The Secret of the Good Points: Peeling Away the Shells and Becoming a Melody

Lesson No. 245 | Cassette No. 245 Wednesday, Parashas Nasso, the eve of the 4th of Sivan 5760. A class at the Yeshiva L'Tzeirim Shaarei Torah, Jerusalem, May it be rebuilt and established, Side A

According to the teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, there are no wicked people in the Nation of Israel, only pure souls covered by klipos (spiritual shells). The thicker the shell, the larger the fruit hidden inside it. When we find the good points in ourselves and in others, we peel away the shells and create melodies of holiness that conquer every crisis and downfall.

The Power of Seeing the Good

Rachel saw beyond the exterior. She saw that in essence, Rabbi Akiva was a refined, pure, and holy person, but he simply had not learned Torah. There was no one to teach him; he was the son of converts and had never gone to a cheder (Torah school for children), nor did he even know the shape of a Hebrew letter. But she decided to send him to learn.

When he had to start learning with three-year-old children, he was embarrassed. What did Rachel do? She brought him a donkey, placed soil on its back, and planted tomatoes and cucumbers in it. After a week, an entire garden began to grow on the donkey's back. She started walking with him in the marketplace with a "walking garden" on four legs. Everyone looked at them as if they were crazy and laughed. One day, a second day, a third day passed—until they got used to it. Rachel said to him, "Do you see? They got used to this, and they will get used to you, too." This is how she convinced him to go learn.

The Secret of the Shell and the Fruit

Until the age of forty, Rabbi Akiva appeared to be very far from holiness, but the Tosafos explains that he was simply mistaken. He was born with a refined and pure soul, and the moment he began to learn Torah, all the shells immediately fell away from him.

This is similar to what is written in the Book of Ruth:

"And you shall also intentionally pull out for her from the bundles" (Ruth 2:16).

It is explained in the book Karnayim (Ma'amar 12) that every person has Shin-Lamed (330) shells. Boaz, who was the tzaddik of the generation, knew how to extract Ruth from those 330 shells. (Note: The Hebrew word "שֹׁל" - shol - shares the same letters as the number 330).

These shells are like the peel on a fruit. You see a watermelon with a massive rind, but you know that inside there is a massive fruit. The larger the shell, the more you should know that there is a larger fruit inside. A person might appear to be the greatest evildoer in the world, but this is merely a shell, thinner than thin. One only needs to know how to peel it off. Rachel, the daughter of Kalba Savua, knew how to peel this shell off Rabbi Akiva, and thus the greatest tzaddik of the generation was revealed.

There Are No Wicked People in the Nation of Israel

According to the foundational teachings of Rebbe Nachman, there are absolutely no wicked people in the Nation of Israel. Our spiritual work is to judge everyone favorably, to find the good points, and to peel away the shells.

"Just a little bit more and there is no wicked person; you will look at his place, and he will not be there" (Psalms 37:10).

When a person buys a watermelon, he does not think about the outer rind. He thinks about the red, juicy, and sweet fruit inside. He immediately peels away the rind and merits the fruit. The same applies to a Jew who is far from the Torah—the larger the shell appears, the more it is a sign that there is a greater soul there.

This rule also applies to a person himself. A person must judge himself favorably, finding a good point within himself so that he does not fall completely, Heaven forbid. He must bring joy to his soul with the little bit of good he finds in himself, in some mitzvah he merited to do in his lifetime. Even if it seems to him that everything is mixed with waste and arrogance, there is always some hidden, concealed point that is purely for the sake of Heaven—this is the Divine spark about which it is said:

"Many waters cannot extinguish the love, and rivers cannot wash it away" (Song of Songs 8:7).

Finding the Good Gives Birth to Melodies

Through finding these good points, melodies are made. When can a person play a melody? Only when he sees the good in everyone, when he sees that 'Your people are all tzaddikim.'

A story is told about a certain heretic, an informer who would report Jews to the authorities, who came on Shabbos to assess the property of one of the tzaddikim. Everyone started cursing him. That tzaddik said to them, "Why are you cursing? After all, it is written, 'And Your people are all tzaddikim,' so he is also a tzaddik! Let him explain how his actions align with this Mishnah, but I know that he is a righteous Jew, and I am not angry."

The moment a person knows that everyone is holy and pure, melodies begin to form within him. From every limb and from every soul, a melody emerges. Therefore, King David knew how to play music from Chatzos (midnight) until the morning—because he saw only the good and the splendor in everyone. Every soul is a different melody of Hashem, and whoever sees this good hears the melodies from all sides.

Overcoming the Fall with Song

The essence of the melody is created by extracting the good from the bad. When a person gathers the good points, melodies and songs emerge. Therefore, even if a person stumbles and falls into a sin, the advice is not to fall into sadness, but on the contrary—to start singing and playing music twice as much!

Did you fall? Did you stumble in a terrible blemish? Take a chapter of Tehillim (Psalms) and recite it with song and melody. Do not fall into sadness, because sadness is worse and leads to severe depression. This struggle is a war between the G-dly soul and the "leprosy of the snake's skin." It is not that you are wicked; it is a battle. And in this battle, one wins with songs and melodies.

The moment a person falls in his mind due to sadness, he distances himself even further from Hashem. But if he searches and finds good points within himself—that he still fasts on Yom Kippur, keeps Shabbos, puts on Tefillin which are the King's crown, or wraps himself in a Tallis—he increases his joy. This is the light breaking forth from the darkness, the soul breaking out from the shell of the snake.

Through this joy, he can return to pray, to sing, and to thank Hashem, in the aspect of:

"I will sing to my G-d while I still exist" (Azamrah L'Elokai B'Odi)

Specifically "while I still exist" (b'odi)—with the little bit of good that remains in me. Through the songs and melodies that are created from gathering the good points, a person emerges from the filth of the snake and merits a great light.

Part 1 of 3 — Lesson No. 245

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