Sichos HaRan
Rebbe Nachman’s Wisdom

by Reb Noson of Nemirov

#30.

There are many who would spend much time in the lavatory, attempting to totally cleanse out their bodies before praying in the morning. The Rebbe spoke out strongly and ridiculed this practice.

He said that the main thing to remember is that the Torah was not given to ministering angels. It is not necessary to go beyond the requirement of the law, and the codes state that it is only forbidden to worship when one actually feels the need to relieve himself.

The Talmudic dictum is, "One who finds it necessary to move his bowels should not worship." Still, many laws are brought in Chapter 92 of the Shulchan Arukh, especially in an emergency or when one has no other choice. The Magen Avraham follows the opinion of the Rif that one may worship even if he feels a need, as long as he can contain himself long enough to walk a league. From all this we see that there is no need to be overly strict in this respect. One should not keep himself from worship and study just for the sake of mere qualm which in itself is unnecessary strictness and foolishness.
The best thing is to worship as soon as you wake up in the morning. If you can easily attend to your needs, then, do so, but if not, pray immediately. Even if you have a slight feeling your bowels, it can be ignored.

You should also not spend too much time in the lavatory in general, for this can cause all sorts of ailments and severly damage your health. This is especially true in lavatories where one must squat, for remaining in such a position too long can result in a serious case of hemorrhoids. You should therefore avoid too much time there.

In general you should not seek unnecessarily harsh disciplines for these can lead to serious depression. What might have been written earlier was not said for our generation.

The Rebbe himself had made this error in his youth, doing many unusual things to achieve bodily purity. He went so far that he endangered his health and even his life. But finally he realized that it was foolishness and a waste of precious time.

For it is actually impossible to ever purify the body completely of all waste matter. Even a person who fasts from Sabbath to Sabbath must still move his bowels, even at the end of the week. He may have gone several days without food, but something still remains in the body.

The Rebbe said that it is very imporant to speak out about this, stressing that people not waste time in such foolishness. even if one must spend time in the lavatory, it is better to leave and return rather than to reamin a long time at once.

#31.

It is best to worship as early as possible in the morning.
Worshipping early is a sign that one realizes the great importance of prayer. He does not want to delay it, lest something cause him to lose the opportunity completely. He therefore strives to worship as early as he possibly can.

#32.

Strengthen yourself in faith, completely avoiding all speculation. Do not engage in philosophy, but believe in God with innocent faith.

It may seem that the average person is very far from philosophical involvement, but many embrace it to some degree. Everybody philosophizes. even young children often have confusing theories.

You must carefully remove all speculation from your heart. Cast it away and do not think about it at all. All you need is a pure faith in G-d and in the true tzaddikim.
We have received the Torah through Moses our teacher, and it has been transmitted to us by the awesome tzaddikim of each generation. There is no question as to their integrity and they can be relied upon without question. All one must do is follow in their footsteps, believing in God with innocent simplicity, and keeping commandments of the Torah as taught by our holy ancestors.

When a person is sincere and unquestioning, then he can be worthy that God illuminate him with the aspect of Desire, which is even higher than Wisdom.
The attribute of Wisdom is actually higher than Faith. Still one must avoid the wisdom of speculation and rely on faith alone. Faith has great power, and when one follows its path, he can achieve Desire, a level even higher than Wisdom.
When one is worthy of Desire, he feels a great longing and yearning toward God. This feeling becomes so intense that he does not know what to do. And he cries out....

But there is a philosopher in every man's heart. He is the Evil One, who raises questions in one's mind. We must humble him and eject him, strengthening ourselves in faith and emptying the heart of all questions.
There are sins that lead a person to skepticism. This can also result from the fact that a person was not conceived in holiness, especially if he himself is guilty of similar sins. All these things are detrimental to one's faith.
One should therefore be very much ashamed of the fact that he has doubts regarding belief. Such questions are not a sign of intelligence, but an indication that he was conceived in an unholy state or that he himself is guilty of such sins. It is these things that cause one to doubt the essence of our faith. Such doubts should therefore cause one to have great shame and heartbreak.

God's glory fills all the earth for the whole world is filled with His glory. A person must realize this, and remember that these doubts are divorcing him from the living God and uprooting him from the Life of all life.
We need not describe the great shame a person should have because of such doubts. But with heartbreak and shame, he can expel and destroy all these questions.

Faith is a very strong thing, and it can greatly fortify your life.
If you have faith, then you have a source of comfort and inspiration even when troubles strike. You realize that all troubles are ultimately for your good and are an atonement for your sins. You know that God will be good to you in the end, both in this world and the next.
The faithless skeptic, on the other hand, has nowhere to turn when troubles strike. He is utterly alone, without comfort or inspiration.

It is imposssible to put everything into writing, but an intelligent person should be able to build upon this himself.

The main thing is innocent faith. With it, one can have a portion both in this world and the next. Happy is he who has such faith, for he shall never be moved.

