Ba'al Shem Tov

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Kuntres Meirat Einayim.31.1
Afterwards, the cantor got up on his feet and testified that once they studied Torah before our Godly master, the Baal Shem Tov, may his memory be blessed; and a fire burned all around them; until they were purified very much and received the Torah from the mouth of our teacher in the same way that the Israelites received [it] on Mount Sinai. It was with voices and lightning - 'and the call of the shofar was very powerful.' It was truly like Mount Sinai.
Kuntres Meirat Einayim.31.2
For these voices were never removed, as they were Godly; but they require holiness and purification. And our aforementioned holy rabbi answered, "I have not grasped this, but it is not a wonder. Since his service and his holiness were from Israel, our Godly teacher was very very [great]; and especially when his service was on the Dniester River, which is a place of purity. And [such is referred to] from the mouth of Achiyah the Shiloni - 'fortunate is the one born from a woman that merited this.'" And all those who had awe who heard this understood that all of these virtues that were mentioned above were also [found] in our Rabbi Elimelekh - may his memory be a blessing for life in the world to come - or similar to [them].
Bereshit.1.1
1. With the help of Hashem Yisbarach, in His Holy United name...
Bereshit.1.2
2. Breishet. I received from the Rav Hamochiach (preacher or reprove) who said in the name of the Baal Shem Tov, that when the Messiah comes, speedily in our days, the whole Torah will be explained (or interpreted) from the beginning to the end, on all the combinations in each and every word. And after this, he will make from the whole Torah one word, and he will elevate combinations without number, and he will expound upon all the combinations. (Teshuot Chen, Parshah Tazria).
Bereshit.2.1
1. "In the beginning G-d created", etc. To resolve the problem that was difficult for all the Rishonim, may their memories be for a blessing, why did the Holy One not create the world before this time? In that this action/deed is immediate good from absence. And why did His Will, may He be blessed, change, will to will in the moment of creation and not before this, behold He, blessed is His Name, is not a Master of Change? Of this it is written (Malachi 3:6) "I Hashem do not (or have not) change".
Bereshit.2.2
2. And the solution of this [problem is] that He does not resemble the acts of flesh and blood. The wisdom that he has now he did not have from before. And his wisdom he acquired (or possessed), and he is (at) a disadvantage. For instance, because of what he needs prior to living in it, therefore he acquires wisdom to build himself a house, then he builds himself the house. But He, praise His Name, His Wisdom is intrinsic and not acquired and He is not at a disadvantage. And therefore this is the Will that rose in His Will to create the world, not that he renewed for Himself this Will at the time of the creation of the world. Rather, like He is ancient, so his His Will is ancient. And this (early desire) was His immediate Will to create the World in this moment when He created it and not before. And therefore in the moment the world was created it was created truly in that moment and in that time, just like it was in His Will before to create it. Specifically in this moment, and if so reasonably He had no change in His Will whatsoever.
Bereshit.2.3
The proof of this is the world as it will be in the time to come, "the world that is entirely Shabbat, [where] the righteous sit with their crowns on their heads" (Berachot 17:a), and none but God will be exalted on that day (Isaiah 2:11). Certainly that world is at a higher [spiritual] level than the world is now, and such an event/reality certainly is better than its absence. So why did the Holy One Blessed Be He not begin with this, [but rather arrange it so that] all this must come at its own era and time - just as Shabbat comes only after the six profane days? In regard to the creation of the world, even though the Holy One Blessed be He knew that its existence was better than its absence, nonetheless, He placed His Will in opposition to His [fore]knowledge and so made this [present world] come first. Though he knew that this act [creating the world in an ideal state] was good, still He desired to not bring this about until its appointed time. So He ignored His knowledge and followed His will. That which preceded creation can be likened to the world that is entirely Shabbat, and this is as the verse says (Kohelet 3:11) He brings everything to pass precisely at its time, even the world [this is reading against the p'shat of the Kohelet verse]. This is a very deep secret that one who understands [Kabbalah] will comprehend.
Bereshit.126.1
We learned "a person sees all defects, except (chutz) their own defects" (M. Nega'im 2:5) and the holy Ba'al Shem Tov explained that "a person sees all defects outside (chutz)" - what they see is a continuation of that person's defects, as our sages say "he disqualifies others with his own flaw."
Noach.14.2
Amud Hatefillah - The Pillar of Prayer
Noach.15.1
"Make an opening [tzohar] for the ark [teivah], closing up to a cubit at the top." (Genesis 6:16) -- The Baal Shem Tov, peace be upon him, explained these words in the following way: let the word (teivah) said in Torah or in prayer radiate light (matzhir)! For in every letter there are worlds, souls and divinity, that rise up and interconnect and cleave to one another and to the divine. Afterwards, these letters connect and conjoin, finally becoming a word. After that, they connect and unify unifications of truth in the Divine - and one must unify one's soul with each of the aforementioned aspects. In this way, all the worlds rise and become as one, and then there is immense joy and immeasurable delight. This is the meaning of "...bottom, second, and third decks," (Genesis 6:16) - that is the worlds, souls and divinities, as it says (Zohar I:159a) "there are three worlds, etc." In each and every word one must listen to what is being spoken, since the Shechina is the world of speech, as it is says (Zohar III:230a) "She speaks and He is Her escort." "Tzohar" - this 'opening' for light - that everything should be illuminated with clarity, giving pleasure to the Creator. One needs great faith (Emunah) for this, since the Shechinah Herself is called Emunat Amen, faithful faith (Zohar II:16b). Without faith, Heaven forbid, She is called (Proverbs 16:28) "A querulous one who alienates their friend." As for the end of the verse, "closing up to a cubit (amah)" -- this is the Mother (Ima). It could be said that after the word leaves one's mouth, it does not need to be remembered again, one does not see that it rises to an elevated place, just as one can not look at the sun, as it says, "closing up at the top." How does one do all this? "Go into the ark [teivah], you and all your household." (Genesis 7:1) -- this means that with all your body and strengths, you shall enter the word [teivah]!
Noach.16.1
In prayer, one needs to exert all one's energy in the speech, moving from one letter to the other until one completely forgets corporeality. One should see the letters joining and combining with each other, and this is great joy! If it is joyful in the material world, how much more so in the realm of the spirit - the world of yetzirah , formation. Once the thought is directed towards the letters, one does not even hear what one is saying - this is arriving at the world of beriah, creation. Afterwards, one arrives to the aspect of Nothingness, when all one's bodily forces are annulled, and this is the world of atzilut, emanation, and the sefirah of chochmah, wisdom.
