Suffering part 7

In a previous post, I discussed Rabbi Nachman's insight into suffering. That is, when we want to see far, we squint. When in pain, to wince. When in great pain, we close our eyes altogether. This is instinctual in the human soul. The "realities" of the world distract us from really seeing. We "tune them out" so as to see an alternate, authentic reality; G-d. When we do, we get another perspective, and the pain eases, or even ceases. However, we sadly cannot remain in that state, and the pain does return. So what did we gain? We had a glimpse of another reality, a Divine reality, where there is no pain. When it again hurts, our minds and hearts can tell us that pain is NOT the reality. We've seen that! We can then deal with the pain and make sense out of it. Rabbi Nachman makes the veiled observation "And we come to new concepts of halachah". Now, "halachah" is the vast body of Jewish law. We simply won't know it until we study it. How will our post-pain moment teach us halachah?!?! Rabbi Natan explains. "Halachah", besides meaning "Jewish Law" also means "the path" or "the way to go". Jewish law informs us what to do at every juncture. But there is another kind of halachah. There is hate in the world. How do I respond? My baby was crying all night. I got no sleep. How do I function, both physically and spiritually the next day? There are any number of disasters, real or imaginary, that don't "let us live". Rabbi Natan comments that at this point, we need the second kind of halachah; the way to go. How does G-d want me to handle this situation? What have I "seen" with my eyes closed, that can help me to now see with my eyes open? What "halachah" is in my daily observances that has messages for my particular trials that I undergo? He wrote a huge work, called "Likkutei Halachot" (Gleaned Halachah) that deals primarily with this. He goes through the order of the Code of Jewish Law, seeking out what "halachah" can be learned from every observance of Torah,or even every seemingly secular pursuit, in the context of "closing our eyes" in order to see.
Two  illustrations from Rabbi Natan:
1. On Sukkot, we have the mitzvah of taking the "four kinds" of plant life. Originally, this was done in the Temple for seven days, outside the Temple only for one day. When the Temple was destroyed, the rabbis decreed taking them everywhere for seven days (excluding the Shabbat during Sukkot), in memory of the Temple. Yes, the Temple was destroyed. But the rabbis still wanted us to learn the "Halachot" of the pain of destruction and exile, more than we could have learned before! Moreover, there was a tradition of the prophets to take in the Temple willow branches each day, and march around the altar once. On the seventh day, they marched around seven times. After the destruction, it was instituted to take a willow branch or branches (most people use five of them) and march around the bimah; the podium from which the Torah is read, on the seventh day of the feast. Each has its level and significance, the willow being the most lowly, with neither fragrance nor taste. Rabbi Natan writes that after having spent a week with its more righteous fellow species, we take the willow by itself, recite prayers, and beat it on the ground to subdue its negative traits, leaving only the positive. It is the custom of some to keep the willows all year long in the home (this is what I do), others throw them on to the ark in the synagogue. We have taken the lowly willow, symbol of emptiness and seemingly worthlessness, then pray with it, beating out the negative, until it, too, becomes a symbol of holiness. We are called upon to deal with our "inner willow", connect it to lofty ideals, and then,through being beaten down, arise with a new perception of G-d, life...and self.
2. In the Temple, on the Sukkot holiday, more sacrifices were offered than at any other time. Aside from other offerings, seventy bulls were sacrificed in the course of the week.. The rabbis of the Talmud note that there were seventy original nations in Genesis, listed after the flood. These bulls were on behalf of the seventy nations, calling upon G-d's blessings for each. After all, the prophet Zachariah speaks of all nations coming to Jerusalem to celebrate Sukkot! But there is an alternate, seemingly less positive interpretation offered. The number of bulls offered each day is in declining numbers. This view says that we are asking for the nations to be weakened! Rabbi Natan says that there is no contradiction. Every people has a culture. Every culture has its Truth, its beauty. But every culture has its prejudices, its hubris and hostility as well. So we want each nation to be blessed with its positive attributes coming to the surface, while its negatives are suppressed, and eventually transformed.
We all have negative and positive aspects in our personalities, in our lives. We need to learn "halachot" from the negatives, having seen a more positive reality during our suffering, whether self-inflicted or brought about my circumstances beyond our control. We need to shut out the negatives, until we "see G-d", and learn, specifically from our negatived experiences, how to go...new "halachot" for living in the way that Torah teaches.