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Master of the universe, I believe with complete faith Closing Words slept during the Sabbath day (from She’al Avicha Veyagedcha, quoted in
that only You give the weary strength, only You give life, Igeret L’ven Torah by the Rishon Letzion, Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef).
only You can renew my strength and mind, only You This entire book from beginning to end provides the practical
can renew my faith. Give me wisdom, understanding, tools with which to attain the mighty power that is called “the Everything we have learned here must inspire us deeply to
knowledge, awareness and complete faith to know that trait of the will.” In all things, we require will. The main thing prepare ourselves so that we will sleep as little as possible on the
holy Sabbath. It is very important to prepare oneself physically
You alone give life. Only when a person clings to You that Hashem wants from everyone is his will. The essence of a by taking a nap on Friday afternoon, so as to enter the Sabbath
and binds himself to You does he receive life. Give me person’s free choice is his will. The purpose of all prayer, Torah and alert and clear. It is known that Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditshov
the knowledge that sleep does not give strength and life mitzvot is to arouse the will and to work on the will, because the said: “I am surprised that one of the Ten Commandments is not
but, on the contrary, sleep disconnects me from You, will is the strongest factor that binds a person to Hashem. By means ‘You must sleep on the eve of the holy Sabbath.’” But the main
because when a person craves sleep, he disconnects of the will, a person is transformed and rises both physically and preparation is prayer. However much a person prepares himself,
himself from the Life of lives. Therefore, when he wakes spiritually. By means of the will, a person changes his evil nature the evil inclination on the Sabbath activates all sorts of weapons
up, he is exhausted. In fact, sleep only removes a person’s and nullifies his evil cravings and traits. to make him tired and exhausted. Therefore, he must fight against
energy and life. The hours that he sleeps disconnect him The practical application of this entire book is as follows. Dedicate it with a great deal of prayer, requesting the Creator’s help and
from Hashem and are a waste of time, in the simplest a set time every day with tremendous and unyielding regularity, assistance, asking Him to rebuke the Satan so that it will leave him
sense. Therefore, please eradicate all of my ideas that during which to arouse your will, build your will and express your alone to truly serve Hashem properly.
sleep gives strength and life, because all of these ideas will in your own words, speaking to the Holy One, blessed be The general principle is that it is forbidden to want to sleep—
are complete heresy. Please give me faith and nullify this He, speaking with complete faith and great and deep intent, with whether on the Sabbath or during the week. And that is possible
heresy. Help me instead attain holy sleep, during the inspiration and fervor. only when we activate the trait of the will and engage in the work
entirety of which my soul will cling to You. of the will, which gives a person life. The Sabbath gives life not
When we do this, we truly succeed in life. We truly choose only spiritually but also physically (Sefer Hamidot: Shabbat 1). Sleep is
Master of the universe, help me cling to You 24 hours goodness. We come to truly keep the entire Torah and the death, and will is life. All tiredness is simply a lack of will. When a
a day. Please, Life of lives, have compassion on me so mitzvot—in particular, the duties of the heart. We attain complete, person is filled with intentions and longing for everything holy, he
that I will not want to abandon life for even a single pleasant and sweet teshuvah, and we attain success in every realm does not want to sleep. When he attains intent, he does not need
in life, from overcoming cravings and gaining control of ourselves
moment. Rescue me so that I will not forget You, I will to rectifying our traits and attaining absolute cleanliness and to sleep—in the simplest sense! That is because, when we attain the
not flee from You, and I will not abandon You for even purification from all of the vanities of this world. goal of intent, we literally cling to the Tree of Life, and then the
a single moment. Help me be connected to You and to Sitra Achra (the side of evil) has no power over us. Then the evil
have faith in You at every moment, so that I will cling Then we can truly live a life of satisfaction, a life of delight, a life inclination and heresy—which come from the Sitra Achra—cannot
rule over us.
to You and I will be bound to You by learning Torah, of meaning, a life in which we bind ourselves to Hashem and cling
keeping the mitzvot and possessing simple faith—and the to Him, a life of true love of the Torah and mitzvot, and a life of a May Hashem help us taste of the Tree of Life of the
main thing is by means of prayer and hitbodedut. As true bond with faith and everything holy.
Rabbi Nachman wrote, the essence of binding oneself holy will. “He will eat and live forever” (Genesis 3:22).
That which most binds a person with the Life of lives is the trait
to Hashem, may He be blessed, and of clinging to Him of the will. When we want, yearn and long for Hashem the entire
is achieved by means of prayer. When a person prays, day, we open up the supernal conduit of supernal life (the letters
heaven renews all of his strength, and he receives life of the Hebrew word for “conduit,” tzinor, may be rearranged to
directly from You. As the verse states, ‘You who cling to form the word ratzon, “will”), and it pours forth blessing and life,
Hashem your God are alive, all of you, today’ (Deuteronomy 17