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with and prevent purity of thought and deep feeling. “Thou Shalt Not Kill” Your Prayers Everything at One Price
Whoever increases his regular practice of this will be
given increased purity in his thoughts while praying. And When a person prays with intent, his prayer rises to a high The seventh blessing is “He Who redeems Israel.” As I
this practice is a simple type of meditation. place that even the angels cannot reach. However, when a person explained earlier, redemption is knowledge, and conversely the
recites prayers without deep feeling, he loses that wonderful gift. exile corresponds to a lack of knowledge. The redemption is
Since prayer with deep feeling means something different for Instead of raising prayers and giving pleasure to Hashem, he creates nothing but the knowledge of Hashem. Therefore, when we recite
different people, every individual must seek and beseech counsel phantoms that hang like inert corpses, bodies without a soul and the words, “See our impoverishment,” we must have in mind
that is appropriate for him, and he must try with all his might to without the breath of life. His words do not have the power to rise. that we are asking Hashem to see our impoverished knowledge,
pray at a time and in a place in which it is easy to be inspired to do Instead, they fall to the floor like a person deprived of his soul, because “a person is [truly] impoverished only of knowledge”
the work of the will. The halachic authorities state that every person who immediately falls down dead. Such is prayer without intent: it (Nedarim 41a). When we recite the words, “Fight our battle,” we
should do what he feels will help him concentrate: whether or not is without soul and it falls down dead. must have in mind that we are asking Hashem to help us battle the
to raise his voice, whether or not to sway back and forth, whether evil inclination with its thoughts and distractions, which are the
to stand in one place or move from one place to another, “because In accordance with this, we may understand a story about the opposite of knowledge. When we recite the words, “And redeem
Hashem seeks all hearts” (Chronicles I 28). Let us conclude the topic holy Baal Shem Tov: us with a complete redemption quickly,” we must have in mind
of how to pray with deep feeling by quoting the wonderful words that we are asking Hashem to redeem us from egotism and give us
of the Nefesh Hachaim (ibid. chapter 12): One time the Baal Shem Tov and his students came the knowledge to know Him and know that there is no one else but
to a synagogue, and he told them, “This synagogue He. And when we recite the words, “For the sake of Your name,”
Our sages of blessed memory said, “I could absolve is completely filled with prayer!” His students were we must have in mind that we are asking Hashem to help us know
the entire world from being judged for [imperfect] impressed, because they thought that this is something that His name is one—an expression solely of compassion.
prayer because, as the verse states, we are ‘drunk and very great. But the Baal Shem Tov immediately corrected
not from wine’ (Isaiah 51:21) [due to the exile]” (Eiruvin their mistake: “Why are you impressed? I mean that all The eighth blessing is “He Who heals the sick of Israel.” I have
65a).[If that was so then,] what will we say now in these of the prayers of many years that were in this synagogue already explained that the words that appear in this blessing, “Save
us and we will be saved,” refer to being saved from egocentricity
generations, when every person throughout his life is like have remained below and not risen at all. They did not and to attaining the complete knowledge that everything is for the
someone lying down with a wounded head, as though have the power to rise, since they lacked deep feeling.” good. Then we can joyfully thank Hashem for illnesses and sufferings.
he is in the midst of the sea, due to the burdensome That is the meaning of the words in the blessing, “Because You are
toil of earning a living. As a result, no one takes heed I related this story in Chapter Eight of In Forest Fields. There our praise.” With these words, we ask Hashem to help us always
to empty his heart and thought from the confusions I wrote an extensive passage filled with wonderful encouragement thank and praise Him.
of his enormous troubles regarding the vanities of this regarding every aspect of prayer. And I also wrote there at length
lowly world in order to prepare himself to encounter his regarding every topic discussed here. There is no need to repeat When we recite this blessing, we must have in mind that we
these matters. Therefore, it is very much worthwhile for anyone who
God, may His name be blessed. Nevertheless, certainly wants to really strengthen his prayer to learn and study that entire want a healing of the soul. That healing consists of complete faith,
every individual in accordance with his intellect chapter and review it until he internalizes those words properly. and it brings a person joy. Rabbi Nachman writes in a famous
and understanding is obligated to take counsel and passage: “All illnesses that come upon a person result only from
compromised joy…. Joy constitutes great healing” (Likutei Moharan
seek stratagems in the obligatory war, in order to “To Assemble and Stand Up for Their Souls” II 24). Therefore, when we recite this blessing and ask for healing,
escape the confusion of impure thoughts, so that we must focus intensely on our wish to attain the knowledge that
his mind will grow settled and he will be able to People think that prayer in a congregation always rises to Hashem, leads to joy, so that we will be healed from all illness.
properly engage in the service of prayer. where it is cherished and accepted. However, that is a mistake, as
proven by this story about the Baal Shem Tov. Prayer without deep Principally, healing depends on repentance, because “there are