Great Throughts Treasury

"In all acts of devotion, something is always left for the individual to decide for himself without being instructed one way or the other. He must make his own choice. It is in the area where free will comes into play that the main work lies. There is always room for doubt about what God really wants, since He has given no instructions as to what to do."

"Imagine yourself in the middle of the sea, with a storm raging to the very heart of the heavens. You are hanging by a hairsbreadth. You have no idea what to do. You don't even have time to cry out. You can only raise your eyes and lift up your heart to God."

"If you were all alone with nobody else to stand in your way, you would always direct yourself to the path of life. You might still suffer inner turmoil, anxiety and other obstacles, but you would eventually reach the right path. Even if you were to commit a sin, you would certainly come to regret it and remain on the true path."

"In essence, the way to merge with God is through knowing Him, as the sage said: "If I knew Him, I would be Him". For man's essence is his mind. Wherever a person's mind and thoughts are, that is where the entire person is. Thus one who attains knowledge and understanding of God is literally in that place. The greater one's knowledge, the more one becomes absorbed in the root: God."

"In the time of Messiah it will no longer be necessary to search for G-d through wisdom or theology."

"In order to bring forth your soul from potential to actual existence, you must express your yearning and longing in words. This is how you turn your desire into a reality and accomplish what you want, and this is why it is so important to speak to God every day and articulate your desires and good intentions with your lips."

"In the life to come, your soul will remember and understand all the Torah you heard and learned in this world. Happy is the man who spends his days in Torah and devotion."

"In order to serve God, you must be obstinate. On no account should you give up and abandon the practices you have begun. Don't give up in any way, no matter what happens. Remember this well, because you will be in great need of it when you start serving God. You must be very obstinate indeed, holding yourself strong and firm in your place each time the evil forces try to throw you down. This will happen very often. Your task is to continue as best as you can without allowing yourself to fall completely, God forbid."

"In this world it is completely impossible for a person to know where he is holding. Not knowing where one stands is one of the main tests in life."

"In this verse, God addresses the Jewish people, recalling their acceptance of the Torah. The Midrash asks: "Why does the verse say, 'with one of your eyes'? The answer is because the other eye was already looking at the Golden Calf!" At the very time when they accepted the Torah, they already had ideas of going astray! Yet even the short time they were close to God was still very dear to Him, and this is why He says, "You have heartened Me with one of your eyes.""

"In this world it is impossible for everything to go the way one wants it. Those who ignore the true, enduring purpose of life, satisfying only their material desires, are doomed to a life of constant pain and suffering without having any way to console themselves. But if you have true faith, your main hope is in the world to come and you therefore have a very good life. Whatever happens to you, you have faith that everything is for good - whether it comes to remind you to repent or to atone for your sins so that you may be worthy of the everlasting good of the world to come. Your sins and wrongdoing may cause you great anguish. You may suffer the worst agonies of regret. Yet your very contrition over your sins actually increases your days and adds to your life, for "The fear of God increases one's days" (Proverbs 10:27)."

"In this material world, especially if we have sinned and are very far from God, the main way to attach ourselves to God is through melody and song."

"In time to come, at the end of history in its present form, "nature" as we understand it will disappear and the world will be governed only by providence. "For the heavens will vanish away like smoke and the earth will be worn out like a garment" (Isaiah 51:6). This means that the natural order as governed by the system of stars and planets will no longer operate as such. The expression "vanish away" in the verse signifies that all the constellations will be thrown into confusion and become mixed up. Stellar influences and "fate" will no longer dominate; everything will be governed only by God's providence. The Jewish People will then be in the ascendant."

"In this world many people of little substance are considered great while genuine merit is unrecognized. There are many different kinds of life. Some lead very troubled lives though this may not always be outwardly apparent. There are different degrees of troubled lives. One person's suffering is never quite like another's. Even the life of a person who does not endure actual suffering may not necessarily be comparable to that of somebody else in a similar category, because the various forms of life differ markedly from one another."

"It is a great mitzvah to be happy always! Make every effort to maintain a happy, positive outlook at all times. It is a natural human tendency to become discouraged and depressed because of the hard ships of life: everyone has their full share of suffering. That is why you must force yourself to be happy at all times. Use every possible way to bring yourself to joy, even by joking or acting a little crazy!"

