The Blog @ Breslov.org

Chaim Kramer the founder of the Breslov Research Institute and author of several books will be giving two lectures in the New York Area so far this week.

1. Tonight, Monday June 14th in Jamaica Estates in Queens, NY – 81-42 193st, Jamaica Estates, NY 11423 @ 8:45 PM in the home of Shimon Lubeck. The topic will be: This Land is my Land. Email shimonyakov1@aol.com for more info.

2. Tomorrow night, Tuesday, June 15th in Teaneck, NJ at Congregation B’nai Yeshurun, 641 W. Englewood Ave. Teaneck, NJ @ 8:30 PM.

Hope to see you there and please keep informed as more events and lectures are scheduled in the coming weeks. If you are interested in sponsoring a shiur, please contact Yossi Katz at yossik@breslov.org

Breslov Research Institute

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Join us the first week of June in LA for a full schedule of learning and events. Chaim Kramer will start off the week long events on Wednesday, June 2nd. For the event flyer please view the pdf at www.breslov.org/Kramerla.pdf

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Glory be!

Not only is Breslov Chassidus prominently and positively in a mainstream Jewish magazine—Mishpacha—it’s the cover story! (Rabbi Chaim Kramer, founder of Breslov Research [wearing glasses], and Reb Moshe Weinberger of Aish Kodesh are pictured.) Get yourself a copy of this week’s issue: 28 Iyar 5770/May 12 2010

Our thanks to the good people at Mishpacha, in particular Reb Yisroel Besser, the article’s author. May his love for tzaddikim continue to stand him and his in good stead, m’atah v’ad olam (from now and forever).

Ozer Breslov Research Institute, Tzaddik Breslov, Breslov Research Institute, Chaim Kramer, Reb Moshe Weinberger, Tzaddikim

Centuries before psychologists discovered the plights of depression, Rebbe Nachman spoke of the importance of avoiding them by seeking joy. When one finds joy, it is important to recognize and it and internalize it to enrich your life. He taught:

The sole reason that people are distant from God and do not draw closer to Him is that they lack yishuv ha-daat, that is, they fail to settle themselves. It is essential that a person attempt to consider the purpose of all the pleasures and concerns of this world, both the pleasures which are bound up with the body as well as the non-physical pleasures, such as honor. Then, he will surely return to God.

But know! depression makes it impossible to direct the mind the way one wants making it difficult for a person to attain yishuv ha-daat. Only through joy can he direct the mind as he pleases and attain yishuv ha-daat. This is because joy is the realm of freedom, as in “For through joy you will go out” (Isaiah 55:12). Through joy a person is liberated from his or her own exile.

Therefore, by binding the mind to joy, a person’s mind and daat are free and he or she is not conceptually in exile. As a result, a person can direct his or her mind as he or she pleases and attain yishuv ha-daat or the liberation of the mind and soul. For exile unsettles the mind, as our Sages, of blessed memory, taught regarding the Ammonites and Moabites. Their minds were settled because they were never exiled, as it is stated (Jeremiah 48:11): “Moab has been at ease from his youth on…and never gone into exile. Therefore, its fine flavor has remained…” (Megillah 12b).

The way a person achieves joy by finding in himself some happiness, as in the explanation of the verse “I will sing to God with the little I have left” (Psalms 146:2; Likutey Moharan I, 282). See there.

No matter what, a person can rejoice that he is privileged to be from the seed of Israel, as we say: “Blessed is our God, Who created us for His glory, separated us…gave us the Torah of truth….” It is fitting that he take joy from all this and similar such things in order to gladden one’s mind.

This lesson is found in Likutey Moharan II, Lesson #10 and will available, God willing, around Chanukah 2009 in Volume 13 of the ongoing project of the English translation and annotation of Likutey Moharan.

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Reb Moshe Breslover was once accompanying Reb Noson on a trip to Uman, to Rebbe Nachman’s gravesite. He told the following story of that trip.

