Hilula of Rabbi Yehuda Hachasid - 6 Cheshvon (Tonight-tomorrow) - MORTIFICATIONS

HH

This post is an excerpt from the book The Praises of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, article 24, in honor of Rabbi Yehuda Hachasid.

Also they understood from his words that he spoke with them, that in his youth when he toiled and labored for the service of Hashem, he had many (many) types of mortification, and according to what was heard and understood from his words, (that) he had all types of mortifications that there are in the world, be it rolling in the snow[1] etc. and so forth[2]. And he said, that the mortification of restraining oneself not to scratch oneself at all, this is the overly greatest mortification, that is, when a person is being bit (-irritated) by the things found close to his skin, and it is the way of everyone to scratch themselves whenever they feel the biting (-itching); and he accepted this as a mortification, to force himself not to scratch at all, not with his hand, and not with his body, and not with any limb, and he said, that this is a very great mortification, for the person is inert, and then the biting/itching grows stronger, and he is forbidden to move his hands or any limb, just to feel every bite in his mind, and it is a very great mortification. (And I have already heard this from other people, that this is a very great mortification). And he of blessed memory did everything, all the types of mortifications that there are in the world, and everything - with temeemus (unfeigned wholesomeness, wholeheartedness, simplicity, sincerity) and truth, until he merited to what he merited, fortunate is he.

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[1] See Samuel (2:23:20) and the Talmud, Brachos 18b. The Arizal revealed some secrets regarding this mortification in Shaar Ruach Hakodesh, rectification 22 (R.A.K.). The Rishash revealed more secrets about it, and there are various allusions to this in the Scriptures. A famous rabbi once told me that the main intent of this mortification in particular and many of them in general is to shock the body so that the soul breaks free. However, various places in the holy teachings of our Sages and Rabbainu prove that the pain and self-sacrifice itself is the main goal. However, see Likutay Moharan 170, that through suffering the soul is enlarged.

[2] This needs further study, because there are some very wild mortifications brought down in the holy books which Rabbainu was definitely aware of, e.g. Rabbi Yehuda Hachasid (Sefer Chasidim 167) praises someone who stood naked by a beehive and was stung all over his body, and when he recovered he did it again. This would be almost impossible to do without anyone knowing. Perhaps Rabbainu did this on a lower scale, or there is a secret to this perhaps on the lines of what is revealed in Likutay Moharan, Torah-teaching 193, that a person can visualize upon himself the four capital punishments so vividly and realistically, that he will actual feel the suffering, and will be in actual mortal danger of dying.

After some contemplation B.H. it occurred to me that the aforementioned mortification brought down by Rabbi Yehuda Hachasid was done as an atonement and rectification for adultery, and all similar drastic mortifications especially when they are life threatening probably do not come under the category of regular “segufim” (mortifications) which are done to weeken the physical desires of the body and so forth, whereas these severe tasks were intended literally to flirt with death to absolve the person of the sin, culpable of death, which he transgressed, even open to the possibility that he might in fact die. Thus we can assert that Rabbainu did not mean that he did mortifications of that sort.

Na Nach Nachma Nachman MayUman!

The Praises of Rabbi Nachman 24-27 end of part 1

HH

Shivchay Huran

24-27 end of Part 1

24. Also they understood from his words that he spoke with them, that in his youth when he toiled and labored for the service of Hashem, he had many (many) types of mortification, and according to what was heard and understood from his words, (that) he had all types of mortifications that there are in the world, be it rolling in the snow etc. and so forth. And he said, that the mortification of restraining oneself not to scratch himself at all, this is the overly greatest mortification, that is, when a person is being bit (-irritated) by the things found close to his skin, and it is the way of everyone to scratch themselves whenever they feel the biting (-itching); and he accepted this as a mortification, to force himself not to scratch at all, not with his hand and not with his body and not with any limb, and he said, that this is a very great mortification, for the person is inert, and then the biting/itching grows stronger, and he is forbidden to move his hands or any limb, just to feel every bite in his mind, and it is a very great mortification. (And I have already heard this from other people, that this is a very great mortification). And he of blessed memory did everything, all the types of modifications that there are in the world, and everything - with temeemus (wholesomeness, wholeheartedness, simplicity, unfeigned) and truth, until he merited to what he merited, fortunate is he.

