹתוֹ מְאֹד מְאֹד מִכָּל צַד, אַף־עַל־פִּי־כֵן עַל־כָּל־פָּנִים יִרְאֶה לְדַבֵּר הַדִּבּוּר בֶּאֱמֶת בְּאֵיזֶה מַדְרֵגָה נְמוּכָה שֶׁהוּא כְּגוֹן לְמָשָׁל שֶׁיֹּאמַר: ה' הוֹשִׁיעָה וְכוּ' בֶּאֱמֶת, אַף־עַל־פִּי שֶׁאֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לְדַבֵּר בְּחִיּוּת כָּרָאוּי, אַף־עַל־פִּי־כֵן יַכְרִיחַ עַצְמוֹ עַל־כָּל־פָּנִים לְדַבֵּר הַדִּבּוּר בֶּאֱמֶת בִּפְשִׁיטוּת כְּפִי מַה שֶּׁהוּא. וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה יָאִיר לוֹ הָאֱמֶת, שֶׁיּוּכַל לְהִתְפַּלֵּל בְּחַסְדּוֹ הַגָּדוֹל יִתְבָּרַךְ, וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה הוּא מְתַקֵּן וּמְקַיֵּם כָּל הָעוֹלָמוֹת (שָׁם ג Through engaging in Torah with holiness until the roots of the souls of Israel are aroused in the Torah, through this, people are returned to Hashem, blessed be He, and His glory, blessed be He, is magnified further. Through this, one merits fear, and through fear, one merits peace, that there be peace in his bones. Through this, one merits complete prayer, and through this, one merits universal peace, peace in all the worlds (14).

יט. גַּם עַל־יְדֵי זֶה יִזְכֶּה לִבְקֹעַ פְּתָחִים לְהַחֲזִיר גַּם אֲחֵרִים בִּתְשׁוּבָה, לְהוֹצִיאָם מִמְּצוּדוֹת שֶׁהֵם נִצּוֹדִים בָּהֶם (שָׁם קיב One should not desire to engage in any worldly occupation except for the sake of his soul, and even all his prayers should be only to connect his soul. Even those prayers explicitly for bodily needs, such as “Heal us” and “Bless us,” and so on, his intention should not be for his body but for his soul, aiming for the sustenance and healing of his soul. Automatically, when it is rectified there spiritually, it is also rectified materially. But his intention should be only for his soul (there, 9).

כ. צָרִיךְ הָאָדָם זְכוּת גָּדוֹל, שֶׁיִּזְכֶּה לְהַעֲלוֹת תְּפִלָּתוֹ דֶּרֶךְ שַׁעַר הַשַּׁיָּךְ לְשִׁבְטוֹ, עַל־כֵּן צָרִיךְ כָּל אָדָם לְקַשֵּׁר תְּפִלָּתוֹ לְצַדִּיק הַדּוֹר, כִּי הַצַּדִּיק יוֹדֵעַ לְכַוֵּן הַשְּׁעָרִים וּלְהַעֲלוֹת כָּל תְּפִלָּה וּתְפִלָּה לַשַּׁעַר הַשַּׁיָּךְ לוֹ (שָׁם One must accustom himself to pray for everything he lacks at all times, whether livelihood, children, or when there is a sick person in his home, Heaven forbid, needing healing, and so on. For all these, his primary strategy should be only to pray to Hashem, blessed be He, and believe in Hashem that the Holy One, blessed be He, is good to all, whether for healing, livelihood, or all things. His primary effort should be toward the Holy One, blessed be He, and he should not pursue many strategies, for most of them are of no benefit at all, and the few that are slightly beneficial, he does not know and cannot find. But to call to the Holy One, blessed be He, this is good and beneficial for everything in the world, and this he can always find, for He, blessed be He, is always present (there, 11).

כא. צָרִיךְ לִרְאוֹת, שֶׁיִּתְפַּלֵּל כָּל־כָּךְ בְּכַוָּנָה עַד שֶׁיִּשְׁפֹּךְ לִבּוֹ כַּמַּיִם לִפְנֵי ה', וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה יָבוֹא מָשִׁיחַ (שָׁם ט The essence is that in his prayer, supplication, and conversation, even if he cannot speak any word due to the great darkness and confusion surrounding him greatly from all sides, nevertheless, at the very least, he should ensure to speak the word in truth at whatever low level he is, for example, to say, “Hashem, save,” and so on, in truth, even if he cannot speak with proper vitality. Nevertheless, he should force himself at the very least to speak the word in truth in simplicity as he is able. Through this, the truth will shine for him, enabling him to pray with His great kindness, blessed be He, and through this, he rectifies and sustains all the worlds (there, 3). Also through this, he will merit to break open gateways to bring others to repentance, to extricate them from the traps in which they are caught (there, 112). A person needs great merit to raise his prayer through the gate corresponding to his tribe; therefore, every person must connect his prayer to the tzaddik of the generation, for the tzaddik knows how to direct the gates and raise each prayer to its corresponding gate (there). One must ensure to pray with such intention that he pours out his heart like water before Hashem, and through this, the Messiah will come (there, 9).

כב. עִקַּר הַתְּפִלָּה אֵינָם יוֹדְעִים כִּי־אִם צַדִּיקֵי הַדּוֹר, עַל־כֵּן מִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ צַעַר בְּתוֹךְ בֵּיתוֹ, יֵלֵךְ אֵצֶל חָכָם וִיבַקֵּשׁ עָלָיו רַחֲמִים כִּי הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא מִתְאַוֶּה לִתְפִלָּתָן שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים. וְאֵלּוּ הַבַּעֲלֵי־גַּאֲוָה הַמּוֹנְעִים עַצְמָם וַאֲחֵרִים מִלֵּילֵךְ לְצַדִּיקִים לְהִתְפַּלֵּל עֲלֵיהֶם, הֵם מְעַכְּבִין תַּאֲוָתוֹ שֶׁל הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ (י, ד The aspect of the serpent entices a person to pray for his own benefit, such as “Give us life and sustenance” or other benefits. One must overcome this and strive to merit praying without any intention of personal benefit, as if he were not in the world, as mentioned above. Through this, he merits the hidden light for the tzaddikim, as mentioned above (there, 5).

כג. עַל־יְדֵי עֵסֶק הַתּוֹרָה בִּקְדֻשָּׁה עַד שֶׁמְּעוֹרְרִין שָׁרְשֵׁי נִשְׁמוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּתּוֹרָה, עַל־יְדֵי זֶה מַחֲזִירִין בְּנֵי־אָדָם לְהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ וְנִתְגַּדֵּל כְּבוֹדוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ בְּיוֹתֵר, וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה זוֹכִין לְיִרְאָה וְעַל־יְדֵי יִרְאָה זוֹכִין לְשָׁלוֹם, שֶׁיִּהְיֶה שָׁלוֹם בַּעֲצָמָיו, וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה זוֹכֶה לִתְפִלָּה בִּשְׁלֵמוּת וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה זוֹכֶה לַשָּׁלוֹם הַכְּלָלִי, שָׁלוֹם בְּכָל הָעוֹלָמוֹת (יד The essence of prayer is known only by the tzaddikim of the generation; therefore, one who has distress in his home should go to a sage and request mercy for him, for the Holy One, blessed be He, desires the prayers of tzaddikim.

כד. לֹא יִרְצֶה לַעֲסֹק בְּשׁוּם עֵסֶק מֵעִסְקֵי עוֹלָם הַזֶּה רַק בִּשְׁבִיל נִשְׁמָתוֹ, וַאֲפִלּוּ כָּל תְּפִלּוֹתָיו לֹא יִהְיוּ אֶלָּא בִּשְׁבִיל לְקַשֵּׁר נִשְׁמָתוֹ, וַאֲפִלּוּ אֵלּוּ הַתְּפִלּוֹת הַמְפֹרָשִׁים בַּתְּפִלָּה שֶׁהֵם לְצֹרֶךְ הַגּוּף, כְּגוֹן רְפָאֵנוּ וּבָרֵךְ עָלֵינוּ וְכוּ', לֹא יִהְיֶה כַּוָּנָתוֹ בִּשְׁבִיל גּוּפוֹ אֶלָא בִּשְׁבִיל נִשְׁמָתוֹ, שֶׁיִּהְיֶה מְכַוֵּן לְפַרְנָסַת נִשְׁמָתוֹ וְלִרְפוּאָתָהּ, רַק מִמֵּילָא כְּשֶׁנִּתְתַּקֵּן שָׁם בְּרוּחָנִיּוּת נִתְתַּקֵּן גַּם בְּגַשְׁמִיּוּת. אֲבָל כַּוָּנָתוֹ לֹא יִהְיֶה רַק בִּשְׁבִיל נִשְׁמָתוֹ (שָׁם ט And those arrogant ones who prevent themselves and others from going to tzaddikim to pray for them delay the desire of Hashem, blessed be He (10, 4). Through engaging in Torah with holiness until the roots of the souls of Israel are aroused in the Torah, through this, people are returned to Hashem, blessed be He, and His glory, blessed be He, is magnified further.

Every Torah expounder, before beginning to explain any exposition, must first pour out his prayer before Hashem, blessed be He, to arouse the supernal heart to bestow upon him warm words like burning coals. Only then should he begin to explain, for then the expositions of Torah are drawn down in great abundance from the supernal heart as well (20, 2).

One must accustom himself to pray for everything he lacks at all times, whether livelihood, children, or when there is a sick person in his home, Heaven forbid, needing healing, and so on. For all these, his primary strategy should be only to pray to Hashem, blessed be He, and believe in Hashem that the Holy One, blessed be He, is good to all, whether for healing, livelihood, or all things. His primary effort should be toward the Holy One, blessed be He, and he should not pursue many strategies, for most of them are of no benefit at all, and the few that are slightly beneficial, he does not know and cannot find. But to call to the Holy One, blessed be He, this is good and beneficial for everything in the world, and this he can always find, for He, blessed be He, is always present (there, 11). Through this, one merits fear, and through fear, one merits peace, that there be peace in his bones. Through this, one merits complete prayer, and through this, one merits universal peace, peace in all the worlds (14).

One must pray with self-sacrifice, nullifying all his existence and materiality during prayer, not intending for his own benefit at all, considering himself as nothing, and nullifying himself as if he were not in the world. This is merited through judgment, that is, through secluding oneself and expressing his conversation between himself and his Creator, judging and evaluating himself for all his actions. Through this, one elevates fear to its root, which is knowledge, and through this, one merits revealed Torah, and through this, one merits prayer with self-sacrifice, as mentioned above. Through such prayer, one merits the secrets of Torah, which is the hidden light for the tzaddikim. Happy is the one who merits this (15, 2–3–4). Also, when praying before a discourse, one must connect himself with the souls of those standing there to hear the discourse, and then his prayer is a prayer of the many, which is not despised and is surely accepted, adding extra holiness above, and so on [see Tzaddik] (there, 4).

The aspect of the serpent entices a person to pray for his own benefit, such as “Give us life and sustenance” or other benefits. One must overcome this and strive to merit praying without any intention of personal benefit, as if he were not in the world, as mentioned above. Through this, he merits the hidden light for the tzaddikim, as mentioned above (there, 5). One should not desire to engage in any worldly occupation except for the sake of his soul, and even all his prayers should be only to connect his soul. Even those prayers explicitly for bodily needs, such as “Heal us” and “Bless us,” and so on, his intention should not be for his body but for his soul, aiming for the sustenance and healing of his soul. Automatically, when it is rectified there spiritually, it is also rectified materially.

The Holy One, blessed be He, desires the prayers of Israel, and when Israel prays before Him, they fulfill His desire, and He receives delight from us (there, 5). One who mortifies himself for prayer and gives his soul in his prayer should know that in the place where foreign thoughts enter and need to be elevated, there he must give his soul even more, and through this, he will elevate the sparks of holiness (26).

When we call to Hashem, blessed be He, with attributes of flesh and blood in prayers and blessings, and He is present for us whenever we call to Him, this is the kindness of Hashem, blessed be He. For if not for the kindness of Hashem, blessed be He, it would not be fitting to call and address Him, blessed be He, with attributes, praises, words, and letters. But this is all the kindness of Hashem, blessed be He, and from this, a person should be aroused and greatly impassioned in prayer, when he recalls the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He, as he estimates in his heart, that He is exceedingly exalted and elevated above all these praises and attributes. Only from His love, compassion, and great kindness has He given us permission to call Him with these attributes and to pray before Him, so that we may merit to cleave to Him, blessed be He. Therefore, it is fitting to say at the very least these words and attributes with a whole heart and great intention with self-sacrifice, since we merit through His kindness to call Him with these attributes (there). But his intention should be only for his soul (there, 9). One must accustom himself to pray for everything he lacks at all times, whether livelihood, children, or when there is a sick person in his home, Heaven forbid, needing healing, and so on. For all these, his primary strategy should be only to pray to Hashem, blessed be He, and believe in Hashem that the Holy One, blessed be He, is good to all, whether for healing, livelihood, or all things.

Every Torah expounder, before beginning to explain any exposition, must first pour out his prayer before Hashem, blessed be He, to arouse the supernal heart to bestow upon him warm words like burning coals. Only then should he begin to explain, for then the expositions of Torah are drawn down in great abundance from the supernal heart as well (20, 2). The essence of prayer is through boldness of holiness, for one must boldly face Hashem, blessed be He, to request from Him all that he needs, even to perform miracles and wonders, because it is impossible to stand and pray before Hashem, blessed be He, except through boldness. For each person, according to what he estimates in his heart of the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He, and sees his own lowliness and inadequacy, how could he stand and pray before Him? Therefore, during prayer, a person must remove shame and boldly request from Hashem, blessed be He, all that he needs, as mentioned above. This is merited through boldness of holiness, which he has against those who dispute and prevent the true service of Hashem. Through this, one merits to receive Torah innovations of holiness and not the opposite, Heaven forbid, and then he merits prayer with intention, the essence of which is through boldness of holiness, as mentioned above (there, 8).

When one prays before delivering a discourse, he must pray with supplications and request from the Holy One, blessed be He, a free gift, not relying on his own merit at all, but standing before Hashem, blessed be He, as a pauper and destitute, speaking supplications. Similarly, a person should not pressure himself in his prayer, meaning he should not insist that Hashem, blessed be He, specifically fulfill his will, but should request mercy and supplications: if Hashem, blessed be He, grants it, He grants it; if not, then not (there, 5). His primary effort should be toward the Holy One, blessed be He, and he should not pursue many strategies, for most of them are of no benefit at all, and the few that are slightly beneficial, he does not know and cannot find. But to call to the Holy One, blessed be He, this is good and beneficial for everything in the world, and this he can always find, for He, blessed be He, is always present (there, 11). One must pray with self-sacrifice, nullifying all his existence and materiality during prayer, not intending for his own benefit at all, considering himself as nothing, and nullifying himself as if he were not in the world.

Also, when praying before a discourse, one must connect himself with the souls of those standing there to hear the discourse, and then his prayer is a prayer of the many, which is not despised and is surely accepted, adding extra holiness above, and so on [see Tzaddik] (there, 4). The reason one claps hand to hand during prayer is that through this, the air of the place where a Jew prays is purified, and it draws holy air like that of the Land of Israel. Thus, through this, the prayer is in the air of the Land of Israel, and it rectifies foreign thoughts during prayer, also nullifying thoughts of idolatry, and nullifying killing and loss from the world (44).

