יז

Master of all worlds, Master of all souls — You created Your world through Your good will for the sake of Israel Your people, as it is written: "In the beginning G‑d created the heavens and the earth" [Genesis 1:1]. And our sages of blessed memory expounded: for the sake of Israel, who are called "first" [Bereishis — reshis — for the sake of Israel who are called reishis]. For Israel arose first in the [Divine] thought [machshavah techilah], and for our sake You created all the worlds — from the very beginning of the emanation [Atzilus] to this physical world — the earth and all that is upon it, the seas and all that is within them; and You created everything through Your good will, so that You take pride in us in every generation. And therefore have mercy upon us, our Father, Father of mercy — and grant us merit to do that which is good in Your eyes always; and may we merit to be as You truly desire — to truly be turning from evil and doing good always — so that the pride and the delight that You have in us be revealed forever and ever.

And grant me merit through Your abundant mercies to give much charity [tzedakah] — generously to the poor and needy, and generously to the true tzadikim — so that we merit thereby to be included in the many souls of the Children of Israel Your people; and through this may You grant me merit through Your abundant mercies that we merit to reveal and illuminate the goodness that is pressed down within us. For You know the extreme beauty of the holiness of the goodness that is pressed down within me in a very great and bitter exile these many years — from the day I came into the world until this very day — and I still do not merit to have mercy upon myself to bring out to light the hidden and concealed goodness within me; and I do not merit to remind myself properly where I stand in the world, and I do not know what to do — by what path and what refuge I shall merit to reveal the goodness that is within me.

Please, Hashem, give me counsel; give me grace; give me complete salvation; do with me a wonder for life — that I not be, G‑d forbid, like the dead among the living [cf. Bereishis Rabbah]. Deal with me with free lovingkindness as befits You — not according to my evil deeds and my ugly actions and my confused attitudes. Have pity and compassion please upon my very wretched soul — may Your innards and Your mercies churn over the extreme goodness within me, that it be able to overpower and to subdue the body and its desires beneath it, that the evil be bent and nullified under the good, until all the bodily desires and its evil traits be nullified from upon me; in such a way that I merit to be as You truly desire always. My Father in Heaven, my Father in Heaven — Father of lovingkindness, truly merciful Father — You Who are compassionate toward the poor, You Who hearken to the groaning of the destitute, You Who see the shame of the downtrodden, You Who hear and listen to the cry from the very depths of the lowest underworld — and even below it — until there is no place from which You do not hear the sound of a sigh and a groan. Teach me what to speak before You; show me what to say before You; inform me what to cry out to You. Have compassion please upon a downtrodden soul as I am — upon one broken-hearted as I am; upon one lacking in knowledge, lacking in heart, as I am; upon one weak in strength as I am; upon one confused and torn and muddled in all kinds of confusion as I am — within whom the goodness is pressed down as if in an actual prison-house, in a very great and bitter exile, with thousands of thousands of partitions and iron walls and lock upon lock surrounding me; with thousands and thousands of guards and lurkers standing over me at every time and every moment, giving me no rest — and I am unable to make any movement that would be fitting. Even at the time when I am stirred to do some matter of holiness — I do not merit to make even a slight movement that would have beauty and grace as is fitting for a Jew — as You know. Woe to me greatly; woe and bitterness to me greatly, greatly; alas for me — bitterness is great upon me; oh, my soul — woe to the soul that did such deeds; woe to the days and the years I spent in very evil vanities and confusions such as these. Master of all — to You I cried and called, full of mercy; incline Your ear to me and hear; open Your eyes and see my desolation; see now my affliction and my toil [cf. Psalms 25:18]; and see my lowliness and my misery [cf. Lamentations 3:19].

