Thejotlrnal a/jewish Thoflght and Philosophy, Vol. 6, pp.

371-387 © 1997
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To Jump for Joy:

The Rites of Dance According
to R. Nahman of Bratzlav
Michael Fishbane
Divinity School, University of Chicago, Swift Hall, Chicago,
Illinois 60637, USA

What happens when we dance? What really happens when the

Omaha Indians circle a ritual pole, the Wanyamwezi pitch in
ecstasy, or the Basques perform their fox dance? What happens in
these patterns of movement, these convoluted leaps and revolu-
tions? Can one really dance the corn out of ground or ensure the
rhythms of heaven? It depends on whom you ask. Euripides and
Lucian of old had their theories; and modern anthropologists do
not lack for answers either, when they divine in dance encoded
dramas of class and crisis, emotional release, or rites of transforma-
tion. Philosophers naturally propose their own perspectives about
form and motion, and physiologists feel the pulse of altered states
of consciousness.
Everything has its place, and there is no doubt that these
viewpoints help explain aspects of living dance - or their represen-
tation in art and textual tradition. Take for example the following
teaching of Rabbi Moshe Hayyim Ephraim of Sudlikov (1748-
1800), received as a tradition from his grandfather, Rabbi Israel
Baal Shem (the Baal Shem Tov, founder of modern Hasidism). In
a comment based on the biblical verse "And all the nation saw the
voices" (literally, the "sounds" or "thunderclaps"; Exodus 20: 18),
describing the experience of the nation during the theophany at
Mt. Sinai, the master attempts to explain the oxymoron of visual
sounds. He offers this parable.

371
372 Michael Pishbane

There was once a musician who performed on a very fine instrumenr with great
sweetness and pleasantness, and all who heard it could not restrain themselves
and danced (roqedim) with great abandon. The closer one stood to the music the
greater his pleasure and the more enrhusiastic was his dancing. (Now) amidst
the tumult came a deaf person who could not hear any sound (qol) of the
pleasanr instrumenr. Seeing the people dance mightily, he thought them mad,
and wondered "What can joy (simbah) accomplish?"·Truly, were he wise and
undetstood that all this was due to the gteat pleasure and loveliness of the
instrument's sound, he too would have begun to dance then and there.
Now the meaning (of the parable) is clear, and one may apply it to the verse
"And all the people saw the sounds (qolot)." They saw that the Holy One, blessed
be He, appeared before all (the people) in the unity of His divine light, which
they altogether perceived. When they saw the great joy (roundabout them) - for
"the angels of the hosts were dancing about" (Psalm 68: 13) - they understood
that it was because of the sweetness and loveliness of the light of the holy Torah,
and strained forward to hear its sound (qol). For though they were still deaf, and
did not "hear" the sounds, their minds and eyes were illumined when they saw
the great happiness and joy (of the angels). They then understood that this was
due to the sounds (qolot); that is, to the loveliness and pleasanrness of the sound
(qol) of the Torah. Thus: even though they did not perceive the loveliness of the
Torah, they understood from the joy (expressed by the angels) that this was due
to the great loveliness of the Torah - and so they pressed forward to hear the
sound itself, in the hope that they might even perceive and understand the love-
liness of the light of the Torah. The enlightened will understand.1

The preceding parable develops an image of a musician who

played with great sweetness upon his instrument, to such a degree
that all who heard his sounds drew close and leaped in joy - all,
that is, except for a deaf person who thought such behavior utter
folly. This image is compared to Sinai, we learn, when God
appeared before the nation in a great light, and those assembled
perceived the joy of the heavenly hosts as they jumped for joy,
enthralled with the sweet light of the Torah and its sounds. In
their own lower spiritual state, the people only saw this joy; but
since they were also blessed with some wisdom, they pressed for-
ward to try to hear the sounds of the Torah and bask in its holy
light.
There are several layers to this teaching. To begin, one will note
the striking discordance between the parable and its application.
In the former, the deaf man retains a negative judgment about joy,

1 Degel Mahaneh Ephraim, parashat Yitro.

 To Jump for Joy 373

and does not achieve any deeper understanding. In the latter, the
people first perceive a limited, visual truth, and then desire a
deeper (aural) understanding. From this difference we may infer
that the parable was formulated independently of the biblical verse
and its interpretation. In fact, we may infer that the Baal Shem's
parable was originally intended to ridicule the opponents of early
Hasidism (the Mitnaggedim), who aggressively criticized their
counterparts ecstatic movements in prayer.2 The Hasidic counter-
thrust here is that such rebuke is devoid of religious insight. The
citation put into the deaf man's mouth, "What can joy achieve?"
(from Ecclesiastes 2: 2), underscores this jibe - for through it the
rebukers are made to condemn themselves as spirirually deaf, and
able to perceive only the external aspects of religious expression. 3
On the other hand, the true believers, or Hasidim, penetrate to
hidden realms of Divinity. Rabbi Moshe Hayyim makes this point
by a striking application of the parable to the opening scriptural
verse, concerning the visions heard at Sinai (Exodus 20: 18). For
now the nation is shown to transcend an original "deafness" by its
readiness to see beyond the dancing angels to the source of their
joy - the holy Torah and the sweet sound of God's word. And if
the angelic dance is n0'Y transfigured as an act of supernatural joy,
so too, we reason, is the dance of true believers also an ecstatic
expression of transcendence. Indeed the discourse instructs its
audience that through joy one may transcend one's earthly nature
and connect with the inner light of Scripture, whose splendor is a
facet of God Himself.
The movements of dance thus express a desire for divinity-
even the pull of transcendence upon the spiritually awakened soul.

