Breslov Kollel Online Blog

2009-03-24T13:14:00.004-04:00

The Breslov Kollel would like to announce that with G-d's help, we are embarking on two new programs.

Firstly, we are offering Chavrusaos, study-partners, in the works of Rebbe Nachman and his disciples. This program will be similiar to the classic "Partners-in-Torah" program.

For those who live within vicinity of Lakewood, NJ, there will be an option to learn with one of our Kollel members one on one. Otherwise, we are offering to study over the telephone.

For more information, please E-Mail us at breslovchavrusa@gmail.com.

In addition, we can assist in establishing study-groups and shiurim in the Rebbe's teachings, to be led by members of our Kollel. The E-Mail for this project is breslovshiurim@gmail.com.

You can also call us a 732-425-0224

We look forward to hearing from you. With your help we can continue to spread the light of Breslov to more and more people.

Meshivas Nefesh 2

2009-03-23T10:00:00.001-04:00

If someone would ask me, what would be the greatest way to glorify Hashem’s Name, what would I answer?
Maybe my giving tremendous amounts of charity would venerate Him in the eyes of the world? Perhaps to dedicate my life solely to the service of Him would? Could be to die for His name?
Reb Nachman provides us with an interesting answer. “The exaltation of Hashem is that even those who are very, very far from Him also draw near to His service. Through this His name is honored and elevated above and below.”
This is the greatest honor I can bestow upon my creator. When I, however far I think I am, get closer to Him too. Especially if I think that I’m very far. Much more so if I think that I fall into the category of very, very far.
Sometimes, I might despair of ever properly serving Hashem. I feel that I’ve gotten into such bad habits and routines, that I just can’t get out. I might even fell that I’m always unsuccessful at whatever I try, maybe as a retribution for all of my sins.
But I can never give up hope. On the contrary, the elevation and praise of Hashem will come chiefly from someone like me, who’s so far right now.

Based on Meshivas Nefesh 2

Letters from R' Noson

2009-03-23T09:59:00.002-04:00

To my friend, Reb Shimshon,

… To respond to you with words of truth as you wish, many pages would not suffice. I would have to copy for you all of the Rebbe’s works. In them is already explained whatever is needed for every individual according to his level, wherever his place, at every time. There is what’s needed when he’s sitting at home and when travelling on the road. There is nothing which may be hidden from you which you won’t find in his holy and awesome books, if you will study them sincerely.
Be strong, my brother and friend, and remember your Creator at all times, even when engaged in business, and of course in your spare time. For G-d’s sake, grab an hour a day to converse with Him, as the Rebbe commanded us to countless times.
Encourage yourself with new strength every day, and don’t let anything in the world upset you. Whatever happens to you, whether in material matters or in spiritual matters or financial, however it may be, don’t give up!
There are always sincere words which you can find to say to G-d every day, whatever is going on in your life, whether in good times or bad times. There are no excuses, because “Hashem’s Truth is forever.” That means that His Truth is always there, and nothing that happens to a person, no matter what, can ever conceal that Truth. For Truth is the light of Hashem Himself, and these words of Truth can shine in every type of darkness in the world, and with it you can always find passageways through which to leave the darkness, as is explained in Likutei Moharan 9 and 112.
Accustom yourself to carry out this lesson always, to always pursue only the truth, and always look for the truth, the genuine truth. See to speak before G-d with a sincerity and truth. Then Hashem will shine to you His light in any place that you might be, at any time, and you’ll see the way out of your darkness to a great light.
You will be able to always remember G-d, for He is always found, in every place, and by every person, whatever level he’s on…

Nosson from Breslov

Based on Alim L’Terufah 17

משיבת נפש

2009-03-18T19:11:00.006-04:00

...מי שרוצה לשוב לה' יתברך

Whoever wants to return to Hashem… return to Hashem… to do Teshuvah…?
Do I want to stop all the nonsense? Do I want to leave all my bad habits?
Do I want to start accomplishing, to start actually come close to Hashem?
What do I need to do?

...צריך להיות בקי בהלכה מאד

I need to be an expert, to be proficient. In what do I need to be proficient?
...שלא יפיל אותו ולא ירחק אותו

I must be an expert in the knowledge that I can never let anything throw me down. Nothing should be able to distance me from Hashem.

...שום דבר בעולם
I shouldn’t think that there can be something which I might allow to throw me down or distance me. I shouldn’t let anything in the world do that.
...בין בעילייה
Sometimes I find myself on a high. Things are going good. But being successful can also knock me down, and distance me. I have to be careful not to let my highs distance me.
...ובין בירידה

And even if I know how to be cautious during good times, I have to be especially careful when I’m on a low. I have to make sure not to allow my down days knock me down.

