TALK DELIVERED IN RABBI LABOVITZ'S HOUSE, NOVEMBER 1978 Ellipses ... do not necessarily signify editorial omissions{et}=ellipsis in typescript

The last few weeks I was learning a Toyrale from Reb Nachman, I'm still learning it a little bit so I want to learn it with you. Basically the whole thing came about because Meir'l [Rabbi Meir Fund] started telling a Torah about...{et} Everybody knows that when Adam and eve when they ate the forbidden fruit they were hiding, hiding from G-d. And he [[R. Meir F?]] said a whole Toyra about hiding, so anyway I put it in a different way and I want to start from this way. You know there's two kinds of hiding in the world, hiding is a very very deep thing, very very deep. There is a hiding-from, and there is hiding-with. Hiding-from is the most lonesome thing in the world because a person is lonesome anyway. You know nobody ever stops being lonesome because, you know it's very strange, something very deep. According to our tradition there are only 600,000 souls in the world, 600,000, like 600,000 who came out of Egypt, and the Toyra, the five books of Moses have 600,000 letters, but each soul, it's like a flame, might have little candles. You know when you meet someone you're very close to, it depends how close you are. If you're very very close maybe it's the same flame. If you're not so close maybe it's the letter next to you. If you meet somebody with no connection maybe my letter is in the middle of the Torah and his is at the end of the Torah. But yet, everybody knows, when you write the Holy Scroll each letter has to be alone, has to be surrounded by some white paper. I will say, The letters love each other so much, let them be all out together'? -- No, a letter has to be alone otherwise it stops being a letter. So a person has to be a little bit alone otherwise you stop being you. Like let's say, without saying anything bad, some husbands and wives they sit on each other's neck 48 hours a day; it's beautiful, but after a certain while it's not so beautiful cause every person has to have a time just to be a little bit alone. So you are alone anyway, but imagine if you're hiding, this is heartbreaking aloneness, unbearable aloneness. So this is the lowest existence there is -- hiding-from. The highest existence is, the highest not being-alone-ness is when you're hiding-with, right. The utmost least aloneness of a person is, not when you're with 2000 people, you'll say now I'm talking{ ?} with 2000 people I'm not alone, not true, you're still alone. You're hiding with somebody, and again those two are not hiding from, just hiding with each other. That's the deepest depths there is. So the way it was looking to me is, there's a hiding of hell, and hiding of Heaven. In hell you're hiding from G-d, from the whole world, because you did so much wrong you don't know what to do with yourself. Hiding from Heaven is hiding with. So obviously Adam and Eve didn't know what it means to hide together, they hadn't learned it yet, so what they did, their first connection to each other was that they were hiding from G-d. And out of this hiding from G-d, let's go into it later, they learned a little bit, at least they were together, hiding, eventually they learned how to hide together, not from, just together. OK now I want to leave you at this point and go to something else which is connected to it.

We are all living in two worlds, we're always living in two worlds. There is a very finite world, mamash, 6:00 the sun goes up, and the next day 5:15 the sun goes down, 9:00 I have to be in my office, 5:00 close it, 7:00 I eat dinner, 11:00 I go to sleep. The world of order, and you need order, because imagine, let's assume imagine if we would never know when the sun is coming up, when the moon is coming out, you know it would be a terrible world, right, we wouldn't know when...{et}imagine for a few days the sun decides to stay, and the moon is coming out, then again the moon thinks maybe let's come out, it would be the end of the world, what kind of a life would that be? There has to be order. On the other hand, if you have only order that's the end of the world too. Like I don't want to say anything bad, they talked about this Yekke, he was so much into order that it would never happen, his wife died and there was just no time to bury her because 8 he wakes up, 9 he does this, afternoon he sleeps, then he eats, so he says just he has no time to come to his wife's funeral. Cause mamash he couldn't fit it into his schedule, right. There are people like this, right. OK so both you need a world of order, but then you need of world of beyond order. And a complete person, a complete person is somebody who knows exactly when to be in order, when to be beyond order. This is the deepest secret of life. The deepest secret between people is when someone calls me up 7:00, to say I'm sorry I'm eating dinner now - hang up, or someone calls me up G-d forbid you know, something is wrong chas v'shalom I say listen... - I hang up because I'm eating dinner. Woe unto you.

OK, now let's go one step higher: basically there are two revelations of G-d in the world, there is one revelation which is called Torah learning, Mount Sinai, when G-d told us all the secrets of the world, when G-d told us exactly what to do with our lives, when I wake up in the morning how to wash my hands, the Torah told me exactly how to put on my shirt. I have to tell you, please remind me to comeback but I want to tell you an historic story.

You know during the time of Kaiser Franz Josef in Austria in Hungary, Ostreich-Hungarin, this must have been maybe 1860, 1870. I don't want to say anything bad, but at that time were the so called assimilated Jews in Hungary wanted to become the official delegates to the Austrian Kaiser to speak in the name of the Jews. And this would have been the end of Judaism at that time, like they wanted to forbid Jewish schools because they had this craziness that children have to speak German, you know German Civilization, it's so important, and what's Yiddishkeit, nothing. So they wanted to abolish Jewish schools and they wanted to change the...{et}everything. So finally it came to a point that Kaiser Franz Josef says - I want to hear both sides. So the so-called, at that time they didn't call themselves Reform Jews, they were called Neologin{?}, so anyway so they sent their delegate and the so-called the Orthodox Jews they sent the K'sav Soifer, one of the highest Jews of the world, first of all you know the other Jew who came in he didn't have a beard, he didn't have a yarmulke, Kaiser Franz Josef asked three times if he's Jewish, because he didn't look Jewish and he couldn't understand that he represents the Jews, but anyway he says that he represents the Jews, the K'sav Soifer, he mamash looked like a king, you know and he was so holy that when he walked in Kaiser Franz Josef got up without even asking, you know he felt so much respect before his holiness. So Kaiser Franz Josef says to the Neologer he should speak up first, so he said that the way the Orthodox Jews believe is just so stupid, you know, he says you know they have a Shulchan Aruch, you know a Code of Life and can you imagine, he says to the Kaiser, it begins by telling you how to wash your hands in the morning, you know this is ridiculous, it even tells you how to put on your shirt. He says this is ridiculous. This is an historic story. Kaiser Franz Josef got up and he asked the K'sav Soifer, you know the holy Rabbi, "Is it true, that the Jews have such holy teachings that begin by telling you how to wash your hands in the morning?" He says, "Yes, everything is so much order in our lives, exactly how to wash our hands, how to put on our shirts." So Kaiser Franz Josef says, "What a holy people are the Jews. What holy people, I didn't even know that Moses your teacher was this kind of a teacher. I'll tell you the truth (he says) my whole life I'm looking for someone to put a little bit order in my life." So it goes without saying the fact was that at that time the K'sav Soifer became the official delegate of the Jews and there was a tremendous relationship between him and the Kaiser, you know there are hundreds of stories.

