Rabbi Ofer Erez "Ohr HaDa'at" Parshat Lech Lecha

The Story of 'The King and the Emperor'

With Hashem's help, we will begin studying the second story in Sippurei Ma'asiyot (The Tales of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov), called "The Tale of the King and the Emperor." We have mentioned in the past that the Sippurei Ma'asiyot contain hints and parables for secrets and very deep wisdom regarding the way the Holy One, Blessed be He, leads the world. Reb Nosson writes about the Sippurei Ma'asiyot that no matter how much we expound upon them, we are merely touching a drop in the ocean; yet for us, even this drop is a great deal, as we have almost no grasp of this story. Rebbe Nachman begins the tale thus: 'There was an Emperor who had no children. There was also a King who had no children. The Emperor traveled across the land to wander and seek, perhaps he might find some advice or remedy to beget children. The King also traveled in the same manner, and they both happened upon the same inn, not knowing of one another. The Emperor recognized in the King that he possessed the demeanor (of royalty) and asked him, and he admitted he was a King. The King also recognized the Emperor, and he admitted it as well. They informed one another that they were traveling for the sake of children. They formed a pact: if they returned home and their wives gave birth to a male and a female in a way that they could marry—then they would intermarry. The Emperor traveled home and begot a daughter, and the King traveled home and begot a son, and the aforementioned pact was forgotten by them...

The Emperor's Daughter is Sad

...The Emperor sent his daughter to study, and the King also sent his son to study, and they both happened to be with the same tutor. They loved each other very much, and they made a pact between them that they would marry one another. The Prince took a ring and placed it on her hand, and they were betrothed. Afterward, the Emperor sent for his daughter and brought her home. The King also sent for his son and brought him home. They spoke of matches (shidduchim) for the Emperor's daughter, but she did not want any match due to the aforementioned bond. The Prince pined (miga'aga) for her greatly.' (Here Rebbe Nachman intentionally uses words that are not grammatically precise in our usage; he should have said the Prince 'mitga'aga' [is missing/longing], but Rebbe Nachman uses the word 'miga'aga' [pining/quacking] very much after her. Reb Nosson writes about this, stating that Rebbe Nachman changed the language intentionally). 'The Emperor's daughter was also always sad. The Emperor would take her to his courtyards and show her his greatness—but she remained sad. The Prince pined for her greatly until he fell ill, and no matter what they asked him: Why are you ill? He did not want to say... Then the King remembered that he had already betrothed himself to the Emperor previously. He went and wrote to the Emperor to prepare himself for the wedding because they had already made a pact previously. The Emperor did not want to, but he could not refuse, so he replied that the King should send his son to him, and he would see if he could govern states; then he would marry his daughter to him. The King sent his son to the Emperor, and he longed greatly to see her, but it was not possible for him to see her.

The Prince Gets Lost

One time he walked near a wall with a mirror (aspaklaria), and he saw her (through the mirror), and he fell down in a faint. She came to him, shook him awake, and told him that she did not want any match due to the bond with him. He said to her: What shall we do, as your father does not wish it? She said: Even so. Afterward, they consulted to set sail on the sea; they hired a ship and set sail. They came to a 'border' (the seashore) and there was a forest there. Afterward, they went to the ship, and in the meantime, she remembered they had forgotten the ring there, and she sent him after the ring. He went there and could not find the place, until he wandered astray and could not return.

The Ring is the Connection

..And she went to look for him and also wandered astray (they did not find each other).' In practice, up to here is the beginning of the story: The Emperor begot a daughter and the King begot a son. If we contemplate, we see that the connection between the Emperor's daughter and the Prince recurs. This connection is expressed and then immediately they are separated; again there is a connection and immediately they are separated. The first connection was before they were born; the Emperor and the King determined between them that if they begot a son and daughter, they would marry them. Afterward, they met unintentionally (with the mirror) and immediately there was love between them because they are truly a couple from before they were born. In this meeting, he gave her the ring, which is another stage of connection between them. The ring is essentially the creation of the bond between them; therefore, in Kiddushin (marriage), the groom gives the bride a ring which creates the bond of marriage between groom and bride, but despite all this, they were separated again. Afterward, they met in the Emperor's palace, and because the Emperor did not want this wedding (Rebbe Nachman does not explain to us why), they decided to flee together, and then the ring disappeared—meaning, the foundation of the connection between them disappeared.

