Likutay Moharan II Torah 72: To See Oneself with the Tzadik of Truth

Likutay Moharan II Torah 72: To See Oneself with the Tzadik of Truth Know that to see oneself with the tzadik [righteous one] of truth is also a very great matter. Certainly, when one merits to hear Torah [divine teaching] from his mouth, it is a superior virtue. However, even when one does not hear Torah, the seeing alone—meriting to see oneself with the tzadik—is also very good. For through seeing oneself with the tzadik, one receives gedulah [greatness], and the essence of gedulah is shiflus [humility]. As we find with Hashem [the Name, G-d]: “In every place where you find His gedulah [greatness], there you find His anavah [humility]” (Megillah 31a). For the essence of gedulah is shiflus. In the future, when they will stand in the techiyah [resurrection] and live eternal life, the essence of what will be revived and arise in the techiyah is the shiflus of each individual. For the shiflus of each and every person will be revived and arise in the techiyah in the future, in the aspect of: “Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust” (Isaiah 26:19). Our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded (Sotah 5a): This refers to one who becomes a neighbor to the dust in his lifetime. For the essence of arising in the techiyah will be only for the shiflus. The shiflus of each and every person will be revived and arise in the techiyah in the future. For the pleasure of the World to Come cannot be comprehended by us now, because we are now in a state of limitation. Anything that has a limit cannot comprehend the spiritual pleasure of the World to Come. Therefore, even the pleasure of Shabbos [Sabbath], which is a semblance of the World to Come, our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Shabbos 118b): “Whoever delights in the Shabbos is given an inheritance without boundaries,” meaning without limit. For the pleasure of Shabbos, which is a semblance of the World to Come, is in the aspect of being without limit. Therefore, the essence of eternal life in the World to Come, in the aspect of the pleasure of the World to Come, will be only for the shiflus of each individual.

For shiflus and humility are in the aspect of being without limit, as it is in the aspect of absolute nothingness, having no limit due to its ultimate humility. The essence of eternal life in the World to Come is only in the aspect of being without limit, as mentioned above. Therefore, regarding Shabbos, which is a semblance of the World to Come, it is said: “Those who taste it merit life” (Tikunay Zohar, Tikkun 7). For one who tastes the flavor of the pleasure of Shabbos merits life, in the aspect of eternal life, as mentioned above. Know that each and every person, according to the illumination of his mochin [intellect], merits to receive gedulah in the aspect of: “A king bound in the channels” (Song of Songs 6:3), meaning channels of mochin (Tikunay Zohar, Tikkun 6, 5a). That is, the aspect of malchus [kingship], which is gedulah, is bound and tied to the channels of mochin. According to the illumination of the mochin, one receives gedulah. The mochin and knowledge are in the aspect of building the Bais HaMikdash [Holy Temple]. As our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Berachos 33b): “Whoever has knowledge is as if the Bais HaMikdash was built in his days,” for knowledge is placed between two letters, and the Bais HaMikdash is placed between two letters, and so forth. Therefore, each person, according to his knowledge and intellect, and according to how he immerses himself in knowledge, the more he strives to increase his intellect and knowledge, the more he engages in building the Bais HaMikdash. For the essence of the aspect of building the Bais HaMikdash is knowledge, as mentioned above. There is one who has a swift and sharp intellect and constantly strives to increase his intellect and knowledge, which is the aspect of engaging in building the Bais HaMikdash.

According to the increase of his knowledge and intellect, he merits to receive gedulah. “Have you seen a man swift in his work? He will stand before kings” (Proverbs 22:29). A man swift in his work is the aspect of one who has a swift and sharp intellect, as mentioned above, which is the aspect of being swift in his work, meaning in the work of building the Bais HaMikdash (see Rashi on Song of Songs, beginning). For the work of building the Bais HaMikdash is according to his intellect, as mentioned above. Through this, “he will stand before kings,” meaning he merits gedulah, in the aspect of malchus. For gedulah is according to the illumination of the intellect, in the aspect of: “A king bound in the channels,” as mentioned above. There is a general intellect and particular intellects. All particular intellects receive from the general intellect, which is the chacham [wise one] of the generation. This is the virtue of one who merits to see himself with the tzadik of truth, who is the chacham of the generation, the aspect of the general chacham, as mentioned above.