Noach.17.1
"Make an opening (tzohar) in the ark (teivah)" (Genesis 6:16) --My grandfather, the Baal Shem Tov, may he rest in Eden, illuminated this passage. He said that teivah actually means 'word', and the meaning of making an opening for the word is that you should be careful to bring light into the words that come from your lips. The verse continues: "Make bottom and second and third floors." This seems to be what my grandfather related to me, saying that in every word are worlds, souls, and divinities. This is what is meant by teivah, speech, which also has at its most basic level worlds. The second level is also known as mishneh, secondary, which has the same letters as neshamah, soul - this is the level of souls. And the third level (shelishim) is divinities, which is hinted at in the verse (Exodus 14:7), "Officers (shalishim) [ruling] over all of them," like the Divine who rules over all things. All of these levels you should "Make" - the speech and the word coming out of your mouth should have this intention and be in complete faithfulness, knowing that in each act of speech there are bottom and second and third levels, the worlds, souls and divinities --- Understand this!
Noach.18.1
The Baal Shem Tov of blessed memory said on the verse (Gen 16:6) "Make an opening for the ark (teivah)" - one should let light flow into the word (teivah) of prayer. The verse continues, "closing up to a cubit above" -- meaning, one draws sustenance to the Shechinah from above.
Noach.19.1
I heard in the name of the Baal Shem Tov of blessed memory, that he explained the verse (Genesis 16:6) "Make an opening for the ark (teivah)" - one should turn the words (teivah) of Torah and of prayer into an illuminated opening, to look and see from the beginning of the world until its end.
Noach.20.1
The Baal Shem Tov, may his memory guard us, would explain the verse (Genesis 6:16) "Make an opening (tzohar) for the ark (teivah)." Tzohar actually means light, and teivah actually means speech. This means that when a Jew wants to speak, they must make sure that one's thought illuminates the words first, because thought (machshavah) is the same letters and connected to chashav mah, 'think of the object'.
Noach.21.1
My grandfather of blessed memory explained the secret of the verse (Genesis 6:16) "lower and second and third decks" - that one should make ones petitions from the letters, from the mystery of the divine light that dwells within them, and make the petition come from there, etc.
Noach.22.1
One should certainly make their petitions from the letters themselves, as I heard from my father of blessed memory. He explained that these petitions can come from the divine mystery within them, to ask that for help, that one may express these letters with true intention, for their own sake. In this way, all harsh judgements are sweetened at their core.
Noach.23.1
I heard from my father of blessed memory that the letters are without meaning.
Noach.24.1
I also heard that each and every word includes within it the entire world -- and "words from the mouth of the wise are grace!" (Kohelet 10:12)
Noach.25.1
Know that each and every word is an entire body, and one's entire strength must be put into it, for if not, it will be like one with a missing limb.
Noach.26.1
One who says their prayers with all the intentions (kavannot) that they know - this person is not only intending in the way that they know, but in saying the words with great communion with God, each and every word naturally comprises of all the intentions on its own. For each letter is an entire world, and when one says the word with great communion, certainly those supernal worlds are aroused, and one makes great actions thereby. Therefore, one should be careful to pray with passion and with great communion, and this will certainly cause reaction in the supernal worlds, since every letter causes arousal above.
Noach.27.1
So too, if one's prayer be pure and clear, one's sacred breath coming out of their mouth in prayer will join and connect with the supernal breath that constantly comes into one. As our Holy Sages said on the verse (Psalms 150:6) "Every living soul (neshamah) will praise God," - this means that with each and every breath (neshimah) that one breathes out, from below to above and returns from above to below - certainly through this some piece of divinity from the person is now connected to its root.
Noach.28.1
The Rabbi's soul told him that the reason that he merited that supernal things were revealed to him was not because he had studied much Talmud and halachic codes, but because he had always prayed with great intention, kavannah gedolah, and for this he merited to attain such a level.
Noach.29.1
The Baal Shem Tov revealed that even though one prays with great cleaving and with the proper levels of love and fear - even so, one must be sure to also have the proper submission to the Holy One. One time he and his disciples were praying with great cleaving, but without submission, and there was great opposition above, and only one of them who had submitted and was thereby saved.
Noach.30.1
The Baal Shem Tov said that one who reads from the Torah and sees the light of the letters in the Torah -- if even they didn't understand the cantillation correctly, since they had read with great love and passion, the Holy One is not exacting with the reader, even though the words weren't read correctly. This can be compared to a young child beloved by her father. When she asks for something from her father, even if she stutters and makes mistakes, the father has great joy. Therefore, when one says words of Torah with love, the Holy One has much love towards them and isn't exacting as to whether they spoke correctly, as our rabbis of blessed memory taught (Song of Songs 2:4) "His banner (diglo) of love is over me." - don't read this word as diglo, but as ligluglo, His mockery of love is over me.
Noach.31.1
One needs to guard one's mouth and tongue with regard to all speech. Even in terms of permitted speech our blessed sages were strict, as they said (Berachot 14a) that one should not even say hello to a person, since even this is destructive before the morning prayer. It is known that the world was created through thought, speech and action. Thought is the most primary, and speech is a branch of thought, and action is a branch of speech. So too, when a person wakes up from their sleep and becomes a new creature, as it is written (Eichah 3:23) "Renewed every morning" - if one begins by speaking permitted speech, and all the more so that which is not permitted! - even if one continues by praying and studies Torah, everything branches out from this first speech-act. Just as speech is a branch of thought and inferior to it, so too is the second speech-act to the first, as it says in the Zohar 2:83a and in the writings of Isaac Luria on respecting one's older brother, since the eldest brother takes the principal share and the other siblings are continuations from him. So too here, and therefore one should be careful to sanctify one's first speech-act, purifying one's first thought that it cleave to holiness so that it draws towards it all subsequent acts of speech. Afterwards, standing in prayer with the joy of performing a commandment, just as one's speech and thought were sanctified in this way, one's prayer will surely be answered.
