Chasidut · Breslov
Likutei Halakhot, Orach Chaim, Laws of Morning Conduct 5:1/ליקוטי הלכות·
איִתְגַּבֵּר כַּאֲרִי לַעֲמֹד בַּבֹּקֶר שֶׁיְּהֵא הוּא מְעוֹרֵר הַשַּׁחַר (שלחן ערוך ארח חיים סימן א׳).
1KEY CONCEPTS FROM LIKUTEY MOHARANA person should strengthen himself like a lion to rise up in the morning … so that it is he who awakens the dawn (Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chaim 1:1).
בעַל פִּי הַתּוֹרָה ״תִּקְעוּ תּוֹכָחָה״ בְּלִקּוּטֵי תִּנְיָנָא סִימָן ח׳, עַיֵּן שָׁם כָּל הַתּוֹרָה מֵרֵישָׁא לְסֵיפָא.
2This discourse is based on Rebbe Nachman’s lesson Tik’u Tokhachah, LM II, 8. Study the full lesson there, from start to finish.
גוְהַיּוֹצֵא לָנוּ מִשָּׁם בְּקִצּוּר לְעִנְיָנֵנוּ, שֶׁעִקַּר הַתִּקּוּן הוּא עַל־יְדֵי הַצַּדִּיק הַבַּעַל כֹּחַ גָּדוֹל שֶׁיָּכוֹל לְהִתְפַּלֵּל תְּפִלָּה־בִּבְחִינַת־דִּין, כְּמוֹ פִּנְחָס בְּעֵת שֶׁהָיָה מַעֲשֵׂה זִמְרִי וְכוּ׳.
3In brief, what emerges from that lesson1 relevant to our topic is that the essential tikkun for blemished daat2, man’s internalized knowledge and awareness of HaShem, is the keystone of his spiritual existence. Guided by daat, he possesses the know-how to properly serve HaShem as well as the inner strength to fend off the many worldly desires that would lure him away from Divine service. But when daat is blemished, his mind falls into a state of mochin d’katnut, constricted consciousness, and so is in need of tikkun, a spiritual remedy. comes through the tzaddik, the master of great spiritual strength, who can successfully pray a prayer of din, a “judgment-prayer.” This is a prayer of protest and complaint, recited as a call for justice, similar to the prayer Pinchas prayed at the time of the incident with Zimri.3 106:30) “Then Pinchas stood up vayephalel, and the plague stopped,” Rabbi Elazar taught: The verse does not say vayitpalel he disputed). ,ויפלל) he prayed) but vayephalel ,ויתפלל) Pinchas engaged in debate with his Creator. Throwing down before HaShem the corpses of Zimri and the Midianite princess with whom Zimri had sinned, he declared, “Master of the Universe! Is it justice that 24,000 people of Israel should perish on account of these two?” (Sanhedrin 82b). See also LM I, 36:4, note 63.
דכִּי כָּל הַקִּלְקוּלִים, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, הֵם עַל־יְדֵי בְּחִינַת ״וְהַנָּחָשׁ הָיָה עָרוּם וְכוּ׳״ (בראשית ג, א), שֶׁעלַ־יְדֵי־זֶה מִתְגַּבֵּר תַּאֲוַת נִאוּף, שֶׁהוּא עַל־יְדֵי קִלְקוּל הַמֹּחַ.
4For in matters of holiness, all damage is the result of blemished daat. This is exemplified by the Serpent’s perversion of wisdom, as in “Now, the Serpent was cunning.”4 that strengthens the Sitra Achra, the Other Side that stands opposite holiness. To win over Chavah, the Serpent employed twisted logic, telling her that HaShem did not want rivals and so had forbade her and Adam to eat from the Eitz HaDaat, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which would give them the Godlike ability to create worlds (Rashi on Bereishit 3:5). Because of this corruption of wisdom, which spoils and blemishes the mind, the locus of daat in the body, man’s holiness is damaged and his desire for immorality grows stronger.5 3a). When a person falls from holy daat into foolishness, immoral desires follow. Chazal also teach that HaShem had appointed the Serpent as ruler over all the animals in creation, but the Serpent desired what did not belong to it (ibid. 9b). Thus on the verse “Now, the Serpent was cunning,” Rashi comments that the Serpent desired the first woman, and so schemed to do away with Adam so it might take Chavah for itself. This relates to the Rebbe’s teaching here linking immoral desire with eating from the Eitz HaDaat—i.e. blemished daat.
