The Writings of Rabbi Nachman - 1-50

HH

1.    HAPPY   ARE   THOSE

a)  By learning Torah all our prayers and requests are accepted, the charm and importance of Israel is raised and exalted in the eyes of all those we need, whether materially or spiritually. 

 b)  Studying Torah with all one's strength gives strength to the Kingdom of Holiness and strengthens the good inclination to overcome the evil inclination.

c)  When you engage in the study of Torah you will be able to understand the hints and meanings contained in all the things in the world and use them to attach yourself to the Holy One. Then, even if you find yourself in a grim and dark place where you think it hard to draw close to G-d, there also true wisdom will radiate to you to enable you to come close to G-d even from there.

d)  Nobody sins unless he is overcome by the spirit of folly. Therefore, each individual, according to the sins and blemishes he committed, literally becomes mad. This is why most people suffer from several kinds of madness. The remedy for this is to study Torah with all one's strength, for it comprises of all the Names of G-d. By this, you   subdue the evil urge and drive out the madness and spirit of folly that became attached to you through your sins.

e)  One also merits through learning Torah to be saved from the deceitful cunning of the evil urge, for usually it doesn't entice a person to sin immediately, but rather, at first it disguises itself as a mitzvah etc. When you learn Torah you acquire true wisdom and merit to avoid all this.

f)  The main reason why our prayers are not accepted is that the words lack charm. Therefore each person has to try to have charm and truth in his words. This you acquire by learning Torah; then all your prayers are accepted.

g)  A Jewish person always has to look at the intelligence in each thing and to connect himself to the wisdom and intelligence that exist in each thing in order that they will enlighten him and bring him closer to the Holy One, for the main vitality in each thing is only from the intelligence and wisdom in it, as it says, " the wisdom gives life". Intelligence is a great light which enlightens a person in all his paths, like the sun. Then, when a person comes to a place that is dim and dark, Heaven forbid, even so, when he merits to look at the wisdom and life force in each thing, then this wisdom will enlighten him and bring him closer to G-d. This is an aspect of what Joseph merited to when he overcame his temptation by looking at the wisdom in each thing.

h)  It is impossible to merit to this light of wisdom other than through Malkhut meaning by taking upon yourself the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, truly, with complete faith; you have to limit your knowledge and disregard all your wisdom completely, as if you haven't any independent wisdom at all, while loathing all extraneous intellect and wisdoms. You should long for and desire just to receive light and vitality from the true intelligence and wisdom which are from the sublime, holy Intelligence which is the main vitality in each thing, as explained previously.

i)  The main struggle between the good urge and the evil urge is only in this, for

the good urge encourages a person to loathe all extraneous wisdoms and intellect and all the physical desires which are complete folly and real foolishness and that you should attach yourself only to the light of holy wisdom. The evil urge, however, entices a person to the opposite, as it says, "the fool doesn't desire wisdom". This is like Esau who scorned the portion of the first born which represents the wisdom and intellect of holiness. Thus, each person has to give strength to the good urge to overcome the evil urge, as the Sages said, "A person should always enrage the good urge against the evil urge." To achieve this you have to engage in learning Torah with all your strength.

j)  When you merit to all the above, a great unification is made in all the worlds and the light of the moon becomes like the light of the sun. Then you merit to acquire charm and by this all your prayers and requests are accepted.

k)  The evil urge wants to make a person literally crazy, Heaven forbid, for a sinner is a madman, as the Sages said, "A person doesn't sin unless the spirit of folly enters him." But how can it come and suddenly make him mad, Heaven forbid. So the way of the evil urge is to disguise itself as a mitzvah and thus mislead a person to think he is performing a mitzvah. Afterwards it misleads and entices him even more until he actually performs real sins on purpose, Heaven forbid. This is exactly like the madness of a madman whose mind is confused and crazed until he says about bad that it's good. However, even so, there still remain some sparks of intelligence and knowledge such that, even in his folly, also he understands and senses that he shouldn't do such things. Nevertheless, he still does them. Because of this, two tactics are needed to cure the madman. Firstly, one has to hit them in order to stop them from sinning on purpose; thus, at least, it won't be easy for them, in their madness, to do things that they themselves also understand to be crazy and foolish. Secondly, one has to put an amulet on them in order to drive out the evil spirit from them which confuses and unbalances their mind, Heaven forbid, making them turn the straight path upside down and say that evil is good etc.

So also with the curing of a person from the madness of the evil urge, he also needs these two aspects. First, to subdue all of his deliberate evil so as not to do at least  what he himself understands to be evil and a real sin, Heaven forbid. Then he needs to have the spirit of evil and folly driven out of him which disguises itself as mitzvoth and misleads him as though he were urging him to do a mitzvah. We merit to all this fully only through studying Torah which includes both of these tactics.

l)  The main way of attaching yourself to this holy intelligence in all things is by pure simplicity which is an aspect of what it says, "Ya'acov was a pure, simple man" for he merited to ascertain this light of the intellect to perfection.

PRAYER 1

May it be Your will, O Lord, our God and God of our fathers, that You come to our aid. In Your bountiful mercy and tremendous loving-kindness, let us merit to learn and teach and engage in Your holy Torah for its own sake and studying it by day and by night. In the merit and strength of Your holy Torah, and by Your bountiful mercy, give us the strength to subdue, break and drive out the evil desire from within us. May we drive out and nullify the spirit of folly and all sorts of craziness that have become attached to us by our bad deeds. May we merit, by the learning of Your holy Torah which is compromised of all Your holy Names, to drive out and nullify the spirit of folly and craziness so that they have no strength at all to confuse our minds. Rather, let us merit to drive them out and abolish them from ourselves and all around us.

O Lord, You know the many thoughts that bother and confuse and worry us, preventing us from really serving You, all the time. All of them come about by the spirit of folly and craziness that have become attached to us by way of our bad deeds, many sins, iniquities and willful transgressions. Our minds have therefore become confused and our intelligence very, very befogged, to such a degree that it is beyond counting, beyond estimation. Our Father in Heaven, You are good to all and Your compassion extends over everything; grant us forgiveness that we should not become lost. In Your bountiful mercy, let us merit to subdue, drive out and nullify the spirit of folly and craziness from us by our engaging in and studying Your holy Torah.

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SAY   TO  THE  COHENIM    2.

 a)  The main weapon of a Jewish man is prayer and all the wars a person has to win, whether those against the evil urge or other wars with those who place obstacles or cause controversy, all of them are to be fought by prayer; all one's vitality comes from prayer. So, whoever wants to merit to the real holiness of the Jewish People has to pray a great deal, making requests and speaking to his Maker. This is the main weapon to win the war.

b)  Someone who guards the covenant merits to prayer whereas one who blemishes the covenant, prayer is taken from him.

c)  One has to put aside charity before praying and by this one merits to pray fluently. Also, by charity one is saved from extraneous thoughts while praying. You will be able to pray without swerving to the right or left but rather you will measure all your words with judgement.

d)  It is impossible to merit to perfect prayer other than by guarding the covenant perfectly. Therefore each person has to connect his prayer to the true tzaddikim of the generation for they know how to raise each and every prayer to the place where it needs to get and thus build the stature of the Shechinah. By this they bring closer the coming of the Moshiach.

e)  Studying Torah and prayer strengthen each other and radiate to each other. Therefore we must engage in them both particularly. All the Torah that a person studies, to keep and perform, all the letters are sparks of souls which become clothed in the letters of the prayer and are rejuvenated there in the aspect of  'ibbur', ( extra spiritual power) .By this the light of prayer is perfected even more. However, the main form of perfection is by connecting and bringing one's prayer to the tzaddik of the generation.

f)  If  a person does a lot of praying and talking to G-d in his own words for many days and years and nevertheless feels himself still very far away from the Holy One and it seems to him that G-d is hiding His Face from him, Heaven forbid, he shouldn't mislead himself into thinking that G-d doesn't listen to his prayers and conversations with Him at all, rather, he should believe with perfect faith that G-d hears and listens attentively to every single word of every prayer and supplication and conversation, for no word is ever lost, Heaven forbid. On the contrary, every single word makes an impression in the World Above, slowly and surely, arousing G-d's mercy each time even though he still hasn't finished the building of holiness which he needs to enter. Over the days and years, if he isn't foolish and doesn't weaken his resolve in any way, strengthening himself and making more and more of an effort in his prayers, G-d's mercy will be aroused until He turns toward him and shines on him His Face (Divine Providence) and fulfills his wishes and desires through the power of the true tzaddikim and will bring him closer to Him with mercy and great compassion.

g)  It is not fitting to think about receiving reward for anything because all our good deeds and all our prayers are all from G-d .As a result, even if a person merits occasionally to some salvation or slight feeling of closeness, he shouldn't think that this is through his Torah learning or prayers or good deeds, for everything is from the Holy One. Without G-d's great charity he would already have sunk in whatever he was sinking, may Heaven save us.

h)  The main evil urge is concerning sex. That is the main form of impurity. So, we need to know that the main test of each individual in This World is in this craving. Happy is he who wins the war.

i)  The true tzaddik of the generation is an aspect of the great light. He shines and enlightens prayer which is an aspect of the small light.

PRAYER 2

Please act with loving-kindness towards us and help us – by Your meriting us to guard the brit – to really be included amongst those Jews considered tzaddikim. Just as You helped Joseph, Your righteous one, when he had a trying experience and saved him by giving him the strength to overcome his evil inclination, so also grant us holy intellect, wisdom, understanding and perception, holy strength and might, in such a way that we can escape from all sorts of blemishes of the brit; help us so that we can overcome our evil inclinations. Let us merit to always have our minds attached and fastened to Your holiness, without even a moment’s break so that, through this, we have strength to arrange our prayers properly before You, without any obstacle, delay or confusion, such that our prayers will be accepted by You. Arouse Your compassion upon us and return Your Countenance towards us. Quickly and speedily redeem us. Bring us our righteous Messiah. Do it for Your sake, not for ours. Help us so that our prayers be arranged suitably. Grant us intellect and perception so that we can measure our prayers correctly. Let us not stumble with the words of our prayer by turning to the right or to the left of the just and true path in prayer…

May we merit to always strengthen ourselves very much with regard to prayer. Let us never despair, Heaven forbid, from shouting out, crying and praying. Rather, let us merit to believe with perfect faith that even though our exile has lasted so long and all Jews cry out to You every day and pray and cry a great deal that You shine Your Countenance upon us and that You rebuild our Temple and redeem us once and for all, yet we still haven’t been redeemed – even so let us know and believe with a firm and perfect belief that no prayer ever gets lost or is wasted, Heaven forbid. On the contrary, all our prayers certainly are raised and established by the tzaddikim in each and every generation and from those prayers they build up the stature of the Divine Presence, so to speak, until its full stature is completed. Then Messiah will come and complete it and establish it in perfection…  

     

May we merit to always connect and attach our minds to Your holiness without even a moment's break, so that by this we have strength to present our prayers before You as is fitting, without an obstacle, delay or confusion. Then let our prayers be accepted before You, and may Your compassion be aroused upon us so that You return your Countenance towards us again. Hasten very much our redemption and bring us our righteous Messiah, for Your sake do it if not for ours. Help us, so that our prayers be organized properly; grant us intelligence and perception that we be able to ‘arrange our words with discretion in the right manner’ and that we not stumble in our words. Let us not diverge to the right or the left of the straight path and the truth in our prayers. In Your bountiful mercy, let merit us to give charity to worthy poor people; arrange for us plenty of money and deserving poor people to accept it… Because of this, bless us, O Lord, our God, and help us to arrange our prayers before You in the ultimate form of perfection. May our prayers be pure and firm, without any extraneous thoughts, in order that there be no barrier separating our prayers from You.

I plead with You, King, Compassionate and Gracious One, let us merit to engage a great deal in studying the holy Torah for its own sake, that’s to say, let all our learning be only with the intention of doing and fulfilling, with love, all the words of the tradition of Your Torah. May all the letters of the Torah which we verbalized, that are an aspect of sparks of souls, be included and clothe themselves in my  holy prayers and become renewed there. This is called the aspect of ‘conception.’ By this, may the radiance of the prayers be perfected to the utmost, just as You informed us through Your holy Sages, may their memory be blessed. May we merit to always strengthen ourselves very much in the service of prayer and may we never despair, Heaven forbid, from shouting, crying and praying. Rather, let us merit to believe with perfect faith, with a strong and perfect faith, that not one single prayer is lost or goes to waste, Heaven forbid, even though our exile has lasted for so long.All  Israel shout to You every day and increase their prayers and wailings – asking that You shine Your Countenance upon us and that You rebuild our Temple and redeem us once and for all – and yet we haven’t been saved. Certainly the tzaddikim in each generation raise and establish our prayers and build from them the complete stature of  the Divine Presence, so to speak, and will do so until Her full stature will be completed. Then the Messiah will come and perfect Her.

Behold. We concentrate in our prayers and attach them all to all the tzaddikim in our generation. In Your bountiful mercy, awaken the heart of the true tzaddikim in our generation; grant these tzaddikim strength to accept our prayers and raise them before You, even if our prayers aren’t as they should be and are mixed with a lot of waste and there isn’t even one word or one letter in our prayers that is pure or clean. My words are very blurred and my tongue full of blemishes for I don’t speak with perception, and what  I say is distant from my mind, nevertheless, may Your compassion and loving-kindness overcome all these faults. Grant strength to Your true tzadikim, so that they are able to raise, pick up and lift all our prayers, to purify and clean them from all dross and blemish in such a way that they can rise before You and find favour; to build from them the full stature of the Divine Presence by strengthening, supporting and raising the Divine Presence from Her exile. Raise the fallen Succah of David by our prayers; return Your Divine Presence to Zion; shine Your Countenance upon us. “Look upon me and be merciful.” “For I will not trust in my bow, neither will my sword save me.” In Your Name alone we trusted. “In God we take pride all day long; and praise Your Name for ever, selah.” Awaken our righteous Messiah so that he will accept our prayers and raise them before You. May all our prayers and prayers of Your Nation, Israel, be as a two-edged sword in his hand, as a shelter, cover and shield to fight our wars and to strive against our opponents. “He will spare the poor and needy and will save the souls of the needy.” “Take hold of shield and buckler and stand up for my help.” “Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O most mighty, with Your glory and majesty.” Do it for Your sake not for us, for even our very, very few good deeds and all our righteousness and prayers come from You. “For all things come from You and we have given You that which is Yours.” Fulfill in us the verse which says: “For My Name’s sake I will defer My anger and My praise I will refrain for You.” “For My own sake, even for My own sake I will do it; for how should My Name be desecrated? – I will not give My glory to another.” “He is the tower of salvation for His King and shows mercy to His anointed, to David and to his seed, for ever.” Amen. Selah.

3.  THE   FROG

  

a) By holy song one raises and builds up the Kingdom of Holiness and one merits to be raised up. So also, the opposite, the cantors and singers of the Other Side   blemish the holiness and lengthen the exile. Through them people stumble and can't move, like birds caught in a trap. Therefore each person  must be very careful not to hear songs from an unholy singer who doesn't  intend to sing from the sake of Heaven at all but rather only for money, honour and fame. Hearing him sing causes damage to the service of G-d. So also the opposite, to hear songs from a kosher, worthy singer is beneficial for the service of G-d.

b) The rectification so that one won't be damaged by the voice of an unholy singer is by learning Talmud at night (after midnight).

c) By holy song a person can merit to an aspect of prophecy for the main way to     attach yourself to G-d is by song, as will be explained.

d) By learning Torah after midnight, a thread of loving kindness is drawn upon you so you can be protected from thoughts of learning for ulterior motives. You also rectify the sound of unholy song so it won't hurt you, for it is very harmful for the service of G-d, and you merit to raise holy song so you can attach yourself to the Holy One by songs and tunes. Through this a person builds and raises the Kingdom of holiness, thus meriting to importance so that he can control anything he wants, even achieving a degree of prophecy.

e) When a person rectifies the voice of song and merits to a degree of kingship and rulership, then he can rule anything he wants; he can bring death to this one or give life to that one. However he has to be very careful to judge each person on the side of merit so he won't destroy the world, for the Holy One desires loving kindness and desires the continuance of the world.

f) When you hear the sound of joyful song and attach yourself by this to the Holy One with a broken heart, through this the sound of song is elevated even though the singer isn't worthy and, as a result, the Kingdom of holiness is raised. To merit to this completely, the rectification is by learning after midnight the Oral Torah which is the Gemorra.        

PRAYER 3

O Lord, our God and God of our Fathers, who chooses David His servant and his ancestors, who chooses songs of praise, may it be Your will that in Your great mercy and loving-kindness, You remember the Divine Presence who’s wandered from her place like a bird wanders from its nest. Raise the community of Israel from its decline. In Your bountiful mercy, help us so that we merit to raise the voice of song in order to have the strength to arrange before You melodies, songs and songs of praise, in a voice of gaiety and joy. May we sing our melodies and songs in a pleasing and sweet voice, all the days of our lives, just as You like. Help us to study Your holy Torah for its own sake both by day and by night. Grant us merit to study the Written Torah by day and the Oral Torah by night.

Master of the World, in Your bountiful mercy, grant us the strength to overcome sleep so that we can drive sleep from our eyes and learn all the Oral Torah by night, as it says: “Rise, sing in the night in the beginning of the watches.” By this, draw upon us a thread of loving-kindness. Help us, through this, so that if we hear a voice of song or the tune sung by anybody in the world, it won’t have any strength to damage us or to confuse us from serving You, Heaven forbid, even if they are blemished voices stemming from birds caught in a trap (from souls trapped in the realm of impurity). Just grant us the strength to raise them, clarify them and return them to the realm of holiness.

Help us to always engage in learning Your holy Torah for its own sake, both day and night. Just as You gave over You holy Torah to Your servant Moses, learning the Written Torah with him by day and the Oral Torah by night, so, in Your bountiful mercy, help us to always learn and meditate in Your holy Torah. Let us learn the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, by day and by night.

Master of the World, who hears forever His People, Israel, protect us and save us so that we won’t be attracted to the songs of wailing and sadness which the wicked usually sing, for it’s the way of the world to be drawn to them very much. Have mercy upon us; protect us and save us from such songs for You know how very many spiritual faults and blemishes are caused by such songs and how much damage they do to good Jews, Heaven forbid. Have mercy upon me, in the strength and merit of the true tzaddikim; come to my aid and protect me at all times so that I be rescued from them. Let us merit to always gladden our souls in holiness and purity by tunes and songs of happiness which draw the heart towards You, to Your worship, Your Torah and true tzaddikim. Help us, in the strength of the true tzaddikim, to raise all these songs of the wicked through the holiness of Shabbat. Grant us strength to raise them and turn them into happiness when we sing them on Shabbat. May the merit of Shabbat protect us so that they won’t have any power to draw upon us the sadness and sighing, Heaven forbid. On the contrary, let us merit to clarify them and raise them, turning them from sorrow and sighing to joy and happiness… May I merit to sing many melodies, songs and songs of praise every Shabbat and on Festivals, with great happiness and joy, with a joyful and happy voice, with tunes of joy and gladness, without any element of sadness, worry or depression. Gladden our souls in Your salvation and purify our hearts in order to truly serve You.

4.  I   AM   G-D, YOUR   L-ORD

a)  It is proper for those who cleave to the true tzaddik to know that everything that happens to each person is for his benefit. When a person knows this, it is like a foretaste of the World to Come. To this one merits by saying a confession in the presence of a Torah scholar. Then you will merit to know that everything that occurs to you during your lifetime is all for the good, for it is all because the Holy One loves you. This is the main element of perfect knowledge, when a person doesn't kick against or get confused by troubling experiences which befall him but, rather, just believes that everything is for the sake of his eternal good.

b)  When a person says a confession in front of a true Torah scholar, he raises the Kingdom of Holiness to its spiritual source. Through this, he nullifies the rule of the nations from over us and comes to know that all his experiences are for his ultimate benefit. Then he will be able to say the blessing "Who is good and beneficent" over everything (not just the apparent good). This is like experiencing the World to Come.

c)  The main rectification of all iniquities is through the true tzaddik. Anyone who wants to merit to the ultimate, eternal good has to make every effort to come close to the real tzaddikim and their followers and to speak out all he feels, all his confession, in the presence of the tzaddik. In this way all his sins are forgiven. The sins of a person are engraved in his bones, for every sin has a certain combination of letters and when he sins a negative letter combination is etched on his bones according to the  letters of the prohibition that he transgressed. This brings the spoken word of the prohibition he transgressed into the realm of impurity. In turn, this brings the Kingdom of Holiness into the exile of the power of evil. As a result, this evil combination, etched upon his bones, takes revenge against him. But, by saying the confession in front of a Torah scholar, these letters are removed from his bones and everything is rectified.      

  d)  By the great humility of the true tzaddikim, who make themselves become like nothing, they have the ability to atone for our sins.

e)  Someone who wants to progress on the pathway of holiness has to break all his bad attributes which stem from the four basic elements ( fire, air, water and earth). He has to say a confession in front of the Torah scholar, expressing all his heart, then the Torah scholar will clarify for him a path (how to serve G-d) in accordance with the root of his soul.

f)  There are three steps in becoming attached to tzaddikim through which everything becomes rectified. They are as follows:

Firstly, when you see a tzaddik, this breaks the bad characteristics within you, which stem from the two elements of inanimate(earth) and vegetation(water); in other words, the traits of sadness and laziness and their derivatives, together with evil passions. Then one merits to joy and speediness.

g)  The second step is to give charity to a Torah scholar. By this, you are saved from  bad traits stemming from the two elements of animal (air) and human( fire) which are idle chatter, slanderous gossip, pride and their derivatives.

h)  The third step is when you say a confession in the presence of the Torah scholar, as a result of which he will guide you on a straight path according to the source of your soul (and its specific needs). This is the main thing and saves a person from everything negative.  

i)  By idle chatter and slanderous gossip a person is brought to a state of poverty. Pride also leads to poverty. However, by giving charity to a Torah scholar this is rectified and you merit to wealth.

j)  Prior to confessing to a Torah scholar, even though you were close to him and gave him money, you still can’t know which path you are to follow. For there is a path that may seem right, but its end leads to death (Proverbs,14,12). However, through confessing to a Torah scholar he will guide you on the proper path, according to the root of your soul, and everything will be rectified.

k)  Every time you come to the Torah scholar you should tell him whatever is in your heart. By this you will be encompassed in the Infinite One. Then you will merit to know that all the events of your life are for your ultimate good and you will be able to say the blessing ' Who is good and beneficent' over everything. This is a foretaste of the World to Come.

l)  By humility one can reach the level of ridding oneself of all worldliness and to be encompassed in the Infinite One, knowing that whatever happens is for one's own good, which is a foretaste of the World to Come.

m)  The very greatest, chosen tzaddikim draw a radiance of the Light of the Infinite One upon all those who come close to them and are included in their name. This is why we see that sometimes a person becomes enthused while praying and he says several words with great fervour. This is due to G-d's compassion for him; the Light of the Infinite One was opened to him and it shines on him. When he sees this radiance, even though he himself might not see it, his 'mazal' (guardian angel) sees it. So immediately his soul is enthused to great attachment to cling to the Light of the Infinite One. And, to the degree that the Infinite One is revealed, according to the number of words that were opened and radiated, so he recites these words of prayer with great devotion, self-sacrifice and the nullification of all his senses.

To all this we merit through the greatest, true tzaddikim, for only they come to know G-d from the Light of the Infinite One. Only they can radiate within us the pleasantness of this radiance, to each one according to what he feels in his heart.

n)  When a person nullifies himself to the Infinite One, as above, he is in  a state of "  and no man knows" such that he himself is unaware of his own existence. But this has to be performed like "running and returning" in order to preserve his existence so that he won't pass away before his time, Heaven forbid. For the Holy One wants us to serve Him, therefore we have to remain here in This World until G-d comes Himself, so to speak, to take our soul. Then a person will become totally encompassed in the Infinite One, according to the degree he deserves.

o)  As a result of cleaving to the Infinite One, by running and returning, in order to stay alive, afterwards when he is in the state of returning, returning to his consciousness and physical self, there still remains an impression of this wonderful light of attachment. Then this impression shows his knowledge of the Oneness of the Infinite One and His Goodness such that he can now know that everything is for the good, everything is one; this is a foretaste of the World to Come. And to all this you can merit by making a confession before a Torah scholar.

p)  By a Jew arousing himself to repentance as a result of his feeling a slight impurity which confuses him while praying, his repentance causes the worst evil doers, who have ceased to be considered  Jews because of their countless sins, to be turned into a basis for holiness; they return in repentance and they also help those who serve G-d to build structures of holiness. Amen. So may it be.

 

PRAYER 4

Now, after all the great, immense acts of loving-kindness that You’ve performed for us, and for me in particular, what can I say before You, You who dwell in the Heavens? How can I, my Master’s servant, a contemptible and lowly servant such as myself, speak and express myself before You, O Lord, my God? How can I open my mouth to stand before You after not having been careful to live up to those acts of goodness You’ve preformed for me? With my own hands I rejected Your favours and great acts of loving-kindness. I have failed to observe Your commandments which are the greatest and most cherished of all favours, the greatest of all kindnesses.

O Lord, I have sinned, committed iniquity and transgressed willfully against the God of Israel. I’ve done that which is evil in Your eyes. I’ve done… such and such ( it is necessary to detail each sin). “Righteousness belongs to the Lord, but to us is shame this day.” What can I say? How can I speak? How can I justify myself? I made evil my deeds and detracted from my goodness and holiness. I’ve blemished a very great deal. My iniquity is greater than can be borne. My sins are so numerous as to be uncountable. Behold, now , because of my many iniquities I am like a drunkard, for my iniquities reach above my head; their weight is more than I can bear. The very thought of them shocks me. All my bones shiver. “There is no peace in my bones because of my sins.” My sins are engraved on my bones, from head to toe. There isn’t one sound bone within me because of all my many sins and willful transgressions. All my bones have been broken and shattered by the many iniquities that have been engraved upon them. Oh! Oh! Woe am I! Oh! Oh! Woe am I! Ho bitter it  all is,  very bitter, more bitter than death, more bitter than all the bitterness in the world.

The truth is that I have not even begun to feel all the pain of one of my transgressions – even one thousandth or one ten thousandth, for my iniquities are many; my heart has become stupefied and my mind confused, such that I don’t know or feel even a small amount of the immense pain of one of my many sins and iniquities. I’ve spoilt and blemished the root of my soul, my spirit and my higher soul and I’ve blemished the Upper Worlds. I have rebelled against the Lord of All, of whom it is said, “The heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Him.” All His angels, Mighty Ones, Seraphim and Ophanim and holy Chayot, the Worlds above and the Worlds above them that are higher and higher beyond estimation, they all tremble and are in dread because of the awesomeness of His Name. They all perform His Will, in awe, fear and love. As for myself, I am the most significant and lowly of all creatures – a stinking drop of sperm; a lump of earth; a whiff of dust! I’ve rebelled against the mighty God of the world, may His Name be blessed forever. I believe that if I were to feel one thousandth or ten-thousandth of the immense bitterness and pain of one of my many sins or iniquities. I’m certain no place could bear to hear the sound of my crying. I myself would not be able to bear the sound of my wailing or the immense pain and bitterness of my heart even for one small moment. The entire world would be unable to bear the sounds of my screams. Oh! Oh! Woe is my soul! I’ve been perverted from listening, shocked from seeing. I’ve acted foolishly indeed. By my many bad deeds and willful transgressions I’ve blemished Your holy, pure and perfect Torah. I’ve spoilt and mixed up the combinations of the holy letters of the Torah. I’ve placed them in unmentionable places. Those combinations of letters that I’ve mixed up, words of the Living God, are engraved on my bones. By this I’ve given strength to the heathens; I’ve given them control. I’ve lengthened the exile by my many iniquities, “What right have I got to cry anymore to the King?” Even so, I haven’t lost hope. My hope is in the Lord for He desires loving-kindness. You want evil-doers to repent but not that they should die.

In Your bountiful loving-kindness, You taught us to confess before You about all our sins, iniquities and willful transgressions. You instructed us through Your holy Sages to explicitly confess before the true sage and tzaddik of the generation in so that, by this, You will forgive us for all our iniquities and willful sins. The true tzaddik and sage of the generation is more humble that anyone on the face of the earth, therefore, by this, he can raise our confession before You to atone for all our transgressions;  he can extract all the evil combinations of letters that are engraved on our bones because of our iniquities. By our confessing before him, all the evil combinations of letters will be turned from bad to good and holy combinations will be made from them, as they were originally. Then all our broken bones will be joined and healed and each one will return to its place without harm. By this, grant us merit to enjoin ourselves in You, O Lord, our God, in Your Infinite Light…

Therefore, in Your bountiful mercy, let us merit to confess before the true tzaddik and sage of the generation about all our sins, iniquities and willful transgressions that we’ve committed from our youth until today, in order that he atone for us through his wisdom and humility. Let him instruct us in the just path oftruth, the path on which we should go and that we should do. By this, let us merit to be come merged in the Infinite One. Let us truly nullify ourselves, such that we attain divestment from materiality. Grant us merit to return and rise to the place from which we were hewn. Open for us Your great light, which is without end… We trust in You, we wait and hope that You will have mercy upon us. In Your bountiful mercy, let us merit to all that we have requested from before You. Let us be worthy of completely nullifying all the cravings of the body and the bad attributes, until we attain divestment from materiality and truly enjoin ourselves in You all the days of our lives, until the day when we will be gathered unto You. Then, in Your compassion, let us merit to be included within You forever. Let no sin, iniquity or willful transgressions prevent us. In Your great compassion and great, awesome loving-kindness, help us to nullify our wills to Your will so that we have no other will in the world. Just let our wills  always be as You desire…

Let my confession before You be considered and accepted by You as if I’d confessed before the true sage and tzaddik of the generation. Help us, O Lord, our God, in Your bountiful mercy, to attain all the virtues and good attributes and to nullify all the evil cravings and attributes, things which we could have merited to by the true tzaddikim, whether we requested them from You or not. You are our Father. We have no one to rely upon other than You, our Father in Heaven… I have no one to turn to for salvation other than You. Take pity and have mercy upon me. Please forgive, pardon and grant atonement for all my many sins, iniquities and willful transgressions. Mercy and forgiveness belongs to the Lord our God, for we have rebelled against Him. For Your Name’s sake, O Lord, forgive me for my transgressions, for they are many. Forgiveness belongs to You in order that we fear You. Help us and grant us merit,  as an outright gift, all that we’ve asked from You… If I’ve faltered in my speech then grant me atonement, O Lord… May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart find favour before You, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

5.  WITH   TRUMPETS

a)  Every person has to say to himself that the entire world was created for my sake (Sanhedrin,37). Therefore each individual must look into and consider at all times how to rectify the world and provide whatever is missing and pray on their behalf.

b)  A person has to perform each mitzvah with such great joy that he has no desire for any reward in the World to Come. Instead, all he wants is that the Holy One provide him with the opportunity to perform another mitzvah as a reward for the previous one, for he takes pleasure from the mitzvah itself. By achieving this level he can then  know  what has been decreed against the world and whether it is before the decree has been issued or after, and upon whom the decree has been issued, Heaven forbid. Then he knows how to pray for the world's sake, for, after the decree, the tzaddikim have to veil their prayers with stories. To all this we merit when we perform a mitzvah  with great joy stemming from the mitzvah itself, as explained.

c)  The essence of joy is in the heart but it is impossible for the heart to rejoice unless a person removes the crookedness which is in his heart so that he will have a straight heart. Then he will achieve true joy. The crookedness in the heart is straightened by thunder which corresponds to prayer recited strongly, with fear and love of G-d and with great concentration.

d)  To merit to this joy is by means of praying powerfully and with great fear and love.

e)  A person has to pray with all his strength, releasing his voice in prayer with great power. By this his voice will strike his brain and then he will be able to concentrate while praying. In other words, his heart will hear what he says and through this he will merit to straighten the crookedness in his heart such that he achieves real joy. Then he will perform the mitzvoth with great happiness just from the mitzvah itself. As a result he will merit to be able to veil his prayer in tales of events and thus nullify all the harsh decrees even after they have already been issued.

f)  Whoever hears the blowing of a shofar on Rosh Hashana from a man who is G-d fearing and pious will certainly not be afraid of thunder throughout the year.

g)  To merit to achieve this aspect of thunder perfectly, one has to clear the mind from all kinds of secular wisdoms, extraneous and undesirable thoughts.

h)  One has to be very careful to clear the mind from secular wisdoms and undesirable thoughts – of 'chametz' (sour thoughts). He mustn't sour his wisdom with unholy wisdom and physical cravings for they stupefy and cause impurity to the mind such that it becomes impossible for him to concentrate while praying or to be happy.

     He also has to guard himself against worldly fears so that he won't be afraid of anything other than G-d alone. As a result of worldly fears it is impossible to concentrate while praying and it prevents joy. The main thing is to guard the mind so it shouldn't become sour and think about undesirable things and physical cravings, for they are like 'chametz'; they are from the realm of death. You have to be angry at these thoughts which are from the side of death, the realm of evil, and to drive them out of your mind and your thoughts so that they won't approach you. You have to guard yourself a lot so that these thoughts won't enter your mind, Heaven forbid.

  You also have to combine love and fear of G-d, for only then will you be able to purify your mind and pray with great concentration with all your strength so that it will be like thunder. By this you can achieve happiness.

i)  A Jew has to guard himself from worldly fears so that no fear in the world will affect him. Rather, when some fear or fright comes upon him, he has to remember at once fear of G-d and His great awesomeness. You have envelope yourself in fear of G-d constantly, throughout the whole day. As a result you will be able to pray with all your strength and recite the words out loud with great power such that it will be like thunder. Then you will be able to hear clearly (in your heart) what you speak out. By this you will achieve joy, to perform all the mitzvoth with great happiness just from the mitzvah itself. This will enable you to know how to nullify any harsh decrees, even after they have been issued, G-d forbid.

j)  You have to combine love and fear of G-d in order to merit to all the above, for the main form of strengthening yourself is through love of G-d. Even so, you have to start with fear of G-d.

k)  Someone who wants to have compassion on himself on himself has to strengthen himself so he won't hear or take notice of any arguments between the true tzaddikim, rather, he must believe in them all. On the contrary, when he hears arguments between the tzaddikim he has to learn about himself and look at where he is in the world spiritually. Hearing these arguments comes to rebuke you for having blemished the drops in your mind. For it is certain that if you hadn't blemished your mind, you wouldn't have heard these arguments between the tzaddikim and you wouldn't have  had doubts about them in your heart. The main purpose of these arguments is only for you, in order that you understand and remember this, where you are in the world; the powers of evil are trying to drive you away from the true life, the true tzaddikim. Hearing the argument is because you have blemished the drops of your mind about which it says, "None that go to her return; nor do they regain the paths of life." (Proverbs,2,19). If someone is foolish and doesn't understand this, then he will really be distanced, thus losing his world.  However, someone who really wants to have mercy on himself through this specifically will be awakened spiritually and ask himself where he is in the world. He will understand that this is a test for him which he has to stand up to by not hearing or thinking about that argument. He has to come closer to the true tzaddikim as a result. This will be his main rectification for all eternity…for really he deserves to be distanced because he blemished his mind; he blemished so much it would be impossible to approach (tzaddikim and the realm of holiness) other than by this test specifically. The truth is that the Holy One desires to show loving kindness and wants to bring close those who were far away, even though they don't deserve it. That is why they have to undergo this test.

l)  The extraneous and undesirable thoughts are from the side of death, like chametz and they chase after a person's mind in order to enter it. So, you have to rebuke them and argue with them so as to keep them out of the mind. By this you are saved from chametz and the realm of death and you acquire expanded intellect, which is an aspect of matza and true life. (Now it becomes obvious that through the commandments of nullifying chametz and eating matza during Pesach, we merit to all of the above.)

m)  The controversy between the real tzaddikim is also only for this purpose, to drive away the side of evil to prevent it from coming into the realm of holiness. Therefore, this controversy between them is an aspect of 'matza' (meaning 'argument').

PRAYER 5

In Your bountiful mercy and immense loving-kindness, help me to rid my mind and thoughts of alien wisdoms and ‘strange’, improper thoughts. Let me not stupefy my mind and thoughts with cravings and fantasies, nor sour my mind and thoughts with alien wisdoms and cravings, Heaven forbid. Save me from thinking bad thoughts so that I won’t have any bad or alien thoughts at all. Rather, may my mind and thoughts be clean, refined and pure so that no alien thought enters my mind at all. Grant me the strength to overcome all bad thoughts, alien thoughts and fantasies that come to me to confuse my mind, so that I don’t allow them any place to enter my mind at all. Help me to merit to rebuff them, fight against them and remove them from the realms of my mind so that they won’t have any strength at all to enter my brain. May I always sanctify my thoughts.

Please, Lord, Merciful One, full of mercy, Who is good and does good to all. You know how great and immense this huge and awesome blemish is. Each bad thought reaches even the most lofty worlds and damages them very much. How much more so does evil fantasing blemish and spoil all the worlds very much indeed. It uproots the person from the Source of life, Heaven forbid, such that it is difficult for him to return and ascertain the pathway of life. So also is this true of other immense, awesome blemishes, created by each bad thought and fantasizing which enters the brain, Heaven forbid, for they reach to the heights of the heaven, damaging the place where they influence. You also know the immensity of their power to overcome us all the time, to confuse our minds with bad thoughts and fantasies. Because of my many iniquities, I haven’t been careful to guard myself from such thoughts and to overcome them, so I’ve blemished my mind very much by the bad thoughts that I allowed to enter it and now all my mind is full of ‘alien’, unholy thoughts. I have transgressed the prohibition against having chametz, for I’ve soured my mind by cravings, fantasies, confusions and all sorts of nonsense. Not only did not I try to overcome the bad thoughts, I even gave them strength to enter my mind and didn’t try at all to drive them out. I did not fulfill You holy advice which, in Your bountiful mercy, You revealed to me, that it’s possible to drive them out by ‘sitting and doing nothing’ (in other words simply by ignoring them or holding on to the good thought I just had). I didn’t listen to the voice of my teacher. Woe am I.

Alas. Days have passed with confusion of the mind and bad thoughts. “I have sunk in deep mire where it is impossible to stand. I’ve come into deep waters where the flood overflows me.” My whole mind and brain have become so confused with bad thoughts and confusions that even at the time that I want to overcome them and run away from them it is very difficult for me. Because of all these blemishes I’ve come before You, Lord, my God and God of my fathers, with a broken and contrite heart, with all sorts of bowing and submission, with supplications and requests, as a poor person at the door, sighing and oppressed. I ask for an undeserved gift, a gift granted out of loving-kindness. In Your immense mercy and wonderful loving-kindness, find grace in me and lead me from darkness to light. Help me from today, until eternity, to always sanctify my thoughts.

 Master of the World, Who beholds the insult done to the oppressed, please cherish my poor soul in Your eyes. In Your compassion and grace, have mercy upon me. Help me, assist me, strengthen me, embolden me and sanctify me in Your sublime holiness, so that holiness and purity will be drawn upon me from You in such a way that I merit from now on to guard myself from letting alien thoughts or any confusion enter my mind at all. Even more so, let me not fantasize at all, rather, let my thoughts always be holy, refined and clean of any dross or waste. In Your bountiful mercy, let me merit to believe in true tzaddikim and let no fantasy or bad thought enter my mind about the dissension that there is between the true tzaddikim. Rather, help me merit to believe in true tzaddikim with perfect faith. Let me have no thought or question against them and about the dissension that there is between them. Master of the World, even indeed if I have blemished the fluid of my brain, by which I have made myself not fitting and not deserving to come close to true tzaddikim, nor to merit to really believe in them. By this, all sorts of alien thoughts and bad thoughts about them come into my mind, even so, please, Lord, don’t deal with me according to my sins; don’t judge me according to my actions. Do it for Your sake, not for my sake, and fulfill my request mercifully. Let no question or bad thought enter my heart at all about the true tzaddikim and the dissension between them. Just let me merit to always believe in them with truly perfect faith… Save me and all Your Nation, the House of Israel, from all sorts of bad thoughts and fantasies which are called the Side of Death. In Your bountiful mercy, grant me a good life, a long life, a true life, an eternal life. Help me so that I merit to sanctify my mind which is called ‘a well of living water.’

6.  CALL   YEHOSHUA

a)  Every individual has to minimize his own honour and increase the honour of G-d; one shouldn't pursue honour, but rather, flee from it, then one will merit to Divine honour. People will then not investigate the honour one receives asking whether one is worthy of it or not. On the other hand, someone who chases after honour doesn't merit to this divine honour, therefore, even when he is honoured, everyone investigates and inquires after him, asking ' who is he whom people bestow this honour; they cause controversy against him, saying that he is not worthy of this respect.

b)  Through humility we achieve repentance, for the essence of repentance is when a person hears himself being insulted and remains silent, without answering, bearing all the insults and the spilling of his blood while feeling his own worthlessness and insignificance and his many blemishes; he understands that that certainly it is fitting for him to suffer all these insults that come to him. This minimizes the blood in the left chamber of his heart; it is like slaughtering the evil urge. Through this, one merits to Divine honour.

c)  Before repenting, a person hasn't any existence; it is as if he still hadn't come into existence in the world, for it is better that a person had not been created than if he had. But when he comes to purify himself and to repent, then he prepares an existence for himself. Therefore, repentance is an aspect of 'I will be', 'I prepare myself to be'.

d)  Repentance is also an aspect of Kheter (crown) for Kheter comes from the word 'waiting', as it says, "Wait (khatar) for me a little" (Job,36). This is similar to repentance, as the Sages said (Yoma,39) "He who comes to purify himself, from above, they help him. Like a person who comes to buy a fragrant perfume; they tell him to wait." That's to say, a person has to know when he approaches to purify himself and repent, that they will tell him to wait. On the one hand, he has to hurry a great deal to save his soul, to escape from the darkness. Even so, he shouldn't panic when he sees his distance from prayer and from all things in holiness. There is a necessity to wait until one merits to a complete rectification and to progress from one spiritual level to another, according to the guidance of the true tzaddik, for it is impossible to enter the realm of holiness in one step.

e)      One has to always be involved in the trait of repentance, for even when a person says "I have sinned, committed iniquity and wantonly transgressed", even this he cannot say without extraneous thoughts. This means that one has to repent on one's previous repentance, on the "I have sinned, committed iniquity and wantonly transgressed" that one said.

      f)   And even if you know yourself that you made perfect repentance, even so, you have to repent on the pervious repentance because when you repented the first time you did it according to your perception then, but afterwards, when you repent, you certainly recognize and perceive the Holy One on a higher level. Thus, it turns out that according to your present perception, your previous understanding was certainly less spiritual and therefore flawed. This being the case, you have to repent about having made worldly and mundane the sublime godliness of the Holy One. Happy is he who merits to such repentance.

g)       The true tzaddik is always repenting, for even when he knows he has achieved perfect repentance, it is still only according to his previous perception which is now considered to be mundane in comparison to his present understanding of the exaltedness of the godliness of the Holy One. So the tzaddik behaves all his life, going from one level of perception to a higher one, repenting each time on his previous level of understanding. This is an aspect of the World to Come which is all Shabbat, all repentance, for the essence of the World to Come is perceiving the Divine; every moment when one perceives more, one repents more about the previous level. He who has a brain in his skull can understand through this the greatness of the Creator, praised be He, and the greatness of the tzaddikim. Happy are they and those who follow in their path.

h)      Whoever wants to return to G-d has to be very familiar indeed with how to go in the paths of repentance so that nothing in the world will cause him to fall or become distant (from G-d) whether at the time of spiritual ascent or at the time of a fall. Whatever happens, a person has to strengthen himself, hold on and fulfill the verse which says, "If I ascend to Heaven, You are there and if I make my bed in Hell, here You are." Even in the pit of Hell you can come close to G-d, for there also He is to be found, as it says, "If I make my bed in Hell, here You are."

i)       When a person wants to progress on the paths of repentance, he has to have two forms of expertise. In other words he has to know how to run and how to return, to enter and to exit… That's to say, if he wants to return to G-d, he has to strengthen himself in the paths of G-d at all times, whether when ascending or at the time of descent. This means that even if you merit to some sort of spiritual ascent, whether big or small, even so you mustn't stop there; don't make do with this. One has to be very knowledgeable in this, to know and believe that you have to go further and further. This is an aspect of knowing how to run. Also the opposite is true. Even if you fall, Heaven forbid, to wherever you fall, even into the pit of Hell, there also don't ever despair in  any way, whatever happens, rather just search and ask for the Holy One; strengthen yourself in every situation, in whatever way you can for the Holy One is present always, even in the pit of Hell. From there also a Jew can attach himself to G-d. This is an aspect of knowing how to return. It is impossible to merit to repentance other than when one is familiar with these two ways. The truth is that it is a very great expertise to merit to know that one constantly has to strive and make an effort in the service of G-d and to anticipate every moment to reach a higher spiritual level, while at the same time not falling for any reason. Whatever will be, Heaven forbid, one must not get discouraged at all, but rather, fulfill the verse which says, "If I make my bed in Hell, here You are." When a person has these two forms of expertise then he can progress in the paths of repentance. Then G-d's right hand is outstretched to accept his repentance and he merits to G-d's glory. By this he becomes a man who sits on the throne. Happy is this man.

j)       Repentance needs to meet three conditions – to see with his eyes, hear with his ears, understand with his heart and so repent. For a person has to focus his eyes and heart to his ways and consider his ultimate purpose, concentrating his heart very well on it; he must listen carefully to all the words of our holy rabbis; then he will merit to real repentance.

k)      The main essence of repentance is through humility, that a person has to make himself into nothing, like a desert to be trod on, paying no attention to the controversy or insults directed at him; he just holds on to the attribute of silence and is among those who hear themselves ridiculed and yet do not retort. Then he is called a true Sage and merits to repentance which is an aspect of kheter (a crown). By this one merits to true, eternal honour which is G-d's glory, and to a good portion in the World to Come. This is the main element of a person's repentance and rectification for all his sins; thus he will merit to be included in the aspect of man who sits on the throne from where judgement spreads out to all the Peoples of the world. 

l)       A person has to try and always search after any merit or good that is possible to find in a Jew and judge each person on the side of merit, even of those who oppose him and insult him; then he will always be saved from controversy. By this, he makes a precious crown (kheter) for the Holy One with several kinds of precious stones.

PRAYER 6

Master of the World… I am certainly deserving of all types of insults in the world, as is written: “Those that belittle me will be disparaged.” How is it possible for me to complain against those who insult me? How can I take issue with them since I am deserving of all this and very much more than this?! How can I hold their affronts to my honour against them, when every Jew is so precious that he is an aspect of a ‘crown’ for the Holy One, may He be blessed. Therefore, please let me merit to be dumb and silent in the face of those who despise me; help me to accept everything lovingly such that I merit by this to perfect repentance, which is the aspect of the sacred Name Ehyeh.

May I merit to spend all my days in repentance, for who can say “I have cleansed my heart and become pure of my sins.” You know our hearts, how they are mixed with pollution and many ulterior motives. Even when I confess and speak out my sins before You, then also all sorts of strange thoughts and great distractions beset my heart such that it is impossible for me to say even one word sincerely, like I should. Even to confess truly about the sins that I have committed has also been prevented from me. Therefore, let me continually be in repentance and merit to always repent with regard to the previous repentance. May I merit each time to rectify the blemish of the previous repentance until,  in Your bountiful mercy, I merit to an exalted and completely sincere repentance as is proper. Then open my heart and mind in order to know Your Name and to truly know that I haven’t started to repent in a manner commensurate with Your immense greatness and exaltedness. Then let me merit to really, to repent each time on the previous level of awareness, for I made my perception of Your exalted Godliness too material relative to the greater level of perception of Your tremendous exaltedness that I  have achieved since then. May I gain better perception every time, such that I merit to spend my entire life repenting; until that day on which You gather me unto You and merit me to the World to Come, to a time which will be completely Shabbat, a time entirely of repentance. Let me slaughter my evil inclination and fulfill the verse which says: “Whoever offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies Me.” May I honour You in both worlds, in this World and in the World to Come. Help me to really run away from honour, to diminish my personal honour and to increase the glory of God. In Your bountiful mercy, bestow upon me the honour of God from Your great glory, so that I merit to honour the holiness, for Your sake alone. Let me not take any personal pleasure from this honour at all, nor use it for anything other than Your Name and Your service. Help me so that no one will question or investigate whether I deserve this honour or not.

Help me Lord, my God, to always be bold, courageous and strong in Your service. Don’t ever let me fall, Heaven forbid. Don’t cast me aside and don’t take Your holy spirit from me.  Let me merit to be an expert in Torah law (halacha), an expert at ‘running’ and ‘returning’, at ascending and descending. Let me be able to find You in every place whether ascending or descending, as is written: “If I ascend into Heaven You are there; and if I make my bed in the depths, here You are.” Let me be worthy of always holding onto You and attaching myself to You, and fulfill the verse which says: “I am my Beloved’s , and My Beloved is mine.”

Master of the Universe! Master of the Universe! My Father in Heaven, take pity and be merciful upon me. Rebuke those who persecute me and bring me down. Decree an end to my suffering, saying ‘Till here and no more’. From now on have mercy upon me; help me and save me; start raising me higher and higher very swiftly. Turn all my spiritual declines turn into progress and all my alienation from You to turn into my coming closer. In Your compassion, You have started to bring me closer to You. You have begun to grant us Your great holiness and the strength of Your mercy through the true tzaddikim in each generation. Therefore it would not be fitting for You to desert us. O Lord, our God, arouse Your mercy upon us…

I plead with You Lord, in Your bountiful mercy,  merit me that my eyes, heart and ears be opened to see, understand and hear Your greatness and exaltedness and to sincerely return to You. Grant me knowledge, understanding and wisdom from You, so as to really understand and ascertain the paths of repentance. Help me to always progress along these paths and may I merit to really be among the repentant. “Your right hand is outstretched to accept those who repent.” You desire repentance. ‘If not now, when?’ Help me so that I merit to really perfect repentance, to an exalted repentance… Let Your mercy also reach me. Hollow out of a place from under Your Throne of Glory. You, Who have compassion on the poor, hear the sighing of the needy. Help me to really awaken myself and return truly in perfect repentance before You. Let me be really attached to true tzaddikim from now on, forever, for “You do not desire the death of the wicked, but rather that he return from his ways and live.” “You return man back to dust and say, ‘Return, you children of man’.” “ Return O God, how long? Relent concerning Your servants.” “Return us to You, O God, and we will be returned; renew our days as of old.”

Master of the World, may I always merit to perfect repentance, especially during the holy days of the month Elul which was when Moses our teacher, of blessed memory, opened up for us a paved roadway to repentance. This road is made up of two types of expertise – ‘running’ and ‘returning’ based on the two holy Names – the Tetragrammaton (YHVH) and Ehyeh. It includes the two holy points, the upper and the lower, which are the essential perfection of repentance – the aspects of repenting and afterwards repenting for one’s original repentance, the aspect of repentance in This World and repentance of the World to Come. Therefore let us merit, during these holy days of Elul, to complete repentance. Merit us to draw upon ourselves the holiness of Elul throughout the whole year, until we merit to always be in complete repentance before You, may we progress in perfection along the paths of repentance all the days of our lives. In Your bountiful mercy and great loving-kindness, accept all the aspects and levels of our repentance with great love and affection. Fulfill in us the verse which says: “We will search through and review our ways and return to God.” “For Your right hand is outstretched to accept those who repent.”

           

In Your bountiful mercy, help me return in perfect repentance before You with regard to all my sins, iniquities and willful transgressions. Let me  be among those who undertake to purify themselves. Assist me from on high to be purified of all my sins and may I merit to truly and completely repent for all my transgressions. You, who are full of compassion, please, please have pity upon me in Your bountiful mercy. Behold my inadequacies and lowliness. Can it be that I was created in vain – for now I am not worthy of being called a human being at all! It’s as if I don’t yet exist in the world, having perverted my deeds I would be better off had I not been create!

Therefore, I have come before You, O Lord, my God, to plead that You help me in the power of Your great Name – Ehyeh – in which You revealed Yourself when You began to redeem Your children from Egypt … Therefore, with the power of this holy Name, let me merit, in Your bountiful mercy, to begin to prepare myself to have some existence in the world by returning to You. May I feel the pain of my many sins and iniquities and to return to You in perfect repentance. Let me be amongst those “who are insulted and do not insult, who hear themselves abused and do not reply.” Let my soul be silent to those who curse me. I will be dumb and silent in the face of  all sorts of abuse, ridicule and scorn that I may hear from somebody, as is written “Be silent before God and wait patiently for Him.” “I was like a man who doesn’t hear and a mute who doesn’t open his mouth.” For, in truth, O God, I know that all types of humiliation in the world would not be enough for me considering the immensity of my many sins, for I am far more contemptible than all the insults in the world that the mouth can utter. Because of my many iniquities I have blemished Your great and holy honour. I failed to honour Your great Name and degraded my soul very much through my iniquities. I gave strength to the blood in the left chamber of my heart, therefore I certainly deserve to suffer great insults and the spilling of blood. So, Lord, my God, help me not respond to those who abuse and humiliate me, in order that I have atonement for my sins.

7.    THESE   ARE   THE   JUDGEMENTS

a)  The main form of redemption depends on faith, for exile is primarily a result of the  lack of faith.

b)  Prayer is an aspect of faith for one believes that there is an Innovator who has the power to renew everything according to His will. Therefore, a person who believes, prays to the Holy One to fulfill his requests. By this he can bring about miracles, above and beyond the laws of nature.    

c)  The essence of faith, which is prayer, an aspect of miracles, is only in the Land of Israel. There is the main place for prayers to rise and there a person can, through his prayer, bring about what he wants and create true miracles and wonders in the world.  

d)   Faith, prayer and miracles and the Land of Israel are all one aspect. All of them are inter-dependent.

e)  If one causes a blemish in the Land of Israel, which reflects faith and prayer, then one descends into exile. The main blemish is that prayer descends into exile and it becomes impossible to pray properly and bring about miracles.

f)  Some people cover over all the miracles by explaining them as nature. When these atheists, who don't believe in miracles, cease to exist and faith becomes much stronger throughout the world, then Meshiach will come for the main essence of redemption depends on this, that's to say, on faith.

g)  It is impossible to achieve faith other than by truth (that's to say, the essence of faith is only when the intellect doesn't understand, for when one understands, faith doesn't apply. This being the case, when a person doesn't understand, where will he acquire faith from to believe in what he has to believe.  So, essentially, faith depends on truth. When a person wants to look at the real truth, he will understand automatically that he has to believe with pure faith in the Holy One, in true tzaddikim and in His holy Torah. Even though this is impossible to understand properly with our crude intellect, nevertheless, by looking at the truth with a true eye, he will understand, even from far away, that this is certainly the truth though we cannot understand it intellectually. Therefore, we have to strengthen ourselves with perfect faith. Understand well. ) 

h)  One cannot reach truth other than by coming close to true tzaddikim and by following their advice, without swerving to the right or left from their words. As a result, truth will be etched within such a person; then he will merit to faith, prayer, the Land of Israel and miracles. By this, the Redemption will come.

i)  Advice that we receive from tzaddikim is like a holy marriage, for we get drops of their intellect by this advice that we accept. This means that it is an aspect of rectifying the brit. On the other hand, accepting advice from those who oppose or obstruct the tzaddikim is like blemishing the brit, for they entice and lead people away from the point of truth. Consequently, someone who has blemished his brit has to guard himself a great deal from this mixed-up advice of those who oppose the truth, in order that he not lose his whole world in a moment, Heaven forbid. 

j)  One has to stay far away from the advice of common people because most of their advice is bad and very spoilt. This is even more so with the advice of those evil people who oppose the truth. All the sins and blemishes come from them so one has to keep very far away from them indeed. Their advice is like that of the Primaeval Serpent, so when one accepts their advice it instills poison within you. This is like marriage to the husks of evil, as it says," The Snake beguiled me" (Genesis, 3, 13). Such advice is an aspect of blemishing the brit which distances a person from truth, holy faith and the Land of Israel. Therefore one has to very careful not to follow their advice, Heaven forbid. Rather, one has to attach oneself to true tzaddikim and their followers whose advice is entirely a seed of truth (Jeremiah, 2, 21). Taking their advice is an aspect of rectifying the brit and through their advice one merits to everything good, to truth, faith, prayer and the Land of Israel and to bring about miracles in the world. 

k)  The craving for sex primarily depends on the eyes. The mitzvah of tzitzit acts as a guard and correction for this and, by this we are saved from bad advice. It merits us to receive true advice from the true tzaddikim. Consequently, we have to be careful about this mitzvah of tzitzit; when you wrap yourself in the holy tzitzit and make a blessing you should have in mind that it should merit you to a protection of the brit and to good and truthful advice. By this, you should merit to faith, the Land of Israel and to bring the redemption closer. You should also merit to prayer and to bring about miracles and wonders in the world. As a result of this holy mitzvah, may you also have a good income, for this depends mostly on rectifying the brit. Finally, through this, you should merit to understand very well whatever Torah you learn such that all its wisdoms will be revealed to you like an arranged table. 

l)  Prayer, which is faith, has a special power to help the memory and saves you from forgetting which stems from flaws in faith.

m)  Before coming close to a tzaddik, one is in the aspect of "makes the heart fat, stops up its ears and seals its eyes" (Isaiah, 6, 10). That's to say, one's heart is closed, one's ears blocked and one's eyes blind from seeing the truth and awakening to repentance. However, when you attach yourself to tzaddikim and take their advice, then your heart, eyes and ears are opened ,as it says,' see with their eyes etc. which are the three brains. Then he will repent and be healed such that he sees hears and understands the truth and merits to repent. 

n)   Through blemishing the brit (sexual sins) a person loses his income.

o)  It is especially good for a sick person to look at the tzitzit.