Anyway so the Torah is order, right. what to eat, what not to eat. Everything order. But then there's another holy revelation, which is called prayer. Prayer is something else. Praying is, you know when I pray, I'm getting out of all the orders of the world. I'm even getting out of the orders of the Toyrah. Everything. Let's say, imagine G-d forbid somebody is sick according to the order of the world this person has to die, and I'm praying, Ribbono Shel Olam, can you please change all the orders of the world. Or imagine I did everything wrong in my life, according to the orders of the Torah I'm the lowest creep, and here I'm praying Ribbono Shel Olam, please fix my soul. So praying is, praying is that I am in an absolute infinite world. Learning means order cause when I'm learning even just physically when I'm learning I have to learn sentences. I have to understand it, understanding is already order. Because you cannot understand a sentence unless it has a beginning and an end. Imagine if someone talks non stop, you know, because it's terrible to listen to non-stop, you never know, you can't understand a sentence, it has to have a beginning, it has to have an end, you know. Every thing has to have an order. Praying, you know praying, imagine you don't say any words, you just cry. Say listen I need some order here tell me the beginning of the prayer and the end. Prayer has no beginning and no end, praying is something else. OK. Everybody knows that there are two kinds of pray-ers, two kinds of people. You know there are people. Let's say take people you know there are people in a super emergency, they are capable of something infinite, let's say G-d forbid there was a Six Day war, a Yom Kippur war, there were some people who a little bit got out of their skin, you know and suddenly they had a little Jewish attack, they went to Shul and gave $10 for Israel, although usually they only give $1.99. (Interruption).

It's crazy, I always think of it so strong, I'm sure you're the same way, whenever I want to say something stupid it's always quiet [in the room], whenever I want to say something real it's always ssst, you know. I have to tell you a story which I told someone today, it's very strong. I think I told Dovid'l. Someone came to the Holy Sanzer and he says Rebbe you know I'm just so broke I have 12 children, I have nothing to eat, I have a wife G-d forbid she's sick, my mother-in-law is sick,this one is sick, this one is sick, OK the whole world is sick and I'm just at the end. So the Holy Sanzer looks at him like a little bit long and he says OK I'll tell you something: Here in town there's a rich man, a very big miser, but I'm sure you'll get through to him, go to him and ask him for a thousand rubles but then come back and tell me if you got it. OK he goes to this absolute biggest miser in the world and he comes back and says to the Sanzer you know I got the thousand rubles. The Sanzer says OK you got already the thousand rubles, now let's talk honest. You don't even have 12 children, you're not married, right. So your mother-in-law isn't sick and your mother isn't sick the whole think is a fake and you have money in the bank. You're just a thief, you know, a professional. He says yes. He says, how did you know. He says, I'll tell you, because this rich man--whenever I asked him to give me some money for someone who really needs it he can't give it to me. But for you he had no trouble giving. Because if it's a fake, nobody has trouble. Such a deep story. It's an unbelievable story, you now. For a fake, for something stupid, you can always get money, you can always get all the help in the world. Like you tell a dirty joke,everybody's quiet you know. You want to say something real, it's nebbuch -  real opposition. OK now you better bless me I should find the place. I should have brought my Reb Nachman on Eretz Yisroel you know. Oh it starts here, yeah. OK, let's learn here.