Noach.32.1
Everything one sees should be a reminder of the Holy Blessed One! If it is love, one should recall the love of God. If it is fear, one should recall fear of God. We know this from several sources. And even when one goes to the toilet, one should think: behold, I am separating bad from good, and the good will remain to worship Him, may He be blessed! All such thoughts are divine unifications.
Noach.33.1
"Justice goes before Him, as He sets out on His way." (Psalms 85:14) -- There is a moral teaching here. There are some people who, on their way to fulfil the mitzvah of prayer or some such thing, stop to speak to other people. Even though they afterwards go on to the mitzvah, they have transgressed in not having run with passion, and their punishment after their death will be similar in nature. We know from several books that [after death] one passes over a river on a very narrow bridge, and this is considered as difficult suffering, for one has fear and trembling and needs to run very fast. This is the only way, on a very narrow bridge, to run fast. And then in the middle of the bridge, the Holy One sends an interrupting angel! And this is the very same angel that was created from that mitzvah that was interrupted and caused pain to this angel. From the thought that one had at home, intending to perform the mitzvah, a soul was created for the angel, and in actually performing the mitzvah, a body was created. But since one delayed the creation of that body, tarrying along the way and speaking to people, this angel comes to delay one, and not allow one to run, and this will be very frightening. This is the meaning of "Justice goes before Him," -- the simple meaning is that all one's mitzvot walk before one after death. But when one is careful to go quickly and passionately when going to perform a mitzvah or to the synagogue, and not with laziness, "He sets out on His way" and doesn't interrupt the person crossing the river.
Noach.34.1
"Kindness is yours, God, and You will pay each man according to his deeds." (Psalms 62:13) The difficulty on this verse is well-known. Yet it seems to apply to the story told by the holy Baal Shem Tov, that once there was a strong indictment against the Jews on Yom Kippur. Satan said that he was not talking at all about the wicked people, but rather about good and God-fearing people. Such people who would come to pray in the synagogue every day, but on their way to pray would see a carriage carrying firewood, and would start haggling over the price and get a small discount, on account of which they would come to the synagogue late, after barechu and kedusha. All the defending angels above have nothing to say in defence of this. But the Baal Shem Tov had something to say. He said: it is true that before performing the mitzvah, they were willing to give it up for a small sum. But after performing the mitzvah, even if they would have been offered a large sum of money, nobody would give it up, not even the simple-minded. And on account of this defence, the harsh decrees were sweetened. This is the meaning of the verse "Kindness is yours, God, and You will pay each man according to his deeds" - that is, according to the mitzvah after it was done, not before it was done.
Noach.35.1
I heard from my teacher of blessed memory that it happens that some need to strengthen themselves before prayer, in order to have the mental channels (mochin) open to pray without any foreign thoughts at all, or to pray with cleaving. This is done by singing or by studying Torah before standing to pray, and this opens up the mental channels. There are some, however, who when they begin with many songs and Torah study have no mental channels open for prayer. This is the meaning of the Talmudic teaching (Menachot 110a): "One who brings much or one who brings little [are equal], as long as their heart is directed towards heaven" - as long as one has these mental channels, mochin, they are equal. We have thus solved the difficulty brought up by the Taz (on Orach Chayim 1:4) - and the words of the wise are pleasant.
Noach.36.1
One should not recite many psalms before prayer, in order not to tire the body and not be able afterwards to say the main parts of the prayer, the obligation of the day, with great cleaving: namely, the [obligatory] psalms, the Shema, and the standing prayer. One loses their strength on other things before getting to these parts of the prayer. At first, one should only say the main parts of the prayer with great cleaving, and if God gives them additional strength then they should also say other psalms and the Song of Songs with great cleaving. The same applies on Yom Kippur before Neilah, one should say the fixed order of prayer minimally, in order to be able to pray with great cleaving.
Noach.37.1
Our sages taught (Pesachim 117a) that whenever a psalm begins with "A song to David (mizmor leDavid)", that indicates that he would first play music and only then would the Shechinah descend on him. The song would bring the holy spirit to David. And whenever the psalm begins "To David, a song (leDavid mizmor)", first the Shechinah would descend upon him with the holy spirit, and afterwards he would recite poetry. But when we recite the Book of Psalms ourselves, we should be humble and embarrassed, for when does the holy spirit enter us, whether before or after? As such, we should be careful to say the psalms in holiness and in purity, in awe and wonder.
Noach.38.1
It was taught in the name of the Baal Shem Tov, that he used to instruct his disciples to study a teaching of Zohar before every time they prayed.
Noach.39.1
One should take care to pray, whether in summer or in winter, before the rising of the sun. That is, the majority of the prayer, almost up to the recitation of the Shema, before the sun rises. For the distance between before and after sunrise is as the distance between East and West, since before it rises one can still easily nullify the forces of harshness. This can be seen in the verse (Psalms 19:6) "And he (the sun) is like a groom going forth from his canopy, eager as a hero, etc... and nothing is hidden from his heat (michamato)." Don't read this word as michamato, but rather micheimato, "from his anger!" This means that once the sun has gone out over the land, then nothing is hidden from the forces of harshness that derive from the fiery angels of the sun. This matter, therefore, should not be seen as insignificant in your eyes, for it is a great matter. The Baal Shem Tov, may his memory be a blessing, would be very particular about this, and occasionally he would rather pray at this time alone, if a minyan could not be gathered.
Noach.40.1
In the name of our master, the Baal Shem Tov - may his soul rest in the chambers up high - the reason for it being forbidden to start one's Amida prayer before the rest of the community begins (as mentioned in the Talmud, Berachot 28b, and in the Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 90:10) is because it is prior to the will and the consent of the limbs.
Noach.41.1
One should sense oneself, before prayer, that one is ready to die in the upcoming prayer, from the intensity of the feeling of kavvannah, attunement. There are those who are so strongly attuned that occasionally they could physically die, in two or three words that they present before the Blessed One. When one reflects upon this, one should say in one's heart: what request or pride should I have in this prayer, since I am prepared to die after two or three words. In truth, it is out of great kindness from the Blessed One that one is given the strength to complete their prayer and remain alive.
Noach.42.1
It is from the enormous kindness of the Blessed One that anyone remains alive after prayer, since in the way of nature one ought to have died after expending all their strength, having put all their strength in prayer, from the intensity of their attunement.
