Translation:Likutei Moharan/51

by Nachman of Breslov

Amar Rebbi Akiva (Rabbi Akiva said): When you approach pure marble stone, do not say, “Water! Water!” as it is said (Psalms 101:7), “He who speaks falsely will not be sustained before My eyes.” (Chagigah 14b)

[Falsehood is Harmful to the Eyes]

Falsehood is harmful to the eyes, physically and spiritually, in the aspect of “The eyes deceive” (Isaiah 3:16). For when the eyes are dimmed, they create false impressions. They do not show a thing as it really is; for example, a large object appears small, and one [object appears] as if it were two — the very opposite of the truth.

This is because the eyes become dimmed by tears. As our Sages taught: “The clouds return after the rain” (Ecclesiastes 12:2) — this refers to the vision, which is diminished after crying (Shabbat 151b). Tears stem from excess melancholy, which nature expels by way of the eyes. And melancholy stems from polluted blood.

And the blood is polluted by falsehood. It is impossible for a person to speak falsely unless he has already polluted his blood, just as it is impossible to speak truthfully unless he first purifies the blood. This is because the essence of speech is the soul, as is written (Song of Songs 5:6), “My soul went out when he spoke.” And the soul is the blood, as is written (Deuteronomy 12:23), “for the blood is [associated with] the soul.” We see then that when a person speaks falsely, his blood is polluted. It is this that gives rise to melancholy. And from the excess melancholy, tears are formed, causing the eyes to become dimmed.

This corresponds to “They pluck the saltwort from the SIaCh (shrubs)” (Job 30:4). “Saltwort” is the aspect of tears, which are the salty water that comes from SIChah (speaking).

This also corresponds to “Do not say, ‘Water! Water!’” — a warning against falsehood. {As is concluded there: “as it is said, ‘He who speaks falsely will not be sustained before My eyes.’”}

“Water! Water!” is the aspect of falsehood, which is the aspect of tears, salty water. For when a person drinks water, he quenches his thirst. Yet when he drinks salty water, not only does he not relieve his thirst, but he increases it. He then has to drink other water in order to quench his thirst. This is why falsehood is referred to as “Water! Water!”

This is the explanation of “Do not say, ‘Water! Water!’” which is falsehood, “as it is said, ‘He who speaks falsely will not be sustained before My eyes.’”

[Evil is a Distancing from Oneness]

The emergence of falsehood, which is evil, which is impurity, results from a distancing from oneness.

This is because evil is a contrariety; as, for example, whatever is contrary to a man’s will [he sees as] evil. But in a state of oneness, contrariety has no place. Rather, everything is good.

This is the explanation of what our Sages taught: “On that day, God will be One…” — it will be entirely “Who is good and beneficent” (Pesachim 50a). This is because where there is oneness, evil has no place. Consequently, “Truthful speech abides forever” (Proverbs 12:19) will be fulfilled in the World to Come. For then all will be one, all will be good.

Truth is one. For example: Saying of a silver vessel that it is a silver vessel is the truth. But saying that it is a gold vessel is false. We see that the truth is one, because the only true statement one can make [about its substance] is that it is a silver vessel. Nothing more. Falsehood, on the other hand, is manifold. It could be said that it is a gold vessel, or a copper vessel, or any other designation. We see then that falsehood is the aspect of “they chased after many intrigues” (Ecclesiastes 7:29).

{“The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard with the goat…. They will do nothing evil or vile in all My sacred mountain, for the land will be filled with the knowledge of God…” (Isaiah 11:6,9).} Because of this, the evil and the contrariety and the tears will be eliminated in the World to Come. As it is written, “They will do nothing evil” — i.e., evil will be nullified; and it is written, “The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard with the goat” — i.e., the aspect of the elimination of contrariety. And it is written, “God the Lord will wipe away the tears from every face” (Isaiah 25:8) — i.e., the elimination of tears, which are the aspect of falsehood, as explained above. For then it will be “God is One and His Name is One,” because He is entirely good and entirely truthful.

Impurity will therefore be eliminated in the World to Come, as is written (Zechariah 13:2), “I will remove the spirit of impurity from the earth.” For then all will be one, as is written (Job 14:4), “Who can turn impure into pure, not one!” {This means: The very hold which purity and impurity have derives from a distancing from oneness.}

[Free Will]

Prior to the creation, when the creation was still in potential, so to speak, before He actualized it, it was entirely one, entirely true, entirely good, and entirely holy. Even the designation “pure” was not applicable. This is because purity applies only when impurity is also possible, as is written, “you will be purified of all your impurity” (Ezekiel 36:25). But when all is one, the aspect of “many intrigues” — which is the essence of evil and impurity, as explained above — has no place. For purity is a mean between holiness and impurity, through which impurity is rectified, as in, “you will be purified of all your impurity.”