PRAYER 7

Master of the World, Lord, God of truth, You planted within us true tzaddikim in every generation. In Your bountiful mercy, save us and let us merit to come close to real tzaddikim, to accept true advice from them such that we won’t stray from their words, whether to the right or the left. Rather, let us merit to progress in the path of their true advice. Have mercy upon us; save us and all our friends and all of Israel from the advice of the Primeval Snake. Let us not listen to them at all and don’t let their words and advice enter our hearts at all. Separate us from those who go astray. Don’t let them have any strength to lead us astray, Heaven forbid, by their evil advice. In Your bountiful mercy, save us from all sorts of lies and mistakes in the world. Save us from following their evil advice. They cover lies with a veneer truth and distort the words of the living God. What is evil they say is good, and what is good they say is evil. They prevent Jews from the true, correct path for their advice is the opposite of the truth… There are those who are themselves mistaken and don’t know the absolute truth. They speak straightforwardly but their advice isn’t good and damages us a lot with regard to worshipping you. Master of the World, You know the truth; before You all hidden things are revealed. You know the secrets of the world, the hidden matters of all creatures. Rise, come to our aid and save us from them. Don’t let their words attach themselves to or enter our hearts at all. “Great advice and mighty in deed,” let us merit, in Your great compassion, to have revealed the true tzaddikim; let us really come close to them and receive from them proper, clear and honest advice, good advice drawn from the 613 counsels of the Torah and let us receive the light of truth by their true advice. By this, let us merit to perfect, true belief for evermore.

Please, merciful and gracious King, let merit us to always pray  with great devotion until we merit by this to miracles, which are this being the aspect of above nature and above time. By this, may we merit to the holy power of memory, to remember very well all the words of the holy Torah, comprising the 613 commandments which are of 613 forms of holy advice. May we merit to remember very well in our hearts all the holy forms of advice that were revealed to us by the true tzaddikim which are also the aspect of 613 forms of advice, as mentioned above. May we merit to learn, teach, keep, do and fulfill, with great love, all the words of the tradition of Your Torah and that of Your true tzaddikim. Save me from forgetfulness, for You know how much it overcomes us, especially nowadays… Therefore I ask from You that You have pity and compassion upon us and let us merit to fulfill all the holy advice until, by this itself, we merit to truth, faith and perfect prayer, to miracles which are the aspect of being above nature and time. And, by this, may we always merit to the holy power of memory.

O Lord, our God and God of my fathers, may it be Your will that You have mercy upon us and upon all the community of Israel, Your People. Plant Your faith in our hearts and let us merit to believe in You and Your true tzaddikim, with perfect faith. May our belief be fine, proper, pure and clean of any blemish or confusion in the world, Heaven forbid. In Your bountiful mercy, legrant us to such a strong belief that it is as if we see with our own eyes Your Divinity, Your Providence and Your Glory which fills all the world! Let us always really cleave to You with simplicity and a proper, calm understanding…

You revealed to us Your divinity and Kingdom, for You took us out of Egypt and redeemed us from the force of their exile, from the iron furnace, from the depths  of the husks. You extracted us from Fifty Gates of Impurity and brought us into Fifty Gates of Purity. You performed miracles and wonders in Egypt and at the Red Sea. You broke and subdued all the idols in Egypt; You radically changed normal processes; You altered Nature; You uprooted and cancelled all sorts of atheism and all sorts of false belief associated with Pharaoh and the Egyptians who wanted the Israelites to sink among them, Heaven forbid. They wanted to overcome us, Heaven forbid, with their various denials of faith and false beliefs – this was the power of their exile. However, in Your bountiful mercy, You didn’t leave us among them, but rather, You hurried to extract us from among them. You subdued, broke and uprooted all their kinds of denial of faith, by the miracles and great, awesome wonders that You performed. You revealed Your Divinity and Lordship to all the peoples of the world. Since then, the Jews have always cleaved to You and believed in the Lord and his servant Moses. So, in Your bountiful mercy, let us merit to always believe in You and Your true tzaddikim with a perfect, strong and proper faith. Just as You are the God of truth, so, let us believe in You truly, until we merit to feel Your Divinity upon us. Let us always cleave to You. Never let us separate from You., even for one moment. May we feel shame, fear, dread and awe of You during all things that we engage in or do, even in physical matters such as eating and drinking. May they all really be for Your Name’s sake, for Your worship. Let us never forget You, whether when lying down or rising, when sitting a home or walking outside, when we are silent or when we engage in Torah, perform commandments, or do business – in all of these, let us cleave to You and may we never, ever forget You. Help us to fulfill the verse which says: “Can anyone hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him?” said the Lord. ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ said the Lord. Merciful One, who desires to do good, You created Your world just for this – to do good. All the worlds above and below, thousands upon thousands, tens of thousands, You created in order to reveal Your Divinity in the world, so that we may merit to acknowledge You in this lowly world… all the favours, miracles and wonders that You performed for our forefathers and for us and which You perform for us every day, every hour – they are all for this ultimate good, so that we merit to know something about You. This is the purpose of all the favours in the world. Therefore, Lord of all the world, have mercy upon us and establish Your belief in our hearts for ever more.

O Lord, don’t Your eyes search for faith? Grace us, merit us and help us, in Your plentiful mercy; bestow upon us Your holy belief at all times, without even one moment’s break. Now let me and all Your People, Israel, merit to really perfect faith. Let us really believe in You and in Your true tzaddikim, without any improper thought, Heaven forbid, without any confusion or deviation at all, Heaven forbid. Let me merit to believe in Your holy miracles which You’ve performed for us since time immemorial, miracles and great wonders which You’ve performed for us in every single generation up till now – sublime miracles, miracles in the world below, revealed miracles and concealed miracles; miracles according to the laws of nature and supernatural miracles; general miracles and specific miracles which You perform for every single Jew every day, every hour. Let me and all Your People, Israel, believe in all these miracles with perfect faith, without any blemish or confusion at all, Heaven forbid. Seal and shut up the mouths of all those who lie and want to implant denial of faith in the heart and cover over the miracles and explain them by the way of nature. In Your plentiful mercy, help us to be saved from them. Let us not desire or listen to them at all, rather, give us strength to subdue, break, uproot and nullify their evil thoughts from the world. Let there be no hope for the slanderers and may the heretics and atheists all perish instantly. Place in their hearts thoughts of regret so that they repent of their evil and misconceptions. Let them all return to You truly and acknowledge the power of Your Kingdom. God of faith, in Your immense compassion, help us merit to perfect belief, as is proper…

Master of the World, You know that the great length of this exile is only because of the blemish of our weak faith. Because of this we were exiled from our Lord. We still haven’t merited to rectify this blemish, so our exile has lasted until now. Therefore, have mercy upon us, Your Nation, Israel, for no one can stand up for us other than Your great Name. Plant and establish Your holy faith in our hearts from now on and forever. Remove the crookedness from our hearts so that no crookedness or question about Your Providence enter our minds. Let us merit to always believe that You are righteous and just. “For the word of the Lord is just: all His works are done in faith.” Be gracious to us; answer us and give us the merit to always have really perfect faith. By this, merit us to return to our Land very soon, speedily in our days. Amen.

8.   I  SAW  A  CANDLESTICK  OF  GOLD

a)  The sighing of a Jew is very precious for it represents fulfilling that which is lacking. That's to say, when there is a lack in something and a person sighs about it, by this he fills the lack.

b)  All the things that a person lacks, whether income or health etc. can only be filled by the true tzaddik or rabbi whom he follows, for filling these lacks is only by sighing etc. as mentioned. Through sighing one draws the spirit of life to fill the gap which one sighed about. However, this spirit of life one can only receive through the tzaddik of the generation who cleaves entirely to the Torah which contains the source of the spirit of life. This means that one has to attach oneself to the tzaddik. 

c)  The evil ones who oppose and cause controversy against the true tzaddikim receive their spirit of life from the rabbi of the husks, for there is an evil rabbi and Other Side ( forces of evil ) which are parallel, as it says, " For G-d has made the one as well as the other " ( Ecclesiastes, 7, 14 ). That being the case, they are very strong during their time because the spirit of life they draw from the rabbi of the husk is a stormy spirit which is very great for a while, but only for a time, for eventually it ceases and is lost. In the meantime it creates a storm in the body and soul of people who take hold of it. That is why evil people are referred to as dead even when living because they haven't a true and holy life force, for this is drawn into the world only by the true tzaddikim. 

d)  The true tzaddik atones for sins by sighing because by this he draws the spirit of life to fill that which is lacking, like it says, "the wise man will atone" (Proverbs, 16, 14).   

e)  It is forbidden to provoke evil doers and those who oppose the truth. Only the perfect tzaddik can take them on because he has already separated and driven out completely all the evil of the four basic elements, which include all the attributes of a person, to such a degree that he is certain that no stumbling block or sin will befall him. A tzaddik like this and those who follow him can provoke the evil doers. However, someone who hasn't nullified the evil within him completely and it remains in potential, even though he has no sin, is not a perfect tzaddik and therefore mustn't provoke the evil doers. Such a person may be hurt, Heaven forbid, by the length of time of their spirit which they receive from the Other Side for it is very strong during its designated time, may G-d preserve us. On the other hand, the perfect tzaddik can lower himself into the pipeline through which the evil doers receive their spirit of life and he can break, subdue and throw down to the earth all those evil doers.   

f)   To reach this level of separating the bad from the good one has to learn Torah and pray. That's to say, by learning the Jewish codes of law (Halacha) and clarifying the halachic decisions, we can separate and distinguish the good from the bad.  Thus we drive out and nullify the evil from the four basic elements (earth, water, air and fire) from which a person's attributes stem. This is the main rectification of Man. To merit to clarify the halachic decision one needs to pray. When a person prays for something, even though his request may be fulfilled by this prayer, the request still remains in potential. Only by learning Torah the process is completed and turns from potential to actuality. Then his will is done and his request fulfilled and he merits to throw down to the earth those who oppose (truth) and cause controversy.                                     

g)  The spring of Torah wisdom stems from prayer, so the main clarification and determination of the Halacha can only be achieved through prayer. Then it is considered as if one has renewed the world and one merits to separate the good from the bad in all the four elements and this rectifies everything. As a result, one merits to throw down to the earth those who oppose truth. 

h)  Tzitzit are an aspect of the spirit of life of holiness and through them we fulfill all the deficiencies; by sighing we subdue the spirit of life of the husks, the stormy spirit, the spirit of impurity and drive out the evil from the good in all one's attributes. As a result we subdue those who cause controversy and the evil doers, throwing them down to the earth.

i)  The tzaddik hears all the sighs of those attached to him for from him life is drawn to each individual; he is the "the man in whom is spirit" (Numbers,27), as the Sages said, "He knows to go against the spirit of each person", drawing and replenishing the spirit of life of each and every individual.

PRAYER 8

May it be Your will Lord, G-d and G-d of our Fathers, G-d, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in kindness and truth, arouse Your great mercy and kindness upon us and merit us, in Your mercy, to believe in and come close to true tzaddikim in whom You chose to give life to Your Nation the People of Israel, for they are the source of life. Therefore, please help us G-d to merit to draw from them the spirit of life to fulfill all our deficiencies. Hear the voice of our sighs at all times. May we have through our sighing the strength to draw the good spirit of life from the tazddikim in order to fulfill any lack that we suffer, whether in spirit or body or money, for You are the Source of Life; You bestow the spirit of life to all beings by means of Your true tzaddikim who constantly cleave to Your holy Torah which is our life and the length of our days. Therefore have mercy on us and reveal to us the true tzaddikim; merit us to draw the spirit of life from them such that, by our sighing, any lack be compensated for immediately. Fulfill all the desires of our heart for the good and forgive us all our sins that caused our deficiencies. In Your great mercy, forgive us through the tzaddikim who have the spirit of G-d within them. Nullify, break and subdue all our enemies and all those who rise against us.  

Merit us to perform the mitzvah of tzitzit perfectly in all its details and all the 613 mitzvot that are dependent on it. May our intention be perfect with a good heart and with joy such that I can draw the spirit of life of holiness and thus fulfill all the deficiencies we have, whether spiritually or materially. Hold on to the fringes of the world and shake off the sinners. Break, subdue and crumble Esau. Have mercy on me and save me from the teeth of the sinners who try to swallow us, Heaven forbid.

 Our Father, Merciful Father, have mercy upon us in such trouble times and on one so persecuted as me. You, Who revive the dead, in Your bountiful mercy, revive me and give me life in the Light of Your Countenance. Let us draw the spirit of life of holiness through our sighing and thus to fulfill all that we lack so that we can perform Your will all the days of our lives. May we really swerve away from evil and do that which is good in Your eyes at all times. Amen. 

9. THE   DEPTHS   COVERED   THEM

a)  We receive our life-force primarily from prayer, therefore one has to pray with all one's strength in order to put all one's concentration into the words of prayer. Then one's strength will be renewed there; through this one merits to faith. 

b)  According to the spiritual level of one's prayers, so one merits to a marriage partner and one is given an income. This being so, prayer with all one's strength is what merits a person to a marriage partner and to an income. 

c)  Through perfect prayer one bestows life-force to all the three parts of the world – the lowly world, the world of stars and the world of angels.  

d)  When a person begins to pray, extraneous thoughts and husks of evil come and surround him such that he remains in the dark and cannot pray properly. The ultimate correction for this is to see to it that one speaks the words of prayer with sincerity. Then, since the words leave your mouth with truth, it will make an opening in the darkness in which you are trapped and you will be able to pray well. Understand this very well, for this is a cardinal rule and the foundation for all forms of serving G-d. Everything depends on this. Even if a person is immersed in the depths of darkness and the husks of evil; he is imprisoned and closed in from all sides all around him and they don't let him approach holiness, nevertheless, the main way to correct this is by making himself follow the truth and to look at the real truth, asking only for the truth.  So also, when he sees he cannot pray at all because of the immense darkness, nevertheless, he should see to it that he speaks just words of truth, according to whatever lowly level he is at. For example, say, "G-d, save me " sincerely even though one can't say it with the proper enthusiasm and spiritual arousal. Even so, a person must force himself to speak at least with a simple truth according to what he is. By this, he will merit to find the openings in the darkness. If he really wants the truth, no darkness can stand against him and blacken things, for truth is the Light of the Holy One Himself. On the other hand, lying drives out the Holy One, so to speak, as it says, "he that tells lies shall not remain in My sight" (Psalms, 101, 7). Conversely, by truth, the Holy One dwells with him.

The main desire of the Holy One is only for the truth, so, according to the degree of truth, the Holy One dwells with a person and then shines for him to find a way to get out of the darkness and husks which prevent him from praying and seeing G-d. Through this, the truth will shine for him, in G-d's great loving kindness, so he can pray and this will rectify and sustain all the worlds.  

e)  There are some people who merit to pray with such truth that their words shine like a precious stone which shines by itself. There are other people whose words are only like a window; they lack the internal light but light from elsewhere can pass through them and shine through them. Know, that it all depends on the degree of truth.  

f)  By a person really arousing himself in truth to the Holy One, he can merit ( through prayer ) to pierce the veils and partitions that separate him from G-d; he can find the exit way from darkness into light. As a result, he can also arouse others together with him; he can arouse others to repent and extract them from the darkness and bring them back in repentance.  

g)  Each individual has to raise his prayer so that it passes though the gateway which belongs to his particular Tribe. To achieve this one needs great merit. Therefore, each person must attach his prayer to the tzaddik of the generation because the tzaddik knows how to find the gateways and to raise every single prayer to the gateway which it belongs to.

h)  A person has to see to it that he gets to such a level that he can pray with such concentration that he spills out his heart like water before G-d. Through this, Meshiach will come speedily in our days.

i)  Those people who deny all the miracles and say that everything is according to the laws of nature, when they see a miracle they cover it over with natural explanations. They blemish prayer, for prayer is an aspect of miracles, of changing nature. They damage faith very much by not believing in Divine Providence. This also blemishes the Land of Israel which is the place of miracles. Because of all this, they have to fall into the exile of Egypt and the other exiles. They lengthen the time of exile, Heaven preserve us. .   

PRAYER 9

May it be Your will Lord, our God and God of our fathers, God of Avraham, God of Isaac and God of Jacob, who chooses the prayers of his servants, have mercy upon us and all You Nation, the House of Israel. In Your immense loving-kindness, let us merit to recite our prayers and plead before You with truth and wholehearted entreaties. Show us what to say; give us understanding to know what to ask. Let me merit to speak out the words of prayer before You with complete and utter truth in such a way that the light of the truth will shine for me, showing me how to emerge from the depths of dark, strange thoughts and husks that stand against me and surround me especially at the time of prayer. They all come upon me, from every side and from every angle, with all sorts of inner confusion, until I can’t even open my mouth in prayer and I can’t say a word of prayer properly because of the vast darkness and strange confusions, obstacles and barriers that surround me on every side. I have no opening, no hope or way of being saved from the darkness other than by speaking to You truthfully , as You revealed to us by Your holy Sages. The word of truth will shine for us into the depths of darkness and the gloom so that we can escape the darkness and reach a great light, for You desire the truth and You are close to all those who call to You in truth. Therefore I have come to beseech You, O Lord, my God, to awaken Your true mercy upon me, on a poor and needy soul such as myself. Grant me the light of truth so I can recite the words of prayer before You with total sincerity. May I speak all the words of prayer with clear, pure and lucid truth in order that the light of truth shine for me so I can find the openings within the great darkness that overcomes me at all times and wants to darken and hide Your great light, Heaven forbid.

 I have sinned by error, committed iniquities and transgressed willfully, from my youth until today. I’ve blemished very much indeed before You  and repeated these transgression time and time again without number. And every time, by each sin and blemish, I’ve added darkness upon darkness, Heaven forbid, prison upon prison, veils and barriers upon veils and barriers, obstacles upon obstacles, confusions upon confusions, until I’ve ended up in the midst of very great darkness and gloom; all the openings that exist there, through which it is possible emerge from the gloom and come into the light, have all been darkened and hidden from my eyes. “I have sunk in the mire where there is no standing; I’ve come into deep waters where the rushing current sweeps me away.

Because of all this I’ve come before You O Lord, my God and the God of my fathers, - Have mercy! Have mercy! Please have pity. Have pity. Have compassion. Have compassion. Save me, O please save me! Just as Your immense compassion and loving-kindness dominated us and You revealed to us this holy advice, so arouse Your mercy and compassion upon us O Lord, our God, and help us and save us, through Your awesome and wonderful loving-kindness, that we merit to fulfill this holy advice, - in our prayers, entreaties and requests, let us speak out our words before You with such sincerity that there be no strength to any darkness or gloom to prevent us, Heaven forbid, from our prayers and our devotions. All sorts of darkness and gloom want to overcome us at all times, especially at the time of prayer, so in all of them, may I be able to find the openings, through words of truth that I speak out. Thereby let me remove myself from the gloom so as to reach the light. “ For You will light my candle, the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.” “ The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear; the Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid.” You know O Lord, my God, I have no other opening by which to be saved other than this, by Your granting me merit to say words of truth before You, as is proper. In Your bountiful mercy, help me to always progress on the path of truth. May I never, ever say an untrue word. Protect me so that I shouldn’t utter any untruth even by mistake, even without intent. Rather, may all my words always be true. Join my heart to You so that I merit to always incline my mind and thoughts toward the absolute truth. Help me from on high to always tread and progress along the pathway of truth. Let me not wander from the path either to the right or left. “Lead me in Your truth and teach me: for You are the God of my salvation; for You I hope all the day.” ”Send out Your light and Your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy mount, and to Your dwelling places.” “Don’t take the word of truth completely out of my mouth for I have hoped for Your judgments.”

May I merit to always pour out my conversations, prayers and entreaties before You with total sincerity. Help me to explain myself before You with sincerity. Everything that  is on my heart I will talk about before You, O Lord, my God and God of my fathers. For You know our hearts; our needs are very great indeed and my mind is not able to clarify and explain. If all the days were ink and all the seas quills it would be impossible to clarify or explain the minutest part of our very many needs. We still haven’t even started to subdue or nullify even one characteristic or one bad craving from within ourselves. We are distant from You to the ultimate degree,. Even so, whenever we come to explain ourselves before You our mouths and tongues are sealed and we can’t say any word properly before You. Lord, God, You know our hearts; before You, all hidden things are revealed. Be gracious to us and answer us. Prepare our hearts, and in Your bountiful mercy, merit us to speak words of truth before You, in such a way that by this Your great light be opened us for us, for it is the essence of truth. May we merit by this to sincerely express our conversation and entreaties before You in a proper manner, and to really speak out all our needs, all that we lack in body and soul. May we be able to express and clarify this before You by the words of our mouth, in our prayers and entreaties, such that we merit to pour out our heats like water in the presence of Your Countenance, O Lord.

Awaken Your mercy upon us; harken to our cries, listen to our entreaties; fulfill all our wishes for good, in compassion, in such a way that we merit ti really come closer to You from now on and forever. May we, and our offspring and the offspring of Your Nation, the House of Israel, merit to do Your will all the days of our lives. In Your bountiful mercy, let me pray with really perfect and proper devotion, with all the powers that are within me. Merit to put all my strength into the letters of the prayer until all my strength becomes renewed within the prayer. Grant me a new life – a force of holiness from the holy prayer which all life is drawn through, as is written: “Prayer to the God of my life.” In Your bountiful mercy, let me merit to really perfect faith.

In Your bountiful mercy, be gracious to us. Help us to raise our prayers before You by way of the Gateway and Tribe that belong to the root of our higher souls, from where we were hewn; for our prayers need to rise to the heavens through that Gateway, through the Land of Israel, Jerusalem, the Temple and the Holy of Holies, until our prayers rise to the place of Your Throne. May our prayers have strength to arouse the Supernal Mazal (a guardian angel) which belongs to the Gateway and Tribe of each and every one of us. Bestow upon us bounty and a blessing – bless all the fruit of the land and make all our endeavours successful. In Your bountiful mercy and great loving-kindness arrange for us our income even before we need it, in a generous manner – such that we merit to do Your will and always engage in learning Torah, day and night.

Master of the World, let us merit to always learn a lot of Torah for its own sake, for You have already revealed to us that our prayers can only be perfected by learning the holy Torah, as is written: “He who turns his ear away from hearing Torah, even his prayer will be an abomination.” Therefore have pity and compassion upon us; merit us to study the words of Your Torah day and night. By this, may our prayers be accepted with compassion and may we merit to fulfill the verse which says: “Arise, cry out in the night; in the beginning of the watches pour out your heart like water before the Countenance of the Lord.” May we merit to a complete redemption by the Messiah, our righteous one. Let our prayers be as a sword,a weapon for the Messiah, as You implied to us by Your holy sages, may their memory be blessed.

10.   THESE   ARE   THE   JUDGEMENTS

a)  By dancing and clapping hands, harsh judgements are sweetened.

b)  The main revelation of G-d's glory is when those who were the farthest away (from holiness) bring themselves close to serving G-d; then the Name of G-d rises and is esteemed, Above and Below. G-d's honour grows and rises. Therefore every person has to make an effort to bring those who are far from G-d close to Him. Also, no person should ever despair of coming close to serving G-d because he became distant as a result of his many sins, even if he did a great deal of evil, Heaven forbid. On the contrary, for however far away he was, he will increase G-d's honour when he makes an effort to repent and come close to Him, for this is the main form of revealing the glory of G-d. However, it is impossible for those far away to come close to G-d properly other than through the tzaddikim of the generation. 

c) The true tzaddikim raise prayer immensely from one level to another (from the level of mountain and field to that of house) such that they reveal the Divine and      G-d's Kingdom to all the people of the world, even those who are very, very far away who are evil doers or idol worshippers. This is the main greatness of the Holy One. The essence of the Holy One's greatness is when those who are far away, even the idol worshippers, know that there is G-d who controls and governs everything (as it says in the Zohar, Yetro, pg. 69a). This being the case, someone who has a sick person in his house or some anguish, should go to a Torah sage so the latter will pray for mercy upon him ( Baba Batra, 116 ) for the true essence of prayer only the tzaddikim of the generation know. By this, he gives pleasure to the Holy One for He desires the prayers of tzaddikim and finds pleasure in them. 

d)  There are proud people who prevent others from going to tzaddikim to pray over them and, by this, they hold back from G-d this pleasure.  

e)  These proud people think that they can also pray because they fasted and tortured themselves and, by this, are also tzaddikim. However, the truth is that this is not the case for if they were to really look at themselves they would see that after all their    fasts etc. still all their cravings remain attached to their body. In addition, the poison of their father's cravings also remains because their father didn't sanctify himself at the time of marital relations. When they look at this, very great fear will certainly fall upon them such that they wouldn't make the mistake of thinking that they were tzaddikim and can pray and take money to redeem people. Each individual should think all this so as not to make the mistake of thinking he is a tzaddik. Rather he should try to bring and return all the prayers to the true tzaddikim for only they know how to pray and raise the prayers properly. The Holy One desires their prayers so He sends them fluent prayers in order to enjoy them.  

f)  Pride is idol worship, as it says, "Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination" (Proverbs, 16, 5; Sotah, 4b). The main advice to nullify it is by attaching oneself to tzaddikim.   

g)  By coming close to tzaddikim one nullifies pride which is idol worship; one merits to perfect faith and nullifies any thoughts of atheism. Then one can merit to a spirit of holiness. Through all this, one merits to great joy such that one comes to clap one's hands and dance in a holy manner. In turn, this leads to a sweetening of the harsh decrees and one merits to wisdom, life, longevity and to the ascertaining of both the revealed and the secret levels of the Torah.    

h)  By clapping the hands and dancing on Purim one draws upon oneself an aspect of receiving the Torah, at the revealed and hidden levels., which is like the wonderful radiance of Mordechai and Esther (on Purim).Furthermore, one merits to perform the mitzvah of Counting the Omer properly which subdues the husks of Haman and Amalek, may their names be wiped out. Then, pride, idol worship and atheism are nullified. As a result, one attracts great faith, holy wisdom, life, and longevity. This cancels all the harsh judgements and harsh decrees from upon the People of Israel.

Amen, so may it be.   

i)  When pride is nullified, holy wisdom is rectified; one merits to life, longevity, and a sweetening of the harsh judgements. Then one achieves faith, great joy and an understanding of the revealed and hidden aspects of the Torah and to an aspect of divine inspiration.    

j)  The source of repentance is on Rosh Chodesh (the first day of the month).Therefore, on Rosh Chodesh repentance pervades all created beings such that they have thoughts of repentance. Even the sinners in Hell have to experience regret on Rosh Chodesh such that they repent, feel regret, confess and feel great shame. For, even though there is no Hell then ( on Rosh Chodesh, as brought in the Zohar, Teruma,150 ) this shame and regret are themselves their Hell ( for the anguish of the shame is very great, even more than the punishment of Hell itself, Heaven forbid, as explained in Torah 22 ).  

PRAYER 10

May I merit to be able to rectify in my own lifetime all sorts of flaws and blemishes that I’ve caused from my youth until today. In Your mercy, may I remove and nullify from my soul all the different kinds of disgrace and shame that I caused to my soul by my many sins of error, iniquities and willful transgressions. “You know my reproach and shame and dishonour; all my adversaries are before You. Reproach has broken my heart and I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity but there was no one; for comforters but I found none.” “Remove my reproach which I fear, for Your judgments are good.” May my soul be precious in Your eyes, unfold Your mercy upon Your attributes. “Bring my soul out of prison that I may praise Your Name”, for “what profit is there in my blood when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth?” Rise up Lord, deliver my soul from all sorts of reproach and shame and all sorts of cravings and bad characteristics, from all kinds of blemishes and spoilings. Forgive and pardon me for all that I’ve blemished until now; gather up all my disgrace and cast all my sins of error to the depths of the sea in a place where they will not be remembered, nor counted, nor ever come to mind.

 Help me from now on to clean and purify my soul and body from all cravings and bad characteristics in such a way that I merit to be truly holy and pure, as is Your desire. Help me so that I merit to bring others to repentance, for You alone know the greatness of Your compassion for those who are far from You, who are incarcerated in the prison of their cravings and who are trapped in the nets of vain pleasures. Grant me the ability to speak to their hearts, saying words that will settle in their hearts, true words, holy words, which will penetrate their ears and truly awaken their hearts in such a way that they will truly return to You in repentance. Fulfill the verse which says: “Let the sinners cease from the earth and let the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord.”

Help me to repent truly and completely before You. May I not depart from this world until I repent of my iniquities and rectify all that I’ve blemished against You in thought, speech and action. Come to our aid so that we merit to draw upon ourselves the radiance of perfect repentance from its source, which is Rosh Chodesh, as You revealed to us by Your true tzaddikim. Let us merit to welcome the first days of the month with great holiness and to draw upon ourselves the source of repentance on all the twelve New Moons which You gave to Israel, Your Nation, as a time of atonement in each generation. As a result merit us to return to You in true, perfect repentance.

11.   I   AM  THE   LORD;   THAT   IS   MY   NAME

a)   By talking out words of Torah this will shine (clarify) for a person all the places (aspects) where he has to repent so that he will merit to perfect repentance. And so on each time, by each act of repentance he will progress from one level to another until he leaves the lowly levels and reaches a deep understanding of the Torah.   

b)  When a person is very careful and guards himself so as to respect G-d perfectly, being scorned and abhorred in his own eyes before the glory of G-d, he will merit to words enlightened with Torah such that they will shine him the way to repentance which is complete. Then he will come to a deep understanding of the Torah.   

c)  However, it is impossible to merit to these enlightening words other than by breaking one's pride and self importance. One's learning mustn't be for the sake of honour or out-arguing others, Heaven forbid, or in order to receive a rabbinic position or public status. This depends on guarding the brit.     

d)  Pride is an aspect of idol worship and by this one loses the power of speech to be able to speak enlightening words; one cannot open the mouth.  When Torah is spoken from such a mouth, not only won't the words shine to bring  him back in repentance, the Torah itself will become crude and dark in his mouth, Heaven help us.

e)  Pride and sexual desire are inter-dependent. When a person guards himself from sexual blemishes he will be saved from pride. Then he will merit to a light which will illuminate for him a path to repentance until he merits to achieve a deep understanding of the Torah.   

f)  The main feeling of bitterness, bother and strain of making a living stems from sexual blemishes. Someone who is careful to remain pure, even when he performs the 39 forms of work and business, they are an aspect of the handicraft of the building of the Tabernacle which allude to the 39 holy lights ( Isaiah,26,19 ) .On the other hand, if someone blemishes the brit then poverty chases after him and he draws upon himself the burden, effort and great bitterness of making a living which is a reflection of the 39 lashes ( the Torah punishment for certain sins ), Heaven save us.  

g)  Guarding the brit has two aspects; there are those who have relations during the week but, even so he is careful to do it according to the laws of what is permitted. He guards himself from sinning, Heaven forbid. This needs very great care and is called 'the lower unification'. By this he merits to achieve the Halacha in the Torah, the secrets. On the other hand, someone who has relations only from one Shabbat to another, this is called 'the sublime unification' and through this he merits to understand kabbala, secrets of the secrets. But even in the latter case, he needs to be very careful to do it with holiness and to be included in those who guard the brit. Even more so is this true with simple people who do it during the week; they certainly have to be extremely careful to guard themselves so as not to blemish the brit, Heaven forbid, or at least not to transgress a Torah law. When a person guards the brit in both these aspects then he merits to honour G-d perfectly and achieves all the virtues mentioned above such that he finally reaches a deep understanding of the Torah.          

h)   There is a type of humility which is the ultimate form of pride, that's to say a person acts humbly because he knows that pride is to be despised very much. Therefore he is humble in order to receive honour. Thus, it turns out that he is humble in order to achieve self esteem and honour. So, a person has to be clever in his ways and distance himself from pride a great deal, to the ultimate degree, as the Sages said, "Be of a very, very lowly spirit" ( Perkei Avot ) . Self esteem is an aspect of the seven houses of idol worship which caused Israel to be exiled from the Land of Israel.  As a result of this we still haven't returned to our Land because we chase after honour and after self esteem, Heaven save us.   

PRAYER 11

Please Lord, You are truly compassionate and full of mercy. Have pity on Your creatures. Open my mouth and heart so that I may speak clearly before You. Arouse Your true compassion upon me, from now on. Help me to sanctify and purify myself in the holiness of the brit. May I be saved from now on from all sorts of blemishes of the brit that exist in the world. In Your bountiful mercy and immense loving-kindness, pardon and forgive me for that I have blemished in the holy brit until now, in the mind, speech or action, by sight, hearing, smell, whether unintentionally or on purpose, whether through force of circumstance or by desire. All the sorts of blemishes to the holy brit that I’ve caused – pardon and forgive me for it all, for Your are gracious and forgive a great deal. “For Your Name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity for it is great.”

Have mercy upon me. Break, finish, subdue and nullify all sorts of ties, bonds and chains of the Other Side which have become attached to me and have grown by way of my many iniquities, which overcome me at all times, and want to draw me from one blemish to another, Heaven forbid. They don’t let me really sanctify and purify myself as is fitting. Because of this I am very far away from real holiness of the brit as is proper for a Jew, for the seed of Avraham,Isaac and Jacob, whom you chose.

Master of the World, You know my heart. Have pity and mercy upon me – separate, tear, break and nullify all the bonds and chains of the Other Side, such that they will have no strength to overcome me at all. Nullify them completely so that no memory or impression of them remain at all and all my iniquities will turn to elements of merit.

 Help me and give me strength to overcome all sorts of cravings and bad thoughts; help me subdue, break and them and drive them out from within me and from my domain, from now on, forever. May no trace of a bad thought enter my mind at all, rather may my brain and thoughts always be holy and pure in the ultimate perfection of holiness. Help me, in Your bountiful mercy, to achieve holiness and purity. May I sanctify myself in that which is permitted to me. Merit me to add holiness upon holiness every time until I merit to real holiness and abstinence, until I merit to cause to bring about the Higher Unification and the Lower Unification.

Master of the World, You know how even Torah scholars and the great rabbis of Israel, whose marital relations are only from Shabbat to Shabbat, also need great self-control and extra caution in the matter of guarding of the brit with holiness. Even more so is it true of ordinary people  on a low spiritual level whose marital relations are also during the weekdays. They certainly need great guarding and extra carefulness in the guarding of the brit. You also taught us the greatness of the virtue of the holiness of the Jewish marriage relationship. By this, a Higher Unification and Lower Unification are affected. Each Jew has to have it done through him. Therefore, have pity and compassion upon us. Send us in our hearts and in the hearts of all Your People, the House of Israel, whether the lowly among us or the spiritually great people, a real arousal to sanctify ourselves in that which is permitted us. May we draw upon ourselves an extra holiness every time in relation to the matter of guarding the brit and the holiness of marital relations, such that the holiness of the two Unification – the Higher and the Lower Unifications – be brought about us perfectly. By this, may Your holy glory be raised and made great, in perfection. “All earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.” May the earth radiate from Your glory: we will rejoice and be happy in You. Fulfill the verse which says: “The glory of the Lord will endure forever.”

Please, O glorious and awesome God, King of Honour, who created all the world for Your glory, in Your bountiful mercy help me glorify, praise and raise Your honour. Help me so that I can nullify myself completely and minimize my honour. Let my honour be absolutely nothing so that I do not care about my own honour at all. Rather, may I increase the honour of God. Let all my dealings, deeds, thoughts, and desires be only for the sake of Your great and blessed honour. In Your bountiful mercy, help me to break and drive out from within me the attribute of pride. Let not even the slightest element of pride in the world enter my heart. Let me merit to true humility. Grant me true intellect and wisdom such that I can learn the paths of humility, thus being saved from false humility.  This type of humility is the ultimate pride. Don’t let the intention behind my being humble be in order to gain honour and respect by this, Heaven forbid. Rather, in Your bountiful mercy and truly great loving-kindness, merit me to really and truly have perfect humility.

Please Lord , true Master of compassion, arouse Your mercy and loving-kindness upon such a shameful and worthless person as myself, so that I merit to really feel my own lowliness. Don’t let my transgressions cause me to be rejected, Heaven forbid, nor confuse my mind with thoughts of foolishness, ulterior motives and pride. Have mercy upon me for Your sake; save me, by Your bountiful mercy, from any element of pride or haughtiness in the world, for the truth is that I know that I am not worthy or fitting to come close to You; I have blemished Your honour very much, as You know, O Lord, my G-d. However, I rely upon Your bountiful mercy, that You come to my aid and strive to save me. Therefore, O Lord, my G-d, help me such that I do not confuse my mind with any element of improper motives or pride. Have mercy upon me in Your plentiful compassion. Don’t let me go astray on perplexing paths, Heaven forbid. In Your compassion, make me progress in Your statutes and let me really keep Your laws with absolute genuine and perfect humility. Help me, so that even when You grant me merit to do some good I still will not sense myself in it at all.

Master of the World, You informed us of the severity of the iniquity of pride; it is compared to idol worship, Heaven forbid. All the exile of Israel came about only by the sin of pride. Let us merit not to chase after any honour for ourselves, Heaven forbid. Rather, merit us to minimise our own honour while maintaining the honour of G-d.  May His honour be extolled, glorified and revealed by us.  By this, let us be worthy of a holy mouth and speak words that radiate, until “the earth shines with His glory”.

I plead with You, O Lord, in Your bountiful mercy, help me so that I won’t lose my world., Heaven forbid, because of the bother of making an income. Save me from the blemish of the thirty-nine forms of labour – the thirty-nine lashes – which stem from the Other Side, for they distract most people of the world with the toil and anxieties of This World such that they spend all their lives running after their income with very great effort and anxiety. They eat their bread with sadness; they eat their bread by the sweat of their brows until, in the end, they return to the soil. All their efforts will not achieve anything at all, for the bother of making an income confuses their minds throughout their lifetime and prevents them from remembering or taking to heart their real purpose in life. What will they do on the Day of Reckoning?

Please Lord, You who are full of bountiful mercy, have compassion upon me, upon all our community and all of Your Nation, the Jewish People. Save us from all this. Let us not  be bothered at all by the effort and anxiety of making a living. Even when we have to engage in some business or trading for the sake of income, help us with Your great mercy, so that we really and truly do it with holiness and purity, as is You desire. Let it be without any anxiety, distraction or confusion of the mind at all. Let us know and believe that all our income is from You – it is not achieved by us at all. May all our business, work and trading and all matters of income be purified and refined such that all the thirty-nine forms of labour will shine and be included in the Thirty-Nine Lights which stem from Your great Name. Let us perform all thirty-nine forms of labour with holiness and purity such that working ‘ builds the Tabernacle’.

Bless the work of our hands and bestow a blessing and success in all our business and work; prepare our income even before we need it ; with abundance not frugally, in a permitted manner and not a forbidden one, stemming from Your generous, full hand. “May pleasantness come to us, Lord our God; establish for us work of our hands; and the work of our hands, You establish it.” Help us, Lord, to always be happy with our portion in life; may learning Torah be our prime occupation while our work only be incidental. Even during that small amount of time which we need to engage in some business or trading for the sake of the absolute necessities of an income, then also let us be attached to You and to Your holy Torah; may we not forget You even for an instant.

12.    A   PRAYER   OF   DAVID

a)  The fact that most Torah scholars oppose the tzaddikim is because they learn the Oral Torah, Talmud and Halacha etc. with great pride. The result is that the Oral Torah becomes oral opposition against the tzaddikim with arrogance, pride and disdain. However, the true tzaddikim raise and rectify their evil words and make halachot from them. They raise great delight to the Holy One by this in particular.       

b)  By learning Torah for ulterior purposes, especially Talmud and Halacha, a person creates the power of speech to speak arrogantly against the true tzaddikim. From this comes the opposition of the scholars who cause controversy against the true tzaddikim.

c)  These scholars who oppose the tzaddikim, know that in this controversy and evil speech against the tzaddik they show that they also hate and persecute the heavenly tzaddik who is the one who innovated this Torah insight which the earthly ( living ) tzaddik learns. The main strength of the scholar is from learning Talmud and Halacha, the Oral Torah, but he learns it without proper understanding about which it says that  a dead carcass of an animal is better than him( as the Midrash Rabba, Leviticus, Ch. 1. says). When the Oral Torah, which is the Shechinah, comes into the mouth of such a scholar this is the Shechinah's exile. A Torah scholar like this is a devilish Jew who doesn't see the truth and comes to hate and oppose the true tzaddikim.    

d)  That there are many scholars who learn a lot and yet still don't repent, but rather oppose the tzaddikim, this is because they learn for ulterior motives, for honour and rabbinic positions, to show off and out- argue others. As a result, when he learns Torah, he becomes more cunning, for the Torah contains the aspect of "the righteous walk in its paths but the sinners stumble in them " (Hoshea, 14). Then, from the Oral Torah, the scholar gets the mouth to talk against the tzaddikim because they only see in the Torah the negative meanings which is like it says, 'sinners stumble in them' because of their cunning. 

e)  But when a person learns a Torah judgement and halachic decision  that a Tanna or other tzaddik innovated, with holiness and purity, he achieves the level of 'kissing' which means a cleaving of spirit to spirit so that the spirit of the Tanna becomes attached to the spirit of the learner. It is as if he puts his lips to those of the Tanna. By this he causes great delight to the Tanna, as the verse says, "his lips move in the grave" (Yavamot, 93).

f)  Therefore, when one sits down to learn, one has to know that the tzaddik in Gan Eden listens to his voice, as it says, " She who sits in the gardens, the companions hearken to your voice " ( The Song of Songs, 8,13 ). The learner has to attach himself to the Tanna or tzaddik who revealed this Torah innovation when he learns. By this, he arouses the aspect of 'kissing' etc. as explained. Then, a person can merit to repent and renew the days that he spent in darkness. All this is when one learns Torah for its own sake, in order to perform the mitzvah of learning Torah which is considered greater than all the other commandments and by this to keep all the Torah.  As a result, he will see only the good meaning in the Torah for he will know that any negative meaning is part of G-d's intention, as explained. However, when a person learns only in order to be called a scholar etc., then a dead carcass is better than he is; like this he certainly won't be able to attach himself to then spirit of the Tanna. About such a scholar it says, "The kisses of an enemy are profuse" (Proverbs, 27, 6) for the Tanna cannot bear contact with the spirit of a Torah scholar who is a devilish Jew

.     

g)  Because of this it is good to learn Halacha with the commentary Be'er haGola for it mentions the Tanna or Rabbi who revealed this Halacha and this helps the learner to attach his spirit to that of the tzaddik who innovated this Torah ruling.                          

h)  Know that the fact that this Torah scholar talks with scorn about the tzaddik is very carefully arranged by G-d. When the Holy One throws a great tzaddik into the mouth of this scholar it is in order that the tzaddik remove the Shechinah and the Oral Torah from their exile of being in the mouth of the scholar. The great, chosen tzaddikim know from which halacha these evil combinations of words come that the scholar uses to talk against the tzaddikim. The tzaddikim raise these combinations of letters and create halachic decisions from them. Furthermore, through this, they contemplate on very great and wonderful spiritual Unifications.                              

i)  By being happy with one's suffering and doing things with love of G-d (Shabbat, 88) to accept with love all the insults of those who hate you, one raises the Shechina to the level of what is called a 'hug'.  

j)   The honest Torah scholar, by learning the Torah of the Tanna returns the nefesh (lower soul) of the Tanna to his body.

PRAYER 12

In Your bountiful compassion, protect me and grant me merit so that there be no delay in the coming of the Messiah because of me, Heaven forbid. You know that we’ve already caused the delaying of the Messiah several times because of our evil deeds. We’ve lengthened the exile by our many transgressions. Say to our troubles, ‘Enough!’ From now on, protect us and save us from sins, iniquities and willful transgressions, from evil thoughts and from all sorts of confusion of the mind. Really bring me closer to You and let me merit to turn my badness into complete good  to real good, to eternal good. Merit  me to be eternally firm in Your worship, in Your Torah and in fear of You, truly and wholeheartedly. Grant me merit to come close to real tzaddikim, to those who are really pure and straightforward in their hearts. In Your mercy, grant us a leader, a loyal shepherd. Let him bear us until he brings us truly to holiness and repentance. Quickly and hastily redeem us and bring us our righteous Messiah. Help us to be as You desire, all the days of our lives… “Return us, O Lord,to You and we will repent. Renew our days as of old.”

In the merit of  holy speech and in the merit of the holy Torah, save me from all sorts of sins, iniquities and willful transgressions and from all evil cravings. Drive out the spirit of folly from me. Let me draw upon myself the spirit of life, the spirit of sanctity through the cord of holiness which is attained by holy speech… Let us merit to raise the holy Kingdom from its exile and let each and every one of us reveal the elements of holiness of Messiah which are rooted in every single Jew. Draw upon us a good long life and let us merit to eternal life. Have compassion upon us and save us. Let us merit to stand and rise up at the time of the resurrection of the dead, together with all the tzaddikim, the devout, the pure and the kosher Jews.

Let us merit to perfect our speech. Bring us very speedily, in our lifetime, our righteous Messiah. Let him reign over us forever, and merit us to hear his holy, pure and awesome words straight from his holy mouth.

Master of the World, who gives the Torah, have mercy upon us and let us merit to engage in studying Your holy Torah for its own sake, with great diligence and perseverance. Grant us the to merit to learn a great deal every day. Help us so that every holy book we learn we are able to explain well, in a way that we understand. Let this be in such a way that we merit to arouse and draw upon ourselves the spirit of Messiah which is “the spirit of God that hovers over the waters”, waters which represent the Torah. Messiah suffers many illnesses and is afflicted with great suffering because of our willful transgressions and iniquities, this being in order to atone for us and to save us from all the suffering. By this he gives us a chance to survive. Have mercy upon him and upon us and let us engage a great deal in studying Torah. Let us explain well each thing that we learn in a language that is understood, especially when learning with friends or with students, such that our words enter their ears and hearts. By this, let the spirit of Messiah be aroused upon us. He suffers greatly for us. He lowers himself and dresses himself in several common, everyday appearances in order to be with us, in order to revive us and establish us in the midst of this long, powerful and bitter exile.

Our Father, merciful Father, have mercy upon us, help us and save us, in his merit, through his strength. Save us from all troubles and from all harsh decrees, whether those that have already been passed against us or those that they wait to decree, Heaven forbid, for the “power of endurance fails.” Rock of Israel, rise and come to the assistance of Israel. Speedily save us in these troubled times through the strength and merit of our righteous Messiah, the holy one of Israel. Fulfill in us the verse which says: “Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed (Messiah); He will hear him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.” And it says, “The Lord is their strength and He is saving strength of His Messiah.” “Save us Lord; let the King hear us when we call.” Amen and Amen.

13.    HAPPY   IS   THE   PEOPLE.    PROVIDENCE

a)  When we break the craving for money, we draw down complete Divine Providence.  To break it we have to give charity, for charity cools down the feverish craving for money. This also breaks the desire to be wealthy and to govern others.One merits to do business with faith and to happy with one's portion. Then one has pleasure from what G-d granted and doesn't have the driving urge to become very wealthy. As a result, one is saved from the curse of "in the sweat of your brow you will eat bread" (Genesis, 3, 19). This curse is fulfilled when a person becomes so embedded in the craving for money that he is always busy making great efforts and doesn't derive any pleasure from the wealth he has, Heaven save us. However, by giving charity one is saved from this and it is considered as if you had burned an offering of incense in the Temple.   

b)  The craving for money is really a form of idol worship. All the time that this worship of money exists in the world G-d's anger exists in the world. To the degree that this craving is nullified, so G-d's anger is nullified and His loving kindness is drawn into the world. In turn, this draws holy Knowledge into the world which is an aspect of building the Holy Temple. Furthermore, nullifying this craving for money is a kind of revelation of the Meshiach for when he is revealed, all the desire for money will be nullified.      

c)  When one breaks this craving for money by giving charity one sweetens all the harsh decrees and is saved from all kinds of trouble. Then one is called a wise man and can raise Jewish souls and renew them, bringing Torah to the world. This is a reflection of the revelation of Torah there will be in the future, Torah from the most hidden and loftiest world of the Ancient of Days. A Unification of the Holy One and the Shechina is also created.    

d)  By this, the wise man takes the souls (of those who come to hear him speak) and rises with them until he brings down new Torah. This rectifies the two Chariots, the Higher Chariot and the Lower Chariot.        

e)  All those who come to the wise man of the generation, each one of them has some good desire. The tzaddik raises all these good desires and, in so doing, he renews the souls of these people. By this, he reveals Torah which he says in their presence. Thus, it turns out that each one of them has a part in the Torah according to his desire and this leads to a renewal of his soul for the good. So, each person has to strengthen himself and arouse himself to come with good and strong desires and longings for G-d in order that his soul be renewed as much as possible. We also heard that the main time to do this is when the wise man is preparing himself to say Torah; then each person has to examine his deeds and ask for good desires for G-d.  He has to pray for this so that the wise man can hold him and raise him from his present place ( spiritually) and renew for the good according to his present desires.    

f)  From this you can understand the big difference that exists between being present when the tzaddik says Torah to hearing from someone else; when he is present he has a part in that Torah and his soul is renewed, apart from other differences as well, as explained elsewhere.    

g)  When one comes to the tzaddik, one draws upon oneself complete Divine   Providence. This is because the tzaddik brings down Torah innovations and bringing Torah into the world brings with it complete Divine Providence, for the Torah contains cantillation notes, vowel points, crowns and letters which parallel the three colours in the eye and the pupil.  Therefore, through his Torah, the wise man brings the power of sight of G-d's  Divine Providence upon us. Each person, according to his nearness to the Torah, draws G-d's Divine Providence upon himself to a greater degree.   

h)  When a person wants a physical craving, this is a blemish and causes bitterness to his soul; then it is like what it says, " bitterness of the soul" (Shemuel,1,1,10) and "her soul grieved" (Kings,2,4,27) . This is a distracted mind which doesn't radiate and is then a "hungry soul" ( Psalms,107,9).To correct this one has to come to the tzaddik of the generation; he will rectify and raise even the blemished desires together with the good ones that a person has. So, by coming to the tzaddik, one fulfills the verse which says, "he … filled the hungry soul with goodness." (ibid) and "satisfy your soul in drought"( Isaiah,58,11). Then he can renew and correct his days of youth that passed in darkness. Through this, he acquires the status of Man.

i)  The people who come to the wise man of the generation, he collects their souls, their desires, and raises them in an aspect of  'pregnancy' ; he renews them for the better and then returns their souls to this world whilst revealing to them Torah. These souls reflect the Living Angels in the Holy Chariot. Their bodies reflect the Ophanim, the Wheel Angels (see Ezekiel,1,15). The soul of the wise man and his holy mind represent the Throne and He who sits on the Throne. The Torah he draws down also has these aspects of Living Angels, Ophanim, Throne and He who sits on the throne.

j)  However, one has to ask for and search after such a tzaddik, to plead with G-d a great deal to merit to find a wise man who collects the souls , raises them and renews them like in a new birth, while as a result, bringing down new Torah. Only such a tzaddik can rectify and raise up the soul from all its blemishes caused by physical cravings. The tzaddik does this with two intellects alluded to in the two letters 'shin' (engraved on the houses of the teffilin), one with three heads and one with four heads. 

k)  However many more souls come to the true tzaddik to receive Torah, so this minimizes and nullifies the evil air created on the earth by all the atheistic questions about the suffering of  tzaddikim in contrast to the success of evil-doers. By the multiplicity of the souls who collect around the true tzaddik, the air full of these questions of doubt is nullified.

l)  These people who travel and come to the true tzaddik should feel increased love for each other, become spiritually aroused and talk to others about serving G-d. This itself is a sign that their intentions were good when they were with the tzaddik and they have begun to be renewed for the better.

m)  There are souls who are very,very blemished and even when they come to the tzaddik, even so they are still immersed in physical cravings; they still haven't moved from the mundane to the holy even as much as a hair's breadth. Souls such as these certainly can't be raised and renewed for the better like in 'pregnancy'. However, there are tzaddikim , who are so great, wonderful and awesome, that even blemished souls like these they can raise and renew for the good. So, whoever knows that his soul is very blemished and wants to have compassion on his life by returning to G-d, he has to ask and plead a great deal from G-d that, in His compassion, he merit to come close to such a tzaddik who is so powerful and strong that he can raise his soul and renew it for the better. Happy is he who merits to find a tzaddik like this.                 

PRAYER 13

Help us to negate and break the cravings for money; may I be happy with my portion in life which You, Lord, gave me. Let me not hasten to be rich or to increase my wealth nor chase after luxuries, for such wealth stems from vanity. Even when, by force of circumstances, I have to engage in some business or trading in order to get an income, merit me, in Your bountiful mercy, to undertake the business with holiness and purity, for Your Name’s sake. Help me merit to trade faithfully. May studying Torah be my prime occupation and my work incidental. Help me not to bother my mind at all with thoughts of business even when I’m trading. In Your mercy, enable me to tie and bind my thoughts to You and to Your holy Torah which is clothed and hidden in all matters of trading, work and business that exist in the world. Let me always trust in the Lord. May I cast my burden upon You. Support me by giving me good advice in all matters of business on all occasions so that I merit to know how to conduct my trading – to know what and when to buy and to sell, in such a way that You make my actions successful. Prepare me a plentiful income, to be gained easily, without any bother or confusion at all, so that I may fulfill Your desire and always engage in studying Your Torah and in serving You.

Please Lord, have pity and compassion on my wretched soul and on the souls of Your Nation, Israel. Separate us from those who go astray, who lose their world by craving for money, who are bothered all their lives with ways of earning a living; who eat their bread with sadness; who eat their bread by the sweat of their brow until they return to the soil; they will gain absolutely nothing from their toil. You, who are full of compassion, have mercy upon us and save us from them. Have mercy! Have mercy! Save me! Save me and all our community and all Jews from the craving for money! This evil craving has become very strong and very, very prevalent nowadays, in these generations, such that it is absolutely impossible to look at ourselves and calm our minds in order to consider what our end will be. This is because our mind and thoughts are occupied all the time with making a living. Even that which we are forced to do, confuses us very much. Lord, God, in Your compassion, have pity on us and save us from this evil craving for money.