The Connection is Great

As a result of the foundation of their connection disappearing, they are separated for a long time. In the end, they are destined to meet, but now there is a very great separation that lasts a long time. The foundation in Sippurei Ma'asiyot is that each of the characters and the events that occur hint at very, very high spiritual matters. Rabbi Nachman of Tcherin says that the Emperor's Daughter is the Holy Shechinah (Divine Presence) or the collective souls of Israel. Every Jew is hinted at in the secret of the Emperor's Daughter. The Prince hints at our connection with the Holy One, Blessed be He, because in the foundation and the inner root, every Jewish soul is a 'portion of God from above' that is very connected and bound to the Holy One, Blessed be He. The Prince hints at the connection. Our connection with Hashem is made through Torah, Emunah (faith), love of Hashem, and Devekut (cleaving) to the Holy One, Blessed be He. Rebbe Nachman teaches us a very great principle here. Even before the Emperor's Daughter and the Prince came into the world, the King and the Emperor determined between them that there would be a wedding in the future. Before Hashem created the world and Adam and Eve, it is written in the Midrash that Israel arose in thought first; the meaning is that the eternal and fixed connection between Hashem and the souls of Israel already existed. Our connection and bond with Hashem existed even before the world was created.

The Foundation of Connection and Separation

We see that there was a connection and bonding between the Emperor's Daughter and the Prince, and then the matter was forgotten, as if the thing did not exist. There is no expression of the magnitude of the bond and connection that existed between us and Hashem at the time of the world's creation. The Arizal writes that there was never a man (not even Moshe Rabbeinu at Mount Sinai) who was at the level of Adam and Eve before the sin. At the hour Adam and Eve were created, there was a very great connection. Within Adam and Eve were all the souls of Israel; Adam HaRishon included all the males, and Eve was connected to all the females, and then there was a very great bonding and connection between Adam and Eve and the Holy One, Blessed be He. But immediately a separation was created, which is the sin. The sin causes separation, which is the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, and in fact, until Mashiach Tzidkenu comes, the connection between the Emperor's Daughter (souls of Israel) and the Prince (Hashem) will not return. In fact, all of creation is made upon this foundation: that there is connection and there is separation.

What do the King and the Emperor Hint At?

A Jewish person is in pain when he distances himself from Hashem. Every concealment and descent causes us very great pain, but at the same time, one must know: The concealment we are going through causes there to be now a completely new connection and revelation between us and

Hashem.

Rebbe Nachman says that the King and the Emperor had already determined between them that there would be a wedding. The King and the Emperor hint at two supernal spiritual attributes called in the language of the Holy Zohar and Kabbalah: 'Chochmah' (Wisdom) and 'Binah' (Understanding). These are supernal attributes of Hashem with which He established the connection between us and Him at the creation of the world and the creation of Man. According to what Rebbe Nachman says, this connection was created even before the creation of the world.

A Very Great Light of Shidduchim (Matches)

There are two days in the year when a very great light of shidduchim (matches) would descend. In the Mishnah at the end of Tractate Taanit, it is written: There were no good days for Israel like Tu B'Av (the 15th of Av) and Yom Kippur, on which the daughters of Israel would go out to the vineyards and dance in white garments, and the young men would come and find their mate. There is a very big question here: How could the Sages send the daughters to dance and the young men to find a match for themselves? What about the Yetzer Hara (Evil Inclination)?? And who said every young man would know who his true mate is? Seemingly, this contradicts and opposes the Holy Torah. The 'Bnei Yissaschar' answers that on the aforementioned days, a light of true soulmates would descend to the world, and the Sages knew with Ruach HaKodesh (Divine Inspiration) that there is no reality where finding favor would occur unless it is the true soulmate. When the real light descends, then only a young man and woman who are a couple in the supernal root—only there will finding favor occur. The Sages saw that such great holiness descends to the world, and they did not fear there would be a reality of the Yetzer Hara.