Every person has the aspect of revealed and hidden, which are the aspects of Torah and prayer, and every person must ascend each time from level to level to make the hidden revealed. This is merited through Torah study and abundant prayers, for one must study Torah and increase prayer to Hashem, blessed be He, until Hashem, blessed be He, reveals to him what is hidden from him, making the hidden revealed, and he will have a higher hidden. Then he should pray further until that hidden is revealed to him, and so each time he ascends from level to higher level, seeking each time from Hashem, blessed be He, to attain the higher hidden until he attains, and so on. Until he is included in the beginning of emanation, and afterward included in the Infinite, then he will merit the Torah of Hashem and the prayer of Hashem in truth. Through this path, one merits joy, and through joy, one merits boldness of holiness, through which one enters holiness, drawing close to true tzaddikim to receive from them the holy faith in great perfection. All this is merited through prayer with complete intention, for prayer with intention encompasses everything. The essence of prayer is through fear, which is shame before Hashem, blessed be He, not to sin, Heaven forbid. Through this, one merits all the above, and through this, one merits the aspect of hands to receive ethical instruction from true rebukers. Through this, exile and strife are nullified from the world, peace is increased in the world, peace is made between Israel and their Father in Heaven, holiness is rectified, and it is sealed in the aspect of a seal within a seal (22, 10). This is merited through judgment, that is, through secluding oneself and expressing his conversation between himself and his Creator, judging and evaluating himself for all his actions. Through this, one elevates fear to its root, which is knowledge, and through this, one merits revealed Torah, and through this, one merits prayer with self-sacrifice, as mentioned above. Through such prayer, one merits the secrets of Torah, which is the hidden light for the tzaddikim. Happy is the one who merits this (15, 2–3–4). The aspect of the serpent entices a person to pray for his own benefit, such as “Give us life and sustenance” or other benefits. One must overcome this and strive to merit praying without any intention of personal benefit, as if he were not in the world, as mentioned above.

Through prayer, the secrets of Torah are drawn down (there). Through this, he merits the hidden light for the tzaddikim, as mentioned above (there, 5). The Holy One, blessed be He, desires the prayers of Israel, and when Israel prays before Him, they fulfill His desire, and He receives delight from us (there, 5). When we call to Hashem, blessed be He, with attributes of flesh and blood in prayers and blessings, and He is present for us whenever we call to Him, this is the kindness of Hashem, blessed be He. For if not for the kindness of Hashem, blessed be He, it would not be fitting to call and address Him, blessed be He, with attributes, praises, words, and letters. But this is all the kindness of Hashem, blessed be He, and from this, a person should be aroused and greatly impassioned in prayer, when he recalls the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He, as he estimates in his heart, that He is exceedingly exalted and elevated above all these praises and attributes.

לה. צָרִיךְ לְהִתְגַּבֵּר מְאֹד עַל הַמַּחֲשָׁבוֹת זָרוֹת בִּשְׁעַת הַתְּפִלָּה, כִּי כָּל הַשְּׁטוּתִים וְכָל הַבִּלְבּוּלִים שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם, וְכָל הָעִרְבּוּב הַדַּעַת שֶׁיֵּשׁ לְהָאָדָם בְּכָל הַיּוֹם בְּאֵיזֶה עֵת שֶׁיִּהְיֶה, הַכֹּל כַּאֲשֶׁר לַכֹּל בָּא דַּיְקָא בְּעֵת הַתְּפִלָּה, וּמַשְׁמִיעַ אֶת עַצְמוֹ אָז דַּיְקָא וּמְבַלְבֵּל אֶת מַחֲשֶׁבֶת הָאָדָם מְאֹד בִּשְׁעַת הַתְּפִלָּה דַּיְקָא. עַל־כֵּן בְּעֵת הַתְּפִלָּה צְרִיכִים הִתְגַּבְּרוּת גָּדוֹל מְאֹד מְאֹד עַל אֵלּוּ הַבִּלְבּוּלִים וְהַמַּחֲשָׁבוֹת וְעִרְבּוּב הַדַּעַת, שֶׁבָּאִים וְעוֹלִין עַל לִבּוֹ אָז דַּיְקָא (ל, ז Through a person arousing himself with his hands during prayer and clapping hand to hand, through this, speech is formed, and the mouth receives the speech within it (45).

לו. עִקַּר הַתְּפִלָּה הִיא עַל־יְדֵי עַזּוּת דִּקְדֻשָּׁה, שֶׁצָּרִיךְ לְהָעִיז פָּנָיו נֶגֶד הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ לְבַקֵּשׁ מִלְּפָנָיו עַל כָּל מַה שֶּׁצָּרִיךְ וַאֲפִלּוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת נִסִּים וְנִפְלָאוֹת, כִּי אִי אֶפְשָׁר לַעֲמֹד לְהִתְפַּלֵּל לִפְנֵי הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ כִּי־אִם עַל־יְדֵי עַזּוּת, כִּי כָּל חַד לְפוּם מַה דִּמְשַׁעֵר בְּלִבֵּהּ אֶת גְּדֻלַּת הַבּוֹרֵא יִתְבָּרַךְ וְרוֹאֶה פְּחִיתוּתוֹ וּגְרִיעוּתוֹ, אֵיךְ הָיָה יָכוֹל לַעֲמֹד וּלְהִתְפַּלֵּל לְפָנָיו. עַל־כֵּן בִּשְׁעַת הַתְּפִלָּה צָרִיךְ הָאָדָם לְסַלֵּק אֶת הַבּוּשָׁה וְיָעִיז פָּנָיו לְבַקֵּשׁ מֵהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ כָּל מַה שֶּׁצָּרִיךְ כַּנַּ"ל, וְזֶה זוֹכִין עַל־יְדֵי עַזּוּת דִּקְדֻשָּׁה, שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ נֶגֶד הַחוֹלְקִים וְהַמּוֹנְעִים מֵעֲבוֹדַת הַשֵּׁם בֶּאֱמֶת, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי זֶה זוֹכֶה לְקַבֵּל חִדּוּשֵׁי תּוֹרָה דִּקְדֻשָּׁה וְלֹא לְהֵפֶךְ חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, וְאָז זוֹכֶה לִתְפִלָּה בְּכַוָּנָה שֶׁעִקָּרָהּ עַל־יְדֵי עַזּוּת דִּקְדֻשָּׁה כַּנַּ"ל (שָׁם ח Only from His love, compassion, and great kindness has He given us permission to call Him with these attributes and to pray before Him, so that we may merit to cleave to Him, blessed be He. Therefore, it is fitting to say at the very least these words and attributes with a whole heart and great intention with self-sacrifice, since we merit through His kindness to call Him with these attributes (there).

לז. עִקַּר הַתְּפִלָּה הִיא בַּפֶּה דַּיְקָא, שֶׁצְּרִיכִין לְדַבֵּר דִּבּוּרֵי הַתְּפִלָּה בְּפֶה מָלֵא וְאֵין דַּי בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה לְבַד, וְאַף־עַל־פִּי שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא יוֹדֵעַ מַחֲשָׁבוֹת. כִּי הַדִּבּוּר הוּא כְּלִי הַשֶּׁפַע שֶׁבָּהֶם מְקַבְּלִים הַשֶּׁפַע וּלְפִי הַדִּבּוּר כֵּן הַשֶּׁפַע, אִם הַדִּבּוּר הַיְנוּ כְּלִי הַשֶּׁפַע הִיא בִּשְׁלֵמוּת וּבְמִלּוּאָהּ, אֲזַי יְכוֹלִים לְקַבֵּל בָּהֶם רֹב שֶׁפַע. עַל־כֵּן כָּל מַה שֶּׁחָסֵר לָאָדָם בְּגַשְׁמִיּוּת וּבְרוּחָנִיּוּת צָרִיךְ לְהִתְפַּלֵּל עָלָיו בְּדִּבּוּר פֶּה דַּיְקָא כְּדֵי שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי זֶה יִמְשֹׁךְ הַשֶּׁפַע כַּנַּ"ל (לד, ג When one prays with strength, infusing all his strength into the letters of the prayer in the aspect of “All my bones shall say…” (Psalms 35:10), these words that he speaks with strength are themselves the words of the Holy One, blessed be He, and the ten utterances through which the world was created receive strength from the power of these letters (48).

לח. מַה שֶּׁמַּכִּין כַּף אֶל כַּף בִּשְׁעַת הַתְּפִלָּה, כִּי עַל־יְדֵי זֶה נִטְהָר אֲוִיר הַמָּקוֹם שֶׁאִישׁ הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִי מִתְפַּלֵּל שָׁם, וְשׁוֹאֵב אֲוִיר הַקָּדוֹשׁ כְּמוֹ בְּאֶרֶץ־יִשְׂרָאֵל. נִמְצָא עַל־יְדֵי זֶה הַתְּפִלָּה הִיא בַּאֲוִירָא דְּאֶרֶץ־יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְהִיא תִּקּוּן מַחֲשָׁבוֹת זָרוֹת שֶׁבַּתְּפִלָּה, גַּם מְבַטֵּל מַחְשְׁבוֹת עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה גַּם נִתְבַּטֵּל הֶרֶג וְאַבְדָן מִן הָעוֹלָם (מד Every Torah expounder, before beginning to explain any exposition, must first pour out his prayer before Hashem, blessed be He, to arouse the supernal heart to bestow upon him warm words like burning coals.

לט. אֲפִלּוּ כְּשֶׁעוֹמֵד לְהִתְפַּלֵּל בְּמָקוֹם שֶׁהִתְפַּלֵּל צַדִּיק, אַף־עַל־פִּי־כֵן קָשֶׁה לוֹ מְאֹד לְהִתְפַּלֵּל שָׁם, כִּי אֵינוֹ מֻרְגָּל בַּאֲוִירָא שֶׁל מָקוֹם, וְכָל־שֶׁכֵּן לְהֵפֶךְ, עַל־כֵּן צָרִיךְ לִקְבֹּעַ מָקוֹם לִתְפִלָּתוֹ כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ, זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה (שָׁם Prayer with strength, the Land of Israel, and the mitzvah of sukkah are one aspect and dependent on each other (there).

מ. עַל־יְדֵי הַתְּפִלָּה נִמְשָׁכִים סוֹדוֹת הַתּוֹרָה (שָׁם Only then should he begin to explain, for then the expositions of Torah are drawn down in great abundance from the supernal heart as well (20, 2). When one prays before delivering a discourse, he must pray with supplications and request from the Holy One, blessed be He, a free gift, not relying on his own merit at all, but standing before Hashem, blessed be He, as a pauper and destitute, speaking supplications. Similarly, a person should not pressure himself in his prayer, meaning he should not insist that Hashem, blessed be He, specifically fulfill his will, but should request mercy and supplications: if Hashem, blessed be He, grants it, He grants it; if not, then not (there, 5). Also, when praying before a discourse, one must connect himself with the souls of those standing there to hear the discourse, and then his prayer is a prayer of the many, which is not despised and is surely accepted, adding extra holiness above, and so on [see Tzaddik] (there, 4).

מא. הַמַּחֲשָׁבוֹת זָרוֹת נִקְרָאִים מַבּוּל, שֶׁמְּבַלְבְּלִין אֶת תְּפִלָּתוֹ. וְתִקּוּנוֹ - שֶׁיִּתֵּן צְדָקָה לְאֶרֶץ־יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה הוּא נִכְלָל בַּאֲוִירָא דְּאֶרֶץ־יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה הוּא נִצּוֹל מִמַּחֲשָׁבוֹת זָרוֹת. גַּם עַל־יְדֵי זֶה נִזְדַּכֵּךְ מֹחוֹ, הַיְנוּ מַחֲשַׁבְתּוֹ וְהוּא תִּקּוּן הַבְּרִית (שם Every person has the aspect of revealed and hidden, which are the aspects of Torah and prayer, and every person must ascend each time from level to level to make the hidden revealed. This is merited through Torah study and abundant prayers, for one must study Torah and increase prayer to Hashem, blessed be He, until Hashem, blessed be He, reveals to him what is hidden from him, making the hidden revealed, and he will have a higher hidden.

מב. עַל־יְדֵי שֶׁאָדָם נִתְעוֹרֵר בְּיָדַיִם שֶׁלּוֹ בִּשְׁעַת הַתְּפִלָּה וּמַכֶּה כַּף אֶל כַּף, עַל־יְדֵי זֶה נִתְהַוֶּה הַדִּבּוּר, וְהַפֶּה מְקַבֵּל אֶת הַדִּבּוּר לְתוֹכוֹ (מה Know that the brazen-faced ones in the generation are the dogs, and they are the ones who stand and dispute the prayer of a Jew who has not yet fully rectified his covenant. From this, you will understand on your own how great is the sin of those who dispute the prayer of a Jew and seek to confuse his prayer. For they are literally called dogs, in the aspect of “and the dogs are brazen of soul” (Isaiah 56:11). Even though this person who prays has not yet merited the rectification of the covenant, and because of this, this dispute comes upon him, which is the aspect of “a dog descends…” as mentioned above, nevertheless, the disputers are not exempt from their punishment because of this. For they uproot their souls from holiness and cause themselves to be literally called dogs by disputing his prayer, even though he has not fully rectified his covenant, as mentioned above. For certainly, he must exert himself to pray with all his strength, even as he is, even though he cannot feel sweetness in the words of prayer, and the effort itself is exceedingly precious [as explained elsewhere]. But the disputers are in the aspect of literal dogs, and their sin is too great to bear, may the Merciful One save us (there).

מג. גַּם עַל־יְדֵי מְחִיאַת־כַּף בִּשְׁעַת הַתְּפִלָּה נִמְתָּקִין הַדִּינִים וְעַל יְדֵי זֶה נִצּוֹל מִשִּׁכְחָה, גַּם מְבַטֵּל הַמַּחֲלוֹקוֹת (מו Then he should pray further until that hidden is revealed to him, and so each time he ascends from level to higher level, seeking each time from Hashem, blessed be He, to attain the higher hidden until he attains, and so on. Until he is included in the beginning of emanation, and afterward included in the Infinite, then he will merit the Torah of Hashem and the prayer of Hashem in truth. Through this path, one merits joy, and through joy, one merits boldness of holiness, through which one enters holiness, drawing close to true tzaddikim to receive from them the holy faith in great perfection.

When one prays with strength, infusing all his strength into the letters of the prayer in the aspect of “All my bones shall say…” (Psalms 35:10), these words that he speaks with strength are themselves the words of the Holy One, blessed be He, and the ten utterances through which the world was created receive strength from the power of these letters (48). During prayer, one must subdue the evil in the particular and the evil in the general. The evil in the particular, meaning his coarse and material body, he should nullify during prayer, like the early chasidim who, during prayer, experienced a divestment of corporeality. The evil in the general, meaning the prayers of the sinners of Israel with whom he prays, he should nullify their evil and make from the evil a throne for holiness (there, 5).

Prayer with strength is a segulah (spiritual remedy) for children, saves from quarrels and strife, strengthens the truth, and causes everyone to return to Hashem, blessed be He, to serve Him with one accord. Through this, the true Rebbe of the generation is revealed and becomes renowned (there). All this is merited through prayer with complete intention, for prayer with intention encompasses everything. The essence of prayer is through fear, which is shame before Hashem, blessed be He, not to sin, Heaven forbid. Through this, one merits all the above, and through this, one merits the aspect of hands to receive ethical instruction from true rebukers.

Prayer with strength, the Land of Israel, and the mitzvah of sukkah are one aspect and dependent on each other (there). Also, one must rectify three things through his prayers. First, the one who prays must rectify through his prayer to elevate those who have fallen into false beliefs, to raise them through his prayer to the true faith, which is prayer, and to establish complete faith in their hearts. Second, he must focus greatly in his prayer, and through the intentions of the heart in prayer, he rectifies the hearts of the investigators, the philosophers, so that their intellect does not lead them astray. Third, through prayer in its proper perfection, he nullifies all the reproaches and insults he receives from his enemies, for he transforms all the reproaches and insults into honor (there, 6).

