Sichos HaRan
Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom

by Rabbi Nathan of Nemirov

#110.

There are many types of foolishness and confusion that attach themselves to the mind, in particular confusion concerning matters of faith. Sleep removes them from the mind. Sleep is especially beneficial for faith.

#111

It is written, 'A man's own folly perverts his way, and he casts his grudge upon GodÓ (Proverbs 19:3). This speaks of one who does not bind himself to a genuine tzaddik. Such a person may appear to serve God, but all his devotion is like the contortions one uses when trying to mimic another. He is like an ape trying to mimic a man.

'A man's own folly perverts his way.Ó Because of his folly, all his devotion 'perverts his way.Ó He perverts and contorts himself, aping an ideal he cannot grasp. The reason is because 'he casts his grudge upon God.Ó

The Talmud teaches us that God asks, 'Who rules over Me?Ó and answers that it is the tzaddik. 'He casts his grudge upon God.Ó The tzaddik is 'upon GodÓ for he can even rule over God. 'He casts his grudgeÓ upon the tzaddik, the one who is 'upon God.Ó He is hostile and does not draw near to the tzaddik. He therefore 'perverts his way,Ó and contorts himself in a vain attempt at true devotion. What he does not know is that this is impossible except through a genuine tzaddik.

#112.

If the Torah were written in order, we would know the precise reward and punishment for each commandment.

There are sins whose punishment is debt. One who is punished for such a sin is constantly in debt. All the merit in the world does not erase his punishment. He can do every possible good; still he must remain a debtor. These sins can even cause others to fall into debt. When such transgressions become common, there are many debtors in the world.

The remedy for this is to repent in general for all your sins. Even though you do not know what sin is causing these debts, repent in general and ask God to also save you from this particular sin. The time for such repentance is when you are in a state of expanded consciousness. This is the time to regret such sins, praying to God in complete repentance.

A debtor is in a state of Constricted Consciousness. The Talmud teaches us, 'Ten measures of sleep came down to the world. Nine were taken by slavesÓ (Kiddushin 49b). Sleep is a state of constricted consciousness. It is written, 'A borrower is a slave to the man who lendsÓ (Proverbs 22:7). A debtor is therefore a slave. The nine measures of sleep taken by slaves are the measures of constricted consciousness of the debtor.

The sins that cause this must be repented when you are in a state of expanded consciousness. This then counteracts the state of constricted consciousness which is that of the debtor.

#113.

People say that when God wants to make a man a fool, He takes away his wife.

It is written, 'A woman of valor is her husband's crownÓ (Proverbs 12:4). This is a good wife. It is also written, 'The crown has fallen from our headÓ (Lamentations 5:16). This is the death of such a wife.

In Hebrew this verse is Naflah Ateret Rosheinu. The first letters of this verse are an acronym for the word NAaR–a fool.

#114.

It is now very easy to resist temptation. When people withstand a temptation, its evil husks are broken. It then becomes easier for others to withstand it. People have already withstood many temptations, making it easier for the average man today.

The Talmud teaches us, 'What Joseph overcame with strength was a small matter for Boaz. What Boaz overcame with strength was a small matter for Palti ben LayishÓ (Sanhedrin 19b). It took great strength for Joseph to resist the temptation of Potifar's wife. When Boaz found himself alone with Ruth in the middle of the night, it was much easier for him to overcome this temptation. Joseph had already broken its power.

When Saul gave David's wife Michal to Palti ben Layish, he lived with her for a long time and faced even greater temptation than Boaz. But here again it was easier to overcome this temptation, for Boaz had already paved the way.

As the years pass, it becomes easier to resist temptation. The most average man can therefore now withstand all tests.

#115.

Man's main test in this world involves sexual temptation.
People may also be greatly tempted by money. This can degrade one and literally become a form of idolatry. Still, it does not compare to sexual temptation, which is man's main test.

#116.

A man was once speaking to the Rebbe, praising another for his good character. He said that the other was arintlakh–ethical. The Rebbe replied that a Jew is not called ethical. Others may have a morality determined by common sense and fairness and they can be called 'ethical.Ó But the Jews are a holy people. We have oral commandments that are logical and fair, but these are not mere ethics.

Our Creator gave us a Torah. We keep the commandments because they were decreed by God and not for any logical or moral reasons. A Jew may be called Godly, but never merely 'ethical.Ó

It is written in the words of King David, 'The way of Your commandments I will runÓ (Psalms 119:32). There are commandments and customs that involve morality. These are a way of life. King David calls them 'the way.Ó One would follow these ways on the basis of ethical fairness alone. For example, an ethical person would abstain from stealing even without a Divine commandment.