Wedding on Yom Kippur

The 'Bnei Yissaschar' asks regarding the above: What happened on these two days that specifically on them such a light of holiness of finding matches descends to the world? The Bnei Yissaschar answers that Yom Kippur can be explained because, as is known, on Yom Kippur Moshe Rabbeinu descended with the Second Tablets to Mount Sinai, and at the hour Moshe Rabbeinu descended with the Tablets and gave them to the Nation of Israel, it was like a wedding canopy (Chuppah) between the souls of Israel and Hashem. At the time of the Giving of the Torah, there was a very great bonding between all the souls of Israel and Hashem, like a wedding. What happened afterward—the Sin of the Golden Calf, the destruction of the Temple, etc.—is called 'problems in Shalom Bayit (marital peace),' but there is no divorce here. The true Tzaddikim advise us on how to make Shalom Bayit. The wedding itself was on Yom Kippur; the Tablets created a very great bonding and connection between us and Hashem. According to this, we understand why on Yom Kippur such a great light of matches descended. If so, what is the connection to Tu B'Av? Why did this great light descend on Tu B'Av as well? The Bnei Yissaschar explains: Adam HaRishon was created on the 1st of Tishrei, but on the 25th of Elul, which is the first day of the world's creation, all of creation arose in the thought of Hashem Yitbarach. It is written in the Gemara that forty days before the formation of the fetus, they announce in Heaven: 'The daughter of Ploni to the son of Ploni.' The meaning is that 40 days before conception, they already announce in Heaven who the son of Ploni will marry.

40 Days Before the Creation of the World

The Bnei Yissaschar says that the 25th of Elul is the day of the formation of the fetus; it is the day on which it arose in thought to create Adam and Eve. And forty days prior, they announced 'the daughter of Ploni to the son of Ploni.' If we count forty days before the 25th of Elul, it comes out to Tu B'Av, and then in Heaven they announced: The son of Ploni—which is Hashem—to the daughter of Ploni—which is the souls of Israel. Already then, the connection and bond between the collective souls of Israel and Hashem was established. Rebbe Nachman says that the King and the Emperor (which are the supernal spiritual attributes called Chochmah and Binah) established the foundation of the bonding and connection between Hashem and the souls of Israel; therefore, it hints at Tu B'Av. The matter of the first coupling that arose in creation was on Tu B'Av, which is 40 days before the creation of the world. We see that immediately when Adam HaRishon was created, there was separation and expulsion from the Garden of Eden. One must know a great rule: What was, is what will be. The foundations that existed at the creation of the world exist in each of us individually. Just as the entire process of creation is bonding, connection, and concealment, and once again bonding and connection and once again concealment, and so on—so it happens all our lives between us and Hashem. Therefore, there is what we call: ascents and descents (aliyot v'yeridot). An ascent is when a person feels a connection and bonding with Hashem and with the Torah and Mitzvot.

Suddenly a Person Wakes Up in the Morning and...

Descents are a state of concealment of the Face (Hester Panim). Suddenly, a person does not understand; after all, he did everything in his power and he made efforts, and in the last three months he was like one of the great Tzaddikim of the generation. He thought that from now on everything was going to be proper and orderly, but suddenly he wakes up in the morning and feels nothing. Rebbe Nachman tells us a very important principle in the way of the world's creation: There is bonding and connection, and then there is separation, and after the separation comes the bonding again, and then again separation. In order to achieve a new bonding and connection—meaning, to reveal a new level and path—the person must first pass through concealment and descent, which is actually the preparation for the new bonding and connection. There is a very great secret in this.

In Very Great Pain, and Justly So.

One of the greatest Kabbalists who lived about 120 years ago—the author of the 'Leshem Shevo V'Achlama' and the book 'HaDe'ah'—writes a very great thing about the aforementioned principle: When we go through concealment, hiding, and spiritual descent, we are in very great pain, and justly so. A Jewish person suffers when he distances himself from Hashem because, from the perspective of the inner essence of our soul, it only wants to feel the bonding and connection with Hashem. Therefore, every concealment and descent causes us very great pain, but at the same time, one must know a very deep principle: The hiding and concealment we are going through creates and causes there to be now a completely new bonding and revelation between us and Hashem.

