Azamra: Finding the Musical Notes of Holiness within Ourselves

(1) Know, a person must judge everyone favorably (Avot 1:6). Even someone who is completely wicked, it is necessary to search and find in him some modicum of good; that in that little bit he is not wicked. And by finding in him a modicum of good and judging him favorably, one genuinely elevates him to the scale of merit and can bring him to repent.

(2) This is the aspect of “In yet a little bit the wicked man is not; you will reflect upon his place and he will not be there” (Psalms 37:10). That is, Scripture warns to judge everyone favorably. Even if you see that he is completely wicked, you must search and seek the little bit of good in him, wherein he is not wicked. This is:

(3) In yet a little bit the wicked man is not—You must seek the “yet a little bit” of good that he still has within him, because in that place he is not wicked. For although he is wicked, how is it possible that he does not still possess even a little bit of good? Is it possible that throughout his life he never once did some mitzvah or good deed? And by your finding in him yet a little bit of good wherein he is not wicked, and your judging him favorably, you genuinely elevate him from the scale of guilt to the scale of merit, until, as a result of this, he returns [to God] in repentance.

(4) Thus, this is “In yet a little bit the wicked man is not.” By finding in the wicked person “yet a little bit” of good, as a result:

(5) you will reflect upon his place and he will not be there—That is, when you contemplate and consider his place and level, he is no longer there in his original place. For by finding in him yet a little bit of good, some good point, and judging him favorably, we genuinely move him from the scale of guilt to the scale of merit.

(6) This is the explanation of “you will reflect upon his place and he will not be there,” as explained above. Understand this.

(6) Yehoshua ben Perachiah and Nitai of Arbel received from them. Yehoshua ben Perachia says, "Make for yourself a mentor, acquire for yourself a friend and judge every person as meritorious."

The Sages taught in a baraita: One who judges another favorably is himself judged favorably.

(1) Of David. Do not be vexed by evil men; do not be incensed by wrongdoers; (2) for they soon wither like grass, like verdure fade away. ... For evil men will be cut off, but those who look to the LORD— they shall inherit the land. (10) A little longer and there will be no wicked man; you will look at where he was— he will be gone.

...the sinners of Israel are filled with good deeds as a pomegranate is full of seeds, as it is written: “Your temples [rakatekh] are like a pomegranate split open” (Song of Songs 4:3), which is to be expounded as follows: Do not read this word as rakatekh, rather read it as reikanin shebakh, meaning the empty, worthless people among you; even these people are as full of good deeds as a pomegranate is full of seeds.

(1) 2. Likewise, a person must find [some good point] within himself. It is known that a person must take care to be happy always and to keep very far away from depression {as has been explained in our works a number of times}.

(2) It may be that when he begins examining himself, he sees that he possesses no good whatsoever and is filled with sin, and that as a result the Evil One wants to push him into depression and sadness, God forbid. Even so, it is forbidden to fall on account of this. Rather, he must search until he finds in himself some little bit of good. For how is it possible that throughout his life he never once did some mitzvah or good deed? And even if when he begins examining this good thing he sees that it, too, is filled with flaws and contains no purity—i.e., he sees that the mitzvah or holy deed that he merited doing is itself comprised of impure motives, external thoughts and numerous faults—nevertheless, how is it possible that this mitzvah or holy deed contains not even a little bit of good? For in any case, despite this there must have been some good point in the mitzvah or good deed that he did.

(3) Thus, a person has to search and seek to find in himself some little bit of good in order to revive himself and to attain joy, as explained above. By searching until he finds a remaining little bit of good in himself, he genuinely moves from the scale of guilt to the scale of merit and can return [to God] in repentance. This, in the aspect of “In yet a little bit the wicked man is not; you will reflect upon his place and he will not be there,” as explained above.

(4) That is, just as has been explained above, that we must judge others favorably, even the wicked, and find in them some good point, and by doing so move them from the scale of guilt to the scale of merit, in the aspect of “in yet a little bit… you will reflect…”—the same applies with regard to oneself. A person has to judge himself favorably and find in himself some remaining good point, in order to give himself the strength to avoid falling completely, God forbid. On the contrary, he will revive himself and bring joy to his soul with the little bit of good he finds in himself—i.e., that once in his life he merited doing a mitzvah or good deed.

(5) Likewise, he must go on searching until he finds in himself yet another good thing. And although this good thing too is mixed with much impurity, still, he must extract some good point from there as well. Indeed, he must go on searching and gathering further good points.

(6) And it is through this that melodies are made. The aspect of playing a musical instrument is the aspect of gathering the good ruach from the ruach of gloom, depression. The principle is that music of holiness is extremely lofty, as is known. In essence, music is made through the separation of good from evil; by selecting and gathering the good points from the bad, melodies and songs are created.

