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Hashem’s compassion, to plead and ask for an unearned gift, and answer the brokenhearted and the crushed in spirit, When he repeats this prayer many times with new feeling each
our need to pray with all our might and with an unrestrained outcry answer us.” In truth, for this itself a person needs time, one may presume that it will have its effect. This repetition
from the heart. It is permissible to demand immediate salvation. the assistance of heaven: to have a broken heart will enter his heart and arouse his intent until he will truly attain
That shows the might of the will. Still, this prayer is a means of and not to be appeased by anything but absolute the correct awareness that without attaining his goal he has no life.
asking for Hashem’s compassion and pleading. We ask for Hashem’s salvation. When he attains this feeling with true warmth, so that his heart
compassion, we plead and we request an “unearned gift” because burns to be rescued from a craving or an evil trait and the like, and
we do not deserve anything. But since Hashem is compassionate, Regarding this, we request, “Compassionate One…, as a result he makes his request of Hashem, that is a whole prayer,
wants to save us, wants His children to receive and progress, and You answered so-and-so regarding this matter. Save us and it brings about salvations then and there. This person has the
He knows that there is no other path and no other address from “broken heart” that Rabbi Nachman of Breslov praised so much.
what to receive but from which to Hashem alone, He wants us to too, even though we are not [as worthy as] he is. What Rabbi Nachman said that a person must break his heart before
be stubborn in our prayers until we will receive. difference does that make to You?” This is similar to the Hashem for an hour a day, because only in this way will he see
idea, “If you are righteous, how does that help Him…?” tangible progress. Then a person can use every sort of argument
Therefore, there is no contradiction. Moreover, it is a great error Regarding the true will of Hashem, may He be blessed, that inspires him when he addresses Hashem and beseeches Hashem
to think that prayer in the form of pleading is weak, and that we what difference is there between a righteous person and with every form of expression and with all his might.
must beg Hashem out of a feeling that “if He gives, fine, and if a wicked person—and how much more in regard to this
not, He does not.” That is a tremendous error, because in truth [present topic]? Only from the aspect of [the rules of Do Not Compromise
we must recite every prayer with utter devotion and burning fervor reality that correspond to the] way of the Torah is it
(as expressed in many sources). A person can only pray with utter fitting to answer the righteous or the brokenhearted more Regarding the topic of praying with all one’s might, Rabbi Tzadok
devotion when he feels as though he is hanging by his hands from Hacohen teaches the following (Tzidkat Hatzaddik 213):
a wall and crying out with all his might, asking to be saved at this [than others]. But the request for compassion even
very moment. [overrides] the Torah’s rule of judgment. And [so
we appeal to God as the] “Compassionate One”: “From When a person who is lacking asks for completion, it
In order to weaken our prayer, the evil inclination exploits the ideas the aspect of the trait of Your compassion, just as we see is impossible that the Holy One, blessed be He, will
that “I do not deserve anything,” that we must pray for Hashem’s that You answer that [righteous person], so too answer not answer him. As the verse states, “Hashem is close to
compassion and that we must plead. The evil inclination gives a us as well.” the broken-hearted and the depressed…” (Psalms 34:19).
person the idea that praying for Hashem’s compassion and pleading And as is written in the Zohar (III 195), a poor person’s
before Him means that a person must ask lethargically and weakly, This passage of Rabbi Tzadok contains a number of very important prayer includes all prayers and splits the firmaments.
like a pauper. But that is wrong. Moses’ prayer to enter the Holy principles, teaching that when we pray for spirituality we must And “poor” refers to the mind (Nedarim 41a).
Land is the paradigm of prayer expressed as pleading—indeed, it make the highest requests without any compromise, and we must
is introduced with the phrase, “and I pleaded” (Deuteronomy 3:23). not be satisfied with less. We must desire complete and absolute [Hashem listens] even if this person does not know
Nevertheless, Moses prayed with great intensity, as the midrash salvation—no less! That is called “seeking Hashem’s compassion.” how to pray and appease his Maker. Therefore, it
relates (Devarim Rabbah 11:5): And we must ask this itself of Hashem: that He help us attain the is said of him that “before Hashem he pours out his
awareness and true feeling in the heart that without this we do not speech” (Psalms 102:1). “Speech” refers to words of this
When Moses saw that the decree of judgment have life. world and not words of Torah. That is to say, he speaks
concerning him had been sealed, he fasted. He made without mindfulness. “He pours out.” [He prays] not
a small circle and stood in its middle, and said, “I will This passage teaches that such prayer certainly has an effect—an with calmness and order, but he pours his soul out
not move from here until You nullify that decree.” At immediate effect—as explained in the Gemara. And that in essence to Hashem Hashem from a broken heart and with
that time, what did Moses do? He put on sackcloth and sums up the entirety of the new light in the work of the will.
wrapped himself in sackcloth, wallowed in ash, and stood