2 Cf. 1. Jacobs, Hasidic Prayer (New York: Schocken Books, 1972),

Chapter 5, and the sources cited. Significantly, though the Baal Shem died in
1760 and thus began his teaching years earlier, the first polemic only appeared
in 1772, entitled Zamir Aritzim ve-lfarvot Tzurim. This work has been reprinted
in M. Wilensky, lfasidim u-Mitnaggedim (Jerusalem: Mosad Bialik, 1970), I,
27-69. On this matter, see Z. Gries, Sefer, Sofer, ve-Sippur be-Reshit ha-lfasidut
(Tel Aviv: Hakibburz Hameuchad, 1992), 17f, 69.
3 The citation of Ecclesiastes 2: 2 may allude ironically to b. Shabbat 30b,
where the verse serves to introduce a positive teaching about religious joy. See
footnote 7.
374 Michael Pishbane

One's nature is thereby transformed, but not through an act of will

or external compulsion. For this we must turn to the afterlife of
our parable, as it was taught by Rabbi Nahman ben Simhah of
Bratzlav (177 2-1810), the nephew of Rabbi Moshe Hayyim and
great grandson of the Baal Shem himself. In his mouth, the
teaching was radically transformed. Come and hear.

Concerning joy (sim~ah), consider rhis parable: Sometimes when people are
rejoicing and dancing, they grab a person from outside (the circle) - one who is
sad (be-'atzvut) and depressed - and press him against his will into the circle
(ma~ol) of dancers (meraqqedim), and force him to rejoice with them. So it is with
joy: for when a person is happy, his depression and sufferings stand off to the
side. But the higher level is to strive and pursue that very depression, and bring
it into joy... For (indeed:) there are (types of) sorrow and woe that are
(manifestations of) the (demonic) Other Side, and do not want to be bearers of
holiness; hence they flee from joy, and one must force them into (the sphere of)
holiness - namely, joy - against their will ... 4

This revision of the parable is remarkable - for in it the social and

nomistic aspects of the earlier versions have been thoroughly
psychologized.5 The double circle of dancers (whether the holy
troupe vi>.the scoffer, or the angelic ensemble vis-a-vis the people
of Israel) is now the dramatic representation of a psychic division,
an inner splitting whereby the joyous celebrant temporarily cuts
himself off from depressive deadness. Significantly, Rabbi Nahman
affirms this momentary revitalization and does not reduce it to
religious observance. That is not to deny or demote the joyous
observance of the commandments. Indeed, Nahman repeatedly
stressed that: 'iqqar ha-simf?ah min ha-mitzvot ("the essence of joy
arises through the commandments") 6 - a principle which derives
ultimately from the Talmud (b. Shabbat 30b) and its Zoharic
reformulation (Vayehi, 1. 216a).7 It is rather that he was also aware

4 Liqqu{ei Moharan, II, 23.

5 CE. already A. Green, Tormented Master. The Life and Spiritual Quest of
Rabbi Nahman of Bratzlav (1979; p. b., Woodstock, Vermont: Jewish Lights
Publishing, 1992), 141 f.
6 LiqqlJ{ei 'Etzot, Mo' adei Ha-Shem, 1; and cf. Liqqu{ei Moharan, I, 81 and

II, 49.
7 The Talmudic passage builds on a contradiction between Ecclesiastes
8: 15, "Then I commended joy", and Ecclesiastes 2: 2, "And what does joy
 To Jump for Joy 375

that (religious) joy may be regenerated from the most natural and
seemingly frivolous of acts (ve-'afi/u be-milei de-she{uta).8 Hence
simple dance - when performed in the service of religious ends,
and not purely private passions (hit/ahavut ha-yetzer) - may induce
a catalytic catharsis and lead to a higher healing. But this requires
the celebrant to direct the energies so elicited toward the divisive
and depressive dimensions of the self. Accordingly, the master
instructs his hearers to work for psychic wholeness - urging a
psychological activism that pursues the agents of one's depres-
sion in all their guises, and transforms them through the agency
of joy.
Dance is thus both the arch-act and arch-metaphor for this
cathartic process. In another, related teaching, Rabbi Nahman
goes on to stress how depression is an illness, a po/a'at, when the
cords of joy are snapped and one is put in a bad temper, so to
speak. 9 The antidote (refu' ah) is the joy of dance, or mapo/. Its
circular swirl draws the heavenly Shekhinah (or feminine gradation
of supernal Divinity) down to the earthly realm, where it may
alight upon the sick soul (po/eh) in healing union.10 This process
of spiritual therapeutics gives a new mystical application to the

