TALK DELIVERED IN RABBI LABOVITZ'S HOUSE, NOVEMBER 1978 INPUT FROM TYPESCRIPT JW63A, "Miami Hiding" 9/29/86--10/15/86--sa TYPIST'S INSERTS ARE IN BRACES, {}
Ellipses ... do not necessarily signify editorial omissions{et}=ellipsis in typescript Transcribed sa, Hebrew inserts M. Gess 6/90 [[]] - editorial interjection
{START TYPESCRIPT JW63A}

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 conenction 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 sayanything 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 revalation 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 Kasier 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 Shulchsn 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 ridiciulous. 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 ther 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. Everthing 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 someonetalks 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 beginnning, 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 hasd 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 Tzanzer 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 Tzanzer you know I got the thousand rubles. The Tzanzer 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 aand 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 nebuch - - real opposition. Ok now you better bless me I should find the place. I should have brought my Reb Nachamn 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 Nachamn says there is also another two worlds. Ok, Reb Nachamn 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 knowldge. 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 beautifulon 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 somone 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 meexplain 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 meyou know this boy is really a thief, he was caught stealing all overthe place, so the truth is he's a thief, right. And I look at thislittle boy, and I mamash know inside he's so holy. I don't knowwhatever circumstances made him steal, so I tell you know the truth ishe's a thief, but my Emunah, my belief tells me that he's not. Different kind of knowledge, right. Emunah is the highest soulknowlege 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 knowlege there is. And this knowlege 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 inthe world. Ok so everybody knows, let's go one step deeper, Reb Nachamn says that Har Sinai, Mount Sinai is the headquarters for the truth, but everybody knows Yerushalyim 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 revlelation 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,Yerushalyim -- what happens to you now when you go to Yerushalyim, you don't see anything, nothing right, you see a little wall gevalt 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, becuase I believe in everything in the world, right. You know I can see aperson who's the lowest person, and I believe that this person can be lifted up tho the highest level. You know I can sit in Aushwitz and they tell me tomorrow morning there'll be no Jews left in the world,and I believe that we'll go back to Yerushalyim 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. RebNachman 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 youa 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 2:00 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, hou 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. Anyhway 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 Rebbesays," 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 undersand what it means. Anywaythe 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 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, gevalt is he deep. Don't youunderstand 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 gevalt story - no? - A gevalt 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 "Aoo AoA A-aoac aioOo".
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 gotta fix theworld. 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 allthat. 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 toYerushalyinm, mamash all of Israel, men women children, and they were learning together, the mitzzva of Hakheil, mamash learning. And theGemora says, why did they bring the children? The children can't learn -- So the Gemora says, "aaoe oao aeAaANc",
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 shlepsthen nebuch all the way to Yerushalyim, and there's 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 runningafter 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, gevalt, 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 theTorah, 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, "UAo NoOoN Aoo oc eoN"  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 "UAo NoOoN Aoo oc eoN".
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,
"aaoe oao aeAAaNc",
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 deepeest, -- 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 differnce? The difference is very simple, Noah made a covenant with G-d only on that level of fixing where my hands can reach "Ao NAaOoac NoNaa ea". 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 wordin the Bible is so special and here it's the whole portion. I don'tknow the whole thing in so many words, but just the way he welcomedstrangers. Now open your hearts, I was learning it last week a littlebit. Whatever you do between you and people is what you do betweenyou and G-d. What was the function of our father Abraham, open yourhearts: until Abraham came G-d was a stranger in the world, whatAbraham did, he welcomed the stranger. Abraham's whole thing is tobring 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 likemad, but the question is -- Abraham was welcoming strangers all hislife, 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 thecovenant with G-d naturally G-d was a stranger, so what Abraham did -welcoming G-d into the world. The Gemora says until Abraham camewas?? nobody knew that G-d is the master of the world. Now listen tothis unbelievable thing, after Abraham entered the covenant with G-dmamash Abraham fixed the world, whatever a person can do, that's whatAbraham did already, whatever a person can do to fix himself he did. Where did he begin the fixing after he entered the covenant? Afterhe entered the covenant his fixing began on that level where you don'treach. Where mamash everything is a stranger, it doesn't belong here. You know what Abraham did with welcoming the strangers, he brought inG-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 AvrahamAvinu, obviously the way he was welcoming angels, he was leaning howto welcome Yitzchak. To go back to it listen to this, the whole world is on the levelof 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 wherenothing else reaches, where nothing else reaches. And you know whatit's to be in exile, to be in exile means that I cannot reach, Icannot fix that which is beyond me. YOu know what it is to be a slavemeans, what it means my hands are tied. I want you to open yourhearts. Not my hands of actions are tied, my hands are tied thatmeans I cannot lift my hands, "oAO aEaac oOEo OAoaO Ao E'".
