Tikkun HaKlali

Master of the world, Cause of all causes and Source of all sources,

You are on high, high above all, and there is none higher than You,

for no thought can grasp You at all.

For You, silence is praise, and You are exalted above all blessing and praise.

You do I seek, You do I entreat:

that You carve out a passage, a beaten path from You,

through all the worlds, down the chain of descent to my own level, to the very place where I stand,

as it is revealed to You, Who know all hidden things.

And along this road and this path, shine Your light upon me,

to bring me back in complete repentance before You in truth, in accordance with Your will in truth,

in accordance with the will of the choicest of created beings,

so that I think in my mind no extraneous thought, nor any thought or confusion that is against Your will,

but only cleave to pure, clear and holy thoughts in Your service in truth,

in grasping You and in Your Torah.

Incline my heart to Your decrees, and give me a pure heart to serve You in truth.

And from the depths of the sea bring me out into a great light, swiftly and speedily,

for the salvation of HaShem comes in the blink of an eye, so that I may be illumined with the light of life

all the days that I am upon the face of the earth.

And may I merit to renew my youth, and to return to holiness the days that passed in darkness.

And may my departure from the world be like my arrival,

without sin.

And may I merit to behold the pleasantness of HaShem and to visit His sanctuary, where all proclaim "Glory!"

Amen, Netzach, Selah, Va'ed.

"I will sing to HaShem as long as I live; all my life I will chant hymns to my God. May my prayer be pleasing to Him; I will rejoice in HaShem. Praise HaShem with the lyre; with the ten-stringed harp sing to Him. O God, I will sing You a new song, sing a hymn to You with a ten-stringed harp. With a ten-stringed harp and with the lyre, with a melody upon the harp. For You have gladdened me by Your deeds, HaShem; I shout for joy at the work of Your hands."

Master of the world, Lord of all, Creator of all souls, Master of all deeds, Who chooses songs of praise: help me and be gracious to me in Your abundant mercy and Your immense kindness, that I may merit to arouse, to bring forth and to reveal all ten kinds of melody with which the Book of Psalms was said. And in the merit of these ten chapters of Psalms that I have recited before You, which correspond to the ten kinds of melody with which the Book of Psalms was said, namely:

Ashrei (praiseworthy), Berachah (blessing), Maskil (instruction), Shir (song), Nitzuach (triumph), Niggun (melody), Tefillah (prayer), Hoda'ah (thanksgiving), Mizmor (psalm), Halleluyah. In the merit of the psalms, in the merit of the verses, in the merit of their words and their letters, their vowel points and their cantillation marks, and the Names that emerge from them, from the initial letters and from the final letters of the words; and in the merit of King David, peace be upon him, together with all the ten tzaddikim who composed the Book of Psalms,

(And in the merit of the tzaddik, foundation of the world, the flowing brook, source of wisdom, our Rebbe, Rabbi Nachman son of Feiga, may his merit protect us, who revealed and instituted the recitation of these ten chapters of Psalms for the rectification of the covenant) and in the merit of all the true tzaddikim and chassidim, grant me merit and be gracious to me, that I may merit in Your abundant mercy to bring out all the drops of seed that have been emitted from me in vain, whether unwittingly or deliberately, whether under compulsion or willingly,

(If, God forbid, one is saying it because of an occurrence that befell him that night, he should say: and especially all the drops that were emitted from me this night, through a nocturnal emission that happened to me because of my many sins), may I merit, in Your abundant mercy, in Your great compassion and by Your great power, to bring them all out of the kelipot (husks) and the Sitra Achra (the forces of the Other Side), from all the places where they have fallen, been scattered, dispersed and driven away, so that none who is banished remain cast away from You. And subdue, break, slay, uproot, destroy and nullify all the kelipot and all the spirits, demons and liliths that were made, created and formed through these drops that were emitted from me in vain; remove their vitality from them, and bring out and wrest from them the holy vitality and all the holy sparks that they have swallowed.

Master of the world, living and enduring God, Life of all life, full of mercy, Who always judges the whole world favorably, Who desires kindness and does abundant good: my Father, my Father, my Redeemer and my Deliverer, I know, HaShem, I know, that I myself am the guilty one and the transgressor, even in the occurrences that befell me unwittingly,

for I did not guard my thoughts at all, and I dwelt on impure thoughts by day until I came to impurity at night; and through this I damaged what I damaged, caused what I caused, and destroyed what I destroyed.

