awe and devotion

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Awe and Devotion

byNetiv / The Path November 18, 2014

ADVICE from RABBI NACHMANOnline English translation of Likutey Etzot A compendiumof Rabbi Nachmans practical teachings on spiritual growth and devotion. AZAMRA

INSTITUTE5766 / 2006

1) You should never fear anything except God. If ever you begin to feel afraid of anything,

remember the great fear which is due to God. Throughout the day, fill your entire consciousnesswith this sense of awe. It will help you to pray with all your strength to utter the words with such

force that they are like thunderbolts! Then you will hear the words which are on your lips. This is

the way to achieve true joy, and to perform the mitzvoth with a joy derived from the mitzvot

themselves. Then you will attain the understanding of how to nullify all harsh decrees even afterthe decrees have been made, God forbid (5:5).

2) In order to achieve these levels, you must combine your fear of Heaven with love. A personsmain strength lies in the love he has for God. Nevertheless fear must come first (Ibid.5).

3) If you wish to savour the taste of the hidden light the secrets of Torah which are destined to berevealed in time to come you should meditate and speak to God. Express everything in your

heart before Him. Examine yourself and judge yourself. Weigh up all the different things you are

involved with. In this way you will be able to banish your extraneous fears of forces other thanGod these are called `fallen fear and you will be able to elevate your fear and experience the

true awe of Heaven. When a person neglects to examine and judge himself, he is examined and

brought to judgement from on high. God has many ways of executing His judgements. He has

the power to clothe them in anything in the world, because all things are His messengers, and hecan use whatever means he chooses to execute His judgements. We can actually see this in

practice. When something bad happens to a person, the particular cause which precipitates the

problem is often apparently quite insignificant. One would never have expected a small thinglike this to bring on such a train of consequences illness, suffering and the like. The explanation

is that the Divine decree passed against him has been clothed within these mundane

circumstances in order to give him his deserts. But when a person examines and judges himselfof his own accord the decree above is removed. There is no need for him to be afraid of

anything. Worldly objects and events will no longer be used as a veil and a cloak for executing

the decree of God. By bringing himself to a reckoning he has removed the judgement above. He

is already sufficiently aroused and spiritually awake without needing things of this world toshake him. This is what is meant by elevating fear to its root. He is afraid of nothing except God.

Because of this he will be worthy of the hidden light (15).

4) To attain true fear and love of God is only possible with the help of the Tzaddikim of the

generation (17:1).

5) Fear of Heaven is the foundation for sanctifying the way one speaks and using the Holy

Tongue perfectly (see dibbur). But to reach this level of fear it is necessary to journey to the
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Tzaddik in order to hear words of truth directly from his lips. It is not enough to study mussar

literature works giving guidance about spiritual development. When a person hears a Tzaddik,

the actual words of the Tzaddik possess a quality of perfection. They are uttered with true fear ofHeaven, and this is the foundation for the fulfillment of the Covenant and achieving moral

purity. Even if a person hears what the Tzaddik said from the lips of somebody else who himself

heard the Tzaddik say them, it still does not help as much, because the words have descendedfrom their original perfection. In order for the words of the Holy Tongue to possess perfection,they must be heard from the lips of the Tzaddik himself. This is where the treasure-house of the

true fear of Heaven is to be found, and this is the foundation for attaining perfection in the Holy

Tongue (19:3,9).

6) Having a sense of shame is the basis for attaining the fear of Heaven. One must feel ashamed

before God so ashamed that one could not possibly sin. To have a sense of shame is a very highlevel (22).

7) Be sure that you make your days very long. With each new day and each fresh moment, make

sure that the time is longer, fuller and richer with added holiness. So it must be with every daythat comes. You must continually extend the days by filling them with more holiness and more

purity. This is the secret of a long life. When you start each day, at first the day is very short. Thespiritual accomplishments you need to achieve this day weigh heavily upon you. It takes great

determination not to be discouraged as you feel the weight of the devotions you have to

undertake this day. But be courageous and dont lose heart. Make a start even if at first things

seem heavy and strained and difficult. If you are determined enough they will become easier andyou will find that you can accomplish what you must in Gods service. With every hour that

passes see to it that you enrich that hour and lengthen it with extra holiness. Do the same with

every new day of your life. Let each day be filled with more holiness than the day before. Then you will be blessed with length of days. The root of this skill in living lies in cultivating true fear

of Heaven (60:2).

8) Such fear is the foundation of a long life. It can bring you great wealth, the wealth of holiness.

