Great Throughts Treasury

"The study of Halachah is a great spiritual remedy. When a person sins, good and evil become mixed up. Each individual Halachah is a legal decision that makes a clear separation between what is permitted and what is forbidden, what is clean and what is unclean. When you study Halachah, good is once again separated from evil, thereby rectifying the sin."

"The study of philosophy can never bring a person to God. On the contrary, it fills his mind with doubts and questions that simply reinforce his innate evil impulse."

"The sun shines constantly with the same intensity at the beginning and middle of the day. What blocks the light of the sun is only the earth, which intervenes between man and the sun. Owing to the position of the earth, the light spreads only gradually as the day begins but steadily increases until it spreads over the earth."

"The tales and stories told by the Tzaddikim have the power to rouse those who are asleep so that their days will not be wasted. It is a great privilege to find a Tzaddik who has the power to rouse you from your sleep. Otherwise you could sleep away all your days, God forbid."

"The Tefilin are the sign of humility and attachment to God. The light of the Tefillin is a ray of the light of God's inner countenance. When a person achieves this humility, all his sins are forgiven and he becomes attached to the Tree of Life."

"The test of true repentance is when a person remains silent in the face of ridicule and abuse, patiently accepting all the insults thrown at him. This is how he slaughters his evil inclination, and then he will be worthy of God's glory."

"The thing to do is to make an entirely new start. Start serving God as if you had never started in your whole life. This is one of the most basic principles of serving God. We must literally begin all over again every day."

"The time will indeed come when you will need them. You will then be able to make use of your reward without having to ask the storekeeper for credit."

"The Torah is called a bride: "Moses commanded us the Torah, a heritage (morashah) for the congregation of Jacob" (Deuteronomy 33:4) . The Talmud says: Read this not asmorashah, "a heritage", but me-urasah - "the betrothed" (Berachot 57a; Pesachim 49b). "Moses commanded us the Torah, the betrothed of the congregation of Jacob . ""

"The Torah is enormously great and broad, but a tiny handbreadth - this world - stands before people's eyes, preventing them from seeing the light of the Torah despite the fact that this entire world is merely a tiny handbreadth in comparison."

"The true Tzaddik can greatly benefit even a person who has died and gone to the next world, as long as that person is sufficiently worthy to come to the Tzaddik to rectify his soul."

"The true wisdom of the Kabalah begins where philosophy and science end. Philosophers and scientists can speculate only within the limits of the physical world. Their knowledge may reach as far as the stars and galaxies, but beyond that they know absolutely nothing. Even their theories about the physical world end in great confusion, as they themselves admit."

"The truth is that it is impossible to resolve these problems because the questions posed by this brand of atheism derive from the empty void, where Godliness is not present, as it were. This is why the questions that derive from the empty void cannot be answered in any way, because it is impossible to find God there. For if one could find God there it would not be empty and all would be infinite. For this reason it is said of this atheism, "None who go to her return" (Proverbs 2:19)."

"The Tzaddik is the "earth", for "the Tzaddik is the foundation of the world" (Proverbs 10:25) and everything rests upon him. The Tzaddik has a gravitational power of attraction that draws everything to him, for the true Tzaddik is the foundation of the world and everything derives from him. All the other Tzaddikim are only branches of the true Tzaddik, each according to his level: one may be a branch while another may be a branch of a branch. For this unique Tzaddik is humble and lowly and makes himself like dust: for "I am dust and ashes" (Genesis 18: 27). He is the foundation of the world precisely because he is "dust" and thus he supports everything."

"The ultimate goal of all knowledge of God is to realize that one knows nothing. Yet even this is unattainable. A person may come to realize his own ignorance, but only in a certain area on a particular level. There is still the next level, which he has not even touched. He does not know enough about the next level to begin to realize his ignorance. No matter how high he climbs, there is always the next step. A person therefore knows nothing: he cannot even understand his own ignorance. For there will always be a level of ignorance beyond his present level of perception."

"The ultimate goal of the entire creation is Unity: "On that day God will be One and His name One" (Zechariah 14:9). The prophet speaks of "that day" - a future time, when the goal of the creation will have been attained: God will be One."

"The usual way is that when a child is stubborn they hit him and afterwards they give in to him. But I say: Don't hit and don't give in."

