Retold by Dovid Sears
The
following posting first appeared in 2006 on the Breslov-oriented blog, A Simple
Jew.
There is a story in Reb Avraham Sternhartz’s Tovos Zichronos (Breslov oral
traditions) about some astounding things one of the Reb Noson’s talmidim
told the author in his youth about the Rebbe’s power of tikkun ha-neshamos (healing
or perfection of souls). An English translation by Rabbi Chaim Kramer appears
in the back of The Breslov Haggadah (Breslov Research Institute). This
is a slightly shorter version.
Reb Pinchas Yehoshua was the son of Reb Isaac the Sofer,
a close disciple of Reb Noson. He was very poor, yet well known for his piety
and great devotions. One day, Reb Pinchas Yehoshua made the pilgrimage to the
Rebbe’s gravesite in Uman, together with Reb Avraham Sternhartz, then in his
early twenties, and Reb Motele Shochet, both of whom were very close to him.
The three of them prayed there for many hours.
Reb Avraham writes:
As we turned to leave the Rebbe’s gravesite, Reb Pinchas
Yehoshua began to tremble with great trepidation. “My friends,” he said, “I
looked at myself, and I saw that I have been reincarnated again and again into
this world.”
He then began detailing the various generations in which he lived. He said that
he had been alive in the time of a certain Tanna, and then in the generation of
a particular tzaddik... As he spoke, Reb Pinchos Yehoshua carefully weighed his
words, their truth being clear. We believed him because we knew of his
greatness and his incredible devotion to G-d. He even told us how many times
his soul had already returned to this world.
Reb Pinchas Yehoshua found it extremely hard to understand why, of all the
people that lived in the world when his soul was first incarnated, he alone had
to endure this. The Tanna had rectified other souls. Why not his? Why did he
have to suffer so many incarnations? Reb Pinchas Yehoshua began saying to
himself, “Why was my soul left without a tikkun? Why was I left in the depths,
in the abyss of my sins, so that I had to come down to this world again?
Perhaps I would be rectified the second time around...”
Then he told us that he came back in the generation of a different tzaddik.
This tzaddik worked diligently to rectify neshamos and bring them back to their
source. But as before, his soul was left without its tikkun, and he had to
return again – and again.
“I tried as hard as I could to understand why this was happening,” Reb Pinchas
Yehoshua continued. “Finally, I realized that I alone was responsible for my
fate. I, myself, because of my difficult nature and improper deeds, had made it
impossible for anyone to provide me with a tikkun. Had I not learned in the
Gemara that ‘the tzaddikim are builders?’ It must have been my fault that these
righteous leaders were powerless to include me in the ‘buildings’ of holiness
that they had made.”
I looked at Reb Motele Shochet, and he looked back at me. Neither of us could
believe what we were hearing. We stood there transfixed as Reb Pinchas Yehoshua
went on.
“When constructing a building,” he said, “a mason gathers all the stones that
he needs for the first level of the building and starts cutting and chipping
away at the corners. He forms the stones so that each one fits properly into
place. When he has finished the first level, he again gathers the stones he
needs and shapes them, so that he can then erect the second level. So it goes,
level after level. At each level, the mason must make sure that all the stones
he uses for the building are suitably formed. Many times we see that builders
come across certain odd-shaped stones, which they try to use, only to find them
too awkward to fit properly. In the end, they have no choice but to discard
them.
“The same is true in spirituality. The great tzaddikim try to ‘build’ by
attempting to rectify the souls of Israel. The Torah calls these souls ‘stones’
[as in Lamentations]. The tzaddikim work hard at this. Each stone they
come across, every soul they encounter, they do their very best to fit into the
building of holiness they erect.”
Reb Pinchas Yehoshua interrupted his words with a long, deep sigh. Then, with
even greater intensity, he began again. “When it was my soul’s turn to play its
part in the building, I came before this great Tanna. He attempted to correct
me, but found that he could not succeed. He worked very hard to ‘ shape’ me,
trying all different angles. However, no matter what he tried, it did not work.
As soon as he corrected me on one side, I was found to be crooked on another
side. Whichever way he turned my soul, it was still impossible for him to find
a place for me in his ‘building.’ Seeing that it was futile, this Tanna left me
alone. There was absolutely nothing he could do. The exact same thing happened
the second time my soul descended into this world; and so it was with every
subsequent incarnation. All the tzaddikim tried to rectify me, but their
efforts failed. I was left alone through all those generations, thrown away
like an odd-shaped stone, to be cast and kicked about forever.
“Yet G-d, Whose kindness is everlasting, wants all souls to be rectified, no matter
what they have done. He saw my difficulties and sent me back to this world
again. However, this time, in my current incarnation, I discovered something
completely new: a tzaddik with a ‘building power’ that I had never seen in any
of my previous incarnations. This was Rebbe Nachman of Breslov! All the Upper
Worlds tremble in awe of his greatness and his holiness. Rebbe Nachman believed
that a person could always come close to G-d, no matter how distant he was. In
a strong voice he called out from the depths of his heart, ‘Never give up!
Never despair!’ This Rebbe Nachman described himself as ‘a river that can
cleanse all stains.’ From Creation until today, there never was a tzaddik who
spoke such words, and with such strength and such power. In addition to hearing
about Rebbe Nachman, G-d gave me the privilege of knowing Rebbe Nachman’s
closest disciple, Reb Noson. He taught me Rebbe Nachman’s lessons and brought
me to serve G-d.
“This is where I am now. “
And now, when I think about this, I cannot help but wonder: After being so
distant from G-d all those years, how is it possible that I should I merit such
a great light? How could someone so undeserving come to know of Rebbe Nachman?
“I only understood this after I contemplated the psalms of Hallel. ‘The stone
despised by all the builders has become the cornerstone.’ In other words, this
soul – the very same soul that had been discarded by all the great tzaddikim –
has now come to the tzaddik, who is the ‘cornerstone,’ the foundation of the
entire world. ‘This has come from G-d; it is wondrous in our eyes.’ It is truly
wondrous how G-d deals with every single soul, making certain that it achieves
its tikkun. The great tzaddikim never give up trying to correct all souls,
because this is what G-d truly wants.
“I saw from this,” Reb Pinchas Yehoshua concluded, “that no matter what happens
to us, we must understand that there is salvation. We can always come back to
G-d.
“And these are the next words we say in the Hallel: ‘This is the day that G-d
has made, we will rejoice...’ For today, in our generation, G-d gave us such a
great leader, Rebbe Nachman, who instilled in us the faith that we can always
turn to G-d, no matter where we are. Then G-d will redeem the Jewish People,
and we will know nothing but great joy and happiness all the rest of our days,
amen!”