Yesod Tzaddik: An Introduction to תורה ב
Everything starts with having pure emunah in Moshe Rabbeinu and search-ing to understand his revelations, which guide us on the path of truth of Hashem's Torah and mitzvos.
Does this connection to tzaddikim continue after Moshe Rabbeinu? It cer-tainly does. The Torah states: "לֹא תָסוּר מִן הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר יַגִּידוּ לְךָ-do not turn away from what [the Sages] will tell you." This teaches us that in addition to the Torah she'b'ksav of Moshe Rabbeinu, there is also a tradition of Torah she'baal peh that is passed down from generation to generation.
Who is able to give it over? Of course, not just anyone can explain the im-mensely profound and complex mitzvos of the Torah. For example, even a very smart person wouldn't have any idea how to keep Shabbos properly just by looking at the verses in the Chumash about Shabbos.
Rather, the verse "לֹא תָסוּר" must refer to great tzaddikim who reach very high spiritual levels, through which they are able to explain the teachings of Torah she'b'ksav. This is how the Torah was passed down from Moshe Rabbeinu to the Nevi'im, from the Nevi'im to the Tana'im, and from the Tana'im to the Amora'im. Thus, the only way to really find the truth is by connecting to these tzaddikim and learning and fulfilling their teachings. And if someone doesn't believe in what these tzaddikim say, he's not searching for the truth at all.
Furthermore, we also need the revelations of the Rishonim and Acharonim who have continued this tradition until today. This is how we know what we need to do. Through searching for the truth of the Torah with incredible mesirus nefesh, these tzaddikim reached immense levels of kedushah that enabled them to understand the Torah in the deepest way and bring it down to the Jewish people of every generation. Thus, we must connect ourselves to these tzaddikim and find their light. We must know that there are people who are much greater than us who see an incredibly clear picture of the Torah, so they have ability to show us how to do Hashem's ratzon.
In truth, the concept of searching for the teachings of the tzaddikim is pretty familiar to us regarding studying Torah and practicing mitzvos. Everyone knows that we must go to Gedolei Yisroel for guidance in Halachah.
However, it is just as important for us to go to the tzaddikim for guidance in coming closer to Hashem. For this, we need to connect ourselves to the tzaddikim on exceptional spiritual levels whose teachings can truly inspire us to do teshuvah and serve Hashem with love, awe, and deveikus. These tzaddikim have incredible merit, through which they can bring yeshuos for Klal Yisroel and shine light into the heart of every Jew, giving their genera-tion exactly what it needs.
This is a fundamental part of life that the Baal Shem Tov renewed in the world. When it comes to avodas Hashem, we must look for those who have the level of kedushah that enables them to illuminate the teachings of the Torah in our mind and revive our soul. This is what we can get by being connected to the Rebbe and studying this lesson.
The Great Leaders of Klal Yisroel
In essence, the tzaddikim made history. Moshe Rabbeinu, the Prophets, the Tana'im, and so on, brought an awareness of Hashem into the world. This is how we know how to fulfill the Torah and come closer to Hashem. Can we imagine the immense kedushah of the members of the Sanhedrin? Can we picture the spiritual radiance of an Amora?
During the times of the Tana'im and Amora'im, there were massive yeshi-vos with tens of thousands of talmidim in Bavel and Eretz Yisroel. Nonethe-less, out of six generations of Tana'im, only about 320 are mentioned in the Mishnah and in baraisos. Similarly, although the Amora'im spanned an era of about 200 years, there are only about 2,500 of them who are mentioned in the Gemara. There were many talmidei chachamim during the times of the Rishonim, but there are only about 70 of them whose teachings are commonly used in the study of Gemara and Halachah.
These are the "Yechidei HaDoros"-great leaders of Klal Yisroel-who teach how to follow the Torah and attach ourselves to Hashem. These tzaddikim had an incredible level of clarity. They had brilliant minds and tremendous deveikus to Hashem in their hearts.