You, who are strong in loving-kindness and do abundant good, in Your bountiful mercy, help us so that we merit to give lots of charity to deserving poor people. Let the main intention of our business and trading be only for the sake of giving charity. May we merit to give charity even beyond our ability and, in Your mercy, arrange for us deserving poor people to receive it. Help us to really fulfill the commandment of giving charity as is fitting with absolute perfection, with happiness and good-heartedness, with a kind, friendly face. Let us give it in such a way that a poor person won’t be ashamed to accept it. May I talk sympathetically to the poor and the wretched in order to appease them, comfort them and gladden their hearts.

In the merit and strength of the charity of all  Jews,  merit us to break the craving for money. May the spirit of generosity of holy charity be drawn upon us such that the excitement of the craving  money be forgotten, together with the craving for wealth in the world which is not ours. Let us throw away all the gods of silver and gold so that there be no craving, fervour or excitement at all in our hearts for money. May we always just be happy with what we have; let us make do with what You graciously give us  at all times; for You give each individual, according to Your good desire. Let us not set our eyes upon that which is not ours, nor covet or desire at all that which belongs to our neighbors. Rather, let us merit to always be truly happy with our portion in life. In Your bountiful mercy, help us merit to include ourselves in and attach ourselves to the real tzaddikim who merited to break the craving for money completely.

14.    TO    DRAW    PEACE

a)  The essence of G-d's glory is when those farthest away bring themselves closer to the Holy One for then G-d's Name rises and is held precious in the world above and below (Zohar,Yetro,69,a); His honour is increased a great deal. This being the case, every person has to try to bring those who are distant into the realm of serving G-d. Furthermore, a person mustn't say how can I come close to G-d; I am so far away because of my many bad deeds. On the contrary, however far away he is, G-d's honour will be increased in the extreme when he tries to come close to the Holy One, for this  is the essence of His glory.                  

b)  When people who were outside the realms of holiness, such as converts or ba'alei teshuva, bring themselves into holiness, this is the main honour of G-d; His Name is held precious,Above and Below and they raise His glory to its source which is holy fear. This draws peace into the world.                                                                       

c)  Through Torah, we can bring converts and ba'alei teshuva closer and inform them of the path which they should follow. 

d)  By learning Torah in holiness, we arouse sinners and converts to repent, but it is impossible to achieve this other than by humility and a feeling of insignificance to the utmost degree. By this, one merits to Torah which can radiate and rouse the source of Jewish souls, even those who are miles away from him. Even sinners, all the time they are still called Jews, as it says, 'even though he is a sinner, he is a Jew' (Sanhedrin,44), those who learn Torah can radiate to wherever he is, a light from the source of his soul, through the letters of the Torah. Thus the sinner repents.

 e)  So, each person, especially the Torah scholar, has to see to it that in his learning Torah he radiate and attach himself to the source of the souls, that's to say to the First Thought, as explained in this discourse. In this way, he can arouse sinners and converts to repentance, even those far away from him. As a result, he will merit to have a son who is a Torah scholar. However, when a person doesn't learn like this, his son will not be a Torah scholar(see Nedarim,81).  

f)  The only way to learn Torah properly is by a feeling of insignificance, meaning that one must break one's pride in four aspects of humility. One must belittle oneself before people who are greater, who are at the same level as oneself or even lower. Sometimes, when a person is himself at the lowest of levels, he must belittle himself even with regard to himself such that he imagines himself lower than his own lowly level.   

g)  One has to guard oneself from all those things that people usually take pride in; they are wisdom, strength and wealth, as it says, "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom" etc.(Jeremiah,9,22).That's to say, one has to break one's pride which stems from these things and be humble and modest in all of them.  

h)  According to the degree that one breaks one's pride, so one merits to Torah. By this, one merits to bring closer to G-d those who were far away. In turn, this increases and raises the honour of G-d such that it reaches its source which is holy fear.Then one merits to peace, peace at home, peace in all one's bones (Psalms,38 ). Through this, one merits to prayer. By prayer one merits to the overall peace which is peace in all the worlds.

i)  When one enlightens and arouses the sinners to repent, they are still very far from holiness; they can still be confronted with many obstacles. They need a great deal of effort to remove the clothes of filth that they wore (Zecharia,3). For these filthy clothes prevent them from returning to G-d. They separate them from returning like a river which stops a person from crossing. Therefore, don't panic  when you see that you want to come close to G-d but big obstacles block you. It is necessary for you to have many and vast obstacles because they stem from those filthy clothes created from your sins. You have to put up with a lot of  struggles and bitterness until such time as you throw off those filthy clothes. When this happens, all the obstacles and veils that separate you from holiness will be nullified.   

j)  According to the degree that one honours those who fear G-d, so honour rises to its source. The main thing is to honour them with  all one's heart, for this rectifies any blemish in fear and one merits to peace.

k)  There are two kinds of peace. The first is peace in one's bones, for first of all a person has to see to it that he has peace within himself. Sometimes there isn't peace, as it  says, "there is no peace in my bones because of my sins,"(Psalms,38,4). Through fear of G-d one merits to peace in one's bones and then one can pray properly. Then one can merit to the second kind of peace which is the all-inclusive peace in all the worlds. To achieve fear one has to have humility and Torah.

l)  The essence of prayer is fear, for prayer is in the place of sacrifices about which it says, "Whoever has a blemish shall not approach"(Leviticus,21,18).But when a person hasn't any blemish, that is by fear, as it says, "those who fear Him have no lack" (Psalms,34,10). Through this he merits to perfection( Zohar,Yetro,79),that's to say, peace within himself, peace between the body and soul; then he can come close to serve G-d perfectly and to pray perfectly. This, in turn, leads to an all-inclusive peace, in other words, perfection in all the worlds. That is why prayer is called a sacrifice,   ('korban'), because it brings the worlds closer ('karob') to perfection which is the all-inclusive perfection in all the worlds. This is why we complete our central prayer with the words "in peace".

m)  Every person has to see to it that he merits to peace within himself, between his body and soul. Then he will certainly not want to engage in any mundane act of this world other than for the sake of his soul. All his prayers will also only be for his soul. Even those prayers which seem to speak about the body's needs, like "Heal us" and "Bestow upon us a good year" and other physical needs, one's intention should be for the healing and livelihood of the soul. The truth is that when you rectify something spiritually, you automatically rectify also physically. G-d bestows all your needs very plentifully indeed. However, one's intentions should only be for the sake of the soul.   n)  The fact that we sometimes see tzaddikim, who despite having certainly rectified everything perfectly spiritually, nevertheless still lack their physical needs, this stems only from the re-incarnation of souls, as explained in the Zohar(Vol.3,215b and Tikunei Zohar,69).

o)  The words of prayer rectify controversy and create universal peace, a peace in all the worlds.

p)  A person has to train himself to pray for whatever he lacks, whether a livelihood or children or when there is a sick person in his home, Heaven forbid, and he needs a cure. In all these cases his main  strategy should  only be to pray to the Holy One. He should believe that the Holy One is good for everything, whether healing or money or anything else. His main efforts should be to look for G-d, not to search after all sorts of strategies, for most of them don't work at all; only a very small minority of things helps but a person doesn't know about them and can't find them. However, to call out to the Holy One is good and helps in all situations in the world; you can always call to G-d and He is always near you.  

q)  It is very good when a person doesn't rely on anything other than on the Holy One alone, for when he doesn't rely on the Holy One he has to make efforts in various ways. For example, to find a cure he has to search for many herbs which, quite often, are not available in the country where he lives, whereas those available are not effective for his illness. However G-d is good for the cure of all the illnesses, as it says, "G-d is good to all" (Psalms,145,9).He is close to each person at all times, as is written, "as the L-rd our G-d is in all things that we call upon Him for" (Deut.4,7).Therefore, when a person has someone sick, Heaven forbid, he has to put all his trust in prayers and supplications for they are always accessible and are certainly beneficial. On the other hand, to get a cure through medicines and doctors one needs to search and ask a great deal to be able to find a doctor with a medicine that can cure him. The truth is that usually he can't be found because doctors do more damage than good except in rare cases. (See Pesachim,113,a : Rav warns about the damage of the medicines of the doctors).

r)  By perfect prayer one draws the all-inclusive peace and all mankind have compassion upon each other and there is peace between them, as there will be in the future, as it says, "the wolf will dwell with the lamb" (Isaiah,116). As a result, G-d has compassion over everyone like it says," His mercy is over all His works" (Psalms,145) and as the Sages said,(Shabbat,151b)" anyone who has compassion over other people, from Heaven they also have compassion over him, as is written,' He gave you mercy, and had compassion upon you' (Deut.13,18)

                       s)  Through the mitzvah of lighting Chanukah candles G-d's glory shines and His honour rises and is made great in the world. As a result, those who were far away are aroused to return to G-d and merit to fear, peace at home and prayer; controversy and evil speech are nullified and the all-inclusive peace is drawn into all the worlds.

t)  There are people who speak evil and cause controversy ; they are an aspect of " a whisperer separates close friends" (Proverbs,16,28) for they go and spy and gossip or speak evil , causing arguments and controversy between people, between husband and wife. All this is on the physical plane. So it is also in the spiritual realm; the forces of evil and the husks try to tempt a person and cause great controversy between his body and soul such that there will be no peace in his bones because of his sins (Psalms,38). By meriting to bring the distant closer to serving G-d, G-d's glory shines and it rises and returns to its source in holy fear. This nullifies the slanderers and gossipers. Thus peace in the world is increased. This is also brought about when a person lights the Chanukah candles at the proper time.   

u)  When the wonderful peace of the future spreads throughout the world, then all the process of buying and selling will be nullified in the world. That is why the mitzvah of lighting Chanukah candles is until such time as all the feet cease from the marketplace, that's to say, until there is peace and G-d's glory returns to its source in fear, thus nullifying all the business affairs so "there will not remain any feet in the marketplace; there will be no more merchants" (Zecharia,14:21).

v)  All the illnesses, Heaven forbid, are a sort of controversy for a person hasn't peace in his bones and the four basic elements struggle one against another; they don't function with peace and harmony. The cure is peace.

w)  The Sages said that anyone who insults a Torah scholar, there is no cure to his illness (Shabbat,119b) for the main cure is by drawing peace and that is done by honouring  with all one's heart those who fear G-d. This is an aspect of returning honour to its source, to holy fear. Through this one merits to peace and a cure.            

x)  The main radiance of G-d's glory in the world comes about only by the tzaddikim who make efforts to bring people close to G-d and to repent. This is the essence of His glory. It is also an aspect of the need to eulogise tzaddikim when they pass away, Heaven save us.

y)  To talk to one's fellow about ethics and fear of G-d and, thus, to arouse him to repent, is the main rectification for a nocturnal emission. This is alluded to in the verse "if you bring the precious out of the vile" (Jeremiah,15,19) for "precious"    ('ykar') has the same letters as" nocturnal emission" ( 'kary').               

PRAYER 14

Have compassion upon us for Your sake, for the sake of Your honour; help me and save me so that I merit from now on to really and wholeheartedly arouse myself to Your devotion and Your fear. Let me merit from now on to return in perfect repentance before You. Let me adorn myself and others, to speak to their hearts and reveal to them the truth;  returning  them in complete repentance before You, in order that Your great and holy glory be extolled by me. When those most distant from You really come close to You, this is the prime aspect of Your glory, for then the Name of the Holy One, may He be blessed, is made known and honoured in all the worlds, above and below. Therefore, have mercy upon me and bring me close to You, even though I am very far from You. Transfer merit through me so that others who are far from You will come close to You because of me. May Your great glory be extolled and sanctified by me, even though I am far away from You.

 Help me, support me, strengthen me and encourage me so that I merit to raise the glory of holiness from the indignity of exile and may I always raise and extol Your great and holy glory. Help me so that I merit to raise the glory to its source, which is awe of G-d. Bestow upon me Your holy awe  so that I merit to always fear You, to fear this glorious and awesome Name. Help me to achieve perfect fear, to achieve real awe of Your grandeur. In Your bountiful mercy, let me really and wholeheartedly honour those who fear the Lord. May we really nullify ourselves before them and really give them all the honour. Let this be in such a way that the blemishes to fear be rectified by us and we merit perfect fear, without any blemish at all. Fulfill in us the verse which says: “Fear the Lord His righteous ones, for there is no lack to those who fear Him.” By this, may we merit to real perfection let Your fear always be upon our faces so that we shall never sin at all, for evermore. By this fear, let us merit to peace, peace within ourselves by the body being nullified and included within the holy soul.  As a result , let us always really perform  Your will. May we merit to perfect prayer so You always hearken to our prayers. Draw peace into the world.

O Lord, our God and God of our fathers, may it be Your will that, in Your bountiful mercy, You have mercy upon me and nullify completely the attribute of pride from me. Let there be no element of pride in my heart at all. May I really and truly know my own baseness and let me merit to completely nullify myself, such that I see myself even less than my very base level.

Please Lord, in Your compassion, help me so that nothing can confuse my mind or mislead me, Heaven forbid, by any foolish thoughts of any pride or self-importance. In my oppression, immense pressure and great distance from You, the troubles of my soul have grown a very great deal, for a long time already. "I looked and there was no one to help and I wondered and there was no one to support." I have no choice other than to always cry out to You, to hope for Your compassion, Your salvation and Your loving-kindness. If, Heaven forbid, because of my immense distance from You there comes into my confused mind, Heaven forbid, this nonsense and confusion of pride and self-importance, then my hope is lost, Heaven forbid, for how can a worthless person such as myself merit to any good? I am full of the sins, iniquities and willful transgressions that I've committed against You from my youth until today, in thought, speech and deed, unintentionally and on purpose, by force of circumstance or willfully.

Please Lord, teach me what I should cry out to You. Inform me how to plead before You, wholeheartedly, in such a way that I can effectively make my request and be heard in mercy before You. Help me to return in perfect repentance to You, and to be as You desire from now on. Let me never stray from Your will or from Your commandments, whether to the right or left. Let me merit, in Your bountiful mercy, to break and nullify the attribute of pride completely. May no aspect of pride or haughtiness enter my mind at all as a result of things that usually cause pride, whether wisdom, good deeds, strength or wealth. Rather, let me merit to really be humble and lowly in all of these things, so that I shouldn’t become proud or haughty as a result of them.

However, I know Lord, that I am ignorant. I am empty and lack all these things. "I am more brutish than any man and haven’t the understanding of man." I have no strength or boldness, in body or soul. My house is empty of wealth; I have no wisdom or boldness, I have neither physical wealth nor spiritual wealth of good deeds. According to my present worthlessness and lowliness and my very, very lowly spiritual level and my immense distant from You, I certainly shouldn’t need to pray at all to nullify my pride. However, You know the evil of our hearts and the turbidness of our minds and the confusions of our thoughts until, even in the midst of our distance from You, they confuse and mix up our minds very much with this nonsense and confusion of thoughts of self-interest and pride, such that the war is on all sides. As You know, they leave us no way of escaping to You, Lord our G-d and G-d of our fathers. However, even so, I still await, look forward to, wish for and really hope for Your salvation, at all times, in your bountiful mercy. We know that You are full of mercy at all times. You search the hearts and kidneys and know all hidden things. You know that in the inner most depths of our hearts we desire and long very much to really come closer to you, to always really fulfill Your will without any thoughts of self-interest or confusion. Therefore, have mercy upon us for Your sake, our Father in Heaven, Master of all. In Your bountiful mercy, grant us merit so that we nullify and drive out from us the attribute of pride, completely and utterly. Let me merit, in absolute truth, to all the aspects of humility, to be really lowly and humble before every person in the world, before great, ordinary or insignificant people, even before the most insignificant of all. In my many iniquities I've become more insignificant than the most insignificant people. Let me merit to know and feel my true lowliness, in all my limbs, until I merit to be really humble, lowly and insignificant in my own eyes, even more than my lowly and insignificant spiritual level. May I merit to really reach absolute self-nullification, as You desire.

Please Lord, I know that my words are confused and my language full of blemishes. I don’t know how to arrange my prayers and supplications before You, but I rely upon You, for you hear all prayers. You, who are full of mercy, have compassion upon me and let me merit to be as You desire, from now on, for ever. Help me so that I merit to real humility.

Help me from now on to leave my evil ways and confused evil thoughts which confuse me and prevent me from going on the good, straight path. Help me to draw back from these evil thoughts. Grant me strength to drive out, throw away and nullify all these thoughts which bother my mind. These are my accusers and they’ve caused me to become distant from You. Rise to my assistance; purify and sanctify my thoughts and let me merit from now on to attach my thoughts to You in truth and simplicity forevermore.

Please Lord, have pity on my soul. In Your bountiful compassion, command the removal of the filthy clothes in which I have clothed my soul because of my bad deeds, my sins, iniquities and willful transgression that I’ve committed before You. These filthy clothes, produced by our sins, they are what prevent and delay us from rally returning to You. You know Lord, our G-d, how very great and many are the efforts we have to strive to make, before succeeding to break these obstacles, veils and iron curtains which separate us from holiness. You know how very far away we are from You because of this. Therefore, please arouse Your mercy upon us; take pity and have mercy on our souls, spirits and higher souls. Command Your holy angels to remove the filthy clothes from me and to clothe me in festive attire so as to nullify all the obstacles and iron curtains which separate, veil and make barriers between myself and holiness. It is impossible for now to do anything properly and perfectly in the realm of holiness as You know. All these veils and obstacles, let them be completely nullified so that I merit to really return to You, so that I merit to really turn away from evil from now on and to always do that which is good in Your eyes.

Master of the World, let me not to want  engage in any business concerning matters of this world other than for the sake of my higher soul. So also may all my prayers be intended  for the complete rectification of my higher soul. Even in those prayers where the needs of the body are mentioned, such as the blessing ‘cure us’ and ‘bless for us…this year’ – even there may my intention be only for the cure of my higher soul, its needs and its perfection. May I truly believe and know that when the spiritual side becomes rectified so the material side will automatically become rectified. By this, grant me automatically all the bounty, good and blessings that I need materially. Let me merit to sincerely believe in You, with perfect faith. Let me believe that You are good to all, that’s to say, good for all the things a person needs, whether a cure, or an income and such like. Whatever a person lacks, You are ‘good for all’, fulfilling all a person’s wishes and supplying all that he lacks when he sincerely prays for them with mercy and entreaties. May all our efforts be only in asking from God. Let us only pray before You with mercy and with entreaties for anything we need and not chase after all sorts of other means. Why should we strive for such means, for usually it is very difficult to achieve them, such as the medicines needed to cure and, so also, all the matters related to livelihood etc. Isn’t it better to ask and plead before You for everything, for You are always present and very close to us. You can fulfill all our wishes very simply, for nothing is beyond You. And so, may all our efforts be always to multiply our prayers and entreaties. May we merit to always pray in very great devotion until, by this, the all-embracing peace be drawn into the world, peace in all the worlds, such that all the worlds approach perfection. So also, may peace be drawn into the world between all beings so that they have compassion for one another and that there may be harmony between them. By this, draw loving-kindness and compassion automatically on all beings, as the Sages said, “Anyone who has mercy on others, in Heaven they will have mercy upon him.” Fulfill the verse which says: “The Lord is good to all; His mercy extends over all His works.”

May it be Your will, Lord, our G-d, the G-d of our Fathers, that You grant me  and to all Your Nation, the House of Israel, the ability engage in studuing Your holy Torah with holiness and purity, by day and by night, until we merit, by studying the holy Torah, to awaken the roots of the souls of Israel that were in the mind of G-d at the beginning of creation and which are rooted in the letters of the holy Torah. Help us Lord that our studying Torah will radiate and awaken the roots of the souls of Israel. May these souls radiate and sparkle one to another until the souls of the wicked and sinners of Israel among them are awakened and sparkle such that the radiance of the roots of their souls reach them; let them all be aroused to complete repentance and truly return to You. By this sparkling of the souls let souls of converts be created and born until those who are distant will convert and recognize the power of Your Kingship and all really serve You. If, however, in my poverty of mind, I am very distant from studying Torah in holiness such as this, distant from awakening the souls of others to repentance, at least, in Your immense compassion, have mercy upon me and merit me by studying the holy Torahto be included within the soul of the true tzaddik of the generation who studies Torah with such holiness, that I become aroused by it. May my soul shine and sparkle in its source among the rest of the holy souls of the Children of Israel, , in the Supernal Thought of the Holy One, may He be blessed.Then let the radiance from the root of my soul reach me, until that I merit to truly return to You in complete repentance.

May I merit to have tranquility within myself. Cure me, spiritually and physically, in such a way that I merit to be complete, truly perfect, without any defect or blemish! Master of the World, I know that I am very for from perfection and I am full of very many defects and flaws, from head to toe. There is no soundness in me. “There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your anger; nor is there any health in my bones because of my sin.” All my limbs are full of blemishes that I caused to my soul by my many iniquities and sins. Because of this I am far away from truly serving You. I cannot even perform one act of worship. I do not merit to recite any prayer perfectly, as I should, for ‘anyone who has a blemish in him may not approach’. Since I am far away from prayer, by what can I merit to come close to You? My Father in Heaven, Master of the World, who is full of mercy, I know for sure that despite this You listen to the voice of my cry for help from far away. Therefore, I will raise my voice and call to You, my Father, my Father, my Master, my Master, my King and my God, I will pray to You, call to You, cry to You for help. I will plead to You, prostrate myself, bow and kneel before You. I spread my hands out to You in prayer. Take pity and have mercy upon me.

 Have compassion upon me. Care for me from Your holy dwelling, with love and very great compassion. Cure the pain of my very miserable soul. Remove all blemishes from me that I introduced to my soul from every limb, for it’s Your way to use broken utensils. You do great things and immeasurable, countless wonders; You revive the dead in great mercy. In Your great strength You raise up and gather the pieces of broken utensils, the broken pieces. In Your loving-kindness, You join and fix them and You renovate them as they had originally been, making them even stronger. Not even one spark is lost or distant from You,, Heaven forbid, for in Your Hand there is strength and might and it is in Your Hand to make everything greater or stronger. Charitable Healer, stir Your compassion upon me and cure me. Remove all blemishes and defects from me, from my body and soul, my spirit and higher spirit. Send a full cure to Your Nation(and in particular to… etc.). You are a trusted healer and merciful one, Healer of broken hearts and Binder of the wound of their sadness. Cure me Lord and I will be cured. Save me and I will be saved, for You are my song of praise and I will merit to be completely whole, without any defect or blemish. Grant me completeness within myself so that I will be able to subdue, break and negate my body, until all the desires of the body and bad characteristics will be nullified from me completely; until my body becomes negated to the soul, and the body will have no other craving or will at all, apart from the desire of the holy soul, which is as You desire. May there be tranquility between my soul and my body, until my body becomes holy and purified, becoming merged within my holy soul. May I merit to perform all the commandments and all the things that have in them Your desire, with great happiness and good will, physically and spiritually. Let both body and soul be truly united as one, with great love and peace, so I  truly perform Your Will with great happiness always.  Then really merit me to completely perfect holiness; May I be fitting to arrange my prayer before You in ultimate perfection. So my prayer is set before You as incense and perfect sacrifices, offered up before You by a flawless and complete person.

15.   THE   HIDDEN   LIGHT

a)  Someone who wants to taste the hidden light, that's to say, the secrets of the Torah that will be revealed in the future, has to raise the attribute of fear to its source. This one achieves through judgement, which is an aspect of private meditation between yourself and your Maker when you speak out your heart before the Holy One, judging yourself with regard to all your affairs.  This removes from upon you all kinds of extraneous fears and, thus, raises holy fear from its fall, for when a person doesn't judge himself, then they judge him in the world above and the result is that fear becomes clothed in all the things of the world; they become messengers from above to make judgement against this person, as decreed, meaning that he can receive his punishment through all the things in the world. We often see that when a person deserves a punishment and suffering, Heaven forbid, it often comes about by a simple cause, by a small thing that one wouldn't have dreamt could cause such a sickness and suffering as this. But this is all because the decree from above has taken the form of this thing in order to carry out the judgement he deserves. When a person doesn't judge himself this happens, but if he judges himself then the decree is nullified in the world above and he doesn't have to afraid of anything; his decree doesn't materialize because he himself cancelled it in the world above. Fear isn't clothed in anything to arouse him for he arouses himself. This raises fear to its source so that it will only be fear of G-d and not fear of any physical thing. By this, a person merits to the hidden light.   

b)  Whoever wants to taste from this hidden light should pray and speak to G-d a great deal in a quiet place and judge himself regularly if his affairs and actions are fitting  and whether it is proper to behave like this against the Holy One who bestows him so much good at all times; "he conducts his affairs justly"( Psalms,112,5). A person should judge himself about everything. By this he will remove from himself all sorts of fears and be saved from fallen fears such as fear of  government officials or bosses, animals or thieves or anything else in the world. Rather he will fear and be in awe only of G-d. Through this he will raise fear to its source in holy understanding. He will merit to full understanding, to know Who to fear, to fear the awesome G-d alone, fear of His exaltedness. Then he will merit to understand the revealed aspects of the Torah and attain true humility. This leads to the ability to pray with self-nullification such that one nullifies all one's being and material existence while praying; one prays without any self interest. You must nullify your materialistic aspects completely, as if you weren't in the world at all, as it says, " we are killed all  day long." ( Psalms,44,23).Then one can ascertain the hidden secrets of the Torah which is the hidden light which will be revealed in the future. All this one merits to through personal prayers.

c)  The essence of understanding is in the heart for even the gentiles have understanding but it is without the heart. The main understanding is in the heart, as it says, "The L-rd has not given you a heart to understand." (Deut.29,3). And there, in the heart, is the place of  fear. That means the essence of understanding is in the heart and not in the mind alone. That's to say, a person has to connect his understanding to within his heart such that awe and fear of G-d's greatness  overcomes him and arouses him to truly serve G-d. Then he will merit to a sublime, holy fear, fear of G-d's exaltedness so that he knows Who to fear. All this one achieves through meditation and self-

judgement and , by this, one merits to the hidden light. Happy is he who merits to this.

d)  When we call G-d using human descriptions, He is close to us in all that we call to Him; this is an act of loving kindness on G-d's part. If not for this loving kindness, it wouldn't be proper to call or refer to Him with such terms, descriptions, praises, words or letters. From this itself, a person should arouse himself and pray with great enthusiasm while remembering the greatness of the Creator, each person according to what he feels in his heart. He is far more sublime and exalted than all these descriptions and praises; it is just His love, mercy and great loving kindness that gave us permission to address Him in these terms and to pray before Him in order to cleave to Him. This being so, it is fitting to say these words and descriptions wholeheartedly, with great concentration and self-sacrifice since we merit, through His great love, to call Him with these terms.                 

e)  There is an aspect of a Snake that entices a person to pray for his own benefit, like a dog that barks ' give me life and food ' or other benefits. One has to overcome this and try to pray without any ulterior motive, as if one doesn't exist in the world. By this, one merits to the light which is hidden away for tzaddikim.                                                                                                                   

f)  The Holy One craves for the prayers of Israel, so when  Jews  pray before Him they satisfy His desire. Then He receives pleasure from us, like a woman (whose essence is to receive), as it says, "a fire-offering of pleasing odor to the L-rd" (Numbers,28,8). By the pleasing odor He receives, He becomes an aspect of a woman ( 'isha') as alluded to in the word 'burnt offering ( 'ishei'). This is like it says," a woman will surround a man" (Jeremiah,31,21). The Holy One becomes revealed, so to speak, like a garment. That's to say, previously He was hidden, but now, through prayer, He becomes revealed. The Holy One and the Torah are one, so, by prayer, Torah becomes revealed meaning the secrets of the Torah.                                                                     

g)  It is only possible to understand the secrets of the Torah when you "make your face black like a raven's" (Eruvin,54) and act ruthlessly to one's young like a raven. This is a form of self-sacrifice, as is written, "We are killed all day long" (Psalms,44), when one prays with total self-nullification of the physical self.                                                                                                           

 

h)  The secret aspects of the Torah are called 'holy' and "no common man shall eat thereof" (Leviticus,21,10). Only those who are His holy ones and those close to Him will eat. They are an aspect of the holy Temple.                                  

  

PRAYER 15

Help me. Help me. Pardon me. Pardon me. Save me. Save me. Help me and let me merit to return to You in really perfect repentance. Let me merit to truly holy judgment, so that I merit to always calm my mind every day and judge myself well by considering whether all my affairs and deeds are proper for me to perform, and whether it’s proper to waste days doing things such as I do, Heaven forbid. Give me merit to hold my mind in a state of calmness and judgment for a certain amount of time. Help me prevent my mind and thoughts running away from this, rather let me be worthy to enter very, very well into this calmness of mind and judgment, until I merit to really strengthen my calmness with great power. Let this be in such a way that I merit to immediately turn away from all evil deeds and bad thoughts, just let me hold on to good deeds at all times.

            By this, let me merit to perfect fear, to fear this awesome and glorious Name – the Lord, our God. Grant me the ability to raise fear to its source, which is holy perception. May I perfect my mind absolutely, in holiness and purity in order that I know whom to fear, to fear only Your great Name. Let the holy fear be drawn in to all my 248 limbs and all my 365 sinews and may I be full of really great dread, fright and fear of Your Great Name at all times, at every hour. In Your bountiful mercy, grant me really perfect perception, in holiness and purity.

            Lord, God, You know the great limitation, lowliness and blemished state of our minds,  for our minds are very spoiled and blemished indeed because of our bad deeds, reprehensible thoughts and confused opinions such that we don’t know at all to advise our souls how to behave with regard to anything in the world. Please Lord, full of mercy, have compassion upon me and grant me a perfect mind, a perfect mind of holiness, in order that I really know Your Name and always fear You. Allow me to

Please Lord, full of compassion, You know how great the confusions and muddles  are that mix up, surround and confuse my mind at all times, especially at the time of learning;  I have not merited until now to learn for even one brief hour  with pure and proper thoughts. All day long, even when I learn, my mind is very confused and crazed by several kinds of confusion and silly thoughts of all kinds, beyond counting and estimation. This happens all the time, every hour of the day. I don’t know where to run to save my soul from them. Lord, God, You know, You know that all our minds are disorganized because we have spoiled and blemished them a great deal. It is already many days and years that my mind has been very distracted, always straying to foolish things, confusions and bad thoughts, all sorts of blemishes which are impossible to clarify or specify at all. If I said I would tell the minutest part of my immense confusion and turbidness of mind, time would run out. We rebelled against and did not carry out all the good pieces of advice which You revealed to us through Your true tzaddikim about how to save ourselves from all this by ‘resting and doing nothing’. Because of our many iniquities we’ve spoiled and blemished very much all the advice You’ve already revealed to us and that You reveal to us and hint to us in order to know how to escape from confusion and distractedness. No sooner do we try to carry out this advice than our minds become confused and distracted, so much so that even when we want to overcome and leave our evil thoughts and hold onto Your good counsel, we find again that we are unable to hold our minds in calmness, holiness and purity for even a short while.

Lord our God, our Father in Heaven, truly Compassionate One; You are full of compassion, at all times, at every moment – always. You know how far away we are from holiness of thought and perfection of the mind. We’ve already wasted years in useless and empty things, in confusion, and very bad, blemished thoughts, which come all the time, every hour. From our youth until today we still have not merited to proper, true calmness of mind, even for an hour, from our youth until today, for we have sinned, committed iniquities and willfully transgressed. We have blemished the holy brit and as a result our minds have become crazed and confused very much. We do not know any way to revive ourselves or by which path we can to return to having a really proper and holy mind for we have spoiled and blemished all the paths and ways of the holy mind…

            In Your bountiful mercy, and in the strength and merit of true tzaddikim, help me to overcome all my bad thoughts and may I  perfect my mind in holiness and purity. Let me merit to study and involve myself in Your holy Torah both day and night, and may I purify my mind and intellect so it will be fine, pure and clean from any dross whatsoever. Let my mind and intellect be very fast and sharp so as to understand everything at great speed and utter truth without any further perusal at all.

 O Lord, our G-d and G-d of our Fathers; the great, mighty and awesome G-d, whose fear and awe is on all the Angels of the heavens, upon all the Seraphim, Ophanim and holy Chayot, and upon all the worlds and all the creatures above or below: May it be Your will, that they all be afraid of the awesomeness of Your Name. In Your compassion, have mercy upon me, have mercy upon someone sorrowful, degraded and despicable as myself. Always draw upon me Your holy fear so that fear of You  is discernible on my face to such a degree that  I never sin. Let me merit to feel Your holy fear in all my limbs… Let me hold my mind for a certain time in a state of calmness and self-judgment and let me not allow my mind and thoughts to quickly escape from this. Rather, grant me merit to enter very, very well into this state of calmness and self-judgment until I really strengthen my calmness in a bold and powerful way. Let me turn away immediately from all bad deeds and all bad thoughts from now on.  Just do good deeds all the time.

In Your compassion, merit me to perfect fear, to fear the glorious and awesome Name – the Lord our God. Let my fear be clear and clean, without any dross. Grant me fear of the Lord alone. Increase Your loving-kindness for me and sweeten and nullify all sorts of harsh judgments in the world from upon myself, my offspring and from all Your Nation, the House of Israel. Don’t judge me according to my deeds. Don’t sentence me according to that which I have done. Don’t bring me to judgment for no one can be found righteous before You. Rather, in Your great and bountiful loving-kindness, nullify from upon me all the judgments and harsh decrees in the world. Let them have no chance to arouse judgment and sentence, Heaven forbid. Just merit me to judge myself well at all times, to awaken myself to really perfect repentance at all times until I merit to be really and truly as You desire. Save me, in Your bountiful mercy, from all sorts of extraneous fears, from ‘fallen’ fears, so that I will fear no minister or lord, no wild animal or thief – nothing in the world! Just of You alone will I be afraid and fear. Let Your fear always be upon my face so that I never sin. Grant me merit to raise the fear to its source, which is holy perception. In Your immense mercy, may I complete my perception with perfection, holiness and purity so that I know from who to fear, to fear only Your Great Name. May holy fear be drawn into all my 248 limbs and 365 sinews. Let me be full of great awe, fright and fear of Your great and holy Name at all times, at every hour, always. In Your bountiful mercy, let me be worthy of really perfect perception, in holiness and purity… Please Lord, full of compassion, have mercy upon me; grant me perfect holy perception, until I really know Your Name and fear You always. Merit me to sublime fear, fear of Your grandeur.

In Your bountiful mercy, help me merit to pray with perfect sincerity, as is fitting; may I pray sincerely all the day. Arouse my heart, in Your bountiful mercy, so that I can pour out my heart before You, so I can always explain myself before You in prayer and entreaties, by sincere words of prayer, entreaty and requests from the depths of the heart. May I bring out into the light all the good that is concealed and hidden away in my good points, such that the hidden and concealed good that is in me become revealed and the good overcome the evil, until I subdue and nullify the evil completely and merit to go from evil to good, from darkness to a great light. In your mercy, let me pray with real self sacrifice, until I nullify all my being and material self. Let me not pray for my own benefit at all; rather, may I merit to complete self-nullification at the time of prayer, as if I wasn’t in the world at all! May all my intention in prayer be really only for Your Name’s sake, to raise the Divine Presence from the exile and to reveal Your Divinity in the world. You have already started, in Your great compassion and loving-kindness, to reveal Your Divinity in the world. And You have taught us, by Your true tzaddikim, to arrange songs, praises, prayers and entreaties before You, and You’ve taught us Your holy Names. And in Your loving-kindness You decreed that we be supported by having descriptions of You and by Your praises; we have permission and the power to refer to You and call You by these descriptions and praises. By this alone we have support and hope to really come closer to You and to know You wholeheartedly. So also, in Your bountiful mercy grant us merit in every generation together with other Jews, to true knowledge, through Your holy Torah. And let me merit to always arrange songs and praises, prayers and entreaties before You all the days of my life, with truth, belief and a calm, firm knowledge.

May I merit to determine the truth, to refer to You and call You by descriptions and praises that are appropriate and fitting to be used to call You. May all my words of entreaty, request, song and praise, that I arrange before You rise up to find favour. Arouse Your bountiful mercy upon me. Be reconciled and appeased towards us. Let us merit from now on to really come closer to You. Our eyes are turned towards You in anticipation, therefore, from Your treasure of charitable gifts, grant me the merit to achieve sincere prayer. May I merit to always engage in prayer until, by this, I manage to reach and ascertain the true secrets of the Torah. Let me taste the flavour of the hidden light which, in the future You will reveal to the true tzaddikim, this being the inner essence of the secrets of the Torah. May I merit “to behold the beauty of the Lord and to visit in His Temple.”

Master of everything, Full of Compassion, in Your bountiful mercy, be gracious to me and let me merit to engage in Torah and prayer with sincerity and self-sacrifice until I merit, through You mercy, to taste, even in This World, the flavour of the hidden light which is hidden and concealed for those who fear You, as is written: “How great is Your goodness which You stored away for those who fear You; which You have done for those who trust in You before the sons of men.” You are good and do good for all. You know that there is no true good in the world other than really turning away from evil and doing good deeds, being subservient and nullified to Torah and prayer, sincerely and permanently, until we merit to taste the flavour of the hidden light in This World also. This is the real, eternal good. Let me taste from Your real goodness  and from the eternal life, from now on and forever.

In Your bountiful mercy,  merit me to engage in studying Your holy Torah constantly, by day and by night. Broaden my perception and enlighten my eyes in Your Torah. May I study Your holy Torah with a pure and refined intellect until I know and understand, with great speed, every thing that I study. Let no confusion have any strength to confuse my mind, Heaven forbid, at the time of studying, whether an extraneous thought or an improper thought about the vanities of the world, or whether confusion and crookedness in the matter of studying itself. In Your bountiful mercy, my Father in Heaven, save me from all these defects. In Your compassion, let me overcome, drive out and nullify from myself at the time of studying, all the confusions and crooked ways of thinking in the world. Let me study a great deal, at great speed, with a really pure and refined intellect. Help me start and finish all the books of the Torah, whether the Written Torah or the Oral Torah, and learn them several times. Please Lord, Merciful One, You know the immensity of the confusions that always mix me up, surround me and confuse my mind all the time, especially when I study. I haven’t merited as yet to study even one hour with pure and correct thoughts. All through the day, even when I study, my mind is very confused and perplexed by all sorts of confusion and mixed-up thoughts, thoughts of folly and crookedness of the heart. There are thousands upon thousands and tens of thousands upon tens of thousands of confusions, at every moment. They are innumerable and unmeasurable. I don’t know where to run to save my soul from them…

In Your bountiful mercy, and in the strength and merit of the true tzaddikim, help me so that I manage to overcome all evil thoughts; in Your bountiful mercy, enable me to perfect my mind with holiness and purity. Grant me the merit to study and meditate constantly in Your holy Torah, both by day and by night. May I purify my mind so that my mind and intellect are refined and purified and cleaned, without any dross at all. May my mind and intellect be very fast and sharp so I can understand the matter really and truly well, at great speed, without any further perusal or consideration at all. Have mercy upon me so that  I merit to real humility and lowliness, so that no element of pride, nor ulterior motives, enter my mind at all. Also, when You grant me the merit in Your mercy to study a lot of Torah, let me not attribute this good to myself at all. Let no ulterior motives or haughtiness enter my heart, Heaven forbid, by studying the Torah. Rather, let me study a lot of Torah for its own sake, with holiness and purity, with real humility and lowliness. May I study, teach, observe, do and fulfill all the words of Your Torah with love.

     

16.  REBBE YOCHANAN

a)      'Sometimes ceasing to learn Torah is the way to keep it' (Menachot,99), for someone who wants to engage in learning Torah and serving G-d constantly will find it impossible to maintain this cleaving to the Holy One and His Torah without a break. One has to cease occasionally. Now and again one has to let the mind go out from the realm of Torah in order to engage in mundane things so as to prevent the powers of confusion from the Other Side becoming too strong and nullifying one's wisdom completely. Consequently one has to rest sometimes. However, when Meshiach comes then one won't need to cease from one's intense attachment to G-d.

b)      The tzaddik who learns intensely sublime wisdom has eyes that radiate like

the sun. This is an aspect of "our eyes shine like the sun and like the moon."

Sometimes they shine like the sun when we concentrate on holy wisdom, and at other times they shine like the moon when we stop ourselves from letting the mind wander in holy wisdom, for the moon doesn't shine other than when the sun disappears. In the future, through the two Meshiachs (Yoseph and David), we will be redeemed from all the nations, who stem from Esau and Ishmael, the two clouds which cover the eyes (Zohar,3,252). Then one won't need to cease from cleaving to G-d and the verse will be fulfilled which says, "The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun" (Isaiah,30).

PRAYER 16

Master of the Universe, out of Your desire for good,You created us in this lowly world. You decreed that our souls descend from the World on High, from the Hallway of the King, from the Holy of Holies and that it enter a physical body in This World. Your intention was for our ultimate good so that we merit to cleave to You in this lowly world. Therefore, it is our duty to constantly cleave to You without even a moment’s break, and to engage in studying Your holy Torah day and night, without any pause or stopping at all, for the Torah is our life and the length of our days. We have no vitality other than when we cleave to You and to Your holy Torah. But what can we do, O Lord, our G-d? You know that because of the foulness of our material body and because of the immense length of our exile among the nations, which was brought about by our many iniquities, it is now quite impossible for us to constantly cleave to You and to Your holy Torah without some respite, as is incumbent upon us. Sometimes we must break off for a short while from the words of Torah, from wandering through Your holy wisdom. There are immense confusions that enter the mind through ‘clouds that cover the eyes’ and now, in the force of our exile they overcome us. Because of this, even the true tzaddikim must sometimes cease from his cleaving to G-d; he has to cease from his lofty wisdom in order to give his mind a rest and so that the confusions won’t become stronger, Heaven forbid, thus confusing and stopping his studying altogether. I am poor of mind and ignorant of wisdom, I don’t know my soul nor how to behave in the matter of studying and resting. I don’t know how to steer a course such that I rest only at the time of need, at it’s appointed and proper time, so that I don’t cease from studying too much.

Therefore, I have come before You, O Lord, my God and God of my fathers, to ask for mercy, and that You grant me and guide me truly along the right path. Grant me wisdom, understanding and perception from Your holy dwelling place. Help me to know how to behave in this matter, the matter of ‘resting from Torah in its fulfillment.’ Guide me and teach me in such a way that I merit to always behave  as You desire and to do everything well, at its proper time – to engage in studying Torah, to pray and do good deeds, day and night, with great consistency and at great speed, for Your Name’s sake. May I really do a lot in serving the Lord every day. Grant me understanding to know when I have to cease for a while from the words of Torah. Help me so that I do not stop completely and utterly, Heaven forbid. Just grant me perception, understanding and wisdom. Grant me intellect from You so that I may cleave unconsciously to the Holy One, may He be blessed, and to the holy Torah, even at the time when I cease from studying Torah. May my eyes and mind radiate at the time of resting by virtue of the impression that remains from the light of wisdom of the holy Torah that I was engaged in studying. Let my eyes shine like the sun when I cleave to sublime wisdom and to Your holy Torah, and sometimes may they shine like the moon when I am forced to break off from that wisdom and from studying Torah. Then may my eyes shine as the precious, waning moon, in such a way that I merit to always cleave to You, forever more. Come to my aid at all times and save me so that I return to You in really perfect repentance. May I really cleave to You from now on, as You  desire. Let me spend all my days in Torah, prayer and good deeds, in real holiness and purity, in faith, fear and love, in happiness and good-heartedness stemming from generous bounty.

In Your loving-kindness help me so that, from now on, I won’t lose needlessly any hour or any moment from the relatively few days that make up my life, for my days are numbered. If not now, when shall I study! For, in the future, You will demand an account from us for every hour and every moment of our lives! Help me, so that even when I have to break off from words of Torah, You will arrange for me to involve myself in some matter stemming from Your worship or in performing Your will. By this, let me guard my mind and give a rest to my brain. Have pity and mercy upon me and help me from now on to always really be as You desire.

Arouse Your bountiful mercy upon us and, in the near future, speedily redeem us. Send us Messiah  very soon, Messiah the Son of David and Messiah the Son of Joseph, and let them join together and synthesize each other so that they subdue and throw down into the dust all the seventy nations and all (the evil of) the Other Side. Reveal their wisdom in the world and let their fountains spread abroad. “The earth will be filled with knowledge to know the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Everything will know that You are its Maker and every creature will understand that You are its Creator, and all the nations will return to Your service and to fear of You through the wisdoms of the two Messiahs. Fulfill the verse which says: “For then turn to the nations a pure, clear language that they may call upon the Name of the Lord to serve Him with one consent.” Remove the rule of the wicked from the earth and quickly uproot , break, finish, cease and throw down the kingdom of the wicked, , very speedily, in our days. Nullify and remove the clouds which cover the eyes and then let us merit to cleave to You and to Your holy Torah for always, without any respite or stopping at all. Let no obstacle or distraction have the strength to confuse our minds at all. Rather, let us be worthy of always clinging to You all the days of our lives forever and ever, for all eternities. Fulfill the verse which says: “The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun.” Let this be so, very speedily, in our days. Amen.

17.    THEY UNLOADED THEIR SACKS

a)      Fear and love of G-d are impossible to acquire other than through the tzaddikim of the generation.

b)      The tzaddik always asks and searches to reveal the will of G-d … in the general creation when it rose in the Holy One's desire to create the world at all. So also, the tzaddik searches to reveal the desire of G-d in each detail of the creation to its minutest details, for each created thing is different from others in its form, its strength, its nature and behaviour. Likewise, in each detail of each thing in itself there are differences, for example from one limb to another. This is true of all things – inanimate, vegetable, animal and human. They all have numerous differences between one another and so within each species itself, to the minutest details. All this is because of G-d's will, that He decreed that it should be so. The tzaddik continually searches after these aspects of the will of G-d, finding and understanding them through the splendour he finds in the People of Israel, generally, in detail and in minute detail. For all the world was created only because the Holy One saw beforehand the splendour and delight He would receive from the People of Israel. The general creation is a result of the splendour He would receive from all of the People of Israel; the details of creation were created for the splendour He would receive in detail from each individual Jew. Similarly, all the many different details that are in all created things – everything is according to the splendour that the Holy One receives from each individual Jew, through small details, from each good movement he makes. The tzaddik searches for and finds the splendour that the Jewish People have generally and individually and by this he understands G-d's will in creating the world and each detail and minute detail of it. In this way the tzaddik raises the splendour that G-d finds in Israel and this reveals all of G-d's decrees in creation. Through this process love and fear become revealed.

c)      You should know that the Holy One takes delight even from the most worthless of Jews,

even from a sinner of Israel; all the time he still has the name of Israel upon him (i.e. he denies idol worship) the Holy One still takes pleasure from him. Therefore a person must never despair from serving G-d even if he has sinned and blemished a very great deal, Heaven forbid, for the Holy One never ceases to cherish him. This being so, he can always return to G-d. The main thing is through people of truth (tzaddikim) who can find the good and splendour that exists within each Jew, even the worst of the worst, for they return everything to the Holy One.

d)      The truth is that in the presence of the King everyone certainly feels fear and awe. However, even so, on the King's birthday when he wears his robes of splendour, then the fear is revealed more and more, for the soul is aroused much more by seeing than by knowledge. By this revelation of splendour which displays fear, the King's will is seen openly and this is the aspect of love.

Such is the way of the King on his birthday that by wearing his splendid, regal robes, great fear overcomes everyone. They all shake with fear before the King. Afterwards, the King reveals His desire to each individual and gives gifts to each one according to his status, according to the King's will and His love for each person. This is an aspect of love. First of all when the King's splendour is revealed fear encompasses everyone. Then, later, when they see the King 's will and His closeness to each person, they come closer to Him and love Him.

Therefore, by the tzaddik revealing the splendour that G-d gets from Israel, which is like the King's birthday, an aspect of Kingship is born for the essence of Kingship comes only through Israel accepting His Kingship, for there is no King without a nation. Then, on the King's birthday, when the splendour of Israel becomes revealed, the souls of those who see it are activated and fear descends and envelopes everyone even the light- hearted. By the tzaddikim revealing the splendour of Israel they reveal the will of G-d in every detail of the creation. So it is on the King's birthday; afterwards He reveals His desire to each individual and gives them presents, raising their status according to His desire. This is called the revelation of love. It turns out therefore, that the fear and love are drawn through the tzaddik who reveals the splendour.

  

e)      When the fear and love of G-d are darkened within a person, this is because the light of the

      tzaddik, from whom he receives fear and love, has become blacked out. However, the truth is that the tzaddik radiates in all the worlds, especially in This World, so if a person doesn't feel it, that is because of his own darkness. Even if he is near a tzaddik and sits by him, he can't taste, understand or see the great light which is around him and which could enable him to achieve his

good and eternal purpose.

f)       All this is because of his bad deeds which led to his mind being blackened with foolishness and worthless opinions. In his own eyes he thinks he is clever so all sorts of doubts arise in his mind about the true tzaddik. However, all these opinions and doubts are nonsense and complete foolishness caused by the impurity of his deeds which blackened his mind with foolishness. This extinguishes the light of the tzaddik and so he can not receive fear and love of G-d.

g)      By eating kosher food properly, in a holy way, slowly and with patience, not swallowing greedily, one can rectify the mind and subdue any foolishness. But, when a person eats like a glutton, the foolishness overcomes the intelligence and this darkens the light of the tzaddik and then he cannot receive fear and love.

h)      When one gives charity to true tzaddikim and deserving poor people this leads non-Jews to convert. This rectifies any blemish in eating. Then the intellect is rectified and perfected and we can merit to see the light of the tzaddik; by this we are able to receive fear and love.

i)       The charity that one gives to true tzaddikim or deserving poor people is considered as if one had given to several Jewish souls.

j)       By the charity one gives to a Torah scholar, one widens and increases the pure, calm air. Then, someone who can speak words of a Jew, holy words, has these words written and carved in the air and they travel and are heard from afar. As a result they are found written in the books of the gentiles in various countries. The gentiles then find in their books words that contradict their traditional beliefs and this leads them to convert. This is like people say that many gentiles have converted recently; all this is a result of the above.

k)      Where does it come from that these specific gentiles find these words of faith, repent and recognize the faith of Israel whilst others find nothing at all? Know, this is because of the good which is trapped within them, that's to say, parts (sparks) of the holy souls of Jews. By their decrees, taxes, etc. which prevent Jews from good, from performing mitzvot, the good is trapped within them. First of all, this good remembers that it came from a very lofty and holy source, but afterwards these gentiles overcome the good and capture it such that it is trapped and tied to them; then the good forgets its inherent virtue. But by the words of holiness which travel and become written in their books, the good imprisoned within the gentile finds these words. When it finds words which contradict their faith, the good within them recalls its inherent virtue, how it comes from a very sublime and holy place, from sparks of Jewish souls for whom all the worlds were created and with whom the Holy One consulted in the creation of the world; these souls are loftier than all the worlds but now are trapped in such an exile that they can get lost, Heaven forbid. The soul then begins to regret its exile and to yearn for holiness; it has compassion on itself that it has fallen from such a lofty place to a place like this (within the gentile). Through this it becomes aroused and returns to the realm of holiness. All this stems from the aforementioned charity.

l)       From this, each person can obviously understand by himself how much he has to have mercy on himself when he remembers the virtue of his origin. He should say in his heart, "Behold, I am from the seed of Israel who are above and more sublime than all the worlds and arose in  G-d's mind prior to Creation etc. How is it that I am now in such a despicable situation?! Who knows what will be in the days to come, for the Evil One wants to destroy me, Heaven forbid." By this he can arouse mercy on himself and bring himself to repent and return to G-d.

m)     When this good (this spark of a Jewish soul) begins to return to its rightful place, because it is tied and trapped within the gentile, with one knot upon another, it pulls and tears off some of the evil of the gentile. This is an aspect of the non-Jews who come to convert, for they are a reflection of the evil which is torn away together with the good when the Jewish soul breaks free to return to its origin; it is impossible for the soul to return by itself, alone, because of the degree to which it is attached to and trapped within the evil. It has therefore to tear off some of the evil and this creates the converts.

n)      Know, sometimes the evil sees that the good yearns and draws itself with longing to return to its original place. Then these forces of evil attempt to overcome the good even more and bring it into deeper form of disappearance; that's to say, they drive it into their innermost thoughts such that they begin to think about the good. This causes the good to become hidden even more in their inner thoughts. Then, when they give birth, which depends on the power of thought, this good appears, for it was hidden in their innermost thoughts. Therefore, this good comes out in the seed of the children and then the evil has no power to overcome the good within them. As a result, they become converts.

o)      To merit to recognize and understand the holy light of  the tzaddik, to taste and enjoy his great light, depends on the perfection of one's deeds and the purity of the intellect. The main cloudiness and impurity of the mind and intellect is caused primarily by means of one's deeds; impure deeds lead to irreversible damage to the intellect, Heaven forbid. Giving charity, which depends on actively doing, is the main rectification for one's deeds, as it says, "The deed of charity shall be peace"(Isaiah,32,17). This also perfects the light of the intellect and then one merits to see the light of the tzaddik; in turn, one can then receive from him true fear and love of G-d, as stated previously.

p)      Through converts, any blemish in the altar is corrected, for all the strength of idol worship comes from blemishes to parts of the altar, from the holy sparks of the altar which fell there. By each convert casting aside his false belief in order to follow the Jewish faith, the idol worship created from the blemishes to the altar is subdued. Then these holy sparks, parts of the altar, return to their proper place and this perfects the altar. Today the altar is reflected in a person's table, that's to say, when he merits to eat in a holy manner, as is fitting.  

                               Addendum to the above

             The voice that one hears is mainly because the letters spoken are engraved in the air and one area of air strikes another until the voice reaches the ears of the listener. Therefore, when the air is calm and pure and clean, the voice is heard over a long distance, but when the air is stormy it is impossible to hear even a voice and certainly not the words themselves. Similarly when there is love between people this reflects the calm air that they are calm towards each other; then the words are heard over a great distance, generally and in particular. This (in particular) means that the good words of each person are heard by his fellows. In general this means that in the world at large, the holy words of truth of the real tzaddik are heard and received over large distances. "His fame went out through all the provinces" (Esther,9) such that even those far away come closer to G-d.  This is an aspect of converts and ba'alei teshuva. On the other hand, where there is hate,   between people, Heaven forbid, this is like a stormy wind, an evil wind, that separates them from each other. By this, the air becomes confused and unsettled to such a degree that the words are not heard even locally even to those close by and certainly not at a distance. The main rectification of the air to make it calm and pure etc. is by giving charity to real tzaddikim and to deserving poor people.

PRAYER 17

In Your great mercy, help us, so that we merit to really break our craving for food completely, until we have no physical craving to eat and to fill ourselves because of the craving of the body for pleasure, Heaven forbid. Rather, may all our eating and drinking be really for Your Name’s sake, in order that we have strength to engage in truly studying Your Torah. May we merit to eat in holiness and purity, only for Your Name’s sake. Be ready to help us and, in Your great mercy, protect us; save us from all sorts of forbidden foods, both those that are forbidden by the Torah and those that are forbidden by rabbinical decree. Always protect us so that no accident should ever happen to us, Heaven forbid. Let no food that is forbidden ever pass our lips, for You, Master of the World, know everything; You know that it is impossible for a human being, of flesh and blood, to be careful enough to guard himself from all sorts of forbidden foods and their mixtures, the details of which are very numerous indeed. You know the enormousness of the huge flaw which forbidden foods cause in the soul of a Jew, Heaven forbid.

Therefore, have mercy upon us, for Your Name’s sake. Help us and save us; guard our souls so that we merit to be saved from and completely separated from all sorts of forbidden foods – from animals not ritually slaughtered properly; from non-kosher animals, reptiles and insects; from meat mixed with milk; from libation wine; from forbidden fats and blood; from the thigh muscle, the limb of a live animal; bread of a heathen and food cooked by non-Jew; the minutest particle of chametz during Pesach and all other kinds of forbidden foods and their mixtures. In Your immense mercy, protect us and save us from all these so that they never enter our mouths or defile our souls. May we and our descendants be clean and pure and completely separated from such forbidden foods. Sanctify us in Your supreme holiness. Fulfill in us that which is written: “Be holy for Me, for I am Holy.” Have compassion and take pity upon us. Redeem, save and deliver us from all sorts of  impurities and all the things that make the soul detestable. Sanctify us in all sorts of holiness. Help us and give us merit that our eating be really in complete holiness, as befits a person of the Nation of Israel. May we merit to rectify the blemishes in the altar of holiness by our eating with holiness and purity, until our table atones for us like an altar. In Your great mercy, let us merit to have a really perfect belief and give us strength and intelligence of holiness to subdue and nullify all sorts of false beliefs and to bring back all those who go astray in false beliefs so that they all return to Your holy belief.