'He Set an End to Darkness'

This is a very great rule: Every concealment is a cause for a connection that could not have existed had this concealment not happened now. This whole reality of concealment and descent and afterwards revelation—all this is temporary, it is not for all eternity, and about this it is written: 'He set an end to darkness.' All this is destined to end, and the whole world, especially the souls of Israel, is destined to reach a completely new place of bonding and connection with Hashem that will be eternal and without interruption. The 'Leshem' says that because we passed through 6000 years of descents, difficulties, and struggles in this world, in the merit of passing through this place, the connection and pleasure that will exist in the future between Hashem and the souls of Israel will be much greater and more complete than what would have been had we not passed through this entire path. We always need to remember this point because King Solomon says that this world is full of anger and pains; a person goes through much sorrow in this world. But on the other side of things, one must always remember this point: that truly, in the merit of us passing through all the tribulations of this world with all the difficulties and all the struggles, the connection, the bond, and the pleasure that will be in the future to come will be infinitely greater than what would have been had we not passed through all this. Therefore, Hashem Himself wanted this entire path with all the difficulties and all the transitions and all the struggles we are going through today.

The Concealment Over the Difficulties

Many times when we are in this world, we cry out and we suffer because it hurts us, but this is truly from what we feel now. But if each of us saw for one second what is being made from this and what will be in the future to come, it would nullify all the difficulty of this world, because every time we had a difficulty, we would remember what it does and immediately go out in dancing and circles. There are always these two aspects: on one hand, we go through difficulty and pain, but on the other hand, we have knowledge within us that all this is destined to flip and become such a great light and pleasure, and this would give us the strength to suffer all the sorrow of this world. According to this principle, they ask a very big question: What was the whole matter of the sin of Adam HaRishon? Adam HaRishon was created in the Garden of Eden in a spiritual place of very great Devekut (cleaving) to Hashem, and immediately when he was created, Hashem said to him: I give you positive commandments and negative commandments. Positive commandments are to eat from every tree of the garden, which hints at very high spiritual work that Adam HaRishon had—of prayers, intentions (kavanot), unifications (yichudim), and rectifying creation...

The Snake 'Tells Stories' to Eve

The negative commandment that Adam HaRishon was commanded is: Do not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. An hour later Eve was created. Immediately when she was created,

Every concealment is a cause for a connection that could not have existed had this concealment not happened now. This whole reality of concealment and descent and afterwards revelation—all this is temporary, it is not for all eternity, and about this it is written: 'He set an end to darkness'

Adam HaRishon told her that there is a tree that Hashem said not to eat from, and he also warned her not to approach it and not to touch it. Eve began to walk in the garden, and then the Snake met her and asked her: What about the Tree of Knowledge? Eve answered: Hashem commanded us not to eat and not to touch it lest we die. The Snake, who was more cunning than any beast of the field, entered into a conversation with her and then pushed her, and she touched the tree and saw that she did not die. The Snake said to her: You see, it is not so clear if you will die when you eat; the fact is you touched the tree and did not die. Eve asked him if there was anything else he knew about the tree? The Snake said to her: I will tell you the secret of this tree; if you eat from this tree, you will be like God, 'knowers of good and evil.' Rashi explains: You too will be creators of worlds; meaning, you will receive the power to create worlds like Hashem (this is what the Snake tells Eve). The Snake said to her: Every artisan does not want partners in his craft. Hashem created the world and He did not want partners.

The Snake's Foolish Argument

We know that Eve saw that the tree was good for food and a delight to the eyes, she took and ate. Afterward, she came to Adam HaRishon and said to him: Do you want Shalom Bayit?! Start eating from the tree. Eve did not give Adam a choice. It is written that Hashem asked Adam HaRishon: Did you eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? Adam HaRishon said to Him: "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." Eve gave him to eat from the fruit of the tree and not from the tree itself. Why does Adam HaRishon say that Eve gave him to eat from the tree? The 'Baal HaTurim' says: From here we learn that Eve took a piece of the wood of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and with it, she gave Adam blows, and afterward told him to eat from the tree. If we contemplate the depth of the matter: Adam and Eve are the perfection and crown of creation; there was no man who reached their spiritual level before they sinned. Suddenly the Snake comes and says to Eve (and Adam also accepts this claim): If you eat from the tree you will also create worlds, therefore Hashem does not want you to eat from the tree. If today the Yetzer Hara would come and tell a person: Hashem tells you not to do a certain sin because He knows that if you do this sin you will be like Hashem—then a normal person would certainly not accept such a strange claim. So how did Adam and Eve, who were so high in their wisdom and knowledge (Da'at), accept the foolish claim of the Snake?! It is illogical.

