More Blessed to Give
Rebbe Nachman on Charity

by Chaim Kramer

Essay #12

In the Torah portion Bereishis we read the passage about the creation of mankind: "Naaseh (let us make) Adam" (Genesis 1:26). The Zohar focuses upon the word "naASeh," because we find the same word used in regard to Boaz's act of charity towards Ruth: "the name of the man that ASiti (I acted) with..." (Ruth 2:19).The Zohar thus teaches, "About one who gives charity to the poor for the sake of doing the proper thing [i.e., not for honor or self-aggrandizement, etc.] God said, "Let us make man." Such a person bears the "tzelem Elokim," the image of God (Zohar 1:13b)! The portion of Noach also speaks about charity. Noach is called a tzaddik because he engaged in acts of righteousness - he sustained the animals in the Ark (Midrash Tanchuma, Noach 2)! We see that the label of "man" and the rank of tzaddik are dependent upon the mitzvah of charity.

With this introduction, we can begin to delve into the lesson from Essay #11. Please bear in mind the following: it is axiomatic of Rebbe Nachman's teachings that the opening paragraph of a lesson contains the message of his entire lesson. Therefore, when we find a lesson beginning with, "The ultimate purpose of creation is in order that we should know God," whatever follows is a commentary on that statement. Rebbe Nachman taught:

The ultimate purpose of the creation is "in order that we should know God" (Zohar 2:42a), as is written, "Everything is called in My Name; I created it, I formed it, and I made it all for My honor" (Isaiah 43:7).

The Kabbalists explain that God permeates every part of creation. After all, He created everything from start to finish. He gave man all the natural materials with which to work and develop, and man-made materials as well. Everything is from Him. The reason for this is that the purpose of creation is for man to find and to recognize God in every facet of his life. Yet what tools were given specifically to help him in that quest? Furthermore, why does it seem that God is concealed from us, so that we require these tools? Rebbe Nachman explains:

The body as it relates to the soul corresponds to the material, to the animal [i.e., animalistic desire], to mental bluntness, to darkness, to death, to forgetfulness and to secular wisdoms. The soul, vis-a-vis the body, represents the wisdom of the Torah, which is identified with man, as is written (Numbers 19:14), "This is the Torah – a man"; it corresponds to "internal spiritual form," to light, to wisdom, to memory and to life. Each person must subordinate his material aspect, i.e. the body's cravings, such that he separates himself from all of his base desires and attains an elevated form of intellect, of Torah wisdom, of light and life.

The Rebbe explains that the above-mentioned concepts are all inter-related. The creation of the soul represents light, Torah wisdom, memory and life itself. (Memory represents lovingkindness and expansiveness. Forgetfulness represents judgments and constriction that envelope a person.) These concepts are some of the various forms of spiritual tool which man can use to develop his higher self. The body in its base material form, represents darkness, forgetfulness, philosophical wisdoms and mental bluntness, and death, all of which are made to conceal Godliness.

In order to get to the level where one recognizes and knows God, one must subordinate one's material desires to the spiritual, which then allows for the soul to shine. The person can then experience God in every facet of his life, for he can relate to the spiritual energy contained within the subjugated material form. The question, then, is, how can a person subdue the material form? The Rebbe continues:

This is accomplished by fasting. Fasting weakens the strength of the body which is the source of one's physical cravings. By fasting, the body's physicality - its bluntness, forgetfulness and darkness -are subjugated and nullified; and the intellect, "the internal spiritual form," becomes dominant and rise up. Fasting nullifies strict judgments and darkness in the world, eliciting an influx of Divine lovingkindness. Fasting also subjugates secular ideologies to Torah wisdom and through fasting a person merits a good livelihood. However, the essence of the rectification effected by fasting comes through charity.

As mentioned in earlier essays, our Sages teach that "the essence of fasting is the charity one gives in lieu of his eating" (Berakhot 6b, see Maharsha, loc. cit.). We see that the concepts of charity and fasting are similar. What is obvious, is that one who fasts denies his body nourishment and weakens it. This deprives the material of its sustenance, thereby subjugating it to spiritual energies. What is not obvious, is that by giving charity, one accomplishes the same goal! Simply by giving charity, one allows one's inner self to shine. One merits Torah wisdom and understanding of the spiritual realm; one merits memory, lovingkindness and expansiveness; one merits a successful livelihood and even life itself! Thus, the power of charity is an immense, awesome force, for it has the power to subjugate material desires and make them subordinate to the soul!

Reb Noson adds the following insight: The Talmud teaches, "An impoverished person is like one dead" (Nedarim 64b). This is because a poor person lacks the financial means to "stand on his own two feet," i.e., he cannot sustain his life. Giving charity thus sanctifies one's money, because it was used to sustain a soul and "whoever sustains [even] a single soul is as if he sustained the entire world" (Sanhedrin 37a). Therefore, giving charity to the poor elevates one's intellect, one's soul and its associated aspects – light, life, intellect, memory, etc. This is the meaning of another of our Sages' teachings, "Real poverty is poverty of the intellect" (Nedarim 41a), which is countered by charity (Likutey Halakhot, Birkhot HaPeirot 2:2).

Reb Noson then ties together the idea of fasting and charity in that eating, unto itself, is a very precious thing. It binds together body and soul and offers the person the strength to serve and recognize God. Thus, when the person denies his body necessary nourishment, by fasting, he displays his desire to give ascendancy to the soul. In comparison, when one gives charity he not only diminishes the material (i.e., his property and, by extension, his physical desires), he gives others the opportunity to attain intellect and life. This was a major reason behind the Torah's mitzvah of giving tithes to the kohein-priests and Levites, and, by extension, is a major thought behind giving charity to those who study Torah. For Torah represents wisdom, memory, the soul, and by supporting it one automatically increases the spiritual powers and diminishes the power of the philosophical and atheistic wisdoms (Likutey Halakhot, Chadash 3:12-14).

In the next essay, God willing, we will conclude this lesson with the explanation of the two types of charity, general charity and the other, greater level of contributing to the Holy Land.