יב

With what shall we come before Hashem — in return for all that He has bestowed upon us through His mercies and His abundant lovingkindnesses: that He has given us the Torah of truth and has planted eternal life within us. And now, Hashem our G‑d — Whose lovingkindnesses are from everlasting to everlasting upon us — may Your innards be stirred with compassion for us. And just as You had compassion upon us and gave us through Your abundant mercies Your holy Torah — the hidden treasure, the daily delight — so grant us merit through Your abundant mercies and be gracious to us through Your great lovingkindnesses; and be with us in our help that we all merit to study and engage in Your holy Torah for its own sake [lishmah] always — and may we turn our face away entirely from the vanities of this world, but only in the Torah of Hashem shall our desire be, and in Your Torah shall we contemplate day and night. And may all our study be in holiness and purity — and all our intention be only for the sake of Your great and holy Name in truth, to bring gratification before You through our study. And may we merit to study and to teach, to observe and to do and to fulfill all the words of Your Torah with love. And help us that the light of the holy Torah that we merit to study and contemplate illuminate for us — to bring us out from darkness to light, to return us in complete teshuvah before You. As our Sages of blessed memory said: "the luminary within it returns one to the good" [Eichah Rabbah, Petichta 2].

Please, Hashem, help us that the study of the holy Torah become for us a life-giving medicine [sam chayyim] — that we merit through our study to return in complete teshuvah before You in truth, and to renew our youth like the eagle, to renew the days that passed in great darkness. And may the merit and power of the holy Torah shield us — to save us from now from all manner of sins and iniquities and transgressions, and from all manner of blemishes in the world: whether at the time when we engage in it, and whether at the time when we are compelled not to engage in it — may the merit and power of the holy Torah shield us always to save us from all manner of sins and blemishes in the world. As You made known to us through Your holy sages who said: "Torah protects and saves both when one engages in it and when one does not engage in it" [Sotah 21a]. And may we merit that holiness and purity be drawn upon us through the study of the holy Torah — that we merit from now to sanctify and purify ourselves in great holiness according to Your good will.

Please, Hashem, merciful One filled with mercy — have compassion upon me and upon all Your people the House of Israel at this time, for we have descended very greatly with none to help or support. And see that strength has departed and there is none remaining, shut in or free. And we have no vitality or refreshment of the soul to revive our very wretched souls — except through the study of Your holy and pure and perfect Torah, which illuminates the eyes and restores the soul. As You promised us in Your holy Torah that even in the end of these days, in the intensity of the concealment within concealment [haster b'soch haster], even then the Torah shall not be forgotten from our mouths or from the mouths of our offspring — as it is written: "And I will surely hide My face from them…" and "and this song shall testify before it as a witness, for it shall not be forgotten from the mouth of his offspring" [Deuteronomy 31:18,21]. And behold, now through our many iniquities, already has it been fulfilled in us: "and I will surely hide My face" — for You have hidden from us very greatly with a concealment within concealment of thousands and tens of thousands of concealments, as You know, Hashem our G‑d. And therefore may Your mercies and Your mighty lovingkindnesses be aroused toward us — and add no more to hiding Your face from us; turn toward us and be gracious to us and illuminate Your face upon us. And fulfill for us Your holy promise: "and this song shall not be forgotten from the mouth of his offspring". And help us through Your mercies that we merit to study and contemplate and persevere in Your holy Torah day and night in holiness and purity — we and our offspring and the offspring of our offspring — and may the Torah not be forgotten from our mouths or from the mouths of our offspring ever. And may the verse be fulfilled: "My spirit that is upon you, and My words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring's offspring, says Hashem, from now and forever" [Isaiah 59:21]. And may we merit through the study of the holy Torah to return to You in truth, and to do complete teshuvah before You for all our many sins and iniquities and transgressions. And may we merit from now to fulfill all the words of Your Torah with love. And arouse Your mercies upon us and pour Your holiness upon us. And grant us merit that we study Your holy Torah — the Written Torah and the Oral Torah — in great holiness; until we merit at the time of our study to connect our spirit with the spirit of the tzaddik who originated the Torah and the halachah that we are studying — until we merit to the holy kiss [n'shikín di'k'dushah] to cleave [l'adbaká] our spirit to the spirit of the tzaddik. And it shall be as though we are kissing the very tzaddik and Tanna who originated this Torah. And may we merit that our study be a source of gratification [nachas ruach] to the tzaddik and the Tanna who originated this Torah and halachah — and may we cause great delight to that Tanna and tzaddik, such that his lips move in the grave through our study of his holy words in great holiness. And may we merit to raise up the Shechinah from the dust [l'akama Sh'chintah mei'afra] — to raise the Shechinah from exile through our study in great holiness and purity. Please, Hashem filled with mercy — have compassion upon our very wretched souls, and save me and my offspring and all Your people the House of Israel — and separate us from those who stray from the path of truth. And save us through Your abundant mercies that the study of Torah not become, G‑d forbid, a death-dealing poison [sam maves] for us. That no aspect of opposition against the true tzadikim enter our hearts, G‑d forbid, through our study — and may our study not lead to conceit and to fault-finding, G‑d forbid. And in particular at the time of our study of the Oral Torah — the Gemara and Tosafos and the decisors [poskim]. Please, Hashem, save and deliver us through Your abundant mercies — that no aspect of arrogance or haughtiness enter our hearts at all, and no aspect of cunning [armimiyus] enter our hearts at all. And let there be no thoughts or challenges [kushyos] in our hearts against the true tzadikim of the generation. And all the more so and certainly that no insolent speech [atak] come from our mouths, G‑d forbid — to speak any word against their honor, Heaven forbid. Rather, on the contrary — grant us merit through Your abundant mercies through our study to connect and draw near to the true tzadikim, to be submissive [nichna] before them, and to believe in them and nullify ourselves to them, and to roll ourselves in the dust of their feet [Avos 1:4], and to drink their holy words with thirst all the days of my life — I and my offspring and my offspring's offspring and all Your people the House of Israel from now and forever. And grant us merit to connect and draw near to the true tzadikim of very great stature — who have the power to raise and transform all the evil words and letter-combinations [tzeirupim ra'im] spoken against them back to holiness — making from their evil words holy halachah-combinations [tzeirupay halachos], from which those evil words of the opponents of truth descended, who turned the words of the living G‑d [divrei Elokim chayyim] and acquired a mouth thereby to speak insolently against the tzaddik with pride and contempt through their study of the Oral Torah. And grant us merit through Your abundant mercies, through the power of the true tzadikim, to become sanctified and purified in truth — until we too merit to come to this knowledge: to clarify and raise and transform all the evil combinations to holiness, making from them holy halachah-combinations. And may we merit to raise the Shechinah from exile and unite it with its Beloved — in embrace and kiss and union [chibuk v'nishuk v'zivug], and extract their swallowed prey from their mouths. Subdue and break and nullify all who oppose the truth — put truth and faith in their hearts; may they return to You with a whole heart. Reveal and publicize the truth in the world. "Truth shall sprout from the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven" [Psalms 85:12]. Put peace between all Your people Israel forever. Grant me merit to serve You with joy always — to be among those who are shamed but do not shame others, who hear their disgrace and do not respond, who act from love and are joyful in suffering [Shabbos 88b]. Grace us with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge — and may we all merit to study Your holy Torah for its own sake always, and return to You in truth. And pour down upon us abundant blessings from the source of blessings. And may we merit to do Your will in truth all the days of our lives — we and our offspring and all Your people the House of Israel from now and forever, Amen, Selah.