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THE PRAYER BEFORE PRAYING

The Sabba Kaddisha of Radoshitz, in his sefer, Niaos (vol. 1, pp. 21
22), recorded an amazing story about the formulation of this Prayer Before Praying. The story goes like this:
When he was a child, the Sabba Kaddisha was once visiting Rebbe
Elimelech of Lizhensk. He was conversing with chassidim from the Rebbes
inner circle in front of the Rebbes home when several extremely tall men
came and hurried into the house. When they reached the doorway, they had
to stoop down to enter since they were so unusually tall. The holy Rebbe
closed the door behind them before the chassidim could catch a glimpse of
their faces. They waited outside until the visitors left to see if they could recognize them. Again the chassidim were astonished when the men left. They
did so in such a hurry that they could not make out the mens features and
just saw their backs; they left so fast they almost vanished. The chassidim realized that something unusual had just taken place, and they decided to
investigate and nd out what had occurred.
The elder chassidim among them approached the Rebbe and asked him to
explain the strange incident. This is what the Rebbe told them:
When I realized that most people cannot concentrate properly on their
prayers anymore due to the awesome burdens of earning a livelihood, and
they lack the time and the understanding to concentrate fully, I decided to
rewrite the standard formula for the prayers. I would write a new, short and
concise version that would be equally understood and grasped by everyone.
The holy Members of the Great Assembly, the Anshei Knesses HaGedolah
(the original authors of the standard prayers from the time of the Talmud),
realized what I intended. They came here to ask me not to change even one
prayer from their established formula. I took their counsel and discussed the
matter with them. They advised me to establish a prayer to pray before the
formal prayer service. This would help anyone who lacks the concentration
and proper devotions that are necessary for all formal prayers.
This prayer before prayers is the Yehi Ratzon prayer printed in many
siddurim in the name of Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk.

316 / MiPeninei Noam Elimelech

The Prayer Before Praying of

the holy Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk
May it be your will, Hashem, our G-d and the G-d of our forefathers,
who listens to the sounds of our entreaties, pleas, and supplications and who
listens intently to the prayers of His nation Israel with compassion: Prepare
our hearts and organize our thoughts, and make our prayers ow uently
from our mouths and listen with Your ears to hear the sound of the prayers
of Your servants who are beseeching You with cries of entreaty and a broken
spirit.
You are a merciful G-d, with Your abundant compassion and great kindness. Have mercy and forgive and pardon and atone for us and all of Your
nation Israel. Forgive all that we have sinned, transgressing and vilifying
ourselves while rebelling against You. For it is revealed and known before
You that we did not, Heaven forbid, willingly and rebelliously sin and embitter the words of Your mouth and the words of Your Torah and Your commandments. Rather, it is because of the evil inclination, which constantly
burns in our hearts restlessly without respite until it brings us into the
clutches of the pleasures of this lowly world and its vanities. It continually
confuses and confounds our minds and our thoughts.
Even when we stand in prayer before You, pleading for our very souls,
the evil inclination persistently confuses our thoughts with its tricks and
ruses. We simply cannot stand up against him. Our minds and brains have
weakened very much, and our power of endurance has faltered due to the
numerous tragedies, hardship, and suering that have befallen us and also
due to the pressures, preoccupations, and lack of time. Therefore, You, compassionate and graceful G-d, we ask of You: do as You have promised us
through your faithful servant I shall show favor when I choose to show
favor and I shall be merciful when I choose to show mercy (Shemos 33:19).
And our Sages teach (Berachos 7a) that this applies even to those who are unworthy and undeserving. For this is Your way: to do good for both the wicked and the good people. Our moans and groans, our sorrows and pains, are
revealed and known before You, as well as our conversation about how far
we are from You and how hard it is for us to draw near and take part in serving You. We wish to completely bond and sincerely connect our hearts with
You.
Oh! Woe to our souls!
Oh! A very great woe is upon us, our Father in Heaven!