The essence of prayer depends on the heart, that he places his entire heart upon it, meaning that he binds the thoughts of the heart well to the words of the prayer, so that his heart is not distant from the words, but rather he hears clearly what he is saying. Through this, His kingdom, blessed be He, is revealed and magnified, the kingdom of wickedness falls, and great vitality, abundance, great wealth, and boundless blessing are drawn to Israel. Through this, a supernal unity and a lower unity are achieved, and one merits the revelation of the Torah of the Hidden Ancient One (49). Through this, exile and strife are nullified from the world, peace is increased in the world, peace is made between Israel and their Father in Heaven, holiness is rectified, and it is sealed in the aspect of a seal within a seal (22, 10). One who mortifies himself for prayer and gives his soul in his prayer should know that in the place where foreign thoughts enter and need to be elevated, there he must give his soul even more, and through this, he will elevate the sparks of holiness (26). One must greatly overcome foreign thoughts during prayer, for all the follies and confusions in the world, and all the mental turmoil a person has any day at any time, all come specifically during prayer, making themselves heard specifically then and greatly confusing a person’s thoughts specifically during prayer. Therefore, during prayer, one needs great, exceedingly great strength to overcome these confusions, thoughts, and mental turmoil that come and arise in his heart specifically then (30, 7). The essence of prayer is through boldness of holiness, for one must boldly face Hashem, blessed be He, to request from Him all that he needs, even to perform miracles and wonders, because it is impossible to stand and pray before Hashem, blessed be He, except through boldness. For each person, according to what he estimates in his heart of the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He, and sees his own lowliness and inadequacy, how could he stand and pray before Him? Therefore, during prayer, a person must remove shame and boldly request from Hashem, blessed be He, all that he needs, as mentioned above. This is merited through boldness of holiness, which he has against those who dispute and prevent the true service of Hashem.

Each person, according to the rectification of his covenant and his connection to true tzaddikim who guard the covenant, is able to taste sweetness in the words of prayer, and then “a lion descends to eat his offering,” meaning his prayer. But through a blemish in the covenant, he is in the aspect of “bitter waters,” and then he cannot taste sweetness in the words of prayer, and then “a dog descends to eat his offering,” which is his prayer (50). Through prayer in its proper form, as mentioned above, the light of the merit of the Patriarchs radiates, and through this, the aspect of the holiness of the Land of Israel is drawn down even now in exile. Through this, one merits to see the downfall of the wicked. All this is achieved through finding merit, by finding merit for the wicked, through which one can pray, as mentioned above (there).

Know that the brazen-faced ones in the generation are the dogs, and they are the ones who stand and dispute the prayer of a Jew who has not yet fully rectified his covenant. From this, you will understand on your own how great is the sin of those who dispute the prayer of a Jew and seek to confuse his prayer. For they are literally called dogs, in the aspect of “and the dogs are brazen of soul” (Isaiah 56:11). Even though this person who prays has not yet merited the rectification of the covenant, and because of this, this dispute comes upon him, which is the aspect of “a dog descends…” as mentioned above, nevertheless, the disputers are not exempt from their punishment because of this. For they uproot their souls from holiness and cause themselves to be literally called dogs by disputing his prayer, even though he has not fully rectified his covenant, as mentioned above. For certainly, he must exert himself to pray with all his strength, even as he is, even though he cannot feel sweetness in the words of prayer, and the effort itself is exceedingly precious [as explained elsewhere]. But the disputers are in the aspect of literal dogs, and their sin is too great to bear, may the Merciful One save us (there). Through this, one merits to receive Torah innovations of holiness and not the opposite, Heaven forbid, and then he merits prayer with intention, the essence of which is through boldness of holiness, as mentioned above (there, 8). The essence of prayer is specifically with the mouth, for one must speak the words of prayer with a full mouth, and thought alone is not sufficient, even though the Holy One, blessed be He, knows thoughts.

Through finding merit for the wicked, the light of the tzaddik’s eyes is strengthened, and he can see and attain the righteousness of the Holy One, blessed be He. He can know and understand that Hashem is righteous, even though the wicked may prevail in judgment. His heart is relieved of the crookedness it had before, his faith is strengthened, and he can pray (55, 3). Through studying the poskim (halachic authorities), one merits to pray properly with his whole heart. For in truth, if a person knew and believed with a whole heart that “the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3), and that He, blessed be He, stands over him during prayer, hearing, listening, and attending to every single word of the prayer, he would certainly be very meticulous to focus his words and would pray with great fervor. But because his heart is divided and not strong in this knowledge with a whole heart, he is not so meticulous and does not focus his heart well in his prayer. All this stems from the doubts and heresies in the heart, which are the aspect of the disputes of the evil inclination in the heart. Therefore, the rectification for this is studying the poskim, through which the disputes of the evil inclination are nullified at their root, and through this, one merits to pray properly with his whole heart in truth (62, 2).

During prayer, one must subdue the evil in the particular and the evil in the general. The evil in the particular, meaning his coarse and material body, he should nullify during prayer, like the early chasidim who, during prayer, experienced a divestment of corporeality. The evil in the general, meaning the prayers of the sinners of Israel with whom he prays, he should nullify their evil and make from the evil a throne for holiness (there, 5). For speech is the vessel of abundance through which abundance is received, and according to the speech, so is the abundance. If the speech, which is the vessel of abundance, is complete and full, then one can receive much abundance through it. Therefore, everything a person lacks, whether materially or spiritually, he must pray for with spoken words specifically, so that through this, he will draw down abundance, as mentioned above (34, 3). The reason one claps hand to hand during prayer is that through this, the air of the place where a Jew prays is purified, and it draws holy air like that of the Land of Israel.

Also, one must connect himself, in the general and in the particular, with the souls, spirits, and higher souls of the dwellers of the dust, and arouse them in his prayer to pray with him. In the particular, this means the parts of his soul, spirit, and higher soul that have already come in reincarnation and been rectified. In the general, this means the soul, spirit, and higher soul of other dwellers of the dust, to arouse them to pray with him (there). Through praying in truth for the sake of Hashem, blessed be He, alone, without any bias for people, one merits to draw down the aspect of the World to Come into this world. Through this, there will be a downfall for the wicked. Then, the greatness of the tzaddikim and the righteous will be revealed, as it will be in the future. Through this, the holy speech is perfected. And through this, one merits to bring from potential to actuality, meaning to complete in action all the holy things he wishes to do (66, 3).

Thus, through this, the prayer is in the air of the Land of Israel, and it rectifies foreign thoughts during prayer, also nullifying thoughts of idolatry, and nullifying killing and loss from the world (44). Even when one stands to pray in a place where a tzaddik prayed, it is still very difficult to pray there because he is not accustomed to the air of that place, and all the more so in the opposite case. Therefore, one must fix a place for his prayer, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (there). Through prayer, the secrets of Torah are drawn down (there). Foreign thoughts are called a "flood," as they confuse his prayer. Their rectification is to give charity to the Land of Israel, and through this, he is included in the air of the Land of Israel, and through this, he is saved from foreign thoughts. Also, through this, his mind is purified, meaning his thoughts, and this is the rectification of the covenant (there).

נד. בִּשְׁעַת הַתְּפִלָּה הָאָדָם עוֹמֵד בְּהֵיכַל הַמֶּלֶךְ וְאָז צָרִיךְ לְבַטֵּל אֶת עַצְמוֹ מִכָּל וָכֹל וְשֶׁלֹּא לִרְאוֹת שׁוּם דָּבָר, אֶלָּא אֶת הַמֶּלֶךְ לְבַדּוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ, עַד שֶׁיִּתְבַּטֵּל יֵשׁוּתוֹ לְגַמְרֵי וְלֹא יַרְגִּישׁ אֶת עַצְמוֹ כְּלָל בִּשְׁעַת הַתְּפִלָּה, רַק אֶת הַמֶּלֶךְ לְבַדּוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ. וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה נִתְבַּטְּלִין כָּל הַחֲרָפוֹת וּבִזְיוֹנוֹת (שָׁם ז One must pray with his whole heart until he feels the words of the prayer in all his bones. But when he prays without heart, his soul becomes distant from its root, and then his soul is weary, his bones are dismayed, and he has no vitality in his soul or his bones. Through this, praying without heart causes, Heaven forbid, the withdrawal of wisdom from the elders and the wise (67, 8).

נה. עַל־יְדֵי תְּפִלָּה כְּתִקּוּנוֹ כַּנַּ"ל, מִתְנוֹצֵץ אוֹר זְכוּת אָבוֹת, וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה מַמְשִׁיכִין בְּחִינַת קְדֻשַּׁת אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל גַּם עַכְשָׁו בַּגָּלוּת, וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה זוֹכִין לִרְאוֹת בְּמַפַּלְתָּם שֶׁל רְשָׁעִים. וְכָל זֶה נַעֲשֶׂה עַל־יְדֵי לִמּוּד זְכוּת, שֶׁמְּלַמְּדִין עַל הָרָשָׁע שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי זֶה יְכוֹלִין לְהִתְפַּלֵּל כַּנַּ"ל (שָׁם Through a person arousing himself with his hands during prayer and clapping hand to hand, through this, speech is formed, and the mouth receives the speech within it (45). Also, through clapping hands during prayer, judgments are sweetened, and through this, one is saved from forgetfulness and also nullifies strife (46). When one prays with strength, infusing all his strength into the letters of the prayer in the aspect of “All my bones shall say…” (Psalms 35:10), these words that he speaks with strength are themselves the words of the Holy One, blessed be He, and the ten utterances through which the world was created receive strength from the power of these letters (48).

נו. לָאו כָּל אָדָם יָכוֹל לְתַקֵּן ג' דְּבָרִים הַנִּזְכָּרִים לְעֵיל בִּתְפִלָּתוֹ וּלְהַכְנִיעַ הָרְשָׁעִים וְהַשּׂנְאִים עַל־יְדֵי זֶה, כִּי אִם הַצַּדִּיק הַגָּדוֹל בְּמַעֲלָה מְאֹד בִּבְחִינַת מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּנוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם, וְגַם הוּא צָרִיךְ לַחְגֹּר מָתְנָיו מְאֹד, לַעֲמֹד נֶגֶד הָרְשָׁעִים הַגְּדוֹלִים לְכַלּוֹתָם וּלְבַטְּלָם (שָׁם ט Through self-sacrifice for the sanctification of Hashem’s Name, one merits peace, and through this, one merits to speak holy words of Torah and prayer, meaning that he merits to infuse all his mind, wisdom, and knowledge into the words, and to bind his thought well to the words, until he understands and clearly hears what he is saying, which is the essence of the holiness of speech. Hashem, blessed be He, derives great delight from such speech, and all this is merited through peace, which is merited through self-sacrifice for the sanctification of Hashem’s Name (80).

נז. עַל־יְדֵי לִמּוּד הַפּוֹסְקִים זוֹכִין לְהִתְפַּלֵּל כָּרָאוּי בְּכָל לְבָבוֹ. כִּי בֶּאֱמֶת אִם הָיָה הָאָדָם יוֹדֵעַ וּמַאֲמִין בְּלֵב שָׁלֵם שֶׁמְּלֹא כָל הָאָרֶץ כְּבוֹדוֹ, וְהוּא יִתְבָּרַךְ עוֹמֵד עָלָיו בִּשְׁעַת הַתְּפִלָּה, וְשׁוֹמֵעַ וּמַאֲזִין וּמַקְשִׁיב כָּל דִּבּוּר וְדִבּוּר שֶׁל הַתְּפִלָּה, בְּוַדַּאי הָיָה מְדַקְדֵּק מְאֹד לְכַוֵּן אֶת דְּבָרָיו, וְהָיָה מִתְפַּלֵּל בְּהִתְלַהֲבוּת גָּדוֹל. רַק מֵחֲמַת שֶׁלִּבּוֹ חָלוּק וְאֵינוֹ חָזָק בִּידִיעָה זֹאת בְּלֵב שָׁלֵם, בִּשְׁבִיל זֶה אֵינוֹ מְדַקְדֵּק כָּל כָּךְ וְאֵינוֹ מְכַוֵּן לִבּוֹ הֵיטֵב בִּתְפִלָּתוֹ. וְכָל זֶה נִמְשָׁךְ מֵהַקֻּשְׁיוֹת וְהַכְּפִירוֹת שֶׁבַּלֵּב שֶׁהֵם בְּחִינַת מַחֲלוֹקוֹת הַיֵּצֶר הָרָע שֶׁבַּלֵּב. עַל־כֵּן הַתִּקּוּן לָזֶה - לִמּוּד פּוֹסְקִים, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי זֶה מְבַטְּלִין מַחֲלוֹקוֹת הַיֵּצֶר הָרָע בְּשָׁרְשׁוֹ, וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה זוֹכֶה לְהִתְפַּלֵּל כָּרָאוּי בְּכָל לְבָבוֹ בֶּאֱמֶת (סב, ב Prayer with strength is a segulah (spiritual remedy) for children, saves from quarrels and strife, strengthens the truth, and causes everyone to return to Hashem, blessed be He, to serve Him with one accord. Through this, the true Rebbe of the generation is revealed and becomes renowned (there). Prayer with strength, the Land of Israel, and the mitzvah of sukkah are one aspect and dependent on each other (there).

