Today’s learning is dedicated to the refuah sheleima of Simcha Nosson ben Zissel.

Regarding anxiety and fear, most things – and people – that people fear cannot harm them at all… There is also a deeper meaning to this. It is not the person who fears, but something else within him. One may realize clearly that the thing he fears cannot harm him. Still, he cannot help but be terrified of it. This is because of that something within him that generates his fear.

We actually see many people with ridiculous phobias. They themselves realize the foolishness of their fears, but they cannot overcome them. When we shout suddenly behind a person’s back, he becomes startled. He exhibits fear even before he knows of what to be alarmed. He can have fear without it entering his conscious mind. But fear is not in the conscious mind and therefore does not have to be rational. For the fear actually stems from something else within the person.

The same is true of desire. One may realize that his desire is utter foolishness, but still it remains strong. Here again, it is not the person who desires, but someone else within him. Even when one realizes the foolishness of a desire, this something else continues to want it.

If you learn to settle your mind, you can easily rid yourself of all fears, anxieties, and desires. You must realize that what you fear or desire is really nothing and that something else within you is responsible for them. Understand this, and you can overcome everything.

For you have free will. You can easily train your mind to discard that which is inside you that causes your fears and desires.   —   Sichot HaRan # 83

In this lesson, Rebbe Nachman teaches us how to overcome our fears and desires. Over the next few posts, we will focus on the damaging effects of fear and how we can combat this emotion.

Firstly, it is important to note that, at times, a certain level of fear is expected; this fear can actually be beneficial. For example, fear of getting burnt teaches us to keep away from fire. Fear promotes caution. However, we want to avoid the fear that has a negative impact on our life and our happiness.

As the Steipler Gaon explains, a person is certainly not held responsible for natural fears; it only becomes detrimental when the fear is excessive or overwhelming. Fear is intrinsic, but it is also controllable.

Rebbe Nachman explains that there are times when a person is aware that their fear is misplaced but still cannot seem to overcome it. He teaches us that we are stronger than these fears, but they are rooted in our subconscious mind, or as Rebbe Nachman refers to it, the “little spirit” within each of us.

As Rabbi Zvi Aryeh Rosenfeld zt’l teaches, “A person with a fear of heights looks down from a great height and is filled with this fear that he is going to fall. The fact is that there is no way he can fall; there is a tall gate or bar across. He’s in no more danger than the next person who laughs at this. A person with claustrophobia feels that he is closed in. He’s in a crowd and everything is closing in on him, he’s going to be crushed. In truth, he’s in no danger whatsoever. What’s more important is that in the deep recesses of his mind, he’s fully aware of the fact that this phobia is foolishness. He knows factually there’s no danger, and yet he is afraid.”

Rebbe Nachman warns that, unless we proactively battle these thoughts, a person can suffer his entire life with these “fallen fears”. Until, at the very end, he realizes that nothing was gained; in fact, much was lost. He finally realizes that the only thing to fear was the fear itself.  

(Rebbe Nachman teaches that the same applies to temptations and desires; a person can be chasing after the same desires his entire life, ultimately having nothing to show for it. This realization leads to feelings of despair and hopelessness.)

But Rebbe Nachman tells us that we can make a change. We are not victims of our circumstances. He compares this to a sudden loud noise. We become startled, but only because we are unprepared; we were taken by surprise. But what if we were expecting that loud noise? How would we react, knowing that it was nothing at all? Then hearing this sound wouldn’t have the slightest affect on us.

Similarly, when we train our minds and prepare ourselves to battle these thoughts, we can emerge victorious. As Rebbe Nachman teaches, with a settled mind we can overcome all fears and anxieties.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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