Translation:Tales of Rabbi Nachman/3
3 A tale. Once there was a sage. Before his death, he called his children and his family and left them a will: that they should water trees. "You may engage in other occupations also, but this you should see constantly to do: to water trees." Afterwards, the sage passed away and he left children. And he had one son who was not able to walk; he was able to stand, but he was not able to walk. His brothers would give him his needs for his livelihood, and they gave him so much that he had leftover. He would save up for himself bit by bit whatever remained for him beyond his livelihood, until he amassed a certain amount. He came to the decision, "Why should I get a stipend from them? Better that I begin to do some commerce." And though he could not walk, he came up with the solution to hire for himself a carriage and an assistant and a wagon-driver and he will travel with them to Leipzig, and he will be able to conduct the trade even though he could not walk. When the family heard this, it pleased them very much, and they also said, "Why should we give him subsistence? Better let him make for himself a livelihood." And they lent him more money so that he should be able to conduct the trade.
Thus he did; and he hired a carriage and an assistant and a wagon-driver, and he traveled, and came to an inn. The assistant said that they should spend the night there, and he did not want. They pleaded with him, but he was stubborn with them. They traveled away from there and got lost in a forest and thieves ambushed them. And the thieves had come about by a story: There was once a famine. Someone came to the city and proclaimed: Whoever wants food should come to him. Several people came to him. When he saw the men who were not useful to him, he rejected them. To one he would say, "You can be a craftsman," and to this one he said, "You can be a miller." And he chose only intelligent youths, and went with them into the forest and persuaded them that they should become thieves: "Being that from here, roads go to Leipzig, to Breslau and to other places, merchants travel through here. We will rob them. We will have money." (So did the thief who had earlier made the proclamation in the city persuade them.) The thieves ambushed them (that is, the one who was not able to walk and his men, namely, the assistant and the wagon-driver). The assistant and the wagon-driver were able to flee; they fled and he remained on the wagon. The thieves came to him and took away from him the chest of money and asked him, "Why are you sitting?" He replied he could not walk. And they stole from him the chest and the horses, and he remained on the carriage.
And the assistant and the wagon-driver (who fled away) came to the decision, inasmuch as they took out loans from feudal landlords, why should they return home where they could be placed in chains? Better for them to remain there (there where they had fled there) and they will be an assistant and wagon-driver there. And the one who was not able to walk, who remained on the wagon, as long as he had the dry bread that he brought from home, he ate those. Afterwards, when this ran out already, and he did not have what to eat, he decided, what to do? He threw himself out of the carriage to eat grass. He would spend the night alone in the field and was frightened. And the strength was taken from him until he was no longer able to even stand, only move himself. And he would eat the grass that was around him. And as long as he was able to reach grass and eat, he would eat there; and afterwards, when the grass around him ran out so that he was no longer able to reach, he moved himself further away and ate again. Thus he ate the grass for a time.
Once, he came to an herb the likes of which he did not eat yet. This herb pleased him very much, because he has been eating grasses for a long time, and he knew them already, and such an herb he did not yet see. He came to the decision to tear it out with its root. Under the root was a diamond. And the diamond was quadrangular and each side of the diamond had in it a different special ability. On one side of the diamond it was written that whoever will grasp that side, it will carry him to where day and night meet together, that is, where the sun and the moon gather in unison. When he tore out the herb with the root (which is where the diamond was) it happened that he grasped that side (that is, the side which its special ability is it should carry him to the place where day and night come together). It carried him there, where day and night come together. He looked around and he is already there (where day and night, that is, the sun and the moon, gather in unison)!
He heard as the sun with the moon are talking, and the sun was complaining before the moon, "Inasmuch as there is a tree that has many branches and fruits and leaves, and each branch and each fruit and each leaf has a special ability — this one is conducive for children, and this one is conducive to livelihood, and this one is conducive to healing this sickness, and this one is conducive for another sickness; each tiny bit of the tree is conducive to something else — and this tree should have been watered, and if it would be watered, it would be very specially potent. And not only do I not water it, I shine on it too and dry it out."
The moon answered (to the sun) and said, "You worry others' worries. I'll tell you my worry. Inasmuch as I have a thousand mountains, and around the thousand mountains are another thousand mountains, and there, is the place of demons, and the demons have chicken-like feet — they have no strength in their feet, so they take strength from my feet, and because of this, I have no strength in my feet. And I have a powder (that is, a dust) that is a cure for my feet, and a wind comes and carries it away."
