The Secret of Vidui Devarim: The Only Way to Be Saved from a Spiritual Fall
Lesson No. 340 | *Monday, Parashat Behar-Bechukotai, 18 Iyar, Lag BaOmer 5762, lesson after the lighting in the Yeshiva.*
A piercing article from Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a
Dealing with forbidden thoughts after marriage can be even more difficult than before marriage. To be saved from this, a person must truly cry, shedding oceans of tears. The correct and safest way is to approach a Torah scholar, who can guide the person on a straight path, exactly according to the root of his soul.
The Danger of Externality and Illusions
The greatest foundation in serving Hashem is Vidui Devarim (verbal confession). If a person does not confess his sins before a Torah scholar, he is liable to lose his way completely. There are those who do not know the foundations written in "Likutey Moharan," and think that the main thing is externality – sitting on a mat, drinking arak, and making a barbecue ("al ha'esh").
But this is a bitter mistake that distances a person from the truth. If a person does not perform Vidui Devarim on every single thing, he is liable to reach a deep spiritual low, and who knows where he will deteriorate to. Ultimately, without inner work, people are liable to turn the Torah into complete externality, and even crown themselves as Admorim in false illusions.
The Crossroads of a Person
Vidui Devarim is the crossroads of a person. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov teaches us that if one does not perform Vidui Devarim, nothing else will help. Even if a person gives charity to the tzaddik, and even if he travels to see the tzaddik in Uman or visits the gravesite of the Rashbi in Meron – without Vidui Devarim from the depths of the heart, it will not help him.
It is an obligation upon every person to confess every day and to truly cry from the depths of the heart. A lack of Vidui Devarim, together with mundane speech and idle chatter inside the Yeshiva, can God forbid lead to terrible disasters. When one abandons inner work and engages in externality, one loses their spiritual protection.
Stopping the Sun and Shedding Tears
We must take this work upon ourselves with self-sacrifice. Rabbeinu said that he can stop the sun and the moon, as it is stated:
"Sun, stand still upon Gibeon, and Moon in the valley of Ajalon" (Joshua 10:12)
This secret is brought down in Torah 1 of Likutey Moharan. We must feel that every day can be like Yom Kippur. To stop the race of life, to remain immersed in study and prayer for long hours, and to shed tears of teshuvah (repentance). If only we would merit to shed a few true tears of confession, for only in this way can we be saved from all the confusions and illusions of this world.
Part 3 of 5 — Lesson No. 340
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