Breslov Perspectives: May 2019

The following are collected words of encouragement and inspiration based on the teachings of Rebbe Nachman sent to hundreds of people over the last three months:

As Adar is a month of Chessed, and Rebbe Nachman teaches that a person can rebuild his life and world anew with this attribute of Chessed, so it goes to say that this month is propitious enough to activate this Chessed. The main thing, he says, is to fix a place for your davening daily and to also clap your hands joyfully which also activates the light of Avraham - the personification of chessed. What this of course requires is the proper level of faith in these teachings.
In most cases the walls and separation that a person faces in life is what specifically builds up that persons yearning and desire to come closer to Hashem more than anything else.
Remember this rule because it is always true - before every breakthrough there has to be some type of obstacle/hardship/difficulty. This was also expressed in what Avraham Aviinu had to go through before discovering and revealing the inner holiness of the Land of Israel, which is one of the biggest breakthroughs in history.
As today (7th of Adar) is Moshe Rabeinu's Hiloula it is also propitious again to reconnecting to the tzaddik and to remember that we constantly need his help, prayers, strength and advice to make it through all the challenges of life, since without him we don't really stand any chance at all to even stand on our feet and continue walking the path of true life.
As we are now within the 40 day period before Purim it is a very propitious time for setting out your yearning, desire and requests before Hashem, all a major preparation for the day when "all those who outstretch their hands are given alms but also whatever they request from Hashem.
These 30 days before Purim are so special in that they serve as a preparation to receive the light and salvation of Purim.
As now is the month of Adar it is uplifting with a lot of chessed/kindness. This means that a person also has to believe that the kindness is in the air and ready to interact with a person's life.
The main message of Purim is that there is always hope, even in the most darkest situations, as long as a person continues to daven and yearn for salvation, there is hope to transform the darkest dead end situation to the biggest light.
When the push comes to shove and you have no idea what to do or what Hashem wants of you, know that this is the scheme of Haman-Amalek. Just knowing this is a consolation and strength as it takes the challenge to a higher level, pushing you to pray and daven more.
The light of Purim is meant to help activate within a person a permanent connection to the Holy Land of Israel, so that it's light can continuously permeate a Jew and help him to have a positive and optimistic perspective in life that there is always hope when a person turns to Hashem for salvation.
When you are too stressed out and frustrated in life, just let go and let Hashem run things for you.
Knowing that Haman-Amalek is the one behind your feeling down and out of it is already half of the consolation and solution, since at least you know it is not you who is the bad guy.
The light and influence of Mordekhai is itself the light of the Holy Land, which means that the power and belief that prayer works - which was the whole scoop about Mordekhai's influence - is the mentality and attitude of the Holy Land which a person can draw to himself wherever he is.
The basic message of the Purim miracle is that there is always hope for those who turn to Hashem and put their trust in Him.
When a person is sick and under the weather, that is a time when a person's faith and trust in Hashem really come out. It is a barometer to measure how much more a person has to work on himself.
A test is meant to make you feel abandoned by Hashem. This is meant to see what you will do then: Will you still put your trust in Him and cry out to Hashem, or give up trying and just accept the failure.
If a person just views his tests in life as purely physical, they lack motivation to overcome. However, when a person sees everything from the spiritual perspective, being an attack from Haman-Amalek he knows that it is only prayer and emunah that have the final word in a person's "physical" condition.
The whole message of Purim - to see the salvation generated through prayer and faith in Hashem and His unending Compassion which can reach every recess and fold of a person's life. He just has to keep on pushing to activate it, by feeling that there is nothing else to rely upon in life except for Hashem's endless and unlimited Compassion.
As we are getting older, things are getting a bit rusty, and we need more WD-40 for all the squeaks. BH davening and Torah study are the keys to implement this. Mordekhai connotes Torah study, while Esther connotes prayer. We need both to make it in life.
After all said and done, we need Divine Assistance, the merit and strength of the True Tzaddikim and the Holy Torah to get us through even basic life existence. Because commensurate to the amount of darkness and impurity out there in the world we don't stand a chance facing them on our own.
May we merit drawing the light of Mordekhai and Esther onto the entire year and may it lead us the way to Pesach and the salvation within.