ובכל מה שיעבור עליו

No matter what I may ever encounter, I must never let anything weaken me.
יחזק את עצמו, שקורין דער האלטין זיך

I must always be strong. I must always hold on. I can never lose my resolve.
ויקיים "אם אסק שמים שם אתה, ואציעה שאול הנך" שגם בשאול תחתיות יכולין לקרב את עצמו להשי"ת כי גם שם הוא נמצא בבחי' ואציעה שאול הנך.
Hashem is everywhere. Hashem is even in the lowest places. Wherever I may have fallen, Hashem is also there. Therefore, I can always come close to Him, even here, even now. I don’t have to wait until I “get out”. I don’t have to brush myself off. I just have to turn to Him, with simplicity and with faith. All I have to know is, “You are here.”
And then I am close to him.
Even here.
כשרוצה אדם לילל בדרכי התשובה

When a person wants to go in the ways of Teshuvah and repentance… do I fit into that category?
צריך להיות בקי בהלכה, וצריד להיות לו שני בקיאיות, היינו בקי ברצוא בקי בשוב

I need to be an expert in running and returning. I need to know how to run, and I need to know how to come back.
שזהו בחינת עייל ונפיק

Running and returning are an aspect of entering and exiting. I need to know what to do when I’m “in” and when I’m “out”.
בחי' אם אסק שמים שם אתה ואציעה שאול הנך

When I’m flying high I’ve got to remember that Hashem is there too. When I’m low I have to know that He’s right here.
היינו, מי שרוצה לשוב להשי"ת צריך לחגור מתניו
If I want to return to Hashem, I need to accept upon myself, I need resolve …
שיתחזק את עצמו בדרכי ה'…
I need to be firm in my path…
תמיד...
Always. There’s no moment when I can let up.
בין בעלייה...
I shouldn’t think I can soften up when it’s going good.
בין בירידה. שהם בחי' אם אסק וכו' ואציעה וכו'
Even when I’m on a low, I can’t let up.
היינו בין שיזכה לאיזה עלייה, לאיזה מדרגה גדולה או קטנה...
No matter what I’ve already accomplished, whether I’ve achieved big things, or even just small things…

אעפ"כ, אל יעמוד שם, ולא יסתפק עצמו בזה...
I can’t stay where I am. I can’t be satisfied with what I have. I must realize that there’s still so much more that I can do, there are still so many heights which I can reach.

וצריך שיהי בקי בזה - מאד...
I have to be proficient in this, very proficient in this…

לידע ולהאמין שהוא צריך לילך יותר ויותר וכו' שזהו בחי' בקי ברצוא וכו'
It takes great skill to know this, to know and to believe that no matter what, I must keep on going, to keep on growing.
וכן להיפך, שאפילו אם יפול ח"ו למקום שיפול...
The opposite is also true. Even if I fall wherever I might fall to…

אפילו בשאול תחתיות ח"ו...
Even if I fall so low that it seems as if I’ve reached rock bottom, I’ve reached the worst. And of course if I realize that however low my fall may be, I’m still not the worse it can be…

גם שם אל יתיאש את עצמו...
Even there, I can’t give up.

לעולם...
I can’t say that there’s a limit to how long I can hold on for. I must resolve that I will never give up.

בשום אופן...
I can’t think that that’s only in a somewhat normal situation, but of course there are some circumstances which may warrant giving up. There is no such situation.

יהיה איך שיהיה...
No way can I ever give up, no matter what.
So if I’m not being successful, and I also can’t give up, what can I do?

רק יחפש ויבקש את השי"ת...
The only thing I can do is to search for Hashem…

ויחזק את עצמו בכל מקום שהוא...
…and to be strong and hold on. No matter where I am now, I can’t consider that over here I’m unable to hold on. No matter what situation I’m in, I can’t think that in this case it’s not possible to hold on…

ובכל מה שיוכל...
And I’ve got to be strong and hold on with whatever I can, grab onto anything, just don’t let go…

כי גם בשאול תחתיות נמצא השי"ת, וגם משם יכולין לדבק את עצמו אליו ית', וזה בחי' ואציעה שאול הנך, בחי' בקי בשוב.
Even in the worst possible places, Hashem is there, for He is everywhere. I can come close to Him, to attach myself to Him, dveykus, even at my lowest. There’s no such thing as saying that I can’t be close to Him the way I am now, that I just have to wait until I get a little better. It’s not true that I can’t have dveykus in the place I am now. I can be close to Him here and now.

כי אי אפשר לזכות לתשובה כי אם כשבקי שתי בקיאיות אלו.
It’s impossible to achieve Teshuvah without being an expert in all this. These concepts are the basic tools which I have to acquire in order to be successful in my Teshuvah.