נח. עִקַּר שְׁלֵמוּת הַתְּפִלָּה הוּא מִי שֶׁזּוֹכֶה לָבוֹא אֶל הַתַּכְלִית לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶחָד מִכָּל הַתְּפִלָּה. כִּי כְּשֶׁאָדָם עוֹמֵד לְהִתְפַּלֵּל וּמְדַבֵּר דִבּוּרֵי הַתְּפִלָּה, אֲזַי הוּא מְלַקֵּט צִיצִים וּפְרָחִים וְשׁוֹשַׁנִּים נָאִים, כְּאָדָם הַהוֹלֵךְ בַּשָּׂדֶה וּמְלַקֵּט שׁוֹשַׁנִּים וּפְרָחִים נָאִים אַחַת לְאַחַת, עַד שֶׁעוֹשֶׂה אֲגֻדָּה אַחַת, וְאַחַר־כָּךְ מְלַקֵּט עוֹד אַחַת לְאַחַת וְעוֹשֶׂה אֲגֻדָּה אַחֶרֶת וּמְחַבְּרָם יַחַד, וְכֵן הוֹלֵךְ וּמְלַקֵּט וּמְקַבֵּץ כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה אֲגֻדּוֹת יָפִים וְנָאִים, כְּמוֹ כֵן הוּא הוֹלֵךְ בַּתְּפִלָּה מֵאוֹת לְאוֹת, עַד שֶׁנִּתְחַבְּרִים כַּמָּה אוֹתִיּוֹת וְנַעֲשֶׂה מֵהֶם דִּבּוּר וְתֵבָה. וְאַחַר כָּךְ הוֹלֵךְ וּמְחַבֵּר עוֹד כַּמָּה אוֹתִיּוֹת וְנַעֲשֶׂה מֵהֶם תֵּבָה שְׁנִיָּה וְכוּ'. וְאַחַר כָּךְ נִתְחַבְּרִים שְׂתֵּי הַתֵּבוֹת וְאַחַר כָּךְ הוֹלֵךְ וּמְלַקֵּט יוֹתֵר עַד שֶׁגּוֹמֵר בְּרָכָה אַחַת. וְאַחַר כָּךְ מְלַקֵּט יוֹתֵר וְיוֹתֵר וְהוֹלֵךְ מֵאָבוֹת לִגְבוּרוֹת וּמִגְּבוּרוֹת לִקְדֻשּׁוֹת. וְכֵן הוֹלֵךְ לְהַלָּן יוֹתֵר. מִי יְפָאֵר גֹּדֶל פְּאֵר הַלִּקּוּטִים וְהַקִּבּוּצִים שֶּׁאָדָם מְלַקֵּט וּמְקַבֵּץ בְּדִבּוּרֵי הַתְּפִלָּה. וּכְשֶׁהַדִּבּוּר יוֹצֵא מֵהַנֶּפֶשׁ וּבָא וְנִשְׁמָע לְאָזְנָיו, אֲזַי הַדִּבּוּר מְבַקֵּשׁ מֵהַנֶּפֶשׁ לְבַל תִּפָּרֵד מִמֶּנּוּ. וְתֵכֶף כְּשֶׁיָּצְאָה הָאוֹת רִאשׁוֹנָה מֵהַתֵּבָה, אֲזַי הָאוֹת מַחֲזֶקֶת בּוֹ וְאֵינָהּ מַנִּיחָה אוֹתוֹ לֵילֵךְ יוֹתֵר, מִכָּל שֶׁכֵּן כְּשֶׁגּוֹמֵר תֵּבָה שְׁלֵמָה, שֶׁאֲזַי הַתֵּבָה אוֹחֶזֶת בְּהַנֶּפֶשׁ וּמְחַבֶּקֶת וּמְלַפֶּפֶת אוֹתָהּ, לְבַל תֵּלֵךְ וְתִפָּרֵד מִמֶּנּוּ. כִּי אֵיךְ תּוּכַל לֵילֵךְ מִמֶּנִּי, הֲלֹא אַתָּה רוֹאֶה אֶת יְקַר יָפְיִי וְזִיוִי וְתִפְאַרְתִּי כִּי הֲלֹא אֲנִי תֵּבַת בָּרוּךְ. וּשְׁמַע נָא מַה שֶּׁאַתָּה מְדַבֵּר, וְהַשְׁמַע לְאָזְנֶיךָ מַה שֶּׁאַתָּה מוֹצִיא מִפִּיךָ, וְאֵיךְ תּוּכַל לֵילֵךְ וּלְהִפָּרֵד מֵאִתִּי, וְהֵן אֱמֶת שֶׁאַתָּה צָרִיךְ לֵילֵךְ יוֹתֵר כְּדֵי לִלְקֹט עוֹד סְגֻלּוֹת יְקָרוֹת וַחֲמוּדוֹת גְּדוֹלוֹת. אֲבָל אֵיךְ תּוּכַל לְהִפָּרֵד מֵאִתִּי וְלִשְׁכֹּחַ אוֹתִי, עַל כָּל פָּנִים, תִּרְאֶה שֶׁבְּכָל מָקוֹם שֶׁתֵּלֵךְ וְתָבוֹא לְשָׁם, לֹא תִּשְׁכַּח אוֹתִי וְלֹא תִּפָּרֵד מִמֶּנִּי עַל־כֵּן עִקַּר שְׁלֵמוּת הַתְּפִלָּה הוּא כְּשֶׁזּוֹכֶה לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶחָד מִכָּל הַתְּפִלָּה. וּכְשֶׁעוֹמֵד בַּתֵּבָה הָאַחֲרוֹנָה שֶׁל הַתְּפִלָּה, יִהְיֶה עֲדַיִן עוֹמֵד בַּתֵּבָה הָרִאשׁוֹנָה שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי זֶה לְעוֹלָם אֵינוֹ נִפְרָד מֵאוֹת רִאשׁוֹנָה שֶׁל הַתְּפִלָּה אֲפִלּוּ בִּגְמַר הַתְּפִלָּה, וְאָז הַתְּפִלָּה בִּשְׁלֵמוּת. אֲבָל לִזְכּוֹת לָזֶה אִי אֶפְשָׁר כִּי אִם עַל־יְדֵי הַצַּדִּיק הַגָּדוֹל הָאֲמִתִּי שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת בַּעַל הַשָּׂדֶה הָעֶלְיוֹנָה. שֶׁהוּא יָכוֹל לְהָבִיא אֶת כָּל אֶחָד אֶל הַתַּכְלִית הַטּוֹב הָאֲמִתִּי שֶׁהוּא כֻּלּוֹ טוֹב כֻּלּוֹ אֶחָד. וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה יִזְכֶּה לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶחָד מִכָּל הַתְּפִלָּה שֶׁזֶּהוּ עִקַּר שְׁלֵמוּת הַתְּפִלָּה כַּנַּ"ל [עַיֵּן צַדִּיק אוֹת נ"ח] (סה, ב Every Jew can rule through his prayer to effect what he desires, but the main obstacle is due to pride, biases, and foreign thoughts. For some have pride because they are of great lineage or because they have toiled and labored in the service of the Creator, blessed be He, and then it is certainly impossible for them to have dominion over their prayer. Therefore, one must overcome and break all this, forgetting his lineage and his toil in the service of Hashem. It should seem to him as if he was created today, as if he is alone in the world and has no lineage. Similarly, he must break and nullify the other foreign thoughts in prayer, and then he can rule through his prayer. Then the will of the Creator, blessed be He, is fulfilled, and He, blessed be He, derives great delight from his prayer, and through this, he draws down all the abundances in the world (97).

נט. עַל־יְדֵי שֶׁמִּתְפַּלֵּל בֶּאֱמֶת בִּשְׁבִיל הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ לְבַדּוֹ וְאֵין לוֹ שׁוּם פְּנִיָּה בִּשְׁבִיל בְּנֵי אָדָם, עַל־יְדֵי זֶה זוֹכִין לְהַמְשִׁיךְ בְּחִינַת עָלְמָא דְּאָתֵי לָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה. וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה יִהְיֶה מַפָּלָה לָרְשָׁעִים. וְאָז נִתְגַּלֶּה גְּדֻלַּת הַצַּדִּיקִים וְהַכְּשֵׁרִים כְּמוֹ שֶׁיִּהְיֶה לֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא. וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה נִשְׁלָם הַדִּבּוּר דִּקְדֻשָּׁה. וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה זוֹכִין לְהוֹצִיא מִכֹּחַ אֶל הַפֹּעַל, דְּהַיְנוּ לִגְמֹר בְּפֹעַל כָּל הַדְּבָרִים שֶׁבַּקְּדֻשָּׁה שֶׁרוֹצֶה לַעֲשׂוֹת (סו, ג The essence of prayer depends on the heart, that he places his entire heart upon it, meaning that he binds the thoughts of the heart well to the words of the prayer, so that his heart is not distant from the words, but rather he hears clearly what he is saying. Through this, His kingdom, blessed be He, is revealed and magnified, the kingdom of wickedness falls, and great vitality, abundance, great wealth, and boundless blessing are drawn to Israel.

ס. מִי שֶׁהוּא נִצְרָךְ לַבְּרִיּוֹת בִּשְׁבִיל פַּרְנָסָה, וַאֲפִלּוּ אִם אֵינוֹ נִצְרָךְ לָהֶם בִּשְׁבִיל פַּרְנָסָה, אֲבָל יֵשׁ לוֹ תַּאֲוָה שֶׁל כָּבוֹד וַחֲשִׁיבוּת, הוּא גַּם כֵּן בִּכְלָל נִצְרָךְ לַבְּרִיּוֹת, כִּי הוּא נִצְרָךְ לְכָבוֹד וַחֲשִׁיבוּת שֶׁלָּהֶם. וּמִי שֶׁהוּא בִּבְחִינָה זֹאת, אֲזַי יָכוֹל לִפֹּל בְּשֶׁקֶר גָּדוֹל בִּתְפִלָּתוֹ, דְּהַיְנוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת תְּנוּעוֹת בְּשֶׁקֶר בִּשְׁבִיל בְּנֵי אָדָם מֵאַחַר שֶׁהוּא נִצְרָךְ לָהֶם בִּשְׁבִיל פַּרְנָסָה אוֹ כָּבוֹד וְכַיּוֹצֵא. וַאֲפִלּוּ מִי שֶׁהוּא אִישׁ כָּשֵׁר קְצָת וְאֵינוֹ צָבוּעַ וְשַׁקְרָן גָּמוּר, אַף עַל פִּי כֵן כְּשֶׁהוּא נִצְרָךְ לַבְּרִיּוֹת בְּאֵיזֶה בְּחִינָה כַּנַּ"ל, קָשֶׁה לוֹ מְאֹד שֶׁתִּהְיֶה תְּפִלָּתוֹ בֶּאֱמֶת גָּמוּר לַאֲמִתּוֹ כִּי יֵשׁ בְּנֵי אָדָם שֶׁהֵם כְּשֵׁרִים וּמִתְבַּיְּשִׁים בְּעַצְמָן לְהִתְפַּלֵּל בְּשֶׁקֶר גָּמוּר מַמָּשׁ וְרוֹצִים לְהִתְפַּלֵּל בֶּאֱמֶת. אֲבָל הָאֱמֶת הוּא הַרְבֵּה מְאֹד, דְּהַיְנוּ שֶׁהוּא מַטְעֶה אֶת עַצְמוֹ לַעֲשׂוֹת אֵיזֶה תְּנוּעָה אוֹ אֵיזֶה הַמְחָאַת כַּף וְכוּ' בִּשְׁבִיל אֵיזֶה פְּנִיָּה בִּשְׁבִיל פַּרְנָסָה אוֹ כָּבוֹד, וּמַמְצִיא לְעַצְמוֹ סִבּוּבִים בְּמַחֲשַׁבְתּוֹ שֶׁהוּא צָרִיךְ בֶּאֱמֶת לַעֲשׂוֹת אוֹתָהּ הַתְּנוּעָה בִּתְפִלָּתוֹ, וּמְכַסֶּה הַשֶּׁקֶר בֶּאֱמֶת. אֲבָל בּוֹחֵן לִבּוֹת יוֹדֵעַ שֶׁאֵין זֶה אֱמֶת. כִּי הָאֱמֶת הוּא רַק אֶחָד בִּשְׁבִיל הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ לְבַדּוֹ בְּלִי שׁוּם פְּנִיָּה אַחֶרֶת וְעַל־כֵּן מִי שֶׁהוּא נִצְרָךְ לַבְּרִיּוֹת בְּאֵיזֶה בְּחִינָה שֶׁהוּא כַּנַּ"ל, קָשֶׁה לוֹ מְאֹד לְהִתְפַּלֵּל בָּרַבִּים, כִּי בָּרַבִּים נוֹפְלִים עָלָיו פְּנִיּוֹת גְּדוֹלוֹת וּשְׁקָרִים הַמְכֻסִּים בֶּאֱמֶת, כַּנַּ"ל. עַל־כֵּן צָרִיךְ הָאָדָם לִזָּהֵר בִּשְׁעַת תְּפִלָּתוֹ וַעֲבוֹדָתוֹ, שֶׁעַל כָּל פָּנִים אָז לֹא יִהְיֶה בִּכְלָל נִצְרָךְ לַבְּרִיּוֹת, רַק יָשִׂים שִׂבְרוֹ וּבִטְחוֹנוֹ עַל ה' אֱלֹהָיו בֶּאֱמֶת. וְלֹא יַחֲשֹׁב בִּשְׁעַת הַתְּפִלָּה שׁוּם בֶּן אָדָם וְשׁוּם בְּרִיָּה כְּלָל. וְאָז יוּכַל לַעֲמֹד בֵּין אֲלָפִים אֲנָשִׁים וּלְהִתְפַּלֵּל בֶּאֱמֶת לְהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ לְבַדּוֹ, מֵאַחַר שֶׁאֵינוֹ נִצְרָךְ לְשׁוּם בְּרִיָּה; לֹא לְפַרְנָסָה וְלֹא לְכָבוֹד וְלֹא לְשׁוּם דָּבָר, רַק שִׂבְרוֹ עַל ה' אֱלֹהָיו (שָׁם Through this, a supernal unity and a lower unity are achieved, and one merits the revelation of the Torah of the Hidden Ancient One (49).

סא. צָרִיךְ לְהִתְפַּלֵּל בְּכָל לִבּוֹ, עַד שֶׁיַּרְגִּישׁ דִּבּוּרֵי הַתְּפִלָּה בְּכָל עַצְמוֹתָיו. אֲבָל כְּשֶׁמִּתְפַּלֵּל בְּלֹא לֵב, אֲזַי נִתְרַחֵק הַנֶּפֶשׁ מִשָּׁרְשָׁהּ וַאֲזַי נַפְשׁוֹ עֲיֵפָה וְעַצְמוֹתָיו נִבְהָלִין וְאֵין לוֹ חִיּוּת לֹא בְּנַפְשׁוֹ וְלֹא בְּעַצְמוֹתָיו, וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה שֶׁמִּתְפַּלֵּל בְּלֹא לֵב, גּוֹרֵם, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, הִסְתַּלְּקוּת הַחָכְמָה מִן הַזְּקֵנִים וְהַחֲכָמִים (סז, ח Through clapping hand to hand during prayer, through this, one can properly speak the praises and attributes with which we designate and liken Him, blessed be He, which is the aspect of gazing at the likeness of Hashem. Also, clapping hands is the aspect of “and the hands of a man were under their wings” (Ezekiel 1:8). Also, through this, the prayer is included within the Written Torah and the Oral Torah (212).

סב. עַל־יְדֵי צַדִּיקֵי אֱמֶת נִמְשָׁכִין בְּחִינַת מַיִם קָרִים וּמְחַיִּים נַפְשׁוֹ הָעֲיֵפָה, וַאֲזַי זוֹכֶה לְהִתְפַּלֵּל בְּכָל לִבּוֹ, עַד שֶׁכָּל עַצְמוֹתָיו שׁוֹמְעִין הֵיטֵב כָּל דִּבּוּרֵי הַתְּפִלָּה, וַאֲזַי תְּפִלָּתוֹ בִּבְחִינַת כָּל עַצְמוֹתַי תֹּאמַרְנָה וְכוּ', שֶׁמִּתְפַּלֵּל עִם כָּל כֹּחוֹ וּמֹחוֹ שֶׁבְּעַצְמוֹתָיו שֶׁזֶּה עִקַּר שְׁלֵמוּת הַתְּפִלָּה (שָׁם Each person, according to the rectification of his covenant and his connection to true tzaddikim who guard the covenant, is able to taste sweetness in the words of prayer, and then “a lion descends to eat his offering,” meaning his prayer. But through a blemish in the covenant, he is in the aspect of “bitter waters,” and then he cannot taste sweetness in the words of prayer, and then “a dog descends to eat his offering,” which is his prayer (50).

When saying, “And the hosts of heaven bow to You” (Nehemiah 9:6), it is fitting to pray for everything, for then all the hosts of heaven come to bow and give praise and thanksgiving to Him, blessed be He. Therefore, it is good to request then from Hashem, blessed be He, that He command them to draw down for him all that he needs. For example, if he needs healing, he should intend in his thought then that Hashem, blessed be He, command them to draw down the forces needed for his healing through bread and water, and similarly for all such things (231).

Through self-sacrifice for the sanctification of Hashem’s Name, one merits peace, and through this, one merits to speak holy words of Torah and prayer, meaning that he merits to infuse all his mind, wisdom, and knowledge into the words, and to bind his thought well to the words, until he understands and clearly hears what he is saying, which is the essence of the holiness of speech. Hashem, blessed be He, derives great delight from such speech, and all this is merited through peace, which is merited through self-sacrifice for the sanctification of Hashem’s Name (80). Know that the brazen-faced ones in the generation are the dogs, and they are the ones who stand and dispute the prayer of a Jew who has not yet fully rectified his covenant.

This is good advice for praying with intention. When a person sees that it is difficult to focus his mind in prayer due to the multitude of confusing and disturbing thoughts, he should remind himself that he is certainly willing to die for the sanctification of Hashem’s Name, for even the sinners of Israel give their lives for the sanctification of Hashem’s Name, as has been visibly seen many times. Through self-sacrifice for the sanctification of Hashem’s Name, he will merit to bind thought to speech and pray with intention, as mentioned above. Also, without this, the essence of the perfection of prayer is to pray with self-sacrifice (there). Just as there is arousal from one person to another, where a person is aroused to pray and say supplications and requests with intention because he hears the words of his fellow who prays with intention, so too there is arousal from within himself, where a person can be aroused through his own words. See inside (270).

Every Jew can rule through his prayer to effect what he desires, but the main obstacle is due to pride, biases, and foreign thoughts. For some have pride because they are of great lineage or because they have toiled and labored in the service of the Creator, blessed be He, and then it is certainly impossible for them to have dominion over their prayer. Therefore, one must overcome and break all this, forgetting his lineage and his toil in the service of Hashem. It should seem to him as if he was created today, as if he is alone in the world and has no lineage. Similarly, he must break and nullify the other foreign thoughts in prayer, and then he can rule through his prayer. Then the will of the Creator, blessed be He, is fulfilled, and He, blessed be He, derives great delight from his prayer, and through this, he draws down all the abundances in the world (97). From this, you will understand on your own how great is the sin of those who dispute the prayer of a Jew and seek to confuse his prayer. For they are literally called dogs, in the aspect of “and the dogs are brazen of soul” (Isaiah 56:11).