Master of the Universe — You have granted me merit through Your abundant mercies to be among the seed of Israel Your servants, and You have drawn me near through Your abundant mercies to the true tzadikim — to believe in them and to yearn for them. Act with me according to Your lovingkindnesses — in the merit of the holy ones who are in the earth [Psalms 16:3]; and help me and assist me — that there reach me a true illumination and true awakening, that the goodness within me remember and truly awaken itself: and may the goodness within me come to know its own great level — from where it was taken and drawn; from the supernal thought of the Holy One blessed be He, where it arose first in thought among all the souls of Israel as a whole — and I am the smallest creature in the sea, yet above all four worlds — Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah — for at my root I am above them all, since I am from the seed of Israel who arose first in thought; and concerning us the blessed Name took counsel and consulted with us to create all the worlds — from the beginning of the emanation to the ultimate end of Asiyah, which is this world and all within it, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all that is in them. And now, now — help me please, strengthen me please, encourage me please, awaken me please, rouse me please; that I merit through Your mercies and Your true lovingkindnesses to remind myself well, very well — where I am; to where I have been cast; to where I have been distanced from You until now. Is it to be believed that such a true goodness — whose root is planted within me — should be cast in such a dark and shadowy place? In such a lowly place? In such a banished darkness? In such blemished places? In such low places that are so far from holiness? In places not even worthy of the name "place" at all?

Please, Hashem, have compassion upon me; take pity upon me — for at every time when I wish to speak and to set forth my speech before You, I do not know where to begin my request or how to conclude. And because of my very great distress and poverty — my needs being very many, which not thousands and tens of thousands of sheets would suffice to explain — because of this I am entirely unable to open my mouth. And even at the time when I begin to speak a little, my words are very confused because of the extreme multitude of my needs — which are exceedingly many, and which cannot in any manner be explained or set forth — except before You, Master of all, before Whom all hidden things are revealed, and the multitude of secrets from the very beginning of creation. And You know the depths of our hearts and the profundity of our thoughts; and within the innermost depths of my thought, the goodness within me cries out with a mighty and very bitter voice — a very great and very bitter cry; so that it is impossible to bear the extreme bitterness of the cry of the goodness pressed down within me, and the great compassion resting upon me without measure or number at all. And why do You hide Your ear and conceal Your face from me for so long a time, and have Your innards and mercies held themselves back from me [cf. Isaiah 63:15]?

And therefore may it be Your will, Hashem our G‑d and G‑d of our fathers — that the light of the holy mind [or hasechel dikdushah] be opened up for me; and may the light of the true tzadikim who illuminate all the worlds be revealed to me — and all the more so in this lowly world. But from the very murkiness of our deeds and the foolishness of our minds — their great light has been blocked and hidden from us; until even when we merit to draw near to them and to engage in their holy books, we do not merit to feel or to see at all their pure and lustrous light — and we do not feel the pleasantness of the holiness of their words; because of the very darkness of our minds and the foolishness of our attitudes and the murkiness of our deeds. And because of this the light of holy fear and holy love has become darkened from us — until through our iniquities we are very far from true fear and true love.

Please, Hashem, have compassion upon me — and fill my request with mercy. And therefore help us, Hashem our G‑d, through Your abundant mercies — that the truth be revealed in the world, until all of Israel be roused to complete teshuvah before You in truth; and may distant ones hear and come and recognize the power of Your sovereignty. And may You be filled with mercy upon Your people Israel — and even upon the goodness pressed down among the nations; and may You do in accordance with the greatness of Your awesome wonders: in such a way that You make known to the goodness pressed down among them — scattered and dispersed among the peoples, in places very far from holiness — and may You let them know well where they are in the world, and to where they are destined to go if they do not return, G‑d forbid; until they be truly roused and have mercy upon themselves — and they remember Hashem and return to You; and they convert in truth. For You alone, Hashem, know the great extreme of the compassion that rests upon the goodness pressed down in such places. And You know in truth that there is no greater compassion in the world — and there is no suffering or pain in the world that can be compared at all to the suffering and the pain and the harsh and bitter afflictions of this goodness; so that it is impossible to bear at all the great extent of the compassion resting upon this goodness pressed down in the place where it is pressed down — which has been distanced from its Father in Heaven. And what is there for a father who has sent his children into exile? And woe to the son who has been exiled from his father's table [Talmud Berachos 3a]. Woe and alas for this son — woe and bitterness; woe and bitterness of every kind of bitterness — for this son: who was once in the place he was in, and now has fallen to the place he has fallen. And if You Yourself, G‑d forbid, do not have mercy upon us — who will have mercy upon us, and who will stand up for us? For now we have no one to lean upon except You, our Father in Heaven. For the true tzadikim who possessed this power — to make the truth known to the goodness pressed down — behold, they have been taken from us through our many iniquities. And what shall we do now in this time of distress — the like of which has never been — when we have been left like a flagpole on a mountaintop and like a banner on a hill [Isaiah 30:17], with no support or prop; and there is no helper and no supporter. Behold — our affliction, for our pains are many and our heart is distressed; help us, for we lean upon You. O Good and Beneficent — act for Your sake, act for Your glory's sake; and do what You will do — in such a way that all the goodness scattered and dispersed among the peoples return to holiness; and may converts and true penitents be added and multiplied at every time, until all of Israel and all who come into the world return to You in truth. And may we merit to soon see in the splendor of Your might — to remove the idols from the earth and the false gods shall be utterly cut off; to repair the world under the sovereignty of the Almighty, and all flesh will call upon Your Name — to turn all the wicked of the earth to You; may all who dwell on earth know and understand that to You every knee must bend and every tongue swear allegiance [cf. Aleinu prayer].

