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wept he began to tell him that he wants to be a decent know how to unify the holy name properly. This is the during sleep. As the verse states, “In a dream I will speak with
person. Rabbeinu, who was already lying in bed, got up praise of those people who have faith, those who arise Him” (Numbers 12:6).
and sat on his bed, and began to talk with him, and at midnight to learn Torah and by doing so cling to the
taught him this path, and he also told him what he should Congregation of Israel in praising the Holy One, blessed Thus, the time when a person lies down to sleep is the time of the
learn. And he also directed him to be among those who be He, with words of Torah. greatest and most tremendous war in his life, a war whose outcome
will determine the course of his entire coming day and his entire
make an accounting—i.e., that every night before he lies life. This is a war of the will. And the following is the work that
down he should think about what he did that day. If Come and see: when a person rises at midnight to learn a person must engage in when he lies down to go to sleep:
he learned and prayed properly on that day, he should Torah and a northern wind arises at midnight, the doe
thank Hashem, may He be blessed, and tell Him: “Praise that is the Shechinah stands and praises the Holy One, When a person lies down to go to sleep, he must have the intent
and thanksgiving to Your great and holy name for having blessed be He. And when she rises to praise, thousands of clinging to Hashem. He must strengthen and intensify his will
given me the merit to learn and pray a little this past and tens of thousands of angels and souls of tzaddikim more and more until his soul will rise and truly cling to Hashem. A
day, in keeping with Your will. And I plead before You, stand and offer praise with her from their place. They all person’s evil inclination tries to seize his soul and imbue it with the
Hashem my God, to help me tomorrow to increase begin to praise the holy King. desire to sleep. That is the entire focus of this war: will the person
serving You with more Torah and prayer, and with a prevail and possess a strong and absolute intent to absolutely cling
to Hashem, or will his evil inclination smuggle a small urge for
more perfect, deep intent.” But if, heaven forbid, he did The Holy One, blessed be He, listens to the person sleep into him, and then seize him and take him prisoner? That is a
not learn and pray properly during the previous day, he who has merited to rise at midnight to learn Torah, person’s most difficult struggle: to stand and plead with Hashem to
should confess and plead before Him, may He be blessed, as the colleagues have explained. As the verse states: help him be a warrior who possesses tremendous will, who yearns
and say: “Master of the world, I know that I sinned this “You who sit in the gardens, the colleagues heed your 15 and longs for Hashem—and in the midst of that to fall asleep. A
day and I did not serve You properly—neither in Torah voice. Let me hear” (Song of Songs 8:13). And that entire person must cry out to Hashem: “Master of the universe, help
nor in prayer,” and so forth. “Now I beseech and plead heavenly population and all those giving praise who sing me not stop having these intentions!”
before You”—and so forth—“to forgive and pardon me to their Master are silenced for the sake of the praises
for having not served You properly in the past. And help of those who have learned Torah. And [these angels] Take Heed of the Kidnappers
me serve You through Torah learning and praying, with proclaim: “Behold, bless Hashem, all of the servants of
proper intent and wholeness, in keeping with Your will.” Hashem. You are the ones to bless Hashem, you are the A person who wants to sleep and dives into sleep without a strong
ones to praise the holy King, you are the ones to crown will and great effort for holiness is seized by sleep. He falls prisoner
The holy books speak a great deal about the value of this practice. the King.” And that doe—[the Shechinah]—is crowned and is tied with ropes that paralyze him physically and spiritually.
A person who engages in an hour of hitbodedut every day, in which because of that person. She stands before the King and Therefore, sleep is called “the ropes of sleep,” and our sages refer
he judges himself for all of his actions, is certainly considered to says: “Look at the son that I have brought You, the son to falling asleep as being seized: “sleep seizes him, and thus he
be among those who engage in such a personal accounting. It is for whose sake I have awakened to You.” sleeps the entire night” (Berachot 4b). And this phrase is used in
preferable to engage in such a personal accounting with a calm mind the Shulchan Aruch: “until sleep will seize him” (Shulchan Aruch:
and without hurry, and not before going to sleep, when a person is And who are those all of whose praise comes before Orach Chaim 481). Sleep seizes a person. The powers of uncleanness
tired, and the evil inclination is hounding him. Nevertheless, before the King? The verse continues: “Those who stand in the seize his soul and pollute it. It is no wonder that he is contaminated
going to bed he should mentally review his actions and engage in house of Hashem in the nights” (Psalms 10:3): those who in all sorts of ways and that he dreams all sorts of terrible dreams
teshuvah for every flaw that he finds in himself. are called servants of Hashem, those who are worthy of that destroy his soul. He goes to sleep without feeling the fear of
blessing the King and whose blessing is a blessing. That heaven, and as a result all of his sleep appears as it does.
is referred to by the verse: “Raise your hands in the