Azamra / Rabbi Nachman: Who He Was - Part 5
אזמרה
Source: https://ajew.org/reader/azamra/1/5

Segment 1
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Na Nach Nachma Nachman MayUman

Segment 2
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Outpouring of the Soul

Segment 3
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No matter how fallen, find some good point

Segment 4
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When a person begins to look upon himself, and he sees that he is distant from being good, and that he is full of transgressions, then it is possible that through this he will fall, and will not be able to pray and do hisbodidus whatsoever. Therefore, he must search, and seek, and find in himself some good, for how is it possible that never in his life he did some mitzva or something good. And even though when he begins to look at that good which he did, he sees that the good itself is full of wounds, for the good is mixed with ulterior intentions and a lot of rot, even still, how is it possible that there will not be in the little good some good point. And so he should search and seek further, until he finds in himself some other good points. And through this that he finds in himself some (sort of) merit and good, through this he will actually decamp from the measure of guilt to the measure of merit, and he will be able to return in repentance through this, in the aspect of (Psalms 37:10), “and a little bit [more] and there is no longer an evil person,” that is, through finding in oneself a(nother) little bit in which he is not evil, through this (continuation of the verse), “and you will contemplate his place and he is not there,” on his original level. And through this he can vitalize himself and bring himself, (even) the way he is, to joy, and then he will be able to pray, and sing, and express gratitude to Hashem. And this is (Psalms 104:33, 146:2), “I will sing to my G-d with my little bit {/while I am still living/ with my very being},” namely, with the little bit (more) – the good points which I still have, through this I can sing and pray to Hashem Yisburach. (Likutay Moharan, Torah 282; Likutay Aitzoas, encouragement 26).

Segment 5
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[And see in the book “Ullim LiTrufah” (Leaves for Healing) from our teacher the holy rav, Rabbi Nussun zatza”l who wrote there in Yiddish, in letter 235, how our master, leader, and rabbi zatza”l said this matter, in order that the words would enter the heart of every person, to adopt this with temeemus (unfeigned simplicity/wholesomeness) and simplicity, and he wrote there, “And this is what our master, leader, and holy rabbi zatza”l would say: az a mentch zeht ehr iz zehr shuffil , tor ehr nit arup fallin , nor ehr mooz zich micha'yeh zain in zul zich mi'yashev zain : vey hub ich nit eppes amitzva gittun , vey hub ich furt nit amuhl eppes gitz gittun ; ich fast in Yoam Kippur , in Tishu Bi'Uv oych , un kul hadalled taanaisim oych chutsh dus hartz tit mir zehr vay . Un gai amuhl in mikva arain , un afeeloo in kul hakilkoolim Rachmuna litzlun , mootshe ich mich zehr un vil mich zehr matzil zain vichooloo . In vey seh iz , al kul punim eppes nikoodoas toavoas hub ich in mir , vus ich hub kamuh pumim gitten rutzoan Haboaray yisburach . In dehr mit miz men zich micha'ye zain nisht mi'ya'ish zain bishoom oafen vichooloo . See there in Likutay Moharan all these things, and internalize these words in your heart anew. And if Heaven forbid, the litigator (baal duvur – Satan) surmounts, it is necessary afterwards to go back and take this up, and so (too) every single day and every time, and in the process Hashem Yisburach helps substantially.

Segment 6
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“And specifically to be resolute and converse and say all of this before Hashem Yisburach, and to say (for the sake of brevity the Yiddish has been removed, leaving the English in a slightly smaller font), 'Master of the World, the way I am, the way I am, like You know, and I know my pain, You have nevertheless done with me a world of kindness, in creating me from the progeny of Israel and not making me etc., and I was nonetheless circumcised, and given to bleed on the eighth day, and in religious Jewish elementary school, I learned the Hebrew alphabet, and the prayer book, and five books of the Torah, and Talmud etc.. Abundant suffering and hitting I endured from the teachers, and of my own right I toiled several times. What can be done, my desire is to do Your will, but the leaven in the dough (-the evil inclination) restrains me (Brachos 17a), and if the holy Tana (-sage) of the Talmud was not embarrassed to say this, we certainly should not be ashamed to scream this before Hashem Yisburach, in all types of expressions of vociferation: bitter, bitter, bitter etc., givald (-woe/alas/catastrophic), givald etc.. And if Heaven forbid, Heaven be merciful, the baal duvur (litigator – Satan) overbears, it is necessary to scream still more and more, and so every time, until Hashem overlooks and sees from the Heavens, “for Hashem will not forsake forever (Lamentations 3:31).” And that which the salvation is delayed, entails extremely esoteric matters, for His thoughts blessed He are very deep (Psalms 32:6; see below article 100), and certainly the impediment is on our part, what we don't arouse to properly surmount over everything which needs to be overcome, and also (because) Hashem Yisburach wants and desires the prayers of Israel (Yevumoas 64, Shemos Raba 21:4), even the worst of the worst, and wants that he should pray copiously and scream to Him blessed He more etc.,” see there.