הכִּי הַדַּעַת שֶׁבַּמֹּחַ שֶׁכָּלוּל מִשְּׁלשָׁה מֹחִין, הוּא בְּחִינַת שָׁלשׁ מְחִיצוֹת פְּרוּסוֹת בִּפְנֵי הַתַּאֲוָה הַזֹּאת, אַךְ כְּשֶׁהַסִּטְרָא אַחֲרָא יוֹנֵק מֵהָרַחֲמָנוּת, שֶׁהוּא הַדַּעַת וְכוּ׳, אֲזַי נִקְטַן הַדַּעַת וְכוּ׳, וּמִשָּׁם הִתְגַּבְּרוּת הַתַּאֲוָה הַזֹּאת, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם.
5For the mind, which houses daat, is comprised of three mochin.6. The head or brain corresponds to the upper three sefirot—Chokhmah (Wisdom), Binah (Understanding), and Daat (Knowledge). The Zohar (III, 129a) refers to these three mental faculties collectively as mochin. In the realm of human consciousness, each of these mental faculties serves as a separate barrier shielding the mind from immoral thoughts and desires (see note 64 of the Rebbe’s lesson). These mental faculties act as three partitions, or barriers, arrayed against this desire for immorality. However, when the Sitra Achra feeds on compassion, namely daat,7 and also a product of daat. The truly enlightened person is a compassionate person. Yet one cannot be truly compassionate unless his compassion is guided by HaShem. Thus Kabbalah associates compassion and chesed with mochin d’gadlut, expanded consciousness, and conversely, mochin d’katnut with misguided compassion and din (see Eitz Chaim 22:1). For a lengthier explanation see LM II, 7:1, where the Rebbe brings an example of misguided compassion due to a lack of daat as showing compassion for a convicted murderer. Although setting the killer free seems to be an act of compassion, it is in fact an act of cruelty. then daat itself becomes diminished, causing this desire to be strengthened, chas ve-shalom.8, the evil forces of the Sitra Achra, and enable them to feed on his compassion, turning it into cruelty. Even one’s mitzvot and good deeds, if they are lacking in any way, strengthen the Sitra Achra’s ability to undermine one’s compassion and daat. This is explained in greater detail in LM I, 139 and ibid. I, 277:4 (see also notes 65-71 there).
ווְאָז הַתְּפִלָּה־בִּבְחִינַת־דִּין, וְהַסִּטְרָא אַחֲרָא רוֹצָה לְבוֹלְעָהּ, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, וַאֲזַי צְרִיכִין בַּעַל כֹּחַ גָּדוֹל שֶׁיּוּכַל לְהִתְפַּלֵּל תְּפִלָּה־בִּבְחִינַת־דִּין וְכוּ׳.
