Obstacles

One must know that all kinds of obstacles that arise for a person, because of which he cannot fulfill the commandments of the Torah and strengthen himself in the service of Hashem properly—one must know that Hashem sends them so that he will prevail with greater longing and desire to fulfill the commandments and good deeds against which the obstacles arise. For such is the nature of a person: the more the obstacles increase, the more the desires and longings within him to fulfill the matter against which the obstacles arose intensify. Therefore, when a Jew comes to fulfill a commandment or a good deed, which are an eternal good for him, and particularly when he wishes to travel to a true Tzadik, upon which all his Jewishness depends—because through the journey to the Tzadik he strengthens himself greatly and merits all the good traits—then a strong will and very intense longing are necessary. Therefore Hashem brings upon him many obstacles, so that he will prevail over them and merit genuine closeness, which he can merit only through very great longing. Consequently, when the obstacles intensify, one must know that they were sent to him by Hashem, so that he will prevail over them to fulfill the commandment or the good deed with great longing, as stated above. And when he merits to prevail over the obstacles with longing and yearning, Hashem then assists him to break and nullify them, and he will be able to fulfill the commandment and the good deed; and in particular he will merit to actualize his drawing close to the true Tzadik, which is the foundation and root of Jewishness, as explained in this section.

One must understand and know that the more important the commandment or good deed is, the more will and yearning are required in order to fulfill it. Therefore Hashem brings more burdensome obstacles upon a person, so that his desire and will should intensify more. For, as stated, the greater the obstacles, the more the will to prevail over them intensifies. Therefore one must understand that when the obstacles greatly overpower a person, disturbing and preventing him from fulfilling a commandment or good deed, and particularly in order to prevent him from drawing close to a true Tzadik—for, as stated, when one truly wishes to draw close to a true Tzadik, severe obstacles arise against him from every side, whether regarding livelihood, whether regarding bodily health, whether from questions and doubts in his thoughts concerning various particulars of faith, and other such varied and unusual obstacles—he must know and understand from this intensification of the obstacles that this commandment or good deed that has come to his hand is very great and important. And particularly when the matter concerns drawing close to a true Tzadik, which is greater than all good deeds, for all his Jewishness depends upon this, obstacles without measure therefore arise and intensify against him. But when a person prevails with a strong will, Hashem assists him to break the obstacles and merit drawing close to the Tzadik. For this is the principle: there is no obstacle over which it is impossible to prevail and which it is impossible to break; rather, one must prevail with very intense yearnings against every obstacle. And when one prevails with a mighty will as one should, Hashem then assists one to break all the obstacles and to draw close in truth to the true Tzadik in completeness.

One must also know that this matter explained in the words of our Sages, of blessed memory—that one who wished to fulfill some commandment, but because of circumstances beyond his control, arising from very great obstacles, did not fulfill the commandment, is regarded by Hashem as though he had fulfilled the commandment—all this our Sages, of blessed memory, said regarding a person whose desire to fulfill the commandment is only in order to discharge his obligation, and who does not truly yearn for the commandment so as to fulfill it in actual practice. But a person who is not satisfied with this exemption and desires with all his might to fulfill the commandment in practice will merit to fulfill his will. For in truth every Jew is obligated and able to fulfill in actual practice the commandment or good deed that he yearns to fulfill, and not to be satisfied with discharging his obligation through desire alone. But if he truly feels that through his stubborn insistence on fulfilling the matter, damage or harm could, God forbid, result, he must then wait and request from Hashem that He help him fulfill the commandment without any damage. One must also believe that through prevailing with an intense will to fulfill in actual practice the commandment or good deed that he yearns to fulfill, Hashem will then help him so that he can break all kinds of obstacles and fulfill the commandment and the good deed in practice, without any damage or harm. For all the obstacles that Hashem brings upon a person are, as stated, solely so that intense yearnings to fulfill the commandment will awaken in his heart, as explained in §§1 and 2.

One who followed the desire of his heart all his days, and afterward was aroused to contemplate that he had distorted his way until now, regrets the past, and truly desires to walk in the upright path, the path of the Torah—Hashem then brings obstacles upon him. That is, Hashem sends him trials and obstacles to test whether he will prevail with longing and will to walk in the upright path, even though the obstacles intensify against him to prevent him from doing so. And if he is a fool—that is, he has no true knowledge and does not prevail properly—he is then deterred by the trials and obstacles, and turns aside to follow the lusts and evil traits, God forbid. But if he is a person of understanding, he is aroused specifically through the obstacles to draw close to Hashem—that is, to fear of Hashem and observance of the Torah—with greater will and longing, because he understands that the obstacles are only a trial. And in truth he feels and sees Hashem within the obstacles; that is, he understands with genuine faith that Hashem sent him the obstacles in order to test him, and he feels and believes that Hashem Himself also gives him the strength to break the obstacles. Therefore he is not deterred by them; on the contrary, specifically through the obstacles he strengthens himself with greater longing and will to hold himself continually to the path of truth.

