Likutay Moharan - Torah-teaching 153

Likutey Moharan 153

The matter of receiving the face of a Torah scholar

The matter of receiving the face of a Torah scholar: the moon emits no light of its own—it receives the sun’s light because it is like a polished mirror. Through that polished surface it reflects the sun’s rays to illuminate the earth. Were the moon thick and dark—even unpolished—it could receive no sunlight.

In like manner, the student and rabbi are an aspect of sun and moon [see above siman 6, letter 5]. If a student has a “face”—meaning an illuminated countenance, akin to a polished mirror—he can receive the rabbi's face, i.e. the light of the rabbi’s face. Then it is fitting that the rabbi’s face appear within the student's countenance—just as in polished mirrors, whoever stands before them sees his own face within.

Thus it is incumbent that the student receive the rabbi's face into himself: the rabbi’s face should appear within him. This only applies if the student possesses an “open face,” an aspect of illuminated countenance. If instead he has no “face”—i.e. a darkened countenance—he cannot receive the face, as the moon cannot reflect light. Accordingly, the rabbi’s face does not appear within him—like one who stands before a thick, dark surface.

Through this one may discern if someone is submerged in the desire for money: if he sees no reflection of the rabbi’s face in himself, he is in the state of dark countenance—linked to attachment to wealth [see above siman 23]. Likewise, one can assess any pair: whomever has moved beyond his peer in freeing himself from money’s desire is called a “Tzadik” relative to him [ibid.].

As it says: “Face to face...” at Sinai—the people of Israel then had illuminated countenances and were able to receive holy faces, which appeared within them [Deuteronomy 5:4]. That is “face to face”—holy faces within their faces. “Hashem spoke with you” indicates that the Divine speech addressed each one individually, after those holy faces were incorporated within each of them. But one who has an impudent face has no holy face and cannot receive faces—thus Rabbinic teaching: “Anyone who has impudence, it is known that his ancestors’ feet did not stand at Sinai” [Nedarim 20a].