"The very fact that we cannot understand the mystery of free will is precisely what gives us our freedom. In time to come, men's minds will expand and the secrets of free will and providence will be revealed. Free will as such will then disappear. Man's mind will emerge from its limitations and he will become like an angel having no free will."

"The vowels - the soul that animate s the letters - are formed through yearning and desire, whether for good or bad. The yearning for evil creates bad vowels, which make the letters join together and interact to produce bad effects. But if a person yearns to repent, good vowels - good souls - are created and the letters join and interact to produce good results."

"The way to escape the allure of wealth is through the purity that comes through guarding the Covenant and drawing closer to the Tzaddik, who is the very embodiment of purity and of whom it is written, "He who is good and walks before God will be saved" ( Ecclesiastes 7:26) . The Tzaddik possesses true wisdom and understanding, and knows how to escape this trap. Even the greatest of men need deep wisdom and understanding if they are to escape the pain and toil of earning a living. Most ordinary people suffer terrible bitterness all their lives because of this. They lose both worlds: this world and the world to come."

"The way to faith is through simplicity, without sophistry or philosophy."

"The whole earth is full of God's glory. No place is devoid of God, Who fills all the worlds and transcends all the worlds."

"The whole world needs me. You (my students) already know how much you need me, however, even all the Tzaddikim need me, for they too need to be benefited. All the nations of the world need me as well. Our Rabbi of blessed memory already assured us during his lifetime, and designated two kosher witnesses on this, that when he passes away, when [people] come to his grave and give a pennace to charity and say these then tehilim/psalms that we have recorded for remedy for nocturnal emission, Heaven spare us, then our Rabbi himself will span the length and width [of the universe], and will surely save this person. And he said, that he will pull him out of Gehinom/hell by his peyot/sidelocks, even regardless of how that person be, and even regardless of what happened, only from now on he must accept on himself to not return to his wicked ways, Heaven forbid. And the night before he passed away he said: "What do you have to worry about, since I go before you; and if the souls who did not know me at all, look forward to my tikunim/remedies, all the more so [should] you" etc. (And likewise even those who were not privileged to know our Rabbi of blessed memory during his lifetime, when they come to his holy grave and rely on him and learn his holy books and accustom themselves to walk in his holy ways that are mentioned in his holy books, surely they have on what to rely. Fortunate are they! Fortunate is their portion! "And none of them that take refuge in Him shall be desolate" [Ps. 34:23], for he already revealed his mind in several terms, explicitly and by hint, that all that he is involved in with us is not only for us, but with "those who are here...and with those who are not here" [Deut. 29:14)"

"The wicked walk on every side (Psalms 12 :9). This means that the unholy surrounds the holy, because God made the one corresponding to the other (Ecclesiastes 7:14). This applies especially to someone who has already succumbed to the temptation to sin and is so attracted to the unholy that this is where his place is, God forbid. The wicked - in the form of strange thoughts, feelings and temptations - have this person surrounded on every side."

"The wisdom of the Kabalah begins where their wisdom ends - beyond the physical world. The Kabbalah includes the entire physical world as part of the World of Action (Asiyah ), the lowest world. But the Kabalah then goes beyond the World of Action to the Worlds of Formation (Yetzirah), Creation (Beriyah) and Emanation (Atzilut )."

"The words themselves can be very damaging. They can compel you to fulfill them even though you did not mean them seriously."

"The world is full of strife. There are wars between the nations of the world and conflicts in every city. There are feuds in every household, discord between neighbors, friction within the family, between man and wife, parents and children..."

"The world regards faith as something minor, but I consider faith as being of the greatest importance."

"The world then has a Master of the House who watches over the world - a Head of the House, who repairs and strengthens the House. For the repair of the Temple comes about through this."

"The world to come that we can experience even in this world, when God helps us at certain moments, is quite indescribable."

"The worst of all obstacles is the confusion caused by other people. You yourself may personally know certain individuals who act as self-appointed experts in philosophy or use science to mock at everything holy. Such sophistry can be extremely confusing to others as it teaches that all values are relative and therefore everything is permitted. Such ideas deter people from the path of life."

"Their entire lifetime is not long enough for them to pay off their debts to their desires, which have no limit, for " No- one in this world achieves even half of what he wants before he dies" ( Kohelet Rabbah 1). They are worried, bitter and depressed all their days because of their craving for wealth. The greater people's wealth, the greater is their worry and sadness - because they are trapped in the net of idolatry, which is the very source of depression, darkness and death. Their entire lives are consumed with the problems and worries of wealth."

