Sichos HaRan
Rebbe Nachman’s Wisdom

by Reb Noson of Nemirov

50.

The Rebbe often spoke to us about physicians and medicine, denouncing them in the strongest terms. He advised us to avoid them, even in the case of serious illness. One should cast his burden upon God and depend on Him alone. He should not place his life in the hands of even the most outstanding physicians, for they are closer to death than to life.

A precise remedy depends on each individual's nature, as well as the exact time and season. They themselves admit that even the greatest physician cannot take this all into account without error. They can therefore very easily do irreparable damage.

This is true of even the greatest physicians. The charlatans in our vicinity do not know their right from their left and are literally murderers, killing people with their own hands. One should flee from them as a bowshot, not risking his life with them. It is a great danger even to depend on the greatest physicians, for one who falls into their hands separates himself from the living.

The Rebbe spoke at such great length but it is impossible to record everything he said regarding this.

He told us that a medical convention was in progress while he was in Lemberg. One of the physicians there told him to keep as far as possible from people in his profession. The doctor said that the field of medicine is mostly guesswork with very little factual knowledge. He also said that most doctors feel that it is impossible to ever completely master the complexity of the human body and its cures.

There are also many disputes in the field of medicine. At the convention in Lemberg, there were two groups disputing the treatment of a serious disease. One group recommended a bland diet, saying that anything spicy was highly dangerous. The other group had the exact opposite opinion. They said that only spicy foods should be eaten, because sweet and bland foods were detrimental. Each group cited cases, claiming that the other's treatment was a death sentence.

These were among the world's greatest experts, and even they could not determine the truth. Experimental evidence is useless, for sometimes it supports one opinion and sometimes the other.

Since even physicians are not sure of the truth, they are not at all dependable. When a person's life is hanging by a hairbreadth, how can he place it in their hands? The slightest mistake can destroy one's life, as we see in many cases.

The art of healing has many very fine points, and these are concealed from the physician. They are like the things completely concealed in a full stomach. The body has many intricacies and details that the physician cannot perceive.

Many people act very foolishly when sickness strikes. They feel that they cannot leave the sick one and not help him. Not knowing where to turn, they think they must find some natural cure, so they foolishly run to the doctor. What they do not realize is that the physician cannot give life. In the end one must still rely on God, so why not do so from the beginning? Why place the patient in the hands of one of the Angel of Death's messengers?

One should imagine that he is in a forest or wilderness. He would have no other choice but to depend on God. He should do the same when doctors are available, and avoid them completely.

A physician may use many hazardous treatments and still be totally ignorant of their effect. It is not surprising that they often do more damage than good. Why depend on a natural cure when it is most likely to cause harm?

The Rebbe often spoke to many great authorities and understood the art of healing very well. Still he warned us to keep away from doctors. He once told us of a king who killed all the physicians in his kingdom, merely because of the great damage they caused.

The Rebbe once said in jest that the Angel of Death oversees the entire world and therefore cannot do all the killing himself. Because he needs help, he appoints agents in each locality. These agents are the physicians. Doctors are agents of death, and do little more. Happy is the man who avoids them and depends on God alone.

Some of what the Rebbe said is alluded to in his published works. But beyond this the Rebbe often told us to avoid doctors. He said that no matter what happens, we should lift our eyes to heaven and depend on God alone.

The Rebbe himself travelled to Lemberg and accepted medical treatment, but this involved deep mysteries. It was not for remedies that he made this trip, but for deep reasons known only to him. His intentions were as hidden and mysterious as they were on his journeys to Kamenetz, Novoarch and Sharograd.

All the Rebbe's travels involved awesome mysteries, hidden from all human eyes. Upon returning from one journey, he told one of the wonderous stories brought in his Sippurey Maasios [Rabbi Nachman's Stories].

He said that it explained the reason for his trip, but the story itself was very cryptic. For who can fathom the depth of his tales or unravel the mystery of his travels? Everything the Rebbe did involved impalpable secrets.