Now listen to this, there's a pasuk that says "OaNa aEaO AeOeN".
my hands have to do with believing. So which part of my hands isbelieving. Not my actions, my actions, they are actions, you don'thave to believe in actions you are doing them. What is "OaNa aEaO AeOeN"?
my hands are on the level of believing mamash when I life up my handsliket this mamash like unbelievable. So I want you to know somethingvery deep. You know when people get married, basically the wholeceremony is between the two hands, right, the groom takes the ring andshe is holding our her finger. On what level are those hands, if it'son the level of just action so the whole marriage will be nebuch on aaction level, it's up to them, and if it's on that level, you knowlike a gevalt, so this is what it is. Now I want you to open yourhearts like mad. Let's go over it again. Avraham avinu was the firstone who was aware "oAN AaoN EOaoo"
he say mamash there is something wrong with the world. Avraham avinurealized there is something in the world which is wrong with the worldand how do I fix it. You see Noah thought "Ao NAaOoac NoNaa ea"
Noah thought the way to fix the world by being a good man by beingsweet being G-d fearing. Talk .p
talk a lot about G-d , do this do that, you know I can picture it, itwas very holy, but you don't fix the world, Ok the world will betthere but it's still not fixed. You know G-d never said to Noah, I'llfix the world, the world will be there, but there is something wrongthe world needs fixing, Avraham Avinu was the first one who knew theworld needs some light the world needs something AAaaeo Naeeo AOoaac something has to happen to the world which was never there before. Something hs to happen. This is Avraham Avinu. Yitzchak is something else. Yitzchok, you know Yitzchok ismamash as simple as it is. Very strange, Yitzhok 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, prayingis where nothing reaches. According to nature. Why was Yitzchak bornwhen Avraham was 100? Because and its very strange, Yitzchak is somuch order, Yitzcah is Gvurah, Yitchak says, you know G-d forbid youhave to do right, if you do wrong it's a bad scene, and yet Yitzchakis born of the utmost beyond order, because between Yitzchak andAvroham and Yaakov, want you to know, Avroham is beyond order,Yitzhok is a little order but also mamash beyond, beyond, filled withpraying, and Yaakov is when I'm so much in darkness that can't evenlift up my hands anymore, not that I don't want to I just can't liftup my hands anymore, I was holding them up so long and G-d didn'tanswer I don't have strength to hold up my hands anymore. Now listento this, who was the first expert on knowing there's something wrongwith us, Josef HaTzaddik. "OaAA aOei Ao nAoc oiN Aa AAaNc".
Josef Avinu smelled there's something wrong. So I want you to knowMashiach ben Josef is the one who;'ll maake us aware there's somethingwrong. Then comes Mashiach ben David the one who'll fix it. "ia aEa EOaE eoaa nEoa".
