Great Throughts Treasury

"Retreat is the beginning of defeat (Sotah 44b). In any case, where can you go to escape from God? Where can I flee from You? If I rise to heaven, You are there; if I descend to Hell - You are there too! (Psalms 139: 6- 7). For God is everywhere."

"Royal celebrations sometimes include spectacles of wild beasts fighting each other, with the delighted onlookers watching the strongest beast win. Similarly, our thoughts derive from the Chayot - the "beasts" of the divine Chariot (Ezekiel 1). Holy thoughts are pure species of animals while evil thoughts are impure beasts. Through God's design, they are pitched against one another, and He has the greatest delight when man succeeds in his struggle to overcome the impure beasts."

"Sanctify your nostrils with the fear of Heaven, as it is written: "...he will scent the fear of God" (Isaiah 11:3). The way to sanctify the nostrils is through meekness and humility. You must be patient and not let anger burn inside you, even if people treat you badly."

"Sanctifying the seven "lamps" of the head can bring you to complete spiritual understanding and awareness. Your heart will then burn with passion for God, because the activity of the mind generates heat and fervor in the heart. The more you occupy your mind with thoughts of Torah and devotion, the more your heart will burn for God. The deeper your understanding, the greater your fervor will become. This fervor purifies the heart, protecting it from becoming inflamed with evil desires, which merely pollute it. When a person's heart is pure, he will never be at a loss for words when he speaks to God. He will always find new words and new approaches."

"See that you make your days very long. With every new day and moment, make sure that your time is longer, fuller and richer with added holiness. You must continually extend your days, filling them with greater holiness and purity. This is the secret of long life."

"Seeing as I am going before you, what do you have to fear?"

"Set aside time each day to meditate and pray alone in a room or some meadow and express your innermost thoughts and feelings and personal prayers to God. Use every kind of appeal and argument. Use words that will endear you to God and win His favor. Plead with God to draw you closer and let you truly serve Him. This is Hitbodedut."

"Sexual temptation is man's main test in this world."

"Should you hold back because of a minor barrier caused by a lack of confidence? This is nothing but a spider's web covering the walls you want to break down with your words."

"Similarly, in each generation there are certain true Tzaddikim who accomplish everything through their prayers. All the changes in men's fortunes and everything else in the world come about at their hands. However, there are popular leaders who think that they themselves work the miracles. They are like the man who thought he killed the wolf with his stick, but in fact, everything is in the hands of the true Tzaddikim."

"Similarly, the light of the Tzaddik shines constantly while the barrier is on the side of the receivers. The cause of the barrier is the intervening "earth" - this material world. People are so deeply sunk in the material world that they are unable to receive the light of the Tzaddik."

"Similarly, when a person is happy, his pain and sadness may move to the sidelines. But a higher level is to pursue the sadness itself and "pull it into the dance circle," turning it into joy."

"Similarly, when you talk to God in your own words, this is a new pathway, an original prayer that springs directly from your heart. Accordingly the maligning forces are not lying there in wait. Even so, you should also recite Psalms and other supplications as well as your personal prayers."

"Simplicity is higher than all else. For God is certainly higher than everything else, and God is ultimately simple!"

"Simply focus your mind on what you are studying, reading the words in their correct order and with enthusiasm. Understanding will come of itself. What you do not understand at first, you will comprehend later. Even if there are things you cannot fully understand, this is unimportant because broad knowledge outweighs everything else."

"Since the evil forces see that the Jewish people are very very close to the end (to the messiah), and there are Jews nowadays who have tremendous yearning and passion for spirituality and godliness, such a thing that has never occurred in past generations, so the evil forces enter arguments between the tzaddikim, and they establish in the world many false leaders, and even between true tzaddikim the evil forces cause great arguments, until no one knows where truth can be found. Therefore, a person needs to plead very much from Hashem to merit to recognize and come close to the true Tzaddik."

"Since the Torah then has no flaw, one is filled with love of the Torah and feels its sweetness, which makes one want to study constantly."