"It is best to pray early in the morning. Prayer is of supreme importance - who knows if you will be able to pray later? Make every effort to pray as early as you possibly can."

"Inevitably you must encounter all kinds of difficulties and setbacks. You will fall down many times before you can enter the gates of holiness. Even the greatest Tzaddikim have gone through all this. There are cases when a person is already at the gate of holiness, only to slide back because of these difficulties. When a person is close to the gate, the forces of evil try to prevent him from entering. This pushes some people into retreat. That is the way of the Evil One: when he sees a person literally at the gates, he attacks more powerfully than ever. That is why you need to be so strong."

"It is very important to study Halachah - the practical laws of the Torah. If you can, study all four sections of the Shulchan Aruch (the classic code of Torah law as it applies in our times) in order from beginning to end. Otherwise, study one of the concise guides that explain the laws of daily life."

"It is not sufficient for a person to feel longing and yearning in his heart alone. He must express his longing and yearning on his lips. This is the basis of our prayer service. The yearning in the person's heart creates soul and letters in potential, but it is when the person expresses his desire with his mouth that the soul is produced in actuality. For the soul comes forth from the mouth, as it says, "My soul came forth through his speaking " (Song of Songs 5:6)."

"It is good to make a habit out of looking at the sky. Certain places are more germane to good than others. Be careful when and where you teach Torah. Don't say Torah in a place where it will not be heard. And even when it will be heard, weigh up how much Torah to give and how much to hold back. Never say over all you know at once. Not every place is conducive to Torah and good deeds. This is why a person is sometimes destined to move from one place to another. It's wonderfully beneficial to study near a river. It's easier to understand and comprehend something from a mountain or other high place."

"It is no good to be old. Whether it's an old Chassid or an old Tzaddik, being old is no good. Be new each day. Always make a fresh start. The only thing that improves with age is a pig, which becomes stronger as it grows older (Shabbat 77b)."

"It is impossible to do anything unless you have desire. Even merely to say something, you must first have a desire to speak. Likewise, in order to do something, you must first have the desire to do it. Therefore when a person needs to perform some holy task, whether it is to visit the Tzaddik or any other holy mission, he is first given the desire to accomplish it."

"It is impossible to explain to someone else how you personally perceive God's greatness. You can't even explain it to yourself from one day to the next. Tomorrow you will not be able to recapture completely the understanding you had today. It is impossible to describe one's perceptions of God. They are so lofty - higher than high! They cannot be put into words."

"It was through music that prophetic spirit rest ed upon the prophets (see II Kings 3:15). A musical instrument is a vessel containing air (ruach, spirit). The air in the instrument is a mixture of good and bad. On the one hand there is the anxious, depressed spirit - a bad spirit, as we find in the case of King Saul: "and an evil spirit terrified him" (I Samuel 16:14). On the other hand, there is a good spirit, as it is written: "Let Your good spirit lead me in an even land" (Psalms 143:10). This good spirit is the spirit of prophecy: holy spirit. But when good and bad are mixed up, it is impossible to receive true prophecy."

"It is vital to rouse such people from their sleep, but this is only possible if they first begin to stir on their own. The tales and stories told by the Tzaddikim have the power to rouse those who are asleep so that their days will not be wasted. It is a great privilege to find a Tzaddik who has the power to rouse you from your sleep. Otherwise you could sleep away all your days, God forbid."

"It's not hard to push a person away. The real work is to draw him close and uplift him."

"Jealousy leads to anger. Anger leads to depression."

"Joy is the world of freedom - "for you shall go out with joy" (Isaiah 55:12). Through joy we become free and leave our exile. When a person maintains a happy, joyous attitude, his mind and thoughts become free and he is no longer in exile. He can then direct his thoughts as he wants and settle his mind so as to focus on his goal and draw close to God."

"Just as it is a commandment to have children in order for the world to survive, so it is a commandment to instill awareness and knowledge of God in our children and anyone else whom we are in a position to influence. Teaching our children to know God is the essence of the commandment to have children. It is vital to ensure that future generations will be true Children of Adam and not wild animals who merely look human on the outside. Those who have no knowledge of God and do not feel His power cannot be called Children of Adam, because the ability to know God is the defining feature of the Children of Adam."

