The Secret of the Ultimate Nothingness: The Awesome Work of Nullifying Pride
Lesson No. 71 | Yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing) of the Holy Rebbe, Monday night, 18 Tishrei 5757 Continuation of Lesson No. 70 on the yahrtzeit of the Holy Rebbe.
When a person cleanses himself from lusts, a new and even more difficult danger lies in wait for him: spiritual pride. This article explains the depth of the work of humility of the true tzaddikim (righteous ones), such as Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our Teacher) and David HaMelech (King David), who viewed themselves as lesser than every person and merited to reach the ultimate state of bitul (self-nullification).
Only through true Hisbodedus (secluded prayer) does a person merit true self-nullification. He empties his heart of worldly matters, as Rebbe Nachman says, and believes truly and sincerely: "I am the absolute nothing of nothingness, I am the greatest zero." Only then does the soul ascend to its root, to the Tree of Life.
The Tree of Life is the root of the soul, the Heavenly Jerusalem. There, a person truly cleaves to Hashem, blessed be He, in the aspect of "He and His vessels are one" in the World of Atzilus (the highest spiritual realm). In order to merit such true Hisbodedus, where a person is incorporated into the root of his soul, he must reach a state where he does not know, see, or feel anything other than Hashem, blessed be He. He completely nullifies all pride and all honor.
The Danger of Spiritual Pride
Yet specifically here, after a person has cleansed himself, he is left with an awesome task regarding his pride. The pride can even increase: the person thinks to himself, "I no longer have lusts, I have no blemishes of the covenant, everything is equal to me" — and as a result, he is liable to fall into immense pride.
Here begins an entirely new work. Rebbe Nachman says that this is an awesome task — to believe that I am the lowest of every Jew in the world. Even if there is a Jew who has not yet merited to guard his eyes or guard the covenant, who says he is not working harder than me? Who says he does not have higher spiritual attainments?
On the contrary, that Jew is in a state of humility, because he knows that he is nothing. Whereas I, if I am filled with pride and do not know that I am nothing — then he is certainly greater and better than me. All of our spiritual work during the holidays of Tishrei is to reveal the true tzaddik, who is in the aspect of complete "Nothingness." A tzaddik who lived his entire life in the ultimate state of nothingness, because he truly believed that every Jew was better than him.
Moshe Rabbeinu's Pain Over Korach
Regarding Moshe Rabbeinu it is said:
"Now the man Moshe was exceedingly humble, more than any person on the face of the earth."
He never held a grievance, anger, or wrath against any Jew. And when it is written, "And Moshe was very distressed" during the dispute of Korach, the explanation is not that he was angry at Korach himself, but rather it pained him that Korach was descending to Gehenna (hell).
Imagine a person standing in prayer at the Western Wall, facing the Gate of Heaven and the Holy of Holies, and suddenly he is thrown out of there. It is a terrible sorrow! It is like a person who stood next to a box full of diamonds and was thrown away from it. We do not cry over the diamonds — the diamonds remain, thank Hashem — we cry over the Jew who lost them.
This is how Moshe Rabbeinu felt pain over Korach. A person who invested in spiritual work for years, and suddenly everything goes down the drain because of one dispute, and he descends to the lowest depths of the abyss. Regarding this, it is said in the Gemara:
"Woe for this beauty that will rot in the earth."
What a pity for such beauty and spiritual work like that of Korach to be swallowed up by the earth.
A Basket of Reptiles (Tainted Lineage): The Secret of David HaMelech
The true tzaddik merited the perfection of humility. He never even had a passing thought that he was better than anyone else. He says to himself: "I was born to good parents, I was born with a good nature."
King Saul was the holy of holies, from the tribe of Binyamin, the son of Kish — all of them were great tzaddikim. Regarding him it is said, "Saul was a year old when he began to reign," meaning he was as free from sin as a one-year-old. But where did David HaMelech come from? He came from Ruth the Moabite, from Moav, from Balak. Although Ruth converted with mesiras nefesh (self-sacrifice), and in that merit she was blessed with David, the background was completely different.
Every person is born with a different nature and a different heart. Specifically the one who is born with the worst heart and the most difficult background is the one who will ultimately merit the highest spiritual levels. The Sages say:
"A leader is not appointed over the community unless a 'basket of reptiles' (a humble or flawed background) hangs behind him."
King David, who is Mashiach, is the tzaddik who constantly sees a "basket of reptiles" behind him. He does not look at his own virtues, nor does he look at the spiritual levels he has achieved. He sees only his own lowliness. And it is specifically through this humility that he merits to be King David, the true tzaddik.
May we all merit to be included in such a tzaddik, and through this, may we merit the complete Geulah (Redemption) speedily in our days, Amen.
Part 3 of 4 — Lesson No. 71