The sun responded, "That is what you worry about?! I will tell you a cure. Inasmuch as there is a path, and several paths branch off from that path: One path is the one of tzaddikim. Even one who is a tzaddik here, that dust from that path is sprinkled underneath each his steps, and with each step, he is constantly stepping on that dust. And there is a path of heretics. Even one who is a heretic here, this dust is sprinkled underneath each of his steps, as mentioned above. And there is a path of the insane. Even one who is insane here, this dust is sprinkled under him, as mentioned above. And so there are several paths. And there is a path, being that there are tzaddikim who accept suffering upon themselves, the landlords march them in chains, and they have no strength in their feet: dust from this path is sprinkled underneath them so that they have strength in their feet. So you should go there, for there is plenty of dust there and you will have healing for your feet." (All this did the sun say to the moon.) And he heard all this. (That is, the one who had no strength in his feet heard all this.)
Meanwhile, he looked at the diamond on another side and he saw written there that whoever will grasp that side, it will carry him to the path from which many paths go out (namely, the path mentioned above, of which the sun informed the moon). He grasped that side and it carried him away to there (that is, to the path). He placed his feet on that path whose dust is healing for the feet and he was immediately healed. He went and took the dust from all the paths and bound each dust separately in a bundle. (Namely,) he bound the dust from the path of tzaddikim separately, and likewise, the dust of the remaining paths he bound each separately; and he made himself bundles from the powders and took them with him. And he came to a decision and went to that forest where he was robbed. When he arrived there, he chose for himself a tall tree which is near the path from which the thieves go out to rob. And he took the dust of the tzaddikim and the dust of the insane and mixed them together, and spread them on the path. And he went up the tree and sat there to see what will happen with them.
He saw how the robbers went out, having been sent out by the elder robber (mentioned above) to rob. When the robbers came to that path, as soon as they took a step on the powder, they became tzaddikim and began to cry out for their years and days for having robbed until now and having killed several souls. But since it was mixed there with the powder of the insane, they became insane tzaddikim and began to argue with each other. This one said, "Because of you we killed," and this one said, "Because of you!" So did they argue until they killed each other. The elder robber again sent other robbers, and it was also as before and they also killed each other. And so it was several times until they were all killed out, until he understood (namely, the one who previously had no strength in the feet, who went up on a tree) that there were none remaining of the robbers except for him alone (namely, the elder robber who persuaded them all, as mentioned above) with one more. He went down from the tree and swept up the dust from the path, and sprinkled only the dust from tzaddikim, and he went and sat himself on the tree again.
And the elder robber (who kept sending his people and they did not return) wondered very much, that he keeps sending the thieves and none return. He decided and went personally with the one that still remained with him. And as soon as he came onto that path (that this one sprinkled there the dust of tzaddikim by itself), he became a tzaddik. And he began to cry out to the other one over his years and days, that he killed so many souls and robbed so much. And he tore graves and was penitent and very remorseful. As soon as he saw (namely, the one who was sitting on the tree) that he has remorse and is very penitent, he came down from the tree. As soon as the robber saw a person, he began to cry out over himself, "Woe to me! I have done such and such! Woe! Give me penance!" He answered him, "Return to me the chest that you robbed from me." For, it was written by them on each of the stolen goods, when it was stolen and from whom this was stolen. He said to him, "I will immediately return it to you! I will even give you all the troves of stolen goods that I have! Just give me penance!" He said to him, "Your penance is just that you should go into the city, and you should call out and you should confess, 'I am the one who proclaimed then (as mentioned above) and made several robbers, and I killed and robbed several souls.' This is your penance." The robber gave him all the troves, and went with him into the city and did so. Judgment was passed there in the city that since he killed out so many souls, therefore, they should hang him, so they should know: meaning, so that others should be edified.
Afterwards, he decided (that is, the one who previously had no strength in the feet) to go to the two thousand mountains (mentioned above) to see what takes place there. When he arrived there, he stood far from the two thousand mountains, and he saw that there are several, several thousands of thousands and myriads of myriads of families of demons there, for they are fruitful and they multiply and they have children as do humans, and they are very numerous. And he saw their kingship sitting on a throne, such that no one born of a woman (meaning, no human) sits on such a throne. And he saw how they are scoffing: this one tells that he harmed this one's baby, and this one tells how he harmed this one's hand, and this one tells how he harmed someone's foot, and other such scoffing.
Meanwhile, he saw a father and mother walking and weeping. They were asked, "Why are you weeping?" They answered: They have a son. His routine was he would go on his way and would return at this time, and now, it is already a long time and he still has not come. (And they were all from the demons: the father with the mother with the son.) They were brought to the king. The king ordered to send messengers throughout the whole world to find him. As the father and the mother were returning from the king, they met someone who has gone together with their son. He asked them, "Why are you weeping?" They told him. He answered them, "I will tell you. Being that we had an island at the sea, which was our territory — the king to whom this island pertained went and wanted to build palaces there and had already laid a foundation. Your son said to me that we should harm him. We went and we took away the strength of the king. He got involved with doctors and they were not able to help him so he started getting involved with sorcerers. There was one sorcerer there who knew his family. He did not know my family; therefore, he was not able to do anything to me — but he knew his family, so he seized him and is torturing him severely." They brought him to the king (that is, the demon who told all this) and he told this over before the king too. The king said: "Let them return the strength to the king!" He replied, "There was someone by us who had no strength and we gave away the strength to him." The king said, "Let them take that strength away from him and return it to the king!" They answered him: He became a cloud (that is, the demon to whom they have given away the strength of the king – that demon became a cloud). The king said that they should, "Summon the cloud and bring it here." They sent an emissary after him.
