(Painting by Marc Chagall)
Reb Noson of
Breslov, Likutey Halakhos, Hilkhos Har’sha’ah 3:13
Based on Likutey
Moharan I, 15
Posted in honor
of Reb Noson’s yahrtzeit, 10 Teves
Translation by
Dovid Sears
Connecting to
a true tzaddik who can guide us on the spiritual path and initiate us into the
depths of Torah wisdom is an essential part of the quest to come closer to
Hashem. Indeed, Chazal advise us to seek
instruction from a teacher who is comparable to a “malakh Hashem Tzeva’os,” an “angel
of the L-rd of Hosts” (Moed Katan 17a)—a teacher of the highest spiritual
caliber. Nevertheless, it is possible for the seeker to go astray in relating
to an angel, and implicitly to a holy teacher who is like an angel, as Reb
Noson explains here.[i]
A central
principle of this teaching is the contrast between the essential Divine Oneness
(“Echad”) and the multiplicity that is reflected by the world we ordinarily
experience. It is this factor of multiplicity that may lead to a fundamental
error in our perception of things, and ultimately to idolatry and heresy.
After the
Israelites sinned with the Golden Calf and sought many divine powers (harbeh
reshuyos), G-d told Moses, “Behold, I am sending an angel before you…”
(Exodus 23:20)—He gave over His power, so to speak, that the angel might lead
the Israelites. Moses did not desire this, as it is written, “And he said to Him, “If Your Presence[ii] does not go [with us], do
not take us up from here.” Because as soon as G-d delegated power to another
being, even a holy angel, since the power was transferred and thus estranged
from the Divine Oneness (Echad), this gave [the unholy forces] something
to grasp onto, G-d forbid. Thus it became possible, G-d forbid, for power to
reach the destructive angel, [which represents] the “fallen fears”[iii] that now are empowered to
do harm, G-d forbid.
This possibility only exists through the “many powers” and dominions
which proliferate due to transgressions, G-d forbid. [This is reflected by the
verse,] “Because of the sin of a land, its princes are many…” (Proverbs 28:2). From
[the “many powers”] the klippos[iv]
and the Evil Inclination obtain their grasp; and their main grasp is through the
heresies which come about only because the Blessed One sometimes empowers a shaliach
(emissary or agent) or an angel. As a result, the various heresies and forces
of constriction (dinim) are brought into existence, which declare that
there are two divine powers, G-d forbid.
As our
Sages state of “Acher” [the “Other One,” namely, Elisha ben Avuyah, the heretical
Mishnaic sage], who erred through this: “Acher,
what did he see [in his mystical vision]? He saw the Angel Metat,[v] who was divinely empowered to
sit and record the merits of the Jewish people… and he inferred [that there are
two deities]” (Chagigah 15a).
Therefore,
when G-d wished to dispatch an angel and give it the power to lead the
Israelites, He warned the Israelites to take great care not to go astray
through this, G-d forbid. Thus, it is written, “Behold, I am
sending an angel before you… Beware
of him … and do not rebel (tamer) against him” (Exodus 23:20, 21). On
this verse, our Sages expound, “Do not exchange Me (temireni, a
word-play on tamer) for him” (Sanhedrin 38b). For you must beware that you not go astray in
the way Acher went astray, by straying into heresies, G-d forbid, since G-d
empowered the angel —“for My Name is within him” (ibid.).
For
in truth, he possesses no power of his own whatsoever, G-d forbid; whatever he
does is only according to My power and as My agent, “for My Name is within
him.”
Thus we see that the greater the degree to which power is delegated,
even within the bounds of the holy, even [when delegated] to holy angels, this
may lead to the forces of evil obtaining a grasp, G-d forbid.
[i] Also see Rebbe Nachman’s words in Likutey
Moharan I, 31, sec. 3: “ ‘If the Rav (master) is like an angel of the L-rd
of hosts [seek Torah from his mouth]’– for the Rav also must possess the two
powers of the Torah, the ‘elixir of life’ and [the opposite], so that it will
be possible [for the seeker] to receive according to his will: ‘the righteous
will walk in them [i.e., the ways of the Torah], while sinners will stumble in
them.’ If one longs to serve G-d, may He be blessed, he will be able to receive
from the Rav a straight path by which to serve G-d. But if not, and there is
something amiss in his heart (tina yesh bi-libo), he will accordingly be
able to find in the Rav something with which he may ‘cut off his roots’ [‘kitzetz
bi-netiyos,’ an allusion to Acher, who saw the angel Metat in a vision and
concluded that he was a deity unto himself], and become a complete heretic, G-d
forbid.” Also see section 4 of the same lesson concerning “the four who
ascended to the Pardes (Orchard)” and the error of Acher.
[ii]
Literally, “Your Countenance,”
which the Targum renders as “Your Shekhinah (Presence).”
[iii] “Fallen fears” are all ego-related
fears, which devolve from the “holy fear,” which is fear and awe of Hashem.
[iv] Literally, “husks.” In
Lurianic kabbalah, klippos are the forces in creation that conceal the
holy, the way the outer husk or rind conceals the inner part of a fruit. They
are most dominant in the World of Asiyah (Action), which is the lowest of the
Four Worlds.
[v] It is customary neither to pronounce
this name in full (Metatron). Various ancient texts point out that “Metatron”
has the same gematria as “Shaddai,” a Divine Name. This informs the
verse mentioned above, “For My Name is within him” (Exodus 23:21).
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