ובאמת היא בקיאות גדול מאד...
I shouldn’t fool myself. These really are very difficult concepts to internalize. But I must still realize that my life is dependent on putting in the time and effort in learning them.

שיזכה לידע ולהאמין שצריכין ליגע עצמו ולטרוח בעבודת ה'…
I’ve got to internalize this. I must know and believe that I must put all my effort into my Avodas Hashem. I need to plug away in Avodas Hashem…

תמיד...
Always. That means never to think that I only have to put that extra exertion in when I think that the situation calls for it. No. Everything I do in Avodas Hashem must be with all my strength.

ולצפות בכל עת להגיע למדרגה גבוה יותר.
And at all times I’ve got to be eager and hoping to reach higher levels. To always have that feeling that I wish and hope to reach a higher level than I am on now.

ואעפ"כ אל יפול...
Here comes the hard part. Even though I’m always putting in all my effort, and I’m always trying and hoping to reach higher levels, but I still can never let anything get me down, even when I see that I’m trying so hard for so long…

משום דבר...
Never think that there might be something which warrants me to feel bad. No matter how many times I fail, no matter how long I’m hoping to change and it’s just not going…

ואפילו אם יהיה איך שיהיה, אעפ"כ אל יפול בדעתו כלל, ויקיים ואציעה שאול הנך...
No matter what, never to feel down, no matter what. No matter what reason I may come up with to feel bad, that’s not a reason.
Don’t even think that this situation is so bad that maybe I can feel bad just a little… no, I can’t feel bad at all!

וכשיש לו שתי בקיאיות אלו אזי הוא הולך בדרכי התשובה, ואז ימין ה' פשוטה לקבל תשובתו וזוכה לכבוד ה' ונעשה עי"ז אדם לשבת על הכסא. אשרי לו!
When I will be proficient in these skills, then I’ll be on the path of Teshuvah, and Hashem will lovingly accept my Teshuvah. This will bring true honor to Him. Ashreinu!

מזל טוב

2009-03-07T21:29:00.003-05:00

The Breslov Kollel wishes a hartzidigeh Mazal Tov to our member Ephraim Portnoy and his wife upon the birth of their baby boy!

May the Bris be בעתו ובזמנו and may they be zocheh to have much nachas from him and from all of their children
ולגדלו לתורה ולחופה ולמעשים טובים ללכת בדרך רבינו הק' ז"ל

The Site is Back Up!

2009-03-04T13:15:00.001-05:00

We're happy to announce that B'Ezras Hashem our website is back up.

Purim Tenzel

2009-03-03T17:34:00.003-05:00

As Purim approaches, we must on the lookout for any idea which can help us get into the spirit of things. As Rebbe Nachman would say, Simcha is in fact one of the most difficult things to reach. All the more so during the Purim season, when we see how the streets are full with rejoicing, yet in our own hearts s different strory might be taking place.

One of the most powerful lessons of the Rebbe zt"l regarding happiness is found in Likutei Moharan II: 23.

The Rebbe presents an anology of a circle of dancers. Those within the circle are probably happy. However, there are usually some people standing on the side, who aren't up to dancing. They're not in that much of a joyous mood, if not worse.

The natural inclination of those rejoicing is to concentrate on their own happiness, and not to let the sour mood of the onlookers ruin their dance. Why mar their Simcha with their negativity?

But, the Rebbe says, that's not a perfect Simcha, as we might have thought. The greatest joy would be to grab those on the side and force them into the circle, to force them to be happy also!

In life, we all Baruch Hashem have those things which are going good for us, and we all certainly have what to be thankful for. So when we encounter those things which we'd rather not, we instinctively push them to the side, under the rug. We look at the half of the cup which is full. And we hope that this will keep us B'Simcha, by not letting negative things ruin what we do have positive. We go on dancing and rejoice with our good.

The problem is, half the cup is still empty. The negative issues are making a lump under the rug. Even while we dance in our circle of good points, every so often we catch a glimpse of those sour faces standing on the side. There's only so long that we can ignore them for.

We've got to grab those sad things and force them to dance with us!

We've got to turn every reason we have to be sad into a reason to be happy!

The way to do this is through Emunah. When we have that realization that whatever happens to us is from Hashem, and everything He does is only good, then no matter what it is that's irking us, we can always rejoice with it.

There are no more good points and bad points, only good points. Some of them I readily understand why they are good, others I don't. But they're still good, and they're more than a reason to dance.

Even those things which I'm depressed about because of what I've done to myself through my own free will, I can bring myself to rejoice with. I must know that Hashem is always in control, and how no matter how many mistakes I've made, I can never mess anything up entirely. Hashem is always making sure to set the stage after my mistakes that I should be able to fix them. On the contrary, if I'll do Teshuvah, he'll make sure that my mistakes become catalysts for the greatest growths.

