אות-י

At the beginning, when a person starts to serve Hashem and things generally proceed in some order — he prays and studies and engages in the service of Hashem — this is the aspect of Shacharis [the morning prayer], which is the aspect of chesed. But most often afterward he falls from his service and Hashem begins to test him and the Ba'al Davar provokes him, as is known to all who wish to enter the service of Hashem. And then comes the essential trial of the person. And then one needs immeasurable and boundless strengthening — to strengthen oneself each time in His service and not to fall for any reason in the world. And the essential thing is to prevail against the mochin d'katnus [small-mindedness] that overpowers a person then and wants to bring him down as if there is no more hope, G-d forbid — or to prevent him from praying with intention and joy. All of this is the aspect of Minchah [the afternoon prayer], the time when the hold of mochin d'katnus is strongest. And one must fulfil the saying of our Sages: "A person should always be careful with the Minchah prayer" — meaning, at that time one must be especially careful to strengthen oneself in prayer and service of Hashem, and not fall for any reason in the world. Rather, one must know and believe in the words of the true Tzadikim who cried out loudly and powerfully that there is no despair in the world at all. And likewise in the general life of a person — the days of his life are called "day," and his death and passing are called "night and darkness." Therefore after half his days — which is the aspect of Minchah — it is then that the Ba'al Davar usually prevails more and more. For certainly one must begin the essential service specifically in the days of youth, as it is written: "It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth" [Lamentations 3:27], and "yanuktah k'lilah d'varda" [youth is the encompassing of the rose]. But even one who merited to begin the service of Hashem from youth — even so when he reaches the midpoint of his days and wants to reach what he must reach, then usually the Ba'al Davar strengthens and spreads greatly to prevent him from the path of life, G-d forbid. All the more so one who did not begin at all in the years of youth and when he sees that most of his years have passed and contemplates teshuvah and wants to begin then in the service of Hashem — the Ba'al Davar immediately overpowers him. Therefore one must greatly multiply prayer in the days of youth so as not to fall ever from His service. ([See "Prayer," Ois 3] ibid., Halacha 5, Ois 5) There are souls that have fallen and must be revived and restored with all manner of delicacies that restore the soul. And through the sparkling of the intellect in the aspect of tefillin — which one merits through breaking the overpowering of thoughts of licentiousness — through this proper speech [diburim k'sharim] is made to revive and restore these fallen souls. (Likutay Moharan, Part II, Siman 5)