Laws of Rising in the Morning — Halacha 3

Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 1:1 "One should muster the strength of a lion to rise in the morning, that he should be the one who awakens the dawn. 'I have set Hashem before me always,'" etc.

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

It is explained there that there is a distinction between types of difficulties [kushyos]. For there is a kushya for which a person can understand a resolution. Regarding this it is stated (Avos 2:14): "Know what to answer," etc. For in truth, whatever Hashem yisbarach has bounded within the human intellect — that is, what one is capable of understanding — it is a great mitzvah to sharpen the mind to understand the matter thoroughly. And regarding this it is stated: "Know what to answer the apikorus." However, there is a kushya for which it is not within the capacity of human intellect to understand a resolution — only in the future will the resolution be revealed. It is forbidden for a person to delve into these, and whoever relies upon his intellect and delves into them — regarding this it is stated: "All who come to her will not return" (Proverbs 2:19). For upon such a kushya, it is forbidden to rely on one's intellect; rather, one must stand firmly upon emunah. And even regarding those kushyos that do have answers, sometimes the pathways of the intellect are blocked, and one does not know how to respond, and heretical thoughts are cast into him, etc. And this heresy is for each person according to his level — each one can understand, to a greater or lesser degree. For one must serve Hashem with both inclinations, etc.

And in truth, if a person had complete yediah [knowledge] — with a whole heart — that the entire world is filled with His glory, and that the Holy One, blessed be He, stands over him during prayer and hears his prayer — he would surely pray with great fervor and would be very exacting in directing his words. But because a person does not know this with a complete heart, therefore he is not so fervent and is not so exacting, etc. And all this results from the concealment of yediah, from the aspect of machlokes [strife], the aspect of "their heart is divided" (Hosea 10:2) — the aspect of the kushyos that arise because the pathways of the intellect have been blocked, until one does not know how to answer the heresy within his heart. And the rectification for this machlokes within the heart is to study the poskim [halachic decisors]. For through this, one merits peace, etc. And through this, one will merit to nullify the kushyos within his heart, and merit to pray with a whole heart, in the aspect of: "with all your heart" — "with both your inclinations" (Berachos 54a). And this is: "I shall thank You with uprightness of heart, when I learn Your righteous judgments" (Psalms 119:7) — etc. See there. However, the kushyos for which there is no resolution — it is forbidden to delve into them; rather, one must strengthen oneself in emunah.

And when one has emunah in its completeness, then through his eating, a unification of Kudsha Brich Hu [The Holy One, blessed be He] and the Shechinah can be effected, etc. For the birur [sifting] of the foods is through emunah, etc. And the essential perfection and adornment of emunah is specifically to draw close those who are far away, etc. And for this, one must elevate the sparks of dibur, and then the dibur itself turns around and gathers the remaining sparks of holiness from the kleepoas, etc. And to elevate the sparks of dibur, one needs a ta'anis [fast], etc. For through the desire for eating and drinking — which are the chief desires — when they overpower, G-d forbid, they draw the dibur into the exile of Egypt, etc. And then one must cleave to the back of the holiness, so that [the kleepoas] will not nurse from it. And the cleaving to the back of the holiness is through the ta'anis, etc. Also, the essential thing in all matters is the beginning, for all beginnings are difficult, etc. And then, when one cleaves to the back of the holiness, where it is impossible for the kleepoas to enter and nurse — then the face of the holiness is revealed, etc. — in order to extract from their mouths what they have swallowed, etc. And then, all those who are far away turn to the faith of Israel, in the aspect of: "Then I will turn to the peoples a pure language" (Zephaniah 3:9) — "I will turn" specifically, for the pure language — the aspect of the dibur that is sifted from among them — turns its face toward the nations in order to gather from them the remaining sparks of holiness. And then it is fulfilled: "to call, all of them, upon the Name of Hashem," etc. And this is the aspect of the adornment of emunah, as above. And this is (Zohar, Saba D'Mishpatim): "The beautiful maiden who has no eyes… she emerges in the morning and is concealed in the daytime." For the emunah is renewed for a person each morning, in the aspect of: "They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness [emunah]" (Lamentations 3:23). And "she is concealed in the daytime" — due to the distraction of worldly affairs, the emunah becomes concealed, etc. And then the emunah advocates on behalf of the distant ones before Hashem yisbarach, that He should draw them close, etc. And this is: "And Yehudah approached him" (Genesis 44:18) — "this is the approach of a king to a King" (Zohar, Vayigash) — etc. "For you are like Pharaoh" — just as Pharaoh decrees and does not fulfill, etc. — so too you decree and do not fulfill. For the tzadik annuls, etc. — see there all this well.

