The Power of Thought
Sichos HaRan 62
Human beings possess wondrous powers. Through
thought you can actualize what you concentrate upon. Even the inflation of a
country's economy is a consequence of people's thoughts.
Your power of thought must be focused upon one
thing -
that is, all aspects of consciousness, internal, external, and all other
aspects, must be focused upon one point. When you have eliminated all mental
diffusion and nullified any inclination toward other thoughts, you will be able
to bind your mind entirely to the idea that a certain thing should take place.
Thus, you actually can make it happen.
However, this requires that you conceive the
object of concentration in all its details. If you do so only in a general way,
you will create "incomplete vessels" (cf. Keilim 12:6). Thus,
you may go astray, as did Nevat.
This practice can help you in your Torah study.
If your power of thought is strong, it surely will produce the desired result.
All this requires is intense concentration.
For example, you may bind your thought to the
idea of completing all four sections of the Shulchan Aruch (Code of
Jewish Law) with its major commentaries. You must vividly imagine how you will
go about accomplishing this task, and how long it will take; e.g., you must
study five folio pages per day in order to finish the entire project in one
year. You must channel your thoughts into this very well, until your mind is
strongly bound to this idea.
Similarly, you may apply this technique to all
other areas of Torah study: the Gemara with the commentaries of the Rif
and the Rosh, the Arba'ah
Turim,
or Tanach (Torah, Prophets, and Writings), etc. You should long to
accomplish your goal, binding your mind to it strongly, and then you will
accomplish everything.
There is a hint to this in the Talmudic dictum:
"Thought helps, even for the study of Torah" (Sanhedrin 26b).
Even though Rashi explains this remark in a different context, nevertheless,
this allusion is also true… The Rebbe did not explain this further. However,
"both these and these are the words of the Living G-d" (Gittin
7b).
