Even though a person should be very efficient in avodas Hashem, going quickly at all times and doing a lot of avodas Hashem, since the main thing is action – to learn very much, to do many mitzvos, to daven and pray a lot, to pour out his heart before Hashem, and so on regarding all other aspects of avodas Hashem – nonetheless, you shouldn’t get overwhelmed when you see that the sefarim hakedoshim mention [the importance] of many avodos. You shouldn’t get overwhelmed because of this and say, “When will I be able to fulfill even one of these many things, all the more so, all of them?!” since a person shouldn’t get overwhelmed by trying to grab everything at once. Instead, he should go slowly and steadily, bit by bit, and not get overwhelmed and confused because he wants to fulfill and grab everything at once, which causes him to get totally mixed up. This is similar to a fire, G-d forbid, when a person grabs things that he doesn’t need because he is overwhelmed.
Rather, a person should act slowly and steadily, [doing] bit by bit.
The Challenge to Growing in Avodas Hashem
In this sichah, Rebbe Nachman reveals to us how to grow and move forward in avodas Hashem, while maintaining our yishuv hadaas (clarity of mind) by not trying to do too much. On the one hand, it is always important for us to be normal. We have to be ourselves and act according to our capabilities. On the other hand, as Jews we should always try to come closer to Hashem and serve Him on a higher level, and many of us find ourselves stuck in place. Since we’re not used to going to a new shiur, learning an extra sefer, making time for hisbodedus every day, and so on, it’s very hard in the beginning. Our lives are already so full of obligations – kollel and/or work, family, etc. – that we can’t imagine how we could find time and energy to do more.
Without looking at the sefarim of Mussar and Chassidus, this wouldn’t be a problem. We could just make a routine of davening a quick Shacharis, listening to a shiur, going to work, spending time with family in the evening, and perhaps learning a bit more after Ma’ariv. Maybe this is what many other Jews around us do. This is what is considered normal. Life goes according to schedule.
Certainly, having a schedule is important, since it makes us calm and helps us to clear our minds. However, when we study this sichah or one of the many other places in the sefarim hakedoshim that discuss the obligation of a Jew in avodas Hashem, we see that there’s so much more to accomplish. There are so many more important sefarim to learn, tefillos to say, other avodos to do, and a deeper connection to mitzvos that we must try to achieve. With this, the holy words of these sefarim awaken us to strengthen our connection to Torah, tefillah, and mitzvos.
Nevertheless, most of the time, what we see in the sefarim seems to be way beyond our capabilities. It appears to us that they set the bar so high that there is no way that we will ever be able to reach it. Thus, we want to do something, but we can’t, so we get depressed and we go back to our daily routine with a sense of despair. Here, in this sichah, Rebbe Nachman teaches us the priceless secret to solving this problem that is crucial for us to achieve our purpose in this world.
Filling the Day with Torah and Tefillah
Rebbe Nachman begins the sichah emphasizing the importance of zerizus (alacrity) in avodas Hashem: “A person should be very efficient in avodas Hashem, going quickly at all times and doing a lot of avodas Hashem, since the main thing is action – to learn very much, to do many mitzvos, to daven and pray a lot, to pour out his heart before Hashem, and so on regarding all other aspects of avodas Hashem.”
This is how we truly accept upon ourselves the obligation of serving the King of all kings. We have to realize that our time in this world is extremely precious. We have to try to fill our lives with Torah and mitzvos. In reality, there’s time during the day for many things. Even if we’re very busy at work and with our families, there is always ten minutes here and twenty minutes there in between all of our activities to chop arain some avodas Hashem. We just need to get down to it and awaken ourselves to do it.
Many sefarim of the tzaddikim that discuss higher levels in serving Hashem talk about the incredible realm of spiritual deveikus, contemplating the greatness of the Creator, and so on. These avodos are very important, but they often require a long period of time and a certain level of kedushah and concentration to perform them. On the other hand, Rebbe Nachman’s focus is on doing avodas Hashem with simplicity – learning specific amounts from sefarim every day, taking more time in davening, doing more mitzvos, and speaking to Hashem in our own words. By filling the small gaps in our day with these simple things, we can change our lives.
Rebbe Nachman wants us to add on to our daily schedule more avodos than what other people have. In addition to learning some Gemarra every day, we should also study halachah, the sefarim of Breslov and chassidus, practice hisbodedus, and do mitzvos with attachment to Hashem.
Feeling Overwhelmed
However, when most of us see this list, we feel overwhelmed and we get depressed. We just don’t have time. We think that in order to do all of these avodos properly, we would have to have an extra two or three hours in the day. This makes us nervous. How could we possibly accomplish all of these things? Then, without a sense of calm, we can’t do anything. We feel overwhelmed, so we waste time reading a newspaper or doing other unnecessary activities. Perhaps our minds just get lost with worries. Thus, in the end, we don’t get anywhere.