When judgments, Heaven forbid, prevail over a person, one who prays on his behalf should not mention his name, so that the judgments do not grow stronger, Heaven forbid (174). In most cases, a person cannot pray with desire and proper vitality due to the multitude of falls, as he becomes despondent because of his deeds that are not good. Therefore, a person must revive himself before prayer by searching, seeking, and finding some good points within himself. For certainly, however he is, he has surely already performed many mitzvot, and even though they are mixed with biases and much dross, nevertheless, at the very least, there are some good points in them. Through this, he will revive and gladden himself, and through this, he will be able to pray properly [see Hitkashrut, entries 26 and 27] (282).

Every person has bad prayers, such as what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “A thief at the tunnel calls out to the Merciful One” (Berachot 63a). These confuse him when he stands to pray a proper prayer. The rectification for this is hospitality toward a Torah scholar (209). Even though this person who prays has not yet merited the rectification of the covenant, and because of this, this dispute comes upon him, which is the aspect of “a dog descends…” as mentioned above, nevertheless, the disputers are not exempt from their punishment because of this. For they uproot their souls from holiness and cause themselves to be literally called dogs by disputing his prayer, even though he has not fully rectified his covenant, as mentioned above.

Through clapping hand to hand during prayer, through this, one can properly speak the praises and attributes with which we designate and liken Him, blessed be He, which is the aspect of gazing at the likeness of Hashem. Also, clapping hands is the aspect of “and the hands of a man were under their wings” (Ezekiel 1:8). Also, through this, the prayer is included within the Written Torah and the Oral Torah (212). Now, prayer is in exile due to our many sins, for prayer is exceedingly lofty, yet people belittle it, and when they stand to pray, they desire to discharge the prayer from themselves. Through complete fear, which comes through the rectification of the three negative traits [as explained there in Yirah, entry 20], through this, prayer is redeemed from exile, and then prayer is complete. Then there is no need for any healing through doctors, for one is healed through everything they eat and drink, such as bread and water and the like. For through complete prayer, the power of all healings is drawn into everything one eats and drinks. When one merits such a prayer, it is in the aspect of the radiance of the Messiah, and then all the hosts of heaven, all the stars and constellations, and all the supernal princes are subdued beneath him, for they all receive from him, and he finds favor in the eyes of all. Through this, he can connect himself to the roots of the souls of Israel, meaning with the true renowned leaders of the generation, under whom all souls are divided. The brazenness of the false leaders and renowned figures, whose entire dominion is through brazenness, falls and is nullified before him. Then he merits that his dominion over the angels is established, for this is why a Jew was created (Likutay Moharan II, 1, 8-9).

Through prayer, one changes nature and subdues and nullifies the heretics and apostates (207). For certainly, he must exert himself to pray with all his strength, even as he is, even though he cannot feel sweetness in the words of prayer, and the effort itself is exceedingly precious [as explained elsewhere]. But the disputers are in the aspect of literal dogs, and their sin is too great to bear, may the Merciful One save us (there).

When saying, “And the hosts of heaven bow to You” (Nehemiah 9:6), it is fitting to pray for everything, for then all the hosts of heaven come to bow and give praise and thanksgiving to Him, blessed be He. Therefore, it is good to request then from Hashem, blessed be He, that He command them to draw down for him all that he needs. For example, if he needs healing, he should intend in his thought then that Hashem, blessed be He, command them to draw down the forces needed for his healing through bread and water, and similarly for all such things (231). Sometimes an illness is still hidden in a person and has not been revealed, and then no doctor can heal it. But when one merits prayer, he can be healed even when the illness has not yet been revealed, and he will not come to illness at all (there, 11).

When saying, “Praise Hashem from the heavens… praise Him, all His angels…” (Psalms 148:1-2), it is fitting for a person to be aroused to pray with vitality and great fervor, since in his prayer, the person calls to all the angels, seraphim, ofanim, and holy creatures, and to all the worlds, commanding and instructing them to praise and laud Him, blessed be He (232). Through finding merit for the wicked, the light of the tzaddik’s eyes is strengthened, and he can see and attain the righteousness of the Holy One, blessed be He.

Through the prayer that Israel prays, they take for themselves the power and ability, for through prayer, they nullify His decrees, blessed be He, and then Israel is called by Hashem of G-d (there).

עה. אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵין הָאָדָם יָכוֹל לְדַבֵּר כְּלָל וְנִדְמֶה לוֹ, שֶׁאֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לִפְתֹּחַ פִּיו בִּתְפִלָּה וְהִתְבּוֹדְדוּת מִגֹּדֶל הַגַּשְׁמִיּוּת שֶׁלּוֹ וּמִכֹּבֶד צָרוֹת הַנֶּפֶשׁ וְהַגּוּף, שֶׁעוֹבְרִים עָלָיו, אַף עַל פִּי כֵן צָרִיךְ לְהִתְחַזֵּק אָז דַּיְקָא לְהַכְרִיחַ אֶת עַצְמוֹ לִקְרֹא לַשֵּׁם מִתּוֹךְ הַמֵּצַר וְהַדֹּחַק. כִּי עִקַּר הַהִתְעוֹרְרוּת הוּא שֶׁיִּתְעוֹרֵר הָאָדָם מִן הַמֵּצַר וְהַדֹּחַק תְּחִלָּה, וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה יִזְכֶּה אַחַר כָּךְ עַל פִּי רֹב לָבוֹא לְהַרְחָבָה גְּדוֹלָה עַד שֶׁיּוּכַל לְהִתְפַּלֵּל וּלְפָרֵשׁ שִׂיחָתוֹ כָּרָאוּי, עַד שֶׁיָּכוֹל לָבוֹא לִבְחִינַת רוּחַ הַקֹּדֶשׁ עַל־יְדֵי זֶה דַּיְקָא, שֶׁנִּתְעוֹרֵר לַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ מִתּוֹךְ הַמֵּצַר וְהַמְּרִירוּת כָּזֶה (רעט He can know and understand that Hashem is righteous, even though the wicked may prevail in judgment. His heart is relieved of the crookedness it had before, his faith is strengthened, and he can pray (55, 3). During prayer, one must subdue the evil in the particular and the evil in the general. The evil in the particular, meaning his coarse and material body, he should nullify during prayer, like the early chasidim who, during prayer, experienced a divestment of corporeality. The evil in the general, meaning the prayers of the sinners of Israel with whom he prays, he should nullify their evil and make from the evil a throne for holiness (there, 5).

עו. עַל פִּי רֹב אֵין הָאָדָם יָכוֹל לְהִתְפַּלֵּל בְּחֵשֶׁק וְחִיּוּת כָּרָאוּי מֵחֲמַת רִבּוּי הַנְּפִילוֹת, שֶׁנּוֹפֵל בְּדַעְתּוֹ מֵחֲמַת מַעֲשָׂיו אֲשֶׁר לֹא טוֹבִים. עַל־כֵּן צָרִיךְ הָאָדָם לְהַחֲיוֹת אֶת עַצְמוֹ קֹדֶם הַתְּפִלָּה עַל־יְדֵי שֶׁיְּחַפֵּשׂ וִיבַקֵּשׁ וְיִמְצָא בְּעַצְמוֹ אֵיזוֹ נְקוּדוֹת טוֹבוֹת. כִּי בְּוַדַּאי אֵיךְ שֶׁהוּא, אַף עַל פִּי כֵן בְּוַדַּאי כְּבָר עָשָׂה כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה מִצְווֹת, וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהֵם מְעֹרָבִים בִּפְנִיּוֹת וּפְסוֹלֶת הַרְבֵּה, אַף עַל פִּי כֵן עַל כָּל פָּנִים יֵשׁ בָּהֶם כַּמָּה נְקוּדוֹת טוֹבוֹת. וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה יְחַיֶּה וִישַׂמַּח אֶת עַצְמוֹ, וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה יוּכַל לְהִתְפַּלֵּל כָּרָאוּי [עַיֵּן הִתְחַזְּקוּת אוֹת כ"ו וכ"ז] (רפב Through a neighbor who is added to a gathering of Israel, such as when there is a gathering of Israel engaged in prayer, when one additional soul is added to them, then the house of prayer is greatly, exceedingly increased and magnified. For the holy combinations are greatly, exceedingly multiplied, and many houses are built in the supernal holiness, beyond what the mouth can speak or the heart can conceive. From this, great and wondrous delights are created above and beyond, and through this, sins are forgiven and pardoned, and healing is drawn down (there, 6).

עז. הַשְּׁלִיחַ צִבּוּר הַמִּתְפַּלֵּל לִפְנֵי הָעַמּוּד, צָרִיךְ שֶׁיִּהְיֶה לוֹ בְּחִינָה זוֹ, שֶׁיּוּכַל לְקַבֵּץ כָּל הַנְּקֻדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּכָל אֶחָד מֵהַמִּתְפַּלְּלִין, וְכָל הַנְּקֻדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת יִהְיוּ נִכְלָלִין בּוֹ, וְהוּא יַעֲמֹד וְיִתְפַּלֵּל עִם כָּל הַטּוֹב הַזֶּה, אַשְׁרֵי הַצִּבּוּר שֶׁזּוֹכִין לִשְׁלִיחַ צִבּוּר כָּזֶה (שָׁם Also, one must connect himself, in the general and in the particular, with the souls, spirits, and higher souls of the dwellers of the dust, and arouse them in his prayer to pray with him. In the particular, this means the parts of his soul, spirit, and higher soul that have already come in reincarnation and been rectified. In the general, this means the soul, spirit, and higher soul of other dwellers of the dust, to arouse them to pray with him (there).

עח. עַכְשָׁו הַתְּפִלָּה הִיא בְּגָלוּת בַּעֲווֹנוֹתֵינוּ הָרַבִּים, כִּי הַתְּפִלָּה הִיא גָּבוֹהַּ מְאֹד וּבְנֵי אָדָם מְזַלְזְלִין בָּהּ, וּכְשֶׁעוֹמְדִין לְהִתְפַּלֵּל הֵם חֲפֵצִים לִפְטֹר אֶת הַתְּפִלָּה מֵעֲלֵיהֶם, וְעַל יְדֵי יִרְאָה שְׁלֵמָה הַבָּאָה עַל־יְדֵי תִּקּוּן הַשָּׁלֹשׁ מִדּוֹת רָעוֹת [כַּמְבֹאָר שָׁם בְּיִרְאָה אוֹת כ], עַל־יְדֵי זֶה פּוֹדִין הַתְּפִלָּה מִן הַגָּלוּת וַאֲזַי הַתְּפִלָּה בִּשְׁלֵמוּת, וְאָז אֵין צְרִיכִין לְשׁוּם רְפוּאָה עַל־יְדֵי דּוֹקְטוֹרִים, כִּי מִתְרַפְּאִין עַל־יְדֵי כָּל מַה שֶּׁאוֹכְלִין וְשׁוֹתִין, כְּגוֹן לֶחֶם וּמַיִם וְכַיּוֹצֵא. כִּי עַל־יְדֵי תְּפִלָּה בִּשְׁלֵמוּת מַמְשִׁיכִין כֹּחַ כָּל הָרְפוּאוֹת לְתוֹךְ כָּל מַה שֶּׁאוֹכְלִין וְשׁוֹתִין. וּכְשֶׁזוֹכִין לִתְפִלָּה כָּזֹאת הִיא בְּחִינַת הִתְנוֹצְצוּת מָשִׁיחַ, וַאֲזַי כָּל צְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם וְכָל הַכּוֹכָבִים וּמַזָּלוֹת וְכָל הַשָּׂרִים הָעֶלְיוֹנִים כֻּלָּם הֵם נִכְנָעִים תַּחְתָּיו, כִּי כֻּלָּם מְקַבְּלִים מִמֶּנּוּ וְהוּא נוֹשֵׂא חֵן בְּעֵינֵי כֻּלָּם, וְעַל יְדֵי זֶה יָכוֹל לְקַשֵּׁר עַצְמוֹ בְּשָׁרְשֵׁי נִשְׁמוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל, דְּהַיְנוּ עִם הַמְפֻרְסָמִים וּמַנְהִיגֵי הַדּוֹר הָאֲמִתִּיִּים, שֶׁכָּל הַנְּשָׁמוֹת נֶחֱלָקִים תַּחְתָּם. וְהָעַזּוּת שֶׁל הַמַּנְהִיגִים וּמְפֻרְסָמִים שֶׁל שֶׁקֶר שֶׁכָּל מֶמְשַׁלְתָּם עַל־יְדֵי עַזּוּת, נוֹפֵל וְנִתְבַּטֵּל לְפָנָיו. וַאֲזַי זוֹכֶה שֶׁתִּתְקַיֵּם מֶמְשַׁלְתּוֹ עַל הַמַּלְאָכִים, אֲשֶׁר בִּשְׁבִיל זֶה נִבְרָא אִישׁ הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִי (ח"ב א, ח ט During prayer, a person must cleave himself to Hashem and not feel any other person in the world. He should think that there is nothing in the world except Hashem, blessed be He, alone, and there is no created being in the world except him alone, and he should hear only what he is saying before Hashem, blessed be He, alone. See above in entry 55, where it is explained further regarding nullification during prayer, that one must completely nullify himself during prayer until he does not even hear himself at all, but at the very least, he should not hear another person at all (103).

עט. שְׁלֹשָׁה דְּבָרִים הֵם מַפְסִידֵי הַתְּפִלָּה. א' אַל תְּהִי בָּז לְכָל אָדָם, שֶׁלֹּא לְבַזּוֹת שׁוּם אָדָם, וּכְשֶׁאֵין נִזְהָר בָּזֶה הוּא הֶפְסֵד וּפְגַם הַתְּפִלָּה. ב' קִלְקוּל הָאֱמוּנָה שֶׁאֵין הָאֱמוּנָה בִּשְׁלֵמוּת שֶׁזֶּה בְּחִינַת עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה. ג' פְּגַם הַבְּרִית. וּכְשֶׁזּוֹכִין לָצֵאת מִשָּׁלֹשׁ מִדּוֹת אֵלּוּ, זוֹכֶה לִתְפִלָּה בִּשְׁלֵמוּת, וְאָז אֵין צָרִיךְ לְשׁוּם רְפוּאָה עַל־יְדֵי דּוֹקְטוֹרִים כַּנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל, וְזוֹכֶה לְכָל הַנַּ"ל (שָׁם י Also, one must rectify three things through his prayers. First, the one who prays must rectify through his prayer to elevate those who have fallen into false beliefs, to raise them through his prayer to the true faith, which is prayer, and to establish complete faith in their hearts. Second, he must focus greatly in his prayer, and through the intentions of the heart in prayer, he rectifies the hearts of the investigators, the philosophers, so that their intellect does not lead them astray. Third, through prayer in its proper perfection, he nullifies all the reproaches and insults he receives from his enemies, for he transforms all the reproaches and insults into honor (there, 6). During prayer, a person stands in the palace of the King, and then he must nullify himself completely and not see anything except the King alone, blessed be He, until his existence is entirely nullified, and he does not feel himself at all during prayer, only the King alone, blessed be He. Through this, all reproaches and insults are nullified (there, 7). Through prayer in its proper form, as mentioned above, the light of the merit of the Patriarchs radiates, and through this, the aspect of the holiness of the Land of Israel is drawn down even now in exile.