King David spoke of such commandments called 'the way.Ó He said of them 'of Your commandments I will run.Ó I will not keep these commandments because they are moral, but because they are 'Your commandments.Ó It is for this reason that I run to keep them.

'The wayÓ includes commandments that are ethically logical. But I do not follow 'the wayÓ because it is proper and ethical. 'The way of Your commandments I will runÓ–I run to keep them because You decreed them in Your Torah.

The Talmud teaches us, 'Only the Jews go by the name ÔAdam.'Ó In Hebrew 'The way of Your commandments I will runÓ is Derekh Mitzvotekha Arutz. The first letters of these words are an acronym for ADaM.

A genuine man is in the category of Adam. He does not keep a moral code because it is logical or ethical, but because it is decreed by God. Israel is a holy people and its moral code consists of the commandments of the Torah. Therefore, Israel alone goes by the name 'Adam.Ó For ADaM is Derekh Mitzvotekha Arutz

#117.

The Rebbe spent most of his youth in the village of Ossatin near Medvedevka, where his father-in-law lived. This was near a large river with many reeds and rushes growing on its banks. The Rebbe often took a small boat and by himself rowed along the river. He could not control the boat very well, but would still take it beyond the rushes where he could not be seen. It was here that he secluded himself in prayer before God. The Rebbe himself writes that it was here that he attained what he did.

Although he could not control his boat very well, the Rebbe often took it to the very middle of the river, straying far from the shore. The boat would rock violently in the heavy current and seem ready to sink. The Rebbe had no idea how to remedy the situation and would lift his hands and cry out to God with true devotion.

The same thing happened later hen he was in Tiberias. Attempting to escape the plague, he found himself on a narrow wall, hanging by his fingertips above the Sea of Gallilee. When he felt that he would surely fall, he also cried out to God.

The Rebbe constantly repeated these stories. They were a lesson that he wanted to impress on our hearts and minds.

Imagine that you are in the middle of the sea, with a storm raging to the very heart of the heavens. You are hanging on by a hairbreadth, not knowing what to do. You do not even have time to cry out. You can only lift your eyes and heart to God.

You should always lift your heart to God like this. Seclude yourself and cry out to God. The danger is more than imaginary. As you know deep down in your soul, every man is in great danger in this world. Understand these words well.

#118.

Rabbi Nathan writes:

I heard that the Rebbe once exclaimed with wonder, 'About God people ask many questions!Ó How good it is when you discipline your mind to realize that there are no questions or paradoxes. It is written, 'For God's ways are straightÓ (Hosea 14:10) Everything is perfectly consistent.

I myself also once heard the Rebbe say, 'About God they ask questions?!Ó The Rebbe's intent was to ridicule those who think that they are raising serious questions about God.

It is written, 'God is righteous in all His waysÓ (Psalms 145:17). You should not suspect that God's ways are at all unjust. If you cannot understand them, it is because the way God regulates the universe is beyond all human comprehension.

#119.

I do not recall the exact course of the discussion, but I do remember that the Rebbe ended by saying, 'If people would only hold on to this....Ó With his gestures, he emphasized its importance.

The Rebbe's intent was that there is something to grasp hold of even if you cannot attain a high level yourself. You can still grasp hold of others and desire that they attain what is beyond your reach.

I also remember that the Rebbe said, 'Even when I am not worthy of serving God, I am satisfied to let another serve Him.Ó This is a very important thing to grasp. I heard this from the Rebbe's own lips, and it seems obvious to me. Even though I may not be worthy, I still long for every one to be truly righteous. I would like nothing better than for all my friends to be great tzaddikim. This would be my greatest expression of love and friendship.

This is how you must love your fellow man. You should want him to attain his true goal in life as ordained by God's goodness. This is true Jewish love. It is explained in the Rebbe's lesson on the verse (Isaiah 49:10), 'For he who has mercy on them will lead themÓ (Likutey MoHaran II, Lesson #7).

People can easily fall away from religion. They can be snared by their evil temptations and literally be trapped in sin. Many such people hate those who are still religious. They provoke them, discouraging and degrading them in every way possible. They do everything in their power to drag others to their low level, proclaiming that every religious Jew will eventually fall away just as they have.

We see many people who were once very religious and later fell away. When they see our youth who truly want to be religious, they are most intolerant of them. Many of our youth today have a strong desire to be truly religious. They spend much time in study and pray with all their heart, in great devotion. But those who have fallen away ridicule and insult these young people. They discourage them by saying that all their devotion is really nothing. This is nothing more than jealousy. They have fallen away and therefore want others to be just like them.

But a true Jew must do the exact opposite. He should want others to serve God, even when he himself is unable to do so.