Instead, Rebbe Nachman says that we “should believe in Hashem and the true tzaddikim with pure emunah without any questions at all. For we have already merited receiving the holy Torah through Moshe Rabbeinu, and we have already had many great and awesome tzaddikim in every generation, so it is fitting for us to rely on them without any questions and follow in their footsteps – to believe in Hashem with simplicity and to fulfill His Torah and mitzvos in the way that our holy ancestors have given over to us.”
As we discussed at length in the introduction to this sichah, it is not possible for us to believe in Hashem without having emunah in the tzaddikim who reveal to us the truth about Hashem and the Torah. At Har Sinai, we told Moshe Rabbeinu to receive the Torah from Hashem and then teach it to us. Afterwards, Moshe Rabbeinu passed his wisdom over to Yehoshua, Yehoshua to the Elders, and so on, as it is explained in the beginning of Pirkei Avos. Thus, the essence of truth of Moshe Rabbeinu is alive in the awesome tzaddikim of every generation.
During the times of the Rishonim, it wasn’t necessary to talk so much about simple emunah. Most Jews lived within close proximity to a rav who was a great tzaddik and talmid chacham. So, whenever they had a question in halachah, they went to this tzaddik and they witnessed his pure emunah, awe of Heaven, and deveikus in Hashem first hand. This experience alone would build a solid foundation of emunah for everyone in the community.
However, towards the end of the period of the Rishonim, things started to change. Many people moved to bigger cities and lost their daily connection to the tzaddikim of their generation. Thus, the later Rishonim began to write about emunah. Similarly, at this time, the Zohar HaKadosh was revealed, which contains the deepest understandings of emunah in Hashem.
