רַבִּים לוֹחֲמִים לִי מָרוֹם , הַיְנוּ
Many Fight Against Me from on High
'Many fight against me from on high': a person can have adversaries above, on high, as the Sages say: just as there are oppressors below, so there are oppressors above.
🎧 Listen to the full shiur
1-minute recap
Explainer
Full shiur
הַמָּקוֹר · Original text
רַבִּים לוֹחֲמִים לִי מָרוֹם (תהילים נ״ו:ג׳), הַיְנוּ שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ שׂוֹנְאִים לְמַעְלָה בַּמָּרוֹם, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה (ע' סנהדרין מד: ובדף קג): כְּשֵׁם שֶׁיֵּשׁ צָרִים לְמַטָּה, כָּךְ יֵשׁ צָרִים מִלְמַעְלָה:
Hebrew text: Likutei Moharan Tinyana - rabenubook.com via Sefaria (Public Domain) · Sefaria. Names of Hashem are written in the customary form.
Transcripts
1-minute recap
Likutey Moharan Tinyana, Torah fourteen. Many fight against me from on high.
Many fight against me from on high: a person can have adversaries above, not only below.
As the Sages say: just as there are oppressors below, so there are oppressors above.
Our own reflection: not every struggle starts down here. Pray, and keep going.
Explainer
Likutey Moharan Tinyana, Torah fourteen: one of the shortest Torahs in the book, a single line on a verse in Tehillim.
King David says: many fight against me from on high. Rebbe Nachman explains: he has enemies above, in the heights.
As the Sages teach: just as there are oppressors below, so there are oppressors above. A struggle we feel down here may have its source on high.
Our own reflection: when obstacles seem to come from nowhere, they may come from above. The answer is prayer, and not giving up.
Full shiur
— Part 1: Many Fight Against Me from on High —
Likutey Moharan Tinyana, Torah fourteen: many fight against me from on high. A short shiur in one part.
Gold is Rebbe Nachman's own words, from Likutey Moharan Tinyana, Torah fourteen. Grey is a verse or teaching he quotes. Green is our own explanation. The Hebrew is the public-domain text from Sefaria; the English is our own paraphrase.
The whole Torah is one sentence. 'Many fight against me from on high': that is, he has enemies above, on high. As the Sages taught: just as there are oppressors below, so there are oppressors above.
Our explanation. King David felt that many fought against him from on high. Rebbe Nachman reads the verse simply: there are adversaries above as well as below. Some struggles a person feels here have their roots on high.
Some reflections of our own, not a quotation. Not every struggle starts down here. When obstacles come from above, answer them with prayer, and keep going.
This has been Likutey Moharan Tinyana, Torah fourteen.
Sources for this Torah
Texts used
Hebrew: Likutei Moharan Tinyana (Part II), Torah 14, edition 'Likutei Moharan Tinyana – rabenubook.com', public domain, via Sefaria — https://www.sefaria.org/Likutei_Moharan%2C_Part_II.14
English: our own paraphrase of the Hebrew, written for these videos. It is not copied from any published translation.
Verses and teachings of the Sages appear only as Rebbe Nachman quotes them inside this Torah.
How the text is shown
The Divine Name is shown as ה' and voiced as Hashem. Other Names are written in the customary form (אֱלֹקִים, קֵ-ל, קָהּ, שַׁ-דַּ-י, אֲדֹ-נָ-י, אֶקְיֶ-ה, צְבָקוֹת). No full Name is written or voiced.
Parenthetical source references inside the printed Hebrew are left off the screen to save space; the citation line names the source instead.
Long paragraphs are shown in consecutive pieces. Every Hebrew word on screen is from the edition above; nothing is reworded.
Cards labelled EXPLANATION (green), and every line marked 'our own reflection — not a quote', are our own words, not quotations.
Every on-screen quotation in the full shiur, by part
Part 1 — Many Fight Against Me from on High
Scene 3 · LM II:14 §1, on Tehillim 56:3 (Sanhedrin 44b, 103b) · paragraph §1.1
רַבִּים לוֹחֲמִים לִי מָרוֹם, הַיְנוּ שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ שׂוֹנְאִים לְמַעְלָה בַּמָּרוֹם, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה: כְּשֵׁם שֶׁיֵּשׁ צָרִים לְמַטָּה, כָּךְ יֵשׁ צָרִים מִלְמַעְלָה:
EN (our paraphrase): 'Many fight against me from on high': that is, he has enemies above, on high. As the Sages taught: just as there are oppressors below, so there are oppressors above.
Hebrew phrases in the Explainer
Scene 2 · §1.1: רַבִּים לוֹחֲמִים לִי מָרוֹם,
Scene 3 · §1.1: כְּשֵׁם שֶׁיֵּשׁ צָרִים לְמַטָּה, כָּךְ יֵשׁ צָרִים מִלְמַעְלָה:
Hebrew phrases in the 1-minute recap
Scene 2 · §1.1: רַבִּים לוֹחֲמִים לִי מָרוֹם,
Scene 3 · §1.1: כְּשֵׁם שֶׁיֵּשׁ צָרִים לְמַטָּה, כָּךְ יֵשׁ צָרִים מִלְמַעְלָה: