Far and Near

Sichos HaRan 247

Translated by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, Rabbi Nachman’s Wisdom (Breslov Research Institute), pp. 379-380

The Rebbe said:

The greater your riches, the further you are from them.

When you only have a little money, you can keep it on your person.

When you acquire more, you must keep it in a strongbox. It is then more distant from you.

When you acquire still more, then you must keep it in the bank. It is yet further from you.

Acquire still more, and your wealth and investments are scattered in other cities and faraway places. They are still further away from you.

The more honor and riches you have, the further away they are.

Great emperors and kings have very great honor, but it is furthest away of all. The czar's subjects sing his anthem here each evening, while he sits far away in his palace.

The more honor a man has, the further away it is.

This is true of the worldly. But with Torah and good deeds, the more you have, the closer it is to you.