אות - טז

You can shout loudly in a “small, still voice” (I Kings 19:12) . You can scream without anyone hearing you shouting with this soundless, “small, still voice.” Anyone can do this. Just imagine the sound of such a scream in your mind. Depict the shout in your imagination exactly as it would sound. Keep this up until you are literally screaming with this soundless, “small, still voice.”

This is actually a scream and not mere imagination. Just as some channels bring the sound from your lungs to your lips, others bring it to the brain. You can draw the sound through these nerves, literally bringing it into your head. When you do this, you are actually shouting inside your brain. When you picture this scream in your mind, the sound actually rings inside your brain.

You can stand in a crowded room, screaming in this manner, with no one hearing you.

Sometimes when you do this, some sound may escape your lips. The voice, traveling through the nerves to the mind, can activate the vocal organs. These might then produce some sound, but it will be very faint.

It is much easier to shout in this way without using words. When you wish to express words, it is much more difficult to hold the voice in the mind and not to let any sound escape. But without words, it is much easier. 21 This was one of Rebbe Nachman's own practices ( Tzaddik #241). This does not apply to formal prayer, where one should worship in a fervent voice ( Avenehah Barzel , p. 16, #14).