"Since the ultimate goal is entirely good, in the end everything will turn out to have been for the good. Even when bad things happen and you are beset with troubles and suffering, God forbid, by look ing at the ultimate purpose, you will see that these things are not bad at all; they are actually of very great benefit. All suffering is sent from God intentionally for your own ultimate good, whether to remind you to return to God or to cleanse and scour you of your sins. If so , the suffering is really very beneficial, because God's intention is certainly only for good."

"Sing many songs at the Shabbat table. Pay no attention to any obstacles. Others at the table may show little desire to sing, but you should still do your part. Make a determined effort to sing happily. Conduct the Shabbat table in a happy mood, because the main thing is the joy of Shabbat."

"So it is in prayer: one goes from letter to letter, until several letters are joined together to make a syllable. One does the same to make whole words. Then one joins together two words, and goes on, picking and gathering, until one completes a whole blessing. Then one goes on picking more and more, and passes from the first blessing of the Amidah prayer - the blessing of the fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - to the second, which speaks of God's might. One then proceeds to the third blessing, which speaks of His holiness, and so on. Who can adequately praise the great splendor of the gleanings and gatherings one makes with the words of the prayer?"

"So it is when we want to look at the ultimate goal of creation, which is all good, all unity. We must close our (physical) eyes and focus our vision - the inner vision of the soul - on the goal. For the light of this ultimate goal is very far away. The only way to see it is by closing one's eyes. One has to close them completely and keep them firmly shut. One may even have to press on them with one's finger to keep them tightly closed. Then one can gaze on this ultimate goal."

"Some famous people owe their fame to controversy."

"Some people remain very far from the Tzaddik as long as they are still under the influence of the countervailing force. But as soon as this force is interrupted, they draw close again. And when traveling to the Tzaddik, the nearer he comes to the place of the Tzaddik , the greater his desire becomes, because he is approaching the source of attraction."

"Some people say that if you pray with true inner intention and are wholly focused on your prayers, you should not hear any outside disturbance because your devotion will be strong enough to block out everything else."

"Some people's intellect stops at the stars and the limits of the physical world, and they are therefore forbidden to delve any further. The mind of those engaged in philosophy and science reaches only as far as the stars. Beyond the stars they know nothing. Even concerning what is under the stars, they are often wrong and have major disagreements among themselves about everything."

"Some shochtim fail to concentrate properly on the meaning of the blessing, harboring improper thoughts. Such a shochet standing with his knife raised ready to slaughter the animal is no better than a murderer. What pain this living soul experiences at that moment. She cries with a bitter wail because this shochet's blessing will do nothing to elevate her from her incarnation. On the contrary, she will be thrown even lower than before with "no rest for the sole of her foot" (Genesis 8:9)."

"Someone else may be more honest. Being somewhat in awe of God, he would feel ashamed to act out a cheap lie in his prayers merely to impress. He would like to pray truthfully - but his truth is excessive. And therefore it is not really the truth, because there is no such thing as excess truth: there is only one truth ."

"Someone who does not meditate cannot attain wisdom. He may occasionally be able to think clearly, but not for any length of time. His power of concentration remains weak and unsustainable. He will never realize the folly of this world."

"Someone who fills his mind with lustful thoughts is a fool."

"Someone who is anxious and depressed finds it impossible to direct his thoughts where he wants. It is hard for him to calm and settle his mind. Only when a person is happy can he direct his thoughts wherever he wants and settle his mind."

"Someone who wants to develop original Torah insights may expound and innovate as much as he wants according to his level of mental attainment. The only condition is that he may not deduce any new law from insights based on expository interpretation (Drash) or mystical teachings (Sod)."

"Someone who wants to merit to do teshuva (repentance) should make it a practice to say tehillim [sacred hymnal]."

"Someone with clear spiritual vision can also understand the pitiful state of certain souls in the world to come. Some souls there are literally naked, but it is impossible to show them any pity. For in this world when a person lacks clothing, other people can collect money and buy him a coat. But in the world to come when someone lacks "clothing", there is no way to help him - because the clothes needed there are Torah and good deeds, which cannot be given as charity. However, one who is attached to the true Tzaddik can run to him to get a spiritual garment with which to clothe himself."