Reish Lakish said: Great is repentance, as one’s intentional sins are counted for him as merits, as it is stated: “And when the wicked turns from his wickedness, and does that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby” (Ezekiel 33:19), and all his deeds, even his transgressions, will become praiseworthy...

(7) Therefore, by not letting himself fall, but reviving himself by searching and seeking until he finds in himself some good points, gathering and separating those good points from the evil and impurity within him—through this melodies are made, as explained above. Then, he is able to pray and sing and give praise to God.

(8) For it is known that when a person becomes depressed over his gross physicality and evil deeds, and he sees how very distant he truly is from holiness, it generally makes him completely incapable of praying. He cannot even open his mouth at all, due to the magnitude of the depression, sadness and heaviness that come over him when he sees how exceedingly distant he is from God.

(9) However, if he revives himself by means of the aforementioned suggestion—

(10) that is, although he knows within himself that he committed evil deeds and numerous sins, and that he is exceedingly distant from God, yet he nevertheless searches and seeks until he finds some remaining good points in himself, as explained above, and he brings himself vitality and joy through this; for it is certainly right that a person feel ever-increasing joy over every good point stemming from the holiness of Israel that he yet finds in himself—then, when he revives himself and brings himself to joy through this, as explained above, he is then able to pray, sing and give praise to God.

(11) This is the aspect of “I will sing to God b’odee (with the little I have left)” (Psalms 146:2). Specifically b’ODee—i.e., by means of my OD that I find in myself, the aspect of “In yet a little bit the wicked man is not,” as explained above. By means of this point I am able to sing and give praise to God, as explained above.

(12) And this is: I will sing—Specifically “I will sing”; i.e., the songs and melodies that are made by gathering the good points, as explained above.

(13) {[Rebbe Nachman], of blessed memory, cautioned us to live by this teaching, for it is a major foundation for anyone who wishes to draw closer to God and not lose his eternal reward completely, God forbid. In most cases where people are far from God, the main reason for this is sadness and depression. They fall into depression because they see for themselves the great harm they have caused through their actions, each person commensurate with what he himself knows of his heart’s affliction and his anguish. Due to this they become depressed, and most of them despair [of] themselves completely. As a result they pray without any concentration, and do not even do what they are still capable of.

(14) Thus, a person has to be very sagacious in this matter. For although all his depressions are due to the evil deeds he did indeed commit, still, that he fell into depression, and that sadness and melancholy descend upon him because of this, is nothing but the work of the Evil One, who discourages him in order to defeat him completely, God forbid. One must therefore be very resolved to live by this teaching, to each time search and seek within himself a little bit of good and good points, etc., as explained above. Through this he will revive himself and bring himself joy, and he will still look forward to God’s help. He will be able to pray, and sing and give praise to God, in the aspect of “I will sing to God with the little I have left,” as explained above. And because of this, he will merit to genuinely return to God, as explained above.}

(1) 3. Know, too, that someone who is capable of making these melodies—i.e., gathering the good points that are to be found in each Jew, even a Jewish sinner, as explained above—he can lead the communal prayers. For one who leads the communal prayers is called the messenger of the people; he must be sent by all the people—i.e., he must gather every good point that is to be found in each of the congregants. All these good points are merged in him, so that when he stands up to pray, it is with all this good. This is the meaning of “messenger of the people.” Thus, he must have within him this exalted aspect, as a result of which all the points are drawn to him and become merged within him.

(2) And someone who can make the aforementioned melodies—i.e., he is capable of judging all people favorably, even the rabble and the wicked, because he persistently searches and seeks to find the good points in all of them, through which melodies are made, as explained above—this tzaddik, since he is on this level, is capable of being the cantor and messenger of the people. That is, he can lead the communal prayers, because he has within him this aspect, which is a necessary requirement to be a truly fitting messenger of the people. For he must possess the aspect whereby all the good points are drawn to him and are merged within him, so that he is capable of gathering all the good points that are to be found in each Jew, even a Jewish sinner, as explained above.

(1) 4. Know, too, that in each and every generation there is a shepherd who is the aspect of Moshe, the “faithful shepherd.” This shepherd makes a sanctuary.

(2) And know, the young schoolchildren receive the undefiled breath of their mouths from this sanctuary. Therefore, when a young child first begins to read and enter the study of Torah, he begins with “Vayikra (And He called) to Moshe” (Leviticus 1:1)—[the word Vayikra is written] with a small aleph—because [the Book of] Vayikra speaks of the completion of the Sanctuary’s erection. It was then that God called to Moshe and began speaking to him from the Sanctuary. This is why the young children begin from there, because it is from there that they receive the breath of their mouths, as explained above, and from there they begin to read and enter into Torah study.

Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Do not touch My anointed ones and do My prophets no harm” (I Chronicles 16:22)? “Do not touch My anointed ones,” these are the schoolchildren, who are as precious and important as kings and priests (Maharsha); “and do not harm My prophets,” these are Torah scholars. Reish Lakish said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda Nesia: The world only exists because of the breath, i.e., reciting Torah, of schoolchildren. Rav Pappa said to Abaye: My Torah study and yours, what is its status? Why is the Torah study of adults worth less? He said to him: The breath of adults, which is tainted by sin, is not similar to the breath of children, which is not tainted by sin.

(1) 5. And know, all the tzaddikim of the generation, without exception, are the aspect of a shepherd. For within each one of them is an aspect of Moshe; and each one of them, in his own aspect, makes an aspect of a sanctuary, from which the young children receive the breath of their mouths, as explained above. And each [tzaddik], commensurate with his aspect—the aspect of the sanctuary that he makes—likewise has young children who receive from there. Thus it is that every tzaddik of the generation, without exception, has a specific number of children who receive the breath of their mouths from him; each [tzaddik] commensurate with his aspect, as explained above.

(2) This is the aspect of what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: Young children are snatched away because of the sin of the generation, as it is said (Song of Songs 1:8), “and graze your young goats by the shepherd’s MiShKaNot (tents)”—[the young children] mitmaShKNin (are taken as surety) for the shepherds (Shabbat 33b).

(3) This is the explanation of “by the shepherd’s tents.” They receive the breath of their mouths from the aspect of the mishkanot of the shepherds—i.e., the tzaddikim of the generation, each of whom makes a mishkan (sanctuary), as explained above.

We learned in the mishna: If boats are tied together, one may carry an object from one to the other on Shabbat. The Gemara asks: That is obvious, since these boats are like a single domain. Rava said: This mishna was necessary only to permit carrying from one boat to another via a small boat that is between them. Rav Safra said to him: Moses, did you speak well? We learned in the mishna that one may carry only from one to the other, not via a small boat.

"Moses" - That is to say, our rabbi in our generation, who was like Moses in his generation.

Rabbi Guryon said, and some say that it was Rav Yosef, son of Rabbi Shemaya, who said it: At a time when there are righteous people in the generation, the righteous are seized, i.e., they die or suffer, for the sins of the generation. If there are no righteous people in the generation, school children, who are also without sin, are seized for the sins of the generation. Rabbi Yitzḥak bar Ze’iri said, and some say that Rabbi Shimon ben Nezira said: What is the verse that alludes to this? “If you know not, you fairest among women, go your way forth by the footsteps of the flock and graze your kids, beside the shepherds’ tents [mishkenot]” (Song of Songs 1:8). And we say in explanation of this verse: They are the lambs that are taken as collateral [hamemushkanin], which is etymologically similar to the word mishkenot, in place of the shepherds. If the shepherds and leaders of the generation corrupt the multitudes, young children die because of their sins.

And pasture your kids (3) near the dwellings of the shepherds. Among the dwellings of the other shepherds whom you are near. This is the allegory: If you do not know, My assembly and My congregation, O fairest of women, among other nations, where you should pasture and be saved from the hand of those who oppress you, to be among them, and not have your children perish, ponder the ways of your early ancestors, who accepted My Torah and kept My ordinance and My commandments, and go in their ways...

(1) 6. However, to know all this— i.e., to know of each and every tzaddik, which are the young children who relate to him and how much they receive from him, and to know all the aspects involved in this and the generations that will come from them to the very end—know, one who can make the aforementioned melodies can know all this.

(2) And this is the deeper meaning of what our Sages, of blessed memory, said in the Mishnah: In truth, they said, the chazan sees where the young children are reading (Shabbat 11a). “The chazan”—i.e., one who can make the aforementioned melodies—he can be the cantor, the messenger of the people, leader of the communal prayers, as explained above. He sees and knows “where the young children are reading”—i.e., from which tzaddik they receive the breath of their mouths, through whom they read and enter into the study of Torah, as explained above.

MISHNA: This mishna deals with various decrees, especially with regard to the halakhot of Shabbat, which were issued in order to distance a person from transgressions that he is liable to commit through habit and routine. The mishna said: The tailor may not go out with his needle adjacent to nightfall on Shabbat eve, lest he forget that he is carrying the needle and go out with it to the public domain even after Shabbat begins. And, similarly, the scribe [lavlar] may not go out with his quill[kulmos] for the same reason. And one may not shake his clothes on Shabbat to rid them of lice; and one may not read a book by candlelight, so that he will not come to adjust the wick of the lamp. However, in truth they said an established halakha: The chazan sees where in the book the children under his supervision are reading in the Torah, even by candlelight on Shabbat. However, he himself may not read....

Chazan: The synagogue's Torah reader; there are times that he doesn't know where exactly the shul will be reading the following day. He must look at what the children are studying in the library, by candlelight, and he will know what the correct Torah portion is. Alternatively, a chazan​​​​​​​ is a teacher, and he is looking to see where they will pick up on the following day, and how they are finishing their studies.