Segment 7
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Afterword

Segment 8
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Torah-lesson 282, Azamra is the last Torah of the first volume of Likutay Moharan, and it is followed by the declaration of the completion of the holy book. However, there are then four more short additions (resulting in 286, the numerical value of Nachman MeUman with the inclusive).

Segment 9
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After the publication of the first volume of Likutay Moharan, Rabbi Nachman said (Yimay Moharanat 29), "It is necessary to compile one more book which will be even more nice and beautiful than the first." Shortly thereafter Rabbainu began revealing the Torah-lesson of "A-yay," how a person who finds himself even in the worst darkness and defilement – perhaps we can say that means he can't find even a bit of good – must realize that there is no existence which is not from Hashem, and he must scream to Hashem to realize His holiness. Even still, the very last words of the second volume conclude with a directive to the reader to see and learn more about the concept discussed there in the Torah-lesson Azamra at the end of the first volume (-The second volume has 125 Torah-lessons, with the inclusive – 126 the numerical value of the name of Hashem spelled out (without vowels) as follows: A, AD, ADN, ADNY. Just as Rabbainu revealed his name Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman).

Segment 10
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Both these Torah-lessons, Azamru and A-yay, begin with the Hebrew letter Aleph, which can mean one thousand. In Likutay Halachos (Laws of Airoovay Tichoomin 6), Rabbi Nussun explains that these two Torah-lessons are the two thousand cubits which are the boundaries of Shabbos (one is not allowed to walk 2,000 cubits outside of a settlement on Shabbos) – the holiness of the tzadik. The Aleph of A-yay, corresponding to the actual sanctity of Shabos and the tzadik, which is utterly supreme (Aleph – same letters as "pella" hidden and wondrous), and the Aleph of Azamra corresponding to the holiness of the elongation that we add to Shabbos, as the Arizal revealed that Moshe receives then the 1,000 portions of light he received on Mount Sinai and were taken from him when Israel sinned with the Golden Calf (– symbolized in the small Aleph of Va-yikra). In compensation Moshe was given the crowns that Israel had received, and when the 1,000 lights are returned to Moshe with the early extension of Shabbos, Moshe, of his own volition, returns the crowns to Israel. This being the concept of the tzadik building the good in each and every one of Israel.

Segment 11
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Rabbi Nussun also explains how they correlate to the 2,000 cubits which were allocated around the cities of the Levites – aspect of the tzadik; one thousand completely bare and open, corresponding to the Vacated Space which is overcome with the Torah of A-yay, and one thousand for fields and vineyards, corresponding to the building up the good as explained in Azamra.[6]

Segment 12
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Thus we find in Blossoms of the Spring (Eebay Hanachal, volume 2, letter 135) that Saba Yisroel brings these two aitzoas (remedies, recourse, advice) together:

Segment 13
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"The main work of the tzadik (is) – to cull and raise the good from the depth of evil, and he raises even the souls who are very fallen, by means of his finding merit for them; even utterly wicked people, the very worst, as long as he is called by the name of Israel (-a Jew), [the tzadik] searches, and seeks, and finds some sort of merit, and through this raises them even from the depth of evil, and the good is culled and the evil is cast away and completely nullified. And this is the aspect of the revelation of Messiah (who will gather all the castaways from the four corners of the world). When a person falls to the place where he falls, even if he falls to very disgusting ways, which are the aspect of the filthy places, and even someone who falls Heaven forbid to doubts and skepticism, and is skeptical of Hashem Yisburach, even still there is no despair in the world whatsoever; even though it seems to him that in his place Hashem Yisburach is not to be found whatsoever Heaven forbid, because he fell to such filthy places, may the Merciful One save us, even still he should strengthen, and embolden, and make valiant effort to quest, and to seek, and to search after the glory of Hashem Yisburach etc.," see there a synopsis of the Torah-lesson of A-yay.[7]