OK, let's go one step deeper. If we could have like a little bit quiet, it would be a big Mitzvah, because I can't concentrate this way. OK Reb Nachman says there is also another two worlds. OK, Reb Nachman says there is also another two worlds. There is the world which is called Emes, the truth, the truth, the truth, this is not the truth. Then there is another world which is called Emunah -believing. Not that believing is not the truth, but there is something deeper than the truth, there is something deeper than the truth. You see according to Reb Nachman believing is not anything which I don't know and I can't figure it out; and I can't prove it, so I believe in it. This is stupidity. You want to believe in it, believe in it. It's not called believing. Emunah means that there is knowledge of the truth which I know in my head, believing is a different kind of knowledge. Emunah is the deepest deepest inside inside inside inside knowledge. I have no proof, I don't know, but I know this is the truth. The deepest knowledge. I'll tell you, let's say for instance on a very simple level, OK, listen every father thinks his child is the best, right, OK let's assume, let's assume on a very deep level, I want you to think of it very deep, someone would tell, Neshamale, my little daughter, let's say someone says, aw she's a very beautiful girl. OK let's say the truth is she's very beautiful. OK let's assume there'd be a contest and you've got to trust the judges, it would be let's say all the children of the world of 4 years old, and she'll win one of the prizes, everybody'll say aw Nesahamele's beautiful. So the whole world knows that she's beautiful on the level of truth. How do I know that she's beautiful? The way I know my daughter is beautiful is not on the level of the truth, it's on the level of Emunah, I believe that she's the most beautiful girl in the world -- something else, the deepest deepest knowledge there is. You know someone can tell you, I know the truth there is one G-d, beautiful. Someone says I mamash believe there is one G-d. OK let me explain it in a different way. You know I can sit here, and someone can bring me a little boy let's say a Bar Mitzvah boy and they tell me you know this boy is really a thief, he was caught stealing all over the place, so the truth is he's a thief, right. And I look at this little boy, and I mamash know inside he's so holy. I don't know whatever circumstances made him steal, so I tell you know the truth is he's a thief, but my Emunah, my belief tells me that he's not. Different kind of knowledge, right. Emunah is the highest soul knowledge there is. So everybody knows, that learning Toyra is the level of truth. Praying is Emunah. You see a lot of people know that there is one G-d on the level of truth, but they don't know how to pray. Because if you only know that there is one G-d, mazal tov, there in one G-d -- so what are you gonna do now? But if I know G-d on the level of Emunah, my relationship to G-d is you can ask Him anything in the world. You know what that means, in other words, Emunah. Believing in something is the closest I can get to that thing. The closest knowledge there is. And this knowledge has no words, it doesn't have a beginning and no end, it doesn't have words. You'll tell me OK tell me can you explain me in words why you think that your child is so beautiful. How could I be so degrading to say it in words, right. It's mamash much deeper than words, deeper than anything in the world. OK so everybody knows, let's go one step deeper, Reb Nachman says that Har Sinai, Mount Sinai is the headquarters for the truth, but everybody knows Yerushalayim the Holy City is the headquarters of believing because the holy land, the holy land is the headquarters of believing. Now open your hearts. In the whole world outside Israel I can know of G-d , that there is one G-d on the level of truth, the revelation of G-d in the Holy Land is a completely different truth, it's on the level of believing. You see on Mount Sinai mamash I say there is one G-d, right. G-d revealed Himself to me. He came down on Mount Sinai. I saw lightening and thunder, heard G-d 's voice, it was clear to me like daylight. In Eretz Israel,Yerushalayim -- what happens to you now when you go to Yerushalayim, you don't see anything, nothing right, you see a little wall Gevaldt it's so deep that's something else. So here Reb Nachman begins to say there is nature and there is beyond nature. Beyond nature, your beyond nature depends how much you believe, this is your level of beyond nature. A person who, you know what it means, and I want you to know something very deep, praying doesn't mean those five minutes you're standing and praying, you know David Hamelech says v'ani tfilati, I am a prayer. Because the people who "doven", who pray for two minutes, mumble words, so they utter a prayer, it's sweet, it's nothing, The question is are you a prayer, are you filled with prayer? If you're filled with prayers, it means you're beyond nature, right, because I believe in everything in the world, right. You know I can see a person who's the lowest person, and I believe that this person can be lifted up to the highest level. You know I can sit in Auchwitz and they tell me tomorrow morning there'll be no Jews left in the world, and I believe that we'll go back to Yerushalayim and build the holy city. It's crazy, right. So here Reb Nachman says, everybody knows that Israel the Holy Land is the headquarters for miracles, because everybody knows that your level of miracles depends on how much you are connected to prayers. You see if a person tells you I don't believe in miracles, you know what that means? That this person has never prayed in his life, simple as it is. Sure you've never tasted a prayer so you don't know what a miracle is. So he brings here whole P'sukim here. OK now open your hearts the most. Reb Nachman says, what does it mean to be in exile, OK Israel is the headquarters of praying, the headquarters of miracles, the headquarters of believing completely with relationship to G-d, so what is it to be in exile, what happened? In exile --that means we don't know how to pray. Because obviously the holy temple is the headquarters for praying, since Israel is the land of prayers, and in the holy Temple is the headquarters, the essence of the holy land, so the holy Temple is destroyed, that means our prayers are destroyed. You know what it is to be in exile, to be in exile is that we have trouble to believe that there is something beyond nature, beyond everything, everything is possible. Now I want you to remember this, I want to go to something else. It'll connect later, but I want you to open your hearts like mad.

Every person has two things wrong with them, every person, again unless you lie to yourself, but if you're honest, every person has two things wrong with them. First of all every person makes mistakes, you know we are just human, right. Thank G-d we make mistakes, you know anybody who doesn't have the chutzpah to make mistakes doesn't have the chutzpah to do right either. Because if before you do anything you think ten million years maybe I'll make a mistake, then I'll never do anything either. So you have to make mistakes, OK it's beautiful I make a mistake, I'll fix it tomorrow, maybe I'll fix it a day later. That means there are certain things which are wrong with us because I made so many mistakes, but then there is something deeper wrong with us. Because if I would be absolutely perfect what am I doing in this world. This world is a hospital, this world is a place where I fix my soul, that means obviously there is something wrong and I want you to listen to this story, this unbelievable story.

