Painting by Dovid Sears
By Rabbi
Nachman Goldstein, Rav of Tcherin, zatzal
Parpara’os
le-Chokhmah II, 119
Translated
and annotated by Dovid Sears
In memory
of Jon Sholle, a”h, who passed away on 3 Sivan 5778 / 2018
May his
neshamah have an aliyah.
This is
the third installment of our translation of the Tcheriner Rav’s commentary on
this excerpt from Likutey Moharan Tinyana, Lesson 119 (end):
Rebbe
Nachman declared: “Everyone says that Olam Hazeh (‘This World’) and Olam Habah
(‘The World to Come’”) exist. As for Olam Habah—we believe that there is a
World to Come. It is possible that there is also an Olam Hazeh as well, in some
world somewhere. But here, we see that it is Gehinnom (Hell); for all beings
experience great suffering constantly.” Then he said, “There isn’t any Olam
Hazeh at all!”
To read
the previous installment, click here.
5) With
this, we may also understand the connection [between the teaching in the Mishnah (Berakhos
9:5) cited above, that all
blessings recited in the Holy Temple were concluded with the phrase “min
ha-olam … from the world; however, due to the damage caused by the
heretics … this was amended so that the blessing would conclude, “min
ha-olam vi-ad ha-olam … from world to world”]—and the
next subject addressed in the same Mishnah: [Ezra the Scribe and his Beis Din]
decreed that a person should greet his friend with the name of G-d. And
Rabbi Ovadiah of Bartenuro explains (ad loc.) that we don’t consider this way
of honoring man, by pronouncing the Divine Name over him, to be a denigration
of G-d’s honor.
[The objection
that this manner of greeting is irreverent] would have been legitimate
according to the reasoning of those who declare this world, together with all
of its inhabitants, to be an end in itself.
That is, according
to their understanding, there is a fundamental rift between Olam Hazeh and Olam
Habah, and between the creatures and the Creator.
However, this
is not so in light of the truth—for as [Rebbe Nachman] explains,[1] within
Olam Hazeh are garbed the “feet of holiness” [i.e., lower levels of
holiness]. That is, the Infinite One constricts Himself (so to speak), and imbues
thought, speech and action within each person, according to the nature of the
individual, the place and the time. In this manner, He communicates “hidden messages”
(remazim) to everyone concerning how they may serve Him. A person must contemplate
these hidden messages deeply in order to understand them. This is called “cleaving
in thought to the World to Come in a detailed way,” as mentioned above.
The Tcheriner
Rav began this teaching by citing this concept from Lesson 54; see Posting 1,
section 1. “Cleaving in thought to the World to Come in a detailed way,” means
contemplating the divine messages hidden within the countless details of the
world of our ordinary experience.
If so, and on
the contrary, when a person encounters his friend and greets him, it is
necessary to mention G-d’s Name, thus to make known to him that everything
is bound to G-d’s Name; indeed, doing so is a way of honoring G-d. For “all
of the earth is full of His Glory” (Isaiah 6:3), as [Rebbe Nachman discusses]
in the lesson, “Ki Merachamam Yenahagem” (Likutey Moharan Tinyana,
Lesson 7).
[The Mishnah] derives
this from Boaz, who said to the harvesters, “May HaShem be with you!” (Ruth
2:4). That is, he made known to those engaged in their work that they too must
cleave to the Blessed One—for “He is with you,” and “all of the earth is full
of His Glory.”
Thus, the two
issues in the Mishnah are intimately connected. The conclusion of blessings
recited in the Holy Temple with the words “min
ha-olam vi-ad ha-olam … from world to world,” and greeting others by invoking G-d’s Name are
both ways of affirming that in a deeper sense, Olam Hazeh and Olam Habah are
truly one, and that the ordinary and the sacred are truly one.
6) We can
understand this even more clearly from Likutey Moharan I, 65 (“Vayomer
Boaz el Rus”) [which discusses the story of Boaz and Ruth from a mystical
perspective]. For “harvesting” alludes to the takhlis [i.e., the ultimate
goal of life, or in another sense, the ultimate reality].[2]
Therefore, Boaz informed the harvesters that while performing the physical work
of reaping they should cleave in thought to the takhlis, which is the
World to Come.
That is, symbolically,
the act of reaping itself indicates that the workers were connected to the
takhlis, and Boaz was calling this to their attention. From this, we see that
Olam Hazeh is truly connected to Olam Habah, and that this truth can be grasped
through proper mental focus on the ultimate reality—which Rebbe Nachman calls
“cleaving in thought.”
[The same lesson teaches] that one must guard
the memory,[3] so
that one will cleave in thought to the World to Come—and this is
accomplished by having a “good eye”; as it is written, “[One with] a good eye shall
be blessed” (Proverbs 22:9), as explained in Likutey Moharan I, 54,
mentioned above. Therefore, the harvesters replied [to Boaz], “May G-d bless
you!”
With this,
the Tcheriner Rav suggests that because Boaz had a “good eye” toward the
harvesters, in greeting them with G-d’s Name and urging them to cleave in
thought to the World to Come, even in the midst of their mundane work, he was
blessed in turn. And this “good eye” enhances the memory—which does not mean
memory in the ordinary sense, but the “memory of the World to Come” (as we have
explained in note 3).
This, too,
is what it states in the Book of Judges (6:12): “And
[the angel of HaShem appeared and] said to him, “HaShem is with you, mighty man
of valor!” This was said regarding Yerubaal / Gideon,[4] who
was cutting wheat in the wine press, which is one of the mundane activities of
Olam Hazeh.
With this,
the Tcheriner Rav draws a parallel between Gideon’s cutting of the wheat and
the harvesters’ cutting of the wheat in the story of Ruth, mentioned above. In
doing so, both were symbolically demonstrating the unity of Olam Hazeh and Olam
Habah.
Therefore,
[Gideon replied to the angel], “Please my lord,
if HaShem be with us, why then has all this [oppression at the hand of the
Midianites] befallen us? (ibid. 6:13). Meaning: if HaShem is with us, why is
Israel so lowly in this world, since they are also bound to Olam Habah?
“And [HaShem turned toward him and] said, “Go, with this, your strength,
and save Israel…” (ibid. 6:14). For Gideon was small and lowly in his own
sight, as described there: “And he said to Him, “Please O Lord, with what shall
I save Israel? Behold, my thousand is the poorest in [the tribe of] Menasseh,
and I am the youngest in my father’s household” (Ibid., 6:15).
Rashi comments: “Behold, my
thousand: The thousand of which I am a constituent,
under the prince of that thousand, is the lowliest thousand among all the
thousands of Menasseh.”
And our rabbis state (Rosh Hashanah 25b) that Scripture equates
three people of humble status [namely, Gideon, Samson and Jepthah, to three of
the most prestigious leaders, Moses, Aharon, and Samuel; see there].
Thus, Gideon needed to realize that he too was capable of accomplishing
sublime unifications in his mundane activities, just as the great tzaddikim did
in their own ways. This is the great spiritual challenge that we all must face
in this world—and thus connect Olam Hazeh to Olam Habah (or more accurately, realize
the intrinsic connection between both “worlds”).
The angel
informed him specifically that “HaShem is with you.” This is the paradigm of “the
superior below and the inferior above,” as discussed in Likutey Moharan
II, 7 (“Ki Merachamam Yehahagem”).
This
concept also appears in Sichos ha-RaN, sec. 40, Rebbe Nachman’s teaching about
the Dreidel and the Wheel of Transformation. This teaching is mentioned in Posting 2, Section 3 (end). The main point in the present context seems to be that
the Divine exists within the mundane, and the mundane exists within the Divine.
Also in [Likutey
Moharan Tinyana] Lesson 68, this same expression appears, [when Rebbe
Nachman states,] “HaShem is with you, and beside you, and manifestly close to
you …”
That is, just
as the angel told Gideon that “HaShem is with you,” Rebbe Nachman encourages us
with similar words.