6Then, with compassion diminished and daat blemished, all prayer is in the category of din. Only a judgment-prayer can be offered.9 2:13), “When you pray, do not make your prayer rote, but rather compassion and supplication,” the Rebbe teaches in his lesson (§2) that the ideal prayer is one formulated as an entreaty, a plea for compassion. This requires a person to be in a state of mochin d’gadlut, expanded consciousness, cognizant that HaShem’s compassion positively impacts every aspect of his life. When a person’s daat is blemished, he is incapable of recognizing the magnitude of HaShem’s compassion and consequently cannot entreat HaShem and plead for Him to show compassion. Then only judgmentprayers are possible, as all the prayers that people pray are from a state of mochin d’katnut—complaint rather than supplication, protestation rather than plea. But the danger is that the Sitra Achra, since it shares the same root as judgment, will desire to “swallow” this kind of prayer.10 to recognize the influence of HaShem’s compassion on his life, he prays from a place of constriction and din—sometimes even with anger at HaShem for some presumed injustice he has suffered, or good he has been denied. Mostly he insists that HaShem show him compassion as he understands it. The Sitra Achra is able to take advantage of this. It feeds on his prayer of din, until eventually it consumes it altogether. This prevents a person’s prayers from being answered by HaShem. See note 75 on the Rebbe’s lesson. At such a time, a master of great spiritual strength is required, one who can pray a prayer of din that the Sitra Achra is incapable of swallowing.11 the tzaddik too prays a judgmentprayer, without any overt sign of his recognition that HaShem is compassionate. This convinces the Sitra Achra that it can swallow his prayers just as it has swallowed everyone else’s. In truth, the tzaddik never loses sight of HaShem’s compassion. This awareness is his great spiritual strength, so that even in times of powerful din the tzaddik is able to stand firm against the Sitra Achra. Instead, the tzaddik’s judgment-prayer, termed “staff of your strength,” sticks in its throat and the Sitra Achra is forced to disgorge all the elements of holiness that it has previously swallowed.12 110:2 that “HaShem will dispatch from Tzion the ,בקרב) staff of your strength, for you to rule be-kerev lit. “inside”) your enemies.” The word “inside” seems superfluous. The Rebbe explains that “staff of your strength” refers to the tzaddik’s judgment-prayer. When the “enemy,” i.e. the Sitra Achra, attempts to swallow the master of strength’s staff of strength, the prayer sticks “inside” its throat, causing it to vomit up not just that prayer but also all the elements of holiness in the daat, compassion and prayers that it previously ingested. The Rebbe also links this to Iyov’s observation concerning the ephemeral nature of a wicked person’s success: “He swallowed wealth and vomits it out; God flushes it out of his innards” (Iyov 20:15; see note 109 below.)
זוְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה נַעֲשִׂין גֵּרִים וְנִתְרַבֶּה כְּבוֹדוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ.
7In this process, the Sitra Achra is also compelled to vomit up its very life-force—particularly the holy souls born into this world as non-Jews.13. But when the Sitra Achra tries to swallow the tzaddik’s prayer of din, and that prayer sticks in its throat and forces it to disgorge any holiness that it has in its innards, the holy sparks/souls are redeemed. They return to the realm of holiness as non-Jews who convert and as baalei teshuvah, penitent Jews, who return to HaShem. (It is axiomatic of the Rebbe’s lessons that his teachings regarding converts apply to baalei teshuvah as well.) Previously, these souls were its substance; the Sitra Achra fed on their holiness. But once set free, many of them become converts to Judaism, and the public sensation stirred by this causes HaShem’s glory to be magnified.14 96:7) “Bring to HaShem families of the nations, bring to HaShem glory and might.” The act of redeeming the souls of converts from the Sitra Achra and bringing those sparks of holiness to HaShem correspond to bringing the “families of the nations” to attach themselves to the faith of Israel. In this way, we “bring to HaShem glory and might.”
חשֶׁעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה נִמְשָׁךְ נְבוּאָה וְכוּ׳, וְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה מִתְבָּרֵר הַמְדַמֶּה.
