הנעור בלילהAwake at Night, Alone

ha-ne'or ba-laylahIn Gamatria ↗

Out past the town at night, the self thins into light.

A stern Mishnah (Avot 3) warns against staying awake at night and walking a road alone. R. Nachman reads it as praise. Only God exists of necessity; the world only might exist. To return to the One who must exist, a person has to nullify the self (bittul). That comes only through hitbodedut, speaking alone with God. It works best at night, when the world stops chasing its business, and on a lonely path outside town. There one wears away one desire and trait after another, until even the last trace of self-importance is gone.

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