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will help this person do teshuvah, which will mean that Hashem’s committing a habitual sin, nullifying an evil desire, renouncing When you cry out to Hashem with all your heart and believe
intent will be fulfilled, and in consequence the person will be healed. a bad trait, or giving up an addiction—you must believe with in Him, you do not “persuade” the Holy One, blessed be He, to
complete faith that Hashem can help you succeed completely. Just rescue you, but you only bring forth the true will of the Holy One,
How much more does this idea apply when we pray for spiritual as He helped all of the tzaddikim so that they became entirely and blessed be He, from potential to actual. At the moment that we
matters. Then it is easy to understand that the entirety of our completely pure, so too He will help you as well, if you heed the pray and cry out, we do not think about anything else. We do not
prayer is on behalf of the will of Hashem, Who created a person tzaddikim and go on their path and do what they did, in accordance think, “I deserve it” or “I don’t deserve it,” “I did teshuvah” or
to serve Him and come close to Him, and not so that he will be with your place and level. The tzaddikim taught that the work is “I didn’t do teshuvah.” We only think about one thing: “Hashem
an animal on two legs. Every time we engage in prayer to free easy, and that the principal factor consists of the will, prayer and 7 wants to save me, and Hashem is only waiting for me to do my
ourselves from our animal nature and our cravings and to come entreaties. We must cry out to Hashem from the depth of the heart work, which is to cry out to Him with all my heart.” Every other
close to Hashem, we are engaging in prayer on behalf of Hashem’s until we nullify our cravings completely. I have already explained thought at the time that we pray, even a truthful thought, weakens
will and Hashem’s honor: that His children will appear as He wants that Hashem answers a person’s prayer in accordance with his faith. our prayer and cools it off.
them to appear. Therefore, when we recite such a prayer, we may If, in the core of your being, you do not believe that Hashem
ask for immediate salvation. can entirely nullify your cravings and transform your nature, He Only a person’s wholeness of faith that Hashem wants to save
will answer your prayer accordingly, and you will not see great him and rescue him inspires him to cast everything upon Hashem.
So too, when we seek to be rescued from sinning, we must pray: changes. If you do not believe that it is possible to nullify a desire Then his request is complete, without any hesitation and dullness. It
“It is Your will that I not commit any sin. If You do not give me the entirely, you will only see small changes. But when you believe that is strong and absolute. Therefore, it will be effective, because when
power to overcome my evil inclination, I will continue to sin. I need Hashem can transform you entirely in a single moment, you will see we cry out with all our heart out of a wholeness of faith, our prayer
You to give me the strength not to sin even one more time, because tremendous changes! succeeds. Thus, this wholeness of faith in the fact that Hashem wants
every sin means death, and You want me to live. And I am only to give us life so that we will live and attain wholeness of faith—
alive when I cling to You and live in accordance with Your will. But Great Faith Means Easy Work which is the purpose of the entire world, and each individual’s
I lack the tools for that. Therefore, please give me the tools now particular purpose—is the vessel with which to receive all salvation.
and the wholeness of will that Your intent will be revealed, so that With that wholeness of faith, our prayer is complete, and it rips up
I will not commit any sin from this moment onward.” You may think that this is true only for the elite of the generations every decree of judgment.
and not for you. But why did the elite of the generations become
the elite of the generations? It is because they believed that Hashem
The Glory of the King wants them to be completely holy and pure, and in that spirit they Even the Thanksgiving
engaged in the work of the will. And every Jew must be like them.
Everyone must make this vividly real for himself by using a variety Even if a person thinks at the time that he cries out, “Everything
of metaphors and images to help him understand how much Hashem The entire difference between the tzaddikim and any other person is for the good, and my painful reality is the ultimate good for me,”
wants to assist him and save him. For instance, imagine a father on any level lies in the extent to which a person clings to the faith and—as it were—he accepts Hashem’s will with love, that weakens
and mother whose son has grown completely alienated from them that Hashem can make each person into a complete tzaddik like his prayer. It is true that everything is for the good, but that does not
and caused them endless pain. If he comes and tells them that he Moses. As the Gemara states: “‘Who disdained the day of small mean that Hashem wants you to die, heaven forbid. Hashem wants
wants to return to them, they will immediately rejoice and forget things?’ (Zechariah 4:10)—who caused the table of the righteous you to live. He does not want you to suffer. He wants to rescue
the entire past, and give him everything with all their heart. As for in the world-to-come to be disdained? The smallness that was in you. Therefore, we must make a clear and sharp differentiation
parents of a son who remains alienated from them, they would be them—the fact that they did not believe in the Holy One, blessed between these two truths. The evil inclination misleads a person
willing to give him so much if only he would want to return. be He!” (Sotah 48b). Rabbi Nachman derives from this Gemara that immensely and makes use of faith itself to weaken him. It is true
smallness of faith means that they did not believe in themselves that we must thank Hashem deeply with all our heart for every
If this is true even of normal parents in this world, how much (Sichot Haran 140). That answers the question: how can it be that a trouble and problem that we experience. But that does not mean
more is it true of our Father in heaven, Whose love and compassion righteous person does not believe in the Holy One, blessed be He? that Hashem does not want to save us. Even though I have written
are infinite, and Whose will is infinite. As the holy Baal Shem Tov According to Rabbi Nachman’s explanation, the answer is clear: a book called I Said Thank You and I Was Saved, which teaches