הַל״ב מִצְוֺת הַתְלוּיוֹת בַּלֵּב | Thirty-two Mitsvot One Can Do With Consciousness Alone, by Reb Ahrele Roth (trans. Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi & Hillel Goelman)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription), Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Hillel Goelman and Aharon Roth

Shared on:

4 August 2018 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

Categories:

Contemplation, Addenda

Tags:

interpretive translation, Openers, 57th century A.M., כוונות kavvanot, English vernacular prayer, חסידות Ḥasidut, devotional interpretation, 20th century C.E.

A good preparation and a bridge for the next phase of prayer, as you enter into the world of B’riyah,^[1] i.e., the Shaḥarit service beginning with the blessings prededing the Shema is Reb Ahrele Roth’s list of Mitsvot One Can Do With Consciousness Alone. Reb Ahrele Roth, a”h, wrote a list of 32 mitsvot whose fulfillment is completed in the brain, the heart and the mouth. (The Hebrew alphabetical equivalent of 32 is ל”ב, the letters of which spell the Hebrew word LEV for Heart.) –Reb Zalman

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Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
הֲרֵינִי מְזַמֵּן אֶת פִּי וּמֹחִי וְלִבִּי לְקַיֵּם מִצְוֺת בּוֹרְאִי וְיוֹצְרִי יִתְבָּרַךְ שְׁמוֹ, מֵהַמִּצְוֺת הַתְלֻיּוֹת בַּמֹּחַ בַּלֵּב וּבַפֶּה.	O my Creator! May your Name be praised: With my mouth, brain and heart prepared, I am ready to fulfill your mitsvot. You who shape me.
לְהַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנַת הַשֵּׁם.	1. Faith I place in you.^[2] Exodus 20:2
לְהַאֲמִין בְּאַחְדוּת הַשֵּׁם.	2. Oneness I affirm in you.^[3] Deuteronomy 6:4
לִזְכֹּר הַשֵּׁם.	3. I am mindful of you.^[4] Deuteronomy 8:18
לְהִתְבּוֹנֵן בִּגְדֻלַּת הַשֵּׁם. לְהִתְבּוֹנֵן בְּשִׁפְלוּת עַצְמוֹ.	4. I focus on your vast Greatness,^[5] Deuteronomy 4:39, Isaiah 40:26 5. and focus on my insignificance.^[6] Avot 3:41, Numbers 12:3, Psalms 15:4
לָשׁוּב לְהַשֵּׁם. לֵיבּוֹשׁ מֵהַשֵּׁם.	6. Thus do I turn back to you in teshuvah,^[7] Deuteronomy 30:2, Deuteronomy 30:8 7. and am bashful in your Presence.^[8] Ezekiel 16:63
לִירֹא מֵהַשֵּׁם. לֶאֱהוֹב הַשֵּׁם.	8. I am awed by you,^[9] Deuteronomy 10:20, Leviticus 19:14 9. and love you.^[10] Deuteronomy 6:5
לְקַבֵּל עוֹל מִצְוֺת הַשֵּׁם. לִשְׂמֹחַ בַּשֵּׁם. לִבְטֹחַ בַּשֵּׁם.	10. I accept the authority of your mitsvot,^[11] Deuteronomy 11:13 11. find my joy in you,^[12] Psalms 100:2, Psalms 149:2 12. and place my trust in you.^[13] Deuteronomy 18:13, Psalms 115:10-11, Psalms 37:3
לְבַטֵל אֶת כׇּל הַמַּחֲשָׁבוֹת הַפְּסוּלוֹת הָעוֹלוֹת בַּלֵּב. וְהוּא בִּכְלָל אִבּוּד עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה ומְשַׁמְּשֶׁיהָ.	13. I deny all false gods and those in their service; I reject unfit thoughts that rise in my heart.^[14] Deuteronomy 12:2-3
לְזְכּוֹר וּלְהוֹדוֹת חַסְדֵּי הַשֵּׁם. לִמְסֹר נַפְשׁוֹ לְהַשֵּׁם.	14. I give you my thanks,^[15] Deuteronomy 8:2 15. and aim to hold you sacred.^[16] Leviticus 22:32
לְזְכּוֹר אֶת יְרוּשָׁלַיִם. לְצַפּוֹת לִישׁוּעַת הַשֵּׁם וֶאֱמוּנַת הַגְּאֻלָּה.	16. I remember Yerushalayim,^[17] Psalms 137:5. Your House of Prayer for all peoples,^[18] Cf. Isaiah 56:7. 17. and look out to you, to redeem us and free our souls.^[19] Ḥabakuk 2:3
לִמְחֹק אֶת עֲמָלֵק. לֶאֱהֹב כׇּל בַּר יִשְׂרָאֵל. לִדָּבֵק בְּהַשֵּׁם. לָלֶכֶת בְּדַרְכֵי הַשֵּׁם.	18. Amaleq, I will blot out,^[20] Deuteronomy 25:19 19. by loving my neighbor as myself,^[21] Leviticus 19:18 20. and adhering to you, in devekut,^[22] Deuteronomy 11:22 21. walking in your ways.^[23] Deuteronomy 28:9