accomplish?" (see foot note 3). The contradiction is resolved as follows. '''Then
I commended joy' - this refers to the joy (sim~ah) of (observing) a commandment
(shel mitzvah); 'And what does joy accomplish?' - this alludes to joy that does
not come from (the fulfillment) of a commandment. Thus Scripture teaches you
that the Shekhinah (Divine Ptesence) does not rest (on a person) eithet when he
is in a melancholy, or indolent, or frivolous mood ... but only when he is
inspired by something joyful (davar sim~ah)". The standard edition of the
Talmud now reads shel mitzvah ("of the commandment"), but this phrase is not
found in the Mss. or in earlier editions (see Diqduqei Soferim, ibid., 57, n. 4). The
words were apparenrly known to Rabbi Nahman.
For a further discussion of the Talmudic passage and its Zoharic and other
developments, see my more wide-ranging discussion in "The Inwardness of Joy
in Jewish Spirituality", In Pursuit o/Happiness, L. Rouner, ed. (Boston University
Studies in Philosophy and Religion, 16; Notre Dflme, Indiana: University of
Notre Dame Press, 1995),71-88.
8 Liqqutei Moharan, II, 24.
9 Ibid.
10 For the transformation of the Shekhinah from Divine Presence in
classical rabbinic sources to a supernal (feminine) hypostasis in kabbalistic texts,
and a penetrating review of the subject, see G. Scholem, On the Mystical Shape
0/ the Godhead (New York: Schocken Books, 1991), Chapter 4.
376 Michael Pishbane

rabbinic teaching cited by Nahman: "In the future the Holy One,
blessed be He, will be at the head of every ill person (boleh), for
the righteous ones (tzaddiqim) in the future." 11 For struck by the
two central nouns boleh and tzaddiqim, the sick and the healthy,
Nahman depicts a ritual process whereby danc (mabol) transforms
the depressed pers (bola'at) into a righteous one (tzaddiq) through
its power to engender joy and a conjunction with the heavenly
realm. Indeed, Nahman's substitution of the feminine epithet
'Shekhinah' for the masculine 'Holy One, blessed be He' not only
hints at the erotic valence of this Holy Union - whereby the
supernal gradations (of Yesod, also called Tzaddiq; and Malkhut,
also called Shekhinah) are unified in Divinity and in the dancer12
it also points to the psychosomatic process whereby the fragmented
self is regenerated into a whole and healthy being. At once, the
dancer is both male and female: a whirling circle and its axis of
rotation; the engendering foundation and the orbit of eros. Given
the language of Nahman's exegesis (playing on bola'at and maf?ol),
and the fact that he elsewhere recites the dictum that God will
himself be a maf?ol (dance) for the righteous in the future, 13 I would
suggest that the whole hermeneutic is based on a calculated
mishearing. To his Yiddishized ear, the Hebrew word maf?ol was
perceived as mobol, that is, as having the overtone of spiritual healing
and forgiveness <mebilah). Nahman concretized this (dialectal) con-
vergence, deeming it a linguistic sign of supernal and spiritual truth.
From this perspective, dance is a deep transformational grammar.
The full messianic aspect of Rabbi Nahman's teaching may be
approximated in stages. As a first step, let us mention his treat-
ment of Isaiah 35: 10 - a verse which functions as a biblical subtext
for the rabbinical dicta quoted above. Speaking to the nation in

11 Yer. Megillah II. 4 reads rosh bolah (lir., "head of rhe dance troupe").
Midrash Vayiqra'Rabba 11.9, M. Margoliot, ed. (Jerusalem: Wahrmann Books,
1962), 240-241, reads rosh bola', with a proof text from Psalm 48: 14 (rosh
beylah); see further, Midrash Sober Tov, S. Buber, ed. (Vilna, 1891), ad loe.
12 For the supernal (masculine) gradation known as Tzaddik, or Righteous
One, see G. Scholem, 0p. cit., Chapter 3.
13 b. Ta'anit 31a (this ends rhe tractate on a messianic theme; cf. also the
end of Chapter 1, which also concludes with a promise to the righteous). This
source is cited again in Liqqutei Moharan, I, 65 (ad fin.).
 ToJump for Joy 377

exile, the prophet says: "The redeemed of the Lord will return
(yeshuvun): they shall come rejoicing to Zion, with eternal joy on
their ad (simf;;at 'olam 'al rosham); they shall attain (yasigu) gladness
and joy, while sorrow and despair flee." Nahman reads this promise
psychologically, and gives it a more activist character. For him, joy
is not simply received by divine grace, but aggressively pursued; for
with the arousal of joy the forces of sadness flee (boref;;im),and must
therefore be forcibly seize (yitpesu) - in order that the self may be
integrated and perfected as a true "chariot of holiness." 14 This is
clearly a complex and paradoxical doctrine, whereby personal
redemption requires the self to absorb (and not just neutralize)
negative energies. The deeper mythic dimension is indicated by
Nahman's designation of despair as the demonic Other Side.1s
In Rabbi Nahman's worldview, which derives ultimately from
features in the book of Zohar as mediated through Lurianic belief and
practice, the Other Side (or Sitra Af;;ra) has its root as negative
"judgments" (dinim) in the divine attribute of Understanding
(Binah).16 In the conception of the supernal hierarchy imagined as an
Anthropos, this gradation corresponds to the heart (lev). From here
the deposits of dinim descend through the thighs and feet of the
Divine Body (the gradations of Netzaf;; and Hod), and become lodged
in the lowest extremities, the heel(s).l 7 Significantly, Nahman says

