Great Throughts Treasury

"Speech is the breath of the lips of the Holy One, blessed be He. To abuse it is to turn it into a "raging stormª wind" (Psalms 148:8). This raging storm wind is the great accuser - the source of all man's trials and challenges. This wild spirit erodes man's very flesh. It is the root of all the slander, falsehood and evil that people speak about each other. It is called the "end of all flesh" (Genesis 6:13) because it wastes and destroys man's flesh and his very life. All this is the result of abusing speech."

"Start with one trait until you nullify it completely. Then work on your other traits, one by one, until they are totally non-existent."

"Starting to give charity is very difficult and onerous. For all acts of true repentance and service of God require many cries and groans and strenuous contortions before one can succeed. The hardest part is starting, because "all beginnings are difficult" (Mechilta, Yitro). Many cries and groans are needed before one can begin. Even after beginning, devotion never comes easily. It takes many strenuous efforts before one can achieve something of true worth. But starting is the hardest part of all."

"Strive to nullify every one of your negative traits until you become absolutely nothing before God."

"Such a person would be ashamed to think of himself as lying outright in his prayers, so he tries to cover over the lie with truth. For example, he may want to make a gesture of piety - perhaps a clap of the hands - to impress someone. Only he is ashamed to do it merely to impress. Accordingly he deceives himself: his evil urge leads him on a trail of thought which persuades him that he really does need to make such a gesture as part of his prayer. He finds a rationalization for his gesture or handclap, a veneer of truth to cover up the lie."

"Take my advice and don't let the world fool you. No- one ever came to a good end by pursuing worldliness. Even those who hold the entire world in their hands end up badly, losing out both in themselves and for generations to come."

"Talk over spiritual matters with your friends. Each Jew has his own unique good point. Thus when two friends have a discussion, each can benefit from the other's good point. Sometimes your friend's good point may shine to you during a conversation that is outwardly about mundane topics - because at times even mundane conversations may give rise to new ideas and inspire you spiritually. At times a person's good point may be veiled - and the words of the conversation become a kind of clothing for it."

"Talk to God a lot! Think carefully about your purpose in this world and what you are doing with your life. Take yourself in hand. Plead with God to have mercy on you and help you serve Him. Make up your own pleas and arguments in your own words, using whatever language you speak best."

"Tell yourself: Maybe I am far from God because of all my sins. Yet if so, there can be no perfect prayer without me. Didn't the Rabbis teach that "every prayer that does not include the sinners of Israel is not a true prayer" (Keritot 6a). This is because prayer is like an incense offering, and the Torah requires that the incense must contain galbanum even though, by itself, it has a foul smell."

"Telling stories about the Tzaddikim help s cleanse and purify the mind. But for every story about a Tzaddik we find a parallel story about a wicked person, because the realm of evil is a reflection of that of holiness. Thus we are told that Pinchas flew in the air, and the same is said of the wicked Bilaam, except that in his case it was through witchcraft. The ability to distinguish between light and darkness enables us to distinguish between stories about true Tzaddikim and those that are not."

"Teshuvah essentially depends on humility. One must make oneself into nothing, like a wasteland over which people trample: one must pay no attention whatsoever to opposition or abuse from others. One should train oneself to be silent and hear oneself insulted without answering back. Such a person is worthy of the name "wise" and will attain perfect Teshuvah, the "Crown" and summit of the Sefirot. This is the way to true and enduring glory - the glory of God."

"Teshuvah has three aspects: seeing with the eyes, hearing with the ears and understanding in the heart (cf. Isaiah 6:10). A person must use his eyes to look towards the ultimate goal and purpose of this world. He must concentrate on this goal with all his heart, resolving to travel there and nowhere else. And he must use his ears to listen carefully to everything that our holy sages said. Then he will be able to return to God."

"The "hammer" is speech!"

"The Baal Shem Tov told a parable about a king who left a great treasure in a certain place, surrounding it with all kinds of illusory walls. When people came to these walls, they thought they were real and that it would be very hard to break through. Some retreated immediately; others broke through one wall but could not break through the second. A few broke through more walls, but no- one could break through them all. Until the king's son came and said: "I know that all these walls are pure illusions and the truth is that there is no wall at all!" He went forward confidently until he overcame them all."

"The best advice is simply to forget! As soon as something is over and done with, regret whatever you must and then push it out of your mind and pay it no further attention. Don't even start rehashing things that are over and done with. Understand this well, because it is a very important principle."