לִהְיוֹת כִּסֵּא וּמִשְׁכַּן לְהַשֵּׁם.	22. Thus, will I make in me a Holy Space for you to be at home in.^[24] Leviticus 26:11, Exodus 25:8
לְהִשְׁתּוֹקֵק לִדְבֵקוּת וְאַהֲבַת הַשֵּׁם. לְהִתְחַזֵּק בַּעֲבוֹדַת הַשֵּׁם.	23. I long for your intimacy and love,^[25] Psalms 63:2, Psalms 27:4 24. and am energized to find you empowering my heart.^[26] Deuteronomy 31:23
לְהַצְדִּיק מַעֲשֵׂי הַשֵּׁם. לִזְכּוֹר יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם.	25. I affirm that your actions are just,^[27] Deuteronomy 8:5 26. and am mindful that You redeem us from Mitsrayim.^[28] Deuteronomy 16:3
שֶׁלֹּא לְהַעֲלוֹת בַּלֵּב שׁוּם מַחֲשָׁבָה שֶׁהִיא נֶגֶד הָאֱמוּנָה וַעֲבוֹדַת הַשֵּׁם וֶאֱמוּנָת תּוֹרָתוֹ הַקְדוֹשָׁה, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם.	27. Therefore, I will not welcome in my awareness, thought that opposes faith in your/our service and in your Torah.^[29] Exodus 20:3
שֶׁלֹּא לְהִתְגָּאוֹת.	28. I will not yield to pride.^[30] Deuteronomy 8:14
שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁנוֹא שׁוּם בַּר יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּלֵּב. שֶׁלֹּא לִהְיוֹת צַדִּיק בְּעֵינָיו. שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁכֹּחַ מַה שֶּׁהִקְצִיף לְהַשֵּׁם.	29. I will not hate any fellow Godwrestler in my heart,^[31] Leviticus 19:17 30. and I will give up all vindictiveness, not consider my self flawless,^[32] Deuteronomy 8:4 31. but remember that I caused you displeasure.^[33] Deuteronomy 8:7, Psalms 51:5
שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁכֹּחַ הַשֵּׁם.	32. With all these, I intend not to forget Your presence in my life.^[34] Deuteronomy 8:11
אָמֵן	Amen!
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְפָנֶיךָ אָבִינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם, שֶׁבִזְכוּת וְכֹחַ הַזְכָּרַת אֵלּוּ הַמִצְוֺת בְּפִי, יִתְעוֹרְרוּ כֹּחָם שֶׁל מִצְוֺת אֵלּוּ בּשָׁרְשָׁם הָעֶלְיוֹנָה, לְהַמְשִׁיךְ עָלַי אוֹר קְדֻשָּׁה הָעֶלְיוֹנָה, לִשְׁמֹר אֶת מַחְשְבוֹתַי קוֹלִי וְדִבּוּרַי מִכׇּל פְּגָם וְזֻהֲמָא וְסִיג וּפְסֹלֶת.	Thus, may you be pleased, O Supernal Parent, That by the merit and the power Of my making mention of these mitsvot, With my mouth, There be stimulated The energy of these mitsvot, In their supernal root, To draw down to me, That High Holy flow That will shield my thoughts, My voice and my words, From all damage, All taint, all dross and dirt.
וְיוּמְשַׁךְ עָלַי שֶׁפַע לְטַהֵר מַחְשְׁבוֹתַי וְלִבִּי קוֹלִי וְדִבּוּרַי, שֶּׁיִּהְיוּ כֻלָּם מְשֻׁעְבָּדִים לַעֲבוֹדָתוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ שְׁמוֹ, עַד שֶׁאֶזְכֶּה לְהִתְקַשֵּׁר בִּדְבֵקוּת וְאַהֲבַת שְׁמוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ, וּלְהַגִּיעַ לְקִיּוּם מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה ”וּלְדָבְקָה בוֹ“.	And there be drawn to me a flow That will make pure My thoughts and heart, My voice and words. May all of them be surrendered To you, Praised One, To the end that I may merit To be connected to you, In devekut, and love. And to attain the fulfillment Of your mitsvah To cleave to you.
וְאֶזְכֶּה לִהְיוֹת כִּסֵּא וּמֶרְכָּבָה לִשְׁכִינַת כְּבוֹדוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ שְׁמוֹ,	Thus will I be privileged To be an instrument of your will, A vehicle for the Blessed Shekhinah of your Glory.
וְלֹא יֶחְשַׁךְ וְלֹא יִכְבֶּה אוֹר כֹּחַ נִשְׁמָתִי וְנִיצוֹץ אֱלֺהֵי שֶׁבְּקִרְבִּי מֵעַתָּה וְעַד עוֹלָם, אָמֵן כֵּן יְהִי רָצוֹן.	Thus will the light in my soul Not darken, Nor will your Divine spark Be extinguished in me, From now on and forever. Amen! May this be your will.