I plead with You, Lord. Help us to escape our the bodily cravings and the turbidness of our actions and the foolishness of our minds. In Your great compassion, merit us to give a lot of charity to many deserving poor people and to the real tzaddikim in our generation in order that we rectify and perfect the blemish of the altar that was spoilt by our sins, so much that we have no fire-offerings, no sacrifices and no Cohen to affect atonement on our behalf.

Have mercy upon us so that we merit to rectify the blemish of craving for food and may we merit from now on to eat in holiness and purity until our table atones for us like the Altar. Merit us to host suitable guests at our table and to give part of our meal to deserving poor people. May we study Torah at the table and may our table be perfect in holiness, without any blemish at all, until we merit that our table purify us from all our sins. Grant us a good income and a good portion in the World to Come.

Merit us to have additional strength and courage at the hour when we will need it.  Let there be no strength to the Other Side to draw sustenance in any way from our table and our eating other than the absolute minimum life-force we have to give it. Let us give it absolutely nothing more than we must, as You desire.

Give us merit to fulfill perfectly the commandment of washing our hands before we eat and before we say blessing after meals, as is fitting. May we sanctify our hands by washing them and may perfect holiness and purity be drawn upon us by washing our hands before meals and at the end of meals. Fulfill in us that which is written: “Sanctify yourselves and be holy, for I the Lord am holy.” Help us to recite with very great devotion, holiness and purity, the blessing before eating  bread, the blessing after meals and all those blessings connected with eating, both those before and those after. At our table may we merit to have fulfilled that which is written: “And he said to me, ‘This is the table that is before the Lord’.” By our eating in holiness, may we subdue and nullify the foolishness of our minds and the ugliness of our actions. Help us, so that our minds be perfected by our eating with holiness and purity, as You desire.

18.    REBBE YOCHANAN -  TREASURE  CHEST

a)                        Everything has a purpose and this purpose has another purpose which is much higher. And the main and ultimate purpose is the delight of the World to Come. That is the final purpose of all creation and of all created things. However, this ultimate purpose can only be ascertained and grasped in the mind by the tzaddikim. Nevertheless, each Jew, according to the source he has in the soul of the tzaddik, receives from him this perception of the ultimate purpose and this, in the degree to which he breaks his anger with mercy. By this, he can merit to reach and ascertain this purpose which exists in all things in the world. This is the main thing.

b)A person has to break his anger with mercy. That's to say, when he is aroused to anger he should not act on his anger with ruthlessness, rather, quite the contrary, he should strengthen

his sense of mercy a great deal to overcome this desire to be angry and thus moderate (sweeten) the anger with compassion. By this a crown is made for the humble who run away from honour and positions of leadership. (Then they eventually receive the honour and leadership out of necessity. Then they are forced to receive the honour and leadership against their will.)

c)   To the degree that faith is minimized, the Face of G-d is hidden and His anger increases, Heaven forbid. Then the tzaddik runs away from leadership and honour and the world lacks true leaders. However, by breaking the anger with mercy one sweetens the anger.

       As a result the true tzaddikim receive honour and leadership. Then the world merits to true leaders who have mercy on the world and lead them properly, bringing each individual to ascertain the ultimate purpose.

d) Sometimes there is a lack in the world that faith lacks perfection. Because of this G-d's anger

and the hiding of His Face is not recognized significantly. But when this descends into the physical world and comes to tzaddikim, then they hide their faces from the world and do not want to take leadership and be leaders. Since this anger is minimal and only for a fraction of a moment, the tzaddikim don't explain their hiding as a result of this anger but rather, as a result of their own worthlessness, saying that they are not worthy of leading the world. The truth is that they do not know or sense the anger of G-d which is so very small.

But when G-d's rage and anger are sweetened  through mercy, the anger within the tzaddikim is also sweetened with mercy. Then, the feeling of compassion overcomes them and they have mercy over the world and agree to take leadership; thus, the world merits to a true leader who will lead them with compassion.                                                                                                                                              

e)  Through nullifying the anger with mercy, one merits to faith. In turn, this leads to a sweetening

of harsh decrees. The opposite is also true. By perfect faith we merit to compassion and to break the Heavenly anger.                    

f)   A person must not take upon himself any public position or leadership unless he has absolutely

 perfect  faith, for the essence of leadership is compassion which is itself primarily dependent on the removal of idol worship, even a minute element of it. For example, even if a person

believes generally in G-d but he says "a deer stopped me on the way" and he believes in this or

something similar as a bad omen, this is called 'the path of the non-believers'. This is not perfect faith

                       and therefore he also lacks compassion, so he must not accept any position of leadership. Even

                        though he thinks he has compassion on the world and therefore he wants to be a leader, the                                                       truth is that he really pursues his own honour; he explains his pursuit as being compassion. By

                        such leadership the world can come to idol worship and atheism, Heaven forbid. But, from                                     Heaven, G-d has mercy and does not let leadership stay in this person's hands.                      

                                               

g)      By the love of Torah scholars, the Kingship and leadership are established firmly. When a

   king or leader feels hate towards the Torah scholars, know that this is a sign from Heaven that

      he will be removed from power, for nothing has permanence without wisdom.

h)       The perfection of the letters of the alphabet and the perfection of the power of speech is

       through faith.

PRAYER 18

Master of the World, who is good and bestows good to everyone, You created Your world according to what rose in Your mind before the Creation. Your ultimate purpose was that it be all for our good. By this, You wanted us to merit to ascertain the good and truthful ultimate purpose, the purpose of all purposes. For this You created the world, with wonderful wisdom, from the highest to the lowest of worlds, in order that we attach ourselves to, and become enveloped in this First Thought, to ascertain the ultimate and eternal purpose.

  

 May it be Your will, our G-d and G-d of our Fathers, that You help us,  fulfill Your will by engaging constantly in Your service truly, with a pure heart. Let us keep away from evil completely so that we can perceive the ultimate purpose. In whatever we do, may our intention always be for this ultimate purpose. Let us, in all our deeds and words, have this purpose in mind so that everything is for the sake of Heaven.

But, Master of the World, You know how far away I am from this true purpose. Not only didn't I have it in mind, I also performed deeds which distanced me even further from this true purpose.

  Please have mercy on me; give me hope. Strengthen me from now on to keep away from evil. Have compassion on the deeds of Your hands and merit me to truly return to You, and thus ascertain the ultimate purpose for which You created all the worlds, and for which we came from the World Above, from the highest and most sublime world, to this lowly world.

 So, may it be Your will, O G-d, G-d of our Fathers, that You assist me, guarding and saving me from anger in all its forms. Protect me so that even when I become angry, I will not use it in any cruel way. Rather, may I break the anger with mercy. Help me overcome any feeling of anger and turn it into a feeling of compassion, until I have compassion on the person I wanted to be angry with. Merit me not to bow down to idol worship, as anger is referred to.

 Master of the World, You know how hard it is for us to break and nullify this attribute of anger. It is hard, once the flame of anger burns within us, to extinguish it. Therefore, always have mercy on us and help us, in Your bountiful mercy, to break the attribute of anger and drive it out of ourselves. Merit me to be good to everyone at all times, from now on and for ever.

 Behold, because of our sins, we are now in a deep exile, even deeper than that of Egypt. You know that there is no-one who can help us other than the true leader who is like Moses, our Teacher. Therefore, have mercy on us, for Your sake and break our anger. In Your mercy, send us the true leader who will have compassion on us. Return Your Countenance to us and bring us close to Your service.

 Please merit us to really perfect faith, to holy faith, to believe in You and Your true, holy tzaddikim. Save us from false beliefs, from foolish, vain beliefs. Let us have no false beliefs nor follow in the paths and customs of the non-believers. Rather, merit us to perfect, holy faith, faith which is pure and without any blemish.

  

19.    A PRAYER OF HABAKUK

a)  The craving for sexual pleasure is the embodiment of all the evils stemming from the seventy nations, for each nation has a special evil associated to it. In other words, each has a certain bad attribute which they are deeply involved in and from which they draw strength. But the desire for sex is the overall evil for within it lies each evil of each nation, which includes all the physical cravings.

All of these cravings burn together in a person and become a bonfire which is the fire that burns in a person to crave sex. However, the Holy One  separated us from the nations and raised us above all the languages so we have to separate ourselves from all their evil, from all their cravings, which are unique to them and do not belong to us at all, especially the craving for sex which is the all inclusive evil of all the nations. This is the main difference between us and the other nations that we separate ourselves from the desire for sex. This is the main holiness of the People of Israel.  A Jew has the strength to remove his mind from this craving and thus to break it. This is the essence of our holiness.

b) The main essence of holiness is holiness of the brit. To this we merit by the holiness of the tongue and speech which we sanctify with holy words. That is why our language is called the Holy Language, for wherever you find an element of sexual blemishes, there you find holiness. To reach perfection of the holy language is by speaking many words of holiness, words of Torah and prayer and conversations with G-d. (Even though one may talk to G-d in English, this is also included in holy language for it is preferable to speak to G-d in one's own language. The main thing is to guard one's tongue and sanctify it with holy words.)

To take care and guard one's tongue is by not saying bad, blemished things such as loshon hara, lies, idle talk etc. for they blemish the holy language. This is the main way to subdue and break all the physical desires, especially the craving for sex which is the main thing which needs to be broken.

c)  Guarding the brit (sexual purity) is an aspect of a spirit of holiness, holy language, by which we nullify the spirit of folly that causes blemishes to the brit, Heaven forbid.

d)  The main way of making and rectifying holy language depends on "fear of G-d which is His Treasury" (Isaiah, 37).

e)  Guarding the brit and the perfection of the holy language are inter-dependent, for one cannot exist without the other. To the degree that one speaks many holy words, so one merits to guard the brit and vice versa. The opposite also. Someone who blemishes the brit loses his holy language whereas one who has holy language also guards the brit.

f)  All forms of disgrace, shame, and insults come to a person because of his blemishing of the brit. So also, the opposite. By guarding the brit one merits to honour.

.

g)  The craving for sex is the general evil and is an aspect of the Primeval Serpent who tempted Eve impregnated her with poison which is the stormy spirit, the spirit of folly, a foolish woman. It tempts the spirit of holiness, which is the holy language, that represents the guarding of the brit, and instills poison. This is what it says, "Sin crouches at the door" (Genesis, 4). The door alludes to the opening of the mouth with holy language. The sin refers to the Serpent who crouches in order to draw strength from it by blemishing the holy brit (through sexual blemishes). The main power of the evil urge to make a person sin is by this craving.

h)   Nowadays, by our many iniquities, the wisdom of oratory in holy language has fallen greatly such that most orators are ignorant people who are immersed in the craving for sex, the all-inclusive evil, the opposite of holy language. They are as it says, "Your orators have transgressed against me" (Isaiah, 43, 27) .By the lucidity of their oratory they attract the heart of some young Jews until they lead them into complete atheism. This is what it says, "The lips of a strange woman drip honey and her mouth is smoother than oil." (Proverbs, 5, 3). All this stems from the Serpent that tempted Eve (who represents the power of speech of holy language) and poisoned her, Heaven forbid.

i)  The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is the language of Targum

( Aramaic )  which is the intermediary between the holy language, the wise woman who is completely good, and the language of the  seventy nations which is all evil, for all their languages are now completely evil. When they want to draw power from the holy language, they cannot do it other than through Targum. The main way of building and perfecting the holy language is only by pushing down the evil in Targum  while elevating the good in it to the level of holy language.

 By this we perfect the holy language and all the seventy languages fall (as the Sages said ) " one language falls on another". This is what it says, " And the L-rd G-d caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man" (Genesis,2, 21 ). Sleep ( "tardema" ) has the numerical value of Targum,as the Ariz'l explains. "Fall" (v'yapel") alludes to the initial letters of the verse " pe l'hem v'lo y'deberu"( " they have a mouth yet do not  speak") because sleep is an aspect of the language of Targum which is the prime means  by which we build the holy language, represented by Eve. We do this by raising the good in Targum and pushing down its bad. As a result, all the seventy languages fall, as it says," they have a mouth yet do not speak".

   j)  The main form of dream is during sleep. The dreams are according to what you eat, for in every thing there are letters with which this thing was created. When you sleep the vapours from what you ate rise to the brain and the letters in all the foods combine to create a dream. Someone who has perfect holy language knows the letters contained in each thing so he can solve dreams,like Joseph,the tzaddik. He merited to perfect holy language which comes primarily through sleep  which is Targum.  He merited to clarify the good from the evil in it so he knew to find the good and the truth in the dream, in the Targum.

k)  This is an  aspect of a nocturnal emission, Heaven forbid, when the spirit of folly ,the seventy languages, rises through Targum and by sleep,to draw strength from the holy language,from the spirit of holiness,from the holy brit. Someone who has perfect holy language cools down his heat (evil urge) by holy language, but someone who lacks this perfection the stormy spirit of the seventy languages cools him down( spiritually)  by causing him a nocturnal emission during sleep, Heaven forbid, as it says " he met you on the way" ( Deuteronomy,25, 18 ) for "met" has the same meaning as' coldness' in Hebrew.  " On the way" alludes to what it says " the way of an adulterous woman" ( Proverbs,30, 20 ) which is when the stormy spirit passes through Targum, the husk of Nogah, and draws strength from the holy "chashmal", holy language. When one perfects holy language by clarifying Targum and sleep,one is saved from nocturnal emissions during sleep. Therefore we must cool down our heat (urges) by holy words which reflect perfection of the holy language. Through this a person is saved from emissions, Heaven forbid, and one won't be cooled down by the stormy spirit, as mentioned above.

l)   Washing in hot water on the eve of Shabbat is an aspect of rectifying the brit. So also is reading the weekly Torah portion twice with Targum once.

m)  Through raising the good in Targum and perfecting the holy language with which the world was created, one breaks and nullifies the craving for sex. As a result, one strengthens and arouses the power of the letters of holy language which is in each thing; the letters are the power of G-d instilled in all the Act of Creation.

n)  Someone who merits to this, merits to eat and drink and draw pleasure as is proper. For the essence of what one eats, drinks and derives pleasure from has to be from the sparkling of the letters in each thing, as it says, " When Boaz had eaten and drunk, his heart was glad."( Ruth,3,7). His eating and drinking was from the radiance of the letters Elohim, mentioned 32 times during the description of the Act of Creation. These letters exist in each thing. This is reflected in the grace after meals (as explained in the Zohar,Vol. 2, pg. 218B )for the food is blessed by perfection of  holy language, by arousing and radiating the letters that exist in each thing.

o)  Just by wisdom alone a person can understand and know the letters that exist in each thing. However, to feel and take pleasure only from the combinations of letters, as it says, "Boaz had eaten and drunk, his heart was glad", this is impossible to achieve other than by meriting to perfect holy language; that's to say, when he merits to break the craving for sex completely, thus perfecting the holy language, such that he brings about a new sparkling in the letters of each thing. By this, he merits … that his meal, the food and drink and all the pleasures will be from the sign of the letters marked in each thing.

p)  When a person reaches this level, his heart radiates, for the heart (lev) is so called because it is nourished by the very best of the thirty-two ( numerically 'lev' in Hebrew) references to Elohim in the Act of Creation. By the light of these thirty-two  references to Elohim shining in his heart, his face shines with this light and becomes purified to such a degree that he can arouse others to repentance just by them looking at his face; they see themselves in his face like in a mirror and see how they are deep in darkness. Then, even without reproach or ethics, his fellow Jew will be aroused to repentance just by staring at his radiant face.

 q)  Most people don't understand the need to travel to the tzaddik to hear his words for one can study ethics from a book. However, there is a great difference, for someone who hears from the tzaddik himself receives words of the holy language in perfection, that's to say, with fear of G-d .Through this he merits to nullify and subdue the general evil, which is the craving for sex, so that he merits to rectify the brit which is the all-inclusive rectification upon which everything depends. This rectifies all one's physical cravings and bad attributes. However, this is true only when one hears directly from the tzaddik himself. But someone who hears through someone else who heard the tzaddik and certainly when it is even more indirect, is very far from this perfection for it descends each time from one level to another. There is even more of a difference between hearing the tzaddik and studying from a book. A book is only for memory and memory comes from the power of imagination. Therefore, the book is a completely different matter altogether. It hasn't the virtue of being heard from the holy mouth of the tzaddik himself.

r)  When tzaddikim want to hear some word from the Holy One, they first of all make the word and build it by their good deeds. Afterwards they merit to hear things from G-d. This is what it says, "Who make His word, hearing the voice of His word."

  (Psalms, 103, 20).First they make the word, then afterwards, hear it. In this word, the Holy One speaks to them. When the tzaddik hears a word of Torah from the mouth of the Holy One, the word has perfection because perfection of speech depends on fear of G-d and fear depends on the ears. This is what it says, " I heard Your report and I was afraid." ( Habbakuk, 32). When one hears from the mouth of the tzaddik himself who hears from Your mouth, this is "Your report", from You; then I had fear. For the essence of fear is dependent on the ears; then the holy language acquires perfection.

s)  The Holy One created all the world for the sake of Man who has free choice. Man, specifically, has to rectify all things by separating the good in the Tree of Knowledge. By this he perfects and rectifies all things in the world. Therefore, he has to rectify the mila (be circumcised and keep pure) specifically in This World. This is an aspect of perfecting the holy language by clarifying the good within Targum, for when holy language comes from Above it still lacks this clarification and so lacks perfection which is achieved only through Targum.

t)  To raise the good from Targum comes about by rectifying all one's unintentional sins, for this leads to perfect holy language. This is because unintentional sin stems from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, when one's action is bad but one's intention is good. 

PRAYER 19

O Lord, our G-d and G-d of our Fathers, You who are full of mercy, full of good will, please help me, save me; in Your bountiful mercy and immense kindness, let me welcome Shabbat with great happiness and phenomenally great joy, with fear and love. Grant me the merit to personally make the effort to acquire and prepare those things needed for Shabbat and may I do it with great strength and tremendous speed. Help us to complete our reading of the weekly portions of the Torah with the congregation, by reading the portion of the week every Shabbat eve, twice in Hebrew and one in Targum. Enable me to read it with such intense concentration, holiness and purity, that I be worthy of perfect holy speech by way of Targum.

In Your great mercy, may the holiness of Shabbat be drawn upon us by our bathing in hot water and our immersion in a mikve on the eve of the holy Shabbat. Be my help so that I never miss the bathing and ritual immersion of Shabbat eve. Just as I wash and immerse myself in purifying waters in This World, so purify and sanctify my body, nefesh, ruach and neshama with Your supreme holiness. Draw down sparks of a vehement flame from the holy, heavenly fire which devours and burns up all sorts of material, bodily fire. By this, may all the mixture of evil which has taken hold of us through the blemish of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and by our sins of error, iniquities and willful transgressions, be removed, burnt and nullified until the good becomes clarified, rises and becomes incorporated, further and further above, in the sublime good, in Your great good which is the eternal good.

O G-d! Please! You know that I haven’t the strength to draw upon myself the holiness of the holy Shabbat. Take pity and have mercy upon me. Please, please have compassion upon me for You know how far away I am from the real holiness of Shabbat. Take pity and be gracious to me; in Your mercy grant me an undeserved gift – grant me the true holiness of Shabbat. May I merit to spread the holiness of Shabbat to the days of the week both before and after Shabbat. Help me to draw the holiness of Shabbat into the weekdays until all the six days of creation become pure and sanctified with great holiness, the holiness of the holy Shabbat; then that all the six days will be subsumed in the holy root of their life-force, the holy Shabbat, which gives life and continual existence to all the six days, to all things emanated, created, formed and made, and to all the worlds in their entirety, from the beginning point of creation till the very end of the physical world. All their vitality and existence comes from Shabbat.

Master of the World, in Your compassion, You have given us a beautiful gift from among Your treasures – Shabbat. Therefore I come to cast my prayers, entreaties and requests before You O Lord, my G-d and G-d of my Fathers, that just as Your mercy and loving-kindness were strengthened in order to give us this wonderful holy gift, so too ,nourish us from Your great goodness, influence us from Your holy dwelling and help us to accept this wonderful, holy gift. May we welcome Shabbat with great holiness and immense happiness and joy. Let us constantly draw upon ourselves the holiness of Shabbat, to break and nullify the evil that has taken hold of us. May we raise the good in us, the perfection of the Holy Tongue, by way of Targum (translation). Merit us to genuine holiness of the brit and to return to You sincerely. May we always rise from one spiritual level to another, higher and higher, with great holiness, as is really Your good desire, until we merit to rise and be incorporated in the Supernal Shabbat. In Your loving-kindness, grant us the day which is completely Shabbat, eternal tranquility. May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart find favour before You, O G-d, my Rock and my Redeemer.  

In Your bountiful mercy, save me from evil thoughts and bad dreams. Let my bed be perfect before You and merit me to minimize sleep and drowsiness. May even the little sleep that I need, so that the body can function, be in holiness and purity. Let my sleep be pleasurable. Enable me to always fall asleep with thoughts of Torah and with happiness. Before going to sleep, may I also merit to recite Shema Yisrael with great holiness  self-sacrife and real devotion, as is fitting. Merit me to destroy all the agents of destruction and damage, forces of the Other Side, by the reciting of Shema before sleeping. Let me be worthy of merging my soul, spirit and higher soul within the generality of the holy souls of the Children of Israel. May my soul rise to You with them and within them at the time of sleeping and may my soul be passed into and entrusted to Your hands alone, as it says, “Into Your hand I entrust my spirit for You have redeemed me, O God, the God of truth.” In Your bountiful mercy, drive out of my soul all sorts of agents of destruction and forces of the Other Side who desire to take hold of it, Heaven forbid. Have pity on my miserable and despondent soul. Come to my aid so that my soul can rise safely to You during sleep and then return safely to my body when I wake up. Make me worthy of holy sleep, a good, sweet and pleasurable sleep, a sleep of life. May I have good dreams, true dreams, holy dreams that come by way of truly holy angels. Save me from dreams of falsehood, from dreams that come through evil spirits, Heaven forbid, from mixed-up dreams, from dreams of vanity and nothingness.

So also, in Your great compassion, have mercy upon me, and in Your great loving-kindness, protect me and save me from a nocturnal emission, Heaven forbid. Protect me so that no chance occurrence happen to me either by day or by night. Rather, let me sleep in holiness and purity. I will sleep in goodness and awaken in mercy.

Our Father, our merciful Father, Compassionate One and Who always has very, very great, immense loving-kindness, Who looks from afar to do for us that which is eternally good, please have pity and compassion upon us; awaken Your immense compassion upon us. Have pity on us, on our babies and children. Save me and all Your Nation, the House of Israel, from a nocturnal emission. You know the immensity of this great, and terrible blemish which reaches higher and higher, to all the worlds above; by this blemish of a nocturnal emission we have destroyed our city (of Jerusalem) and made waste the place of our holy Temple. The glory has been taken away from the house of our life. We’ve become distant from our Land and been scattered among the nations. We’ve been dispersed to the four corners of the earth. Have compassion on the remnant of Your Nation, the House of Israel. Have pity upon the oppressed of Your flock. The flock is scattered and there is no one to gather them. Merciful King, have mercy upon us. Search out the good for us. Return to us in Your great compassion for the sake of the Fathers who performed Your will. Say to our troubles, ‘Enough!’ In Your bountiful mercy, protect me and save me from now on from a nocturnal emission. Guard our going out and arriving so we live and are safe from now on, for ever. Let us merit to be protected from all evil and that we shouldn’t fantasize by day nor become defiled at night, Heaven forbid. Let our thoughts always be holy and pure.

20.  NINE  RECTIFICATIONS

a)   All the Torah commentators receive (inspiration) from the holy soul whose every word is like 'coals of fire', as it says, "Such are my words, like fire" (Yeremiah,27). This soul is afflicted with suffering – "Eat bread with salt, drink water in measure, like the way of Torah." (Perkei Avot,Ch.6).When this soul falls from the level of "words of fire", its words become cold and then it passes away. As a result, the Torah clarifications drawn from this soul also pass away and the commentators cannot ascertain any clarification of the Torah and this leads to controversy against the tzaddikim. This is the main reason for controversy, when the world lacks a clarification which is an answer to questions and arguments.

b)  Someone who wants to draw down clarifications of the Torah, first of all has to draw upon himself enthused words like charcoals of fire. The power of speech is drawn from the Sublime Heart, the Rock of my Heart (Psalms,73). He has to pour out conversations and prayers before the Holy One until through his prayer, G-d's mercy upon him is aroused and the Sublime Heart is opened. For the main essence of mercy  is in the heart from where enthused words are bestowed. Through this, the power of speech attracts Torah clarifications also from there. Therefore each Torah 

 commentator first of all has to pray to the Holy One in order to arouse this Sublime Heart, to bestow upon him enthused words, like coals of fire. Afterwards he can start to clarify the Torah.

c) When the true tzaddik lectures in public, before his Torah clarification, he connects himself to their souls and pours out prayer before G-d. Then his prayer is considered to be that of the public and is therefore certainly accepted, as it says, "G-d is mighty and despises not the many" (Job,36,5). By prayer additional holiness is added to the World Above and the Sublime Heart is aroused. This leads to his acquiring Torah explanations which he then gives over to the public. It means that each person present during his lecture has a part in the Torah which he reveals to them.

However many more people are present there, the prayer of the Torah scholar (tzaddik), who connects himself to them, stems from many more souls. Then it adds much more holiness Above and arouses the Sublime Heart to a greater degree; in turn, this leads to a greater revelation of the Torah, everything according to the more numerous the people are. And this is the difference between learning from a book and learning directly from the Torah scholar, for in the latter case the learner certainly connects his soul to that of the tzaddik at the time he prays and therefore has a part in the tzaddik's Torah clarification. So also, all those people who are present during the Torah discourse have the evil within them subdued by the good of the tzaddik. According to the degree of their submission (to the tzaddik), so the enemies and husks around the Sublime Heart are also subdued. By this, the tzaddik removes them from under the control of the Side of Evil and returns them to the realm of holiness.

d)  When he prays before the Torah lecture he has to pray with supplications and plead from the Holy One, asking for an undeserved gift; he shouldn't ask for it in his own merit (as if he deserves it). Even though the staff of his strength (the special merit of his service of G-d) has been aroused, it is not worth using it to take pride in it, Heaven forbid; he should use his power only to subdue the evil in the crowd, for there are good and bad people in the public and he has to subdue the evil in the bad ones among them. Rather he should stand before G-d like a pauper and recite supplications without resting upon any self-merit.

                     

e)  Because of this, a person should not insist on anything, but rather ask with supplications (out of humility); if the Holy One gives, good, but if not, one shouldn't insist that the Holy One do specifically what you want.

f)  In the merit of the Torah that they draw down, they merit to the Land of Israel. So also, those who are with the tzaddik when he draws down Torah innovations and teaches in public, have a portion in his Torah. Through this he can also merit to come to the Land of Israel, as it says, "He will give them the lands of the nations…"(Psalms,105).

g)  The Land of Israel is one of the three things that one acquires through suffering (B'rachot,5); it is impossible to come to the Land of Israel other than by suffering. The main suffering is in the form of obstacles from the evil; ones who speak badly of the Land. By drawing down Torah innovations, as explained, a person merits to subdue all the obstacles and suffering; to the degree that the Torah he draws down is perfect, so the rectification is greater. Similarly, he merits to subdue the obstacles, the sinners, and thus reach the Land of Israel.

h)  Whoever really wants to be a Jewish person, that's to say, to go from one level to another, higher one, it is impossible other than by the holiness of the Land of Israel, for all the spiritual ascents that a person has to ascend to holiness are only through the Land of Israel. 

i)  In order to go to the Land of Israel, first one has to subdue the evil ones who speak evil about the Land. One has to punish them with sword and arrow. The power to do this one has to acquire from Edom who is appointed to administer all punishments and the sword, as it says, "You will live off your sword" (Gen.23). By the letters of the Torah that are innovated, spiritual forces are created who are the real angels who receive their strength from Edom. And these powers are according to the Torah innovation and its radiance, which increase according to the holiness added Above.  

The number of angels created depends on the quality of the Torah innovated. The opposite is also true. When the holiness is very little, the angels created are also lacking in strength so they haven't the power to receive strength from Edom; they only have strength to subdue the evil ones and cause them fear in their hearts.

j)  Sometimes even to subdue them they haven't the strength; all they can do is to arouse the strength of other nations against them, like now, in exile, when we haven't the power to punish the evil doers by ourselves. Occasionally the Holy One creates obstacles, suffering and controversy from evil ones against kosher Jews, people of truth, and the latter haven't the strength to stand up against them other than by using the laws of the nations. Also, according to the Torah, this is necessary. Then it is a  great mitzva to make every effort, with all your energy and money, to cause their downfall by going according to their courts of justice, in order that holy judgement will rise out of the husks of the Other Side and the forces of justice will then be strengthened, as it says, "And justice goes out perverted" (Habbakuk,1,4), that's to say it will go out of its crookedness and be straightened.   

k)  Occasionally even this strength is lacking and we can only silence the evil- doers, who speak out against the Land, so that they won't speak evilly before us and in the presence of the public. Even this power is missing sometimes when the quality of holiness is very minute.

l)  Because of the blemishing of the brit, the sword comes, as it says, "… a revenging sword, revenging the brit" (Levit.26).

m)  Shouting out loud is a rectification of the brit and one merits to a revelation of Knowledge, for previously, when the brit was blemished, so was the Knowledge.

n)  This is why we recite the Haggadah of Pesach out loud. The Redemption from Egypt was by the voice, as it says, "He heard our voices" (Numbers,20). That is why it is called Haggadah (literally meaning  'to speak out'), to teach that this is the rectification of the brit, as is written, "He declared to you His covenant" (Deut.4,13). And the main mitzva of Pesach night is in drinking wine, to teach that this is the rectification of knowledge, as the Gemorra says, "Wine …makes wise" (Sanhedrin,70) for the exile of Egypt was because of the blemish of the brit, as brought down in holy books, and this is the blemish of knowledge. The wine of the four cups of Pesach night is also a rectification of knowledge, which is the rectification of the brit.

o)  The Holy One is exacting in justice with the tzadddikim, like a thread of hair (Yevamot,151). When you blemish, even to a hair's breadth, there is no strength in their hands to draw down Torah, as explained previously.

p)  When one comes to the level of the Land of Israel one is called a strong hero; before reaching this level it says, "Don't let him boast when he disarms himself" (Kings,1,20,11) but afterwards, when one is victorious, one is called 'a man of war'. (Therefore, even nowadays the main victory in war is by coming to the Holy Land, in the simple meaning, just like Jews travel there now, to houses and dwellings that exist there. One has to be willing to come to the Land of Israel even in difficulties, even by foot, as it says about Avraham, "Go…to the Land" (Gen.12,1) meaning literally 'walk', you should be ready to walk there on foot.)

PRAYER 20

Take pity and have mercy on us. Arouse Your mercy and great loving-kindness upon us. Enable us to set out for and reach the Land of Israel very soon, for it is the source of our holiness. You know, O Lord, our G-d, that all our holiness and purity and all our Jewishness depends on our coming to the Land of Israel. It is impossible to be a Jew and rise from one spiritual level to another other than by meriting to come to the Land of Israel. It is the place of our holiness that You chose from among all the nations for Your People, Israel, who were chosen from among all the other peoples. It is a land that You always care for, as it says, "The eyes of the Lord your G-d are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even until the end of the year.”

You know the immense number of confusions that prevent us from this; because of that we can't even start out. We have already lost many days and years outside of the Land. We are exiled from the Land of Life, from the Land of Holiness. Master of the World, have mercy on us.  In Your great compassion, awaken our hearts so that we have a great yearning and longing to come to Israel. Please take pity on us so that we won't spend our lives outside of Israel. You know all our weaknesses and hardships at this time, such that we can't break all the many obstacles that stand in our way and prevent us from coming to the Holy Land. There are thousands of obstacles and delays and we haven't the ability to break them other than by relying on Your great  power and immense loving-kindness.  Have pity on us and give us the strength to win the war. Let us break, drive out and nullify all the slanders against the Land which lead to all the obstacles and confusions and doubts about coming to Israel.  Merit us to strengthen ourselves so that we can break all these obstacles and delays, thus reaching the Land of Israel very soon.

In Your loving-kindness, open up our hearts so that we can pray before You with all our heart and soul; let us pour out our souls like water in Your presence, speaking and praying to You truthfully and consistently until we arouse Your mercy upon us and You bestow upon us words of burning enthusiasm from the Supernal Heart. May we always merit to speak out holy words of holiness with great and holy warmth and enthusiasm. Let all our words be like coals of fire. By this, may we draw down Torah clarifications from the Supernal Heart. Merit us to true Torah innovations that will be pleasing before the Throne of Glory in the World Above, words that will be glorified in all the worlds above. Master of the World, You know  the immense value of our souls in their source, according to which we should always be worthy of making  true Torah innovations; for this reason we were created. However, because of our sins, we have damaged our Da'at and blemished the brit.  We don't even know how to start to ask that You rectify this. How can we manage to come close to You other than relying on the power and merit of the tzaddikim. They have the power to remove any Jew from the clutches of the Other Side and return him to the realm of holiness. Therefore, I have come before You with a broken heart to ask from You like a beggar at the door that You have mercy upon us and grant us an undeserved gift of holy Understanding . By this save us from now on from all kinds of blemishes  of the brit. Protect and save us from all kinds of unholy thoughts, from all types of blemishes to the mind. Just like You extracted our ancestors from the exile of Egypt, from the Fifty Gates of Impurity, so remove us from this bitter exile, from the exile of the body and soul spiritually and materially. Let us enter the Fifty Gates of Purity and merit to perfection of  Da'at. Help us achieve a complete rectification of the brit as is fitting for a Jew. Like the days of the redemption from Egypt, show us Your wonders.   

   

21.   ATIK IS HIDDEN

a)  Enthusiasm of the heart is created by the movement of the mind. According to the speed of the movement of the mind, this instills the heart with heat; for by nature, movement generates heat. That's to say, when a person makes his mind think all the time about Torah and prayer, this warms and enthuses his heart in the service of G-d. It turns out that when you merit to a holy influx such that the mind functions at great speed and you don't need any introductory information, by this, the flame of the heart always rises by itself.

(I added here part of Torah 156 "A pure heart", for that is how Rav Natan arranged it originally in the old Kitzur Lekutei Moharan and I didn't want to change it.)

b)  By this enthusiasm, one merits to drive out this spirit of impurity and foolishness and this purifies the heart. For in contrast to the enthusiasm and being enflamed to perform a sin, or have an evil craving, from which his heart is made impure, one has to enthuse and enflame the heart to cleave to the Holy One. The nature of fire is to drive out the air as we can perceive clearly from many things. Therefore one needs to enthuse the heart, as it says, "anything that passed through fire, must be cleansed by fire."(Numbers,31). When one prays and learns with enthusiasm, by this one purifies one's heart from any spirit of folly and one merits to a pure heart. This will enable you to speak to your Maker, with new words each time; this is an aspect of  having a holy spirit literally.

c) By movement one creates heat, that's to say, when one moves from one thought to another of the greatness of G-d and Torah, as mentioned. So too, the main heat of the element of fire is what it receives from the movement of the stars because the element of fire is close to the celestial 'wheels.' Similarly each 'wheel' receives from the 'wheel' above it. Therefore, by meriting the public, by bringing people closer to the service of G-d, or by judging each person favourably, which is also called meriting the public, this also generates heat and enthusiasm in serving the Holy One. This is as it says, "those who merit the public are like stars."(Daniel,12). He receives heat from what is above him and so too can transfer it to those below him, just like the stars do.

d)   Through this enthusiasm of the heart, one merits to purify the heart and fulfills the verse which says, "Create in me a pure heart, O G-d, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."(Psalms,51,12). What a person speaks between himself and his Maker reflects a level of divine inspiration, each according to his level of service. For, by starting this and forcing himself and preparing himself to speak to G-d, the Holy One sends him words in his mouth and this is an aspect of the divine spirit. From this, King David composed the Book of Psalms. One has to always renew oneself and plead with the Holy One each time with new supplications, to which one merits through a pure heart. (See Midrash Yalkut Tehilim,87).

e)  To achieve this intellect, which is a divine bounty, an aspect of divine spirit, as mentioned, one has to sanctify the mouth, the nostrils, the eyes and the ears. That's to say, one has to guard oneself from saying any lie, and to have fear of Heaven, which is the holiness of the nostrils; one needs faith in Torah sages, to believe in them and to listen to their words; by this one sanctifies the ears; and one needs to close one's eyes from seeing anything bad. By all this, one merits to that intellect and to perfect understanding upon which everything depends.

f)  These seven openings in the head are dependent on the brain; they arouse the brain so that it reaches the aspect of 'before', which is an aspect of 'face', as a result of sanctifying the 'seven candles'. The Holy Candelabrum alludes to the brain. The body of the candelabrum alludes to the holy bounty. This is like the succah, whose name comes from to 'annoint' (saccah) with the divine spirit. That came from the seven Clouds of Glory that were in the Wilderness. (The succah is a rememberance of them, as brought in the Shulchan Aruch, Ch.625). Therefore, by the mitzvah of succah, we merit to the divine bounty which is a form of holy spirit, the spirit of wisdom, called "holy"-Kodesh (Zohar,Pt.3:pg.61).That's to say, we merit to achieve great intelligence, an aspect of 'enveloping brains' which is like an intelligence which comes to a person without any introductory effort but rather through divine bounty. All a person's service of G-d in This World is for this, in order to achieve these enveloping brains, for they are the main delight in the World to Come. By means of the mitzvah of succah we merit to a pure heart and as a result we can explain ourselves well in conversation before G-d, as is proper; this is an aspect of a divine spirit.  

   

g)   These 'enveloping brains' are such a very great intellect that the brain cannot stand them and they can't enter the brain, rather they envelop it from outside. Similarly, we see there are some deep wisdoms that the human brain can’t understand properly such as various perplexing ideas that confuse us like the dichotomy of Knowledge and Free Choice. The human brain cannot understand this contradiction. This wisdom envelops the brain but doesn't penetrate inside the brain; and  the inner intellect draws its life-force from this 'enveloping brain'.

h)  Know that the main power of choice stems from our not understanding the seeming contradiction between Knowledge and Free Choice. Because of this a person has the choice to choose life or the opposite. However, when this 'enveloping brain' enters the brain, the human intellect will grow and the solution to the dichotomy of Knowledge and Free Choice will be revealed to the human intellect; then, free choice will be nullified. So it will be in the future that by the intellect expanding it will go beyond the level of a human being and reach the level of an angel; then there will be no more free choice. From this, understand not to be confused by the issue of Knowledge and Free Choice and other such ideas, for now it is totally impossible to comprehend; it is an 'enveloping brain' which cannot  possibly enter the brain  in This World which is a world of  free choice.   

i)   This is what the Sages said: "In the future every tzaddik will be burnt by the canopy of his fellow."(Baba Batra,75A) All these enveloping brains are like a wedding canopy, an aspect of holiness and a wedding ceremony; the intellect which envelops one person is within the brain of another. When a tzaddik reaches a level of perception which he didn't know previously and it's something new to him, he becomes enthused and he burns from the light of this perception, for holy enthusiasm comes from attaining new understanding, as mentioned, so the tzaddik is burnt by it. However, the tzaddik who is on a higher level than him doesn't consider this perception as anything so he isn't burnt or enthused by it at all; he just has to shelter and cover himself with another, higher perception in order to warm himself. The (wedding) canopy which is an aspect of the lights of the 'enveloping brain' is literally an aspect of a shelter and a cover which heats a person. The main root of heat and enthusiasm is from ascertaining these 'enveloping brains', as mentioned. This is like the seven days of celebration after a wedding ceremony, which are an aspect of the seven branches of the Menorah mentioned earlier. This is also like the seven days of mourning, Heaven forbid, during which we raise the soul of the deceased to the Light of the Face by these seven days. Therefore the mourner must make a tear ('kera') in his clothes for 'kera' has the same numerical value(370) as the three hundred and seventy Lights of the Light of the Face. This is the numerical value of twice Aleph Lamed (a Name of G-d) which is the Light of the Face.                   

j)  This is also the reason for the spitting in the face of he who refuses to marry his dead brother's widow about whom it says, "and she should spit in his face." (Deut.25,9). By the saliva of this spitting he is shamed and the main shame is in the face, shame that he didn't want to marry his dead brother's wife, which would have drawn the soul of his brother into the world so he could have continued to rectify the Light of the Face. For the blemish of the dead man who died without children is that he didn't leave behind a blessing (children) who would draw the Intellect of the Face into the world by their good deeds.      

        

 k)  Someone who blemishes the honour of the true tzaddik has the light of the intellect and understanding closed before him so he can't innovate or ascertain understanding in the Torah. He is considered as dead.

l)  When a person is humble and lowly and patient, and doesn't get angry when insulted, by this he sanctifies the nostrils perfectly. By being loyal "he conceals the matter." (Proverbs,11,13). When a secret is revealed to him he is careful to guard it, not revealing it to others. By this he sanctifies the ears and through all this he attracts a bounty of knowledge, as mentioned earlier.

m)    When a person learns Torah and doesn't understand anything new, this is because his brains have disappeared like an embryo, an aspect of Ya'acov, as it says, "He took his brother by the heel in the womb" (Hoshea,12:4). Then he has to shout out like a woman giving birth who shouts seventy cries to bring out the baby. Shouting is good for a person whether in prayer or in learning Torah. The seventy shouts are like the seven voices that David said on the water for each one was comprised of ten. Then it is as if the Shechinah is shouting and this gives birth to new brains. This is what the Sages meant by "the voice arouses the intent", that's to say, the brains. It says that "the voice is the voice of Ya'acov" (Genesis,27) meaning that when he is an aspect of Ya'acov, he needs the voices, the shouts, in order to extract the brains from their being hidden. This is like a birth, like being revealed.                                                    

n)  Someone whose Torah learning is without any new understanding should not teach it the way it is to the public, even though the Holy One takes pleasure from it, for his Torah is like Ya'acov, like an embryo. This is what it says, "Ya'acov G-d chose."(Psalms,135).When he is like Ya'acov, without brains, the Holy One chose this learning, but "Israel for His special charm." Israel contains the letters 'le' 'rosh', 'to me a head'. That's to say it alludes to a revelation of the brains and a drawing of the Light of the Face within the inner brain, as mentioned. To 'His special charm', this Torah, one can teach publicly to the Chosen People.

                                                                                            

o)  The Holy One took us as a holy Nation, "a nation from within a nation"(Deut.4) when the Attribute of strict Justice accused us, at the time of the Splitting of the Red Sea, "these are idol worshippers and these are idol worshippers" (Midrash,Exodus,Ch.21). So His choosing us was like a charm that one gives as a cure; it is above nature, above human understanding. This is like the 'enveloping brain'; we don't understand the wisdom that it has a special power to cure. Someone who merits to these 'enveloping brains', to give birth to them and to internalize them, can understand the special power, then, certainly, fairness requires him to reveal it and help the specially Chosen People to understand this special power, thus bestowing his goodness to others. Every individual, according to his aspect, has this inner brain and enveloping brain. Whatever G-d has granted him to understand and internalize this enveloping brain, to understand and innovate some perception, this good he should bestow to others.        

p)   All the troubles and suffering, exile and all the deficiencies that a person has, whether in making a living or children or in health etc. are all in relation to his lack of knowledge. When his knowledge is perfected then all the deficiencies will be filled. This is like the Sages said, "If you acquired knowledge, what do you lack, and if you lack knowledge, what have you acquired." (Nedarim,41). Even if those who completely lack knowledge seem to really have all good, everything they have is nothing. So also, the opposite, someone who has full knowledge, even if he really lacks something, in truth that deficiency is nothing because the main lack and the fulfillment of it is dependent on knowledge.                                                                                                                                                                                                        

  

q)   In the future, the main essence of eternal life will be through knowledge; "all the world will be filled with the knowledge of G-d" (Isaiah,11) and everyone will be included in the Oneness of G-d through knowledge. Then they will live eternally like Him. For by knowledge one is included in Him and this is the main delight of the World to Come, as it says, "If I knew Him, I would live be Him." Because of knowledge he will lack nothing; everything will be good, as the Sages said (Pesachim,50).

r)  Even the gentiles will know G-d, but not like us. Everyone will know and understand that all the perfection and good that the gentiles have nowadays is really nothing, as mentioned. On the contrary, all their esteem and good is all for our benefit. In the future, when all the earth will be full of the Knowledge of G-d, even the nations will understand by themselves all this, even though now it is impossible to understand it for we can't deny what we see. Apparently, this is a great perception to understand that their greatness was in fact our greatness and for them a disgrace. Even so, this perception will be for us laughable and crude in comparison to the level of our knowledge which will become very great.                                          

s)  Among Jews also there will be great differences between each tzaddik and tzaddik, and even more so between a tzaddik and a sinner; for each person will attain according to his service (of G-d) his efforts and toil and the bitterness he suffers in This World for the sake of the Holy One. And even though everyone will be purified, even the nations of the world, not everyone will be equal; there will be a big difference between them and us. So also between one Jew and another, because whatever will be an enveloping brain to one Jew will be an inner brain to someone else. Every tzaddik will be burnt etc.(see para.i); he will be burnt by the 'enveloping brain' of his fellow.

  Take good note of these things so that you will prepare yourself for the eternal life, "If you are wise, you are wise for yourself."(Proverbs,9,12).                                    

t)  Knowledge has an enveloping brain and an even more all-encompassing brain. Knowledge is the main comfort in the face of all troubles. The essence of hope and the prime element of life in the World to Come and its delights is only the attainment of holy Knowledge which means to truly know the Holy One.        

u)  The essence of a person is his knowledge and intellect; therefore, in the place where the mind thinks, that is where all the person is. For this reason one must flee very much from any bad thought so that you won't acquire your place there, Heaven forbid. You have to force yourself to think good thoughts in order to merit to ascertain knowledge of G-d; that way, you are really there and become included within G-d. The more one  knows, the more one becomes united with  one's source, that's to say, the Holy One, praised be He. Then one merits to the eternal life and to perfection of Knowledge and one is saved from all the deficiencies, as mentioned.                                                          

v)  From deficiencies in Knowledge come all the harsh judgements Heaven forbid. Also anger and cruelty come because of this, as it says, "Anger rests in the bosom of fools." (Ecclesiastes,7,9). For this reason a sick person is usually angry, because harsh judgement dwells upon him. Harsh judgement is a 'small brain' which leads to anger. However, by increasing Knowledge, we sweeten and nullify all the harsh judgements and cancel the anger and cruelty; we merit to compassion which is so great that it nullifies the anger even from the destructive animals, as it will be in the future, through the expansion of Knowledge, as it says, "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb." (Isaiah,11)

  Then we will bless on everything, "Who is good and does good." (Pesachim,50). For everyone will know that there is no evil in the world at all; everything is good and everything is one, for whatever happens to us, to each one of us, is all for the good. Furthermore, the essence of the Redemption will be through Knowledge, as was the Redemption from Egypt, for that was through Moshe who represents Knowledge.

w)  When a person thinks good thoughts about Torah and the service of G-d, he merits each time to know and ascertain more. As a result he is saved from any ambusher or accuser and all the damaging forces run away from him; he will not fear them at all and will thus be saved from all troubles.

                                      

x)  The month of Elul is the most opportune time to merit to Knowledge, to merit to ascertain the enveloping brains of the mind and to internalize them such that one gains other, higher brains which will enable you to understand what you previously didn't grasp. By this, one makes a new clothing to one's soul and one is saved from all the ambushers, accusers and troubles, as mentioned. That is "clothing, and she laughs at the time to come." (Proverbs,31:25) whose initial letters spell Elul, for the enveloping brain is like a clothing, in Hebrew 'malbush', which has the same numerical value as 'chashmal', meaning 'glow', which is so strong and pleasant  that all the damaging forces are driven away.                                                                                                         

        

y)   Whoever merits to true knowledge, to know the Holy One, for him there is no difference between life and death, for he cleaves to and is included in the Holy One, whether in life or death. It is just that now, while alive, his dwelling is here, among the living in This World; afterwards his dwelling will be with those who dwell in the dust of the earth. There is no difference for him because he is really included in the Holy One, so he lives the eternal life, like the Holy One, so to speak. He is included in G-d's Oneness and he is at one with the Holy One who lives forever, may He be blessed.                                                                                           

Prayer 21

     O Lord, our G-d and G-d of our Fathers, Who is full of compassion, may it be Your will to have mercy on us. Help us and save us speedily so that we can start from now to sanctify the seven candles – the two eyes, two ears, two nostrils and mouth.                         

     May I merit to sanctify my mouth so that no falsehood ever leaves my mouth nor any word that is blemished, Heaven forbid. On the contrary, let all my words be truthful, holy and pure. Let me sanctify my mouth with words of Torah and prayer. So also, help me make my eyes holy by closing them to all the evil in the world. Especially help me and save me so that I won't see anything leading to bad thoughts. From now on, rescue my soul from blemished sight. "Turn my eyes away from seeing any vanity."  Please come to my aid so that I always incline my ears to words of Torah and of true Torah scholars. Let me have perfect belief in them. May their words really enter my ears and arouse my heart so that I return to You and always perform Your will. Protect me and save me so that I will never hear any improper word and certainly not let it enter my ears. Don't let me accept any word of evil or gossip or any kind of blemished speech. Rather, may I always hear the true tzaddikim such that my ears become sanctified. And may I merit to have real fear of G-d and by this to sanctify my nostrils. Protect me from any kind of anger.       

      Take pity on us for we haven't the wisdom and understanding to know how to appease You after we have blemished these seven "candles" so much. Because of the great number of blemishes to the "candles", our minds have become very muddled and our intellects clouded. Our brains and understanding  have become very confused. As a result we have all sorts of questions and doubts; crookedness in the heart has resulted, and my mind has become warped so that I can't approach anything in holiness as I should. Therefore, please G-d, have pity and merit us to arouse the mind by shouting out. Then, let us really sanctify the holy seven candles such that we draw on ourselves the Essential Light which is Divine Abundance, a stream of understanding leading to the holy state of expanded consciousness called enveloping brains. For this is why we were born, to ascertain You.  

22.  A  SEAL  WITHIN  A  SEAL

  a)    There are such tzaddikim who are 'teachers of G-d', that's to say, they teach G-d, so to speak, by giving Him advice. They go as messengers of G-d to reprimand Israel and return them to the Holy One. Because of this they are called 'legs' because of the advice, as Rashi explains on the verse (Exodus,11), "The people who are at Your feet." – 'who walk in (follow) Your advice'. When the Holy One decrees a harsh judgement on the world and it has to be in accordance with the laws of the Torah, and since the tzaddikim are teachers of G-d, so to speak, He consults with them and reveals to them the judgement decreed on the generation. Then the tzaddik covers the words of Torah and seals them, as it says, "as a fountain sealed."(Song of Songs,4,12) so that the forces of evil will not take strength from them and so that the decree won't become cruel, Heaven forbid. These tzaddikim to whom the decree has been revealed, go and reprimand the generation in order to make them repent and return to the good, thus sweetening the harsh judgement. Even at the time they teach ethics they are careful to seal and hide the decree so that the forces of evil cannot draw strength, Heaven forbid. Because of this they are called a seal within a seal. This means a seal of the legs and an inner seal. These tzaddikim, teachers of G-d, who reprimand the generation increase peace in the world, as it says, "All your children will be learned in G-d's ways." (Isaiah,54) for they go to make compromise and peace between Israel and their Father in Heaven.   

b)   It is impossible to receive reprimand and ethical teachings from these true tzaddikim other than by faith, for faith is like hands which receive the reproach. This is a higher seal than the previous one; that's to say, the seal of the hands, an outer seal.  This seal needs extra guarding so that this seal won't get spoilt, meaning faith won't get spoilt, for by being spoilt, heaven forbid, they can spoil the inner seal as well and then the peace in the world becomes damaged, Heaven forbid. Then, by faith being spoilt, this leads to atheism and false beliefs and to several kinds of mockery such that a person doesn't listen to the reproach at all.  By the reproach and ethics being damaged it leads to people being uprooted and having to wander in exile; it causes controversy in the world, the opposite of faith. It turns out that faith is the main thing, the essence of the higher seal of holiness which includes all holiness. Then, with faith, people will listen to and accept the reproach and return to   G-d and He will have mercy. So, all the realm of holiness is protected by faith.     

c)   It is impossible to merit to perfect faith other than by coming to the true tzaddikim of the generation. They draw down the main faith of Israel to the generation for they encompass all the leadership, faith and holiness. And the main tzaddik, who is an aspect of Moshe, and is called because of this the Faithful Shepherd, for he shepherds faith and rectifies it to bring it to perfection; he is one of the seven shepherds of each generation.(See Baba Metzia,87, about Rav Chia and his sons.)                                 

d)   It is impossible to come to these shepherds and to approach the realm of holiness other than by boldness specifically, as the Sages said, "Be bold as a leopard."(Perkei Avot,ch.5) like it says, "You guided them in  Your strength to Your holy dwelling." (Exodus,15) for there are shepherds from the Other Side and they are also the famous leaders of the generation who force people to lower themselves to serve them; their main power is through audacity, for audacity is "kingship without a crown." (Sanhedrin,105A). They are like dogs in their boldness, they are "the face of the generation which is like a dog" (Sotah,49B), as it says, "the dogs are bold of soul…they are shepherds."(Isaiah,56,11).  Therefore it is impossible to be saved from them , from under their control, other than by having great boldness, by standing up to their evil audacity and by being strong willed against their will. So it is impossible to save oneself from all the obstacles, opposers and opponents of truth and to come close to truth other than by holy boldness. (See Shulchan Aruch, Ch.1).                

e)   So also, a person has to have holy audacity against himself, that's to say, against the audacity of the body which is so bold and strong in its bodily cravings; it has no shame from the Holy One. Through the audacity of the body, the soul can't support itself and come close to the body to inform it of the soul's perceptions. For certainly the soul of a person always sees and perceives very sublime things, but the body doesn't know of them at all because the soul is far away from it due to its audacity since it is very strong with cravings. Each person has to have great mercy on the flesh of his body and make sure to purify it, to break its evil audacity of physical cravings in order to allow the soul to come close to the body and show it a reflection of each perception it ascertains so that the body will also know of it.      Therefore, one needs holy boldness to stand up to the audacity of the body. This holy boldness comes by means of the voice of holiness. All the sounds of the voice, whether screams or sighs or the sound of a shofar, song or the words of true tzaddikim and all the other sounds of holiness, all of them reflect this holy boldness. Even the sound of the rattling of coins being given to charity, this is also the sound of holy boldness. By these sounds we break the audacity of the body.                                      

f)   The essence of a man, what is called 'me', is the soul which is eternal. But it is far from the body and flesh because of their boldness and cravings. When a person breaks this boldness, the soul can approach the body for it won't be trapped in its delights. Then the soul will be able to return to its true virtue and delights through the delights of the body. It is a benefit for the soul to fall sometimes for when the body is pure and bright, the soul can raise itself and return to its proper level by way of the delights of the body. Since the body is also good and kosher and isn't trapped in physical delights, the soul can return to its true virtue. So also by the impression left in the body by the lights that the soul radiated in it previously; now the soul can by remembering, rise and return to its proper level. This it what it says, "from my skin I will see G-d." (Job,19:26). That's to say, a person can see from his body and flesh very sublime perceptions which the soul perceives at all times.  And by the voice of sighing, which is holy boldness, the audacity of the body is broken and then the soul can come close and the bone will cleave to the skin,  meaning that the soul will cleave to the body. That is what it says, "By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones cleave to my skin." (Psalms,102).                 

g)   So, generally among people, there is an aspect of bone and flesh. The true wise man is the bone, like the soul of the people who are below him. When they are like the flesh to the tzaddik, then they hear the sound of sighing of the wise man, and this breaks their body. As a result, he can come close to them, as it says, "by the voice of my groaning etc." However, sometimes the audacity of the Other Side increases, in particular and in general. Therefore, at such a time, the true wise man is far away from them and cannot radiate within them and let them know of his wonderful perceptions; this is since they don't cleave to the wise man like the flesh to the bone. Similarly, the body is far away from the soul to such a degree that it isn't flesh to the bone and doesn't hear the sound of the voice at all, even when he sighs and shouts out to the Holy One. Because of its great distance it only hears the echo and so doesn't merit to break the boldness of the body. So also, the audacity of the people isn't broken by the sound of sighing and by the reproach of the true tzaddik because they only hear the sound of the echo. For when the voice of holiness is aroused, the voice of the Other Side is also aroused and that is the echo which arouses their sins and they shout their accusations, Heaven forbid. By serving the wise man, one becomes flesh to him and can cleave to him; through this one can merit to hear his voice such that the boldness of the Other Side is broken. In a similar way, when the body serves the soul by performing mitzvoth which require action, the body becomes flesh to the bone which is the soul; then he can hear the sound of his own sighing and shouting. As a result he will be able to break the boldness of his own body. This is how we reach perfect faith which includes all forms of holiness which we receive from the true tzaddikim of the generation.

