Discourses after the Stories of Ancient Times

The Telltale Chandelier

1.   A tale. A man left his father and was in other countries for many years by other people. In time, he came to his father and boasted that he had learned there a great craft: how to make a chandelier (which is called a hang leichter/hanging light). He told his father to assemble all the masters of this craft, and he would show them his wisdom in this craft. And so his father did. He gathered all the masters of this craft to see his son's greatness; what he had accomplished all this time that he was in the hand of others.

And the son took out one chandelier that he had made, and it was very ugly in all their eyes. And his father went to them and asked them to disclose the truth to him, so they were forced to inform him the truth, that it was very ugly. And the son boasted, "Surely you have seen the skill of my artisanship?" And his father informed him that it did not appear beautiful in all their eyes. The son replied, "On the contrary! With this I have shown my greatness, for I have shown to all of them their deficiencies, for in this chandelier are found the lackings of each one of the artisans found here. Behold you will see, that by this person, this part is ugly, but a different part is very beautiful to him; and by another (person) it is the opposite — on the contrary, that piece that is ugly for his colleague, is beautiful and wonderful in his eyes, but only this piece is ugly; and likewise with all of them: whatever is bad in this one's eyes, is beautiful in the eyes of his colleague, and vice-versa. And I have made this chandelier solely from deficiencies, to show (to) all of them that they do not have completeness, and each one has a lacking, for what is beautiful in his eyes, is a lacking in the eyes of his colleague. But in truth I can make it as it should be."

If [people] would know all the lackings and insufficiencies of a thing, they would know the essence of the thing, even if they had never seen it.

2.   “Great are the works of Hashem” [Ps. 111:2]. No man is identical to his fellow. And all the forms were in Adam HuRishon (the first). That is, in the word "ADaM" (man) alone, all these forms were included. And so with other things. All the luminaries were included in the solitary word "OhR" (light), and so (with) all of them, that is, all the works of creation. And even two leaves of a tree – not one is identical to its fellow, and so forth. And he (Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman) spoke at very great length about this, and he stated at that time, that there are wisdoms in this world through which a person could live on these wisdoms alone, without any eating or drinking. And he spoke at length in a wondrous and awesome talk (see the second introduction to Sefer Hamidos, regarding da'as).

3.       The Pump

Regarding what they [some of Rebbe Nachman’s chassidim] were telling over about someone who was then in one of the large non-Jewish cities and tarried there a long time because each time he imagined that now he would succeed, and so it was each time, until he was delayed there a long time. And he [Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman] said, that is the way it goes when one comes to such places, that each time it seems to him, "Now I will accomplish, now I will accomplish," etc., etc. And he told this story:

There was one man who did not believe what the world says, that there are leitzim (demons who make devilry and scoff) from the Other Side (realm of evil) that come sometimes and mislead people, as has happened several times; he did not believe this. One night, a leitz came to him and called him to go outside. He went out, and the leitz showed him that he had a beautiful horse to sell. He looked, and behold it is a very beautiful horse, so he asked him, "How much do you want?" The leitz answered, "Four adumim (rubles)." He saw that it was easily worth eight rubles, for it was a choice, fine horse. So he bought the horse from him for four rubles and he considered it a great find. The next day, he took the horse out to sell, and people stepped up to purchase, and they wanted to give him some amount. He said, "Probably, if they are willing to give me so much, it must be worth double!" So he was not satisfied, and he took the horse onward, and they wanted to give him also double, as he desired. He said, "It is probably worth more than double this amount." So he brought the horse onward, until the price of the horse reached into the thousands. But he was not satisfied with any of them to sell it, for whatever they wanted to give him, he said, "It is probably worth twice as much." Eventually, there was no one who could buy it except the king.