The same is true of his journey to Lemberg. Once he was there, he was compelled from on high to accept medicines, for reasons known only to him.

But when the Rebbe returned from Lemberg, he spoke all the more strongly against physicians. He strongly cautioned us to avoid them, devoting many lessons to this. He may have spoken about this earlier, but after Lemberg he stressed it all the more.

#51.

This world only exists to bring about God's purpose.

Do not be concerned with wealth. Even with it your life can be in vain. The world deceives us completely. It makes us think that we are constantly gaining, but in the end we have nothing. People spend years earning money, but are left with empty hands. Even one who attains wealth is taken away from it.

Man and wealth cannot endure together. Either wealth is taken from the man, or the man is taken from his wealth. The two do not remain together. Where are all the riches accumulated since the beginning of time? People amassed wealth since the beginning -- where is it all? It is absolutely nothing.

No man serves God according to His greatness. If you have some conception of God's greatness, you will not understand how one can claim to serve Him. The highest angel cannot say that he truly serves God. The main thing is desire. Always yearn to approach God.

Many want to serve God, but not all have the same desire. There are many levels of desire, even in one person. At every moment his desire can change. The main thing is to yearn for God. With this, you can pray and study and keep His commandments.

[But according to God's greatness, all service is nothing. It is all like it has never been. Everything is mere nothingness before the immensity of God.]

Sophistication is nothing, for you must only be sincere. It is forbidden to be foolish, even in your sincerity. But sophistication is totally unnecessary.

It is not good to be old. There are pious and righteous elders, but to be old is not good. You must remain young, renewing yourself each day and making a fresh start. Only one thing improves with age. The Talmud teaches us that a pig becomes stronger as it grows older.

Do not be a fanatic.

Serving God is not fanaticism. Those who pursue worldly goods are the true fanatics. The world will consider you a lunatic if you abandon all worldliness in your quest for the Godly. This is said to be fanaticism, and even this is not necessary. For you can serve God with restraint.

Take my advice and do not let the world fool you. It may try to deceive you, but it will never let things end well for you. Every man ends up badly in this world, even those who acquire all it has to offer. The harm is not only theirs, but also destroys many future generations. All the world knows this.

If the world is nothing, then what can you do? To realize this, you must have help from on high. But we need no further help, for the Torah has already taught us.

The world says that you should not seek greatness. But I say that you should only seek greatness. Seek out the greatest possible tzaddik. When you seek a Rabbi, choose only the greatest tzaddik.

The passions that destroy man do not really exist. One must eat and drink but it is a necessity. The body must be sustained. One must likewise beget children This is all necessity and not desire. It can be accomplished in holiness and purity.

Your mind can withstand any temptation. It is written, "God gives wisdom to the wise" (Daniel 2:21). Every man has the potential of wisdom. It is this potential that must be used. This potential alone can overcome all temptations. But God also "gives wisdom to the wise" and this can grant you even greater strength.

You may have succumbed to desire and sinned in many ways. You may have blemished your intellect, making it confused and weak. But still you have some intelligence, and this alone can overcome all desires. One grain of intelligence can overcome the world and all its temptations.

Wherever you are, you can be near to God. You can approach God and truly serve Him even in the deepest pit of hell. The Rebbe remarked that for this one needs tremendous effort or God's help. Sometimes one needs both.

There are impurities in the mind, and these must be subdued. When you do this, you will not want anything in this world. Everything will be the same to you. It is written, "When you walk it will comfort you, when you lie down it will watch over you, and when you will wake up, it will comfort you" (Proverbs 6:22).

When you have purified your thoughts, there is no difference between this world, the grave, and the next world. When you only desire God and His Torah, all are the same. In all three you can grasp onto God and his Torah.

But if you grasp at this world, there is an agonizing difference. This world is spread before you, but the grave is a tight cramped place. But purify your mind and all will be the same.

