Editing Mesechtas Sotah (section)

=== Do Not Teach Fear of Sin ===
The Rebbe explains, prefacing with the difference between Rav Yosef (humility) and Rav Nachman (fear of sin), that Rav Yosef, being blind, his evil inclination ceased from him, so he was not susceptible to sin, and therefore, does not need fear of sin, and thus, the virtue of humility is emphasized in him; whereas Rav Nachman, we find in the Gemara that "Rav Nachman's mother was told by astrologers that her son would be a thief, so she never let him go with his head uncovered, saying to him: 'Cover your head so that the fear of Heaven should be upon you,'" and therefore the virtue of fear of sin is emphasized in him.

The power for this "that the fear of Heaven should be upon you" comes from Rebbi: Regarding Rebbi's virtue, we find that "he never put his hand beneath his belt," meaning that for him there was no division between the elevated matters that belong to heaven and the lower matters that belong to earth, but rather, even the physical matters (from your midsection downward) were directed toward heaven, to such an extent that although "there never ceased from his table lettuce, etc., neither in the summer nor in the winter," nevertheless, "at the time of his passing, he raised his ten fingers upward and said, 'I have not derived pleasure from this world even with my little finger.'" And through Rebbi's power, whose entire existence and all his matters (even the lower ones) were directed toward heaven, Rav Nachman also attained the quality of fear of sin.

Therefore, he said "Do not teach fear of sin for I am here" - by which he did not intend to disagree with the Tanna's statement ("When Rebbi died, fear of sin ceased") that without Rebbi there is no more virtue of fear of sin, but rather, that the fact that he has fear of sin (through Rebbi's power) proves that "Rebbi did not die."
Description	What you type	What you get
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Bold & italic	'''''Bold & italic text'''''	*Bold & italic text*