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inclination to sleep. You have given that inclination the may the small amount of sleep that I engage in be very holy place and bless Hashem” (Psalms 134:2). You are so
power to vanquish me, because You want me to be in holy. worthy that the holy King is blessed by you, and the
touch with You and pray to You every day. My craving blessing that comes through your hands is a blessing….
for sleep is a daily test. There are tremendous profits to Please have compassion on me and help me know And what do [the angels] proclaim about a person who
be gained by doing the work of the will, whereas there that sleep is one-sixtieth part of death—may the acts in this way and attains this? “May Hashem bless you
are tremendous deficits caused by sleeping a great deal. Compassionate One have mercy—the death that comes from Zion” (Psalms 134:3). You will bless the Holy One,
The quality of a person’s sleep determines the nature from the pollution of the serpent, which corresponds blessed be He, from a place that is called “The Supernal
of his entire day and his entire life. Help me know that to servitude and falsehood, from which come all of the Holy,” and He will bless you from a place that is called
everything depends on my prayer and readiness. Help palaces of delusion, which exchange evil for good and Zion, so that you and the Matron—[the Shechinah]—
me understand that You want me to set aside time to good for evil. Please rescue me so that I will not fall will be blessed together….
pray every day. Please help me pray every day to be into a polluted sleep, because then the danger exists
someone who is “meritorious.” May I attain all good of exchanging evil for good and good for evil, heaven “Rise, Sing at Night”
things in sleep. Rescue me from being someone who “is forbid. Please help me attain holy sleep, and rescue my
not meritorious.” soul from the palaces of delusion. Help me distinguish Many Torah texts say wonderful things about the time of midnight
between falsehood and truth even now, in the midst of and the recitation of Tikun Chatzot—the “Midnight Lament.”
Master of the universe, please have compassion on the exile and darkness. Please have compassion on me These statements may be found in excellent anthologies on this
me and help me clearly know that the only advice to so that I will know and realize that everything depends topic. Here I will in particular cite some of the comments that
conquer this evil inclination and nullify it entirely is on holy sleep. Please help me know that the essence of relate to the topic under discussion here.
to engage in the work of the will. Help me know that my experiencing holy sleep depends on my completely
This chapter has addressed the topic of nullifying the craving for
everything depends on nullifying the craving for sleep. guarding my awareness and faith. Please have compassion 16 sleep, which is an absolute evil inclination and an aspect of death.
May I know that I have no power to nullify it, but I can on me and give me complete faith. Graciously grant me The holy books state that, because this is the case, getting up at
only do so with the help of Your power, only with the wisdom, understanding and knowledge, and guard my night is a tremendous accomplishment. When a person does this,
power of prayer. Please have compassion on me so that knowledge always. he breaks his craving for sleep. He thus subjugates and eradicates
I will not enter into this difficult war with the attitude of the power of the evil inclination—he eradicates all of the “husks”—
“my power and the strength of my hands.” May I always Rescue me so that I will never have the desire to sleep, more than he could do with any other act. This is particularly
ask for Your help. May I know that my nature pulls me because the desire to sleep is absolute heresy. It is the relevant for people doing teshuvah (Kaf Hachaim Palagi)—and in
to sleep and that only prayer changes nature. Master of desire to cast off the entire yoke of the kingdom of our generation we are all doing teshuvah. Everyone needs to do
the universe, please help me, because without You there heaven, may the Compassionate One have mercy, and teshuvah every day. And the holy books teach that getting up at
is no one to help me and save me. Have compassion on to forget Hashem. The will to sleep is darkness. It is midnight helps a person more than all self-afflictions and fasting.
me, so that I will pray to You at least half an hour a day, the death of the heart and the exile of the mind. It is As a whole, this book discusses the work of the will and personal
asking You to nullify this most difficult of evil inclinations, the most evil intention, worse than any other. Help me prayer. And it is evident that the best time to engage in this work is
the inclination for sleep, to nullify the craving for sleep. never forget You. Have compassion on me so that I will the greatest “time of favor”—which is midnight, as Rabbi Nachman
Master of the universe, completely eradicate my entire never in my life want to sleep. Rescue me from sleeping states (Likutei Moharan I 52). And all of the holy books teach that at
craving for sleep (repeat this request many times) so that a great deal. Awaken me from sleep, both physical and midnight Hashem hears a person’s prayer, and all of his requests
I will never in my life want to go to sleep. Please have spiritual. are accepted.
compassion on me so that I will have a strong resolve to