   

h)   To achieve holy boldness one needs joy, for the main boldness and strength in a person, which allows him to approach the service of G-d, comes through happiness and joy, as it says, "For the joy of the Lord is your strength." (Nechemia, 8:10). 

i)   Achieving joy is through Torah and prayer which are an aspect of 'we will do', meaning it's revealed, and 'we will listen', that which is hidden. This is an aspect of, "Everlasting joy will be on their head." (Isaiah,51:11). Those are the two crowns that were placed on the head of each Jew at Mt. Sinai when they said "we will do and we will listen", as the Sages tell us (Shabbat, 88).

j)  Each person has an aspect of the revealed and the hidden, which are an aspect of Torah and prayer. We all need to go from one level to another each time and to go from one world to another such that we merit each time to a new level of 'to do' and 'to listen' which is higher than before. Every time he has to turn the "listen', the hidden, which is prayer, an aspect of the words of Torah which surround each mitzvah but don't state explicitly how to serve G-d, which is an aspect of G-d's Torah, as it says, "the hidden things are to the Lord, our G-d." (Deut.29), this has to be turned into 'I will do' which is revealed and has become an aspect of "his Torah". Then he will merit to a new, higher level of 'to listen'. When a person comes to a higher level than before, what was hidden becomes revealed so he receives a new level of 'listen', of the unknown. So on, from one level to another. One has to learn Torah and pray a lot to G-d that He will reveal the unknown such that it becomes understandable. Afterwards one has to pray so that the higher level of the unknown become revealed to him. So on, each time from one spiritual level to another, higher and higher, each time asking from the Holy One to understand that which is more hidden until one arrives to the beginning of the point of Creation which is the beginning of the World of Atzilut (the highest world from before Creation, closest to G-d). There also there are aspects of the 'to do' and 'to listen' and there is the real Torah of G-d, so to speak. The truth is that in every world and at every level there is the Torah of G-d, so to speak, for when the Torah is beyond our understanding it is called G-d's Torah. However, in the aspect of 'to listen' at the beginning of Atzilut, there exists the real Torah of G-d for there is nothing higher than that, other than literally G-d's Torah itself. Then he can become included in the Infinite, blessed be He, such that his 'to do' becomes literally the Torah of G-d and his 'to listen' becomes literally the Prayer of G-d. For there exists the Torah of G-d, as the Sages said, "I fulfilled it first" (Jerusalem Talmud, Bikurim and Rosh Hashana).  There is also the prayer of G-d, as our Sages said, "From where do we know that the Holy One prays (Berachot, 6); it says, "make them joyful in My house of prayer" (Isaiah,56,7). By this way one merits to joy, as mentioned.

k)   However, the main perfection of joy is by fear, for it says, "rejoice in trembling" (Psalms,2). Fear is an aspect of shame, that one feels fear and shame before G-d so you won't come to sin, Heaven forbid, as the Sages said (Nedarim,20). Shame is a very great virtue. That is B'reishit which includes the letters for fear ('yire') and shame ('b'shet') as it says in the Tikkunei Zohar,2. fear is an aspect of prayer, as it says, "who fears G-d will pray" (Proverbs,31), for one merits to prayer primarily through fear of G-d and shame. By praying with perfect intention and concentration one achieves prayer which contains everything.                                                     

l)   "In the beginning" (B'reishit) is one of the Ten Sayings with which the world was created (Zohar,T'rumah). It is a complete Saying. Therefore, faith is called Yerushalem because it was mainly built from B'reishit – fear and shame; that is full fear (yira shalem), a full Saying. This means that its building is mainly through fear, a full Saying, which corresponds to prayer. By prayer we merit to everything, to joy and then boldness, by which we can come close to the holy shepherds; this leads us to faith, which is Yerushalem, as it says, "a faithful city." (Isaiah,1,26).                   

m)   When one wants to progress from one level to a higher one, first there has to be a fall, for the whole purpose of a fall is to prepare for an ascent, as it says, " let this stumbling be under your hand." (Isaiah,3,7). 'There are words of Torah that a person can't understand fully unless he first stumbled in them' (Gittin,43). This stumbling is the descent. From this every person can understand how much he needs to strengthen himself in the service of G-d; he must never fall and become discouraged from all the falls and descents in the world. Rather, he has to strengthen and encourage himself while not looking at all this under any circumstances, whatever befalls him. Finally, he will merit that all the descents in the world will turn into great advances for the purpose of each fall is to prepare for a spiritual advance. There is a lot to be said about this subject because everyone always thinks that his own situation is so bad that this idea does not apply in his case. People think it only applies to those on high levels who constantly rise from one level to the next. But you should realize and believe that it holds true even for people on the lowest levels, the worst of the worst, for G-d is always good to all.                                                   

n)   By pride a person falls into captivity, as the Sages said. (See Megila,17)               

o)   The attribute of arrogance is very bad indeed when not used for a holy purpose and especially when used against those who really fear G-d and similar cases, for "the arrogant go to Hell" (Perkei Avot,Ch.5:25). Avraham  exchanged all the punishments for each thing for being subservient to the nations (See Midrash, Lech Lecha, Ch.42). However the punishment for arrogance remains just in Hell. However, one has to know that just as boldness is a very bad trait, nevertheless one has to have holy boldness specifically in order to stand up to the arrogant ones of each generation who prevent a person from coming to true tzaddikim and from entering the realm of holiness; for it is impossible to enter the realm of holiness other than by boldness, as the Sages said, "The Torah was given to Israel only because they are bold." (Beitza,25).                                                     

p)   The rectification of these two seals, which are a seal within a seal, is on Yom Kippur and Hoshana Rabba, as is known. All this is by the voices of holiness, for then  the People of Israel shout out in prayer to G-d. That is why (the month of ) Tishrei has the same numerical value as twice 'seal' (alluding to the two seals) together with the two words. That is why Tishrei is called 'the month of the strong' (Kings,1,8) which alludes to their power and boldness. It is then that we blow the shofar for the sound of the 'tekiot' also represents holy boldness which breaks the arrogance of the Other Side, specifically and in general. So also do all the voices of holiness. Therefore Tishrei is the joy of Israel, for holy boldness comes through joy, as it says, "for the joy of the Lord is your strength." (Nechemia,8). This verse also talks about Rosh Hashana (Tishrei).                

q)  A Jew has to feel very ashamed before G-d so that he does nothing against the will of G-d, Heaven forbid and certainly, even more so, not to sin. If he doesn't draw upon himself a feeling of holy shame in  This World, he will certainly be ashamed in the World to Come and that is the most difficult of all punishments; the anguish and shame in the World to Come is very, very difficult, harder even than the bitter punishment of Hell, Heaven save us. Even every tzaddik will feel shame before his fellow who is greater than him spiritually. About this the Sages said, "Woe to such shame, woe to that disgrace." (Baba Batra,75)  Even more so will sinners feel shame, Heaven forbid; it is impossible to even imagine in This World how great the anguish and shame will be in the World to Come, Heaven save us. When one merits to holy shame, one can achieve prayer, joy and holy boldness; then one can come close to and be included  within true tzaddikim and receive from them really perfect faith.       

  

PRAYER  22

  Master of the World, have pity upon me. You know how much mercy my body needs for it is so very strong in its cravings for the things of this world that the body has become so distant from the soul such that the soul cannot radiate any of its perceptions to the body. Your good and holy intention in creating me and bringing me into this world was to enable me to perceive You in This World with the body and soul together. But I didn't have pity on my soul nor on Your honour nor the honour of the holy soul; I didn't strengthen myself against all the cravings of the body and its bad characteristics. The arrogance of my body has become so   strong that it has no shame before the Holy One. I don't know what path or strategy or advice with which I can break the arrogance of the body. I don't even know how to start to fulfill the counsel of the tzaddikim. Master of the World, Master of the World, have pity on me for now I know no way other than to shout out to You at all times. In Your immense loving-kindness, save me from all the physical cravings of my body. Years have passed and I haven't even shouted out to You as I should have.  The blemishes have grown stronger such that I didn't have the strength to shout out. I have no one to rely on other than You, my Father in Heaven. So, please have mercy upon me and save me, for the sake of my holy soul and Your great honour.

YOU HAVE COMMANDED WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS  23.

a)   There is a face of holiness which is a bright face, an aspect of life, as it says, "In the light of the king's countenance." (Proverbs,16,15) which is happiness. This is an aspect of truth and faith. Therefore, by this we merit to longevity. On the other hand, falsehood shortens one's life, for falsehood is an aspect of a dark face which is the face of the Other Side, depression, idol worship, other gods, death and sadness, Heaven save us.             

b)   Those people who fall into the craving for money and don't believe that the Holy One can provide them with an income easily and thus chase after an income with great effort, they eat their bread with sadness; they are full of sadness and depression. These people become attached to the face of the Other Side, as mentioned, which is a dark face, depression, idol worship, other gods, death and sadness, Heaven save us. However, those who carry out their business affairs with faith, strengthen their minds to be happy with their portion in life. They know and believe with truth and perfect faith that their main livelihood and wealth comes only from G-d.  It is just G-d's desire that a person make some simple means to acquire it but the main livelihood and money of a person comes from the Holy One alone. Such people cleave to the light of the countenance of holiness which is the bright face, aspects of life and joy.

c)   Someone who has sunk into the craving for money which is idol worship, serves not only one idol but all the idols of all the seventy nations, for each idol worship of the seventy nations has its source in the desire for money.  That is why the idol worship of each nation is engraved on their coins. About such people the Shechinah shouts twice seventy  which are a hundred and forty screams, for this is the numerical value of the word 'money' ('m'mon' – 'm' 40, 'm' 40, 'o' 6, 'n' 50) with its four letters (136+4=140). These are the two kinds of voice that the Shechinah screams out, as it says, "Woe is my head, woe is my arm." (Sanhedrin,46). Each voice is an aspect of the seventy voices that a woman screams out while she is enduring the pains of birth. She has to scream seventy times before the birth (See Torah 21). That is what the Sages said, "a livelihood (m'mon, 140) is twice as hard as a birth (70 screams)" (Pesachim,118).           

d)   Before a person earns money he has to go, pass through, be tested and purified by means of these hundred and forty screams and to shout out and pray a lot to the Holy One to merit to pass them without trouble and to be saved from them.  For the truth is that every time a person earns money it is like a birth. All the bounty that a person receives is only from breaking the craving for money, for that is the Truth, and "truth stands and lasts" (Shabbat, 104). This is as the Sages taught, "the sustinence at your feet" (Deut.11: 7), "this is the money that puts a person on his feet"(Pesachim, 119) and they stand on truth. But lying doesn't stand; it is idol worship, the craving for money. This is what the Sages said, "Someone who changes his word, it is like he worshipped idols." (Sanhedrin,92). Therefore, by telling lies, which is a craving for money, there is no permanence to a person's livelihood. For idol worship is another god; it is barren and doesn't produce fruit. (Zohar,Pt.2,103).   That's to say, the lie makes it appear that they are gaining money, but they are not gaining, and so they run after money even more. Even when they have money, temporarily, the truth is that they haven't got it at all, because they haven't got any pleasure from it because they can never get enough. However much more they earn, they feel that they are lacking even more. Afterwards they die as debtors. Therefore it is impossible for them to draw down abundance and earn holy money so that they are happy with their portion, (for this is the main wealth, as the Sages said in Perkei Avot, 4), other than by breaking the craving for money; this is an aspect of truth. A person's business affairs must be carried out with truth and faith in order to break and nullify all the thoughts, confusions and cravings for money which come to a person during his business affairs. Rather, all a person's intention should be that it is for G-d only, in order to serve G-d with the money that he earned, to give charity and support those who serve G-d through Torah and prayer and to raise his children to study Torah, etc. and other expenses for mitzvoth.

e)  Know that by guarding the holy covenant, one is saved from the face of the Other Side which is the craving for money, idol worship, a dark face and death, as mentioned. And one becomes attached to Godliness, as it says, "From my flesh, I will see G-d." (Job,19). Then he will merit to fulfillment and joy in the face of G-d, for the Face of the living G-d shines and radiates upon him. The main thing is to attach oneself to true tzaddikim who guard the brit in utter perfection, for then he will be saved from the craving for money.    

f)   This being the case, when someone opposes the true tzaddik, and the Holy One wants to drive away the enemies of the tzaddik, so He makes them fall into the craving for money, and there is no greater fall than that, Heaven preserve us. Thus, the rule is that when there is controversy, whoever guards his brit more, can make his fellow fall into the craving for money. All Israel are called tzaddikim because they are circumcised (Zohar 1:93.). The main thing is the true tzaddik who guards his brit with total perfection; all those who are attached to him can make their fellows fall from their level and the fall is into the craving for money. Therefore one must be very careful when there is controversy against someone that one shouldn't fall into the desire for money, Heaven forbid.                                                       

g)    The craving for money is an aspect of what it says, "I find more bitter than death the woman" (Eccl.7:26) for this alludes to the spleen, which is Lilit, the mother of the Erev Rav, which is mockery and foolishness. For all the money and wealth of the rich who are not proper and don't give charity as they should according to their wealth, and are deep into the desire for money and the pressure of time, all their money and wealth is nothing; it is only mockery and foolishness, for the money plays with them like one plays with a baby with coins. Afterwards the money itself kills them. In the Tikkunei Zohar it says that "foolishness is another god, it laughs at them for their wealth in This World and, in the end, kills them; only the tzaddik escapes whereas the sinner is trapped in it (Eccl. Ibid). For the true tzaddik merits to wisdom and understanding and so knows how to escape from all this.  Even the greatest people need very great wisdom and understanding in order to escape from the time consuming effort of making a living, so that they won't spend and waste  all the days of their life on this; for most of the world are trapped in this.(See Baba Batra,165. Most of the world are trapped into stealing, for, as Rashi explains, they say to themselves in business affairs that it is permissible and stumble into theft.) As a result, they suffer very great bitterness all their lives by this and lose both worlds through this.  Know that This World is full of bitterness, beyond measure, an aspect of "the world's bitterness" (Zohar Chadash,V'Yechi,241), and the main bitterness is the bother and worry of getting money and the craving for money and a livelihood, which comes as a result of blemishing the brit, Heaven save us. If it weren't for the power of the great tzaddikim who truly guard the brit, and who are called the covenant of salt of the world, the world couldn't continue to exist because of its immense bitterness, as mentioned, which is the craving  for money. Therefore, each person, according to the degree that he is attached to the true tzaddikim, sweetens from himself this bitterness. On the other hand, a person who is far from the tzaddik and who himself is far from the rectification of the brit, as he knows within his soul, and especially if he opposes the true tzaddik and his followers, the bitterness of the world will overcome him more and more with its worry and efforts for money until he wastes all his life on it, Heaven save us. Take careful note of these things for many people have sunk into this. Maybe you can flee to true tzaddikim and save yourself from these stormy waters of craving money which is a result of the craving for sex; maybe they won't reach you. Then your soul will be a saved treasure and you will merit to true life, in This World and the World to Come.                            

h)   A holy livelihood is an aspect of what it says, "He who finds a wife, finds a good thing." (Proverbs,18,22). This is like the true tzaddik about whom it says, "Say of the tzaddik, he is good." (Isaiah,3:10). A livelihood is like a woman, as the Sages said, "Anyone who takes away from the income of his fellow, it is as if he came upon his wife."(Sanhedrin,81). There is no good other than light, as it says, "the light is good" (Genesis,1). This is the Esssential Light, belief in G-d, as it says, "G-d will shine upon you." (Isaiah,60). Faith is an aspect of the End of Days, for upon it rest all the other attributes, as is written (Makot24), "Chabakuk came and made everything rest upon one thing – a tzaddik lives by his faith (Chabakuk, 2)."  This is the root and foundation of all holiness. By truth one comes to faith and this is an aspect of conducting business with faith to which one merits specifically by strengthening oneself and coming close to the true tzaddik.                                                             

i)  Through the mitzvah of mezuzah one can also nullify the craving and desire for money. By this, one's income comes easily. This is what the Sages said, that the Ten Commandments are in saying 'Shma' and the command of "Don't desire" parallels the command of "and you should write it on the doorposts" (See Jerusalem Talmud,B'rachot,Ch.1), for through the mitzvah of the mezuzah one nullifies the desire for money. Because of this one has to fix the mezuzah in the top third of the doorframe (Menachot, 33); the Sages said (Baba Metzia, 42) that a person should always divide his money into three. The top third of the doorframe corresponds to the third of the money in business. Most of one's faith has to be in business, as the Sages said, the first question in the World to Come is "Did you do business with faith?" (Shabbat, 31). This means that the main money in which one needs faith is the top third which is in business matters.                                                                                                                                                               

j)   All the mitzvoth that a person performs without money, meaning that he doesn't want to lose money for the sake of performing the mitzvah, is not a perfect mitzvah because it is not yet in the category of faith. But, when the mitzvah is so precious that he doesn't feel any lack of money and he spends freely on the mitzva, this aspect is called faith. For a person's main faith has to be in money affairs; when he breaks the craving for money, there is the Face of Holiness, as above.                                           

k)   Those who are deep in the desire for money, however much more wealth they have, they are more sad, depressed and worried, as it says, "Whoever has more possessions, has more worries." (Perkei Avot,Ch.2). This being so, money shortens and wastes a person's days and life; nothing wastes a person's energy like worry and sadness, as the doctors know. Such a person is connected to the face of the Other Side, other gods and death which is sadness and idol worship, called 'debt' for it decides everything to the side of obligation. All those who are attached to it are always in debt like we see how the burden hangs on their neck and they are never satisfied with what they have but always borrow from others. It always seems to them that they are gaining a lot but they die in debt. Even if they don't die literally in debt to others, they certainly die in debt to their own cravings; it is idol worship that one wants a lot of money. We see that in reality even those who have money to support themselves and even the very rich, they chase after money all their lives with great efforts. They endanger themselves on the roads by traveling a lot and make huge efforts to make money as if they had a huge debt upon their head to pay back. The truth is that the debt is only to themselves, to their craving and idol worship which is tied to the desire for money so much that it is as if they had to pay back a huge debt. It turns out that they are debtors all their lives and die as debtors to their cravings.  All their lives aren't enough to pay back the debt to their desires for they are without limit or bounds, as it says, "a person dies with only half of his desire in his hand"(Midrash Ecclesiastes,1). That is what it says 'they don't live half of their lives.' (Psalms,52). But "I will put my trust in You." But someone who is deep in the desire for money doesn't trust G-d for he serves idol worship. However, says David, "I will put my trust in You" that You can supply me with a livelihood very easily, and I will be happy with my portion so I won't be stuck in the craving for money.            

l)  The truth is that there is another rectification to the craving for money which is to look at the source from which all money comes and all the bounty. By looking there this nullifies the craving. For in its source the bounty is totally a pure light and a spiritual delight such that one doesn't crave for the crude physical money in the world below. Who is the fool who will throw away this spiritual delight for the sake of a gross worldly pleasure. However, to acquire this way of looking one needs to rectify the brit, like it says, "from my flesh I will see G-d." (Job,19). First one has to sanctify the holy flesh, then one can look at the G-dliness. Because of this, the main rectification for the craving of money is by rectifying the brit; and when one rectifies the brit, then it is impossible to fall to the craving for money.                                                                                       

PRAYER 23

 In Your bountiful compassion and immense loving-kindness, help us to break our craving for money so that we have no craving or desire for money at all. Let me not bother my mind with chasing after an income through great efforts and immense bother, Heaven forbid. Rather, in Your mercy, grant me true and perfect faith and trust. Plant it in my heart so that I have trust in G-d alone.  There is no ability or strength in my hands and efforts to create success or wealth. Everything is from You alone!  May I truly believe that You can arrange my income perfectly, with great ease, without any toil, bother or anxiety on my part. Let me not confuse my thoughts with the anxiety of making a living. Rather, merit me to always be strong in my faith and trust in You.

       Save us and extract us from this evil craving for money, which, through our sins, has become very widespread in the world in our generation. Protect us in the merit of the great tzaddikim and the permanent covenant; save me, in their merit, from this craving for money. Grant us wisdom and insight and knowledge from You so that money won't ruin our lives, Heaven forbid. Harken to the cries of the Shechinah and of the People of Israel who cry out a hundred and forty times "Woe is my head, woe is my arm."  Be gracious to us and let us perform the mitzvah of the mezuzah with perfection, with the proper intentions so that this guards and protects us from the craving for money. Let us not have any desire for money at all. Have compassion upon us and help us so that we can achieve all that we have asked from You. Merit us to the holiness of the brit and thus, to completely break the craving for money. Let us distance and nullify from ourselves all sorts of sadness and melancholy. Remove from us sorrow and sighing and grant us all the merit to always be happy.

24. THE  MIDDLE  OF   THE   WORLD

  

a)   Know that there is a light which is above the lower soul (nefesh), the spirit ( ruach) and the higher soul (neshama) of the human souls. This is the light of the Infinite, blessed be He. It cannot be attained through the intellect. Yet, the mind endeavours to chase after it. It is through performing mitzvoth with joy that we can become worthy of attaining this light. We chase after it, only to encounter "that which holds back". This is an aspect of  we can "reach and yet not reach". In this way nine palaces are created which are neither lights nor spirits or higher souls. It is impossible to remain attached to them. They cannot be known. Happy is he whose thoughts chase after this awareness, even though the mind has not the power to attain it. This is the ultimate knowledge of everything; an aspect of  "the goal of knowledge is to know that we know nothing."                                                                                               

b)  By the joy of the mitzvot, the realm of holiness is completed and one raise the life-force and holiness from among the husks. This being so, when you perform a mitzvah with joy one raises the Shechinah from among the husks.    

c)  A person has to keep very, very far away from sadness for the husks are an aspect of sadness and the power of the harsh judgements. When sadness becomes strong this is the exile of the Shechinah, for the Shechinah is the joy of Israel, as it says, "The joyful mother of the sons." (Psalms,113). The main way to nullify the husks and to raise the realm of holiness is through joy.      

d)  By the offering of incense, we raise the sparks of holiness from among the husks and merit to joy, as it says, "…incense rejoices the heart." (Proverbs, 27:8) Therefore one has to recite the incense offering (passage in the morning and evening prayer) with great concentration, for the main way of raising all the holy sparks from the depths of the husks is by the incense offering, and by this one merits to joy, as mentioned.                                                                                                                        

e)   When a person performs a certain mitzvah, this mitzvah has the power to go and   arouse all the worlds to the service of G-d. This draws a blessing to all the worlds. The main blessing from Above is intellect; when it comes into the world below each person receives it according to his desire. Therefore, someone who is strong spiritually should concentrate on directing his desire to receive a blessing of intellect. He also has to draw faith into this blessing of the intellect, for one mustn't rely on the intellect alone, as is known.                                                                                                                                                                                                   

f ) The inner essence of the blessings which are drawn down by the mitzvoth bring a blessing to that which arranges and steadies the brain. This is an aspect of  Keter (crown) which comes from the word 'katar' meaning 'wait' like it says, "Wait (katar) for me a little" (Job,36:2). That is like when a person is asked some wisdom and he answers 'wait till I think calmly about it.' Then one also needs faith.                                                                                              

g)   This power of 'waiting' stands like a barrier before the brain and acts to hold back the brain's chase after the lights, for the brain chases after the light of the Infinite One, blessed is He. This power of 'waiting' is what arranges and steadies the brain and acts as a barrier between the brain and the light of the Infinite One. Through these two aspects of chasing and holding back, the brains strike each other and create a barrier. This is what properly arranges the brain and steadies it making a 'crown' (waiting). As a result of this, the nine palaces are created through which one perceives the light of the Infinite in an aspect of "reaching and not reaching"; that is to say the brain chases and reaches a perception, yet it doesn't reach or perceive. The nine palaces are created by the three brains (Chochma, Binah and Da'at) becoming joined during their chasing and their striking that which restrains, as mentioned. Since there are three brains and each one is included in the others, and three times three make nine, referring to the nine palaces. All this one merits to by performing mitzvoth with joy, as mentioned. 

h)  The main way of raising the realm of holiness is by joy. In the future the husks will be nullified completely by the tremendous increase in joy. Israel will come out of exile through joy, as is written, "In joy they will leave…" ( Isaiah, 55). Through the nations themselves, against their will, all the husks will be nullified, for the nations themselves, and with their own hands, will lead the Jews out of exile through the great joy there will be, as it says, "Then the nations will say… we are glad." (Psalms, 127).  May it be speedily in our lifetime. Amen.

PRAYER 24

 

How happy we are, how good is our portion in life; how pleasant is our fate. We merited to receive Your holy Torah and to fulfill Your precious commandments. Merit us to perform all the mitzvoth with tremendously great joy and to rejoice in You, as is fitting, every time we perform some commandment, for each mitzvah is a channel to express Your Unity. We attach ourselves to You and include ourselves in You, Lord our G-d, by performing each mitzvah. Every day and at all times You merit us to fulfill Your precious, cherished commandments. In Your great mercy, help us so that great happiness is drawn upon us from the Source of Happiness in His dwelling place, in the nine palaces. Let us perform the mitvot with great happiness and tremendous joy each day.

      Remove sadness from me and all worry and melancholy. Afterwards help me to reach really tremendous happiness in such a way that I will always be very, very happy especially when learning Torah or when praying. While performing a mitzvah let no worry or sadness creep into my heart as a result of my sins. Let no thoughts of business affairs enter my mind nor any thoughts about worldly matters so they won't spoil the joy in my heart from the mitzvah. Just remove them from my heart completely. Let me concentrate on the hour and moment where I am, and the mitzvah I am performing.                                                                                      By performing the mitzvot with great happiness, may I merit to raise the holy sparks from among the husks to where they fell because of my many sins, whether in this lifetime or a previous reincarnation. Let us clarify and separate all the sparks from the husks through reciting the incense offering with great concentration every day until all the husks are completely nullified and nothing is left of them. Help us to raise all the holy sparks to their source in the realm of holiness and thus remove the Shechinah from exile. Then reveal Your Kingdom over everything in the world so that true joy will spread throughout the world. Amen.                       

25.  SHOW  US  SOMETHING

  a)  Each person has to remove himself from the power of the imagination and rise to the level of intellect so that he won't chase after the imaginary cravings and animal desires but, rather, only follow his intellect. For the intellect distances the cravings completely and all the cravings are the opposite of intellect; they are just from the power of imagination and from the power of the animal soul; an animal also has these cravings and desires the se things. This is the reason why it was necessary to rest the hands on the sacrifice in the Temple and why one had to confess one's sins upon them for all the sins come from the power of the imagination which causes all the sins. Therefore all the power of imagination is upon the animal. Immediately after the resting of hands on the animal comes the slaughter. By slaughtering the animal as a sacrifice, one subdues and breaks the imagination which is what it says, "The sacrifices of G-d are a broken spirit." (Psalms,51,19). The breaking of the imagination is reflected in the sacrifices. Therefore, through the sacrifices in the Temple, from there flowed a spring of wisdom; one merits to wisdom specically by breaking the power of imagination. When the Temple will be built the verse will be fulfilled which says, "a fountain will issue forth from the house of      G-d. (Joel,4,18). May it be speedily in our days. This is an aspect of the 'shamir' worm which disappeared with the destruction of the Temple (Sutah,48).By the shamir any stone (in the Temple) was subdued and broken. This is like breaking the heart of stone by going after the intellect, for one has to escape the desires of the heart, the imagination of the heart which is like the action of an animal. So, one has to break this heart of stone and follow the mind.

b)   There is a potential intellect, an intellect in actuality and an acquired intellect. First one has to break the imagination fir this establishes the real intellect; when this rises, the other falls. But this is still in the realm of the potential intellect. Then one has to use the mind, that's to say, inquire and think about how to serve G-d.  By this, the intellect comes into actuality. This is like "choice honey" which existed at the time of the Temple. This is what it says, "Your lips are like flowing honey." (Song of Songs,4,11), meaning that one reveals the sweetness of the mind, bringing it from potential to actuality. This is reflected in speech. Afterwards, when a person has achieved all that the human intellect can attain, his intellect becomes what is called acquired intellect, and this is the main existence of a person after his death; this is what remains. That is what it says, that there were people of faith at the time of the Temple. (Sotah,48). Faith has the meaning of 'lasting' for this intellect is a person's lasting existence, meaning the holy intellect he gained by Torah and prayer.                                                                                                                  

  c)   Know that in every world and world and on each new spiritual level there are powers of imagination and they are the husks before the fruit; they surround the holiness, like it says, "The wicked walk on all sides." (Psalms,129). When a person leaves one level and rises to another, then he has to pass through these illusions in order to reach the realm of holiness. So, as soon as he rises to a higher level these husks are aroused at the new level and surround him. Therefore, one has to subdue and break them, thus purifying the place from husks. This applies to every person in the world, even someone on the lowest of levels, Heaven forbid, and even if he is absolutely material. Nevertheless, when he wants to enter the service of G-d, he will certainly have to pass these stages going from one level to another, according to his own aspect. And each time he rises from one level to another then these husks will rise against him anew causing all sorts of illusions, cravings,   confusions and obstacles such that they won't let him enter the gates of the realm of holiness which lead to the higher level.  Because of this, many devout Jews, when they see that suddenly they are overcome by cravings, confusions and obstacles, make the mistake of thinking that they have fallen from their previous level because they didn't have these problems before. As a result they rest a bit and think they have fallen, Heaven forbid. However, the truth is that it isn't a fall at all, rather, because he now has to rise to a higher level.  That is the reason why all these cravings, confusions, obstacles and crookedness in the heart become so strong to block him. The solution is that a person has to strengthen himself a great deal each time so that he won't become discouraged at all; eventually he will overcome them and break them once again.                                                                                                                                                                                          

d)   Know that when you break the obstacles that surround you, rise and enter the new, higher level, you are doing a favour to someone who is on that same level because you cause him to be pushed up to a higher level; no two Jews can be on the same spiritual level for all the souls are one above the other. This is called raising one's fellow.                         

                     

e)   When the higher person rises, only his inner aspect rises; thus, when the lower person rises, his inner aspect becomes the outer aspect of the person above him. These inner and outer aspects are two kinds of service of G-d. Torah, prayer and mitzvoth are the inner aspect, whereas eating and drinking and other material needs of the body are the outer aspect. The outer service of the person on the higher level shines and is more praiseworthy than the inner service of the person at the lower level. For this reason, the inner service of the lower one becomes the 'clothing' and outer exterior of the higher person.                                                         

f)   It is impossible to subdue the husks at the new level other than by praise of the greatness of the Holy One. This is what it says in the 'Kavanot' (of the Arizal) about the prayer 'Hudu', that it was established in order to subdue the husks in the World of Yetzirah.  The revelation of the greatness of the Holy One is by giving charity to a worthy poor person for then the Sublime Colours in the money of a Jew shine. Then, the grandour and splendour of G-d is revealed in the money, like it says, "Mine is the silver and mine is the gold." (Chagi,2). Through this, one subdues the husks and rises from one level to another.

g)   By giving charity from one's money, all one's money is rectified; its colours are revealed and shine so that all his money becomes "My silver and my gold." This is like what it says, "the garments of salvation, a robe of charity" (Isaiah61:10) Even the money that the nations take from us by force is considered charity for it says, "Your oppressor is charity." (Baba Batra,15). Know that the charm and splendour of the Sublime Colours becomes revealed only in the money of Jews, like it says, "Israel in whom I will be glorified."(Isaiah 49:3).  Because of this everyone desires to look at it. This is the reason that the nations crave for the money of Jews, as if they have never seen money before, since the colours never shine in the money of the nations. They are called poor because they never have pleasure from their money but crave the money of Jews; that is where the charm and splendour dwells. Know that immediately the gentile gets the money from a Jew, the charm and splendour (of the Sublime Colours) disappears. That is why they demand our money again and again. They forget the money they took already because the splendour disappears when it comes into the gentile's hand. This is why they don't come close except when it is for their pleasure. These colours are the Lights and Colours of G-d's Four Letter Name (YHVH) as it says, "To David, G-d(YHVH) is my light" (Psalms,27)- this refers to the Lights and Colours; "my salvation" refers to the clothes of salvation, as mentioned and as it says (Zohar,Pt.2:90B) "His salvation is to G-d; looking". This alludes to YHVH (numerically 26,'ko') which is 'tel' (a mount) to which everyone turns and desires to look at. This is 'kotel' (The Western Wall).     

h)   Another idea to subdue the husks is for a person to make himself happy and full of joy with the good point that he merited to be created a Jew and attached himself to the Holy One. Be happy that you merited to come close to true tzaddikim and their followers who guide you on the path of truth. Through this, whatever happens, you will have hope for eternity. And by this happiness you will break all the obstacles at every level and merit to enter the higher level.                                                                      

PRAYER 25

May it be Your will, G-d, that You have mercy on me and help me to break the imagination in the heart so that I don't follow the desires of the heart which are evil. Rather, merit me through Your great strength, to break, subdue and nullify all the illusionary cravings, all the confusions and the obstacles. Let me not act like an animal. Have mercy and compassion on me so that I will be able to ascend to the holy intellect and acquire wisdom and understanding such that I can bring the sweetness of the intellect from the potential to the actual. Eventually, let me acquire in my intellect Torah innovations and perceptions of holiness such that I can build the realm of holiness.

   So also, in Your immense loving-kindness help me each time to go from one level to another in holiness and purity; support me so that I can burn, break and nullify the husks which are before the fruit at each level. They are the illusions, cravings and obstacles that overcome a person anew at every new level when a person wants to ascend in holiness. Save me, strengthen me, help me; give me power, counsel, wisdom, courage and holy intellect to break and nullify the husks each time at every new level of holiness. May I merit to arouse the Sublime Colours in the money each time I give charity so that Your glory is revealed in it. Then, by these holy colours shining one to another, may Your greatness be revealed such that I create a robe of salvation, a clothing of charity.

     By all this, may each Jew be joined to his fellow in love and great peace so that each of us raises his friend to new spiritual levels, reaching great holiness. In addition, have mercy on me so that I merit to recite the incense offering with great concentration and awesome holiness; may it rise before You as if it was an actual sacrifice. As a result , let us break the power of imagination and drive it away completely. Speedily redeem us and build the holy Temple in all its glory so that we will be able to bring sacrifices once again which will affect atonement for us. 

26. CHICK  IN  EGG (1)

a)   The tzaddik 'kills' himself and sacrifices himself while praying, and similarly whoever sacrifices himself while praying should know that where extraneous thoughts enter, they have to be elevated, as is known. In that place (in prayer) he has to sacrifice his soul especially for, by this, he raises the holy sparks (that fell into those thoughts).

PRAYER 26

 Mat it be Your will, Lord and G-d of our Fathers, that You help me and merit me to pray with great concentration so that I don't say one word of prayer without the proper intent. Let me hear well what I say so that I can think about every word that I say. Merit me to pray with real self sacrifice especially when I get irrelevant thoughts; give me strength and courage to overcome these thoughts so that I can subdue, break and drive them away, nullifying them completely. Every place in the prayer that these thoughts come, help me to subdue them by tremendous self sacrifice so that in the end I break them and nullify them for this clarifies and raises the holy sparks which are clothed in these thoughts. Save me, so that I can always achieve a pure and totally clean prayer without any impure elements in it. Be filled with compassion for us and return Your Face towards us; bring us the righteous Meshiach, speedily in our days. Amen.

 

27. CHICK  IN  EGG (2)

a)  According to the peace in the generation one can draw all the world to the service of G-d, "to serve Him with one consent" (Zephania,3,9).For, by peace that exists between people, they can speak to each other and inquire from each other about the ultimate purpose of life and all its vanities. They explain to each other the truth, that in the end nothing will be left of a person other than what he prepared for himself towards the eternal life after death. Silver and gold, jewels and pearls don't accompany a person to the world of eternity, but rather, Torah and good deeds alone (Perkei Avot,Ch.6). By realizing this, everyone will throw away the falsehood of the idols of silver, and he will approach the truth, turning to the Holy One and His Torah and prayer. However, when there isn't peace, and certainly when there is controversy, Heaven forbid, people don't talk to each other about the true purpose of life. Even when they do meet and talk, their words don't enter the heart of their fellow because of the desire to win, controversy, hate and jealousy, for these things can't bear the truth. (See Torah, 122) This means that the main reason for most people's distance from G-d is the controversy that has become widespread in our days through our sins. May the Holy One have mercy on us.

b)   Through the guarding of the covenant one merits to true enlightenment which is called "the glory of the face", that's to say, the mind is refined by the wisdom of the Torah which one learns to explain with grace and beauty through the thirteen rules of interpretation. This is an aspect of "the glory of the old face" (Shabbat,152) as it says, "Honour the face of the old man" (Leviticus,19).This is an aspect of what it says that the face of Ya'acov was like that of Adam (Midrash,Ch.84). By  the aspect of 'old man', the aspect of Ya'acov, one merits to peace, as it says, "Ya'acov came in peace" (Genesis,33). And the Sages taught that he came in peace; complete in his body, his money and his Torah (Shabbat,33).

c)   According to the degree that a person purifies his wisdom through the thirteen rules, as mentoned, so he merits through this to purify the voice of his song. For the voice is according to the wisdom of the interpreters of the Torah and the intelligence of the thirteen rules through which the Torah is interpreted.

                                                                          

d)  When one's voice becomes purified, then, by the voice of one's song alone without words, the Holy One saves you from all your troubles and by this one merits to peace and you can draw all the world to the service of G-d.

e)   By rectifying the brit, one merits to a voice, to purify the voice of one's song. Ya'acov, who guarded the brit, as it says, "the first of his seed" (Gen.49), merited to a voice, as it says, "The voice is the voice of Ya'acov" (Genesis,27).  Then by his song and tune alone, the Holy One sees who is causing us distress, which nation from the seventy is causing us trouble. And He saves us from the trouble. Therefore, when there is a decree or trouble caused by a nation to Israel, Heaven forbid, it is good to sing the song (anthem) belonging to that nation which is causing us the suffering, G-d save us. That is what it says, "He saw their affliction when He heard their song" (Psalms106:44). That's to say their specific song and tune. By singing for the sake of Heaven we can arouse the mercy of the Holy One so that He sees our distress which stems from one of the nations and He saves us from them.            

f)   By rectifying the brit, we merit to a voice, and from the aspect of voice we merit to peace, like it says, "Song of songs of Shelomo" (Song of Songs,1,1). 'To the king that peace is his.'  That is why, immediately after the voice of song at the Red Sea the Israelites merited to the peace of Shabbat, as is written, "And they came to Mara" (Exodus,15,23) where they were commanded to keep Shabbat for the first time (Sanhedrin,56). That is what it says, "Miriam answered them, sing to G-d" for the initial letters of the verse spell out 'shalom', peace. Through the song they merited to peace. (See Zohar,Pt.3,176,B)

g)  Specifically in Mara they received the peace of Shabbat for it is the way of peace to be clothed in bitterness (Mara means bitter) like it says, "In peace I had great bitterness" ((Isaiah38:17). Similarly, all the medicines are bitter herbs, so is peace which is the cure for all things, like it says, "Peace for the near and far…. I  will cure him." (Isaiah 57:19). Its way is to be clothed in bitterness. All the different forms of weaknesses are an aspect of conflict; there is conflict between the four basic elements when one overcomes another. A person has to see to it that he has peace for that is the cure. The same is true with the mentally disturbed for they have a conflict between their soul and body, as it says, "There is no peace in my bones because of my sins" (Psalms, 38). We have to get cures through bitterness.   Sometimes the weakness is so great that the patient can't suffer the bitterness of the medicines, then the doctors give up on him and cause him despair. So also when the sins become strong, which are the mental sickness, the patient can't stand the bitterness of the cure, and then nearly all hope is lost, Heaven forbid. However, the Holy One is full of compassion, so when He sees a person who wants to return to Him, but he hasn't the strength to stand up to the bitterness of the cures, He has mercy on him and throws over His shoulder all the person's sins so that he won't need to suffer a lot of bitterness for the sake of a cure, just that which is according to his strength to take. This is what it says about Chezkiahu, the King, who praised the Holy One, saying, "In peace…You have cast all my sins behind Your back" (Isaiah,38:17).  From here, every single person should learn if he wants to have mercy on his life and return to G-d, that, in most cases, when a person begins to enter the service of G-d and come close to the Holy One, all sorts of obstacles and suffering from all sides suddenly occur to him, each person according to his own set of circumstances; and it seems to him sometimes that he can't stand such bitterness, suffering and obstacles; many have fallen because of this and become distant again, Heaven forbid. But, someone who truly wants the truth has to know and believe that all the bitterness, suffering and obstacles that he suffers come from the great loving-kindness of G-d. According to his many sins he should suffer very much more bitterness for the sake of his cure, to such a degree that he wouldn't have the strength, in any manner, to stand up to it. Then he would lose all hope, G-d forbid. But the Holy One has mercy on him and doesn't send more bitterness or suffering than he can stand. However much he suffers, he certainly has to suffer and certainly he has the strength to suffer it, for the Holy One doesn't send to any person bitterness or obstacles that he can't stand up to and break, even though, according to his deeds, he should get more.

h)   The peace he needs in his body is between the four humours so that one won't overcome its fellow. He needs peace in his money, that this one shouldn't come and take the other's, as the Sages said (Ketubot,66). Peace in his Torah means without doubts which are an aspect of conflict. Then one will merit to fulfill the verse which says that "Ya'acov came in peace from the town of Shechem."  One should take inspiration from this to "serve Him with one accord" (Tzefania,3)  through peace.                                                                                   

i)   To achieve this level of bringing the entire world to serve G-d is possible only by rectifying the brit. When a person sees that he gets immoral thoughts about women, yet he breaks his desire and removes his mind from them, this is the main thing in his repentance and rectification of previous blemishes to the brit, each person according to his level. This is called 'complete', or 'balanced' repentance. Therefore, don't feel discouraged when these very despicable thoughts overcome you, for precisely by getting these thoughts and overcoming them is the main rectification and your complete repentance when you discard them. By this, you extract the holy sparks that fell into the husks by your blemishing the brit. As a result, you will merit to rectify the brit, purify your wisdom and voice, eventually meriting to peace and to draw the     entire world  to the service of G-d.                                                                                                            

PRAYER 27

   King, to whom peace belongs, may it be Your will that You place peace among the people of Israel such that the peace spreads throughout the world for then people will be able to gather and speak to each other about the true purpose of the world and all its vanities and cravings. Let them look at themselves and see that this world flies past like a shadow, like a bird that flies away. Then they will throw away their idols of silver and gold for they will see the truth that there is only repentance and the service of G-d. They will break their cravings and by this they will rectify the brit and raise the sparks out of the husks where they fell through our sins. Help us, in Your immense compassion, to achieve complete repentance; wherever I damaged, let me rectify.

     Master of the World, You know how weak my soul is because of all the bitter and painful blemishes I have caused to my soul through my sins. There is no cure in the world that can help me and even if You were to find one it would be too bitter to suffer; it is impossible to suffer the bitterness of the cure and the repentance I need even to rectify one bad thought and certainly to rectify my immense and numerous sins. So, please cure me speedily and completely, both bodily and spiritually. I see Your great loving kindness and throw all my prayers upon You so that You will have mercy on me and guard me with Your shield of peace.

    Merit me to the Light of the Face and to true Torah innovations such that I purify my voice and will always be happy. Just by my song and tune, see my anguish and which nation is causing it and save me from them.                                                                                                                                                                              

28. BUILD US A HOUSE

a)  There are opponents who ridicule and abuse those who really fear G-d and this is because they receive Torah from scholars who lack integrity and who are called "Jewish devils"(Zohar,Pt.3,253). These "Jewish devils" receive their Torah from devils who have a 'fallen Torah' from fallen thousands. It says that Shelomo "spoke three thousand parables: and his poems were a thousand and five" (Kings1 5:12) which Shelomo merited to from the side of holiness. But these devilish scholars get their Torah from the husks and because of that they always have wonderful parables which the public like; all their discourses are full of similes and parables with wonderful explanations. However, there is nothing to be gained by these scholars for they haven't the power to guide people on the proper path. On the contrary, people fall into all kinds of big,   atheistic questions as a result. Because of this they do not fulfill that which it     says, "He honours those who fear G-d" (Psalms,15:4). On the contrary, they abuse and embarrass them and all the opposition  to tzadddikim comes from them. Therefore we have to stay far away from listening to Torah from these  Torah scholars who are not respectable, as  explained above (See Chagiga,15; Moed Katan,17 and Ta'anit 7).                                                                                                                                                                              , "                                                                                                                                  

b)   The way to rectify this is by the aspect of 'worm', which is 'faith', as it says, (Lamentations,4,5) "brought up" ('emunim' alluding to emuna, faith) "on scarlet" ('tola', meaning 'worm'). That is similar to Avraham who represents loving –kindness and faith, an aspect of "I will not entirely remove my steadfast love from Him, nor be false in my faith" (Psalms,89:34), for, by faith, which is an aspect of the right, one can overcome one's enemies, like it says, " the saving strength of his right hand" (Psalms,20:7). One can defeat the opponents and break and nullify the idol worship together with the atheism and abuse which comes from them.                                                                   

c)   To acquire loving –kindness, which is an aspect of faith, is only through taking in guests who are Torah scholars. The Sages taught us (B'rachot,10) from the verse, "A holy man passes by us always" (Kings,2:4) that someone who takes in as a guest a true Torah scholar is considered to have brought a Permanent sacrifice ( a 'Tamid', which means 'always'). By serving Torah scholars one merits to loving-kindness, as the Sages said (Ketuvot,96). That is  why the 'tamid' was a sheep for it rectified the 'thousands' (elufim), an aspect   "I was like a gentle (eluf) lamb" (Jeremiah,11:19) which alludes to being subservient to one's rabbi and serving  him. This is 'tamid' (numerically 444)  which is four times 'eluf' (111) , the rectification of the 'thousands', as above.                                                                                  

d)   That is what David meant, "I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men

and despised"(Psalms,22:7). The rectification for this reproach and disgrace is a 'worm', meaning to nullify one self before the Holy One. Through this, we overcome the opponents and nullify the disbelief and atheism that comes from them. By taking in righteous Torah scholars as guests, one merits to loving kindness which is an aspect of the holy 'worm' which corresponds to the Tamid sacrifice. Then one merits to rectify and raise the hidden good in the Torah of the Torah scholar who is a Jewish devil by clarifying it and throwing away the evil and husks from it.                                     

.                                          

PRAYER 28

   Master of the World, compassionate Father, help me to emulate the attribute of loving-kindness of Avraham, whose house was open to guests. Let me host true Torah scholars and tzaddikim and receive them with great love and respect, with tremendous joy. By serving them properly, may I merit to the trait of loving-kindness, and perfect my faith and humility so that I really feel my own worthlessness, like a worm.

    Have mercy on me, for Your mercy is boundless; save me from all the Torah discourses that stem from fallen Torah, from the Jewish devils. Always guard me from such Torah innovations so that I never hear such Torah which comes from the husks. Rather, let me always hear Torah from true tzaddikim whose Torah is really pure, acquired through their great holiness and tremendous perceptions which are very sublime, Divine Inspiration. Let me put all my trust and belief in them so that I can really take pleasure in their holy words and achieve a deep understanding of them. Eventually, may I merit to real Torah innovations and use them as a foundation to build true structures of holiness in Torah learning and prayer. Through this, may we clarify the good from the bad and throw away all the evil and husks which hide Your true Torah. 

29.  THE  MAN  WHO  WANTED  TO  MARRY

a)   Speech which isn't heard or accepted is not called speech at all. To rectify speech that it be heard and accepted is by praising, by praising the true tzaddikim. This is the general correction of speech.

b)   When speech is without understanding, it doesn't contain good and then it isn't heard or accepted. But, by praise of the tzaddikim, one's understanding is raised and this instills good into the speech. When one receives speech from understanding it contains good; everyone desires good and for that reason it is heard and accepted.

c)   The correction of speech, which is the 'Kingdom of the Mouth', is by the aspect of "white clothes" (Eccl.9). One has to guard one's clothes very much so as not to abuse them; you have to look after them properly so that they don't get stained or dirtied. Clothes are an aspect of Kingdom, then King of Honour, for Rebbe Yochanan called his clothes, "my honour"(Shabbat,113). This means that someone who abuses his clothes is like a rebel against the Kingdom. Then the judgement of the Kingdom judges him. Whoever is greater than his fellow has to guard his clothes more because in Heaven they deal with him more strictly. For this reason the Sages said that a Torah scholar who has a stain on his clothes is deserving of death, Heaven preserve us. (Shabbat,117).                                                                   

d)   If a person doesn't guard his clothes and gets a stain on them, through this he causes a separation between the Shechinah and the Holy One, Heaven forbid. As a result the disgraceful maid servant takes control, which means the Kingdom of Evil. This causes menstrual blood to the Shechinah, Heaven forbid, and this makes finding a livelihood much harder.          

e)   The wicked, according to the prohibition that they transgress, arouse and cause menstrual blood to the Shechinah. This causes a separation between the Holy One and the Shechinah, Heaven forbid. To rectify all the sins in detail is very complex and difficult for a person; it is impossible to rectify them because there are very many details and fine points in each prohibition. Therefore, a person has to rectify generally, all inclusively, and this is by rectifying the brit. By this, one automatically rectifies all the prohibitions that one transgressed. This rectifies even the very narrow and fine places (the sinews) where one can't reach other than by a general correction; this throws (arrows of) rectifications even to these places.                   

f)   By this all inclusive rectification, which is the rectification of the brit, one elevates the brain. The essence of rectifying the mind is through rectifying the brit and this is the main way that Israel come closer to their Father in Heaven.

g)  Finding a livelihood without effort depends on this for, by the rectification of the brit, one merits to the aspect of Manna, an aspect of the bread of a livelihood from Heaven. On the other hand, when a livelihood comes with great effort, this is because the person hasn't performed the all inclusive rectification of the brit. (See the Zohar,Pt.3,pg.244A).                    

h)  All the time that a person hasn't rectified himself in this all inclusive way, speech is forbidden, as it says, "I was dumb with silence" (Psalms,39:3). By this the Schechinah is in an aspect of menstrual blood, Heaven forbid. From this menstrual blood of the Shechinah comes silence (in Hebrew, blood, 'dam', contains the same letters as silence, 'dumia'). This is because the essence of speech depends on the rectification of the brit, as it says, "and he declared his covenant to you." (Deut.4:13). Then it is impossible to speak and reveal Torah; whoever speaks then transgresses the prohibition of "don't go gossiping among your people" (Leviticus,19,16). He is "a talebearer who reveals secrets" (Proverbs,11:13). However, by the all inclusive rectification, speech is permitted and one can open one's mouth and reveal enlightening words of Torah.

i)   Epilepsy is caused by the blemishing of the brit, Heaven forbid. Therefore, by rectifying the brit, one is cured from this illness.              

j)   When a person hasn't rectified himself generally and completely, he has to stay away from drinking wine because this leads to all of the sins. It also damages a person's livelihood and he is impoverished. However, someone who merits to the all inclusive rectification, on the contrary, he raises his brains through drinking and rectifiers himself even more.       

k)   Someone who doesn't do business with faith and is deep in the craving for money, and steals from his fellow, he arouses and causes menstrual blood to the Shechinah, like blemishing the brit, and he loses his livelihood, Heaven forbid.

l)   The main way to rectify business affairs is to have in mind, every pace you take and in every word you say during business that your intention is to earn money in order to give charity. This is the general rectification of business matters, like it says, "Sow for yourselves charity" (Hoshea,10:12). This alludes to the white sperm (Tikkunei Zohar,52B) and that is an aspect of rectifying the brit. Through giving charity the brains are elevated and one gets an easy income.

                                         

m)  Therefore through charity one can talk and speak out enlightening Torah ideas, as the Sages said, "In your mouth- this is charity." (Rosh Hashana,7). This is what it says, "The tzaddik gives with good grace" (Psalms,37:21) ; this is an aspect of the rainbow covenant, for the tzaddik guards the brit.             

n)  The rule from all these things is that one has to first make a general rectification that applies to him in order to fix and elevate the brains and draw from there whiteness, to fix and whiten all the blemishes. This is impossible other than by an all inclusive correction that is applicable to him such as doing business with the intention of giving charity. As a result of this, one elevates the brains and then everything is automatically corrected. That's to say, by the general rectification of all things, one raises the brain and draws all the whiteness. This is an aspect of 'the whiteness of the fluids of the brain that flow from Lebanon' (Zohar,Pt.3:72). By this, automatically, all the small details are also rectified. 

o)  A woman whose menstrual blood is excessive and she has no regular period, even though wine hurts her, being an aspect of increased blood, even so, her cure is to drink the wine that a  true tzaddik looked at, for his holy eyes are an aspect of 'hairs' which are an aspect of extraneous matter from his holy brain. This draws the white fluid of the brain which whitens the blood, the menstrual blood, and thus it is rectified.                                                                                                                                                    

 p)  The thoughts in the mind of a person are according to his traits. In accordance to whatever trait a person is holding to, so the thoughts in his mind alternate and pass by, as it alludes to in the verse, "Seven locks of my head" (Judges,16,13). The locks of hair allude to the brain for hairs are excrement from the brains. When the seven attributes pass through the mind and hit the hairs, the power of sight is damaged for there are seven layers. (See introduction to Tikkunei Zohar,12). The opposite is also true; by rectifying the seven layers of the eye, one rectifies any blemish to the seven types of thought which are the hairs, an aspect of the correction of the brains.

PRAYER 29

    You know, Master of the World, that even though I have blemished against You a lot, I have sinned, performed iniquities and willful sins, from my youth until now, even so, my intentions when speaking are for the good; I long for and desire the truth, to serve You truthfully; let me swerve away from evil and do only good at all times.  Help me to always praise the true tzaddikim and tell of their glory such that by this I can elevate my mind and understanding and by this to draw good into my speech. Then, let my words be heard and accepted in Your eyes and by other people. Save me so that no word I say be without understanding and good. In Your loving- kindness may my words always contain good which comes from understanding.  

        

     So also, have mercy on me, my Merciful Father; speedily help me and save me; in Your immense grace, have real, tremendous mercy upon me and merit me from now on to the general, all inclusive rectification which is the rectification of the brit. Pardon and forgive me, for I have sinned against You a lot, I know, especially with regard to the brit, in thought, word and deed, by looking and listening etc when and where I shouldn't. Forgive me for all kinds of sins, whether intentional or accidental and save me form now on from all types of blemishes of the brit. Sanctify me with Your sublime holiness so that I can reach a perfect guarding of the brit from now on. Arouse, in Your great mercy, the holy understanding and let me draw the white of the brain so that it clarifies, whitens and purifies all my blood in all the sinews, so that I can rectify all the blemishes in them even though they are in very delicate and narrow places. Let me throw rectifications to these places also, to rectify everything completely.