And therefore help us through Your abundant mercies — that we merit to break the desire for eating [ta'avas achilah] completely in truth; until we have no physical desire at all to eat and to be satisfied for the sake of the desire and pleasure of the body, G‑d forbid. Rather all our eating and drinking shall be entirely for Your Name in truth — in order that we have the strength to engage in Your Torah in truth; and may we merit to eat in holiness and in purity for Your Name alone. And may You be with us and guard us through Your great mercies — and may You save us from all kinds of forbidden foods: whether forbidden Biblically [issurin d'oraisah], whether forbidden Rabbinically [issurin d'rabbanan]. And may You guard us always — that there never befall us any stumbling at all, G‑d forbid; and may no forbidden food ever enter our mouths. For You know, Master of all worlds, that it is impossible for flesh and blood to be vigilant and to guard themselves from all kinds of forbidden foods and their mixtures — whose particulars and fine details are very many and beyond number; and You know the great extent of the enormous blemish that blemishes the soul of Israel through forbidden foods, G‑d forbid. Therefore have mercy upon us for Your sake — and help us and save us and guard our souls, that we merit to be saved and separated and distinguished completely from all kinds of forbidden foods: from neveilos and treifos, from shekatzim and remasim, from meat cooked with milk and from yayin nesech, from chelev and from blood, from the gid hanasheh and from a limb cut from a living animal, from bread of a non-Jew and from food cooked by a non-Jew, and from all other kinds of forbidden foods — from them and from their mixtures, and from even the smallest amount of leaven on Passover. From all of them guard us and save us through Your mighty mercies — that they not enter our mouths and not defile our souls; and may we and our offspring be clean and pure and separated from them completely; and may You sanctify us with Your supernal holiness. And may the verse be fulfilled in us: "And you shall be holy to Me, for I, Hashem, am holy" [Leviticus 20:26]. Have pity and compassion upon us — and redeem us and save us and deliver us from all kinds of impurities and from all things that make the soul abhorrent; and may You sanctify us with all kinds of holiness. And help us and grant us merit to eating in holiness in completeness truly as is fitting for a Jew — and may we merit to repair the blemishes of the holy altar [mizbe'ach] through our eating in holiness and in purity, until our table atone for us like an altar [Talmud Chagigah 27a]. And grant us merit through Your abundant mercies to complete faith [emunah shlemah] in truth — and give us strength and holy understanding to subdue and nullify all kinds of false beliefs, and to bring back and to return all those who stray in false beliefs — that they all return to Your holy faith.

Please, Hashem, help us to go out from the desires of our bodies and from the murkiness of our deeds and from the foolishness of our minds. And grant us merit through Your abundant mercies to give much charity generously to the poor and needy, and to the true tzadikim of our generation — so that we merit through this to repair and mend the blemish of the altar, which has been blemished through our iniquities — to the point that we have neither fire-offerings nor sacrifice nor a priest to atone for us.

