The Sanzer Rav, the Divrei Chaim, zt'l, would bite whole morror at each seder. One year, the Rav's personal physician advised him not to eat marror as his heart was not strong enough. So thousands of people watched, amid the physician's warning. The Divrei Chaim had the marror before him on the K'arah and started to make a bracha, and they assumed that he was going to bite into the marror, at the risk of endangering his life. But the Bracha the Rav made was "Asher Kiddishonu b'Mitzvosov v'tzivonu l'shmor es hanefesh" and he put it down. He said, "Rabosei -this year I'm fulfilling a bigger mitzvah of marror than ever before. Until now it was only mi-d'rabbonan - but this year it is from d'oraysah- "V'nishmartam m'od al nafshosachem".

In addition to teaching us that sleep is important to our health and our bodies, the Rambam is also teaching us something else: We know that our livelihood is fixed from the beginning of the year. How much we are going to earn is already written in the Heavenly Books. If we say, "Alright, if the amount I'm going to make has already been decided, I'll take a long vacation and buy a Lottery ticket." ;Alas, it doesn't work that way. We must make the proper hishtadlus. The key word, however, is proper. Overdoing it will not glean us any added extra benefits. When Reb. Moshe Feinstein zt'l came to America, there was a big nisayon for people; they couldn't get jobs unless they worked on Shabbos. In his drashas he said," We must understand that if we work on Shabbos, we will not make an extra penny, because what we will earn has already been determined on Rosh HaShanah. We have to make the proper hishtadlus, but working on Shabbos, chas v'shalom, is not considered proper hishtadlus. That won't gain us an extra cent. Accordingly, if the Rambam tells us that the proper thing to do is to sleep eight hours each night, working like a workaholic to bring in extra money is not considered to be proper hishtadlus, as it is detrimental to a person's health. It won't bring us more money although we might think that it does. Sleep is a bonanza.

One of the most remarkable things I have heard about this topic is something I read about the previous Satmar Rebbe, zt'l. They say that the Rebbe's bracha of Ha'mapil took longer than his entire sleep. The bracha took an hour and a qaurter, and he slept for merely an hour. This gives us an idea about sleep. It is said that the Sanzer Rav, zt'l, did not sleep very much. He would say that different people do different things fast. Let me paraphrase this: some people daven fast, some people drive fast, the Rav said that he slept fast. That is why he didn't need that much sleep. Sleep, however, can be a great downfall.

There is a great midrash in the beginning of the Torah. Before creating the Woman from Man, Hashem anesthetized Man. "Vayapel Hashem tardemahal ha'Adam."Reb Yehoshua says in the name of Rebbe Levi that this is the first time the term "vayapel" - a fall - is mentioned in the Torah. This is certainly very noteworthy, that the Torah's first mention of a downfall is connected with sleep. Reb Yehoshua says the beginning of a man's downfall is with sleep. When a person is asleep, he is neither learning Torah nor making a parnassah for his family. Note that the word "Tardemah" contains both "mes" - death and "red- downfall. Similarly, the other word for sleep, "tenumah",also contains the word "mes". We know that sleep is consideredto be 1/60 of death. So we must be very wary of sleep. The Mishnah, in Pirkei Avos, warns us that oversleeping and missing Shachris, is one of the things that propels a person from this world. Thus we see just how dangerous sleep can be.

Shulchan Aruch can be a powerful Mussar sefer if it is learned properly. In Shulchan Aruch we learn that one who gets up from sleep must wash his hands. Not only because we wash Netilas Yadaim like the Cohen; not only because we are preparing to greet Hashem in davening. Not only because the hands move in sleep, and touch certain parts of the body that are normally covered, but also we wash our hands because they are "tomeh" - impure. This is different than all the above reasons, because when we wash our hands for "tumah", there is a special way to do that: we have to wash three times alternately - it is a special system to remove the state of impurity. For all of the other reasons we would not have to do three times alternating. But the contamination requires this special procedure. Why, then, upon arising, is one considered to be "tameh"- impure? It is because when we go to sleep and our neshama rises to Hashem our body is consisting of "gashmius", of materialism, and that is considered to be "tameh". The meaning of life is the ruchniyus, the spirituality, the tefilos, the chesed, the tzedakah, all the "ehrliche"things we do. The "Guf" - the base actions are "gashmiyus"; therefore, at night there was materialism without the spirituality. That is why a "mes" is "metameh" - a "mes" is a golem of clay without a neshama. That is "tumah". Chaim is the spirituality. A body without the neshama, without the spirituality, representing the baser part of life is "tumah". That is why we don't follow the bizarre custom of the Goyim to have "wakes" for the dead,- laying the deceased in an open casket and passing by to say "Good-bye". We don't want to look at a person without a neshama.