 In Your bountiful mercy, help me and save me at all times; guard my clothes so that no dirt or stain appear on them, for You alone know how great the blemish is and how it affects the Shechinah itself in the Worlds Above. When a person doesn't protect his clothes from stains etc. the clothes themselves judge him because of this. As a result of my many sins, I find it very hard not to remove my mind from them for my mind is often very confused and distracted, especially when learning Torah  and praying or when performing mitzvot; that is when the dirt and stains get on the clothes. So, please help me and merit me to rectify all the blemishes caused to my clothes by the stains. Help me from now on to take care of my clothes and honour them so they won't get dirtied or stained at all. Protect me and my clothes at all times and let my clothes, body and soul always be clean, pure and holy.  

30.    A  GARDEN  OF KNIVES

 a)  Perception of godliness is impossible to gain other than by many 'contractions', from cause to effect, from the Sublime Intellect to the Lower Intellect. This is like a teacher who first gives introductions and easy to grasp ideas in order that they will be understood before coming to the ultimate purpose which is the Sublime Intellect. Therefore, each individual has to ask and search and pray a lot to merit to find and come close to a true tzaddik who is an honest Rebbe, a great and awesome teacher, who is so great that he can instill this Sublime Intellect and make it understood; that is to say, he can give perceptions of godliness to people. This is the main purpose of life.    

b)   A person has to search for the very greatest of teachers, for one needs the very greatest of Rebbes who can explain this great intellect of perceptions of godliness even to him on his level. However much lower one's level is and however more distant one is from the Holy One, one needs a correspondingly greater Rebbe like we see with the generation that left Egypt; they were on the forty-ninth level of impurity therefore they needed an awesome and mighty Rebbe like Moshe. Similarly, the sicker a person is, the more he has to have an expert doctor. This being the case, a person shouldn't mislead himself by saying that it is enough for him to be close to a simple, kosher Jew who is considered G-d fearing and is somewhat respected; don't say, 'why should I ask for big things and specifically search for the biggest tzaddik; it's enough that first I be like an ordinary pious Jew.' (Some people mistakenly claim this.) Don't make a mistake by saying this, rather, each person, according to how he really feels in his soul his own worthlessness and distance from the Holy One, has specifically to find and come close to a really great and true tzaddik who can cure his soul. The very greatest Rebbe is a wonderful craftsman who can 'clothe' and contract this Sublime Intellect, these perceptions of godliness, even to those who are very small and far from holiness.

( Editor's note: See Sanhedrin,32: "The Rabbis taught, "Righteousness, righteousness pursue", means search for the best Jewish court of law. Rebbe Eliezer went to Lod to find Rebbe Yochanan ben Zakai. See the explanation of the Meharshah, who says that it's known that Rebbe Yochanan was the greatest Rabbi of the generation. The Or Hachaim on this verse says that it comes to warn us that we should always search for the greatest rabbis of each generation and not make do with the small ones even if it means making a big effort. )

c)   This is an aspect of hairs, for the radiation of light from the brain comes out in the hair. The Sublime Intellect, which is perceptions of godliness, is clothed in the Lower Intellect. These hairs represent measures (in Hebrew, hair and measure are the same letters) which are letters of the Torah as it says in Tikkunei Zohar,70. For the mitzvot are the wisdom of the Creator; every mitzvah has its own measure and limit and letters and words etc which are contractions. These contractions contain the wisdom of the Creator and they are an example of this 'clothing' mentioned before by which we can get a perception of godliness. Every single letter in the Torah and every mitzvah is a contraction. That means that we obtain perception of godliness through them.

     ( Editor's note: That is what the Mishneh in Chagiga means when it says that 'there are Jewish laws that are like mountains dependent on a hair.' That is to say, they are dependent on small clues in the Torah, so they are like a mountain, in importance, dependent on a hair, a contraction and clue.)

d)    To merit to this Lower Intellect is impossible other than by hating the desire to profit, hating money to the utmost degree. For the Lower Intellect is an aspect of black hair (Tikkun,70) which is like the black of the eye (the pupil). That is what it says, "I am black but beautiful." (Song of Songs,1). The reason is that the black of the eye collects and contracts all the big things which are included and seen in it. This is how one sees and perceives the thing one observes. So also, this Lower Intellect, the 'blackness', contracts the pleasantness and beauty of the Sublime Intellect. The black hair is from the side of Kingdom as well as the hate of money. For the Lower Intellect is an aspect of Kingdom, the lower wisdom of each world, which governs that world. However, by the love of money, this Kingdom falls into the realm of blackness of the Other Side, melancholy and sadness. As a result, the intellect falls into foolishness and sadness, an aspect of "with sadness you shall eat bread" (Gen.3). And he falls from that intellect into foolishness and sadness. Then the husks and the Other Side surround it from all sides with evil. This is an aspect of "And the people went about and collected" (Numbers,11:8) "Went about" (in Hebrew, 'shatoo') alludes to (sh'toot) "with foolishness" (Zohar, II: 63-64).  This is the opposite of wisdom and causes a person to follow his desire for money.

e)  Each person, according to the aspect of the lower wisdom that he has (since each person has an aspect of Kingdom, lower wisdom), must draw life-force into it. The essence of this life-force comes from the Light of the Face, as it says, "In the light of the King's countenance" (Proverbs,16:15). That is why we are commanded three times a year to "appear before the Face of G-d" (Deut.16:15). This is in order to gain the Light of the Face which shines during the three Festivals and which bestows life-force to the intellect; by this we achieve perceptions of godliness. It is through the joy of the three Festivals that we merit to the Light of the Face, for the essence of the Light of the Face is joy, as it says, " A merry heart  makes a cheerful countenance" (Proverbs,15:13).            

f)   However much more one performs mitzvot during the whole year, so one merits to joy during the three Festivals because our main joy is from the mitzvot. And  the root of joy is in the heart. Each person, according to what he feels in his heart of the Greatness of the Holy One and His Unity, is fitting for him to feel very great joy with each mitzvah he performs because he merits to do the will of G-d, the Creator and Eternal One. The main joy of each mitzvah that is done throughout the year is felt in the heart, as it says, "You put gladness in my heart" (Psalms,4:8). The heart of the entire year is the three Festivals, an aspect of "These are the Festivals of G-d" - 'eleh mo'adeh Yhvh' (Numbers,23), the initial letters of which spell  e'm'y, alluding to 'em l'bina' and bina liba (literally, understanding in the heart) and joy, as mentioned, which gathers in the heart; they are the three Festivals, therefore they are days of joy.  Each person must be very strong in this, to draw upon himself this holy joy of the mitzvot which is the joy of the three Festivals, all through the year. Even more so is this true of the Festival itself that a person has to be very happy indeed, like it says, "Rejoice in your Festival" (Deut.16) for then all the joy of the mitzvot is focused; we can't measure or estimate this happiness, as each person can realize in his heart. By this joy of the three Festivals, we merit to perception of godliness. This is why it says that "each person must go to see the face of his rabbi on the Festival." (Succah,27). This is in order to receive the Light of the Face and give vitality to the aspect of Kingdom.                                                                                           

g)   The main intelligence is only the true intelligence of the true tzaddikim who, through this intelligence, merit to perceptions of godliness and who are able to instill these perceptions into all those who follow them. All the secular wisdoms are total foolishness in relation to this true intelligence. Sometimes, through our iniquities, this intellect falls into the foolish wisdoms of the nations and the Other Side, Heaven forbid, and then this causes their wisdoms and rulership to overcome us. This means that they draw strength from holy Kingdom, an aspect of the lower intelligence, which exists in each world of the Four Worlds and which is an aspect of the wisdom that governs the world. All the wisdoms of all the nations are under the lower wisdom of holiness and draw strength from it. Who could stand the huge noise of the cries and screams when this aspect of Kingdom, which is wisdom, falls into the realm of the Other Side! This is what it says, "The cry of him who rules among fools" (Eccl.9:17). When the fool (the evil urge who is called the "old, foolish king" (Eccl. 9), an aspect of the Kingdom of the Orther Side) wants to get clever, he draws into his foolish wisdom the true wisdom which is the intelligence of perceptions of godliness. Then they say that only they are clever and no wisdom is like theirs, but it is a mistake for all their nourishment is from the fall of holy intelligence. About this, the Holy One Himself cries out, so to speak, as it says, "The Lord shall roar from on high" (Jeremiah, 25:30). "Because of His habitation", relates to the Kingdom which falls, Heaven forbid, into exile among the Four Kingdoms of the Other Side which are the four exiles.                   

h)  Every person has to see to it that he cuts, separates and raises the holy wisdom from among the four exiles and to return it to its source. To this one merits by giving charity and doing kindness, for this raises the intelligence from exile and subdues the ruling power of the nations. Therefore, each person, according to his level, has to make a constant effort to extract the Shechinah, meaning the intelligence, from exile by performing kindness. By this we subdue the secular wisdoms and are saved from the yoke of the Kingdom of Evil; then we merit to perceptions of godliness.            

i)  Corresponding to the four Kingdoms of holiness of the Four Worlds (Atzilut,B'ria,Yetzira,Asiah, as is known), from Avraham, the man of charity, came four sons about whom the Torah spoke- the wise  son, the wicked one, the one who was simple and the one who didn't know to ask. Yitzchak represents the wise one "who gladdens his father" (Proverbs,10). Esau is the wicked one and Ya'acov is the simpleton, as it says, "Ya'acov was a simple man" (Gen. 25). Yishmael is the son who doesn't know how to ask, that's to say he doesn't know how to repent and to ask forgiveness from the Holy One for those sins that he doesn't know about, which is the main repentance, like it says, "What I didn't steal, I must return" (Psalms,69,5). All this is what it says about Avraham that he established the morning prayer (Shachrit) for the initial letters of 'shachrit' allude to the initial letters of the four kinds of sons. They correspond to the Four Kingdoms mentioned previously. Shachrit also alludes to the blackness (shachrot) which is the Lower Intelligence, as above. Avraham merited to rectify it because he hated money as it says about the money from Sodom which he despised; he didn't take "even from a thread to a shoe lace" (Gen.14). He always performed charity in order to raise the Kingdom of Holiness from among the Other Side. For this reason he ran after the four kings in order to subdue them for they are the aspect of the four kingdoms of the Other Side.                                                                                                        

 j)   Parallel to these four, there are four mitzvot on every Festival in order to raise the four aspects of the holy Kingdom from among the Other Side and to nullify them. On Pesach we drink four goblets of wine; on Shavuot we received the Torah which was repeated four times ( G-d to Moshe,Moshe to Aharon, Aharon to the Elders and from them to all Israel) as it explains in Eruvin,54; in Succot there are the four species ( palm branch, myrtles, willows and etrog ); all these correspond to the four aspects of the Kingdom of Holiness which we have to raise to the  Light of the Face by the joy of the mitzvot which are gathered together on the Festivals. To achieve this, a person must return in repentance during the Festival out of joy; by this we bring the Redemption closer.

k)  The main way to reveal this loving-kindness (charity) is by accepting reproach and ethics from true tzaddikim even though sometimes their reprimand is by way of abusing and disgracing us. Through this we merit to give charity and perform loving-kindnesses.

l)  We have to accept this reproach from the true tzaddikim even though they may disgrace us sometimes. We have to judge them on the side of merit for "a person is not to be blamed during the hour of his anguish"(Baba Batra,16); they suffer a great deal because of us. All our affairs and mundane conversations are certainly bad by their standards. Even what is really good for us, such as our prayers, which by our standards are good, are also bad to them, for our prayers disturb them a lot for our prayers contain all sorts of extraneous thoughts and confusions. These prayers, with all their confusions come to the tzaddikim to be elevated by them, therefore if they reprimand us sometimes in a degrading manner, we must accept it, as explained.            

m)  Mixed up ideas and confusions are called 'folly',(in Hebrew the same word as 'praise', 'tehila' or prayer) as it says, "His angels He charges with folly" (Job,4,18). They are so called because they come to a person especially during prayer and reciting praises. They come for two reasons: or they come to be rectified, for now is the time to rectify the holy sparks which need rectification; alternatively, they come to confuse a person in his prayer because he is not worthy to pray. One has to make a very big effort to overcome these confusions and extraneous thoughts which arrive during the prayers, for all the foolishness and confused thoughts that a person occasionally has, and the mixed up mind that a person has throughout the day at certain times, whatever it is, comes back to him specifically during his prayers. These thoughts come into his heart while he is praying and confuse him a lot. They come and go up into his heart at that time specifically. For this reason one has to be very strong   and overcome all these thoughts. Yet with all this, the prayers come to the tzaddikim to be elevated, an aspect of "For My praise I will refrain for you" (Isaiah,48:9). All the praises come to the tzaddik who is an aspect of  Meshiach, an aspect of the nostrils, an aspect of  "The breathe of our nostrils, Meshiach of G-d" (Lam.4:20). For Meshiach smells the truth, as it says, "And his delight" (literally 'smell') "shall be in the fear of G-d" (Isaiah,11:3), that's to say, prayers, an aspect of "who fears the Lord, shall be praised." (Proverbs,31:30).  That's to say, he smells and feels the prayers that he receives from each person, each one according to his level, for all the confusions of each person are within the prayers.        

n)   The tzaddik knows which prayers come from pious Jews and which come from other people. By this he knows to reprimand them, for according to the boldness and the Torah of each person he knows if the person's prayer was worthy or not. There are two kinds of boldness; boldness of holiness and boldness from the Other Side. It is impossible to merit to Torah other than by holy boldness, to be bold like a leopard, against those who cause dissention and stand in the way as it says in the Shulchan Aruch,Orach Chaim, par.1 that he shouldn't be ashamed before the mockers. According to one's holy boldness, so one merits to Torah and to draw down true Torah innovations into the world. The opposite is also true, to the degree that a person has evil boldness, he draws Torah from the Other Side. Then, according to the Torah, and according to one's boldness, one merits to prayer, for prayer also comes from holy boldness, that a person is bold enough to ask from the Holy One everything that he needs, even to ask for wonders. If a person wanted to feel ashamed of his deeds in the light of the greatness of G-d, he certainly wouldn't be able to open his mouth to pray at all. Therefore, according to the holy boldness that he has against those who cause obstacles, he merits to true Torah, as mentioned above; so also he merits to intense prayer. So, the tzaddik, by seeing the boldness and Torah of each person, knows from the prayer that confused him where the boldness came from and knows who to reprimand.                                                                                        

o)  From the voice of a person one can know his aspect of Kingdom. For there is an aspect of Kingdom to every person and it is noticeable in his voice, like it says, "It is not the voice of mastery" (Exodus,32,18). Therefore, Shaul understood from the voice of King David that he is strong in the aspect of Kingdom. He asked, "Is this the voice of my son, David" (Shmuel,1:21). He was surprised by the strength of David's voice and understood that it is actually the voice of a king; Shaul wanted to raise his own voice above that of David but couldn't. That is what it says that "Shaul raised his voice and cried" (ibid). His voice was low, an aspect of the sound of low crying, so he said to David, "I know that you will certainly rule" as the king. This he knew by the voice of David.      

   In Your bountiful mercy and great loving-kindness, have mercy on us and save us so that we can welcome the three Festivals- Pesach, Shavuot and Succot- with great holiness and immense joy. Let us honour the Festivals with all sorts of honour, with special food and drink, clean clothes and rest from work; with a good feeling in the heart and great happiness. Let us pray with great devotion as is proper, without any confusing thoughts. Especially let me be happy with all the mitzvot that are focused in the Festival so that I can take this happiness with me throughout the entire year. Merit us to be very, very happy and phenomenally joyful during the Festival that You chose us from all the nations and raised us above all the tongues. Please have mercy on us and help us to perform the four mitzvot of each Festival with absolute perfection so that we merit to the Light of the Face and can raise the Shechinah out of its exile among the Four Kingdoms of evil. Through all this joy of the holy mitzvot, may I repent perfectly, even in regard to sins that I wasn't aware of or have forgotten. As a result of all this happiness and holiness throughout the year, enable me to always gain perceptions of godliness and be aware at all times of Your exaltedness.  

(Prayer 30)

Your greatness, G-d is beyond measure for no mind can grasp You at all. However, because of Your great mercy and grace, You wish to bestow good to Your creatures. You constricted Your godliness in several stages to make it perceivable to us, from the first cause down to the caused, from the upper intellect down to the lower intellect. You bestowed strength to the true tzaddikim to ascertain Your godliness and know Your exultedness. You have graced them with understanding, wisdom and intellect so that they are capable of instilling perception of godliness in our  lowly minds. When You began to reveal Your godliness through Moshe, extracted us from 49 Gateways of Impurity and yet instill in us the perceiption of 49 Gateways of Holiness. He brought us closer to Your service and gave us the Torah and its holy mitzvot which are all constrictions which enable us to perceive Your godliness, for every letter and  mitzvah of  Your holy Torah provides us with the power to achieve knowledge and to ascertain Your godliness. By the greatness of Moshe and his immense virtue, he was able to instil in even the very lowliest of Jews perceptions of godliness.

So now I have come before You, G-d, my G-d and G-d of my Fathers. Please teach me and show me in which path and which advice I also can merit to perceiveYour godliness. I was created for this purpose You know, I was only created and brought into this lowly world in order to pursue this ultimate purpose of ascertaining perceptons of Your godliness.

Master of the World, You know that no-one can  instill in us perceptions of godliness other than the truly great and unique tzaddikim of the generation. We know ourselves, our immensely low spiritual level and distance from holiness, therefore we need a true spiritual leader of the most sublime stature. However much more a sick person becomes weaker, so he needs a greater doctor. In Egypt when we were in the depths of the 49 Gateways of Impurity, no one could help us other than Moshe. Now that we have fallen into this great exile, in body and soul, into greater depths that in Egypt, we have no –one to help us other that the greatest of tzaddikim who is an aspect of Moshe.

Please, help and save us. Forgive me for my many sins. Grant me good advice and save me for Your Name’s sake. Merit me to come close to You, from now on, no matter what happens. And, by this, enable me to gain perceptions of Your godliness with truth, perfect faith, holiness, great purity and real humility. Protect me and save me from the craving for money so that no desire for money enters my heart at all. Rather, let me hate the power of money with the utmost hate. Likewise, save me from the bother and struggle to make a living so that my mind will not become confused. Let me not put my mind  into any worldy business. On the contrary, may my mind, heart, soul and body always cleave to You and yearn for You. Let me really long to perceive Your exaltedness with perfect faith until I achieve perfect holy wisdom, the upper wisdom and lower wisdom and can thus continually gain true perceptons of Your godliness. Merit me to new, genuine perceptions and knowledge of Your exaltedness with a real desire for holy faith. Grant me knowledge, understanding and intellect so that I will be able to instill perceptions of godliness in many other people, with holiness and great purity as Your desire. Merit me, in Your great compassion to reveal and publicise Your godliness, exaltedness and lordship to all peoples of the world.

And so, in Your great compassion, extract us from this bitter exile, an exile of body, soul and holy money. They have all sunk in this very great and bitter exile. Please raise the Shechinah and the Community of Israel from their exile, from  among the four kingdoms. It has already been many years that the true kingdom of holiness, which means in all four worlds, have fallen from its throne because of our many sins. It has been given over to the rule of the four kingdoms.As a result, we have been exiled from our Land, materially and spiritually. We have gone from one exile to another. Our strength has run out; our hands are powerless. Because of this personal exile has overcome each one of us. This is the exile of the soul throught the physical desires of this world and its vanities. All this happens to us because we are among the nations; we have learnt from their deeds. Let Your cries, roars and immense shouting be heard over the exile of the Shechinah and the People of Israel. Hear the cries and screams of the Shechinah and the People of Israel who cry out with a bitter voice about the distress of our souls when the nations overcome us each day. It is not enough they want to rule over us in body and money; they also want to overcome us with their mistaken, foreign wisdoms. Many of our Jewish brothers have already been caught in their evil net and trap. Please, please save and rescue us and our brothers together with all the seed of the Jewish People from their net which is now spread to catch us. There was never ever anything like this in previous times. Grant us perfect faith so we can make You King over us, our souls and all our limbs and sinews at all times. Have mercy on us, for who can stand to hear the screams of the Holy One and the Shechinah. May our hearts always shout out to You until You haver mercy on us.

Master of the Universe, Your Kingdom is forever. Your rule exists in each generation. Have compassion over Your Kingship which spreads through all the four worlds. Redeem, extract and elevate the Shechinah and Your Kingship from among the nations. Raise Your holy Kingship and the Jewish People from the exile of the four kingdoms. Speedily, uproot, break and subdue the kingdom of evil during our lifetime. Furthermore, uproot, break and nullify all the foreign wisdoms, philosophies and atheism from the world.

Please have mercy on us and send us true tzaddikim who will always reproach us in an open way but with love hidden within it. Let our hearts and ears accept their reproach even if it is sometimes harsh. Despite this, may we accept their words of reproach with love and great joy. Merit us, as a result, to repent fully and reveal to us Your great love for us through the good reproach from the tzaddikim. Then, as a result of our merging in the attribute of loving-kindness, merit us to cut, separate and elevate the kingdom  of holiness from out of the four kingdoms of the Other Side.

In Your bountiful mercy and great loving-kindness have mercy upon us, save us that we merit to welcome all the three Festivals – Pesach, Shavuot and Succot – with great holiness and phenomenally great joy. Let honour all the Festivals and  Holy Days with all sorts of honour, might  and glory; with special food and drink, clean clothing and rest from work; with good heartedness, great happiness, tremendous devotion in prayer and wonderful spiritual awakening, as is proper for a Jew to pray and behave on a Holy Day. Grant us help to perform many commandments during the year, in great holiness and tremendous happiness. Let the happiness of all the commandments throughout the year gather together into the holy heart (of the year) which is the three Festivals. By this, may we really merit to the happiness of the Festival, as You desire, as it says: “And you shall rejoice in Your Festival”. Let us be very, very happy and phenomenally joyful in all the three Festivals. “We will be glad and rejoice in You”, that You chose us from all the nations and  raised us above all the tongues, until we merit to rise to see and be seen in the radiance of the Countenance of the Lord.

Let us be worthy to fulfill all the commandments that are customary in each Festival by which we raise the Divine Presence which is like the letter ‘daled’ [having the numerical value of  four] to the light of the Countenance (Or Ha Panim). These commandments are – on Pesach, the four cups of wine; on Shavuot, the receiving of the Torah which is ‘the system of learning each thing four times for  each individual’; and on Succot there are four species together with the Lulav (palm branch). Please Lord, have mercy upon us and let us merit to really fulfill perfectly all these awesome commandments at their appointed time, their exact time, on every single Festival, together with all the rest of the holy, awesome commandments on every Festival.

Please help us fulfill them in absolute perfection, with very, very great happiness and joy, with fear and love in such a way that we merit to raise the Kingdom of Holiness to Or Ha Panim which radiates during the three Festivals. Let us merit to return in perfect repentance before You as a result of the happiness on each of the Holy Days. In Your bountiful mercy let me repent perfectly even with regard to the transgressions that I do not know or that I do not remember.

Master of the World, You know how far I am from the holiness of the happiness of the Holy Festivals. Take pity and have mercy upon me out of Your bountiful compassion. Out of Your immense loving-kindness, may we welcome the Holy Days with great holiness and immense happiness until we raise the Kingdom of Holiness from out of the four kingdoms and thus raise it to the radiance of the Countenance of the Lord…May I achieve this holy happiness at all times until I merit to a perception of Your Divinity and knowledge of Your exaltedness together with a real, wholehearted yearning for Your belief, with happiness and  good –heartedness, great holiness and purity.

Grant me a holy boldness towards You so that I merit to strengthen myself and make a great effort to pray with all my boldness and might. May I strengthen and encourage my heart so as to hope for You and look  forward to Your compassion. Let me be shameless towards You so as to always ask, pray and plead  before You for all that I lack in my service of the Lord. Let me never be too ashamed or disgraced before You to ask for great and awesome things, to ask that You perform incredible wonders for me.

Master of the World, everything is revealed before You; You know the immense and numerous  confusions which happen to me most of the time and how mixed-up my mind is when I begin to pray and plead before You, such that I cannot even say one word of prayer properly. All the confusions that I have at various periods or during the whole day,  come into my mind specifically at the time of prayer and want to nullify my prayer. Because of this, my prayer is very mixed up with all sorts of wasteful, disorganized, strange and extraneous thoughts and with so very, very many confusions as to be beyond number. I do not know what to do! Because of the immense confusion that I have I do not know any way to stand up against these many confusions. I have no one upon whom I can rely for support other than my Father in Heaven.

Take pity, have mercy upon me. Save me. Save my prayer from all sorts of disorder of the mind, from all sorts of extraneous thoughts, bad thoughts and confusions that exist in the world. Help me and let me merit to bind my thoughts to the words of prayer in a very strong, firm knot, until I merit to pray with devotion. May my prayers, entreaties and requests be pure and firm, refined and clean from all dross and waste. Spare me and have pity upon me; do it for Your sake, not for my sake. I have no hope other than my prayer and entreaties.

…Help me and save me from now on, from all sorts of evil thoughts and bad reflections, from confusions and disorder of the mind. May my thoughts always be pure and clean, holy and pure. And may I merit to purify and sanctify my thoughts to the utmost, especially at the time of prayer, such that no confusion or extraneous thoughts or any thought which is not to do with prayer, even if if it is a holy thought, come to my mind at all at the time of prayer. Rather, may I merit to be in great awe and fear throughout all the prayers when I pray. Let me not hear any person or anything in the world other than You alone. May I pray with great devotion in the utmost perfection. May I merit to connect my prayer to all the true tzaddikim in our generation and to all the true tzaddikim who rest in the earth. Let them receive my prayer, refine and purify it and save it from every foe, ambusher and accuser on the way. Let them raise it up as a sweet fragrance before Your Throne of Glory together with all the prayers of Your Nation, Israel. May it rise up to be a crown for Your head.

Take pity on me. Be gracious to me. Have mercy upon me and save me. Let me merit to a holy boldness so that I may always strengthen myself at the time of prayer and let me discard any shame so that I will not be ashamed before You. Then may  I be bold and ask of You all sorts of the greatest requests in the world that relate to truly serving You. Bring me closer to You in all sorts of ways; perform with me incredible wonders – raise me from the lowest of the low levels of spirituality to the most lofty, holy attributes. May I quickly merit to reach all the highest levels of holiness so that I merit to ascertain Your G-dliness in the most sublime manner, like the true prophets and great, awesome tzaddikim.

May I keep the path of our forefathers who trusted in You and did not feel ashamed of asking all the great things from You as is written: “Our fathers trusted in You; they trusted and You delivered them.” They shouted out to You and were saved; in You they trusted and were not ashamed. For You know that, according to Your immense greatness and lofty majesty and our great lowliness and worthlessness, it would not be possible to even start to stand before You and ask for anything, even the smallest thing in the world – for who am I that I should merit to pray before the Lord, my G-d and G-d of my Fathers.

You know Lord, You are very great and Your Name is exalted by every blessing and song of praise. How can we bold and insistent to ask such great things for You; especially a person such as myself, blemished, despised and rejectied of men as I am!! However, in Your bountiful mercy You taught us by Your true tzaddikim and informed us of Your good ways that You desire to perform loving-kindness and do much good. You grant us a holy boldness form Yourself and You want us to be bold and ask from You great and awesome things. You want us to plead and  beg of You a great deal, for days and years, until we merit to be victorious over You, so to speak; to have our requests answered mercifully by You, as it is written: “I am the Lord, your G-d, who brought you out of the land of Egypt: open your mouth wide and I will fill it”.

31.THERE  IS  A  WELL

a)  All the heavenly constellations are directed by charity and it is through charity that all the blessings are drawn into the world. However, only on Shabbat are the blessings perfect for Shabbat is an aspect of faith. The main importance of charity is that it expresses faith. Therefore, the main radiance of the light of charity like the sun and its perfection is only on Shabbat which represents faith, and faith is the source of all blessings.

b)  The perfection of all things is faith, for without faith all things are lacking. So also with the Torah, which is understanding; its perfection is only by faith for all the Torah stands on faith as the Sages said, "Chabakkuk came and established everything on faith" (Makot,24). So also, the perfection of the constellations which represent charity, is through faith, since the main thing is faith.

c)   By keeping Shabbat, which is an aspect of faith, charity is perfected and one merits to all the blessings. That is the reason that the Tanna began the Gemorra Shabbat with the mitzvah of charity (a poor man standing outside takes charity from the householder). This alludes to all of the above; the fact that the perfection of all things is charity and by keeping Shabbat one merits to faith. (This is what it says in the Shabbat song of L'cha Dodi, that Shabbat is the source of all blessings.)         

d)  The main deed of the charity is what the poor person does for the householder (See Midrash Ruth, Rashi there). This corresponds to the movement of the constellations, as the Sages said (Shabbat,151) , "because of this thing (i.e. charity) there is a wheel (system of constellations) that revolves in the world." There are two directions of movement: the main one is from west to east, which is the natural one. Then there is the movement which is by force, from east to west when the constellation of the day spins and returns from east to west, pulling with it all the constellations. The poor person represents the west, as it says, "From the west I will gather you" (Isaiah,43), for the poor man gathers charity. The householder who gives represents the east, as it says, "From the east I will bring your seed" (ibid). Seed alludes to charity as it says, "Sow your seeds of charity"(Hoshea,10).  The main movement is from west to east, from the poor person to the householder.   

e)   The main way to sustain and bring vitality to one's faith is only by guarding the brit. Therefore people travel to tzaddikim for the holy Shabbat for the main holiness of the true tzaddikim is through their perfect guarding of the brit in all aspects. For this reason we travel to tzaddikim for Shabbat to receive from them the holiness of Shabbat which is faith, which itself is the perfection of all things.

f)  All the constellations and the conducting of the world, meaning "the laws of Heaven and Earth"(Jer.30), are all dependent on the guarding of the brit. This includes all the blessings and bounty that come from them.

g)   All the suffering that a person has while on the road is all because of a blemish to the brit. For this reason, the Sages said that a man should have relations with his wife before he begins to travel (Yevamot,62). This is so that he won't be in an aspect of "All flesh corrupted his way" (Gen.6:12): that's to say, by guarding the brit he won't have any suffering on the roads.

h)  So also, a person has to give charity before he goes on the road like it says, "Righteousness will go before him, and walk in the way of his steps." (Psalms,85:14). By giving charity one lights the star (of the person on the road) for charity radiates in all the constellations. By this, one nullifies any delay on the road for the delay stems from the delay in the stars that don't shine perfectly. As a result, a person is saved from any delay or suffering on the road. (See Torah 264: Charity is also a rectification for the brit)

i)  There are two aspects of guarding the brit. One is the Upper Covenant which is the firmament which separates the upper and lower waters, an aspect of a free man. By this one merits to freedom and makes generations. The second type is guarding that which is permitted from that which is not permitted. Every person has to have these two aspects of the brit, meaning to be a tzaddik and a scholar. Someone who has the first type of guarding the brit is called a tzaddik. A scholar is he who learns the rules of what is permitted and what is prohibited and keeps the rules. When a person merits to guard the brit at both these levels he is similar to an angel of G-d and merits to perfect faith; by this, he attracts and draws down all the blessings and bounty. 

j)  Through guarding the brit, one reveals the attribute of loving-kindness 'in the mouth of the brit' (Zohar,3:142A) which is love and longing for the Holy One. Holy longing is a very precious thing indeed. Longing makes souls which are vowel points to the letters of the Torah, an aspect of 'points of silver'. That's to say, by the longing, vowel points, which are an aspect of souls, are made. This is what it says,   "My soul longs and faints" (Psalms,84:3) From the very longing and fainting for the Holy One my soul is made.

k)  The vowel points are the vitality and movement of the letters, therefore they are like a soul. Just like the vitality and every movement of a person come from his soul, and without it he would be a lifeless form, so also with the letters, they have no life or movement without the points for through this the letters move themselves, become joined and combined. These vowel points are made by the longing for G-d which is an aspect of souls and the mating and joining together of the vowels is an aspect of the joining of souls.Then, by the points, the letters themselves join and combine, like the joining of bodies. This is the secret of the confession (literally, 'falling on the face', said after the Amida in the morning prayer), the intention of which is to raise the soul, called the raising of 'feminine waters' and create a unification for the longing for G-d is itself an aspect of raising 'feminine waters' which makes the soul which rises and makes a unification and mating. The main making of the soul is by longing for G-d, each person according to his level, as he longs to reach a higher level. This is what creates the soul in potential.     

l)  By longing the uniting is made. By longing for something the soul is made. Then the object returns the longing to the person. This also makes soul and the two souls unite. Longing for the object is the feminine aspect and this makes a feminine soul and the object's longing for him is the masculine desire and makes a masculine soul (Zohar,Pt.1,85B). Afterwards they come to the aspect of pregnancy and birth as the Zohar explains. New souls are thus completed and go out to act in the world. The letters of the Torah activate everything; they are the vitality of each thing and direct the entire world. But they have no power to act other than through the vowel points which are the aspect of longing. If a person longs for evil he makes evil vowel points which join and combine with the letters and create evil results. But, on the other hand, if he longs to return to G-d in repentance, he makes good vowel points and this moves the letters and they join together so that they bring about good deeds in the world.

m)    The holy Shabbat is an aspect of faith and the holiness of the brit, through which a person merits to love and holy longing and good yearning and this makes holy souls. Therefore, at the beginning of Shabbat a Jew gets a holy longing when he reminds himself of the loss of his extra soul after Shabbat as the weekdays begin. Thus the Sages said, "When Shabbat comes, a person says, woe that my soul is getting lost" (Betza,16). That's to say, by longing for this soul, this itself creates the extra soul of Shabbat. For the main coming about of holy souls is through holy yearning, as mentioned.

n)  Each person, according to his yearnings, from which souls are made, makes vowel points for the letters of the Torah. At first they are a simple light, (as explained in Torah 36) for from the Mouth on High there comes out just a simple light. But in accordance with a person's longings, he creates a shape to the letters which were previously only a lifeless form. By the points from the yearning, vessels are made.  If a person has holy cravings and longings he shapes the letters of the Torah and explains them for the good; he makes vessels with which to receive good. But if he yearns for evil, then he creates vessels to receive evil, Heaven forbid. According to what he longs for, he shapes and accomplishes in the world, for the Torah contains good and bad, like the Sages said, " it contains the elixir of life and that of death"(Yoma,72) and this is what it says, "The righteous walk in them but the transgressors stumble in them" (Hoshea,14:10).

  

 o)  But, to bring the soul from potential to actuality one has to speak out the yearnings. By this one finishes the making of the soul and it goes from potential to actuality, like it says, "My soul went out when he spoke" (Song of Songs, 5:6). This is also like it says, "He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him and hear their cry and save them" (Psalms, 145:19). For through the desire, which is the yearning, the soul is created in potential and then his desire and will is created in, an aspect of "He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him". Then "their cry", when they speak out their longings, by this He "will hear their cry and save them" for speaking out completes the soul bringing it from potential to actuality and then the letters combine and create a vessel (See Torah 34 'for speech is the vessel to receive bounty') to receive good and the fulfillment of their desire in actuality. For according to the soul he makes  in potential or actuality so vowel points are made for the letters and patterned such that they make and actuate his request and desire.Similarly, the daily prayers are arranged like this, that one has to speak out with the lips holy yearning and then the soul is made in actuality. The essence of the soul is the power of speech, an aspect of "And Man became a speaking soul" (Gen.2) which Unkulus translates as "the talking spirit".                 

p)  This is the virtue of conversing with one's Maker, speaking out one's good yearnings and pining to get out of one's evil and to merit to real goodness. A person has to pray to G-d about this that He have mercy on him and fulfill his good desires. Speak out about all that you lack in the service of G-d that you want and long for it to be fulfilled by the Holy One. Through this he will merit to accomplish with his prayers what he wants, and bring good into the world and one draws good and blessings into all the worlds; it also arouses several Jewish souls to repent. For this reason a person has to train himself to converse with his Maker a great deal every day; this is a very precious thing and can cause to bring the entire world  back to the path of good.             

q)  When a person merits to guard the brit on these two levels, he merits to love of G-d and to holy longings. He gives shape to the letters of the Torah for the good which is an aspect of the elixir of life. Then the letters of the Torah themselves ask him to speak them out so they will be shaped for the good. As a result of this, all one's eating and meals will be an aspect of the "Show Bread" and "his table will affect atonement like the altar." Then all the stars and the constellations and all the non-Jews will exert themselves for his livelihood.

r)   The point in general is that yearnings and cravings for holiness are very precious for, through them, when spoken out, the soul comes about and is completed, as mentioned. Sometimes this holy soul which comes out is re-incarnated in a wicked person and this causes him thoughts of repentance such that he may return to the good.  The opposite is also true, bad yearnings can cause evil consequences, Heaven forbid. The soul created by bad longings can be re-incarnated into a tzaddik and cause him to sin, Heaven forbid.  That is what it says, "There is a vapour" (Eccl.8:14) meaning the vapour of the mouth from where souls come out. For this reason there are tzaddikim to whom deeds like sinners come. This is because they receive the re-incarnated souls of the wicked made from evil longings and this can lead the tzaddikim to thoughts of sinning such that they may eventually sin, Heaven forbid, or they may rectify that soul. So also with the wicked, the opposite, deeds like tzaddikim come to them. They can certainly get thoughts of repentance when they get a holy soul made from holy yearnings which may lead them to repent or to spoil that soul . This is why re-incarnation is called 'gilgul' (literally meaning a spinning wheel) for the souls that come from speaking out, spin around the world (going from the tzaddikim to the wicked and vice versa.)

 s)  A Jew reaches perfection when he is both a tzaddik and a Torah scholar, for if he isn't a scholar, the Sages said that "an ignoramus isn't pious." And just being a scholar is surely nothing, for a person can be a scholar but also completely wicked, Heaven forbid, for "if one doesn't merit, it becomes the elixir of death." Therefore, one has to be a scholar with regard to the Torah and righteous in good deeds (that's to say, a tzaddik, as explained in the Zohar, Pt.3:213). Then he will be like an angel of G-d and shape the letters of the Torah for the good.  Someone who makes the mistake of thinking that learning alone is everything, this is like Acher who "cut the branches" (separated the Torah from G-d), Heaven save us.

t)  Even a perfect tzaddik, who is a tzaddik and scholar, sometimes falls from his level, as is known, for it is impossible to always remain on one level. Then, if he wants to strengthen himself with the aspect of being a scholar, which remains even then, this is not good; rather, he has to strengthen himself with fear of G-d and his good points that still remain in him.

u) Because of these two aspects that are found in the rabbi and tzaddik: the aspect of being a scholar alludes to the aspect of 'angel' which is the angel called Mattat, a reflection of the Mishneh; and the aspect of tzaddik, who is similar to his Maker to be righteous in good deeds, an aspect of the 'Lord of Hosts'. Since the Rabbi contains both of these powers, he contains both the elixir of life and of death. Therefore, it is possible to come close to him  and find in him indications that he "cut the branches" or, the opposite, that he "entered and left the Orchard in peace". There are four types of people who approach the true tzaddikim, like the four who entered the Orchard (Chagiga,14).There are those who learn a straight path from the tzaddik and become pious such that , in the end, they become tzaddikim, an aspect of Rebbe Akiva, who entered and left in peace. Then there are those like Ben Azai who 'looked and was damaged', meaning that his heart became so enthused by the great light that the tzaddik shone into him that he couldn't control his enthusiasm and therefore went out of his mind. Then there are those who 'look and die' like Ben Zoma; he was enthused far beyond his level such that he died (not wanting to return to This World). They were both tzaddikim, and also about them it says, "tzaddikim walk in them, but…" However, there are those who come with crookedness and complaints in their heart; they can find in the tzaddik what they want, that's to say, the desire to deny all faith, become distant and fall away completely from the tzaddik, even opposing him and making fun of him. This is like Acher who "cut the branches". This is  an aspect of "the sinners stumble in them". These four levels are what is called 'tzaddik, sinner, servant of G-d, not a servant'. That is what the verse says, "See the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between he who serves G-d and he who does not serve." (Malachi,3,18). All these aspects are found in each individual who wants to enter the service of G-d and come close to the tzaddik and the Rabbi of the generation. This is because the tzaddik has to have these two powers that are in the Torah, the elixir of life and the opposite, Heaven forbid. This is in order to enable the one who approaches to receive as he wants, tzaddikim walk in them etc. as mentioned.

PRAYER 31

  Help me and merit me at all times to holy desire and to always long and yearn for You; let me yearn to serve You with fear and love. "My soul thirsts for G-d, for the living G-d; when shall I appear before G-d." But You know how far away we are from You and from everything in holiness, so we have no support other than to long, yearn and desire You while waiting for our salvation. In Your compassion You revealed to us through the true tzaddikim that desire and yearning themselves are of great value. Therefore I have come before You to ask that You merit me and accustom me to go all day with holy longing and yearning for You, with all my heart. Save me and guard me; rescue my soul from all sorts of bad longings and evil desires, all kinds of cravings for the vanities of the world. From now on, don't let any of these cravings and thoughts enter my heart.

   In Your bountiful mercy, help me to speak out my good desires with all my heart and soul. Give me the words to express myself before You so that I can pour out my soul honestly and purely. Let me speak with great intense longing for You so that I can make many holy souls by my yearning. By this, grant me the ability to make vowel points to the letters of the holy Torah such that they become vessels to receive and shape the bounty to the good. Merit us to the elixir of life! Please guard me against any bad soul being re-incarnated in me so that I won't come to sin or have evil thoughts, Heaven forbid. Rather, may many holy souls be created from my holy longing so that they arouse even the sinners to repent and bring the world back to the path of good. 

32.  LORD OPEN MY LIPS

a)  By the dancing at a wedding one sweetens the harsh judgements. The heart is an aspect of Binah (Understanding) as it says, "the heart understands" (Tikkun Zohar Hakodesh, Petach Eliyahu). Through joy of the heart one dances, as it says of Ya'acov, "Ya'acov raised his legs." (Gen.29). Rashi explains that his heart lifted his legs. The legs correspond to the attributes of Netzach and Hod. When you dance with your legs out of the happiness in the heart, you should have in mind to draw the light of the heart, the five letters 'aleph' in (the expansion of G-d's Name) Ehyeh, in Binah, into the bride, who is called 'na'ar' (numerically 320: n,50;a,70;r,200) before marriage, missing the letter 'hei' (Zohar,Pt.2:38), an aspect of  the 320 harsh judgements which is the numerical value of five times 'din' (64), 'harsh judgement'. By drawing down the light of the heart the bride becomes 'na'ara' with the final 'hei' which becomes five times the Name 'Adonai' (Lord) 65, an aspect of "Lord open my lips" (Psalms,51:17). For, by the lips, which are Netzach and Hod, an aspect of the legs, the bride is opened and sweetened, being called 'na'ara', such that she becomes ready for the uniting in marriage which is alluded to by "Lord".

PRAYER 32

Master of the World, Lord of happiness and joy, in whose dwelling place there is happiness. In Your bountiful mercy, You created joy and happiness, bridegroom  and bride, gladness and song, joy and gaiety. Please merit me to fulfill the mitzvah of escorting the bride to the bridal canopy with utmost perfection, with great holiness and purity. May I gladden the bridegroom and bride every moment, gladdening them with all my might and joy, multiplying the gaiety before them with all sorts of dancing. May I merit by these dances to sweeten all the harsh judgements, removing them from over the bride and from over all of the People of Israel. Grant me joy so that my heart will lift my legs. Let me dance a lot in front of the bride and bridegroom; let me prance and twirl before them with all my might. By these dances may I draw the five 'alephs' in Binah to the bride and to sweeten all the 320 harsh judgements.  

33. WHO IS THE MAN WHO DESIRES LIFE

a)  A person has to search for peace, as it says, "seek peace" (Psalms,34,15), so that there be peace between Jews. Each person has to have peace in his attributes so that he won't have differences in them or in his reaction to different occurrences. He should always find the Holy One whether in good events or bad, like it says, "In G-d I will praise His word; in the Lord I will praise His word."(Psalms, 56:10).

b)   Peace is achieved through Torah and through tzaddikim for both of them are called peace. By this, one can come to love G-d in every situation, whether good or bad, and to love one's fellow. Then there can be peace between all Jews so that they love each other. He will not panic or be confused by anything in the world, rather, he will know and believe that whatever happens to him each day, whether good things or suffering, troubles, worries and unpleasant events, Heaven forbid, are all for his eternal good. Specifically by all this he can come close to G-d if he truly wants. Even if he has suffering from his fellow, he should accept it and try to judge him on the side of merit, finding in him good points. Then he can turn it all into the good and say in his mind that his friend didn't mean it so badly as he first thought, and similar examples. Try to search for and ask for love and peace with all his friends and all Jews. Through this he will merit to love and peace in every place and situation so that he will have peace with everyone and everything.

c)  You must know that "All the earth is filled with the glory of G-d" and there is no place without Him- He fills all worlds and surrounds all worlds. Even when doing business with the non-Jews you can't use the excuse that it is impossible to serve G-d because of the grossness and materiality that falls upon you every time when you do business with them. In all material things and all the languages of the nations you can find godliness, for without godliness there is no existence to anything at all, like it says, "You give life to them all" (Nechemia,9,6). The only thing is that this life-force and godliness that exists in all things is in a very contracted form, being just enough to give essential life and no more. However much more the thing is on a lower level, the godliness there is more restricted and hidden with more layers of 'clothing'.

d)  So, you have to know that even if you are trapped deep in the dwelling of the husks and you are on the lowest spiritual level such that you think it is impossible to return again to G-d because you have become very distant indeed from Him, even if you have fallen into atheism, Heaven forbid, even so you should know that from your situation also you can find godliness for He gives life to everything, as it says, "And You give life to all things". From there you can attach yourself to the Holy One and return in complete repentance for He is not distant from you, rather, in your place there are many 'clothings'.

e)  The further a person goes from one level to another, and come closer to the Holy One, the more he can know Him with more understanding, for the higher the level he reaches, the fewer the veils and contractions become and he can come closer to the Holy One. Then he can love himself with the Hoy One with a greater love.

f)  There are good days and bad days. Days are called 'measures', as it says, "The measure of my days." (Psalms,39,5). The measures are the Torah for the entire Torah is full of measures of the Holy One, because it talks of love and fear and other attributes (in Hebrew 'attributes' and 'measures' are the same word). The worlds were created through the Torah, the letters of which give life to all things. It is just that the life force is very constricted, according to how low the level is. This means that the good days, the Torah and its letters, can be found even in the bad days which are the languages of the nations and their bad attributes. That is what it says, "On the day of good, be joyful; but on the day of adversity, look and consider." (Eccl.7:14). A person has to look very, very well then he will certainly find good days in the bad days by subduing his evil urge, that's to say the bad days, and overcoming it. Then he becomes like an angel of the Hosts of G-d (See Zohar, Pt.1:90A). Then he can collect letters of the Torah even from material things. Even when he talks to the non-Jews or sees their attributes he will know that there are letters of the Torah and holy life-force hidden and 'clothed' in them. The evil that dwells and veils the good, meaning the letters, will then fall and be nullified and the holy letters will stand out, be seen and shine clearly.         

g)   This is what it says, "we will do and we will listen" an aspect of "perform His bidding, listening to the voice of His word." (Psalms,103:20), meaning that first you make and build the letters of the Torah so they will stand out and join together (Yoma,71) and then one listens, one hears voices from above. That's to say, the letters of the Torah receive vitality and greater light than they had at first when they were 'clothed' in the languages of the nations and the bad days for then they received only a minimum of life force, enough to exist in that place (as brought in the Pri Etz Chaim in the kavanot of Purim, Ch.6).

h)   It is known that in the Torah, meaning the measures and days, G-d's love exists, as is written in the Zohar (Pt.1,46A) on the verse, "The Lord will command His steadfast loving- kindness in the daytime" (Psalms,42:9), G-d's kindness, meaning love, goes with all the days; the attributes are contractions to His godliness so that we can perceive Him, as it says in the Zohar (Pt.2,42B) "in order to know Him". The Holy One hid and 'clothed' His godliness in the measures of the Torah because of His love of the People of Israel. That is why there are 613 mitzvot, for G-d measured in His mind that by each mitzvah and contraction we would be able to gain a perception of Him and to serve Him. It turns out that in every measure and measure of the Torah's measures there is G-d's love for Israel, meaning that He loves Himself being with Israel. It turns out that when a person unveils the Torah from the clothing of husks through subduing his evil urge, he becomes close to peace, like it says, "All her paths are peace" (Proverbs,3:17) which refers to the Torah.

                                      

 i)   There are two aspects in the Torah, the revealed and the hidden, the latter referring to the Torah from Atik which is hidden and will only be revealed in the future to come. This corresponds to two types of love- one is the love in days which is in actuality; the other love is in potential which is the love that existed between Israel and their Father in Heaven before the world was created when they were still only in the mind of G-d and that was above time and measures, which is the inner essence of the Torah. In the future the Holy One will unveil this inner essence of the Torah from all the coverings which conceal His godliness, coverings of the inner, hidden Torah. Then this Torah from Atik will be revealed. As a result, peace will spread through the world, as it says, "They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord" (Isaiah, 11:9). Love within understanding will be revealed. But, nowadays, this light of the Torah has been hidden. This is as the Sages said, "G-d saw that the light was good" (Gen.1:4) – "it was good to hide it" (Chagiga, 12). There are also tzaddikim who are called good as it says, 'Say of the tzaddik that it will be good with him" (Isaiah, 3:10). They are also called 'light' – "Light is sown for the tzaddik" (Psalms, 97:11). They are also hidden, for the world is not yet worthy of using them. In the future, when this love in understanding is revealed, "One day will be known as the Lord's" (Zechariah, 14:7), for love is called 'day' as it says, "the Lord will command" (Psalms, 42:9) "neither day nor night" (Zechariah,14:6) for that love is above time and attributes. At that time the hidden tzadikim and the hidden Torah will be revealed and then great peace will be revealed in the world such that all the opposites will join together, like it says, "The wolf will dwell with the lamb…" (Isaiah, 11:6).

j)  Even the attributes themselves, each one is, relatively, an aspect of Understanding to the one below it. For example, the lowest level of the World of Yetzirah is considered  Understanding in respect to the World of Asiah below it. Similarly, there could be a person whose love of the Holy One in attributes and time is considered love in Understanding, which is above time, with regard to the person who is on a lower level than him.                                                                                                                    

k)  Every person is able to taste the light of the love in Understanding even now within time, each person according to his level. This is by attaching his heart to his understanding. For every Jew knows that G-d exists, so it is certainly fitting that he nullify all his cravings and bad attributes in the light of this understanding. However, the wicked are under the control of their hearts (Midrash Rabba, Noach, Ch.34) and all the attributes and cravings are in the heart. Therefore, each person has to see to it that he attaches his heart to his mind so that he can control his heart. Then he can subdue his heart's cravings to the mind's understanding, knowing of G-d in general that the glory of G-d fills all the earth, and by this break and nullify all the cravings. By knowing this and knowing the Torah all the traits in his heart become included in his mind's understanding and then they receive the light of the love in Understanding. As a result he can attain the hidden light in the Torah and the hidden tzaddikim, according to his level.       

l)   Through the mitzva of holding the Lulav (palm branch) and its other species one merits to reveal holy Understanding to the entire world, to make known that the earth is full of the glory of G-d; one reveals that G-d exists in every place, even in all the languages of the nations. One comes to recognize the Holy One and come close to Him even in the lowest of levels. One learns to attach the holy understanding to the heart so that the heart is under control and to attach himself to the Holy One with love. Then one comes to the light of love in Understanding which is the hidden light. Then the hidden tzaddikim and the hidden Torah will be revealed and great peace will spread throughout the entire world.

PRAYER 33

   May I merit to always cleave to You and to recognize Your great love, Your love for the People of Israel whom You chose from all the nations and raised above all the tongues. That great, true love You have for Your People is clothed in the commandments with which You sanctified us. It is love and compassion which is infinite. Because of Your truly great love for us, You contracted Your godliness, so to speak, and clothed the love in the holy Torah and commandments which You granted us in love. Every mitzva is a contraction and holy measure so that we can perceive You and come to serve You with love and fear.  So, have pity on me and let me perform each mitzvah with real love such that I can ascertain something of the hidden Torah which will be revealed in the future. In that Torah dwells the love that is between Israel and the Holy One from before the Creation, a love which is above attributes and above time, a love which is immense.  It is impossible to ascertain fully the light of this love other than by true tzaddikim who subdue and break all their bad attributes and cravings until their heart is in the control of their understanding. Our Father, our King, in Your great mercy, help me to come close to You and to the true tzaddikim so that this light of love will shine in me as well. To achieve this, please help me to break, remove and nullify all the cravings and bad attributes I have in my heart until in the end I can taste the light of this holy love in Understanding. By this, let me have some perception of the hidden light in the Torah and the hidden light in the tzaddikim.

34.  YOU SHALL BE FOR ME A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS

a)   The fact is that the tzaddik always has the ability to make things happen as he wills, as the Sages said, "a tzaddik rules" etc. 'who rules me, the tzaddik' (Moed Katan,16). The main rule he has is to shine into and arouse the hearts of Israel to serve G-d. Therefore, the main advice for us is to attach ourselves to the true tzaddikim and to talk with them about the service of G-d, for from them a person can receive the strength and radiance and arousal to come close to the Holy One such that one returns in true repentance to G-d.

b)   This is like it says, "Joseph was the ruler" (Gen.42:6). Joseph was the source of the generality of the souls of Israel. They are the branches from him and receive from him. He is an aspect of the vowel point called 'melaypum' ( a single dot in the middle of a 'vav') for the tzaddik guards the brit as is fitting and the brit is a vehicle for the Sephirah of Yisod (when referring to Yisod, G-d's Name, YHVH, is vowelised with a dot in the V). The word 'melaypum' literally means 'full' (melay) 'mouth' (pum). That alludes to the fact that the mouth of the tzaddik is full of godliness, full of reference to the Holy One. His words are certainly perfect and with fullness. For that reason he can attract bounty for Israel, as it says, " and He will bless you as He promised you." (Deut.1:11). That's to say, according to the words, so is the bounty. It is not enough just to think even though G-d knows our thoughts. We specifically have to pray clearly with our mouths for speech is the vessel of bounty. If one's words are perfect and full then one can receive in them plentiful bounty. Therefore, we have to pray for everything that we lack, whether spiritual or material. Specifically we have to open the mouth in order, through this, to draw bounty.  

c)  Every single Jew has this aspect of "a tzaddik rules", an aspect of a full mouth, as it says, "All Your People are tzaddikim" (Isaiah, 60:21). This is because every single Jew has a point of special value that is unique to him, like the Sages tell us of Abba Omna (Ta'anit, 21) about whom the Rabbis said that 'your deeds are not .like Abba Omna.' This point which is unique in a person and better than his friends has the power to influence, enlighten and arouse the heart of his fellow so his fellow has to accept this arousal and this aspect from him, like it says, "they receive one from another" (Isaiah, 6:3- See Aramaic translation there). Before the Giving of the Torah, rulership was in the hands of the Holy One, as it says, "I am the Lord your G-d who took you out of Egypt" (Psalms, 81:11). Then, everything was "I". But after the giving of the Torah it says, "Open your mouth and I will fill it." This is an aspect of 'a full mouth',  an aspect of "Joseph is the ruler", meaning that G-d gave the rulership over into the hands of Israel, to each individual according to his aspect.    

d)  The 'melaypum', which is a vav with a dot, alludes to the Sephirot of Chochma and Binah. The dot alludes to Chochma(Wisdom) which is just a point and the beginning of a spring of water. Binah is a stream which flows from the spring; it is like a vav (a straight line, like a stream). This aspect of 'melaypum' exists both generally and specifically. The tzaddik is the dot, for the tzaddikim are called the wise ones of the community; Israel are like the vav, for they are the supporters of the Torah, so they are called the "hooks of the pillars" (Ex.38), "hooks" being called "vavim".  In addition, this exists within each Jew. The dot alludes to the mouth, as it says, "My mouth spoke wisdom" (Psalms, 49:4); the vav alludes to what it says, "The meditation of my heart will be understanding" (ibid), for the heart alludes to Binah, as the Zohar says, "Binah is the heart." The heart also represents the Tablets (of the Torah) whose shape is a vav, for their length and breadth was six by six (vav having the numerical value of six) as the Gemorra says (Babba Batra,14). This is what it says, "Write on the tablet of your heart" (Proverbs, 3:13).                                                 

e)  When the heart is deep in foul loves this is an aspect of fallen and broken love, for the evil urge and the husks stem from the broken vessels, as the Arizal explains in Etz Hachaim (in the chapter on The Breaking of the Vessels). For the broken vessels of Chessed fell into Binah in the World of Beriyah, that's to say, the Binah of the heart. The Light of Chessed remains in the Yisod of Atzilut, which alludes to the tzaddik who is the foundation (yisod) of the world. This means that the evil types of love come from the breaking of the vessels of Chessed.  That is why Unkulus translates "disgrace" (Gen.34:14) as "Chessed", for the disgrace was from the evil love created by the breaking of the vessel of Chessed. This is like we see clearly, "Love covers all sins" (Proverbs, 10:12); even if someone sins willingly against his fellow, he doesn't insult him, for his love covers over his sins. But, when the covenant of love between them gets spoilt, that's to say, the vessel of Chessed gets broken, then he will disgrace him for from this break comes disgrace. This disgrace is an aspect of an "uncircumcised heart", like it says, "Insult has broken my heart" (Psalms, 69:21); this is like having 'broken tablets'. The rectification for this is to attach the heart, the vav, to the 'yud', the aspect of  tzaddik, for in Yisod of Atzilut, the aspect of "the tzaddik is the foundation of the world", the light of Chessed remains and there dwells holy love.  So one has to make the dot shine to the vav, the heart, then all the evil desires become nullified, for all sins are covered by love. Consequently, every individual has to speak a lot to his Maker in order to cause the dot, the aspect of "my mouth will speak wisdom", to shine to the vav, which is an aspect of "the meditation of my heart will be understanding". In this way he can attach his heart to the point that is relevant to his heart at that time and this breaks the disgrace that dwells in his heart and that breaks his heart.          

