A wise person knows if the time is right for him to pray with the inner mystical intentions and to delight [in mystical rapture]. But if he finds that he is in the mystery of Smallness,²⁶. A state of constricted consciousness in which the mind can not concentrate or attach itself to G‑d. unable to concentrate and overwhelmed by extraneous thoughts, he should pray like a small child, reading from the printed text. My Master (the Baal Shem Tov) said that once he was in a foreign land for a period of time in this state of mind,²⁷ for his [expanded consciousness] had left him, he attached himself to the letters. One who prays with the written words and cleaves to the letters uplifts the aspect of Asiyah,²⁸. for the word “Writing” – ketav, כתב – is an acronym for Keter of Malchus(כתר),²⁹, the highest Sefirah unites with Malchus, the lowest Sefirah. which is [the letter] Tav - ת,³⁰ is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet and corresponds to Malchus, the lowest Sefirah. by means of Binah (בינה). He once ordered someone to do this until the latter regained his high spiritual level. Katones Passim, Balak

footnotes: ²⁶ Katnus ²⁷ This happened in Istanbul, during the Baal Shem Tov’s attempted to journey to the Land of Israel. ²⁸ The lowest of the spiritual worlds, corresponding to the Sefirah of Malchus ²⁹ Meaning, when Keter ³⁰ Tav