Likutay Moharan - Introduction

Introduction to Likutay Moharan

O generation, behold the word of G-d. It is not said, “hear,” but rather, “see.” See that G-d has given you a treasure: matters that stand at the pinnacle of the world, as our rabbis of blessed memory taught [Pesachim 119a]. And regarding “the one who covers ancient things”—this refers to the one who conceals matters that the Attik Yomin [Ancient of Days, a divine name denoting eternity] has covered. Yet there are those who say: this is the one who reveals matters that the Ancient of Days concealed. Both interpretations are unified in this holy composition, for it reveals and conceals, unveils and explicates lofty and hidden truths, new insights, precious, awesome, and wondrous teachings, counsels from afar, and steadfast faith. These flow from a source of living waters, a sublime and profoundly awesome source. “A wise man scales the city of the mighty and brings down the strength of its confidence” [Proverbs 21:22]. Through many contractions and causal chains, from higher intellect to lower intellect, these truths are clothed in the chaluka d’rabanan [rabbinic garb, a metaphor for scholarly discourse], presented with clarity and beauty, in interpretations that are sweet, wondrous, and pleasing to the palate, crafted with wisdom, discernment, pilpul [dialectical reasoning], logic, and guidance for life, with reproofs of instruction and an intellect that burns like fire to the heart of heaven. Every teaching and every Torah revealed to the treasured people is filled with wondrous and awesome counsels for His true service, may He be blessed, as one who gazes with sincerity will see if he sets his heart upon them in truth. For his holy intention was solely to awaken the slumbering, rouse the sleeping, and straighten the hearts of our brothers, the children of Israel, to Him, may He be blessed; to proclaim to the bound, “Go forth,” to those in darkness, “Be revealed,” to open blind eyes, to free prisoners from restraint, to bring out from confinement those dwelling in darkness—those bound by their desires, trapped in their vanities, and exiled in their sins; to incline their hearts to Him, may He be blessed, and return them to G-d in truth, along the straight and righteous path trodden by our forefathers.

Behold, though these matters are revealed and somewhat understood according to their simple meaning, there are deeper layers within, for they are doubly profound in wisdom. The inner essence of these matters is sealed and closed from every eye, for they are matters concealed by the Ancient of Days, requiring both covering and revelation to introduce them into this world. For the covering is the revelation, as explained in the writings of the Ari z”l [Rabbi Yitzchak Luria]. As we heard from his holy mouth, the Torah he reveals is lowered thousands and myriads of levels from what he attained in its supernal source. These are His mighty and awesome deeds, grasped by his holy, exalted intellect to clothe and lower such lofty, holy, ethereal, and spiritual matters into many garments and contractions, until they become accessible to every soul, to make known to humanity His might, may He be blessed, to reveal counsels, ways, and paths to attain His service, may He be blessed, in truth, so that all peoples of the earth may know that G-d is the G-d, and there is none else.

Behold, these matters are clear and somewhat understood according to the simple sense of the words, yet there are deeper layers within. For they are doubly profound in wisdom. The inner aspects of these matters are sealed and closed from all eyes, for they are matters concealed by the Ancient of Days, requiring both covering and revelation to introduce them into this world. For the covering is the revelation, as explained in the writings of the Ari z”l. As we heard from his holy mouth, he said that the Torah he reveals is lowered thousands and myriads of levels from what he attained in its supernal source. These are His mighty deeds, His awesome deeds, grasped by his holy, exalted intellect to clothe and lower such lofty, awesome, holy, ethereal, and spiritual matters into many garments and contractions, until they become accessible to every soul, to make known to humanity His might, may He be blessed, to reveal counsels, ways, and paths to attain His service, may He be blessed, in truth, so that all peoples of the earth may know that G-d is the G-d, and there is none else.

