Have you ever thought that the Geulah (Redemption) could arrive right this second? According to the teachings of Chassidus, and primarily the teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, the path to closeness with Hashem and to the Geulah depends on true shiflus (lowliness)—recognizing that we are smaller than any person, any tzaddik, and any Jew, without a shred of arrogance. This article by our teacher, the holy Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, delves into the doctrine of shiflus and its four levels, as explained in Likutey Moharan and the elucidations of Reb Nosson. It reveals how this inner work is connected to the seasons of the year and a person's process of teshuvah (repentance).

The Baal Shem Tov said: "How much must one toil so that Elijah the Prophet will wait for you at the door? Yet, with one thought of pride—thinking you are better than some Jew in the world—it is possible to lose everything..."

The Geulah needs to come every day; the Geulah can arrive this very second. At any moment, the Geulah can come. If we do what is necessary, the Geulah will come this very moment! But what does this depend on? Only if a person attains true shiflus (lowliness). Only if he believes that he is the least of all, that everyone else is more righteous, holier, and purer than him."

"Rebbe Nachman says (Likutey Moharan I, 14:5): 'For a person must minimize himself: 1. Before those greater than him. 2. Before people of his own value. 3. Before those smaller than him. 4. And sometimes, when he is the smallest of the small—he must minimize himself relative to his own level, and he should seem in his own eyes to be below his own level, in the aspect of (Exodus 16) "Let every man remain in his place" [literally: under himself].' Reb Nosson explains (Hilchos Orlah 5:6) that there are four seasons in the year. Each season is three months long, and in each season, a person works on a different type of shiflus. 'Behold, the four seasons begin from Nissan. Thus, the season of Tevet is the fourth season, where the main clarification takes place. This season consists of three months: Tevet, Shevat, and Adar,'

It turns out that the Fifteenth of Shevat (Tu B'Shvat) is the middle point of the season... which corresponds to the aspect of the fourth level of shiflus mentioned above, which is to be lowly and humble below one's own level..."

Reb Nosson explains that the four seasons come to break the four traits of pride that our holy Rebbe speaks of in Torah 14. The first level of shiflus, says the Rebbe, is that first and foremost, one must believe in all the tzaddikim, in all the Admorim (Chassidic Rebbes). One must believe in all the Rebbes, in all the Roshei Yeshivas—one must believe in everyone. The Breslov way is to believe in everyone, to believe in every Jew, in every Admor, in every tzaddik.

A person thinks he is the most righteous of all, more righteous than all the Admorim and all the Rabbis, and he even dares to speak against them—against this Admor, against that Rabbi. How can you speak against Rabbis, against holy and pure Admorim who are at the pinnacle of holiness and purity? The first task is to calculate that you are less than all the tzaddikim, all the Admorim, all the Roshei Yeshivas, and all the Rabbis who spread Torah day and night. Even if you merited to know about the tzaddik regarding whom there is no comprehension or grasp whatsoever, no one needs to know about that. You need to honor all the tzaddikim and know that they perform wonders, that they are truly righteous! Believe that they perform miracles and work wonders. Why are you jealous on behalf of your Rebbe? Does it bother you that there is another diligent tzaddik? Another tzaddik who performs wonders and brings about salvations? You cannot tolerate that there are other tzaddikim? That is your problem—that you are jealous. You are so impure that you cannot tolerate any tzaddik in the world because you are immersed in endless impurities. So Rebbe Nachman says: The first thing is to stop speaking about tzaddikim! Stop disparaging Rabbis! Stop thinking you are the most righteous person in the world.

The second task corresponds to the "intermediate ones" (beinonim). To know that I am less than the beinonim. Can you reach the level of a simple, innocent Jew who recites Tehillim (Psalms) with tears? Have you ever cried during a chapter of Tehillim?! There are simple Jews—they are beinonim, they are not Admorim, they are not Roshei Yeshivas—but they cry while reciting Tehillim. They open the Book of Psalms, and tears begin to fall from their eyes. Can you reach their levels? You do not reach the dust of their feet! So know that there are beinonim Jews who cling to Hashem all day long, and you are less than them.

So what is left for you to be proud of? Do you still want to be arrogant over someone? Perhaps over the wicked who desecrate Shabbat? Can you be proud because you feel you are more righteous than them? Regarding this, Rebbe Nachman says there is a third level of shiflus: "And before those smaller than him"... Do you know what a "wicked" Jew is? Do you have any comprehension of a Jew? In another second, he might do teshuvah (repentance) and surpass you by millions of levels, by millions of light-years. You will never be able to catch up to his pace. Do you know how many Shabbat desecrators have done teshuvah? How many people who ate on Yom Kippur have done teshuvah? Today they are already Roshei Yeshivas; they are already great tzaddikim themselves. Today, you cannot reach the dust of their feet. Rabbi Akiva used to say, "Who will give me a Torah scholar and I will bite him like a donkey," yet in the end, he became Rabbi Akiva, the leader of all Israel. So know that you can be lowly even towards the wicked.

The fourth and highest level of shiflus is "that he must minimize himself from his own level, and he should seem in his own eyes to be below his own level." No matter how much a person minimizes himself and knows he is small, he must know and believe that he is even smaller than he thinks!

These four levels of shiflus correspond to the four seasons of the year. One must believe that you are less than all the tzaddikim, which corresponds to the season of Nissan, Iyar, and Sivan. After that, believe that you are less than the beinonim, which corresponds to the season of Tammuz, Av, and Elul. After that, one must believe that even the wicked will all do teshuvah, and this corresponds to the season of Tishrei, Cheshvan, and Kislev. And when the season of Tevet, Shevat, and Adar arrives, one can merit the absolute peak of shiflus. This is Tu B'Shvat, which is the middle point of the fourth season, where one can merit reaching the shiflus of Moshe Rabbeinu—such shiflus where he knows he is endlessly and unfathomably bad, and he feels below his own level, down, down below, and he has no arrogance over any Jew in the world. All year long, a person works to see his own shiflus, to see his lack of da'at (knowledge/awareness), his lack of knowledge, his lack of understanding. "Look, here I made a mistake, here I made such a mistake, in every place I made a different mistake." Through this, a person acquires more shiflus and more shiflus.

The Baal Shem Tov said: How much must one work until one sees Elijah the Prophet in a dream? And how much must one work until one merits to say "Shalom" to Elijah the Prophet? And how much must one work for Elijah the Prophet to return the greeting? And how much must one work on shiflus and humility to study with Elijah the Prophet? And how much must one work so that Elijah the Prophet will wait for you at the door? Yet, with one thought of pride—thinking that he is better than some Jew in the world—it is possible to lose everything.

And together with the work of shiflus, a person must serve Hashem with all their energy, with peak energy—he is "Meretz" Haredi [energetic ultra-orthodox]—to serve Hashem with all energy, with peak joy, with peak enthusiasm. Because when a person merits feeling shiflus, suddenly he will feel that different blood is flowing in his veins. Simply put, the blood flows at a different pace, in a different way. Suddenly he will feel that everything has changed; his entire blood circulation has changed. Suddenly everything becomes light; all his limbs become light. Something new enters his limbs, his blood. Then a person will begin to feel a good life, an eternal life, a taste of the World to Come.