Based on all this, I never have a reason not to be happy, because whatever it may be causing me to be sad, is in fact a tremendous reason to be very much B'Simcha.

2009-03-03T17:33:00.001-05:00

We apologize, our website, Breslovkollelonline.com, is expericencing technical difficulties. We hope to be back and running as soon as possible.

Purim Prurim

2009-03-02T14:07:00.002-05:00

As Purim approaches, many of us are still grappling with the unique Avodah of Adar- to be more joyful, to increase in Simcha.

The principal advice which the Rebbe gave in order to achieve happiness is known as Azamra. It refers to searching and finding within me and in others for the good points. By realizing the good points within me, even if that good itself is somewhat tainted, I can come to joy.

Reb Noson ties this idea to Purim. The word Purim is related to "prurim" which means crumbs. Even if all the good I have is worth no more than crumbs, I can still rejoice with them.

However, many people still have a problem actualizing this concept. They ask, so what if I have some good in me? How does that counteract the fact that I have so much in me which is not good?

It's important to always remember that Reb Noson never leaves us hanging. Every issue that may confront us has already been addressed somewhere in Likutei Halachos or Alim L'Terufah. Our job is just to find it.

Regarding this question, Reb Noson already takes care of it on the first page of Likutei Halachos. Reb Noson explains the passuk, כי ה' יסמכני לא אירא מרבבות..., when I realize that Hashem is with me, I'm not afraid of tens of thousands of enemies. If I have any point or crumb of good within me, that means that Hashem is still with me. That small point where Hashem is with me is enough to stand up to tens of thousands of bad points and sins.

If I would realize the power of good, how one small crumb of good overcomes tens of thousands of real sins, I would have no problem being happy in the face of evil.

2009-02-10T14:43:00.003-05:00

We all know that every Yom Tov that comes around we have many lessons to learn from them and to try to come closer to hashem and try to help others come closer to hashem as well. now that Tu Bishvat is behind us what and how can we come closer to hashem. The Mishna in Rosh Hashana tells us that Tu Bishvat is the Rosh Hashana for the trees, if we would take a look at the trees at this time of year they look very far from some thing like Rosh Hashana, they are as dead as can be, but we know that in the roots of the tree is where it all starts from and on Tu Bishvat is when it starts and that why we make a hole Yom Tov out of Tu Bishvat. Many time we look at people and we judge them the way they look from out side. and that is one of the lessons we can take from Tu Bishvat, we make a hole Yom Tov from a dead tree because we know that in the ground by the roots its stating its work to give out the beautiful summer fruits, so too every nishama comes from the highest places and we should never look at the out side, only on the inside because that the place that the beautiful fruits come from and if we will judge people like this the the problem of loshon hora will fall away in most cases and then hashem will judge us the same way and we will be zocheh to all the broches that we could possibly think of.

Hischadshus

2009-02-08T16:47:00.001-05:00

Anybody who is concerned about himself and his eternal life, his hope, whoever he may be, and whatever his circumstance, is that no matter what, no matter what, he should always view himself every day as a if born anew.
For in reality, a person is created anew every day, and it's for that reason that we make a new Birchas Hashachar every morning. Therefore, no matter what, one must view his Avodas Hashem every day as totally new.
Everyone does many mitzvos every day, tzitiz, tefilin, etc. But the main thing is to take time every day and to consider how this day in which I am now standing in has never been before, and will never repeat itself. The Avoda of today is totally new, having nothing to do with the mitzvos which were done until now. And they are my mitzvos, that their duty has fallen upon me, who lives in this generation, in this time, today. I am the one who must perform them, and not even a malach, not even Tzaddikim in Gan-Eden, nobody can do the Avodah which I have been charged to do.
חי חי הוא יודוך כמוני היום
The way I am today, on whatever level I'm on, however low it may be. If I'm the one living today, I'm the one charged with serving and thanking Hashem today.

פרשת יתרו 1

2009-02-08T16:22:00.000-05:00

עתה ידעתי כי גדול ה

The more a person realizes how low he is, he should realize that it's through him that will come out the greatest honor of Hashem. This is alluded to in the Zohar which says, that when Yisro came and said, "עתה ידעתי כי גדול ה'" that I know the greatness of Hashem, then the honor of Hashem was greatly sanctified and elevated. The greatness of Hashem is that those who are far from Him can come close.
Therefore we must all try our best to bring other people close to Hashem, and never give up hope on anybody.
We must also never give up on ourselves, that just because we may have fallen away, far from Avodas Hashem. Because on the contrary, however far I may think I am, Hashem's honor will be greater and greater when I'll try to get close again.