#23.
It was the morning before the Passover. The captain and a number of sailors were preparing to take their small boat and go to the city. The Rebbe and his attendant came to the captain and, with gestures, communicated that they needed some kind of bread. The captain told them in sign language, "There are Jews in the city. you can have bread brought for you." The hearts of kings and princes are in the hand of God. In His mercy, He turned the captain's heart and confounded his thoughts. Without thinking, the captain blurted out that he would take one of them along to buy their bread.
The Rebbe's attendant went along with the crew. He was allowed to go to the city alone, with just one sailor following him so that he should not escape. But even the way to the city involved great peril. It was a time of war and it was obvious that he was from a distant land. He could have easily been imprisoned as a spy with nobody to defend him. But again God protected him and he passed through all the gates without being stopped.
He finally came to the rabbi of the city and told him the whole story. They were captives aboard a warship and they did not know what the captain intended to do with them. He could not supply the details, but he knew: they were prisoners and in great peril.
It only took a few minutes to tell the story, but it seemed like hours. The rabbi constantly wanted to hear more about their adventures. It was obvious that the attendant was suffering greatly, but the rabbi kept telling him not to worry. The attendant was pressed because he wanted to buy matzah and wine and return to the ship before sundown. But suddenly God sent him another thought.
While in Tiberias, he had heard Rebbe Tzvi Harker mention that his wife was from a renowned Sephardic family and had a brother in Rhodes who was a great sage and tzaddik. He could not remember the brother's name, but did recall the name of Rebbe Tzvi's wife. He immediately asked the rabbi if he knew a sage who had a sister in Tiberias. The Rabbi said that he did. He immediately notified this sage and told the attendant to hurry to his house. By the time he got there, the sage had already been informed of all the attendant had told the rabbi of the city.
As soon as the attendant walked in, the sage told him, "There's nothing to be afraid of. You will tell me the whole story by the Seder." The attendant could hardly believe his ears. He trusted in God, but never imagined that salvation would come so quickly. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that he would spend the Passover Seder in a Jewish house.
The sage said, "We have already arranged things with the captain and he will allow you to leave the ship. Of course, he will first have to be given whatever sum he requests. It is good to give thanks to God who saved you in such a miraculous manner. "The fact that you got to the city was a miracle in itself. I can't imagine how the captain became so confused as to let you come here. He is a known thief and his wickedness has roots going back countless generations. He is a descendent of the Five Lords of the Philistines (Joshua 13:3), for that is how he signs his name. But now there is no time to listen to stories. Let's go to the barber and get you a haircut for the festival."
They immediately went to the barber and the attendant got his hair cut. After he had bathed, they conversed over a cup of coffee. In the course of the conversation he said, "We heard that you are travelling with another man. Who is he?"
The attendant asked, "Have you ever heard of the Baal Shem Tov?"
He replied, "Of course we have! We are quite familiar with the works of the renowned Chassid of Polonoy" {Rebbe Yaakov Yosef, one of the leading disciples of the Baal Shem Tov}.
The attendant told him, "The man travelling with me is a great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov. He is also a grandson of Rebbe Nachman Horodenker. As you shall soon see, he is also a sage in his own right."
The sage was overjoyed. He said, "To rescue even a simple person is a very great mitzvah! But now God has given me the opportunity to redeem a man descended from such holy roots!"
The sage hurried with a small group of men to get the Rebbe. Meanwhile, two groups of Turks clashed with each other, resulting in a fight where several were killed in the main thoroughfare. When they saw what was happening, the sage and his group took the Rebbe's attendant and fled to the sage's courtyard. They locked themselves in and were afriad to leave for several hours. By the time it was safe to leave, the sun was beginning to set and it was too close to the holiday to go and get the Rebbe.
The sage then spoke up and said to the attendant, "From the time I was a child, I have devoted my life to Torah, prayer and good deeds. I am sure that God will reward me for this. Besides this, I also have a portion in the Future World along with every other Jew. I am putting all this up as security. If, heaven forbid, I do not exert myself to do everything in my power to free you, let me lose it all! My intention is not to boast, but to assure you that I am not abandoning you, heven forbid. There is simply no time to complete the task today.