Also in the matter of suffering, which befall upon most tzadikim, mamash (-literally) there is not heard and there is not seen a peer of suffering like him, and it is impossible to relate and to explain. And he was full of suffering from inside and out. And in the beginning, before the end of his days, he had enormous and terrible suffering, which has no counterpart suffering in the world. And he related, that his suffering are in his hand (-control); whenever he desires - he accepts them upon himself, and these sufferings come upon him, and when he desires to get rid of them - they depart from upon him (t.n. the Talmud, Bava Metzeyuh 84a relates this of Rabbi Eluzar son of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai). And the enormity of the harshness and the weight of the sufferings was immeasurable.

They said over in his name that he said, that in the hour (-time) that the sufferings come upon him, from the utter magnitude of the superlative pain and very, very excruciating agony, he was just about able to bite a tree with his teeth from the enormous pain (like a person does when he has formidable suffering, that from the sheer enormity of the suffering he gnashes his teeth; and upon him of blessed memory the suffering was so intense and harsh, to the extent that at the time of the suffering he was able to cut through wood with his teeth from the enormous pain). However the greatness and massiveness of the harsh and enormous suffering that he had at the end of his days for three consecutive years, were yet much, much greater and harsher manifold ("double and quadruple"), unfathomable and beyond any reckoning. And a little of this will be explained elsewhere (see The Life of Our Leader Rabbi Nachman, the section addressing his trip to Lemberg and the section of his trip and stay in Uman, and The Days of Our Teacher Rabbi Nussun), if it is Hashem's will, a slight fringe. And there is still a lot more to relate, but we omitted most of it, even of the little that we know, because even this little (that we know) is a lot to tell over, and many folios would be insufficient, and further revelation will be in yet a future time to explain more, with the help of Hashem Yisburach.

25. The general synopsis (is) - that in all matters of holiness and aestheticism, be it with (bodily) desires, or be it with character traits, or be it with matters of exertion and devotions and labor and suffering etc. for His sake blessed He, (with) absolutely everything he was a very wondrous and awesome novelty, and he was divested of all the (bodily) desires and of all vices in the utmost, to the extent that there was no remnants by him of any (bodily) desire or vice, any nuance in the world, and he merited to a very, very awesome level, the pinnacle of heights, and it is impossible to speak at all of the utter magnitude of his superlative stature, because the more one elaborates - he detracts; and everything that we related until now, even though all the aforementioned stories are considered a degradation opposite him, according to the enormous stature that he merited to afterwards, even still we related all of this regarding his devotion and his ways in the days of his childhood, so that we should know and be cognizant of how there is free choice ("bicheeruh chufshees"), and every person can merit, if he wants, to a very superlative level, even though it seems to him that the devotion is difficult and heavy upon him and they do not allow him to enter at all in His devotion blessed He, because the desires and the vices pursue him tremendously, even still he needs to be stubborn in his devotion, and not to pay attention to all of this, because in these stories a smart person will understand from his own reasoning how also on the holy awesome Rebbe za.tza.viku.l. there transpired as well all impediments and the heaviness mentioned above, and he traversed through all this, and even still he merited to break everything, because he truly wanted His devotion blessed He, and he chose life in truth, until he merited what he merited. And he said, that even if he was not from the progeny of the Godly Baal Shem Tov za.tza.viku.l. just even if he was from a lowly family of Israel, he would also have merited to what he merited through the utter power of his devotion and his toil, that he toiled and labored very, very much in His service blessed He.

26. And he had strong grievance on those people who think that the main stature of the tzadik and the attainment he merited is through virtue of their neshama (-soul) alone, because he has a very lofty soul, and he said, that the matter is not so, just what is essential is contingent on good deeds, and exertion, and devotions. And he said explicitly, that every person in the world can merit to an overly lofty level, because the matter is not contingent except on the free choice of the person alone, if he desires to have mercy on himself and to resolve for himself very well what is good before him in truth etc., and everything (is) - according to the abundance of the deed.

27. And therefore even the awesome miracles that we saw from Rabbainu o.b.m., we are not engaged in relating them, because this is not praise of him whatsoever according to his enormous, superlative prominence, we just related what is pertinent to His devotion blessed He, in order to arouse the sagacious who desires the truth, because there is no excuse in the world, and every person can merit to lofty heights, if he goes and conducts in the ways of Rabbainu o.b.m. which are explained here in this book. And the main thing (is) - to be very regular in very copious prayers and supplications, and specifically to speak between oneself and his Creator in the vernacular, to abound in conversation before Him blessed He, to conciliate Him, and to appease Him blessed He, and to beseech before Him that He should draw him close to His devotion in truth. And this note is sufficient for all who desire the truth.