"The best time for Hitbodedut is at night, when everyone is asleep. Ideally you should go to a place outside the city and follow a solitary path where people don't even go during the day."

"The best way to learn Torah is by studying fairly rapidly without analyzing every single detail. Study briskly and simply: seek to understand each thing in its own context without confusing yourself about how it relates to other subjects."

"The commandment to love God "with all your might "is fulfilled by one who overcomes his desire for wealth and does not embark on ventures beyond his means but conducts his affairs fairly and honestly, investing his own money without borrowing from others. This commandment is also fulfilled by a person who gives one fifth of his net income to charity."

"The concentrated thought must spell out every step of the desired result in detail. It is not enough for the thought to be merely overall, because this is an "incomplete vessel" and may even be deceptive."

"The deeper you are sunk in some negative trait or worldly desire, the greater the shadow it casts over God's glory, causing His light to be hidden from you. But as you nullify these traits and desires, you also remove this shadow and the light of God's glory is revealed."

"The difference between depression and a broken heart is that when you have a broken heart, you can be standing in a crowd of people and still turn around and say, "Master of the World!""

"The essence of Teshuvah is an earnest search for God's glory. When a person sees that he is far from God's glory, he yearns for it. He asks, labors and toils: Ayeh? - "Where is the place of His glory?" This itself is his answer, his repentance and his remedy. Understand this well."

"The essential vitality of all things thus depends on the breath. Whenever something is lacking, the main lack is in that thing's vitality, which is the life-spirit keeping it alive. A sigh is a long breath - the long breath of patience. Therefore when a person is patient and sighs over what he lacks, he draws life spirit to that which is lacking, because the main lack is the absence of the life spirit."

"The evil trait that causes a person to lose the money he should have had is anger. The reason for this is that at its very root and spiritual source, wealth is in the same category as anger. Thus when the evil one sees a flow of influence descending to bring wealth to a person, he turns it into anger, because , at their root , anger and wealth are in the same category: they both descend from God's mighty powers, deriving from the same place. "From the north comes forth gold" (Job 37:22) and "The evil will start from the north " (Jeremiah 1:14)."

"The Evil Urge is like a prankster running through a crowd waving his tightly closed hand. No- one knows what's in it. He goes up to each person asking, "What do you think I have in my hand?""

"The fact that I am predicting this will not prevent the increase of Godlessness and confusion. Long ago Daniel and others made it known that this would happen in the days before the Mashiach. "Many will purify themselves and be refined, and make themselves shining white. But the wicked will do evil. and only the wise shall understand" (Daniel 12:10)."

"The fact that tears weaken a person's eyesight and take part of it away means that the vision is drawn into the tears. And this is why people shed tears when in pain. When a person feels pain and suffering, it means he needs God's providence to be saved. This is why people cry, so as to bring down and reveal God's watchful providence. For the providence and vision are drawn into the tears. This is why "Hezekiah wept greatly " (Isaiah 38:3) when he fell sick. Through his tears he drew down God's watchful providence, which is the concept of "greatness" and prayer."

"The fervor with which you dance is "a fire offering, a sweet savor to the Lord" (Numbers 28:8) . However, when a person dances with the heat of the evil inclination, this is a "strange fire" (Leviticus 10:1), while the wine he drinks is the "wine of drunkenness", which allows the forces of impurity to take hold."

"The foundation of all the different pathways to God lies in reciting Psalms and other supplications and offering our own personal prayers from the heart, entreating Him to draw us closer to His service. This is the only way to win the war. Happy is the man who persistently prays and entreats God at all times and in all situations, because he will certainly win the war."

"The greater the object of desire, the greater the obstacle! There are three factors involved : the desire itself, the person who has it and the object of his desire. The desire must be strong in proportion to the greatness of its object. When the object of desire is very great, the person needs very strong desire to attain it. He is then confronted with a very great obstacle in order to make his desire all the stronger, because the greater the obstacle, the stronger the desire that is needed to overcome it."

"The greater your thirst for water, the greater your pleasure when you reach water and drink. Therefore the pleasure is caused by the thirst!"