The Snake Reveals a Secret

This question is a very difficult question. I heard a very great principle from one of the Tzaddikim who said: If you see a difficulty in the Torah where the simple meaning (pshat) is illogical, it is a sign that they are hinting to you that here one must look into the depth of things. The difficulties awaken us to search in the depth of things, and so it is here. By force of these questions, we must understand that truly one cannot understand the explanation simply as Rashi explains to us, that the Snake said to her 'and you shall be like God,' meaning that you will be on a level like Hashem, creators of worlds. Rather, the conversation of the Snake with Eve and what Eve later conveyed to Adam were very deep conversations. The Snake was very wise, and he came and argued a very great claim before Eve: Why did Hashem create the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? You have a test in this, and Hashem knows that when a person has tests and withstands them, then he reaches a higher spiritual level. The Snake says to her: I will reveal a secret to you. If you do not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, in a few hours Shabbat enters, and then you will have withstood the test and the world will reach its complete rectification (tikkun); evil will be nullified from the world, and this is one way to rectify the world. But know that if you eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, you will create worlds as well. 'World' (Olam) comes from the language of concealment (Helem) and hiding. The Snake said to her: This is the hard path to rectifying the world. If you eat from the Tree of Knowledge, you will create more worlds—meaning, more spiritual concealments and hidings. It is true that this is a hard path, but at the end of this path, the world will be much more complete than the easy path, because you yourselves will cause there to be more hidings and concealments, and every concealment creates a new revelation. If you volunteer for this thing, know that you are going on a hard path, but ultimately a much more complete and eternal world will sprout from it.

The Great Test of Adam and Eve

The test of Adam and Eve was for Man to descend into very great concealment and hiding, with the knowledge that the path would be hard, but ultimately the world would be much more complete. Adam and Eve chose this path. There is no one who knows if they were right in their path; only Mashiach Tzidkenu will tell us if they were right in this matter. But the reality is that because of eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam and Eve descended countless spiritual levels, death was decreed upon the world, and the expulsion from the Garden of Eden was decreed. All the exiles and all the suffering the world goes through were decreed from this thing. By eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, it was caused that there would be more concealments and more hidings, and every hiding and every concealment creates a new revelation. The question of Adam and Eve was whether to choose the hard path and create more hidings and more concealments? Adam and Eve chose this path.

The Sin of Adam HaRishon - Complete Duress

There is a dispute among the commentators and we have no clear knowledge in the matter, but there are Tzaddikim like Rabbi Yehuda Fatiyah (one of the greatest Kabbalists in Baghdad) and other commentators who say explicitly that the sin of Adam HaRishon was complete duress (ones gamur). When Adam HaRishon saw the tree, as it were, he had no choice and he was compelled to eat from it. Through eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the entire order of descent into this world was established, which is that every time it repeats: concealment and revelation, concealment and revelation. In a certain aspect, Adam HaRishon was truly right; there is a side here that this sin was for the sake of Heaven, and a great good is destined to sprout as a result of this entire process. They don't ask us anymore; we are in a reality that was determined for us of hiding and concealment. But the Tzaddikim write that as a result of this, there will be a new revelation. There is a hint that Rebbe Nachman says: There is a melody (niggun) (Rebbe Nachman knew it) and this melody will be the World to Come of all the souls of Israel and of all the Tzaddikim.