And therefore have mercy upon us — that we merit to repair the blemish of the desire for eating; and may we merit from now to eat in holiness and in purity, until our table atone for us like an altar. And may we merit to bring in worthy guests upon our table, and to give a portion of our meal to worthy poor people. And grant us merit to study Torah at the table — and may our table be complete in all kinds of completeness of holiness without any blemish at all; until we merit that our table purify us from all our iniquities, and may it grant us merit to the World to Come, and to good livelihood, and may we be inscribed for good — on high and above. And may we merit that strength and might be added to us at the time when we need it; and may we merit that the sitra achra have no power to suckle at all from our table and from our eating — except the little vitality that must of necessity be given to them in a very exact measure, according to Your good will, and not more than the unavoidable necessity at all. And may we merit to fulfill the commandment of washing hands [netilas yadayim] — for the first waters and the last waters as is fitting in completeness; and may we merit to sanctify our hands through the washing of hands; and may complete holiness and purity be drawn upon us through the washing of the first waters and the last waters. And may the verse be fulfilled in us: "And you shall sanctify yourselves and you shall be holy, for I am Hashem, holy" [Leviticus 20:7]. And help us to recite the blessing over bread [birchas haMotzi] and the grace after meals [birchas haMazon] and all blessings of pleasure — at the beginning and end — with great intent as is fitting, in holiness and in purity. And may we merit that the verse be fulfilled at our table: "And he said to me: This is the table that is before Hashem" [Ezekiel 41:22]. And may we merit through our eating in holiness to subdue and nullify the foolishness of our minds and the ugliness of our deeds — and help us that our minds be completed through our eating in holiness and in purity, as You truly desire.

Please, Hashem, You know the great extent of the confusion and the foolishness of my mind that overpowers me at every time and every hour — until the strength of the burden-bearer has given out and I do not know what to do, and what stratagem to seek to repair my mind and to subdue the foolishness of my mind from which came my ugly deeds. And not only did I not merit to repair my mind and my deeds — I even added at every turn corruption upon corruption, and blemish upon blemish, and murkiness upon murkiness, and foolishness upon foolishness, and many confusions upon confusions. "My eyes look upward — O Hashem, I am oppressed; be my surety" [Isaiah 38:14]. "Be surety for Your servant for good; let not the arrogant oppress me" [Psalms 119:122]. "Bring my soul out of imprisonment" [Psalms 142:8]. Be gracious to me from You with knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. And help me that I merit to turn away from my evil thoughts; and may I merit to abandon my evil ways and my blemished and confused thoughts — which confuse me and prevent me greatly from returning to You in truth. Have pity please upon me; have pity and compassion please upon me — may Your innards and Your lovingkindnesses churn over me; and give me good hope that I merit from now to drive away and to banish from upon me all kinds of evil thoughts and all kinds of confusion of the mind in the world — until I merit speedily and quickly to complete my mind, and to merit to the completeness of the holy mind [shlemus hada'as dikdushah]. And through this grant me merit through Your abundant mercies to abandon from now all my evil deeds. And may I merit from now to truly be turning from evil — and help me to repair my deeds; and in place of my ugly deeds may I