by R. Nachman of Breslov
When a person’s communication is complete, that corresponds to the Holy Tongue.
All human languages are incomplete and lack perfection, and are called “barbarous speech” (Isaiah 32:4).
Only the Holy Tongue possesses perfection. And the Holy Tongue is connected to the Sabbath. Thus, our Sages comment on the verse that includes the phrase, “and speak a word” (ibid.), which speaks of the Sabbath, “that a person’s speech on the Sabbath should not be the same as his weekday speech” (Shabbat 113).
Similarly, our sages state that the phrase “Thus shall you bless” (Numbers 6:23) means, “in the Holy Tongue” (Sotah 38). The Holy Tongue incorporates blessing and holiness, due to the fact that it is associated with the Sabbath, which is described as possessing blessing and holiness, as in the verse, “and He blessed … and He sanctified” (Genesis 2:3).
And so by means of the Holy Tongue a person is connected to the Sabbath.
Therefore, by means of perfecting one’s speech, which corresponds to the Holy Tongue, a person draws the joy of the Sabbath to the six days of the week.
The six weekdays are associated with depression, for “the angel Metat rules in the weekdays” (Tikunei Zohar 18, p. 33b), and Metat is a servant, which corresponds to depression.
But the Sabbath corresponds to a son, when “there is rest for those in heaven and those upon the earth.” Then joy is awoken. At that point, all of the commandments that a person performed during the six days of the week are raised and elevated from depression; instead, rest and joy are drawn onto them. This is alluded to by the verse, “A son was born and his name was called Noah, for it was said, ‘This one will comfort us from our deeds and from the weariness of our hands” (Genesis 5:28-29).
That corresponds to the Sabbath, which corresponds to the son, corresponding to Noach, “Rest (i) for those in heaven and those upon the earth” (see Tikun 70 at the end and Zohar Bereishit 58, 59), which comforts and gives joy to everyone instead of depression—thus, “this one will comfort us….”
When a person attains the level of the Holy Tongue, which is connected to the Sabbath, he draws down the holiness and joy of the Sabbath into the six days of the week.
Since the Holy Tongue is connected to the Sabbath, through it the joy of the Sabbath is drawn to the six days of the week. Thus, the verse states, “The Mighty One, God, Hashem, spoke.” The numerical value of this phrase in Hebrew (plus the number of words of which it is composed) is equal to that of the word, simchah, joy. By means of a perfect speech, which is the Holy Tongue, joy is drawn down.
Likutei Moharan II 2:5
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
We and God Together Seek Atonement on Rosh Hashanah
by R. Nachman of Breslov
When a person sits down to talk with someone else, that can be said to correspond to Rosh Hashanah.
This is because Rosh Hashanah is a day of judgment; and when a person sits down to talk with someone else, he has a tendency to judge him.
A person must be very careful in this regard and look at himself well, to see if he is competent to judge someone else.
The verse states that “judgment belongs to God” (Deuteronomy 1:7)—meaning that only God is competent to judge someone.
Also, our Sages state, “Do not judge someone until you come to his place” (Pirkei Avot 2). But who can know and come to someone else’s place except for God? “He is the Place of the world, and the world is not His place” (Bereishit Rabbah, Veyeitzei 68, cited by Rashi on the verse hinei makom iti—Tisa). Each individual has a place with God. And so, only God can judge someone.
**
He is the Master of compassion, Who certainly “judges every individual favorably” (Avot 1).
We can see His compassion in the fact that He set the date for Rosh Hashanah, which is a day of judgment, on rosh chodesh—the new month. That is a great kindness—for how else would we dare lift up our faces to seek atonement from God? He did us the great kindness of setting the Day of Judgment, Rosh Hashanah, on rosh chodesh, for at that time God Himself (as it were) seeks atonement. We learn that God says in regard to rosh chodesh, “Bring an atonement on My behalf” (Shavuot 9a, Chullin 60b).
We learn that from the following Talmudic passage.
R. Shimon ben Pazi contrasted two verses. One states that “God made the two great lights”—the sun and moon—implying that they were of equal size (Genesis 1); and the other describes the sun and moon as “the large light and the small light.”
The solution to this contradiction is as follows.
Originally, the sun and moon were of equal size, but the moon complained to the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the universe, is it possible for two kings to make use of the same crown?”
God replied to the moon, “Then make yourself smaller.”
She said to Him, “Master of the universe, because I raised a reasonable point to You, should I then make myself smaller?”
God attempted to appease the moon in various ways, but she refused to be reconciled. Seeing this, He said, “Bring an atonement on My behalf for having made the moon smaller.”