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 eoEo E' aOeeO aEaa"
you know how you build the holy Temple, the holy Temple is built whenyou hold up your hands. Ok let's go back just to thr beginning, Iwant you to know the deepest depths, sometimes I do something and Ican tell sometimes I do something and I don't want to tell anybody. What does it mean, if I do somethig which only fixes me on the levelof action I can tell, I do its OK {sic} when I do something orsomething happened to me which reaches on that level the deepestdepths of my own fixing which is beyond my actions, then it's sosecret, it's so holy, it's so deep. You know what's going on in theworld, that whatever they do they have a big mouth they have to tellyou know why, because it doesn't reach on that level, it doesn't reachwhere their hands reach. You know most marriages, I don't want to sayanything bad, you know how people talk to each other about their wivesabout their marriages, it's always from the nose down. .p
nothing, empty. I want you to know the deepest depths, the tree ofknowlege reaches only to this kind of fixing where right or wrong, soyou'll fix it. The fixing of the tree of life is that deepest depthsfixing 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 verydeep. What does it mean G-d is hiding, G-d created the word where isG-d hiding? Why is G-d hiding it's very obvious G-d created theworld, you can see the world, which part of G-d is hiding? That partI don't know how to fix whtat inside which is...{et}I don't know howto fix the world. And when I reach that level then I don't know whereG-d is, and everying in the world, in the history of the world, in thehistory of us Jewish people where G-d was hiding because it wasreaching to that point where G-d was fixing that which is beyond theworld. Now I want you to know the deepest depths, you know sometimesyou 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 tohide with you. But if you meet somebody you love them so much thatyou're fixing that place which is hidden, then you build a house. Because the Beit HaMikdash is that place where you are fixing thatwhich is so hidden, I can't put my finger on it, I don't know what itis, that's it, and yet I know I have to fix it. So everybody knowsthat Moishe Rabbenu is the master of the fixing of the Torah of thatwhich I know, and who is the top fixer the super top fixer of thatwhich is beyond, is Aaron Hacohen. Aaron Hacohen, because you know, Iwant you to know, the whole idea, without getting involved now withthe golden Calf, you know what was going on there, it was not thefixing of where hands reach it was of that fixing which is beyond. Now I want you to know the deepest depths, Aaaron Hacohen is theSucah, the Suchah is when we we are hiding with G-d not from G-d withG-d. Aaron Hacohen is the Sucah when we are hiding because Sucah, Iwant you to know the deepest depths, Yom Kippur is fixing where Tshuvacan 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 Idon't reach. So I'm sitting and I'm hiding with G-d. You know whatI'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 "UAo NoOoN Aoo oc eoN".
Simchas Torah is the holiday of the Torah which I'm holding up with myhands. 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 whathappened to him on the third day, on the third day he realized, Ihaven'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 onlyone who can fix this deepest depths of you .p
is your child, this is when the angel comes to tell you the child willbe born. Now I want you to know the deepest depths, what was wrongwith Sodom, how did they get to be so bad? Obviously they were veryholy people at the beginning before they fell down, because everybodyknows 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 cerrtainpoint of fixing which we can't reach anyway, so they realized even ifI 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 tothe dogs anyway, I might as well let it go to the dogs, right. Sotherefore Yitzchak, the one who's really fixing the world, throughwhom 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, ateacher is enough if they teach you how to fix that which can befixed, parents -- the relationship between parents and children has tobe on that level of that fixing which cannot be fixed liked this. Because obviously the parents have this holiness that they have theprivilege to carry their children, that means I'm related to you onthat level of holding up my hands, and therefore everybody knows thatYitzchak was the first one to bless, the first one who ever blessedhis son was Yitzchak, because Yitzchak was, because it says "oAO aEaac oOEo OAoaO Ao E'".
