This section of the sichah gives us an image of the deep yearning for Hashem we can attain when we strengthen and purify our emunah. It paints a picture of how simple emunah can bring us to a high level of deveikus in Hashem. At first glance, this seems to be relevant only to someone who has already experienced such a ratzon. But for someone who hasn’t had such an experience, it is difficult to understand. It even appears to be somewhat extreme.
However, this teaching of Rebbe Nachman is indeed relevant to all of us and it is an essential way for us to come closer to Hashem. In truth, our ratzon is what determines our spiritual state at any given moment. It is a very powerful tool that can attach us to kedushah, or the opposite, G-d forbid. The reason for this is the thoughts in our minds come from what we want in our hearts. When our hearts crave something in the material world, this causes us to think about that thing. On the other hand, when we yearn for Hashem, our minds are full of holy thoughts about the Creator. And, as the Baal Shem Tov states, “Wherever your thoughts are, that’s where you are.”
So, the question is, how do we awaken our ratzon to yearn for kedushah? This is the main revelation of this section of this sichah: “And when a person goes through life with simplicity – with just emunah and no questions at all – he can merit having Hashem help him to come to an aspect of yearning that is higher than wisdom.”
As we explained in the first part of this sichah, the emunah that Rebbe Nachman refers to here is specifically emunah in the simple truth of the tzaddikim. Whether we’re able to understand the depth of their teachings or not is irrelevant. At all times we must believe in the “bottom line” that the tzaddikim reveal in their sefarim. For example, we must have emunah that Hashem watches us with love and compassion, and He treasures every small thing that we do to serve Him; there amazing sparks of kedushah in all the food that we eat, and by saying brachos and thinking about these sparks, we elevate them back to their source; it is important to contemplate the greatness of Creator and try awaken our hearts to daven and do mitzvos with love and awe; and so on.
Once we apply this emunah to our lives, the reality of the truth of the tzaddikim grabs us. We forget about our worries about money. We forget about our need for more coffee and other physical desires. We forget about all of our problems and suffering. And instead, we yearn to come closer to Hashem. We long to attach ourselves to davening and reach a higher level of kedushah. We thirst to learn Torah purely for the sake of Heaven. In other words, our emunah turns into ratzon.
Then, our ratzon brings us to holy thoughts. When we daven, we think about the amazing beauty of the expressions of tefillah. When we eat, we think about the unbelievable tikkunim that we make with every bite. As we put on tefillin, we are aware of the incredible splendor that we give to Hashem and the nachas that He has from us. Through this, we begin to taste the sweetness of davening, we have a deep yearning for Hashem as we eat, and we experience love and awe of Hashem as we place our tefillin on our heads. All of these feelings are aspects of the profound ratzon that Rebbe Nachman mentions in this sichah.
Perhaps, in the middle of a Shabbos meal, we strengthen our emunah to let go of our concerns about our income. Then, as we sing the holy niggun “Ka Ribbon,” we contemplate its holy words, and we enter a completely different spiritual reality. This is the path that brings us to fulfill the Torah with yishuv hadaas and attachment to Hashem. It starts with applying our emunah in the simple revelations of the tzaddikim, through which we awaken our ratzon for Hashem and connect our thoughts to serving Him.