14 Liqqutei Moharan, I, 23; for other uses of this verse, see ibid., I, 22.9. The
aggressive will required for integrating the forces of sadness is marked by
Nahman's language: in I, 24 he says one "must force (le-hakhriaf?) them into (the
domain of) holiness"; and this temerity is also called 'azut de-qedushah (I, 229).
15 Ibid.

16 A classic exposition of the theosophical teaching of the Zohar and

Lurianic speculation is provided by G. Scholem, Major Trends in jewish Mysticism
(2nd edition; New York: Schocken Books, 1946), lectures 6 and 7. See also
Scholem, On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead (op. cit., n. 10), chapter 2, for a
discussion of the Sitra Abra. The Zoharic source quoted by Nahman in Liqqutei
Moharan I, 41 says binah dinim mit' arin minah ("The judgments arise from
Binah"; see Vayiqra, II. lOb). Biblical proof is adduced from Proverbs 8: 14.
17 This is outlined in Liqqutei Moharan I, 41, where thighs, feet, and heels
are brought into correspondence, in accordance with Lurianic teaching (in 'Etz
Hayyim, adduced at the beginning of Nahman's discourse). Cf. the comment of
R. Moshe Cordovero, Pardes Rimmonim, 23, raglayim, "Malkhut is called 'feet' in
the mystery of the lowest aspect (of the supernal realm) that is clotted with the
shells".
378 Michael Pishbane

that the means to force these negative extrusions (pitzonim) "to flee"
(le-havria/;) the lower Corpus is to "draw down" (mamshikh) joy from
(its source in) the inner-root of Understanding. This theurgical
"action" (Pe'ulah) is effected on earth through a psychosomatic
activation of energy (hitlahavut) which results in the movements
of dance (riqqudin).18 Indeed the arousal of human feet in holy
(divinely directed) dance releases the fluids of joy from the heav-
enly heart; and as they course through the Divine Body and its
earthly image, the demonic deposits are leached and purified. Thus
are the thighs (birkayim), for example, transformed into a blessing
(berakhah) and a birthright (bekhorah). 19
The patriarch Jacob exemplifies this supernatural process. For
though he was born holding on to the "heel" ('aqev) of his brother
Esau (Genesis 25: 26), and, indeed, has that very fact inscribed in
his own name (Ya'aqov), the hidden reality is that his name is a
complex multiple of the divine Name Elohim, which symbolizes the
powers of "judgment", and through that identity he perceived that
the source of these powers is in Binah, whose essence is- joy.20
Accordingly, says Nahman, when Jacob perceived that the thighs
of the divine hierarchy (Nezap and Hod) were invaded by destruc-
tive judgment, he went to their source, his father Isaac (who
symbolizes True Power), and brought him wine to drink (Genesis
27: 25) - knowing that "Wine makes the heart of man rejoice"
(Psalm 104: 15). That is, through his mystical understanding that
wine connotes the spiritual stimulus which opens the heart of the
Divine Anthropos (the 'Man') to the blessed energy of joy, Jacob
brought wine to his earthly father so that he, Isaac, might rejoice
and infuse him with supernal bounty.21 In this way, both upper
and lower worlds were blessed.

18 The redemptive power of dance was already enunciated (albeit in

different terms) by Rabbi Nahman's great-grandfather, the Baal Shem. See Keter
Shem Tov, no. 179, 23a (regarding holy dancing before a bride).
19 See Liqq1Jtei Moharan I, 41.
20 The sum 'a-q-b is 172 + 10 for the initial yod= 182, which is twice the
numerical value of Elohim. For this gematria, see already 'Etz IJayyim, I (Heikhal
5, Sha'ar 22, Pereq 2); and among Hasidic sources, see the comments of R. Jacob
Joseph ofPolonnoye, Toledot Ya'aqov Yosef,paraJhat Noab (Warsaw: 1881), 16d.
21 Ibid.
 To Jump for Joy 379

On another occassion, Jacob effects this therapy on the Cosmic

Corpus with his own body - for Rabbi N ahman interprets the
phrase "And Jacob raised (va-yissa') his legs" (lit., set forth;
Genesis 29: 1) to indicate the truth of dance, whereby one's bodily
movements may (with the right intention) "draw down (le-hamshikh)
joy from the inner-recesses of the divine heart to rhe lower
limbs.22 This interfusion of energy elicits the manifestation of the
most hidden Mother and Bride (Binah), and thus activates a
mystical marriage within Divinity itself.23 Moreover, when Jacob
married (nasa') Leah (who symbolizes this feminine gradation) he
created another conjunction of the corresponding hierarchies in
heaven. This mystical moment was celebrated by the dancers at
Jacob's marriage feast, according to Nahman's theosophical inter-
pretation of an ancient midrash.24 And it may also be induced
through joyous dance at any Jewish wedding.
Dance is thus a deep process of human and divine transformation,
whereby the gravity of sin and depression is suspended - at least
momentarily, and one may jump in and through the joy which
animates the whole body. Indeed, in Rabbi Nahman's view, human
sin and depression secrete negative judgments through the blood of
the body, and these coagulate, like embolisms, in the lower extrem-
ities, preventing the proper circuit of blood to the heart, which is
the source of healthy life and joy.25 This results in corresponding
blockages in the arteries or "channels" of the divine Corpus, and