"Now hurry! Take all the matzah you need for the Seder. Take some of my best wine and greens and everything else you will need tonight. I have shemurah matzah {a preferred type of matzah} as well as ordinary matzah if you eat it. Take whatever you need."
Bidding the others farewell, the attendant returned to his ship, which was quite a distance from the city. As soon as he boarded the ship, he called out. When the Rebbe heard his voice, he was overjoyed and ran to greet him. The Rebbe had spent all that day waiting with yearning eyes for a sign of his companion. As long as the other was gone, he stood there, his eyes growing weary.
The Rebbe said, "Thank God that you're still alive! I was sure that they had drowned you and would soon do the same to me. But now, thank God Who gives strength to the weary. You have no idea how much I sufferd while you were gone. I no longer had the strength to bear it and was sure that I would die!"
They prayed and then were able to have a proper Seder. It was a most happy meal and as they ate, the attendant told the Rebbe everything that had happened.
On the first day of Pesach, the order came to bring the ship to the city and tie up at the dock. The Rebbe and his attendant remained on the ship for the second night of Pesach. The next day, the Rebbe's attendant went into the city to worship in the synagogue. After the service, he was invited to the sage's house for the festival meal. During the meal, the sage delivered an original Torah lesson. He then repeated some thoughts of contemporary tzaddikim, including those of Europe. He then invited his guest to discourse on the Torah and the attendant repeated some of the Rebbe's lessons. The sage enjoyed them immensely, saying, "Such words make me happy deep inside…."
After the meal, the attendant returned to the ship. He was accompanied by the beadle who was carrying choice food for the Rebbe. When the Rebbe saw him, his attendant’s face seemed utterly depressed. The Rebbe was sure that things had taken a turn for the worse, for who knows what had happened that day! He was so distressed, he could not eat.
What the Rebbe did not know was that the sage had pressed his attendant to drink so much wine that he had become drunk. This was why he looked so depressed. The Rebbe had questioned him, but he was in too much of a stupor to answer.
The attendant went to sleep for a few hours. It was only when he woke up that he realized what had happened. He laughed and told the Rebbe, "Didn't you know that I was drunk? The sage was so happy that he kept on asking me to drink. Before I realized it, I had taken too much wine." He then told the Rebbe everything that had happened at the sage's house. Fully reassured, the Rebbe joyfully ate his festive meal.
#24.
On the first day of chol hamoed {intermediate days of the holiday} the attendant returned to the sage's house. The sage advised him to sneak all their money out of the ship in order that the captain should not be able to steal it.
This accomplished, the sage went to the captain together with two prominent members of the community. They said, "Give us the two Jews you are holding."
The captain replied, "What business do you have with them? When they came on board, they belonged to no one!" The captain then told them of all the travail that had befallen them on the way. He said, "What I told you is nothing! During the entire voyage there was not a moment without distress. We could have drowned these two or sold them to the Arabs long ago and all their money and possessions would have been ours. No one at all would have said a word or complained.
"But now, what can I do? These two must have luck that reaches to the high heavens. First of all, God performed a miracle and the ship suddenly arrived here. This would have been enough! But then there was a miracle within a miracle and God made me crazy enough to actually bring one of them into the city!
"After all this, I really have no right to their money. So give me two hundred thalers to satisfy my crew and take them!" They gave the captain the sum and the two were safe. They were redeemed from death to life, from captivity to freedom.
#25.
The Rebbe and his attendant were brought to the city. As they proceeded, some Turks remarked that they looked like spies. The members of the community became highly alarmed. They immediately brought them their style of clothing and had them dress like the other Jews in Rhodes.
His attendant took it as a joke, but the Rebbe was very troubled. He told his attendant, "Don't you know that a great complaint is being directed against us on high?" He then told his attendant some wondrous secrets, but the latter would never reveal them.
