For Asarah B’teves—The Fast of Teves and Reb Nosson’s Yartzheit
Sponsored by the Schulman Family in memory of and appreciation for Reb Nosson on his yartzheit.
“…in generation after generation, there exists a shepherd who embodies the concept of “Moshe, the faithful shepherd.” This shepherd makes a mishkan. And know, the little schoolchildren receive their pure, untainted breath of their mouths from this mishkan. –Likutey Moharan 282
The true tzaddik of the generation takes all the nikudos tovos, the good points, he collects from each individual person, and with this accumulated good, builds a mishkan for Hashem. This sanctuary is the source of the breath of innocent children, who’ve never been tainted by sin. With this pure breath of goodness, young schoolchildren begin their first study of Torah.
As she learns, this child inhales and exhales goodness. She connects to the Tzaddik. This child pours her pure self into Torah learning and receives even more inspiration (both definitions apply.)
This child is each and every young child.
This child is also the psycho-spiritual concept of the inner child. Your inner child.
And though you recognize the term, don’t be fooled—psychology’s inner child is a mere doppelganger for the true inner child. First brought to Westerners’ attention by Jung, the distorted secular concept of the inner child has been employed in self-limiting, decadent, or destructive ways by new-age therapists ever since.
Your Inner Child
One way to get in touch with your spiritual inner child is to begin