פ. לִפְעָמִים הַחוֹלַאַת עֲדַיִן נֶעְלֶמֶת בָּאָדָם וְאֵינָהּ נִתְגַּלֵּית, וְאָז אֵין שׁוּם דּוֹקְטוֹר יָכוֹל לְרַפְּאוֹת אוֹתָהּ. אֲבָל כְּשֶׁזּוֹכֶה לִתְפִלָּה יוּכַל לְהִתְרַפְּאוֹת אֲפִלּוּ כְּשֶׁעֲדַיִן לֹא נִתְגַּלָּה הַחוֹלַאַת, וְלֹא יָבוֹא לִידֵי מַחֲלָה כְּלָל (שָׁם י"א Through this, one merits to see the downfall of the wicked. All this is achieved through finding merit, by finding merit for the wicked, through which one can pray, as mentioned above (there). Not every person can rectify the three things mentioned above in his prayer and subdue the wicked and enemies through this, except for the tzaddik who is exceedingly great in stature, in the aspect of Moses our Teacher, peace be upon him.

פא. עִקַּר שְׁלֵמוּת הַתְּפִלָּה הִיא עַל־יְדֵי אֱמֶת. וְזֶה זוֹכִין עַל־יְדֵי הַלֵּל וְהוֹדָאָה לְהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ וְעַל־יְדֵי לִמּוּד הֲלָכוֹת שֶׁהֵם עִקַּר שַׁעֲשׁוּעַ עוֹלָם הַבָּא [וְעַיֵּן אֱמֶת וֶאֱמוּנָה] (ב Prayer is beneficial for everything; even one who cannot study can merit through prayer to be able to study, for through prayer, one can attain all good—for Torah, service, all holinesses, and all the good in all the worlds. Amen, may it be His will (111).

פב. עַל־יְדֵי הַתְּפִלָּה שֶּׁיִּשְׂרָאֵל מִתְפַּלְּלִין, הֵם לוֹקְחִין לְעַצְמָן הַכֹּחַ וְהַיְכֹלֶת, כִּי עַל יְדֵי הַתְּפִלָּה מְבַטְּלִין גְּזֵרוֹתָיו יִתְבָּרַךְ וַאֲזַי יִשְׂרָאֵל נִקְרָאִים בְּשֵׁם אֵל (שם Even he must gird his loins greatly to stand against the great wicked ones to destroy and nullify them (there, 9). Through studying the poskim (halachic authorities), one merits to pray properly with his whole heart. For in truth, if a person knew and believed with a whole heart that “the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3), and that He, blessed be He, stands over him during prayer, hearing, listening, and attending to every single word of the prayer, he would certainly be very meticulous to focus his words and would pray with great fervor.

פג. עִקַּר הַתְּפִלָּה הֵם רַחֲמִים וְתַחֲנוּנִים וְעִקַּר הָרַחֲמִים תָּלוּי בַּדַּעַת. וּכְשֶׁהַסִּטְרָא אַחֲרָא יוֹנֶקֶת מֵהָרַחֲמָנוּת חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, וַאֲזַי נִפְגָּם הָרַחֲמָנוּת וְנַעֲשֶׂה כַּעַס וְאַכְזָרִיּוּת וְנִקְטָן הַדַּעַת, אֲזַי מִתְגַּבֵּר תַּאֲוַת נִאוּף חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, וַאֲזַי הַתְּפִלָּה בִּבְחִינַת דִּין, וַאֲזַי הַסִּטְרָא אַחֲרָא יוֹנֶקֶת מֵהַתְּפִלָּה. וְאָז צְרִיכִין בַּעַל כֹּחַ גָּדוֹל שֶׁיּוּכַל לְהִתְפַּלֵּל תְּפִלָּה בִּבְחִינַת דִּין, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי זֶה מוֹצִיא מֵהַסִּטְרָא אַחֲרָא כָּל חִיּוּתָהּ וּמְתַקֵּן הַכֹּל וְכוּ', וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה נַעֲשִׂין גֵּרִים וְנִתְרַבֶּה וְנִתְגַּדֵּל כְּבוֹדוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ, וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה זוֹכִין לְהִתְפַּשְּׁטוּת הַנְּבוּאָה, וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה נִתְבָּרֵר הַמְדַמֶּה וְזוֹכִין לֶאֱמוּנָה בִּשְׁלֵמוּת, וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה זוֹכִין לְהַשִּׁיר שֶׁיִּתְעַר לֶעָתִיד וְכוּ' [וְעַיֵּן בִּפְנִים סִימָן ח לִקּוּטֵי תִּנְיָנָא] (ח"ב ח One must hasten to pray every morning early, and as soon as the day begins to dawn, he should pray immediately without delay, and not study further, and certainly not do any of his affairs until he prays. Also, he should not err in the mistake of those who are stringent about cleanliness, wasting time on this, neglecting most of their days from Torah and prayer because of this, and also destroying their bodies with their own hands, coming to many illnesses through this, as is well known. For all this is vanity and folly, and it is only the work of the Adversary who cloaks himself in these stringencies. For in truth, as long as one does not actually need to relieve himself, it is permissible to pray. Do not pay any attention to the opinions of those who are stringent in this matter, for they have greatly erred in this. Even if a stringent ruling is found in some authority, the halacha does not follow him against the majority of authorities who are very lenient in this matter. Even the stringent authority did not intend at all, Heaven forbid, for the foolish stringencies of those who waste time on this, and most of their days pass the time for reciting the Shema and prayer. Even afterward, their prayer and service are greatly confused because of this. You have whom to rely on: the majority of authorities and the majority of tzaddikim in our days, who strongly warned not to pay attention to this at all (there, 30-31).

But because his heart is divided and not strong in this knowledge with a whole heart, he is not so meticulous and does not focus his heart well in his prayer. All this stems from the doubts and heresies in the heart, which are the aspect of the disputes of the evil inclination in the heart. Therefore, the rectification for this is studying the poskim, through which the disputes of the evil inclination are nullified at their root, and through this, one merits to pray properly with his whole heart in truth (62, 2).

Through a neighbor who is added to a gathering of Israel, such as when there is a gathering of Israel engaged in prayer, when one additional soul is added to them, then the house of prayer is greatly, exceedingly increased and magnified. For the holy combinations are greatly, exceedingly multiplied, and many houses are built in the supernal holiness, beyond what the mouth can speak or the heart can conceive. From this, great and wondrous delights are created above and beyond, and through this, sins are forgiven and pardoned, and healing is drawn down (there, 6). Sometimes a person has no fervor in prayer, and he must create for himself fervor, warmth, and a burning heart for prayer. For example, just as it is sometimes found that a person works himself into anger until he becomes angry and agitated, as they say in Yiddish [“er schnitzt zich a rogez”], so too, exactly in holiness regarding prayer, one must work himself into a fervor and create warmth and a burning heart in the words of prayer [“azoy vi ayner schnitzt zich a rogez”]. Through this, he will truly merit the warmth of the heart in holiness, to pray with a heart in great fervor. Similarly, regarding joy, when one cannot gladden his soul through all the advice explained in our words, he must make himself as if he is joyful, and through this, he will truly come to joy, especially during prayer when one must strive more to pray with joy, requiring this advice even more. Also, one must accustom himself to speak the words of prayer with a melody of joy (there, 74).

It has already been explained in entry 34 that all the confusions of thoughts come upon a person specifically during prayer, and the main thing is to flee from them by sitting and doing nothing, and not looking back at them at all [as explained in Machashavot, entry 8], and through this, they will automatically depart. If, nevertheless, the thought comes upon him again, he should strengthen himself then as well not to look at it at all. And even if it comes time after time, if he is strong not to look at it at all in any way, but only to bind his thought to the words of the prayer he is engaged in, then it will certainly depart [see Machashavot v’Hirhurim, entry 8] (51). The essence of the perfection of prayer is for one who merits to reach the ultimate purpose, to make one of the entire prayer. For when a person stands to pray and speaks the words of prayer, he gathers blossoms, flowers, and beautiful roses, like a person walking in a field and gathering roses and beautiful flowers one by one, until he makes one bundle. Then he gathers more, one by one, and makes another bundle and joins them together, and so he goes, gathering and collecting many beautiful and lovely bundles. Similarly, in prayer, he goes from letter to letter until several letters are joined, forming a word and a syllable.

During prayer, a person must cleave himself to Hashem and not feel any other person in the world. He should think that there is nothing in the world except Hashem, blessed be He, alone, and there is no created being in the world except him alone, and he should hear only what he is saying before Hashem, blessed be He, alone. See above in entry 55, where it is explained further regarding nullification during prayer, that one must completely nullify himself during prayer until he does not even hear himself at all, but at the very least, he should not hear another person at all (103). Even if one cannot pray at all, he should force himself at the very least to speak the words of prayer in complete simplicity, like a child in school literally. He should say many words in complete simplicity, incline his ear and heart to what he is saying, and greatly focus his thought so that it does not scatter outward, but all his thought is within the words of the prayer. He should pray thus in order with complete simplicity, until, in most cases, he will come to arousal, to pray with fervor and desire, but he should not make this a test (there).

The essence of connection and cleaving to Hashem, blessed be He, is through prayer. For prayer is the gate through which one enters to Hashem, blessed be He, and from there one comes to know Him, etc. (84). Then he goes and joins more letters, forming a second syllable, and so on. Afterward, the two syllables are joined, and then he goes and gathers more until he completes one blessing. Then he gathers more and more, going from “Avot” to “Gevurot” and from “Gevurot” to “Kedushot,” and so he continues further. Who can describe the greatness of the splendor of the gatherings and collections that a person gathers and collects in the words of prayer? When the word comes out from the soul and is heard by his ears, the word requests from the soul not to part from it.

In most cases, when a person prays, thoughts of pride come to him, and this is the aspect of the exile of the Shechinah. Through praying with strength, he overcomes the biases and thoughts of pride and nullifies them, and through this, he brings the Shechinah out of its exile and rectifies it, causing a unification of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechinah. Also, through prayer with strength, the oath to the Patriarchs is renewed, and it is as if He swore to our Patriarchs now (there). It is fitting to feel the distress of an individual, and all the more so the distress of the many, Heaven forbid, in the heart, and to cry out to Hashem, blessed be He, and pray for them (see inside) (there, 39).

Prayer is beneficial for everything; even one who cannot study can merit through prayer to be able to study, for through prayer, one can attain all good—for Torah, service, all holinesses, and all the good in all the worlds. Amen, may it be His will (111). As soon as the first letter of the syllable emerges, the letter holds onto him and does not let him go further, all the more so when he completes a whole syllable, for then the syllable grasps the soul, embraces, and envelops it, so that it does not go and part from it. For how can you go from me? Do you not see the preciousness of my beauty, my radiance, and my glory, for I am the syllable “Baruch”? Listen to what you are saying, and let your ears hear what comes out of your mouth.

One must force himself greatly to pray with intention, and not like those who say not to force oneself to pray. For in truth, it is very difficult to pray, and in most cases, one can only pray a little, meaning some part of the prayer. Even if sometimes one cannot pray at all, nevertheless, the effort and toil of forcing oneself to pray, even though he did not succeed in praying properly, is exceedingly precious to Him, blessed be He, and it becomes offerings. For this is what is meant by, “For Your sake we are killed all day long, we are considered…” (Psalms 44:23), meaning the effort one exerts to pray even though one cannot. So too, in all service of Hashem, even though one does not merit to serve Him, blessed be He, properly, nevertheless, the effort itself is exceedingly precious, and it becomes above in the aspect of offerings (Sichot Haran 12). Rebuke And in it is included what each person needs to speak with his fellow in the fear of Heaven.