The Holy Socatchover was the son-in-law of the Kotzker Rebbe, and he was like one of the greatest geniuses maybe in the last thousand years or maybe in the history of the Jewish people. Just to give you a taste, you know he was such a genius like when he was two years old he was lying in a crib, his father would wake up at 2:00am and learn with his students, you know really, and his father was a great genius, and obviously the students he had were also great geniuses, and a lot of times his father would ask a question, and the little boy in the crib would wake up and listen to the learning, you know, just listen to the learning, and his father would ask a question and he would wait until somebody answers, if nobody answers he would say 'Ay, Father, come here, I want to tell you the answer', and he would tell him the answer. One night his father was learning and nobody gave the answer,so the little boy in the crib began yelling and says 'Father don't waste your time on those kids, they just don't know anything.' OK, I mean this is facts it was like one of the greatest greatest minds in the world. Anyway when he was Bar Mitzvah he became the son-in-law of the Kotzker Rebbe, and when he was 14 he was very sick, so his father walked into the Kotzker Rebbe and asked him to pray for his son-in-law. 'Pray for my son.' And he started saying, 'Rebbe, pray for my son; you know there is nobody in the world who has learned so much, he is 14 years old and he knows the whole Torah.' So the Kotzker Rebbe says, "Ach, you call that learning?" You know whatever he said good about him, he knocked it off. And he tried his best to convince this father-in-law that his son is so special, and its his own son in law. He couldn't understand what it means. Anyway the greatest miracle happened, after a few days, he was OK. So the father says to the son, 'you know I don't understand your father-in-law, you know with all due respect, I'm going in there to ask him to pray for you, and I'm praising you, that you really deserve that great miracles should happen to you from heaven because you learn so much and your father-in-law is the whole time saying, 'That's called learning? That's called knowing?" He knocks you off like mad.' The Sochatchover says,"Gevalt is my father-in-law holy, Gevaldt is he deep. Don't you understand," he says, 'I came to this world in order to learn and the way you were telling that I learned, so I learned everything I have to know, I can leave the world already. So my father-in-law was yelling the whole time "What's this called learning? That's called knowing? He didn't do anything yet, you know." It's a Gevaldt story - no? - A Gevaldt story. You see what it is, imagine a person comes to you and he says -- you know, I'm perfect. It's a bad scene -- you better write your own eulogy, because tomorrow morning you might be leaving, and I wouldn't know what to say after you, right, G-d forbid. This world - there is something in us which is not perfect.

OK, open your hearts like mad. But this is really deep stuff, I need the utmost concentration. One one hand, OK you know there are mistakes which I made personally, I can correct them --  like the Midrash says: if you believe that you can destroy, you have also to believe that you can rebuild. Everything I did wrong, I can do right. But what about that one thing: that there is something wrong with me otherwise I wouldn't be in this world? Which is not my actions - there is something wrong with me which needs fixing. How do I fix that? Now I want you to open your hearts like mad, it's an unbelievable Torah. What does it mean really to be close to a person? To be close to a person means on one hand to know how beautiful they are, how deep they are, on the other hand means to have a little taste, what is wrong with that person which needs fixing -- the deepest deepest depths there is, and again just remember, this fixing is not fixing by action, it's not something which is wrong with me like it has nothing to do with learning or with doing, it's deeper than all that. It has to do with my creation. Now listen to this deepest depths -- when G-d created the world it says "[garbled Hebrew]". G-d created the world to be fixed. G-d did not make a perfect world. Because if it would be perfect, what are we doing here. It's perfect already. Man was put into the world to fix it. We've got to fix the world. Everybody has to fix something in the world. And this is SO deep. You know it's not that I can tell you OK listen...{et} someone says to me OK my sickness is -- give me a long Latin name. And I'll tell you another long Latin thing, do this, or take this medicine, or fast from Shabbos to Shabbos or knock your head against the wall three times a night, it's not that kind of a thing. It's deeper than all that. OK now open your hearts like mad. This is a little thing, I began to learn it this summer in Israel. 

It's one of the deepest Torahs in the world. You know, I want you to know, it's far reaching. I'll just give it to you in a nutshell. Everybody knows, that every eighth year all of Israel was coming to Yerushalayim, mamash all of Israel, men women children, and they were  learning together, the mitzva of Hakheil, mamash learning. And the Gemora says, why did they bring the children? The  children can't learn -- So the  Gemora says, "[garbled Hebrew]",
the way it's translated simply, ordinarily, which doesn't turn me on a bit, is 'in order to give reward to those who bring them', -- can you imagine, a little yiddele from Beersheva he has 11 children shleps them nebbuch all the way to Yerushalayim, and there everybody's learning and the children run around like wild, and he has to run after them, and his wife, she is running after 6 and he is running after 5, so then when he comes up to the other world after 100 years, G-d says listen brother Moishele, I'm giving you a special reward because you were running after your children, --- OK it sounds sweet, but it's got to be better than that. G-d is capable of doing just a little bit better than that. Open your hearts like mad -- and this is unbelievable: you know my hands have two functions, my hands have two functions. From my nose down, from my nose down my hands are acting, right. I can do everything in the world with my hands. What does it mean if I lift up my hands, this is not the level of action this is mamash I'm longing for something which I can't even reach, right. Why is it when a person, G-d forbid, is caught, to take way their freedom they hold up their hands. At this point, someone took away my freedom, right, Gevaldt, the only one who can give me back is something from Heaven,from the highest place right. Now I want you to know the deepest depths. Basically every Shabbos, Monday and Thursday when we read the Torah, we take out the five books of Moses, the Torah, we put it on the table, and we read from it. After that we're taking the Torah,and mamash we hold it up like this and we say, "[garbled Hebrew]"  This is the Torah which Moshe gave us. Why don't we say, this is the Torah while it's lying on the table? But now listen to this deepest depths, there are two Torahs, there are two teachings. There is a teaching while it's lying on the table, learning, with that I'm fixing where I can reach, then there is another Torah, where nothing reaches. Learning doesn't reach. But is it possible that G-d. ..