Segulot for Sweetening Judgments According to the “Book of Qualities” by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov
1) When a person is sent suffering, it is decreed upon that suffering that it come only on a particular day and depart on a particular day, at a particular hour, and through a particular “remedy”; but repentance, prayer, and charity annul the decree;
2) Because of a troubled mind (sadness), misfortune comes, and because of misfortune, judgment prevails;
4) When a person has some illness, let him give tzedakah. This is similar to a person paying a fee for a court case, thereby mitigating the judgment, because if a judge accepts payment for a judgment, the verdict is annulled;
5) One who has gone 40 days without suffering has already received his reward in this world, leaving nothing for the World to Come—or punishment awaits him. The reason is that suffering atones for sins;
6) Three things testify to a person's transgressions:
- a leaning wall (a dangerous situation—there is an expression, “passing beneath a leaning wall”);
- awaiting an answer to prayer—by this, a person is saying that he deserves to be answered, and then in Heaven they begin examining whether he is indeed worthy;
- leaving judgment against one's fellow (to G-d)—when a person says that G-d will punish someone who harmed him, demonstrating that he is more righteous than that person, which is then examined Above;
7) Four things tear up a person's verdict:
- Tzedakah;
- A cry to Heaven;
- Changing one's name;
- Changing one's conduct;
8) A verdict that includes an oath is not annulled even for the sake of the community;
9) Through fasting during years of famine, a person is saved from a cruel death;
10) When a verdict is issued against a person, it is issued in a particular place; therefore, one can save oneself by changing one's location;
11) If a person has an eye or intestinal ailment, he is being judged Above;
12) When a person sees that judgment is being passed upon him (suffering indicates this), he should remember those who hate him and judge them favorably;
13) If someone made a neder and did not fulfill it, G-d sends him suffering—and if the person remains silent, it is counted as though he fulfilled it;
14) When a person accepts suffering with love, it is counted for him as a sacrifice;
15) When a person is walking and falls, it is a sign that misfortune had been decreed for him Above;
16) Through immersion in a mikveh, troubles are annulled and salvation comes;
17 ) Whoever experiences a weakening of faith should know that judgment is being passed upon him;
18 ) One upon whom judgment is being passed should look toward Heaven constantly;
19) G-d vindicates one who shows evildoers the path of goodness in judgment;
20) G-d hides His countenance from one who lacks faith;
21) Through trust in G-d, judgment is mitigated;
22) Through your faith, you can speak with G-d and influence G-d—that is, He will agree with your wishes;
23) If a person has no faith, it means that Hashem has withdrawn His compassion from him;
24) When Hashem's compassion is difficult to find, crying is needed, as hinted at in Tehillim 36:8: “How precious is Your kindness, O G-d”—it is difficult to find compassion when there is judgment, G-d forbid. But the continuation of the verse offers a way to change this: יֶחֱסָיוּן כְּנָפֶיךָ בְּצֵל אָדָם וּבְנֵי - (and the children of man take refuge in the shadow of Your wings)—the first letters of the final three words form an acronym for the word “crying”;
25) Suffering comes to one who does not accept rebuke;
26) Sometimes G-d pours troubles upon a father so that the son may have peace;
27) Through a vow, G-d's anger is held back;
28) When a person is sad, he is viewed unfavorably Above;
29) When a person is walking and falls, it means that a death sentence had been issued against him, but through the fall it was annulled;
30) When judgment is delayed, the judgment is annulled;
31) Through those who hate him, a person can learn about the judgment taking place Above;
32) To one who studies Torah at night, G-d brings a thread of kindness during the day;
33) Through modesty, a person placates G-d;
34) Humility mitigates judgments;
35) One who raises a dog awakens judgments;
36) Sometimes the tzadik of the generation mitigates judgment through the anger with which he becomes angry at you;
37) When a new king or minister rises to power among the nations, judgments are awakened;
38) It is not good for two people with identical names to live in the same apartment;
39) Through sadness, a person awakens judgment;
40) A person can sense judgment through the houseflies—the behavior of the flies and of one's wife toward the head of the household reflects Heaven's attitude toward him;
41) One who engages in mitigating judgment finds it easier to sanctify G-d's Name, and his eyes do not dim;
42) One who rejects suffering is as though saying to G-d: “Leave me alone”;
43) When a person studies Torah to the point of exhaustion, he thereby mitigates judgment and awakens mercy; he also awakens the mercy of his father resting in the grave;
44) If a person is bitten by a dog, it means that G-d's compassion no longer extends to him and that he has eaten something non-kosher;
How Can Judgments Be Mitigated?
Psalm 39—to mitigate judgments;
Psalm 77—to mitigate judgments;
- Reading “Shir HaShirim”—mitigates judgments;
- Mishnah (the first section, “Zeraim”)—mitigates judgments;
- Tikkun Chatzot —mitigates judgments;
- Reading the section about the Choshen (Exodus 28)—rectifies judgment;
- The Torah section about the 11 curtains of goats' hair (Exodus 26:36);
- The Torah section about the Ketoret (Exodus 30);
- The Torah section about the 11 blessings with which Moses blessed the tribes of Israel (Deuteronomy 33);
- Sections of the Torah portion “Pinchas” that speak about the festivals—they help mitigate judgment and prevail in the court of idolaters (a secular court);
- The section about the chariot of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1);
- The section about vows, Mishnah, Tractate “Shevuot” (oaths);
- Studying Tractate “Ohalot” (Tents);
- If one stays awake all night, one will be saved from judgments;
- Visiting a tzadik for advice mitigates judgments;
- Giving tzedakah to a tzadik mitigates judgments;
- Through Torah study, the accusers will be turned back;
- When a person sits underwater in a mikveh until he can no longer hold his breath, judgment is mitigated;
- Whoever wishes to mitigate judgment should refrain from drinking wine for the entire day;
- A mikveh mitigates judgment;
- Through opening the Torah scroll, judgment is mitigated and returns to its proper place;
- Fasting and sackcloth are a segula for annulling a verdict;
- Through modesty, judgment is mitigated;
- Changing one's location tears up a verdict;
- By visiting the sick, a person will not die in suffering.
(According to the “Book of Qualities” by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov)
Segulot for Sweetening Judgments According to the “Book of Qualities” by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov
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Tags: Segulot, Book of Qualities, Mitigating Divine Judgments, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, Amtakat Dinim – Mitigation of Judgments
