In this sichah, Rebbe Nachman reveals how to transform a negative trait into a positive avodah. He shows us how to use the power of forgetfulness in order to come closer to Hashem.
On a simple level, forgetfulness can be a big problem. Spiritually, if we forget to think about Hashem, we fall away from serving Him. If we lose touch with our fear of Heaven, the yetzer hara can entice us to sin, G-d forbid. Similarly, when we’re unable to remember the Torah that we study, we feel as if our learning has little value and we don’t commit ourselves to our studies as much as we should. Not only that, but forgetfulness also makes it hard to understand the Torah. Even if we’re able to grasp each stage of the Gemarra by itself, if we struggle to remember them all at once, we can’t comprehend the connection from one thing to another, and we’re unable to understand the overall meaning.
Also, when we forget to concentrate on the words of the tefillos and brachos that we say every day, we’re unable to enter deeply into the avodah of davening. The same is true regarding practical, material matters: if we can’t retain information in our memory it is very hard for us to be successful at school, work, and taking care of our families, etc.
Thus, our forgetfulness causes many of us to despair. We feel like our Torah and tefillah are worthless due to all of their holes of forgetfulness. We see it as if we’re making money, but without a bank account to put it in, the money gets lost and we come away empty handed at the end of every day.
