This lesson reveals an awesome piece of advice that is incredibly simple: We should always hold on to our power of speech—saying words of Torah, tefillah, and so on—in every situation, since our speech prevents us from forgetting about Hashem.
The deeper understanding of this practice is explained in Likutei Mohoran I, 78. Hashem created the neshamos of the Jewish people in order to reveal His Malchus. The main way that we do so is through our holy speech that is an aspect of the Shechinah, which constantly goes with us even in the darkest places. Thus, although it may seem to us like we’re not accomplishing anything with our simple words of kedushah, in truth, we’re rectifying the Shechinah and elevating It from exile. Through this, we receive an aspect of ru’ach hakodesh: the clear realization that we’re close to Hashem.
Lesson 21
A great way for a person to strengthen himself is through the power of speech. In other words, even if a person fell to the lowest place, by speaking words of truth he can awaken an awareness of Hashem. Even if he is very far from kedushah, through saying words of Torah, tefillah, or yiras Shamayim, or by speaking to Hashem in personal prayer, or by talking to a friend or a rebbe, he can remind himself that Hashem is constantly with him.
As Reb Nosson writes in Likutei Eitzos (Dibbur 19): The power of speech is like the mother of a child, meaning that just like a mother always goes everywhere with her children—even to the most dirty places—and she never forgets about them, so too, the power of speech follows a person even to the most filthy places and it can remind him about Hashem.
Even if a person is on the lowest level, he can always awaken his awareness of Hashem by strengthening himself to say holy words of Torah, tefillah, or personal prayer, or to speak with his rebbe or friend about yiras Shamayim. This can help him even if he’s fallen to the filthiest places that are very far from Hashem, because his speech prevents him from forgetting about Him.
So, you should take to heart the immense power of speech, since it is extraordinary advice for anyone who doesn’t want to lose himself completely, G-d forbid.
(Based on Likutei Mohoran I, 78)
This article is a translation of the sefer Meshiv Nafshi, which is based on the teachings of HaRav Nissan Dovid Kivak, shlit’’a. To purchase a copy of the sefer, to make a dedication, or to subscribe to receive these articles by email, you may contact: [email protected]. To join the Rebbe’s Pharmacy group on WhatsApp, send a message to +1-718-207-1468 or scan this QR code:
Even at the Most Difficult Times
In addition, we also learn from here general advice for all paths of chizuk that Rebbe Nachman reveals throughout his sefarim. Even after a person learns and understands different messages of encouragement—that Hashem is with us in every place, He is proud of us, His main nachas comes from those who are furthest away from kedushah, and so on—nevertheless, when we’re being tested, we tend to forget about all these teachings. We’re not able to think about these extraordinary revelations in order to strengthen ourselves at all times. And even when we do remember them, we don’t always grasp how they relate to us in our current situation. It seems like they don’t apply to us.
Therefore, we need to pay close attention to this lesson, which is general advice on how to implement all the ideas of chizuk that are revealed in Rebbe Nachman’s sefarim. This advice is the power of speaking about words of encouragement. In other words, we should talk to a good friend or rebbe about the teachings of the tzaddikim, through which we grasp the message that we need to strengthen us, since discussing an idea has incredible power to awaken us to connect to that idea and relate to it personally.
Hisbodedus: Going from Potential to Reality
Furthermore, we should speak about words of chizuk before Hashem. Just like all the incredible advice of Rebbe Nachman only comes to fruition in our lives through talking about it in hisbodedus and asking for Hashem’s help, so too regarding teachings of encouragement, we should express them in words to the Creator in order to truly bring them from potential to reality.
This practice can be compared to the commentary that we’re writing on the sefer Meshivas Nefesh. The purpose of this commentary is to help the reader understand the practical advice in each lesson in a way that is close to his heart. Similarly, we should speak to Hashem about a teaching of chizuk we’ve learned and plead with Him that the holy words of this teaching should find a place in our hearts and truly strengthen us. We should go into detail and say, for example, “Ribbono Shel Olam, I want to be able to contemplate this idea that I read. Please help me to understand how it relates to me and what I’m going through.”
Any time we fall in our minds into the darkness of pain and depression, we should awaken ourselves to call out to Hashem to strengthen us not to abandon the path of chizuk and remember the precise message that connects to our hearts at that moment. Through this, we will be able to be truly strong at all times.
Likewise, it says in Hishtapchus HaNefesh (Lesson 48): “Rebbe Nachman told several people that since the physical desires of their bodies were very strong, they must ‘swallow’ many words of kedushah regarding the ultimate purpose of life.” From this, we can understand that we also need to speak to ourselves many holy words regarding chizuk in order to not give up completely, G-d forbid.
Holding Back from Words of Despair
One last point is that from what Rebbe Nachman tells us to do, we can also grasp what not to do. Once we see the incredible power of our positive speech, we can understand that we must be very careful from speaking words of complaint and despair. Even if these words are not coming from the depths of our hearts, nonetheless, we shouldn’t express them at all. Rather, we should only say messages of chizuk over and over, because our speech can determine whether we will live a good life or not.
L’Ma’aseh—Practically Speaking
Speech has incredible power to awaken even a person who is in the darkest place. Therefore, we should accustom ourselves to say many words of Torah and tefillah in every situation in life. Similarly, someone who truly wants to strengthen himself should talk about the advice of chizuk of the tzaddikim with a friend and with Hashem. Then, this advice will really have a profound effect on him.
Published by the Meirat Einayim Institute in Jerusalem, Israel-Graphic Design C. Schorr [email protected]
Published by the Meiras Eynaim Institute