8This magnification of HaShem’s glory and the increase in daat that accompanies it inspires an awakening in the souls of the Jewish people, channeling into the world an influx of the spirit of prophecy.15, that “the whole world is filled with His glory” (see above, p. 103 and p. 117 ff ). In this sense, every Jew is potentially a prophet. On a deeper level, the Arizal teaches that the Jewish soul emanates from Beriah, the world also identified in the kabbalistic lexicon as HaShem’s Throne of Glory (see Appendix A, p. 235). He cites in this regard Chazal’s teaching that all the Jewish neshamot were hewn from the Throne of Glory, and so declare, “Blessed is our God, Who created us for His glory” (Shaar HaKavanot, Drushei Ashrei/Pitum HaKetoret/Aleinu 1). Elsewhere, the Arizal explains that prophecy is formulated in Beriah (Sefer HaLikutim, Shemot 6). Thus when the souls are stirred, and so seek greater connection to their source on high, their spiritual yearning draws down the spirit of prophecy from that very same source. And this in turn leads to the refinement and rectification of the medameh, man’s imaginative faculty,16, his power of imagination. Through the ability of his mind to create mental images, the Divine light takes on definition and an image forms in his mind (see Sefer HaBrit I, 17:17; cf. Radak on Yirmiyahu 23:28). so that worldly illusions cannot deceive it.17. This achievement is not the reserve of the biblical prophet, but the purpose of every Jew. In the process of giving form to the awareness of HaShem’s Immanance (Divine light), the medameh itself is purified. The metaphoric visions, dreams and symbols of prophecy purge the medameh of its “imaginariness” which gives rise to false images, impressions and beliefs. The most stubbornly persistent illusion is the belief that the dictates of nature, not HaShem Himself, govern our world, as discussed in note 25 below. But when the tzaddik’s prayer of din causes many to convert, and the ensuing revelation of HaShem’s glory causes the spirit of prophecy to spread in the world, the imaginative faculty is rectified.
טשֶׁעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה מִתְבָּרֶרֶת הָאֱמוּנָה לְהַאֲמִין בְּחִדּוּשׁ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁעִקָּרוֹ נִתְגַּלָּה עַל־יְדֵי מַתַּן תּוֹרָה שֶׁאָז זָכוּ כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל לְרוּחַ נְבוּאָה וְכוּ׳.
9As a result, emunah, a product of the medameh, is refined18 derives from the medameh. Anything a person can comprehend with his intellect requires no emunah. Emunah comes into play only in relation to something whose logical reason one does not know or cannot understand. For when a person’s intellect is incapable of comprehending a matter, it is said to be “constricted” (katnut); he must then rely on the medameh. The mental images that his medameh creates bring him to emunah in that thing or idea (see following note). Thus when prophecy spreads and as a result the medameh is refined and rectified, emunah is also rectified. All false emunah is then eliminated.—especially one’s belief in chiddush ha-olam. This is the idea that HaShem created the world yesh mei-ayin, “something from nothing,” and even now continues to do so through its perpetual renewal.19 is faith in chiddush haolam—that HaShem brought the world into existence out of absolute nothingness (ex nihilo), and that even now each moment is a new creation, as we say in our daily prayers, “Who in His goodness renews daily, continuously, the works of Creation.” Intellectually, it is impossible to comprehend how something can come from nothing. Therefore chiddush ha-olam is a matter of emunah, the faith we received from our ancestors, free of all philosophical inquiry and scientific speculation. Thus the Midrash teaches: HaShem says, “With emunah I created the world; with emunah I govern it; and with emunah I will renew it in the future” (Otiyot d’Rebbi Akiva, Ot Heh). A more thorough discussion of yesh mei-ayin can be found in notes 184-186 on the Rebbe’s lesson (and see Appendix A, p. 235). The core of this belief was revealed at the Giving of the Torah, when the entire Jewish people merited a spirit of prophecy.20 is one of the ten terms the Torah uses to connote prophecy, as in (Bereishit 15:1) “The dvar (word) of HaShem came to Avram in a vision, saying …” (Bereishit Rabbah 44:6; see also Shabbat 138b). In §7 of his lesson Rebbe Nachman links the “DVaR ,עשרת הדברות) of HaShem” with Aseret HaDiBRot (דבר) the Ten Commandments), which embody all the mitzvot of the Torah (see Rashi on Shemot 24:12). The Rebbe then links both prophecy and the Torah with the Ten Utterances through which heaven and earth were created (see Rosh HaShanah 32a). This is alluded to in the verse “By the dvar of HaShem were the heavens made” (Tehillim 33:6), which in our context relates to our emunah that He created the world yesh mei-ayin. This teaches that the spread of the spirit of prophecy brings to perfected emunah—i.e. the emunah the Jewish people attained at the Giving of the Torah, when “HaShem spoke) to you face-to-face” (Devarim 5:4) ,דבר) DiBeiR and so they merited the spirit of prophecy.
