מַה שֶּׁאָנוּ רוֹאִים, שֶׁכָּל הַנְּגִידִים הַגְּדוֹלִים, כִּמְעַט
Why Wealth Unsettles the Mind
Rebbe Nachman observes that the very wealthy are almost all strangely unbalanced. The reason: money comes from the fallen wealth of the prophets. All the prophets were wealthy, and when prophecy came upon a prophet he seemed beside himself; in the rich, that fallen force becomes plain madness.
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1-minute recap
Explainer
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הַמָּקוֹר · Original text
מַה שֶּׁאָנוּ רוֹאִים, שֶׁכָּל הַנְּגִידִים הַגְּדוֹלִים, כִּמְעַט כֻּלָּם, הֵם מְשֻׁגָּעִים מַמָּשׁ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָנוּ רוֹאִין בְּחוּשׁ, שֶׁכָּל מִי שֶׁהוּא עָשִׁיר, יֵשׁ לוֹ שִׁגָּעוֹן גָּדוֹל –
דַּע, כִּי הַמָּמוֹן עוֹשֶׂה אוֹתוֹ מְשֻׁגָּע, כִּי הַמָּמוֹן הוּא מִנְּפִילַת הָעֲשִׁירוּת שֶׁל הַנְּבִיאִים, כִּי כָל הַנְּבִיאִים הָיוּ עֲשִׁירִים (נדרים לח), וְהַנְּבוּאָה כְּשֶׁבָּאָה עַל הַנָּבִיא, הָיָה כְּמוֹ מִשְׁתַּגֵּעַ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁפֵּרֵשׁ רַשִׁ"י: וַיִּתְנַבֵּא – וְאִשְׁתַּטֵּי (שמואל־א יח);
וְאֵצֶל הַנְּגִידִים הַנַּ"ל נַעֲשֶׂה עַל־יְדֵי הַמָּמוֹן שִׁגָּעוֹן גָּמוּר, וְעַל־כֵּן הֵם נַעֲשִׂים מְשֻׁגָּעִים עַל־יְדֵי הָעֲשִׁירוּת שֶׁלָּהֶם:
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 sixty four: why Wealth Unsettles the Mind.
Almost all the very wealthy, Rebbe Nachman says, carry a real madness. The money itself unsettles them.
Why? Money comes from the fallen wealth of the prophets. Every prophet was wealthy, and prophecy made a prophet seem beside himself.
In the rich, that fallen force becomes plain madness.
Our own reflection: hold money lightly, and stay yourself.
Explainer
Likutey Moharan Tinyana, Torah sixty four. A short teaching about wealth and madness.
Rebbe Nachman begins with something people see plainly. The great magnates, almost all of them, are truly mad. Anyone very rich carries some great madness.
Know, he says, that the money makes him so. Money comes from the fallen wealth of the prophets, for all the prophets were wealthy.
And when prophecy came upon a prophet, he was like one beside himself. Rashi explains the verse 'and he prophesied' as 'he spoke wildly'.
With the rich, the money produces complete madness, and so their wealth makes them unbalanced.
Some reflections of our own, not a quotation. Money carries a power that comes from very high. If we hold it lightly, and give of it, it does not have to unsettle us.
Full shiur
— Part 1: Why Wealth Unsettles the Mind —
Likutey Moharan Tinyana, Torah sixty four. A short shiur in one part: why Wealth Unsettles the Mind.
Gold is Rebbe Nachman's own words, from Likutey Moharan Tinyana, Torah sixty four. 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.
We see that the great magnates, almost all of them, are truly mad, as we see plainly that whoever is rich has a great madness.
Know that the money makes him mad. For money comes from the fall of the wealth of the prophets, for all the prophets were wealthy; and when prophecy came upon the prophet he was like one beside himself, as Rashi explained: 'and he prophesied' means 'and he spoke wildly'.
Our explanation. Wealth has a holy root, in the prophets, who were all wealthy. In the prophet, that force lifted him beyond himself. When it falls into money alone, the same force simply unsettles the mind.
And with these magnates, the money produces complete madness; therefore they become mad through their wealth.
Some reflections of our own, not a quotation. Money carries a power that comes from very high. If we hold it lightly, and give of it, it does not have to unsettle us.
This has been Likutey Moharan Tinyana, Torah sixty four.
