BOOK
TWO:
1.
Talking (bad) about a tzaddik
causes [heretical] philosophy to gain strength in the world, and so
too, the opposite [i.e. praising a tzaddik…].
2.
There are famous religious leaders whose fame is primarily created
through controversy.
3.
Through strife, one falls into sexual lust.
4.
One against whom many arise to challenge him on account of his faith;
and he stands up against them and makes well-received counter-claims,
through this he will merit having many children, and the world will
be filled with his seed.
5.
One who always sets his mind's eye to investigate the leaders of the
generation, examining them unfavorably (lit. with a “bad eye”),
through this he falls into the hunger predicted for the future, that
is to say, "…not a hunger for bread…" (Amos 8) For the
Hebrew word for hunger, Ra’AV, is the word RaV (denoting the head
rabbi) with the letter Ayin
(which is Hebrew for “eye”) in the middle (Reish
and Beit
spell Rav,
and Reish
- Ayin - Beit
spell hunger.
[I.e. putting a (bad) eye on (in) the Rav leads to hunger, Ra’AV.])
6.
Through giving charity, one defeats his enemies through minimal means
(/cause or effect) and the Holy One, Blessed be He, saves him from
even the great means of his enemies.
7.
By saying Birkat
HaMazon (the
blessings after the meal which fulfill the Torah mandate, “You
shall eat, be satisfied and bless the L-rd, your G-d…”), the
Blessed G-d becomes known in the world. Also through Grace After
Meals, the government is rested from strife and war.
8.
One who's Torah learning is with a pure mind, [including that his]
eating is so holy that he is nourished from the [same] food from
which the angels are nourished, causes that his enemies be punished
with strangulation. A sign (or hint to the veracity ) of this matter
is: (three similar Biblical phrases): "And it was on the third
day, at the beginning of the morning…” (Shemot
19:16), "And in the morning there was a layer of dew…”
(Shemot
16:13)" "And it was in the watch of the morning…”
(Shemot
14:24)
[Rabbi
Nosson states]: (“I heard an explanation of this sign from the his
(Rabbi Nachman's) holy mouth. For the first passage, "And it was
on the third day, at the beginning of the morning…,"
was said at the giving of the Torah, which is the aspect of what was
said above, "One who learns with a pure mind..." The second
quote, "And in the morning
there was a layer of dew…," refers to the manna, which is the
food by which the angels are nourished, as the Rabbis OB”M said.
The third quote, "And it was in the watch of the morning…,"
refers to the splitting of the Red Sea, wherein the Egyptians were
drowned, which is the aspect of strangulation, as the Rabbis OB”M
said. Rabbi Nachman learned 'morning'
from 'morning'
(applying the concept found by one citing of morning
to the other citings), and through this he found this perception in
the Torah).
9.
The suffering and accusations that come upon a Torah sage cause him
to forget.
10.
Quarreling causes that students of small stature become famous before
their time. This is an aspect of miscarriage—when a fetus comes
into the air of the world before its time. This causes poverty, and
sometimes (even) causes deaths, G-d forbid.
11.
Sometimes a man does not have peace in his house, and all the members
of his household quarrel with each other. It is certain that there
are demons in the house causing all this—and though this affliction
comes upon his household.
12.
Sometimes a person's place causes him quarrels for the same reason as
it is forbidden to ask about a person's peace in an unclean place.
[The Hebrew word for peace, “shalom” is a Name of G-d and should
not be spoken in a filthy place – thus we find that certain places
are contrary to peace.]
13.
Through pain and sadness, contention comes to the world. Conversely,
through joy, peace comes to the world.
14.
Revelation of the Torah comes through peace.
15.
The business or work that a man strains to do on a fast-day, this
matter saves him from enemies and murderers.
16.
One who has enemies has difficulty concentrating in prayer.
17.
One who causes a separation between a man and his wife—that is, he
goes to the husband and glorifies the wife in his eyes, and then goes
to the wife and discredits the husband in her eyes, until it causes a
separation between them—causes difficulty with his own livelihood.
18.
When the Holy One, Blessed be He, sees that there is a tzaddik
who has the power to draw people to the service of G-d, He raises up
enemies against him inorder to enable him to draw people close [to
G-d]. For a tzaddik
without enemies cannot draw anyone close – just like in the days of
the Messiah
the
world will dwell in tranquility, and then no new converts will be
accepted.
19.
Due to idolatrous thoughts enemies come and dominate (lit. elevate
over) a person.
20.
One whose enemies rise up (against him) falls into lust for food.
21.
When a person feels itching in his body, he should know that he has
enemies. Sometimes through the blows and bruises he brings upon his
own body, he is saved from enemies, for one is in exchange for the
other.
22.
There are two tzaddikim,
one of whose words are in plowing, and the other's in harvesting; or
one whose words erect the the bris
(circumcision – a holy reference to the male covenant) for
relations, and the other's words draw the seed and create the fetus
in its mother's womb, and cultivate it. Thus, when there is an
argument between these two tzaddikim,
an outsider should not involve himself in their words that they speak
one on another, in order no to ruin the goal.
23.
One who has enemies should prohibit himself from wine, and through
this he will become their head (i.e. leader or ruler).
24.
A segulah
to be saved from one's enemies—whether they are enemies in
controversy or enemies on the routes of travel— of whom he is
afraid; is to say all the names of the ta'amim
(incantation notes) of the Torah—that is: Pashta,
Munach, Zarkah,
etc.
