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more than gold. That is pure profit. He will see that on that day he because he is transgressing Hashem’s will openly and brazenly, and
will be especially alert, alive and active, that he will get things done arrogantly trampling upon the Shulchan Aruch. He violates the
and succeed much more than usual. Therefore, before everything halachah publicly, and he calls that piety. May the Compassionate
else, get up and act with alacrity, without any thought. In particular, One save us from such a muddled viewpoint! A person must feel
there is a tradition that Rabbi Nachman of Breslov said that “when ashamed to go to a late minyan after the time of prayer has passed.
a person wakes up at night, that is certainly from heaven, and he A person who gets up late must go hide in some corner and pray
should not allow himself to go back to sleep” (Avaneha Barzel: Sichot there, so that people will not see him transgressing the Shulchan
Moreinu 74). Aruch. The holy Baal Shem Tov highly valued prayer at sunrise.
Therefore, in his city of Mezhibuzh, all of the synagogues would
Another good piece of advice to get up in the morning is to be closed by ordinance after the early morning prayer. And this
place your alarm clock at some distance from your bed, so that you mandate remained in effect even after the Baal Shem Tov passed
cannot just turn it off and go back to sleep, as is common, but that away. In our generation, people cannot abide by this ordinance.
you will have to get out of bed. And once you are standing, it is But they should at least not miss the time of prayer (see Pele Yo'etz:
easier to withstand the test and not return to bed. Sheinah in the name of the Chida).

Awake, My Glory A Double-Edged Sword

It is worthwhile mentioning other advice regarding sleep and After a person has set the alarm clock and put down a cup for
waking up. washing his hands, he should prepare himself for sleep by reciting
the Bedtime Sh’ma with deep feeling, including all of the verses in
Rabbi Nachman writes in Sefer Hamidot that reciting the 15 the Bedtime Sh’ma service, which are especially suitable for this
“Songs of Ascent”—Psalms 120 to 134—is helpful in nullifying occasion. And he should also recite many personal prayers in his
sleep. own words, pleading from the depth of his heart for Hashem to be
compassionate and guard him and protect his soul from all extrinsic
And Rabbi Nachman also says (Likutei Moharan I 60) that the forces. And he should recite the Sh’ma from a siddur and not by
stories of primal years arouse a person from sleep, so that even heart.
a person who fell into a very deep spiritual slumber will wake up
(Chayei Moharan 25). Even though this is speaking of spiritual sleep, Let us learn a little of the value of reading Bedtime Sh’ma.
it is certainly helpful in regard to physical sleep as well. Therefore,
it is good to accustom yourself to learn Rabbi Nachman of Breslov’s Reading the Bedtime Sh’ma constitutes a very great rectification
holy book of Tales—in particular, when you want to cast off sleep for a flaw in the “covenant.” That is hinted at in the Gemara’s
and serve Hashem. statements that “when a person recites the Sh’ma on his bed, is
as though he grasps a double-edged sword in his hand” and that
Another piece of advice is to recite the verse, “Awaken, my soul, “whenever a person recites the Bedtime Sh’ma, harmful entities
awaken, lyre and harp, I will awake the dawn” (Psalms 57:9) three leave him” (Berachot 5a). Every sin creates harmful entities that
times forward and three times backward. And each of the six times prevent a person’s soul from rising to its place and attaining its
you say “I will awake,” have in mind your desire to get up. rectification. The holy books state that every night, when a person
recites the Bedtime Sh’ma, he kills thousands and tens of thousands
Similarly, a person must accustom himself not to eat before going