Woe, woe, woe! Alas for my soul! Woe to my soul, for I have brought evil upon myself. What can I say, what can I speak, how can I justify myself? What can I say, what can I speak, how can I justify myself? God has found out my iniquity. Here I am before You in great guilt; here I am before You full of shame and disgrace, full of filth and defilement, full of evil abominations. There is no language in the world in which I could express how greatly I am to be pitied, for it is evil and bitter, for it has reached unto the soul.

It is very bitter for me, my Father in Heaven; it is very bitter for me, Master of all worlds. See my sighing and my groaning, for my soul is very bitter within me, so much that I do not know how I can go on living, from the depth of my soul's bitterness, which reaches up to the heights of heaven. For I am weary of my life: why do I need a life such as this, a life bitter and more bitter than death? "The bowl, the cup of reeling, you have drunk and drained to the dregs," O my soul!

Master of the world, You alone know the multitude and the enormity of the great, immense and terrible blemishes that are caused by this in all the worlds. And now, how can I rectify this? With what can a youth like me merit to rectify that which I have destroyed? Yet even so, I know and believe with complete faith that there is no despair in the world at all. I still have hope, and my expectation from HaShem is not yet lost, for "the kindness of HaShem has not ended, His mercies are not spent."

Therefore I have come before You, HaShem my God and God of my fathers, God of Avraham, God of Yitzchak and God of Yaakov, God of all the true tzaddikim and chassidim, God of all Israel, God of the first and of the last, that You have mercy on me and cause me to walk in Your statutes and keep Your laws; that You compel my inclination to submit to You; that You rebuke the evil inclination and drive it away from me from now and forever. Guard me, save me and rescue me from now on from every kind of evil fantasy and evil thought, from blemish of the eyes and from blemish of speech; save me from now on from every kind of blemish of the covenant in the world, in thought, speech and deed. Be with me always, guard me and save me from any emission, whether by day or by night, from now and forever.

Our Father, King, living and enduring God, mighty Redeemer, I have spread out my hands to You: rescue, rescue! Save, save! Rescue those being taken to death, rescue one pursued and guilty like me; rescue me from the lowest depths of Sheol. Give me hope, that I not be lost, God forbid, for "What is to be gained from my death, from my descent into the Pit? Can dust praise You? Can it declare Your faithfulness? My eyes, all worn, look to heaven: HaShem, I am in straits; be my surety! Be surety for Your servant for good; let not the arrogant oppress me."

For I have no strength except in my mouth; I have no refuge or security except in You alone: in Your immense kindness alone, in Your great mercy, in Your true compassion, in Your everlasting graciousness, and in the power and merit of the tzaddikim who guarded the covenant in utmost perfection, beyond which there is no perfection. On them I have fastened my pegs; on them I lean and rely; in their merit and their power I trust and hope, "for You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let Your faithful one see the Pit."

Ah, HaShem, deliver me! Ah, HaShem, redeem me! See one in danger like me, tossed about in the heart of the seas. "Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your cataracts; all Your breakers and billows have swept over me. My enemies have snared me like a bird, without cause. They have ended my life in a pit and cast stones at me. Waters flowed over my head; I said: I am lost. I have called on Your name, HaShem, from the depths of the pit." I have called on Your name, HaShem, from the depths of the pit.

Master of the world, Master of the world, full of mercy, full of unearned kindness, full of graciousness, full of compassion, full of goodness, full of favor: we have already taken it upon ourselves to call out to You always, and here I am fulfilling our undertaking; here I am calling out to You from so lowly a place, from such disgraceful places. "Out of the depths I call You, HaShem," from the depths of the depths. "In distress I called on HaShem; HaShem answered me and brought me relief."

And though, through our many sins, we have descended to where we have descended, and now, in the footsteps of Mashiach, we have descended to very, very low and lowly places, into which Israel has never descended before, as it is written: "She has sunk appallingly, with none to comfort her," even so, we do not despair of ourselves, God forbid, in any way in the world at all, for You have already promised us that You will bring us back from the depths of the sea, as it is written: "HaShem said: I will bring them back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea"; and it is written: "Yet, even then, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or spurn them so as to destroy them, annulling My covenant with them: for I HaShem am their God."

Master of the world! Open Your mouth for one as mute as I, and send me words from Your holy abode in heaven, so that I may prevail upon You, appease and placate You, that You accept, in Your abundant mercy and Your immense kindness, these ten chapters of Psalms that I have recited before You, as though King David, peace be upon him, had said them himself. And although I do not know how to have in mind even one of the immense and awesome intentions contained in these ten psalms, may it be Your will, HaShem my God and God of my fathers, that the mere saying with my mouth be considered before You as though I had grasped and intended all the secrets and intentions that they contain; and may my words find favor before the Master of all.

