VITALITY
- Gates Of Emunah - Metzorah - Shabbos Hagadol 5779
People work all day, do and buy all sorts of
things just to have a bit of vitality. They go
on holiday, they sacrifice everything, just
for a bit of vitality. They worry all day…
Vitality is something we all need. What people
won’t do for a bit of vitality. They work
all day, buy all sorts of things, just to have a
bit of vitality. They go on holiday, they sacrifice
everything, just for a bit of vitality.
They spend all day worrying, without any
vitality, so that someday they’ll have some
vitality!
Rebbe Nachman tells us that the place we
get real vitality from is Tefillah - prayer.
Vitality is serving Hashem. What else is
there to do in this world? What will be left
behind from anything else? The greatest
vitality is to succeed in Torah and Tefillah
and doing teshuvah. Sins are what rob us of
our vitality. When a person hasn’t yet done
teshuvah, he loses his place, and he has no
vitality.
The true source of vitality is the Torah –
daas, true knowledge, Emunah. But where
do we get this from?
When a person can’t focus himself and do
things with the right measure, he gets confused.
He spreads himself out in all direc-
tions, wanting things that he can’t attain
right now, and that leaves him worn out
and stressed. If he would focus himself, he
would have set shiurim and do some hisbodedus
each day, and he’d feel good. He’d
have vitality. Living simply brings us vitality.
It’s very hard to change a person. You can
lecture him all day long, but it won’t change
him. “Stop sinning, stop stealing, start to
pray, start to learn.” He won’t know why he
should change, he doesn’t feel like he can
change, and he may not even be aware that
he’s doing anything wrong. But give him a
taste of vitality… and then everything
changes. “Sins – I don’t want them anymore.
Give me some more of that vitality!”
Vitality is addictive.
What’s the greatest pleasure in the world?
It’s breaking our servitude to pursuing
pleasures. This is the truth, and the truth
enlivens us. The Rebbe wants to connect us
to the truth. When we’re connected to the
truth, we know what Emunah is, we know
the value of our every thought and action.
“Hashem gets such pleasure every time I
think of Him. How much more so when I
turn to Him with my problems and speak to
Him.” When we know the truth, our learning
becomes a completely different experience.
Every mishna, every page of Gemarah
– we see how with each one, we’ve won
the Lotto. We’re as rich as can be. Why?
Because we kept Shabbos, enjoyed our chulent
and kugel, and sang songs praising Hashem.
Pharaoh enslaves us, robbing us of our vitality.
He thrives on falsehood, like lust. He
tells us that there’s lots to be worried
about, so we spend our days slaving under
the hot sun when we could be free. Even if
we’re financially settled, we can worry
about our children, or our grandchildren.
How will they get by?
It used to be the minhag to just worry
about today, but nowadays the minhag has
become to worry about at least three genera
tions time! Am I progressing in serving
Hashem, or am I regressing? I didn’t feel so
good this morning, I had a funny feeling –
perhaps I’ve come down with something
terrible?! What should I do? When Pharaoh
succeeds, we get caught up in slavery to
him instead of being subservient to Hashem.
The Rebbe wants us to have vitality now, to
be free. Pesach is just as good a time to
come back to Hashem as Rosh Hashanah
and Yom Kippur are. Serving Pharaoh is so
bitter, but nothing is so sweet as serving
Hashem. Happy Pesach!
By Rabbi Nissan Dovid Kivak shlit”a.
This Publication is a project of the Gates of
Emunah Institute for the dissemination of the teachings of Rebbe
Nachman of Breslov in English.
Published by: Gates of Emunah
Authorized to publish this article in Jornal Mitsvá
Translation by: Gilson Sasson