22 See Ibid., 1., 32; also I, 10.6, where the same technical terms appear.
23 Ibid.
24 It is stated in Genesis 29: 25 that only in the morning, after the
nuptuals (v. 23), did Jacob realize that the woman "is (hiy') Lea". Midrash Genesis
Rabba 70.19. Theodor-Albeck, edd. <Jerusalem: Wahrmann Books, 1965), I, p.
818, inteprets this phrase as the recitation of the celebrants who cheered "Yea
(hey) Leah". Nahman understood the cheer as the letter he', and as a sign to
Jacob that Leah is he' (the 5th lettet); that is, she is binah and lev, which ate also
the 5 alephs in the divine Name 'eheyeh, and which form the healing source of din
(judgment; and there follow a whole futther series of numerical equiva-
lents which ate 5 times d-y-n), and so the purification of the uppet female (Leah)
for the lower realms. See Liqq11tei Moharan, I, 32. For the relationship between
din, blood, and the purification of the feminine, see ibid. I, 169 and 22.11.
25 See Liqqt1tei Moharan, I, 169, especially. This "messengers of judgment"
are called "runners" in the Zohar (1. 43) and "feet" in Nahman's corpus.
380 Michael Fishbane

these can only be thinned or "sweetened" through the human process

of self-judgment, whereby the individual "judges himself" and
corrects his behavior in the light of the Torah and its teachings. Then
the weight of sin is released and one is blessed with the lightness of
dance - which is the pulse of joy, down to one's heel (Ieqev). Rabbi
Nahman found this truth encoded in the biblical verse, "And it shall
be if (Ieqev) you heed these judgments (mishpafim) and observe them
carefully" (Deuteronomy 7: 12). For he interprets it to mean that if
one enacts self-judgment (and its corresponding behavioral correc-
tions) one will merit the fulness of joy throughout one's body.26
These ideas have roots in rabbinic lore. On the one hand an
ancient midrash taught a deep homology between the totality of
613 divine commandments and the human body, to the effect that
the 248 positive commandments of Scripture correspond to the
same sum of bodily parts (even as the 365 negative command-
ments correspond to the number of arteries and to the days of the
solar year).27 One implication of this correspondence is that the
ritual performance of divine duties has anthropic and cosmic
implications - such that the positive and negative duties fulfill the
human self as a whole, while the latter ones also preserve the
natutal order. Add to this the midrashic teaching that fulfillment
of the commandments "adds strength" to the divine, while sins
diminish or "weaken" its power, and the mythic ground of rabbinic
ritual comes into view, against the background of a heavenly
Anthropos.28 What one does has effects - above and below. In
this light, the old mid rash on Deuteronomy 7: 12, which inter-
preted the phrase "if ('eqev) you heed the commandments" as an
exhortation to guard lest even a minor commandment lie hidden
under one's heel ('aqev), has rich mythic possibilities - since even
those sins may debilitate man and God alike.29

26 Ibid.
27 See b. Makkot 22b (R. Simlai); and in Pesiqta de-Rav Kahana, pisqa 12.1,
B. Mandelbaum, ed. (New York: The Jewish Theological Seminary of America,
1963), I, 203 (R. Judah b. Rabbi Simon).
28 Pesiqta de-Rav Kahana, pisqa 25.1; Mandelbaum edition, II 380. And
see the discussion of M. Idel, Kabbalah New Perspectives (New Haven: Yale
University Press, 1988), 157-60.
29 Midrash Tan&uma, Parashat 'Eqev, 1. The homily refers to the sum of
613 commandments, and mythicizes the metaphorical cargo of Psalm 49: 6.
 ToJump for Joy 381

The theosophic worldview appropriated by Rabbi N ahman had

long since maximized the mythic potential of such speculation. For
from the period of the Zohar itself, in the thirteenth century, the
divine Anthropos was the ultimate beneficiary of the various
commandments which were enacted by the human being (with all
his mind, body, and means). One need merely recall the pertinent
passages in the Zohar itself, where "the commandments of the
Torah are all connected with the supernal, holy King"; 30 or in such
works as Sefer Ha-Rimmon, by Moshe de Leon;31 or the commentary
on the commandments (Sefer Ta'amei Ha-Mitzvot) attributed to
Rabbi Yitzhaq ibn Farhi in order to prove the point.32 This con-
ception pervades the whole Lurianic corpus and its derivatives.33
What is more, the theosophical notion that percipitates of evil from
human sin lodge in the heels of the Cosmic Man is also found in
thirteenth century Castillian sources and their Safadic intensifica-
tions three centuries later. Rabbis Yitzhaq Luria and I:Iayyim Vital
provide numerous ways for the worshipper to participate in the
mythical drama of divine purification - and gave special attention
to the flaws of the feet.
Rabbi Nahman absorbed these teachings and reformulated
them in light of his psychosomatic theories of joy.34 As he says,
when one sins with any given limb or organ, and breaches anyone
of the 613 commandments of the Torah, a "defect" (or pegam) is
caused to the Torah and the sinner, such that the joy inherent in