     

f)  Each person also has to speak to his friend about fear of Heaven, in order to receive inspiration in his heart from that good point which his friend has more than him; for that good point is like a tzaddik in relation to him and it shines into and enlightens his heart which is called 'vav'.

g)  All these good points are branches of the tzaddik who is an aspect of Moshe who is the general point of all the souls of Israel. Therefore, at first everyone has to receive from this tzaddik, for, above all, the man thing is to attach oneself to the tzaddikim and speak with them about fear of G-d; they will then enlighten and arouse your heart through their all-encompassing holy points. Afterwards you have to also speak to your friend about the fear of Heaven, as mentioned, so as to receive one from another. So too, each person should receive from within himself by speaking between himself and his Maker. By these three aspects (tzaddik, friend and self) one nullifies the disgrace, evil loves and uncircumcised heart. That is what it means," love covers over all sins", for where holy love dwells, all the evil cravings are cancelled. This holy love is called Cohen or priest. Thus, we find that the priesthood was first given to Avraham who is called "my loved one" (Nedarim,32). Love dwells where there is a covenant of peace; for this reason the People of Israel are called "a kingdom of priests". And when the priesthood was given over to Pinchas, he was told, "Behold I give him My covenant of peace" (Numbers, 25:12). For the priesthood is an aspect of love, like Avraham, who resides in the place of the covenant of peace, that's to say  'tzaddik foundation of the world', for the light of Chessed remains in the Yisod of Atzilut.                                                                                                                                  

h)  Sometimes one can receive the good point of one's friend by speaking to him about mundane things. Then one can receive the light and spiritual arousal to serve G-d from this point through the outer clothing of these words.

PRAYER 34

   Master of the World, help me to attach my heart to the words of my mouth so that my heart and mouth be as one, so that I speak with great sincerity. Let me always really and wholeheartedly tell You all that is in my heart. May I meditate a great deal and converse privately with my Maker until the holy point that is rooted within me, the tzaddik that rules, be revealed and shine. May this point shine by way of the words of my mouth and let me attach my heart to this holy point in a firm and strong bond until this point radiates from my mouth to my heart and the light of the holy love of G-d, which is rooted within me, becomes revealed.  By this, may the shame of my heart, the uncircumcised skin of the heart, and the breaking of the heart which are the evil cravings, bad traits and confusions of the mind that rest on my heart, be completely nullified and fall away from my heart, never to return.

   

    Rock of Israel, Holy One, Redeemer of Israel, please have mercy on us, for Your sake and in Your great compassion, merit us to come close to true tzaddikim who are the root of the generality of the souls of Israel. Grant us the merit to speak with them face to face and to hear holy words from their mouths. Let them speak to my heart saying things that will settle in my heart, things concerning the service of G-d and fear and love of G-d. Help me to attach my heart to their holy words and to their holy point. May it radiate from their mouths to my heart so that their good point rules over me.  By this, let all the disgrace in the heart and all the crookedness of the heart be nullified completely.  

35.  HAPPY ARE THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW TO BLOW THE SHOFAR

a)   Know that repentance means to return the thing to the place it was taken from, an aspect of 'zarka' (the cantellation sign ~, as explained in the Tikkunim, 21, 43). That's to say, return it to its source. The source of all things is Wisdom, as it says, "You created all things in wisdom" (Psalms, 104:24). Therefore, each person has to guard his wisdom and mind from exterior wisdoms called 'the daughter of Pharoah'. 'Daughter' alludes to a wisdom that is not really wisdom at all, as the Sages said (Menachot, 110). Pharoah has the meaning of nullification, as it says, "prevented the people" (Ex.5:4). Unkulus translates that as "nullified".  That's to say 'worthless' wisdoms are those outside the Torah. The main wisdom is to acquire perfection and that is only by godly wisdom. All the other wisdoms are just worthless; they are not wisdoms at all.

b)   Therefore, each person has to guard his mind and thoughts very much so that no extraneous thought, superficial wisdom, strange thought or, much more so, evil idea will enter his mind. For all the blemishes, sins and iniquities, Heaven forbid, stem only from these blemishes to the mind, as a result of not guarding the thoughts properly and letting them go out of the bounds of holiness. On the other hand, when a person is careful and guards his thought well, which is the wisdom in his mind, this is the main rectification and repentance for all the sins (Editor's footnote: As it says, (Isaiah,55:7) "Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord and He will have mercy on him") for he strengthens himself to overcome and drive away all these extraneous thoughts from his mind and intelligence. The mind is the neshama (holy soul) so when he sanctifies his mind, meaning his neshama, he raises and returns everything to the mind and this is the essence of repentance.                                                                                         

c)  Every Jew has 'a portion of G-d from on high' which is an aspect of holy wisdom. For this reason they are called "first", as it says, "Israel is holy to the Lord, the first-fruits…" (Jer.2:3). However, at birth, the wisdom is very limited in each person. Then, when he begins to use it to consider how to serve G-d, his mind begins to grow and develop, like it says, "And Sh'lomo's wisdom excelled." (Kings 1,5:10).  But, when a person lets extraneous thoughts, which are worthless wisdoms, enter his holy mind, then the holiness of his mind contracts according to the space that the extraneous thoughts take. Around such a thought, all the bad, lowly traits and cravings collect and become joined.

d)  So, the main thing is to guard one's thoughts and mind from these extraneous thoughts and wisdoms from which the entire evil urge is built, Heaven forbid. The evil urge is an aspect of the Primeval Serpent which attaches and wraps itself around the realm of holiness. This is why it is called a large city ('city', in Hebrew 'krach', contains the letters as 'wrap around'- 'korech') for it always tries to attach itself, especially, to the greatest rabbis of the generation, more than other people, as the Rabbis taught (Succah,52) on the verse, "though he has done great things" (Yoel,2:20). This is because the Torah scholars have the greatest understanding; the evil urge wants to cause them to sin, Heaven preserve us. Therefore, the main thing is to guard against bad thoughts.                                                  

e)   When a person preserves his mind from these extraneous thoughts, this is not enough, he has to rejuvenate his mind as all times for, by this, he renews his soul, for, as we saw, the mind is the soul, as it says, "The soul of the Almighty gives them understanding." (Job, 32:8). The Sages taught (B'rachot, 10) that the soul nourishes and gives vitality to the body and the soul itself is the intelligence, as it says, "Wisdom gives life…" (Eccl. 7:12)

                                                                       

f)  Renewal of the mind, meaning renewal of the soul, is by sleep, like it says in the Zohar (Pt.1,pg.19; Pt.2,pg.213B) on the verse, "They are new each morning" (Lam.3:23) – 'the soul is new every day' etc. When the mind becomes tired, sleep refreshens it, as we see clearly. During sleep, the mind, meaning the soul, enters the realm of faith and that is what the verse says, "They are new each morning; great is your faithfulness"(ibid). That's to say, by sleep, our faith grows bigger. This is the meaning of the blessing we say every morning, "Who gives strength to the tired". First we were tired but now we have gained strength.                                                                           

g)  There are several aspects of sleep. There is physical sleep which gives a rest to the brain; there is also an aspect of sleep, relative to cleaving to G-d, through learning when one learns the simple interpretations of the Torah (Zohar,Pt.3,244B) as the Sages said of the verse, "He has set me in the dark places." (Lam.3:6) – ' this is the Talmud Babli' (Sanhedrin,24). This is an aspect of faith. A person who is always involved in cleaving to G-d tires his mind because of the immense effort of cleaving, so then he should learn simple Torah interpretations.       

h)  Through faith one receives brains, meaning the soul, from the Light of the Face, like it says, "The light of the king's countenance" (Proverbs, 16:15). There are several aspects of the Light of the Countenance. Some people receive intellect from the face of the Torah, for there are seventy faces to the Torah. Others receive from the light of the face of tzaddikim, that the tzaddik shows them affection, which leads them to receive a new intellect and a new soul from the holy face of the tzaddik. For the essence of intellect comes from the Light of the Countenance, as it says, "A man's wisdom makes his face shine" (Eccl.8:1).

                                         

 i )  There is a further aspect of sleep which is through doing business with faith. When dealing with buying and selling with faith, then the brain, his soul, enters the realm of faith and is renewed there. His brain is revitalized from its tiredness and attracts a new intellect from the Light of the Countenance. The main thing then is to guard one's faith very well. Then, when the brain gets tired, he can renew it through faith by one of these aspects of sleep; it could be simple physical sleep, for then the brain renews itself as is understood. But the main thing is faith; before going to sleep one has to attach himself to faith which is why we say 'Shma on the bed' before going to sleep. Therefore one has to say it with concentration in order to connect his soul to faith and enable it to enter the realm of faith during sleep. Then his soul is renewed as it says, "They are new each morning, great is your faithfulness." As a result he can merit through his sleep to receive a new intellect and soul from the Light of the Countenance. So also, someone whose mind tired through his efforts to cleave to G-d, has to engage in learning simple things in the Torah and also has to enter the realm of faith. That's to say, because his mind begins to get confused such that he can't continue to cleave to G-d with his mind and understanding, he has to put aside his mind and perception completely and to connect himself to faith with simplicity while learning simple things with simplicity and perfect faith. The truth is that even when the mind cleaves to G-d at whichever level he is at, then also the main existence of the mind depends on faith, for a person shouldn't rely on the mind alone. However, when the mind is put aside, one has to rely on faith alone, by one of these aspects of sleep.  So when sometimes business is an aspect of sleep to renew the brain, there also the main thing is faith. For when he conducts his business with faith, his soul, which is his mind, enters the realm of faith and is renewed there.                                                                                                                          

j)   It is impossible to perform business with faith other than by knowing well all the laws of buying and selling so that he won't stumble in any of the laws of business. That means that when he deals with buying and selling he is involved in the laws of business.          

k)  When doing business faithfully one has to guard one's faith very much so that the forces of evil don't overcome him and cause him to blemish his faith, Heaven forbid. Therefore one has to strengthen oneself very much when doing business and behave like Rav Saffra and fulfill the verse which says, "Speak the truth in your heart" (Psalms,15:2) – that even if you have decided in your heart, don't change your word (Makkot,24). Through this, one draws 'Chashmal' (which has the numerical value of 'malbush', meaning 'clothing' and is the holy light which acts as a barrier between good and evil, as seen in the Chariot of Ezekiel). This is a 'clothing' from the world of Binah, for Binah is the heart, and is called Mother (Proverbs,2,3). Then it is like a mother who covers and protects her young. The heart creates Chashmal, a clothing and protection around faith so that the external forces of evil won't be able to draw power from it. By this, a person can guard his mind and soul and faith and then be able to renew his mind and soul within the faith of his business affairs.

                

l)  When a person performs his business with faith it is like bringing a Tamid sacrifice and an incense offering (Ketoret). This is because his mind is an aspect of  Chochma, Binah and Da'at and when he connects his mind to faith and the simple Torah, which is an aspect of Yetzirah, as a result, the faith becomes stronger and raises the holy sparks from out of the husks; this is the secret of the eleven spices of the Ketoret. By this, all the husks and nations and countries around the holy faith, called Jerusalem, "the faithful city"(Isaiah,1:21), fall away, and this is an aspect of cutting off the seed of Amalek which is one of the three mitzvot that Israel were commanded upon entry into the Land of Israel (Sanhedrin,20). That's to say, by raising the sparks, one subdues Amalek. Through this, when one rises, the other falls; this is the mitzvah of appointing a king, which alludes to faith and Kingdom. Through this one merits to the mitzvah of building the Holy Temple and Jerusalem, that's to say, faith. As a result, one's brain is renewed and elevated, which is an aspect of building the Temple. This is what the Sages said, "Someone who has understanding it is like the Temple was built in his days"(B'rachot, 33). This is an aspect of the Light of the Countenance, a renewal of the mind and of the soul.                                     

m)  Chashmal is an aspect of the straps of the tefillin which envelope Kingdom, that's to say, faith. 'Strap' has the numerical value of 370. This alludes to the fact that through this Chashmal, which is "speaking the truth in your heart", one guards the faith. The soul, that's to say the brains within it, receives from the Light of the Countenance which is formed of the 370 lights of the Sublime Face drawn from the rectification of truth. Therefore, the straps of tefillin guard a person's faith.                                         

n)  Even if a person is not a Torah scholar and doesn't receive by himself new brains by conducting his business with faith, since he doesn't learn Torah which is the essence of the brain and intelligence, even so, he also brings about a big rectification by his buying and selling with faith, for, by this, he does a favour to his fellow Jew who is from the same source; he causes his fellow's brains to be renewed through his business with faith. His fellow will have new brains in order to learn and cleave to the Creator.   

o)  This is an aspect of the blowing of the shofar on Rosh Hashana. Rosh Hashana is an aspect of sleep, as is known, an aspect of business with faith. The blowing of the shofar comes to awaken those sleeping which is a revitalizing of the brain, meaning the intellect and the soul of each person by receiving from the Light of the Countenance. This is why the face of the shofar-blower turns red because he arouses the lights from the Sublime Face. Through this, each person, according to his level, merits to receive new intellect and a new soul from the Light of the Countenance.

  

PRAYER 35

  Please help me to sanctify my mind at all times, to guard it from extraneous thoughts and evil reflections. Let me keep far away from any alien ideologies and worthless wisdoms. I know that however much I let them enter my mind, its holiness becomes diminished and around this all the bad traits and cravings build themselves. I can't describe how much I have blemished until now, so, in Your great mercy, guard me and sanctify me such that I can drive away all these evil thoughts that I became used to.

    Drive out all the confusions from my mind such that I merit by a little sleep to give sufficient rest to my brain. Let my mind and soul be renewed and revitalized after its tiredness. Let me sleep with great holiness and purity. Have mercy on me and command Your angels to let my soul enter the realm of faith when I sleep. Then renew my soul and mind within belief. Fulfill in us the verse which says, "They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." May I always merit to receive a new soul from the Light of the Countenance through holy and pure sleep. To achieve this, help me to recite Shma before sleep with great and awesome holiness and self-sacrifice.

     In Your bountiful mercy, help us so that we merit to conduct our business affairs with true faith. Save us from all kinds of dishonesty. Help us so that all our intentions when doing business will be to make money in order to give charity to honest Jews especially those who learn Torah. In every single word we say and every single step we take during business, and every movement, let us have in mind that we want to do Your will and give charity from our profits to really deserving poor people. For this reason, grant us a good income.

     Have mercy upon me and all Israel and let us merit to conduct our business with great faith. Let us never break our word or change it even for the sake of a big profit. Like Rav Saffra, let us fulfill the verse which says, "He speaks the truth in his heart". May we keep to the price we decided on in our hearts whether in selling or buying something. During the trading let our thoughts always be connected to Torah, especially the Torah laws regarding business.  As a result, in Your bountiful mercy, grant us the protection of the light of Binah, of Chashmal so that no outside, evil forces will be able to damage my faith. Let us receive a new intellect and a new soul from the Light of the Face. Enable all Jews to be connected together so that even the business affairs of a simple non-learned Jew conducted with faith will do a favour to the true Torah scholars by enabling their minds to be revitalized from the Light of the Countenance.

    

  

36. MY ENEMIES COME UPON ME TO EAT MY FLESH

a)  Every Jewish soul, before it receives a revelation in Torah or the service of G-d, is first tested and purified in the exile of the seventy nations, that's to say, with their physical cravings. For every single nation from the seventy has a unique bad trait which other nations don't have; because of these bad traits they are far away from the seventy faces of the Torah. The husk is prior to the fruit so someone who wants to eat the fruit has to first break the husk. Therefore, before acquiring a revelation of understanding, which is a revelation of Torah that is the main true understanding and wisdom, the soul must pass through exile, meaning it has to go into the traits and cravings of the seventy nations in order to first break them and afterwards to attain a revelation in Torah and the service of G-d.  When the soul comes into this exile it has to shout out and cry out with many voices to the Holy One for these voices are included in the seventy voices. This is very much like the woman giving birth who shouts out because of the bitterness of the pain of child-birth; she shouts seventy voices which correspond to the seventy words in Psalm 20: "Hear me in the day of trouble" (See Zohar,Pt.3, 249). Without this it is impossible for her to give birth. Now the revelation of Torah and the service of G-d is like a birth; one merits to it by the seventy voices that one shouts until G-d has mercy and merits a person to overcome and break all the cravings.

b)  Know, that the main trial and process of purification in which a Jew is tested is only the craving for sex, for that includes all the bad traits and cravings of all the seventy nations and their languages. Whoever breaks this craving can easily break all the others. Therefore, when a person comes to the test of this exile, each person according to his aspect, then he has to raise his voice and cry out seventy voices to the Holy One, and not less than them. He has to shout out a lot until G-d has mercy on him and he merits to overcome and break this craving together with all the other cravings. This is the general rectification which includes all others.

c)  Each person, according to his general rectification and his distance from the craving for sex, is close to a revelation of Torah, and so too the opposite, Heaven forbid.  When he stands up to the trial and breaks the husk which is prior to the fruit, since the main thing is to break this craving, then he will merit to give birth to new brains. As a result, the secrets of the Torah will be opened to him and they will reveal to him the secrets. So, each Jew, to the degree that he stands up to this trial and breaks this craving, merits to a correspondingly great revelation in Torah and the service of G-d. According to his rectification, so he merits to the seventy faces of the Torah.

d)  The rectification for thoughts of illicit sex that come to a person, is to recite the Shma until "Echad"( One), and "Blessed be the name of the glory of His Kingdom, forever and ever." For the craving for sex comes from filth in the blood, that's to say, from the spleen, which represents Lilit, who is the disgraceful maidservant, the mother of the Erev Rav (the mixed multitudes), who symbolise the Kingdom of Evil. The opposite of this is the Kingdom of Heaven, an aspect of the mistress, the woman who is G-d fearing; she is an aspect of the Sea of Sh'lomo that stands on the twelve cattle which are the Twelve Tribes (Zohar,Pt.1,pg.241). By accepting the yoke of Heaven while reciting the twelve words of the two first verses of Shma which correspond to the Twelve Tribes, for both in the first two verses of the Shma and the names of the Tribes there are forty nine letters, a Jew includes his soul in the Twelve Tribes and this separates his soul from those of the Erev Rav which come from the harlot, who is the disgraceful maidservant, as mentioned, from whom this craving stems and which includes all the evil traits of all the nations and the seventy languages. For this reason we close our eyes when accepting upon ourselves the yoke of Heaven in Shma thus showing that we are an aspect of "the beautiful girl who has no eyes" (Zohar,Pt.2, pg.95) meaning that she hasn't any aspect of that craving which includes all the evil traits of the seventy languages.

e)   All the time that a person only has a bad thought occasionally, it is enough to recite the two verses of Shma. However, if he is used to such thoughts about this general craving, Heaven forbid, and can't separate himself from it, then he must recite Shma with tears as well, for tears are an excretion from the bile (the source of melancholy), and the bile is the spleen, which is an aspect of the Kingdom of Evil, a woman of evil. When a person sheds tears all the excretions, that's to say, all the cravings that stem from impurities in the blood   from the spleen, are expelled and pushed away; then his soul becomes included in the Kingdom of Heaven. So, he has to arouse himself to cry and shed tears when saying the two verses of Shma.               

f)  When a true tzaddik reveals something in the Torah, he draws down new souls; these new souls come to each person who hears his Torah, to those who are close to him and who attach themselves to his Torah, each one according to his level and his understanding.

g)  This is a fundamental rule that it is impossible for anyone to ascertain or grasp the words of the tzaddik if he hasn't already rectified the covenant properly. On the other hand, by blemishing the brit one's brain and understanding are damaged such that he can't grasp or understand at all the words of the tzaddik. He can stumble in them if he follows the crookedness of his heart and the foolish doubts that occur to him in his mind about the tzaddik. About such a person it says, "The ways of the Lord are straight, tzaddikim walk in them but the transgressors stumble in them" (Hoshea,14;10).  The Torah of the tzaddik is formed according to the grasp of each person, according to the vessel he has, which is his brain. This means that when a person has rectified the holy brit as is fitting (i.e. he is free of the craving for sex),  his brain is perfected, as the Zohar says (Pt.2,110) –' the Yisod (brit) extends as far as Abba and Ema' (literally, Father and Mother, meaning Chochma and Binah, which refer to the first two letters-yud,heh- of G-d's Name) which allude to the brains. Then a person can understand the words of the tzaddik and his soul is renewed from the revelation of the Torah. However, to another person, the opposite can happen, Heaven forbid, This is what it says, "Transgressors stumble in them". For, according to the rectification of each person, so is his grasp and understanding.

h)  This is a major rule, for "from the mouth of the Most High do not both good and bad come?" (Lam.3:8) but rather a simple light. But according to the aspect of the vessel that receives the light, that is how the light within it takes shape. If the person is perfect, he will receive full lights, but, if the opposite, Heaven forbid, he will receive lights that are lacking, as it says, "The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked" (Proverbs,3,33). Because of this, Bilam advised Balak to trap Israel through the craving for sex in order to spoil their vessels; for the craving for sex damages the brain such that a person can literally become mad, Heaven save us. Therefore expert doctors say that castration is a cure for madness. That is what it says, that Yisod extends as far as Abba and Ema, an aspect of "My Name-Yud Heh-(Chochma and Binah), testifies to their purity".

PRAYER 36

  Master of the World, Master of the World, rescue my soul from the bitter exile among the seventy nations, from all their evil intentions and cravings, especially this craving for sex. Your intention was for the good, to test us and purify our souls in this exile, for it is impossible to acquire any Torah revelation other than by standing up to this test and breaking this desire. But I have come into the depths of exile; not only didn't I rectify as I should have, I have blemished a great deal.

     Have mercy on us and in Your bountiful compassion give us strength, in the merit of Moshe, to break, uproot, destroy and nullify from the world the husk of Bilam who represents the husk of the craving for sex. Draw upon us at all times the holiness of Moshe and the true tzaddikim and let us escape very soon from the exile of the bad traits and cravings of the seventy nations. May I merit to be included in the seventy faces of the Torah and in the Twelve Tribes of Israel through reciting Shma with great concentration and great self-sacrifice. As a result, let me always discover new and true interpretations of the Torah and gain insight into new ways to serve You. Awaken my heart while accepting the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven until I merit to shed tears in the first two verses of Shma. By this let me subdue the Kingdom of Evil and all cravings for sex.

      Drive out all the spirit of folly and madness which has become attached to us and, in Your great mercy, grant us a perfect perception of the Torah and the words of the tzaddikim. Please G-d, take pity and have mercy on me; fulfill all my wishes with mercy. Help me to achieve very soon all that I have requested from You.O.lHolH

37. SEEK THE LORD AND HIS STRENGTH

a)   The main reason for the Creation was in order to know G-d (Zohar,Pt.2,42) as it says, "I created it for My glory…" (Isaiah, 43:7).

b)   The body, in relation to the soul, is considered material, an animal, foolishness and darkness; an aspect of death and forgetfulness. It is like extraneous wisdom in comparison to the wisdom of the Torah which is the level of 'Man', as it says, "This is the Torah, a Man" (Num.19:14). Torah is an aspect of form, light, wisdom, memory and life. Every person has to subdue the materiality of his body, the aspects of death and foolishness of the body, which are the cravings; that's to say he must separate himself from all the cravings.

c)  This is achieved by fasting which weakens the four basic elements of the body from which all the cravings stem. The materiality, foolishness, forgetfulness and darkness are subdued and nullified, while the intellect, form, and memory are strengthened and raised. This nullifies the harsh judgements and darkness and draws loving-kindness into the world. The main rectification of the fast day is by giving charity. It also subdues the extraneous wisdoms in relation to the Torah wisdom. One also merits to a good income.

d)  There are two types of charity, charity in the world at large and charity in the Land of Israel. Charity that is given to the Land of Israel is greater and of more value than that of the rest of the world. There are also two types of Torah. There is no comparison between Torah that stems from the breath of a mouth of a sinner to that which comes from the breath of a mouth that has not sinned (Shabbat,119). For the harsh judgement is not sweetened, nor does the world continue to exist, other than on the breath of the children who have no sin. By them, the Patriarchs are revealed and they protect the world. By giving charity to the Land of Israel, you include yourself in the air of Israel, which is an aspect of holy breath without sin. This is the main way to nullify harsh judgements and darkness, forgetfulness and foolishness from the world. In turn, this leads to the subduing of extraneous wisdoms so that one merits to the wisdom of the holy Torah, to memory and light.

e)   Therefore, every person has to ask and search a great deal for a pious, honest and G-d fearing Torah teacher and to ask a lot for this from the Holy One. This is crucial so the teacher won't spoil the holy breath of the children who learn Torah, upon whom the world rests. (Because of our sins, there are now schools that teach young Jewish children secular wisdoms which are foolishness and darkness etc. including foreign languages (as brought in the Lekutei Halachot, Pesach,7) and they cause impurity to the holy breath of the children, as we can see later on when they become atheists and non-believers. Happy is he who distances himself and his children from them. Our duty is not to send our sons to such places; it is forbidden to have any connection to them at all.)

f)  One has to be careful to honour an elderly Torah scholar who, through no fault of his own, has forgotten his learning (Sanhedrin, 96). By the honour that we give him, we cancel his forgetfulness and his soul is revealed, which means his memory of Torah. Then the harsh judgements and darkness are nullified and we draw into the world, light, loving kindness, life and the wisdom of the Torah. This is because the root of Torah is the honour of the Holy One, as it says, "I created it for My glory…" (Isaiah, 43:7). About this, the Sages taught us, "There is no honour other than Torah"(P.Avot, Ch.6).

                                                                                      

g)  The main reason for the lack of income in recent generations is only that the ritual- slaughterers are not worthy. A ritual-slaughterer who is pious actually feeds and provides income for all Jews; he raises the soul that is re-incarnated in the animal to the level of 'speaker' (i.e. Man).This he achieves by the blessing that he recites over the slaughtering when said with great concentration. The slaughterer has to have in mind to raise the soul that is in the animal's blood. By this, the soul rises to the Shechinah, then the Shechinah unites (with the Holy One) and this brings an income to Jews. This is why the knife of the slaughterer is called 'ma'akhelet' which literally means 'feeder' (see Gen.22:6) because the worthy slaughterer 'feeds' all Israel. On the other hand, when the slaughterer is not worthy and even has undesirable thoughts when slaughtering, and doesn't focus his mind when making the blessing, he stands as a killer of souls and there is great anguish to the animal soul which cries out bitterly. Then his knife is a "sword of the wilderness" rather than a "sword of G-d"(Isaiah,34:6), a sword of the Shechinah and of speech, because it doesn't raise the re-incarnated soul, but, rather, pushes it down from the aspect of 'animal' and it doesn't find rest. Woe to such a slaughterer; woe to the soul who killed a soul and passed it over to its enemies; like this the Shechinah lacks the power to provide income. Through this, "We get our bread with the peril of our souls, because of the sword of the wilderness"(Lam. 5:9). With a great effort and bother we manage to get a little income because of his sword of the wilderness (which gave the soul in the animal over to the husks whose domain is in the desert, as is known.)      

h)  As a result of these slaughterers, the soul becomes subdued to the body and the material; then the bodily cravings become stronger. However, through the pious slaughterers, the soul is raised and the body is subdued, which is an aspect of animal and foolishness; an aspect of extraneous wisdoms. Thus, the soul and the form (spirituality) are elevated; they represent the wisdom of the Torah, and, by this, plentiful income is drawn into the world. This is what it says, "He has given food to those who fear Him" (Psalms, 111:5) and "Feed me my portion" (Proverbs, 30:8). In both verses food is referred to as 'teref' which alludes to 'trefa' meaning ritually unfit meat. This teaches that when Israel are careful to avoid ritually unfit meat, they merit to an income.

i)  This is what it means, "be careful of the sons of ignorant people (to honour them) for from them Torah comes (Sanhedrin, 96). For it is known that precious souls are trapped in the husk of Nogah. The husk wants them to sink there so it puts the seed of such a soul into the sperm of an ignorant person; then this soul will become dirtied. It turns out that the sons of the ignorant are often precious souls, but they are like birds that are trapped in a net. How do we know of their beauty, only by their Torah, when we see that they are Torah scholars. By this, we know that they are precious souls. Therefore, we have to be careful to honour them because by this we reveal the Torah that is hidden within them. For the root of everything is the honour of the Holy One, as it says, "I created it for My glory" (Isaiah, 47). And the soul, which is the Torah, yearns to be included in its root, which is honour. Through this, Torah comes from them, the soul is raised together with the form and loving-kindness, etc. Then the cravings of the body and its materiality will be pushed off and all the harsh judgements nullified. Amen. So may it be.

   

PRAYER 37

              Please Lord, Merciful One, strengthen and encourage my soul in such a way that my good and holy soul will overcome the body, its cravings and bad traits, until  I rid my soul of all sorts of cravings that come from the materiality of the body. Let me purify and sanctify my soul so that I can extract my soul from all the husks.

        In Your great compassion, raise me from the aspect of animal to that of human, from body to soul, from matter to form, from darkness to light and from foolishness to wisdom. Bestow upon me the power of memory so that I may always remember the words of Your Torah.  Let me not forget anything that I learnt from holy books or from true tzaddikim.  Grant me merit to forget and remove from my mind all sorts of extraneous thoughts and secular wisdoms, evil thoughts and crookedness of the heart. Then may I always remember You and Your service, with thoughts of love and fear, wherever I am and in whatever situation. Let me not forget even one word of Torah or prayer.

  May we always merit to eat with holiness and purity, particularly when we eat something from the animal world. Help us sanctify ourselves as much as we can when eating, such that we merit to raise the soul that is clothed in the animal we are eating. Let us raise the level of the animal soul to that of a human by the blessing we recite before and after eating. Merit us to recite all the blessings with great devotion and concentration, for Your Name's sake and, by this, to elevate the re-incarnated soul in the meat to the Shechinah such that the Holy One and the Shechinah unite and, through this, to draw upon ourselves a great bounty, blessings, mercy, life and peace.

38.  PHARAOH'S  CHARIOTS

a)  A person should constantly examine himself to see if he is attached to G-d. The tefillin are the sign of attachment. (See Ch.Ag. Meharsha,B'rachot,6. "The Holy One wears tefillin.")

b)  It is impossible to reach this level of tefillin other than by sanctifying one's speech and rectifying it, for it is an aspect of ruling with the mouth, an aspect of 'sea' and of G-d's Name Adonoy, like it says, "Adonoy, open my mouth" (Psalms,51:17). When a person blemishes his speech, which is the spirit of the mouth of the Holy One, then, through this blemish, the spirit of his mouth becomes a raging storm wind. For there are 27 letters in the Hebrew alphabet and each one includes ten, altogether, 270, which is the numerical value of 'ra', evil. Thus, Adonoy, the power of speech, becomes 'Adonoy, ra' (65 and 270), which together have the numerical value of 'sa'ara' (s,60;a,70;r,200;final a,5), meaning storm. This storm wind is the Great Accuser, from whom stem all the accusations and the trials, like it says in the Zohar (Pt.1,119B) about the verse, "After these words", and like it says, "He causes a storm in the body of a person" (Tikkunei Zohar,Tikkun,18). All the accusations and evil spoken against a person stem from this storm wind which is an aspect of "the end of all flesh" (Gen.6,13), for it aims to make an end of and a finish to all flesh.

c)  People who judge others harshly and who are always searching for flaws in others, they are from the Other Side, which is an aspect of "the end of all flesh", who always searches to make an end and to destroy people, Heaven forbid, to arouse harsh judgement, and to slander and accuse. The essence of their strength comes from blemishing the power of speech. Therefore, in order to subdue and nullify this, we have to rectify our speech.

                                                                                      

d)  Every person must see to it that he subdues this aspect of "the end of all flesh", bringing it under the control of holy speech. That's to say, he has to take from it all the speech that fell into the realm of evil by blemishing the faculty of speech and elevate speech to its root and rectify it; then he merits to reach the aspect of tefillin which reflects cleaving to G-d.

e)  One must elevate speech to its root which is the arm, which includes five fingers on the left hand; they correspond to the Five Strengths, which are the Five Openings of the mouth that create speech, like it says, "tell of Your acts of strength" (Psalms,145:17). The beginning of the elevation of speech is from its beginning, from the best of the truth in the speech, which is called its beginning. There are several types of truth, as the Sages said, "Truth has become flocks and flocks…" (Sanhedrin, 96). It also says, "The beginning of Your words is truth" (Psalms, 119:160). That's to say, you should speak to the Holy One and express yourself very sincerely with strength and might. For, when the storm wind becomes overwhelming, it is impossible to speak clearly, for the storm wind confuses a person. When this happens, one has to change the way he speaks and when he rectifies this he won't be confused. 

f)  A person can rectify speech by learning Torah in poverty, hardship and all sorts of darkness and suffering that occur to him, Heaven forbid. When a person strengthens himself then to learn Torah, he draws upon himself a thread of loving-kindness, as the Sages taught us (Chagiga,12) about someone who engages in learning Torah at night, for night is the time when "the end of all flesh" has control. Through this, all the accusing forces that control speech are driven away together with all that person's opponents and all the forces of impurity. Thus, speech is rectified and elevated to its source. Then his power of speech comes out with song, praise and thanksgiving to the Holy One that he has merited to pray and give thanksgiving and praise to G-d and to express himself well before Him, with fervour in the heart.

g)  As a result, he will merit to converse with his Maker with mighty enthusiasm, for every person has to train himself to converse with the Holy One with tremendous sincerity. He has to express himself such that he arouses his heart to really serve G-d and speak with G-d with heat in the heart and sincerity, words to arouse himself to repentance until he sees his own worthlessness and the greatness of the Creator; until he really feels great shame before G-d. Previously he had thrown all his sins over his shoulder without thinking about them, but now, when he knows his sins, he feels great shame about the awesomeness of his sins against the Master, King and Source of all the worlds!  At first the shame isn't yet visible on his face because the sins stupefy the intellect and the mind by the spirit of foolishness that enters him. Therefore, before meriting to repent completely, a person hasn't enough understanding to feel proper shame in relation to the awesomeness of his sins and the greatness of G-d against whom he sinned.  But afterwards, when he repents, and removes all the foolishness this adds intelligence; then he feels the shame much more until the shame is apparent on his face. This shame is an aspect of the light of the tefillin which reflects his attachment to the Creator. This is what it says, "Moshe's face shone". By this shame, all a person's sins are forgiven and he comes to cleave to the Tree of Life.                                                                                                                              

h)  Through this we can understand if a person has fear of G-d, that's to say, shame, as Chazal say in Nedarim (20A). After rectifying the sin, when we look at his face, fear and shame falls upon us. That means we draw upon ourselves understanding of the greatness of the Holy One. This is what the verse says, "Then you will understand the fear of G-d" (Proverbs, 2:5).  You will be able to understand if he has fear of G-d. "And find the knowledge of G-d." That's to say, that when you will also find within yourself knowledge of the greatness of the Holy One, which is shame and fear, this is an aspect of "And all the nations of the earth shall see that  you are called by the Name of the Lord" (Deut.28:10), 'these are tefillin' (B'rachot,6). "And they will fear you" (ibid); there will be drawn upon them also fear and shame which is an aspect of tefillin which are called "glory" (B'rachot,11) which alludes to the generality of all the colours, like it says, "Israel in whom I will be glorified" (Isaiah,49,3). Israel contain the Sublime Colours. That is what we see that when a person feels shame, his face turns to several colours.

i)   Therefore, the Sages said that someone who sins but then feels ashamed, he is forgiven immediately (B'rachot,12). This is because the sin instills a spirit of folly in a person, but when he feels ashamed this returns his intellect, as we saw, "Then you will understand the fear of G-d", which is a form of shame; that is the essence of repentance. Through this one merits to the light of tefillin which is an aspect of light shining from his face. On the other hand, someone who has arrogance shows by this that his ancestors weren't present at Mt. Sinai (Nedarim, 20) and we can be certain that he transgressed the prohibition of adultery (Ta'anit,7). He is attached to the venom of the Serpent from which Cain came, who took the twin sister (the wife) of Hevel, his brother. Any Jew who stood at Mt. Sinai had this venom extracted, but this wasn't the case with the other nations. That is what the Sages alluded to when they stressed that his ancestors' feet stood at Mt. Sinai, for the Serpent had no legs, as it says, "On your belly you will go" (Gen.3:14). Such a person is attached to the tree of death and descends into Hell. For Adam blemished the Tree of Life which is like tefillin, as it says, "G-d decreed that all the dead will be resurrected" (Isaiah, 38:16). When a person attaches himself to the Tree of Death, "he is driven out of the Garden of Eden"(Gen.3:24), for it says, "The arrogant go to Hell" (P.Avot,Ch.5). When Adam repented it says, "G-d made them coats of skin" (Gen.3,21) and this alludes to tefillin (Tikkunei Zohar, pg. 105), light shining from his face. It turns out that by shame, an aspect of the light of tefillin, he is forgiven for all his iniquities and merits to attach himself to the Tree of Life. But, someone who is not ashamed of tzaddikim and pious Jews who fear G-d, they have evil arrogance and descend into Hell.  And when a person repents, and feels ashamed of his sins, he is forgiven and drives out the spirit of folly from within him and thus merits to the light of tefillin which is an aspect of the Tree of Life.

j)   This is what the Tana said, "A pine fell in our place" (Bechorot,57) for it is known that the true tzaddik is called "a pine in Lebanon" for he serves G-d with great attachment and wonderful intellect. When he falls to a lower level than he is at now, even though this is a high level in relation to other tzaddikim, that is what it says, "he fell in our place", meaning he fell in his perception of G-d, who is called "the Place of the world", to "our place", our level of perception. Even though it is a high level, in relation to himself it is a fall. The Tana praised the tzaddik of the generation who felt ashamed of this level as if he had sinned. It is considered as if he had fallen and he repents on this as if he had sinned. By this he comes to such great shame that it is like the light of the tefillin; his intellect and brain are renewed much more such that he gains greater knowledge  and recognition of the greatness of G-d… So it is with each person, by renewing his intellect in Torah, he gains greater recognition of G-d's greatness and feels more shame about his sins and that is the essence of repentance; then he merits to the light of tefillin and attachment to the Tree of Life.     

k)   Each person must draw upon himself the holiness of Shabbat, an aspect of shame, (B'reishit, yira boshet- fear and shame- an aspect of yira Shabbat) which is an aspect of fear of G-d, the light of tefillin, and by this to sanctify the days of the week, as it says in the Mechilta, "remember the day of Shabbat" –' remember it from the first day of the week.' The degree to which he sanctifies the days of the week, so he drives out the venom of the Serpent, the end of all flesh and the storm wind, as explained previously. Through this he raises the speech to its source. By sanctifying the days of the week from the 39 types of work, the 39 curses, which the Serpent caused, one can imagine that the mundane days of the week are like 'My holy day' (Shabbat).            

PRAYER 38

 Help me, in Your bountiful mercy, to cleave to You at all times sincerely and with great love, with calmness of mind and perfect faith, with holiness and purity. Merit me to check myself every moment if I am really attached to You with utter perfection, as is Your desire.

   My Father, my merciful Father, merit me to always attach myself to You through the mitzvah of tefillin such that my sins won't create a barrier between ourselves and Yourself. Then, may the light of Your Countenance shine upon me, through the holiness of the mitzvah of tefillin. May it be fulfilled in me what it says, "And all the nations will see that the Name of the Lord is called upon You and will fear You." By tying the tefillin on my head and my arm, let me merit to always draw on myself great sanctity and, thus, to receive a new mind and a new soul from the Light of Your Countenance. Protect us from all sorts of bad thoughts and blemishes to the mind and let us be worthy to learn Torah in purity with proper thoughts. O Lord, our G-d and G-d of our Fathers, save me from evil speech. Let me never blemish it. Help me so that I will always search after the good in other Jews, even if they are the worst of the worst, by searching and looking under the surface for a good point within them. Thus, merit me to judge each person on the side of merit. Master of the World, have mercy on me and whenever I speak let me not say a word of evil against another Jew. Holy speech is the spirit of the Mouth of the Holy One, so save me from any kind of blemish such as gossiping or joking or lying etc.

   Save me from the aspect of " the end of all flesh", from finding flaws in other people. I know that until now I haven't been careful about this such that I have given strength to the forces of evil and the nations, and the cravings of the body have risen against us. Hearken to my cry from the depths of Hell; hear my bitter cry. Help me to uproot and nullify all the accusers who speak evil of Israel. Make them repent their ways and let them really search in their hearts for the truth. May the truth be revealed in all the worlds.

   In Your bountiful mercy, draw upon me awesome shame from You; merit me to very great shame about all my sins and iniquities against the King and Ruler of the world, Who fills all worlds and surrounds all worlds, Who is within the world and Who is present in every place. All the creatures of the world should feel tremendous fear and tremble from awe at the greatness of His name; who will not fear You. But, because of my sins I have stupefied my mind and my heart so much that  I don't feel shame before You as I should. Now that I can't feel shame, how will my many sins be forgiven?  Have mercy on me so that I can express myself before You with tremendous arousal and enthusiasm in the heart. Merit me to a flame of love in my heart so that I can arouse myself to serve You with love and great fear. Let me speak out words of the most perfect truth like You desire such that I can take the holy flame of might in my speech and raise it to its source so that I subdue the cravings of the body and elevate the power of speech to its holy source.

  In Your great compassion, save me from the arrogant and let me escape from the forces of evil; especially help me to escape the arrogance of the body, the cravings of the body which lead to bad traits. Merit me to great holiness and purity especially with regard to guarding the brit so that I become a holy Jew as is fitting, as is Your desire.

39. I  GAVE  GRASS  IN  YOUR  FIELD

a)  When a person feels some hunger, that the desire to eat overcomes him, he should know that he has enemies, as the Sages said, "Because a person is made poor (feels a lack) down below (in this world), he is made poor in the world above" (Sanhedrin,103).  Therefore, he has to destroy and break the animal within him which desires to eat, for the essence of hunger is the animalistic element in a person. By this, he will be saved from his enemies.

b)  Hunger also reflects controversy, "the reproach of famine"(Ezekiel,36,30), that's to say, the craving for food brings controversy, that they reproach and disgrace him, and also the opposite. This hunger is an aspect of uncircumcised skin, as it says, "It is a disgrace for us" (Gen. 34). For there are three husks that surround the brit of peace. But, when you break this disgrace, the craving for food, the covenant of peace becomes revealed and one merits to peace in the world below. Then, there is also peace in the world above in the Heavens. As a result, the bounty increases and becomes revealed in the world. (This is what the verse says, "He makes peace in your borders and fills you with the finest wheat."(Psalms,147,14). )

c)  When you have relations with your wife with holiness and you break the animal soul which craves for the physical, imagining that an angel forces you to engage in relations, by this your children will not die when young. The death of young children, Heaven forbid, is because of the animal soul.

d)   Also, you should see to it that the main time for having relations with your wife is on the night of Shabbat in order that your children live a long time.

PRAYER 39

He who makes peace in the Heavens, Master of peace, King of peace to Whom peace belongs, have mercy upon us and draw peace upon the world and make peace between all Your people Israel. Cancel all sorts of controversy and strife from the world, especially the great strife between the tzaddikim and pious Torah scholars, which has spread and become common in our generation, the period before the coming of the Meshiach. Let there be peace, love, brotherhood and good neighbourliness between all Jews from now on and for ever.

Have mercy on us; help us and save us so that we merit to break our craving for food such that we eat only that which is absolutely necessary for the sustenance of the body. May we lessen our natural craving and merit to eat with great holiness and purity, really for Your sake alone. Remove from us the disgrace of hunger. May we never feel hunger within us. Please let us overturn, break and nullify all the animal desires of the body and remove from us all sorts of shame and disgrace. Sanctify us with all sorts of holiness. Bestow upon us a feeling of satiation even from the little that we eat. Master of the World, have compassion on us, for Your Name's sake, so that we merit very soon to all that we need from You; especially let us break the craving for food and all the other animal desires completely, as if an angel had forced us to eat etc. Therefore, may our eating be truly in great holiness and purity, as is Your good desire.

40. THESE  ARE  THE  JOURNEYS

a)   All the journeys and traveling of a Jew are because of the blemish to faith, which is an aspect of idol worship. For if a person were to believe with perfect faith that the Holy One could provide him with all his needs where he is, he wouldn't travel at all. (See the explanation of the Lekutei Tefilot here. Through faith and trust, as is fitting, a person would not need to make any efforts or journeys for a livelihood.) By traveling, a person sometimes rectifies the exile he caused to the Shechinah in the world above. (The punishment of exile is the rectification itself, as is explained in other places.) Therefore, the journeys are an atonement for the blemish to faith. They rectify and sweeten the anger of G-d from the world. They draw G-d's mercy into the world. 

b)   The blemish to faith, which is an aspect of idol worship, prevents rain fall. Then there is no plenty or peace and people don't help each other, and they have to travel from place to place for their income.

c)   Also a drought comes as a result of idol worship; when there is no wheat, there is no Torah. By neglecting Torah learning we cause exile and the need to travel on the roads, as it says, "My people have gone into exile because they have no knowledge" (Isaiah,5,13). 

PRAYER 40

   O Lord, our G-d and G-d of our Fathers, have mercy on me always whether I am at home or on the roads. Instruct me and guide me and teach me at all times how to behave with regard to traveling- whether to travel or not, and how to travel and when to travel; which place to go to and how long to stay; which road to take, the short way or the long way. Give me advice about all the details of the journey so that, like the Israelites in the Wilderness, I can travel according to Your will. Have mercy on me and be with me at all times so that I can dedicate to You all my movements. Guard my coming and going; bring me in peace to my destination always. Let me find mercy in Your eyes so that I can avoid the clutches and ambushes of the forces of evil that await a person on the roads. Let me travel and return home in peace so that my body, soul, property and Torah be undamaged. Protect me from all obstacles and sins whilst traveling. In Your compassion, save me from the dangers of the roads, both spiritual and physical. Save me from what I need to be saved from; rescue me from anything I need to be rescued from. Whenever I must travel, according to Your desire, then merit me to travel with great holiness and purity, with holy thoughts. Then, by my traveling, let me rectify any blemishes to faith that exist. Don't let any atheistic thought or confusion enter my mind while on a journey and may my exile and wandering on the roads atone for any exile I may have caused to the Shechinah in the World Above, Heaven forbid. Let me rectify it all very speedily, in my lifetime.

          Have mercy on the People of Israel who have been traveling to and fro for hundreds of years with no one to gather them. The Divine Presence is in exile together with them! Master of the World, see their distress; have pity on them and their traveling. Gather them together and bring them to Zion, Your city, with rejoicing.

 

41.  DANCES

a)  Dances as a mitzvah are, for example, when you drink wine on Shabbat or on a Festival, or at a holy wedding or at any mitzvah meal. This is when you drink moderately, for the sake of Heaven, to merit to take joy in G-d Who chose us from all the nations. Then you are aroused to joy by this such that the happiness spreads into your feet and you come to dance from joy. Through this, you drive out the forces of impurity that take hold in the legs and this sweetens and nullifies all the harsh judgements; then one merits to receive all the blessings. This spiritual enthusiasm to dance is an aspect of a "fire offering of pleasing odour to the Lord". But, someone who dances with the enthusiasm of the evil urge, this is called "a strange fire" (Lev.10:11) and the wine he drinks is the wine of drunkenness through which the forces of evil take hold, Heaven forbid.

b)  This means that holy dances sweeten the harsh judgements like giving a redemption that a tzaddik performs by putting his hands on the money called 'pillars' or 'legs', alluding to strict justice for 'heel' (172) has the numerical value of twice Elohim(86x2). He draws into his legs the source of harsh judgements, from Binah, to sweeten them through with the 42-Letter Name in Binah. Forty two alludes to three 'hands' (Hand is numerically 14)- ' the great hand', 'the strong hand' and 'the high hand' that he draws there. The forty- two letter Name has seven names of six letters each. Have in mind to draw these six (vav, in Hebrew means 'six' and also 'hook') hooks to the pillars. This is what it says, "the hooks of the pillars and their joints shall be of silver." (Ex.27:10). By the joints being connected to the hooks of the pillars, one creates silver which alludes to loving-kindness which sweetens the harsh judgements. For this reason it is good to habitually give a redemption to a tzaddik so that they will sweeten and nullify the harsh judgements from upon him. That's to say, even when you don't have any problems, nevertheless it is good to frequently give a redemption in order to sweeten the harsh decrees so that he won't come to have any suffering, G-d preserve us.

c)  Filling the throats of Torah scholars with wine also has the effect of sweetening the harsh judgements like a redemption.That is what it means that Torah scholars increase peace in the world (B'rachot, 64). Through them we draw the 42 Letter Name which allude to the 370 Lights together with 8 white lights which altogether add up to the numerical value of 'b-shalom', (b,2;sha,300;l,30;o,6;m,40) 'in peace'; this is an aspect of Binah. (See Etz Chaim,Ch.13-14). Torah scholars are called Netzach and Hod, Legs, for they are the pillars of the world since they give advice to people, as it says "People derive benefit from his advice and wisdom" (Perkei Avot,6). ( Advice, 'aitzot', has the numerical value of 560- ai,70;tz,90;ot,400, which is the same as 'talmid chacham'-Torah scholar-552, with its eight letters). This is what it says, "May He grant you your heart's desire" (Psalms, 20:5). When is this, when "all your counsel is fulfilled" by filling the throats of Torah scholars with wine which alludes to Binah, the wine of joy, a heart which understands; it is considered like wine offerings (Yoma,71).

(Prayer 41)

May it be Your will, O Lord, our G-d and G-d of our fathers, that You have mercy upon  me an let me merit to always be happy, that I always b e made happy by the happiness of performing a commandment. I will always rejoice and be happy in You and in Your salvation, for all the acts of loving-kindness You have done for us, that You chose from among all the nations and raised us above all the tongues and sanctified us in Your commandments and our King, You have brought us near to Your service. Your great and holy Name You called upon us.

In Your mercy, may I merit to always remember the great favour and loving-kindness and to be happy in this at all times, every day and every hour, especially on Shabbat and on Festivals. The multiplicity of acts of loving-kindness and favour which You do for at all times are immeasurable and beyond value. How great is Your goodness which You performed for me. “How can I repay the Lord for all His benefits towards me?” If all the seas were ink, all the lakes quills, all men scribes and all tongues offering praise, they would not manage to clarify or tell one in thousands or tens of thousands of favours and acts of loving-kindness and saving and the very great awesojme acts of salvation, the many wonderful miracles and phenomenally incredible wonders that You, Lord of Hosts, performed charitably for us and that You saved our souls from all the hardships and troubles. “Many, Lord my G-d, are the wonderful works You have done and Your thoughts which are towards us. None can compare to You; if I would declare and speak of them they are more than can be numbered.” Therefore, I am certainly obligated all the time to remember Your continual favours and acts of loving-kindness which constantly happen to me all the time as anew and to always be happy in Your salvation.

I plead with You, merciful Father, help me and let me merit to always be happy. May I always awaken myself to be in great happiness especially every Shabbat and on Festivals. Let me merit to enthuse my heart very much by holy happiness with great enthusiasm and spiritual inspiration, with great longing, desire and wishing for Your Name and to serve You truly with great belief, holiness and purity. Let the enthusiasm of the heart be drawn into my legs, until I merit to raise my legs with great happiness. May I merit to dance with great holiness and happiness, especially on Shabbat and Festivals, days on which You performed miracles for Israel.

Save me always from drunkenness; protect and save me, in Your mercy, so that the wine I drink causes no drunkenness or enthusiasm of the heart and dancing which stem fro the Other Side, Heave forbid. May I have no flame of the desire for any craving whatsoever. Let me merit to the wine “which gladdens G-d and people”. Whenever there is an obligation to drink wine or alcohol of some kind, as on Shabbat  with really great holiness until I merit to dances of holiness and by these dances, with an enthused heart of holiness from the wine which gladdens, may I merit, in Your mercy,  to sweeten them and remove all the harsh judgments from upon us and from all Your Nation, the House of Israel, from now on and forever.

Draw down peace into the world and nullify all kinds of controversy from the world.  Merit me to regularly give money to true tzaddikim of the generation as a redemption (pidyon). Then arouse Your compassion upon us from the source of the ‘holy hands’ in Binah – they are the great hand, the strong hand and the raised hand. Through Your mercy, arouse the power of Your 42 – letter Name alluded to in the prayer ‘Ana B’Koach’.  As a result, sweeten all theharsh decrees in their source from upon us and from all Jewish people from now on, at all times. Please send a complete cure to all those of Your People who are sick (especially so-and-so).   

Merit me to lift my hands and legs for G-d on High, Master of heaven and earth. Let me do this with perfect truth and faith, great, holy enthusiasm in the heart and tremendous joy as You desire. Draw sublime protection upon me which stems from the supernal Chashmal. Please purify me and my clothing, materially and spiritually.

May, I fill the throats of true Torah scholars with the wine of joy so that they achieve great happiness. Bestow upon me a plentiful income, then I can give lots of money to genuine tzaddikim as a pidyon for myself and my family, until all the harsh decrees become  sweetened at their source. Let peace spread throughout the world and fulfill the verse “The Lord will give strength to this nation; the Lord will bless His People with peace.

42. HE SAW THEIR AFFLICTION

a)  Through song, the harsh judgements are sweetened for the voice of song has three components – fire ( heat) water and air which correspond to the three colours of the rainbow. They are the three Patriarchs,the three bright colours which clothe the Shechinah which is reflected in the rainbow.(see Zohar,3,215 and Chagiga,16). When the rainbow is clothed in bright clothing this is the fulfillment of the verse "I will look upon it to remember the everlasting covenant." (Gen.9:16). Then the king's wrath was pacified." (Esther,7:10).

