פַּעַם אֶחָד סִפֵּר מֵעִנְיַן מַעֲשֵׂה בְּנֵי־אָדָם. עָנָה
A Quarter of an Hour
Speaking about how people behave, Rebbe Nachman said that for one small pleasure lasting a quarter of an hour, a person can lose both this world and the World to Come. He said it in Yiddish, and Reb Noson records his exact words.
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1-minute recap
Explainer
Full shiur
הַמָּקוֹר · Original text
פַּעַם אֶחָד סִפֵּר מֵעִנְיַן מַעֲשֵׂה בְּנֵי־אָדָם. עָנָה וְאָמַר: הֲלֹא הָאָדָם, בִּשְׁבִיל תַּעֲנוּג קָטָן אֶחָד שֶׁל רֶבַע שָׁעָה הוּא יָכוֹל לְאַבֵּד וּלְהַפְסִיד כָּל הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה עִם הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא.
וְאָמַר בִּלְשׁוֹן אַשְׁכְּנַז בְּזֶה הַלָּשׁוֹן: אַ מֶענְטְשׁ פוּן אֵיין תַּעֲנוּג'ל וֶועגְן פוּן אַ פֶערְטְל שָׁעָה, קָאן עֶר אָן וֶוערְן גָאר דֶעם עוֹלָם הַזֶּה מִיט דֶעם עוֹלָם הַבָּא:
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 one hundred and eight: a quarter of an hour.
Rebbe Nachman said: for one small pleasure lasting a quarter of an hour, a person can lose this world and the World to Come together.
He said it in plain Yiddish, so that it would hit home.
Our own reflection: before the quarter hour, weigh what is on the scale.
Explainer
Likutey Moharan Tinyana, Torah one hundred and eight. One sentence about the price of a passing pleasure.
Once, talking about how people behave, Rebbe Nachman said: a person, for the sake of one small pleasure of a quarter of an hour, can lose and forfeit all of this world together with the World to Come.
He said it in Yiddish, in these very words: a mentsh fun ein ta'anugl vegn fun a fertl sho, kon er on vern gor dem olam hazeh mit dem olam haba.
Think of the scale: on one side a quarter of an hour, on the other both worlds. The words are simple and sharp.
Some reflections of our own, not a quotation. A passing pleasure feels large only in its moment. Remember the quarter hour, and what stands against it.
Full shiur
— Part 1: A Quarter of an Hour —
Likutey Moharan Tinyana, Torah one hundred and eight. A very short shiur: a quarter of an hour, and two worlds.
Gold is Rebbe Nachman's own words, from Likutey Moharan Tinyana, Torah one hundred and eight. 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.
Reb Noson writes: Once he spoke about the ways people behave. He said: a person, for the sake of one small pleasure of a quarter of an hour, can lose and forfeit all of this world together with the World to Come.
And he said it in Yiddish, in these words: a mentsh fun ein ta'anugl vegn fun a fertl sho, kon er on vern gor dem olam hazeh mit dem olam haba. A person, for one little pleasure of a quarter of an hour, can lose entirely this world with the World to Come.
Our explanation. Rebbe Nachman put the whole picture in one homely sentence, in the language people spoke every day. The pleasure is small and brief; what can be lost is everything. Saying it plainly makes it easy to remember in the moment it matters.
Some reflections of our own, not a quotation. A passing pleasure feels large only in its moment. Picture the scale before you choose: a quarter of an hour against two worlds.
This has been Likutey Moharan Tinyana, Torah one hundred and eight.
Sources for this Torah
Texts used
Hebrew: Likutei Moharan Tinyana (Part II), Torah 108, edition 'Likutei Moharan Tinyana – rabenubook.com', public domain, via Sefaria — https://www.sefaria.org/Likutei_Moharan%2C_Part_II.108
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: The Hebrew line is Rebbe Nachman's Yiddish, in Hebrew letters.
Every on-screen quotation in the full shiur, by part
Part 1 — A Quarter of an Hour
Scene 3 · LM II:108 §1 · paragraph §1.1
פַּעַם אֶחָד סִפֵּר מֵעִנְיַן מַעֲשֵׂה בְּנֵי־אָדָם. עָנָה וְאָמַר: הֲלֹא הָאָדָם, בִּשְׁבִיל תַּעֲנוּג קָטָן אֶחָד שֶׁל רֶבַע שָׁעָה הוּא יָכוֹל לְאַבֵּד וּלְהַפְסִיד כָּל הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה עִם הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא.
EN (our paraphrase): Once he spoke about the ways people behave. He said: a person, for the sake of one small pleasure of a quarter of an hour, can lose and forfeit all of this world together with the World to Come.
Scene 4 · LM II:108 §1 · paragraph §1.2
וְאָמַר בִּלְשׁוֹן אַשְׁכְּנַז בְּזֶה הַלָּשׁוֹן: אַ מֶענְטְשׁ פוּן אֵיין תַּעֲנוּג'ל וֶועגְן פוּן אַ פֶערְטְל שָׁעָה, קָאן עֶר אָן וֶוערְן גָאר דֶעם עוֹלָם הַזֶּה מִיט דֶעם עוֹלָם הַבָּא:
EN (our paraphrase): And he said it in Yiddish, in these words: a mentsh fun ein ta'anugl vegn fun a fertl sho, kon er on vern gor dem olam hazeh mit dem olam haba. A person, for one little pleasure of a quarter of an hour, can lose entirely this world with the World to Come.
Hebrew phrases in the Explainer
Scene 2 · §1.1: בִּשְׁבִיל תַּעֲנוּג קָטָן אֶחָד שֶׁל רֶבַע שָׁעָה
Scene 3 · §1.2: אַ מֶענְטְשׁ פוּן אֵיין תַּעֲנוּג'ל וֶועגְן פוּן אַ פֶערְטְל שָׁעָה,
Scene 4 · §1.1: כָּל הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה עִם הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא.
Hebrew phrases in the 1-minute recap
Scene 2 · §1.1: בִּשְׁבִיל תַּעֲנוּג קָטָן אֶחָד שֶׁל רֶבַע שָׁעָה הוּא יָכוֹל לְאַבֵּד וּלְהַפְסִיד כָּל הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה עִם הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא.
Scene 3 · §1.2: אַ מֶענְטְשׁ פוּן אֵיין תַּעֲנוּג'ל וֶועגְן פוּן אַ פֶערְטְל שָׁעָה,