Chasidut · Breslov
Likutei Halakhot, Orach Chaim, Laws of Morning Conduct 5:11/ליקוטי הלכות·
אוְזֶהוּ מַה שֶּׁאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ, זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה (ברכות טו.): ״כָּל הַנִּפְנֶה, וְנוֹטֵל יָדָיו, וּמַנִּיחַ תְּפִלִּין, וְקוֹרֵא קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע, וּמִתְפַּלֵּל, כְּאִלּוּ קִבֵּל עוֹל מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם שְׁלֵמָה״.
1THE MORNING’S PROTOCOLReb Noson returns to the main topic of the law cited from the Shulchan Arukh: arising from sleep in the morning. After clarifying the order of going to sleep and the nighttime devotions, he now addresses the morning activities and their connection to the themes of the Rebbe’s lesson.This tikkun of daat each morning relates to what Chazal teach, that upon rising in the morning, “whoever relieves himself and washes his hands, dons tefillin, and then recites the Kriat Shema and prays the Shemoneh Esrei—it is as if he has wholeheartedly accepted the yoke of the sovereignty of Heaven.”
בהַנִּפְנֶה – וְדוֹחֶה הַמּוֹתָרוֹת, זֶה בְּחִינַת הַכְנָעַת וּבִטּוּל מְזוֹנָא דְּגוּפָא, שֶׁמִּשָּׁם כָּל הַמּוֹתָרוֹת.
2“Relieves himself.” This refers to expelling the excesses that are the body’s waste matter. In the context of our discourse, this is the idea of subjugating and eliminating the body’s sustenance,92 the waste component of food whose negative spiritual effect is the root of all excesses.93, that the waste matter from food derives from the kelipot and evil that have become intermixed with the good in creation. Thus the first thing we do in the morning to reveal daat is eliminate this superfluous sustenance, so that what remains as nourishment is only the spiritual component of the food, the soul’s sustenance.
גוְנוֹטֵל יָדָיו – זֶה בְּחִינַת נְטִילַת יָדַיִם הַנַּ״ל עַל־יְדֵי מֵימֵי הַדַּעַת.
3“And washes his hands.” This refers to the ritual washing of the hands discussed above. We wash the hands, which signify the power of faith and the performance of mitzvot, in order to purify them by means of the waters of daat.94
דוּמַנִּיחַ תְּפִלִּין – זֶה בְּחִינַת דַּעַת וּמֹחִין שֶׁזּוֹכִין עַכְשָׁיו עַל־יְדֵי הַצַּדִּיק הַנַּ״ל, שֶׁהוֹצִיא הַדַּעַת מֵהַסִּטְרָא אַחֲרָא וְכוּ׳ כַּנַּ״ל.
4“Dons tefillin.” In Kabbalah the tefillin symbolize the mochin.95 5. Thus “dons tefillin” alludes to the daat and mochin that we now merit through the tzaddik who, by praying a prayer of din and carrying out the other nighttime rectifications, has extracted the daat from the grip of the Sitra Achra.96
הוְקוֹרֵא קְרִיאַת־שְׁמַע – זֶה בְּחִינַת תִּקּוּן הָאֱמוּנָה שֶׁנַּעֲשָׂה עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה כַּנַּ״ל.
5“And recites the Kriat Shema.” This equates with the rectification of emunah in chiddush ha-olam made by this revelation of daat, as explained above.97
ווּמִתְפַּלֵּל – כִּי עַכְשָׁיו הוּא תִּקּוּן הַתְּפִלָּה בִּשְׁלֵמוּת, כִּי אַחַר־כָּךְ, אַחַר שֶׁהֻכְרַח לְהִתְפַּלֵּל בִבְחִינַת דִּין, כְּדֵי לְהוֹצִיא הַדַּעַת מֵהַסִּטְרָא אַחֲרָא כַּנַּ״ל, אַחַר־כָּךְ מְתַקֵּן תִּקּוּן הַתְּפִלָּה כְּתִקּוּנוֹ, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת רַחֲמִים וְדַעַת, שֶׁזֶּה עִקַּר תִּקּוּן הַתְּפִלָּה כַּנַּ״ל.
6“And prays.” Now that daat has been revealed and faith in chiddush ha-olam has been rectified, the time has come for the complete tikkun of prayer. For afterwards— meaning after it has become necessary to pray a prayer of din in order to extract the daat from the Sitra Achra—then one can effect to perfection the tikkun of prayer. For prayer corresponds to compassion and daat, which, when revealed, constitute the primary rectification of prayer.98 20b.