This is also the aspect of free will, which is a mean between two things. This does not appertain prior to the creation, when everything was one, because free will, which is the aspect of purity, is not applicable in oneness. But when the Holy One transformed the creation from potential to actual, then the aspect of purity immediately came into being. For when He transformed potential to actual, two entities existed: the aspect of oneness and the creation. Free will was then applicable, because [free will] is the aspect of purity, which is a mean between that which is one — to which [purity] stands in close proximity and has yet to reach “many intrigues,” which is evil and impurity — yet is also an indicator and a sign of the eventual devolvement into evil and impurity.

Thus it is written in the Zohar (I, 48a), that the very hold which impurity has derives from the left side. For purity implies the existence of impurity, and is a sign of the eventual devolvement into impurity. Consequently, the possibility exists for purifying and elevating impurity to purity, for it itself devolved from purity, as in, “you will be purified of all your impurity.” It follows then that the very hold which impurity has derives from purity, which is free will, as explained above.

Purity is the aspect of the left side, the aspect of Levi, corresponding to “You shall purify the Levites” (Numbers 8:5). And Levi is the aspect of the left side, as is known. Therefore, the very hold that impurity has derives from the left side, because the left is the aspect of purity from which impurity’s very hold derives, as explained above.

All this — i.e., the aspect of the left side / purity / free will, from which comes the essential devolvement of impurity / evil / contrariety /falsehood — all this extends from after-the-creation, after the creation was transformed from potential to actual. For then there were, so to speak, two entities: oneness and the creation, as explained above. We see therefore that the very hold of falsehood, which is impurity, derives from a distancing from oneness — i.e., from the aspect of after-the-creation.

[My Eyes Upon the Truthful]

Yet through Divine Providence, even after the act whereby the Holy One transformed potential into actual, everything remains one with Him. And the evil nourishes from the residue of the Providence — i.e., from “over His shoulder,” as is known. He is far from oneness. Yet by being truthful, a person gains Divine Providence, as it is written, “My eyes are upon the truthful” (Psalms 101:6). But because of falsehood, which is evil, he turns away Divine Providence from himself, as in, “He who speaks falsely will not be sustained before My eyes.” His vitality is only from over the shoulder.

We see therefore that when a person wants everything to be one even after the existence of corporeality and after the act that transformed potential into actual; that father and child should be as one, as it was earlier when in potential — he must keep himself from falsehood. By doing this he earns Divine Providence, and then everything is one.

[Pure Marble Stone]

This is the explanation of what Rabbi Akiva’s said: When you approach pure avnei shayish (marble stone), do not say, “Water! Water!” as it is said, “He who speaks falsely will not be sustained before My eyes.”

Pure shaYiSh — This is the aspect of after the Act [of Creation], which is YeSh (corporeality), when the designation “pure” is applicable, as explained above. If you want it to be as it was before the Act, in a state of potential, with father and son as one, this is:

When you approach AVNEi — This is the aspect of AV (father) and BEN (son) as one, which is the aspect of before-the-creation, when it was in a state of potential, entirely one.

“Pure shayish” corresponds to after the Act [of Creation], the aspect of yeshut and purity. If you want to bring pure shayish to avnei…

Do not say, Water! Water! — This is falsehood, as explained above.

as it is said, He who speaks falsely will not be sustained before My eyes — Through falsehood a person turns away Divine Providence from himself and is far from oneness. But by being truthful, he earns Divine Providence, and through Divine Providence everything is one, as it was before creation.

Therefore, the reward in the World to Come “No eye has seen it but You, O God” (Isaiah 64:3). Since everything will be one, there will be no eye to see other than “but You, O God.”

[Reward]

Then [Rebbe Nachman] said: There is an inherent difficulty in this, something that cannot be understood. For if it is so, how will there be separate reward for each person commensurate with his level and to the degree of devotion and effort he exerted for God in this world. For certainly also at the very end not everyone will be equal. But since everything will be one, how is it possible that there will be a distinction between one person and another according to level. However, this involves a deep mystery which is impossible to understand, for the matter is beyond us.

[Falsehood]

Addendum relating to the lesson:

This is why falsehood is harmful to the eyes. Through falsehood one removes the eye of Divine Providence and so damages the eyes, which are the aspect of Providence, as explained above. For falsehood stems from a distancing from oneness, from which the very hold of impurity/evil/falsehood derives, as explained above. And because of this, through falsehood he himself blemishes Providence and removes Divine Providence from himself. Through Divine Providence everything is one, after-the-creation is like before-the-creation. But through falsehood he causes a blemish in oneness, because falsehood is distant from oneness. Thus through falsehood he removes Providence and separates, God forbid, after-the-creation from before-the-creation, from which impurity’s very hold derives. But through truth, which is the aspect of entirely one and entirely good, he fosters Divine Providence. And then everything is one, for through Providence, after-the-creation is encompassed in before-the-creation, as explained above.

This is the explanation of [the opening statement]: “Rabbi Akiva said….” And with this, this lesson is tied together well; its beginning with its end, its end with its beginning and also with its middle. Understand this well.