"Know that the only reason we experience pain and suffering is because of a lack of Da'at, Godly knowledge and awareness. One who possesses this knows that everything is sent by God and therefore he feels no pain or suffering, because "God gave and God took" (Job 1:21). It is true that there is a certain kind of suffering that is inevitable. This is the pain felt when the soul leaves the body, the pain of illness that comes when the soul begins to separate itself from the body. The soul is so tightly bound to the body in this life that one inevitably feels pain at the moment of separation. Nevertheless this suffering is easy to bear if one knows clearly that everything is under God's providence. All the more does this apply to other kinds of pain and suffering, which a person who possesses Godly awareness does not feel at all. The main reason a person feels pain and suffering is that his Godly awareness is taken from him."

"Know that there is healing to be found in every kind of herb and grass."

"Keeping your mind intently focused on your goal can also help you in studying the Torah. For example, you could focus intently on the thought that you want to complete all four sections of the Shulchan Aruch. You could calculate that if you study five pages every day you could complete all four sections in a single year. Picture in your mind exactly how you will go about this course of study. Concentrate so strongly that you are literally obsessed with the thought. The same approach can also be applied to other studies, such as the Bible or the Talmud and its commentaries. If your desire is strong and your concentration sufficiently intense, your plans will be accomplished."

"Man's world consists only of the present. Whatever you can do to serve God, do immediately and determinedly without delay."

"Learning my works is the beginning of the Redemption - may it come speedily in our days. The best way to study them is with two separate routines. The first should be one of brisk study in order to become thoroughly conversant with them. The second should be one of in-depth study, because these works contain the profoundest depths."

"Know therefore that whenever you encounter very great obstacles in any holy pursuit, you should infer from this just how great and precious is the object of your desire. This is why the obstacle is so great. If your desire is very strong, you will certainly be able to accomplish what you want and bring it from potential to actual. For the main purpose of the obstacle is to strengthen the desire. When the strength of your desire matches the strength of the obstacle, the obstacle becomes surmountable."

"Listen carefully to every word you say. Concentrate on the meaning of the words without letting your thoughts stray. Keep your mind focused entirely on the words of the service. Follow the order of the service, even if you feel no inspiration. Continue word by word, page by page, until God sends you true arousal. And even if you complete the entire service without any feeling, you can still say an extra Psalm or prayer with devotion."

"Man is unique in his greatness. When a person does like this with his hands, a movement like this takes place in all the worlds! And when he does like that with his hands, a movement like that takes place in all the worlds!"

"Many thoughts are in man's heart - these are the many extraneous thoughts a person has when he prays. Yet "God's counsel is what stands". This means that there is an innermost point in your heart where your thoughts are directed to God alone. This innermost point is called "God's counsel." Within this point, your intent is to God alone. This can never fail, for "God's counsel is what stands." You therefore need pay no attention to irrelevant thoughts and distractions. Simply ignore them and continue with your prayers."

"Many find that as soon as they try to return to God and follow the paths of the Tzaddikim, they suddenly encounter difficulties and obstacles on every side. At times it is impossible to bear the bitterness and overcome the obstacles. There have been cases of people who became so discouraged that they went back to their old ways, God forbid."

"Many irrelevant thoughts may come into your mind while you pray. Don't pay any attention to them at all. Simply do your part: say your prayers in the proper order, ignoring all disturbing thoughts. These extraneous thoughts are actually of great benefit. Without them prayer would be impossible. Tremendous maligning powers seek to denounce our prayers, but these irrelevant thoughts disguise our prayers so that unholy forces disregard them, enabling our prayers to enter on high."

"Many people have ridiculous phobias which they themselves know to be ungrounded, yet they cannot control them. For example, when a person is taken by surprise by a group of people coming at him from behind with fearful shouts, he instantly feels fear even before he is consciously aware of what it is behind him. Since the object of his fear has not yet entered his conscious mind, why should he be afraid if not because of this innate something that causes him to fear? The same is true of desire. Even when a person knows that his desire is vain and foolish, something inside him continues to feel the desire. Here again, it is not the person who desires, but something else within him. If you learn to understand yourself, you can easily rid yourself of all fears and desires. Once you realize that they are baseless and that only this something inside you causes the fear or desire, you will be able to overcome everything. You have free will, and you can easily train your mind to avoid the thing inside you that causes these fears and desires."

