Muddy Waters
Translated
by Aryeh Kaplan, from Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom
(Breslov Research Institute)
Sichos HaRan 79
When
one begins to attach himself to a great Tzaddik and truly serve G-d, he is
often filled with great confusion and evil thoughts. The evil was always there,
but only now it is surfacing.
A
pot of water may seem perfectly clear. However, when it is placed on a fire and
begins to boil, all its impurities are brought to the surface. One must stand
by and constantly remove these impurities. The original purity is merely an
illusion. With a little heat the impurity surfaces. But when these impurities
are removed, the water is truly pure and clear.
The
same is true of a person. Before he begins serving G-d, good and evil are
completely mixed together within him. The impurities are so closely united with
the good that they cannot be recognized. Then this person comes close to a true
Tzaddik and begins to burn with great feeling toward G-d. He is touched with
the heat of purification, and all the evil and impurities come to the surface.
Here again, one must stand by and constantly remove the dirt and impurities as
they appear. In the end the person is truly pure and clear.
Purification
requires this period of agitation and confusion. In the beginning a person is
totally immersed in the material. He then begins to come close to G-d. It would
seem possible to remove this dirt and impurity at once. However, his mind is
completely intermingled with this mire. Were it to be removed immediately, his
mind would be drawn out with it. Therefore, one must be purified little by
little, in gradual stages.
© 1973 The Breslov Research
Institute