So he brought it to the king, and the king wanted to give him an astounding amount, for the horse was exceedingly pleasing to everyone. However, he was not willing with the king either, for he said, "It is probably worth more." As a result even the king did not buy the horse. So he went from the king, with the horse to give it to drink. There was a pump (plumpf) there from which people take water. The horse jumped into the pump, disappeared, and was no more (That is, it appeared to him as such, for the entire incident of the horse was an act of leitzim). He yelled vehemently over this, and people gathered around him to the call of his screaming, and asked him, "What are you screaming?" He replied that his horse had jumped into the pump. And they hit him, till he was beaten and bruised, for he appeared insane, since the opening of the pump is very narrow, and how can a horse jump into it? He saw that they were beating him and that he appeared insane, and he wanted to go from there. As he wanted to leave, the horse began to stick its head out of the pump. So he began to scream again, "Aha, aha!" since it appeared to him that his horse was there. The people gathered around and beat him again, since he was insane, as mentioned. Again he decided to leave; and as soon as he wanted to go, the horse again stuck its head out of the pump. He began again to shout more as before, and the people gathered upon him again and beat him as before.

Thus, the Other Side (realm of evil) deceives a man each time with nothingness; with complete falsehood that has no substance. And he is enticed after it, pursues it, and each time it appears to him that he will profit more and will fill his desires more. So he runs after it many times, and suddenly all his desires disappear, escaping and vanishing from him — as this happens sometimes, that the cravings go away a little, and when the man wants to detach from them, then they return and stick out their heads and he returns and chases after them. And so it carries on further, that as soon as they stick out their heads, he returns to chase after them. (And he did not explain the matter further. And understand this well.)

4. Heated Flesh and Bones

A story about one tzadik, who was a very great tzaddik, who had completely and entirely departed from that known desire, properly with perfection. And he ascended to the upper worlds, and he saw pieces of flesh and bones sitting in a pot. He asked, "What is this?" They answered him that this was a very, very beautiful woman, and therefore due to the fact that she used to heat up her body for sin, therefore she is being heated up here. And he wanted to see her. And they gave him (Divine) Names, that she should be returned and assembled as before, and he saw that she was a very extremely beautiful woman. And from this it is proper to see the condemnation of this desire. If they cut her into pieces pieces, would this desire still be relevant etc.?!

5.   The Tzaddik who fell into sadness

It is known that sadness is a very despicable trait, and one needs to keep very far away from it. And it is proper to enliven and raise oneself, for one should know that every single movement and dislodgement that one moves and dislodges himself upon entering the service of Hashem, is very precious in Hashem's eyes, even if he moves himself only a hairsbreadth, because since a person exists in a body in the physical ('assiya') world, any movement or dislodgement is very hard for him; therefore it is very precious in Hashem's eyes.

There is a story that happened with a Tzadik that great heaviness and sadness fell upon him (and sadness and heaviness, when they beset a Tzadik it is very hard for him, for upon him it strengthens itself more and more). So much sadness and heaviness fell on him that he was mamash (actually) completely unable to move from his place due to the great heaviness and sadness that had intensified over him. And he wanted to make himself happy and lift himself, but he was unable to cheer himself up and lift himself with anything, for with whatever thing he wanted to cheer himself, the Accuser found sadness in it for him, until he was unable to make himself happy with anything, because in any joy that he wanted to cheer and raise himself with, he found sadness in it. And he began to cheer himself with the joy of "that He did not make me a heathen." And this is certainly a very great joy that has no bound, for one cannot estimate the difference and separation, the thousands of thousand of thousands of separations that are between the holiness of the lowest of lowest of Israel, and the filth of the impurity of the idolaters. And when a person remembers well the kindness Hashem had upon him in not making him a heathen, it is certainly proper for his joy to grow very great, and it is a joy that has no sadness upon it. For when a person makes himself happy with a thing that he himself did, in this it is possible to find sadness in any joy, for he will find deficiencies in everything, so as not to let him raise and cheer himself. But in this, "that He has not made me a heathen," which is only from Hashem Yisburach, that Hashem Yisburach did so and had mercy on him, and did not make him a heathen, how is it possible to find a lacking in this joy, which is the sole work of Hashem Yisburach? For, certainly, however it may be, in any case it is a huge difference between him and the idolaters which has no bound or limit.

