אות - לט

You should be able to feel another’s troubles in your own heart. This is especially true when many are suffering. It is possible to recognize another’s anguish clearly, and still not feel it in your heart.

When an entire community is in distress, you should surely feel its agony in your heart. If you do not feel it, you should strike your head against the wall. That is, you should strike your head against the walls of your heart.

This is the meaning of the verse, “You shall know this day and take it to your heart” (Deuteronomy 4:39) . You must bring the realization from your mind to your heart (see “ His Wisdom ” #217) . Understand this well.

We later heard that the Rebbe once said that this is the meaning of the verse, “Hezekiah turned his face to the wall” (Isaiah 38:2) . The face that he turned was his mind, bringing it inside the walls of his heart. 49 Yerushalmi , Berakhot 35a; Sanhedrin 51b; Tzaddik # 199.

One’s true face is his mind, and the mind illuminates the face from within ( Likutey Moharan 30:4; cf. Ecclesiastes 8:1) .