Here I cast my burden upon You, and here I bind myself 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 especially to the tzaddik, foundation of the world, the flowing brook, source of wisdom, our Rebbe Nachman son of Feiga, may his merit protect us, Amen], and with their intent and their intention I have recited all these ten chapters of Psalms. In their merit and their power may I merit to arouse and reveal all the ten kinds of melody with which the Book of Psalms was said, which are:

the single, double, triple and quadruple song, which are contained in Your great and holy unique Name. And in the merit and power of these two holy Names in their full spelling, which are El and Elohim (thus): Alef Lamed, Alef Lamed Heh Yud Mem, whose numerical value is 485 (four hundred and eighty-five), the same number as Tehillim.

By the power of these Names, grant me merit to bring out all the drops of seed emitted in vain from the belly of the kelipah (husk) that has swallowed them, whose name, together with its letters, has the numerical value of 485, for it is the kelipah that stands opposite the holiness of the Book of Psalms. And by the power of these ten psalms, arouse the two holy Names El and Elohim, and slay, break, subdue, uproot, destroy and nullify this kelipah that has swallowed them; force it to disgorge all the holy drops from its belly and its innards; blot out its name and its memory from the world, and fulfill the verse that is written: "The riches he swallows he vomits; God empties it out of his stomach."

And slay all the kelipot that were created by these drops; bring out and wrest from them the holy vitality and all the holy sparks that were swallowed through the blemish of this sin; bring them all out, and gather them back into holiness once again. Grant us merit to accept upon ourselves the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven with love always, and may we merit to engage all our days in Torah, prayer and good deeds, in truth and with a whole heart, so that we merit to create holy bodies and vessels for all the souls that wander about naked because of our many sins, through the blemish of the drops of seed emitted from me in vain.

Master of the world, mighty in strength and abundant in power, do whatever You will do in Your abundant mercy, so that we merit to rectify the blemish of the covenant, the blemish of the drops of the brain, whether we blemished in this unwittingly or deliberately, under compulsion or willingly. Forgive and pardon me for everything, God of forgiveness, Gracious One Who pardons abundantly, and may we merit to rectify all the blemishes completely in our lifetime, in the merit of the holy tzaddikim who are in the earth, (And if one is at his holy gravesite, he should say: and in the merit of this tzaddik who rests here, the tzaddik, foundation of the world, the flowing brook, source of wisdom, for whom I have worn out my feet and subjected myself to a hard journey in order to come here and prostrate myself on the grave of this true and holy tzaddik, who promised us during his holy life that he would stand by to help us, Selah, always, when we come to his holy grave, give a perutah to tzedakah and recite these ten chapters of Psalms. Behold, I have done what is incumbent upon me; do what is incumbent upon You.)

Forgive me, pardon me and grant me atonement for all the sins, iniquities and transgressions that I have sinned, committed and transgressed before You with my 248 limbs and my 365 sinews, in thought, speech and deed, with the five senses and with the other faculties of the body; and especially for what I have sinned, transgressed and blemished against You through blemish of the covenant, which encompasses the entire Torah; "and I have done what is evil in Your sight" from my youth until this day. Forgive, pardon and atone for everything, You Who are full of mercy, and fill in all the Names that I have blemished in Your great Name. "Wash me thoroughly of my iniquity, and purify me of my sin. Purge me with hyssop till I am pure; wash me till I am whiter than snow. Let me hear tidings of joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed exult. Hide Your face from my sins; blot out all my iniquities." Blot out my transgressions for Your sake, as it is said: "It is I, I who, for My own sake, wipe your transgressions away and remember your sins no more."

And be filled with mercy toward me and be my help always, in the merit and power of the true tzaddikim. Guard me and save me always, and give me strength to overcome my inclination and to subdue and break my desire, so that I no longer blemish what I have blemished, no longer do what is evil in Your sight, and no longer return to folly; if I have done wrong, I will do so no more. For You have already promised us that prayer and supplication avail even for this: to be saved from now on, through Your true mercy, from the evil inclination and its band. (And if one is at his holy gravesite, he should say: and especially at this holy resting place, help me in the merit of the tzaddikim who are hidden here.) Have mercy on me and give me strength and might from You, that I may merit to overpower and conquer my inclination always, until I merit in Your mercy to drive it out, remove it and nullify it from me completely, from now and forever. For already "my life is spent in sorrow, my years in groaning; my strength fails because of my iniquity, my bones waste away," until "the strength of the bearer of burdens has failed."