"The greatest of all barriers are those in the mind - when the person is divided from God or from the Tzaddik in his own mind and heart. A person may have come to the Tzaddik despite all the physical obstacles. But if some small doubt about the Tzaddik then arises in his mind, causing his heart to falter, this is the greatest obstacle of all. Similarly, a person encounters many obstacles when he wants to pray. However, if after overcoming them all he is ready to pray but his heart is contorted and turned away from God, this is the greatest obstacle of all."

"The greatest of all religious devotions is still easier than making a living and trying to acquire worldly possessions!"

"The greatest possible religious devotion is prayer. And yet, when we stand up to pray, we pray and we manage to complete the prayer."

"The greatest wisdom is not to be wise"

"The greatest wisdom of all is not to be wise at all. The truth is that no- one in the world is wise, for "there is no wisdom and no understanding before God" (Proverbs 21:30). The main thing God wants is the heart."

"The hard part of anything one has to do for God is the part left to one's own free will. These are the things that one has to decide for oneself without being explicitly commanded or asked to do them. It is then entirely up to oneself to do as one chooses."

"The Hebrew letters are consonants: without vowels, they cannot be pronounced but remain like a body without a soul. Without the soul, the body is unable to move or do anything."

"The higher a faculty, the further it can reach. You can kick something with your foot, but you can throw it even higher with your hand. With your voice you can reach even further, calling to someone far away. Hearing reaches further still - you can hear sounds like gunfire from a very great distance. Vision reaches even further: you can see things high in the sky."

"The higher the faculty, the further it can reach. Highest of all is the mind, which can ascend to the loftiest heights. You must therefore guard your mind and thoughts to the utmost."

"The Israelite man was created to have dominion over the angels, and this is Israel 's ultimate destiny. Each one must make certain that he attains his destiny and rules over the angels."

"The joy of Shabbat is the gateway to true freedom."

"The joy of the three major festivals, Pesach, Shavuot and Succot, gives us a share in the Inner Light of God, bringing new life to the mind and soul and enhancing our perception of God."

"The key to everything is the way you start. All beginnings are hard, because you need to swing things around from one direction to the very opposite. But once you have made a start, you will soon become accustomed to your new direction and it will no longer be so difficult."

"The key to subduing and breaking your appetites, especially immoral lust, which is the main challenge, is to strive to gain mastery of the holy language. This means sanctifying your tongue with words of Torah and prayer - both the set prayers and your own personal prayers. Even when you speak in your own native language, your words are considered to be the holy language. The point is to sanctify your tongue by always speaking in a way that is holy. This is what is meant by gaining mastery of the holy language. Through sanctifying your speech you will have the power to subdue immoral lust, which is the comprehensive evil."

"The king appointed one of his ministers as an intermediary between himself and the prince, instructing the minister that when the prince came seeking to placate him, he was not to allow him entry. The prince came several times asking to be admitted to his father in order to placate him. However, the minister would not let him enter, for those were the instructions the king had given him. This happened again and again."

"The land of Israel is the very summit of holiness, encompassing all other levels of holiness. It is there that we can completely free ourselves of the notion that the world is governed through nature and come to know and believe that everything happens only through the hand of God. When man knows this he becomes like God, acquiring the ability to distinguish between light and darkness. "Light" refers to the deeds of the Tzaddikim while "darkness" refers to those of the wicked (Bereishith Rabbah 2) ."

"The letter says to the soul: "How could you allow yourself to become separated from me, considering the great bond of love between us? See my precious beauty, my radiance, my splendor and glory! How could you tear yourself away from me and leave me? True, you have to continue with the prayer and gather more precious treasures and delights. But how can you separate yourself from me and forget me? At least see to it that, wherever you go afterwards, you never forget me or become cut off from me.""

"The life and workings of the body are governed by ten basic pulses. These in turn are vitalized by ten kinds of melody emanating from the soul. Negativity, anxiety and depression weaken the pulses, and this can cause illness. But when the melody of the soul is joyous, it strengthens the vitality of the pulses and brings health to the body."

"The lower a person's level and the further away he is from God, the greater the teacher he needs. Thus when the Jewish people were on the lowest of levels in Egypt, sunk in the forty-nine gates of impurity, they needed the greatest rabbi and teacher of all: Moshe Rabbenu. For the lower down and further away from God a person is, the greater the teacher he needs. He needs a master craftsman who has the ability to bring the supreme wisdom of Godly perception within the grasp of one as lowly and far away from God as himself. The sicker the patient, the greater the doctor he needs."