Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Repentance is Always Possible

(my comments and questions in bold italic)

My beloved like my own soul, Mr. Zalman Shazar, peace and true life.

I already wrote that I believe and hope that, because of the amazing divine providence that occurred on the intermediate Days of Passover, You will expierence great good and blessing in the matter of drawing near to the true tzaddik. Therefore together with that I feel obligated to open your ears to the truth that is in my heart, namley that concerning our project together I am complelty clean of all types of materlistic self interest for money and honor and the like, G-d forbid; rather only for the Lord alone. I am certain and rely on your exalted wisdom that your honor understands and knows this point with absolute certainty. The Blessed L-rd knows and bears witness that I am prepared and ready to sacrifice my life and money and everything I have for the sake of drawing any soul of Israel near to the Blessed L-rd or at least to put into him a thought of return [repentance] for even a single moment!
Rabbeinu [our Master and Teacher, Rebbe Nachman of Breslev] of blessed memory said: "Three things I was able to accomplish from the Blessed L-rd; 1) I already have broken your arrogance. 2) A sin will cause you suffering. It wont bring you any sense of pleasure. If you do commit a sin, it will be without hands and feet. (what does this mean?) 3) No more will you look at famous false leaders. Is this applicable to nanach philosphy about False leaders today?) You already have tasted from the hungarian wine". (what does this mean?) Even if one has done what he has done and transgressed what he has transgressed, even then the Blessed L-rd contracts Himself from his infinitude and Transcendance and sends the person hints to draw near to Him through various means that the L-rd arranges in His exaltedly hidden ways. For the Blessed One thinks thoughts so that the alienated one should not become more estranged from Him. But all these hints and all His calling to us is through the True Tzaddik, that we return to Him from every place we might be. From all sorts of obstacles, seductions, and wickedness in the heart. From all sorts of assualts from the husk of Amalek that can overpower the person and from every place that his mind and heart have strayed and erred.
The essential point that the deepest part of the heart of every member of Israel, mighty and fierce waters cannot extiguish, no matter what may occur to the person.
with a peacful departure and feelings of respect and endearment from the one who yearns and hopes to see you with a joyful heart.

Yisroel Dov Odesser
Tibereas

8 comments:

  1. A sin will cause you suffering. It wont bring you any sense of pleasure. If you do commit a sin, it will be without hands and feet. (what does this mean?)
    I think it means you wont enjoy sinning. You will feel so ashamed of what your doing that you will derive no pleasure from it.

    3) No more will you look at famous false leaders. (Is this applicable to nanach philosphy about False leaders today?)
    YES. btw, it is not a philosophy. Saba said the Jewish leadership today is false and we should have nothing to do with them. Rebbe Nachman also talks about it throughout his teachings.

    You already have tasted from the hungarian wine". (what does this mean?)

    he is reffering to a parable told by Rebbe Nachman:
    Once, an important trader was traveling with a consignment of fine Hungarian wine. During the journey his assistant and the carriage driver said to him, "Here we are, traveling with all this wine. It's a very hard journey - give us a little taste of the wine." He agreed to let them have a small taste.

    A few days later, the assistant happened to be in a small town with some people who were drinking wine and praising it extravagantly. They said it was Hungarian.

    "Let me have a taste," said the assistant. They gave him some, and he said, "This isn't fine Hungarian wine at all!" They were most offended and told him to leave, but he insisted: "I know very well that this wine isn't Hungarian, because I was with a wine merchant who had genuine Hungarian wine and he gave me some to try. I know what it really tastes like." But they ignored him.

    But when the Mashiach comes, then they'll know. The time will come for the fine old wine stored up for the righteous to be served. Others will be fooled into believing that inferior Romanian, Wallachsian and Strovitsarian wines are fine old vintage wines. But none of my followers will be fooled, because they've already tasted the good wine!

    Chayey Moharan #260

    (Rebbe Nachman is the Hungarian Wine, to which every other leader or spiritual guide is inferior).

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  2. Nanach oi wrote: "YES. btw, it is not a philosophy. Saba said the Jewish leadership today is false and we should have nothing to do with them."

    Yes, but on the other hand, he also stressed how important it is to get as good a Jewish education as possible which means going to the best yeshivos as possible. On nanach.net it says that Amram Horowtiz's parents sent him to the best yeshivos possible so that he would get only the most top notch Torah education. So it's a two sided coin and we have to balance the 2.

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  3. thanks for sharing the story about the hungarian wine, Also thanks both of you for your comments.
    NA NACH NACHMA NACHMAN MEUMAN!!!

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  4. Also, if we should have nothing to do with them then where does that leave us in terms of getting answers to our halachic questions?

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  5. "Yes, but on the other hand, he also stressed how important it is to get as good a Jewish education as possible which means going to the best yeshivos as possible. "

    I have never seen anywhere where Saba says this. The closest to this I have seen is him telling us to teach our kids Torah. The posts you made about him getting nachas from his kids going to yeshiva does not quote him telling people to go to yeshiva. He told people to do lots of things (like do hafatza, hisbodedus, lear sifrei rabeinu, etc.). If this was so important then why is there NOWHERE where he is quoted as TELLING people to go to yeshiva?

    "Also, if we should have nothing to do with them then where does that leave us in terms of getting answers to our halachic questions?"

    These were Saba's words, not mine. I dont know the answer.
    I personally will ask a halachic question from anyone who knows the answer.

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  6. You're right, I don't have any quotes of Saba telling people to go to yeshiva. On the other hand he wanted his own kids to go to yeshiva very badly. Did you see the thing on nanach.net about R' Amram Horowitz's parents sending him only to the best yeshivos?
    In the books of Saba's conversations he was speaking to Israeli baalei teshuva who were already older, maybe Saba felt they were not meant to go to yeshiva at this point in their lives. I don't know. But he did want his own kids to go very very badly.

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  7. nanach oi,
    you wrote:
    "These were Saba's words, not mine. I dont know the answer.
    I personally will ask a halachic question from anyone who knows the answer."

    But if Saba says not to have anything to do with them, then why will you have something to do with them - even asking halachic questions is having something to do with them? If Saba says "nothing to do with them" then relying on them for halachic guidance is "something to do with them".

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  8. This idea is very touchy. I personally would never ever get a psak from an open misnagged. For according to my understanding it is not really possible to get the right psak without doing Hitbodedut (source needed). Just as I would not follow a psak of KORACH even though he was head of the Sanhedrin at the time. On the other hand I also heard that Saba said that Chabad Tefillin were reliable if none other could be found. I feel that in all of these discussions that we are having about this issue (meaning Rabbis) there is a lack of a clear distinction of the nature of the topic. It should be made clear that the when Saba bashed the Rabbis it was a HASHKAFIC issue NOT a HALACKIC one. It was in the area of SPIRITUAL OUTLOOK and not one of the code of the code of Jewish Law. Sometimes the two intertwine so closely that it is hard to tell the difference.
    To my understanding, many Na Nach's have a posek that they ask their questions. No one considers them their "RAV" or spiritual leader and it is the ultimate responcibility of the individual to learn the Halacha themselves.

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