Sichos HaRan
Rebbe Nachman’s Wisdom

by Reb Noson of Nemirov

#20.

When you are always happy, it is easy to set aside some time each day to express your thoughts before God with a broken heart. But when you are depressed, it is very difficult to isolate yourself and speak to God. You must force yourself always to be happy, especially during prayer.

The Rebbe said that true happiness is one of the most difficult things to attain in serving God. Another time he said that it seems impossible to achieve happiness without some measure of foolishness. One must resort to all sorts of foolish things if this is the only way to attain happiness.

When a person attains true joy, then God Himself watches him and protects him from sexual defilement.

#21.

On Rosh HaShanah one must act wisely and only think good thoughts. One should only keep in mind that God will be good to us.

One must be happy on Rosh HaShanah, and yet one must cry.

On the first day of Rosh HaShanah, one must speak as little as possible. The Rebbe said that a great leader must be even more careful about this. The Rebbe himself would not even say most of the piyut on Rosh HaShanah. He only said that which was written by Rabbi Elazar Kalir. He would omit the rest, because as a leader, he was extremely careful not to say a single unnecessary word.

#22.

It is very good to be worthy of being close to a true tzaddik. Regarding the Messianic age it is written, "To grasp the ends of the earth and shake the wicked from it" (Job 38:13). However, one who is attracted to a true tzaddik can grasp hold of him and not be cast off. Holding on to the tzaddik, he can remain firm.

#23.

The Rebbe once said that everyone can see worldly pity. People do not want to be the objects of such pity, and therefore pursue worldly things. People see the pity people have for those who are hungry or thirsty or in serious trouble. They know how people react to a person without clothing or shoes. Therefore, they do not want to find themselves in such a predicament.

One who sees clearly can also perceive the great pity that one must have on souls in the Future World. For in this future life there are souls which are literally naked. Still, it is impossible to show them any pity. If a person lacks clothing in this world, others can take up a collection and buy it for him. Such pity is impossible in the Future World. The clothing one needs in the Future World is Torah and good deeds and these cannot be given as charity.

But a person who is close to a true Tzaddik can run to him and receive any necessary article of spiritual clothing.

The Rebbe discussed this another time and said that in the Future World many people will be left outside. They will cry in a bitter voice, "Give us something to eat!"

People will come to them and say, "Here is food and water. Eat! Drink!"
The others will answer, "No! No! We cannot use such food. What we need is the food of Torah and devotion."

Other people will be left outside naked. They too will cry, "Give us something to cover ourselves with."
Again people will come to them and say, "Here is some clothing."
These too will reply, "No! Such clothing is absolutely useless to us. We need mitzvot and good deeds to cover ourselves with."

The Rebbe then said, "Happy is he who is worthy of eating many chapters of Mishnah, drinking a number of Psalms and clothing himself with some good deeds."

#24.

The merit of helping to support a true tzaddik is very great and precious. This can be understood by means of a parable.

Once there were a father and son who had been separated for a very long time. Each one greatly yearns for the other. Eventually, the father decides to visit his son. At the same time, the son makes up his mind to visit his father. They begin traveling toward each other and as they come closer, their yearning grows all the more.

They continue traveling toward each other until they are separated by just a few short miles. The father begins to feel such great longing for his son that he realizes that he will not be able to endure it for the last few miles. The son also realizes that he can no longer endure his emotions. If he continues for the last few miles, he will be so overcome by them that he will literally die. They both decide to cast aside their yearning and put it out of mind.

Just at that moment, a coach comes along and swiftly brings the son to his father. Imagine the tremendous joy that the driver brings both father and son.

A tzaddik is like a son of God. There is still a barrier separating him from his Father. God has a great longing for the tzaddik, just as the tzaddik yearns to return and come close to God.

They continue to approach each other until they are only separated by a very short distance. Their yearning becomes so great that they both realize that they cannot endure it. They both decide to put their longing out of mind. God says, "Is this My only task? Do I not have many worlds…?" The tzaddik also says, "Is this yearning my only duty? Do I not have many other necessary ways of serving God, such as with tallit, the tefillin and other mitzvot?" So both agree to set aside their yearning.

Just at that moment a Jew comes along driving a coach. He brings the tzaddik his livelihood, and thereby brings him close to God. For "a tzaddik eats to satisfy his soul." This is the concept of, "He will satisfy your soul with splendor" (Isaiah 58:11). Through this livelihood that the Jew brings him, the tzaddik eats and attains the lights of splendor. This splendor causes the barrier to vanish, allowing the tzaddik to approach God.

The person supporting a true tzaddik is thereby responsible for the immeasurable joy when the tzaddik is able to be close to God.

#25.