The Exceptional Tzaddikim
Now, are all these tzaddikim on the same level? We see that there is a dif-ference from the fact that an Amora couldn't disagree with a Tana, and a Rishon couldn't disagree with an Amora. The Torah is what the Tana says. His interpretation of the verse is the truth.
But can we understand the difference between their levels? This is something that is beyond us. It's something that can't be described in our terms. None-theless, it is explained in the language of the Zohar HaKadosh. In short, the Zohar HaKadosh says that there are five aspects of the kedushah of the soul (starting from the bottom): nefesh, ru'ach, neshamah, chayah, and ye-chidah. If a person commits one sin, he loses his connection to the nefesh. Thus, most people don't have the level of nefesh. Ru'ach is the level of at-tachment to Hashem with pure love, awe, and amazement. The tzaddikim who serve Hashem with incredible mochin have an aspect of neshamah. Nonetheless, it is only the truly exceptional tzaddikim who have a complete neshamah and even an aspect of chayah who can elevate the avodah of even the lowest person and awaken the middas harachamim of Hashem. These are the terms in which the Zohar HaKadosh explains the tremendous light of the tzaddikim.
However, in truth, even though we can mention these concepts, we can't clearly understand what they mean. Thus, we must simply have emunah in these teachings and remember the bottom line: the Zohar HaKadosh does speak about the differences between the tzaddikim. The Tana'im reached very high levels of completion, which enabled them to understand the To-rah better than the Amora'im.
In addition, practically speaking, this makes a difference in our lives. While we must certainly receive the light of the Torah from all the great tzaddikim of all the generations, we must also search for the exceptional tzaddikim who have the power to shine the light of the Torah into our heart and com-pletely transform us. We must attach ourselves to the extraordinary tzad-dikim who have the ability to elevate our tefillos and bring us truly close to Hashem. No matter what level we're on, we need this light.
This is what Moshe Rabbeinu was able to do. He was the only one who could inspire the Jewish people to do teshuvah even after the worst possible sins, and he was the only one who could awaken the middas harachamim of Hashem and save us from destruction, time after time.
Remembering the Light of the Torah
After Moshe Rabbeinu passed away, his light continued to illuminate Klal Yisroel through his great talmidim—Yehoshua bin Nun, the Elders, and the Prophets. In addition, the spectacular light of the Torah shone in the Beis HaMikdash, which was a tremendous source of inspiration for every Jew.
Three times a year, we would go there and experience the revelation of Hashem's truth. We would offer up our korbanos, which would bring us to pure teshuvah and give us an amazing feeling of Hashem's compassion for us. We would hear the heavenly songs of the levi'im and witness the fire coming down onto the Mizbei'ach from Above. We would learn Torah from the kohanim and tzaddikim firsthand in such a powerful way that it would change our lives forever. This was how a Jew in those days would find the truth and come closer to Hashem.
However, after the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed, the truth started to be-come hidden. The Sages gathered in Kerem B’Yavne and stated: "In the future, the Torah will be forgotten from Klal Yisroel." This is why, a few generations later, Rebbi wrote down the Mishnah and brought back the light of remembering the Torah.
But even so, it is possible for us to learn the holy teachings of the Mishnah, Gemara, and so on, without feeling the closeness to Hashem we had in the Beis HaMikdash. Even if a person studies Torah, he can forget the incredi-ble spiritual light of every word of Torah he says and every mitzvah he ful-fills.
This is the darkness of exile that the Sages predicted in Kerem B'Yavne.
Rebbe Shimon Takes Us Out of Exile
Nonetheless, there is amazing hope. Just a couple generations after this pre-diction, Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai came and stated: "G-d forbid! The Torah will not be forgotten from Klal Yisroel, as the verse says-כִּי לֹא תִשָּׁכַח מִפִּי זַרְעוֹ [the Torah] will not be forgotten from the mouths of his descendants." In the intro-duction to Likutei Mohoran, the Rebbe explains that it is specifically through the inspiration of Rebbe Shimon and his teachings in the Zohar HaKadosh that the Jewish people will remember the amazing light of the Torah. This reality is hinted to in the verse that Rebbe Shimon brings, "כִּי לֹא תִשָּׁכַח מִפִּי", since the last letters of these words spell the name "Yochai," referring to Rebbe Shimon who was the descendent of Yochai.
