A royal prince once became mad and thought that he was a turkey. He felt compelled to sit naked under the table, pecking at bones and pieces of bread like a turkey. The royal physicians all gave up hope of ever curing him of this madness, and the king suffered tremendous grief.
A sage then came and said, "I will undertake to cure him."
The sage undressed and sat naked under the table next to the prince, picking crumbs and bones.
"Who are you?" asked the prince. "What are you doing here?"
"And you?" replied the sage. "What are you doing here?"
"I am a turkey," said the prince.
"I am also a turkey," answered the sage.
They sat together like this for some time, until they became good friends. One day, the sage signalled the king's servants to throw him shirts. He said to the prince, "What makes you think that a turkey can't wear a shirt? You can wear a shirt and still be a turkey." With that, the two of them put on shirts.
After a while, he signalled them again, and they threw him a pair of pants. Just as before, he said, "What makes you think that you can't be a turkey if you wear pants?"
The sage continued in this manner until they were both completely dressed. Then he signalled again, and they were given regular food from the table. Again the sage said, "What makes you think that you will stop being a turkey if you eat good food? You can eat whatever you want and still be a turkey!" They both ate the food. Finally, the sage said, "What makes you think a turkey must sit under the table? Even a turkey can sit at the table." The sage continued in this manner until the prince was completely cured.
There was once a poor man who earned a living by digging clay and selling it. Once, while digging clay, he discovered a precious stone which was obviously worth a great deal. Since he had no idea of its worth, he took it to an expert to tell him its value.
The expert answered, "No one here will be able to afford such a stone. Go to London, the capital, and there you will be able to sell it." The man was so poor that he could not afford to make the journey. He sold everything he had, and went from house to house, collecting funds for the trip. Finally he had enough to take him as far as the sea.
He then wanted to board a ship, but he did not have any money. He went to a ship's captain and showed him the jewel. The captain immediately welcomed him aboard the ship with great honor, assuming that he was a very trustworthy person. He gave the poor man a special first class cabin, and treated him like a wealthy personage. The poor man's cabin had a view of the sea, and he sat there, constantly looking at the diamond and rejoicing. He was especially particular to do this during his meals, since eating in such good spirits is highly beneficial for the digestion.
Then one day, he sat down to eat, with the diamond lying in front of him on the table where he could enjoy it. Sitting there, he dozed off. Meanwhile, the mess boy came and cleared the table, shaking the tablecloth with its crumbs and the diamond into the sea. When he woke up and realized what had happened, he almost went mad with grief. Besides, the captain was a ruthless man who would not hesitate to kill him for his fare.
Having no other choice, he continued to act happy, as if nothing had happened. The captain would usually speak to him a few hours every day, and on this day, he put himself in good spirits, so that the captain was not aware that anything was wrong. The captain said to him, "I want to buy a large quantity of wheat and I will be able to sell it in London for a huge profit. But I am afraid that I will be accused of stealing from the king's treasury. Therefore, I will arrange for the wheat to be bought in your name. I will pay you well for your trouble."
The poor man agreed. But as soon as they arrived in London, the captain died. The entire shipload of wheat was in the poor man's name, and it was worth many times as much as the diamond. Rabbi Nachman concluded, "The diamond did not belong to the poor man, and the proof is that he did not keep it. The wheat, however, did belong to him, and the proof is that he kept it. But he got what he deserved only because he remained happy."
Once there was a man who did not believe in letzim (jokers). These are demons from the Other Side, who sometimes come and lead people astray. Although there have been many encounters with such beings, this man did not believe in them.
One night a letz (joker) came to him and called him, asking him to come outside. When he went outside, the letz showed him a beautiful horse that he had to sell. Examining it, he saw that it was indeed a very beautiful animal. "How much do you want for it?" he asked.
"Four rubles," replied the letz.
The man realized that the horse was worth at least eight rubles. It was a prime horse in very good condition. He bought the horse for four rubles, and felt that he had got an excellent bargain.
The next day, he took out the horse to sell it. People came, and immediately wanted to give him the asking price. He said to himself, "If they want to give me that much, it is obviously worth twice as much." Therefore, he refused to sell it. He brought the horse elsewhere, and people were ready to give him twice his original price. He said to himself, "Most probably, it is worth more than twice this amount."
He kept on bringing the horse further and further, until its price was in the thousands. He still would not agree to sell it to anyone, no matter how much he was offered. He always said, "Most probably it's worth twice as much." Finally, he could not find anyone who could afford it other than the king. When he brought the horse to the king, the king offered him a huge sum of money for it. Everyone agreed that it was a very fine horse. However, he could not come to an agreement with the king, since he said, "Most probably it is worth even more." Thus, even the king could not buy the horse from him. He left the king, and brought the horse to a pump to give it water. The horse immediately jumped into the pump and vanished. Of course, this was only an illusion made by the letzim. The entire horse was such an illusion, and they made the horse appear to jump into the pump.
