Parshat Lech Lecha | Words of the Gaon and Tzaddik

"Go for yourself from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father's house to the land that I will show you... and I will make your name great"

"And I will make your name great" hints at the study of Shas (the Talmud). The Gematria (numerical value) of "Shemecha" (your name) is 360, and "Shas" is 360. One must know, if a person does not learn Shas, he has nothing. He possesses no Tzelem Elokim (Divine Image); he is not considered a human being at all. A person's entire name, the very essence of the person, is built from the study of Shas. The entire human being is simply the Shas. This is what Hashem promised Avraham Avinu: "And I will make your name great"—meaning that his offspring will engage in Torah and learn Shas (Shemecha). Only this is called temimus (wholehearted simplicity), as it is written, "Praised are the perfect in the way (temimei derech), who walk in the Torah of Hashem" (Psalms 119:1). Temimus is only when a person learns Shas."

"Rebbe Nachman brings in Lesson 1 [of Likutey Moharan]: 'Know, that through the Torah, all prayers and all requests that we request and pray for are accepted, and the grace and importance of Israel is raised and uplifted before everyone we need, both spiritually and materially.' Only through the Torah are all prayers and requests accepted. Whenever a person sees that a prayer was not accepted, it is because he is not learning enough Shas. All the grace and importance of Israel depends on the learners of Shas, because the Torah is called 'a beloved hind and a graceful mountain goat,' for it bestows grace upon those who study it. The Torah literally bestows grace upon a person. If a person comes home and has learned Torah, he merits grace. His wife sees that he has grace, the Shechinah (Divine Presence) rests upon him, and there will be joy in the home. But if he comes without Torah, without grace, coming in broken and nervous, then there is no joy in that home."

"And now, due to our many sins, the grace and importance of Israel has fallen. Now, the main importance lies with the nations, with the wicked. This is for one reason only: that we are not learning Shas. 'For a Jewish man must always look at the Intellect within every thing, and bind himself to the wisdom and Intellect that is in every thing, so that the Intellect that is in every thing will shine for him, because the Intellect is a great light and shines for him in all his ways.' The true Intellect is only the study of Shas; aside from this, there is no Intellect in the world. What shines for a person and guides him is only the Intellect."

"A person must ensure that the Intellect shines and proceeds, shines and grows, as it is written, 'It goes and shines until the height of the day.' A person's entire service is only to enlarge the Intellect, and to the extent that he enlarges his intellect and learns Shas, he builds the Beis HaMikdash (Holy Temple). If we want to build the Beis HaMikdash and hasten the Geulah (Redemption), we need to enlarge the Intellect, to enlarge the Da'as (Knowledge). As our Sages said, 'Anyone who has Da'as within him, it is as if the Beis HaMikdash was built in his days.' To the extent that he enlarges the Da'as and the Intellect, he builds the Beis HaMikdash. The reason the Beis HaMikdash is not yet built is because we are not learning Shas with iyun (in-depth analysis), with depth. Today, building the House is simply to learn Shas. The moment a person learns Shas, the Sitra Achra (Other Side) will fall. One needs to sharpen the Intellect. The work of a person is to sharpen the Intellect, to learn Torah—so that he has a quick and sharp brain, a shining brain, as Rebbe Nachman says, 'It is a great mitzvah to sharpen the Intellect.' The Chesed L'Avraham says there are 10 screens over the brain, 10 husks (klipos) over the brain, and everyone needs to remove the husks, to polish them, to clean them. This is done only through learning Shas with depth and iyun."

"A person must know that Breslov and Gemara are one and the same. The point of Breslov is that we follow what is written, not feelings and opinions, and not what is comfortable. 'Go out in the footsteps of the sheep and pasture your kids by the shepherds' tents'—one must listen to the voice of the Tzaddikim, to the voice of the shepherds. If you are a Breslov Chassid, you need to listen to Likutey Moharan. The first thing in Likutey Moharan (Lesson 1) is that a person must have Intellect, that he must learn Shas, and only this is called temimus."

"'Praised are the perfect in the way, who walk in the Torah of Hashem.' A person must know that Breslov Chassidus does not come, Heaven forbid, to nullify even the thorn of a 'Yud', nor any custom of Klal Yisrael, nor anything accepted among the Jewish people. It only comes to add more things: to add more fear of Heaven, more guarding of the eyes, more holiness. A person has heresy in his heart; he does not believe that Hashem stands before him every moment. The reason a person does not have kavanah (intent) in prayer and does not feel that Hashem stands before him is because he has heresy in his heart, for he does not believe that Hashem is present. When a person speaks with a friend, he is careful to think about every word he utters. Especially if it is a king, he is even more careful that they shouldn't catch him in a mistake, Heaven forbid, or in some illogical thing he might say. When he speaks with a friend, he doesn't just chatter; he can talk for 10 hours because he sees a 'human' before him with a face, hands, and legs. Yet Hashem is living and enduring, standing right before us, and we do not feel Him. This shows that we have no Intellect, we have no brain. When a person does not feel Hashem and does not have kavanah in prayer, it is only because he lacks Intellect. Just as there are diseases where people lose their minds and do not recognize their own parents, so too is the person: if he has no Intellect, if he has no Torah, he does not recognize his Father and Mother, which is Hashem. If a person could, he would transplant a brain for himself, but they have not yet found a way to transplant a brain."

"And to receive Intellect and a brain, Rebbe Nachman the Holy says, is only through learning Shas with iyun, through Torah study. When one learns Torah, he merits to nullify the heresy in his heart, to feel Hashem, to gain grace and importance, and his prayers and requests are accepted."