87.
Master of the Universe, merciful One, You revealed to us by Your holy sages that the main thing is the rectification of the brit. This is the main trial and test for each person in this world. Only for this a man comes to this world, to be tested with this expense. The entire Torah is dependant on this for guarding the brit is the foundation of everything. Now, after I have blemished so much, what can I say? I don’t know where to start speaking. However, You have already decreed, through the true tzaddikim, that we must constantly shout out to You. We must pray and plead to You, no matter what, whether we are ascending or descending. There is no measure to Your compassion and loving-kindness.
Therefore, may it find favour before You, Lord, my God, God of our Fathers, that You enlighten my eyes in Your Torah. Teach me how to merit to understand the words of Your holy Torah. You have commanded us to have in mind the intentions of Elul in order to rectify the brit. But I am ignorant, I know no way to have these intentions in mind. Have mercy on me, for Your Name’s sake. Sanctify us with Your sublime holiness. Open my heart in the study of Your Torah. Help me to study and to understand the intentions of Elul and all the Torah discourses connected to this. Merit me to find a straight and proper path to come close to You at all times. Let me be familiar with the paths of running and returning, of ascending and descending so that I can follow the paths of repentance. Open Your hand to me, for Your right hand is open to receive those who repent. Let me draw down all the relationships that come about by these intentions of Elul until I rectify the brit completely, as soon as possible.
In Your bountiful compassion, command Your holy angels, who hold shofars in their hands and who are appointed to search and dig for all the lost things that they make efforts to rectify our souls. Let them search after and dig for all the holy sparks that we have lost during our lives until today because of all our cravings and especially by our blemishing of the brit. Command them to search for all that we have lost in this lifetime and in precious lifetimes. Let them find everything very hastily and then return everything to us in such a way that our souls become rectified in the most perfect way, as You desire.
Have mercy on the Jewish People, Your Nation who find it hard to find their marriage partner. And even when they find each other she is resistant to him and doesn’t desire him. There is no peace in their home, Heaven forbid, (especially so and so, who is suffering from this. Have mercy on him and all Jews who suffer this). Help them and save them so that each one speedily finds his true marriage partner. Grant them peace in their home. Let her not oppose him at all. Rather, change her desire into the desire of her husband. Let their desires be in harmony so that they live together with love and real peace.
Have mercy upon us and save us so that we merit to always guard ourselves from eating any fruit before it ripens, and so that we pick no fruit before its time, for You revealed to us the immense loss and damage that can come to a person by this; one can lose one’s soul, Heaven forbid, by this.
Master of the World, in Your great mercy and immense loving-kindness, have mercy upon us, guard us and save us from this. Help us and save us and let us merit to always recite the blessing on foods, especially the blessing on fruits, in phenominally great devotion. Let us not throw any blessing out of our mouths, Heaven forbid. Rather, let us always - overcome and strengthen ourselves with all our might, every time we want to eat some fruit or take some pleasure from This World, so that we recite the blessing with great devotion, as is proper; and in such a way that whatever we may eat or drink or enjoy won’t damage our souls at all, but the reverse. May we merit to perfect our souls and to add to their holy life-force and great radiance, by everything that we eat, drink or get pleasure from. Help us and save us so that all our eating and drinking and all our gaining pleasure be with great happiness and purity, for Your Name’s sake alone, without any pleasure of the body at all. May we be included amongst the tzaddikim who eat to satisfy their souls in holiness.
88.
(a) One has to be very careful not to eat a fruit before it has ripened completely on the tree for one can lose one's soul through this. It is also forbidden to pluck a fruit before it has ripened just as it is forbidden to cut down a tree before its time.
(b) When you make a blessing with great concentration and the proper fear of Heaven before eating a fruit, by this you can merit to save your soul from becoming lost through eating an unripe fruit. One has to be very careful when saying blessings over food and drink, especially with the blessing over fruit, for in fruit there are a lot of lost souls which need to be clarified and elevated.
(c) Some people lose a lot because of their cravings. This is an aspect of "The desire of the wicked will be lost" (Psalms,112:10). Even someone who is a tzaddik occasionally loses, in an aspect of "There is a tzaddik who is lost in his righteousness" (Eccl.7:15). Even the tzaddikim who dig and search after losses sometimes also lose, as it says "Let them search and lose" (Psalms, 83:18). Know that there is an angel and under him several messengers and they all hold shofars in their hands; they search for and request losses all the time. They blow on the shofars- tekiah, teruah, tekiah. And when they find something lost it creates great noise and joy in the world above.
89.
When someone cannot find his marriage partner, the rectification for this is for him to endeavour to hear Torah innovations from someone with real understanding.