The Secret of the Inner Scream and the Eternity of the Tzaddik

Lesson No. 314 | Thursday night, the eve of the 18th of Tishrei, the second day of Chol HaMoed Sukkos 5762 - the yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing) of our holy Rebbe Nachman

A profound discourse explaining how the true tzaddik continues to illuminate and live in every single generation, in the aspect of \

From the day the world was created, and even after the sin of Adam HaRishon (the First Man), there has never been a tikkun (rectification) as wondrous and perfectly complete as the tikkun of our holy Rebbe Nachman. Through Torah and prayer, he rectifies the sin of the Tree of Knowledge and brings about a wondrous tikkun in all the spiritual worlds.

The verse states:

"You will arise and have mercy on Zion, for it is time to favor her, for the appointed time has come."

The Tikkunei Zohar explains regarding the verse "Cursed is the ground for your sake," that the earth opens its mouth and swallows the spiritual blemishes of the sinning person, causing him to stumble. However, through "for the appointed time has come," the stumbling block is transformed into an appointed time of tikkun (rectification). The numerical value (gematria) of the word "terachem" (have mercy) is exactly equal to "Nachman Noson." Rebbe Nachman and Reb Noson are the ones who truly have mercy; they are the ones who transform sins into merits.

A Song of Eternal Pleasantness

Regarding this, the verse states:

"That which has been is that which shall be."

The first letters of these words in Hebrew spell Moshe and Mashiach. Rebbe Nachman possesses the soul of Mashiach, and if we were worthy, he would have been revealed. Rebbe Nachman merited to grasp the Throne of the Shechinah (Divine Presence), the awesome Throne where all the melodies and all the songs reside. Through the melody that is played there, garments are sewn for the moon so that she may sing a song of eternal pleasantness.

Rebbe Nachman said that if we merited to study the book "Likutey Moharan" with its proper song and melody, everything would look completely different. Today, there are "professors" of Likutey Moharan, but the Rebbe wants a song and a melody; he wants the heart and the soul.

A Still, Small Voice: Screaming and Dancing Without Movement

It is brought in the name of Rebbe Nachman, who said: When do I truly have Hisbodedus (personal, secluded prayer)? Specifically when the entire world is standing around me and I am sitting among them. A person can engage in Hisbodedus even when surrounded by people. He can scream in a still, small voice—a voice that is heard from one end of the world to the other, without anyone else hearing a thing.

Rebbe Nachman would scream from one end of the world to the other without anyone hearing. He revealed to us that the main thing is the scream. A scream can be such that the entire body cries out from it, yet it is done in a still, small voice, and all the people around will not hear it at all.

And just as it is possible to scream quietly, so too is it possible to dance. A person can sit among a crowd of people, and in his heart, he can dance a most wondrous dance. Rebbe Nachman would dance without speech and without words, scream without words, and play melodies without words, and his dance could be heard throughout the entire world.

Rebbe Nachman would sing and dance without pause, twenty-four hours a day. He danced in his thoughts out of the sheer joy that he was breathing, out of the sheer joy that he was alive. He danced like the musical instruments at a wedding, and afterward, he spoke and revealed this secret to us: You can stand among people and scream in a still, small voice from one end of the world to the other.

The Ever-Shining Sun: The Tzaddik Lives and Endures

Rebbe Nachman said: "I have attained the level of Yechidah (the highest level of the soul) in the ultimate, highest degree." Since the soul of Moshe Rabbeinu impregnates a tzaddik in every single generation, it impregnated him as well.

The holy Zohar (Parashas Vayeilech, page 284a) explains the verse:

"Behold, you shall lie with your fathers, and arise."

The tzaddik, the moment he lies down and passes away from the world, does not truly die – he immediately rises! He is alive and enduring. Hashem says to Moshe: You are alive and enduring forever. Like the sun, which even when it sets and is hidden, continues to illuminate the moon. So too the tzaddik, even after his histalkus (passing away), continues to illuminate his students and the entire world.

This was the mistake of the Spies. They thought that Moshe Rabbeinu could die in a literal sense, and therefore they wanted to delay the entry into the Land in order to keep him alive. They did not understand that Moshe cannot die; his soul is spiritually invested in all the tzaddikim of every single generation. The tzaddik never departs. The moment he lies down, he immediately rises. "A tzaddik falls seven times and rises" – there is no despair in the world at all, one immediately rises.

This is the awesome novel insight of the holy Zohar. Chazal (our Sages) say that the word "ve'kam" (and will rise) in this verse is one of five verses in the Torah that lack a decisive punctuation – it is unclear whether it belongs to the first part of the verse ("Behold, you will lie with your forefathers and rise") or to the second part ("and this people will rise up"). But the Zohar decides: "ve'kam" refers to Moshe Rabbeinu. You immediately rise, you are alive and enduring forever, and you continue to lead Israel from our very midst.

Part 1 of 3 — Lesson No. 314

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