Chapter Thirty-Four: Through a Stumbling

And this Petek came to me miraculously, clothed in the natural order — and it came into the world through a stumbling. There is a verse in the Torah: "And this stumbling is under your hand" [Yeshayah 3:6] — through a stumbling, wonders are made. In particular our holy Rabbenu — he draws in, he transforms all the distant ones and all the transgressors and all the world, transforms them all to Hashem. I ate before the prayer on the seventeenth of Tammuz — that I am alive is miracles and wonders. I could have already died from the enormity of the pain.

Had I not eaten before the prayer on the seventeenth of Tammuz — there would be no Petek and no such thing would exist…

Oy vey — there is free choice. We should have been holy tzadikim — yet in this very darkness there is such a wonder, such a letter. The world mocks us: "What — are they foolish, that they believe such things?" But there is such a tzadik: Rabbenu Rabbi Nachman, who is all miracle. Every word that came from his mouth, everything he revealed in all his matters — every word that is printed, every soul that draws close to him — all of this touches on the redemption. For he is the essential of the redemption. And this is hinted at in this letter: Na Nach Nachma Nachman MayUman — he is the redemption. This is the song of kindness that will be played in the future — he himself is this song.

Our holy Rabbenu — his wisdom, his knowledge, his wonders, the wondrous light he revealed in every single word must spread and be revealed. This will bring the entire world to Hashem. They will receive the wisdom that all of this world is vanity and nothingness. Even though one feels this already now — they will have the power, they will have the wisdom, they will have the strength to overcome and truly serve Hashem and return in teshuvah — even the gentiles. For in Rabbenu Rabbi Nachman depends all the redemption and the repair of all the people of Israel and of all the world. So he said.

Whoever wishes to have mercy on himself and on his children — let him buy the books of Rabbi Nachman and occupy himself with them and fulfill them. Then there will be an entirely new world!

For now all the human beings in the world conduct business, write and speak, and each one does what he does — but they are like animals on two legs, for they have no true knowledge. And we also — when G-d forbid we fall and cast away knowledge from the essential purpose, from the service of Hashem, and fall G-d forbid — this too is a fall into animality.

So says our holy Rabbenu in Torah 7, Part Two: "For the essential of a person is knowledge, and one who has no knowledge is not of the settled world and is not called by the name of person at all — he is an aspect of an animal in human form." Whoever merits to hold himself in Rabbenu's books — he receives true knowledge and becomes from an animal: a person. Through Rabbenu — if all the world holds to Rabbenu — all the world will emerge from the aspect of animal to that of person. The whole world will know they must transform and become human beings. The world will be filled with human beings — not with animals.

The essential of a person is true wisdom — not the external wisdoms. The wisdoms of the world are darkness. The essential is the wisdom of the Torah, the wisdoms of Hashem. What is knowledge? To know that Hashem is G-d. The holy emunah!

Our holy Rabbenu — the essential of his work is to bring us into Hashem, into the Torah. This is the essential of his work. The essential of life is only the Torah and emunah. And the essential is our holy Rabbenu — he brings us into Hashem, into the Torah, into emunah, into truth, into all goodness. Into all the repairs we need — as we are. He revealed such wisdom that the entire world will cast off all the desires and all the money and will occupy itself only with Torah and prayer — for the ultimate purpose, for the sake of Heaven — not for the sake of livelihood and not for honor and not for fame and importance.

Our holy Rabbenu — studying his holy books is all our life, all our life-force!

It is a simple thing for each one to buy the books of Rabbenu Rabbi Nachman and read them. And to strive that his sons too, and all his acquaintances, all his family, all of them read only in the books of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov — then there will be an entirely new world. For now the world is a world of falsehood, a world of foolishness — all vanity. One sees that all the desires have no substance at all. If a person eats and enjoys this world — how much is that? He has pleasure for a quarter of an hour — that is all. And after a quarter of an hour, the desire is gone. So whoever has some sense — is it worthwhile for a quarter of an hour to lose such light, such goodness, in this world and the World to Come?

Our holy Rabbenu said: "This world is Gehinnom. We believe, we know that there are two worlds: this world and the World to Come. The World to Come — we believe there is a World to Come. But this world — it does not exist at all. This world is Gehinnom!" Whoever chases after this world, after the desires — has no life whatsoever. And the whole world is mistaken and does not know what their lives are — does not know at all what they are living for: why to live and suffer the Gehinnom of this world, for how many years? Once our holy Rabbenu held one man and said to him: "For the pleasure of a quarter of an hour you will lose this world and the World to Come?! Loathe it — spit it out!" Yes — this is what Rabbenu said. They lose even this world; they have no life, they have nothing.