"Sometimes a group of people happily dancing together take hold of someone who is standing miserable and depressed on the outside. They pull him into the dance circle despite himself, forcing him to rejoice with them."

"Sometimes a person is given great wealth. The whole world envies him and everyone goes chasing after wealth and possessions. They spend days and years on this - all because of envy. But in the end they are left with nothing in their hands."

"Sometimes a sin can make a person so bitter that he repents completely."

"Sometimes a thought may fly into your mind in a flash - but then it flies away. You must be a man of valor, pursuing it until it is recaptured."

"Sometimes it is necessary to give the patient a certain medicine, but if the patient takes it as it is he will surely die. The medicine in question must therefore be mixed in with other ingredients. Similarly, there are people to whom it is impossible to reveal the inner face of the Torah teachings which they need for their healing. For healing comes from the Torah: "It will be health to your navel" (Proverbs 3:8). However, the Torah has two powers: it can either be an elixir of life or a fatal poison. For "If a person is deserving, it becomes an elixir of life; if not, it becomes a fatal poison" (Yoma 72b)."

"Sometimes the "returning light" comes before the "direct light" , as when the recipient has certain mental limits that prevent him from accepting his friend's words. Even before the recipient receives the "direct light" from his friend, the friend already receives "returning light"."

"Sometimes when people don't want to suffer a little, they end up suffering a lot."

"Sometimes when you pray, you must likewise work yourself up into a passion. You must force yourself to put fire and emotion into the words. Eventually the enthusiasm will become real: your heart will burn for God and you will pray with genuine fervor."

"Sometimes you may feel no enthusiasm during your prayers. You should then act as if you feel enthusiasm, making your heart burn with the words of the prayers. This is similar to the way a person can work himself up into such a temper that he actually becomes angry. People then say, "He's making himself angry.""

"Sometimes you may feel overwhelmed by the evil urge. You are racked with confusion and negative thoughts, finding it impossible to overcome them."

"Sometimes you may make great efforts but find that you still cannot pray. No matter what, do not allow yourself to become discouraged. This is the most important rule of all. Force yourself to say each word of the service with complete simplicity, like a child who is just learning to read. Keep saying the words. In most cases God will then touch your heart with a flame and you will pray with great feeling."

"Sometimes you may pray a section of the service with great devotion but suddenly the feeling vanishes and you find it impossible to pray properly. Don't be discouraged, because this is inevitable: it means you have left your part of the spiritual form. For the rest of the service, just try to say each word with perfect simplicity."

"Sometimes you must conquer even God! You may think that God has rejected you because of your sins and that you are still not doing His will. Even so, you must remain very firm and throw yourself before Him. Stretch out your hands and plead with God to have mercy on you and draw you to His service. Cry out: "No matter what, I want to be a Jew!""

"Sometimes your prayers become like flames and the words flow from your lips with burning fervor and desire. This is God's own light within you, calling you to draw near. Your fervent passion is a spark of God's own essence - for "He is your praise, He is your God" (Deuteronomy 10:21). God Himself is your praise and prayer. Sometimes you can literally pray before God Himself."

"Speaking derogatorily about other people reinforces the hold of fantasy and illusion over us. When people use bad language and speak derogatorily about others, their spiritual awareness and understanding are withdrawn from them and they fall from the love of God and descend into animalistic passions and desires. The source of these passions and desires is man's faculty of imagination, which is part of his animal nature. Imagination feeds on falsehood and slander and is directly opposed to the faculty of memory with which we keep our true situation in this life and our eternal destiny in the forefront of our minds."

"Speech has tremendous power. If you know how, you can even whisper to a gun so that it cannot shoot."

"Speech is a "mother of children" (Psalms 113:9). Just as a mother always stays with her child and never forgets him even if he goes to the filthiest of places, so the power of speech never leaves a person even if he finds himself in the filthiest of places."