Although it was close to the end of the Rebbe's life when he gave over this lesson about Rebbe Shimon, Reb Nosson chose to make it the introduc-tion to Liktutei Mohoran, because he understood that this concept is the foundation of the entire sefer. Without the Beis HaMikdash, we're missing something in our lives. We follow Halachah and go through the motions in avodas Hashem, but due to the darkness of exile, we've forgotten the light of the Torah that fills our entire existence. This light is something we can only get from the extraordinary tzaddikim like Rebbe Shimon who gave over the teachings of the Zohar HaKadosh.
The Zohar HaKadosh is not just a revelation of the secret meaning of every mitzvah. Rather, it also brings us to the closeness to Hashem we had in the Beis HaMikdash. It awakens us to serve Hashem with love and awe. It trans-forms our practice of mitzvos and instills great emunah in our heart. It takes us out of our exile of emptiness and suffering. This is how Rebbe Shimon was mechadesh the light of Moshe Rabbeinu's Torah and brought back what was lost through his unfathomable level of kedushah. This is the concept of Yesod Tzaddik—an exceptional tzaddik who is the foundation of our lives.
Certainly, this doesn't take away from the amazing light of the other great Tana'im. But the Zohar does say that Rebbe Shimon was very special, even
though we can't truly grasp its explanation, as we mentioned above regard-ing the levels of the soul.
The Mechadshei HaTorah
After Rebbe Shimon, we find that there were three more mechadshei haTo-rah—exceptional tzaddikim who refreshed the light of the Torah in incred-ible ways and brought it down to us. Based on the teachings of the Zohar, the Arizal revealed how to serve Hashem with the deepest intentions and deveikus. Then, the Baal Shem Tov was able to show how even a simple Jew can live with the incredible light of the Zohar and the Arizal. Finally, in Likutei Mohoran, the Rebbe brought everything together in a way that gives us exactly the advice and inspiration that we need.
These mechadshei haTorah renewed the light of the Torah for all gener-ations so that we will always be able to feel close to Hashem like we did during the times of the Beis HaMikdash. Through their exceptional level of kedushah, they were able to refresh the truth of Moshe Rabbeinu and teach us how to find it even in the incredible darkness of our lives. And they are the ones whose neshamos have the extraordinary power to elevate our tefillos to awaken the middas harachamim of Hashem. We will now discuss each one of these exceptional tzaddikim who came after Rebbe Shimon.
The Revelations of the Arizal
Just like we need the Mishnah and Gemara in order to know how to practice Halalacha, so too, we need the inspiration of the Zohar HaKadosh in order to remember the amazing light of Torah and mitzvos. However, in truth, the light of the Zohar is so profound that it requires deep explanation. So, it was with great kindness that Hashem sent us the Arizal to reveal it to us.
The Arizal received tremendous siata Di'Shmaya and ru'ach hakodesh to understand and bring down the revelations of Rebbe Shimon in an in-depth, interwoven way that not even the greatest genius in the world could have thought of on his own. His teachings are truly an aspect of ru'ach nevuah in our times.
The Arizal explains the deeper meaning of every mitzvah and aspect of avodas Hashem very clearly and with incredible precision. He shows us how to fulfill the Shulchan Aruch in a very complete way with all the proper in-tentions. He reveals to us the amazing path of teshuvah. He teaches us the power of davening with kavanah and reaching higher levels of kedushah by coming close to great tzaddikim. It is only through the Arizal we can truly access the incredible inspiration of the Zohar HaKadosh. So, we see clearly that he is also one of the exceptional tzaddikim who was mechadesh the light of the Torah.
However, his teachings are very long and in-depth, and his wisdom is out of this world. Still today, most people struggle to grasp what he says. Some people study the Writings of the Arizal for many years and can comprehend them, but even then, it is a great challenge to live with them throughout the day. Thus, in truth, they are hidden secretly amongst the tzaddikim of our generation.