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 notthe level of action, that means with my hands while I'm blessing youI'm reaching to that place which is unreachable, when am I reachingit, when I I bless my children. Now listen to this deepest depthswhich I want to share with you. On Shabbos I'm not permitted to doanything with my hands, you know which part of my hands are inactiveon 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 "oAO aEaac OAoaO Ao E'"
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 themwith my hands. You know friends in a nutshell, sometimes we're studying all ourlives, sometimes we do so much and something is still hurting inside,not fixed. And then suddenly something happens to me, I cam meet aperson, 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 "OioN ie aoaa aEO Aaoa Cc eii Naaac"
.p
You know what that means, G-d says I'm afraid you'll take the hands ofaction and reach for the Atz HaHaim. "ii Naaac aeaUaoac AN"
If you hold onto the Atz HaHaim, with hands of action you don't reachyou destroy it. It has to be holding on, not acting, mamash holdingon with your hands. I want you to know the deepest depths friendsreally, you know it's very deep, sometimes you shake hands withsomebody and they can't get their hands fast enough away, right. Onwhat level, what's handshaking between people, what does it mean? Isit action, or is it on the level of mamash holding up my hands. Thisis the deepest depths friends, if someone shakes your hand and achhhyou want to take away your hand because it was the level of actionwhat kind of an action is this, I'm not your action, you're not myaction, What -- it's stupid, right. But if someone shakes hands withyou 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 holdingtogether of those hands, mamash holding up my hands - "oAO aEaac oOEo"
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 seeAmalek says you can't fix it, so you lost anyways, it's Esav, thewhole thing. It says in Hasidus. So Esav says you can never doTshuva cause you can never do enough, you can never be completelyreligious, 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 whenhe broke the tablets, because what did he do, it was action? He wasmamash begging the Ribbono Shel Olam, please give me a Torah whichcan reach their hearts. Cause obviously the Torah I gave them is notenough. so it says: "AoN eOoe aE aiOoiac"
which hand does G-d give us, not G-d 's action hands, can you imagineG-d 's holding up His hands? So to do Tshuvah means that G-d gives meHis hand, can you imagine when G-d is holding up His hand, this isdoing Tshuvah. Everybody knows yedid in Hebrew means friends, andthe Slonomer says, yedid is a combination, yad yad, two hands,. Whichlevel hands is that, that's the hands, you know. So we say "aEaE eio AA Noaee"
G-d you are my best friend, you are my yidid, which is on the level oftshuvah, holding hands with G-d where G-d is holding up His hands, youknow, unbelievable levels. Oh I wanted to say sometthing also verystrong, you know when our holy sisters, our holy mothers, when theykindle lights Friday night, they hold up their hands against thelight, that's the fixing of the hands. The highest fixing is to getout from the action hands, putting .p
your hands on the level of holding up your hands. Can you imagine ifyou 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 gevalt Torah. Issac is lying on the altar and thewhole 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 "Oaoaa AAoNc Ao aEO"
Avraham was holding up his hand. That was mamash the highest holdingup of the hands that Avraham (knew). "oAO aEaac oOEo"
I just want to say one more thing: if you do something with yourhands 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 "AU aeaA oaOo iaeO"
which is Yitzchak, laughter, because when Mashiach is coming it'll bethat fixing, mamash G-d will give us where we were reaching with ourhands. I want to say just one more thing, the highest level is, notonly my hands are reaching up but even my feet are reaching up. Sothe Holy Land is that land where G-d is fixing that which is beyondthe truth, the fixing of praying, where G-d says to Abraham, walkaround 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 "aNaN aa UaOoa oao oCaac"
walking. That means not only my hands are reaching up, even my feetare reaching up. And basically the whole idea of dancing is, thatmamash my feet want to reach heaven. It's very strange, children haveno trouble holding up their hands and they have no trouble dancing,because their whole being is mamash holding up to heaven, in such adeep 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 theydon't mean just to pick them up two inches, they're really beggingyou, Lift me up to the highest heaven. So you know what it means towelcome 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 deepestdepths. 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 verydeep, Avrohom says "ONOA aOoA Aioa NAONa"
he was sitting there, that means he was trying, he was still on thelevel of fixing his soul, he wasn't in the house yet. They asked himwhere is Sarah, he said "NeN AAONa"
she is already fixed. Because Sarah obviously, she was mamash higherthan Avraham, she was already mamash fixed, mamash fixed. You seeuntil I fix that part of me, I cannot hide with G-d yet, maybe I'm nothiding from G-d but I cannot hide with G-d. Sarah was already in theHouse, that means she was already on the level, hiding with G-d. Shewas already fixed. .p
You know it's so deep, you know between husband and wife, especiallyhusband and wife, parents and children. Do you kow why we hide fromeach other, because we are so afraid if someone would know what iswrong with me, they wouldn't love me anymore. But imagine if theother person can fix me, and again I don't have to tell you, when yougo to a doctor you have to tell him exactly what hurts, sometimescertian things I don't want to tell you. I just want you to fix me. "aaOc NaOc"
it was mamash so much light, beyond the world, right? You sometimesit 's so deep, you come to a wedding and both are broken, andsometimes you go to a wedding and both are fixed. "Naae CeUO AoOoN?"
