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evil inclination of sleep is your primary enemy, that it is absolute evil enough. Remember: “The greatness of a goal must be matched by A Prayer for the Work of the Will Regarding Sleep
and the angel of death, in the simplest sense. Lamentably, people the greatness of the desire for it” (Likutei Moharan 66). The spiritual
think that it is good. It clothes itself in mitzvot and tells a person, work of sleep and waking up with alacrity early in the morning—- Master of the universe, Life of lives, You Who revive
“Sleeping is a mitzvah,” “Guarding one’s health is a mitzvah,” and which is the foundation of a Jew’s life, and the beginning of every the dead and the living, You Who awaken the sleeping
the like. Be aware that the essential weapon with which to overcome good and successful day in serving Hashem—requires a great deal of and arouse the slumbering, I thank You profoundly for
this evil inclination is prayer. Therefore, devote a minimum of half resolve, a great deal of work. That is a person’s daily test and daily
an hour a day to plead and cry out to Hashem to help you know burden. It requires him to engage in daily prayer and devotion. having given me the evil inclination of sleep and for
that this is your central struggle in life. Ask Hashem to give you a Therefore, your sole solution is to devote at least half an hour a day having given this evil inclination the power to vanquish
strong and completely powerful will with which to desire to cling to to the work of the will, and to want and pray to nullify your craving me. Throughout my entire life, it has overwhelmed me,
Hashem and not to desire sleep. Ask Him to give you a great deal for sleep and to get up in the morning with alacrity until you attain misled me and deceived me into thinking that sleeping
of will to pray at length. Address Hashem in the following words: the purified and powerful will required for this matter. is a mitzvah, and it has filled me with the craving for
sleep so that I should want to sleep. In my foolishness
Master of the universe, I got up late today. I request Therefore, dear reader, do not afflict yourself with vain accusations: and senselessness, I thought that it is a good inclination
forgiveness for that, and I also request forgiveness for the “I am listless, I am contemptible, I have a strong craving for sleep, interested in my benefit. Therefore, I obeyed it and I
fact that I do not have sufficient will to get up early, for I have no fear of heaven,” and the like. Be aware, dear reader, believed it when it said that a person must want to sleep.
the fact that my will remains very weak. that the truth is that Hashem gave you this evil inclination. You I fell into sleep, and I slept unnecessary hours until I lost
didn’t buy it from the store. The truth is that Hashem gave this days and nights, holidays and Sabbaths. And I also lost
Master of the universe, I want to rectify matters. I want evil inclination the power to overcome you and vanquish you. And the hours that I was required to sleep, because I slept
to live in accordance with Your will. Therefore, I need what does Hashem want from you? To have intent and to pray, in them with the craving for sleep. And so my soul was in
accordance with what you are learning here. And the main thing is
to devote at least half an hour a day to the work of the that you set aside time to engage in the work of the will! That is all the grip of the powers of uncleanness. And even when I
will on this topic. Help me devote half an hour every of your service: the work of the will and prayer. After you know woke up, I slept spiritually. It was hard for me to rejoice,
day to the work of the will. Help me set aside time to sit, this, all of your work begins. Therefore, tell Hashem: and I did not serve Hashem with joy and a good heart.
focus, pray, and so forth. Master of the universe, give Therefore, I slept away and lost my life. And that loss is
me resolve. Help me accustom myself to want and pray I thank You a great deal, Hashem, for having given very terrible, beyond measure.
for this every day of my life—particularly, before I go me this evil inclination of craving for sleep, which is so
to sleep. Help me acquire a strong and powerful will, so strong that it has incinerated many years of my life. If But certainly, everything is for the good and everything
that I will always get up early to serve You and fear You. not for Your help, I could not overcome it. But although is precisely calibrated in keeping with a person’s spiritual
I cannot overcome it by myself, I can intend—I can state. During the entire time that I did not work and pray
Other resolutions—such as using two alarm clocks, asking a friend intend to cling to You properly and serve You when I to conquer and nullify this evil inclination, I had no vessel
to wake you, imposing fines on yourself, and the like—are all well lie down properly and get up properly. Creator of the
and good, and they indeed express your positive resolve to get up, universe, until now You have given the evil inclination to receive salvation. Had I succeeded without prayer and
and they might help you somewhat. But they will not rectify the the work of the will, I would have been harmed and
problem at its root. The root of the problem is a lack of resolve, power over me. Please give me the might to vanquish the filled with haughtiness. Help me so that I will not fall into
and the only solution is for you to engage in work that will intensify evil inclination of sleep. Since You are all-powerful, You depression and self-recrimination, but that I will accept
your resolve, because as long as that is missing, all solutions and can help me so that I will be redeemed from the craving this with love. May I rejoice that You have helped me
resolutions are like an aspirin that doesn’t deal with the root of the for sleep, and I will overcome it with the strength of a begin to feel the desire to awaken from sleep.
illness from which the pain proceeds. It is true that you want to get lion. When I have sufficient intention, You will help me
up, that you feel terrible that you are waking up late—but that isn’t 16 and guide me, because it is a spiritual law that “in the Master of the universe, You have given me an evil