אות - רפג

The Rebbe once spoke about young married men who find their prayers greatly disturbed by the fact that they have not sanctified themselves properly in their marital relations. They feel tainted and find prayer very difficult.

The Rebbe constantly warned us not to become discouraged because of this. He said, “What happened, happened ( Pesachim 108a, Yoma 5b, etc.) . When you pray, you must forget everything else (see “ His Wisdom ” #26) . No matter what happened, strengthen yourself and pray properly.”

He said this is the meaning of Abba Benjamin’s saying: “I am concerned … that my prayer should be close to my bed” ( Berakhot 5b) . The bed is marital relations ( Ketubot 10b) . “My prayer should be close to my bed”: I should be able to pray immediately after leaving “my bed” and not be disturbed at all.