A Veteran Student in Yavneh

There is a Gemara in Tractate Eruvin (Page 13b) that says: There was an incident with a veteran student in Yavneh who could purify a creeping thing (sheretz) with 150 reasons. The simple explanation of the Gemara refers to the students of Rabbi Meir who were such great sages in Torah that they would debate the opposite of the Halacha. According to the Torah, a creeping thing is impure and cannot be purified, but the veteran student had such power of dialectics (pilpul) and sharpness in Torah that he could state 150 reasons why this creeping thing is pure. The reality is that this creeping thing is impure and the 150 reasons were not true reasons, but the veteran student was so sharp and wise that he could purify the creeping thing with 150 reasons. The 'Tosafot' immediately ask: What wisdom is it to say 150 dialectics and reasons that are the opposite of the truth? What is the wisdom in this? Aside from the simple meaning in the Mishnah and Gemara, there are very great secrets in this: In the hint of the matter, the veteran student is the souls of the Messiahs, Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David. 'Veteran student' (Talmid Vatik) in Gematria comes out to 1000, and Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David is also 1000 in Gematria. There is also a secret in this: 'The thousand is for you, Solomon' (Song of Songs 8:12) and 'The smallest shall become a thousand' (Isaiah 60:22), which refers to Mashiach ben David. The entire Redemption (Geulah) is called 'in the secret of the Aleph' (Thousand).

The Whole World Will Repent

The veteran student (which is the secret of the Aleph) was in Yavneh. Yavneh is the letters of Binah (Understanding), from where the whole world will be built (yibaneh), as it is written that the spiritual level destined to be revealed and redeem the world is 'Binah Ila'ah' (Supernal Understanding), which is 'Blow the great Shofar for our freedom.' The blowing of the Shofar that will be heard is an illumination from this place called Binah (Yavneh). The moment this is revealed to the world, such a great spiritual light will be revealed that the entire world will repent (do teshuvah) and draw close to Hashem. The veteran student would purify the creeping thing with 150 reasons (ta'amim). The 'ta'amim' are the melodies; the melodies of the Torah are called ta'amim (cantillation marks), which is the highest level. The creeping thing (sheretz) is all the types of impurity within us. In the chamber of 'Kan Tzippor' (Bird's Nest—which is the 150 reasons/ta'amim [Gematria of Kan Tzippor is 150 + stake]), there are such melodies that the moment the veteran student, who is the secret of Mashiach, reveals them in the world, he will purify all the types of creeping things in the world. These melodies are revealed specifically in the merit of the great concealment we are going through. The concealment is the cause of the revelation for all these melodies. This is what Rebbe Nachman says, that he has such a melody which is the World to Come of the Tzaddikim, because the light and the melody that will be in the future to come is drawn from that same place, which is the world of Binah Ila'ah and the world of Teshuvah.

Hashem, We Love You

We see what great power a melody has. Sometimes a person feels a bit depressed, has no mood, and is a bit weak, but it is a very great wonder: when he hears a melody he loves, in less than a second the person's entire spiritual state can change. In one moment, the melody can flip the person's entire soul. The deep reason for this is that the melodies are drawn from such a high place, and they can change the person's entire reality in one moment. These are the melodies of today, but when in the future to come the '150 reasons' are revealed—which are the melodies of the chamber of Kan Tzippor (the revelation of Mashiach Tzidkenu)—then in one moment the entire world will flip. Rebbe Nachman says that the Mashiach will not conquer the world with wars; he will only reveal melodies. He will send one melody by email to the USA, and all the residents will go out to the streets and start singing: 'Hashem, we love You.' This is the secret of the 150 reasons drawn from the chamber of Kan Tzippor.

Rebbe Nachman Throws Us into Problems

In Chayei Moharan, Rebbe Nachman says that between him and Mashiach there will be no difference, except that Mashiach will be revealed and he will redeem the world in a revealed way, but what Mashiach has to reveal and illuminate to the Nation of Israel, Rebbe Nachman already has, except that with Rebbe Nachman it is in concealment and covering. This is a very, very complex statement that Rebbe Nachman said: 'Between me and Mashiach there is no difference.' Years ago I heard from Rabbi Dorfman zt"l (of blessed memory) in Uman: Truly, in the advice, in the teachings (Torahs), in the Sippurei Ma'asiyot, and in Likutey Moharan, there is already everything that Mashiach is destined to reveal; now our task is to toil over it. The foundation of the matter is that Rebbe Nachman begins to reveal within the advice and within the Torahs the melodies from the chamber of Kan Tzippor. In this world, there are concealments, hidings, and problems, and many times Rebbe Nachman does not help us solve the problems, and not only that, but sometimes we see that Rebbe Nachman throws us into the problems; he seemingly ties us to the problems.