It is impossible to fully recount and expound at length in praise of the immense holiness of this sacred and profoundly awesome book. Whoever desires to gaze upon it with the eye of truth will see and understand for himself the extent of its reach. Yet for one whose heart is smooth and does not desire to comprehend the holiness of this book, my words will not avail him. Nevertheless, to all my brothers and friends, I now speak briefly of the ways of this holy book, and the rest they will see for themselves; their eyes will behold, and their hearts will rejoice. Every teaching and every Torah in this holy book speaks of numerous specific matters, of many virtuous attributes, of many commandments of our holy Torah, and of distancing oneself from negative traits. Each teaching speaks of unique matters not mentioned in another, and so it is with all of them. For example, the teaching that begins “Speak to the priests” [siman 2] speaks of prayer and guarding the bris [covenant, referring to sexual purity], which depend on each other, requiring the aspect of judgment to know how to wield this sword, and necessitating the giving of charity before prayer; it addresses foreign thoughts in prayer, the study of the holy Torah, the erection of the Tabernacle, and binding prayer to the tzadik of the generation, all explained in a wondrous and awesome connection without parallel. The teaching that follows, “With trumpets” [siman 5], speaks of other matters: performing mitzvot with joy, praying with strength, and fear, and so forth. Thus it is with all the teachings, for all the words of this holy book are filled with wondrous and awesome counsels, speaking of all attributes and all practiced mitzvot, and of distancing negative desires—licentiousness, greed, gluttony, honor, anger, arrogance, and the greatness of truth over the degradation of falsehood; distancing sadness and laziness, defects of speech, slander, and talebearing; defects of sight and all senses; the holiness of the eyes, nose, ears, and mouth, likened to the seven lamps shining before the holy Menorah; the holiness of Shabbat, festivals, Rosh Chodesh, the three pilgrimage festivals in general and in their specifics—Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot, with mitzvot like eating matzah, avoiding chametz and leaven, reciting the Haggadah, the four cups on Pesach, the sukkah, the four species, Hoshana Rabbah, Shemini Atzeret, Simchat Torah, receiving the Torah on Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah and shofar blowing, Yom Kippur, Chanukah, Purim, tzitzit, tefillin, reciting Shema, prayer, charity, Torah study, honest business dealings, faith, faith in sages, humility, fear, love, the merits of holy will and longings, fervent prayer with intention, the three daily prayers, the greatness of additional prayers, supplications, and requests that one must increase daily, and especially the greatness of hisbodidus [secluded meditation], pouring out one’s heart in the Ashkenazi tongue before Him, may He be blessed, daily, between man and his Creator, that he may merit to draw near to His service; the greatness of reciting Tehillim, which leads to repentance; the merit of weeping before Hashem, may He be blessed, like a son pleading before his father; the merit of a broken heart; distancing sadness; the merit of joy, which one must strive with all strength to maintain always, with many wondrous counsels to attain joy; the holiness of the Land of Israel; matters of the Tabernacle, Temple, and Jerusalem; the degradation of controversy and the merit of peace; repentance; fasting; the holiness of thought; distancing foreign thoughts; the greatness of binding to tzadikim, upon which all holiness of an Israelite depends; matters of melody, musical instruments, and ten types of melody; clapping hands and dancing; matters of sighing and the voice of enunciation—matters unheard from of old, never seen, revealing awesome secrets vital for the world. (See in the Zohar, Shelach, folio 168b, its great praise of the secret of the voice of enunciation, and in parashat Pinchas, folio 218, its praise of Israel’s movements in holiness. See further in other places in the Zohar and writings, between half the field, where you will see and understand from afar the greatness of the essence of secrets hidden in all human movements, especially when done for holiness, like clapping hands in prayer or for the joy of a mitzvah. Open your eyes, see, and understand.) It strengthens the heart to serve Him, may He be blessed, without despair or falling, to be steadfast in His service, for His kindnesses never cease, and His mercies endure forever. Thus, it encompasses all 613 mitzvot of the Torah, their branches, and all rabbinic commandments, the general scope of written and oral Torah, revealed and hidden, Halachah and Kabbalah, secrets and secrets of secrets, calling each by name, addressing them multiple times in wondrous and innovative connections, all as one providing wondrous counsels to approach Hashem, may He be blessed, until no mitzvah, holiness, or counsel needed by any person at any level is omitted. For his thoughts are profoundly deep. Every teaching in this holy book is a great, wondrous, and awesome edifice, built to talpiyot, a mound to which all turn, encompassing all worlds and levels of every person, great or small, from the beginning of creation’s point, the start of Atzilut, to the center of the material world of Asiyah where man stands, each according to his place and level at that time, from the greatest of the great to the least of the least, even those sunken in the ten crowns of impurity, descended in their sins to the nether Sheol and below. To all, he awakens, rouses, and revives, that they not despair, G-d forbid, from His mercies, raising the stumbling with their words and strengthening bending knees, as explained in the teaching “From their compassion he will lead them” in Likutay Tinyana, siman 7, on the verse “for all in heaven and earth.”

