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Do you want something? Then pray. The prophets and all of the Those Who Are Dismissive of Prayer ask Hashem to “bring back our judges as at first and our advisors
holy texts from the earliest days addressed this point at length. In as in the beginning.” As we say this, we must have in mind to ask
this book, I am only giving advice and practical tools to help every Whoever has learned the practical guidance to prayer presented Hashem to give us true leaders as we had initially, such as Moses
person begin to transform his prayer into true prayer, so that he here understands that when he has intent in his prayer, it will turn and David—men who possesses the knowledge of Torah and the
can participate in the effort of thousands of years by the entire into a Garden of Eden of aspiration, longing and intentions. He will knowledge of Hashem, and who know how to shine that knowledge
nation of Israel and add his own prayers to build the prayers of the not want to stop praying. He will find that his prayer is a golden upon the entire nation of Israel. When we recite the words, “And
nation of Israel. As Rabbi Nachman teaches (Likutei Moharan I 2): opportunity to pour forth his heart and detail all of his many needs. remove our grief and sighing,” we should have in mind that we are
And he will pluck wonderful fruits that will illuminate his entire day asking Hashem to eradicate and remove all of the false leaders who
In truth, the tzaddikim in every generation raise and and his entire life. distance the nation of Israel from knowledge and who thus cause
establish all prayers. The verse states that “Moses set up us grief and sighing. And when we recite the words, “And rule
the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:18). The tzaddikim raise every Now we can appreciate the depth of the Gemara’s statement over us…,” we should have in mind the wish that the knowledge of
component to its place, and they build the structure of (Berachot 6b and Rashi there) that people are dismissive of prayer. Hashem will be revealed at the time of the complete redemption,
the Shechinah little by little, until its structure will be On the surface, it would appear that people value and appreciate when the sovereignty of Hashem will be revealed.
completed. And then the messiah—who is Moses—will prayer. They devote a significant amount of time to pray every In the twelfth blessing, “He Who crushes enemies and
come, complete it, and set it up completely. day, and it is important to them to educate their children to pray.
So why does the Gemara say that people are dismissive of prayer? subjugates the willfully evil,” the entirety of our prayer is to
remove all heresy and lack of knowledge from the world. When
And this is the work of every individual (Kitzur Likutei Moharan heretics cease to exist, the messiah will come. As Rabbi Nachman
ibid.): But now you may now understand the Gemara’s words. Prayer
presents an opportunity. Yet people come to the synagogue, read teaches, “‘The messiah, son of David, will not come until a perutah
Hashem, may He be blessed, hears, listens and takes from the siddur and immediately run out, without having gained ceases from the pocket (kis)’ (Sanhedrin 97a). That is to say that
heretics will cease—meaning, people who do not have faith in
heed of every word of every prayer, pleading and word anything. A person should go swiftly to pray with yearning and miracles and who conceal (mekhaseh) all miracles by attributing
longing, then pray at length without wanting to stop, and afterwards
[of prayer], and no word is lost, heaven forbid. Little leave shining with great supernal happiness, floating in the air. Yet them to nature” (Likutei Moharan I 7). We must pray that all of the
by little, every word makes an impression in heaven what actually happens? We enter depressed and leave depressed. people who spread heresy throughout all of the media and literature
and on each occasion arouses His compassion, may He We enter hungry and leave hungry. We enter poor and leave poor. will instead only spread faith. We must have in mind to ask Hashem
be blessed. Still, the building of holiness into which a That is called being dismissive of prayer. And it is a desecration of to close the mouths of all of those who speak falsehood. And when
person needs to enter is not completed. But with the Hashem’s name. evil will shut its mouth, the world will easily return to proper and
passage of many days and years, if a person will not be true knowledge. And this suffices for those who understand.
foolish and will not grow discouraged in any way but will If we would all truly pray three times a day with intention
In the thirteenth blessing, “He Who is the support and
increasingly strengthen himself, encourage himself and and longing, especially as we said the words, “May our eyes see surety of the righteous,” we pray for all of the righteous of the
bolster himself with prayer, then as a result of his many Your return to Zion with compassion,” is there any doubt that generation who possess true knowledge of the Torah and who truly
the messiah would already have come hundreds of years ago? But
prayers, the compassion of Hashem, may He be blessed, unfortunately, the messiah sits and waits, changing his bandages know Hashem, in whose merit we live. This blessing refers to them
will be aroused, until Hashem, may He be blessed, will (cf. Sanhedrin 98a), and the redemption has not yet come. What as “those who trust in Your name in truth,” because they know
turn to him and cause His countenance to shine upon is Hashem waiting for? He is waiting for us to begin to want to completely that Hashem is entirely compassionate and only good
this person and fulfill his aspirations and intent in the beseech, to “beseech Hashem [our] God and David [our] king” and doing good, and they therefore truly trust in His compassion.
merit of the true tzaddikim. And Hashem will bring this (Hosea 3:5). It is true that we all want and look forward to the days We ask Hashem in this blessing to “place our portion among them”:
person close to Him in compassion and in great mercy. of the messiah. But what have we really learned? We need to want so that we will know that Hashem is entirely compassionate and
this at the time that we are praying. Then we will build vessels. that we may trust in Hashem’s compassion.

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