Breslev Tsfat

Why There Will be No Converts in the Time of Mashiach

NAVIGATING THE STORM by Rav Ephraim Kenig

When HaShem examines a soul before it is born and sees that it can make converts to Judaism and influence mankind to return to God,¹ He sees to it that this soul is surrounded by controversy. Looking at the world today, we see examples of people who possess this quality and are, in fact, successful in arousing people to do teshuva, and even making converts. HaShem Himself ensures that there is a certain stormwind encircling such a person.²

This stormwind exists before the soul is born, as well as after it enters the world. It is a tumult that manifests itself in many different ways, coming from any direction. We are witness to how all types of controversy are played out in the world. The controversy surrounding a greater person is expressed at a higher level. For instance, certain people may say he/she is acting improperly according to the Kabbalah, or that he/she is out of line according to a particular subtle religious issue. Someone of lesser stature may be maligned via more material issues, such as financial matters. Or for example, in the case of a simple Jew who has the quality to bring people back to G-d, others on a similar simple level might say, “Who do they think they are? You know what? They’re not so great! After all, we are simple people!” All kinds of lashon hara surround this soul. Even further, although it is for the good, G-d sees to it that this type of slander is readily accepted as fact.

Ratzo v'Shov: Running & Returning

A person needs to be an expert on how to go along the path of teshuva. According to Rebbe Nachman, this is called ratzo v'shov, running and returning.

A person can take something lofty upon himself. He runs headlong into it, thinking he is really getting close to God now... but his expectations extend far beyond his actual ability. When he fails to meet his own high expectations, he falls completely in frustration and despair, failing to even accomplish what is within his ability. This is the concept of ratzo, running.

When one comes crashing down from unrealistic expectations, a person is greatly weakened. This can happen even with normal expectations, when one sees that he has not reached them in the way he wanted. This is the meaning of being expert in Running and Returning. "I will run to it, but whatever I achieve, I will be happy with what I managed to achieve without being frustrated." Then renew your energies and try again with more realistic expectations. This is shov, returning.

The dynamic of ratzo v'shov can be expressed another way: When a person ascends so high in his spirituality and feels so close to God (ratzo, running), he needs to know that he is still far and has not attained God, as it were. On the other hand, the idea of shov, returning, is when a person is in the lowest of depths, feeling like nothing, thinking he will never get up again. The Yetzer HaRa says, "You should know yourself already. You will never change. You will just keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Why even try to get up?" It is here where God says, "I am with you in this place, let us ascend together."

These ideas are the secret of teshuva.

Taken from a recent shiur of Rav Ephraim Kenig, shlita, based on Likutey Moharan 6:4.

Doing Teshuva on Teshuva

It is true that Yom Kippur completely atones for a Jew. But looking deeper, it is more accurate to say that it completely atones for one at the level he is currently holding. Since there are many levels to teshuva (repentance), we cannot possibly wipe out all of our mistakes at once. Initially, we did not realize the gravity of our actions. When we begin to realize the seriousness of our deeds, we are aroused to return to God. Yet as we grow spiritually, so does our awareness of the greatness of God. When we do teshuva, we are purified and ascend to a higher level and our perception of God is correspondingly heightened.

At this stage, we need to repent for our more inferior perception, which is now considered "material" compared to our relatively higher spiritual awareness. We now understand that our deeds were more serious than originally thought. Therefore, we need to ask forgiveness again according to our new level. Practically, this means that there are times we need to recall old misdeeds we thought we were finished with and repent on a level consonant with our newer spiritual level.

Not only that, due to our limited perception at the time of our misdeed, it was as if we "limited" the God's honor (in our own minds). We now must repent for this seeming insult to God's honor. If God is called Ein Sof, the Unlimited One, how can we understand the true depth of what that really means? For this reason, the process is endless. We must ascend higher and higher to attain greater levels of understanding the greatness of the Creator.

This is the dynamic of Olam HaBa, the World to Come, a continuous coming close to the Endless Light.

From a recent shiur of Rav Ephraim Kenig, shlita, based on Likutey Moharan 6:3.

hebrew shiur: no converts when mashiach comes

Based on Likutey Moharan 228.

hebrew shiur: the attribute of "chesed l'avraham"

Based on Likutey Moharan 87.

hebrew shiur: sweetening judgments on parshat para

Based on Likutey Moharan Tinyana 74.

hebrew shiur: removing your shadow to bring shefa

Based on Likutey Moharan 172.

hebrew shiur: kabbalat hatorah & free choice

Rav Ephraim Kenig during Parshat Yitro 5770, based on Likutey Moharan 190.

hebrew shiur: splitting the red sea, arrogance & humility

Rav Ephraim Kenig during Parshat B'Shalach 5770.

online tzaddik: searching for the good point

There is a single point in the universe that attracts us with an irresistible force. It is a place of ultimate desire and yearning, where Man and God merge, the “meeting place.” It is here where all existence is nullified, since it is from here where the entire Universe burst forth. It is the place of teshuva, which precedes the Creation of the world. It is an all-inclusive point, encompassing all souls and is the essence of being realized during hitbodedut, the practice of speaking to God in your own words. This same point is the good point within yourself and others. It is the point of Truth, the Tzaddik, the Shechina. There are many names for it, but ultimately, it is the same point. The “good point.”