מעשה ז - מעשה מזבוב ועכביש

Story 7ofA Fly and SpiderHe [Rabbi Nachman] announced, "I will tell you my entire trip that I had."(Summer of 5567)A tale. There was once a king who had a number of heavy wars upon him, and he conquered them and took many captives.

(In the midst of his words, as he began to tell the story, he interjected and said, "You might think [mistakenly] that I will tell you everything, that you will be able to understand.") The king made a grand ball (banquet) every year on the day that he was victorious in war. There at the ball, would be all the royal ministers and all the nobility, in the fashion of royalty, and they would put on comedies and make fun of all the nations: of the Turks (Heb. Ishmaelites) and of all the nations. And they would caricature the manner and conduct of every nation, and they probably made fun of the Jews as well. The king ordered to bring the book in which the mannerisms and customs of every nation are recorded. And wherever the King would open up the book, he would see [Heb. only: that written in it were the practices and mannerisms of the nation] exactly as they performed the parody of them, because probably the one who performed the comedy also saw the book. While the king was poring over the book, he saw a spider crawling on the edge of the book's pages, and on the pages stood a fly. Presumably, where does a spider go? - toward a fly. Meanwhile as the spider was crawling and going towards the fly, a wind came along and lifted that page from the book; the spider could no longer go to the fly. It turned back deceptively as if it was returning straight to where it came from, and no longer wants to go to the fly.

Meanwhile, the page fell back in its place and again the spider wanted to go towards the fly. Again the page listed and did not permit it; again the spider turned back. Thus it happened several times. Afterwards again the spider went towards the fly and was crawling along until it had already gotten itself up with one foot upon the page. Again the page lifted up - and the spider was already somewhat on the page - then the page lay down completely, until the spider was left between one page and another; and it was crawling around there, but remained getting lower and lower until nothing whatsoever was left of it. (And the fly - I will not tell you what happened to it). And the King had been watching all this and was very astonished; he understood that this is no empty matter but rather he is being shown something through it (and all the ministers saw that the king is gazing and wondering at it). And the king began to think: what does this signify? And he dozed off over the book. The king dreamed that he was holding a diamond in his hand and he was looking at it. An exaggerated number of people were emerging from it and he threw the diamond from his hands. And the order by kings is that their portrait hangs by (over) them, and on top of the portrait hangs the crown. He saw in the dream how the people that emerged from the diamond took the portrait and cut off its head, then they took the crown and threw it into the mud, and they ran towards him to kill him. A page from the book upon which he was lying lifted itself and shielded him, and they were unable to do anything to him, so they went away, then the page return to its place. Then again they wanted to kill him, and again the page lifted itself as before. This happened several times. The King very much wanted to see which page is shielding him (i.e. protecting him); what mannerisms are written on it; from which nation it is. And he was afraid to look, and he began to scream, "Woe! Woe!" All the ministers who were sitting there heard and they wanted to wake him up; however it is against etiquette to wake up a king. They knocked around him, in order to wake him, but he did not hear. Meanwhile, a tall mountain came to him and asked him, "Why are you screaming so? I have been sleeping for such a long time already, and nobody at all has woken me - and you have woken me up!" He said to him, "How can I not scream, when they are rising up against me and want to kill me, except that this page is shielding me?!" The mountain answered him, "If this page is shielding you, then you have no need to fear anything whatsoever, for many enemies rise against me as well, but this same page shields me. Come, I will show you." It showed him how around the mountain stand thousands and myriads of enemies, and they make feasts and rejoice, playing musical instruments and dancing. And the joyful occasion is that some group of them, one of them thinks and arrives at some wisdom how to ascend the mountain, hence they make a big celebration and a feast with music and dancing, and likewise each group (i.e.

faction) from among them - "except that this page of these mannerisms that shields you, shields me." And on the peak of the mountain is a tablet, upon which is written the mannerisms of the page that shields him from whatever people it is; however, since the mountain is high, the writing cannot be read. Just at the bottom is a tablet upon which is written that whoever has all their teeth - he can go up on the mountain. Hashem Yisburach provided that a grass grows there - where one needs to go up on the mountain, that whoever comes there, all his teeth fall out; whether he goes on foot, riding, or driving a carriage with animals, all the teeth would always fall out.