And the Tzadik mentioned above began to cheer himself with this, and began to rejoice and raise himself little by little. And each time, he raised and cheered himself exceedingly, until he came to such a great joy that he reached the joy that Moshe Rabbainu (Moses), of blessed memory, had when he went up to receive the Tablets. And while he was raising and cheering himself, he flew up in the worlds many, many thousands of miles (parsahs), and during this he took a look at himself and behold, he was very far from the place where he was at first. And he was very afflicted, for he thought he would fall down to some other place, and there would be great bewilderment over him that he had disappeared suddenly, and the Tzadik always desires to go about discreetly ('hatznaya leches' – Micah 6:8). And the joy began to end, for joy has a limit, that it begins itself and ends itself. And when the joy began to end, it ceased bit by bit, and it lowered bit by bit. And when he returned, and he descended, and was lowered from the place where he flew up to during the joy, he did not first return to the first place where he flew up from, in the same manner that he flew up, but rather he went down immediately down in that place where he flew up to (-explanation: originally he had done two things, one, he elevated higher and higher, two, he flew to distant worlds. When he came down from the elevation, he did so in that distant place, and even still when he came down, he found himself back in his original place). And therefore it was a great wonder that he found himself after he came down, in his original place. (Understand this well). Eventually he returned to the place where he was at first, and he took a look at himself and saw that he was mamash (actually) where he was at first, and did not dislodge from his place at all, except for possibly a hairbreadth which was impossible for a man to measure, only Hashem Yisburach. And it was very baffling in the eyes of the Tzadik, that he had flown up so much in the worlds, while here below he did not move at all. And they showed him that it is so precious in the eyes of Hashem Yisburach a small motion and dislodgement that a man dislodges himself in this world, even less than a hairsbreadth — to the extent that many, many thousands of worlds and parsahs (miles) are incomparable to it.

And to understand this, it is known that this material world is only the central point inside the [heavenly] spheres, as is understood by the astronomers; and all the more so, against the higher worlds the entire Earth is not considered more than a point. And it is known that all the lines which you draw from a central point, behold they are close to each other by the point – all the lines. And the farther they get from the point, the farther they become from each other. And so when the lines extend exceedingly far from the point, the lines also become extremely far from each other, even though down below by the point they are adjacent, like this:

 

Hence if a person projects in his mind, lines drawn from the Earth which is at the bottom, even only out to the planetary orbits, he will find that even if he moves only a hairsbreadth, nevertheless in the place of the planets, there will be a vast distance from where they were originally opposite his head; now it will be far away many, many thousands of miles (parsahs), according to the sheer magnitude of the upper trajectory compared to the lower Earth, as is known, for innumerable stars are fixed there, and each star is as huge as this world and larger. And all the more so, and all the more so, when he projects in his mind the lines extending out to the upper worlds, which in comparison to them, all the planets are totally insignificant. Hence there is no measure to the distance he spans there in the upper worlds through the slightest change of location, even less than a hairsbreadth, that he distances himself and goes from the place he was at initially — even though here on the lower Earth he did not go far, and went just less than a hairbreadth, visibly not moving at all — for this is impossible to measure except by Hashem Yisburach. Even still, there, in the upper worlds, he spans many, many thousands of worlds and miles — and all the more so, all the more so, when someone goes a mile or many miles in service of Hashem; "Eye has not seen... (Isaiah 64:3)."

6.   The Two Palaces

Know that there are two kinds of palaces, and the two palaces are identical. In one lives a king, and in the second lives a slave. And certainly in truth there is a vast difference between the palace of a king and the palace of a slave, but nevertheless it is possible to mistake one for the other, for there is a connection, that many souls connect to the extent that from them is made a house and palace. For one binds to another, and one to another, until there is made from them a foundation, and then a tent, until there is built from them a house and an abode. And this abode is an abode for truth. And when there is a need to request truth, it is found there in that abode, that is, amidst the connection of the souls previously mentioned which from them is made an abode for the truth, as mentioned. And therefore the Torah commanded, "Turn the [judgment] to follow the majority [opinion] [Ex. 23:2]," for since many have bound together as one, certainly the truth is there, as mentioned.