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."

And the essential completeness of the service is to muster great strength to rise every night at chatzos haleyelah, as explained in the Holy Zohar in many, many places — the great urgency that everyone in whose heart the fear of Hashem stirs is obligated to rise at chatzos specifically. For the essential completeness of the holy emunah is through nullifying, breaking, and purging from one's mind the two types of kushyos and kifeeroas mentioned above. That is: the kushyos for which it is impossible to find any answer or resolution — regarding which it is stated: "All who come to her will not return" (Proverbs 2:19) — and one must rely only on emunah alone, as above. And further, there are kushyos that can be resolved, etc. — and even these kushyos, sometimes the pathways of the intellect are blocked and it is impossible to resolve them. And these kushyos are for each and every person according to his level, according to the intellect of each one. And the rectification — to merit to open the da'as and to reveal the pathways of the intellect — is through the study of the poskim, etc., as above. And then one merits peace and the machlokes is nullified — which are the aspect of kifeeroas and heresy — and one merits the da'as to answer the heresy within his heart, etc., as above.

And for this reason, one must muster strength to rise at chatzos. For day and night, which are the aspects of light and darkness, are the aspects of da'as and kiseeloos [foolishness] — which is the concealment of knowledge — as explained in the words of our Rebbe, of blessed memory, in the Torah-teaching "Dirshu," etc. (Likutay Moharan I, 37). That da'as is the aspect of light, and kiseeloos — the concealment of knowledge — is the aspect of darkness. For the darkness is drawn from the darkness of the da'as — the concealment of knowledge — from which these kushyos mentioned above are drawn. For it is brought in the Zohar: "When the night spreads its wings, then the gates of Gan Eden close, and the avenging officers go out into the world, and the world is conducted by the hand of the Matronisa." That is, at night, the darkness overpowers — which is the absence of da'as — which is the closing of the gates of Gan Eden, which are the aspects of the pathways of the intellect. And then "the avenging officers go out into the world" — which are the aspects of the judgments and kleepoas, whose essential hold is in the kifeeroas and kushyos drawn through the departure of the da'as at night — which is the aspect of the closing of the gates of Gan Eden, as is known, and as above. "And then the world is conducted by the hand of the Matronisa" — which is the aspect of the holy Queen, which is the aspect of the holy emunah. For at night, at the time of darkness — the departure of da'as — then one must strengthen oneself only with emunah alone, which is the aspect of Malchus, the aspect of the Matronisa mentioned above. And this is the aspect of "and Your faithfulness [emunah] at night" (Psalms 92:3), as brought in the words of our Rebbe, of blessed memory, in another place, see there (Likutay Moharan I, 35). And this is the aspect of the sleep of the night. For at night, the darkness is drawn into the world. And the essential darkness is drawn from the supernal darkness, which is the aspect of the depth of the unfathomable, the aspect of: "He made darkness His hiding place" (Psalms 18:12) — which are the aspect of the kushyos that cannot be resolved, and for which it is impossible to find any answer in this world, under any circumstance. For these kushyos are the aspect of darkness that conceals the revelation of His G-dliness, yisbarach. And this darkness cannot be dispelled through any da'as — only through emunah alone, as above. For it is impossible to find a resolution to these kushyos, and one must rely only on emunah alone, as above. And this is the aspect of the sleep of the night — for sleep is the aspect of the departure of da'as. And then, during sleep, the da'as enters into emunah and is renewed there, the aspect of: "They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness [emunah]" — as explained in the words of our Rebbe, of blessed memory, in the Torah-teaching "Ashray HaAm," etc. (Likutay Moharan I, 35) — see there. That is, during the darkness of the night — when these kleepoas and kifeeroas and kushyos that cannot be resolved begin to rule over the world, which are the aspect of the darkness of night — then one needs sleep, which is a rectification and a rest for the mind. For then one must remove his da'as entirely — which is the aspect of sleep, the departure of da'as — and rely only on emunah alone. And this is the essential aspect of sleep: that one removes the da'as entirely and relies only on emunah, which is the aspect of the acceptance of the yoke of the Heavenly Kingdom that one accepts upon oneself before sleep, through Krias Shema recited upon the bed — which is the emunah of the unity. For during sleep, the mochin [mental faculties] enter into emunah. For against those kushyos that cannot be resolved — which are the aspect of the overwhelming darkness of the night — there one must remove his da'as entirely, in the aspect of actual sleep, and rely only on emunah alone.