And lying there, were piles white with teeth, like mountains. Later, the people from the diamond took the portrait and restored it as before, and they took the crown and washed it up, and hung them back in their place, and the king woke up. Immediately he looked at the page that had shielded him - which mannerism, of which nation is it? He saw that written on it is the mannerism of Jews. He began to look at the page honestly, and he understood the real truth, and he came to the decision that he himself would certainly be a Jew; however, what can be done to return the entire world back to propriety, to bring them all to the truth? He came to the decision that he would journey in search of a sage who would solve the dream according to its essence (i.e. he should interpret the dream exactly as it is). And he took two men with him and traveled around the world, not as a king but as a simple person, and he traveled from one city to the next and he asked: "Where does one find such a sage who can solve his dream according to its essence?" They informed him that there-and-there is found such a sage. He went there and came to the sage and told him the truth: that he is a king, and he had vanquished wars, and the entire story that happened, as mentioned, and he asked him to solve his dream. The sage answered him, "I myself cannot interpret, however, there is a time, on this day and in this month - then, I gather together all the spices of the Incense (i.e.

all the herbs from which they would make the Incense) and I make from them a compound (in other words, he mixes them all up together), and the person is smoked with the incense, and this person meditates upon what he wants to see and know, and then he knows everything." The king resolved: since he had already in fact spent so much time on it, he would wait longer until that day and that month (which the sage had told him). The day came and the sage did this for him so, as described above, and smoked him with the incense. The king began to see even things that had happened to him yet before he was born, when the soul was still in the upper world (in other words, on the other world); how they led his soul through all the worlds and they announced, "Whoever has something to say for the prosecution (i.e.

to speak evil) against this soul, let him come." No one was there to speak negatively. Meanwhile someone did come and was running and shouting, "Master of the World! Hear my plea! If this one will come to the world what then have I to do any longer, and for what have You created me?" And this was the Samech-Mem (Satan; in other words, the one who was shouting was the S.M. himself; he was yelling: if this soul would descend into the world he will no longer have anything to do). He was answered, "This soul must go down to the world, as for you - come up with a solution." He went away (i.e.the one who was yelling). They led the soul further through the worlds until it was brought before the Heavenly Tribunal in order to swear it in already, for its descent into this world. And he had not yet arrived (i.e. the S.M., who was yelling earlier, had not come yet), so they sent a messenger after him; he came and brought with him an old stooped man, with whom he was long familiar (i.e.

the Accuser had been acquainted with this old one from long ago), and he laughed and said, "I have already enacted a solution; this soul can already go down into the world." They released the soul and it descended to the world. And he (i.e. the king) saw everything that happened to him from beginning to end, and how he became king, and the wars that he had, etc.. And he took captives, and among the captives was a beautiful woman who had every kind of charm in the world. However, this charm was not from herself; rather, she would hang a diamond on herself and the diamond had all kinds of charm. And upon that mountain no one can come except the wise and the rich etc. (And more than this he did not tell). And there is still much more to this.

(From "And he took captives" until the end - was not written properly the way he told it). [Notes Following the Story]"A psalm of David when he fled... Hashem, how many my adversaries have become; many are they that rise up against me... But you, Hashem, are a shield about me: my glory and the lifter of my head... With my voice I call out onto Hashem, and He answers me from His holy mountain, Selah": the mountain mentioned above. "I lay down and I sleep": as mentioned above. "I awake... I am not afraid of myriads of people... for You have smitten all my enemies on the cheek; You have broken the teeth of the wicked: for their teeth would fall out when they wanted to go up on the mountain. Upon Your people is Your blessing, Selah." [Psalms 3] Stand and contemplate these wonders! If you are soulful [ba'al nefesh], take your flesh up in your teeth and put your soul in your palm; stand trembling and amazed; let the hairs of your head stand on end, and return again and wonder at these words which stand in the highest of heights. Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman Story 8OfA Rabbi and His Only Son(Summer of 5567)A tale. There was once a rabbi who had no children. Later, he had an only son, and he raised him, and made him a wedding.

The son would sit in an attic room and learn [i.e. study], as is the way with the wealthy. He would study and pray constantly, but he felt a deficiency in himself, some sort of lacking, but he did not know what. And he had no taste in his learning and praying. He told this to two young people and they advised that he should travel to a certain tzaddik. Now, this son had done a mitzvah through which he had come to the aspect of the Smaller Luminary. The only son went and told his father, inasmuch as he feels no taste in his service (in other words, in his serving G-d, that is; praying, learning, and other mitzvos), and he is deficient but he doesn't know of what; therefore he wants to travel to this tzaddik whom they had told him about, as above. His father answered him, "How can you come to travel to him? You are more of a scholar than he, and more pedigreed than he. It doesn't suit you to travel to him. Desist from this way!" To the extent, that the father prevented him from traveling to the tzaddik.