And so on the Day of Judgment we are not ashamed to seek atonement, since God Himself seeks atonement at that time.
Also, when God Himself must, as it were, state, “Bring an atonement on My behalf”—i.e., because He did something that He must regret—we are not ashamed to come before Him with our sins in order to seek atonement for them and regret them, since He Himself has done something that He needs to regret.
And so we see the greatness of God’s compassion—i.e., that He set the date for Rosh Hashanah on rosh chodesh.
Only He is fit to judge the world, for only He knows the place of each individual. This is because all places are with Him, since “He is the Place of the world, and the world is not His place.”
**
We find that God’s Presence rested in certain sites, such as the Temple. But that is not to say (heaven forbid) that God constricted His Divinity (heaven forbid). As Solomon stated, “Behold, the heavens and the heavens of heavens cannot contain You—certainly not this house” (Kings I 8:26).
But there were felicitous matters there—e.g., we learn that the Temple was in the form of the Work of Creation and in the form of the Garden of Eden (see Introduction to the Tikunim). Therefore, God drew His holiness into it.
But as for God Himself, the world is not His place—rather, He is the Place of the world.
God can make Rosh Hashanah, which is the Day of Judgment, because He represents the concept, “Do not judge someone else until you come to his place,” because God is the Place of the world.
The verse states that “holiness is felicitous in Your House, Hashem, for length of days” (Psalms 93:5).
That is to say, God drew His holiness into the Temple, since it had felicitous things there. But as for God Himself, the world is not His place—rather, He is the Place of the world.
And so the verse ends, “Hashem, for length of days.” That is to say, since God is the Place of the world, He can make Rosh Hashanah, the day of judgment, which is called for halachic reasons a “lengthy day” (Beitzah 4 and 6; Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 393).
**
A person who grasps the level of the Throne of Glory—which is the level of the roots of souls—corresponds to the Place of the world. That corresponds to the verse, “He endows [such people] with a seat of honor as an inheritance, for Hashem’s are the pillars of the earth, upon which He set up the world” (Samuel I 2:8).
That is to say, by coming to the level of the Throne of Glory, the roots of souls, such people function as the place of the world, the level of “upon them He set up the world.”
And thus such a person can make Rosh Hashanah.
Likutei Moharan Tinyana 1:14
When a person sits down to talk with someone else, that can be said to correspond to Rosh Hashanah.
This is because Rosh Hashanah is a day of judgment; and when a person sits down to talk with someone else, he has a tendency to judge him.
A person must be very careful in this regard and look at himself well, to see if he is competent to judge someone else.
The verse states that “judgment belongs to God” (Deuteronomy 1:7)—meaning that only God is competent to judge someone.
Also, our Sages state, “Do not judge someone until you come to his place” (Pirkei Avot 2). But who can know and come to someone else’s place except for God? “He is the Place of the world, and the world is not His place” (Bereishit Rabbah, Veyeitzei 68, cited by Rashi on the verse hinei makom iti—Tisa). Each individual has a place with God. And so, only God can judge someone.
**
He is the Master of compassion, Who certainly “judges every individual favorably” (Avot 1).
We can see His compassion in the fact that He set the date for Rosh Hashanah, which is a day of judgment, on rosh chodesh—the new month. That is a great kindness—for how else would we dare lift up our faces to seek atonement from God? He did us the great kindness of setting the Day of Judgment, Rosh Hashanah, on rosh chodesh, for at that time God Himself (as it were) seeks atonement. We learn that God says in regard to rosh chodesh, “Bring an atonement on My behalf” (Shavuot 9a, Chullin 60b).
We learn that from the following Talmudic passage.
R. Shimon ben Pazi contrasted two verses. One states that “God made the two great lights”—the sun and moon—implying that they were of equal size (Genesis 1); and the other describes the sun and moon as “the large light and the small light.”
The solution to this contradiction is as follows.
Originally, the sun and moon were of equal size, but the moon complained to the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the universe, is it possible for two kings to make use of the same crown?”
God replied to the moon, “Then make yourself smaller.”
She said to Him, “Master of the universe, because I raised a reasonable point to You, should I then make myself smaller?”
God attempted to appease the moon in various ways, but she refused to be reconciled. Seeing this, He said, “Bring an atonement on My behalf for having made the moon smaller.”
And so on the Day of Judgment we are not ashamed to seek atonement, since God Himself seeks atonement at that time.
Also, when God Himself must, as it were, state, “Bring an atonement on My behalf”—i.e., because He did something that He must regret—we are not ashamed to come before Him with our sins in order to seek atonement for them and regret them, since He Himself has done something that He needs to regret.
And so we see the greatness of God’s compassion—i.e., that He set the date for Rosh Hashanah on rosh chodesh.
Only He is fit to judge the world, for only He knows the place of each individual. This is because all places are with Him, since “He is the Place of the world, and the world is not His place.”
**
We find that God’s Presence rested in certain sites, such as the Temple. But that is not to say (heaven forbid) that God constricted His Divinity (heaven forbid). As Solomon stated, “Behold, the heavens and the heavens of heavens cannot contain You—certainly not this house” (Kings I 8:26).
But there were felicitous matters there—e.g., we learn that the Temple was in the form of the Work of Creation and in the form of the Garden of Eden (see Introduction to the Tikunim). Therefore, God drew His holiness into it.
But as for God Himself, the world is not His place—rather, He is the Place of the world.
God can make Rosh Hashanah, which is the Day of Judgment, because He represents the concept, “Do not judge someone else until you come to his place,” because God is the Place of the world.
The verse states that “holiness is felicitous in Your House, Hashem, for length of days” (Psalms 93:5).
That is to say, God drew His holiness into the Temple, since it had felicitous things there. But as for God Himself, the world is not His place—rather, He is the Place of the world.
And so the verse ends, “Hashem, for length of days.” That is to say, since God is the Place of the world, He can make Rosh Hashanah, the day of judgment, which is called for halachic reasons a “lengthy day” (Beitzah 4 and 6; Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 393).
**
A person who grasps the level of the Throne of Glory—which is the level of the roots of souls—corresponds to the Place of the world. That corresponds to the verse, “He endows [such people] with a seat of honor as an inheritance, for Hashem’s are the pillars of the earth, upon which He set up the world” (Samuel I 2:8).
That is to say, by coming to the level of the Throne of Glory, the roots of souls, such people function as the place of the world, the level of “upon them He set up the world.”
And thus such a person can make Rosh Hashanah.
Likutei Moharan Tinyana 1:14
Friday, August 15, 2008
The Flow of Abundance
By R. Nosson of Nemirov
The lust for money is the result of a lack of faith that God can bring a person an income via an easy means, without toil. Lacking this faith, a person constantly chases after his income. He is filled with depression, worry and bitterness, and borrows a great deal of money because he does not believe that God can provide him with his income in its proper time without toil, via a simple means.
And all of this is drawn from and connected to time. God transcends time and place, “
And all the service of Israel in this physical world, which rests within time and space, is solely to raise and connect the reality of time and space to the reality that transcends time and space—i.e., to raise, connect and incorporate all of creation into that which preceded creation.
And the essential thing is faith. As the verse states, “All of Your commandments are faith.”
This is because via faith, via believing that God created everything with His will, and that all time and space come from Him, from the reality that transcends time and space, we raise and connect time and space to the level that transcends time and space. And then all of creation is on the level that transcends time and space—on the level of providence.
And that is the aspect of trust in God. And in truth, essentially a person grows depressed and worries over earning a living because he fails to trust in God.
In essence, this blemish and lack of trust in God derive solely from the level of time and space.
God causes His good abundance to flow constantly, without interruption for even a moment. But that flow of abundance enters this physical world, which is within time and space, and so it must be clothed in time and space.
And so the flow of income and abundance comes down only within a specific time and space.
In essence, worry over earning a living comes from the fact that at times the flow of a person’s income is interrupted. Then the worry over making a living rises in his heart and he grows concerned over what he will eat tomorrow.
As a result, he invests a great deal of toil in earning a living. But in the end he does not attain an income until its proper time arrives.
But if this person possessed a true intelligence and believed that everything is from God but that it is necessary to wait until its time comes, he would not chase after his income so much, knowing that God will give him his income in its time, via an easy means.
It is necessary for a person engage in some slight action for the sake of earning a living, as our sages state regarding the verse, “I will bless you in all that you do”--for it can be drawn down into this world only via vessels. Thus, it is necessary to engage in some industry and business, for in this way one makes vessels and conduits to receive the abundance.
But in truth, the work is not the main thing at all. Rather, the essential income comes from God, from His providence alone, for no person knows how he will earn a living.
And so a person should not urgently pursue his income with great toil--as though, heaven forbid, his income depends on that alone. To the contrary, as a result his income will decrease, because “whenever a person forces the moment, the moment forces him back.” A person needs to engage in business and industry only to fulfill the commandment of engaging in business faithfully, in order to make a vessel and conduit to receive the abundance--and whatever he does in this will suffice.