And through this wealth it is possible to attain profound understanding. There are certain paths of

Torah which possess a degree of profundity which can only be attained with the help of greatwealth. This is the reason why so many of the greatest of the Tzaddikim were extraordinarily

wealthy, such as Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, the compiler of the Mishnah, and Rav Ashi, the

compiler of the Talmud. The source of this wealth is in `length of days, which is attained

through awe (Ibid. 3).

9) There are three aspects to fearing God: the fear of Heaven, fear of your teacher, and fear of

your father and mother (Ibid.).

10) When a person has true fear of Heaven, he is no longer trapped by the beauty of women. He

is free from the attractions of falsehood. He will be saved from poverty and attain wealth (Ibid.).

11) The Tzaddik has the power to arouse men from their sleep through the stories he tells aboutthe years of old. Through this he can cause the barren to give birth, which arouses great awe at


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the might of God throughout the world. This awe is the instrument for attaining all the spiritual

levels we have mentioned (Ibid. 5,6).

12) The key to everything is the way you start. All beginnings are difficult, because you are

trying to turn things from one direction to the opposite direction. But once a start has been made,

you begin to get used to the direction you are going in and things are no longer so hard. The levelof awe and devotion a person attains each day depends on the way he starts. Every day you

should go backwards in the sense that you should always try and draw inspiration from the start,

which was the hardest thing of all. You must always make a frest start. Each time you come tothe Tzaddik, you must likewise make a fresh beginning. It must be as if you had never come to

him before, as if this time it is an entirely new experience for you. Because perhaps the first

beginning was not as it should have been, and if so all the devotion which followed will not have

been as it should have been. Because everything depends on the beginning. Therefore you mustmarshal all your strength and steel yourself to make a vigorous beginning. Start again every time

with new fire and passion for God. Start as if you had never begun at all before. The strength of

your new beginning will bring power and vigor into all your devotions. You should always ask

yourself if the start was as it should have been. Make the effort to start again, and come to theTzaddik afresh. Do this every time (62). 13) When a new soul enters a person, he must raise it

and rear it with love and awe (67:6).

14) If a person does not consider the purpose of everything, what is the point of his life? (268).

15) One of the basic rules in serving God is to think only of today. Pay no attention to yesterday

or tomorrow. This applies to the work you have to do to earn a living and provide your needs.

Our sacred literature tells us that we should only be concerned with today. The same applies to

serving God. You should only think of today, the present hour. When a person wants to beginserving God it seems like a heavy burden which he will never be able to bear. But if you think

that you have only today, it will not be a burden at all. Dont put things off and say, `Ill starttomorrow tomorrow I will pray with strength and devotion, etc. Mans world consists ofnothing except the day and the hour that he stands in now. Tomorrow is a completely different

world. `Today, if you would but listen to His voice! (Psalms 95:7). Exactly! Today! (272).

16) Every mitzvah which a person does in this world, creates a lamp with which he can explore

the treasure house of the King after his passing. This is the ultimate bliss of the World to Come

(275).

17) There are two kinds of fear of Heaven. There are people who fear God because of His

greatness and exaltedness as the Ruler and Master of the Universe. This level of fear addscompleteness to Gods Name. Secondly there is a lower form of fear which is attained through

the fear one has of other, lower things a wild animal, a person wielding great power, or the

like. Such things can evoke the awareness of God within a person, and this second level of fear is

the source of the influx of blessing into the world. To receive the blessings one has to make avessel. The vessel is formed through the longing and desire which he has to travel to the true

Tzaddikim. This creates the shape of the vessel, and the vessel itself is formed when one comes

to the Tzaddik in person. The more obstacles a person encounters in his efforts to draw close andthe more energy he devotes to breaking them, the greater the vessel he forms (185).


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18) Every Jew is created with the ultimate purpose of wielding power over the angels. This is his

destiny. But the angels are very jealous of a man who has power over them. He must protect

himself and see that he has the strength to remain in this position of power without being castdown through the angels envy (Ibid. II, 1:1).

19) Materialism, immorality and gluttony distort and corrupt the fear in a persons heart. Theremedy is through honoring the three festivals of the year and celebrating them in the proper

way. This causes the fear which is latent in the heart to become manifest, and through it one can

attain the experience of prophecy. This is the avenue to true prayer and healing. One becomesbound to the very root of the souls of Israel, and here alone there is protection from the envy of

the angels (Ibid.).

20) When a person falls into materialism, immorality and greed, God sits and cries out like a lion

(Ibid.).