Tikkun HaKlali (General Rectification) or Kilkul HaKlali (General Spoilage)

May it be His will that we merit... Shabbat Shalom !

An avreich (young married student) approached me and told me that he was in Uman once for Rosh Hashanah. He asked me if he could annul the trip, as if he had never been to Uman? I asked him why? He said that until he traveled, he had a quiet and tranquil life; since he said the Tikkun HaKlali, he feels a 'Kilkul HaKlali' (General Spoilage). He said that all the problems of the world started falling on him since he traveled. Many times when drawing close to the Tzaddik, one sees that one does not get out of problems so quickly, so where is the light of Mashiach here? Reb Nosson says a very deep point: Rebbe Nachman does not solve your problems; rather, Rebbe Nachman gives you Da'at (knowledge/mindset) and tools on how to live correctly with the problems, and this is the point of Redemption. If one solves the problem but the reality of the problem still remains, it is still not an internal and deep solution. The internal and deep solution is when a person is within a certain problem and receives such Da'at to see that it is not a problem; this is already the solution of Mashiach Tzidkenu himself, because it does not change the reality in which we find ourselves, but rather it changes our Da'at regarding how to look at the reality. When we change the Da'at of how to look at the reality, that is the true Geulah.

'All His Events are for His Good'

Adam HaRishon sinned with the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Before he sinned with the tree, he had glasses through which he looked at creation and saw that everything was good. The moment he ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, he began to see that there is both good and bad, and this is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil—meaning there is a mind to see good things and a mind to see bad things. The Tzaddik, who is Mashiach Tzidkenu, will reveal to the whole world the opposite of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and this is what Rebbe Nachman says in Torah 4 in Likutey Moharan: 'When a person knows that all his events are for his good, this aspect is a taste of the World to Come.' This is the complete rectification of the person, when a person knows and grasps that all his events are for his good. When Mashiach Tzidkenu comes, he will reveal to us that everything is good, and this will nullify all the Yetzer Hara from the world, because all the grip and power of the Yetzer Hara is that we still think, understand, and believe that there is bad. The melodies of the Torah and of the Tzaddik are to reveal to us how everything is tremendous and infinite kindnesses, but even if we know this in our intellect, the whole difficulty is returning it to the heart. The path of the Tzaddik is to reveal this thing to us, but afterward to help us all the days of our lives to return it to the heart. The entire point of the Tzaddik is to rectify joy.

The Tzaddik Rectifies Joy

When a person knows that everything is good and everything is for the best without exception, this is the complete redemption of the person. If a person had a certain difficulty and he solved that difficulty, he still has not rectified himself in that he saw a 'not good' thing; therefore, the rectification is that the problem remains and the person knows that this problem is good. This point is a very deep point and it is called 'Rectification of the Da'at' (Tikkun HaDa'at). Many times Rebbe Nachman does not help us get out of the problems, but he helps us how to look correctly at the problems—meaning, how to turn the problems in our Da'at into good, and this is the complete Geulah. The connection between the Emperor's Daughter and the King is the connection between us and Hashem, and so on repeatedly. There is revelation and afterward there is concealment again, but every concealment is in order to create a reality for a new revelation.

Do You Have Battles Against the Inclination?

One of the students of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev came to him once and told him that he was going through very great pain because he has great tests and difficulties with the Yetzer Hara, and even when he succeeds in coping against the inclination, after two or three hours it returns to him with new wars. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak said to him: I heard an explanation for this thing from my Rebbe and teacher (the 'Maggid of Mezeritch,' who was the greatest student of the Baal Shem Tov). A Jew suffers so many wars against the Yetzer Hara because every time a Jew fights with the Yetzer Hara, a new garment is made from it for Hashem. And isn't it true that a person loves to have new clothes every time? So too, Hashem wants to always have new clothes, therefore we always have new wars with the Yetzer Hara. From our wars against the Yetzer Hara, new clothes are made for Hashem each time.

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