The thing now is to draw the light of Purim - which is the light of Eretz Yisrael - into our daily lives wherever we are and in whatever situation and darkness we may be in - and to shine this light there so that we can open our mouths - Peh Sach - in true prayer. Since, as Rebbe Nachman teaches, the place of true davening and connection is only in Eretz Yisrael. So that is the gift of Mordekhai and Esther, the gift of Purim.
As Purim now is a new beginning for reaching the next levels awaiting us in life, we have have the merit of Mordekhai and Esther to stand up against any types of Haman-Amalek who try to stand in our way.
The opening of Purim is to enable us to receive the holiness of Pesach properly. This means that even if we continue to have setbacks and frustrations in life, the light of Purim ensures us to have enough strength and stamina to hold on and to keep on pressing forward, until we are truly worthy of being a part of the Pesach legacy and message.
Purim is the prerequisite for Pesach in that it connects a person to the sanctity of Eretz Yisrael. When a person has this, he can then enter the world of prayer and emunah. This in turn leads to a person tapping into the secrets of the Torah and life, which are represented by the Pesach offering which was a sheep. The sages teach that sheep refers to the secrets of the Torah.
May we merit to have our mouths truly opened this Pesach with true words of thanksgiving and prayer to Hashem, until we totally master the art, technique and ability of prayer.
We are not worthy to receive Hashem's Kindness and that He actually listens to our prayers and considers our good deeds as being worthy. As a result we slack in our devotions due to the lack of belief that they have any true value. But the real truth is the exact opposite - because we are so far and low, it is specifically then that Hashem considers and values our prayers even more. But to ingrain and remember this point we need a true tzaddik to always be out there for us and to remind us of all this.
The light generated in the month of Nissan is the light of the Tzaddik, which means that we have this extra energy, hope, joy and positive attitude from a level truly above our own personal level. What is needed is to keep this light and draw it out to the entire rest of the year. This is the idea of Pesach and immediately after, the Sefirah counting all the way into the month of Sivan.
The biggest miracle of Pesach is that we are given the power and ability to tap into true prayer and attachment to Hashem (this is Pesach which is similar to Peh SaCh- a speaking mouth), this being the main tool to tapping into the secret and hidden true meaning of the Torah, which is essentially the secret meaning behind our life and existence.
On Pesach we can merit to experience such a closeness and warmth to Hashem, and if only we would merit to remember this throughout the entire year, since this closeness is what is necessary to believe that Hashem is always there for a person, He has not given up on a person, and that He listens and takes into consideration every word of prayer said, no matter how heavy and down a person may feel about this connection to Hashem.
Rebbe Nachman teaches that the vessel to receive all blessings and goodness is done by joining one's thoughts to the words of prayer. Words represent the letter Nun=50 and thoughts represent the letter Yod=10. The 10 plagues culminating to the plague of the firstborn on the night of Pesach, plus the commencement of counting down the Omer until Shavuot is meant to join this 10 and 50, so that the goal of Shavuot is reach complete prayer with total concentration, thus bringing down all the complete blessings.
The main light of Pesach is the feeling of freedom. Meaning, to know that Hashem is the One really in charge of our lives and the pressures of the evil desires are what keep us away from Him. Pesach is an experience of this freedom, but we must see to channel it into the rest of the year. This is the idea behind the Sefirat Omer counting period, to draw down this light of freedom gradually into our lives.
Positive attitude is so necessary that without it a person cannot even begin to daven. To attach the thoughts to the words of prayer requires major belief that a person is a tzaddik. Otherwise he cannot even lift his head up to daven (see Likutey Moharan lesson 73).
The key for making a vessel for prayers to be responsive is to firmly believe that you prayers do make a difference and matter very much to Hashem, no matter how low, far and blemished you may feel.

* * *

Rebbi Shimon bar Yochai's grave shrine in Meron, northern Israel

Lag BaOmer is a special day in that it marks the passing of the great Rebbi Shimon bar Yochai. Thus, it is a propitious day for prayer and celebration, especially by his gravesite in Meron, since his merit and power to help and pray for the Jewish nation on this day is immense.

Reb Noson teaches that the more people who demonstrate their faith in Tzaddikim by travelling to their graves, the more power and strength this gives them to help the Jewish nation as a whole (for more on this subject please listen to: LIKUTEY MOHARAN LESSON 66).

Thus the ancient custom of travelling to Meron for Lag BaOmer.

To help a family get to Meron on Lag BaOmer to pray and participate in the celebration, please follow this link:

SUPPORT FAMILY PILGRIMAGE TO MERON

As a token of appreciation for your support, your name will be mentioned and prayed for by Rebbi Shimon's grave.

Thank you
Meir ben Aliza Elkabas