For through this general chacham seeing him and looking at him, his intellect is illuminated. Through the illumination of his intellect, he receives gedulah. For the essence of gedulah is through the illumination of the intellect, as mentioned above. For eyes are called after chochmah [wisdom], as it is written: “The eyes of both of them were opened” (Genesis 3:7), and Rashi explains: This is said after chochmah. Therefore, through this chacham, who is the general intellect, looking at him, wisdom and intellect are illuminated in him, and his intellect is sparked, and through this, he receives gedulah, as mentioned above. For each and every person has some intellect and knowledge according to his level, but the intellect and knowledge of each individual are placed in a state of smallness and are not illuminated. Through the chacham of the generation, who is the general intellect, looking at him, the intellect of each and every person is illuminated according to the level of his intellect. Through the illumination of the intellect, each person receives gedulah according to the level of his intellect. For the essence of gedulah is through the illumination of the intellect, as mentioned above. Therefore, Moshe Rabbainu [Moses our Teacher], peace be upon him, who was the general knowledge of all Israel, through his seeing alone—looking into each and every person—could distribute gedulah and authority to each and every person as was fitting for him according to the level of his intellect.

This is the aspect of: “And you shall see from all the people, and you shall appoint over them leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds” (Exodus 18:21). “And you shall see” precisely, for through the seeing alone of Moshe Rabbainu, who saw and looked at each and every person, the intellect of each person was illuminated. Through this, each and every person received gedulah and authority according to his worth, as was fitting for him according to the level of his intellect, in the aspect of leaders of thousands and leaders of hundreds, and so forth. This is: “And you shall see… and you shall appoint over them leaders of thousands,” for through Moshe seeing and looking at the people, through this alone, he appoints them as leaders of thousands, and so forth. For through his looking at them, each person receives his gedulah through the illumination of his intellect, which is sparked through the looking of the chacham of the generation, in the aspect of Moshe, as mentioned above. Also, Moshe was able to command that this one should be a leader of a thousand and that one a leader of a hundred, and so forth.

For through his looking at them, he knew the gedulah appropriate for each and every person, because through his looking, he knew the illumination of the intellect of each person, according to which gedulah is due to him, as mentioned above. When each person receives gedulah as is truly fitting for him according to the level of his intellect, through the true leader, in the aspect of Moshe, who can distribute gedulah to each person as is fitting for him through his looking alone, then each of the leaders and officers of Israel knows to innovate insights in the Torah according to what is fitting for him according to the level of his intellect, neither less nor more. For since each one stands in his truly appropriate place, meaning he has authority and gedulah as is truly fitting for him, as mentioned above, each one knows according to his gedulah and appointment how and to what extent he must innovate in the Torah and before how many people he must teach Torah. For one who is appointed over a thousand of Israel, meaning a leader of a thousand, must teach Torah before a thousand people, and so for all. For there is an aspect of spirit in each and every person, and the true leader of all Israel, in the aspect of Moshe, is the aspect of the general spirit, in the aspect of: “A man in whom there is spirit” (Numbers 27:18), and Rashi explains: Who knows how to conduct himself according to the spirit of each and every person. The general spirit knows how to conduct itself according to every spirit, for all receive from him, as he is the aspect of the general spirit, in the aspect of: “Thus says Hashem: Come from the four winds, O spirit” (Ezekiel 37:9). This spirit is the aspect of the spirit of G-d, which is itself the aspect of the mochin, in the aspect of: “And I filled him with the spirit of G-d, with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, and with all craftsmanship” (Exodus 31:3), meaning the aspect of the mochin, which is the aspect of the craftsmanship of building the Bais HaMikdash, as mentioned above. Each person, according to the aspect of the spirit of G-d in him, which is the aspect of the holy spirit, the spirit of prophecy, accordingly merits to innovate in the Torah. For this spirit of G-d rests upon the face of the Torah, in the aspect of: “And the spirit of G-d hovered over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2), meaning over the face of the Torah, which is called water, as our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded (Taanis 7a, Bava Kamma 17a). Therefore, through this spirit of G-d, one merits to innovate in the Torah, for the spirit of G-d rests upon the face of the Torah, as mentioned above. Therefore, through the true leader, in the aspect of Moshe, in the aspect of the general knowledge, the general spirit, through whom the intellect of each person is illuminated, which is itself the aspect of the spirit of G-d that draws to each person. For the spirit of G-d is itself the mochin, as mentioned above. Therefore, through this, insights in the Torah are drawn to each person, for the insights in the Torah are through the aspect of the spirit of G-d that rests upon the face of the Torah, as mentioned above, which is itself the aspect of the mochin, all of which is drawn from the leader, in the aspect of Moshe, who is the general knowledge, the general spirit, as mentioned above. However, this leader must be greatly separated in great holiness.

