A prayer to say before Hitbodedut

A PRAYER TO SAY BEFORE GOING INTO A HITBODEDUT  [PERSONAL PRAYER] SESSION WITH HASHEM

By Rav Eliezer Berland, shlita

Master of the Universe, allow me to merit being able to go into a hitbodedut session with a great and tremendous zeal without any sleepiness or drowsiness.   And I will sing all types of songs in hitbodedut; songs of devoutness and repentance.

Master of the Universe, who dwells in the Abode and sits high in the sky above and sees all of my secrets and all of my reasoning’s, please cleanse me to truthfully serve You since that is all that I desire and I don’t have any other desire or other thought (besides this one).

And all of my desires in this hitbodedut session are solely so that you can get closer to me with a full heart.  And You revealed to us that during the moments we go into hitbodedut before You, we then save the entire world from all sorts of terrible decrees.

And then it is possible to save the world in order that no Jew will die or be killed at that time, or any other person in the world, since during that time that we go into hitbodedut and when it is performed with a full heart, it is then that decrees are sweetened across the entire world.  And then Hashem Yitborach [May He be blessed] doesn’t have any possibility to pass any decree onto the world.

And therefore, please rescue us, Master of the Universe, in order that we be able to go into hitbodedut before You at all times with our entire heart and soul in great weeping and joy.

Please, All Merciful One, by the power of our holy Master, and by the power of the seven shepherds who dwelt their entire lives in hitbodedut, and especially Moshe Rabbeinu who merited to be in hitbodedut day and night from age 20 until age 80 and only dwelt with hitbodedut sessions and songs and praise in the mountains and in the valleys, in the fields and in the deserts.

And there was nothing that he quit doing and he never rested nor slept or ate, and he didn’t drink until he purified his body so much as to not have a need to eat at all forever because of his great devotion and love for Hashem.

As such, allow me to also merit going into hitbodedut before You with a huge and wonderful desire, from a truly lowly place.  And may I merit feeling my nothingness just like Avraham Avinu who said, “I am but dust and ashes.”  And like David Hamelech who said, “And I am a worm and not a man.”  And like Moshe and Aharon who said, “And what are we?”

And that I shall not have my mind go astray during the hitbodedut session, even for a fraction of a moment.

> And I will be ashamed of my younger years and the few days of my life which number only 120 (years) and are are fleeting like a fluttering bird or a passing dream. 

And therefore, during the time of hitbodedut I will salvage all seconds and moments (that I have) and I will not take any rest.  And I will be aware of my tremendous lowly place of which nothing can save me, except for those moments of hitbodedut, since it is then that I am freed from all of my business doings and I have compassion with my entire heart and soul on the wretched souls such as mine and turn to them with mighty compassion and lift them up from the lowliest of levels to the loftiest of levels.

So too, in Your abundant mercy, lift me up as well from the lowliest of levels to the loftiest of levels for eternity and until there is no distinction.  And perform for me wonders which You haven’t as yet performed with any person beforehand.

And I shall merit to return (to You) in complete teshuva and bring all of Am Yisrael to teshuva.  And may we all merit the complete (and final) redemption and the coming of Moshiach Ben David as well as the building of the Beit Hamikdash and the resurrection of the dead, speedily in our days, Amen.