Reb Noson began his prayers on the wagon. Unlike his usual demeanor, he prayed with a broken heart and sounded very depressed. He recited the passages of the sacrifices and began the section of the Pesukey d’Zimra, still with a very unfamiliar type of melancholy voice. When Reb Noson reached the verse, “Zamru laHaShem chassidov” (Psalms 30:5), he paused. After a few moments of silence, Reb Noson began singing the melody of Eishes Chayil, that is sung by Breslover Chassidim on Friday night before Kiddush. After humming the tune for a few minutes, Reb Noson began praying with his usual fervor, in a strong voice with much enthusiasm and hand clapping. After the prayers, he said to Reb Moshe Breslover. “You are probably wondering what happened to me this morning. I am on my way to Rebbe Nachman’s gravesite, and I felt dejected, not feeling anything new to express or to make me feel happy. When I began my prayers, I was depressed and could not find any reason to strengthen myself with joy. When I came to the verse, “Zamru laHaShem chassidov,” I paused, because I began to recall the times when I was privileged to spend Shabbos with the Rebbe and heard him and the other chassidim who gathered there sing the Shabbos zemiros (melodies). As I began to recall these tunes, especially the Eishes Chayil melody, I became energized and was able to pray with enthusiasm and great joy. It took some effort but after searching for it, I was able to find a reason for joy.” Even the wagon drive was impressed. He said, “Today I traveled with a Jew and even the horses sang with him!”

Thus, “if you’re happy, and you know it, [you will] clap your hands, for the joy you attain will bring vitality and zest into your life!” It will certainly ward off depression.

By Chaim Kramer

Copyright 2009 (C) The Breslov Research Institute

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MALKHUT
The Light of Faith and Prayer

Malkhut translates as kingship and implies authority, similar to that of a monarch who wields power over his domain. In a deeper sense, Malkhut represents the Authority of God. As mentioned earlier (see p. 59), Malkhut is the vessel that manifests the Light of Keter. God’s Light originates at such a lofty level that we are unable to access it; it must be filtered down through all Ten Sefirot until it reaches Malkhut, from where it can shine onto us and our world.
By mastering all the energies that devolve until they reach Malkhut, we can attain the right to authority. We can become an authority in our field. We can be an authority to others. Through Malkhut, we can learn to exercise control and to use power beneficially for ourselves, our neighbors and communities. Though power often corrupts those who wield it, the fact that we have grounded our efforts on the moral base of Yesod (see previous chapter) helps us act with controlled energy rather than dictatorial whim.

Conceptually, Malkhut represents the mouth. It is the mouth that issues the king’s edicts. Furthermore, just as a person reveals his innermost thoughts when he speaks them aloud, Malkhut represents the revelation of God and His Kingdom. When we perform acts that evoke God’s Malkhut (such as the recital of the Shma, which the Talmud explains is “kabbalat of Malkhut Shamayim—accepting the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven”), we draw the energy of Malkhut (control and power) into our lives. As Rebbe Nachman teaches, “Everything we do—praying, Torah study, performing mitzvot, eating, earning a livelihood and much more—has one fundamental aim: to reveal the kingship of God”
(Likutey Moharan I, 77).

Malkhut is also said to correspond to one’s mate. No one can attain his goals on his own. All life is a series of give-and-take relationships that unify benefactor and beneficiary (see p. 53). just as a husband and wife unite to bring about the birth of their child, so too all the higher energies (the benefactor) unite with Malkhut (the beneficiary) to “give birth” to our ideas and our potential.

We can access this Sefirah and release its energy into our lives with two powerful tools: faith and prayer.

Taken from Hidden Treasure
Written By Chaim Kramer

QUESTION FOR COMMENT: HAVE HAVE READ HIDDEN TREASURE? WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM IT?

Copyright (R) 2009 Breslov Research Institute

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ONLY HUMAN

A person must always remember that he is human. We all make mistakes, and may even succumb to temptation and sin outright. Yet through repentance, we can dust ourselves off and start over again. Rebbe Nachnian’s famous parable, “The Tainted Grain,” illustrates this point:

A king once told his prime minister, who was also his good friend, “I see in the stars that whoever eats any grain that grows this year will go mad. What is your advice?”

The prime minister replied, “We must put aside enough grain so that we will not have to eat from this year’s harvest

The king objected, “But then we will be the only ones who will be sane. Everyone else will be mad. Therefore, they will think that we are the mad ones!”

After thinking for a while, the king decided, “It is impossible for us to put aside enough grain for everyone. Therefore, we too must eat this year’s grain. But we will make a mark on our foreheads, so that at least we will know that we are mad. I will look at your forehead, and you will look at mine, and when we see this sign, we

will know that we are both mad” (Rabbi Nachman’s stories, Parable #21).

Every success and failure contributes to the person we are today. By accepting the truth of our situation instead of ignoring or denying it, we can pinpoint our errors, repent for our wrongful deeds, and redirect our energies towards positive accomplishments. We free ourselves to take that bold step forward (to “mark the forehead”), even if that same step is a mark of surrender.

Excerpt of Hidden Treasure, Written by Chaim Kramer

© Copyright 2009 Breslov Research Institute

admin Uncategorized Chaim Kramer, Rabbi Nachman, sefirot