Likutay Moharan - Torah-teaching 192

192 - Speech of Truth That Goes Out from the Mouth of the True Tzadik

Know that truthful speech from the true tzadik's mouth – even on worldly matters – is more precious than Torah words from another tzadik, for the latter may contain mixtures, while the former is pure truth alone, with nothing more precious.

One who hears such truthful speech from the true tzadik's mouth – especially while seeing him – fulfills (Isaiah 30:20): "And your eyes shall see your teachers." He receives aspects of the tzadik's face, intellect, and soul. The tzadik infuses his intellect into the innovated speech; the receiver absorbs this speech and thus the intellect. This is also the soul aspect, as the soul is intellect (Job 32:8: "And the soul of the Almighty gives them understanding"). He also receives the face, for truthful speech is the face of all holy faces (Psalms 24:6: "Who seek Your face, Jacob Selah"; Micah 7:20: "Give truth to Jacob"). Thus, receiving speech from the tzadik grants his face, intellect, and soul, engraving the tzadik's portrait (face, intellect, soul) in the mind.

But guard against forgetting, which erases everything engraved in the mind from the speech. Even if written in a book for memory, forgetting intensifies after the wise one's passing (Psalms 31:13: "I am forgotten like a dead from the heart"), affecting the book as well. The remedy is to picture the wise one's portrait during study of his words, as in the Jerusalem Talmud (Shekalim 2:5): picture as if the Tanna stands before you. The book registers the wise one's form: its speeches and letters embody his intellect, soul, and face. Every book contains the wise one's portrait, shaped by his intellect, soul, and face (a different form would produce different letters).

When meriting memory – recalling words as spoken or through 101 repetitions – saying them in the wise one's name pictures the portrait, as if he spoke them. True memory engraves the portrait literally. As in (Avot 4:20): the learner as a child is like... The teacher-student dynamic is like writing ink on paper, picturing intellect – thus picturing the form in the student's mind. Aspects: "child learner" hears directly at innovation – "child" as newborn (innovations from soul-elevation as pregnancy; see sign 13) – like fresh paper ink, well-engraved without blur for remembrance. "Old learner" hears not directly or not at innovation – soul unrenewed, remaining "old" – like erased paper with blurred writing, prone to forgetting.

(Berachot 58b): "It is enough for the servant to be like his master" – "servant" remembers via 101 repeats (Chagigah 9b: "worker of G-d" repeats 101 times). Memory makes "like master" – portrait as if master spoke, well-engraved like paper ink. "Enough for servant" as "ink written" (Zohar Terumah 159a). Pictured form as ink: only portrait, not essence – lower level clothed in lower (wisdom's crown to humility's heel per Rabbis). Jerusalem Talmud Shekalim 6: "black fire on white fire" as brains, "flowing from Lebanon" from brain-whiteness (Zohar Pinchas 235a). (Song 1:5): "I am black but comely" – upper's low (black) is lower's high (comely).