Only then can he be a leader of Israel. For through his separation and great holiness, he can see and look at each one of Israel and distribute gedulah to each one through his looking alone, in the aspect of: “And you shall see” (Exodus 18:21). For this looking depends on great holiness and separation. Therefore, Moshe Rabbainu, who was extremely holy and greatly separated, as it is written: “And you, stand here with Me” (Deuteronomy 5:31), could see and look at Israel and distribute gedulah to them through this. This is: “And you shall see,” “you” precisely, for only Moshe, who was greatly separated in great holiness, merited this looking. For this looking, in the aspect of “And you shall see,” depends only on holiness and separation from this desire. This is the aspect of: “And the harlots washed” (1 Kings 22:38), and our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded (Sanhedrin 39b): To purify two visions, meaning that according to how one washes himself from this desire, in the aspect of: “And the harlots washed,” meaning he washes himself from this desire, so too he purifies and clarifies two visions, in the aspect of: “And you shall see,” in the aspect of: “Have you seen a man swift in his work…” (Proverbs 22:29), meaning the aspect of the aforementioned looking. For the essence of this looking is through holiness and separation from this desire, as mentioned above. For this desire is the aspect of the blemish of the eyes, as it is written: “And you shall not stray… after your eyes, after which you go astray [zonim]” (Numbers 15:39). Therefore, one must sanctify himself greatly with great separation from this desire, and then he has pure eyes to see and look and give gedulah to each one as is fitting for him through his looking alone, as mentioned above. Only then can he be a leader of Israel, as mentioned above. When Israel does not have such a true leader and overseer, the entire world is confused and chaotic, and anyone who wishes to take the name takes it, as is the practice now due to our many sins. For Israel needs an overseer who oversees and sees them, ensuring that each one stands in his truly appropriate place. This overseer must be greatly separated and holy, in the aspect of the holiness and separation of Moshe. Then he can lead Israel, giving each one gedulah as is fitting for him through his looking alone, as mentioned above. Through this, teshuvah [repentance] is achieved. For the essence of teshuvah is through shame. Through this leader, in the aspect of Moshe, who looks at each and every person and illuminates his intellect, and he merits insights in the Torah, meaning innovations in the Torah, through this, shame is drawn upon each and every person.

