כבוד רבו ות"ח א

Books of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov available in English: A person is obligated to teach his son Torah, and likewise his son's son, as it says, "And you shall make them known to your sons and your sons' sons" (Deuteronomy 4:9) etc.

For in truth, the best and most chosen teacher (melamed) is the father for his son, as it is written, "And you shall teach them to your sons" (Deuteronomy 11:19) etc. For the teacher needs to constrict (l'tzamtzem) the intellect and wisdom that he wants to explain to the child, and to clothe (l'halbish) the intellect so that he will be able to understand it, as is evident to the senses, and as is explained at the beginning of the ma'amar "Meishra d'sakina" (Torah 30).

And for this, the father is most suited for his son. For the levush [garment/garbing] of the mochin [intellectual faculties] is drawn to the son from the father from the time of birth, as is explained above in Hilchos Kibud Av Va'aim (Halacha 1). And therefore at all times the father is able to draw levushim for his son — to clothe within him the mochin, that is, the Torah and wisdom that he teaches him, as mentioned above. And this is the aspect of what is explained in the words of Rabbeinu in the ma'amar "Pasach Rabbi Shimon" etc. (Torah 60): that the primary hisbonenus [contemplative understanding] is received through ashirus [wealth]; see there. For ashirus is the aspect of levush and tzimtzum, in the aspect of "From the north (mitzafon) gold comes" (Job 37:22) — which is the left side (sitra dism'ol), from which comes the tzimtzum. And ashirus is the inheritance of fathers, as it is written, "House and wealth are the inheritance of fathers" (Proverbs 19:14), as Rabbeinu wrote in the aforementioned ma'amar; see there. And therefore through this specifically — that is, through the aspect of ashirus, which is the aspect of tzimtzum and levush that is received from the father, as mentioned above — through this one can receive the hisbonenus, as mentioned above. And therefore the Rav is also called av [father], as it is written, "My father, my father, chariot of Israel" (II Kings 2:12) etc. And as our Sages of blessed memory said (Sanhedrin 19b): "Whoever teaches the son of his fellow Torah, it is as if he bore him." For since he taught him Torah, it turns out that he drew for him a levush for his wisdom, as mentioned above — for without this it is impossible to teach, as mentioned above. It turns out that he is truly his father, as mentioned above. And therefore it is best that his father himself should learn with his son, as mentioned above. And if he is unable to learn with him, he is obligated to pay tuition (s'char limud), as is written in the Shulchan Aruch. For the aspect of the tuition that the father pays for his son — through which the son merits learning and understanding — this is the aspect of hisbonenus that is received through ashirus, which is the inheritance of fathers: that is, the tuition that the father pays for his son, through which he receives the hisbonenus, as mentioned above. And all this — that is, the hisbonenus together with the levush, that is, the aspect of ashirus which is the inheritance of fathers — all this is received from arichus yamim [length of days], which is the aspect of zakain, the aspect of Atik, the aspect of avuha d'abba [the father of the father], as is explained there in the aforementioned ma'amar; see there well. And this is the aspect of the obligation for the grandfather to teach his grandson Torah — for he is most suited for this. For the root of the Torah and the hisbonenus that this son needs to receive is from the aspect of the zakain, that is, avuha d'abba, the aspect of Atik — from which is the root of the Torah and the hisbonenus, as mentioned above. And similarly it is explained elsewhere that the root of the Torah is from the aspect of Atik. For it is stated in the words of Rabbeinu (Torah 118) that all renewal of Torah is the aspect of Moshe-Mashi'ach, as it is written, "And the spirit of G-d hovered over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2) — "this is the spirit of Mashi'ach." And the waters are the aspect of the Torah; see there. And Mashi'ach is the aspect of Atik, as it is written, "And he reached the Atik Yomaya" (Daniel 7:13) etc. It turns out that the root of the Torah is from the aspect of Atik, that is, the aspect of Mashi'ach. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said: "Whoever is a talmid chacham, and his son is a talmid chacham, and his son's son is a talmid chacham — the Torah will never cease from his descendants, as it says, 'They shall not depart from your mouth'" (Isaiah 59:21) etc. And the Tosafos explained: "And this is when they see each other." For this is the fulfillment of the Torah in completeness — that the grandson merits receiving the Torah from its root, that is, the aspect of the zakain, the aspect of Atik, as mentioned above. And therefore every aspect of the Torah is tripartite (m'shuleshes), as our Sages of blessed memory said (Shabbos 88a): "Blessed is the Merciful One who gave a threefold Torah to a threefold people through a third-born" etc. For from there is the chain of descent of the Torah, from a threefold aspect — that is, the grandfather, the father, and the son, as mentioned above. And