T271 PNC - One Must Have Boldness of Holiness — Even Toward the Rabbi

A person must have azut d'kedushah — boldness of holiness — as taught in many places (Avot 5:20: "Be bold as a leopard"). This boldness is needed even toward the rabbi himself: you must strengthen yourself to speak openly with him about everything you need, and not be ashamed. Why does one chassid draw closer to the rabbi than another? Only because he has greater inner boldness — and because of that, he speaks with the rabbi more. But the boldness itself depends on something deeper: it comes from his service. When a person serves Hashem and labors much in avodah, that gives him the inner confidence to speak with the rabbi. And through speaking with him, he becomes further aroused — and through that arousal, he serves and accomplishes even more. So this depends on that and that depends on this. The world has many things mutually dependent like this — we don't know where the beginning lies, because each begins from its counterpart and one supports the other.