{et}Obviously I can fix it, but how do I fix it? But what do you do when you pray hard mamash you lift up your hands, it means there are two kinds of learning, there is head learning, even heart learning, and then there is "[garbled Hebrew]". this torah of the greatest longing of the greatest loving. I want you to open your hearts the deepest depths: when I carry my baby on what level are my hands, are my hands on the level of action, or are my hands on the level of holding up, mamash. You know what the Gemora says,"[garbled Hebrew]" This is mamash a Torah from heaven, you know what happens to you when you carry your children to Yerushalayim, mamash that is the time when G-d give you that Torah which is unreachable. That is the time when G-d gives you that Torah which is unreachable. So you know what that means, 7 years you are learning the Torah with your head, 7 years you are fixing that part of you which can be fixed. The 8th year is that Torah which is fixing that inside of you which, I don't know how to fix it. You know when you're fixing it, when you carry up your childen to Yerushalyin, the deepest, I'm telling you this is the deepest, -- this is from the Izbitzer - Mei Hashihiloah - parshas Vayelech - it's a Torah from heaven you know, it's just not from this world. Now listen to this deepest depths, I want you to open your hearts, last Shabbos we read that Abraham made a covenant with G-d, everybody knows that Noah made a covenant with G-d , and Abraham made a covenant with G-d. What's the difference? The difference is very simple, Noah made a covenant with G-d only on that level of fixing where my hands can reach "[garbled Hebrew]". where I can reach, I did something wrong I'll fix it. There was a flood because we were stealing, we'll stop stealing. What about that kind of a fixing of the world which is...{et}Thare's something deeper than all this. Everybody feels it, there is something in the world which needs fixing. It's deeper than all this, right. So now listen to the deepest depths, everybody knows that the covenant is on the eighth day like the eighth year. Everybody knows that the world is seven days, everybody knows that according to kabbalistic terms the number eight is always beyond the world. Beyond the world means the fixing of that where my hands don't reach. Within the framework of creation I don't reach that, but I have to reach there, obviously I can reach there if G-d created me. Now I want you to open your hearts even one mile wider. Everybody knows, OK we read Abraham entered the covenant of G-d , we were learning it a little bit yesterday, and all the time, you know I would like to hear what is the first great thing Abraham did after he became a Jew, I would say I _________ like to hear next morning he put on tfillin, he kept Shabbos, he bought himself a little kosher salami. But what the Torah tell us the first thing he did, that Abraham welcomed strangers. If you remember the whole story, you know mamash it's written, every word in the Bible is so special and here it's the whole portion. I don't know the whole thing in so many words, but just the way he welcomed strangers. Now open your hearts, I was learning it last week a little bit. Whatever you do between you and people is what you do between you and G-d. What was the function of our father Abraham, open your hearts: until Abraham came G-d was a stranger in the world, what Abraham did, he welcomed the stranger. Abraham's whole thing is to bring G-d into the world, so what Abraham did between him and G-d, this is what he did between him and people. Now open your hearts like mad, but the question is -- Abraham was welcoming strangers all his life, you know he entered the covenant when he was 99 years old. why doesn't the Torah tell us, till he was 99 he was welcoming strangers all the time, and he did it day and night, that was his whole function. Now listen to this, until Abraham entered the covenant with G-d naturally G-d was a stranger, so what Abraham did - welcoming G-d into the world. The Gemora says until Abraham came nobody knew that G-d is the master of the world. Now listen to this unbelievable thing, after Abraham entered the covenant with G-d mamash Abraham fixed the world, whatever a person can do, that's what Abraham did already, whatever a person can do to fix himself he did. Where did he begin the fixing after he entered the covenant? After he entered the covenant his fixing began on that level where  you don't reach. Where mamash everything is a stranger, it doesn't belong here. You know what Abraham did with welcoming the strangers, he brought in G-d 's light where nothing else reaches. You know what that means, you know I always say, who are the greatest strangers in the world, children are the greatest strangers in the world. You know Avraham Avinu, obviously the way he was welcoming angels, he was leaning how to welcome Yitzchak. To go back to it listen to this, the whole world is on the level of fixing, of fixing what I can do, on my level, where I can reach. The fixing of the holy Land of the world is on that level where nothing else reaches, where nothing else reaches. And you know what it's to be in exile, to be in exile means that I cannot reach, I cannot fix that which is beyond me. You know what it is to be a slave means, what it means my hands are tied. I want you to open your hearts. Not my hands of actions are tied, my hands are tied that means I cannot lift my hands, "[garbled Hebrew]'". Now listen to this, there's a pasuk that says "[garbled Hebrew].'"my hands have to do with believing. So which part of my hands is believing. Not my actions, my actions, they are actions, you don'thave to believe in actions you are doing them. What is "[garbled Hebrew]"?
my hands are on the level of believing mamash when I life up my hands like
this mamash, like unbelievable. So I want you to know something very deep. You know when people get married, basically the whole ceremony is between the two hands, right, the groom takes the ring and she is holding our her finger. On what level are those hands, if it's on the level of just action so the whole marriage will be nebbuch on an action level, it's up to them, and if it's on that level, you know like a Gevaldt, so this is what it is. Now I want you to open your hearts like mad. Let's go over it again. Avraham avinu was the first one who was aware "[garbled Hebrew]'"
he say mamash there is something wrong with the world. Avraham Avinu realized there is something in the world which is wrong with the world and how do I fix it. You see Noah thought "[garbled Hebrew]'"
Noah thought the way to fix the world by being a good man by being sweet being G-d fearing. Talk, talk a lot about G-d, do this do that, you know I can picture it, it was very holy, but you don't fix the world, OK the world will be there but it's still not fixed. You know G-d never said to Noah, I'll fix the world, the world will be there, but there is something wrong the world needs fixing, Avraham Avinu was the first one who knew the world needs some light the world needs something [garbled Hebrew] something has to happen to the world which was never there before. Something has to happen. This is Avraham Avinu. Yitzchak is something else. Yitzchok, you know Yitzchok is mamash as simple as it is. Very strange, Yitzchok says mamash Gvurah,it means everything has to be in order. And again listen to this. Avraham Avinu brought in prayer to the world, what is praying, praying is where nothing reaches, according to nature. Why was Yitzchak born when Avraham was 100? Because and its very strange, Yitzchak is so much order, Yitzcah is Gvurah, Yitchak says, you know G-d forbid you have to do right, if you do wrong it's a bad scene, and yet Yitzchak is born of the utmost beyond order, because between Yitzchak and Avroham and Yaakov, I want you to know, Avroham is beyond order,Yitzhok is a little order but also mamash beyond, beyond, filled with praying, and Yaakov is when I'm so much in darkness that can't even lift up my hands anymore, not that I don't want to I just can't lift up my hands anymore, I was holding them up so long and G-d didn't answer I don't have strength to hold up my hands anymore. Now listen to this, who was the first expert on knowing there's something wrongwith us, Yosef HaTzaddik. "[garbled Hebrew]".