Segment 14
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All the holy teachings Rabbainu revealed, he did so with the intention that the teachings would be put into effect and acted upon. Even though they are the highest most esoteric secrets of the Torah, of which each person in his own right perceives only a little tiny bit according to his limited understanding, each person must try to apply the concepts and constructs in his life and devotion of Hashem. This is made very clear in Sichos HuRan – The Words of Rabbi Nachman (article 131), and elsewhere. There are however many revelations regarding the status of the true tzadik and his role and power, and with regard to these ideals a person’s main initiative isn’t to attain that position, rather he must strive to seek out that true tzadik who has those ideals, and draw close to him. Even still, there is still place for a person to pray to merit some of the high qualities and virtues of the true tzadik, because in prayer one can pray for everything, and if the prayer is for something pertinent and relevant to him, it will bring him closer to realizing it, and if he prays for something beyond his capacity, it will bring him closer to the paradigm of the true tzadik who serves Hashem with that ideal.

Segment 15
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The Torah-teaching of Azamruh, incorporates both ends of the spectrum, the function of the true tzadik, and the roles of everyone else, and the lines get blurred, because the teaching exhorts a person to play the role of the tzadik, regarding both his relationship with himself and his relationship with others, and yet at some stage it is only the true tzadik who can actually fulfill this role, and he is needed even by each person on their own individual level to achieve their own fulfillment of this Torah-teaching.

Segment 16
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In the actual Torah-lesson of Azamru, Rabbi Nussun wrote in brackets how Rabbainu strongly exhorted to go with this Torah-lesson, and throughout his writings he reiterates this (See also his letter, brought above in Outpouring of the Soul). There are also many more places which convey the importance of living and abiding by the Torah-lesson of Azamru.

Segment 17
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In The Life of Our Leader Rabbi Nachman (article 34) a story is recounted of Rabbi Nachman, on the day before the last Rosh Hashana of his life, someone asked him for advice how to merit to diligence in Torah study. Rabbi Nachman told him that he should not speak (bad) of any Jew (see the explanation there, and Sichos Huran 91). The person asked Rabbainu, what if he sees that he is a completely wicked person? Rabbainu strongly admonished him, how he could suggest that one from (the nation of) Israel is completely wicked, for certainly there is still found in him a bit of good or some good point where he is not wicked, and he recalled the matter of, "a bit more and there is no wicked" which is explained in the Torah-lesson of Azamru, see there. Based on this, Saba wrote in Blossoms of the Spring (volume 3, letter 268. In the early printings see volume 2, letter 119), "Also he should be careful not to speak (bad) of any one of (the nation of) Israel, just on the contrary, he should strive with all this strength to find merit and good in each one of Israel; and even if he seems Heaven forbid, to be completely wicked, he should strive to find in him good points where he is not wicked, until every one of Israel is beautiful and pleasant in his eyes."

Segment 18
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Also in The Life of Our Leader Rabbi Nachman (article 569), Rabbi Nussun writes that Rabbi Nachman told him how a person came over to him complaining bitterly about how terrible he is, and that despite years of attempting to better himself and draw close to Hashem Yisburach, he is still so terrible. Rabbi Nachman replied to this person, "I have no one to talk to, because you are already completely bad." The person immediately was aroused and answered, "But behold even still sometimes I surmount to draw myself to the holiness of an Israelite etc.." To this Rabbainu replied, "That is a little bit." And Rabbainu immediately instructed him to go with the Torah-lesson of Azamru. Rabbi Nussun writes that he understood Rabbainu's intention, that precisely in this way Rabbainu was able to revivify this person who had fallen so far that nothing could revitalize him, only by pronouncing him to be completely lost and bad, by this the person came around on his own, and began to realize the holiness of some of the good points that he did in fact have, and then Rabbainu directed him to practice the Torah-lesson Azamru.

Segment 19
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Likutay Halachos, Rabbi Nussun's monumental work explaining the Jewish laws and customs according to the holy awesome teachings of Rabbi Nachman, begins with an extremely lengthy exposition on the importance of waking up to start the day at midnight (Rabbi Nachman said that this is the main job of a Jew. Words of Rabbi Nachman 301), all based on this construct of finding some bit of good, even – and specifically in the darkest hour, and building upon it. This is the concept of the blessings made upon waking up, thanking Hashem for each and every goodness He bestowed.

Segment 20
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In a letter to his son, Rabbi Nussun writes (Ullim Litrufa 250 and 279), "If we only came to the world to hear the Torah "Azamru" it would be sufficient!"