The Rebbe was received by the local rabbis and impressed them as a very unique person. His mood became very joyful and he said, "Thank God we were worthy of being rescued this way!" They stayed there until after Pesach, and the Rebbe was treated with great honor. The community paid the 200 thaler ransom out of its own funds Even though the Rebbe had sufficient money, they would not let him repay them.
After the festival, the community booked them passage on a ship to Istanbul. They also gave them a letter, asking all communities along the way to help them if necessary.
There were many Greeks on their ship and at sea a plague broke out among them. The Rebbe and his attendant did not know the cause, but they saw people dying all around them. But God was with them and a strong wind carried the ship rapidly to Istanbul. The high waves and great speed distresed them, but the fact that the ship travelled so rapidly saved their lives.
The ship arrived in Istanbul after only three days at sea and they remained there another ten days. But even here they were not out of danger. They had not shown their passports when they arrived and now the officials would not let them leave. The only solution was to obtain a passport from the Sultan, but the official demanded an exorbitant sum for such a document. The amount was so great, it was absolutely impossible for them to pay it.
But God was with them and they happened to meet a total stranger who agreed to help them. He went to a Turkish minister and wheedled what they needed from him. They had no idea how much he paid for it, but the stranger obtained a document allowing them to pass through the gate and leave the city. He cautioned them, "For God's sake, don't breathe a word about this."
They escaped Istanbul safely and travelled by sea to Galatz. Along the way they landed on an island and were held as prisoners. They were freed only after a fine of four rubles had been paid for each passenger.
The rest of their voyage was relatively peaceful except for a few storms at sea. They passed a ship filled with Greeks and saw it break up and sink, with only a handful surviving.
God guided them toward their destination and they arrived safely in Galatz for the festival of Shavuot.
#26.
On the way home from Galatz they passed through Iasi and encountered a great plague there. The epidemic had also spread to all the surrounding towns making travel most difficult. This also caused considerable trouble when they tried to cross the border. Coming from such a plague area, even remaining in quarantine was not sufficient to let them cross.
But God was with them, and they were led safely through it all. They had seen plague and sword, famine, thirst and captivity, but with God's help, they returned home safely.
They returned complete in body, possession and Torah. For in the Holy Land the Rebbe was worthy of attaining a wondrously lofty perception and his vision knew no bounds.
#27.
All that we have told is less than a drop in the sea of all the anguish and terror that the Rebbe suffered on his pilgrimage. The great danger is beyond description, but God was with him, performing awesome miracles every step of the way. He was worthy of attaining his goal and returning safely. He entered in peace, left in peace, and returned home in peace.
#28.
The great perception that the Rebbe attained in the Holy Land is utterly beyond description. Never has one born of an earthly mother been worthy of attaining what he did through the air of the Land of Israel! Words are completely inadequate to describe it.
The Rebbe took great pride in the fact that he had been in the Holy Land. Toward the end of his life, he said that he derived great inspiration just from this. He said, "For a long time I have known that when a person wants to do something holy, he must face great barriers.
#29.
The man who had insulted the Rebbe so much in Istanbul died immediately upon his return home. The Rebbe's attendant asked him, “Is it not written, ‘For the righteous to punish is also not good’” (Proverbs 17:26)? The Rebbe answered him with the following parable.
Once there was a king who was very fond of one of the young princes. He showed the prince all sorts of affection, doing everything he could to attract him. The child became a young man. Then one day, he did something highly disrespectful to the king.
The king told him, "No matter how much I love you, it is still impossible to go against the law of the kingdom. The judgement has been passed. Your sentence is death." The king then commanded that the prince be bound in chains and imprisoned.
The young prince began thinking about his imminent death. In his mind he could already feel the great pain he would suffer at the moment he would be killed. But he realized that this agony would only last an instant and then he would be dead.
But then he began to imagine the anguish of the king. He knew that the king loved him very much and still yearned for his presence. He understood how much pain his death would cause the king and that this anguish would last forever. The prince worried more about the king's suffering than his own. He thought and thought, trying to spare the king this pain. Finally an idea came to him. Shame is equivalent to death.
