Praising Hashem in Light and in Darkness | Torah 4 with Rabbi Rietti

# General OverviewThe text presents a journey through Torah Dalet in Likutei Moharan as a slow, careful stroll into the meaning of “Anochi Yud-Kay-Vav-Kay Eloheicha.” It teaches that Hashem is the constant power behind all powers, that everything that happens to a person is באמת for good, and that this recognition is a glimpse of Olam Haba. It also explains that restoring Malchus to Hashem happens through vidui devarim before a talmid chacham, and it supports this with examples from David HaMelech, Sarah Imeinu, Har Sinai, Yetzias Mitzrayim, and the future time of bayom hahu when Hashem will be one and His name one.# Anochi Yud-Kay-Vav-Kay EloheichaThe Torah begins with “Anochi Yud-Kay-Vav-Kay Eloheicha,” meaning Hashem is the constant one, the power of all powers, and the one who took the Jewish people out of Mitzrayim from the house of slaves. The speaker says “Asher hotzeiticha” implies joy and that Hashem happily brought the people out of Egypt. The pasuk is identified as the mitzvah of emunah and knowing that Hashem exists and powers every element in creation.# Keshe'adam yode'a and the Vision of Olam HabaThe first paragraph explains that when a person knows that everything that happens to him, both good and what appears bad, is really for his benefit, that state is a glimpse of Olam Haba. The speaker says bechina means a connection, and that Rav Nachman’s connections are anchored in pesukim chosen very carefully. He says “me’ein Olam Haba” means a glimpse, not a taste, and that this awareness comes from knowing Hashem is only good.# B'Hashem Ahalel Davar and David HaMelechThe text brings the pasuk “B'Hashem ahalel davar, b'Elokim ahalel davar” from Tehillim and explains that David HaMelech praises Hashem both in mercy and in judgment. David’s greatness is that he gives thanks in every circumstance and does not separate between good and bad. This attitude is presented as the pattern chosen by Rabbeinu Zal because David transformed suffering into praise.# Bayom Hahu and the Revelation of UnityThe phrase “bayom hahu” is explained through the Gemara in Pesachim as the future day when “Hashem will be one and His name one.” The speaker says that in the present world people experience good and bad separately because da'at is fractured, but in the future all will be seen as one complete truth. He connects this to Har Sinai, Yetzias Mitzrayim, and the idea that the final revelation will remove the split between how things appear and how they באמת are.# Malchus the Nations, and Avodah ZarahThe second section explains that it is impossible to restore Malchus to Hashem until Malchus is lifted from the nations. The speaker identifies Avodah Zarah as the attribution of power to anything outside Hashem and says the nations currently hold Malchus only because of Jewish aveiros and galus. He says the future will bring the fulfillment of “ki Melech kol ha'aretz Elokim,” when all kingship returns to Hashem.# Vidui Devarim Before a Talmid ChachamThe next section states that Malchus can be repaired only through vidui devarim before a talmid chacham, who has the bechina of Moshe Rabbeinu. The speaker says this is tied to the pasuk “kchu imachem devarim,” which he reads as words of teshuvah and admission. He explains that sins are etched into the bones and that speaking them before a tzaddik removes and elevates them, returning the broken Malchus to its root.# Sarah Imeinu and Complete Trust in HashemThe text ends with Sarah Imeinu as the model of complete emunah, because Rashi says all of her years were equally good. The speaker explains that even in her hardest רגעים she remained faithful to Hashem, and he cites the Chida, the Malbim, and the Chiddushei HaRim to show that her silence and laughter are part of a life of constant gratitude and trust. Her life becomes the clearest example of being able to say “hatov vehametiv” for everything, even until the last second and into techiyas hameisim.