Sources for this Torah
Texts used
Hebrew: Likutei Moharan Tinyana (Part II), Torah 64, edition 'Likutei Moharan Tinyana – rabenubook.com', public domain, via Sefaria — https://www.sefaria.org/Likutei_Moharan%2C_Part_II.64
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.
Notes
Part 1, scene 4: Nedarim 38a: the prophets were wealthy. Shmuel I 18:10 with Rashi.
Every on-screen quotation in the full shiur, by part
Part 1 — Why Wealth Unsettles the Mind
Scene 3 · LM II:64 §1 · paragraph §1.1
מַה שֶּׁאָנוּ רוֹאִים, שֶׁכָּל הַנְּגִידִים הַגְּדוֹלִים, כִּמְעַט כֻּלָּם, הֵם מְשֻׁגָּעִים מַמָּשׁ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָנוּ רוֹאִין בְּחוּשׁ, שֶׁכָּל מִי שֶׁהוּא עָשִׁיר, יֵשׁ לוֹ שִׁגָּעוֹן גָּדוֹל –
EN (our paraphrase): We see that the great magnates, almost all of them, are truly mad, as we see plainly that whoever is rich has a great madness.
Scene 4 · LM II:64 §1 · paragraph §1.2
דַּע, כִּי הַמָּמוֹן עוֹשֶׂה אוֹתוֹ מְשֻׁגָּע, כִּי הַמָּמוֹן הוּא מִנְּפִילַת הָעֲשִׁירוּת שֶׁל הַנְּבִיאִים, כִּי כָל הַנְּבִיאִים הָיוּ עֲשִׁירִים, וְהַנְּבוּאָה כְּשֶׁבָּאָה עַל הַנָּבִיא, הָיָה כְּמוֹ מִשְׁתַּגֵּעַ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁפֵּרֵשׁ רַשִׁ"י: וַיִּתְנַבֵּא – וְאִשְׁתַּטֵּי;
EN (our paraphrase): Know that the money makes him mad. For money comes from the fall of the wealth of the prophets, for all the prophets were wealthy; and when prophecy came upon the prophet he was like one beside himself, as Rashi explained: 'and he prophesied' means 'and he spoke wildly'.
Scene 6 · LM II:64 §1 · paragraph §1.3
וְאֵצֶל הַנְּגִידִים הַנַּ"ל נַעֲשֶׂה עַל־יְדֵי הַמָּמוֹן שִׁגָּעוֹן גָּמוּר, וְעַל־כֵּן הֵם נַעֲשִׂים מְשֻׁגָּעִים עַל־יְדֵי הָעֲשִׁירוּת שֶׁלָּהֶם:
EN (our paraphrase): And with these magnates, the money produces complete madness; therefore they become mad through their wealth.
Hebrew phrases in the Explainer
Scene 2 · §1.1: שֶׁכָּל הַנְּגִידִים הַגְּדוֹלִים, כִּמְעַט כֻּלָּם, הֵם מְשֻׁגָּעִים מַמָּשׁ,
Scene 3 · §1.2: דַּע, כִּי הַמָּמוֹן עוֹשֶׂה אוֹתוֹ מְשֻׁגָּע, כִּי הַמָּמוֹן הוּא מִנְּפִילַת הָעֲשִׁירוּת שֶׁל הַנְּבִיאִים,
Scene 4 · §1.2: וְהַנְּבוּאָה כְּשֶׁבָּאָה עַל הַנָּבִיא, הָיָה כְּמוֹ מִשְׁתַּגֵּעַ,
Scene 5 · §1.3: וְאֵצֶל הַנְּגִידִים הַנַּ"ל נַעֲשֶׂה עַל־יְדֵי הַמָּמוֹן שִׁגָּעוֹן גָּמוּר,
Hebrew phrases in the 1-minute recap
Scene 2 · §1.2: דַּע, כִּי הַמָּמוֹן עוֹשֶׂה אוֹתוֹ מְשֻׁגָּע,
Scene 3 · §1.2: כִּי הַמָּמוֹן עוֹשֶׂה אוֹתוֹ מְשֻׁגָּע, כִּי הַמָּמוֹן הוּא מִנְּפִילַת הָעֲשִׁירוּת שֶׁל הַנְּבִיאִים, כִּי כָל הַנְּבִיאִים הָיוּ עֲשִׁירִים,
Scene 4 · §1.3: נַעֲשֶׂה עַל־יְדֵי הַמָּמוֹן שִׁגָּעוֹן גָּמוּר,