"Then let me ask you now: How come you are so busy and preoccupied that you don't even have time to look up at the sky?"

"Then more thieves came and robbed him of whatever was left of his previous wealth. Still, he once again gathered together what little he could from the remnants of what was left to him and his wife's jewelry, and he was able to get back on his feet again. He set up a store to provide himself and his household with their livelihood."

"Then why do we feel pain when we suffer? The pain that people endure when they suffer is only because their spiritual understanding is withheld from them and they cannot focus on the ultimate purpose, which is entirely good. It is then that they feel the pain and sorrow of their suffering. But when understanding is present and one keeps one's attention on the ultimate goal, one feels no pain and suffering at all."

"There are certain questions that trouble many people, such as how we can have free will if God knows the future. You must accept that it is beyond the capacity of the human mind to understand such things, because the answers lie on a level of wisdom so transcendent that the human mind is unable to fathom it. This wisdom can never enter the human mind, but it encompasses the mind from the outside. If a person could grasp this wisdom, he would no longer be human but an angel."

"There are certainly worthy people who do not practice Hitbodedut. But I call them confused. When Mashiach suddenly comes and calls them, they will be disoriented and confused."

"There are many different ways of honoring the festivals - with fine food and drink, beautiful clothes, pure and holy thoughts, joy and open-heartedness."

"There are numerous people who were once highly devoted but have since lapsed in various ways. On the other hand, many of today's younger generation have a great longing for God and have started praying with earnest intensity and studying zealously. When those fallen Chassidim see these young people, they ridicule and abuse them. They do everything they can to discourage them, telling them that their service is not genuine. All this is out of jealousy - because they themselves have fallen and want everyone else to be like them."

"There are others who may appear to be observant yet display a certain sophisticated cynicism that can be quite as harmful as philosophy, if not worse. Most Jews are aware of the dangers of philosophy and avoid it, knowing that it can pull them down into the deepest pit. However there are many who are not on their guard against the kind of sophisticated cynicism that emanates from the mouths of people who seem to be observant and disguise their message in the language of truth, as if they are in possession of the absolute truth. These are the ones who can cause the most harm, confusing a person and holding him back from true service of God."

"There are people who draw close to God but later fall away. Even so, the short time they serve God is very precious in His eyes no matter what happens later."

"There are people who sink very low indeed and fall into all kinds of doubts and even have questions about God Himself. Nevertheless, the whole purpose of their falling is for them to rise up afterwards. The fall is for the sake of the ascent."

"There are people who sleep away all their days. Some have fallen into their sleep on account of lust and wrongdoing. There are other cases where truly good people of beautiful character fall because of food. A person may sometimes consume food that is insufficiently pure to be fit for human consumption, and his mind then falls into a kind of "sleep"."

"There are people who suffer terrible pain but cannot express what is in their heart. They would like to speak about their suffering but they have no- one to whom they can explain what is really in their heart. This leaves them full of pain and anguish."

"There are sins for which the punishment is to be perpetually in debt. The sinner may try every possible ploy, but he still remains in debt. He can even cause others to fall into debt too. When these sins are rampant, there are many debtors in the world."

"There is a lot to talk about here (in the above topic). Because each person who fell to the place where he fell thinks that these words weren?t spoken for him, for he imagines that these ideas are only for great people who are always climbing from one level to the next. But truthfully, you should know and believe, that all these words were also said concerning the smallest of the small and the worst of the worst, for Hashem is forever good to all."

"There is a true Tzaddik who is the beauty, pride and charm of the entire world . And when this beauty and splendor is revealed - when this Tzaddik who is the beauty of the world becomes known and magnified in the world - the eyes of all who draw close to him and are included in this true grace are opened and able to see."

"There is a very deep point in all this. There is something inside a person that makes him afraid of various things. The person may fully understand that the things he fears cannot harm him at all, yet he cannot help being terrified. This is because of that something within him that causes him to be afraid."

"There is a way that everything can be turned into good."

"There is another advantage in expressing yourself to God in your own words. One can recite existing prayers and supplications, but these are already known to the destroyers and maligning forces that lie in wait along the paths of these prayers. They know these paths only too well."