And thus, “I will bless you in all that you do”— in whatever a person does, even something slight and small, Hashem will bless him. Most people pursue an income repeatedly and with great effort yet do not succeed in earning a profit, and achieve nothing in their toil--yet then God has pity on them and brings them an income--sometimes even great wealth—via a very simple means, in an almost supernatural fashion. The world is filled with stories of this kind, which are very common among those who engage in business.
So if a person had intelligence and from the beginning relied on God and did not worry at all, he would have no need whatsoever for unnecessary toil. When the time came, God would give him his income via a simple means.
Not only does a person not earn anything as a result of his worry, depression and exaggerated toil and overwhelming efforts, but to the contrary, he loses the abundant flow of great income.
This is because the essence of the flow of income comes from above, from that which transcends time and space--except that in this world, income has to clothe itself in time and space, and so a person must engage in some activity and business for the sake of income, in order to make a vessel in which abundance can clothe itself in this world.
When a person believes that time and space are connected to that which transcends time and space, he has abundant income because he is connected to the source of abundance that flows from above by means of his faith and trust in Hashem.
But when a person runs after his income with great toil, he is drawn after and powerfully connected to the level of time and space. He disconnects time and space from the level that transcends time and space. As a result, he is distanced from the root of flowing abundance, and so it is difficult for him to earn a living. And even when he receives a little income, it necessarily comes with a great and overwhelming toil.
As a result of his income coming with excessive toil, he is drawn even more to into constriction, into time and space.
And so his income comes with excessive toil, which is drawn from the level of time and space.
Our sages state that “when a person forces the moment, the moment will force him back, but when a person allows himself to be forced back by the moment, the moment will be forced back by him.”
That is to say, a person who is excessively drawn after time and tries to force the moment is connected in an excessive manner to time and space, and is greatly distanced from the aspect that transcends time and space. As a result, he is distanced from the source of the flow of abundance.
As a result, “the moment will force him back,” since he is so greatly connected to the aspect of time.
And so this person suffers even greater pressure, because his income is pushed off to a further time and place. Because he has put so much effort into time and space, his income is pushed off in time and space.
But when a person allows himself to be “forced back by the moment,” when he believes that everything is from God and that when his time comes his income will come of itself, via a simple means, he is tied strongly to that which transcends time and space.
And so “the moment will be forced back by him,” because in this way he reduces time and space, and God sends him his income in a short period of time and in close proximity to himself.
This is because he is close to and connected to the aspect that transcends time and space.
As a result, he does not need to engage in great exertion for the sake of his income.
This is because the essence of exertion is drawn from the aspect of time and space.
If a person had very strong trust, he would not even have to engage in any means at all in order to earn an income.
In essence, it is necessary to engage in some simple means to earn an income in order to make a conduit and vessel to receive the abundance that flows down from above. But if a person had strong trust, he would make the vessel and the conduit with that trust itself.
This is because by means of the trust he makes a vessel to receive the flow of abundance.
Likutei Halachot, Yoreh Deah, Ribit 3:1
Monday, August 4, 2008
Faith and the Red Heifer
The law of the red heifer is said to be a chukah, an ordinance that transcends human reason. But the Be’er Mayim Chaim and other works point out that R. Moshe Hadarshan explains that the purpose of the red heifer was to make it possible for the Jews to gain attainment following the sin of the golden calf. Why, then, is this law referred to as a chukah?
The author of Yismach Yisrael (Terumah) quotes his father, the holy Admor, who in turn cites our holy rebbe of Worke, with an answer to this question.
The essence of the sin of the golden calf was lack of faith. Faith operates when the intellect is not illuminated and the mind is not clear. (As the verse states, “Your faithfulness is in the nights.”) When the people of that generation were deprived of the presence of Moses for a short while and their intellect did not shine for them sufficiently, they lacked faith and made the golden calf.
The rectification for that is an equivalent measure of repentance—i.e., a strengthening of faith, of believing simply (even if we do not know and understand with our intellect) in the commandments of God.
And that is the meaning of the words of R. Moshe Hadarshan: although the law of the red heifer is a chukah without reason and we cannot understand it with our intellect, nevertheless we keep it. Therefore it is a rectification for the sin of the golden calf, the lack of faith—i.e., this red heifer comes, which lacks human reason and in which everything is from the aspect of faith, and grants atonement for the sin of the golden calf, which was a lack of faith.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Walking with God
The holy Yismach Yisrael (Vayigash) cites a teaching of our holy rebbe, the holy elder of Worke, regarding the baraita at the end of Berachot that “whoever reviews halachot every day is assured a place in the world-to-come, and the verse states of him, ‘His are the pathways of the world.’”