זכִּי עִקַּר הַתְּפִלָּה לְהַמְשִׁיךְ חֲסָדִים, לְעוֹרֵר בְּחִינַת חִדּוּשׁ הָעוֹלָם, בְּחִינַת ״עוֹלָם חֶסֶד יִבָּנֶה״ (תהלים פט, ג), לְעוֹרֵר הַשִּׁיר שֶׁל חֶסֶד שֶׁיִּתְעַר אָז, שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת רִבּוּי הַשִּׁירוֹת וְתִשְׁבָּחוֹת שֶׁאוֹמְרִים בִּשְׁעַת הַתְּפִלָּה וְכַנַּ״ל.
7For the essence of prayer is to draw into the world elements of chesed,99 (see above, p. 96, note 52). Kehillat Yaakov (Erekh: Hashkeim) states that the essence of prayer is to draw down chasadim. He brings in this regard Chazal’s teaching that likens the prayers of the tzaddikim to a pitchfork. Just as a pitchfork turns over the grain on a threshing floor, so too the prayers of the tzaddikim overturn the attribute of din, judgment, so that it is replaced by the attribute of rachamim, compassion (Sukkah 14a). through which to arouse belief in the future renewal of the world, as indicated in “The olam will be built with chesed.”100: “To relate Your chesed in the morning, your emunah in the nights” and “They are renewed in the mornings; your emunah is great.” See note 22 above. In LM II, 4:3, Rebbe Nachman cites the kabbalistic teaching that an arousal from above must be precipitated by an arousal from below, and asks: How then did HaShem create the entire world yesh meiayin, when nothing existed through which to effect an arousal from below, nothing to awaken His will to create? He answers that the Act of Creation was catalyzed solely by HaShem’s chesed. This, the Rebbe explains, is the deeper meaning of “The world will be built [alternatively: ‘is continually being built anew’] with chesed”—that is, as an expression of His lovingkindness, without any arousal from below. Prayer also functions to arouse the song of chesed that will burst forth at that future time, which is itself a more perfect version of the many songs and praises that we currently recite when praying.101
חוַאֲזַי הוּא מְקַבֵּל עוֹל מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם שְׁלֵמָה בְּוַדַּאי, כִּי עַל־יְדֵי שֶׁמַּמְשִׁיךְ בְּחִינַת הַתִּקּוּן שֶׁל חִדּוּשׁ הָעוֹלָם כַּנַּ״ל, עַל־יְדֵי־זֶה מִתְגַּלֶּה מַלְכוּתוֹ וּמֶמְשַׁלְתּוֹ וְכוּ׳ בִּשְׁלֵמוּת. כִּי עִקַּר הִתְגַּלּוּת מַלְכוּתוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ יִהְיֶה אָז, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (זכריה יד, ט): ״וְהָיָה ה׳ לְמֶלֶךְ עַל כָּל הָאָרֶץ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא וְכוּ׳״, וּכְתִיב (תהלים צז, א): ״ה׳ מָלָךְ תָּגֵל הָאָרֶץ״; (שמות טו, יח): ״ה׳ יִמְלֹךְ לְעֹלָם וָעֶד״, וְכֵן הַרְבֵּה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר עַל הִתְגַּלּוּת מַלְכוּתוֹ לֶעָתִיד, וּמִשָּׁם אָנוּ מַמְשִׁיכִין קַבָּלַת עוֹל מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם שְׁלֵמָה עַתָּה כְּפִי עֲבוֹדָתֵנוּ, שֶׁהַכֹּל בִּשְׁבִיל זֶה לְהַמְשִׁיךְ עָלֵינוּ קְדֻשַּׁת חִדּוּשׁ הָעוֹלָם בְּזֶה הָעוֹלָם הַמַּעֲשֶׂה דַּיְקָא, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה יִזְכֶּה כָּל אֶחָד כְּפִי חֶלְקוֹ לְהַשִּׁיר וְכוּ׳ שֶׁל חִדּוּשׁ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהוּא חֶלְקוֹ לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא.
8And then, having completed the morning devotions and prayed, one certainly accepts the yoke of the sovereignty of Heaven wholeheartedly. For by drawing down the tikkun of chiddush ha-olam of the future, HaShem’s sovereignty and dominion are fully revealed, since the main revelation of His sovereignty will be at that future time, as it is written, “HaShem will be King over the entire world. On that day…”102 and “When HaShem will reign, the world will rejoice”103, that it refers to HaShem’s reign in the future. and “HaShem will reign for all time.” There are many verses in this vein that speak of the future revelation of HaShem’s sovereignty. Even so, now too we draw from that future revelation a complete acceptance of the yoke of the sovereignty of Heaven, in accordance with our spiritual devotions in this world. This is the purpose of all our devotions: to draw upon ourselves the holiness of chiddush ha-olam specifically in this world of action. Through this, each person, according to his portion earned by his devotions, will merit hearing the song and melody of chiddush ha-olam, this being his portion and reward in the World to Come.