30 See Zohar II. 85b (the passage continues: "some with the King's head,
some with the body, some with the King's hands, and some with his feet - and
none go beyond the body"); III. 136b (ldra Rabba); Tiqqunei ha-zohar, Tiqqun
21, 60a, and 70, 130a-132a. Reciprocally, sins diminish the divine Body or
block its channels; d. Zohar 1. 67a; 85b; II. 162b, 165b; III. 297a-b.
31 See the edition of E. Wolfson, The Book of the Pomegranate. Moses De
Leon's Sefer Ha-Rimmon (Atlanta, GA: Scholar's Press, 1988). Over 100 com-
mandments are discussed by De Leon.
32 See A. Altmann, Kirjath Sepher 40 (1964/5), 256-76, 405-12.
33 Cf. Sha'ar Ha-Mitzvot, by Rabbi I:Iayyim Vital (Jerusalemm 1872); and
Metzudat David, by Rabbi David be Shelomoh ibn Abi Zimra (Zolkiew, 1862).
34 For this theosophy in the context of 'walking', see the valuable
discussion (with earlier references) by E. Wolfson, "Walking as a Sacred Duty:
Theological Transformation of Social Reality in Early Hasidism", in Along The
Path (Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 1995),89-109,
and 223-45.
382 Michael Pishbane

God's word is blocked and the human being is not only cut-off from
its holy energy but lefr with the depressive deadness of a wholly
natural being.35 For "The commands of the Lord are upright,
rejoicing the heart" (Psalm 19: 9); and how can these agents of
divine vitality act on the heart if they are not absorbed through the
limbs which perform the commandments with joyful intent?36
Accordingly, each and every commandment has a structure of joy
inherent to it, and one must activate that joy in its proper
manner - the hands, say, through gift-giving or holding the Lulav
and Etrog correctly; the mouth, through pure prayer and honest
speech; arid of course the sexual organs, through the holiness of
matrimonial union and procreation. The feet or legs also have their
ideal functions, such as walking on the Sabbath, going on a
pilgrimage, or dancing before the Bride - both divine and human.
The full activation of the entire body in holy actions is thus a
therapeutic of total joy, whereby the currents of divine energy
enliven and integrate the human being in all 613 parts. No
wonder that Nahman says that

Joy (simf;ah) is a total structure (qomah shelemah), comprised of 248 limbs and
365 arteries, and therefore when one rejoices or dances, he must be certain that
he activates (ya'avor) the entirety of joy, from head to heel; for sometimes joy is
only in the feet, or only in the heart, or only in the head, as alluded to by the
verse, "and eternal joy on their head" (Isaiah 35: 10). But the essence of joy is
that one activate the entirety of joy; that is, through the whole structure that
joy comprises. And for that one needs many mitzvot: for the root of the points
of the mitzvot are in [the gradation of] joy; and "the commands of the Lord
rejoice the heart" (Psalm 19: 9); and everyone of the 613 commandments has
a specific limb [in the structure of joy] - each one according to its type. 3 7

Accordingly, he concludes, if one sins in any way one causes a

defect in the entire bodily structure (qomah), and this must be
"repaired and rebuilt" (le-taqqen u-livnot) through confession and
the proper actions.

35 Liqqutei Moharan, I, 178; cf. II, 81. The idea derives from the Zohar,
where it is frequently remarked how sin blocks the channels of the divine realm;
d. 1. 67a and III. 297a-b.
36 Ibid., I, 178.
37 Ibid.
 To Jump for Joy 383

All this is clear enough. But to fully grasp Rabbi Nahman's

theology of dance we must, I think, penetrate the micro- and
macro-systems which the human body mediates. Let me begin
with the latter, since in the previous citation reference as made to
the qomah which must be maintained or rebuilt. In my view, this
nomenclature points beyond the human body to the Cosmic
Qomah - or the full structure of the Heavenly Anthropos whose
limbs and arteries contain in their hidden depth the roots of the
divine commandments which the human qomah may 'activate
through joyful performance of the halakhic duties associated with
them. Other indications support this claim. Among these are the
repeated emphasis in Nahman's sermons and prayers that "feet;'
are the divine gradations of Netzaf.; and Hod, and that their
elevation in holy joy may purify these pillars of truth and "bring"
them to their "holy Source (above)."38 At the other pole is the
micro-structure of dance, which is, in fact, the deep structure of
each and every commandment. For Rabbi Nahman not only
identifies the core of each mitzvah with joy, as discussed earlier,
but, precisely because each commandment replicates the anthro-
pomorphic structure (or qomah) of the whole,39 he understands the
lower or imperfect level of each commandment to be its "feet.,,4o
He thus teaches that all "the lower levels which are called 'feet' "
(ha-madregot ha-taf.;tonot ha-mekhunot raglayim) -like evil speech, or
money, or barrenness - may be elevated through the holy actions