And this is the aspect of, “All the soul of the [lit: to the] House of Jacob [Gen. 46:26,27 and Rashi there explains that it says 'soul' singular, because they were united in serving One G-d]." That is, from the souls are made the “House of Jacob,” that is, an abode for truth, which is the aspect of Jacob, as is written, “Grant truth to Jacob [Mic. 7:20]."

However, be aware that diametrically opposed to this, there is the bond of the wicked, that many souls of the wicked bind together, and from them is made a house and abode for falsehood. And regarding this the prophet warned (Isa. 8:12), “Do not say (-recognize as) a band, to whatever this people say (with the force of) a band [Isa. 8:12]," for the banding of the wicked is not counted, and regarding this it is written, “Do not follow a multitude to do evil [Ex. 23:2]."

But behold, between these two houses it is possible to make a mistake, that is, between the truth and the falsehood. For falsehood simulates itself to the truth, for there too there is the connection from many souls, and it possible for a man to be mistaken, and not know where the truth is, and to where he should draw himself.

And know, that by means of the mitzvah of redeeming captives, one merits to understand (-differentiate) between the two houses mentioned, between truth and falsehood, between a king and a slave, for falsehood is the aspect of a slave, an aspect of 'cursed,' an aspect of, "cursed is Canaan — a slave of slaves etc. [Gen. 9:25]."

The Two Intellects

And know that there are two types of intellects, and they are the aspect of, "behind" and "before." That is, there is an intellect that comes to a man with time, and the older and more advanced in years he gets, the more he knows, an aspect of, “Days will speak” [Job 32:7]. This type of intellect is in the category of “behind,” since it comes with the delayment ('behind') of time, for this intellect needs time. But there is an intellect that comes to a man in great abundance, very swiftly, in less than an instant, for it is above time; and no time at all is needed for this intellect, and this intellect is the category of “face," which is the aspect of Jacob, the aspect of truth, in the aspect of, “those that seek Your face, Jacob. Selah [Ps. 24:6]." (see Likutay Moharan, Torah 21).

7.     A Remedy For Pox

After Shabbat, Torah Portion of Vay'chi, he said, “At this Shalosh Se`udos (third meal) I became aware of a segulah (a rite or charm) for pox. Take chalk (-soft white limestone – calcium carbonate. Heb: sodium) and take soap [boarees] three times the weight of the chalk, and from the two make a bath to bathe the baby. And it is necessary to do this as soon as the baby starts to have fever and burn up from this, and it will be effective with the help of Hashem, if the decree is not severe, but if the decree is severe Heaven forbid, it will not help.”

And he said, “The disease of pox resulted from the Sin of the Calf. So, in this regard there is a difficulty: Isn't this disease also found by the nations of the world? But it is brought in the Midrash that the nations of the world ought not have any diseases (since their portion is this world), but only in order that they not oppress and provoke Israel, all the illnesses that Israel have, were given to them, as Rashi has explained on the verse, `Do not put me to be the disgrace of the scoundrel' [Psalms 39:9]: Bring plagues and pains upon him as well so that he will not be able to say to me, 'You are stricken but we are not stricken;’ and this prayer caused afflictions of sicknesses to be brought upon the nations. And there is another seeming problem: Surely this illness certainly existed before the Sin of the Calf. However, beforehand, the illness was not severe, and the pox was only a result of blood that the baby had drawn in its mother's womb, as is known to the erudite doctors, but it was not a grave illness with mortal danger Heaven forbid, as it is now; and this was induced by the aforementioned sin.