One who sings the letters of prayer, which is the Shechinah, as it says," L-rd, open my lips" (Psalms, 51:17) so his speech is called L-rd and called a rainbow (keshet) from the word request (b'kashti) ,as Rashi explains on the verse (Gen.48:2): " with my sword and my bow" (b'kashti). Through the voice of song in prayer, when it is very clear and pure, one clothes the Shechinah,the letters, in bright clothing, then the Holy One sees it and "the king's wrath is pacified." This is what Rashi says on the verse "When He heard their song" (Psalms,106)' in the merit of the Forefathers'. ..then " He relents in His great mercy" (Psalms, 106:49) and the harsh judgements are sweetened.

b)  Also by belief in the Torah Sages, when one believes that all their words and deeds are not simple, but rather, contain deep secrets, one clothes the rainbow, as above, and the harsh judgements are sweetened. The tzaddik is an aspect of a rainbow, like Rebbi Shimon bar Yochai said to Rebbe Yehoshua ben Levi who in his days a rainbow  was seen (K'tuvot,77 and in the above mentioned Zohar). He radiates light to the Shechinah in all his deeds, removing its grim clothing to adorn it with clothes of bright colours, secrets of the Torah, for the light of the Torah is called a secret. Through this "I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant." This removes from it the anger of its words," the king's wrath is pacified"" and the harsh judgments are sweetened.

c)  Also by preparing beautiful clothing for the tzaddik, one brings about the above rectifications.

d)  In addition, by blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashana the harsh judgements are sweetened, for the notes we blow – teKiah, SHevarim, Tekiah- which are called 'kesh"t, allude to the Patriarchs. They are the three Names of the unification in Shma, the L-rd, our G-d, the L-rd.

(Prayer 42)

Hear, G-d, my song; hearken to my prayer. Help one, Lord my G-d, to pray with great concentration and happiness. Merit me and help me to arrange my prayers before You with real emotion in my heart, with a voice of joy and song. Let me sing out the words of my prayers so that it will sound beautiful. May it be very pure and refined with great clarity until I clothe the Shechinah with a radiant covering. By this arouse all Hear, G-d, my song; hearken to my prayer. Help one, Lord my G-d, to pray with great concentration and happiness. Merit me and help me to arrange my prayers before You with real emotion in my heart, with a voice of joy and song. Let me sing out the words of my prayers so that it will sound beautiful. May it be very pure and refined with great clarity until I clothe the Shechinah with a radiant covering. By this arouse all Your compassion over the Jewish People. Behold our troubles, distress and weakness in body, soul and money. Remove Your anger from us.

Remember the convenant with our Fathers, Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya’akov; in their merit, have mercy on us. Hear our prayers and listen to our cries. See our songs before You, fulfill the verse: “But He saw their distress when He heard their song (Psalms 106,44). Sweeten and nullify from upon us a blessing of plenty, of life and peace.

So also, in Your great compassion, bestow upon us Your holy belief. Merit us to believe in tazddikim with the utmost perfection. Help me to believe that all the words and deeds the true tzaddikim are not simple at all, rather they contain secrets. By this may I remove the coverings of darkness from the Shechinah and clothe her  with radiant coverings which are the secrets of the Torah. As a result, sweeten and nullify all the harsh decrees from upon us and all the Jewish People.

Merit us to hear the sound of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah from a respectable and

G-d fearing shofar blower. May the sound of the tekiah, shevarim and teruah raise before You until it arouses the merit of Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya’akov. Behold their merit.By this, quieten Your anger until it is alleviated and nullified from upon us. Return to us and shine Your countenance upon us. Our Father our King, help us to achieve all that we have asked for from You.

Let me skip and jump over all the vanities of This World, with all its physical cravings very speedily and easily. May I then really attach myself to You very strongly so that I will serve You constantly, by day and night. Do this for Your Name’s sake, for the sake of Your loving-kindness, for our needs are very numerous. 

43. KEEP AWAY FROM  THE WORDS OF A WICKED PERSON

a)  Know that the words of a wicked person who is knowledgeable, generate the craving for sex in the person who listens. One has to be very careful not to hear his words, for they are poisonous words of immorality; he lets out from his mouth vapours filled with the poison of craving for sex; the person who hears his words, breathes in and takes into his body these vapours. Therefore, Bilam who was the Da'at of the husks, parallel to the holy Da'at of holiness, as our Sages taught 'In the nations of the world there arose one like Moshe and this was Bilaam' (Zohar, 21B) who generated poisonous vapours of sex in Midian, as it says (Numbers, 31:16): "These caused the Children of Israel, through the words of Bilam…" In other words, they sinned specifically through the words of Bilam, for his words revealed his Da'at. When they returned from the war with Midian, it says that "they brought a sacrifice to G-d, to atone on our souls before G-d." About this, the Sages taught, ' this atoned for our sin, but not for our bad thoughts' (Shabbat,64).

(Prayer 43)

Lord, our G-d and G-d of our Fathers, help and protect us from becoming attached to the wicked. Guard me so that I will never hear the words of wicked people who have knowledge. Their words are poisonous vapors of sexual craving which induce such desires in the listener. Please, G-d, have mercy on me; distance me from hearing such words. You know that I am only flesh and blood; it is impossible for me to protect myself from them. Therefore I caste all my burden upon You. In, Your bountiful, mercy, protect me. Keep me distant from the wicked. Let m not talk with them at all and never listen to them. Even if I must talk to them, with Your great strength, guard me. Hide me in the shadow of Your wings in such a way that I am saved from the poison of their words. Don’t let their poison enter me. May the evil of their words not harm me.

Sanctify me with Your sublime holiness, Merit me to really guard the brit. Have mercy on us and be with us at all times. Help us and save us. Subdue, break, uproot and nullify the husk of the evil Bilam from the world for he is the essence of the blemish of illicit sexual desire. Draw upon us and all the Jewish People the holiness of Moshe and all the true tzaddikim who really guarded the brit. Save us from any kind of blemish to the brit, from all sorts of evil thoughts, confusions and mixed up understanding. Rather, merit us to the holiness of the brit and to the really utmost perfection of holy understanding.

Merit us to really attach ourselves to true tzaddikim, to the holy Torah and to the Holy One. Let this attachment be really strong and firm, with simple perfect faith, for now and forever and ever. Sanctify and purify us from all forms of impurity and filth, especially from the blemish to our understanding.

We have no-one to rely upon other than our Father in Heaven. Fulfill in me the verse “I will throw over you, pure waters and you will be purified from all your impurities. May the words of my mouth and the contemplations of my heart find favour before You, G-d my Rock and Redeemer.

44.  CLAPPING  HANDS  IN  PRAYER

a)  The reason that we clap hands during prayer is because there are 28 joints in the hands which correspond to the 28 letters in the first verse of the Torah about Creation. Everything was created through them and they are called "The power of His hands to declare to His nation, to give them the inheritance of the nations." (Psalms,111:6). When we clap our hands we arouse these 28 letters and, by this, we get strength in our hands   to purify the air of the lands of the nations and to drive out the impure air. Their lands then return under the control of the Holy One and He has the power in His hands to give them to whoever He wants. Then the air where a Jew prays is purified and the place draws pure air like that of the Land of Israel. It means that, by this, the prayer is in the air of the Land of Israel.

b)  Therefore a Jew has to fix a regular place to stand when praying, for even if he stands and prays in a place where a tzaddik prayed, even so, he isn't used to this air so it is very difficult to pray there. Even more so is this true if he hasn't a fixed place or sinners prayed there in that place.

c)  This is what it means, "the daily prayers were established as against the Tamid"- the daily burnt offering (B'rachot,26). In other words one has to see to it that one prays in the air of the Land of Israel, meaning to rectify the extraneous thoughts in prayer. That is "prayers are…against". Their rectification is by the aspect of  the Land of Israel about which it says, "The eyes of the Lord your G-d are in it always"(Deut.11:13). 'Always', in Hebrew, is 'tamid', alluding to the tamid sacrifice.

d)  This is what it means, "In the hands of the prophets I have imagined" (Hoshea, 12:11). By clapping hands, the words that are spoken are in the Holy Land. "Prophets" alludes to the power of speech (as Rashi explains,Ex.7; see Orech Chaim,Ch.102,para.3 and the Taz). This also leads to the nullification of killing and destruction from the world,(See Torah 46) an aspect of, "I gave peace in the Land… and the sword will not pass through your land" (Lev.26:6). By clapping the hands in prayer, the air becomes that of the Land of Israel and the person is dwelling in the air of the Land of Israel where he has a G-d; thus, thoughts of idol worship and atheism are nullified. They are "against" faith, which is prayer, as it says, "His hands were faith"; the Targum Unkulus translates this as "his hands were spread in prayer". The rectification of these bad thoughts is through the 'tamid', by the Land of Israel and by clapping hands, as explained above.   

e)  Another explanation is that the 'tamid' refers to the male lamb sacrifice (kevess). This is an aspect of what it says, "Lambs shall provide your clothing" (Proverbs, 27:26). About this the Sages taught that it refers to the sheep (or what is hidden) of the Compassionate One (Chagiga,13). That's to say, through prayer, secrets of the Torah are revealed.           

f)  A further explanation is "prayer…against" refers to extraneous thoughts which are "against" and called a 'flood' for they flood the mind with confusions during prayer. Their rectification is by giving charity to the Land of Israel for then he is included in the air of the Land of Israel about which the Sages taught that the Flood didn't cover the Land of Israel (Zevachim,113). That is "prayers were established as against the tamid", that's to say, their rectification is by the Land of Israel. In addition, the mind of the person praying is purified, for "the air of Israel instills wisdom" (Baba Batra,158). This is "I will look upon it" (Gen.9:16) meaning the Land of Israel. By this, the covenant of the world is aroused and rectified. This alludes to the Eighteen Blessings of Prayer, an aspect of Tzaddik, Life (in Hebrew, 'chai', numerically 18) of the World.

(Prayer 44)

O Lord, our G-d, the G-d of our Fathers, Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya’akov in Your bountiful compassion,  please help us at all times to pray before You with all our heart and soul, with tremendous concentration, real holiness, purity and perfect faith. Let us pray with fear and love, with pure and refined thoughts. Save us form all kinds of extraneous thoughts. 

May we sanctify the place where we stand to pray so that it will have the holiness of the land of Israel. Arouse my heart when I pray so that I merit to pray with great and awesome inspiration, until I am aroused to clap my hands while praying. Merit me to raise my hands to G-d and clap my hands with great enthusiasm during my prayers, with joy and wonderful inspiration, forth sake of Your Name alone.

By clapping one hand on the other, may I arouse the power of the hands of the Holy One. They are the twenty-eight joints of the Supernal Hands alluded to in the twenty-eight letters in the first verse of Bereishit. Through this may we purify the air of the place where we pray so it will be an aspect of the air, the Land of Israel which makes wise. That is the holy air of the Land of Israel to the place where we pray. Everything is Yours. You created the world as You desired. Out of Your good will You gave strength to the Jewish People to, conquer the Land of Israel from the seven nations and to cleanse it from the impure air of the nations. So, merit us, in any place where we pray, to purify the air by clapping our hands. By this let us purify our prayers, refining them from all kinds of extraneous or atheistic thoughts.

Save us from all this and merit us to give charity for the Land of Israel. Let us support respectable poor people who live in Israel until we ourselves merge into the air of the Land of Israel. As a result, may we drive out all our extraneous and confusing thoughts which prevent us from serving You, truthfully, for they come to us during the time of prayer. We have no strength to bare this. Help us to have pure and clean prayers so that they rise up to Your Throne of Glory. Then merit us to sublime Torah perceptions, to understand its secrets. As our prayers rise throughout all the worlds, take great delight from them. Please do not conceal Your Countenance from us. Never close Your ears to our cries and prayers; never desert us G-d, come to my help and save me.  

 

45. CLAPPING  HANDS  IN  PRAYER

a)//By clapping hands in prayer one arouses the wings (lobes) of the lungs where the power of speech stems from. When one claps the five fingers of the hand against the other hand, this creates fifty gates of Binah, an aspect of the Jubilee (the fiftieth year), for five times five (fingers) is twenty five, times two (two hands) is fifty. This is also why the Torah refers to the Leaving of Egypt fifty times; through the power of the Jubilee (the fiftieth year), we left Egypt. There the power of speech was in exile, but, by the redemption ('ha'geula'- numerically fifty) from exile, the holy mouth and power of speech were created, like it says, "Who has made man's mouth?" (Ex.4:11). Then the mouth receives words from the lobes of the lungs.

(Prayer 45)

 G-d, our G-d, G-d of our Fathers, merit us to clap our hands while praying and by this may we arouse the holy wings which are the fluttering lobes of the lung. Then we will be able to speak out holy words of prayer and requests. By striking the five fingers of the right hand against the five fingers of the left hand may we arouse the supernal lights to strike each other until they are united. Then, let the fifty gateways of Binah become activated, for they are the Great Jubilee. Through this, bring us the Redemption which is perfect both materially and physically. Merit us to extract the holy power of speech from the exile such that we can prepare and rectify our mouth.s in holiness. As a result, let us receive holy words and pray before You at all times with a mouth full of holy, pure words. May our words then find favour before Your Throne of Glory. Please fulfill all our wishes for the good. 

46.  MY SOUL IS CONTINUALLY IN MY HAND

a)//Clapping hands in prayer is like a union, putting the bed in the direction of north to south (B'rachot,5) which are an aspect of the two hands. (See Torah 9 that through proper prayer one merits to one's marriage partner and to a livelihood.)

b)   This also causes a sweetening of the harsh judgements, for the right hand is 'the great hand' and the left hand is 'the strong hand' and when both hands clap they join together and that is the 'high hand', altogether three hands, three times YHVH, for the expanded form of the Name contains ten letters, with the four letters, that is fourteen, which corresponds to the fourteen joints in the fingers of one hand. By the three hands, which are three times YHVH, we sweeten the three times Elohim which represent the harsh judgements, for they stem from the words that leave the throat; throat, in Hebrew 'garon' (g,3;r,200;o,6;n,50) has the numerical value (259)of three times Elohim (86x3, with the word itself is 259).

c)  By clapping hands one is also saved from forgetfulness and one merits to a good memory. This is because one sweetens the harsh judgements, Elohim, in the hands when clapping one hand on the other. This is an aspect of what it says, "My soul is continually in my hand" (Psalms, 119:109). The soul is an aspect of prayer and speech, like it says, "My soul went out when he spoke" (Song of Songs, 5:6). Through this, "And Your Torah I didn't forget". The initial letters of this verse have the numerical value of 336, which is three times YHVH (26) and three times Elohim (86). This represents sweetening the harsh judgements which are the state of contracted consciousness from which forgetfulness stems. Then one comes to expanded consciousness which is memory and speech, a revelation of the mind.  Therefore, at the time of prayer one can know if one now has expanded consciousness or not.                                                                  

c)      This also leads to the nullifying of controversy, for all arguments stem from the aspect of Korach, from the aspect of darkness, an aspect of the left side. Aharon (who pursued peace) represents light and the right side. By clapping hands the two are joined and united. That is what it says, "Clap your hands all you peoples" (Psalms, 47:2). This verse alludes to the unity of peoples, as Rashi explains there. 

(Prayer 46)

By the clapping of our hands while praying enable us to sweeten all the world’s harsh decrees. Let us arouse the three holy Supernal hands until we nullify all the judgements that stem from the three Elohim in the throat. Merit us to draw down three times the Name YHVH to sweeten those judgments from now on. Help us to push off our ‘small brains’ of limited consciousness. As a result, take away any forgetfulness we may have had; grant us holy brains of expanded consciousness which will provide us with holy memory. Then we will be able to remember all the Torah we studied. Let me never forget anything that I have learnt. 

Merit us to nullify all kinds of controversy from the world such that the left becomes merged in the right and great peace is drawn into the world. Have mercy on us and merit us to pray with great concentration and enthusiasm with all our hearts and souls. Help us to pray with tremendous fear of G-d and self-sacrifice, with very great joy. Let our thoughts be pure and proper without any extraneous intentions or confusion. So, please in Your bountiful compassion, merit us always to holy thoughts, especially when praying. Enable me to pray with great enthusiasm in the heart until I arouse and elevate my hands to G-d and clap with great holiness whilst praying. Strengthen us and speed our redemption until we speedily reach the Land of Israel. Bring Moshiach and redeem us permanently; speedily in our lifetime. Amen.

 

47.  YOU SHALL EAT IN PLENTY AND BE SATISFIED

a)  Someone who has sunk into the craving for food, know that he is far from truth; know also that harsh judgements dwell upon him. This is also a sign of poverty. He will also come to be disgraced and shamed, as it says, "When one who is despised is exalted among people" (Psalms, 12:9). About this the Sages said, "someone who is in need of people's gifts, his face changes colour" (B'rachot,6) to several colours.

 

b)  Someone who breaks the craving to eat, the Holy One performs miracles through him. 

c)  The Radiance of the Countenance is a rectification and Truth (the seventh rectification of the 13 attributes of mercy). This is an aspect of Ya'acov, as it says, "Give truth to Ya'acov" (Michah, 7: 20). It also alludes to tefillin which are called 'pe'er', splendour, like it says, "Put on your turban (pe'er)" (Ezekiel, 24:17). For Ya'acov is the attribute of Tiferet (Pe'er,Splendour) which includes all the colours and is an aspect of Truth and Life. The essence of wealth and all the good bounty stems from Truth, like it says, "Truth stands" (Shabbat, 104) – "the world at their feet, this is money upon which it stands" (Pesachim, 119). But when a person blemishes the tefillin, Heaven forbid, he comes to poverty and contempt; his life is in the balance, Heaven save us (B'rachot, 24). So also, when he blemishes Truth, he comes, Heaven forbid, to poverty and receives insults. On the other hand, whoever cleaves to the attribute of Truth, his income is plentiful.

d)  Therefore, anyone who is sunk in the craving to eat, is far from Truth for this is an aspect of 'a hiding of the Face', like it says, "I will hide My Face from them and they shall be eaten" (Deut.31:17). However, if Jews are careful not to eat a lot, just enough to satisfy their souls, then they merit to the aspect of  "G-d shines His Countenance", that the Holy One shows them His Face(B'rachot,20). Then they receive sustenance from the attribute of Truth. The opposite is also true,  even if a tzaddik who has left physical cravings behind him, falls from his level and falls into the craving to eat, this is a sign that he spoke some kind of lie and, because of that, there is severe judgement hovering over him; it is also a sign of poverty.

e)  Behold, all the world is nourished from the bounty of the Land of Israel (Zohar,Vol.2,pg.156B) as is known. Israel itself receives its bounty from Truth, which is the attribute of Ya'acov. This is an aspect of heaven, formed of fire and water, which reflects the generality of all colours, an aspect of tefillin, called life (Menachot,44). Therefore, the Land of Israel is called the Land of the Living. This is why it says that "the eyes of the Lord, your G-d are always in it" (Deut.11:12) for "He that tells lies shall not remain in My sight" (Psalms,101:7); the Land of Israel is the attribute of Truth, therefore G-d's eyes are always in it. Its praise is that "not because of poverty you will eat bread in it" (Deut.8:9) but, rather, because of having broken the craving to eat. Since Israel represents Truth, and one is free of the craving for food, one chooses to only eat bread.

f)  Consequently, on any potential trouble so that it should not come, we declare a fast for the trouble, Heaven forbid, is an aspect of the hiding of G-d's Face, a reflection of harsh judgements. So, we establish a fast in order to break the craving to eat; this leads to a revelation of His Face which means a sweetening and nullification of the severe decrees. Thus, all the troubles are cancelled.  

g)When we eat from the bounty of Truth which comes through the Land of Israel, and afterwards we speak out the praises of the Holy One, in the strength of this, we become like 'partners with the Holy One in the creation of new heavens', an aspect of the face of Ya'acov; 'and a new earth', represents the Land of Israel, as it says, "And say to Zion, you are My nation" – don't read it "My nation" ("imi") but rather 'with Me' ("imi"), in partnership (Zohar,Vol.1,5). It turns out that we change the functioning of the Celestial Wheels and the Constellations in the heavens by our holy and truthful words said in Torah and prayer. This is what it says, "You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied" (Yoel, 2:6), meaning that you eat only in order to satisfy the soul and by this "you praise the Name of  G-d"; then you will be partners with the Holy One in the creation of heavens and earth; that is "Who has dealt wondrously with you" (ibid), meaning you will be able to do wonders. "You will not be ashamed" (ibid), because you are an aspect of Truth, the generality of all holy colours and you don't need to be ashamed of (your face) changing colours as a result of fallen attributes, of needing the charity of people when a person's face changes colour from shame. Therefore, "My people shall never be ashamed" (ibid).  

  

(Prayer 47)

Our Father and King, Mighty One, Creator, Redeemer, Maker; Holy One, the Holy One of Jacob; our Shepherd, the Shepherd of Israel – help us and save us by Your great mercy and loving-kindness, so that we merit to nullify and break completely the craving for food. May we be content with a little to eat, with that which is vital alone. Let us eat with great limitation and precision and be satisfied from it. Remove, drive out and negate the hunger from within us such that we nourish ourselves and satisfy our souls by eating only a little…….. Let the little that I eat be with really great holiness and purity, for Your Name’s sake alone, without any bodily desire at all. As a result of my eating with great holiness, let me merit to always give thanks and praise to Your great, holy Name. Let me always speak words of truth, glorifying my Maker and the name of His glorious Kingdom such that I merit by this to be included among the true tzaddikim and wonder-workers who create new heavens and earth by their true words and perform great wonders in Heaven and upon Earth.

In Your bountiful mercy, help me and grant me the merit to be included within Jacob’s attribute of truth. Let me always speak truthfully and let no untrue word ever leave my mouth, whether accidentally or on purpose, whether by force of circumstance of by desire. Protect me and save me so that I never stumble by saying

something untrue , even by mistake. Let me merit to distance myself totally and utterly from any untruth, as is written: “Keep distant from any false matter.”

In Your plentiful compassion, help me to be a truthful person in all matters. Let me behave in a truthful way and speak truthfully from my heart. May I never diverge or turn away, to the right or to the left, from the center of the point of truth. You, who  are full of compassion, and gracious to the poor, performing acts of great loving-kindness and much goodness, grant me an undeserved gift, a present out of loving-kindness – the attribute of truth. Fulfill the verse which says: “You will grant truth to Jacob and loving-kindness to Abraham, which You have sworn to our fathers since olden days.” By this, grant me the merit to pray in the Land of Israel, the Land of Life. Let us draw upon ourselves and upon all of Israel, the bounty and blessing from there; a good bounty, blessing, compassion, life and peace, good income and everything good.

Please, have mercy upon me and save me. Merit me to achieve all that I have asked from You – may I break the craving for food completely and then acquire the attribute of truth. Let me come to the Land of Israel peacefully. Save me from poverty and from a sense of locking things. Draw upon me, my family and all the Jewish People blessings, a good income from now on and always. May they take pleasure from us in all the worlds above. Do not hide Your Countenance from us rather, have compassion on Your Nation. Sweeten all the harsh decrees and nullify them from upon us.  Save us from all troubles. Shine Your Countenance upon us. Amen. Amen.

  

48. BECAUSE YOU TRANSGRESSED AGAINST ME

a) The Hebrew vowel Tzere alludes to what is written, "G-d formed (yitzer) Man" (Gen.2:7) for this relates to Binah where a foetus is formed, as it says, "If ('im'- alluding also to 'imma', mother) call to Binah" (Proverbs, 2:3). This is an aspect of a Succah, as is written, "You have formed me (tesuccaini) in my mother's womb" (Psalms, 139:13). This is similar to when we pray with all our strength, when we put all our strength into the letters of prayer, like it says, "All my bones shall say" (Psalms, 35:10). This is an aspect of the succah, as it says, "With bones and sinews You formed me (tesuccaini)" (Job, 10:11).  These words are an aspect of the twenty eight letters of the Act of Creation, with which the world was created. The Ten Sayings through which the world was created receive their strength from these twenty eight letters. And these words of prayer that we recite with all our strength, they are themselves the words of the Holy One, an aspect of "I will place my words in your mouth" (Isaiah,51). The Ten Sayings are an aspect of loving- kindness, like it says, "For I said: The world is built on loving-kindness" (Psalms, 89:3) which is an aspect of succah which is an aspect of the embrace of the right hand, as is written, "and with the shade of my hand I covered you", by " I will place my words in your mouth", as mentioned.

b)  However, the words that are not holy cause the arousal of a succah of idolatry, as it says, "Whose mouth speaks lies and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood" (Psalms,144,11). This is the embrace of the Other Side. Then the right hand of falsehood becomes stronger and the exile among the nations deepens; we become distant from the holiness of the Land of Israel. As a result, truth becomes hidden together with the true Rebbe. Arguments and controversy become dominant and then the Shechinah quarrels with the Holy One (see Tikkunei Zohar, 21:,44) about her children who are in exile, who have been driven away from the table of their Father and have left their homeland.

c)  Therefore, the succah has a special power to enable people to have children, meaning also praying with all one's strength and the Land of Israel: all three have this special power to enable one to have children. All of them are one aspect and are interdependent. We merit to come to Israel through praying with strength and through the mitzva of succah, for the main essence of the Land of Israel is through the power of His deeds etc. which is an aspect of prayer with strength.

d)  Similarly, all three save us from arguments and controversy, an aspect of "conceal them in a succah from quarrelsome tongues" (Psalms, 31:21) so that the tongues of the idolaters won't become overpowering but rather, the verse will be fulfilled that says, "Then I will turn all peoples to a pure tongue" etc. (Zephania, 3:9).  There will be one tongue to serve Him with one accord. Then the falsehood will be discarded and the truth will become dominant and become revealed in the world; then everyone will merit to know of the true Rebbe of the generation. He will be revealed and become famous. By this, everyone will return to G-d, even the nations of the world, to serve Him with one accord. May it be speedily in our days, Amen.

(Prayer 48)

In Your great mercy and bountiful loving-kindness, may I merit to fulfill properly the commandment of sitting in a succah, in all its details, exactitudes, intentions and 613 commandments that are dependent on it. May I perform it in happiness, good-heartedness and perfect devotion, as is fitting. Let us merit, that by the commandment of sittingin a succah there be drawn upon us all the Seven Clouds of Glory that enveloped the Children of Israel in the Desert. Spread the shelter (succah) of Your peace. Grant us merit to ascertain a special state of enlightenment, to ascertain a special state of enlightenment, to ascertain Ruach Hakodesh – the spirit of Diving Inspiration – by performing the commandment of sitting in a succah properly, with holiness,, purity and happiness. By this, protect us and save us from every enemy, ambusher and all sorts of foes that we have physically and spiritually, who hate us. Remove Satan from before us and behind us and let us take shelter in the shade of Your protection. 

Master of the World, let us merit to sit in the succah of the Leviathan, to also be in the community of tzaddikim of whom the Sages of blessed memory said, “In the future, the Holy One will make a Chuppah for tzaddikim in the Garden of Eden and every single tzaddik will be burnt by the canopy of his fellow.” Let us merit to receive the true radiance and sparkling of holiness from the lights of these holy canopies in This World as well……

Help us and save us in Your bountiful mercy and immense loving-kindness, so that we merit to always pray before You sincerely with all our strength, as it says, “All my bones will say, Lord, who is like You?” May we merit to put into the words of prayer all the strength we have in our bones, sinews and flesh and all other powers of body and soul. In Your mercy let me speak our every word of holy prayer with really pray with strength and devotion, for You, G-d, are truth and Your word is true and You exist forever. You desire the truth. You know how far away I am from even one word of prayer. Not only can’t I pray with real strength and devotion as is fitting, because of my many iniquities, but I am totally distant from prayer ……. I have blemished my speech very much. I have not guarded the openings of my mouth. I have spoken many bad things during my life up until today, such that it is beyond estimation or number. I have spoken useless things, lashon hara, gossip, frivolous things, lies obscenities and all  sorts of other bad things. Even the things I say to do with the holy  matters are all very, very blemished such that, if I think about it, I have never spoken even one word without some blemish. Because of this the “strife of tongues” has become very strong such that many rise against us, very many indeed….. Send Your hand from above;  rid me and deliver me out of the great waters, from the hand of the heathens whose mouths speak vanity and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.” Oh, woe is my soul for I caused all this by my many iniquities. I have lengthened the exile and blemished the fallen Succah of David. Not only have I not tried to raise the Succah of David,but my many iniquities. I have lengthened the exile and blemished the fallen Succah of David. Not only have I not tried to raise the Succah of David, but, by my many iniquities I have continued to pull it down further. I have made stronger the succah of the gentiles and the languages of the heathens, until by my many iniquities, the Divine Presence and the community of Israel are in a great exile. They have been exiled from the table of their Father and driven out of their land.

Help me to sanctify myself in all kinds of holiness especially in speech and marital relations. May I never ever say an untruth or any thing inappropriate. Rather, merit me to guard my tongue so that I can pray before You with all my strength and really great concentration. Let me merge in You when praying to a degree that all the words of my prayers become the words of G-d. As a result, let my prayers arouse the twenty-eight letters of the creation (in the first verse of Bereishit) with which the world was created. By this, bestow upon us Your great loving-kindness.

Spread over us the Succah of peace and caress us wtih Your right hand. Merit us to take shelter in Your holy shadow. Protect us and save us from all our enemies and persecutors, materially and spiritually. Hide us in the shadows of Your wings. Help us, in Your great love for us, to perform the mitzvah of sitting in a Succah, at proper time in all its details and proper intentions with all the 613 mitzvot that we are dependent on it. Let us do this with a good heart and great happiness. As a result, uproot, nullify and subdue the succot of the nations whose mouths speak lies. Remove falsehood from the world while strengthening the truth. Pause the Succah of David which has fallen.

In Your bountiful mercy, let us merit to children, living and enduring to serve and fear You and uphold Your Torah (when you want to pray for someone who is suffering the anguish of raising children. Heaven forbid, mention him/her here and say in particular…..son/daughter of…..etc.). Have great pity and compassion upon us and bestow good and long lives to our sons and daughters and all our descendants (especially to the boy, son of….etc. and the girl…..daughter of …etc.). Have mercy upon them and upon us in the merit of their fathers and give them good and long lives. Lengthen their days and years. I pleaded with You, please take pity and awaken Your compassion upon them and say to their troubles, ‘Enough!’ “O Lord, do good to those who are good and to those who are upright in their hearts.” “Peace be within their walls, tranquility within their palaces,” without breach, defection, or an outcry in their streets, for generations and generations of their generations forever. “Though their beginning was small, their end will be very great,” as when the heavens and earth are new, so may their seed and names endure. Save them and all the children of Your Nation, the House of Israel, from the evil eye, from mishap, from all sorts of affliction and illness and send them from Heaven, a complete cure to all their 248 limbs and 362 sinews, so that they merit to endure and live with health and so that they “spend all their days in prosperity and their years in pleasures.” From them, may we merit to bring forth many generations. Have mercy upon them and upon us for Your Name’s sake; raise them to Torah, marriage and good deeds for many years. “They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fertile and fresh.” 

Compassionate One, our needs are very great but we lack the ability to express them in detail You know all our needs. Please have mercy on me so that I can really return to You with all my heart fulfilling You with all the days of my life. Reveal the truth in the world until all the peoples of the world return to You, to serve You with real fear and love. Fulfill the verse very speedily which says: “Then I will turn upon the nations a pure language, so they will all proclaim the Name of G-d, to worship Him with one accord.” (Zephania 3,9).

49.  HE  SET  UP  A  TENT … FOR  THE  SUN

a)      Every single Jew is a holy portion from Above and the main revelation of godliness is in the heart. This godliness in the heart of a Jew is an aspect of the Ein Sof  (The Infinite One), for the light of its flame reaches to the Ein Sof. That's to say, there is no end and no limit to his yearning. Since the enthusiasm of the heart of a Jew is so great, it should be impossible for him to do anything or to reveal any good attribute in the service of G-d. The infinite burning enthusiasm in the heart would preclude any limited action. This is a reflection of the beginning of the Creation of the World when there was no place to create because there was only the Light of the Infinite One, may He be blessed. But the Holy One wanted to reveal His Kingship and this we can grasp only by perceiving His Attributes which are the worlds that He created. Through them we are able to ascertain His Godliness and to know that there is a Master, Ruler and Leader to the world. Therefore, He constricted His Infinite Light to the sides (so to speak) until a vacant space remained in which He created the worlds. Consequently, in a similar way, each Jew must constrict and limit the light of the flame of his heart, which would otherwise reach infinity, so that he can serve the Holy One within the proper bounds. The Holy One wants us to serve Him with good attributes, for, by this, we reveal His Kingship.

b)      When a person limits this enthusiasm in the heart so that it won't burn too much, then a vacant place is left in the heart, as it says, "My heart is hollow within me" (Psalms, 109:22), then, within the heart, his good attributes become revealed. This is the secret of the Creation of the Worlds which was within the Vacant Space, as mentioned previously. The Creation was primarily through Wisdom, as it says, "You made them all in Wisdom" (Psalms, 104:24). Similarly, the main way to serve G-d is by achieving good attributes and performing good deeds and this one can attain only by guarding the wisdom in the heart; that's to say, one has to guard the thoughts of one's heart where the good and evil urges function, like the verse says, "The thoughts of his heart…" (Gen.6:5). Therefore, the heart is the 'tzayar' (shaper) of the attributes; the wisdom in the heart is like the "strength of my heart" (Psalms, 73:26). This is also what it says, "And (G-d) vayitzer – formed." (Gen.2:7). 'Vayitzer' is written with two letters 'yud' which allude to the two urges (yetzarim) for good and for evil. Good thoughts are the good inclination whereas bad thoughts are the evil inclination. So, a person builds or destroys himself depending on how he guards the thoughts of his heart (See Torah 35).

a) 

b) 

c) 

d)He HHHJ H h       

c)      When you are careful to avoid bad thoughts and think only good thoughts in your heart about how to serve G-d, then your heart becomes an aspect of "the strength of my heart" and "my heart is hollow within me". This leads to performing good deeds and having good attributes which become apparent within the hollow of the heart. This reveals that you have taken upon yourself completely the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven.

d)       When the heart becomes hollow (vacant) then it is open to acquire holy wisdom. By this, a person rectifies the Creation which exists only though wisdom.             

This reflects the good thoughts. On the other hand, by thinking bad thoughts, Heaven forbid, which are the foolishness of the heart, "the foreskin of your heart", which Unkulus translates as "the foolishness of your hearts" (Deut. 10:16), this stupefies the heart. In turn, this stupefies the Vacant Space of the Creation which exists through Wisdom; it spoils the Creation and is considered as if you had destroyed the world. However, on the contrary, when one thinks good thoughts, this rectifies the world; by purifying the heart and driving out any bad thoughts, thinking only good thoughts, one merits to be able to renew the Act of Creation and perform miracles in the world. This is a reflection of what it says, "Someone who wants to pour libation wine on the altar should fill the throats of Torah scholars with wine" (Yoma,71A) for their throats are like the pits under the altar that were hollow and descended all the way down to the depths (Succah,49A). This parallels "my heart is hollow within me" for the 'depths' alludes to the heart and the wind pipe, as brought in the Zohar. The 'depths' ('tehom') also alludes to miracles, for everyone expresses wonder ( t'mahim) as it says, (Ruth,1:19) "All the town were amazed" ("tehum"). Therefore, the tzaddik, whose heart is open with wisdom, like it says, "My heart is hollow within me" and "the strength of my heart", he can renew the Act of Creation and perform miracles, as is written, "in His goodness He renews every day the Act of Creation" (morning prayers). "in His goodness" refers to the tzaddik who is called "good", like it says, "Say of the tzaddik that he is good" (Isaiah,3:10). The Sages said, "engravings, the handiwork of a craftsman" (Succah, ibid) – this alludes to the hollow pits. This is the craftsmanship of the Holy One, an aspect of the Creation of the world, which is an aspect of the heart of the tzaddik, as explained above.

      

     ( See Torah 41, the mitzvah of pouring libation wine reflects the nullifying of harsh judgements; that's to say, the miraculous changing and nullification of Nature ('hateva') which has the numerical value of Elohim (G-d's Name of strict judgement). Through the wine, the vacant space of the heart is opened, as it says, "my heart is hollow". This is an aspect of what it says (Yoma, 15) ' Wine and fragrances made me wise'. )

e)      This is what is written, "serve Him with all your hearts" (Deut.11:13). 'What is called service in the heart, this is prayer' (Ta'anit, 2). For the essence of prayer

            depends on the heart, meaning that you put all your heart into it and connect your thoughts very well to the words of prayer so that your heart won't be far                                                                                                                                                

from the words; rather, let your heart listen carefully to what you say. Through this, G-d's Kingship will be revealed and exalted and, as a result, the Kingdom of Evil will fall. Then, a great vitality, plenty and wealth – endless blessings – will be drawn to the People of Israel. As a result there will be a Unification, Above and Below, and we will merit to a revelation of the Hidden Torah of the Ancient One. For prayer is an aspect of the Kingdom of David, as it says, "I am prayer" (Psalms,109:4). Prayer in the heart is a revelation G-d's Kingship within the vacant space in the heart.

      f)   This (Kingship/ prayer) is the aspect of 'heh' (the last letter of G-d's Name YHVH ). When a person stupefies his heart with foolishness, and "there is no poverty other than from knowledge" (Nedarim, 41) he then falls into 'dalut', meaning the state of poverty; the aspect of  the letter 'dalet'. But when he sanctifies his thoughts, there being no         sanctity fewer than ten (Zohar,2,129), this is the aspect of  the letter 'yud' (numerically ten) that he draws into the letter 'dalet' so that it becomes 'heh'. This reflects what it says "she" (an allusion to the letter 'heh') "is the olah" – burnt offering ( Levit. 6:2) and it is the aspect of "who is this that ascends (olah)" (Song of Songs,8:5) – who ascends together with this; who raises the upper house (Binah) with the lower house (Malkhut), through raising the power of prayer, which represents Kingship, an aspect of Jerusalem, the lower house. The Holy One will enter Jerusalem above by our building Jerusalem below, which is prayer (Ta'anit, 5). Both of them, the union above and the union below, are an aspect of Aviv (spring) called Nissan, when the Tabernacle was completed and when the future Temple will be initiated (see Ezekiel, 45:18). Aviv corresponds to the two houses, as above, for it is spelt 'aleph' (Binah) with 'bet' (beit means house) and 'yud' (alluding to wisdom) with 'bet'.

 

     g)   This union will awaken the song of the Future, as it says, "The song will be for you as on the night that the festival is sanctified" (Isaiah, 30:29) – (for prayer is 

an aspect of faith, as it says, (Psalms,106:12) "they believed in his words and sang his praises." ) They will sing on the night of Pesach a simple, two-fold, three-fold and four-fold song. They are the Ten Types of Song (in Psalms) which are an aspect of 'heh' which is 'dalet' with 'yud'. This will come about by the revelation of His Kingship like a 'shir' (song), an aspect of "'sarah' (she ruled) over the entire world" (B'rachot,13). This reflects the Kingdom of David who is "the sweet singer of Israel" (Samuel,2,23:1). This is an aspect of the succah of David which has to be raised (Amos, 9:11). Succah alludes to 'sarah' who was anointed with the spirit of holiness (Megillah,14). Sarah is Malkhut(Kingship) and prayer which will be elevated and established from its lowliness and constriction, like "the small light" (Gen.1:16), the falling of his counsel (Sanhedrin,22) to the level of greatness, " the two great lights" (Gen.1:16). Then one will merit to full counsel and to complete repentance.

      h)   This is an aspect of teshuva (the letters teshuv- heh), literally, return the 'heh', meaning that one has to make the 'dalet' into a 'heh'. The essence of teshuva

depends on the heart, as it says, "with his heart, he will understand and repent" (Isaiah,6:10) , that's to say with the thoughts of the heart one has to overcome and escape from bad thoughts; one has to think good thoughts all the time. Take to heart very well what your ultimate purpose is and what your end will be. Think about ideas and strategies how to merit to return to the Holy One; by this you will merit to repentance. Then you will manage to ascertain the Torah of the Hidden Ancient of Days, the hidden inner meanings of the Torah which are the main delight of the World to Come, the delight of Shabbat. And Shabbat is also the aspect of repentance, as it says, "Then Shabvta – you will return- to G-d, your L-rd." (Deut.30:2). It says in the Tikkunei Zohar (Tikkun 21 and 41) 'And it is called Kabbalah when it is between the two arms of the king.' The two arms are the months of Nissan and Tishrei which are days of repentance, for in Nissan we will be redeemed (Rosh Hashana,11A) as redemption occurs only through repentance, as it says, "A redeemer will come to Zion and to those who repent" (Isaiah,59:20). In other words, the main knowledge of the secrets of the Torah, which are the wisdom of the Kabbalah, will be known in the future through our repentance.

     

       i)   This is also the aspect of tzitzit and its sky-blue thread called t'khelet (the main element of the mitzvah of tzitzit is the t'khelet (as mentioned in Sutah, 17;

             Chullin, 89 where Rashi explains they merited to a blue thread which is the tzitzit and see Lekutei Halachot, Tzitzit, 5, par.3) "which consumes and utterly destroys" (Zohar, 1,51).    The t'khelet reveals the Kingdom of Holiness and this subdues and nullifies the Kingdom of the Other Side, of Evil. Israel, who cleave to the Kingdom of Holiness, receive their vitality from there, for the main essence of vitality is from there, as alluded to in the saying "David, King of Israel is alive and endures" (Rosh Hashana,25A). This is because the t'khelet is an aspect of "the soul of David longed – 'tekhal' (Samuel,2,13:39). This alludes to 'khalah', meaning to put an end, as it says "I will make an end-khalah-of all the nations" (Jer.30:11), devouring everything etc. Melody also comes from the t'khelet like it says, "From the corner of the earth we heard song" (Isaiah,24:16). Specifically from the corner, for it is like the t'khelet (about which it is written, "on the corner, attach a thread of t'khelet" (Deut.11)). This is an aspect of the letter 'heh' which is written with a 'dalet' and 'yud'. 'Dalet' (whose numerical value is four) alludes to the four corners of a garment which require tzitzit, whereas the 'yud' (numerically, ten) alludes to the Ten Types of Song, an aspect of "the song". The main strength of a bride-khalah- who is an aspect of 't'khelet', she receives from "the Supernal Mother (Binah)  who lends her garments to her daughter" (Zohar,1,2A). For Binah is the source of all harsh judgements, so, through her, they are also sweetened. This process turns the 'dalet' into a 'heh' which then channels bounty, great wealth and endless blessings to Israel. By performing the mitzvah of tzitizit with care, we merit to all this.

        

j)       This is the meaning of the verse "He set up a tent in their midst for the sun" (Psalms, 19:5). The tzaddik is called 'sun' as is written, "The sun shines" (Eccl.1:5).

"Shining" alludes to his holy perceptions which he achieves only through the People of Israel, as the Sages teach that we learn from Moshe when G-d tells him, "Go down, for your people have become corrupt" (Ex.32:7). G-d says, "I gave you greatness only for the People of Israel" (B'rachot,32A). This is the meaning of "a tent in their midst", for the tent -'ohel' – alludes to shining, as it says, "when He shone –'b'hilo'- his light" (Job, 29:2). "In the midst of Israel" means that when the

Jewish People, Heaven forbid, delve into secular wisdoms of the other nations, the tzaddik falls from his level of perception for it becomes shrouded and covered. However, when the Jewish People leave these non-Jewish wisdoms, the tzaddik then emerges from the chuppah and covering which he had until now; this is like "a groom emerging from his chuppah" (bridal canopy).

k)      The custom of a bride to send a tallit to the groom (before the chuppah) has a strong reason, as explained in Kabbalistic books. So also the custom of

shouting 'Shabbat' and words of mirth (called 'elah', alluding to "she is the olah"). It all belongs to wedding customs, according to the secret truths of the Torah.

(See elsewhere for an explanation of the wondrous customs that we perform at a wedding; covering the bride's face, throwing confetti/ wheat over the groom; the groom's speech being interrupted; giving presents for his talk; the merry-makers making summersaults etc. Everything is from G-d. This is not the place to explain.)

    

l)       One has to be "like a warrior eager to run the course" (Psalms,19:5), for even when one merits to repent and to rectify what one spoilt, nevertheless one still

has to make up the service of G-d that one could have done during the time that one was far from G-d and under His reprimand. Therefore, one has to run

fast and be very speedy in the service of G-d in order to make up for any service which is lacking which could have been performed in that period that one spoilt.

(Prayer 49)

Rock of my heart and my holiness; Rock of all the worlds and Creator of all things: Master of all created things and Lord of all souls, who knows hidden things, You know my heart, You know the immensity of the burning holiness of the light of  Your Divinity which abounds in my heart. We are a part of the Divine from Above and Divine Presence of Your Divinity is within our hearts. Therefore, let my heart take pity upon me and let it sound like a harp. “My soul longs for, even faints for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh cry out for the living G-d.” The burning coals of my heart burn and yearn for You. Many waters cannot extinguish this love, nor rivers flood it, for the light of my heart is connected to and enjoined to Your great Infinite Light. Therefore the light of the flames of my heart is also infinite, for there is not end, no measure to my yearning for You, My longing, craving and desire for You is strong and bold, beyond limit or reckoning. 

The truth is that according to the immense light of the flames of the heart, which is infinite, it should be impossible to worship You at all, for the light of the holiness of my heart burns and enflames towards You with a powerful desire and a strong will to cleave to You and to always be included in You, forever. However, You revealed to us by Your holy Sages that this is not what You desire; this was not Your holy intention in creating us, for You know that we are flesh and blood and we cannot always be attached to You. You desire our worship and our good deeds, therefore You decreed that we should not destroy ourselves by going beyond the limits in order to rise u to You, that we should not have a burning desire for You that oversteps the  limit. You decreed that we should restrict the light for fervour in our hearts; we should make a vacant space in our hearts, as it says: “My heart is made vacant within me,” so that, by this, we merit to attract into our hearts all the good, holy attributes and to really draw upon ourselves the yoke of Your worship. Let us walk in paths of goodness, cleave to Your holy attributes and serve You in the right measure and appropriate level. By this, let us merit to accept upon ourselves the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven and to reveal Your Kingdom to all peoples of the world, for this was Your intention in creating Man, that he reveal Your Kingdom in the World. 

Therefore, O Lord, my G-d and the G-d of my fathers, G-d of Abraham, G-d of Isaac and G-d of Jacob, G-d of all the true tzaddikim, G-d of the first and last generations of Sages, G-d of all Israel, have mercy and loving-kindness upon me, on someone so blemished and confused as myself. Teach me and guide me in Your truth and instruct me so that I merit to a true understanding of how to behave in this matter, in what path and in what way I can restrict the light to a suitable measure and level, as is really Your good desire. You know that I need to always yearn for You, to really long for You, to run toward You…….. You need to arouse Your true mercy upon me (mercy) which is hidden with You; You need to carry me on the wings of eagles, to bring me to You, to bring me closer to You, very quickly and soon…. However, despite this need, I have to limit the light of the fervour of my heart, as is revealed before You, my Father in Heaven. It is obvious and known before You how many blemishes I caused because of my over-enthusiasm. Therefore, I have become You, my Father, my Lord, my Lord, Redeemer of Israel and Rock of my heart.

Here I throw myself before You. I give over to You alone, my body, soul, my spirit and higher soul. I give over my heart to You alone. Show me and teach me how to behave with regard to the craving and fervour for You and how to restrict the fervour, in such a way that I merit to return in really perfect repentance, to progress in Your holy paths and to cleave to Your good attributes. Let me always accept upon myself the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, with perfect love and desire with dread and fear, with holiness, and great purity, so that I can really serve You in utter truth, in the proper measure and at the proper level, as is really Your good desire. 

May I merit to sanctify myself very much in the two holy months that are the beginnings of the year – Nissan and Tishrei – for they are days of repentance. May I merit every year to return in complete repentance and to sanctify myself in those months with extra holiness and great happiness. Let me always draw upon myself great holiness and complete repentance from these two months so that it lasts the whole year. Let me merit to arouse and reveal the ten kinds of song and speedily to arrange before You, every day, many songs and praises with a voice of joy. And, may I joyfully sing praises to Your great and holy Name, by song, praise and melody; with songs of praise, sung powerfully and joyfully, with all the ten kinds of holy song until we now sing the song that will be sung in the Future…… Let me merit to know and perceive secrets of the holy Kabbala such that I merit to ascertain and know the most hidden and sublime Torah of the Ancient of Days which will be revealed in the Future.

Merit me to perform the mitzvah of tzitzit perfectly in all its details and stringencies, with all the 613 mitzvot that are dependent on it, with a good heart and great happiness. May it find favour before You to help us perform the mitzvah of wearing the blue thread in the tzitzit. Have mercy on us and build Your city again speedily during our lifetime. Bring wearing the blue thread in the tzitzit, uproot and break to pieces the kingdom of Evil from the world.

Let us and all Jews always cleave to You and thereby take upon ourselves with love the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven. Then draw upon us the bounty of living a good   we unite them above and below so that the four letters of Your holy Name become united.

Grant us the joy of a mitzvah by helping us really gladden the hearts of kosher brides and bridegrooms. Let us sing and dance gladly before them with wonderful holy joy and great purity. Through this, enable us to unite the Supernal Bride and Groom. May we unite them above and below so that the four letters of Your holy Name become united.

Merit us to come close to true tzaddikim. Help me and all other Jews to escape the mundane wisdoms of the nations. Protect my mind from tending towards these natural wisdoms. Rather let my thoughts always cleave to You and to Your holy Torah, forever. As a result, may the light of true tzaddikim increase and rise such that they will continually achieve sublime new Torah perceptions. Then, in Your bountiful loving-kindness, give us the opportunity to receive and enjoy their great and holy light.

Grant us the holiness of Shabbat and may we feel tremendous joy throughout Shabbat stemming from real fear and love of G-d, faith, holiness and great purity. And in the strength of Shabbat and its holiness let us break and nullify from within us the craving for money so that we have no desire for money at all. Father merit us just to long for the ultimate purpose of life.

Compassionate One, have mercy on us and fulfill all our wishes from now on and  enable us to drive our, destroy and nullify all bad thoughts from our hearts. Draw upon us holy, pure, thoughts so that we can start from now on to serve You truly as is Your desire. By this, merit us to quickly reach complete perfection. Return us to You, G-d, and we will return. Renew our days as of old. May the words of my mouth and the musings of my heart find favour before You, my Rock and Redeemer.

Amen.

50.  RESCUE  MY  SOUL  FROM  THE   SWORD

a)      Anyone who blemishes the covenant ( by illicit sexual cravings) cannot pray in the aspect of  "all my bones will proclaim" (Psalms,35:10), meaning that he cannot

taste the sweetness of the words of prayer, for this aspect is called "all of my bones proclaim". Only by rectifying any blemish to the brit can a person taste this sweetness in prayer.

b)      Someone who blemishes the brit is in the aspect of defiled waters, impure seed. Then he is unable to pray as "all my bones proclaim". As a result a dog descends to devour his sacrifice, meaning his prayer, which is an aspect of Marah, a sword, an aspect of Hell. However, when he rectifies the brit, his prayer becomes sweet waters, pure waters, holy seed and, thus, his words are sweet and good. When they leave his mouth and are heard by his ears, the sweetness of his words enters his bones and then his prayer becomes an aspect of "all my bones proclaim". Then a lion descends to devour his sacrifice (his prayer).

c)      Each person, according to how much he rectifies his brit, and according to his attachment to true tzaddikim who guard the brit, so too, to a similar degree, he can taste the sweetness of the words of prayer.

d)      Whoever blemishes his brit has to guard himself from dogs and the sword.

e)      Know also that the arrogant people of the generation, it is they who are the dogs; they stand up and oppose the prayers of a Jew who has not yet rectified his brit completely.

f)       From this you will obviously understand how great the iniquity is of those who obstruct the prayers of Jews and want to confuse his prayers, for they are really called dogs, as it says, "the dogs are brazen" (Isaiah, 56:11). And even though this Jew who prays hasn't yet merited to rectify his brit and because of this the opposition comes upon him, like "a dog descends" etc., even so, these obstructers are not absolved from their punishment because of this. They uproot their souls from holiness and bring it upon themselves to actually be called dogs since they disturb a Jew's prayers even though the person hasn't rectified his brit completely. Certainly he has to make an effort to pray with all his strength, even though he is like he is, and he can't feel the sweetness of the words of prayer. Nevertheless, the very fact that he makes an effort to pray is itself very precious (as explained elsewhere). But the dissenters are real dogs and their iniquity is greater than can be borne.

g)      A tzaddik's eating is very precious for he eats only to satisfy his holy soul. For this reason he shouldn't fast. On the other hand, someone who needs to fast  should certainly do so; for him it is a mitzvah.

h)      The illness of bones breaking, Heaven save us, is caused by the craving for sex.       Holy One H

(Prayer 50)

In Your great love, save me from the bitterness of the Angel of Death which has two sharp sides. Save me from the cruel angels of destruction which are called dogs. They devour the soul of a person who blemishes the brit, Heaven forbid, and lead him to hell while barking, ‘give, give!’  Save me from the bitter waters from the impure  waters. Please have mercy. Help me and save me from now on not to blemish the brit whether by sight, hearing or other senses. Let me not follow my heart or eyes, whether accidentally or on purpose, whether by force of circumstance or by choice.  Father, grant me the strength to break my evil urge and conquer my physical cravings. Bestow upon me good desire. May my heart be under my control.

I am like a beggar at the door, I plead for my soul until You have mercy on me and bring me back in really perfect repentance. Whatever You do to me, do it with Your bountiful compassion in such a way that You save me from now on from all kinds of blemish to the brit. Drive out and distance from me the spirit of folly and madness; nullify them completely from now on and forever. Please pardon and forgive me for my blemish of the brit I have committed since my youth until today. You are full of grace and forgive abundantly. Gather together all our dispersed souls from the four corners of the world. Merit me from now on to sanctify myself with really great holiness and purity. Let me never again do that which is evil  in Your eyes, rather grant me the ability to always add holiness upon holiness day by day.

So also may it find favour before You, G-d, my G-d and G-d of our fathers, that You always help me to pray before You with immense concentration, with all my heart and soul, with the utmost truth. May I concentrate on the intention of each word of my prayers such that no word leaves my lips without the proper intention. Let me hear very clearly each word of my prayers and supplications in all sorts of  songs and praises which I merit to arrange before You each day until I feel the sweetness and pleasantness of the holy words of prayer. Grant me the feeling of the sweetness of each word of prayer in my bones. Fulfill in me the verse “All my bones shall say, G-d who is like You who saves the poor from the stronger and the poor and destitute from he who robs him”. Out of love, raise my prayer before Your Throne of Glory. Send down a lion from the Holy Chariot on high, to be nourished by my prayer whilst raising it before Your Throne of Glory. In Your mercy, save my prayers from the brazen ‘dogs’ so they cannot tear up my prayers, Heaven forbid.

In the power and merit of the true tzaddikim, who engaged in prayers all their lives, merit us to sanctify and purify ourselves with great holiness for the power of the holiness of the tzaddikim can protect us. We can then pray with great concentration, with self-sacrifice and tremendous happiness. Fulfill all our wishes, for the sake of Your great and holy Name. We are called in Your Name for Your Name is part of our name.

May all my eating be with great holiness and purity without any physical craving from the body. Rather let me satisfy my soul with the little I eat in great holiness. Consider me to be like the tzaddikim who eat to satisfy their souls. Master of the Universe, I have raised my hands to You in prayer, asking for an undeserved gift from You. I have shouted out from the depths. Hear my prayer. Please don’t ignore my cries. Send me help from on high. Extract me from all kinds of filth and impurity. Sanctify me in all kinds of holiness. Merit me to repent in all kinds of ways. Grant me a good life, long life, eternal life. Speedily bring me to the Holy Land. Rectify me in any aspect that I need. Don’t discard me in my old age; don’t desert me when my strength runs out. Don’t discard me from before You and don’t take Your holy spirit away from me.

Amen. Amen.

Na Nach Nachma Nachman MayUman!