Then each one sees his shame and disgrace, for a transgression is certainly a great shame, for a transgression is entirely unfitting for Israel. Certainly, it is not at all proper for Israel to have a transgression, Heaven forbid. But even a mitzvah [commandment], when one wishes to perform some mitzvah, it is fitting that he should also have great shame. For what merit does he have to merit performing the mitzvah? How dare he have the audacity to enter the palace of the King to perform a mitzvah? He should consider in his mind before Whom he is performing the mitzvah and also the great virtue of the mitzvah itself. For the mitzvah itself is exceedingly precious, beyond measure. Certainly, it is fitting that great shame should fall upon him when he comes to perform any mitzvah, when he looks at himself and sees that he is very far from Hashem and has no merit to perform a mitzvah. If a person had shame, he would be ashamed even to take food and put it in his mouth, for “one who eats what is not his is ashamed to look at his face” (Yerushalmi, Orlah 1:3). Since he has no merit to have food, he is eating what is not his and is ashamed to look at his face. Certainly, he should be ashamed even to put food in his mouth. However, the principal shame is drawn through the aforementioned leader, in the aspect of Moshe, who draws insights in the Torah to each person. Through this, shame is drawn upon each person, as at the time of the giving of the Torah, when Moshe drew the Torah to Israel, it is said: “So that His fear may be upon your faces, that you may not sin” (Exodus 20:20). Our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded (Nedarim 20a): This is shame. This is: “That you may not sin,” meaning that they should have shame so as not to commit a sin or iniquity, Heaven forbid. Even to “not sin,” to not commit a transgression, there must also be His fear upon his face, meaning shame. For even when performing a mitzvah, one must also have great shame, as mentioned above. For how can one come to seize the tefillin [phylacteries], which are the crowns of the King, and suddenly place them on his head? Certainly, it is fitting that he should have great shame when he comes to perform any mitzvah. This shame is drawn through insights in the Torah through the aforementioned leader, as it was at the time of the giving of the Torah, as mentioned above. Therefore, at the time of the giving of the Torah, all Israel merited the aspect of holiness and separation, as it is written: “Be ready for three days; do not approach a woman” (Exodus 19:15). For all were sanctified in the aspect of separation through Moshe, who was greatly holy and separated, who drew the Torah to them through this, as mentioned above. Therefore, holiness and separation were also drawn upon them. When one merits shame, then each person sees his distance from Hashem, how he is very far from Him, and great shame falls upon him. Through shame, one performs teshuvah, for the essence of teshuvah is through shame (see Jeremiah 3). Teshuvah is the aspect of life, in the aspect of: “And you shall return and live” (Ezekiel 18:32), in the aspect of eternal life of the World to Come, in the aspect of Shabbos, in the aspect of: “Those who taste it merit life” (Tikkunay Zohar, Tikkun 7 and Tikkun 9). For fear and shame, meaning the aspect of teshuvah, is the aspect of Shabbos, the aspect of eternal life of the World to Come, as mentioned above. The essence of life is for the shiflus of each person, for the shiflus of each person will be revived and arise in the techiyah, as mentioned above. Therefore, through teshuvah, which is the aspect of eternal life of the World to Come, through this, the shiflus of Moshe Rabbainu, which is in each and every person of Israel in every limb and organ, is revived and arises. For know, that there is in each and every person of Israel the aspect of the shiflus of Moshe in every limb and organ. This, Israel merited at the standing at Mount Sinai, when Moshe drew his shiflus into each and every person of Israel in every limb and organ. However, that shiflus of Moshe, which is rooted in each and every person of Israel, is placed and lies in each person in the aspect of lying down and death. For this shiflus is concealed in each person and is not aroused or revealed to him. But through teshuvah, which is the aspect of eternal life of the World to Come, through this, the shiflus of each person is revived. For the essence of the techiyah is for the shiflus, for the shiflus of each person will be revived and arise in the techiyah, as mentioned above. Through this, the shiflus of Moshe, which is rooted in each and every person of Israel in every limb, which was previously placed and lying in concealment and hiddenness, in the aspect of death, now returns and is aroused and revived through teshuvah, which is the aspect of eternal life of the World to Come, as mentioned above. For the essence of eternal life, in the aspect of the techiyah that will be in the future, will be only for the shiflus, for the shiflus of each person will be revived and arise in the techiyah, as mentioned above. Then, when the shiflus of each person, in the aspect of the shiflus of Moshe that is in every limb and organ, is revived, as mentioned above, then each person sees and feels his shiflus. For after it has returned and been revived and revealed to him in the aspect of the shiflus of Moshe that is in every limb and organ, as mentioned above. And this is the meaning of: “A well that the princes dug, that the nobles of the people delved, with the scepter, with their staffs, and from the wilderness, a gift” (Numbers 21:18). The well is the aspect of insights in the Torah, which the princes of Israel merit. Through the aspect of Moshe looking at them, through this, each one receives his gedulah as is fitting for him. Through this, they merit insights in the Torah, in the aspect of innovations in the Torah, as mentioned above.

Through insights in the Torah, they merit shame and teshuvah, as mentioned above. This is: “A well that the princes dug,” this is the aspect of shame, as it is written: “And the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed” (Isaiah 24:23). For through the aforementioned insights in the Torah, in the aspect of a well, one merits shame, as mentioned above. This is: “The princes dug,” meaning the aforementioned princes, in the aspect of leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, and so forth, as mentioned above. “The nobles of the people delved,” the nobles of the people is the aspect of teshuvah, as Rashi explains on the verse: “When the people volunteered” (Judges 5:2), meaning they volunteered their hearts for teshuvah. This is: “With the scepter, with their staffs,” “scepter” refers to Moshe, as our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded (Bava Basra 15b): “Scepter” in gematria is 248, meaning the aspect of the shiflus of Moshe, which is clothed in each one of Israel in his 248 limbs, in every limb and organ, as mentioned above. “With their staffs” is the aspect of the techiyah, as our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded (Pesachim 68b) on the verse: “And each man with his staff in his hand,” the righteous are destined to revive the dead, and so forth. “With the scepter, with their staffs,” meaning that the shiflus of Moshe that is in all the 248 limbs of each and every person will be revived through teshuvah, as mentioned above. “And from the wilderness, a gift,” “wilderness” is the aspect of shiflus, making oneself like a wilderness, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Eruvin 54a). Through this: “a gift,” meaning Shabbos, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Shabbos 10b): “I have a good gift in My treasure house, and its name is Shabbos.” For the essence of the pleasure of the World to Come, in the aspect of Shabbos, in the aspect of eternal life, will be only for the shiflus of each person, as mentioned above. This is: “The rock, he will dwell and lodge” (Job 39:28). “Rock” is the well, in the aspect of insights in the Torah, in the aspect of: “A well that the princes dug,” as mentioned above. This is: “From there he dug, he ate,” in the aspect of shame, as mentioned above. For through insights in the Torah, one merits shame, as mentioned above. This is: “From there he dug, he ate,” for he is ashamed to put food in his mouth due to the shame that comes to him, as mentioned above.