Noach.43.1
In the name of the Baal Shem Tov, may his memory be a blessing, it was said that it is truly a miracle that one lives after prayer, and that that one's soul did not depart from the intensity of cleaving.
Noach.44.1
One who speaks without thinking is like one who spills their seed, God forbid! For man's conception is an entire body (shiur koma), and the proof of this is that when one thinks of someone else during sexual intercourse, one gives birth to a 'child of substitution' (cf. Nedarim 20b), while when one imagines nothing at all, one can not engage in intercourse. Thought is of the divine aspect of Chochma, Wisdom, and speech is born from it. Even in thought there are letters, for one's thoughts are structured by letters, and when doesn't think while speaking he is like one who spills his seed, since speech is his vitality.
Noach.45.1
When one is on a lowly spiritual level, it is surely better to pray from the siddur, the prayer book, since the power of seeing the letters brings one to pray with more intense attunement. Yet when one cleaves to the supernal worlds, it is far better to close one's eyes in order not to interrupt the vision that is cleaving to those supernal worlds.
Noach.46.1
The wise person has the sense and 'eyes in their head' to know: if the time is ripe to become attuned through inner mysteries and delight etc., how good! But if one sees that they are in the mystery of smallness and cannot find attunement, when distracting thoughts overpower them - in this case, one should pray like a day-old child from the written text. This was attested to by my teacher, when he was in a foreign land for some time in such a state, and everything escaped him - he would cleave himself to the letters. He said that when one prays from the written text and cleaves to the letters themselves, they rise to the level of Action. (For the word 'ktav', 'writing,' is an abbreviation of Keter of Malchut, which is the letter tav, through Binah.) All this was instructed to a certain individual who did so until he returned to his higher state - and the words of the wise are gracious!
Noach.47.1
One needs to proceed step by step in prayer, and not spend all one's strength at the beginning. Rather, one should start slowly, and in the middle cleave with intense cleaving, so that one can utter all the words of the prayer quickly. Even if at the beginning of the prayer, one is unable to pray with intense cleaving, one should still say the words in utter attunement. Slowly, one builds up the strength until God helps them be able to cleave intensely in prayer.
Noach.48.1
So too, when one falls from one's high level in prayer, one should say the next word with as little kavannah as possible, and then draw strength to return to one's place, doing so even multiple times for each level. At first, one should cleave the the body of the word. Next, one should give a soul to the word! One should also physically arouse oneself at the beginning with all one's strength, so that the soul is illuminated. This was explained in the Zohar (Zohar 3:168a) "If wood doesn't kindle, it should be struck until it lights." Afterwards, one can worship in thought only, without movements of the body.
Noach.49.1
It is impossible to attain attuned prayer without encouragement; one needs, therefore, to plead to the Holy One for assistance and help.
Noach.50.1
One should think and hope that the Blessed God will give assist them in attaining attunement for half of the prayer service, or even the majority of it. In the end, when one loses strength and the cleaving is broken off, what is to be done? One should pray as best as one can, with lesser attunement, until the end of Aleinu.
Noach.51.1
It can happen that one is praying on a lowly level, and suddenly in a flash their soul is illuminated and rises to upper worlds, like a person ascending a ladder, as it is written (Psalms 43:3) "Send forth Your light and Your truth, they shall guide me," - referring to the supernal illumination.
Noach.52.1
It can happen that one is worshipping only on a lowly level - that is, they don't enter upper worlds at all - yet they can ponder that the entire world is filled with God's glory, and that God is close to them. In times like this, the praying person is like a child, whose mind is not very great at all. Even if one is worshipping thus on a lowly level, they are still worshipping with intense cleaving.
Noach.53.1
Even when one falls from their spiritual level, one should cleave to the Creator in smallness of thought. For even above there is smallness too, in Ze'ir Anpin, the 'small face' of the Divine. And from this smallness one can come to greatness, like with coals: if there even one spark that remains, one can blow on it strongly until it becomes a huge fire. This is not the case when there is not even one small spark, there no fire can be raised. So too, if one is not constantly cleaving with a small thought to the Blessed One, their soul might be extinguished - God forbid!
Noach.54.1
There are times that you cannot pray - yet in such situations you should not believe that you will not pray at all on this day! Rather, you should find even more strength, and let more and more fear fall upon yourself. This is similar to a king going out to battle and disguising himself: the wise recognise him from his movements; and those who are not so wise recognise him from his effect, since wherever there is heavy security, that is where the king is. So too, when you cannot pray with attunement, you should know that there are guards around the king - truly, the King is there, but one cannot draw close on account of the guards around him. Therefore, you must find strength and awe, and with great might and focus, in order to draw close and pray before the Blessed One - only then can you pray with intense attunement.
Noach.55.1
One should not say that "When I am able to pray with passion I will pray, but if not, I will not force myself to pray." On the contrary! This is similar to a king who goes out to battle and disguises himself. Those close to the royal court recognise the king from his movements; those far from royal life only see that the people come close together in a certain place, and infer that surely the king is there. So too, when one cannot pray, the King is being guarded in order not to be revealed. Therefore one should find more strength, since the King is nearby, and being hidden from one's view.
Noach.56.1
When one is on a lowly level, they should also cleave well to the Shechina, and then - suddenly! - in a single moment when one thinks of the higher worlds, they will immediately be there. Because one is always in the place of one's thoughts, and if one was not in the higher worlds, one would not be able to think of them at all.
Noach.57.1
None can properly pray unless they are surrounded by Or Makif, by illumination from all sides, and one should feel it surrounding them.
Noach.58.1
When one first desires to pray, it should come from a sense of awe, which is the gate to reach the Holy One (Shabbat 31b). One should say in their heart: "To whom do I wish to cleave? To the Creator, to the One who spoke all worlds into being, who grants them existence and sustains them!" One should ponder God's greatness and power, and in this can enter the higher worlds.
