The Secret of Renewal: Reaching the Intellect That is Above Time
Lesson No. 159 | Motzaei Shabbos Kodesh (Saturday night), Parashas Noach, Eve of the 5th of Cheshvan 5759
How can one disconnect from the daily worries, debts, and pressures? Our holy Rebbe (Rebbe Nachman) teaches us the secret of...
The main hope is through the concept of being "above time" which the tzaddikim attain, as they are the aspect of Mashiach. This is what I heard from his holy mouth close to his histalkus (passing away), regarding the verse:
"I have given birth to you this day" (Psalms 2:7).
In truth, a person is born anew every single day. Whoever is close to a true tzaddik merits the aspect of "I have given birth to you this day," which is above time. A person is created anew every day only through Torah and avodah (spiritual service). The spiritual work of Rebbe Nachman is to always remember that every day is a new birth, and not to fall because of the memory of yesterday—"I didn't learn yesterday," "I didn't pray," "I have a lot of debts."
Illuminating the Day with the Light of Shabbos
Especially when Shabbos Kodesh (the holy Sabbath) arrives, Shabbos is always above time. On Shabbos, there are no banks, no problems, and no need to repay debts. A person does not need to think about whether he repaid them or not, whether it is a small debt or a debt of a million dollars.
Every day, the illumination of Shabbos must shine within a person. When a person arrives in the morning for the Shacharis (morning) prayer, he must be in a state where he thinks about absolutely nothing else. The Shacharis prayer is early in the morning, even before all the troubles, repayments, and worries begin. A person must always know how to hold his mind steady, and this is impossible without attachment to the tzaddik who is above time.
It is impossible to explain this matter in writing at all, because everyone knows what they are going through—with their wife, with the children, with the family, and with the responsibility to repay debts without causing distress to the lenders. Amidst all this, a person must also learn Torah, pray, maintain shalom bayis (marital harmony), and be okay from all directions. When a person is signed onto thousands of commitments in a single day, how is it even possible to concentrate?
Living in the Moment: The Spiritual Work of the Unique Few
The secret is to be above time, to separate the hours. Out of twenty-four hours, a person has hours of sleep and hours of free time. In every hour that he can disconnect, he must be above time. As Rabbi Nosson said to his son Rabbi Yitzchak:
"When you go to the post office—forget about everything. Right now, you are in the post office. When you return from the post office—be in a state of deveikus (attachment to Hashem). The entire day you should be in deveikus. Your head needs to be exactly where you are."
This is the spiritual work of tzaddikim and unique individuals, to be in the aspect of above time. Chapter 2 in Psalms opens with the words "I have given birth to you this day," and with this, the Book of Psalms actually begins (because Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 are considered a single chapter). When a person knows that today he is born anew, he can fulfill the aspect of "Lech Lecha" (Go forth).
The Chozeh of Lublin says that the Shabbos of Parashas "Lech Lecha" is the greatest Shabbos of the entire year. "Lech Lecha" means that you need to start walking. The time has come for everyone to leave his land, his birthplace, and his father's house. A person must believe that it is possible to make a completely new beginning in life. We leave behind all the old thoughts, everything that a person thought built him up and upon which he relied, and we dismantle it all. We must believe that there is something that is above time and above the intellect, which we have not yet discovered and will now reveal.
An Intellect Unprecedented for Generations
Our holy Rebbe (Rebbe Nachman) engaged in great and wondrous things to bring many souls closer to Hashem, may He be blessed, and he said that he had not yet succeeded according to his true will. He said to his followers: "I wanted to make you into people with such an intellect, that for several generations there has not been such an intellect." One must know that the intellect of Rebbe Nachman is the greatest intellect in the world. Every Torah teaching of his encompasses the entire Written Torah and the entire Oral Torah.
Rebbe Nachman wanted us to enter into the intellect contained within his words. He once said: "They broke us like a shattered clay pot... I thought that you would all be great tzaddikim with such an intellect that has not existed for several generations." Rebbe Nachman wanted people to see in his followers a tremendous intellect that is not seen anywhere else. When one reaches such an intellect, it is possible to elevate everything, to sanctify every generation, and to uplift all the Chassidic groups entirely, because one sees the good in every place.
How can a person merit this? After all, everyone has some free time. If a person walks with the principle of "I have given birth to you this day," he can utilize the hours he is given. Even if he has a terrible debt and is scared to death, he has Shabbos, he has the Shacharis prayer. In the merit of Shabbos and prayer, he will merit to repay the debts and obtain all the funds, simply by establishing set times for Torah study.
Overcoming the Curse of the Tree of Knowledge
The great obstacles begin from the sin of the Tree of Knowledge. The curse of:
"By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread" (Genesis 3:19).
This came about because Chava wailed at Adam HaRishon. The Rambam brings down that she began to wail at him to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. He did not want to eat, but he could not withstand her wailing. Regarding this it is said:
"Because you listened to the voice of your wife" (Genesis 3:17).
To this day, we suffer from this. Sometimes a person comes home and faces pressures and demands – "bring money," "do this and that." There are things about which the wife is right, such as the education of the children, and sometimes these are just pressures. But a person must know how to disconnect. You have your hours when you can concentrate on learning. When you are outside the home, you need to concentrate completely. Only in this way, through the proper utilization of time and disconnecting from distractions, can a person attain that immense intellect that Rebbe Nachman spoke about – an intellect the likes of which has not existed for several generations.
Part 1 of 4 — Lesson No. 159