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Chazita about the great value of will…. On the verse, and vanities of this world, that does not want to eat and sleep
“You are as fair, my beloved, as Tirzah” (Song of Songs but only yearns for Torah and prayer, for performing the mitzvot
6:4), the midrash states: “The name Tirzah can be read and achieving closeness to the Creator, and that derives wondrous
as ‘you have the will.’ Thus: When you have this will, delight from everything that expresses the Creator’s will. But that
you do not need to seek from anyone or learn from would mean that a person would be taking pleasure without work,
receiving unearned delight. What would be the point of creating
anyone….” such a world and sending souls there? They could have remained
in the upper world and received unearned delight. What would be
Pay close attention to every word of this holy gained if in the lower world as well we received all delights without
midrash. How greatly it praises the trait of the any work, everything for free? That would be the work of Hashem
holy will of the holy people of Israel. That is without the work of man, and so that would bring us back to the
because when they truly experience this will— dilemma of the bread of shame. In such a world, there would be
which is a holy drive to come close to Hashem, no delight: either a person would be so bored that he would no
may He be blessed—they no longer need to seek longer want to go on living, or he would be so entirely aflame with
[wisdom] from anyone and [they no longer need] an outpouring of the soul for the Creator that he would not be able
to learn from anyone. Each person’s will teaches to live and exist.
him what to do in order to please Hashem, may He
Therefore, the Creator placed man in a world of complete
be blessed. (Likutei Halachot: Netilat Yadayim 6:46) concealment and opacity, obstacles, obstacles and difficulties,
and in a body that is entirely physical and far from feeling
In the above story, the Maggid revealed a profound message: the pleasure of Hashem. In addition, He created within man
that a person’s will is so important and elevated that, as it were, it a powerful evil inclination that incites and entices him day
overshadows the highest and deepest teachings of the Torah. The
entirety of the holy Torah, together with its entire infinite and and night and that misleads him with every sort of delusion
and temptation in order to distance him from his purpose
eternal nature, with all of its lofty and precious concepts, with all
of its elevated values, and with all of the wondrous depth that was and from the true delight of the soul. Hashem gave the evil
inclination the power to overcome a person and rule over
transmitted to us by the sages of the generations, is enfolded into him. Hashem did all of this so that every good thing that a
the trait of will.
person does will be the result of his absolute free will and of
his toil and effort, and he will then truly deserve to receive
With these words, the Maggid revealed a handbreadth but he
masked tens of thousands of miles of the light that is concealed in reward. And the reward that he receives will be complete
the heart of every individual: a person must know, teach and delight, because it is reward for his good activity.
realize that the goal of the entire Torah is a singular point:
to attain a powerful and permanent will! Perfectly Precise
“Live by Them” Everything in this world, from a dust mote to the sun, exists for the
sake of free will. “Once [Rabbi Nachman] told me, ‘Everything
Know and understand that the will is the root of Creation and that you see in the world, everything that exists in the
the purpose of the entire Torah. The will is the path, the instrument world, is all for the sake of free will and for the sake of
and the power with which to attain everything in life. The will is the testing you” (Wisdom of Rabbi Nachman 300). That being so, our
