Don’t bind yourself to the Rav – more comments
Excerpt from Shiur given on Erev Rosh Chodesh, Av 1, 5786
There was a serious injury in Kifl yesterday.
Now, for a whole year, no-one travels to Kifl, also not Yosef Asulin[1], and not Shimi Tzuker. In another 23 days, it’s the barmitzvah.
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Today is the true Tisha B’Av, here, let’s bring the Tanach.
It’s written, ‘on the ninth of the month’, ‘twenty and one days’, so the Gemara says: “’twenty and one days’.”
The Rebbe [Rebbe Nachman of Breslov] says in Torah Peh Heh – first, let’s bring the Lesson 85, part 2. It’s written: ‘T’isha be hodesh’ – the ninth of the month. The Rebbe says, this is only twenty and one days… If it’s ‘nine’. From the ninth of Tammuz, so then that’s the first of Av.
Today [i.e. the first of Av] is T’isha B’av, today was the true date of the destruction of the first Beit HaMikdash.
If this was on the 17th of Tammuz, so it comes out the 9th of Av, this is already 22 days, because another day is added.
So, the Rebbe explains in Lesson 85, part 2, that the Rebbe says in Lesson 219, that from an overabundance of light [the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed].
Because each day, we need to bring down new light, we need to reach new lowliness, because only the Tzaddik who is ein, nothing at all – he can do it.
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It’s forbidden to bind oneself (l’hitkasher) to the Rav.
Don’t bind yourself to the Rav. The Rav doesn’t raise up the prayers. And the Rav doesn’t do a tikkun for souls, everything is only Rabbenu [Rebbe Nachman].
It’s totally forbidden, to bind to the Rav. It harms the Rav, and creates kitrugim (spiritual accusations) against the Rav.
We only bind ourselves to Rabbenu [Rebbe Nachman of Breslov].
Afterwards, let’s go to the Tziyun of Rabbenu – and not the Tziyun of the Rav, under absolutely no circumstances.
The Rav is not Eliezer Shlomo, the Moharosh[2], and it’s not anyone else. The Rav needs to go to Rabbah, halevai, if only we can get there.
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It’s written[3] that they come to confuse a person.
They tell him: Who says, that this is the Tzaddik?! Maybe, the Rebbe of Gur is the Tzaddik?!
Even when a man ascends to shemayim, they still try to confuse him, they try to confuse him.
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Excerpted and translated from Rasisei Tal, # 78.
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FOOTNOTES:
[1] One of the Rav’s main gabbays.
[2] The late R. Eliezer Shlomo Shick of Yavniel.
[3] Chayei Moharan, #101:
“On Friday night at the table the Rebbe was talking about his own activities and purposes. He commented how strange it was that he was always doing unusual things which people found incomprehensible. He was constantly moving from place to place like a wanderer. In Medvedevka he had had everything he needed. It would have been quite satisfactory if he had stayed there permanently. There he had peace and quiet. But he had not wanted a peaceful life. He left and went to settle in Zlatipolia, where he endured so much opposition and suffering. Then, he left and finally came to settle in Uman. Having come to Uman, he should at least have chosen to stay with a respected figure. Instead he chose the lodgings he had. The Rebbe asked why he was always doing such strange and incomprehensible things…”
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I read this in Uman on Shabbat, and it hit me like a ton of bricks.
I’ve also let Rabbenu, and his writings, drop a little, as I’ve been busy translating stuff from the Rav.
I decided, with God’s help, that now I’m going to put one thing up from the Rav a week, plus also one thing from Rebbe Nachman, some how or other – and yes, the ‘cartoons’ count, and I’ll continue with those, BH.
Except, I’ll try to give more explanation when I post them up. Not because I’m a Rav, nothing like it, but just because it’s good for each person to try to engage with Rabbenu at whatever level they can, which means for me, a pretty low level that other people may also be able to access and relate to.
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REMEMBER WHAT THE RAV SAID ABOUT THE SOUL OF NACHMAN ?
I SEE THE RAV A A VEHICLE TO GET US TO THE REBBE ? PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG ?
THANKS
I think you are right, but just to be clear, I don’t *know* this stuff myself, it’s just a personal opinion from a regular joe.
I’ve been doing that for at least a year. So I was in error?
There is no problem binding generally to the ‘True Tzaddikim of the generation’, and those who have gone before, and only mentioning Rebbe Nachman specifically. That is the standard ‘binding’ declaration that Breslovers say before hitbodedut. The issue seems to be that people may have been putting the Rav BEFORE Rabbenu, or totallyin place of Rabbenu. I don’t even think that’s such an issue in the Rav’s own community, BTW, although it for sure has and does happen. If you look at what the RAv said, there is a hint he was also referring to other Breslov communities, who may have fallen into the error of considering their own Rabbi to be on a par with, or even above, Rebbe Nachman.
Tachlis, going forward it’s not a big deal. Just stick to the main wording, let God decide who the ‘True Tzaddikim’ really are – and that way, there are no spiritual accusers against the Rav, and he can carry on doing his good work without attracting too much unwelcome attention.
I’ve seen women using a machzor that has the nussach for hiskashrus before every tefilah. if I recall it was published recently and the nussach specifically includes the rav. each time I saw it was in the middle of davening so I haven’t looked inside it myself. do you know more about this siddur and who put it out? I just wonder if the rav could have been responding to this siddur.
No, I wasn’t aware of this siddur. But that could be what prompted the Rav to say this now.
Once (5-6 years ago) I visited the Rav and asked for a tikkun. He didn’t answer me and I didn’t understand why. I guess this really isn’t his “job” and he doesn’t want to be credited for it.
I am coming to the conclusion that for the ‘tikkun’ you go to Rabbenu, and for the day to day living life so you actually can get up in the morning, and quite like your life, and feel happy, at least most of the time – you stick with the Rav. We were with Rabbenu for 10 years before we hit the Rav. We had tikkunim, more than we could handle, and a lot of things ‘moved’. But – the process was crushing us into the ground, on every register, until we got to the Rav, and started doing pidyonot with him, and following his teachings, as much as possible.
For me – we definitely needed / need both together.