Sunday, November 13, 2005

Prayer and a broken heart

In the palace of a king there are many rooms, and a different key unlocks each door. But wielding an axe is better than all the keys, because it can break any lock and open any door. Intention in prayer is like the various keys, each prayer has a different intention, but a broken heart is the axe that opens all the Gates of Heaven. ~~The Baal Shem Tov
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1 comment:

Michael said...

On one of Yisrael Dagan's CDs, he sings

עצבות נועלת שערי שמים
תפילה פותחת שערים נעולים
והשמחה בכוחה לשבר חומות
והשמחה בכוחה לשבר את החכמות הרעות והמחשבות המדומות

I'm sure it's from one of Rebbe Nachman's sefarim or from one of his talmidim. Of course, he's not necessarily arguing with his grandfather. Without simcha, a person can't have a broken-heart. A Breslover named "Rachamim" taught me that a few years ago. Well, he shared it with me. When he worked to be happy during the day, then he was able to really speak with HaShem and even cry during hisbodedus. I'm still learning it. But then, Rebbe Nachman does say that simcha is the most difficult avodah.

12:43 AM

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