"Many sincere people become highly discouraged when they find themselves suddenly confronted by all these desires and obstacles. They start to think that they must have fallen from their previous level because for some time they have not experienced them with the same intensity - since they were dormant. When this happens, you must understand that what you are experiencing is not a fall. The time has come for you to advance from one level to the next. This is why these same old desires and obstacles have reared their heads again. Whenever this happens, it takes great strength and courage not to lose hope but to overcome all the desires and obstacles again."

"Most people see forgetting as a problem, but I see it as a great benefit. If you never forgot anything, it would be impossible to serve God because remember ing everything from the past, you would never be able to lift yourself up to God. Whatever you tried to do, you would constantly be disturbed by your memories of the past. But having the power to forget, you do not need to be disturbed by the past. This is very important when trying to serve God. Most people are troubled by the past, especially when trying to pray. Precisely then their minds become filled with all kinds of distracting thoughts about their business, household and other affairs. They worry that maybe they did something wrong or should have acted differently. When a person tries to pray or study, he can easily become troubled by thoughts about past wrongdoings and personal failings. This is a universal problem, as we all know."

"Melody sweetens the harsh judgments. When you sing the words of your prayers in a clear, bright voice, the Indwelling Presence is robed in radiant garments, and this is how the harsh judgments are sweetened"

"Most of the things a person fears cannot harm him at all. But this only becomes clear to him when he is dead, lying on the ground with his feet to the door. He will then have true clarity of mind, and he will look at himself and understand the truth. He will see that his fear of the various people standing in his way was vain and foolish. All that fear was for nothing - for what could a mere mortal do to him? The same goes for his desires and temptations. Lying there dead, he will realize that he wasted his days. He will know that his strongest desires were mere foolishness. For who really forced him? Only then will he clearly see the truth. There is a very deep point in all this. There is something inside a person that makes him afraid of various things. The person may fully understand that the things he fears cannot harm him at all, yet he cannot help being terrified. This is because of that something within him that causes him to be afraid."

"Much good advice exists about different ways of coming closer to God, but in most cases it is very hard to carry out the actual advice. Therefore the main thing is prayer and supplication. Regardless of who you are or the circumstances in which you find yourself, always try to offer some prayer and request to God to take you from darkness to light and bring you to complete repentance. Give Him no quiet until He answers you. Even if you cry to God for a very long time and He still seems very far away, if you are persistent in your prayers, He will certainly answer you eventually and draw you to His service."

"My dear friend and brother: the basic rule is to keep firm and be strong. Try with all your strength to be persistent in your devotions. Pay no attention to all these discouraging thoughts. And if you are very far from God and you feel that your every movement must be a blemish in God's eyes, you should know that on the contrary, if someone is all that coarse and materialistic, even the slightest motion he makes to try to detach himself from his physicality and turn towards God is very great and precious. If he moves no more than a hairsbreadth in his efforts to purify himself and come closer, that hairsbreadth makes him run thousands and thousands of miles in the worlds above. If you think about this, it will make you very happy. Indeed you should make a great effort always to be happy, because depression can cause tremendous damage. You should know that as soon as a person wants to start serving God, it is a very grave sin for him to be depressed. Depression comes from the Other Side, which God hates."

"My book Likutey Moharan is the beginning of the Redemption. Now that it has come out, I very much want people to study it. They should study it until they know it by heart, because it is filled with guidance and has the power to arouse men to God in a way nothing else can compare with. Those who study it carefully have no need for any other work on ethics and moral guidance."

"Never give up hope! There is no despair."

"Never insist on anything in your prayers. Ask for what you want as a request. If God grants it, He will grant it. And if not, then not! Regardless of what you need - livelihood, children or anything else - it is forbidden to insist stubbornly that God should fulfil exactly what you are asking for, because this is like taking something by force: it is a kind of robbery. Just pray and entreat God for kindness and mercy."