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the “outer forces” and all of the powers of uncleanness seize it, sole reality in the world is the reality of Hashem. “There is no
contaminate it and defile it with every foulness in the world. other than He” (Deuteronomy 4:35). Whoever wants to sleep or rest,
practically speaking, wants to run away from the reality of Hashem!
Vast Is Your Faithfulness
“A living person” is a person who lives with faith 24 hours a
day. When such a person goes to sleep, he is binding himself to
When a person is sleeping, he can receive faith or lose his faith,
heaven forbid. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov says, “The renewal of a Hashem and he binds himself to faith. Therefore, when a person
person’s intellect—i.e., the renewal of his soul—comes about as a lies down to sleep, he must yearn a great deal to attain faith and
not allow any urge to sleep enter his heart. His heart should consist
result of his sleep…. ‘New in the mornings, vast is Your faithfulness’
(Lamentations 3:23). That is because, when the mind grows weary, of only a single will: to believe in Hashem and bond with Hashem.
Thus, because he clings to Hashem and deposits his soul in His
it is renewed with sleep, as may be seen in our lives. That is why hands, Hashem returns it to him renewed, filled with energy and
we recite the blessing, ‘He Who gives the weary strength’ regarding
sleep. The mind was initially tired, and now it is strengthened. regenerated faith, and refreshed.
During sleep, a person’s mind—i.e., his soul—enters into faith, When a person knows this, he must prepare himself when he lies
which corresponds to the phrase, ‘new in the mornings,’ etc., as the down to sleep. He must plead and desire to renew his faith and mind.
holy Zohar states” (Likutei Moharan I 35). And Rabbi Nachman also If a person wants to sleep, that means that he wants to disengage his
states, “There are a number of nonsensical matters and perplexities mind entirely, because with sleep a person disengages himself from
that cling and adhere to a person’s mind—in particular, confusions his mind. That is called despising awareness and destroying one’s
in the realm of faith. Through the mechanism of sleep, these are entire will for holiness. But if a person goes to sleep when his sole
separated from a person’s mind. In particular, sleep is useful for desire is to cling to Hashem, then he desires mindfulness, he desires
gaining faith” (Sichot Haran 110). faith, he desires to cling to Hashem, he desires to be connected
to Hashem, he desires to cling to the world-to-come, he desires
The goal is faith. We must renew our faith and not forget it for
even a single moment. In truth, what renews our powers is not awareness, he desires to receive holy will. Then sleep will assist him
sleep but the renewal of our faith. As the verse states, “New in the and he will see how he will wake up with enthusiasm, with more
faith and with more desire to serve Hashem. The entire day he will
mornings, vast is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:23).
be able to cling to Hashem and be filled with intent, powered by
holy sleep.
Where Will I Run from Your Face?
Removal of Awareness
We must live in a state of faith. What does it mean when a person
says that he is going to sleep because he “wants to rest”? That
According to everything that has been said until now, it is possible
means that he wants to rest from faith. He wants to forget Hashem, to address anew the depth of the topic of sleep and weariness.
to be disconnected from Hashem, to flee from Hashem. He is like
Jonah the prophet, who fled Hashem and fell asleep in a ship, First: the purpose of man is to attain holy will. Weariness is
and was not even awoken by a great sea storm, until the captain weakness of holy will, and sleep is the death of holy will. The will to
came to him and told him, “Why are you sleeping? Get up, call sleep is the total opposite of holy will. Therefore, it is absolute evil.
out to your God!” (Jonah 1:6). Like a man who is depressed, who And that is the most evil will in the world, literally the opposite of
sleeps a great deal because he wants to escape reality, so is every the purpose of creation. If a person were filled with holy will, he
person who goes to sleep because he wants to escape reality. The 14 14