Our holy Rabbenu revealed that in every person there is good. And this good — though it may be very little — has the power to transform the person. In each one there is a good point that his fellow does not have. And this good, through the power of Rabbenu, can overcome everything. Only the essential is that he know and understand and grasp that all the work of this world — the money and the buildings and all the pleasures and all the sins and all the desires — are vanity and emptiness, have no substance at all!

There is much more to make known — for one sees with complete clarity that whoever has some true sense understands that all of this world, all the honor and money and desires, are nothing and nothingness and do not exist — not at all. Everything passes in the blink of an eye, it blooms like a passing shadow, it has no substance — it is all nothing. And even in the time one lives in this world, all of this world, all the desires and pleasures — it is only a quarter of an hour. And after that — where are the desires? They are not!

Whoever seeks truth and has some true sense — he must understand and strengthen himself and overcome with all his powers. To read every day simply, in the simplicity of divine service. And the essential is Rabbenu's books — in particular Likutay Tfilos and the Torah teachings Rabbenu revealed in the world. Every word of his has the power to conquer the entire world — for this is such a wondrous thing. His every word is something that has never been in the world and this is the foundation of the redemption. Through every word of his he can return every person in all the world to Hashem, to the Torah, to emunah — in simplicity. And the essential is truth.

Oy, oy — there is much more to tell, to speak, to make known: that the entire world is mistaken — without Rabbenu, without Rabbenu the world is tohu vavohu [formless void]. So says Rabbenu explicitly: "Without me the world is tohu vavohu!" And "the world" means all manner of human beings. There are scholars and there are yeshivas and there is Torah — but without Rabbenu they have no foundation, no root, no power. They know nothing. Without Rabbenu — all the world is tohu vavohu!

And here in the Petek Rabbenu reveals explicitly and with complete clarity to all the world: Na Nach Nachma Nachman MayUman — I am this song! Come to me — and you will become a human being!

Now there is such light in the world. We see that the time has not yet come for it to be revealed — but it will be revealed. When the exact time comes — the greatness of the Creator will be revealed. It will be revealed how we are servants of Hashem: "You are children of Hashem your G-d."

Our holy Rabbenu said: "I have finished and I will finish!" Apparently we see that he has not yet finished — but he has finished. "I have finished and I will finish!" What he will finish — we have no grasp of this at all. He will finish what is his. He came into the world to take the person out of his sins and bring him to Hashem, to the Torah — which is the essential of life. Without this there is no life whatsoever.

One word of Rabbenu suffices and it conquers the entire world. He laughs at them and they understand they are in error — for what do they labor so much and chase so much, for whom, for what? Even if one lives a thousand years — this is something that ultimately comes to an end. In particular we in these generations live fifty or sixty years, and half the time we sleep. And why do we live — why all the labor? After fifty or sixty years one enters the hospital, then the refrigerator, then the grave. All the money and all the labor is left in this world — and why did he labor fifty years? He only always thought in his heart from where to get money, money, money, money, money. What is this — madness! This is truly madness!

I saw Rabbi Yisroel Kardoner — I saw one man in the world. I saw great men from Teveriah, and also I came to Yerushalayim and saw great ones — but our holy Rabbenu is a special matter. What I saw from Rabbi Yisroel — I saw that this is a special level. He held fast to the song that will be awakened in the future — so he was a person from the aspect of the future. He was a secret from all the world. He laughed at the entire world. I saw one human being from all the world who was normal. I saw one person — only him!

All the redemption depends on Rabbenu. I have already seen the redemption — I saw Rabbi Yisroel, and I saw how the world will be after the coming of Mashiach, what will be. The song simple-double-triple-quadruple — I saw this in my lifetime. I saw a human being from Heaven, from the World to Come, yes. He was in this world with eyes and with feet — but his soul was in the World to Come. His heart and wisdom, his knowledge — was in the Heavens. Whoever wishes — he merits to see, to feel, the coming of Mashiach. One need not wait until he comes — one merits now to see it. The coming of Mashiach is made. I saw Rabbi Yisroel — I already saw the coming of Mashiach…

Whoever wishes — he merits to see, to feel, the coming of Mashiach. One need not wait until he comes — one merits now to see it. The coming of Mashiach is made. I saw Rabbi Yisroel — I already saw the coming of Mashiach…