T224 PNC - Even the Distant Receive Vitality from the Tzaddik

Beginner: Even those who are physically far from the tzaddik — who have never met him, who live in distant lands — still receive spiritual vitality and illumination from him. Rebbe Nachman uses the parable of a great tree: its branches, bark, and leaves spread wide, and everything draws nourishment from the same root. Even those who only touch the outermost leaves of the tree receive something from its root. So too with the tzaddik — the further disciples benefit from the same divine root, though in diminishing degrees the further they are from the center. Intermediate: T224: Even the gerukhim (distant ones) receive chiyut (spiritual vitality) from the tzaddik — like a tree whose branches, bark, and leaves all draw from the same root. Physical or spiritual distance does not sever the connection entirely. LM 224.