הִתְבּוֹדְדוּת

 

Whether it's time alone, just sitting before the Presence of God, or whether we want to sit quietly before Him and allow Him to reveal more of His Word to us, or whether we need to come to Him on our own with a personal disaster or tragedy, spending time alone before Him is essential.

    Israel, keepers of the Oracles of God, have been doing this for millennia. They call it "Hitbodadut".

    Our Master, Yeshua the Messiah, as a Jewish firstborn son and Rabbi, also often did this.

Matthew 14:23:

    "After He had sent the crowds away, He went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night came on, and He was alone."

Mark 1:35:

    "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Yeshua got up, left, went away to a lonely spot and stayed there praying."

Mark 6:46:

    "After He had left them, He went into the hills to pray."

Luke 5:16:

    "However, He made a practice of withdrawing to remote places in order to pray."

Luke 6:12:

    "It was around that time that Yeshua went out to the hill country to pray, and all night He continued in prayer to God."

Luke 9:28:

    "About a week after Yeshua said these things, He took Kefa, Yochanan and Ya'aqov with Him and went up to the hill country to pray."

In Judaism, which Yeshua practiced - it only began to be called Messianic Judaism once He, Yeshua, had come to Earth as the Living Word of God, given up His life in Mesirut Nefesh for all mankind and had been resurrected to live forever at the right hand of the Father, from whence He had come - there are 10 different kinds of prayer, each one having it's own Hebrew word to describe it. In this article, we will focus on the particular form of prayer that is called Hitbodadut.

    Yeshua was not the first one to pray like this. Our forefathers and the prophets all partook in this activity. It was a standard Jewish practice by the time Yeshua was born. He confirmed the rightness of the practice by following in the footsteps of the fathers of our faith.

    We all know that when there is bustling activity and a lot of noise around us, we are too distracted to hear the Voice of the Lord. There is the Scripture which backs up this idea: "Be still and know that I am God."

    Now, with the current crime rate in the world and other dangers that are just waiting to overcome us, I do not recommend going to a lonely mountain top or other place to pray. You may certainly be putting your life in danger.

   But your lounge, when no one else is home, or garden, or other safe, quiet place, will work just as well. Since God is already everywhere in His creation and beyond, you will find Him wherever you sit down - or fall prostrate - to communicate with Him.

    Here is a link to a informative and helpful article on this kind of prayer:

https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/481244?lang=bi

    I will also copy the relatively short article here for those who would prefer to just continue reading on this page:

Article on Sefaria:

Hitbodedut: Alone Yourself With G-d!

AP

ByAaron Philmus

The Patriarchs and the prophets secluded themselves in the midbar (wilderness) to listen to Hashem m'daber (Speak).

Many of them chose to work as shephards where they could be alone in the fields for long periods of time.

Hitbodedut has three stages

1) Physical Isolation: boded being alone in nature

2) Spiritual Isolation, the ego disolves and the true soul point within emerges

3) Bitul Hayesh- sensing the unity of all being - that in each moment all that exists is being born out of the void

King David practiced Hitbodedut in the hills of Jerusalem and in his bed before sleep every night. He wrote in Psalms,

"My flesh and heart fade away while the Eternal One becomes the Rock of my heart and portion forever... I have placed my essence in Hashem my God, To express all Your transcendence." (73:26)

The best way to achieve this is alone in nature:

"...the imagination which is associated with the meditative faculty becomes activated through contemplation in God's creation..."

(R' Avraham Maimonides son of Rambam 1186-1237)

"One becomes so immersed in his contemplation that he enters the state of trance and mental quietude, perceiving the Unity of God like one who can actually sense it (physically). " (Aryeh Kaplan p. 8 Meditation and the Bible)

Nachman of Breslov, Likutey Moharan II, 25; Rabbi

HOW AND WHY TO PRACTICE

"Set aside time each day to meditate and pray alone in a room or some meadow and express your innermost thoughts and feelings and personal prayers to God. Use every kind of appeal and argument. Use words that will endear you to God and win His favor. Plead with God to draw you closer and let you truly serve Him. This is Hitbodedut.

You should hold these conversations in whatever language you speak best. Our set prayers are said in Hebrew, but if this is not one's native language, it is difficult to use it to give expression to all one's innermost thoughts and feelings and the heart is less drawn after the words. It is easier to pour out your heart and say everything you need in your own language.

Hitbodedut is of the greatest value. It is the way to come closer to God, because it includes everything else. No matter what you lack in your service of God, even if you feel totally remote from His service, tell God everything and ask Him for all that you need.

Hitbodedut is the highest level: it is greater than everything."

SPRING IS A GREAT TIME TO START!

“In the winter all plants and grasses die. Their strength is dissipated and they are like the dead. But when the summer comes (Spring), they awaken and return to life. It says: "And Isaac went out to meditate in the field" (Genesis 24:63). The Talmud teaches us that this meditation was prayer. When summer begins to approach (Spring) it is very good to meditate in the fields. This is a time when you can pray to God with longing and yearning. The Hebrew word for meditation and prayer is SIChah. The Hebrew word for a bush of the field is SIaCh. When every bush (SIaCh) of the field begins to return to life and grow, they all yearn to be included in prayer and meditation (SIChah).” (Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom #98)    

    

    May you learn to focus on God in this intensely personal way.

SHABBAT SHALOM!