When a person awakens at night and his heart tells him to get up, he should not be lazy about it. Rather, he should get up with alacrity and vigor before his evil inclination overpowers him with arguments and pretexts, asking him not to get up, and outsmarts him. He will not know why, for it (the evil inclination) is an old and foolish being that knows how to trap a person and make him fall into pits so that he will not get up, and all with its given methods. Therefore, every God-fearing person who trembles at the word of the Lord must not listen to it or accept from it, and should cast it behind his back. And even if it is a burden due to the heaviness and laziness of the body, he should set his intention on the will of the King of all kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, and everything else will be as naught before him. And one who accustoms himself to this way for four or five days will not find it difficult or a burden. On the contrary, 'one who comes to purify himself is assisted,' and his evil inclination will be subdued before him like a servant before his master. He will never deviate from his good custom, and he will continue and be absorbed in it and will not depart from it, due to the mercy of the Lord upon him. He will be a man of valor and a mighty warrior to overcome the evil inclination and break all its arguments and pretexts.

And upon waking, one should immediately say: 'I give thanks before You, living and enduring King, for You have mercifully restored my soul to me; great is Your faithfulness.' And there is no need for netilat yadayim (ritual handwashing) for this, because even if his hands are dirty, there is no concern since he is not mentioning the Divine Name or any of His appellations. And he should put on his garment with great modesty, so that his limbs are not revealed, for even the beams of his house bear witness about him, whether he is modest or not, and judgment is passed based on their testimony. And he should not turn his garment from inside out for any reason in the world, even though it seems to be a minor matter and what is the concern since it is under his clothes? Nonetheless, it is a great matter and one should be careful about it, especially if he is a Torah scholar or a man of high stature, for whom there is great strictness, as 'the secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him.'