בס"ד
תפילה
קודם התפילה
של רבי
רבי אלימלך מליזשענסק נ"ע
Rebbe
Elimelech’s Prayer
That We
Might Pray Well
http://www.JewishRenewalHasidus.org/Reb-Zalman-Resources
Yah, our
God,
You are
our parents’ God,
You are
open to hear our pleading prayer
with compassion.
You give
a caring ear
to what
Your people Israel is crying for.
This is
our prayer to You,
please
grant it.
Open our
hearts,
focus our
thoughts,
help that
our prayers
may flow
freely from our lips
and, incline
Your ear to hear
how we,
Your servants
are seeking
Your favor,
crying
in a pleading voice
and with
a shattered spirit.
You, kind
compassionate One,
God of
infinite mercy!
please
forgive us, pardon us
and atone
for us
and for Your entire people,
the house
of Israel,
so that
whatever we have failed to do right,
or what
we have done wrong,
or when
we acted in ways that were wicked
and rebelled
against You,
be forgiving,
pardoning, and atoning
for us and
for Your entire people,
the house
of Israel.
How well
You know,
and how
apparent it is to You,
that it
was not with
malice or willfulness
that we
transgressed what You taught us,
what You
commanded us
in Your
Torah and Commandments.
In our
bellies,
there burns
a fire without ceasing,
a Yetzer
Hara', the drive of selfishness
which draws
us
to the
vices of this world
and its
follies.
The Yetzer
confuses our awareness
even when
we stand before You
seeking
to pray and plead for our lives.
The Yetzer's
incitement
constantly
confuses our thoughts
with all
sorts of thoughts and schemes.
We cannot
resist it;
for our
awareness is uncertain,
our mind
unsteady,
the troubles
and preoccupations
of making
a living,
under times
of oppression,
bear down
heavily on us.
Therefore,
You,
who are
compassionate and kind,
fulfill
for us what You promised
to Moses,
Your faithful servant,
when You
said,
"I will
favor whomever I will favor
and I will
be compassionate
on whomever
I will be compassionate."
And this,
You had our sages tell us.
This applies
even to those
who are
not worthy
for, this
is Your way;
to be kind
both to those who are bad
and to
those who are good.
It must
be obvious to You
how we
are troubled,
how hard
is our life
and what
we must bear --
it is so
difficult for us
to come
near to You
and to
serve You well,
to have
our feelings be sincerely
in harmony
with Your will.
Dear Father
in heaven!
What pain
we feel in our souls!
Please
arouse Your mercy and kindness
freely
and abundantly
and banish,
erase
our attraction
to evil.
Let not
our evil Yetzer
be active
in our innards.
Let him
not seduce us,
let him
not deflect us from serving You.
May no
evil schemes arise in our heart
when we
are asleep or awake
especially
at that time
when we
stand in prayer before You
or at times
when we
study Your holy Torah;
at times
when we are busy
fulfilling
Your Commandments.
Then, let
our thoughts be pure and clear,
our own
awareness steady and strong,
sincere
and heartful
as You
would have us be.
Awaken
in our hearts,
and in
the hearts of all of Israel,
Your people,
the aim
to unify You
in all
truth, in all love,
so to serve
as to be
pleasing to You.
Fasten
such steadfast faith in You
to be deeply
anchored in our hearts;
not to
vacillate from it.
Remove
from us all the barriers
that separate
us from You,
Our father
in heaven.
Save us
from stumbling on our path;
keep us
from going astray.
Don't forsake
us;
don't abandon
us;
keep us
from being disgraced
before
You.
Be present
to us
in the
words of our prayers
and in
the work of our hands
as they
serve You
and the
thoughts of our hearts
as we think
of You.
Please,
our Father in heaven,
in Your
abundant kindness,
grant us
the boon
that our
thoughts
and words
and actions,
all our
motives and our feelings,
those we
are aware of
and those
we are not aware of,
those that
are manifest
and those
that are hidden,
with all
of them, together,
be unified
in sincerity and truth,
without
any self-deception.
Purify
our hearts,
sanctify
us,
sprinkle
us with cleansing water
to purify
us,
wash us
clean
with Your
kindness and love.
Plant Your
steadfast love
and Your
awe in our hearts
at all
times
and in
all places
as we go
about our lives,
when we
lie down and get up,
that there
always be Your Holy Spirit
ardently
active in our innards
that we
may rely on You always,
on Your
greatness,
Your love
and Your awe.
May we
be securely anchored
in Your
written and Oral Torah,
in the
part of the Torah
that is
open to all
and the
part of Torah that is hidden.
In doing
the mitzvoth,
may we
unify Your awesome Name.
Protect
us from hypocrisy,
from pride,
anger, and vindictiveness,
from depression,
from tale bearing
and other
vices.
Protect
us from everything
that might
damage the holiness and purity
of our
service to You, whom we love.
Pour out
the Holy Spirit over us
that we
stay close to You,
that our
longing for You
grows and
increases.
Raise us
up from rung to rung
that we
might come close to the rung of
our holy
forebears,
Abraham
Isaac and Jacob,
(may their
merit protect us).
In this
way,
You will
always receive our prayer;
You will
always answer us
when we
pray for anyone,
be it a
single person
or the
whole people Israel.
May You
take joy in us
May Your
glory be reflected in us.
May our
prayers bear fruit
and be
fulfilled above and below.
Do not
attend to our flaws,
especially
the sins of our Youth,
as King
David, (peace be upon him), said:
"My Youthful
sins, in my rebellions,
do not
keep in Your memory".
Please
turn our sins
and rebellions
into merit
that there
flow to us,
from the
realm of repentance,
the challenging
call
to return
to You wholeheartedly
and to
repair all that we have damaged
of Your
pure and holy Names.
Rescue
us from envy.
Let not
jealousy
of any
person arise in our hearts
and, let
not others be vindictive to us.
On the
contrary, place into our hearts
appreciation
for the goodness
of our
fellow beings,
(let us
not seek to find fault with them).
May we
speak to each person
with civility
and gentleness.
Let not
hatred arise from one to another.
Strengthen
us that we might love You more
for You
know well how our intention is,
that it
all should bring You
pleasure
and joy,
for this
is the roots of our intention,
(despite
the fact
that we
don't have a strong enough mind
to keep
the aim of the kavanah of our heart
focused
on You).
Enlighten
us so that we might learn
to fully
know Your good purpose.
This is
what we plead to
You, all
merciful God.
Please
accept our prayer
in compassion
and good will.
Amen,
let this be so willed by You.