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.

And this is why the Shulchan Aruch then juxtaposes: "'I have set Hashem before me always' — this is a great principle of the Torah, for a person's sitting, his movements," etc. — as stated in the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 1:1). That is, one must know and believe that the entire earth is filled with His glory, and that he sits and stands, etc., always before the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, etc. For this one merits through awakening the shachar, through kimas chatzos — through which one draws down the da'as, etc. — as above — until one merits a complete yediah that the entire earth is filled with His glory — [and this is connected] to the awakening of the shachar. For this depends upon that, as above. For one merits a complete yediah, with a whole heart, that the entire earth is filled with His glory — through the da'as drawn down through kimas chatzos, which is the aspect of the study of the poskim, the aspect of "at midnight I rise 'to give thanks to You' for Your righteous judgments" — as above. And this is "to give thanks to You" — the aspect of "I shall thank You with uprightness of heart, when I learn Your righteous judgments" — which is explained in the Torah-teaching mentioned above, and which one merits through chatzos, as above. And kimas chatzos — this is the essential aspect of the awakening of the shachar stated in the Shulchan Aruch. For the essential thing is to rise at chatzos. And even one who cannot rise at chatzos, when he musters strength at least to rise before daybreak to engage in Torah and avodah — through this, he opens the pathways of the intellect, etc. — according to his level and according to his service. Through this, one merits to know, with a whole heart, that the entire earth is filled with His glory — for the kushyos mentioned above are removed, as above. And therefore, juxtaposed to this is: "I have set Hashem before me always" — etc. — that is, to know that the entire earth is filled with His glory. For this depends upon that, as above. For the essential awakening of the shachar is for the sake of the rectification of prayer — in order to merit to pray the morning prayer with great kavanah, with a whole heart. For through the awakening of the shachar, when one engages then in Torah and avodah, through this the pathways of the intellect are opened and one merits to nullify the kushyos and the heresy. And then one merits complete da'as — that the entire earth is filled with His glory — which is the aspect of "I have set Hashem before me always," etc. — as above. And through knowing with a whole heart that the entire earth is filled with His glory, through this one merits to pray with great kavanah. For when one knows that Hashem yisbarach stands over him during prayer and hears and listens and hearkens to each and every word that issues from his mouth — then surely he will be greatly inflamed in his prayer and will be very exacting to direct his words, as explained above. And this yediah, with a whole heart, that the entire earth is filled with His glory — one merits through kimas chatzos, which is the aspect of the awakening of the shachar, as above. It emerges that kimas chatzos is propitious for prayer with kavanah. And similarly it is understood from the kavanos of the Ari z"l: that kimas chatzos is a rectification and a preparation for prayer.

