The Time Has Come

Maybe you’re wondering why the tzaddikim of previous generations didn’t howl about the need for all of us to purify ourselves. There are two reasons why: first, the Jewish people were not yet ready to hear; and second, the light of personal prayer had not yet been revealed to the masses. We can surely find much written about personal holiness in books of Jewish ethics and Chassidut, and there were always the select few who climbed the ladder of holiness, but since the time of redemption has now come, Hashem wants us all to sanctify ourselves. Fortunately, we now have the tools; we must add the desire!

There is no middle ground: anyone who doesn’t shout to the Heavens for thirty minutes a day in personal prayer begging Hashem to help him guard his eyes and personal holiness is bound to suffer major setbacks in this area. In contemporary times, this sin literally chases after a person wherever he goes. Filth and lies are rampant. Who can let their guard down?

A person must clean his eyes and brain of lust in order for the light of Torah to shine within him. There is nothing as effective as personal prayer to accomplish this challenging task. Personal prayer is not only one’s daily time of self-assessment and reckoning, but it’s his golden opportunity to cultivate and enhance his relationship with Hashem. The more one loves Hashem, the easier it is to rid himself of dark-side “loves” and lust.

A person without prayer is a person without Hashem. Without Hashem, one can’t accomplish anything, much less something as difficult as attaining personal holiness.

The Jewish People are wonderful; in truth, they are a nation of righteousness (see Isaiah 60:21). But, especially in this generation, they have a fierce and ruthless enemy – the evil inclination – that bombards them with its sophisticated weapons of instant mass moral destruction – internet, social media, movies and porn sites. Without a daily hour of personal prayer, the Jewish People lack the weapons to defend themselves. Prayer, particularly personal prayer, is the only way to prevail.

The book “In Forest Fields” should be required reading for everyone. It teaches in detail how to structure and take optimal advantage of daily personal prayer.

Personal prayer provides a person with encouraging results as long as he refuses to give up. Wait and see how you feel when a “clean day” has gone by, and you didn’t look at a single forbidden thing all day long! Wait and see how wonderful and refreshing it is to overcome the purgatory of sexual lust. The more you pray, the more you merit Divine assistance, and the more you merit Divine assistance, the more you see tangible results.

Prayer is one’s individual redemption. No, this is not just some flowery platitude – it’s the real deal. When you devote half of your daily hour of personal prayer to guarding your eyes and personal holiness, you’ll see how the chains of lust weaken and ultimately break. You’ll be truly free! That’s Geula, your personal redemption. In that respect, Rebbe Natan of Breslev would say, “My Messiah has already come!” All of us can reach this level too. The more we put personal prayer to work for us, and the more we attain our individual redemption, the sooner we’ll merit our national redemption.

The great advantage of the daily half hour of seeking Hashem’s assistance in guarding our eyes and in personal prayer is that it cushions the setbacks that a person invariably has. Without daily personal prayer, a person could fall into terrible disappointment and depression when he makes a mistake. In contrast, those who engage in daily personal prayer don’t become confused or disoriented; they know that they’re trying their best and that the road to holiness is not easy. They simply continue praying with greater resolve.

The Hebrew word Mashiach, or Messiah, is closely related to the Hebrew word mesiach, one who converses. This shows that one of the main functions of Mashiach will be teaching each person how to speak to Hashem. When a person will seek Mashiach’s help, he’ll say, “Go speak directly to Hashem.” Every person will learn that he’ll have to speak to Hashem extensively to solicit His help in overcoming the evil inclination.

In Rebbe Nachman’s famous tale, “The Master of Prayer,” we see that the Master of Prayer is the only one who can purify the world. He not only prays for the entire world, but he instructs his followers to do so as well. He personally goes from place to place to teach people how to pray. Hashem doesn’t want a human to be a spiritual drone and to depend on the prayers of the tzaddikim; He wants each person to pray and to establish a personal relationship with Him.

The Master of Prayer, in teaching the whole world how to pray, hastens the Geula, the full redemption. By way of prayer, people shed their follies and make teshuva. The more they correct themselves, the more the entire world is rectified. As such, prayer is not only synonymous to redemption, it IS redemption!