Yosef Avinu smelled there's something wrong. So I want you to know Mashiach ben Yosef is the one who'll make  us aware there's something wrong. Then comes Mashiach ben David the one who'll fix it. "[garbled Hebrew]".
David is the one'll who'll teach us again how to hold up our hands. Everybody knows, it says the Beit HaMikdash is built by G-d 's hands. You know what that means, not G-d 's hands of action [garbled Hebrew]"
you know how you build the holy Temple, the holy Temple is built when you hold up your hands. OK let's go back just to thr beginning, I want you to know the deepest depths, sometimes I do something and I can tell sometimes I do something and I don't want to tell anybody. What does it mean, if I do something which only fixes me on the level of action, I can tell. When I do something or something happened to me which reaches on that level the deepest depths of my own fixing which is beyond my actions, then it's so secret, it's so holy, it's so deep. You know what's going on in the world, that whatever they do they have a big mouth they have to tell you. because it doesn't reach on that level, it doesn't reach where their hands reach. You know most marriages, I don't want to say anything bad, you know how people talk to each other about their wives, about their marriages, it's always from the nose down. nothing, empty. I want you to know the deepest depths, the tree of knowlege reaches only to this kind of fixing where right or wrong, so you'll fix it. The fixing of the tree of life is that deepest depths fixing where right and wrong doesn't reach, much deeper than all this. Now open your hearts  like mad. I want you to know something very very deep. What does it mean G-d is hiding, G-d created the word where is G-d hiding? Why is G-d hiding - it's very obvious G-d created the world, you can see the world, which part of G-d is hiding? That partI don't know how to fix inside which is...{et}I don't know how to fix the world. And when I reach that level then I don't know where G-d is, and everying in the world, in the history of the world, in the history of us Jewish people where G-d was hiding because it was reaching to that point where G-d was fixing that which is beyond the world. Now I want you to know the deepest depths, you know sometimes you love somebody very much and you don't feel like hiding with them, you don't build a house. What's the whole idea of a house, I want to hide with you. But if you meet somebody you love them so much that you're fixing that place which is hidden, then you build a house. Because the Beit HaMikdash is that place where you are fixing that which is so hidden, I can't put my finger on it, I don't know what it is, that's it, and yet I know I have to fix it. So everybody knows that Moishe Rabbenu is the master of the fixing of the Torah of that which I know, and who is the top fixer the super top fixer of that which is beyond, is Aaron Hacohen. Aaron Hacohen, because you know, I want you to know, the whole idea, without getting involved now with the golden Calf, you know what was going on there, it was not the fixing of where hands reach it was of that fixing which is beyond. Now I want you to know the deepest depths, Aaaron Hacohen is the Sukkah, the Sukkah is when we we are hiding with G-d not from G-d with G-d. Aaron Hacohen is the Sukkah when we are hiding because Sukkah, Iwant you to know the deepest depths, Yom Kippur is fixing where Tshuva can reach, where I can reach, so what am I yelling about all day, Succos, Hoshana, Help. But Succos is where I am fixing that where I don't reach. So I'm sitting and I'm hiding with G-d. You know what I'm doing after that when I take the Torah and I'm not reading from itbut I'm only holding the Torah in my hands, which is on the level of "[Hebrew]". Simchas Torah is the holiday of the Torah which I'm holding up with my hands. And everybody knows, Simchas Torah children are the strongest. Because like the Izbitzer says, when am I fixing my soul the most - when I carry my children. So I want you to know the deepest depths,here Avraham Avinu made a covenant with G-d , but you know what happened to him on the third day, on the third day he realized, I haven't fixed yet that which is beyond. And this is when mamashYitzchak was born, when the angel came that Yitzchak will be born,because there comes a point unless, when you mamash know that the only one who can fix this deepest depths of you is your child, this is when the angel comes to tell you the child will be born. Now I want you to know the deepest depths, what was wrong with Sodom, how did they get to be so bad? Obviously they were very holy people at the beginning before they fell down, because everybody knows that the Melech of Sodom was Avraham Avinu's greatest pupil,before, the Izbitzer goes very strong, they were not ordinary people. But you know what happened, they realized that there is a certain point of fixing which we can't reach anyway, so they realized even if I do charity, if I do Mitzvos and everything I still won't be fixed, so what's the use. I can't fix myself anyway, the world is going to the dogs anyway, I might as well let it go to the dogs, right. So therefore Yitzchak, the one who's really fixing the world, through whom we are fixing the world, when he is born he is wiping out Sodom. You know the difference between a teacher and parents is like this, a teacher is enough if they teach you how to fix that which can be fixed, parents -- the relationship between parents and children has to be on that level of that fixing which cannot be fixed liked this. Because obviously the parents have this holiness that they have the privilege to carry their children, that means I'm related to you on that level of holding up my hands, and therefore everybody knows that Yitzchak was the first one to bless, the first one who ever blessed his son was Yitzchak, because Yitzchak was, because it says "[Hebrew]'".
