Rabbi Nachman’s Tikkun, known as the Tikkun Haklali,
is a group of ten psalms designated by Rebbe Nahman of Bratslav has having particularly
effective powers to cure depression.
This book presents all ten psalms, an explanation of how they work in
the over scheme of Breslov Chassidus, and the Tikkun Haklali generally.
The cover with a single hand over the book is apt:
since the primary “sin” this tikkun is supposed to heal is masturbation. In Bratslaver thought and practice, there are few greater sins than masturbation. Modern
readers may find this disturbing or backward, but in normative, Rabbinical
Judaism, the spilling of seed for anything but procreative sex is
forbidden. So, Rebbe Nachman’s cure fits
well with this general orientation.
What rings a bit discordant to the more modern ear
is not the spilling of seed, but the near manic fixation upon it; this stems
back to many kabbalistic notions regarding semen, and its place in the human
and divine scheme. The depression brought
on by masturbation is not only a personal, venal fault, but a way to put the
universe off kilter, to destroy precious
souls before they fully exist. Semen also
ties in with notions from Jewish folklore about Lilith and her use of sperm to
create demon children.
All that said, I like to use Rebbe Nachman’s Tikkun,
his cure, for any type of depression. I
see the spilling of seed not as a literal offense, but a symbolic one. It stand for anything we waste, any effort or
situation or person who we fail to fully appreciate and enjoy. The cure is realizing this, then saying the
psalms, and vowing not to take such things for granted again.
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