There are souls conceived in absolute holiness. When such a baby soul comes down to this world and is not tainted with sin, it results in a person with perfect faith. Such a person never has any doubts.
Others can express their skepticism in such a man's presence, but his faith is in no way disturbed. Like a eunuch, who is not aroused by lewd conversation, he is totally oblivious to all doubts. His ears are deaf to all their speculation and confusion.

Even one who is not endowed with such an extraordinary soul can realize that the average person's questions are mere foolishness. Upon close examination, their questions turn out not to be questions at all.
Many people are disturbed by questions for years, not realizing that their questions are actually answers. It is only their lack of intelligence that makes them seem like questions in the first place.

They have questions like those one might ask a child: "If we have a broken window, why replace it with as pane from the next window if a bird can then fly through the remaining empty frame?"
Such a question actually includes its own answer. But a child does not realize this and considers it a very difficult question. He will ponder it and not know what to reply.
But the question itself is really very foolish. The question about the bird is really the answer to the first foolish question. The reason why we do not use the adjacent pane is precisely because it leaves a space through which a bird can fly.
A young child does not have enough intelligence to realize that the answer is included in such a question. For this very reason, the question seems very difficult to him.

The same is true of many people. A foolish question enters their mind, and they have no idea that ths question actually includes its own answer. It seems like a difficult question, but only because of their lack of intelligence. Understand this well.

Consider all this and be strong in faith. Flee from this foolishness and confusion, and cast all questions and doubts from your mind.

#33.

Another time when the Rebbe was discussing faith he remarked, "The world considers faith a minor thing. But I consider it an extremely great thing. "The main road to faith is empty of all sophistication and speculation. It is the innocent faith of the most average religious person."

#34.

Faith is like charity. The Torah says of Abraham (Genesis 15:6), "And he had faith in God, and He counted it as charity." Through faith one is worthy of children. The Hebrew word for faith is ÆMUNaH. Turn the letters into numbers, and the gematriyah is BaNiYM–children.

letter	value	letter	value
alef	1	beit	2
mem	40	nun	50
vav	6	yud	10
nun	50	mem	40
heh	5
102		102

#35.

The Rebbe said, "Great atheism is coming to the world."

Many times he told us that the world's many sins are resulting in great disbelief. Happy is he who is strong in his faith.

The Rebbe said that the fact that he is predicting this will not prevent this Godlessness and confusion from increasing.
Thousands of years ago, Daniel and others predicted that this would happen in the days before the Messiah. They said (Daniel 12:0), "Many will purify themselves and be refined, and make themselves shining white. The wicked will be evil, and only the wise shall understand."

It has already been predicted that there will be great temptations before the Messiah's coming, when "many will purify themselves and be refined, and make themselves shining white" in faith. Fortunate indeed is one who resists these temptations and remains firm in his belief. He will be worthy of all the good promised to us by the prophets and sages of old.
Knowing full well that this has already been predicted, it would seem ridiculous for one to succumb to any temptation to abandon his beliefs. It would seem obvious that every Jew would have enough intelligence to remain firm. But still it is a great trial. Many will fall away, and for this reason it is written that "the wicked will be evil."

The Rebbe said, "Still, I am revealing this for the sake of the few faithful who will remain strong in their belief. They will certainly have great conflicts. But when they see that this has already been predicted, it will give them additional strength and encouragement."

#36.

The Rebbe also said, "There will come a time when a simple religious man will be as rare and unique as the Baal Shem Tov.

#37.

Atheism is called a burden.

In the verse (Deuteronomy 1:12), "How can I alone bear your encumberance and your burden," Rashi exlains that "burden" refers to the fact that there were non-believers aong the Jews in the wilderness.

When a person travels to a tzaddik, he casts aside this heavy burden. Travelling to a tzaddik is an act of faith, the opposite of disbelief.

#38.

It is written (Psalms 73:9), "They have set their mouth against heaven and their tongue walks about the earth."

Now that atheism has spread, the thong is untied for the people to speak against every tzaddik and God-fearing man.
Those who do this, unleash their tongue against the world as if they think nothing at all of it. Actually, their disbelief is directed against God Himself. But they are ashamed to speak out against God, and therefore they turn their disbelief against the world.

This is the meaning of the verse. "They have set their mouths against heaven" for they are actually speaking against God. But they act as if "their tongue walks about the earth."
They are ashamed to speak out against God himself, so "their tongue walks about the earth" they unleash their tongue against God's followers in the world. But the truth is that "they have set their mouths against heaven."

#39.

You should be able to feel another's troubles in your own heart. This is especially true when many are suffering.

It is possible to clearly realize another's anguish, and still not feel it in your heart.

When an entire community is in distress, you should surely feel their agony in your heart. If you do not feel it, you should strike your head against the wall.
You should strike your head against the walls of your heart. This is the meaning of the verse (Deuteronomy 4:39), "Know this day and realize it in your heart." You must bring the realization from your mind to your heart. Understand this well.

We later heard that the Rebbe once said that this is the meaning of the passage (Isaiah 38:2), "And Hezekiah turned his face to the wall." The face that he turned was his awareness, bringing it inside the walls of his heart. For one's true face is his mind, which illuminates it from within.