Certainly, we should always try to understand the depth of their teachings. However, we need to stand with both feet on the ground without any doubts in our understanding of Hashem at all times, even when we don’t have the clarity of mind to grasp the secrets of chassidus. Therefore, the main foundation of our lives is emunah in the “bottom line” of the teachings of chassidus that we find in Sichos HaRan. This emunah gives us a very strong path to live without any questions and doubts. Even on the days when we can’t think straight, through our emunah, we still feel close to Hashem and we can attach ourselves to serving Him with love and awe. Even when our minds are full of illusions, through our emunah, we know that Hashem looks at us and He treasures every little thing that we do for Him. We know that there are sparks of kedushah that we elevate with every brachah that we say.
In other words, the quality of our fulfillment of the Torah doesn’t come from the feeling we get through understanding penimiyus haTorah on a deep level. Rather, it comes through having emunah in the truth that the tzaddikim reveal. And once we have a strong foundation of emunah in “bottom line” of chassidus, the more we will be successful in understanding it in depth, because we will know not to get lost in our doubts and confusion. Without getting stuck in questions, we will purify our minds to comprehend deeper levels of the truth of the Torah. Then, in turn, the more knowledge of truth that we acquire from the tzaddikim, the more fuel we have to strengthen our emunah and reach even higher levels of understanding.
We need seichel, but it is not the essence of who we are. The essence of a human being is that we have a small brain capacity, but nonetheless, it is possible for us to believe in the truth – the light of the Baal Shem Tov and his talmidim. The main principle of chassidus is to be mevatel ourselves to the tzaddikim by realizing that they are the ones who understand Hashem in the deepest way, while we don’t know anything. Therefore, our job is to strengthen our emunah in the Torah of the tzaddikim – especially in the simple, “bottom line” teachings that they reveal to us. This is the path of coming closer to Hashem through attaching ourselves to the truth of the tzaddikim and applying our emunah to their teachings.
Iy’’H, in next week’s article, we will begin to discuss the details of this sichah based on these introductory concepts.