this is what is written, "And you shall make them known to your sons and your sons' sons." Up to here is the mercy of the father upon the son. For the perceptions of Torah, which are the aspect of mercy — for mercy depends on da'as, as Rabbeinu wrote many times — and they descend in a chain from the aspect of the zakain, who is the aspect of Atik, to the grandson, as mentioned above. Just as it is a mitzvah to teach one's son, so too it is a mitzvah to teach one's grandson, as it says, "And you shall make them known to your sons and your sons' sons." And not his grandson alone — rather, it is a mitzvah upon every chacham to teach students etc. However, it is a mitzvah to give precedence to his son over his grandson, and his grandson over the son of his fellow. [Until here is the language of the Shulchan Aruch.] The matter of ben and ben haben [son and grandson] is according to what Rabbeinu of blessed memory wrote in the ma'amar "Vayehi mikaitz — ki merachamam yenahaigem" (Likutay Tinyana, Torah 7) — the matter of ben and talmid; see there well the matter. And the general principle: the illumination of the ben is the aspect of Ayay — the aspect of the perception of the daray ma'alah [the dwellers above]. And the illumination of the talmid is the aspect of "The whole earth is full of His glory" — the aspect of the perception of the daray matah [the dwellers below]. And one must include the worlds: the upper in the lower and the lower in the upper etc.; see there the entire matter well. And this itself is the aspect of ben and ben haben. For b'nai vanim [grandchildren] are the aspect of limudai Hashem [students of Hashem], the aspect of students. For b'nai vanim are Netzach and Hod, as is brought in the Kavanos on "u'maivi go'el livnai v'naihem" [and brings a redeemer to their children's children]. And Netzach and Hod are the aspect of limudai Hashem, the aspect of students, as is explained in the words of Rabbeinu of blessed memory at the end of the aforementioned ma'amar. For the distinction between ben and talmid is that the ben's perception is the perception of the father himself, the aspect of Mah, the aspect of Ayay, which is the aspect of daray ma'alah. And the talmid, who is more distant — therefore his perception is the aspect of "the whole earth is full of His glory," which is the aspect of the perception of the daray matah, who are more distant, and one must illuminate in them the aspect of "the whole earth is full of His glory." And this is the aspect of ben and ben haben. For since the ben haben is more distant than the ben, therefore his perception, in relation to the ben, is the aspect of the perception of the talmid — the aspect of "the whole earth is full of His glory." Since he has already descended further in the chain and become more distant in level from the ben. And therefore it is a great completeness when the chacham merits teaching his son and his grandson Torah. For then a great inclusiveness (klaliyus) is made in total completeness — of ben and talmid. For he merits that the ben and the talmid are both drawn from him and included in him — for his son and his grandson are the aspect of ben and talmid, as mentioned above, and both are included in him, who is the father of the father, the aspect of zakain. And this is the aspect of Keser, which is the aspect of zakain, as is known — which is the aspect of the perception of the chacham himself, who merits the shefa of Keser that illuminates in ben and talmid, as is explained there in the aforementioned ma'amar. It turns out that a complete inclusiveness is made in great completeness, and ben and talmid — that is, the son and the grandson — are included and receive and draw sustenance from their source, which is the father of their father, who is the chacham and zakain who merits the shefa of Keser, where ben and talmid are included, as mentioned above and as understood from the aforementioned ma'amar. And therefore the grandson takes precedence over the son of his fellow. For the grandson, who is a talmid, is in greater completeness than another talmid. For even the talmid needs to be included in the aspect of ben, as is explained there. But the ben haben, who is the aspect of talmid as mentioned above, is more included in the aspect of ben — since he is drawn from the very mind of the chacham himself, and he is the grandson. Therefore he is more included in the aspect of ben. And this is the primary completeness: that ben and talmid should be included together. And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said: "Whoever is a talmid chacham, and his son is a talmid chacham, and his grandson is a talmid chacham — the Torah will never cease from his descendants, as it says, 'They shall not depart from your mouth'" etc. For the primary endurance of the Torah — that it should not be forgotten — is through the inclusiveness of ben and talmid, which is the inclusiveness of the worlds, daray ma'alah and daray matah, as mentioned above. For this is the primary completeness: when the worlds are included together, the upper in the lower etc. And this is the primary life — which is the Torah — that includes the perception of ben and talmid, which is the inclusiveness of the entire Torah. For the primary life is when the nefesh, that is, the da'as, is bound in the body. And body and