End of Part 1

Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman

The Praises of Rabbi Nachman 17-19

HH

Shivchay Huran

17-19

17. He also said, that the conjugation of the true tzadik is a very difficult matter for him; and not only does he not have any desire whatsoever, just on the contrary, he has suffering from this, mamash (-literally) like the suffering of an infant during circumcision, because mamash suffering such as this the tzadik has during conjugation, and more than this, because the infant doesn't have intellect, therefore his suffering is not so great, but the tzadik who does have intellect, his suffering is greater then the infant, and this was an obvious matter by him. And he said, that every person can merit to come to this level, and it was apparent from his words that his own holiness was yet very extremely higher.

18. And he said, that by him a man and a woman are equal, that is, that no facet of thought occurs to him when he sees a woman, just everything is the same by him in his eyes, as if he sees a man. And one time he said, that he has no fear, not from a woman and not from an angel. And with this there's a lot to explain, because someone who still has any facet of fear whatsoever from thoughts of women, even if he is chaste in this regard, just that he's not immaculate in the utmost purity, and he still has some fear at all with this, he needs to fear from an angel; but he (Rabbainu) boasted that he has absolutely no fear of this, therefore he has no fear of an angel. This is slightly alluded to in the words of our Rabbis of blessed memory (Kedushin 81a): "I am flesh, and you are fire - but I am better/stronger than you," which Rav Amram Chasiduh said to the angel, and it is brought down in his words of blessed memory in the Torah-teaching "Tikoo (blast the shofar) - memshalu (dominion)" Torah 1 in the second volume of Likutay Moharan, see there well, and understand.

19. He was also very accustomed in his early childhood and in his youth to run over all the time to be by the grave of the Baal Shem Tov za.tza.viku.l. to request of him that he help him draw close to Hashem Yisburach. And he used to go there at night, and in the winter when it was extremely cold he would go there at night and from there he returned and went to the mikvah. And there was a mikva outside the bathhouse and one mikvah inside the bath house, and he chose the mikvah that was outside the bathhouse, when the cold was great and he was already very cold from being by the aforementioned grave, because there was a great distance between his house and the cemetery and also from the cemetery to the mikva, besides for the lengthy stay that he spent by the grave, even still after all this he would specifically go to immerse in the mikvah which stood outside, in order to mortify himself - and all of this secretly at night. And I heard from someone who said that he heard from his holy mouth, that when he performed these practices he was just six years old.

And he was so secretive from people in his devotions, to the extent that one time he went to the mikvah in the morning in the winter, and he came from the immersion, and his pehyos (sidelocks) were wet from the water, and everyone wondered at the oddity that in the winter a person would wash his head, because it did not occur to them that he had been in the mikvah, they just thought that he washed his head, and they wondered at his peculiarity that he washed his head in such cold, and they held it to be an act of his immaturity, because he was very, very secretive in his devotion. Also all the very many fasts that he fasted, absolutely no one in the world knew about them, even his father and his mother and his relatives, just his wife alone knew of it, and he would swear her that she should not reveal it to anyone, and he would do many (many) ruses to hide and to conceal all the fasting that he fasted, in such a way that no one would know of them.

Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman!

Uman

HH
It is so incredibly amazing that Rabbainu is in Uman. Uman is a word with such holy import throughout the Torah, written and oral. The Russian language is the most impure, they don't even have a full and proper Hey and Yud (from what I'm told, but I understand there might be something). Russia in the Holy Tongue means an evil person and the most common Russian words all have terrible meanings in the Holy Tongue, e.g. 'davoy' in Hebrew is the opposite of Hod, and it means mournful. 'charasha' means deaf. 'Kiev' means pain. Not to mention all the names, places, and words which are so long and complicated it is extremely difficult for a westerner to even pronounce them. And in the heart of this appears a simple and ultra positive meaningful city 'Uman' which means faith or the Creator, amongst other things. And the name of the street by the holy tomb of Na Nach Nachma Nachman Me'Uman is called Pushkina which means here is the Divine Presence!
Mind boggling!
Fortunate is the believer in the holy petek, and regardless of one's beliefs this is absolutely phenomenal above and beyond comprehension.

Na Nach Nachma Nachman Me'Uman