Hashkata
The subject of Quieting

From our holy teacher, the great master; may his memory be a shield for us; may God avenge his blood.

 

In the year 5696 or 5697 (1932-1933), I was a study partner of a close and prized advanced student of Reb Kalonymus, a Mr. Issachar Nachman Zeev (may God avenge his blood), and during the Ten Days of Repentance I was privileged to be called to a private meeting with the holy master, because of my association with the aforementioned student. It appears that the master was very pleased with our association, so when this young man was summoned, I was also called. 

 

For the first time, I heard about this matter of “quieting [hashkatah].” 

 

Unfortunately it was lost from my, I do not remember the whole of it, but what I do recall is written herein

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Our holy master (may his memory be a shield to us) began with a teaching from the sages: “A dream is one-sixtieth of prophecy” (Talmud Berakhot 57b).

 

As it is known from the master’s teachings, the self (the ego) is a barrier to Divine inspiration.  

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Thus, if one's thoughts and intellect are active, it is difficult for the Divine inspiration to rest upon them. 

 

However, when one sleeps, his mind and thoughts are quiet, and it is precisely at such times, when he has no self-directed thoughts that it is possible for the Divine inspiration to reach him. This is the reason that a dream is a sixtieth of prophecy.

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It is also well known from the teachings of our master that we are more sensitive [to Divine influences] during prayer than we are during Torah study, because when we learn Torah, we tend to utilize our sense of self: “I learn . . . I think that . . .”

 

However in prayer, it is the opposite, the whole point is self-abnegation. Now when one sleeps, it is impossible for him to desire anything for himself, since he is unconscious. 

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Thus our goal is to come to a sleep-consciousness while we are awake. That is to say, we wish to stem the flow of thoughts and impulses that is endemic to the working of the mind endlessly.

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This flow of thoughts is highly associative, and it is very difficult for a man to extricate himself from it. 

 

(On another occasion I heard our holy master explain that if we could observe the stream of thoughts within for even one day, it would be obvious that very little distinguishes us from madmen. 

 

It is just that the insane actually act upon their thoughts, but the thoughts themselves are quite indistinguishable.)

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And he gave us concrete advice about this quieting.

 

​He said first that one simply watches for a set period of time, observing his thoughts.

He eventually will notice that the mind is emptying, his thoughts are slowing a bit from their habitual flow. He then must repeat a single verse or phrase, such as “God is truly God,” in order to insert a thought of holiness into his now-empty mind.

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Then, he can articulate a need for help in any one of the areas of character traits which he needs to work on, be it faith or love or awe.

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On this occasion, I was privileged to hear his suggestions for work on strengthening faith. 

 

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He spoke these holy words: “I believe with a complete faith that God is the only existence in the universe. There is no reality other than God. All the world and all that is, is just an instance of His light, of the light of the divine.”

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One repeats this several times, but not forcefully. The whole point here is to quiet the self. Speaking with a great forcefulness is liable to arouse the ego; one utters the phrase with a great gentleness.

 

I also was able to hear his teaching on arousing love. These were his holy words: “I wish so much to be close to His blessed Essence. My deepest desire is to feel that I am forever growing nearer to the mighty Creator.”

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He said that it is possible to use quieting to correct any negative trait, but that it is done only in a positive way, by emphasizing the opposite of the negative characteristic. 

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For example, if someone is plagued with the quality of laziness, he will not speak about moving away from laziness, but rather he will say that he moves toward enthusiastic action. 

 

He explained this by referring to a child who is crying; the more he is told not to cry, the more he continues to cry. 

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He taught that it is also possible to quiet by watching the small hand of a watch, which barely moves at all, for a set period of time.

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Because this, too, has the effect of curbing the impulses and thoughts.

 

After this quieting, which has the effect of bringing in a divine influx, he instructed us to say the verse, “Show me, God, Your path,” using his special tune. 

 

 

It was so wonderful and so amazing to see him and hear him, as I did, due to the merit of my friend. 

Our teacher was very emphatic about this matter; he assured us that it would be very helpful. 

He said that, for example, with the quality of faith, if we would use this technique for a matter of a few weeks, that when we recite, “This is my God, I will praise him... " (Exodus 15:2) it will be as if we are pointing to Him, as is stated in the Midrash (Exodus Rabbah 23:19).

 

 

At first, we were unable to grasp the full intent of our master's thinking, but after some time, Providence again allowed us to hear these very teachings from our master's holy mouth, as well as additional comments and explanations. He encouraged us most insistently to embark on this exercise.