Parshas Nitzavim - Approaching Rosh Hashanah in Uman: The Secret of Nullification and the Search for the Tzaddik

"Would that I merit to see the clear light of the paths upon which you travel to me..." (Chayei Moharan 291).

When one travels to Rebbe Nachman, they receive fear of Heaven. Rebbe Nachman said, "I am a treasury of fear of Heaven." From every single step taken to travel to Rebbe Nachman, one receives awe; from every step, an angel is created. From every movement made for the sake of Rebbe Nachman, angels are created—another angel and yet another angel. Just from the journey alone, one merits to receive a great light. This is because Rebbe Nachman is fire. When we travel to Rebbe Nachman, we are traveling on paths of fire. Rebbe Nachman is a pillar of fire; the holy Rebbe was entirely a blazing flame for Hashem, blessed be He. He never looked at the physical world, he never listened to the mundane world, and absolutely nothing in this world interested him.

A person's entire spiritual work is to search for the true tzaddik, to discover who the true tzaddik is. In every generation, there is a true tzaddik. The moment a person knows who the true tzaddik is, he can draw down all the healing into the world, all the salvations into the world, because all salvations are in the hands of the tzaddik. Therefore, one must constantly search for the tzaddik. Even when a person already knows that there is Rebbe Nachman, he still does not truly know what Rebbe Nachman is!

The entire work of a person, from the day he is born until the day he passes away, is to search for the tzaddik. He must realize that no matter how much he has discovered about the tzaddik, he has still discovered nothing. Only when the tzaddik is something entirely new to him, and he searches for the tzaddik with all his might, will they grant him more life, and even more life. One must be very careful with this and know that this is exactly why he came into the world. This is why he was born. Everything he learns and everything he does is solely to seek and search for the true Rebbe.

Receiving Nefesh, Ruach, and Neshamah Through the Tzaddik

A person needs to receive the five levels of the soul: Nefesh (life-force), Ruach (spirit), Neshamah (higher soul), Chayah (living essence), and Yechidah (singular unity). The Arizal explains that through studying the Talmud and the Halachic deciders, both early and late commentators, one receives the Nefesh. It is possible that you have already received your Nefesh through Torah study. This is wonderful, because without Torah, one does not even have a Nefesh. However, you cannot advance further. If you do not search for the tzaddik, you cannot receive the Ruach, and you cannot receive the Neshamah. You will remain stuck at the exact same spiritual level.

Because only through the tzaddik can one receive the Ruach. This is what the Arizal explains regarding certain righteous people who pass away at a young age: because they studied Torah and merited to receive the Nefesh, but they did not search for the tzaddik, they remained at that same level (Nefesh). Therefore, they had nothing left to accomplish in this world. For this reason, we must always search and seek out the tzaddik with great intensity, for all salvations, all healings, and all blessings are with him, and he is the one who will give you the Ruach, the Neshamah, and the higher levels.

Reb Nosson says that a person must crawl on his hands and knees, seeking and searching for the tzaddik with all his strength throughout the entire world, just on the chance that he might find a single teaching from Rebbe Nachman. Wherever people are speaking about Rebbe Nachman, one must crawl there on his hands and knees, thinking: "Perhaps now I will receive a spiritual awakening; perhaps now I will finally know who Rebbe Nachman is; perhaps now I will grasp the true power of Rebbe Nachman..."

The Immense Loss of One Who Does Not Draw Near

The Rebbe said, "I have great pity on two groups of people: on those who could have drawn near to me but do not, and on those who do draw near to me but do not fulfill my words. For I know that there will come a time when a person will be lying on the ground with his feet facing the door (a reference to death), and then he will take a good look at himself and regret very, very deeply that he did not merit to draw near to me." (Chayei Moharan - His Journey to the Land of Israel - 354).

A person has already drawn near to Rebbe Nachman; he has already taken the step, abandoned the nonsense, left behind negative friends, and walked away from worldly careers. If you just make a little more effort to fulfill the words of Rebbe Nachman, then you will be able to receive your complete tikkun (rectification). There is no spiritual level that Rebbe Nachman cannot bring you to! Because after passing away, a person will truly realize what a massive and devastating loss he suffered by not listening to Rebbe Nachman.

Whoever knows of Rebbe Nachman and believes in Rebbe Nachman will be able to tangibly feel the Rebbe. When a person arrives in Uman, Rebbe Nachman elevates him to the very highest spiritual realms—to the level of Atika Kadisha (the Holy Ancient One). In Uman, one exists in the loftiest of worlds; by Rebbe Nachman, one can accomplish absolutely everything!

Receiving a New Soul on the Eve of Rosh Hashanah

If one comes to Rebbe Nachman and performs teshuvah (repentance), Vidui (confession prayer), expresses regret, and makes a resolution for the future, then they can merit to receive a new *Nefesh*, a new *Ruach*, a new *Neshamah*, a new *Chayah*, and a new *Yechidah*. During Rebbe Nachman's lifetime, there were 600 people at the Rosh Hashanah gathering, and the Rebbe received each and every one of them from 8:00 in the morning until 6:00 in the evening. This means that each person was with Rebbe Nachman for only a single minute!