So, our main avodah in connecting to the light of the Arizal is to grasp from his revelations that every mitzvah we do has an unbelievable effect on all the higher and lower worlds and have emunah in this reality. If we want the truth, we must attach ourselves to the tzaddikim who have the truth, and believe in their teachings, even if we can't understand them.
The Inspiration of the Baal Shem Tov
Nonetheless, after the amazing light of the Arizal, it was necessary for the truth of the Torah to come down in a very simple way that anyone could easily connect to. So, Hashem sent the holy Baal Shem Tov to explain the revelations of the Zohar HaKadosh and the Arizal to the common Jew. The Baal Shem Tov showed the tremendous importance of being connected to a tzaddik, through which anyone can come to love Hashem and think about His greatness. He inspired people to live with the light of penimiyus haTo-rah and daven with passion. His teachings awaken our heart to be excited to serve Hashem. Despite all the problems we go through, the revelations of the Baal Shem Tov motivate us to get out of our depression and do mitzvos with joy. Thus, the Baal Shem Tov is also one of the mechadshei haTorah.
Through his amazing teachings, the Baal Shem Tov formed many incredi-ble talmidim, who reached high spiritual levels by being closely attached to their rebbe. The first generation of talmidim who learned directly from the
Baal Shem Tov were included deeply in his light. This gave them the power to spread his revelations and fill the world with the emunah, simchah, and the warmth of chassidus. They brought many people close to the illumina-tion of the Zohar and Arizal, which completely transformed their lives.
Overall, the main message of the Baal Shem Tov's talmidim is the impor-tance of being attached to an exceptional tzaddik. Of course, all tzaddikim are essential to Klal Yisroel for passing on tradition, minhagim, and the daas of the Torah. But the sefarim of the Baal Shem Tov's talmidim speak about the higher level of an extraordinary tzaddik, a level on which a tzad-dik is able to perform wonders—especially the greatest wonder of all: help-ing us do teshuvah and become holy.
Thus, the main aspect of our search for the truth of the Torah today is learning the sefarim of the Baal Shem Tov and his talmidim and trying to incorporate their teachings into our lives. For example, we should make an effort to daven with deveikus, learn Torah just for Hashem's honor, think about Him as we eat, hold on to our emunah throughout all our challenges, and so on.
We shouldn't approach their revelations in a purely intellectual way. Rather, we should accept their advice straight into our souls without questioning it. Through this, their teachings can ignite a passion for Hashem within us.
The Immense Compassion of the Rebbe
This is why Hashem sent the Rebbe to help us. The Rebbe, a great grandson of the Baal Shem Tov, renewed the light of chassidus in an amazing way that relates to every single Jew. In his lessons, he teaches us what an exceptional tzaddik is, and he shows us what we need to receive from that tzaddik.
Certainly, all tzaddikim are very holy and can daven for us for yeshuos. We must respect them all and follow their guidance. But in order to bring us closer to Hashem, to inspire us to do teshuvah, to open our eyes to the warmth of tefillah, to awaken us to feel the kedushah of Shabbos, to help us
receive the light of the Zohar and not forget the Torah, to get the tikkun of our nefesh, and much more, we need an extraordinary tzaddik. This is what the Rebbe can do for us.
For example, in this lesson, the Rebbe brings us into the amazing realm of prayer. Is it possible for us to speak to Hashem in our own words? Can we relate to Him as a Friend and feel truly close to him through davening? The Rebbe teaches us how to reach this deep level of connection to tefillah.
Similarly, is it possible for us to think lofty thoughts of emunah and devei-kus? Can we be connected to learning Torah every free moment we have? Can we get out of the hole of temptations that we've fallen into? Can we find motivation to give tzedakah and do chesed? Can we receive Hashem's compassion to save us?