38 Cf. Liqqutei Moharan, I, 24.3; I, 81 specifically says that "feet

(ha-raglayim) are Netzab and Hod", and goes on to identify them with the
gradation of Prophet(s) (naviy'). An interpretation of Psalm 90: 12, "and bring
us (naviy') a heart of wisdom" is adduced to indicate how these supernal
gtadations may be brought (viz., elevated) through dance to the heart of the
sefirotic structure. Liqqutei Tefil/ot, X, ad fin., speaks of taising the legs through
dance to their supernal source.
39 See especially Liqqutei Moharan, I, 277, "Every mitzvah is a complere
qomah"; and II, 39, where Nahman speaks of "the form of the limbs (tavnit
ha-'evarim) and the building and structure (qomah) and image, etc. of each and
every thing (kol davar ve-davar)". The notion has its roots in the Zohar, where
it is taught that each mitzvah contains all 613 commandments and replicates the
anthropomorphic structure of the divine hierarchy; d. Zohar III. 228b (Ra'aya'
Meheymna'), kol mitzvah 'ihiy sheqila' le-taryag.
40 Liqqutei Moharan, II, 81.
384 Michael Pishbane

requisite for their transformation. Indeed, even faith ('emunah) has

forms called "feet" that may be re-established upon a firm founda-
tion.41 Accordingly, since joy rises through the raised feet of
dance, the perfect performance of a mitzvah is an elevation of its
base levels (the 'feet') to their divine or holy root. Confession, or
charity, or kindness to one's wife may heal the aforementioned
defects - even as simplicity and humility may raise up faith when
it falls through pride or cleverness. Such ritual rectifications are
dance-like in their dynamism, filling the structure (or qomah) of
each commandment with a joyous energy. In turn, their perfected
performance repair and perfect the limbs which perform them, as
well as the corresponding members of the Qomah on high.
Accordingly, from the micro- to the macro-levels the mitzvot have
messianic potential- and dance is their catalyst.
Let me conclude this point with reference to a third genre
(alongside the teachings and prayers) in the Bratzlav corpus, the
tales, and in particular to the story of the "Seven Beggars." The
multifacted messianic message of this narrative is well-known, and,
since early times, commentators have also not failed to note that
the appearance of the seventh beggar "without feet" (vos on fees) on
the seventh day of the wedding celebration symbolizes the seventh
and final gradation of the divine hierarchy, whose perfection, so
necessary for all higher unifications, is clearly marred. Indeed,
Rabbi N ahman himself clearly indicates the truncated messianic
potential of this image when he says that the tale of the crippled
beggar will only be heard in messianic times, shoyn nit herrn biz
moshiab vet kumn. What I would add here is the fact that the
"beggar without feet" is preceded by six other messengers who
have apparent defects in their eyes, ears, mouth, neck, back, and
hands, respectively. That is, each of the beggars are associated with
specific limbs of the body, which also symbolize the anthropomor-
phic structure of the divine hierarchy that may be perfected when
humans purify their limbs through holy deeds and command-
ments. For Nahman, this is the messianic core of this last of 13

41 Liqqutei Moharan, 1,22.11; d. 10.6. Torah and prayer also have 'feet';

see ibid., I, 75.

 To Jump for Joy 385

mayses (or tales), which clearly alludes to the supernal cosmIC

structure.42
Rabbi Nahman's suggestion that the meSSlamc trurh cannot
now be heard (shoyn nit herrn) reminds us of the high state of
hearing alluded to in the teaching of Rabbi Moshe Hayyim
Ephraim, with which we began. As depicted, the people at Sinai
only saw the dancing angels - as the earthly animation of God's
voice. They themselves did not yet merit this higher level.
Nahman, who so profoundly personalized the parable of dance in
that earlier teaching, also has a remarkable instruction concerning
hearing itself.
Rabbi N ahman says that one must work hard and persistently
to enter the holiness of joy, which is of the nature of the deepest
affirmation of God's truth in deed and hearing. Hence when the
people of Israel at Sinai said na'aseh ve-nishma' ("Let us do and
hear"; Exodus 24: 7) they entered into a blissful moment of
transcendence, when myriads of angels crowned each and every
one with both the manifest or exoteric meaning of Torah, the level
of na'aesh (doing), but also its hidden or esoteric truth, called
nishma' (hearing). Thus through the proper prformance of the
commandments, in their exoteric aspect, the Jew will be enveloped
by their mystical aura, and drawn to their secret sound in his heart.
Here transpires the highest level of divine worship, a mystical
"service of the heart" whereby the natural self is totally annihilated
through attachment to the Infinite (bittul u-devekut la-'ein so/).43
Now this highest of all levels is not attained without great
spiritual work, whose very dialectic is itself of the nature of na'aseh
ve-nishma'. That is, there is at every "level" of this world, and "in
every world", a dynamic process of moving from na'aseh (doing to
nishma' (hearing) in continual progressions and spirals - for each

