The Secret of Hitpaarut: Leaving Spiritual Slavery and Discovering the Mysteries of Creation
Lesson No. 2072 | (No. 106) - 21 Kislev and the Eve of 24 Kislev 5752
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov teaches that the way to attain the secrets of creation and to break free from spiritual slavery is by finding the "hitpaarut" (glory) and the good points in every Jew. Instead of falling into despair or speaking evil speech (lashon hara), we must rejoice in our very creation and allow the tzaddik to pave a path for us through the forests of the soul.
Worse Than a Mosquito or the Crown of Creation?
Why did Hashem create a lion or a mosquito in the world? Sometimes a person looks at himself and might think: "I am the lowest in the world, I am simply worse than a mosquito. The mosquito may suck blood, but that is its parnassah (livelihood), it has no choice, it has no food or biscuits. But me? I have food, I have what to drink, Baruch Hashem. So why do I just 'suck blood' from people and speak lashon hara about them?".
If a person truly feels he is worse than a mosquito, how can he rejoice? Out of sheer despair, he will no longer want to return home. To this, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov answers: A person's true joy should stem from the very fact that Hashem brought him from nothingness into being. After all, Hashem created me! If I, Heaven forbid, complain about creation, even about my own creation, and ask "Why was I created?", I am essentially complaining against Hashem, blessed be He.
Hashem decided to create me, and this should be the greatest joy, over which one must rejoice and dance day and night. Instead of talking about this person or that person, we have so much to rejoice over and be thankful for.
The Secret of the Hitpaarut in Every Jew
In Torah 17 (Likutey Moharan), the Rebbe explains that a terrible awe must fall upon a person from this hitpaarut—the glory that Hashem, blessed be He, takes in each and every Jew. When a person honors his father and mother, and honors every single Jew, all the secrets in the world are revealed to him.
"Tanna d'Vei Eliyahu says: There will be no secret that is not revealed to him. And when a person honors every single Jew, it will be revealed to him why a lion is a lion, why a mosquito is a mosquito, and why the grasses and trees were created this way."
Every Jew rules over a part of the world and gives it life—there is a Jew who gives life to the lions, there is a Jew who gives life to mosquitoes, and there is one who gives life to grasses and trees. The moment you reveal the hitpaarut and beauty that exists in a certain Jew, the secret of that part of creation which he is appointed over is revealed to you. According to the hitpaarut that a person finds in every single Jew, so are all the secrets in every detail of creation revealed to him.
How did the tzaddik reach all of his immense spiritual levels? Not just because he was the greatest genius and the greatest tzaddik, but because he revealed that one must find the hitpaarut in every single Jew. This is the key to all levels and all ascents—the key to learning Gemara, Rashi, Tosafot, and Rishonim.
Breaking Free from Spiritual Slavery to True Freedom
When a person does not see the good, he is in slavery. Rebbe Nachman says that slavery is the degradation of people, a blemish in faith, and thoughts of nonsense. Such a person spins around himself all year long like a dreidel. "Why are you a dreidel? Walk straight! The head goes this way and that way, what is this? This is slavery! Believe in Hashem and you will no longer fear anything."
The moment a person breaks free from all types of slavery, nothing external confuses him. He stops complaining and being strict with others. What is the point of speaking lashon hara and bringing down souls? The moment a person sees only the hitpaarut in every Jew, all the secrets in the world will be revealed to him.
Paving the Roads Within the Forests of the Soul
Rebbe Nachman, who was the great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov and such a pure and refined soul that descended from the upper worlds, revealed to us that reaching the highest levels is only through simple spiritual work. He said: "I have paved the way before you, I have paved the roads for you."
The Rebbe is like a giant bulldozer that paves roads. He enters into your heart, into primeval forests where no one has ever dug, into souls and klipot (spiritual husks) that no tzaddik in any generation managed to extract us from. Our holy Rebbe began to treat us and cut down all the trees and klipot that surround us.
And how does he cut everything down? The Rebbe says: With the hitpaarut! The main thing that cuts the klipot within you is through the hitpaarut found in every single Jew. Through this, awe and love descend upon a person, as it is stated, "For You are the glory of their strength, and by Your will our horn is exalted"—Hashem exalts the horn of each and every one, and reveals to him all the secrets of the Torah and creation.
Part 2 of 3 — Lesson No. 2072
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