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Second Axiom: Hashem is All-Powerful, He Rav Kahane was a peddler selling his wares. In one of does not have a sense of urgency. He deeply wants to be saved, but
Transcends Time, and He Is Beyond All Rules and the houses he went to, a gentile noblewoman [a woman that desire is not truly burning in him. He is alive and breathing,
Principles who could threaten him with death if he would not obey and so everything is basically all right, and he will pray accordingly.
her] saw him and urged him to sin. Rav Kahane told her Then Hashem will respond to his prayer accordingly: Since he is
An additional point—one that is very important in contributing that he must first prepare. He took the opportunity to go not in such a hurry to be saved, Hashem too isn’t in such a hurry.
to your faith that Hashem is all-powerful—is the belief that at onto the roof of the building and leap. But it is difficult for a person to visualize his danger with 100
this very moment Hashem can save you and help you become percent intensity. It is very hard to experience a true feeling of
completely clean in the area that you are working on. Time does Immediately, Elijah the prophet flew to him, caught danger when he is standing on solid earth and he has food and all
not exist for Hashem. He is all-powerful. Therefore, He can give him, and told him that he (Rav Kahane) had troubled good things in the house. And in spiritual matters, a person feels
you everything right now. I explained before that the power of Elijah to come to save him from a distance of 400 parsah that he is as filled with mitzvot as a pomegranate is filled with
your prayer depends upon your faith. Therefore, I must delve into (Kiddushin 40a). seeds. He learns Torah and prays, and he even spends an hour on
the fundamental topic of faith, because faith fulfills the power of hitbodedut and half an hour on the work of the will. Therefore, he
prayer. We see from these stories that these tzaddikim literally felt that feels that he has “hit the jackpot” and that he is perfectly all right.
dying was preferable to commiting a sin. And we see a similar idea He thinks: “It is true that I am still sinning, that I still have cravings
You may ask: how can I at this very moment leave behind my as well in the famous story of Rabbi Matya ben Charash—who, and evil traits, that I am addicted to smoking, and that I get angry
sin, desire or addiction, or receive spiritual salvation, since doing so when he saw that he could not otherwise withstand a test, stabbed now and then. But that’s all right, it isn’t so terrible, and I have a
takes time, and a person needs to build vessels, and so forth? I will white hot nails into his eyes to blind himself (Yalkut Midrashim). The
explain briefly, and afterwards go into greater detail. You receive sense that transgressing Hashem’s will is simply inconceivable is lot of reasons to be happy….” His work of the will parallels that
feeling. His prayer is respectable, but not urgent. It is not fueled by
salvation in accordance with your faith. If you believe that Hashem not something straightforward and natural. But these men truly any feeling of deadly danger. It is as though he is praying, “Master
is all-powerful, and that right now He can give you wisdom, felt this. As a result, their prayer was so strong and powerful that of the world, help me nullify my craving whenever You get around
understanding, knowledge, intellect, faith, intent and power, and they were entirely cleansed of lust, and they attained tremendous to it….”
build all of the vessels for you, then in accordance with what you levels. The Talmudic sages were able to revive the dead and were
believe, you will receive. If you believe that Hashem can give you privileged to receive the revelation of Elijah the prophet. But we The truth is that it is proper to feel like that: to be happy in your
all that is necessary in this moment, that is what you will receive. must know that they were not born clean, holy and pure. There is portion and to look at the good in your life throughout the entire
no such thing. Every person, even the greatest tzaddik, is a human day. It is an excellent thing to rejoice throughout the day. But during
This brief explanation requires much elaboration and in-depth being who comes into the world with cravings and evil traits. King
explanation. David himself writes, “With iniquity was I formed, and with sin my the time of the work of the will, your job is to visualize that your
every sin, evil trait, destructive craving, and everything else not in
mother conceived me” (Psalms 51:7). All of the tsaddikim were keeping with Hashem’s will is literally, in its simple sense, death. In
I explained earlier that there are points of truth that weaken a
person’s faith and prayer. The evil inclination works especially hard human beings. The only way for a person to change is by engaging regard to your eternal purpose, you must feel that you are deadly
in a great deal of prayer. The tzaddikim felt and lived the truth
to weaken a person’s faith that Hashem is all-powerful and can save ill, in great danger, crushingly impoverished, about to die of hunger
everyone in a single moment. that every sin is death. Therefore, when they called out to Hashem and thirst. And all of your visualizations of being swept away and
to nullify a craving, they cried out as though they were crying out all of your visualizations in which you see yourself as destitute and
It is true that you require salvation immediately, and it is true for life. In the stories told above, Rav Tzadok and Rav Kahane endangered do not suffice to describe your situation.
that the Holy One, blessed be He, wishes very much to save you secured their attainments because they engaged in a great deal of
immediately. But Hashem wants everything to be with free choice, prayer. As Rabbi Nachman says, all of the tzaddikim reached their If you can picture even 20 per cent of your adversity and danger,
that everything will come about as a result of your preparing the levels only as a result of engaging in prayer and hitbodedut. And that is already a tremendous advance, and your prayers will be more
appropriate vessels, that everything will be realized as a result of certainly they prayed as though they were praying for their lives, forceful. How much more if you are able to picture the danger
your intent, that you will be led where you want to go. Therefore, because they viewed every sin as actual death. Therefore, they more palpably and with more vivid imagery, because your imagery
were prepared to die, in the most literal sense. generates a matching feeling and outcry, and corresponding to that