The thoughts in one's mind are truly among God's wonders. Thoughts exist in the mind in groupings, like bundles one on top of the other. When a person needs a fact, he remembers it by drawing it from its place in his mind. This itself is a great wonder, for where was this thought located until then?

There are many associations and symbols, all located in these parcels in the mind. One remembers a fact because he encounters some idea that stimulates the association and symbolism associated with a particular thought. That idea is then brought forth out of all the parcels arranged in one's mind.

When a particular thought is withdrawn, then all the other thoughts in one's mind are turned over and rearranged in a different pattern. [It is just like the physical case, where removing something from a parcel or pile causes its entire order to be upset.]

#26.

Most people think of forgetting as a defect. But I consider it a great benefit. If you did not forget, it would be utterly impossible to serve God. You would remember your entire past and these memories would drag you down and not allow you to raise yourself to God. Whatever you did would be constantly disturbed by your memories of the past.

But God has given you the power to forget and disregard the past. The past is gone forever and never need be brought to mind. Because you can forget, you are no longer disturbed by the past.

This is very important to consider when serving God. Most people are distressed by past events, especially during prayer. When a person recites his prayers, his thoughts are constantly disturbed by memories of the past. He may think about his business or household affairs, worrying whether he did something wrong or neglected something important. While attempting to serve God through prayer or study, he might become troubled by his many sins and shortcomings. This is a universal problem, and each person knows his own difficulties.

The best advice for this is simply to forget. As soon as an event is over with, forget it completely and never think about it again. Understand this well, for it is a very important concept.

In our sacred literature we find that God gave us the power to forget so that we should always appreciate the Torah like the first time we learned it. Because you forget, you can relearn or review a lesson and it is like learning it anew. Therefore, you appreciate it as much as the first time.

A good illustration is provided by men hired to fill leaky barrels. The more they pour into the barrels, the more leaks out.
The fools complain, "Why are we working in vain? What good is it to fill the barrels if it all leaks out?"
But the wise ones reply, "What difference does it make? Don't we get paid for every day we work? If the barrels leak, our wages are not reduced."

The same is true of your sacred studies. You might forget them, but your reward is not reduced. In the future God will make every one remember everything he ever learned, even if it was forgotten during his lifetime. This is also true of lessons heard from the lips of a true tzaddik and not understood. In the Future World, all will be comprehended.

The Torah exists mainly for the soul. In the future life, all souls will remember and understand everything they heard and studied in this world. Happy is he who fills his days with much Torah and devotion.

#27.

You must have great enthusiasm in serving God. Be eager to do as much as possible every hour and every day. Deeds are the main thing. Study much, keep many mitzvot, spend much time praying and pouring out your heart before God. You must do as much as possible in every way.

Do not be hurried. You may find many kinds of devotion in the sacred literature and ask, "When will I be able to fulfill even one of these devotions? How can I ever hope to keep them all?" Do not let this frustrate you.

Go slowly, step by step. Do not rush and try to grasp everything at once. If you are over hasty and try to grasp everything at once, you can become totally confused. When a house burns down, people often rescue the most worthless items. You can do the same in your confusion.

Proceed slowly, one step at a time. If you cannot do everything, it is not your fault. One under duress is exempted by God.

Even though there are many things you cannot do, you should still yearn to fulfill them. The longing itself is a great thing, for God desires the heart. The Rebbe had many discussions regarding this, all containing good advice. It cannot all be recorded, but if you are wise and have the desire, you can begin to understand from what we have written.

#28.

Attempt to go through all our sacred books in the course of your lifetime. You will have then visited every place in the Torah.

The very rich constantly travel from land to land. They spend huge amounts just so that they should be able to boast that they have been to some faraway place. They consider it a sign of high status if, for example, they can boast that they have been to Warsaw.

You should likewise travel everywhere in the Torah. In the Future Life you will then be able to boast that you have visited every place in our sacred literature. At that time, you will also remember everything you have ever learned.

#29.

The Rebbe constantly stressed for us the importance of studying the codes of religious law. He emphasized this more than any other study. It is best to study all four sections of the Shulchan Arukh in order, from beginning to end. If you can also study its major commentaries, all the better. But you should at least cover the main work.

This study is a great spiritual remedy. When a man sins, good and evil are intermingled. A legal opinion is a clear separation between the permitted and the forbidden, the clean and the unclean. When you study religious law, good is once again separated from the evil and the sin is rectified.

The Rebbe said that every one must study the codes each day without fail.

If you are under duress and have no time, you may study any law in the Shulchan Arukh, even if it does not follow your regular course of study. You must go through at least one law every day of your life. Under normal circumstances you should have a fixed practice of studying the Shulchan Arukh in order, a given amount each day. Continue until all four sections are completed and then start again at the beginning. Continue this way all the days of your life.