Sichos HaRan
Rebbe Nachman's Wisdom
by Reb Noson of Nemirov
#290.
The Rebbe said, 'The words spoken by a great tzaddik contain the needs of all Israel. They include what is needed by every single Jew. It is written, ÔThese are the words that Moshe spoke to all Israel' (Deuteronomy 1:1). The words spoken by Moshe were Ôfor all Israel.' They contained what every single Jew would ever need.Ó
#291.
(This is from an unpublished manuscript from Likutey Moharan.)
It is written, 'Increase knowledge, increase painÓ (Ecclesiastes 1:18). In every generation new diseases come into existence. This is a result of the increase in scientific knowledge. Every new discovery results in some new pain. These are the new diseases that have come into existence.
May God protect us!
#292.
A somewhat notable chassid came to see the Rebbe. He was an older man and was knowledgeable in the writings of the holy Ari. Wanting to enter the Rebbe's circle, he spoke in the manner of the important chassidim, saying, 'I would like the Rebbe to teach me the way to serve God.Ó
The Rebbe looked at him with surprise and quoted the verse, 'To know Your way in the earthÓ (Psalms 67:3)? The Rebbe meant that this individual was still 'in the earthÓ–immersed completely in earthliness and still he wanted to 'know Your wayÓ–he wanted to know the way to come close to God.
We see from this anecdote that the Rebbe was provoked because the man spoke so haughtily, saying that he was seeking the way to God. He spoke as if he had already perfected himself to the extent that he lacked nothing else but to choose the appropriate way and walk up to God.
The Rebbe saw through this and wanted him to speak sincerely.
#293.
The Rebbe once spoke to one of his followers about praying with devotion. He said, 'Voice arouses feeling (Orach Chaim 61:4). The opposite is also true, for feeling can also arouse the voice. Pray with feeling. Bring every thought and emotion into each word. Your voice will automatically be awakened and you will pray out loud. You can actually test this and see that it is true.Ó
#294.
I heard the following from the Rebbe's holy mouth. It is customary to recite the Tikuney Zohar as well as many prayers and petitions after the regular worship during the month of Elul {the month preceding Rosh HaShanah}. It is also a custom to stay in the synagogue and study hall later than usual.
The Rebbe said, 'The melody of the Tikuney Zohar and the fatigue resulting from staying up so late in the study hall are all taken on high and made into great and lofty things.Ó
#295.
The Rebbe spoke of encouraging oneself in prayer. No matter what you are, you can strengthen yourself and stubbornly pray to God. The Rebbe said that you should think in the following vein:
I may be far from God because of my many sins. Let it be. If this is so, then there can be no perfect prayer without me. The Talmud teaches us that every prayer that does not include the sinners of Israel is not a true prayer (Keritut 6b). Prayer is like an incense offering. The Torah requires that the incense contain chelbenah {galbanum}, even though it has a vile odor by itself.
If I consider myself a sinner, then I am an essential ingredient of every worship service. No prayer is perfect without me. I, the sinner, must strengthen myself even more to pray to God and trust that in His mercy He will accept my prayer. I am the perfection of the prayer, 'the chelbenahÓ in the incense.
Just like the vile smelling Chelbonah is an essential ingredient of the sweet incense, so my tainted prayer is a vital ingredient of the prayers of all Israel. Without it, prayer is deficient, like incense without the chelbenah.
#296.
In Likutey Moharan (I, Lessons ##2, 5 et. al.) it is brought that one must bind himself to the tzaddikim of his generation. The Rebbe told his followers that before they began praying, they should say, 'I am binding myself to all the tzaddikim of our generation.Ó
#297.
The Rebbe often told us, 'I have a great desire that you act in accordance with my revealed teachings.Ó Take a lesson and seek out its practical advice. Follow it for two or three months, making use of it to strengthen your devotion and fear of God. Pray to God and beg that He help you be worthy of attaining the ideal set forth in the lesson.
When you have completed one lesson, work on another. Continue this way until you have completed every lesson. Happy is the one who takes this to heart.
#298.
One of the Rebbe's followers came to him on the day before Yom Kippur. The man had been very sick and told the Rebbe of his great suffering. One of his neighbors, a good friend, was standing nearby. The friend said, 'His illness has become worse because he immersed in the mikveh.Ó
The Rebbe replied, 'You blame the illness on a good observance. It is more fitting to blame it on a sin.Ó
This took place in Uman, on the Rebbe's last Yom Kippur.
#299.
It was my custom to see the Rebbe every year after Simchat Torah. He would always ask me if I truly rejoiced on the festival. Many times he told me how the community celebrated in his house and how much pleasure he derived from their joy.
Once the Rebbe spoke to me about Simchat Torah in the middle of the year. He asked me, 'Do you now feel joy in your heart? Do you feel this happiness at least once a year?Ó (Thank God, God was with me and I was able to rejoice with all my heart many times each year. This joy was often so great that words cannot express it. This is the joy of being a Jew, of believing in God and it flows through the gates of every man's heart and cannot be communicated. Within our group, when we rejoice, even the least accomplished one among us experiences a feeling of closeness to God that is beyond all description.)
The Rebbe very much wanted us to be joyous all year round, particularly on Simchat Torah, Purim, Shabbat and festivals. The Rebbe told me that once on Simchat Torah he was so overjoyed that he danced all by himself in his room.
Copyright © 1973, 2000, Breslov Research Institute
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