For every matter and every thing he speaks of, he addresses it multiple times, each in a different style, with another wondrous counsel. For example, in the teaching “With trumpets” [siman 5], he explains that prayer in strength is the aspect of thunders, thereby meriting to straighten the heart’s crookedness and perform mitzvot with great joy from the mitzvah itself. In the teaching “On that you trespassed” [siman 44], he explains that prayer in strength with sons is from the aspect of sukkah and the Land of Israel, and elsewhere he explains that prayer in strength annuls arrogance, turnings, and foreign thoughts in prayer. In the teaching “Depths cover them” [siman 9], he explains that prayer in strength provides the main vitality, sustaining the second and third lower worlds, leading to miracles, wonders, complete faith, and the Land of Israel. So it is with all attributes, mitzvot, ways, conduct, and holy counsels he addresses, speaking of them multiple times, each in a new, wondrous, and awesome way. Sometimes he connects guarding the bris with annulling arrogance, which is idolatry, rectifying the thirty-nine labors encompassing all worldly dealings, upper and lower unifications, Halachah and Kabbalah, thereby meriting speech that shines to repentance and understanding the Torah’s depths, as explained in the teaching “I am G-d” [siman 11], and similarly with other mitzvot and attributes. He has made wondrous counsel and magnified wisdom in many different, new, and wondrous ways. For due to our weakness and the daily strengthening of man’s inclination, as our rabbis z”l said [Sukkah 52a], we need counsels and arousals to His service, may He be blessed, in many ways. Sometimes a person is aroused through one teaching’s light, sometimes only through another, according to the person, his level, time, and place. Taste and see that G-d is good; hear His words, for they are exceedingly pleasant to all who desire truth and seek to reflect on their true life, their end, and how they will stand before the King, as every person knows in his soul and heart.

You will also understand and see that every teaching in this book has great depth, depth within depth, in general, in particular, and in the particulars of particulars. As I heard from his holy mouth z”l, he said, “In my Torah, there is great depth.” For the words of this holy book are like fire and a hammer that shatters rock. Every teaching divides into numerous precious, new, and wondrous introductions and matters, for each teaching in this holy book is a great, wondrous, awesome, and strong edifice, built to talpiyot, a mound to which all turn, containing many rooms, room within room, with windows and openings from one to another. Every room, taste, matter, and introduction in each teaching has great depth, and as the tastes and matters increase, their depth grows like waters covering the sea. The sincere reader will understand this, for each time he enters and exits from palace to palace, room to room, matter to matter, he must look back to grasp the sweetness of the depth, the end from its beginning and its beginning from its end, all tied, connected, and nailed, end to beginning and beginning to end, in its middle and sides. The peruser will roam and increase knowledge, especially in the generality of the Torah, which is connected, closed, and included, with many different, awesome, wondrous, deep, and broad matters like the sea. The reader must note that sometimes he brings two or three proofs for one thing in a wondrous and pleasant way, and due to the haste of the tongue, it may seem like one taste. For such is the way of this book: it often repeats “because” or similar terms for one matter, making it seem like a single proof, when in truth, there are many tastes, each tied to the other, inseparable, for they are many proofs in a wondrous way, each nailed and bound to its fellow, as noted in Sefer Parperaot LeChochmah at its beginning.

