השכמת הבוקר ב

Based on the Torah-teaching "Vayaseiv Elokim" (Likutay Moharan I, 62), see there. 1

And this is the aspect of: "One should muster the strength of a lion to rise in the morning, that he should be the one who awakens the dawn [shachar]." For the emunah is the aspect of Malchus, which is called shachar, the aspect of ayeles hashachar, as is known. For the essential completeness of emunah is in the morning, in the aspect of: "They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness [emunah]" — which is the aspect of "she emerges in the morning [nafkas b'tzafra]," as explained above in the Torah-teaching mentioned above. And for this reason, the emunah is called shachar, as above. And therefore, each person must muster the strength of a lion and exert himself greatly to rise in the morning, early, before daybreak — in order to engage in Torah and prayer — to elevate and complete and magnify the holy emunah. And this is the aspect of "that he should be the one who awakens the dawn [shachar]" — the aspect of "I shall awaken the dawn" (Psalms 57:9) — that is, that through his service before daybreak, he should merit to awaken the shachar, which is the aspect of the emunah, which needs to be magnified and completed before daybreak. For then is the essential time of her ascent and her completion, in the aspect of "They are new every morning," etc. — the aspect of "she emerges in the morning." 5

And this is the aspect of kimas chatzos. For even though sleep is a great rectification for the mochin — for they are renewed through the emunah during the time of sleep, as above — nevertheless, one must be careful to rise at midnight. For the night, which is the darkness — the absence of da'as — comprises two parts: the first half of the night and the second half of the night, as is brought. And they correspond to the two types of kushyos mentioned above. For in the first half of the night, the darkness and the judgment are greatest — for then the darkness is drawn from the aspect of the kushyos that have no answer. And these kushyos are the aspect of the overwhelming darkness, for it is impossible to resolve them. And therefore, then one needs sleep, which is the departure of the da'as. For then one must remove his da'as entirely and rely only on emunah — which is the aspect of sleep, as above. But at midnight, the judgment is sweetened, and then these kushyos depart from the da'as. And then one must rise and engage in Torah and avodah. And through this, one draws down the da'as and opens the pathways of the intellect, in order to merit complete da'as — to resolve and understand the answers to those kushyos that can be resolved, as above. And this is: "At midnight I rise to give thanks to You for Your righteous judgments" (Psalms 119:62) — "for Your righteous judgments" specifically. For rising at chatzos to engage in Torah in order to draw down the da'as, etc. — as above — this is the aspect of the study of the poskim mentioned above. For through this, one draws down the da'as to resolve those kushyos that can be resolved — and this one merits through engaging in Torah at chatzos, as above. And as is brought in the Holy Zohar and in the words of our Rebbe, of blessed memory (Likutay Moharan I, 149): that through rising at chatzos and through engaging in Torah then, the da'as is drawn down. That is, as above: at chatzos, in the second half of the night, the judgment is sweetened, and the darkness then is drawn only from the aspect of the kushyos that can be resolved — only that the pathways of the da'as have been blocked, which is the aspect of the darkness of night. And therefore, one must then engage in Torah in order to open the pathways of the da'as, in order to merit complete da'as by the light of day, in order to elevate and magnify the emunah to its completeness at the break of dawn — when she is completed, in the aspect of "she emerges in the morning." And this is the aspect of "that he should be the one who awakens the dawn," as above. 8