He asked the jail keeper to bring him before the king. Standing before the king he said, "I truthfully know that your suffering is greater than mine. I also realize that it is impossible for you to ignore the law of your kingdom. But I think I know a way out. If you can arrange for some one to publicly shame me, the sentence will be fulfilled, for shame is equivalent to death.
"Bring me a prisoner who has already been condemned to death. I will provoke him until he becomes angry, publicly insulting and beating me. I will be bitterly humiliated and this will be the same as death.
"Then take this condemned criminal and execute him according to his sentence. The people will think that he was killed because he insulted one of the king's favorite servants. In this way, neither the honor of the king or his servants will be impinged."
The Rebbe said that the same was true in this case. A man might insult a tzaddik and, without realizing it, be doing him a great service. The tzaddik may have been condemned to death for some misdeed. The shame he experienced might then take the place of his death sentence.
Still this tzaddik is a beloved servant of the king and it is not fitting that this insult go unpunished. But to punish the person just for insulting the tzaddik is also not desirable, "for the righteous to punish is also not good."
Therefore, God brings it about that the person who insults the tzaddik should be one who has already been condemned to death. They both may happen to be in one inn and this individual insults the tzaddik. The shame saves the tzaddik from a more permanent judgement. In order to protect the tzaddik's honor, the other is then punished. The name of heaven is thus sanctified, but actually it was a dead man who was killed, for he was previously condemned.
We therefore see that God's ways are right and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
#30.
While in the Holy Land, the Rebbe was constantly involved with Torah and prayer. Every day he would write down what he perceived in the Torah. When the Rebbe spoke about this he said, "The difference between the understanding of the Torah in the Holy Land and elsewhere is like the difference between east and west."
Every day people came to him, great and small alike, to serve him and thereby hear his awesome holy words of wisdom.
#31.
When in the Holy Land, the Rebbe was visited by one of its renowned leaders. This leader was universally respected and was reputed to know the entire Talmud by heart. He was also one of the masters of Kaballah. When he visited the Rebbe, he asked all those present to leave. They were left alone, except for the Rebbe's attendant who remained.
The leader pressed the Rebbe, saying, "I know that your excellency did not come to the Holy Land like most people. They arrive with mochin d’katnut, merely to walk four steps in the Holy Land and thus be worthy of the Future World, or for similar small minded reasons.
"But your excellency certainly arrived here in a state of mochin d’gadlut {expanded consciousness}, to accomplish great acts of devotion. There are many points of devotion in the Holy Land and we long to know into which of these points your excellency has entered. If you reveal the Godly things you wish to do here, I am prepared to serve you with body and soul."
The Rebbe replied, "My dear friend, please do not pain me with this. To reveal my reasons and devotions here is by no means a simple matter. It is possible that I am already bound by an oath in this area…."
The leader began to urge him again, "All that we ask is that our master at least teach us one of the beautiful precious thoughts with which God endowed him. We don't have any ulterior motive, heaven forbid. We only want to hear from your holy lips some new Torah concept that will arouse our hearts to serve God. If God wills, we may also be worthy of perceiving some hint of the point we asked about before."
Immediately the Rebbe began to light up, flashing fire, the flame of God. His face began to glow, literally burning like fire. He was in such an intense state that his hair stood on end, casting his hat to the floor. Like tongues of flame, a question formed on his lips, "Do you understand the secret meaning of the tefillin?" The other replied, offering some Kabbalistic concepts.
The Rebbe transfixed him, "No! This is not the way of perceiving the tefillin. And because you do not understand the true meaning of tefillin, you do not know the secret of the four directions in the Holy Land. Of this, I will begin to give you some hint." The Rebbe began the explanation, but as soon as he started speaking, blood began to pour from his throat. He said, "Now you see with your own eyes that I am forbidden from on high to reveal anything to you."
As soon as the other saw this, he bowed his head and begged the Rebbe to pardon him for having troubled him so much. He was very frightened and would not move from the spot until the Rebbe forgave him.
#32.