According to the greatness of the depth of every speech, it would be fitting to write each time to understand and see clearly, instructing the reader to set his eye upon it. But I refrain, for then it would be necessary to write such instructions for nearly every speech, given the sweetness of the intellect and depth in every matter. Mostly, his words have such great depth that no language suffices to explain them. Thus, I ceased my pen and restrained myself from writing such instructions, except occasionally when a phrase escaped my quill. The sincere reader with understanding will grasp the depth himself, broader and deeper than the sea, higher than heaven, deeper than the abyss. Whoever wishes to taste the honeycomb of these pleasant words must delve with the eye of truth in great, meticulous study to understand each matter in its form, as far as his intellect reaches. Happy is the man who finds wisdom and brings forth understanding to grasp the simple meanings of this holy book’s teachings. Yet it is accessible to all, for even one whose hand is short to understand deep matters can find rest for his soul in the holy counsels and wondrous ethics of each teaching, as G-d illuminates his intellect to understand the simple intention of our Rebbe z”l. For in truth, all the words of this awesome book are lofty, high, and deep attainments without end or limit, with hidden and concealed matters clothed within, mentioned only in hints and secrets. All the writings of the Ari z”l, the ma’amarim of the Zohar Hakadosh, Tikkunim, and all paths of holy Kabbalah are included in this book’s words. Every teaching speaks of unique intentions of a mitzvah and a gate from the Etz Chaim in a wondrous and awesome way, as our eyes saw, not a stranger’s, sometimes revealing a drop from the sea of his intention. All teachings are from the Pardes, with peshat, remez, and more, each with great, wondrous, and awesome depth. Yet the main intention of the holy one is the simple explanation in each teaching, for the deed, not the midrash, is primary, as explained many times. His sole intention in every teaching and speech from his holy mouth was to merit Israel to straightforward deeds, hinting from afar and near, instructing deep and wondrous counsels and stratagems to approach Hashem, may He be blessed, from every place. As the seer will see with the eye of truth, his intention was that we strive to understand the service and counsels in each teaching, request from Hashem, may He be blessed, prostrate before Him, and fulfill them in simplicity. In G-d we trust, that whoever sets his eye and heart to these holy words, his heart will be enflamed and opened, yearning greatly for His service, returning to G-d in truth with all his heart, soul, and might. Even a heart strong as rock will move; if stone, it melts; if iron, it bursts. As we heard from his holy mouth z”l, he said that whoever gazes at this book with the eye of truth, all tendons of his heart’s stiffness will open, and he will become a complete penitent.