Noach.59.1
There are some who pray in melancholy, from an excess of black bile, and think that they are praying with great awe. So too, there are some who think that they are praying out of great love for the Creator, on account of their blood, the red humour. When, however, one is in a state of loving God, and as a result shame falls upon them, and they want to glorify the Blessed One and defeat the evil urge on God's account - this is very good. One is not considered a worshipper of God without the qualities of awe and love. One should allow awe to fall on them, and not arouse themselves to awe, which would be drawing up the mayim nukvin, the feminine waters. Real awe is when fear and terror fall upon you, and out of fear you have no idea where you are, and the mind clears and tears fall on their own. When it is not like this, even though it may seem that one loves the Creator, it is surely not so for "This is the gate to God" (Psalms 118:20): awe is the gate that leads to love, and if one does not go through the gate of awe, how can one be in a state of love? Such a person is not even a servant, much less a person on the level of having awe fall on them - they are not worshipping in a way that befits a Jew at all, only serving God out of automatic reflexes (Isaiah 29:13) and fooling themselves that they are actually serving God and worshipping God with joy. This is nothing but flippant joy, and one should return to God with their entire heart and soul.
Noach.60.1
Prayer in the midst of great joy is certainly more accepted before the Blessed One than the prayer of sadness and tears. This is similar to a poor person who begs and pleads before the king, crying profusely: nonetheless, the king only gives them a small amount. But when the minister joyfully praises the king, and presents a request alongside it, the king generously gives a much greater amount.
Noach.61.1
"We will make wreaths of gold with spangles of silver" (Song of Songs 1:11). 'Wreaths of gold' - this is awe; 'Spangles of silver' - this is love. One should not, therefore, speak Torah and prayer to the outside, since from this the kelipot, the hard outer shells are created and take the form of evil people who take revenge on us. I heard such things from my teacher, the Baal Shem Tov. This is what the sages meant (Rashi on Genesis 6:18) in saying that Noah needed protection not to be killed by the wicked of his generation. Try to understand this! One needs awe more than one needs love, the 'spangles of silver'. All this I heard from my teacher.
Noach.62.1
I heard from my teacher, the Baal Shem Tov, that one's external motives, which are themselves an entire body, create the person who comes to harm them.
Noach.63.1
You should't say "On Shabbat I will pray with kavannah, but not during the week." Do not be like servants of the king who work fervently in his presence, and when he is not present, have no eagerness in their work. Such a person is not a faithful servant. But since it becomes evident that being without the king is bad for you, you must push past all the guards until you come before the king - even if you don't know how to speak in his presence, and are not fit to stand before him. Be that as it may, the King will respond to your desires, for he is flowing with great mercy.
Noach.64.1
"All the days of poverty are wretched" (Proverbs 15:15) -- In light of what our Sages of blessed memory taught (Nedarim 41a), "Poverty means nothing but a lack of wisdom", this verse means the following: "All the days of poverty" - this is lack of wisdom - "are wretched" - meaning, your prayer and your learning are nothing to the Blessed One, because they are lacking in awe and in love, and they do not fly upwards (cf. Tikkunei Hazohar 10). On this verse, the Talmud (Bava Batra 146a) questions - but what about Shabbat and festivals? Surely on these days every person is aroused from above, and prays in a state of attunement. The answer is given that there is a change of habit, which causes wretchedness: you see yourself praying with attunement and are filled with pride and grandeur. Seeing yourself rise to this high level, even so, there is wretchedness since "a change of habit leads to sickness of the bowels" - the evil urge only acts during eating and drinking (Zohar 1:110a), and in this sense, you are filled with pride. This is evident to those who can understand.
Noach.65.1
I heard this in the name of the Baal Shem Tov of blessed memory, who would say: A grave transgression is committed by the praying community, when the leader of prayer doesn't lengthen the singing and wants to end a part of the prayer, but the community continues with a lengthy prayer. By doing so, they prevent the leader of prayer from channelling the Divine Flow. If he needs to wait until the public finishes their prayer, this way or that his heightened consciousness will be weakened, and he won't have the correct consciousness to channel the Flow from the Divine Presence. If so, how careful must the community be in order to make sure that they do not cause such a thing, God forbid, and lose such great goodness. On account of this, the Baal Shem Tov truly saw what a weighty task both sides, the leader and the community, take upon themselves in knowing how to act during prayer - especially the leader.
Noach.66.1
There are times when you desire to pray with passion but cannot, because your limbs feel heavy to you. The Baal Shem Tov of blessed memory said that King David prayed on this matter, saying (Psalms 71:9) "Do not cast me away in my old age" - meaning, when my limbs are heavy as if I were old.
Noach.67.1
The Baal Shem Tov explained the verse (Psalms 71:9) "Do not cast me away in the time (le'et) of my old age." This means that you should not cast away the moment (et) and let it grow old. For sometimes it happens that your worship grows old as time goes by.
Noach.68.1
The words of the divine master, the Baal Shem Tov of blessed memory. Regarding the verse (Psalms 71:9) "Do not cast me away in my old age," one could ask - did he not need help also in his youth? Rather, the meaning is that sometimes you have passion for something, Torah or prayer, but this desire doesn't mature but rather drops off suddenly. It is as if the mitzvah grew old, as in the phrase (cited in Tur, Orach Chaim 61) "like an old letter." It was in this regard that he said: Don't cast me away from passion! Don't let me see myself as an old person reading an old letter - let it become a new letter for me!
Noach.69.1
You should accustom yourself to pray even songs in a low voice, and to shout silently. You should say each word, whether in song or in study, with all your strength, as it is written (Psalms 35:10) "All my bones shall speak, etc." The shouting that comes from intense cleaving should be like a whisper.
Noach.70.1
Sometimes, you must worship the Holy One with your soul alone, in thought, and the body stays in its place so it does not get hurt through being used intensely. Sometimes, you can pray with love, awe and passion without a single movement, and it will seem to someone else that they are being said without any intense cleaving. This can only be done with the utmost cleaving to the Holy One; only then can God be worshipped in the soul alone with great love. Such worship is better and goes faster and with stronger cleaving to the Holy One than prayer that can be seen outwardly in the limbs. The external forces, the kelipot, have no way to grasp a prayer that is utterly internal.
Noach.71.1
Sometimes, you can say the prayer very quickly out of the love for the Holy One burning fiercely in your heart, and the words leave your mouth on their own.
Noach.72.1
In order to purify the mind, I have received a tradition from my teacher the Baal Shem Tov (may his memory guard us, and may God protect and guard him): one should attune the mind to the divine name KUZU. Our teacher wrote that this name stems from wisdom, chochmah, from which thought derives, and it has the aspect of din, judgement. The full spelling of this name, consisting of the letters Kaf, Vav, Zayin, Vav spelled out, is equal to taftafiah, the name of thought. So he said.