One must hasten to pray every morning early, and as soon as the day begins to dawn, he should pray immediately without delay, and not study further, and certainly not do any of his affairs until he prays. Also, he should not err in the mistake of those who are stringent about cleanliness, wasting time on this, neglecting most of their days from Torah and prayer because of this, and also destroying their bodies with their own hands, coming to many illnesses through this, as is well known. For all this is vanity and folly, and it is only the work of the Adversary who cloaks himself in these stringencies. For in truth, as long as one does not actually need to relieve himself, it is permissible to pray. Do not pay any attention to the opinions of those who are stringent in this matter, for they have greatly erred in this. Even if a stringent ruling is found in some authority, the halacha does not follow him against the majority of authorities who are very lenient in this matter. Even the stringent authority did not intend at all, Heaven forbid, for the foolish stringencies of those who waste time on this, and most of their days pass the time for reciting the Shema and prayer. Even afterward, their prayer and service are greatly confused because of this. You have whom to rely on: the majority of authorities and the majority of tzaddikim in our days, who strongly warned not to pay attention to this at all (there, 30-31). How can you go and part from me? It is true that you must go further to gather more precious and great treasures, but how can you part from me and forget me? At the very least, ensure that wherever you go and come, you do not forget me and do not part from me. Therefore, the essence of the perfection of prayer is when one merits to make one of the entire prayer. 2. It is impossible to accept rebuke and moral instruction from true rebukers except through faith, for faith is the aspect of hands to receive the moral instruction through them. But through the corruption of faith, G-d forbid, one comes to denial and false beliefs and various forms of mockery, and he does not listen at all to the moral instruction of true rebukers. Therefore, one must guard faith greatly so that it is not corrupted, G-d forbid, for the main thing is faith, and it is the totality of holiness. And then he will hear and accept true moral instruction and return to G-d, and He will have mercy on him (ibid., 2). When he stands at the last syllable of the prayer, he should still be standing at the first syllable, so that he never parts from the first letter of the prayer, even at the conclusion of the prayer, and then the prayer is complete. But to merit this is impossible except through the great, true tzaddik, who is in the aspect of the master of the supernal field, who can bring each person to the true, good ultimate purpose, which is entirely good, entirely one. Through this, one merits to make one of the entire prayer, which is the essence of the perfection of prayer, as mentioned above [see Tzaddik, entry 58] (65, 2). Through praying in truth for the sake of Hashem, blessed be He, alone, without any bias for people, one merits to draw down the aspect of the World to Come into this world. Through this, there will be a downfall for the wicked. Then, the greatness of the tzaddikim and the righteous will be revealed, as it will be in the future. 4. Through rebuke, one merits to perform charity and kindness, and through this, one merits to subdue external wisdoms and their dominion, and to elevate and revive the intellect of holiness, and through this, one merits to attain Divinity (ibid.). Through this, the holy speech is perfected. And through this, one merits to bring from potential to actuality, meaning to complete in action all the holy things he wishes to do (66, 3). One who is dependent on people for livelihood, or even if he is not dependent on them for livelihood but has a desire for honor and importance, is also included in the category of being dependent on people, for he is dependent on their honor and importance. One who is in this state can fall into great falsehood in his prayer, meaning making movements in falsehood for the sake of people, since he is dependent on them for livelihood, honor, or the like. Even someone who is somewhat righteous and not entirely hypocritical or a complete liar, when he is dependent on people in any way as mentioned above, it is very difficult for his prayer to be in complete truth. For there are people who are righteous and ashamed to pray in complete falsehood and want to pray in truth. But truth is very great, meaning that he deceives himself to make some movement or clap his hands for some bias for livelihood or honor, and he fabricates reasons in his mind that he truly needs to make that movement in his prayer, covering the falsehood with truth. But the Examiner of Hearts knows that this is not truth. For truth is only one—for the sake of Hashem, blessed be He, alone, without any other bias. Therefore, one who is dependent on people in any way as mentioned above finds it very difficult to pray in public, for in public, great biases and falsehoods covered with truth fall upon him, as mentioned above. Therefore, a person must be careful during his prayer and service that at least then he is not included in the category of being dependent on people, but rather places his hope and trust in Hashem his G-d in truth. He should not think of any person or creature at all during prayer. Then he can stand among thousands of people and pray in truth to Hashem, blessed be He, alone, since he is not dependent on any creature—not for livelihood, not for honor, nor for anything, but his hope is in Hashem his G-d (there). One must pray with his whole heart until he feels the words of the prayer in all his bones. But when he prays without heart, his soul becomes distant from its root, and then his soul is weary, his bones are dismayed, and he has no vitality in his soul or his bones. Through this, praying without heart causes, Heaven forbid, the withdrawal of wisdom from the elders and the wise (67, 8). Through true tzaddikim, the aspect of cool waters is drawn down, reviving his weary soul, and then he merits to pray with his whole heart until all his bones clearly hear all the words of the prayer. Then his prayer is in the aspect of “All my bones shall say…” (Psalms 35:10), for he prays with all his strength and the marrow in his bones, which is the essence of the perfection of prayer (there). Through self-sacrifice for the sanctification of Hashem’s Name, one merits peace, and through this, one merits to speak holy words of Torah and prayer, meaning that he merits to infuse all his mind, wisdom, and knowledge into the words, and to bind his thought well to the words, until he understands and clearly hears what he is saying, which is the essence of the holiness of speech. Hashem, blessed be He, derives great delight from such speech, and all this is merited through peace, which is merited through self-sacrifice for the sanctification of Hashem’s Name (80). 6. Through striving and engaging to bring people closer to G-d, blessed be He, through this, one’s knowledge is perfected with great completeness, until he merits to know and attain all that a person can know and attain, that which a person cannot know more. And through this, he merits children and can cause barren women to be remembered (53). This is good advice for praying with intention. When a person sees that it is difficult to focus his mind in prayer due to the multitude of confusing and disturbing thoughts, he should remind himself that he is certainly willing to die for the sanctification of Hashem’s Name, for even the sinners of Israel give their lives for the sanctification of Hashem’s Name, as has been visibly seen many times. Through self-sacrifice for the sanctification of Hashem’s Name, he will merit to bind thought to speech and pray with intention, as mentioned above. Also, without this, the essence of the perfection of prayer is to pray with self-sacrifice (there). Every Jew can rule through his prayer to effect what he desires, but the main obstacle is due to pride, biases, and foreign thoughts. For some have pride because they are of great lineage or because they have toiled and labored in the service of the Creator, blessed be He, and then it is certainly impossible for them to have dominion over their prayer. Therefore, one must overcome and break all this, forgetting his lineage and his toil in the service of Hashem. It should seem to him as if he was created today, as if he is alone in the world and has no lineage. Similarly, he must break and nullify the other foreign thoughts in prayer, and then he can rule through his prayer. Then the will of the Creator, blessed be He, is fulfilled, and He, blessed be He, derives great delight from his prayer, and through this, he draws down all the abundances in the world (97). When judgments, Heaven forbid, prevail over a person, one who prays on his behalf should not mention his name, so that the judgments do not grow stronger, Heaven forbid (174). Every person has bad prayers, such as what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “A thief at the tunnel calls out to the Merciful One” (Berachot 63a). These confuse him when he stands to pray a proper prayer. The rectification for this is hospitality toward a Torah scholar (209). Through clapping hand to hand during prayer, through this, one can properly speak the praises and attributes with which we designate and liken Him, blessed be He, which is the aspect of gazing at the likeness of Hashem. Also, clapping hands is the aspect of “and the hands of a man were under their wings” (Ezekiel 1:8). Also, through this, the prayer is included within the Written Torah and the Oral Torah (212). Through prayer, one changes nature and subdues and nullifies the heretics and apostates (207). When saying, “And the hosts of heaven bow to You” (Nehemiah 9:6), it is fitting to pray for everything, for then all the hosts of heaven come to bow and give praise and thanksgiving to Him, blessed be He. 9. One who constantly strives to bring people closer to the service of G-d, blessed be He, must guard himself so that the shells and the evil of those people do not cling to him. And the advice for this is the aspect of judgment, meaning that he should always judge himself regarding everything he has done, whether it is proper or not. And he should rebuke and discipline himself for everything he has done that is not proper. And through this aspect of judgment, through this, the heart is inflamed, and this fire of fervor burns the shells, preventing them from clinging to him, and then he subdues them, also preventing them from clinging to those souls that he brought closer to the service of G-d, blessed be He (59, 1). Therefore, it is good to request then from Hashem, blessed be He, that He command them to draw down for him all that he needs. For example, if he needs healing, he should intend in his thought then that Hashem, blessed be He, command them to draw down the forces needed for his healing through bread and water, and similarly for all such things (231). 11. Through bringing souls closer to G-d, blessed be He, and through the aforementioned judgment, where he judges himself as mentioned above, through this, he merits the observance of the Sabbath, which is the aspect of nullifying evil, prohibition, and the shells (ibid., 3). When saying, “Praise Hashem from the heavens… praise Him, all His angels…” (Psalms 148:1-2), it is fitting for a person to be aroused to pray with vitality and great fervor, since in his prayer, the person calls to all the angels, seraphim, ofanim, and holy creatures, and to all the worlds, commanding and instructing them to praise and laud Him, blessed be He (232). 13. This one who merited to bring souls closer to G-d, blessed be He, this is better than sons and daughters. For sons and daughters are few, but these are many, and all of them receive vitality from him, as if he gave birth to them (ibid.). Just as there is arousal from one person to another, where a person is aroused to pray and say supplications and requests with intention because he hears the words of his fellow who prays with intention, so too there is arousal from within himself, where a person can be aroused through his own words. 15. Each person must speak with his fellow in the fear of Heaven, and through this, direct light and returning light are created. And even if his fellow does not accept from him, nevertheless, it is of great benefit to himself, for the one who speaks to awaken his fellow’s heart can himself be further awakened through speaking to his fellow. For if he had spoken these words to himself, it could be that he would not have been awakened by them at all, but through speaking them to his fellow, through this, he himself is awakened by them, even though his fellow was not awakened (184). See inside (270). Even if a person cannot speak at all and it seems to him that he cannot open his mouth in prayer and solitude due to the greatness of his corporeality and the heavy troubles of soul and body that pass over him, nevertheless, he must strengthen himself specifically then to force himself to call to Hashem from within the distress and constriction. 17. The greatest compassion of all forms of compassion is when one of Israel falls into sins, G-d forbid, for this is the heaviest burden, more than all the suffering in the world, which is entirely impossible for a person of Israel to bear (upon him), this heavy burden of sins, may the Merciful One save us. For according to the greatness of the holiness of Israel at their root, from the place where they are taken, they are completely distant from sin, and sin has no association to them at all, according to the greatness of their refinement and spirituality. Therefore, every single one needs to have compassion on (the people of) Israel, to extricate them from the heavy burden of sins. Therefore, each person must speak with his fellow about the fear of Heaven, striving to have compassion on him to extricate him from his sins, for every person can fulfill this, even a simple person. For when one speaks with his fellow in the fear of Heaven and illuminates his knowledge with some speech that he speaks to his heart to bring him back from his sins, then his fellow is considered to him as a disciple. And vice versa, when his fellow illuminates him, then he is considered a disciple to his fellow. And then, when his time comes to depart from the world, he will be clothed in this speech that he illuminated in his fellow, and it will be considered as if he himself is truly present in the world. And this is the main perfection of the soul after its departure, when there remains after it a son and a disciple in whom he illuminated his holy knowledge that he received from his teacher, and every person is obligated to strive in this, and this is called engaging in the settlement of the world, for this is the main settlement of the world, when the world is settled with people who are people of knowledge, who know of Him, blessed be He, and serve Him. For without this, he is not considered a person at all, but merely an animal in the likeness of a person. Therefore, every person must know and make known and be known and speak with his fellow about this constantly every day, that there is a G-d who rules the earth, and that there is no purpose in this world except to do His will, blessed be He, for nothing remains of a person after his departure except this knowledge that he illuminated in his fellows and disciples, as mentioned above (Part II, 7, 3, 4). For the essence of arousal is that a person is aroused from the distress and constriction first, and through this, he will merit afterward, in most cases, to come to great expansiveness until he can pray and express his conversation properly, even to the point of reaching the aspect of divine inspiration specifically through this, that he was aroused to Hashem, blessed be He, from within such distress and bitterness (279). In most cases, a person cannot pray with desire and proper vitality due to the multitude of falls, as he becomes despondent because of his deeds that are not good. 19. Through engaging in speaking with one’s fellow in the fear of Heaven, through this, one merits to attain the encompassing lights. That is, he merits to attain and understand what he did not attain or understand initially. And so, he merits to attain each time higher and higher encompassing lights, until he merits to attain the attainment of very lofty encompassing lights, which are the main delight and pleasure of the World to Come, fortunate is the one who merits to attain them (ibid., 6). Therefore, a person must revive himself before prayer by searching, seeking, and finding some good points within himself. For certainly, however he is, he has surely already performed many mitzvot, and even though they are mixed with biases and much dross, nevertheless, at the very least, there are some good points in them. Through this, he will revive and gladden himself, and through this, he will be able to pray properly [see Hitkashrut, entries 26 and 27] (282). The prayer leader who prays before the congregation must have this quality, that he can gather all the good points that exist in each of the worshippers, and all the good points will be included in him, and he will stand and pray with all this good. תפלין (Tefillin) Happy is the congregation that merits such a prayer leader (there). Now, prayer is in exile due to our many sins, for prayer is exceedingly lofty, yet people belittle it, and when they stand to pray, they desire to discharge the prayer from themselves. Through complete fear, which comes through the rectification of the three negative traits [as explained there in Yirah, entry 20], through this, prayer is redeemed from exile, and then prayer is complete. Then there is no need for any healing through doctors, for one is healed through everything they eat and drink, such as bread and water and the like. For through complete prayer, the power of all healings is drawn into everything one eats and drinks. When one merits such a prayer, it is in the aspect of the radiance of the Messiah, and then all the hosts of heaven, all the stars and constellations, and all the supernal princes are subdued beneath him, for they all receive from him, and he finds favor in the eyes of all. 2. Every person must examine himself at all times to see if he is attached to G-d, blessed be He. And the sign of attachment is tefillin (38, 1). Through this, he can connect himself to the roots of the souls of Israel, meaning with the true renowned leaders of the generation, under whom all souls are divided. 4. Tefillin are the aspect of the illumination of the face and the main glory of Israel. And they are the aspect of life, the aspect of truth, and from there comes the main wealth and all good influences. And when one damages the tefillin, G-d forbid, poverty, disgrace, and shame come, and his life hangs in the balance, may the Merciful One save us (47). The brazenness of the false leaders and renowned figures, whose entire dominion is through brazenness, falls and is nullified before him. Then he merits that his dominion over the angels is established, for this is why a Jew was created (Likutay Moharan II, 1, 8-9). Three things ruin prayer: First, “Do not be contemptuous of any person,” meaning not to despise anyone, and when one is not careful about this, it is a loss and blemish to prayer. Second, the corruption of faith, when faith is not complete, which is the aspect of idolatry. Third, a blemish of the covenant. When one merits to transcend these three traits, he merits complete prayer, and then there is no need for any healing through doctors, as mentioned above, and he merits all the above (there, 10). Sometimes an illness is still hidden in a person and has not been revealed, and then no doctor can heal it. תענית (Fasting) But when one merits prayer, he can be healed even when the illness has not yet been revealed, and he will not come to illness at all (there, 11). 2. For every trouble that should not come, they decree a fast. For fasting is the aspect of illumination and uplifting of the face, which is the aspect of sweetening and nullifying judgments, through which all troubles are nullified. One is also saved from poverty, disgrace, and shame, and merits wealth; he also merits that the Holy One, blessed be He, performs wonders through him (47). The essence of the perfection of prayer is through truth. This is merited through praise and thanksgiving to Hashem, blessed be He, and through studying halachot, which are the main delight of the World to Come [see Emet v’Emunah] (2). Through the prayer that Israel prays, they take for themselves the power and ability, for through prayer, they nullify His decrees, blessed be He, and then Israel is called by Hashem of G-d (there). The essence of prayer is mercy and supplications, and the essence of mercy depends on knowledge. 4. Through fasting, one subdues anger, and this is the main virtue of fasting. Therefore, on the day of the fast, the adversary provokes a person more and brings him anger to ruin the fast, G-d forbid. Therefore, one needs extra vigilance to guard himself greatly from the fire of anger on the day of the fast, for the main purpose of fasting is to subdue anger (57). When the Other Side, Heaven forbid, draws sustenance from mercy, then mercy is blemished and becomes anger and cruelty, and knowledge is diminished. Then, the desire for illicit relations, Heaven forbid, is strengthened, and prayer is in the aspect of judgment, and the Other Side draws sustenance from the prayer. Then, a person of great strength is needed who can pray a prayer in the aspect of judgment, through which he extracts all vitality from the Other Side and rectifies everything, etc. ו. עַל־יְדֵי הַתַּעֲנִיתHAND, he rectifies speech, and then he can speak before G-d, blessed be He, and pray with intention. And through the rectification of speech, one brings those who are far closer to G-d, blessed be He, and through this, he perfects faith and merits complete faith. And through this, he merits to refine the foods, and then through his eating, a unification of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechinah, face to face, is achieved (62). Through this, converts are made, and the glory of Hashem, blessed be He, is increased and magnified. Through this, one merits the expansion of prophecy, through which the imagination is clarified, and one merits complete faith. Through this, one merits the song that will be awakened in the future, etc. [see inside, Likutay Moharan II, 8] (Likutay Moharan II, 8). 8. Fasting revives the dead, that is, it revives the days that passed in darkness and have no vitality. For one who damages a day by not performing mitzvot and good deeds, all the more so if, G-d forbid, he does evil on it, G-d forbid, then that day has no vitality, and he kills that day [see inside]. And fasting revives those dead days. And it all depends on the fast; the more one fasts, the more he revives the dead days that passed in darkness (ibid.). Through a neighbor who is added to a gathering of Israel, such as when there is a gathering of Israel engaged in prayer, when one additional soul is added to them, then the house of prayer is greatly, exceedingly increased and magnified. For the holy combinations are greatly, exceedingly multiplied, and many houses are built in the supernal holiness, beyond what the mouth can speak or the heart can conceive. From this, great and wondrous delights are created above and beyond, and through this, sins are forgiven and pardoned, and healing is drawn down (there, 6). It has already been explained in entry 34 that all the confusions of thoughts come upon a person specifically during prayer, and the main thing is to flee from them by sitting and doing nothing, and not looking back at them at all [as explained in Machashavot, entry 8], and through this, they will automatically depart. 