In truth, it is impossible to recount the praise of this holy and awesome composition, and even more so the holiness of its author, our master, teacher, and rabbi, the great and precious upper light, memory of the righteous and holy for blessing, for silence is his praise. Moreover, we know the essence of the controversy that arose against him and us without cause, forcing us to muzzle our mouths and remain silent from recounting his holiness, separation, wholeness, righteousness, and true humility. In place of his greatness and exalted wisdom, where the mighty found his hand in all Torah—revealed and hidden, the sea of Talmud, poskim, first and last, and all secrets of lofty attainments, none forgotten or obscured to him—there we find his humility, simplicity, tolerance, and wholeness in deeds, serving G-d with wondrous self-sacrifice day and night without ceasing, never quiet or resting from His service, may He be blessed, in wisdom and great, awesome attainment, as your eyes will see in this holy book. For anyone who sets his heart to these matters will judge righteously that such attainments cannot come from a full belly. How many labors he endured, troubles he faced, thousands of fasts and interruptions, complete fasts from Shabbat to Shabbat, afflictions he bore, years he secluded in hisbodidus, separating from all desires, sanctifying himself in all holinesses, and above all, ascending in awesome holiness through the sanctity of the Land of Israel, casting his soul to the test. He traveled to the holy land during a time of fierce wars in those communities, facing numerous adventures: the plague, G-d save us, then prevalent, the roar of war where lives were unsecured daily, and other severe trials in body, soul, and wealth, impossible to detail in writing. Hashem, may He be blessed, granted him iron strength to bear what no man could endure, until he passed in peace, entered the Land of Israel, and exited unharmed, meriting what he merited in revealed and hidden realms. Beyond what is hidden to G-d, what he attained through the Land of Israel is concealed from every eye. Yet in the revealed, we saw that G-d was with him, for the Torah he revealed after the Land of Israel ascended immeasurably beyond his earlier teachings, though even those illuminated the world with wondrous awe. His words were wondrous before, yet the heavens are higher than the earth, so much higher were his teachings after the Land of Israel, as he explicitly stated many times. Most of this book comprises teachings revealed after the Land of Israel, with only a small portion—two or three leaves—from before, found in the simanim written in the language of the friends, from siman 73 to siman 114, and even there, only a little.

This book was first printed in Ostrog in 5568 [1808 CE] during our rabbi’s lifetime, in his thirteenth year. But the printers there distorted it greatly, as it was printed without our presence, resulting in many errors, missing lines, changed orders, and exchanged sections. There were also issues with interruptions between teachings and within teachings, where spaces were needed between matters. They distorted much, sometimes adding large interruptions mid-matter unnecessarily, or combining matters where interruptions were needed, even omitting breaks at the start of a ma’amar. I set my heart and knowledge to repair these as best I could, with G-d’s help, correcting all errors and distortions from the first printing.

Know also that the first book was printed suddenly without my presence, when our rabbi z”l was in Lemberg. Several places needed language repairs in the second edition, but due to printing haste, it followed the first edition. Thus, I resolved to repair many places, expanding and explaining further according to my understanding of the ma’amar’s intention, as heard from his holy mouth. For teachings written in his holy language, I neither subtracted nor added a single letter, except where greatly needed for explanation, which I enclosed in parentheses to distinguish from his own words.

I labored to find all references to verses of Tanach, ma’amarim of our rabbis z”l in Shas, midrashim, Zohar Hakadosh, Tikkunim, and the Ari’s writings, which are numerous in this book, noting their sources with Hashem’s help. I also placed signs for each teaching, marking them with aleph-bet letters for easy navigation, and within each teaching, I added letters to mark transitions between matters, to contemplate and teach new introductions, as the reader will understand in context.

Some ma’amarim appear twice, once long and once short, because such was his holy way z”l. The teachings he wrote himself often differed greatly between his spoken and written words, as he wrote according to the rush of his holy intellect, subtracting or adding from what he spoke during the derush. But I was precise to write as I heard from his holy mouth without alteration. Thus, some ma’amarim I wrote were later found in his holy hand with many changes. For this reason, I included both, as they are both good, for anything repeated is renewed in some way.

Thus far, these few words hold much, hinting at the ways of this holy book. The rest cannot be recounted, for no number of sheets would suffice to praise even one teaching’s merit, especially amidst the great controversy that has arisen, casting truth to the ground in our many sins. Truth is missing, made into flocks, each claiming it for themselves. Yet truth is one, testifying for itself, and the chooser will choose. We cast our lot upon G-d, relying only on our Father in heaven, whose mercies never cease and compassions endure forever.

These are the words of the humble one who yearns for the honor of his Maker, seeking the uplifting of the Divine Presence and the sanctity of Israel, the servant of the servant of G-d, Natan of Nemirov, may his light shine, who wrote this in sanctity and purity, with awe and love, to merit Israel to the service of the Creator, may He be blessed.