This is speaking of a person who attains Torah and clings to God, so that he does not make even the slightest motion with any limb without it being solely for the sake of God. Everything that he does is called halachah, which means walking—i.e., he walks in the ways of God.
And that is the meaning of this baraita: “whoever reviews halachot every day”—i.e., everything that he does the entire day is only walking in this fashion.
“And the verse states of him, ‘His are the pathways of the world.’”
That is to say, the entire world was created only to join together with this person, who with his deeds satisfies the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechinah.
When a person merits to be on such a level, so that all of his deeds, movements and feelings are solely for the sake of God and not for any other purpose, he clings to the Torah constantly. Then all of his deeds are the Torah of Hashem.
And this is the intent of the Torah: that a person should cling to God. And all of the 613 commandments are aids to attain that level.
And he said that (in this sense) the holy tzaddik R. Dovid of Lelov reviewed halachot every day.
Friday, August 1, 2008
How a Physician Became a Complete Tzaddik
I heard from the famous and pious Torah scholar, R. Yitzchak Meir (chief judge of Alexander and the brother-in-law of our master) how R. Chaim Dovid (of blessed memory), a physician of Pietrekov, became a complete tzaddik.
R. Chaim Dovid was a great and famous physicians—and, like all of the doctors, he was irreligious.
One time a gentile nobleman set for him from a distance, for he was ill.
R. Chaim Dovid traveled to him in his carriage, and the route took him through the city of
When he came to Lelov, it was late at night and a torrential rain began to pour, and he could not continue further.
He wanted to spend the night in some house, but it was pitchblack everywhere.
Then, from a distance, he saw a house where a light was shining, so he went there. This was the home of the holy tzaddik, R. Dovid of Lelov. R. Dovid greeted him warmly and told his wife, “Make a good meal, for we have a good guest.”
He ate there, and when the rain quieted down he left him.
And as they were parting, the holy R. Dovid told him, “Know that when a person is in a time of trouble, heaven help us, it is good to pledge gold to charity. That is an excellent remedy.” But R. Chaim Dovid didn’t understand what he was telling him.
That was the time of the great war between the Poles and the Russians. And as he was on his way, the Russians swooped down and joyfully took him prisoner, and they took him to be hanged, because they thought that he was the commander of the Polish forces.
When he saw that he was in such great trouble, he recalled what the man from Lelov had told him. He had a golden rendel sewn into his hat (as gentlemen do), and he pledged that rendel to charity.
Immediately, the head of the brigade said, “Behold, since we have captured the commander of the Poles, it is only proper that we inform our own commander, so that he will come and execute you himself.” And everyone agreed to that.
So they sent for their commander.
But when he came, he told them immediately, “You made a mistake, for this is not the man”—for he recognized the Polish commander. And so they let him go in peace.
When he saw this, he realized that the man of Lelov is a holy man.
He went to him and repented and became a whole-hearted penitent and a follower of the holy rebbe. He went to him on a regular basis and became his hasid, until people said of him that he was on a high spiritual plane and that divine inspiration rested on him. And at the end of his life, he accepted kvitlech, petitionary notes.
Esser Zechuyot
An Encounter with the Evil One
The book A.I. tells that near Worke lived a person in a village who, on Hoshana Rabbah morning, made himself a hoshana (a bundle of willows), and set out to Worke, to be with our holy rebbe and pray there.
As he was holding the hoshana in his hand, a gentile nobleman met him and asked him, “What is in your hand?”
He told him, “A hoshana.”
And he said, “Call it a meitla [a disparating term?],” and struck him cruelly so that he would say that. But he refused and insisted on saying “hoshana.”
The nobleman then asked him, “Where are you going?”
He told him, “To the rebbe of Worke.”
He told him, “Call him Yutzke [a colloquial version of the rebbe’s first name]!” and struck him again with murderous blows.
But he cried out, “To the rebbe!”
And then the nobleman vanished.
When he came to Worke, our holy rebbe asked him, “What happened to you on the way?” And he told him the entire story.
Our holy rebbe told him, “Know that this nobleman was the Evil One, and he wanted to destroy you, heaven forbid, in two ways: first, that you should show contempt for the mitzvah, and second, that you should call your rebbe by name. And you experienced great miracles and withstood the test. And so a heavenly decree against you was torn up and changed from evil to good. And may you be written and sealed for a good life.
And so it was that he had a good year.
Esser Zechuyot
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