It is important to note that when we go to sleep our neshama ascends. Another term for sleep is "shinah" - "nash" and "kah"- a man goes to G-d. If you look in the Zohar, Chai Adom brings down that every night a person's neshama goes up to be judged. Rashi says that if you took collateral from a man, you took his only suit and he doesn't have what else to wear, you return it to him in the morning, and take it back again at night. Rashi says in that z'chus, when you return your neshama to Hashem at night, even if He finds it lacking, he still returns it to you in the morning. With this in mind it is easy to understand what the Mishnah Brurah teaches us: In the nighttime before going to sleep, it is proper for a person to make a cheshbon nefesh of what he has done, and to realize that he is going before the Kisei haKovod. This way, he will rectify, in the future, what he has done, and Hashem will return his neshama in a better way. The Chofetz Chaim says that one should especially go over the common sins he has committed, like lying. Did you tell a lie to your boss, to your spouse, to your employee? Did you speak loshon harah or indulge in litzonis? Were you lax in observing Kashrus? It is also worthwhile, says the Chofetz Chaim, to forgive those who may have offended us. We are going before the Ribono Shel Olom to be judged. What better way to be prepared than to forgive others? This is proper training to prepare us for sleep. When we go to sleep, we do not just "zap out". When we go to face the Ribono Shel Olom, we want to be prepared. Every sleep is like a mini Yom Kippur. The Chofetz Chaim instructs us to make a cheshbon ha'nefesh and look over the vulnerable points of life: the bitul Torah, Sholom Bayis, Chinuch ha'Banim. If something is missing, say "vidui"; make a commitment. Don't bring onto the bed a complaint about anyone. Forgive people. Now if this is true with everyone, it is especially true with husband and wife. People who came from Europe would advise their children, "Tateleh, Mameleh - when you get married, never go to sleep angry at your wife or husband - even if it means not going to sleep until very late." If you want Shalom to reign in the house, and Shechinah guarding over you in the house, there must be Shalom between husband and wife. If a cold war exists between spouses, there is no Shalom in the home. If this is true about mechilah for everyone, it holds more so in marriage.

The Shaloh HaKodesh brings down from the Ramak that before going to sleep, one should kiss the Mezuzah. Nighttime is a time of danger: when the person has the neshama within, this "ruchniyus" protects him. Spirituality is what keeps him from harm. We could also suggest to give tzedakah before going to sleep. "I with righteousness see Your face."

The Ribono Shel Olom could have created us so that we wouldn't have to sleep for eight hours. We have to channel our sleep positively, to do a mitzvah. We learn that by eating on Erev Yom Kippur, it's considered as if we had fasted for two days, because we have prepared for the mitzvah. Similarly, we can use our sleep to prepare for performing mitzvahs. "I'mgoing to sleep to have the energy to learn Torah tomorrow." "I'mtaking a nap so that I can better perform the mitzvah of hachnasas orchim.- Then we have converted one third of our lives to preparing for mitzvahs. A Yiddishe mother realizes that she is short-tempered due to lack of sleep. She will say, "I'm going to sleep so that I will be better rested to take care of my family, so that I can fulfill Shalom Bayis and do mitzvos."This is converting sleep into chesed shel emes.

Sleep on Shabbos is special, to delight in the Shabbos. One thing that was missing was the "Menucha". By sleeping on the Shabbos we are celebrating the Menucha. Also, Shabbos came to Hashem and complained,"Where is my mate? All of the other days have their mate and where is mine?" Hashem answered, "B'nai Yisrael is your mate."

It is very important to recite "Hamapil" before falling asleep.Some may not fall asleep immediately and are afraid of a "hefsek". Some are worried about various daily matters. Says the Divrei Chaim,"Going to sleep without Birchas haMapil is like eating without a Bracha."

Rav Meyer from Premishlav said that it is a guard against miscarriage for a pregnant woman to say "Hamapil". We say "Birchas Hamapil"to thank Hashem for this great gift of sleep. Even after saying "Hamapil"if a woman's husband comes home and asks her something, she may answer and talk, even after reciting this bracha.

Sometimes people are disturbed by bad thoughts - this bracha can help them. Aruch HaShulchan says that speaking after "Hamapil" is not tantamount to talking after netilas yadayim. Great care should be taken to say "Birchas HaMapil" prior to going to sleep. It should be learned by heart and said as close as possible to going to sleep. If someone is unsure of drifting off to sleep, at least he should say it without saying Hashem's name.