21) A persons devotions, his mitzvot and good deeds are his `children. This is especially so of

the Tzaddikim. Before a woman gives birth she has to undergo contractions and birth-pangs, andshe cries and screams. It is literally the same when you serve God. When you want to carry out a

particular devotion or return to God in truth, it inevitably takes a tremendous effort. You have tocry out and groan, bending and jerking in all directions. The hardest thing of all is the start. All

beginnings are difficult. This is when you need to cry out and groan the most. Even after the start

things do not necessarily come easily, and it takes a lot of effort before you achieve somethingworthwhile. But dont be discouraged by what you have to endure. According to the effort, so is

the reward (4:5).

22) Charity helps to open the gates to holiness. This is why it is good to give charity before doing

any mitzva or good deed. The charity helps to widen the opening to the holiness which is the

goal of this particular devotion, and then it will not be so hard to enter (Ibid.).

23) Through giving charity you can attain fear of Heaven, and this will lead to lovingkindness.

When you attain this you will be able to serve God without being restricted by the difficulties ofearning a living (Ibid.).

24) In times when the elders of the generation fail to achieve perfection, it gives strength to anti-religious ideologies. The task of each individual is to ensure that with every day that passes he

gains additional holiness and deeper understanding. Each new day must be filled with more of

the radiance of devotion to God. Only when a person achieves this is he worthy of the name

`elder. When a person wastes his days without adding extra holiness, he may grow old but hecannot be termed an `elder. Instead of enjoying `length of days, his days are actually short. It is

because of this that materialistic ideologies are able to become entrenched in the world. The

remedy lies in the giving of charity (Ibid.).

25) Gods main joy and pleasure come only from this low world of ours. God has the whole

array of angels, serafim, chayot, ofanim and all the higher worlds, all of them serving Him. Butwhen we in this low world of ours magnify and sanctify His Name and carry out His will, this is

what gives Him the greatest joy, because He sees the service of this low world rise to the realms


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above (Ibid. 7). 26) When people study and discuss one of the original Torah concepts of the true

Tzaddikim they can become filled with the fear of Heaven (Ibid.13).

27) Your main aim should be to serve God with simplicity, with no ulterior motive. Follow His

ways in order to know Him. This is what He wants. A person who serves God in order to earn

the World to Come is just hungry: he wants to fill his stomach with the reward. But even so, it isbetter to serve God for the sake of the reward of the World to Come than it is to chase after this

world. At least someone who serves God for the sake of the reward is wiser than one who

struggles for this world all his life. This world is transient, but the World to Come is the world ofeternal life. But even so, the main aim should be to serve God with no ulterior motive

whatsoever (37).

28) What profit is there when people run after the superficialities of materialism and gratification

and neglect the task of achieving self-perfection? There are many people who waste away their

days struggling to leave a big inheritance for their children. But this is no better than when a

person gets himself dirty and then takes more dirt to cover up the dirt. Other people try their best

to leave a good name behind them for their childrens sake. But this is still not the real purposeof life. The aim of the true Tzaddikim is only to satisfy the will of God (Ibid.).

29) Man always has free will. This applies to everything he may be involved with. In all

situations, the Jew always has the option of exercising free choice. As far as the other nations of

the world are concerned, there are certain things which restrict their free will and compel them toact in a particular way. With a Jew, however, no matter what he does, be it to travel to a

particular place, or whatever, there is always some devotion involved, something which relates to

his service of God. Because of this, the Jew has free will in everything (54).

30) The profit a person can have from this world is indescribable. You dont need to spend your

own money to make a profit here. God spreads the opportunities before you and you can simplystretch out your hand and take abundant profit. `No eye hath seen it. (55).

31) You should throw yourself upon God and rely upon Him completely. At the start of everyday you should entrust all your actions of that day, and all the actions of your children and other

dependents, to God, asking that everything should go as He wishes it (Rabbi Nachmans Wisdom

2).

32) Fear is the key to achieving spiritual perfection. The basis of fear of Heaven is to be afraid of

being punished. Even Tzaddikim need to have this fear. This is what gives us our initial

motivation to serve God (Ibid. 5).

33) If you want to serve God, you must keep on making new beginnings. Even in the course of a

single day you may have to start all over again several times (Ibid. 51).

34) Whatever you see in this world exists only to create the possibility of free will. The wholeworld and all that is in it was created only for the sake of free will (Ibid. 300).


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35) There are people who serve God for a whole lifetime without being shown what they have

achieved. Only in the World to Come will they see what they have achieved (244).

36) The main devotion of the Jew is to get up every night in the winter for the midnight prayer.

In the summer, when the nights are short and we do not rise for the midnight prayer except in the

Land of Israel, he should be sure to get up with the dawn each morning (Ibid. 301; see Chatzot3).

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