merit from now to do in their stead fine deeds, fitting deeds, good deeds — that shall be a delight and an acceptance before Your Throne of Glory. עברית ▾ And do not say, G‑d forbid, words of despair — saying: my iniquities are with me; and in them you will waste away, G‑d forbid; and it is no longer possible for you to repent from your foolishness and stupidities; for your iniquities have passed over your head; until G‑d forbid your everlastingness and your hope has been lost. Ahah — Ahah! Have compassion and pity upon yourself and upon your few determined days that you still have to tarry a little in this world that passes like the blink of an eye. And do not say such things, G‑d forbid — for this is worse than the first; for thoughts and reflections and confusions such as these are harsh and harmful; and anger your Creator more than all the sins and iniquities and transgressions that you have done from your beginning until this very day. For I still have great hope at every time and every hour and every moment: the lovingkindnesses of Hashem have not ceased for they have not been exhausted — His mercies are forever [Lamentations 3:22]. And hidden from you and unknown to you is the immensity of the multitude of His mercy and His great lovingkindnesses upon all who desire to return in truth — even though they have not yet repented. And His entire salvation and His entire desire, blessed be He, is to return and to have compassion upon all who wait and anticipate and long and burrow in the tunnel to find rescue and escape to return to the Blessed Name — even though they are overpowered at every time more and more; and days and many years do not allow them to return to their Father’s house. Even so — His lovingkindness has overpowered and overpowers them and us very greatly, beyond all measure and account and number; what the mouth cannot speak and the heart cannot think. If all the seas were ink and all the lakes quills and all the people scribes and praising tongues — they would not suffice to set forth and explain even one in a thousand and ten thousand of His abundant lovingkindnesses; which He deals with in His lovingkindness in every generation. And in particular upon those who groan and are crushed and wait and anticipate to return to Him, blessed be He, in truth — have you not already now called to Him: my Father, you are the companion of my youth [cf. Jeremiah 3:4]? Will He quarrel forever — will He be watchful to the end? [Jeremiah 3:5]. Be strong and strengthen yourself and renew yourself at every time — and begin from now to serve your Creator in truth; abandon your evil ways and your shameful thoughts; forget your vanities and foolishnesses; remove anger from your heart and put away evil from your flesh [cf. Koheles 11:10]; bind yourself in truth to the Blessed Name; and do not return again to foolishness. Lift your eyes upward and remember your ancient love. Awake, awake — arise my soul; awaken, awaken! Speak a song; be not silent and be not still. Raise your voice sweetly and open your mouth and bring forth your pleasant words before the Holy Blessed One — open your mouth and may your words illuminate. וְאַל תֹּאמְרִי נוֹאָשׁ חַס וְשָׁלוֹם לֵאמֹר כִּי עֲוֹנוֹתַיִךְ אִתָּךְ, וּבָהֶם אַתָּה נִמּוֹק חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, וְאִי אֶפְשַׁר לְךָ עוֹד לָשׁוּב מִכְּסִילוּתְךָ וּשְׁטֻיּוֹתֶיךָ, כִּי עֲוֹנוֹתֶיךָ עָבְרוּ רֹאשֶׁךָ, עַד אֲשֶׁר חַס וְשָׁלוֹם אָבַד נִצְחֲךָ וְתוֹחַלְתֶּךָ. אֲהָהּ אֲהָהּ, חוּס וַחֲמֹל עָלֶיךָ וְעַל מְעַט יָמֶיךָ הַחֲרוּצִים שֶׁיֵּשׁ לְךָ עוֹד לְהִתְמַהְמֵהַּ מְעַט בְּזֶה הָעוֹלָם הָעוֹבֵר כְּהֶרֶף עַיִן, וְאַל תֹּאמְרִי כַּדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה חָלִילָה, כִּי זוּ קָשָׁה מִן הָרִאשׁוֹנָה, כִּי מַחֲשָׁבוֹת וְרַעְיוֹנִים וּבִלְבּוּלִים כָּאֵלֶּה קָשִׁים וּמַזִּיקִים, וּמַכְעִיסִים אֶת בּוֹרַאֲךָ יוֹתֵר מִכָּל הַחֲטָאִים וְהָעֲוֹנוֹת וְהַפְּשָׁעִים שֶׁעָשִׂיתָ מֵעוֹדְךָ עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה. כִּי עֲדַיִן יֵשׁ לִי תִקְוָה גְּדוֹלָה בְּכָל עֵת וּבְכָל שָׁעָה וּבְכָל רֶגַע, חַסְדֵּי יְהֹוָה כִּי לֹא תָמְנוּ כִּי לֹא כָלוּ רַחֲמָיו לְעוֹלָם, וְנֶעְלַם מִמְּךָ וְלֹא תֵדַע עֹצֶם רִבּוּי רַחֲמָנוּתוֹ וַחֲסָדָיו הַגְּדוֹלִים עַל כָּל הַחֲפֵצִים לָשׁוּב בֶּאֱמֶת, אַף־עַל־פִּי שֶׁלֹּא שָׁבוּ עֲדַיִן. וְכָל יִשְׁעוֹ וְכָל חֶפְצוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ, לָשׁוּב וּלְרַחֵם עַל כָּל הַמְּחַכִּים וּמְצַפִּים וּמִתְגַּעְגְּעִים וְחוֹתְרִים בַּמַּחְתֶּרֶת לִמְצֹא הַצָּלָה וּמָנוֹס לָשׁוּב לְהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ. אַף־עַל־פִּי שֶׁמִּתְגַּבְּרִים עֲלֵיהֶם בְּכָל עֵת יוֹתֵר, וְאֵין מַנִּיחִים אוֹתָם יָמִים וְשָׁנִים הַרְבֵּה לָשׁוּב אֶל בֵּית אֲבִיהֶם. אַף־עַל־פִּי־כֵן חַסְדּוֹ גָבַר עֲלֵיהֶם וְעָלֵינוּ מְאֹד מְאֹד בְּלִי שִׁעוּר וָעֵרֶךְ וּמִסְפָּר. מַה שֶּׁאֵין הַפֶּה יָכוֹל לְדַבֵּר וְהַלֵּב לַחְשֹׁב. אִלּוּ כָל הַיַּמִּים דְּיוֹ וְכָל אֲגַמִּים קֻלְמוֹסִים וְכָל בְּנֵי אָדָם לַבְלָרִים וּלְשׁוֹנוֹת מְקַלְּסִים אֵין מַסְפִּיקִים לְפָרֵשׁ וּלְבָאֵר אַחַת מִנִּי אֶלֶף וּרְבָבָה מֵחֲסָדָיו הַמְּרֻבִּים, אֲשֶׁר הוּא נוֹהֵג בְּחַסְדּוֹ בְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר, וּבִפְרָט עַל הַנֶּאֱנָחִים וְנִדְכָּאִים וּמְחַכִּים וּמְצַפִּים לָשׁוּב אֵלָיו יִתְבָּרַךְ בֶּאֱמֶת, הֲלֹא מֵעַתָּה קָרָאת לוֹ, אָבִי אַלּוּף נְעוּרַי אָתָּה. הֲיִנְטֹר לְעוֹלָם, אִם יִשְׁמֹר לָנֶצַח, חֲזַק וְהִתְחַזֵּק וְחַדֵּשׁ עַצְמְךָ בְּכָל עֵת, וְהַתְחֵל מֵעַתָּה לַעֲבֹד אֶת בּוֹרַאֲךָ בֶּאֱמֶת, וַעֲזֹב דְּרָכֶיךָ הָרָעִים וּמַחְשְׁבוֹתֶיךָ הַמְגֻנּוֹת, וְשִׁכְחִי הֲבָלַיִךְ וּשְׁטֻיּוֹתַיִךְ וְהָסֵר כַּעַס מִלִּבֶּךָ וְהַעֲבֵר רָעָה מִבְּשָׂרֶךָ, קַשֵּׁר עַצְמְךָ בֶּאֱמֶת לְהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ, וְאַל תָּשׁוּב עוֹד לְכִסְלָה. דַּלּוּ עֵינֶיךָ לַמָּרוֹם וּזְכֹר אַהֲבָתְךָ הַיְשָׁנָה. הִתְעוֹרְרִי הִתְעוֹרְרִי, עוּרָה נַפְשִׁי עוּרָה, עוּרִי עוּרִי דַּבְּרִי שִׁיר, אַל תֶּחֱרַשׁ וְאַל תִּשְׁקֹט, הָרִימָה קוֹלְךָ הֶעָרֵב וּפְתַח פִּיךָ וְתוֹצִיא דְבָרֶיךָ הַנְּעִימִים לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, פְּתַח פִּיךָ וְיָאִירוּ דְבָרֶיךָ: Please, Hashem, have compassion upon us and do not forsake us and do not abandon us — and help us to complete our minds and to repair our deeds; and open for us the light of the holy knowledge [or hada'as dikdushah] — that the truth be revealed to us. And may we merit to see with the eyes of our intellect the light of the true tzadikim — and may we merit to be included in them and to cleave to their ways and to their good deeds which they have shown us; and through this may we merit to holy fear and holy love in completeness in truth. And may we merit to draw near to true tzadikim who have the power to reveal the great pride that You take in Your people Israel in every generation — as it is written: "Israel — in whom I take pride" [Isaiah 49:3]. Both in general: what You take pride in with the entirety of Israel Your holy people — whom You chose from all the peoples and elevated above all tongues. And in the particular: what You take pride in with every individual Israelite in particular — even with the least of the least, and even with the transgressors of Israel: as long as the name of Israel is called upon him, You take pride and are magnified and exalted through him. And in the utmost particular: what You take pride in and are elevated through in the particular deeds and movements of holiness of each one of Israel. All these expressions of pride are revealed through the true tzadikim — and through this all the intentions that You had in the creation of Your world are revealed to us in their generality, and in the particularity of every created being, and in the utmost particularity of every detail. All of which was only for