יוְעַל־יְדֵי אֱמוּנָה זוֹכִין לְחִדּוּשׁ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁל לֶעָתִיד, בִּבְחִינַת (תהלים צב, ג): ״לְהַגִּיד בַּבֹּקֶר חַסְדֶּךָ וֶאֱמוּנָתְךָ בַּלֵּילוֹת״, בְּחִינַת (איכה ג, כג): ״חֲדָשִׁים לַבְּקָרִים רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶךָ״.
10And through our emunah in chiddush ha-olam in this world we will also merit the renewal of the world in the future, as the World to Come. This is reflected in the verses “To relate Your chesed in the morning, your emunah in the nights” and “They are renewed in the mornings; your emunah is great,”21 3:23 comments that “they are renewed” refers to HaShem’s acts of chesed. Reb Noson will relate to this in §11 below, where he explains that HaShem builds the world anew (chiddush ha-olam) through chasadim, the elements of Chesed (and see notes 99 and 100 there). alluding to the emunah of the person himself.22 in the nights” (Tehillim 92:3) and “Your emunah is great” (Eikhah 3:23) refer to HaShem’s faithfulness. However, in his lesson Rebbe Nachman reads them as alluding to a person’s faith in chiddush ha-olam (see also LM I, 62:5). See Rashi on each of these verses. In both verses the first clause is predicated on the second. The “morning,” i.e. the future redemption and renewal of the world, will come about because of the fortitude of our emunah, that is, the faith we maintain in chiddush ha-olam throughout the dark “night” of exile.23” (Tehillim 89:3) as further proof of the link between chesed/morning and the future renewal of the world. Also, having taught that emunah is rooted in the medameh, a constriction of the intellect (see note 18 above), the Rebbe links emunah with the night and nighttime dreams, which are similarly connected with constricted intellect (sleep) and the medameh.
יאוְחִדּוּשׁ הָעוֹלָם הוּא בִּבְחִינַת אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁהוּא לְגַלּוֹת הַהַשְׁגָּחָה וְכוּ׳.
11And the chiddush ha-olam of the future will be brought about through the unique attribute of Eretz Yisrael, namely the power to reveal hashgachah, Divine providence.24, see above, p. 86, note 5. Rebbe Nachman addresses the link between the future chiddush ha-olam and hashgachah in §10 of his lesson. This future revelation will make clear to all that the world is governed not by the dictates of nature, but directly by the hand of HaShem, through miracles and wonders. Then the mistaken emunah that people have in the natural order will be voided altogether.25 there, as the verse states, “The eyes of HaShem your God are upon it continuously, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year” (Devarim 11:12). In LM I, 9:5, he shows that Eretz Yisrael is synonymous with miracles, HaShem’s hashgachah through the supra-natural—i.e. Divine will countermanding the dictates of nature (see also LM II, 4:5 and note 54 there). At present, HaShem’s will is concealed and people believe in determinism, that existence follows the laws of nature. But in the future, when the entire world will be renewed through the unique attribute of Eretz Yisrael, it will be obvious to all that everything is governed solely by hashgachah.
יבוְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה נִמְשַׁךְ הַשִּׁיר חָדָשׁ שֶׁל נִפְלָאוֹת וְכוּ׳, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת הַקּוֹל הַמַּשְׁקֶה אֶת הַגָּן.