The man began to scream because of what had happened, and people heard the screams and gathered around him. "Why are you screaming?" they asked. He replied that his horse had jumped into the pump. The people hit him and beat him; they thought he was mad. The pump's opening was very small. How could a horse possibly jump into it? He realized that they were beating him because he appeared to be a madman, and he wanted to leave. Just as he was preparing to leave,however, the horse stuck its head out of the pump. Thinking that he had his horse, he began to scream again. Again the townspeople gathered around him and beat him as a madman.
Again he wanted to leave, but as soon as he was preparing to leave, the horse stuck its head out of the pump. He began to scream again, and again the people gathered and beat him.
The Other Side constantly fools a person for no reason, with absolute falsehood that does not have any substance. The person is tempted, and goes after it. Each time it appears that he will make more profit, and he desires all the more. He pursues it many times, and suddenly it vanishes. As he runs after it, everything he desires is taken away from him. Sometimes, the desire goes away a little. But when he wants to separate himself from it completely, the desire sticks out its head again, and once again he pursues it. This keeps on happening. Every time it sticks out its head, he runs after it.
Rabbi Nachman did not explain this concept further. Understand it well.
There was once a great saint, who had completely overcome his sexual desires. When he had perfected himself sexually, he ascended to the highest worlds. There he saw a pot full of flesh and bones.
"What is this?" he asked.
He was told, "This was once an extremely beautiful woman. But she would warm up her body to sin. Therefore, she is being "warmed" here in this pot."
He wanted to see what she looked like. He was given Divine Names, so that he was able to reassemble her as she was during life. He saw that she was a very great beauty.
From this, we can see how improper this type of desire is. If a woman were cut into little pieces, how much desire would be left for her? ....
Sadness is a very despicable trait. One must keep oneself from it completely. One must encourage and uplift oneself. A person must realize that every time he makes even the slightest motion toserve God, it is very precious in God's eyes. This is true even if that person only moves himself by a single hairsbreadth. This is because a person exists in a physical body in the lowest of the worlds. Therefore, every movement is extremely difficult for him, and is very precious in God's eyes.
There was once a tzaddik who became very depressed and melancholy. This depression and melancholy caused the tzaddik great difficulty, and it became worse and worse. He fell into lassitude and heaviness, where it was literally impossible for him to move. He wanted to make himself happy and uplift himself, but it was impossible for him to do anything. Whenever he found something that would make him happy, the Evil One would find sadness in it. Therefore, it was impossible for him to do anything to make himself happy, since in everything he found sadness.
Finally the tzaddik began to meditate on the fact that God had not created him as a heathen. This could certainly be the source of unlimited joy. It is impossible even to imagine the thousands of levels of separation between the lowest possible Israelite and the unclean spiritual level of the idolator. He pondered God's kindness that "He did not make me a heathen" and realized that this could be a source of great joy, without any sadness. When a person tries to find joy in something that he himself did, it is possible to find sadness in every joy. No matter what he does, he can find shortcomings, and he will not be able to uplift himself and be happy. But in the fact that "He did not make me a heathen," there is no sadness. This is from God; God made him the way He did, and had pity on him, not making him a heathen. Since this was God's deed, there are no shortcomings in it, and hence there is no defect in this rejoicing. No matter what, there is an unimaginable difference between him and an idolator.
The tzaddik began to make himself happy with this. He rejoiced and uplifted himself little by little, continuing more and more, until he came to such a level of joy that he was on the same level of joy that Moses experienced when he went on high to receive the Tablets.
Through this uplifting and joy, he was able to fly many miles into the supernal universes. He saw himself, and he was very far from the place where he had been originally. This bothered him very much. He felt that when he descended, he would be very far away from his original place. When it was discovered that he had disappeared, people would consider it a great wonder. The tzaddik did not want such publicity since he always wanted to "walk modestly with God" (Micah 6:8).
The joy came to an end, since joy has a limit. Therefore, joy begins automatically and ends automatically. When joy begins to end, it ends little by little. The tzaddik therefore descended little by little, coming down from the place to which he had flown during his time of joy. He eventually returned to the place from which he had ascended. He was very surprised, since he was in exactly the same place where he had been at first.
He realized that he had returned to the exact same place where he had been at first. Looking at himself, he realized that the had not moved at all, or if he had moved, it had been at most by a hairsbreadth. He had moved so little, that no one other than God could measure it. The tzaddik was very surprised at this. Here he had flown so far, through so many universes, and at the same time, he had not moved at all.
