Sefer mar’eh Yeḥezkel (The Vision of Ezekiel)

History of Our Rebbe—Letters

Besides these, there are students of outstanding ability in their Torah study seated constantly in his presence—they are swifter than eagles and mightier than lions, each one of whom is able to serve as a shield for the people of his generation—and our rebbe provides them with spiritual and intellectual nourishment to their utmost satisfaction; and they are constantly engaged in the holy service for its own sake, and are filled with humility and lowliness of spirit, loving and honoring one another, and drawing close to the Almighty all those desirous of this—even the most junior individuals such as myself, who was like a mere grasshopper in their estimation; they would all stand trembling when he opened his mouth with words of Torah—they all became like deaf-mutes; and universally acknowledged that they were words which no ear had ever heard before—of a hidden and mysterious nature; each individual would understand and grasp them in accordance with his own spiritual level and the power of his intellect, in such measure as he had previously prepared himself and connected up his thoughts, his comprehension, and his wisdom to walk before the Almighty, and when he had improved his traits of character by “three cubits and seven folds and twelve leaders.” Our rebbe—may his light shine brightly—explained that the reason why these are called “the measurements of the soul” is that each person receives his illumination and his flow from the divine intellect in accordance with his own measure of spiritual accomplishment.

Now I have written down all the words that I heard from his mouth precisely as they were uttered, and in identical format, which have amounted to thirty pages, and I have already entertained the idea of recording in writing one discourse selected from those I have to hand, and of explaining his words of purity in a manner commensurate with the paucity of my intellect; although I am keenly aware that I am a mere fledgling whose eyes have not yet opened, and that I am lacking in human understanding and that my power of comprehension is not sufficiently great as to grasp even the simplest statements—namely, the mundane conversation of the students seated before him—I said to myself: “It is the work of heaven—if only to demonstrate to you that the words in question are of ancient origin, emanating from a sacred source, and to prevent the reader from making the error of saying that the words are to be understood in accordance with their plain meaning.”

Later on, I said: “This course too is not what the Almighty has chosen; for even if I were to commit to writing the major portion of his teachings, your focus, in studying that material, would not be with a view to learning some fresh manner of fine conduct, and the worthy and upright path which would be acceptable in the sight of the Almighty, and to which the Supreme Ruler would wish to accord honor—i.e., how to study Torah for its own sake and how to concentrate while engaged in prayer, and how to perform the precepts wholeheartedly, with fear and love, so that they ascend toward heaven—but on the contrary, you would focus your attention exclusively on the exposition, as to whether it is sharp and acute, as to whether it is good or bad—one person saying this and another saying that; and perhaps you would incur divine retribution for this—for having laid a blemish upon the sacred property of heaven; and moreover, it is something where the possibility of gaining reward is remote and the likelihood of coming to harm great; in particular, because works on ethical conduct are already available, though here it is vital to bear in mind that one cannot compare merely hearing about something to actually seeing it, since the reader will peruse the work in question in his own fashion, and if his mind and intellect are walking in darkness, he will be incapable of perceiving the goodly light lying concealed within such works. For these reasons, when the Creator, blessed be He, will grant His assent to your designs, may you be found worthy of hearing the words of the Living God through the medium of your own vision, emanating from the mouth of holiness as he speaks—from the one who is sitting and expounding as Moses did, from the mouth of the Almighty; then you will gain an understanding of the fear of the Almighty and knowledge of the ways of the feet of his saintly men, so as to prevent your ever returning to folly.” [ . . . ]

Why do you not fortify your yearning for “rejoicing while in a state of trembling,” on account of the fear of the Lord and His glorious majesty, to cling to the light of the countenance of the King of Life, the Ruler Who is exalted and extolled by the tongues of His saintly men and His servants? Are your brethren to come and ascend to the House of the royal sanctuary, while you remain here? How will your hearts remain firmly in place, and how will your hands be strengthened, when you witness an exceedingly vast assembly serving His glorious Name with joy and gladness, while you are merely standing by?

How much more—verily, how infinitely more so is this applicable, according to his words, namely, where many are veering away from their habitual ways to obey him, to carry out his work and to perform service for him! One is indeed obligated in regard to this matter, and it is as though one is “commanded and obeys” the command to come in person to the holy community of Frysztak, and to cast behind one’s back all such erroneous beliefs and opinions as are within a person, deep-seated within his heart; and one’s visit there should not be for no real purpose, but merely to test our rebbe, i.e., to ascertain whether “the Lord is truly in our midst,” for then one’s departure would constitute no advance on one’s arrival—but rather, one’s sole objective ought to be to ascend and to appear before the Presence of the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, Who dwells in the midst of His saintly ones; to learn from their deeds and to cling to their ways and their fine traits of character.