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, z”l, included this derivation of Reb Aharon (Ahrele) Roth’s 32 mitsvot one can do in one’s consciousness alone in his Siddur Tehillat Hashem Yidaber Pi (2009). Reb Zalman collaborated on this translation together with Rabbi Dr. Hillel Goelman, which was published in Ahron’s Heart: The Prayers, Teachings and Letters of Ahrele Roth, a Hasidic Reformer (Ben Yehuda Press 2013). The translation of the list was made from מאמר עבודה שבלב which may be purchased directly from the Yeshivah Toldos Aharon, (35 Rehov Shivtei Yisrael Jerusalem, 02-5381230). My transcription of the prayer is from the latter. The transcription of the list I made above is from that which was published in סדור נתיב עבודת התפלה חלק ב (Beit Shemesh, 5768 [2007/2008]). I have replaced anglicizations and removed capitalizations of divine pronouns. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

prelude – 32 mitsvot prayer (Ahrele Roth, undated from Meimar Avodah Shebalev, Toldos Aharon Yeshiva)

32 mitsvot prayer (Ahrele Roth, undated from Meimar Avodah Shebalev, Toldos Aharon Yeshiva)

[gview file=”https://opensiddur.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/32-mitsvot-one-can-do-in-ones-consciousness-alone-Reb-Ahrele-Roth-undated-from-Siddur-Netiv-Avodat-Tefillah-vol.2-.pdf”]

Notes[+]

Notes
1	i.e., the Shaḥarit service beginning with the blessings prededing the Shema
2	Exodus 20:2
3	Deuteronomy 6:4
4	Deuteronomy 8:18
5	Deuteronomy 4:39, Isaiah 40:26
6	Avot 3:41, Numbers 12:3, Psalms 15:4
7	Deuteronomy 30:2, Deuteronomy 30:8
8	Ezekiel 16:63
9	Deuteronomy 10:20, Leviticus 19:14
10	Deuteronomy 6:5
11	Deuteronomy 11:13
12	Psalms 100:2, Psalms 149:2
13	Deuteronomy 18:13, Psalms 115:10-11, Psalms 37:3
14	Deuteronomy 12:2-3
15	Deuteronomy 8:2
16	Leviticus 22:32
17	Psalms 137:5.
18	Cf. Isaiah 56:7.
19	Ḥabakuk 2:3
20	Deuteronomy 25:19
21	Leviticus 19:18
22	Deuteronomy 11:22
23	Deuteronomy 28:9
24	Leviticus 26:11, Exodus 25:8
25	Psalms 63:2, Psalms 27:4
26	Deuteronomy 31:23
27	Deuteronomy 8:5
28	Deuteronomy 16:3
29	Exodus 20:3
30	Deuteronomy 8:14
31	Leviticus 19:17
32	Deuteronomy 8:4
33	Deuteronomy 8:7, Psalms 51:5
34	Deuteronomy 8:11

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“הַל״ב מִצְוֺת הַתְלוּיוֹת בַּלֵּב | Thirty-two Mitsvot One Can Do With Consciousness Alone, by Reb Ahrele Roth (trans. Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi & Hillel Goelman)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)

Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

Rabbi Dr. Zalman Meshullam Schachter-Shalomi, affectionately known as "Reb Zalman" (28 August 1924 – 3 July 2014) was one of the founders of the Jewish Renewal movement. Born in Żółkiew, Poland (now Ukraine) and raised in Vienna, he was interned in detention camps under the Vichy Regime but managed to flee the Nazi advance, emigrating to the United States in 1941. He was ordained as an Orthodox rabbi in 1947 within the ḤaBaD Hasidic movement while under the leadership of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, and served ḤaBaD communities in Massachusetts and Connecticut. He subsequently earned an M.A. in psychology of religion at Boston University, and a doctorate from the Hebrew Union College. He was initially sent out to speak on college campuses by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, but in the early 1960s, after experimenting with "the sacramental value of lysergic acid", the main ingredient in LSD, leadership within ḤaBaD circles cut ties with him. He continued teaching the Torah of Ḥassidut until the end of his life to creative, free and open-minded Jewish thinkers with humility and kindness and established warm ecumenical ties as well. In September 2009, he became the first contributor of a siddur to the Open Siddur Project database of Jewish liturgy and related work. Reb Zalman supported the Open Siddur Project telling its founder, "this is what I've been looking forward to!" and sharing among many additional works of liturgy, an interview he had with Havurah magazine in the early to mid-1980s detailing his vision of "Database Davenen." The Open Siddur Project is proud to be realizing one of Reb Zalman's long held dreams.

Hillel Goelman

Rabbi Dr. Yair Hillel Goelman is professor emeritus of the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education at the University of British Columbia. He received his smikha in 1991 from Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Shlomo Carlbach, and Akiva Mann, and is rabbi emeritus of the Or Shalom community of Vancouver.

Aharon Roth

Rabbi Aharon Roth (אהרן ראטה‬, רבי אהרל'ה) known as Reb Arele (1894 − 1947), was a Hungarian Hasidic rebbe and Talmudic scholar. He first established a Ḥasidic community he called Shomer Emunim (Guardian of Faith) in the 1920s in Satu Mare and in the 1930s in Berehovo, before he settled in Jerusalem, where he also founded a Ḥasidic community of the same name.

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17