nefesh are the aspect of daray ma'alah and daray matah. And when they are bound and included together, this is the aspect of life — which is the aspect of the binding of the worlds and their inclusiveness together. But when the worlds are not included together, G-d forbid, this is the aspect of death — when the nefesh departs from the body, G-d forbid — because there is no connection between upper and lower. And this is the aspect of shikchah [forgetfulness], which is the aspect of death, as Rabbeinu of blessed memory wrote (Torah 37). For shikchah is the departure of the da'as — when the da'as departs from the body, and the intellect and da'as, which is the neshamah, is not bound in the body. And therefore shikchah is the aspect of death, G-d forbid, as our Sages of blessed memory said: "Whoever forgets one matter etc. it is as if he is liable with his life" etc. And therefore, when one merits that he, his son, and his grandson are all talmidai chachamim, the Torah will never be forgotten from his descendants — since ben and talmid are included in their root in total completeness, as mentioned above. Therefore the Torah endures in his descendants and is not forgotten from them — since the worlds are included: that is, ben and talmid, which are the aspect of daray ma'alah and daray matah, the aspect of nefesh and body. And this is the aspect of life, the aspect of zikaron [memory] — the opposite of shikchah. And therefore the Torah endures in them and is not forgotten — for the primary endurance of the Torah is through the inclusiveness of ben and talmid, which is the inclusiveness of the entire Torah. For the primary da'as, which is the Torah, is the aspect of these two perceptions of ben and talmid, which is the generality of the entire Torah, which is the da'as. And this is what is written as a generality of the Torah: "And you shall make them known to your sons and your sons' sons." For this is the generality of the entire Torah — the aspect of the illumination of the son and the grandson, who are the aspect of ben and talmid, which is the aspect of the inclusiveness of the Torah, as mentioned above. And this is what is written, "Guard yourself etc. lest you forget the matters etc. and etc. and you shall make them known to your sons and your sons' sons" (Deuteronomy 4:9). For through illuminating in the son and the grandson — who are the aspect of ben and talmid, which is the aspect of the inclusiveness of the worlds, daray ma'alah and daray matah, nefesh and body — the aspect of life — through this one is saved from shikchah, which is the aspect of the departure of da'as, the aspect of death, G-d forbid, as mentioned above — which is the aspect of there being no inclusiveness and connection between upper and lower, as mentioned above. And this is what the Tosafos wrote regarding the aforementioned saying — "Whoever is [a talmid chacham], and his son" etc. — "and this is when they see each other." For this is the primary completeness: when they see each other, and the son and grandson both receive and draw sustenance from the father of their father — who is the aspect of the zakain — in whom both are included together, upper and lower, ben and talmid. And then, when these three are included together — that is, the son and the grandson, who are the aspect of ben and talmid — and both are included together in the aspect of the zakain, who is the father of their father, who draws from the shefa of Keser where they are all included, as mentioned above — then a great inclusiveness is made in great completeness, and then a threefold cord (chut hameshulash) is made. For they are included together in total inclusiveness, like a twisted thread — for it all becomes one, since the ben and the talmid — who is the grandson — are included together in their root, in the father of their father, where they are included together. For there, ben and talmid are all one. And then, through this inclusiveness, the Torah endures forever — for this is the primary endurance of the Torah and the da'as: through the inclusiveness of ben and talmid, as mentioned above. Blessed be Hashem forever, amain and amain. Melamdim 1 (LM I:30, I:60, I:118): The father is the ideal teacher because the levush (intellectual garbing) for the son's mochin is drawn from the father at birth. Teaching = clothing wisdom in a form the child can receive. Ashirus (wealth) = levush/tzimtzum = nachlas avos → through this comes hisbonenus. Even paying tuition is an aspect of this ashirus/levush. The grandfather (zakain/Atik/avuha d'abba) is the root: Torah originates from Atik = Moshe-Mashi'ach. Triple chain (grandfather-father-son) = why Torah is m'shuleshes (Shabbos 88a). "V'hodatam l'vanecha v'livnai vanecha" = the mercy (rachamim) of father to son, descending from Atik to the grandson. Melamdim 2 (LM II:7): Ben = Ayay = perception of daray ma'alah. Talmid = "m'lo kol ha'aretz kevodo" = perception of daray matah. Ben haben (grandson) = talmid (more distant), but uniquely also included in ben (drawn from chacham's own mind). Three generations included in Keser = chut hameshulash. Klaliyus ben v'talmid = klaliyus of upper/lower worlds = nefesh and body = life = zikaron. Without this inclusiveness = shikchah = death. "Lo yamushu mipicha" — Torah endures forever when ben and talmid are included in their root.