At the beginning of genuine drawing close, many trials, obstacles, and sufferings pass over a person—whether from those close to him, namely his parents and the members of his household, whether from other people—and also trials and obstacles regarding livelihood and bodily health; and he must prevail so as not to be deterred by all the obstacles, and to strengthen himself in truth as he should. And through prevailing to break the obstacles and strengthen himself in truth, he creates vessels in his mind with which to receive holiness and purity. That is, he merits the wisdom of truth and holy knowledge, to understand and comprehend how to strengthen himself in fear of Hashem and in good traits, through which one consequently attains holiness and purity. And one who labors and toils more for fear of Hashem, and likewise one who stands more firmly in the trial and is compelled to break more obstacles for the sake of drawing close to holiness, builds more vessels with which to receive holiness and purity. That is, he merits more wisdom and true knowledge, which are the essence of holiness and purity. For through the wisdom of truth and true knowledge, one merits holiness and purity in truth; thus is it explained in Likutay Halachos. And through this one merits true fear of Hashem, merits to draw down from Hashem all good influences, and merits to complete His holy Name, may He be blessed. For the essence of completeness is through true fear, as explained in Psalms (34:10): “For there is no want to those who fear Him.” That is, a person who truly fears Heaven has no deficiency, for through true fear one merits all kinds of good traits and good deeds.

Anyone who truly wishes to enter the service of Hashem—that is, who wishes to walk in the path of the Torah and faith—must know that he will be unable to hold himself to this path unless he thinks in his mind that he is alone in the world and that there is no other person besides him, so that he will not be driven from the path of truth by the false views of the people of the world. As our Rebbe, of blessed memory (in the introduction to Likutay Moharan, Part II), explains the verse (Ezekiel 33:24), “Abraham was one”: that it would have been impossible for our father Abraham, peace be upon him, to hold himself to the truth and to the genuine faith that were in his heart unless he pictured in his mind that he was alone in the world. And so must everyone who wishes to walk in the path of Hashem conduct himself. For in truth, one who does not conduct himself according to the Torah and genuine faith is not a person at all. But because the world conducts itself in the opposite manner, as explained in the words of our Sages, of blessed memory, not only do people not know that the essence of a person is one who walks in the path of the Torah and faith; on the contrary, they further say of him that he is not a person at all. Therefore everyone who wishes to walk in the path of truth must know that all the people who oppose the path of truth are not people at all, but are wild beasts and animals in human form, as explained in Likutay Moharan, Part II, section 7, in the Torah “For He Who Has Mercy on Them Will Lead Them.” And he must strengthen himself in this conviction so as not to be deterred by any person who wishes to prevent him from the path of truth, even by his parents or the members of his household. And in particular, he must not be deterred by people who wish to prevent and drive him away from the truth, but must follow the path of our father Abraham, peace be upon him, as explained above. That is, he must always think that he is alone in the world.

All the obstacles that prevent a person from the service of Hashem—that is, from fear of Hashem and observance of the Torah—even though it seems to him that the people and the obstacles are so many and so great that he will be unable to break them, in truth this is not so. For there is no person against whom there are obstacles so severe and burdensome that he cannot break them when he prevails with will and longing as he should. For the reason a person does not prevail to break the obstacles is that his will and longing are not as they should be. For if he longs and desires greatly, a person can break all kinds of obstacles. And one must know and remember that Hashem does not send any person obstacles that are greater than his strength and mind. For these obstacles are only so that he may stand firm in the trial. And if he truly prevails against the obstacles and truly contemplates, with genuine faith, the expanses and counsels that Hashem brings him in order to break the obstacles, then he will feel and see that Hashem Himself, as it were, is hidden within the obstacles and gives him strength to fortify himself and not be deterred by any obstacle in the world, as explained in §4. Therefore one must know that in truth there are no obstacles that a person does not have the power to break, for these are, as stated, solely and only to test the person whether he will truly strengthen himself to fulfill the will of Hashem. And when a person strengthens himself with longing and will as he should, all the obstacles cease and are nullified.