Noach.73.1
I fear to put down in writing the awe-inspiring words I heard from my teacher, the Baal Shem Tov, regarding the path to sweeten the harsh judgements known as 'Shach v'Par', and to ameliorate mental distractions by using the name Shadai and its inverse, as well as the four-letter name of God and its inverse. However, I scribbled down notes for myself.
Noach.74.1
This is the mystery of the name KHH and its inverse, Shadai, by which Moses killed the Egyptian, and cast the spark dwelling in a place of filth back to its source. This name is fitting for this, as we know from the holy master, the Baal Shem Tov, may his memory guard us, who described how to use this name to raise all the sparks, etc.
Noach.75.1
I heard in the name of the Baal Shem Tov that the name KUZU is the 'back' of the four-letter name. The four-letter name is mercy, and KUZU is the aspect of the concealed back, and is power. The first and last letters of the name equal twenty-six, like the four-letter name itself. The remaining letters are zu. This is why it is said (Taanit 21a), "This (zu) too is for the best" - because even zu is truly for good, and included in loving-kindness.
Noach.76.1
I heard from my teacher, the Baal Shem Tov of blessed memory, that whether learning or praying - if you understand the simple meaning of the words of prayer, or the halachic law, you connect the aspect of royalty, Malchut, which is speech, to understanding, Bina, which is thought. And the words of the wise are glorious!
Noach.77.1
The root of prayer is to connect the harsh justice at the core of Malchut, the divine aspect of Royalty. You need to sweeten the harsh judgements at its root, which is Bina, the divine aspect of Understanding. This I wrote elsewhere in the name of my teacher, the Baal Shem Tov of blessed memory.
Noach.78.1
The mystery of Chashmal mentioned in Ezekiel 1:4, the rabbis (Chagigah 13b) interpreted it as creatures that are sometimes silent (Chashot) and sometimes chattering (memalelot). From the language of Chash mal, learn that you must be silent until you strike out and cut up (mal) the evil forces, then speak up and cleave to the divine, to sweeten these harsh judgements at their root. This is the secret of prayer, as explained by my teacher the Baal Shem Tov, in the name of his teacher.
Noach.80.1
You should intend in prayer to awaken the letters by which the heavens and the earth and all creatures and worlds, above and below, were created by. As such, in reciting prayer and praise, you are speaking together with all the worlds and all the creatures, because you are awakening the letters, and the letters are the vitality of all creation. Therefore, you are speaking together with all of them, and raise up all creatures, in heaven and on earth, by praying so. The enlightened ones who pray in such attunement are even able to awaken the letters of the simple people, and then they are also able to pray with greater attunement and passion, and return to being their best selves. The Baal Shem Tov revealed this, and told his disciples: you need to pray even for that chirping bird flying there. So too, in preaching words of Torah in order to rebuke people, this intention can be for their benefit - and he would remind us of this often.
Noach.81.1
I heard it taught in the name of the Maggid, our master Menachem Mendel, that when giving over words of encouragement and rebuke to the people of the town, you should see to it that first connect yourself with the Blessed One, and then cleave and connect with all those people, in an aspect of unity and communion, for the leader of the generation shares a common root with the people of the town. When you do this, then your God is with you, and you should rise up together with them, to have them cleave to the Blessed One. This is what is said (in the Zohar 2:128b) "Happy is the one who holds the hand of the sinner etc.," seizing them by the hands and raising them up. As such, you achieve something immediately by rebuking and encouraging the people of Israel - and the words of the wise are glorious! I also heard such things from my teacher regarding prayer, that they can be raised in a similar way.
Noach.82.1
I heard in the name of my teacher, the Baal Shem Tov, regarding attuned prayer and unification: that you need to unite yourself with everything. Know that you are a miniature world, and with the arousal below there will be arousal above too, with bountiful goodness flowing down until it reaches the level of the person in attuned prayer, ready to receive it.
Noach.83.1
My master the Baal Shem Tov, whose soul now dwells in lofty chambers, explained the verse (Isaiah 7:11) "Ask for a sign (ot) from the Lord your God." The meaning is: you should plead and cry out to God for a letter (ot) - asking God that the letters spoken in prayer and in Torah study should be those joined to the Lord your God, and you should merit to connect them to their root.
Noach.84.1
When you pray, contemplate on the letters that the Blessed God is clothed in. For we don't know what somebody thinks unless they speak - speech, therefore, is a garment of thought. You should say in your heart: I am creating a garment for the great King! I should do so with joy! Speak with all your strength, for by doing so you are able to unite with the Blessed God. For your strength is in the letters, and in the letters dwells the Holy One - and through these letters, therefore, unity is achieved.
Noach.85.1
There is no speech without thought, for you think before you speak. Therefore, when you think before prayer about what and to whom you are about to speak, certainly awe and shame will fall upon you, until speech itself seems an awesome thing. When you contemplate on the fact that the world of speech is actually the holy Shechina speaking through you, and unites all the aspects: fear, love, pride, and so on -- when you contemplate this, how can you not feel awe and shame, knowing that you are arousing the Shechina, as it were, and all these aspects. This is the meaning of (Psalms 103:20) "Those who do God's word-" that they turn speech into action.
Noach.86.1
When you speak - keep in mind the mysteries of Voice and Speech, and speak with fear and with love. Think that the world of Speech is actually speaking through your mouth, and raise up all that you speak.
Noach.87.1
The parable is a vessel of the mind, and so too are words the vessels of thought. When you speak without intention, this is a shattering of vessels, for there is no life in the vessels. And when you remove yourself from materiality, which is your body and your vessel, then you can see the essence of vessels: the life and lights in each of the letters. When you remove yourself from materiality and clothe yourself in words - then you cleave to the Blessed Creator, who is also clothed in words. Take care not to fall from these thoughts, and hold yourself, raise yourself upwards!
Noach.88.1
Bring all your thoughts into the power of the words that you speak, until you can see the sparks flashing in and between the words, and the light that is born of them. This is the meaning of (Psalms 97:11) "Light is sown for the righteous, and happiness for the upright." The letters of the Torah are chambers of the Blessed One, who fills them with the emanations of divine light. This is written too in the Holy Zohar (II:85b), that the Holy Blessed One and the Torah are essentially one. Into these chambers you must direct your attuned self, which is the soul. This is the act of cleaving, and as such, the Holy Blessed One and Torah and Israel are all one. This is what is meant by removing yourself from materiality, namely, that your soul is removed from your body, and rather have it clothed in the thoughts that are being spoken. Then you will surely see many supernal worlds.