The Prayer Before Praying / 317

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318 / MiPeninei Noam Elimelech

Now, please awaken Your abundant compassion and kindness toward us.
Drive out, chase away, and destroy our evil inclination from our midst. Rebuke and scold it,1 telling it to leave us and to cease tempting us away from
Your service.
Let no evil thought arise in our hearts, Heaven forbid, whether it is while
we are awake or dreaming, and especially when we stand before You in
prayer, and when we learn Your Torah, and when we are occupied in fullling Your commandments. Then may our thoughts be pure, clear, lucid,
strong, true, and sincere, as You desire for us in good will.
Awaken our hearts and the hearts of all Your nation Israel to unify You in
truth and love; to serve You with integrity so that our service shall be acceptable before Your Throne of Glory. Establish Your faith in our hearts, constantly without stop, and may our faith in You be tied fast and strong as an
immovable peg. Remove all barriers and partitions which separate us from
You, our Father in Heaven. Rescue us from all obstacles, from failures and
mistakes. Do not forsake us and do not abandon us and do not embarrass
us. Be with our mouths when we speak, with our hands when we act, with
our hearts when we think.
Oh, our Father in Heaven! Aid us in meriting, Powerful One, O G-d full
of mercy, to unify our hearts and minds, our speech and our deeds, and all
our actions and feelings and emotions, whether we are aware of them or not
[whether they are conscious or subconscious, voluntary or involuntary], revealed or hidden. May it all be unied for You in truth and sincerity, with
no ulterior motives or invalid thoughts, Heaven forbid!
Purify our hearts and sanctify us; douse us with pure water and cleanse
us with Your love and compassion!2 Plant rmly in our hearts Your love and
divine fear and reverence forever with no disruptions, at all times, every moment and in all places. When we walk and when we sit, when we lie down
and when we rise, the re of the holy spirit should burn within us constantly. We are constantly sustained by You and Your greatness, love, and fear.
And we are supported by Your holy Torah, both written and oral, hidden
and revealed, and by Your commandments in order to unify Your great and
awesome Name.
Safeguard us from ulterior motives, from haughtiness and vanity, from
anger, pedantry and bearing grudges, sadness, slander, and other bad character traits. Save us from all things that destroy and prevent Your pure, holy
service which is so dear to us.

The Prayer Before Praying / 319

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320 / MiPeninei Noam Elimelech

Bring down upon us the inux of blessings and Your holy spirit so that
we may cleave passionately to You in rapture. May we desire You more and
more!
Raise us up from one level to the next, until we merit to reach the level
of our holy patriarchs Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov.3 Hear our prayers in
their merit so that we may be answered whenever we beseech You, whether
praying on our own behalf or on behalf of someone else from Your nation
Israel, whether an individual or a group.
Rejoice and glorify Yourself through us. May our prayers bear fruit above
and take root below.
Do not remember our sins and iniquities, especially the sins of our youth,
as King David prayed: The sins of my youth, remember not! (Tehillim
25:7). Transform our sins and iniquities into merits.4 Bring down upon us
always from the spiritual realm, from the world of repentance, the desire to
repent and return to You wholeheartedly, to rectify and restore what we have
damaged in Your pure holy divine Names.
Protect and shield us from jealousy between fellows. Let not jealousy enter our hearts and may others not be jealous of us. On the contrary, place in
our hearts the ability to see only the good in our friends and not their shortcomings! May we speak to each other in a way that is straight and desirable
in Your eyes. May there be no hatred between friends, Heaven forbid.
Strengthen our ties and our bond to You with love, as it is revealed and
known to You that we strive to give You only satisfaction and pleasure. This
is our primary intention. If we do not have the intellect to properly direct
our hearts to You, please teach us how to know in truth the intent of Your
will, which is always for the best.
Above all, we beg of You, plead before you, O G-d of mercy: accept our
prayers with compassion and goodwill.
Amen, may it be Your will.

The Prayer Before Praying / 321

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322 / MiPeninei Noam Elimelech

Notes:
1. See Zechariah 2:3.
2. This idea is based on Yechezkel 36:25.
3. Our Sages taught in the Midrash Tanna DVei Eliyahu 25: Every man should say
to himself: When will my own deeds measure up to those of my forefathers
Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov? See also Yalkut Shimoni, Devarim 830.
4. This teaching is found in the Talmud (Yoma 86b) that he who repents out of
fear of punishment or divine retribution, his intentional sins are transformed
into unintentional accidental sins, and he who repents out of his love for
Hashem his intentional sins are transformed into merits.