The son returned to his learning, and again he felt the deficiency as mentioned above, and again he took counsel with those young people; again they gave him the advice that he should travel to the tzaddik. Again he went to his father, and again his father diverted him and prevented him. Thus it happened several times. And the son kept feeling that he is lacking something, and he greatly wanted to fill his lack (in other words, he should make some sort of correction so that he should not be lacking), but he did not know what the lack is, as mentioned earlier. He went yet again to his father and implored him a great deal until his father had to travel with him, for the father did not want to let him travel alone, since he was an only son. So the father said to him, "Look, I will go with you. I'll show you that he is nothing at all (in other words, that the tzaddik is nothing)." They harnessed the carriage and set out. The father said to his son, "With this I will make a test: if everything goes orderly, it is from Heaven, and if not, it is not from Heaven that we should travel, and we will return." They set out, and they reached a small bridge, and a horse fell, and the carriage turned over, and they nearly drowned. His father said to him, "You see that it's not going orderly and the journey is not from Heaven." They returned. Again the son returned to his studies, and again he saw that something is lacking and he does not know what. Again he implored his father, as above, and his father had to travel with him once again.

As they were traveling, his father set up again a test as before: if it goes orderly (then etc. as mentioned). As they were traveling, both axles broke. His father said to him, " See that [things are] not going so that we should travel, for is it a natural occurrence that both axles should break? How many times have we traveled with this carriage and such a thing has never happened!" Again they returned. And the son returned to his learning and so forth as above, and again he felt the deficiency as mentioned earlier, and the young people advised him to make the journey. Again the only son went to his father and again pressed him; once again he had to travel with him. The only son said to the father that, "we should no longer set up such a test, for this is a natural occurrence, that sometimes the horse falls or axles can break - unless it will be something very wild." They traveled and came to an inn to spend the night. They met a merchant there, and they began to talk with him as merchants are wont to, not telling him that they are going there (to a 'Rebbe' - Chassidic Master - lit.

one good Jew), for the rabbi was embarrassed to say that he is traveling to the tzaddik. So they were speaking worldly things until in the conversation they began to talk about tzaddikim [yid: Rebbe's]; where tzaddikim are found; he (the merchant) told them that there (in a certain place) there is a tzaddik, and there and there. They began to speak about the tzaddik whom they are traveling to. The merchant answered them, "That person (in an expression of amazement)? He is plainly frivolous [lit.

'light'] (in other words, not at all an earnest Jew)! Just know I am traveling from him; I was there when he did a transgression!" The father spoke up to the only son, "Do you see, my son, what this merchant is telling [us] innocently (in other words, he is not intending or attempting to disparage the tzaddik; only through the conversation he told it)? Behold he's coming from there." They returned home (i.e. the father and the only son). The son died and appeared in a dream to his father, and his father saw him standing in great anger. His father asked him, why are you so angry? He answered him (i.e. the son, who is dead, answered his father in the dream) that he should travel to the tzaddik (whom they had wanted to travel to), and he will tell you why I am angry." He awoke and thought to himself: it's a chance occurrence (in other words, just a dream; not any truth). Afterwards he dreamed the same thing again and again, he thought it is a false dream, And so it happened three times. He understood that this is no empty matter, and he traveled there (i.e. the rabbi traveled to the tzaddik whom he had previously traveled toward with his son).

On the way he again encountered the merchant whom he had previously encountered when he traveled with his son, and the rabbi recognized him, and the rabbi said to the merchant, "Aren't you the one I saw at the inn?" He answered him, "Certainly you saw me!" And opened up his mouth and said to him, "If you want, I'll just devour you now!" He said to him (i.e. the rabbi to the merchant), "What are you talking [about]?" He answered him, "Do you remember when you traveled with your son, and initially a horse fell down on the bridge, and you returned, then the axles broke, then you met me and I told you that he is frivolous? Now that I have dismissed your son - now you may travel. For your son was an aspect of the Smaller Luminary, and the tzaddik whom he wanted to travel to, is an aspect of the Greater Luminary, and if they both would have gotten together, Messiah would have come.

And now that I have dismissed him, you are permitted to go." And in the midst of speaking, he disappeared (in other words, the merchant vanished suddenly while talking) and he didn't have with whom to talk. The rabbi travelled to the tzaddik and cried, "Woe! Woe! What a pity for those who are gone and are no longer to be found!" (Shemos Raba 6:4) (Heb. only: Hashem Yisburach will return our exiled soon, amen).

The true Tzadik has revealed words that give life to all souls — from the smallest to the greatest — from the loftiest heights to the very ultimate of the lowly levels. Incline your ear and hear (well) — open the eyes of your intellect and see and understand and behold the truth of truth! Remove from yourself the crookedness of heart and the wisdoms of vanity — distance them from you. Have mercy upon your soul — and incline your mind toward the true truth.