Have mercy on me, Father of fathers, merciful One; have mercy on me, You Who hear prayer; pity and spare me, You Who hear the outcry, Who hear the sigh, Who hear the groan. Have mercy, have mercy! Rescue, rescue! Save, save! "Let not my blood fall to the ground" before You; do not give my soul over to destruction. "Save me from bloodguilt, O God, God of my deliverance, that my tongue may sing forth Your beneficence." Spare me according to Your abundant mercy, according to Your abundant kindness; may Your inner compassion and Your graciousness be stirred, please, for one as wretched of soul as I, for one as pursued as I, for one as soiled with sins as I, for one lacking knowledge and lacking counsel as I. For upon You alone our eyes depend, toward You alone my thoughts look out. "My eyes, all worn, look to heaven." Help, please; save, please; pity and spare me, please, and help me return to You in complete repentance, in truth and with a whole heart; and may I merit to be always in accordance with Your good will, from now and forever. "As befits Your steadfast love, preserve me, so that I may keep the decree You proclaimed. Fashion a pure heart for me, O God; create in me a steadfast spirit."

And so, may it be Your will, HaShem our God and God of our fathers, Master of joy and gladness, before Whom there is never any sadness at all, as it is written: "Glory and majesty are before Him; strength and joy are in His place," that You help me in Your immense mercy and grant me merit to be always in joy. You Who gladden saddened souls, gladden my soul, which is so very wretched, so very downtrodden, so weary, so thirsty and so hungry for You. Remove from me sorrow and sighing. "Gladden the soul of Your servant, for to You, HaShem, I lift up my soul. You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; delights are ever in Your right hand. Let me again rejoice in Your salvation; let a generous spirit sustain me." Satisfy me with Your goodness, gladden my soul with Your salvation, and purify my heart to serve You in truth. "Awake, O my soul! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will wake the dawn."

Grant me merit to attain all ten kinds of holy melody, which subdue and rectify the blemish of the covenant, as it is said: "I bless HaShem Who has counseled me; even at night my conscience admonishes me. Of David. A maskil. Happy is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered over. House and wealth are the inheritance of fathers, but a sensible wife comes from HaShem. By day HaShem commands His kindness, and at night His song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. For the leader; al tashcheth. Of David. A michtam; when Saul sent men to watch the house in order to put him to death. I call to mind my melody in the night; I commune with my heart, and my spirit searches. Can what is tasteless be eaten without salt? Is there any flavor in the white of an egg? Lest you give your vigor to others, your years to a ruthless one. Yet none says: Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs in the night? Grace is deceptive, beauty is illusory; it is for her fear of HaShem that a woman is to be praised." And it is said: "Halleluyah. Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in the firmament of His might. Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him for His exceeding greatness. Praise Him with blasts of the shofar; praise Him with harp and lyre. Praise Him with timbrel and dance; praise Him with lute and pipe. Praise Him with resounding cymbals; praise Him with loud-clashing cymbals. Let every soul praise HaShem. Halleluyah."

Master of the world, sound the great shofar for our freedom, raise the banner to gather our exiles, bring near our scattered ones from among the nations, assemble our dispersed from the ends of the earth, and gather our banished together from the four corners of the earth to our land; and fulfill in us the verse that is written: "Then HaShem your God will restore your fortunes and take you back in love. He will bring you together again from all the peoples where HaShem your God has scattered you. Even if your outcasts are at the ends of the heavens, from there HaShem your God will gather you, from there He will fetch you. And HaShem your God will bring you to the land that your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will make you more prosperous and more numerous than your fathers." And it is said: "Thus declares the Lord God, Who gathers the dispersed of Israel: I will gather still more to those already gathered."

And it is said: "HaShem rebuilds Jerusalem; He gathers in the exiles of Israel." Hasten and speed our redemption, bring us our righteous Mashiach, build our holy and glorious House, and bring us to Zion, Your city, in song, and to Jerusalem, the house of Your Sanctuary, in everlasting joy, as it is written: "And the ransomed of HaShem shall return and come with shouting to Zion, crowned with joy everlasting. They shall attain joy and gladness, while sorrow and sighing flee." And it is said: "For you shall go out in joy and be led home in peace. Before you, mount and hill shall shout aloud, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."

And it is said: "Truly HaShem has comforted Zion, comforted all her ruins; He has made her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the Garden of HaShem. Gladness and joy shall abide there, thanksgiving and the sound of music. Rejoice in HaShem and exult, O you righteous; shout for joy, all you upright of heart. Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright of heart. Rejoice in HaShem, O you righteous, and give thanks to His holy name." Amen, Netzach, Selah, Va'ed.