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Sharespend time alone in a forest. Concerned and curious, one day the rabbi pulled
his boy aside to ask him what he was doing.
"I go to the forest to find God," said the boy.
"That's wonderful," replied his father. "But you need not go to the forest
to find God. Don't you know that God is the same everywhere?"
"God is," the boy answered, "but I'm not."
"Hisbodedus" is the highest level of all, which means to set aside an hour or more to seclude oneself in a room or in a field, and to have express himself in dialogue with God, with claims, words of favor, or to request and supplicate before God that God should bring him close to their service. And this prayer should be in one's native language, because in Hebrew it is hard to express oneself, and the heart isn't drawn after such words... And one should speak what is in their heart, whether it be regret and teshuva on the past, or supplications to merit to come close to Hashem in truth from that day on, and similar things, each according to his level. And one should be accustomed themself to do this every day at a designated time, and the rest of the day they should be happy. And even if sometimes they don't have anything to say, they should speak to Hashem about not having anything to say, and they should cry out to Hashem, that they are so far away that they don't even know what to say... And you should know, that many righteous people said that they only reached their level because of this practice.
(א) עוד זאת תהיה שמחת הנפש האמיתית, ובפרט כשרואה בנפשו בעתים מזומנים שצריך לזככה ולהאירה בשמחת לבב, אזי יעמיק מחשבתו ויצייר בשכלו ובינתו ענין יחודו יתברך האמיתי: איך הוא ממלא כל עלמין, עליונים ותחתונים, ואפילו מלא כל הארץ הלזו הוא כבודו יתברך, וכולא קמיה כלא חשיב ממש,
This will be the true joy of the soul, when a person sees the need to purify their soul, then they should deepen his thoughts and visualize with their mind the concept of the Oneness of Hashem; how They fills the worlds, above and below, and the entire world is God's glory, and everything before God is like nothing.
ליקוטי תפילות חלק ב תפילה יא
רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם זַכֵּנִי לְהַרְבּוֹת בְּהִתְבּוֹדְדוּת תָּמִיד, וְאֶזְכֶּה לִהְיוֹת רָגִיל לָצֵאת בְּכָל יוֹם לַשָּׂדֶה בֵּין אִילָנוֹת וַעֲשָׂבִים וְכל שִׂיחַ הַשָּׂדֶה, וְשָׁם אֶזְכֶּה לְהִתְבּוֹדֵד וּלְהַרְבּוֹת בְּשִׂיחָה זוֹ תְפִילָּה בֵּינִי לְבֵין קוֹנִי, לָשׂוּחַ שָׁם כָּל אֲשֶׁר עִם לְבָבִי וְכל שִׂיחַ הַשָּׂדֶה וְכָל הָעֲשָׂבִים וְהָאִילָנוֹת וְכָל הַצְּמָחִים, כֻּלָּם יִתְעוֹרְרוּ לִקְרָאתִי, וְיַעֲלוּ וְיִתְּנוּ כחָם וְחַיּוּתָם לְתוֹךְ דִּבְרֵי שִׂיחָתִי וּתְפִלָּתִי, עַד שֶׁתִּהְיֶה תְפִלָּתִי וְשִׂיחָתִי נִשְׁלֶמֶת בְּתַכְלִית הַשְּׁלֵמוּת עַל יְדֵי כָּל שִׂיחַ הַשָּׂדֶה, שֶׁיֻּכְלְלוּ כֻלָּם, עִם כָּל כּחוֹתָם וְחַיּוּתָם וְרוּחֲנִיוּתָם עַד שָׁרְשָׁם הָעֶלְיוֹן, כֻּלָּם יֻכְלְלוּ בְּתוֹךְ תְּפִלָּתִי וְעַל יְדֵי זֶה אֶזְכֶּה לִפְתּחַ אֶת לִבִּי לְהַרְבּוֹת בִּתְפִילָּה וְתַחֲנוּנִים וּבְשִׂיחָה קְדוֹשָׁה לְפָנֶיךָ מָלֵא רַחֲמִים רַבִּים, וּלְפָנֶיךָ אֶשְׁפּךְ כָּל שִׂיחִי, עַד שֶׁאֶזְכֶּה לִשְׁפּךְ לִבִּי כַמַּיִם נוֹכַח פָּנֶיךָ ה',
Likutey T'fillot 2:21
My God, grant me the ability to be alone (to do Hitbodedut); that I may merit to be accostomed to go outside every day to the fields, between the trees and grass - among all growing things, that there may I be alone, and enter into prayer,
to talk with the One to whom I belong.
May I express there everything in my heart,
and may all the foliage of the field -
all grasses, trees, and plants -
awake at my coming,
to send the powers of their life into the words of my prayer so that my prayer and speech are made whole through the life and spirit of all growing things,
which are made as one by their transcendent Source…may all of nature be one with my prayer, and through this may I open my heart to holy prayer, pleading, and conversation before you, merciful one, and before you I will pour my thoughts, until I can pour forth my heart like water before you, hashem.