Sichos HaRan
Rebbe Nachman's Wisdom

by Reb Noson of Nemirov

180.

I once heard the following from the Rebbe. 'I saw a new angel today. I know his name and his deputies. These angels are all holding shofars. They first blow a tekiah {a simple note}, then a {staccato} teruah, and finally, another tekiah. These angels are digging in search of lost items.

Many things are lost. This is because of desire. It is written, 'The desire of the wicked will be lostÓ (Psalms 112:10). The mnemonic of Tekiah, teRuah, Tekiah in Hebrew is tav, reish, tav. The initial letters of the words in this verse are the same as the mnemonic.

The desires	Taavot	Tekiah
of the wicked	Reshaim	teRuah
will be lost	Toveid	Tekiah

It is also written, 'They shall search and be lostÓ (Psalms 83:18). Even a tzaddik who searches after lost things is himself sometimes lost. Thus it is written, 'There is a tzaddik who is lost through his righteousnessÓ (Ecclesiastes. 7:15). The tzaddik must then repent for the sin that was responsible for the loss. Although the sin was not actually committed by the tzaddik, he is still tainted by it. When he repents for that infinitesimal taint of sin, he is then able to recover awesome things that have been lost. When these are found, there is a great tumult and joy on high.

The Rebbe then said, 'It is very difficult to receive alms.Ó It appears that a person who receives alms can do much damage and make it difficult to recover lost things. They can also cause things to become lost.

It is my impression that the Rebbe's words here are awesomely deep. See Likutey Moharan II, Lesson #88. He writes that the concepts of the month of Elul are very helpful for the blemish of the covenant that results from sexual sins. He also speaks of the mystery of unripe fruit. All this is realted to the above. I explicitely heard this from the Rebbe's holy lips, and none among us has begun to fathom its depth.

#181.

I heard that the Rebbe once said, 'I know wisdom that cannot be revealed. If I were to reveal this wisdom, people could be nourished by the delight of comprehending it. They would no longer eat or drink. Every soul would long to hear this wisdom. Everything in the world would stop. People would seek the sweet beauty of this wisdom. They would leave this life. But I cannot reveal this wisdom to mankind.

As soon as I begin to speak it, I hear lofty things in the words of the listener. I then stop speaking so that I can listen and receive from him. This unique wisdom therefore cannot be revealed. The Rebbe spoke about this great wisdom many times, but I only heard about it from others, never from the Rebbe himself.

At the end of Sippurey Maasiot {see above #99} I write that I myself heard the Rebbe say, 'There are levels of wisdom that can nourish a man without any other food or drink.Ó

#182.

The Rebbe once said, 'No one is opposing me. They are merely opposing a person who is doing the things they imagine. And they are correct in opposing him.Ó

Those who were against the Rebbe had invented all sorts of false accusations against him. These were totally without foundation and did not apply to the Rebbe at all. However, a person guilty of what was contained in those accusations would certainly be worthy of their opposition. These people are therefore not opposing the Rebbe at all.

If they actually knew the Rebbe's greatness and holiness, they would certainly not oppose him. They would run to follow him with the greatest zeal and enthusiasm. But they are actually opposing a fictitious character of their own creation. They had created a character who did the things they were accusing the Rebbe of doing. It would certainly be proper to oppose such a person.

The Rebbe said, 'They have carved out a man, and are opposing him. Zei haben zikh ois geshnitzt a mentsch, un krigen oif em.Ó They are not actually opposing the Rebbe, but the fictitious character that they have portrayed in his place.

#183.

The Rebbe once felt an abdominal pain after being outside. He said, 'I feel that I will soon receive money.Ó This is alluded to by the verse, 'And your belly's going out shall be like moneyÓ (Isaiah 48:19). Shortly after this, the Rebbe received money by mail.

#184.

I heard that the Rebbe once said that as soon as he meets someone and greets him with a handshake he knows everything the person has transgressed. He said this is alluded to in the verse, 'Hand to hand, he shall not be cleansed of evilÓ (Proverbs 11:21). That is, as soon as one shook hands with him, placing 'hand to handÓ in greeting, 'he shall not be cleansed of evilÓ–the Rebbe would know everything about the person.

I myself had also once heard something like this. The Rebbe spoke in an offhand manner, as if it were very easy to know another's past history from beginning to end. The Rebbe said, 'One can do this wisdom alone, without any special degree of spiritual perception. You can grasp much from the way a person speaks. If you know how to look, there are many other clues.

'You can recognize a sexually immoral person by his nose. You can tell if a person's faith is whole by his belt. There are many other such signs.Ó There are many cases where the Rebbe told people things they had done when he first met them.

#185.

The Rebbe said that he knew the root of every Jewish soul. At first he said that he knew them in the Written Torah, but not in the Oral Torah. He later said that he knew the root of each Jewish soul in the Oral Torah as well.

