Rebbe Nachman: Becoming a Living Torah Scroll and Sweetening the Judgments

Lesson No. 378 | Part 2, continuation of Wednesday, Parashas Vayeitzei, the eve of 9 Kislev 5763, Shadarim Kollel, the Old City, at the home of the Rav shlit"a

Rabbi Berland shlit"a explains how the disciples of Rebbe Nachman merited his tremendous light through complete self-nullification and by becoming a "living Torah scroll." Through stories of Simchas Torah with Rebbe Nachman and the Baal Shem Tov, the power of dancing and crying out in the field to sweeten harsh decrees is explained, as well as the profound difference between seeking truth in serving Hashem and the vanities of this world.

Leaving Everything and Traveling to the Light

Reb Yudel and Reb Shmuel Isaac were among the greatest disciples of Rebbe Nachman, and they were bound to him and cleaved to him with ultimate self-nullification. When Reb Yudel came to Rebbe Nachman for the first time, he initially met Reb Dov, a disciple of Rebbe Nachman. When Reb Yudel saw the awe, the fear of Heaven, and the fiery enthusiasm that Reb Dov possessed, he immediately said, "Where does one buy such enthusiasm? I am going to buy it too!"

Reb Yudel himself was a towering Rebbe, a miracle worker, and he had the greatest Chassidim in that generation. But when he saw the light of Rebbe Nachman, he told all his Chassidim, "I am resigning, it is over. I have no more merchandise to sell you. Until now, I sold you scrap metal. Now I have found a store that sells gold and diamonds, and I am traveling there. Whoever wants to buy—let him come with me." He immediately took wagons and traveled to Rebbe Nachman with a multitude of people, and they all became Chassidim of Rebbe Nachman. For six weeks he could not bring himself to leave Rebbe Nachman and return home, so deeply connected had he become to him.

Becoming a Torah Scroll of Rebbe Nachman

Reb Noson merited drawing close to Rebbe Nachman when he was twenty-two and a half years old. Rebbe Nachman lived for thirty-eight and a half years, so in reality, Reb Noson was close to him for only eight years and one month. Yet, in those eight years, he received more than anyone else. Why? "Because he said: Every word that Rebbe Nachman tells me—that is my intellect. I do not want to know anything else." A person must accustom himself not to allow anything foreign into his mind.

Reb Noson writes in the Laws of the Synagogue that we take the hide of an animal and begin writing letters upon it, and this hide becomes so holy that if there is a fire, people will jump into the flames to save it; they kiss it and dance with it. Reb Noson says: Look at the power of the letters of the Torah! An animal parchment transforms into the Holy of Holies. Regarding this, the Talmud states:

"How foolish are those people who stand up before a Torah scroll but do not stand up before a great man" (Makkos 22b).

People stand before a Torah scroll, but they do not stand before a great man. Yet, a person who spends his entire life only studying the holy Torah, and writes only the letters of the holy Torah in his mind, refusing to let any other letter enter—what immense holiness this person attains! What a Torah scroll he becomes! "A person must know: Aside from the words of Rebbe Nachman, I do not want to know anything else; I want to be a Torah scroll of Rebbe Nachman." When a person does not allow any other letter to enter him, the letters of Rebbe Nachman nullify all of his physicality, and he becomes completely spiritual and holy.

Dealing with Simple People

On the day of Shemini Atzeres, Reb Yudel and Reb Shmuel Isaac were so deeply attached to Rebbe Nachman that they could not leave him. Rebbe Nachman spoke wonderful things with them concerning the concept of dancing and clapping hands. Afterward, a multitude of people from the city began to enter, coming to him with song and joy as was customary. Rebbe Nachman then said to Reb Yudel and Shmuel Isaac, "Go on your way, for I need to engage with them, and this does not pertain to you."

Rebbe Nachman had a custom, much like the Baal Shem Tov, that on Simchas Torah he would deliver Torah teachings specifically before the simple Jews, those who only knew how to recite Tehillim (Psalms)—chimney sweeps and blacksmiths who shoed horses. People once asked the Baal Shem Tov, "What do you have to do with such people who barely know how to pronounce the words? Engage with those of high spiritual attainment, masters of Ruach HaKodesh (Divine Inspiration), with whom you can elevate yourself!"

The Baal Shem Tov told his holy fellowship to come at a specific time, stood them in a circle, and asked them to embrace one another tightly. Suddenly, they began to ascend higher and higher, from one heavenly chamber to another, until they reached a chamber where they heard melodies so pleasant and sweet that their souls nearly melted from delight. The Baal Shem Tov asked them, "Do you know what this is? This is the chamber of King David. And the melodies you are hearing are the melodies ascending from these simple Jews who are reciting Tehillim. Now you know what business I have with them."

The Dancing that Nullifies Decrees

That year, on Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah, Rebbe Nachman himself danced a great deal, for many long hours into the night. Whoever did not see the magnitude of the wonders, the sweetness, and the holiness of his dancing never saw true goodness in his life. Rebbe Nachman himself said that he danced so much that year because word had spread that harsh decrees were being issued against the Jewish people in Petersburg (the Cantonist decree, where children were kidnapped from their parents).

Rebbe Nachman said at the time: "If the preachers knew what was being decreed in Petersburg, they would stop delivering sermons. They would go out to the field and cry out... that would nullify the decrees!" Sermons do not nullify decrees. A person must go out himself, cry out, and pray. If they take all the children and no trace remains, to whom will you deliver sermons? Rebbe Nachman hinted to them to go out to the field and cry out, and in this way, the decrees would be nullified. Through his dancing and clapping, Rebbe Nachman pushed off this decree for more than twenty years.

The Truth of Breslov Versus the Falsehood of the World

Rebbe Nachman is alive and enduring, and every moment he reveals new paths. Whoever wants to be a true Breslov Chassid sees miracles and wonders every day and every moment. His mind and heart open up, he wakes up for Chatzos (the midnight prayer), practices Hisbodedus (personal secluded prayer), and feels wondrous things that no one else in the world knows. Our work is to draw ourselves close, to open our hearts and minds, and to know that every word of Rebbe Nachman is another piece of intellect within us. We must constantly drill into our minds: "How do I attain this word that Rebbe Nachman said?" without falling into sadness and despair.

This is a long and difficult work. It is not like a person who goes to a university and writes nonsense. We once saw a book by a professor who researched the wars of the Hasmoneans. He could not understand how the few defeated the many, so he simply fabricated that 15,000 Jewish soldiers arrived from Egypt and Jordan. And when he saw that in the decisive battle only 800 fighters remained, he wrote that "they simply got tired of it and ran away." For this nonsense, he receives a doctorate and becomes an expert professor! The more nonsense they write, the greater professors they become.

But with us, it's not a university; here, we want the truth. And the truth is difficult to attain. We need to toil day and night, to wake up for Chatzos (midnight prayer) and do Hisbodedus (personal prayer). And sometimes the heart is blocked and the mind doesn't work. "A person is not a machine, not a robot where you press a button and it works. It is a heart, it is a mind, it is flesh and blood. Sometimes the mind works and sometimes it doesn't." But we are bound to Rebbe Nachman, and we must know that Rebbe Nachman will open our minds and our hearts. With Hashem's help, we will become Torah scholars, we will become tzaddikim, we will merit to truly believe in Rebbe Nachman, and the complete Geulah (Redemption) will come speedily in our days, Amen.

Part 2 of 2 — Lesson No. 378

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