The
Tcheriner Rav now returns to the Mishnah (Berakhos 9:5) that he has been
discussing. To make his remarks more understandable, we have included the text
of the Mishnah here in bold. We have interpolated the gist of the commentary of
Rabbi Ovadiah of Bartenuro in the sections set off with square brackets:
And behold
Boaz came from Bethlehem and said unto the reapers, “May HaShem be with you,”
and they answered him, “May HaShem bless you” (Ruth 2:4). And
[should you object that Boaz acted on his own, and one may not deduce anything from
him,] it also states [regarding the angel who spoke to Gideon], “HaShem
is with you, mighty man of valor” (Judges 6:12). [And should you object
that you can't deduce this from the angel, who merely repeated God’s command to
inform him that the Shekhinah is with him,] it also states, “And do not despise
your mother when she is old” (Proverbs 23:22). [That is, do not belittle
Boaz, who followed the custom of the elders; thus he had what to rely upon]; as
it also states, “It is time to act for HaShem; they have nullified Your Torah”
(Psalms
119:126). Rabbi Noson interprets this to mean that they have nullified
Your Torah because it is time to act for HaShem. [Sometimes
we must nullify Your Torah, to act for Hashem, as in offering greetings to
others, since this is G-d’s will; as it states, “Seek peace and pursue it
(Psalms 34:15)].
The
Tcheriner Rav continues:
There [in
the Mishnah] it states, “Do not disdain your mother when she is old,” as well
as “It is a time to act for G-d; they have nullified Your Torah.” Both verses teach
the same lesson, as the Gemara explains,[5] and
as the commentary of Rabbi Ovadiah of Bartenuro (ad loc.) also states.
Thus, we
find that Boaz, in mentioning the Divine Name, had what to rely upon. As it
states, “It is a time to act for HaShem; they have nullified Your Torah.” That
is, according to what is explained in the lesson “Rabbi Shimon opened…” (Likutey
Moharan I, 60, sec. 7) on this verse,[6] sometimes
the tzaddik must resort to telling stories to awaken people who have fallen away
from the “face” of holiness[7] into
spiritual sleep. The tzaddik
garbs the most profound teachings of the Torah
in such stories and ordinary conversations in order to make them
more accessible, as is explained there.
From this,
we can understand and infer (kal vi-chomer) that also in Olam Hazeh,
which is the World of Action (Asiyah), HaShem garbs sublime holiness (kedushah
gavoha). And this [holiness] is bound in absolute unity to the World to
Come. This is the meaning of “Do not disdain your mother when she is old.”[8] For
these stories [which the tzaddik tells to wake us up from spiritual sleep] are
an aspect of “she is old”—an aspect of the perfections of the Ancient One (“Tikuney
Atik,” the Zohar’s term for the Primordial Reality associated with the sefirah
of Keser / Crown), as discussed in the above-mentioned lesson, “Rabbi Shimon
opened…”
Continued here.
[1] The Tcheriner Rav references Likutey
Moharan, I, 54 (“Viyehi Miketz”). This lesson is cited in the first
part of the present teaching (see Posting 1).
[2] In Psalm 126 (“Shir ha-ma’alos
bi-shuv HaShem”), the Redemption is allegorized as the joyous bringing in of
sheaves of wheat from the field at the end of the day. This symbolism may be
extended to the attainment of the World to Come.
[3] That is, one must “remember the
World to Come,” in the sense that this higher reality is the soul’s place of
origin, as well as its spiritual destination.
[4] See Judges 6:32, that Gideon was subsequently
called “Yerubaal,” because he destroyed the altar of the pagan deity Baal, and
thus challenged Baal to contend (“yirev”) with him.
[5] Berakhos 54a.
[6] That is, Rebbe Nachman begins the
lesson with an excerpt from the Zohar (“Ha-Idra Rabba Kadisha,” Naso,
127a) on the verse, “It is a time to
act for G-d; they have nullified Your Torah.”
[7] There, the “face” of holiness
denotes a state of higher spiritual awareness or intellect. Accordingly, the
tzaddik must resort to telling stories to awaken others who have lost their
higher spiritual awareness. However, those who have lost their perception of
all “Seventy Faces” of the Torah can only be awakened through Sippurey
Ma’asiyos shel Shanim Kadmoniyos (“Stories of Primordial Times”), which
garb the deepest mysteries of the Torah, which lie at the core of reality.
[8]
That is, “she,” meaning the Hidden Torah within Olam Hazeh, “is old,” in the
sense of being primordial. This is what the Tcheriner Rav means by relating the
“wake up” stories told by the tzaddik to “the perfections of the Ancient One.”
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