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holy way, it is a great mitzvah to do so. Help me reach house and heard him learning, he said to himself, “If he got up so
Godly insights. Only when my intellect begins to falter early even though he isn’t getting paid, how much more should I
and fall prey to foreign and evil thoughts and ideas must get up early, since I am working to support my family.” Every time
we set aside our mind entirely and rely on faith alone, the young man saw the smith, he got up earlier, and every time the
which corresponds to sleep and the Bedtime Sh’ma, and smith saw the young man, he got up earlier. In the end, the young
then we cling to You directly. Please have compassion man accustomed himself to sleep very little, and he became one of
the lights of Hasidism.
on me and help me reduce my amount of sleep, so that
I will not sleep any more than necessary, during which From here we learn that we must derive a lesson from those
time You will renew my soul within supernal faith, which people who pursue the vanities of this world: how much more
is the root of holy faith. Help me so that I will possess must we must devote our time to serve Hashem—particularly, on
holy faith. Help me so that when I sleep I will learn the Sabbath, which is so elevated and precious. But when a person
Torah. By means of sleeping, may I attain a new soul and suffers from smallness of mind and lack of attention, he neglects the
a new revelation in Torah. precious hours of the Sabbath and sells them for a pottage of lentils.
He trades in the true delight of the Sabbath, which is taking delight
Please help me know that if a person does not guard his in Hashem, for an imaginary Sabbath delight of eating and sleeping.
mind during the day, when he sleeps he will not renew
his mind completely, because as he sleeps his soul will Why Reduce Delight?
not be allowed to enter the gates of holiness, which
is faith. Master of the universe, guard me so that no It is said that Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter, the author of the
foreign thoughts will enter my mind. Give me only good Chidushei Harim, was once asked why he doesn’t sleep very
thoughts. Help me always be joyful, because that will much on the Sabbath, since sleep on the Sabbath is called a delight.
make it very easy to cling to You always.Please have pity He answered, “The answer to that is alluded to in Pirkei Avot.
It states that the Torah is acquired with ‘reduction of sleep’ (Avot
on my poor and abject soul. Have pity on me in Your 6:6). If you object that sleep constitutes the delight of the Sabbath,
great compassion. Give me hope. May I not be lost. Give the mishnah states that the Torah is acquired with ‘reduction of
me a good end. Have pity on me from now on, so that delight.’ Yes, you can delight in the Sabbath by sleeping, but by
from this day onward I will remind myself of all of the doing so you are losing the holy Torah.”
Godly words that we heard from our holy rabbis, may
their memory be for a blessing, and I will truly awaken Rabbi Nachman of Tsheherin used to test children on their
from my great sleep. I wander about like a flock without learning every Sabbath afternoon. One Sabbath, a child knocked
a shepherd. I am like a mast at the head of a mountain on the door and, when he received no reply, he kept knocking,
until Rabbi Nachman of Tsheherin got up from bed and opened the
and like a ship in the heart of the sea. “I have pondered, door for him. Rabbi Nachman told him amiably, “My son, if you
and I have been like a lone bird on a roof” (Psalms 102:8). knock once or twice and the door isn’t opened, you must consider
that perhaps the people in the house are taking a nap.” The boy
Jewish nation that is the foundation of all being, replied naively, “What, the rabbi sleeps on the Sabbath?” Rabbi
awaken, wake up! Arise, stand, stand up! Petition the Nachman of Tsheherin testified that from then on he no longer
countenance of God with the most persuasive prayers.