You know something very deep, why is it when I bless somebody I put myhands on their head? What level hands am I putting on them? It's not the level of action, that means with my hands while I'm blessing you I'm reaching to that place which is unreachable, when am I reaching it, when I  bless my children. Now listen to this deepest depths which I want to share with you. On Shabbos I'm not permitted to do anything with my hands, you know which part of my hands are inactive on Shabbos, from the nose down. My hands are not working on Shabbos,but you know what my hands are doing on Shabbos. On Shabbos my handsare uplifed to the level of "[Hebrew]'"
what am I doing with my hands on shabbos, shabbos shaolom u'mvoyrach,on shabbos my hands are on the heads of my children and I bless them with my hands. You know friends in a nutshell, sometimes we're studying all our lives, sometimes we do so much and something is still hurting inside, not fixed. And then suddenly something happens to me, I can meet a person, or I can open one page, and so much light is shining into me, something happens to me, I'm a little bit fixed. You know friends, the people who talk the whole time this is right and this is wrong,obviously they've never tasted that fixing which is deeper than allthis. When you meet a person who is a little bit deeper than allthis, that means this is a Tree of Life person. The Tree of Life, itsays "[Hebrew]" You know what that means, G-d says I'm afraid you'll take the hands ofaction and reach for the Atz HaHaim. "[Hebrew]"
If you hold onto the Atz HaHaim, with hands of action you don't reach, you destroy it. It has to be holding on, not acting, mamash holding on with your hands. I want you to know the deepest depths friends really, you know it's very deep, sometimes you shake hands with somebody and they can't get their hands fast enough away, right. On what level, what's handshaking between people, what does it mean? Is it action, or is it on the level of mamash holding up my hands. This is the deepest depths friends, if someone shakes your hand and achhh you want to take away your hand because it was the level of action what kind of an action is this, I'm not your action, you're not my action, What -- it's stupid, right. But if someone shakes hands with you on the level of holding up my hands, then the hand is so deep,then the hand becomes the Tree of Life. You know when people loveeach other they are holding hands, what does it mean, it's holding together of those hands, mamash holding up my hands - "[Hebrew]"
Holding up your hands to heaven.

Rabbi Labovitz: To this minute I never understood why Moshe Rabbenuhad to hold his hands up by Amalek, so I say like this the differencebetween Yisroel and Amalek is this, Amalek is on the action level, andYisroel is beyond that, so when Moshe Rabbenu holds up his hands then {END TRANSCRIPTION OF REMARK BY R. LABOVITZ}

Shlomo: Wiping out Amalek, yeah. See what I wanted to say, you see Amalek says you can't fix it, so you lost anyways, it's Esav, the whole thing. It says in Hasidus. So Esav says you can never do Tshuva cause you can never do enough, you can never be completely religious, forget it. You can't do everything anyway so you won'tmake it. Give me my guitar fast.
(U'vau Ha Ovdim...Yerushalayim)
When did Moshe Rabbenu get the Torah of the hands, I want to say when he broke the tablets, because what did he do, it was action? He was mamash begging the Ribbono Shel Olam, please give me a Torah which can reach their hearts. Cause obviously the Torah I gave them is notenough. so it says: "[Hebrew]"
which hand does G-d give us, not G-d's action hands, can you imagine G-d's holding up His hands? So to do Tshuvah means that G-d gives me His hand, can you imagine when G-d is holding up His hand, this is doing Tshuvah. Everybody knows yedid in Hebrew means friends, and the Slonomer says, yedid is a combination, yad yad, two hands,. Which level hands is that, that's the hands, you know. So we say "[Hebrew]"
G-d you are my best friend, you are my yidid, which is on the level of tshuvah, holding hands with G-d where  G-d is holding up His hands, you know, unbelievable levels. Oh I wanted to say something also very strong, you know when our holy sisters, our holy mothers, when they kindle lights Friday night, they hold up their hands against the light, that's the fixing of the hands. The highest fixing is to get out from the action hands, putting your hands on the level of holding up your hands. Can you imagine if you can act with your hands on the level of holding up your hands. This is the highest level there is. I want to say a Gevaldt Torah. Issac is lying on the altar and the whole idea was not ( G-d forbid) to kill him, but mamash that a personshould be ready to give his life for G-d every second, so it says "[Hebrew]"
Avraham was holding up his hand. That was mamash the highest holding up of the hands that Avraham (knew). "[Hebrew]"
I just want to say one more thing: if you do something with your hands and you get it, it's on the level of Simcha, laughter is whenyou get something when you're holding up your hands. So Mashiach says "[Hebrew]"
which is Yitzchak, laughter, because when Mashiach is coming it'll be that fixing, mamash G-d will give us where we were reaching with our hands. I want to say just one more thing, the highest level is, not only my hands are reaching up but even my feet are reaching up. So the Holy Land is that land where G-d is fixing that which is beyond the truth, the fixing of praying, where G-d says to Abraham, walk around in the Holy Land, because what's the whole idea of walking upto the Holy Temple, and the Holy Temple is where I'm fixing walking up "[Hebrew]" walking. That means not only my hands are reaching up, even my feet are reaching up. And basically the whole idea of dancing is, that mamash my feet want to reach heaven. It's very strange, children have no trouble holding up their hands and they have no trouble dancing,because their whole being is mamash holding up to heaven, in such a deep way. You know sometimes really, it makes me shiver you know, like children when they're holding up their hands you know, Pleasepick me up, it's so deep you know. And you mamash know that they don't mean just to pick them up two inches, they're really begging you, Lift me up to the highest heaven. So you know what it means to welcome a stranger, to welcome a stranger means to take you into myhouse and even just for those few minutes you're in my house to fixyou on that level where actions don't reach. It's the deepest deepest depths. Do you know how deep this is -- I can ask somebody to myhouse and give them food, but I can take somebody in my house and makethem perfect for a few minutes. So I want to say something very deep, Avrohom says "[Hebrew]"
he was sitting there, that means he was trying, he was still on the level of fixing his soul, he wasn't in the house yet. They asked himwhere is Sarah, he said "[Hebrew]"
she is already fixed. Because Sarah obviously, she was mamash higher than Avraham, she was already mamash fixed, mamash fixed. You see until I fix that part of me, I cannot hide with G-d yet, maybe I'm not hiding from G-d but I cannot hide with G-d. Sarah was already in the House, that means she was already on the level, hiding with G-d. Shewas already fixed.
