אות - נ

The world says that a person doesn't need to seek greatness. I say that you must certainly seek greatness. Investigate and seek out only the greatest Tzadik.

From all things the glory of Hashem Yisburach cries out — because the whole earth is full of His glory. And even from the stories of the nations the glory of Hashem Yisburach cries out as well — as it is written [Psalms 96:3]: *"Tell among the nations His glory"* — that even in the stories of the nations the glory of Hashem Yisburach cries out. Because His glory blessed He is constantly crying out and calling and hinting to the person to draw close to Him blessed He, and He blessed He will draw him close with compassion, with love and great affection. And this — that a person sometimes becomes inflamed during his prayer and begins to pray with great enthusiasm and desire and his prayer flows fluently and acceptably in his mouth — this is the light of Hashem Yisburach Himself, so to speak, Who has clothed Himself in him and calls him to His service blessed He. Because this enthusiasm with which the person becomes inflamed in his prayer is the aspect of Hashem Yisburach Himself, so to speak, in the aspect of: *"He is your praise and He is your G-d"* [Deuteronomy 10:21] — that He blessed He is Himself the praise and the prayer. And sometimes the person prays before Hashem Yisburach, so to speak. And also when Hashem Yisburach removes Himself and distances, Heaven forbid, from a person — he must also pray and throw the prayers after Him blessed He, in the aspect of: *"Cast upon Hashem your burden"* [Psalms 55:23] — that one must throw and cast prayers after Him blessed He when He removes Himself and distances from the person. And this is the aspect of: "Fortunate is one who knows how to throw arrows etc." as brought in the Tikunim (Tikkun 21) — that one must throw prayers after Him blessed He as mentioned.

Whoever has faith — his life is life, and he spends the days of his life always in goodness. For when things go properly for him, and he has goodness — certainly it is good for him. And even when it is not so (that is, when things are not going for him smoothly/as they should, and he has suffering, Heaven forbid) — it is also good, because he is confident that Hashem Yisburach will have mercy on him in the future and will make his end good. For since everything is from Him blessed He — certainly everything is for the good. But one who does not have faith, Heaven forbid, his life is not life at all — for as soon as some misfortune befalls him, he no longer has any vitality, because he has nothing with which to comfort himself at all, since he has no faith at all. And he does not have any vitality or any good, since he goes without Hashem Yisburach and without Divine providence, may the Merciful One save us. But through faith — how good and beautiful is his vitality, as mentioned.

Hashem Yisburach does not do one thing twice. Because even in gilgulim [transmigrations of the soul], this soul does not transmigrate a second time as it is — rather, this nefesh [animal soul] with this ruach [spirit] and the like, as is known.[113] It is found that now when this nefesh is combined with a different ruach and the like — this is no longer what it was previously, because Hashem Yisburach does not do one thing twice.

One time he spoke about the goodness of the World to Come — what one can merit through the true service of Hashem. He answered and said: We are compelled to say it and to call it by the name "good," because it is impossible to call it by any other name to make it known to people. But in truth, even the name "good" is not applicable to say about it — meaning, that it is even above and beyond "good." But it is impossible to make it more known to people except when we name it "good." But in truth, etc. — *"No eye has seen"* etc. [Isaiah 64:3].[114]

There are people who appear to be distant from certain great desires — such as the desire for money and the like. Know that even so, he can be worse than his fellow who is immersed in that desire. That is, he has some other desire which he is so immersed in, that even the desire for money and the like — which is a very great desire — is nullified before him on account of that desire. It is found that he is worse, because he is so immersed in some desire that even a great desire for money and the like is nullified before him on account of that desire. And even if the desire he is immersed in were smaller than the other desire from which he is distant — even so it makes no difference at all, since he is so immersed in it that even a great desire is nullified before him on account of it, as mentioned. And as we find that there is a stubborn person — such as a child who out of mere stubbornness can completely abandon himself and bang his head against a box out of stubbornness against his mother, to spite her. Similarly with people — one can abandon everything and set aside all desires for the sake of some desire or stubbornness he wants.

He previously related that in his youth he had very, very great fear of death — and was very frightened and afraid of death to a great extent. And then he used to request from Hashem Yisburach to die for the sanctification of the Name. And he went in this for a long time — and he does not remember exactly how long, but he knows it was a great length of time, perhaps a year, that he went in this and always requested this. And there was no conversation or prayer in which he did not request this — that he would depart for the sanctification of the Name. And from his great fear and awe at that time of death as mentioned, this itself — that he used to pray for this — was for him literally a surrender of his soul for the sanctification of the Name. Because his fear was very great at that time from this.

And from what was mentioned I understood: that the thing which overwhelms a person and in which he is immersed — that specific thing is what he must break for the sake of Hashem Yisburach, because that is the essence of his service [Berachos 54a]. And as our Sages o.b.m. said [on Deuteronomy 6:5]: *"And with all your might"* — "there are those for whom their money is more precious than their body" [Berachos 61b]. And understand.

When one thinks Torah [in order to gain novel insight], he must think over the Torah matter he wants to innovate — to think and to review in his thought that verse or that matter many, many, very many times; to be knocking and rapping on the door until they open it for him. There is something that flashes through the thought like a throw [zerika]. And afterwards it flashes away from the thought, and one needs to be a valiant person as mentioned — to pursue and to run after it to grasp it.[114*]