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430 | A New Light
The essential quality of a person’s bond to Hashem results from
his intention and yearning when he goes to sleep to cling to Hashem,
to learn Torah, to be cognizant of the world-to-come and to cling
to the world-to-come. He wants Hashem to renew his powers, his
mindfulness. He wants Hashem to strengthen his faith and renew it,
and he wants to wake up at a particular time. With such intent and
yearning he gathers his strength until he clings to Hashem. That is
called sleeping like a lion.
If you sleep like a lion, you will wake up like a lion. But if the evil
inclination gathers strength to rule over you and you sleep like a
dog, how will you be able to get up like a lion? The verse states,
“He crouches and lies down like a lion and like a young lion. Who
will dare rouse him?” (Numbers 24:9). Homiletically, this may be
understood to mean, “One who lies down like a lion will get up
like a lion.”
Accordingly, we may understand why the Rema made his
comment about lying down in relation to the Shulchan Aruch’s
statement that we must gather strength like a lion in the morning.
The Rema advises us how we may accomplish that. We do so by
remaining connected and bound to Hashem 24 hours a day—and
in particular, when we lie down.
The World-to-Come
Regarding that balance, Rabbi Nachman states that immediately
upon getting up from sleep a person should cause his mind to cling
to the world-to-come: “This is a proper practice for a person who
fears Hashem: as soon as he wakes up in the morning, before he
begins anything else, he should immediately recall the world-to-
come” (Likutei Moharan I 54). Breslov Hasidim say that this depends
on which thought a person went to sleep with. When a person lies
down, he must cling in his thought solely to the world-to-come
until he falls asleep. And Rabbi Avraham ben R. Nachman explains
that sleep itself is the level of the world-to-come. Afterwards, when
a person wakes up and throughout the remainder of the day, he
must think of the world-to-come. In that way, all of his days will be
on the level of the world-to-come (Sod Sarfei Kodesh 4:42).
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it is not pure, it remains and is polluted among them and
clings to them, and it does not rise any higher. There,
it is told only about matters that were decreed above
that will occur in the near future. And sometimes (when
it is more polluted) it is mocked in a dream and told
falsehoods.
In this way, the nefesh soars every night until the
person wakes up from his sleep and it returns to its place.
Fortunate are the tzaddikim to whom the Holy One,
blessed be He, reveals His secrets in a dream so that they
will be guarded from judgment. Woe to those wicked
people of the world who pollute their body and nefesh.
Come, see. When those who have not been polluted
go to bed, their nefesh rises and enters among all of
those unclean levels. It rises [further] and does not cling
to them. Afterwards, it soars and rises in keeping with its
way and [degree of] merit. This nefesh that has the merit
to rise comes before a holy angel—[Metat, the guardian
of the entrance]—who receives that pure nefesh with a
welcoming expression. [Therefore, Metat is called The
Face of Days or The Minister of the Face]).
From there, it rises with supernal yearning and
clings with intent to appear before and to see the
pleasantness of the King and visit His palace. That
is [the nefesh of a] person who has a portion always
in the world-to-come. And that is the nefesh whose
entire desire and yearning when it rises at night is
to rise and cling to the Holy One, blessed be He.
Therefore, it merits to rise and reach the place of
its desire, and it does not cling to the category of
the lights of the husks. It continues to a holy level,
to its root—which is the place from which it emerged.
Thus, the verse states, “With my spirit, I have yearned