The Secret of Absolute Nullification: How to Defeat All the Fears of the World
Class No. 173 | Wednesday, Parshas Shemos, Eve of 19 Teves 5759 - Awakening Gathering at the Breslov Beis Midrash (Study Hall), Kiryat Herzog, Bnei Brak.
True study leads a person to absolute bitul (nullification) before the Creator, a state in which he understands that there is no reality other than Hashem, may He be blessed. When a Jew holds fast to the emunah (faith) of His Oneness and cries out \
The study is actually a preparation. A person can learn for eight or sixteen hours consecutively, but the main thing is that afterward, he stands before his Creator with intention, with pure mochin (intellect), with a pure heart, and with true lowliness—word by word, letter by letter. This is the secret of *bitul* (nullification): when a person is completely nullified to Hashem, may He be blessed, he draws down upon himself all types of *shefa* (Divine abundance).
The goal of a Jew is to reach the peak of nothingness, to know that Hashem is the sole provider of all shefa (Divine abundance)—healing, parnassah (livelihood), and blessing. One who is strong in his mind to always look toward the true ultimate purpose and to remember His Oneness, may He be blessed, reaches the absolute realization that there is none besides Him.
Shema Yisrael: The Secret Weapon Against Every Enemy
One who truly cries out, "Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad" (Hear O Israel, Hashem is our God, Hashem is One), certainly has nothing to fear from any enemy or hater, for they will all bow and fall before him. One who is strong in his mind and merits the true ultimate purpose will not be afraid even if an enemy stands before him with a drawn sword.
We saw this with Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our Teacher) when they stood before him with a sword to his neck, and so it was in the Valley of Elah in the war between David and Goliath. The miracles that the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) recounts are not merely history; they are living, enduring miracles that stand in the space of the world and are renewed every second and every moment. When we read about them, we awaken them anew.
The Five Smooth Stones of King David
When King David arrived at the battlefield, he appeared hidden and lowly. Even his older brothers, who were completely righteous tzaddikim, did not recognize his greatness and thought he had only come to watch the war. But David stood before Goliath, who was clad in scale armor from head to toe, and declared:
"You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the Name of Hashem of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel."
The holy Zohar reveals a tremendous secret: the five smooth stones that David took symbolize the five words of the Shema prayer. David cried out, "Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad," and then the stone pierced the scale armor and struck Goliath's forehead.
At that moment, David was cleaving to His Oneness, may He be blessed. He saw only that Hashem is One. As far as he was concerned, there was no Goliath, there were no Philistines, and there was no threat. Everything was merely fog and illusions. He bound himself to the *emunah* (faith) of His Oneness and understood that apart from the letters of prayer, nothing in the world truly exists.
The Secret of "One Who Turns His Heart to Idleness"
Rebbe Nachman (Likutey Moharan, Torah 52) reveals a wondrous depth in the Mishnah in Tractate Avos:
"Rabbi Chanina ben Chachinai says: One who stays awake at night, and one who walks on the road alone, and one who turns his heart to idleness—he forfeits his soul."
On a simple level, a person who wastes his time forfeits his soul. But in the Mesivta D'Rakiya (Heavenly Academy), they learn this completely the opposite way: "One who turns his heart to idleness (levatalah)"—means a person who reaches absolute bitul (nullification). He completely nullifies himself until he feels like the absolute nothingness of nothingness, as if he does not exist in the world at all.
When a person reaches this level of bitul (nullification), Rebbe Nachman says: "He forfeits his soul (mitchayev b'nafsho)"—meaning, he becomes the absolute necessity of existence (mechuyav hametzius)! The entire world stands upon him, he sustains and upholds the earth, and all generations live and exist in his merit.
The Enemy is Only an Imaginary Fog
Through this bitul (nullification), David defeated Goliath and Moshe Rabbeinu was saved from Pharaoh's sword. The Sages teach: "Even if a sharp sword rests upon a person's neck, he should not withhold himself from mercy." The sharp sword is only an illusion. A person must remember that there is only Hashem, may He be blessed, and there is none besides Him.
It is told that a Nazi once stood ready to shoot a Jew, and the Jew said to him: "Do you think you are shooting me? It is Hashem shooting! There is nothing besides Hashem." When a person is completely nullified and understands that everything is only Hashem, he can nullify any evil decree in the world. The terrorists, the haters, and all the forces of evil are altogether merely a fog created as a result of the sin of the Tree of Knowledge and our own transgressions. They do not truly exist.
Why is a person more frightening than a lion?
Reb Noson of Breslov asks a profound question: Why is a person more terrified and confused when facing a wicked person who comes to kill him, than when facing a beast of prey like a lion?
The answer is that when a person sees a lion, the natural fear actually awakens him to cry out to Hashem and strengthen his emunah (faith). However, when he stands before a cruel murderer, that wicked person is a heretic, devoid of faith. The heresy of the wicked person radiates onto the victim, confusing his mind and causing him to fall from his emunah. It is these thoughts of heresy that truly cause a person to fall.
But if a person overcomes these thoughts and remains pure and clear in his emunah, declaring that there is no power in the world besides Hashem Yitbarach—no weapon will be able to harm him. This was the power of Daniel in the lions' den, and this was the power of Moshe Rabbeinu. The Torah is not telling us history; it is teaching us that every person, in every generation, can reach this level of emunah and banish all the fears of the world.
Part 1 of 2 — Lesson No. 173
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