Yet, the moment a person entered the Rebbe's room, he would immediately remember all his sins from the day he was born. He would begin to confess, and streams of tears would burst from his eyes like a river. After he managed to say just a few words, Rebbe Nachman would send him outside, telling him to continue his Vidui (confession prayer) outdoors. Therefore, we must come to Rebbe Nachman, remember everything we have been through, and shed rivers of tears; then we will merit to receive a completely new Nefesh, Ruach, Neshamah, Chayah, and Yechidah.

When we merit to come to the holy Tziyon (gravesite) and prostrate ourselves upon it, the Rebbe speaks to us, whispers in our ears, encourages us, and listens to our weeping. People who have never cried a day in their lives suddenly feel something enter them that causes them to weep; the soul of Moshe, the soul of our holy Rebbe, has impregnated them (a spiritual infusion).

The Secret of Nullification: There is None Besides Him

When people come to the holy Tziyon, they often think: "Will I have a spiritual awakening? Will I feel something?" These thoughts are a mistake. The essence of Rosh Hashanah is not about feelings, nor is it about emotional awakenings. Rather, the essence of Rosh Hashanah is purely bitul (self-nullification)—to reach a state of absolute nothingness. It is to stand at the Tziyon and pray, to reach the peak of nullification, to feel the Infinite Light, and to know with absolute certainty that there is none besides Him.

There is only Hashem in the world! There is absolutely nothing in the world besides Him. Our entire purpose in coming to the Tziyon of our holy Rebbe is to crown Hashem as King and to know that there is none besides Him. This is why on Rosh Hashanah we declare, "The King." We did not come to make requests, and we did not come to receive prizes; rather, our entire arrival at the holy Tziyon is simply to know that "there is none besides Him"!

In the Light of the King's Countenance: Removing the Coin from the Eyes

"Ein Od Milvado" (There is none besides Him) is an encompassing light. It surrounds us. It warms us. That is why we are able to hold on. But it is not yet internalized within us. It does not yet permeate us. Every minute we get confused, and every minute we run to the kitchen to eat something, and we are constantly picking up the phone to unburden our hearts; we have not yet truly reached "Ein Od Milvado."

From the moment a child is born, he is already told this and taught this. He recites, "Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad" (Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One). He is told that apart from Hashem, there is absolutely nothing in the world. We are all completely nullified to Hashem; only He exists, He is One, and there is none besides Him. And so, throughout the years, year after year, the child learns, and the parents learn alongside their children, yet reality slaps them in the face in all sorts of ways.

Thus, we are told and taught that in truth, everything that happens to us in life—both the good things and the things that seem less good to us—is actually all good. With Hashem, everything is good. However, what appears to us as better, what appears as less good, and what we fail to understand as good, are all essentially spiritual levels, stages, and means designed to bring us to a profound realization. This way, at least when we depart from this world, we can merit to attain the pure essence of the understanding and spiritual grasp that there is none besides Him.

Even though in this physical world, in absolute truth, it is impossible to merit this perfectly—except for Moshe Rabbeinu, the man of God, and tzaddikim of his caliber. It is impossible to truly merit feeling this sensation in its absolute perfection, but everyone must strive toward it. We must climb the ladder day by day, constantly seeking to understand more and more the ultimate meaning of "Ein Od Milvado."

From a Dim Glass to a Luminous Glass

There is an aspaklaria meira (a luminous glass, representing clear prophetic vision) and an aspaklaria she'eina meira (a dim glass). A luminous glass means seeing "Ein Od Milvado" with one hundred percent perfection. We must merit to continuously climb another step and yet another step on the ladder, ascending from the level of the dim glass to the luminous glass. For within everyone, there is some aspect of the dim glass; a person sees something, feels something—everyone feels Godliness to some degree.

But we must constantly grow in our understanding that everything that happens to us in life is entirely composed of Divine hints. These hints come to tell us that we must feel and sense the luminous glass even more, to the best of our ability, realizing that "Ein Od Milvado"—there is truly nothing else! What does it mean that there is nothing else? It means there is no other true substance or reality—only Hashem. Once we internalize this, it will be much easier to understand and accept whatever happens to us, and ultimately, to delight in this wonderful message.

We can delight in the wondrous Godliness, in this magnificent pleasure that Hashem essentially wants to give us. He wants to grant us the wonderful feeling that we have a Merciful Father who bestows all good upon us, both in material matters and, even more so, in spiritual matters. He gives us a true taste for life, joy in life, understanding in life, and the correct perspective to navigate this world in the right way.

Every single moment of life is filled with struggles. We struggle to climb another step and yet another step on the ladder, to draw closer to the luminous glass, to the pure understanding that "Ein Od Milvado." We live in a world of partitions, in a world of fog, trapped within a physical body, immersed in a tremendous amount of materialism. The more coarse and materialistic a person is, the larger the shadow he casts, and this shadow obstructs the Divine light from reaching him.