Noach.89.1
Contemplate this: the World of Speech speaks through you, and were it not so, it would not be possible to speak. This is the meaning of (Psalms 51:17) "Adonai, open my lips." So too with thought, which could not exist were it not for the upper World of Thought. You are like a Shofar, and what is blown into you is the sound that comes out. If you remove yourself from the breath blown in, no sound will come out. Therefore, without the strength of the Blessed One, God forbid, you could neither speak nor think.
Noach.90.1
Contemplate this: in speech, it is the World of Speech that speaks through you; an enormous world by which all worlds were created. This is the meaning of the word (Genesis 2:4) בְּהִבָּרְאָם , "In their creation", which can be read 'created with ה' - referring to the five openings of the mouth. Contemplate further on the greatness of the Blessed One, in that all the life-force of all the worlds is contained in speech. This is the world of Awe, in which it is as if the Shechinah constricts itself and dwells within your words and in your mouth, as it says (Sefer Yetzirah 2:3) "God fixed the letters in the mouth." If speech is so, what is with the World of Thought? Even more brilliant lights, with no end and no way of grasping. When you contemplate such things and say in your heart: this is the contraction of the World of Thought in my mind, in my wisdom and understanding. Before such an enormous world, I should feel in awe.
Noach.91.1
This is the meaning of praying lishmah, for its own sake. This really means for the sake of Speech, since Speech longs and yearns to cleave close to Thought. And when you speak with love and with awe, Voice and Speech join and play with each other, with wisdom watching over them, joyous like a father full of joy for his child. Thought craves to join together with Voice, in order to be expressed by Speech.
Noach.92.1
The speech of a Jew comes from the upper world of Speech, which gives life to the world. So too, the thought of a Jew is from the upper world of Thought, a world that derives the letters that become speech through the divine attributes of Chesed, Din and Rachamim - Kindness, Judgement and Mercy. Because the world we inhabit has space and limitations, it can only receive through the channel of these attributes. It is like the sun, which can not be looked at directly on account of the intensity of its brightness, yet you can look at the light that comes from it, and enjoy and benefit from it because of its diminished intensity. Were it at the intensity of the sun itself, you would not be able to comprehend it at all. This is the meaning of (Psalms 84:12) "For God is sun and shield."
Noach.93.1
When you speak with love and with awe, the Shechinah herself yearns to listen to your words, like a mother yearning for her child to speak some intelligible words and make her husband proud. So too, when your powerful words ascends on high and are adorned, this power gives rise to intense wonder, and all the angels ask: (I Chronicles 27:21) "Who is like Your people Israel, one nation." It is crucial, therefore, to speak at least one word of prayer with love and with awe, because this is enough to arouse the angels to sing to the Holy One, and you arouse all the worlds when you are devoted to the Holy One - all the worlds become devoted to the Holy One too.
Noach.94.1
"God heard my voice from God's temple" (Psalms 18:7) - The word 'temple', heichal, applies to Speech. You need to pray only in order to bring the divine quality of Speech before the Holy One. When you pray in this way, all the guards leave you alone. For example, if a simple villager carries the king's signet ring, even if he is usually unworthy of coming before the king, all the royal guards leave him alone, since the king longs for this ring. Instead, they rush him towards the king, so that the king has pleasure sooner. So too, the Holy One longs for Speech, and this then is the meaning of "God heard my voice from God's temple-" because of the longing for Speech.
Noach.95.1
I heard from my teacher, the Baal Shem Tov, speaking about the morning prayers: that it should be similar to the description in the first chapter of the Tur , that "I should awaken the dawn, rather than the dawn wakening me." You should work hard and strain yourself progressively until reaching the prayer Baruch She'amar, which is analogous to the World of Action, the lower world and the abode of kelippot. Afterwards, you should find more attunement as you progress from Baruch She'amar to Yishtabach, which is analogous to the World of Formation, filled with less kelippot than before. From Yishtabach up to the Amida, have even stronger attunement -- until coming to the Amida itself, which is true and intense embrace and conjoining -- at this point, cast off the garments of corporeality. (See Orach Chayim 98:1) In this way, you begin with Mayim Nukvin, the feminine waters that arouse the Mayim Duchrin and give birth to a male child. This does not happen, however, when one comes to arousal alone (God forbid!), which is a sign of trouble, as hinted at in the verse (Psalms 109:7): "His prayer becomes a sin." The way to rectify this is to pray as described above, and tremble greatly, and pray from the depths of the heart, and so on.
Noach.96.1
When you begin to pray, as soon as you utter the words "Adonai Sefatai Tiftach, God, open my lips" - in this moment the Shechina adorns you and speaks through you. If you truly trust that it is the Shechina speaking these words, surely great dread and fear will fall upon you. Even the Holy One, in a way, constricts God's being and dwells with you. This is as it says (Song of Songs 2:9) "Peeking through the lattice," - these are the letters, which are chambers, and you journey from one chamber to the other, and in each chamber you are judged whether you are worthy to enter. If you would notice that you are being judged at every instance when a foreign thought enters your mind, you would certainly pray with fierce attunement. But sometime you forget that you are being judged.
Noach.97.1
The Baal Shem Tov, peace be upon him, remarked on what is written in the Zohar (1:234a), that you are judged in each and every chamber, and banished from that chamber. This can be understood, since words are also called 'chambers', and when the mind dwells in them, and, when praying, you journey from letter to letter and from word to word - when you are unworthy you are banished. This comes in the form of a foreign thought, and at that point - you are already on the outside.
Noach.98.1
When a foreign thought falls into your mind, you should fill with shame, since you have been banished from the royal chamber. You can return to the chamber meekly and ashamed, since entertaining a foreign thought is as great a transgression as giving birth to a bastard child. We find this in the Talmud (Ketubot 63a), that "a sheep follows a sheep." Just as Thought has masculine and feminine aspects, so too are Voice and Speech masculine and feminine. If you entertain a foreign thought and speak words of holiness - this is like creating a mongrel with the outer appearance of a respectable human and an evil interior. So too, when your speech follows holy letters but the thought is misaligned, thinking about something else, a mongrel is created from the holy speech. Imagine the Holy One saying to you: Why are you entering this word? I am not present in this word - since your thoughts are wandering to different places.