The Rebbe knew how to provide each person with tikunim (remedies, rectifications} based on the place where the person's soul was rooted. There were many things he told us to do. These tikunim did not involve deep intentions or unifications of the transcendental worlds through yichudim {taught by the Arizal}. The things he told those close to him to do were simple acts of piety.

The Rebbe told his followers not to fast at all unless he prescribed it. He might tell one person to fast for a certain interval. To another he might prescribe undertaking a fast from Shabbat to Shabbat. To a third he would say that once a week he should stay awake one night and abstain from eating animal products for twenty-four hours.

There were many whom the Rebbe told to fast on the day before Rosh Chodesh (the New Moon.) He also told most of his followers to be careful to immerse in the mikveh on days when Tachanun {recited after the Amidah}, is not said. He told this to many people.

The Rebbe also told many people to study eighteen chapters of Mishnah every day. The Rebbe prescribed many courses of study, a different one for each personn. There was one course of study, however, that is prescribed for all, and that was the daily study of the codes. The Rebbe said that even when one has no time, he must still study at least one law in the Shulchan Arukh each day, no matter where that law might be. He said that this is an important obligation for every Jew.

Another practice that he universally prescribed was for us to seclude ourselves in prayer each day. He told us to express our thoughts before God and ask that He have mercy and allow us to achieve true devotion. This secluded prayer was to be in the language we normally spoke. This is already discussed at length in the Rebbe's printed works.

The Rebbe would specify various practices for each person. He would also change these practices even for a single individual. For example, the Rebbe might first tell a person to study eighteen chapters of Mishnah each day. After a while, the Rebbe would exempt him from this and prescribe some new practice.

This is how the Rebbe acted toward his followers. He would tell one person to study a particular law from Shulchan Arukh each day, while another would be told to study a certain Mishnah every day. The Rebbe would look at the root of a man's soul and prescribe the practice necessary to correct each blemish. Each person then required a specific practice. There were other practices that he prescribed for all his followers, as discussed earlier.

Still other practices were prescribed for many people. Others were specific for particular individuals. The same was true with regard to time. There were some practices that the Rebbe prescribed for a person's entire lifetime. An example was the study of halakhah {Jewish law}, which the Rebbe clearly told us to study every day of our life. In other cases, the Rebbe prescribed a certain practice for a given period of time, and then substituted another routine.

Most of the practices prescribed by the Rebbe seemed very simple. However, they were all prescribed on the basis of awesome, hidden mysteries and were very far from simple in their effect. The Rebbe, however, did not reveal any of these mysteries to us. He simply prescribed a routine and did with it what he did.

The Rebbe said, 'Everything I prescribe is helpful as a remedy both for the past and the future, as well as for after a person's death, the Messianic age, the Resurrection, and in the Future Life.Ó

No matter how simple the Rebbe's advice might seem, in practice it was always very difficult. It might involve a simple act, but it would be complicated by a host of distractions and frustrations. Had the Rebbe not prescribed it, it would be a most simple matter. But the very fact that it was prescribed by him made it a most difficult task.

Still, the Rebbe's followers always heeded his advice. They knew that it was most difficult and would involve great struggles. They would make use of prayer, begging God to help them fulfil these holy practices. In the end God helped them, and they wre able to succeed.

I heard the Rebbe explicitly say, 'Everything I prescribe becomes very difficult.Ó Those who were close to the Rebbe were able to see this. Throughout his entire life, he never had any respite, even for an instant. He waged God's battles every second of the day. It is impossible to go into further detail for many reasons, but this was why he encountered such great opposition.

Still, God helped him and he was able to use this opposition to elevate himself. Every instant of each day, he lifted himself to new heights and attainments, the likes of which the world has never seen nor heard.

Even today there are many obstacles in the path of one who studies the Rebbe's sacred works. Even if you know about the Rebbe and want to study his works, you will still encounter many obstacles. You can actually see the many difficulties and frustrations. For the light is still hidden and eclipsed.

#186.

We saw the Rebbe predict the future in many cases. Once, during the Ten Days of Repentance (between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur), the Rebbe said, 'Heaven help us! There will be great illness this year.Ó This took place in 5567 (1806). When he left the mikveh before Yom Kippur that year, he felt his head, he said, as if to see if he was still alive, out of apprehension of the impending illness. The Rebbe's prediction came true and many people became ill that year.

Another year, there was a serious inflation of prices. When there was a good wheat crop that summer, people thought that prices would go down. The Rebbe, however, said that prices would not go down and that the inflation would last two years. The Rebbe's prediction came true and the inflation lasted through the second year. When the two years were up, the prices finally went down.

Similar things occurred many times. However, we have already stated that we do not wish to speak of the Rebbe's miracles, for this is not his praise.

