This world hides the reality of Hashem’s light. The reason for this is to make it possible for us to reveal Hashem amidst this hiddenness. This is the purpose of all Creation. This is why we were sent to this world, and each one of us plays a unique role in accomplishing this mission. With this, we can understand why Hashem gives each person many different problems to deal with every day: so that we can search for Hashem and reveal Him in all areas of life.
In fact, this is why Hashem gave us the holy Torah, which shows us how to find Him in this world. Therefore, each person should set specific amounts to learn from different sefarim every single day without fail, so that we won’t go through one day without studying Torah—each person according to his capabilities. The Torah we learn every day is what gives us the power to uncover the hiddenness of Hashem on that particular day.
Two Situations of Hiddenness
In this lesson, we learn that there are two situations of hiddenness that we can fall into. One situation is that a person commits a sin and then repeats it, which makes it seem to him like he is allowed to do it. This conceals the light of Hashem from him in that area. Nonetheless, it is possible for him to return to Hashem from this place and find Him again, since he still remembers Hashem’s will: what is permitted and what is prohibited. Thus, through learning Torah, he can begin to awaken himself to get back to the truth.
12. Some people have sinned so much that they’ve fallen to a place of “hiddenness within the hiddenness,” and because of this, it appears to them that they have no more hope. As the Sages say, “A person who sins and then repeats his sin, it seems to him like it is permitted”—this is the first level of hiddenness. But if a person transgresses more, G-d forbid, Hashem becomes concealed from him in an aspect of “hiddenness within the hiddenness.” Then, it is very difficult to find Hashem. However, someone who is involved in learning Torah can awaken such a person to have hope and make him aware of Hashem until the person returns to the truth and comes close to Hashem. In essence, through the power of the true tzaddikim, it is always possible to come closer to Hashem in every situation.
13. The highest light—an aspect of the secrets of the Torah—is hidden in the lowest places that are far from Hashem. Therefore, a person who has fallen very low should know that specifically from his place, he can come very close to Hashem, since an incredibly high illumination is hidden there. And if he returns to Hashem, very high teachings—the secrets of the Torah— will be revealed through him.
(Based on Likutei Mohoran I, 56)
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:
However, there are times when a person falls into a situation of “hiddenness within the hiddenness”
—meaning, he doesn’t even realize that Hashem is hidden from him. He completely forgets that it’s possible for him to be close to Hashem, and he doesn’t feel like there’s anything wrong with the sins he commits. This can be compared to someone who is totally unaware of the fact that he lost something.
In this situation, it appears to a person that it is impossible to connect to Hashem, since even the path of teshuvah is concealed from him. He doesn’t know that there is advice that can help him lift his head out of this level of darkness.
Finding the Secrets of the Torah
Nonetheless, Rebbe Nachman illuminates our minds to take us out of our deep hiddenness. He teaches us that the main way to elevate our souls out of a state of forgetfulness is through the Torah of the tzaddikim, which reveals the secret meaning of everything: how Hashem is in all the thoughts, speech, and material matters of this world, since without His chiyus, nothing could exist.
In addition, even though it is possible to begin to break the first level of hiddenness by studying Torah, without the revelations of penimiyus haTorah, it is still difficult to find closeness to Hashem, since we’re stuck in the illusion of the laws of nature that conceal the light of kedushah.
Therefore, we must strengthen ourselves to reveal Hashem in every hidden place through learning the teachings of the tzaddikim and fulfilling them. Even in situations in which we don’t see any connection to Hashem’s mitzvos, we must try to find the light of emunah and awareness through looking for the secrets of the Torah—meaning, by knowing that there is da’as even in the darkness. We must attach our thoughts to Hashem in every place and remember that we’re never distant from Him. This understanding itself breaks the hiddenness and eliminates all forms of heaviness and depression.
This is how we can serve Hashem at all times: by realizing that He exists in every area of life and in all of the lowest places in this world.
Searching to Truly Understand
Since it is only possible to break the hiddenness through the teachings of the tzaddikim, it can be difficult for us to understand the incredible concept that is revealed in this lesson. We don’t realize what’s hidden from us. We don’t recognize the high light of the secret Torah of the tzaddikim and how it can help us. It is not easy for us to integrate into our lives the concealed reality that everything is from Hashem, or the deep Torah required to truly grasp this. This is why we have a hard time accepting words of encouragement from the tzaddikim. The hiddenness is so great that we’re unable to comprehend how we can be comforted by knowing that Hashem is with us.
Therefore, we need a great power of revelation of da’as in order for us to realize what we’re lacking and understand that the main tikkun in our lives is simply the awareness that Hashem is in all aspects of hiddenness. Then, as Rebbe Nachman says in this lesson in Likutei Mohoran, “As soon as a person knows that Hashem is hidden there, this knowledge itself transforms the ‘hiddenness within the hiddenness’ into da’as.”
An example of this hiddenness and revelation is what happened to the Jewish people in Egypt. At that time, we had fallen to lowest levels of contamination, and it was not yet possible to illuminate our minds with the light of the Torah, since we were lost in the “hiddenness within the hiddenness.” Nonetheless, with great compassion, Hashem Himself came down to Egypt to awaken our da’as through the ten plagues—in particular, the plague of the firstborn. Through this, the hiddenness was transformed into a revelation of awareness, which made it possible for us to receive the Torah afterwards.
In short, due to our situation of hiddenness, we must have a very consistent practice of learning the sefarim of the tzaddikim, which reveal to us the secrets of the Torah and the illumination of da’as that we can find in every place. When we do our part by being involved in their teachings each day and searching for how to connect to Hashem in every situation, the power of the tzaddikim protects us by shining the light of the Torah into the darkness of our lives. Then, we can start to truly feel the deep meaning of their words, and we understand how the awareness that Hashem is close to us can take us out of all our hiddenness.
L’Ma’aseh—Practically Speaking
Every Jew has his own mission and his own hiddenness to break. By learning regular amounts of Torah each day, we can find the strength to overcome our obstacles and reveal Hashem in every situation. But in order to truly know how to search and find Hashem, we must also study the sefarim of the tzaddikim with great consistency, which teach us the light of da’as that we need each day. Through this, we will have the power to illuminate even the “hiddenness within the hiddenness,” and then the rest of our Torah learning can help us be close to Hashem at all times.