He decided (namely, the one who previously had no strength in his feet, who witnessed all this), "I will go ahead and I will see how these people become a cloud." He followed the emissary and came to the city where the cloud was. He asked the people of the city, "Why is there a cloud in the city?" They answered him, "Here in the city, it is the opposite; never a cloud here. Only for a while has such a cloud enveloped the city." And the emissary came and summoned the cloud and it went away from there. He decided (that is, the one who previously had no strength in his feet) to follow them to hear what they are saying. He heard how the messenger asked him, "How did it come to be, that you became a cloud here?" He answered him, "I'll tell you a story.
Once, there was a sage. And the emperor of the country was a big heretic, and he made the entire country into heretics. The sage went and summoned his whole family and said to them, 'Surely you see that the emperor is a big heretic and has made the entire country into heretics, and part of our family he has also already made into heretics. Therefore, let us set out for the wilderness so that we should remain in our faith in God, blessed be He.' They agreed on this. The sage uttered a Name; it brought them to a wilderness. This wilderness did not please him. He again uttered a Name; it took them to another wilderness. This wilderness, too, did not please him. He again uttered a Name; again it took them to another wilderness. This wilderness did please him. And this wilderness was close to the two thousand mountains (mentioned above). The sage went and made a circle around them so that no one should be able to come near them.
And there is a tree which if it would be watered, there would not remain anything of us (that is, of the demons). Therefore, some of us constantly stand digging day and night and do not allow water to reach the tree." The other one asked him, "Why do they have to stand day and night digging? Once they have dug one time that the water should not be able to come; it should suffice." He answered him, "Since there are talkers among us, and these talkers go and instigate disputes between this king and another king, and this causes wars, and the wars cause earthquakes, and the earth that is around the ditches falls in, which allows water to reach the tree; therefore, they must constantly stand and dig. And when there is a new king among us, they make all the mockery before him and they rejoice. This one jests in how he harmed a baby and how the mother mourns over it, and this one shows another mockery, and likewise several kinds of mockeries. And when the king gets into festivity, he goes and takes a walk with his ministers and tries to uproot the tree. Because if this tree would not exist at all, it would be very good for us. And the king fortifies his heart exceedingly in order to uproot the tree entirely. When he approaches the tree, the tree gives a great shout, so a great fear falls on him and he must turn around.
Once, a new king was appointed among us (that is, among demons, for all this did the cloud tell to the emissary, as mentioned above). Great mockery was done before him, as mentioned above, and he waxed quite joyous and made his heart very bold, and wanted to tear out the entire tree completely. And he went out walking with his ministers, and he brazened his heart exceedingly, and ran over to tear out the tree completely. When he arrived at the tree, it let out a great cry at him, and a fear fell on him; he turned around and was very angry and he was going back. Meanwhile, he took a look and saw people sitting (this was the aforementioned sage with his people). The king sent from his people to do something (that is, to harm them, as is their custom). As soon as the sage's family saw them, they were overcome with great fear. The elder (that is, the aforementioned sage) called out to them, 'Do not fear.' When the demons arrived there, they were unable to come close due to the circle that was around them. He sent other messengers and they, too, were unable to come close. The king came in great anger and went himself and he, too, was unable to come close to them.
He asked the elder that he should let him go in to them. The elder said to him, 'Since you are requesting of me, I will indeed let you in. However, it is not customary that a king should go alone. Therefore, I will let you in with one other.' He opened an opening for them, they entered, and he closed the circle again. The king said to the elder, 'How do you come to settle on our place?' He said to him, 'Why is it your place? It is my place!' The king said to the elder, 'You have no fear of me?' He said, 'No.' He said again, 'You have no fear?' And he stretched himself out and became very big, until the sky, and wanted to swallow him. The elder said, 'I still have no fear of you at all. But if I want, you will be afraid of me.' And he went and prayed a bit, and big clouds formed, and there were great thunders. And the thunder kills them very effectively, and all his ministers that were with him were killed, and none remained anymore except for the king with the one who was with him, there, in the circle. He begged him (that is, the king begged the elder) that the thunder should cease, and it ceased.