12Through this future revelation, when hashgachah will be obvious and recognized by all, a new song, telling of HaShem’s wonders, will be channeled into the world.26 19:2). His Immanence and glory are for the most part concealed from those whose medameh and emunah have yet to be rectified. But with the chiddush ha-olam of the future, His Immanence and glory will be seen by all. A new song will burst forth from everyone’s lips, extolling Him for His hashgachah/wonders, as in “Sing to HaShem a new song, for He has performed wonders” (ibid. 98:1). This song is the concept of the voice that waters the garden,27 2:10). The link between the voice and the river’s water appears in a second verse, “HaShem, the rivers rose up, the rivers lifted their voices” (Tehillim 93:3). Thus the Rebbe speaks of the voice that waters the garden and causes the “flora” that grows there to flourish. drawing people closer to HaShem.28 whose moral guidance instills Jewish souls with a pleasant scent—i.e. spiritual sustenance for the soul, which Reb Noson discusses next.
יגשֶׁעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה מִתְגַּבֵּר מְזוֹנָא דְּנִשְׁמָתָא, שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת רֵיחַ, בְּחִינַת יִרְאָה, עַל מְזוֹנָא דְּגוּפָא וְכוּ׳, בִּבְחִינַת (בראשית כה, כו): ״וְיָדוֹ אוֹחֶזֶת בַּעֲקֵב עֵשָׂו וְכוּ׳״.
13This voice, the soul’s sustenance, which is associated with fragrance and the fear of HaShem,29 teaches that each person receives the sustenance he deserves [according to the shefa, bounty, he elicits through his prayers]. For some this shefa is Torah, sustenance for the soul. For others the shefa that descends becomes bread, sustenance for the body (Tikkuney Zohar #21, p. 45b; ibid. #69, p. 101b). The Rebbe teaches that the soul is sustained by the “flora” that grows in the garden watered by the voice—namely fragrance and the fear of HaShem. Chazal teach that fragrance is the source from which the soul derives pleasure in this world (Berakhot 43b), as the power of scent is the most spiritual of the physical senses (Maharsha, loc. cit., s.v. taharah). Also growing in this garden is the fear of HaShem, which is associated with fragrance, as in “He will be imbued with the scent of the fear of HaShem” (Yeshayahu 11:3). overpowers the body’s sustenance, namely food and drink.30 This mastery of the spiritual over the material is expressed in the verse regarding Yaakov, who is associated with the voice and scent.31 27:22). Yitzchak also blessed Yaakov, saying, “See, my son’s fragrance is like the scent of the field” (ibid. 27:27). Rashi (loc. cit.) adds that HaShem instilled into Yaakov the fragrance of Gan Eden. In context here, this was because Yaakov represents the voice that waters the garden. The Torah relates that Yaakov was born with “his hand holding on to Esav’s heel,” which, as the back part of the foot and lowest part of the body, signifies utmost physicality.32 25:27), and thus he is associated with the body’s sustenance, the physical food and drink that when eaten in excess “empowers the heel of the Sitra Achra,” as the Rebbe explains in his lesson. When soul and body enter the world together, the spiritual subdues the physical, represented by Yaakov’s “hand holding on to Esav’s heel.”
ידעַיֵּן שָׁם כָּל זֶה הֵיטֵב הֵיטֵב, כִּי נוֹרָא הוּא מְאֹד.
14Study all this very well in LM II, 8, for it is a most awesome teaching.33 #169 (end), where Reb Noson writes that all the concepts and tikkunim discussed in Rebbe Nachman’s lesson, his last teaching before his passing, “contain the deepest, most awesome and exalted secrets.” He mentions there that when the Rebbe cited the verse (Ruth 4:14) “Blessed is HaShem, Who has not left you without a redeemer,” he sang the words, so that it appeared as though he was praising and thanking HaShem for giving them a redeemer to rectify and redeem Jewish souls and draw down the spirit of Mashiach through such awesome and wondrous tikkunim.