You know it's so deep, you know between husband and wife, especially husband and wife, parents and children. Do you know why we hide from each other, because we are so afraid if someone would know what is wrong with me, they wouldn't love me anymore. But imagine if the other person can fix me, and again I don't have to tell you, when you go to a doctor you have to tell him exactly what hurts, sometimes certian things I don't want to tell you. I just want you to fix me. "[Hebrew]"
it was mamash so much light, beyond the world, right? You sometimes it 's so deep, you come to a wedding and both are broken, and sometimes you go to a wedding and both are fixed. "[Hebrew]?"
you know. You see as long as I'm not connected to that fixing, Istill think certain things I can do and certain things I can't do, I can only go that far. The moment I'm really on the  level of a little fit fixed, mamash I'm infinite, infinite, nothing I cannot do. Why not? I'm part of G-d , if G-d can do it, so why can't I do it. Because dovening means, to pray means, I'm standing face to face with G-d and I can do anything in the world. mamash connected, I'm plugged into the real electricity. I want to tell you this story. I'll make it very fast. I'm sure some of you know this story, but it's a good story to tell. One ofthe holiest holiest, the absolute holy of holiest masters, the Heilige Reb Mendele Vorker. He was called the silent rebbe, he was a rebbe for thirty years, he never spoke. A few times he spoke. But his teaching was not in words. Unbelievable. There  were times when he was sitting with the Hasidim for 14 or 18 hours, didn't say one word,and again you know let's say I'll be sitting here at the table 14hours, this one has to go to the bathroom, this one has to cough, thisone is hungry, it's nothing. When he was sitting at the table 14hours, everybody who was in that room was out of his body, didn't have to go to the bathroom, didn't have to cough, was just out. OK, so one of his biggest Hasidim was the Heilige Reb Bereshel Bialer. Reb Bereshel Bialer was at that time a rich man, later he was also, even when he was a rebbe, you know he was a merchant, a very wealthy man. And the Rabbi of the city was called Reb Nehemiah. And so Reb Bereshel was saying to Reb Nehemiah, you know when are you coming to my Holy Master the Vorker. He would say, I heard your Rebbe doesn't know anything, doesn't know how to learn, he doesn't say anything. Because the world would say you know why he doesn't say anything,because he has nothing to say, right. Sitting there doing nothing,stupid, I'm not going to waste my time on that. So he says to him, OK forget it. But you know, I have every Rosh Hodesh every new month, you're supposed to have a feastele, why don't you come and celebrate with me Rosh Hodesh. You know in Vorke, it's a very strong thing you know, to drink orange juice, you don't have to be very high but in order to know how to drink whisky and not to be drunk you know you've got to be a master over your senses, right? Anyway, so in Vorke you drink a lot, but if you're drunk, you're out. The moment they see you don't know how to handle it, forget it. OK,Reb Nehemiah was invited to the feast of Rosh Hodesh, so Reb Beresheltakes two water glasses and says, here Nehemiah, here drink. Nebuch,you know, he thought he was the greatest scholar in the world, but a little whiskey can take off your head, how holy are you? So he's drinking two glasses of whiskey and he's out. He's lying on the table snoring. And when he woke up the next morning nobody was there, so broken. Because he realized, obviously they did something very deep and I wasn't part of it, here I think I'm this great scholar and I can't even handle a glass of whiskey. So he came back four weeks later to the feast again, and this time he decided, I will pretend that I am drinking but I am not, I will also pretend that I'm drunkand I'll lie on the table...{et} I want to see what they're doing. OK, again he comes in and Reb Bereshel says, Oh Reb Nehemiah'le I'm so glad to see you, here's a glass of whiskey. And he thought that Reb Bereshel doesn't see, he pours it our under the table, puts it down empty. Reb Bereshel gives him another glass, he pours it out again and then he  lies down, pretends, he's drunk, he sees Reb Nehemiah is out. And by the table all water-carriers and shoemakers, he says to one of them bring me the Sefer Atz Haim. Atz Haim is one of the deepest -- like deep is not the world, beyond deep, one of the deepest kabalistic books. He ways let's learn together. And this Reb Nehamiah thought of himself, being a great kabalist and a great scholar, and while he was listening to them he realized that he doesn't konw anything. So broken, here all of those watercarriers, I am the Rabbi in town and I think I'm the greatest scholar the greatest Kabalist, and I don't even know that those Vorker Hasidim, those watercarriers, they are giants, I am a monkey, I'm a cockroach. OK then he heard everybody leaving and the only one left was Reb Bereshel, so Reb Bereshel walks up to him and says, Nehemiah'le I know you're not asleep, I watched you, but just tell me one thing, did you hear what we were learning? Did you understand what we were learning? He says,I'll tell you the truth, I didn't, I'm so downhearted. here I thought I'm a great kabalist and your watercarriers know more than I do. So Reb Bereshel says, listen to me brother, those watercarriers, Vorker Hasidim, I'm not taking about you now, he ways, you don't know anything. Those watercarriers are great kabalists, besides that they're great giants in learning, the only thing is they don't blow their tops like you, and they don't tell everyone what they know, but they're great kabbalists, but yet I want you to know, without making myself big, when it comes to me, they don't know anything. But I want you to know one thing, I am only a great scholar till I come to my Holy Rebbe, when I stand behind his door I know that I don't know anything. He says Nehemiahle, come, let's go. So that Friday Reb Nehemiahle went with Reb Bereshel to the holy Vorker, and the Holy Vorker obviously he doesn't say anything, he is sitting at his chair, and let's say every Friday 2000 people come for Shabbos, and Reb Mendele is just looking at you, giving you his hand, looking at you, that's it. So after everything was over, Reb Bereshel went to look for Reb Nehemiahle, where he is, he saw him sitting and learning in a corner, he says OK, tell me the truth, how was it when he held your hand. He says, I want you to know, I always thought I believe in G-d , but it wasn't real, when the holy Vorker held my hand, I want you to know that sudddenly every nerve , every inch in my body, suddenly it was revealed to me, I felt it, I knew there is one G-d. There really is one G-d.

END TYPESCRIPT; R. SHLMO CARLEBACH, TALK GIVEN IN RABBI LABRANTZ'SHOUSE, NOV. 1978. This was apparently a verbatim transcription; most  other transcriptions appear to have been lightly editted. (sa) 