the sake of Israel Your people — so that You take pride and are magnified and exalted and lifted through Israel Your people. And through this may You grant us merit through Your abundant mercies that fear and love be drawn upon us in completeness in truth — that we merit to fear Your great and awesome Name and to love You in truth, with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our might. עברית ▾ Great of counsel and mighty of deed — Whose eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of man; to give to every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds [Jeremiah 32:19]. You know and understand their thoughts and their secret; and from the hand of all who oppress them You redeem and ransom them. Have compassion upon me for the sake of Your Name — and help me and save me and grant me merit to Your holy counsels hidden in the Torah novellae of the true tzadikim; that I merit to find and to feel Your holy counsels hidden in their holy Torah novellae. And may the holy counsels be revealed to me — the counsels hidden in Torah novellae: to know through them what to do and what to counsel myself to return to You in truth. And grant me merit through Your abundant mercies to find and to receive Your counsel always in every need of mine — whether great or small; and may I not require the counsel of flesh and blood at all; rather may I merit that my counsel come only from You alone through the holy Torah. גְּדֹל הָעֵצָה וְרַב הָעֲלִילִיָּה אֲשֶׁר עֵינֶיךָ פְּקֻחוֹת עַל כָּל דַּרְכֵי בְּנֵי אָדָם, וְיוֹדֵעַ וּמֵבִין מַחְשְׁבוֹתָם וְסוֹדָם, וּמִיַּד כָּל לוֹחֲצֵיהֶם אַתָּה גוֹאֲלָם וּפוֹדָם. רַחֵם עָלַי לְמַעַן שְׁמֶךָ, וְעָזְרֵנִי וְהוֹשִׁיעֵנִי וְזַכֵּנִי לְעֵצוֹתֶיךָ הַקְּדוֹשִׁים הַגְּנוּזִים בְּחִדּוּשֵׁי תוֹרָה שֶׁל הַצַּדִּיקִים הָאֲמִתִּיִּים, שֶׁאֶזְכֶּה לִמְצֹא וּלְהַרְגִּישׁ עֵצוֹתֶיךָ הַקְּדוֹשִׁים הַגְּנוּזִים בְּחִדּוּשֵׁי תוֹרָתָם הַקְּדוֹשָׁה. וְיִתְגַּלּוּ לִי הָעֵצוֹת הַקְּדוֹשׁוֹת, הָעֵצוֹת הַגְּנוּזוֹת בְּחִדּוּשֵׁי תוֹרָה, לֵידַע עַל יָדָם מַה לַּעֲשׂוֹת וּמַה לְּהִיעָצֵם בַּעֲצַת עַצְמִי לָשׁוּב אֵלֶיךָ בֶּאֱמֶת. וּתְזַכֵּנִי בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים לִמְצֹא וּלְקַבֵּל עֲצָתְךָ תָמִיד בְּכָל עֵסֶק מִצְרָכַי, בֵּין גָּדוֹל בֵּין קָטָן, וְלֹא אֶצְטָרֵךְ כְּלָל לַעֲצַת בָּשָׂר וָדָם, רַק אֶזְכֶּה שֶׁתָּבֹא עֲצָתִי מֵאִתְּךָ לְבַד עַל יְדֵי הַתּוֹרָה הַקְּדוֹשָׁה: Please, Hashem, Who hearkens to prayer, Who hearkens to the cry, Who hearkens to the sigh — hear the voice of our prayer with mercy and fill our request for Your sake and not for our sake: that we merit to give much charity to the worthy poor and to the true tzadikim of this generation; and through this may we merit to remember the goodness pressed down in exile — and in particular the goodness pressed down within me in a great exile; that it remember its great level and truly awaken itself and overpower the evil; until I merit to subdue and break and drive away the evil from me completely; and may I merit to return to You in complete teshuvah in truth — speedily and quickly. And may we merit to repair the blemish of the desire for eating; and help us to eat in holiness and in purity for Your Name alone in truth; and may we merit to subdue and nullify the foolishness of the mind and the murkiness of deeds. And grant us merit through Your great lovingkindnesses to the completeness of the holy mind [shlemus hada'as dikdushah] — and to perform good and fitting deeds that are good in Your eyes; and may You open for us the light of the intellect in truth; in such a way that we merit that the light of the true tzadikim who illuminate all worlds be truly and genuinely revealed to us; and may we merit through this to fear and love in completeness — and may You unite our hearts to love and to fear Your Name in truth in the utmost completeness from now and forever, Amen Selah.