The king replied and said to the elder, 'Since you are such a person, I will give you a book of all the demon families. For, there are miracle workers who only know of one family, and even that family they also do not know completely. I will give you a book in which all the families are written. For, by the king they are all recorded, and even a newborn is also registered by the king. The king sent the one who was with him after the book. (Hence, he did very rightly by letting him in with another, for otherwise, whom would he send?) He brought him the book. He opened the book and saw that inside were millions and billions of their families. The king promised the elder that they would never harm the elder's entire family, and he commanded to bring portraits of his whole family, and even if a baby was born, to immediately bring its portrait, so that they would not harm anyone from the elder's family.
Afterwards, when the time came for the elder to leave the world, he called his sons and commanded them and said to them, 'I leave you this book. Surely you see that I have the power to use this book in holiness, and even still I don't use it; I just have faith in God, blessed be He. You too should not use it. Even if there will be one of you who will be able to use it in holiness, he still should not use it, but just have faith in God, blessed be He.' Then the sage died and the book was passed on as an inheritance and came to his grandson (his son's son). And he had the power to use it in holiness, but he just had faith in God, blessed be He, and did not use it, as the elder wished.
The gossipers that were among the demons tried to persuade the elder's grandson, 'Since you have grown daughters and are unable to support them and marry them off, therefore use this book.' And he did not know that they were trying to persuade him, and thought that his heart was advising him to do this. So he traveled to his grandfather, to his grave, and asked him, 'Being that you left a testament that we should not to use this book, but only have faith in God, blessed be He, now my heart is telling me to use it.' His grandfather (who was deceased) answered him, 'Even though you can use it in holiness, it is better that you should have faith in God, blessed be He, and not use it, and God, blessed be He, will help you.' And that is what he did.
And the day came to pass, when the king of the country where this grandson of the elder lived became ill. He got involved with doctors, but they could not heal him. Due to the high heat there in that country, the treatments did not help. The king of the country decreed that the Jews should pray for him. Our king (that is, the king of the demons) said, 'Since this grandson has the power to use this book in holiness and he still does not use it, therefore we need to do him a favor.' He commanded me to become a cloud there so that the king (of that country) would be healed by the treatments that he had already taken and the treatments he would yet take. And the grandson knew nothing about this. And that is why I have become a cloud here." (All this is what the cloud told the emissary.)
And the one who previously had no strength in his feet was following them and heard everything. The one who was a cloud was brought before the (demon) king, and the king commanded to take the strength from him and return it to the other king (from whom they had taken away his strength because he had built upon their territory, as mentioned), and they returned the strength to him. The son of the demons (whose father and mother had wept for him, as mentioned) had returned, and he arrived very afflicted and without strength, because he had been severely tortured there. He was very enraged at the sorcerer who had tortured him so much there, so he ordered his children and his family to always stalk this sorcerer. But among the demons are talkers (that is, gossipers), and they went and told the sorcerer that they were waiting to ambush him, so that he could protect himself from them. The sorcerer performed some strategy, and called upon more sorcerers who knew more families, in order to protect himself from them. The (demon) son and his family were very enraged at the tattlers for having revealed his secret to the sorcerer.
Once, it happened that some members of the (demon) son's family and some of the tattlers went together on the king's watch. The son's family went and made false accusations against the tattlers, and the king killed the tattlers. The remaining tattlers were enraged, and they went and made an upheaval (that is, a huge war) between all the kings. And there were hunger, infirmity, murder, and plagues among the demons. So wars were waged between all the kings, and this caused an earthquake, and all the earth fell in, and the tree was watered completely. None of them (that is, of the demons) survived whatsoever, and they became as if they had never existed. Amen.
"Fortunate is the man who did not walk etc., did not stand, And in the seat of scorners etc., And he will be like a tree planted by streams of water" etc. — the entire story is alluded to in this chapter. Whoever has eyes, let him see, and whoever has a heart, let him understand, what on the world is happening.
The secret of this story is alluded to in Chapter 1 in the Psalms: "Fortunate is the man" etc. — the "path of the wicked"; the "path of the tzaddikim" etc. This is the aspect of the aforementioned paths that have the dust that they sprinkle, etc., as mentioned above. "And he will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which will give its fruit in its season, and its leaves" etc. "and all that he will do will prosper" — this is the aforementioned tree, that all of its fruit and leaves, everything in its entirety is all very beneficial, as mentioned above. Examine and you will find some more allusions: "Fortunate is the man who did not walk" — for, initially, he was not able to walk. "Did not stand" — for, afterwards, he was also not able to stand. "And in the seat of scorners" this is the aforementioned settlement of mockers who make mockery, etc., as mentioned above. "Like chaff which the wind will drive away" this is the wind that carries away the aforementioned dust. And all this is just superficial allusions that he enlightened our eyes a bit, in order that we shall understand and comprehend a bit of the extent until where the things reach. But the things are still sealed in utter concealment, for all these stories that he told were very, very high above human comprehension and hidden from the eye of all living, etc.