The exact wording of Rabenu [Nahman] z"l, given on Shabbat Shuva in the year 5563 (1803) in Breslov.
"And HaShem said to Moses, call unto Joshua..." (Deuteronomy 31)
1. Everyone must decrease his own honor and increase the honor of The Place (HaShem). For one who runs after honor doesn't attain honor of God, rather [he attains] honor of kings of which it is said, "The honor of kings is an investigated thing" (Proverbs 25). All inquire of him and ask: 'who and what is he that he is allotted this honor?' However, one who runs from honor, decreasing his own honor and increasing the honor of The Place - then he merits honor of God, thus people do not inquire of his honor, whether or not he is worthy. About him it is said, "The honor of God is a concealed thing" (Proverbs 25); for it is forbidden to inquire of this honor.
2. And it is impossible to come to this honor except through repentance; and repentance is essentially when one hears his disgrace and insult and remains silent. "For there is no kavod (honor) without the letter kaf" (Zohar, Pinhas). "And kaf is kether (crown)" (Tikunei HaZohar), corresponding to AHYH (a Divine Name meaning "I will be" which is associated with the Sefira called Kether), corresponding to repentance since AHYH means 'I am ready to be'. That is, before repentance one hadn't had existence, as if he hadn't yet been in the world, for it was better that he hadn't been created than having been created. And when he comes to purify himself and repent, then he is in the aspect of AHYH; that is, that he'll have existence in the world, meaning 'I am ready to be'.
This is the aspect of kether (crown), for kether is the language of waiting, corresponding to repentance, as our Sages of blessed memory said, "One who comes to purify [himself] is helped" (Talmud, Yoma 38). An example is one who comes to buy a persimmon and they say 'wait', etc. This is the aspect of kether, as it is written, "Katar (wait) for me a little and I will tell you..." (Job 36). However, before repentance, the aspect of AHYH is in hidden-face from him; for he has not yet prepared himself to be in the world. And the hidden-face of AHYH is the numerical value of dam (blood). (An explanation: the backward sequence of the Name AHYH is the numerical value of dam, as brought. That is, when spelling the name in backwards sequence, like א, אה, אהי, אהיה (A, AH, AHY, AHYH), that you return back each time [to the start of the word], it reaches the numerical value of dam. This is the turning back and concealment of the face of AHYH that reaches [the numerical value of] dam.)
That is, spilling of blood and insult, according to "those who despise Me will be disgraced" (I Samuel 2). For the blood is yet in the left chamber of the heart which is the dwelling place of the evil inclination as it says, "The heart of the fool is at his left" (Ecclesiastes 10). It (the evil inclination) is still attacking and strong and for this reason insults and bloodshed come upon him - for this is the aspect of the concealment and turning back of AHYH, the numerical value of dam (blood). The remedy for this is to change dam into dom (silence); to be among those who hear their disgrace and do not reply nor be exacting about the insult of their honor. When one fulfills 'be silent before HaShem', then the Holy One Blessed is He throws down causalities [HaLaLim] for him (that is, He takes down that person's enemies), as it says, "Be silent before HaShem and wait [hitHoLeL] for Him..." (Psalm 37), "And he will take down casualties (HaLaLim) for you" (Talmud, Gittin 7). That is, "My heart is hollow [HaLaL] within me" (Psalm 109); that means, through decreasing the the blood that is in the left chamber/hollow [HaLaL] it is the aspect of sacrificing the evil inclination. Through that, one merits Godly honor, as it says, "One who sacrifices a thanksgiving offering honors me" (Psalm 3). The Sages of blessed memory commented, "[This is] about sacrificing the evil inclination" (Tal. Sanhedrin 43).
3. One must hold to the characteristic of repentance, "For who can say, 'I've purified my heart, I've become clean of my sins'?" (Proverbs 20). For at the time a person says 'I've sinned, I've transgressed, I've committed crimes' - even this is impossible to say with [complete] purity of heart without alternation. (That is, who can say 'I've purified my heart, I've become clean of my sins'? Who can say his heart is clean and pure of alternation even at the time of saying 'I've sinned', etc, as in "Who can say... I've become clean of my sins", that is, clean of [the confession] 'I've sinned, I've transgressed, etc' which he stated, for even then he is not clean and pure of alternation.)
Hence, one must repent over the first repentance, that being the [confession of] 'I've sinned, etc' that he said, because about this it is said, "With their lips they honor me..." (Isaiah 29) since honor of HaShem comes through repentance, [but] "...they've distanced their heart from me." (Isaiah 29, continuation of the verse).
Even if a person himself knows that he repented completely, even so he must repent over the first repentance because when he repented originally, he did it according to his attainment [of awareness, as it was then]. Afterwards when he repents, he definitely recognizes and attains [awareness of] HaShem more. Hence, according to his current attainment, [he realizes that] his original attainment was definitely categorically worldly. Hence, he must repent over his first attainment, over having materialized the loftiness of HaShem's Godliness.
This is the aspect of the world to come which will be entirely Sabbath; that is, entirely repentance, as it is written, "You shall return/repent [ShaVTa (same letters as 'Sabbath')] unto HaShem your God" (Deuteronomy 30); for the world to come is mainly the attainment [of awareness of] HaShem's Godliness, as it is written, "And they will know me, from their littlest to their greatest" (Jeremiah 31). Hence at every time they will attain a greater awareness, then they'll repent over their previous attainment.
This is what our Sages of blessed memory, "Everyone who sacrifices his inclination..." (Tal. Sanhedrin 43), meaning the aspect of repentance, corresponding to "My heart is hollow within me", "Be silent before HaShem", corresponding to [the Divine Name] AHYH, kether (crown), honor, [all] as mentioned above - "...and confesses over it..." (continuation of Tal. Sanhedrin 43), meaning he confesses over the sacrifice of his inclination, that is, he repents over his previous [incomplete] repentance and attainment [of awareness of HaShem] - "...it is as if he honored the Holy One Blessed is He in two worlds" (continuation of Tal. Sanhedrin 43). For the original repentance was the aspect of honor [of HaShem] in this world, and after that repentance that he merits a higher attainment and recognizes the loftiness of HaShem's Godliness more, thus repenting over the first repentance - this is the repentance that is the aspect of honor [of HaShem] in the world to come.
This is what our Sages of blessed memory stated, ""A bright light and darkness" (Zechariah 14) - a light that is bright in this world will be dark and dull in the world to come" (Tal. Pesahim 3). Hence, in the world to come when people will merit a greater attainment [of awareness of] HaShem's Godliness, they will definitely become remorseful and repent over the attainment of this world. For the attainment of this world is in the aspect of rain/physicality compared to the attainment in the world to come. This is like honoring the Holy One Blessed is He in two worlds: the sacrifice of the [evil] inclination is the original repentance, which is honor [to HaShem] in this world. And the confession over the sacrifice of the [evil] inclination, the second repentance, corresponds to the honor of the world to come; that the first honor is made dark and dull compared to the second honor.
And this is what the Holy One Blessed is He says, "You did these and I remained silent, you imagined I would be [AHYH] like you..." (Psalm 50), for a person, through being silent, attains [the aspect of] AHYH (meaning 'I will be'). However, the Holy One Blessed be He, when he remains silent towards a person, it is not for [the aspect of] AHYH, God forbid, for this is not appropriate to the Holy One Blessed is He; [rather, Him remaining silent] is only that people will receive their punishment in the world to come, because there they set out one's sins before his eyes, and they reprimand him to his face. This is [the second part of the verse from Psalm 50], "...I will reprimand you and weigh before your eyes."
(Continued here)
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