The Baal Shem Tov zy"a said: It is a pity that a small coin held in front of the eyes can conceal an entire world from a person. The world is so vast and magnificent, yet this small coin hides the light of Hashem from a person, as well as the light of the tzaddikim, the light of the sun, and all the spiritual lights. If he would only move that coin slightly away from his eye, he would be able to see Hashem as well. The eyes are capable of seeing Divine visions. A person can literally merit Ruach HaKodesh (Divine Inspiration) with his eyes. But instead, we busy ourselves with pettiness: "This one did this to me," and "That one said this to me," and so on. A person finds himself in darkness, but he must illuminate that darkness. How? By understanding that "Ein Od Milvado."

Stories for Rosh Hashanah: The Power of a Broken Heart

On Rosh Hashanah, two chassidim sat in the corner of the study hall of the Rebbe, Maran Maharash zy"a, whispering quietly to one another. Maran Maharash sent his son, Maran Mahari zy"a, to listen in on the conversation of these two chassidim. The son approached the two men without them noticing that someone was listening to their voices. Suddenly, one of the chassidim was heard saying, "Oy! Today is Rosh Hashanah! With what can we possibly come before the King of kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He, who examines the innermost thoughts and the heart, on this great and awesome Day of Judgment...?"

His friend sighed along with him, and both of them sank into a deep silence, gazing at each other for a long time in a piercing, screaming silence. When Maran Mahari returned and told his father what the two chassidim were discussing and what they had said, his father revealed to him that at the exact moment those two chassidim were speaking to one another, there was a terrible heavenly prosecution taking place. Against every word of defense, the prosecuting angel brought decisive counterarguments to accuse the Jewish people, Heaven forbid.

When the defending angel tried to argue that the Jewish people give tzedakah (charity), the Satan countered that the nations of the world also give charity, and he even brought proofs to support his claim. For every good deed of the Jewish people, the Satan brought up the good deeds of the other nations. Suddenly, a great and heavy sigh ascended on high—a sigh that emerged from the broken and crushed hearts of these two Jews over their sins and transgressions.

Immediately, the defending angel rose and declared: "Master of the Universe! You have no other nation or tongue whose hearts break within them simply because they have sinned against You. As it is written, 'A broken and crushed heart, O God, You will not despise.' This unique merit of a 'broken heart' belongs exclusively to the Jewish people!" Faced with this irrefutable claim, the Satan was silenced, and all his accusations were completely shut down.

(May it be the will of our Father in Heaven, that in the merit of the Torah study, the prayers, and the tzedakah that we fulfill, the claims of the Satan against the Jewish people should be completely silenced, and may we all be written and sealed for a good life and for peace. Amen, may it be His will.)

Please Do Not Shame Us

Once, a woman entered the room of the holy Tzaddik of Apta, seeking to place a kvittel (a note of requests) on his table, as is the custom among chassidim. However, the Tzaddik signaled to his attendant not to allow the woman to approach his table. He called out to her in a tone of stern rebuke: "Just yesterday you committed such-and-such a sin! How dare you cross the threshold of my home today?!"

The woman turned pale upon hearing the Tzaddik's harsh rebuke, but she quickly recovered from her shock. With tear-filled eyes, she said to him: "The Holy One, Blessed be He, knows every single sin of every single person, yet He does not shame the sinner. In fact, He even grants them forgiveness and atonement for every sin and iniquity. And you, the Rebbe of Apta, cannot restrain yourself from publicly revealing the disgrace of a poor, broken woman who is simply seeking forgiveness and pardon for her sin?!"

The Tzaddik did not respond to the woman at that moment. Instead, he signaled to his attendant to take the kvittel from her hand. As he read what was written on the note, tears streamed from his eyes out of deep emotion... Later, when he recounted the incident to his disciples and close followers, he nodded his head and remarked: "No person has ever defeated me in an argument, except for this simple woman, who was absolutely right in every single word she spoke to my ears today..."

Torah Tidbits: The Shabbos Mevarchim of the Month of Tishrei

"You are standing today, all of you, before Hashem your God" (Devarim 29:9)

The Shabbos of Parashas Nitzavim, which is adjacent to Rosh Hashanah, is not a "Shabbos Mevarchim" (the Shabbos when the new month is blessed) like other Shabbosos adjacent to a Rosh Chodesh, where the upcoming month is blessed with a special prayer. And why is this so? In order to confuse the Satan, who seeks to prosecute the Jewish people, so that he will not know when Rosh Hashanah falls.

A hint to this is found in the following verse, which mentions Rosh Hashanah: "Blow the shofar at the moon's renewal, at the appointed time (bakeseh - literally, in concealment) for our festive day" (Tehillim 81:4) – meaning that the festive day (Rosh Hashanah, which falls on Rosh Chodesh) should remain concealed, and they should not publicize it to the masses.

Regarding this matter, an interesting tradition is brought in the name of the tzaddik Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad Chassidus, and these are his words: "When I was in Mezritch, I heard from my teacher and master, the Maggid Rabbi Dov of Mezritch, in the name of his teacher, the Baal Shem Tov (the Besht): The seventh month (Tishrei), which is the first month of the new year – Hashem Himself blesses it on 'Shabbos Mevarchim' (the Shabbos before Rosh Hashanah), and with this power, the Jewish people bless the rest of the months of the year."