[The remedy] is also slightly alluded to in Jeremiah, where everything is mentioned in one verse: "Even if you wash yourself with chalk and increase greatly for yourself soap, the stain of your sin is before Me” [Jer. 2:22]. Rashi explains that this refers to the Sin of the Calf. [Nesser – means Kraid in Yiddish; Boarees – Zayif]. (Thus, the secret of the segulah for this illness caused by the Sin of the Calf is alluded to here, that is, to wash with nesser, which is chalk, and to use much boarees, which is soap.) And understand wonders.

8.     Sarah Esther

[A story] from the days of his youth. One time people came to him with a pidyon (-redemption), to pray for a girl, Sarah Esther bas (daughter of) Yehudith. And he said that she would die, and so it was. And he said that he knew this from the holy Torah, since he saw then the verse, “Vehadagah asher ba'yeor maissah va'yeev'ash/And the fish which were in the river died and stank” [Ex. 7:21]. And in the words, "maissah va'yeev'ash" this was revealed to him — "MaiSsaH Va'YeeV'ASh" is an acronym of "Sarah [A]esther [V]bas Yehudith Vai MaiSsaH [Woe! Sarah Esther daughter of Yehudith died]!" May Hashem keep us.

9.      The Ten Psalms – Tikun Haklalli

[The Rebbe] cautioned his men, when an impure accident happens to them (i.e. nocturnal emission) Heaven forbid, that they should go immediately to a mikvah [ritual bath] to immerse, because through a nocturnal emission Heaven forbid, there is done what it is done. Therefore it is very good that before some [bad] thing starts to be done as a result of this, Heaven forbid, the man should preempt, and immerse and purify himself.

And he cautioned us very much that a man should not fear this at all, for fear, worry, and melancholy in this matter are very, very harmful, especially after he revealed these ten chapters of Psalms which have the segulah to rectify this offense, namely: 16, 32, 41, 42, 59, 77, 90, 105, 137, 150, as explained in the books which have been already printed. At that time he said, “Whoever merits to fulfill this, to say these (the) ten chapters of Psalms mentioned above, on the same day he has a nocturnal emission Heaven forbid, will certainly have his sin rectified, and should no longer worry at all.” He also scoffed of those chassidim and [Heaven] fearing people whom, whenever some thought occurs to them, they fear lest they come to a nocturnal emission, and due to this they are accustomed to do frequently what is permitted, for fear that they shouldn't come to a nocturnal emission. And he, of blessed memory, would make scoff of this. And his main intention was: that a man needs to not be scared or fear such things at all, and not to think any thoughts at all regarding this, but only be like a valiant soldier standing against his craving, and detach his mind from this completely and not be scared at all, and Hashem, what is good in His eyes will do with him, what He, Blessed He, desires.

And he hinted with his words that this is the aspect of the infraction of King David ob"m, with Bathsheba etc., but he did not explain the matter well (See Tractate Sucah 52b). And a person very, very much needs to strengthen himself in joy continuously, and not fall in his mind at all from anything in the world, no matter what happens to him. And if he will be strong in his mind, and not get frightened at all, and not devise thoughts at all (which are called iber trachten/over-thinking), and will go unfeigned in joy, he will merit to ultimately pass everything in peace. And things like these, are impossible to explain in writing, but a clever person will understand in stride (Proverbs 14:15).

10.                         A King's Hand

In addition, what he told over on Shabbat Chanukah but it was forgotten, of a king's son who was distanced from his father etc., and he yearned very, very much, etc. etc.. And a letter from his father arrived to him, and he delighted in it very, very much, but still he yearned very much, and he yearned that anyhow he would extend his hand to him, and if he would extend his hand to him, he would hug it and kiss it. And afterwards he settled himself, "Behold this letter is the handwriting of the king himself, and therefore it is the king's hand, etc. etc. (All this was not written properly, for it has been forgotten, since it was not written down at the time. Many see this story as referring to the holy Petek that Saba Yisroel received from Rabbi Nachman):

Completed and consummated, praise to G-d, Creator of the World!

Blessed is He Who gives strength to the weary, and to those without power He increases might.

 Na Nach Nachma Nachman MeUman!

Rabbi Nachman's Stories of Ancient Times