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Thus, at the beginning of your work, you must attain a calm Our sages direct us: “Make yourself a teacher” (Avot 1:6). The of any topic that a person has placed before his eyes, and which
awareness that the essence of what you lack is a strong and forceful Rambam in his commentary on the mishnah explains: he contemplates, studies and clarifies until it grows clear and
will, and you must attain a sense of the danger you are in. The certain. Even if he stumbles, he knows the truth and he knows
essence of your prayer during your half hour must be to achieve Even if he is not worthy of being your teacher, make him your that he stumbled. Therefore, although he failed, he is in a very
a forceful and strong, absolute will, so that you will literally not teacher until you visualize him teaching. As a result, you will good position, because he understands that he is not blameless and
want to live with any craving for even a single day, so that you will learn wisdom, because learning by oneself is not comparable that he must rectify himself. But when the evil inclination perverts
not be prepared to compromise, so that you will want to be saved to learning from someone else. Learning by oneself is good, and distorts the truth and confuses a person’s awareness, he is in
immediately, so that you will feel that you are literally in danger but learning from someone else will have a longer-lasting a very difficult position, because he does not even know that he
and that there is no time, that you need to be saved here and now. impact and it will be clearer—even if the teacher is merely your is immersed in darkness. He has no way to rectify his situation,
That must be the essence of your prayer. Thus, all of the work equal in wisdom or even inferior to you. because he does not understand that something in him is not all
of your will is prayer: pleading to receive that will. Your work is right. “Every way of a person is straight in his eyes” (Proverbs 21:2).
focused on one goal: you yearn, pray and cry out to attain forceful That is to say, the Rambam states that a person must learn from
and whole will. a teacher even if the teacher is not as wise as he is. Why? Because I will explain this in practical terms in accordance with the 10
when we learn from someone else, we retain that learning for a example of joy with which I began. The evil inclination clothes
Remember this well: you receive in accordance with your will! long period of time. Thus, when we hear words of encouragement itself in mitzvot and tells a person that depression and bitterness
on a recording, even if we listen to it a few times and do not find are called repentance and regret. Thus, it causes him to spend the
Only after you attain a strong will in accordance with your level anything new, it has the ability to help us retain the learning—and entire day dejected over his sins. A person who has not learned and
should you ask for the nullification of your craving: “Master of the that is the most important thing. does not know the truth, or who knows it on some level but has
world, have compassion on me and nullify this craving completely, not truly realized it clearly, will suffer terrible desolation, which is
immediately, right now.” Therefore, when you want to do the work of the will and you seek a grave sin. In addition, he will think that he is a holy person who
a way to be inspired, choose a recording on the topic that you want is repenting—whereas he is actually caught deep in the net of his
If you spend your entire half hour praying to attain a strong to work on and listen to it repeatedly. Then, in accordance with evil inclination. But when a person knows clearly that depression is
will, and at the end of that half hour you dedicate just one minute what was said above regarding books, summarize it and categorize absolute evil—as Rabbi Nachman says, “It is the Sitra Achra and
to the nullification of the craving, that minute of prayer will be it. Hashem, may He be blessed, hates it” (Likutei Moharan Ii 48)—he
much stronger than half an hour praying for the nullification of the knows the truth. Even if he does not succeed in inserting joy into his
craving before you have attained a strong and whole will, because For example, although my disks, The Honor of the Woman heart (since that awareness is still far from his heart), he knows that
that would be a half hour of prayer that is not whole, since it is and First Place, are not a substitute for learning In the Garden he is in error. He wants to be happy and he is able to plead with
prayer with a weak will. Therefore, the half hour of the work of the of Peace, they encompass all of the central points in that book and Hashem to help him place proper awareness in his heart.
will must be dedicated to attaining a wholeness of the will. Then they are good for review. In addition, since the listener is hearing
you will attain such a forceful will that a few minutes of prayer will the speaker himself, that has a different influence than reading from Thus, the first stage in the work of the will is to attain clear
be multiples of times more effective than your prayer would have a book. It is always good to absorb messages in a number of ways: awareness by means of deep and fundamental Torah learning. That
otherwise been. hearing, reading, writing, summarizing, categorizing, singing, and learning and constant daily review build a wonderful tool of the
more. The main thing is to bring these to the work of the will. will. That is because a person strongly desires only that which is
Therefore, your main focus must be to pray to attain that will. clear to him, whereas his will is very weak regarding everything
Then you will express all of your prayers with passion and fire. Most Due to the great kindness of Hashem, Who has had pity on the about which he is doubtful.
of all, your work must indeed be work. It is forbidden to dream. final generation, even people who do not have the opportunity
and ability to set aside time to learn quietly from a book can listen Know What You Are Working On
And the ultimate level of wholeness is to feel that if you transgress to a disk while driving or at work. And when a person plays a disk
the will of Hashem even slightly you are literally dying. When repeatedly, it will influence him. As a result of listening and then
we truly attain this feeling, we are able to cry out and pray with reviewing what he has learned, he comprehends and appreciates the Without Torah learning, clarity and basic awareness, it is