Journal Mitzvah

Journal Mitzvah

Sunday, August 19, 2018

The Boiling Pot [Rabbi Nachman teachings]





When a person starts to serve God and draw close to a true Tzaddik, he is often filled with negative thoughts and inner turmoil.

This is like a pot of water which initially seems quite clear, but as soon as it is placed on the fire and starts to boil, all the impurities begin to surface. Someone has to stand there constantly removing the scum and impurities.

At first the water appears perfectly clear, but as it heats up, more and more impurity surfaces. At last, however, when all the impurity is removed, the water is truly pure and clear.

The same is true of a person. Before he starts serving God, good and evil are totally mixed up in him – so much so that the evil and impurity are not even discernible. But when he starts trying to serve God and draw close to a true Tzaddik, he begins the process of cleansing and purification. Each time, more evil and impurities rise to the surface.

Here too one must stand by constantly removing the dirt and impurities as they appear, until in the end the person is truly pure and clear.

Initially a person is totally immersed in the material. When he starts to draw closer to God, it might seem as if it should be possible to remove all this filth and impurity at once. But his mind is so totally mixed up with this mire that if it were to be removed all at once, he could lose his mind with it as well.

One must be very patient until little by little one becomes completely pure.

Sichot Haran #79

This article is originally printed in The Essential Rabbi Nachman by Azamra Institute.

https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Rabbi-Nachman-Avraham-Greenbaum-ebook/dp/B01IVJEMDM

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