When the Rebbe first came to Tiberias, the renowned chassid and philanthropist, Rebbe Moshe, son of the holy Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, sent a message to the Rebbe, that he would like to make a match between their children. The Rebbe replied, "How can one refuse such a match? It is certainly God's will that my daughter live in the Holy Land."
The Rebbe said nothing else and the matchmaker immediately went and told Rebbe Moshe that the Rebbe agreed. They immediately planned a great feast to celebrate the match. All the leaders of the Holy Land, from Lithuania and Poland, great and small alike, were assembled at the feast. It was a most joyous gathering, and the meal was accompanied by a flowing conversation covering the length and breadth of the sacred literature.
The leading speaker was the one mentioned earlier, who had asked the Rebbe his intentions in the Holy Land. The conversation led them to a discussion of a quotation from Rashi, but nobody could remember its location. The conversation stopped, frustrated by the lack of this key quotation. Try as they would, no one could recall it. This in itself was a wonder, for here were the foremost sages, each one having recently reviewed the entire Talmud. Still, not one of them could locate this particular quotation.
All through this, the Rebbe sat quietly, as if he had nothing to contribute. But he realized how distressed they were and when they urged him until he could no longer refuse, he said, "Is it not a quotation from Rashi's commentary to Zevachim, at the very top of this page?" {Breslov tradition has it that it was page 47a.} They realized that this is what they were seeking and rejoiced immensely. The feast lasted from early noon until dawn the next day, and a strong bond of friendship was forged between them.
Soon after the Rebbe returned home, Rebbe Moshe's son died. The Rebbe's daughter married the son of the renowned Rebbe of Volochisk. God then willed that the Rebbe of Volochisk settle in the Holy Land, taking along his son, the Rebbe's son-in-law, to study with him. Not long after that, the Rebbe's daughter also settled there.
Therefore, the Rebbe's words were fulfilled, for he had said that it was God's will that his daughter settle in the Holy Land. For not one word that he spoke returned in vain.
#33.
No matter how high he stood, the Rebbe was never satisfied with his accomplishments. He had involved himself in every type of devotion mentioned above, fasting and praying and forcing himself to do things to overcome his desires and emotions. He had already withstood every type of temptation, having spent days and years secluding himself with God, expressing his thoughts in his own words. Constantly striving in this manner, he attained the highest spiritual levels. He had totally destroyed his ego, achieving a oneness with God on the level of the “Children of the Highest Realm.”
All this was attained while the Rebbe was literally in his childhood. He did not rest by day nor did he slumber by night. Never keeping still, he constantly devoted himself to God, day by day from his earliest childhood. And so, all this tremendous perception and awesome holiness were his while he was still a youth. He had already become one of the highest. But even after this, he did not stop, never allowing himself to remain at one level. Every hour and every day, he would long and yearn for God, as if he had not done anything at all to serve Him.
The Rebbe was then in the Holy Land and there attained a perception so high that it was beyond all measure. Still, from when he returned until the day he departed from the world, he always had this longing and yearning for God. He may have stood on the loftiest heights, but in his mind, he had not yet begun the climb.
It would consume many volumes to tell even the small amount we were worthy of understanding from what we saw with our own eyes and heard from his holy lips. For this was the Rebbe's way. He would constantly thirst for the Godly, debasing himself with self-pity, as if he had never inhaled the perfume of true devotion and had not yet achieved even the level of a beginner.
To understand this, you must imagine a person who had committed every possible sin, time and time again. Imagine now that such a person was aroused to true repentance. Try to depict the way he would look at himself. He would certainly have great humility and self-pity and be bitterly brokenhearted because of his past deeds. This is obvious and needs no lengthy explanation. Consider the self-pity and broken heart of such a penitent. This would not be a thousandth, or even a millionth, of the great humility and self-pity and brokenheartedness that the Rebbe had each time before attaining a new degree of perception.
The Rebbe was a man who never rested or stood still. In the days of his greatness, he had already attained an awesome perception of the Godly. Still he was not satisfied and continued to aspire. He accepted upon himself unparalleled suffering, abounding with prayers and petitions urging God to help him. He continued with a fearsome yearning, until he would finally attain a higher level of perception.
