It’s important to understand the second point: What is the chizuk we get from the power of the great tzaddik to renew our souls? Furthermore, what’s the connection between the power of the tzaddik and the first piece of advice in this lesson: speaking with our friends about the advice in avodas Hashem that we’ve received from our rebbe?
This teaching is based on Likutei Mohoran I, 13, where Rebbe Nachman explains the incredible avodah of the tzaddikim. A great tzaddik reveals the hidden light of the Torah that has the power to uplift our souls into the realm of kedushah, until we can attach ourselves to an awareness of Hashem and His Divine providence.
During the times of the Beis HaMikdash, the light of Torah and daas came from the revelation of Hashem on Har HaBayis. We simply needed to visit with an open heart to connect to Hashem, and we would see that everything is Divine providence.
However, when the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed, it became much harder to access the Torah’s illumination. Even though we study Torah every day, we still find ourselves trapped in the illusion of the laws of nature, which make us think that we must work hard to make a living and cause us to feel pain and torment. We don’t realize that it is possible to renew ourselves and elevate our souls above the illusion of nature. We aren’t aware that we can be infused by the light of the holy Torah that can bring us to remember Hashem’s providence and escape our worries about income.
So, what is our hope to rebuild our own personal aspect of the Beis HaMikdash and fix the source of our problems—the brokenness of our minds? How can we receive the true abundance of light of the Torah that will strengthen our souls and penetrate our hearts with thoughts of emunah and Divine Providence?
Certainly, we need to receive this light from a higher level that can revive our souls and reveal to us the kedushah of true daas. Without this, we won’t have the ability to hear and accept words of chizuk or concepts about the reality of Hashem’s Providence. When a person is very self-absorbed in his own success, he can’t understand or feel the true light of the Torah. He can’t strengthen himself with the realization that Hashem is proud of him, loves him, and sees his good. Maybe he doesn’t care to search for encouragement, or perhaps he’s already tired of hearing it.
Therefore, we need the power of a great, awesome tzaddik, who can lift up our souls and infuse us with the light of kedushah through the Torah that he reveals to us.
