T38 (Tinyana) PNC - The Great One Travels to the Small One — Light Diminishing for Reception

Sometimes the great one goes and travels to the small one, and sometimes the opposite — the tzaddik travels to the province to illuminate students, or the students come to him. Know that when the great one travels to the small one, the gadlus is greater. Of course the small one usually needs to come to the great one to receive from him. But sometimes the great one's light is so vast that the small one cannot receive it where the great one is — the light is too overwhelming. So the great one is forced to lower himself, humble himself, and go to the small one, so that the light is diminished and materialized somewhat and the small one can receive. So when the great one needs to go to the small one, that itself testifies to the immensity of the great one's level. Moshe was so great in his level that even before fellow gedolim — Yehoshua, Aharon — he had to diminish himself and show humility, because his immense light required them to receive it through his constriction: 've-ha'ish Moshe anav me'od' (Bamidbar 12:3). Megillah 31: 'wherever you find his greatness, there you find his humility' — wherever there is greater greatness, there humility and smallness are needed for reception. When the small one comes to the great one to receive, the main thing is to convert mochin de-katnus into mochin de-gadlus — to widen the small one's daas so that he grows and reaches mochin de-gadlus, the form of hamtakah (sweetening). Sometimes this happens through anpin nehirin (shining countenance, smiling face); sometimes the small one cannot receive that way and is in the form of 'a piece of wood that does not catch fire — they hammer it' (Berachos): the great one must illuminate him through suffering, chastising and shaming him into bittul so he can receive. Even though the great one diminishes himself temporarily, the loss is not real — the great one's bittul is for the moment; afterward he returns to his level, and meanwhile the small one is fully rectified and expanded.

There are differences in the great one's smallness and humility before the small one — it depends on the case. Sometimes a small motion suffices; sometimes he has to actually go and travel to him. It's like a candle that has gone out: if there is still some light in it, you can rekindle it just by holding it close to a burning candle (holding it below near the burning one, as is known from sense), because there is still some light in it. But when there is no light in it at all, you cannot rekindle it from a distance — you must bring it actually to the flame, or vice versa.