This showed him how precious in God's eyes is even the slightest motion. When a person moves himself even a hairsbreadth in this world, it can be considered more than thousands of miles, and even thousands of universes. This can be understood, when we realize that the physical world is no more than the central point in the midst of the spheres. This is known to masters of astronomy. Compared to the supernal universes, the entire physical universe is no more than a dot.
When lines extend from a central point, the closer they are to the point, the closer they are to one another. The further they extend from the point, the further such lines get from each other. Therefore, when the lines are very far from the point, they are also very far from each other. This is true, even though near the central point, they are extremely close to each other. If one imagined lines drawn from the earth to the upper spheres, one would see that even if one moved a hairsbreadth, the movement would be reflected as a motion of thousands of miles in the upper spheres. It would be in the same ratio as the spheres are higher than the earth. The spheres must be very huge, since there are stars without number, and each star is at least as large as our planet.
This is all the more certainly true when one considers the supernal universe, compared to which, even the highest astronomical spheres are like nothing. Therefore, the distance between these extending lines in the supernal world is without measure. A movement of less than a hairsbreadth, so small that only God can estimate it, can consist of a passage through thousands of universes and thousands of miles in the supernal worlds. How much more is this true when one travels a mile or more to serve God. "No eye has seen it..." (Isaiah 64:3).
Once there was a court Jew who was very much favored by the Turkish Sultan, more than any of the other ministers of state. The Sultan was very fond of him, more than anyone else in his government. Every day, the Sultan would invite him to his palace to spend time with him. The other royal ministers grew jealous of him, and devised plots to denounce him to the Sultan and destroy him.
Among the ministers, there was a pasha named Kaptzin Pasha, who hated this Jew more than anyone else in the government. When he was with the court Jew, he behaved like a close friend. But every day he would devise plots to denounce the Jew before the Sultan.
Once the Pasha came to the Jew and began to speak to him. He maliciously told him, "I was with the Sultan, and I heard him say that he is very fond of you. There is, however, one thing that bothers him. Whenever you come to him and speak with him, he can't stand your bad breath. Since he does not want to avoid you, this troubles him very much. My advice is that when you come to the Sultan you should place a perfumed handkerchief over your mouth. This will cover up your bad breath, so that it will not disturb the Sultan."
In his innocence, the Jew believed him, and agreed to follow his advice. The Pasha then went to the Sultan and told him that he had heard the Jew say that he suffers very much since whenever he speaks to the Sultan, he has to smell the Sultan's bad breath. "Therefore," said the Pasha, "Whenever the Jew comes to you, he will place a perfumed handkerchief over his mouth, so that he will not smell your breath. And if you don't believe me, this is proof. Tomorrow when the Jew comes, he will have a handkerchief over his mouth."
When the Sultan heard this, he became very angry. He said, "I will see if you are telling the truth! If it is true, I will destroy that Jew!" The next day, when the Jew came to the Sultan, he placed the handkerchief over his mouth, just as the Pasha had advised him, since he had believed him.
When the Sultan saw that, he understood that the Pasha had been telling the truth. He immediately wrote a note saying, "When the bearer of this note arrives, immediately throw him into the furnace where all those who are sentenced to death are cast." The Sultan then sealed the letter with his signet, and said to the Jew, "Do me a favor and personally deliver this note to the man whose address is written on the envelope."
The Jew took the letter and promised the Sultan that he would do as he requested, not knowing what was written in the letter. The court Jew was very diligent to keep the commandment to circumcise Jewish children. Whenever he was honored to perform a circumcision, he would not pay attention to any obstacle, since this commandment was very precious to him.
On that very day, when he was supposed to deliver the Sultan's letter to the place it was sent, God arranged to save His good friend. He made it happen that a man came from a village, and honored the court Jew to travel with him to the village to circumcise his son. The custom of the court Jew was not to avoid performing this precept, no matter what the circumstances. He began to think, "What will I do to fulfill the Sultan's request that I deliver the letter?"
God then arranged that he should meet Kaptzin Pasha. The court Jew told the Pasha that he had been with the Sultan, and that the Sultan had given him a letter to deliver. But now God had arranged that he could perform a circumcision, and his custom was not to set aside this commandment for any reason whatever. "Therefore," he said, "I am asking you to do me a favor. Please, if you would, take the letter, and deliver it there."