From his words, it can also be understood that the Rebbe was forbidden to perform miracles. We therefore only saw very few such wonders and predictions. If you look carefully into the Rebbe's words, you will see that he knew what was going to happen, even in the very distant future. Still, everything is well concealed and hidden. To speak of such things is not our affair.

#187.

One of the Rebbe's followers once came to him. He had a serious ailment in his arm and was in such great pain that he could not move it at all. He had his arm in a sling and was totally unable to lower it. The Rebbe's followers told him that this cripple was very poor and could not afford the expensive salts and other remedies that he needed for his arm.

The person was sitting at the Rebbe's table for the Sabbath noon meal. The Rebbe remarked that the man certainly had faith. All present agreed. The Rebbe discussed this awhile and then repeated himself, asking again if the man had faith. Again, those present answered yes.

Suddenly the Rebbe commanded the cripple, 'Lower your hand!Ó The cripple stood there amazed and everyone else was also very surprised. What was the Rebbe saying? The man had been afflicted for a long time and it was absolutely impossible for him to move his arm. Why was the Rebbe telling him to do the impossible?

However, as soon as the Rebbe gave the order, 'he decreed, spoke and it was fulfilledÓ (Job 22:28). One of his followers removed the man's sling and he instantly lowered his arm. He was totally healed by what was an obvious miracle. He regained full use of his arm which remained healthy for the rest of his life.

Many awesome miracles like this occurred from time to time. The Rebbe, however, was compelled to minimize them. I saw the Rebbe soon after he healed the above mentioned man and spoke to him about it. It was obvious that he was not feeling well. The Rebbe said, 'Whenever I am involved with miracles, I always suffer from it. Whenever I do anything like this, I pray to God that it be forgotten.Ó

#188.

The Rebbe said, 'People bring money to a man as a pidyon {redemption} and ask that he intercede for them on high. They tell him their illness and suffering and other problems. It is a wonder to me that the man accepting the pidyon does not suffer as much as the sick person himself....Ó

From this we can understand that the Rebbe actually felt the pain and suffering of the sick for whom he prayed. He literally felt their every ache and pain. The Rebbe discussed this many times. He said, 'When I first began, I asked God to let me feel the pain and suffering of others. Sometimes a person would come to me and tell me his troubles, but I would feel absolutely nothing. But I prayed to God that I should feel this Jewish suffering. Now I can feel the suffering of another even more than he himself can.

'Another man can forget his own suffering by thinking of other things. But I concentrated on it very deeply, until I literally bled because of his pain.Ó

Once one of his followers asked the Rebbe not to forget him. The Rebbe replied, 'How can I forget you? Don't you realize that each one of you has a place in my heart?Ó

#189.

The Rebbe's granddaughter was once stricken with smallpox. I was with the Rebbe, and he spoke to me of the great anguish that this caused him.

He then spoke of how God's ways cannot be understood. One of the holy Arizal's sons once died. The Arizal said that the child died because of a secret teaching that he {the Arizal} had revealed to Rebbe Chaim Vital. The Arizal actually had no other choice. Rebbe Chaim Vital had pressed him greatly, and the Arizal was therefore compelled to reveal the secret. The Arizal himself had said that the only reason that he was born into this world was to rectify Rebbe Chaim Vital's soul. He was therefore compelled from on high to reveal this mystery at Rabbi Chaim's request.

Although he was compelled, the Arizal was still punished for doing this. These are the ways of God that cannot possibly be grasped by human intellect.

From what the Rebbe said, we could understand that this was also true of him. Both he and his children had suffered greatly. This happened because he was involved in bringing us closer to God. God certainly desired this and the Rebbe had no other choice. It is written, 'He thinks thoughts that the outcast not be banishedÓ(2 Samuel 14:14). God wanted the Rebbe to bring the 'outcastsÓ back to Him. Still, the Rebbe had to suffer because of this. This is God's incomprehensible way.

The Rebbe continued to speak of the great suffering he had because of his grandchild's illness. He said, 'I would prefer that I myself be stricken instead of the child. I can feel each one of the child's groans deep in my heart. But this is for my benefit. A stranger may have an ill child and bring me a pidyon or ask that I pray for him. I will then be able to suffer as much as I do now.

'When one of my followers leaves me, heaven forbid, I have as much pain in my heart as I have at this time.Ó The Rebbe then told me the story of a disciple who had recently left him. He said that he suffered as much at that time as he did because of his grandchild.

One of the Rebbe's followers later told me that the same thing happened after his baby son, Shlomo Ephraim, passed away. The Rebbe told his followers, 'I am suffering on account of you. The holy Arizal was punished for revealing one secret mystery. How much more so should I [suffer], when I have revealed so many secrets as these.Ó