Rebbe Nachman was very strict about not wasting time for cleanliness and not spending a long time in the bathroom. He made fun of people who do this, and he spoke at length about this. The general principle is that “the Torah was not given to the angels (Brachos 25:).” So, a person doesn’t need to be more strict than the halachah, and the halachah is that it is only prohibited [to daven] when a person actually needs to go the bathroom, like the Gemarra says, “One who needs to go to the bathroom shouldn’t daven” – specifically, “needs to go.”
And even when a person actually needs to go to the bathroom, there are still halachic nuances in non-ideal situations and difficult circumstances, as it says in the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 92 – see the Magen Avraham who brings the Rif who permits [a person to daven] lechatchilah as long as he is able to hold it in for the amount of time it takes to travel a parsah). What we see from here is that, in any case, if a person doesn’t actually need to go to the bathroom, there is no need to be strict and prevent himself from learning Torah and davening for nothing just because of concerns, extra stringencies, and plain foolishness. Rather, a person should daven right away after he gets out of bed. If it is possible for him to go to the bathroom easily, then he should do so, and if not, not, and he should daven the way he is. And even if he feels [movement] in his stomach, he shouldn’t pay attention or look at this at all.
Preparing Ourselves for the Light of Kedushah
One of the main subjects of chassidus is the significance of preparing oneself to do a mitzvah. Each mitzvah in the Torah has such awesome kedushah that we shouldn’t just do mitzvos by rote. Instead, we should take some time to get ourselves ready to perform each mitzvah. We should learn the halachos of the mitzvah and study about its deeper meaning so that we have more inspiration to fulfill the mitzvah. We should clear our minds so that we can do the mitzvah with focus and concentration. We should yearn to receive the amazing light of the mitzvah. In fact, the sefarim of chassidus say that the preparation that we do for a mitzvah is so important that it is even greater than the mitzvah itself.
All of this especially applies in regards to davening. Tefillah is perhaps the most difficult aspect of avodas Hashem. For most of us, it is very difficult to pray with concentration and find inspiration and deveikus in our prayers. Sometimes, it is even hard for us to recite the entire seder of tefillah. Therefore, if we don’t prepare ourselves ahead of time, our davening can be very weak, and right after we finish praying, we forget about the experience we had during tefillah and move on with the day.
So, it is very important for us to take some time to prepare ourselves for davening every day. This is one reason why Rebbe Nachman emphasizes the importance of waking up at midnight to say Tikkun Chatzos, learn Torah, and do hisbodedus until the morning. Through this, we have plenty of time to awaken our hearts and minds to serve Hashem before we begin the amazing avodah of davening Shacharis, without missing the times for Krias Shema and Shemoneh Esrei.
However, even if we’re unable to wake up at this hour, or if we have to go back to sleep at some point before the morning, nonetheless, we should still try to take a 20-30 minutes to learn before davening in order to awaken our seichel to think about Hashem and concentrate on the awesome words of tefillah.
Purifying the Body in a Normal Way
In addition, it is also important for us to take some time to prepare our bodies for the avodah of davening. It is very beneficial to go to a mikveh before Shacharis in order to purify our physical form and reconnect to the incredible light of our neshamos. Similarly, as is mentioned in halachah, it is necessary for us to try to go to the bathroom before we pray. When we daven, our bodies become a merkavah (vessel) for kedushah. Thus, we should make sure that this vessel is clean and holy. We want to feel good as we daven, and if the body is very heavy, it makes it hard to attach ourselves to the inspiration of tefillah.
Because of this, some people spend a lot of time trying to purify their bodies. They want their system to be completely empty so that they are truly prepared for the light of davening. In this sichah, Rebbe Nachman teaches us how to approach this subject in a healthy way.