The Prayer of the Beis Midrash

Upon entering, one should say:

May it be Your will, Hashem our God and the God of our fathers, that You illuminate my eyes with the light of Your Torah, and save me from any stumbling block and error—whether in laws of prohibition and permission, whether in monetary laws, whether in rendering halachic decisions, or whether in study. "Open my eyes, that I may perceive the wonders of Your Torah," and regarding that which I have already erred, set me upon the truth. Please do not let a word of truth be snatched from my mouth, "For Hashem grants wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding." May I not stumble in a matter of halachah, so that my friends will rejoice in me, and may my friends not stumble, so that I will rejoice in them.

I hereby bind myself in my learning to all the true tzaddikim of our generation, and to all the true tzaddikim who dwell in the dust, the holy ones who are in the earth. And in particular, to the true and holy tzaddik, the Tzaddik Yesod Olam (the Tzaddik who is the foundation of the world), the flowing brook, the source of wisdom, joy, and emunah (faith)—Rebbe Nachman, the son of Simchah and Feiga. May his merit protect us and all of Israel, Amen.

I hereby learn with teshuvah (repentance), with awe, with love, with humility, with joy, and with emunah, in order to raise the Shechinah (Divine Presence) from the dust. This is learning for its own sake, to bring gratification to Hashem, and to bring gratification to our Rebbe. It is learning that leads to action, to guarding the eyes, to guarding the ears, to guarding speech, and to guarding thought. It is learning in whose merit we will be privileged to love all our friends with a true love, with a whole heart and a willing soul. May we not come to any anger, nor to any strictness, even in our hearts. It is learning in whose merit we will be privileged to judge all our friends favorably, and in this merit, to bring the entire world back in teshuvah. And in this merit, may we be privileged to witness the building of our Holy Temple, the coming of Mashiach ben David, the revelation of our holy Rebbe, and the complete Geulah (Redemption) speedily in our days, Amen.

Upon leaving, one should say:

I give thanks before You, Hashem our God and the God of our fathers, that You have placed my portion among those who sit in the Beis Midrash, and You have not placed my portion among those who sit on the street corners. For I rise early and they rise early; I rise early for words of Torah, and they rise early for idle matters. I toil and they toil; I toil and receive a reward, and they toil and do not receive a reward. I run and they run; I run to the life of the World to Come, and they run to the pit of destruction, as it is stated: "And You, O God, will lower them into the pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit shall not live out half their days, but as for me, I will trust in You."

I hereby bind myself—in thought, speech, and action, with all my vitality, with every single movement, with all my senses, and with every single breath of the entire day and of my entire life, both mine and that of my household, and of all who depend on me, and of all who accompany me—to Hashem, and to all the true tzaddikim of our generation, and to all the true tzaddikim who dwell in the dust, the holy ones who are in the earth. And in particular, to the true and holy tzaddik, the Tzaddik Yesod Olam, the flowing brook, the source of wisdom, joy, and emunah—Rebbe Nachman, the son of Simchah and Feiga. May his merit protect us and all of Israel, Amen.

I hereby hand over all my thoughts, my speech, and my actions, all my vitality, every single movement, all my senses, and every single breath of the entire day [On Shabbos add: of the entire Shabbos. On Yom Tov add: of the entire Yom Tov], and of my entire life, and of my household, and of all who depend on me, and of all who accompany me, to Hashem, so that everything will be according to His knowledge and according to His good will. And in this merit, may we be privileged to witness the building of our Holy Temple, the coming of Mashiach ben David, the revelation of our holy Rebbe, and the complete Geulah speedily in our days, Amen.

I hereby take upon myself the positive commandment of "Love your fellow as yourself."