Noach.99.1
If you pray while holding another thought in mind, it is as if - God forbid! - the klippot, the rough husks of reality are riding along on your words. Because Thought rides on Speech, and this is the meaning of (Song of Songs 1:9) "To a horse in Pharaoh's chariots -" speech is likened to horses, and when Pharaoh (that is, the foreign thought) rides upon them, then "I have likened you, my beloved." It would be far better to be silent. Yet what comes from the heart enters the heart, to the supernal heart by means of breath, as is well known.
Noach.100.1
The essence of unification is not to separate the mind from speech, and not to mix evil into the good. This is the meaning of (Genesis 2:9) "The tree of knowledge of good and evil," and (Proverbs 30:23) "A slave-girl who supplants her mistress -" all hinting at the upper waters.
Noach.101.1
In prayer, you need to be as if stripped of materiality and not feel your existence in the world at all. This is the teaching (Avot 1:14) "If I am not for myself, who is for me?" meaning, if I arrive at the state where I do not know and do not feel all that 'I am me', or whether I am in this world or not, then I certainly have no fear of foreign thoughts. For what foreign thought could come close to me when I am stripped of this world, and this is 'who is for me', what kind of foreign thought will come to me. But 'when I am for myself,' when I think of myself as something existent in the reality of this world, then I am considered all the more worthless; that is the meaning of 'what am I', what am I worth and what is my devotion worth before God. Then foreign thoughts will confound me, and then I will be as if not in this world, for the purpose of mankind's creation in this world was to serve God, and I cannot serve God on account of these confusing foreign thoughts. In this way, we can also understand the Talmudic statement (Sukkah 53a) "If I am here, everything is here."
Noach.102.1
When Jews pray and cleave to the Holy One, a voice calls out (Song of Songs 3:11) "Go forth and gaze, daughters of Zion!" Whoever is unworthy of such unification should get away - this is 'go forth'. And anyone who is worthy and open to it will see - this is 'and gaze'. When the kelippot, the husks of darkness, hear this voice they try to interrupt you in your prayer with foreign thoughts of temporal delights. The wise one, though, cleaves to their love and awe of the Holy Creator, and elevates the living sparks in such thought, and says in their heart: What do I get from cleaving to such materiality? better that I should cleave to its vitality, which is a manifestation of one of God's divine energies, namely, wisdom, as it says (Psalms 104:24) "You formed everything in wisdom."
Noach.103.1
I heard from my teacher, the Baal Shem Tov of blessed memory, the meaning of the verse (Psalms 10:17) "Prepare their heart, incline Your ear." This is a sign given to mankind, that if you can prepare your heart to pray before the Holy One, without any foreign thoughts at all, with all the love and awe you can muster, then you can be sure that the prayer has been accepted. This is the meaning then of "Prepare their heart, incline Your ear," for while you pray you can know that it is being received and heard by God's ears. And the words of the wise are wonderful!
Noach.104.1
I heard from the holy mouth of the pious and heavenly teacher, the Baal Shem Tov of blessed memory, who warned about zeal and care in the matter of prayer for people like us, that we might be saved from foreign thoughts. He said a parable in the name of his brother-in-law, the pious Rabbi Gershon of Kitov of blessed memory: there are people who can't feel in their prayers whether they had foreign thoughts or not. For example, there was one road that was very dangerous, and when somebody had to traverse a forest that was full of hidden bandits and thieves waiting for travellers, they would rise from their hiding places and beat, harass and rob him, leaving him covered with wounds and bruises. Anybody who had to go through this forest would go as fast as they possibly could, not giving the bandits time to come out of their hiding places. One time, two men were going though the forest together. One was extremely drunk, and the other was in a normal state of mind. As they went through the forest, the one with the sound mind went as fast as possible until he passed the forest unharmed. His drunken friend went slowly, step by step, and the murderous bandits attacked him and left him bruised and wounded, but he didn't feel a thing because of his drunkenness, until the bandits started attacking each other. The first friend found him and asked how he had survived such a beating, and the second wondered at his friend's wonder, and said that he had no idea what he was talking about. For he felt he had gone without being harmed, until his friend showed him his wounds and bruises in a mirror, and showed him the bloodstains on all his garments. He was still shocked. The meaning of this parable is apparent.
Noach.105.1
The Holy Baal Shem Tov of blessed memory said that if you encounter foreign thoughts during prayer, actually this is a good sign! This is like the following parable: before a human king there are many barriers and guards at every entrance, that nobody can come close to him. Sometimes, someone wants to approach the king with a request, and the guards know that they will suffer from it themselves. If this person is lowly and worthless, they know that the request will be rejected because the king won't take notice of it at all. As soon as such a person asks the guards to pass, they open up the gates, for what do they care for such a person. If, however, the person is an important minister then they try their best to get rid of him, saying 'go and return', for they do not want the minister to come before the king and be accepted, knowing that they will suffer from the request themselves. So too in prayer. It is well known that through communion you can raise holy sparks even from the evil side and from all lowly things. This is their suffering, and therefore, if a lowly person comes before the Holy Blessed One, and whose prayer is in any case improper and unimpressive, the foreign thoughts leave such a person alone and don't confound them. If, however, a godfearing person comes, whose prayer has roots above and fruits below, then the evil side uses all its strength to confound such a person with foreign thoughts. The wise one who understands this gathers all their own strength to overcome them, and cries out in a bitterness "Father! Save me!" The Holy One who yearns for the prayer of Israel throws open all the gates and barriers and puts in place all that is needed in order to raise up these divine sparks, and miracles abound.
Noach.106.1
In the name of the Baal Shem Tov it was taught that if a foreign thought falls into your mind, consider that it, like everything, is constructed of letters and that the letters are holy. It is just that they were badly reconfigured in the mind and became idiocy. Therefore, if you can transform these letters into holy words, this would indeed be very good - whether by reading the words of the foreign thought backwards, or by splitting the words into two, or by reading the initials of the thought. But all this is only as long as you don't interrupt your attunement in prayer.

Sefaria Community Translation. Via Sefaria (sefaria.org), Sefaria-Export. Version source: https://www.sefaria.org Licence: CC0. Source.