The Pasha was very happy at the turn of events, since now he would also be able to denounce the Jew for not delivering the letter as the Sultan had ordered. He immediately took the letter and delivered it to the one to whom it was addressed. The recipient was the executioner in charge of burning those who had been sentenced to death by the Sultan. He immediately grabbed the Pasha and threw him into the furnace. He was burned as he had been judged by God, and was thus punished "measure for measure."
The Jew, meanwhile, did not know anything about this, and the next day he appeared before the Sultan as if nothing had happened.
When the Sultan saw him, he was very surprised. "Didn't you
deliver the letter that I gave you?" he asked.
The Jew replied, "Your Majesty, I gave the letter to Kaptzin Pasha to deliver. God gave me the opportunity to perform a circumcision, and my custom is not to pass over this opportunity whenever it presents itself."
The Sultan then understood that there was a reason that the Pasha had been burned, and that it was because he had slandered the Jew. The Sultan asked him, "How come you hold a perfumed handkerchief over your mouth when you speak to me?"
"The Pasha advised me to," replied the Jew. "He told me that he heard you saying that you couldn't stand my bad breath."
The Sultan then told him how the Pasha had slandered the Jew. He said, "The Pasha said that you couldn't stand my bad breath, and that you were putting the perfumed handkerchief over your mouth to avoid smelling it."
The Sultan then revealed to the Jew the contents of the letter. He said, "Now I know that God has power over the world, and He saved His friend from all evil. What the Pasha wanted to do to you was done to him. He was paid back as he deserved." The Jew was now all the more esteemed by the Sultan, more so than any of his ministers of state. He was very highly esteemed and dear to him.
Once a Jew and a German gentile were traveling as hoboes together. The Jew told the German to make believe that he was a Jew (since their language was similar), and the Jews would have pity on him. Since Passover was approaching, he taught him how to act (when he is invited to a Seder). He told him that at every Seder, Kiddush is made, and the hands are washed. However, he forgot to tell him about the bitter herb.
He was invited to a house, and being very hungry from all day, looked forward to the fine foods that had been described by the Jew. However, first they gave him a piece of celery dipped in salt water, and other things served at the Seder. They then began to recite the Haggadah and he sat there longing for the meal. When the matzah was served, he was very happy. Then they gave him a piece of horseradish for the bitter herb. It was bitter to taste, and he thought that this was the entire meal. He ran from the house, bitter and hungry, saying to himself, "Cursed Jews! After all that ceremony, that's all they serve to eat!" He went to the synagogue and fell asleep.
After a while, the Jew arrived, happy and full from a good meal. "How was your Seder?" he asked.
The other told him what had happened.
"Stupid German!" replied the Jew. "If you had waited just a little longer, you would have had a fine meal, as I had."
The same is true when one wants to come close to God. After all the effort to begin, one is given a little bitterness. This bitterness is needed to purify the body. But the person might think that this bitterness is all there is to serving God, so he runs away from it. But if he waited a short while, and allowed his body to be purified, then he would feel every joy and delight in the world in his closeness to God.
There was once a king who said to himself, "Who can have fewer worries than I have? I have everything good and I am a king and a ruler."
He went to investigate this. He walked around at night, standing behind the houses, to listen and determine what people were saying. He heard each one's worries, and how things were not going well in their business. At one person's house, he heard that the person had troubles, and had to obtain an audience with the king. In this way, he heard each one's complaints.
Then he saw a very low house, that was sunken in the ground, so that its windows were literally at ground level. Its roof was fallen and broken. Inside he saw a man sitting and playing his fiddle, but he had to listen very well to hear the sound. The man was very happy. He had a plate and drink in front of him. The drink was wine, and he had other food before him. The man appeared very happy, full of joy, without any worries.
The king went into the house, and asked how the man was getting along. The man replied. The king saw the pot, the wine and the food in front of the man, and saw the joy on the man's face. The man gave the king some wine, and drank to the king. Out of love, the king also drank. The king then lay down to sleep. The king saw that he was totally happy, without any worries whatever. In the morning the king got up, and the man also got up and accompanied the king.
"Where do you get all this?" asked the king.
"I am a repairman," replied the man. "I can fix anything that is broken. I can't make anything, but I can fix things. I go out in the morning, and I fix things. When I have five or six gulden, I buy myself food and drink."
When the king heard this, he said to himself, "I will ruin him."
The king returned home, and issued a decree that if anyone has anything broken, he should not give it to anyone to fix. He must either fix it himself, or buy something new.
The next morning, the fixer went out, and looked for things to repair. He was told that the king had issued a decree that nothing be given to others to fix. This was bad for him, but he had trust in God.
He walked a while, and saw a wealthy man cutting wood. "Why are you cutting the wood yourself?" asked the fixer. "Isn't it beneath your dignity?"
