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Hashem is all-powerful and at this very moment He can give you your prayer is accepted and answered. But know that you cannot That is how a person should approach all of his imperfections
everything you need in order not to sin, and that He wants to save tell Hashem, “Rescue me and save me immediately, right now,” and cravings. All of these enhance the power of imagination and
you. Therefore, at this very moment Hashem can and wants to as long as you are not yet experiencing the deadly danger vividly visualization. When the power of imagination rules over a person,
give you faith, wisdom, understanding, knowledge, strong will, all and deeply. Therefore, the first thing is to yearn, want and strive he is an animal on two legs—a ravening, wild beast—because
abilities, all of the means, and all of the most perfect vessels so that to be 100 per cent aware of the danger. Then you can think about the power of imagination is the animalistic power, as the Hasidic
you will not sin and so that you will attain every spiritual level. the possibility of immediate changes. teachings explain. A person is called a human being only when his
power of imagination is purified. Therefore, the Hebrew word for
Shorten the Waiting Period To Emerge from the Grave “man”—adam —comes from the word edameh, as in the phrase,
"I will visualize” (Isaiah 14:14). Every person who is controlled by

I have not asserted that after one prayer session you will change In accordance with this principle, I understood something evil traits and cravings must feel that overall he is not a human being,
entirely, and that there is no need for any waiting whatsoever. I extraordinary: that he is only an animal and beast. What terrible punishment this is:
have only said that the reality of having to wait must not discourage to be an animal and beast on two legs! As a result of contemplating
you from crying out repeatedly. Believe with simple faith that in As is well-known, after the sin of the spies in the wilderness, a and visualizing this, he can have compassion on himself and feel
Hashem’s realm, there is no waiting, and everything can be brought heavenly decree was passed that our forefathers would not enter that his every flaw and craving are worse than death.
about in a single moment. Then your prayers will be strengthened— the land of Israel. Thus, over the course of less than 40 years,
they will be prayers of flaming fire, words hot as burning coals. 600,000 Jews would die in the wilderness—more than 15,000 To Live the Truth
Certainly such prayers are true. They bring about results, they are men every year. Our sages relate that every year on the night of
accepted, and they rip apart the heavenly decree of judgment. It is the ninth of Av, the men would dig graves and lie down to sleep in The tzaddikim knew that every sin is death in its simplest sense.
quite possible that such prayers will build all of your vessels so that them. Overnight, more than 15,000 men died, and the remainder Therefore, the Gemara tells about tzaddikim who were ready to die
today you will attain all of the intent, knowledge and faith that you emerged to live until the coming year, when the process would be rather than commit a sin, because they drew no distinction between
lack. But even if you do not attain your complete salvation today, repeated. Presumably, every individual prayed to Hashem from the committing a sin and experiencing death. Therefore, they chose to
with such prayers it will take a week or two, a month or two, until depths of his heart to gain another year of life, and he did teshuvah die rather than transgress Hashem’s will. The Gemara tells:
you bring about complete salvation. When your prayers are strong with all his might. Yet nevertheless, 15,000 died.
and uncompromising, you can attain in a month or two that which A gentile noblewoman urged Rav Tzadok to sin. He
people who do not believe that Hashem can save them today will The midrash tells that in the last year the final 15,000 entered told her that he was famished and he must first eat. She
attain only in a year or in a decade. Who says that in order to their graves, but they all remained alive. They thought that perhaps went and lit a fire in the oven in order to cook him
be a decent Jew a person must wait 50 years? Why must every they had miscalculated the date, and so they lay in their graves a some food. He entered the burning oven and sat down.
millimeter of progress take months? If you have complete faith, in few more nights until the fifteenth of Av arrived, when the moon is Hashem protected him, and the fire did not harm him.
an hour or two you can build vessels and go forward from day to full and so the ninth of Av has certainly passed, and so they knew The woman asked him, “Why did you do something so
day. that the decree had been nullified (Midrash Eichah Rabbati).
dangerous?”
Do not be upset if you have not been answered immediately. This raises the question of why the final 15,000 succeeded in
The greatest wisdom is the following. At the time of prayer, you nullifying the decree, whereas all of the previous tens of thousands He told her, “A person who commits this sin falls
must yearn, want, cry out, and expect to receive immediately, with every year did not. This is basically the question of the Gemara in into the fire of Gehennom. Therefore, I decided to go
absolute faith and absolute prayer, without resigning yourself to Rosh Hashanah: “Why were these answered and those were not?” straight into the fire.”
waiting. But after you pray, you must accept the need to wait with
love for Hashem, and you must return to an attitude of happiness. I attempted to recreate how those who entered the graves She said to him, “If I knew that this sin is so grievous in
prayed. In the first year, they knew that only 2½ percent would your eyes, I would not have caused you so much pain.”
After you have engaged in your hour of prayer and crying out die. Thus, it may be understood that despite all of the danger, their