#52.

It is written, "All the earth is filled with His glory" (Isaiah 6:3).

God's glory cries out from all things. The stories of all nations ring with God's glory. This is the meaning of the verse, "Let the nations tell of His glory" (Psalms 96:3). It is even reflected in their tales.

God's glory cries out, calling you to come close to Him. For God wants you with all His love and mercy.

Sometimes your prayers become like flames. The words flow from your lips with burning devotion, touching your deepest emotions. At this time God's own light is inside you, beckoning you to draw near. Your deep feelings are a spark of God's own essence.

It is written, "He is your praise, He is your God" (Deuteronomy 10:21). God Himself is your praise and prayer. Sometimes you can literally pray before God.

When God withdraws and is far off, you must still pray to Him. It is written, "Cast your burden upon God" (Psalms 55:23). You must literally cast your prayers, throwing them toward God from afar. The Tikkuney Zohar states, "Happy is the man who knows how to cast arrows." These are the prayers that must be cast toward God.

#53.

If you have faith, you are truly alive.

When you have faith, every day is filled with good. When things go well, it is certainly good. But when you have troubles, it is also good. For you know that God will eventually have mercy, and the end will be good. Everything must be good, for it all comes from God.

The man without faith is not really alive. Evil befalls him and he loses all hope. There is nothing to cheer or comfort him, for he has no faith. He is outside of God's providence, and has no good at all. But if you have faith, your ilfe will be good and pleasant.

#54.

God does not do the same thing twice. Even when a soul is reborn, it is not completely the same.

The soul has a level of nefesh and a level of ruach, and the two are never brought back in the same combination. A nefesh may be reincarnated, but always with a different ruach. The complete soul is not the same, for God does not do the same thing twice.

#55.

The Rebbe once spoke of the good one earns in the Future World through serving God. He said that we call this reward "good" because there is no other word in human speech to describe it. But it is really so much higher than any concept of good, that the word is totally inadequate. The most we can say of the Future World is that it is good, but really, "no eye has seen it, other than God" (Isaiah 64:3)

#56.

You may think that you are removed from a major temptation, such as the desire for wealth. Still, you may be much worse off than another who is steeped in that desire. For you may be so deeply involved in another desire, that it totally overshadows even the desire for riches. Having a desire that can completely overwhelm another surely makes you much worse off.

The desire in which you are involved may be weaker than the one you avoid. You are still worse off, for you have fallen so deeply into worldly desire, that you are oblivious to all others.

A stubborn infant can literally strike his head against something to spite his mother. There are some people who exhibit the same stubborness and lack of self-control. They give up every pleasure because of some stubborn overpowering desire.

#57.

The Rebbe once told us that he was very much afraid of death in his youth. Still, just when this fear was strongest, he would ask God to allow him to be killed for His sake. The Rebbe did not remember how long this lasted, but it was for at least a year. All during this time, he would not say a prayer without also asking God to allow him to give his life for His Name. He constantly included this petition, despite his great terror of death.

So great was the Rebbe's fear of death, that these prayers themselves were like giving his life.

From this we learned that to serve God, you must overcome precisely the thing that involves you most. It is written, "You shall love the L-rd your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:5). The Talmud (Berakhot 61b) says that "with all your soul" teaches us that one should give his life for God. "With all your might," says that the same is true of one's money.

The Talmud then asks that if one must give his life for God, why is it necessary to state that he must also give his money? The answer is that there are some people who value their wealth more than their lives. Understand this.

#58.

When you want to come up with new ideas in the Torah, you must concentrate on one particular subject. Take a verse or a subject and review it many times, hammering on the door until it is opened for you.

Sometimes a thought flashes through your mind and is then forgotten. You must be a man of valor, pursuing it until it is recaptured.

#59.

The best thing for children is to keep your distance from them, not playing with them too often. It is best not to pay attention to them at all.