Through attaching ourselves to the Rebbe and what he reveals in this lesson, we can achieve all of these wonderful things. His teachings bring the light of the Zohar HaKadosh, the Arizal, and the Baal Shem Tov into our heart and soul in such a deep way that inspires us to actually make changes in our lives. The Rebbe took the illumination of penimiyus haTorah that came before him and opened it up to reveal an abundance of Hashem's compas-sion for us. Therefore, by attaching ourselves to the Rebbe, we can fulfill the Torah with deveikus in Hashem.
In summary, it comes out that there have been five exceptional tzaddikim throughout the generations. Moshe Rabbeinu gave us the Torah at Har Sinai. Then, Rebbe Shimon renewed its light by revealing the Zohar HaKadosh. Next, the Arizal opened up the teachings of the Zohar in an extraordinary manner. Afterwards, the Baal Shem Tov brought the inspiration of penimiy-us haTorah to the common Jew. Finally, the Rebbe refreshed all the amazing revelations that came before him and gave them over to us in a way that motivates us to truly apply them to our lives. These are the mechadshei ha-Torah—the extraordinary tzaddikim who renewed the light of the Torah.
Every Tzaddik Is Essential
Of course, this doesn't take away from the greatness of the other yichidei hadoros of each era. Every tzaddik is absolutely essential to Klal Yisroel. So, we must do our best to learn all the sefarim hakedoshim—especially those of the talmidim of the Baal Shem Tov that speak about our situation—in order to receive the complete daas of the Torah and a deep connection to Hashem.
In fact, we must know that all the tzaddikim of each generation work to-gether to bring down the Torah to Klal Yisroel, each one with his unique role—whether as a manhig, posek halachah, talmid chacham in Gemara, mekubal, chassid, oved Hashem, and so on. And we must believe that even if we see different opinions between the tzaddikim in this world, nonethe-less, in the higher realms, there is incredible unity between them and their revelations all come together as one.
Thus, our intention in recognizing the extraordinary greatness of the five exceptional tzaddikim is certainly not to separate them from the rest, G-d forbid. Rather, the point is that all the tzaddikim collectively reveal the daas of the Torah through the kedushah of the exceptional tzaddik of that gen-eration who can awaken the highest levels of Hashem's compassion and renew the light of the Torah in a way that changes our lives.
So, we should always daven for peace amongst the tzaddikim and Klal Yis-roel. And we must know that when we see disagreements between the tzad-dikim—especially those who don't hold of the Rebbe—this is just a test for us to overcome. And in truth, nowadays, nearly all the tzaddikim learn Likutei Mohoran and understand the greatness of the Rebbe.
There are also different groups within Breslov, since there are all kinds of people who are connected to the Rebbe. This is a reality that has always been true. Even the Rebbe's talmidim were different from one another.
Nonetheless, we must all get along and feel connected to one another in our hearts. We all have to learn the Rebbe's teachings and receive his advice with love and peace. We must remember that it is unity in Klal Yisroel that will bring Mashiach.
A Light for Everyone
With this, we can also understand that the path of the Rebbe is not to take people out of their holy kehilos, which are working together to bring the light of the tzaddikim into the world. Rather, the point is that each person must also look for the exceptional tzaddik who can teach simple people like us how to think about Hashem and get out of the klipos. We need to search for the advice and tikkun for our souls that can bring us to the level of love and awe of Hashem.
We need an extraordinary tzaddik who can give us chiyus in avodas Hash-em, strengthen our emunah, help us find chizuk in life's challenges, show us how to change our bad habits, awaken us to hold on to our ratzon at all times, motivate us to start over every day, and sweeten the judgement in our lives with the compassion of Hashem. We need an awesome tzaddikim who can lift up our spirits and inspire us to do teshuvah, no matter how far we've fallen.
This is what the Rebbe can do. His teachings are not just for a certain group, they are for all of Klal Yisroel. They are a light to get us out of the suffering of exile and bring us to deveikus in Hashem. This is our only hope. This is how coming close to the tzaddik can completely change our lives, as we will learn in depth in this lesson.
May Hashem bless us to follow the path of truth of the great tzaddikim, at-tach ourselves deeply to them, and receive their tremendous spiritual light, amen!
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