The greatest obstacle of all the obstacles is the obstacle of the mind. That is, a person does not contemplate with his mind and heart to understand the great degree of importance of the commandment or good deed that he wishes to fulfill. And because he does not understand the importance of the matter, his heart and mind are not properly fortified with longing and will to fulfill what he feels in his mind and faith that he must do. For example, when he feels that he must travel to true Tzadikim, but varied and numerous obstacles delay him from his journey, then if his mind and heart properly feel and understand the truth—that all his vitality depends upon this journey and upon drawing close to true Tzadikim, and particularly when he feels and understands that drawing close to the true Tzadikim will be an eternal good for him and for his generations—he will certainly not be deterred and will not look at any obstacle at all, but will prevail with abundant longing and intense will until he merits in actual practice to draw close to the true Tzadik properly. And even when he has merited and come to a true Tzadik, and has already broken all the obstacles that sought to delay him from drawing close, but at that time, while he is in the presence of the Tzadik, questions about him arise in his mind, because of which his heart is far from believing in the importance and greatness of the Tzadik—this obstacle of deficient faith is greater and harder than all the obstacles. And likewise regarding prayer: at the very outset many obstacles arise because of which a person cannot pray properly. And although he merits to break all the obstacles, his heart is still distorted because, God forbid, questions concerning the ways of Hashem penetrate him and his mind—namely the question and the answer of “a righteous man who suffers, a wicked man who prospers.” This obstacle of deficient faith, and particularly deficient faith in particular Providence, is harder and more burdensome than all the obstacles. For questions that, God forbid, penetrate the mind concerning Hashem or the true Tzadik are literal heresy, God have mercy. The counsel and rectification for these questions and for heresy are to multiply prayer and cry out about this to Hashem from the depths of the heart, as our Rebbe, of blessed memory, explains in Likutay Moharan (Part II, section 46), that the initial letters of the verse (Psalms 27:7), “Hear, Hashem, my voice; I call,” form the letters of “question” [קֻשְׁיָא]. That is, regarding questions in faith, God forbid, there is no counsel other than to fulfill the verse, “Hear, Hashem, my voice; I call”—that is, abundant prayer. And through this Hashem will help so that the questions and heresy will leave him, and he will merit to believe in Hashem and in the true Tzadikim with the proper completeness.

The essence of strengthening is a strong and courageous heart. That is, a person should be strong in his heart and mind in the truth that he feels, for then certainly no obstacle will be able to prevent him or distance him from the truth. This applies particularly to material obstacles—namely money and livelihood—or obstacles from his parents, the members of his household, and other people who wish to prevent him from drawing close to the truth as he should through their evil words or words of mockery. But if his mind and heart are strong with longing and will for genuine drawing close to Hashem—that is, to fear of Hashem and observance of the Torah—then all the obstacles cease and are nullified, and they have no substance with which to delay him. And then he draws close to Hashem and to the true Tzadikim with genuine closeness.

One must also know that a man of heart—that is, one whose heart is truly aroused to understand and feel the absolute truth, and who desires with all his heart to fulfill the will of Hashem—then there is no place that will prevent him from His service, may He be blessed, that is, from fear of Hashem and observance of the Torah. And he cannot excuse himself and say that because of the place in which he is found, he cannot engage in the service of Hashem. For one who has a heart and truly desires to fulfill the will of Hashem—all the places in the world are his. That is, in every place where he is found, he strengthens himself in fear of Hashem and observance of the Torah, and he is not ashamed before any person to fulfill the commandments of the Torah that every Jew is obligated to fulfill according to the Shulchan Aruch, such as tzitzis, tefillin, Shabbas, etc. And so it is explained in the Torah (Deuteronomy 4:29): “And from there you shall seek Hashem your God.” And the holy Baal Shem Tov, of blessed memory, explained (Me’or Einayim, Likkutim, p. 94, col. 3; and Degel Machaneh Ephraim, Parashas Vayeitzei and Parashas Chukas) that in every place where a person is found, he is obligated to seek Hashem specifically there. That is, he is obligated to strengthen himself in fear of Hashem and observance of the Torah and not be deterred by any obstacle or by any person from fulfilling the commandments of the Torah that he is obligated to fulfill. But he must study extensively the words and counsels of the true Tzadikim in order to know how to strengthen himself in breaking the obstacles, and multiply prayer and supplication that Hashem help him fulfill the counsels and views of the true Tzadikim.

Through evil words and mockery, the wicked may, God forbid, prevent a person and distance him from the service of Hashem and from true Tzadikim more than the evil inclination can. Therefore a person who wishes to draw close to Hashem and to His Tzadikim must strengthen himself with great strengthening, so as not to be deterred by the scoffers, mockers, inciters, and obstructers. And if he truly strengthens himself as he should, with all his powers, in fear of Hashem and observance of the Torah, then all the scoffers and mockers will be nullified before him, and he will merit to hold himself to the absolute truth.