10. The reason one fasts for a bad dream is to draw joy through the fast, as mentioned above, that this is the main rectification of the dream. Therefore, for one who does not wish to fast for the dream, the benevolent ones say to him, “Go, eat your bread with joy.” For the main rectification is through joy (Part II, 5, 10). If, nevertheless, the thought comes upon him again, he should strengthen himself then as well not to look at it at all. And even if it comes time after time, if he is strong not to look at it at all in any way, but only to bind his thought to the words of the prayer he is engaged in, then it will certainly depart [see Machashavot v’Hirhurim, entry 8] (51). During prayer, a person must cleave himself to Hashem and not feel any other person in the world. He should think that there is nothing in the world except Hashem, blessed be He, alone, and there is no created being in the world except him alone, and he should hear only what he is saying before Hashem, blessed be He, alone. תשובה (Repentance) See above in entry 55, where it is explained further regarding nullification during prayer, that one must completely nullify himself during prayer until he does not even hear himself at all, but at the very least, he should not hear another person at all (103). The essence of connection and cleaving to Hashem, blessed be He, is through prayer. 2. Through an Israelite being aroused to repentance because he felt a small impurity that confuses him in his prayer and service, through his repentance, he causes even the completely wicked who have left the fold of Israel due to the multitude of their evil deeds to become a throne for holiness and return in repentance, and they assist the servants of G-d to build structures of holiness (ibid., at the end). For prayer is the gate through which one enters to Hashem, blessed be He, and from there one comes to know Him, etc. (84). In most cases, when a person prays, thoughts of pride come to him, and this is the aspect of the exile of the Shechinah. Through praying with strength, he overcomes the biases and thoughts of pride and nullifies them, and through this, he brings the Shechinah out of its exile and rectifies it, causing a unification of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechinah. Also, through prayer with strength, the oath to the Patriarchs is renewed, and it is as if He swore to our Patriarchs now (there). Prayer is beneficial for everything; even one who cannot study can merit through prayer to be able to study, for through prayer, one can attain all good—for Torah, service, all holinesses, and all the good in all the worlds. Amen, may it be His will (111). One must force himself greatly to pray with intention, and not like those who say not to force oneself to pray. For in truth, it is very difficult to pray, and in most cases, one can only pray a little, meaning some part of the prayer. Even if sometimes one cannot pray at all, nevertheless, the effort and toil of forcing oneself to pray, even though he did not succeed in praying properly, is exceedingly precious to Him, blessed be He, and it becomes offerings. For this is what is meant by, “For Your sake we are killed all day long, we are considered…” (Psalms 44:23), meaning the effort one exerts to pray even though one cannot. 4. Before repentance, he still has no existence, as if he has not yet come into being in the world, for it would have been better for him not to have been created than to have been created. And when he comes to purify himself and do repentance, then he prepares himself to have existence in the world. Therefore, repentance is the aspect of “I will be,” that is, “I am ready to become,” as mentioned above (ibid.). So too, in all service of Hashem, even though one does not merit to serve Him, blessed be He, properly, nevertheless, the effort itself is exceedingly precious, and it becomes above in the aspect of offerings (Sichot Haran 12). One must hasten to pray every morning early, and as soon as the day begins to dawn, he should pray immediately without delay, and not study further, and certainly not do any of his affairs until he prays. Also, he should not err in the mistake of those who are stringent about cleanliness, wasting time on this, neglecting most of their days from Torah and prayer because of this, and also destroying their bodies with their own hands, coming to many illnesses through this, as is well known. 7. Even if a person knows within himself that he has done complete repentance, nevertheless, he must do repentance for the initial repentance. For initially, when he did it, he did it according to his understanding. And afterward, certainly when he does repentance, he surely recognizes and attains more of G-d, blessed be He. It follows that according to the understanding he attains now, certainly his initial understanding is in the aspect of materiality. It follows that he must do repentance for his initial understanding, for having materialized the exaltedness of His Divinity, blessed be He. Fortunate is the one who merits such repentance (ibid.). For all this is vanity and folly, and it is only the work of the Adversary who cloaks himself in these stringencies. For in truth, as long as one does not actually need to relieve himself, it is permissible to pray. 9. The main aspect of repentance is through humility, that a person must consider himself as nothing, like a wilderness to be trodden upon, and not pay any attention to the disputes and insults that degrade him, but hold fast to the attribute of silence and be among those who hear their disgrace and do not respond, as mentioned above. And then he is called truly wise and merits repentance, which is the aspect of the crown, through which one merits true and eternal honor, which is divine honor, as mentioned above (6). Do not pay any attention to the opinions of those who are stringent in this matter, for they have greatly erred in this. Even if a stringent ruling is found in some authority, the halacha does not follow him against the majority of authorities who are very lenient in this matter. 11. The reason there are some scholars who study much Torah and do not return in repentance, and on the contrary, they dispute with the tzaddikim, is because they study not for its own sake, but for the sake of honor and leadership, to be arrogant and provoke. And then, through the Torah, more cunning enters them. For in the Torah, there are two aspects (Hosea 14:10): “The righteous walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.” And then, from the Oral Torah, a mouth is made for him to speak arrogantly against the tzaddik with pride and contempt. And there are great, distinguished tzaddikim who know from which Torah laws these harmful combinations that speak against the tzaddikim are made, and they elevate these combinations and transform them into laws, etc., [as explained inside, see there, section 12] (12, 1). Even the stringent authority did not intend at all, Heaven forbid, for the foolish stringencies of those who waste time on this, and most of their days pass the time for reciting the Shema and prayer. Even afterward, their prayer and service are greatly confused because of this. You have whom to rely on: the majority of authorities and the majority of tzaddikim in our days, who strongly warned not to pay attention to this at all (there, 30-31). Also, when many biases and foreign thoughts come upon a person during prayer, he should not look at them at all, but do his own task and bind his thought to the speech with a strong and firm connection, not looking back at all and not paying attention to them at all [as written above in entry 86] (there, 72). Sometimes a person has no fervor in prayer, and he must create for himself fervor, warmth, and a burning heart for prayer. 13. Through ultimate humility and lowliness, one merits Torah, to the point that he can illuminate through his Torah study the roots of the souls of Israel that are rooted in the Torah. And through this, he can illuminate and arouse to repentance even those far from him by many parsaot, and even transgressors of Israel, as long as Hashem Israel is called upon him, even though he sinned, he is Israel. They can illuminate for him to the place where he is with an illumination from the root of his soul through the Torah, and through this, he returns in repentance (ibid., 3, 5). For example, just as it is sometimes found that a person works himself into anger until he becomes angry and agitated, as they say in Yiddish [“er schnitzt zich a rogez”], so too, exactly in holiness regarding prayer, one must work himself into a fervor and create warmth and a burning heart in the words of prayer [“azoy vi ayner schnitzt zich a rogez”]. Through this, he will truly merit the warmth of the heart in holiness, to pray with a heart in great fervor. 15. To speak with one’s fellow with moral instruction and fear of Heaven and to arouse him to repentance is a rectification for nocturnal emission (ibid., at the end). Similarly, regarding joy, when one cannot gladden his soul through all the advice explained in our words, he must make himself as if he is joyful, and through this, he will truly come to joy, especially during prayer when one must strive more to pray with joy, requiring this advice even more. Also, one must accustom himself to speak the words of prayer with a melody of joy (there, 74). The essence of prayer is to say “Blessed are You, Hashem…” etc., literally, and this is the main intention of prayer, to intend the simple meaning of the words and hear what he is saying. 17. Know that repentance is to return the thing to the place from which it was taken, that is, to return and restore the thing to its root, and the root of all things is wisdom. Therefore, each person must guard his wisdom and intellect from external follies and foreign thoughts, and all the more so from evil thoughts. For all damages, sins, and iniquities come from the damage of thought, when one is not careful to guard it properly so that it does not go beyond the boundary of holiness. And when one is careful and guards the thought well, which is the wisdom in the mind, this is the main rectification and repentance [see Knowledge, sections 25-27] (35). One should not pray with the intentions of the Ari, of blessed memory, even those who study the writings of the Ari, of blessed memory, except for one who merits to attain the intentions so much that all the intentions of the Ari, of blessed memory, are to him like the simple meaning of the words, for so it is with the great, true tzaddikim. But one who does not merit this should not pray with intentions but should intend the simple meaning of the words, as mentioned above (Likutay Moharan II, 120; Sichot Haran 75). Even if one cannot pray at all, he should force himself at the very least to speak the words of prayer in complete simplicity, like a child in school literally. 19. Tishrei and Nissan are the primary days of repentance. For in Nissan, we are destined to be redeemed, and redemption comes only through repentance (ibid., 6). He should say many words in complete simplicity, incline his ear and heart to what he is saying, and greatly focus his thought so that it does not scatter outward, but all his thought is within the words of the prayer. 21. All mitzvot and transgressions—their main aspect is through bringing them from potential to actuality. For the main perfection of a mitzvah is only when it is brought from potential to actuality, that is, when one merits to perform it in action. And when one brings a mitzvah from potential to actuality, it is the aspect of the creation of the world itself, and behold, he sustains the entire world. And conversely, with a transgression, G-d forbid, initially the transgression is in potential when he thinks to do it, G-d forbid, and afterward, when he brings it from potential to actuality and does it, G-d forbid, then he is a complete wicked person and considered as dead, and behold, he destroys himself and destroys an entire world, G-d forbid. For the entire world was created only through this aspect, that it goes from potential to actuality through Him, blessed be He. And therefore, with every transgression, G-d forbid, one damages the generality of the worlds and the generality of the holy names, may the Merciful One save us, may the Merciful One deliver us. And there is no rectification except through repentance, for through repentance, by regretting the transgression and abandoning it, through this, all the above is rectified, and he returns and brings the rectification of all the worlds from potential to actuality (66, 2). He should pray thus in order with complete simplicity, until, in most cases, he will come to arousal, to pray with fervor and desire, but he should not make this a test (there). The general rule is that a person must force himself with all his strength and all kinds of advice for all holy matters, especially for prayer, which is exceedingly, exceedingly lofty. If, nevertheless, he does not merit, he is forbidden to become despondent at all. He should strive to say afterward some chapter of Psalms or another request or supplication with intention. 23. Every person must ensure that from his side, there is no delay in the coming of the Messiah, that is, he must see to rectify his deeds and do complete repentance, so that he does not delay the coming of the Messiah with his sins (79). If he does not merit even this—what can be done? He should still hope for salvation, perhaps he will merit in the multitude of days to pray with intention. Through this, “Your way will go securely” (Proverbs 3:23), and you will merit all good (there). It is fitting to feel the distress of an individual, and all the more so the distress of the many, Heaven forbid, in the heart, and to cry out to Hashem, blessed be He, and pray for them (see inside) (there, 39). Through good tidings, one can say Psalms (there, 97). 26. The difference between death and life is only for the person who is drawn after the desires of eating and drinking, and for him, death is evident. But the tzaddik who conquers his inclination, even in what is permitted to him, holds his desire in his hand, he is always alive, even after death, and there is no difference for him between death and life (144). 27. A person must have compassion on his soul, to hasten to return to G-d, blessed be He, in his youth before he grows old, for then he still hears the voice of the Torah’s proclamation, which proclaims every day and calls to the person to return to G-d, blessed be He, which are the thoughts of repentance that come upon a person each time. But after he grows old, it is much harder to bring him back [see inside, section 206] (205). 29. One must know that an Israelite is completely distant from sin, and sin is not at all relevant to him due to his refinement and spirituality. Therefore, a sin, G-d forbid, is an extremely heavy burden for an Israelite, impossible to bear upon himself even for a single day, for the burden of sin is harder and heavier than all the burdens of all kinds of afflictions in the world. Therefore, each person must have compassion on himself, strive to return from his sins, and greatly seek from G-d, blessed be He, to merit finding a leader who is a true compassionate one, who will illuminate his knowledge and extricate him from his sins. For this is the main compassion, greater than all kinds of compassion [see Tzaddik, section 36, and Rebuke, section 17] (7, 3). 30. The main aspect of complete repentance is when a person passes through the very places he was in before repentance, each according to what he experienced in previous days. And when he passes through those places and matters that he was actually involved in initially, and now turns his back on them and subdues his inclination not to do again what he did, this is the main aspect of complete repentance, and only this is called repentance (49). 31. The main aspect of repentance is through shame, for one must be greatly ashamed before Him, blessed be He [see Shame, section 4]. And this is merited through seeing oneself with the true tzaddik [see Tzaddik, section 108] (72). 32. One who wishes to merit repentance should regularly recite Psalms, for Psalms are conducive to repentance. For there are many obstacles to doing repentance. For some have no arousal at all for repentance. And even one who is aroused to do repentance faces many obstacles, for some have the gate of repentance closed before them, and some do not know how to reach the gate that pertains to them, through which specifically they must return to G-d, blessed be He, and similar obstacles that prevent a person from repentance, to the point that he could, G-d forbid, spend his days and die without repentance, G-d forbid. And for all this, reciting Psalms is conducive, for even if one has no arousal for repentance, through Psalms he will merit to be aroused to repentance. For every person, according to who he is, can find himself within the recitation of Psalms, and through this, he will merit to be aroused and do repentance and come to the gate of repentance that pertains to his soul, and open the gate until he merits complete repentance. And through this, G-d, blessed be He, will return to him and have mercy on him, fortunate is he. Therefore, in the days of Elul and the Ten Days of Repentance, all Israel engages in reciting Psalms. For reciting Psalms is conducive to repentance. But one must engage throughout the entire year in reciting Psalms with intention to merit repentance, as mentioned above (73). 33. Repentance is effective for all transgressions in the world, even for the most severe sin in the Torah, which is one who intentionally wastes seed, G-d forbid, or all kinds of severe damages to the covenant, G-d forbid. Repentance is effective for everything. And the intention of the holy Zohar is not to be taken literally. For in truth, there is nothing that stands before repentance, as our sages, of blessed memory, said. And it has already been explained that the main aspect of complete repentance is impossible to merit except through true tzaddikim, and through them everything is rectified (Sichot Haran 271). תמימות (Simplicity/Integrity) 1. The main acceptance of the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven is through casting away and nullifying all wisdoms, only to walk in simplicity and straightforwardness. For only the holy Torah is the true wisdom, and all other wisdoms are null before it (Sichot Haran 5, 308). 2. Each person must cast away all wisdoms and serve G-d, blessed be He, with simplicity and integrity. For his deeds must be greater than his wisdom, as it is not the exposition that is primary but the action. This applies not only to the wisdoms of ordinary people, which are truly foolishness and stupidity, which certainly must be completely cast away. But even genuine wisdoms, even for one who truly has a great mind, when he comes to any service, he must cast away all wisdoms and engage in the service of G-d, blessed be He, with simplicity and integrity. And he must even act and do things that appear as madness for the sake of serving G-d. For sometimes one must do things that seem like madness in order to fulfill His will, blessed be He. For one must roll in all kinds of muck and mire for the sake of serving G-d and His mitzvot, blessed be He, and not only for an actual mitzvah, but anything that contains the will of G-d, blessed be He, is called a mitzvah. And one must roll himself in all kinds of muck and mire to fulfill any will or satisfaction for G-d, blessed be He. And when his love for G-d, blessed be He, is so strong, then he is in the aspect of a dear and beloved son to G-d, blessed be He. And G-d, blessed be He, has compassion on him and allows him to search in the hidden and treasured storehouses of the King, until he merits that the understanding is revealed to him that it is good for the righteous and bad for the wicked, etc., and he merits the secrets of the Torah and to elevate the judgment that fell to the abyss and rectify it (Part II, 5, 15). 3. When a person follows his intellect and wisdom, he can fall into many errors and stumbling blocks and come to great evils, G-d forbid, as many have already stumbled and fallen greatly due to their wisdom, and they sinned and caused the masses to sin, may the Merciful One save us. And all this was due to their harmful wisdom. For the main aspect of Judaism is to walk in simplicity and straightforwardness without any wisdoms, and to ensure in everything he does that G-d, blessed be He, is there. And not to pay any attention to his own honor, but only if there is honor for G-d, blessed be He, he should do it, and if not, he should not. And then he will surely never stumble (12). 4. It has already been explained that the main aspect of service is simplicity and straightforwardness without wisdoms. Also, one does not need to overly investigate his service or pursue excessive stringencies. For all this is confusion and imaginations from the adversary to deter him from his service, and the Holy One, blessed be He, does not come with complaints against His creatures, etc., and as our sages, of blessed memory, said, “The Torah was not given to the ministering angels.” And all these wisdoms, that is, what one thinks excessively about his service [called “über trachtin”], they cause a person to fall from his service of G-d, blessed be He. And the greatest wisdom of all wisdoms is not to be wise at all, but to be simple and upright with complete straightforwardness (ibid., 44). 5. Wisdoms greatly harm a person, and the wise are trapped by their own wisdom. And one must distance himself greatly from all kinds of wisdoms that some people have, who are wise in their own eyes, and it seems to them that they know great wisdoms in the service of G-d. For all these wisdoms are great follies, as these wisdoms are not needed at all for the service of the Creator, blessed be He. For the main thing is only simplicity, straightforwardness, and complete faith in G-d, blessed be He, and in true tzaddikim. Although even in simplicity one must be careful not to be a fool, nevertheless, wisdoms are not needed at all. And one can come to great joy through simplicity and faith with complete straightforwardness (ibid.). 6. This is the main wisdom: to understand that wisdom is far from him (Part II, 83). 7. One must be careful to fulfill the simple services and holy customs of Israel, such as reciting hymns on Shabbat and after Shabbat, and the like. And it is very good for one who can recite many supplications and requests, such as the supplications found in large prayer books and the like. And not like those who are wise in their own eyes who mock this. For in truth, the main aspect of Judaism is straightforwardness and simplicity without any wisdoms at all (Sichot Haran 425). Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened Blessed is He who gives strength to the weary and increases might to those without power Completed and finished, praise to G-d, Creator of the world.