Parshat Nitzavim VaYelekh - Taking a Stand and Advancing

 BH

In Likutey Moharan lesson 24 Rebbe Nachman teaches that wherever a Jew finds himself, no matter how trapped, low, or far they may feel, there is a way out. The key is to stop, make a stand, and work on being joyous—on fighting to be b’simcha and performing mitzvot with simcha.

Rebbe Nachman provides five practical tools (that Reb Noson elaborates on) to achieve this simcha:

1. Telling jokes and acting silly: Using humor to uplift the spirit.
2. Clapping hands and dancing, putting on music: Engaging in physical acts that stimulate joy.
3. Finding the good points within oneself and others: Azamra, focusing on the good despite the challenges.
4. Giving thanks to Hashem for all the good: Recognizing and expressing gratitude for what we have.
5. Believing that everything will work out in the end: Having faith that in the grand scheme, everything is for the best, and there’s no reason to worry.

By working on oneself to be b’simcha using these techniques, the joy activated in performing mitzvot will eventually cause the mitzvah to have an uplifting effect on the person. The mitzvah connects the person to Hashem, releasing them from whatever darkness or impurity they may feel stuck in. This joy causes the mitzvah to gain momentum and ascend higher and higher through different levels in the spiritual realm.

These levels are described as:

• Legs (Momentum): The initial push to move forward.
• Hands (Blessing): Reaching a higher level, symbolizing blessing.
• Mind (Intellect): Achieving clarity and understanding.
• Keter (Faith): Connecting to what is beyond the intellect through Faith. This is the stepping stone for perceiving Hashem’s Infinite LIght, which is the key to clarity and light in life.

When one reaches the Keter, there is often a pushback. If a person handles this setback with a positive outlook, viewing it as a stepping stone rather than a failure, they create vessels within themselves to receive more light and clarity. This process repeats in a cycle of ascending and being pushed back, each time gaining more understanding of what Hashem wants from them and more depth in their relationship with Him.

This is relevant to everyone, as Reb Nosson writes that the main reason people face challenges and difficulties is that they have the potential and the obligation to gain clarity and light in their lives. These challenges are not to be avoided but to be faced and transformed into growth.

This is the message: To be b’simcha despite the challenges. This gives your mitzvot momentum, and they move forward in life, which helps you progress!

Let’s apply these insights to the current time period. Nitzavim means standing, making a stand. The Jewish people, after hearing all the curses in last week’s Parshah, Parshat Ki Tavo, wondered how they could stand up to such severe consequences. Moshe Rabbeinu reassured them that the very fear and the effort to do better is what keeps them standing. It’s the realization that they cannot continue the way they are and the resolve to change that keeps them going.

This is the message of Nitzavim: to make a stand and choose to be b’simcha despite the challenges. When a person does this, the mitzvot they perform gain momentum, and they move forward in life, which is the message of Vayeilech—walking, progressing.

Nitzavim-Vayeilech leads up to Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the year, symbolizing the head—Rosh, the intellect. It’s a time to connect to the higher levels of understanding and clarity, leading to the Infinite Light of Hashem. Hashanah also has the connotation of sleep (Sheina) and different (Meshuneh), indicating that it’s a time when we go beyond our usual grasp and enter a realm that is beyond us.

Following Rosh Hashanah is Tzom Gedaliah, a fast day marking the assassination of Gedaliah ben Achikam. This is a reminder that even after reaching a high level on Rosh Hashanah, there can be setbacks. The fast symbolizes a pushback, but it’s part of the growth process. It’s a time to hold on and prepare for the next ascent, which comes with Yom Kippur.

Yom Kippur represents a more profound connection to the Keter, and the entire process leads to Sukkot and Simchat Torah, where the joy becomes complete. The cycle of standing, moving, ascending, and being pushed back is repeated, each time bringing us closer to Hashem and to clarity in our lives.

This Shabbat, Parshat Nitzavim-Vayeilech, is especially powerful. It’s a foretaste of Rosh Hashanah. It’s the time to make a stand, to choose to be b’simcha, and to prepare ourselves for the coming holidays with a positive mindset and a desire to connect to Hashem’s Infinite Light.

Shana Tova, and may we all be inscribed and sealed for a good and sweet year, full of joy, clarity, and connection to Hashem. May we merit to experience this journey with the help of the true tzaddikim, who guide us through these stages and bring us to true Simchat Torah, where our joy and connection to Hashem through the Torah will shine throughout the year.

This class is based on Likutey Moharan lesson 24. For more on this lesson: https://linktr.ee/breslovtherapy_lesson_24

This article also appears on the BRI breslov.org website: https://breslov.org/taking-a-stand-and-advancing/

For a video presentation of this article: https://youtu.be/J6EtX1B15uc

~~~

Rebbe Nachman made a promise that anybody who comes to his grave in Uman, gives a coin to charity in his memory, recites the Tikkun Haklali, and takes upon himself not to return to his folly, the Rebbe swore to do everything in his power to pull that person out of the lowest pit of hell, no matter how low and serious his crimes and iniquities may be.

Since the time of Reb Noson (over 200 years ago) the Breslover conduct and tradition has been to say the Tikkun HaKlali by Rebbe Nachman's grave on the Eve of Rosh Hashanah.

More recently, it has become accustomed to recite the Tikkun Haklalli in Uman on the Eve of Rosh Hashanah in unison at exactly 12 noon.

It has also become accepted in Breslov circles - for those who don't make it to Uman - to make a shaliach (representative) to recite the Tikkun Haklali on their behalf.

To have the coin donation in memory of Rebbe Nachman and the Tikkun Haklali recited on your behalf on the Eve of Rosh Hashanah in Uman at the noontime recitation please follow this link to submit your charity along with full Hebrew name and mother's name: 

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/meirelkabas

Ketiva VeChatima Tova, and may we all be inscribed in the books of the True Tzaddikim for life, joy, prosperity and peace, Amen.

Shana Tova!
Meir Elkabas

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