"I tried to find someone to cut the wood for me," replied the rich man, "but I couldn't find anyone. I had no choice but to cut it myself."
"Let me," replied the fixer. "I will cut the wood for you."
He cut the wood, and the rich man gave him a gulden. He saw that this was a good way to earn money, so he went to cut more wood, until he had earned six gulden. He took the money and bought himself his meal. The meal was a feast and he was very happy.
The king went out again that night, and stood outside the fixer's window to see what had happened. He saw the fixer sitting with food and drink in front of him, very happy. The king came in, and saw the same as the previous time. They then went to sleep as they had done previously, and in the morning the man got up and accompanied the king.
"Where did you get your food?" asked the king. "How did you earn money for it?"
"My usual work is to repair things," replied the fixer. "But the king made a law that nothing can be given to another to be fixed. So I went and chopped wood until I got enough money for what I needed."
After leaving the fixer, the king issued a decree that no one should hire anyone to cut wood. When the man heard this, he was upset, since he had no money. But still, he trusted in God. He walked a while, and saw a man cleaning out his stable.
"Who are you to be cleaning out a stable?" he asked.
"I looked all over, " replied the other, "and I couldn't find anyone to do it for me. Therefore, I had to do it myself."
"Let me," replied the fixer. "I will clean it out for you."
When he was finished the man gave him two gulden. He cleaned out a few more stables, and earned himself the six gulden that he needed. He bought his entire meal, and returned home. The meal was for him a feast, and he was very happy.
The king went out again to see what had happened, and again saw him happy. The king came in, spent the night, and in the morning, the fixer accompanied the king. The king asked him how he got the money, and he explained what he had done. The king then issued a decree that no one may be hired to clean out barns or stables.
That morning, the fixer went out to clean stables, but he was told that the king had made a law that no one be hired to do such work. Not having any choice, the fixer went to the recruiting officer and joined the national guard. Some soldiers are drafted, but others volunteer for pay.
The fixer hired himself out as a soldier, and made a condition with the recruiting officer that he would only join temporarily, and that he would be paid every morning. He immediately put on his uniform, and put his sword at his side. At night, he took off his uniform, and with his pay, he bought himself his meal and went home. The meal was a feast for him, and he was very happy. The king went out to see what had happened. He saw that everything was set before the fixer, and that he was very happy. He entered the house, and spent the night with him as before. The king then asked him how he was getting along, and the fixer told him the whole story. The king called the officer and told him that he should not lift a finger to pay any of the men from the treasury that morning.
When the fixer reported for duty, he asked the officer for his pay for the day. When the officer would not pay him, he said, "But we made an agreement that you would pay me every day."
"True," replied the officer, "but the king decreed that no one get paid today." The fixer pleaded and argued, but to no avail. "I'll pay you tomorrow for two days," said the officer. "But today it is impossible to pay you."
The fixer devised a plan. He removed the blade from his sword, and replaced it with a wooden blade, so that no one could tell the difference. He then pawned the sword blade and bought his meal as usual. The meal was a feast. The king came back again, and saw the fixer completely happy. He came to visit and spent the night, and asked him how things were doing. The fixer told him the whole story, how he had removed the sword blade from the handle, and had pawned it to buy his meal.
"When I get paid today," he finished, "I will redeem the blade and fix it. No one will know the difference. I can fix anything! The king will have lost nothing."
When the king returned to his palace, he summoned the officer in charge. He said, "I have a criminal who was sentenced to death. Call this fixer whom you recruited as a mercenary, and give him orders to cut off this criminal's head." The officer went and summoned the fixer. The king gave orders that all the officers should see this joke. He told them that one of his soldiers had replaced the blade of his sword with a wooden substitute.
When the fixer came before the king, he fell on the ground before the king, and pleaded, "Your Majesty. Why did you summon me?"
"To decapitate a criminal," replied the king.
The fixer begged and pleaded. "But I have never killed a man," he said. "Please! Get someone else to do it."
"That's just why I'm ordering you to do it," replied the king.
"Is the case really that clear?" asked the fixer. "Maybe the case is not clear. Maybe he doesn't deserve to die. I never killed a man in my life. How can I now kill someone who might not even deserve to die?"
"There is no question whatsoever that he deserves to die," replied the king. "The verdict is unanimous. And you must be the one to carry out the sentence and execute him."
The fixer saw that he would not be able to dissuade the king. He looked up toward heaven and said, "God Almighty. I never killed a person in my life. If this man does not deserve to die, let the blade of my sword turn to wood." With that, he drew his sword, and everyone saw that the blade was a piece of wood. All those present had a good laugh. The king saw what a fine man the fixer was, and he let him go home in peace.