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Chapter Nine:   | 409    416 | A New Light                                                                                          Chapter Eight:   | 385

 True Nullification  asleep—and not on anything else. The greater your bond with        person  thus makes  his own contribution  to  the  prayers of  the
          Hashem, the more you will get up refreshed, focused, filled with              congregation.  And the combination  of  the  prayers recited  with
 In  particular, Rabbi Nachman teaches  that  the  way  to  nullify   energy, and—the main thing—filled with holy will: the desire for   intention creates a complete prayer, as Rabbi Nachman teaches (as
 cravings is to  pray at length and to  engage  in hitbodedut—  Torah, the desire for prayer, the desire to do good things. In short,   excerpted from Sichot Haran 75—and see the entire talk, because
 specifically, at night. He writes (Likutei Moharan I 52):  you will get up to a day of life. Therefore, Rabbi Elazar would   it contains powerful encouragement for praying):
          pray after his prayer: “May we rise up early and may our hearts
 It is only possible to attain nullification by means of   yearn to fear Your name” (Berachot 16b).  Rabbi Nachman said that it is impossible for a person
 hitbodedut. When a person engages in hitbodedut and                                         to pray the entire prayer service with the proper deep
           But if, on the other hand, a person wants to sleep, that means
 speaks to his Maker, he can nullify all of his cravings and   that he wants to be disconnected from Hashem, that he wants to   feeling.  Rather,  every individual  can only recite a
 evil traits until he can nullify all of his physicality and   die. Then his sleep is degraded and impure, and that will affect his   part of the prayers with deep feeling. This may be
 be absorbed  into his  root.  However,  the  essence  of   entire day. Even after he gets up, he continues to “sleep,” he is   seen in actuality: one person recites the ketoret with
 hitbodedut is [that it be done] at night, at a time   spiritually drowsy and tired, and the desire to sleep accompanies   deep  feeling,  another recites  pesukei  dezimra with
 that everyone is free of the distractions of this world.   him throughout the day. Thus, he is not alive at all. Why does this   deep feeling, and so forth. I saw a teaching on this in
 During the day, everyone is chasing after this world, and   happen? Because he wants to sleep, and there is a spiritual law that   Rabbi  Nachman’s  writings,  but I  was  unable  to  copy
 that diverts and confuses a person, keeping  him  from   “in the way that a person wishes to go, he is led.” Heaven tells   it. However, a little of what I recall from there is that
 clinging to  and being absorbed into Hashem, may He   him: “Do you want to sleep? We will give you the chance to get   13  this corresponds to the statement in the Tikunim (Tikun
 be  blessed.  Even  if  he  himself  is not distracted,  other   abundant sleep. You will sleep and sleep until you will burst from   18) that there are “masters of the hands” and “masters
 people are distracted at that time, pursuing the vanities   so much sleep. And when you get up, you will get up to a day   of  the  feet,”  and so forth.  Thus, every  individual is
 of this world, and so it is hard to attain nullification….   of death. You will be tired, and you will not have any desire for   inspired and is able to pray a part of the prayer with
          anything.”
 Therefore, a person must go off by himself at night on                                      deep  feeling,  on his  level.  Therefore,  a person should
 a lone  path to  a place  where no one  else  is present.   Thus, the description at the beginning of this chapter of the hours   not feel downhearted when he sees that although he was
 There,  he should  engage  in  hitbodedut.  He should   and years that a person will lose as a result of his unnecessary hours   able to pray some part of the prayer with deep intention,
 empty  his  heart and mind of  all of  the affairs of  this   of sleep refers only to the loss of quantity. But in addition to that,   suddenly that stopped, and he cannot pray properly any
 world and nullify  everything until  he truly  attains  the   there is the loss of quality, because the entire day such a person is   more, no matter how hard he tries, because this is how
 level of nullification. That is to say, at first he engages   in a state of spiritual sleep and torpor. He is not focused and he   things have to be. So he should try to recite the rest of
 in many prayers and speeches in hitbodedut—at night in   accomplishes little, and all of his actions are chaotic and confused.   the prayers with absolute simplicity.
 an isolated location—until he succeeds in nullifying one   Thus, he loses almost his entire life. That is a terrible usury taken
                                                                                          Another aspect of prayer recited with deep feeling is that when a
 matter, i.e., in nullifying one particular trait and craving.   by the evil inclination that does not exist even in the meanest and   person recites one such good prayer, it raises his other prayers that
 After that, he engages in a great deal more hitbodedut   cruelest black market.        he had recited without proper deep feeling and that had not risen.
 until he nullifies another trait and craving. And so should   The biggest problem is that when a person goes to sleep with the   Therefore, it is very much worthwhile to bolster your prayers at all
 he act for a long time in hitbodedut—at that time and in   desire to sleep, for the entire day he does not see Hashem. Hashem   times, because perhaps the present prayer can raise your prayers
 that place—until he nullifies everything.  speaks with everyone through his reality and through everything   that fell to the floor like dead corpses over the days and years when
          that happens in his life throughout the day. Hashem gives hints to            you were entirely disconnected from the Holy One, blessed be He.
 I wrote earlier (in Chapter Five) that it is hard for most people to   everyone. When a person sees the hints that Hashem sends him,   As Rabbi Nachman says on the verse, “And I pleaded to Hashem
 implement this teaching in its simple sense. Therefore, it is possible   he may be said to see Hashem. But if he did not sleep a holy sleep,   at that time, saying” (Deuteronomy 3:23; Likutei Moharan I 99):
 to do this holy service wherever and whenever one wishes. The   then his entire day is dark and sad. He does not see Hashem, and
 The main thing is that a person work on nullifying his cravings by   he does not understand the hints.  A person must pray while clinging strongly to Hashem,
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