There is a question on this section of the sichah: Rebbe Nachman says we need to have emunah so that Hashem will do good for us in This World (material success) and in the Next World (spiritual success). However, shouldn’t we have emunah just because it is the truth? Why does Rebbe Nachman tell us to have emunah even if it is not for the sake of Heaven?
In fact, many commentators on the Torah ask a similar question. Why does Hashem tell us the reward for doing mitzvos in many places throughout the Torah? Shouldn’t we be motivated to serve Hashem even if we don’t receive anything in return?
The answer is that even if our intention is for our own benefit, nonetheless, just the fact that we want reward shows that we’re using our seichel. We’re contemplating the nature of this world and trying to find a way to live better lives. We’re thinking about the deeper meaning of our existence and we realize that it is necessary for us to have emunah.
This is the entire purpose of Creation. Hashem made the world in a way that it is almost impossible to find Him. He created the universe in a manner that will see contradictions that will cause us to have questions. However, He did all of this just in order for us to realize that if we want to have a good life, we have to have emunah. If we want things to go in order in the material realm, we have to believe in Hashem.
Thus, even when our emunah is not for the sake of Heaven, we accomplish this goal, since, at the end of the day, we overcome the hiddenness of this world and attach ourselves to the seichel of truth. This is a way for us to be close to Hashem even before we reach higher levels of kedushah and pure intentions. This is advice that we can use to escape all of the suffering of this existence even when we’ve fallen to the lowest places of attachment to the material world.