42 The number 13 may refer to the 10 gradations plus the 3 pure lights
above them; and also to the 13 petaled rose, which stands fot the 13 atttibutes
of mercy that emerge from Binah for the benefit of the Assembly of Israel (viz.,
they flow down to surround and protect Malkhut). Accotding to Zohar 1. la,
this rose or lily is the "cup of salvation (s)" - a clear messianic allusion. The 13
petals are linked there to the 13 "words" or references to the diine Name Elohim
in Genesis 1:1-2: 1.
43 Liqqutei Moharan, I, 22.9.
386 Michael Pishbane

attainment of nishma' is but a level of na'aseh for the ongoing

quest.44 The true adept must thus struggle with ceaselesshonesty
and perseverence, since deceptions and demands are repeated at
every level with ever greater subtlety. And yet Rabbi Nahman gives
hope that eventually one may attain the "beginning of (the) divine
emanation" where, for the first time, the seeking soul will perceive
the torat ha-Shem be-'emet, "the Divine Torah in (its essential) truth."
That is, it is only at this consummate rung of na'aseh where one
realizes that all previous perceptions of God's Torah were but
derivative and metaphorical (mush'al), owing to the representational
nature of human consciousness.Beyond this, there is nothing more
to say. For when one passes over to the level of nishma' in this dyad,
the seeker "merits to be utterly absorbed into the Infinite Divine,
(wherein) truly his Torah is the actual Torah of God, and his prayer
the actual prayer of God" (ukhishe-zokheh le-hikkalel be-'ein so/, 'azai
torato torat ha-Shem mamash, u-tefillato teflllat ha-Shem mamash).45
Rabbi Nahman believed that his teachings and reproof, which
functioned as the "feet" of his generation, might heal the soul of
those who listen, and raise them to ever higher levels of faith.46
Indeed, he believed that his stories had the power to catalyze his
followers to the very heights of ecstasy, and to give them, in one
moment, the ultimate bliss of God. Or as he said, in what may be
the most astonishing word of an astonishing master: "The world
has not yet tasted me at all; for if they were to hear but one torah
that I say, with its (Proper) melody and dance, they would all attain
complete spiritual annihilation (hayu betellim be-viytul gamur)" - zey
zolln mikh herrn eyn toyroh mit dem nign un mit eyn tanz, vollt di ganze
velt oys gegangen (the whole world would 'expire')." 47

44 Ibid., 22.10.
45 Ibid.
46 Ibid., end. According to Zohar II 117b-118a (Ra'aya' Meheymna'), the
righteous are "like the limbs of the Shekhinah"; and cf. Tiqqunei ha-Zohar,
Tiqqun 70, nab.
47 See lfayyei Moharan, no. 340, for the Hebrew and Yiddish versions. By
the Yiddish expression oys gegangen, Rabbi Nahman means a mystical 'death' of
expiry of the soul; viz., an annihilation of self-conciousness. The idiom also
appears in the Kun(res ha-Hitpa'alut ('Tract on Ecstasy') by Rabbi Dov Ber of
Lubavitch (1773-1827), a contemporary of Rabbi Nahman. Near the end of
 ToJump for Joy 387

With this I conclude, and, in doing so, complete a cycle of

answers to my initial question of what may happen when we
dance. For Rabbi Nahman of Bratzlav, as interpreted here, the
structure of dance activates a series of homologies that coordinate
the human world of action and the divine worlds of blessing.
Indeed, through dance, the de-vitalized natural self absorbs tran-
scendental powers which, in turn, energize the supernal Being
vitiated by human sin. But in closing we have learned more: even
the very teachings of the master, like those discussed here, have
each an ideal configuration or conjunction of content, sound, and
movement. When these are perfectly realized, as a verbal torah
(teaching) performed with its requisite and unique dance-like
gestures (or energy), the hearer may be seized in one fell swoop by
a transcendental ecstasy. How much more so the speaker himself?
It is thus hardly surprising (though no less startling) to learn that,
immediately after Rabbi N ahman spoke his word on 'the dance of
instruction', he turned to his disciple and scribe, Rabbi Noson, and
asked: Vos hob ikh gezokt ("What did I [just] say")?!48

section 4 of the Kunrres, Rabbi Dov Ber speaks of an "ecstasy of the whole
essence (hitpa'alut kol ha-'atzmiyut), in which one is "so completely transported
that nothing remains of him and he is without any self-consciousness". A
Yiddish gloss immediately follows referring to "the very deep absorption of the
whole of the soul to the extent that he leaves (or: dies to any sense of) the vessels
of his mind or heart (er kan oys gehn fun di keli ha-maob veha-lev)". See in the
edition of Sefer Liqqurei Bei'urim (Jerusalem, 1974), 55. For Rabbi Dov Ber's
mystical experience in the context of Jewish spiriruality,ee my Kiss of God.
Spiritual and Mystical Death in Judaism (Seattle and London: University of
Washington Press, 1994), Chapter 3, especially pp. 117-20.
48 Ibid., end.