“From afar his eyes will gaze,” meaning he sees and gazes at how he is far from Hashem, as mentioned above. Therefore, specifically Yisro [Jethro] said to Moshe: “And you shall see,” for Moshe was his son-in-law, and Yisro knew the greatness of his holiness and separation. Therefore, he precisely said to Moshe: “And you shall see,” “you” precisely, for Yisro knew through the greatness of his holiness that he could see and look at each one and distribute gedulah and authority to them through his looking alone, as mentioned above. Also, Yisro was a convert, and converts come from the holiness of the union of tzadikim [righteous ones], as it is written: “And the souls they made in Haran” (Genesis 12:5).

It is stated (Zohar, Shelach Lecha 168a) that Avraham and Sarah, when they were barren, produced the souls of converts from their union. Therefore, Yisro, who was a convert, who came from the holiness of the union of tzadikim, therefore knew the great preciousness of the holiness of tzadikim, that through the greatness of their holiness, the souls of converts are produced from their union, all the more so the holiness of their separation. Therefore, he knew that through the greatness of the holiness and separation of Moshe, he could see the people and through his seeing alone give them gedulah, as mentioned above. Therefore, Yisro precisely said to Moshe: “And you shall see,” as mentioned above. And therefore the letters of יִתְרוֹ [Yisro] are a hint to the final letters of: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake” ורבים מישנ'י אדמ'ת עפ'ר יקיצ'ו (Daniel 12:2). For specifically Yisro said to Moshe: “And you shall see,” as mentioned above. Through the aspect of “And you shall see,” they merit gedulah and merit insights in the Torah. Through this, they come to shame and teshuvah. Through teshuvah, which is the aspect of eternal life, the shiflus of each person is revived. For the essence of the techiyah is for the shiflus, in the aspect of: “Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust,” as mentioned above. All this is achieved through Yisro precisely, for Yisro precisely said to Moshe: “And you shall see,” through which all the aforementioned aspects are achieved. Therefore, it is hinted in the final letters of: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,” יִתְרוֹ, for through Yisro, who said: “And you shall see,” the aspect of life is drawn, the aspect of the techiyah, in the aspect of: “Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust,” in the aspect of: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,” “those who sleep in the dust of the earth” precisely, meaning the aspect of shiflus, as mentioned above. This is: “And it shall be that the remnant in Zion and the remainder in Jerusalem shall be called holy” (Isaiah 4:3). “The remainder in Jerusalem” is the aspect of Yisro, through him precisely: “shall be called holy” to the tzadik. For Yisro, who was a convert, knew the holiness of the tzadik, as mentioned above. Therefore, he said to Moshe: “And you shall see,” because he knew his holiness, as mentioned above. This is the aspect of: “shall be called holy,” as mentioned above. The general conclusion from all the above is that one who comes to a true tzadik and hears Torah from his mouth, it is fitting that great shame and shiflus be drawn upon him. This is a sign that he was with a true tzadik, when shame and shiflus are drawn upon him through hearing some teaching of Torah from his mouth.

For through the Torah that the true tzadik draws, through this, shame is drawn, as it was at the time of the giving of the Torah, as mentioned above. Through shame, meaning teshuvah, through this, the shiflus of Moshe, which is in each person in every limb and organ, is revived. Then, each person is obligated to truly feel his shiflus. But one who comes to some renowned person and hears Torah from his mouth, and through this, gedulah comes upon him, and so forth, [the opposite is understood by itself]. But we do not know at all what true shiflus is. For certainly, this is not the ultimate purpose, that one should be lowly, despised, and lazy, which is called bad fortune [and in a foreign tongue: shlem mazelnik]. For shiflus is the essence of the life of every limb and organ and is the entire pleasure of the World to Come, as mentioned above. Certainly, this is not the ultimate purpose of the World to Come, that one should be despised and lazy, and so forth, Heaven forbid. Therefore, one must only seek from Hashem to help him merit true humility and shiflus, which is the essence of life and the essence of the pleasure of the World to Come, as mentioned above.