As soon as he achieved a new level, he would immediately begin anew. All his previous efforts would be forgotten, as if he had not yet even taken the first step. He would begin afresh, like one taking his first steps into the realm of holiness.
Often we heard the Rebbe say with longing and yearning, "How is one worthy of being a Jew?" He would sincerely mean these words, for he truly felt that he had not yet really taken the first step. This occurred numerous times.
Although he reached awesomely high levels, he would constantly seek a higher level, soaring ever higher and higher. Still, he was never satisfied with himself. As soon as he reached a new level, he would again begin anew with a broken heart and deep humility, until he was able to attain a still higher step. This was always the Rebbe's way, even at the end.
Many times the Rebbe would say, "Now I know nothing, nothing—nothing at all." There are times when he would swear, "In truth, I know absolutely nothing at all." This could even happen shortly after he had revealed words of enduring truth. His wisdom shone forth, and still he insisted that he was totally ignorant. In this respect, the Rebbe was most unique.
The Rebbe said, "My teachings are very unique, but my ignorance is even more unique." That is, he was unique in realizing his ultimate ignorance before God.
#34.
We heard from the Rebbe's own holy lips that some tzaddikim toil with devotion in order to reach a given level. They have a set level to which they aspire and when they reach it they are satisfied. They are like servants of a king, who aspire to attain a particular rank of office through their efforts.
The Rebbe then said, "If I knew that I were now standing on the same level as yesterday, I would totally reject myself." He would consider remaining at yesterday's level the greatest detriment, for he constantly aspired to reach a higher step.
There is much to say here, but it cannot all be put into writing. Those who were worthy to see it with their own eyes and hear it with their own ears, might be able to understand this to a small degree. They might perceive how the Rebbe never stood still at any level, but always yearned for the next step, until he was worthy…. This was always true of him.
Even according to our meager understanding, the Rebbe was unique in every way. Beyond this are marvelous wonders and hidden secrets. But suffice with this.
#35.
The Rebbe spoke to us somewhat about the concept that the true goal of knowledge is the realization of one's ignorance. He said that this is true of every area of knowledge. Even though a person may attain the goal of realizing his ignorance, it may only be in one area of knowledge. He must then first begin to work on a higher plane, aspiring to realize his ignorance at this higher level. And no matter how high one reaches, there is still the next step.
Therefore, we never know anything and still do not attain the true goal. This is a very deep and mysterious concept. We heard more regarding this once after Pesach and will discuss it elsewhere {Rebbe Nachman’s Wisdom, #3}.
#36.
Once a king sent three of his servants to deliver a secret message to another king in a distant land. On the way, they had to pass through a land that was at war with their king.
The first messenger was clever enough to conceal his purpose completely. He passed through the hostile land without them every realizing that he was carrying a secret message.
The second messenger started through the unfriendly country and was discovered. The people realized that he was carrying a secret message and were going to force him to reveal it. But through his wisdom and endurance, he too was able to escape without revealing the message.
The third messenger was also discovered. Realizing that he too was bearing a secret message, they imprisoned him and subjected him to all kinds of torture. They tortured him in the cruelest ways possible, but despite his great agony, he refused to tell them anything. He withstood the test without yielding his secret.
They finally realized that their tortures were to no avail and concluded that they were mistaken and he actually had no secret. They let him go and he passed through their land, delivering his message to the king.
When they returned, everyone had an opinion as to which of the three deserved the greatest reward. Some said that the first was most deserving, for he acted cleverly enough to hide his secret completely. Others gave the most credit to the second, for he had already been discovered and still was smart enough to escape.
But the king said that the third messenger deserved the greatest reward of them all. He had already been caught in their net. He certainly also wanted to hide his purpose, but he was not successful. After being captured, he underwent every possible torture and torment. If he would have revealed even one secret, he would have received the greatest honors. Still, he withstood the test, revealing nothing. Therefore, his reward is above all the rest.
Those who comprehend will, to some extent, understand the parallel.
Copyright © 1973, 2000, Breslov Research Institute