And therefore it is forbidden to eat before prayer. And in the Zohar (Vayakhel 215b) and in the Kesavim [writings of the Ari z"l], it is extremely stringent — that even when one rises at midnight, it is forbidden to eat or drink until after the prayer. And whoever eats or drinks then is considered like a soothsayer and a diviner, may the Merciful One save us — see there. Not like those who have now proliferated among the people, who presumptuously drink before prayer until it has become like a permitted thing in their eyes, and they hang themselves on a great tree — because they found a few tzadikim who were very ill and who drank before prayer because they were compelled to do so. And they liken themselves to them like a monkey before a man, and they contort themselves after them and fill their bellies with the drinking of coffee before prayer — until it is even found that some eat as well before prayer. Woe to them, woe to their souls! For it is an extremely severe prohibition, as is stated in the words of our Sages, of blessed memory (Berachos 10b) — and especially in the Holy Zohar and in the Kesavim. And we are not to liken ourselves to great tzadikim who had a different spirit within them — and particularly since they were very ill. And also, most tzadikim did not practice this way. And our holy Rebbe, of blessed memory, related that he never in his life drank even water before prayer — even though according to the strict law of the Shulchan Aruch, it is permitted to drink water — even so, he would not drink even water before prayer.

Let us return to our matter: that according to the above, the matter of the prohibition to eat and drink before prayer is somewhat explained. For it is explained in the Torah-teaching mentioned above that the rectification of emunah is through elevating the sparks of dibur, etc. — and this one merits through the ta'anis, etc. For through the desire for eating and drinking, the kleepoas overpower — which are the aspect of the ministers of Pharaoh — and they draw the dibur into the aspect of the narrowness of the throat [maytzar hagaron], and one cannot speak any word before Hashem yisbarach, etc. And the rectification for this is the ta'anis — for through making oneself hungry, through this one draws down the waters of chesed to moisten the narrowness of the throat, to fulfill: "Call out with the throat, do not hold back" (Isaiah 58:1) — etc. And through this, the emunah is rectified in its completeness, etc. — as explained there well, see there. And therefore it is forbidden to eat and drink before prayer, for one must make himself hungry before prayer — and this is the aspect of a ta'anis sha'os [fast of hours]: that each day one makes himself hungry and fasts before prayer. And through this, one draws an illumination from the aspect of the ta'anis, to cleave to the back of the holiness, in order to extract the dibur from the narrowness of the throat, in order to adorn the holy emunah that is renewed each morning, in order to merit the dibur of prayer in its completeness. For prayer is the aspect of emunah, as is known — which is completed through the rectification of the dibur. For the essential prayer is through dibur specifically, and the completeness of the dibur is through making oneself hungry with a ta'anis and breaking the desire for eating, as above. And for this reason, every Jew must fast and make himself hungry at least before prayer — when it is a great prohibition by law to eat or drink, as above. For each day, before prayer, one must make himself hungry, to draw down the aspect of the ta'anis, in order to rectify the dibur of prayer — which is the aspect of the rectification and adornment of emunah, etc. — as above, as explained in the Torah-teaching mentioned above, see there. Also, the ta'anis — which enables one to cleave to the back of the holiness — this is the aspect of the power of the beginning: that one turns his face each time toward the beginning, to receive strength from the beginning, which is the essential thing. For all beginnings are difficult, as is well explained in the Torah-teaching mentioned above. And as is explained at its conclusion there: that for this reason, one must endeavor to begin anew each time, and the service should not become old in his eyes. For the essential power of the service is according to the beginning. And therefore, one must begin anew each time — for perhaps his beginning at first was not as it should have been; therefore he must begin now — and similarly each day and each time, see there. And therefore, each morning before prayer, one must fast and not eat before prayer — in order to extract the dibur from the narrowness of the throat, etc., as above — through returning to the beginning, which is the aspect of cleaving to the back of the holiness, returning each time to the first letter, as explained there, see there. And this is needed in the morning, for each and every day in the morning, one must begin to engage in the service of Hashem anew, in the aspect of: "They are new every morning" (Lamentations 3:23) — etc. — as if one had never begun at all. And as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Sifri, Vaeschanan): "Which I command you today" (Deuteronomy 6:6) — each and every day they should appear in your eyes as new. And similarly they expounded on the verse: "Pay attention and hear, O Israel — this day you have become a people" (Deuteronomy 27:9) — etc. — that each day it should appear in your eyes as if today you entered into the covenant (Rashi, ad loc.). It emerges that each day one must begin anew. Therefore it is forbidden to eat before prayer in the morning — which is the aspect of ta'anis, through which one draws down the light of the power of the beginning — and through this one merits to begin anew each morning, as above.