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, Ican only go that far. The moment I'm really on the level of a littlefit fixed, mamash I'm infinite, infinite, nothing I cannot do. Whynot? 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 withG-d and I can do anything in the world. mamash connected, I'm pluggedinto the real electricity. I want to tell you this story. I'll make it very fast. I'm suresome of you know this story, but it's a good story to tell. One ofthe holiest holiest, the absolute holy of holiest masters, the HeiligeReb Mendele Vorker. He was called the silent rebbe, he was a rebbefor thirty years, he never spoke. A few times he spoke. But histeaching was not in words. Unbelievable. There were times when hewas 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 haveto go to the bathroom, didn't have to cough, was just out. OK, so oneof his biggest Hasidim was the Heilige Reb Bereshel Bialer. RebBereshel Bialer was at that time a rich man, later he was also, evenwhen 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 RebBereshel was saying to Reb Nehemiah, you know when are you coming tomy Holy Master the Vorker. He would say, I heard your Rebbe doesn'tknow 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. .p
So he says to him, Ok forget it. But you know, I have every RoshHodesh every new month, you're supposed to have a feastele, why don'tyou come and celebrate with me Rosh Hodesh. You know in Vorke, it's avery strong thing you know, to drink orange juice, you don't have tobe very high but in order to know how to drink whisky and not to bedrunk 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 alittle whiskey can take off your head, how holy are you? So he'sdrinking two glasses of whiskey and he's out. He's lying on the tablesnoring. And when he woke up the next morning nobody was there, sobroken. Because he realized, obviously they did somethign very deepand I wasn't part of it, here I think I'm this great scholar and Ican't even handle a glass of whiskey. So he came back four weekslater to the feast again, and this time he decided, I will pretendthat 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 soglad to see you, here's a glass of whiskey. And he thought that RebBereshel doesn't see, he pours it our under the table, puts it downempty. Reb Bereshel gives him another glass, he pours it out againand then he lies down, pretends, he's drunk, he sees Reb Nehemiah isout. And by the table all water-carriers and shoemakers, he says toone of them bring me the Sefer Atz Haim. Atz Haim is one of thedeepest -- like deep is not the world, beyond deep, one of thedeepest kabalistic books. He ways let's learn together. And this RebNehamiah thought of himself, being a great kabalist and a greatscholar, and while he was listening to them he realized that hedoesn't konw anything. So broken, here all of those watercarriers, Iam the Rabbi in town and I think I'm the greatest scholar the greatestKabalist, and Idon't even know that those Vorker Hasidim, those watercarriers, they are giants, I am a monkey, I'm a cockroach. Ok then heheard everybody leaving and the only one left was Reb Bereshel, so RebBereshel walks up to him and says, Nehemiah'le I know you're notasleep, I watched you, but just tell me one ting, did you hear what wewere learning? Did you understand what we were learning? He says,I'll tell you the truth, I didn't, I'm so downhearted .p
here I thought I'm a great kabalist and your watercarriers know morethan I do. So Reb Bereshel says, listen to me brother, thosewatercarriers, 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 theydon't blow their tops like you, and they don't tell everyone what theyknow, but they're great kabbalists, but yet I want you to know,without making myself big, when it comes to me, they don't knowanything. But I want you to know one thing, I am only a great scholartill I come to my Holy Rebbe, when I stand behind his door I know thatI don't know anything. He says Nehemiahle, come, let's go. So thatFriday Reb Nehemiahle went with Reb Bereshel to the holy Vorker, andthe Holy Vorker obviously he doesn't say anything, he is sitting athis chair, and let's say every Friday 2000 people come for Shabbos,and Reb Mendele is just looking at you, giving you his hand, lookingat you, that's it. So after everything was over, Reb Bereshel went tolook for Reb Nehemiahle, where he is, he saw him sitting and learningin a corner, he says OK, tell me the truth, how was it when he heldyour hand. He says, I want you to know, I always thought I believe inG-d , but it wasn't real, when the holy Vorker held my hand, I wantyou 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. INPUT, sa, JW to proof & edit, don't knowtranscriber, don't know location of tape. Page breaks follow page breaks in typescript. =IBM-PC; Disc=SHLOMO51690 Doc=miamijw2
This was apparently a verbatim transcription; most othertranscriptions appear to have been lightly editted. (sa) 