Likutay Moharan - volume 2 - Torah-teaching 25 - Hisbodidus

Torah 25: Hitbodedut is a Supreme and Greater Virtue Than All

Hitbodedut is a supreme and greater virtue than all, namely, to set aside, at the very least, an hour or more to seclude oneself alone in some room or in the field, and to express one’s personal discourse [sichah] between oneself and one’s Creator, with arguments and parables, with words of grace, appeasement, and conciliation, to request and plead before Him, blessed be He, that He draw one close to His true service. And this prayer and discourse should be in the language that one speaks, namely, in Yiddish [lashon Ashkenaz] (in our lands), for in the holy tongue [lashon hakodesh], it is difficult for one to express all of one’s discourse, and also the heart is not drawn after the words because one is not so accustomed to that language, as it is not our custom to speak in the holy tongue. But in Yiddish, in which we converse and speak, it is easier and more accessible to break one’s heart, for the heart is drawn and closer to Yiddish because one is accustomed to it. And in Yiddish, one can express all of one’s discourse, and all that is in one’s heart one can express and recount before Him, blessed be He, whether it be repentance and return for the past, or requests and supplications to merit drawing close to Him, blessed be He, from this day forward in truth, and similar matters, each according to one’s level.

And one should be very careful to accustom oneself to persist in this every day, for a designated hour as mentioned above, and the rest of the day one should be in joy, as mentioned above. And this practice is of exceedingly great virtue, and it is a very good path and advice for drawing close to Him, blessed be He, for this is a general advice that encompasses everything. For whatever one lacks in the service of Hashem, or even if one is completely distant from His service, blessed be He, in every respect, one should express one’s discourse and request from Him, blessed be He, as mentioned above. And even if at times one’s words are blocked, and one is unable to open one’s mouth to speak before Him, blessed be He, at all, nevertheless, this itself is very good, namely, the preparation that one is ready and standing before Him, blessed be He, and desires and yearns to speak but is unable. This itself is also very good. And one can also make a discourse and prayer from this itself, and about this itself one should cry out and plead before Him, blessed be He, that one has become so distant that one cannot even speak. And one should request from Him, blessed be He, mercy and supplications, that He have compassion on one and open one’s mouth, so that one may express one’s discourse before Him.

And know that many great and renowned tzadikim recounted that they reached their level only through this practice. And the wise one will understand for oneself the greatness of the virtue of this practice, which ascends higher and higher. And it is a matter accessible to every soul, from the small to the great, for all can adopt this practice, and through it, they will come to a great level. Fortunate is the one who holds fast to this. Also, it is good to make a prayer from the Torah, namely, when one studies or hears a teaching of Torah from a true tzadik, then one should make a prayer from it, namely, to request and plead before Him, blessed be He, regarding all that is said in that teaching, when will one merit to attain all of this, and how distant one is from it. And one should request from Him, blessed be He, that He grant one the merit to attain all that is said in that teaching. And the wise one who truly desires will be led by Hashem in the path of truth and will understand for oneself one thing from another, how to conduct oneself in this so that one’s words are words of grace and proper arguments to appease Him, blessed be He, that He draw one close to His true service exceedingly. And especially when one makes a prayer from the Torah, from this, great delight is created above.