## Tzava'at HaRivash Chapter 89

###### Tzava'at HaRivash 89:1
[Tzava'at HaRivash 89:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tzava%27at%20HaRivash/r/89:1)

**כשנופלת לו מחשבה זרה** אזי יתבושש עד מאד כי דחפו אותו מהיכל המלך וישוב לתוך ההיכל בבושה רבה והכנעה גדולה מאד כי מ"ז הוא עבירה כמו מוליד ממזר ע"ד רחילא בתר רחילא אזלא כמו שהמחשב' דכר ונוקבא כך הקול והדיבור הם דכר ונוקבא.

**The Way of The Baal Shem Tov. Adapted into English by Rabbi Amiram Markel and Yehudah Shimon Markel, 2020:**
If an extraneous thought falls into your mind during prayer, be very ashamed, for you have been pushed out of the palace of the King. Therefore, return to the palace with great shame and submission. For, extraneous thoughts are transgressions equivalent to giving birth to an illegitimate child (*Mamzer*), as in the expression,¹⁵⁰ “A ewe comes from a ewe, and as the mother is, so is her daughter.” For, just as thought consists of masculine and feminine aspects, so likewise, voice and speech are masculine and feminine in nature.

footnotes:
¹⁵⁰ Talmud Bavli, Ketubot 63a


###### Tzava'at HaRivash 89:2
[Tzava'at HaRivash 89:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tzava%27at%20HaRivash/r/89:2)

ואם יש לו מוחין זעירין ומדבר דברי קודש הוי כמו ממזר שיש לו צורה כמו אדם כשר רק הפנימית הוא רע כך הדיבור הוא באותיות קדושות רק המחשבה הוא רעה שחושב ד"א ומוליד ממזר דיבור קדוש.

**The Way of The Baal Shem Tov. Adapted into English by Rabbi Amiram Markel and Yehudah Shimon Markel, 2020:**
Thus, if you have extraneous thoughts while speaking the holy words of prayer, it is as if you have given birth to an illegitimate child. That is, externally, a *Mamzer* has the form of a proper person, but the very inception of his being is negative. In like manner, your words of prayer consist of holy letters, but the thought invested in them is negative. For, you are thinking something other than *HaShem*, and thus give birth to an illegitimate product of holy speech.


###### Tzava'at HaRivash 89:3
[Tzava'at HaRivash 89:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tzava%27at%20HaRivash/r/89:3)

ועוד יחשוב כי הקב"ה אומר ומדוע באת בהתיבה ואין אני בהתיבה כי מחשבתי משוטטת בד"א:

**The Way of The Baal Shem Tov. Adapted into English by Rabbi Amiram Markel and Yehudah Shimon Markel, 2020:**
Moreover, consider it as though the Holy One, blessed is He, is saying to you,¹⁵¹ “Why have I come, and there is no man?” That is, “Why have you mentioned Me” with your words, but the thought of Me is not in your words? For, your thoughts have wandered off to other matters.

footnotes:
¹⁵¹ Isaiah 50:2