Pride and Humility
1. Through humility of the true tzadikim until [the point that it reaches] the aspect of 'nothingness', through this he [the true tzadik] can atone sins. (From Likutei Moharan I, 4)
2. Through humility one merits the spreading of physicality and is included into Ein Sof and he [comes to] know that all that all the events [that occur to him] are all for his good; this is the aspect of a glimpse of the world to come. (There^)
3. Through pride comes poverty, God forbid. (There^)
4. Through humility one merits repentance, because the essence of repentance is through feeling one's [own] lowliness, smallness, and his many damages; and he understands that it is definitely proper for him to suffer insults and bloodshed in order to draw closer to the truth. This is the essence of repentance. (From Likutei Moharan I, 6)
5. Even one who fasted and mortified himself shouldn't become proud and think that he's already a tzadik and can do pidyonot and pray prayers [to cause things that only tzadikim can accomplish]. For he must contemplate himself and see that after all the fasts and mortifications, all his lusts remain attached to his body, and also, the filth of the lust of his father at the time of conception - this is also attached to his body still. When he looks at this, great dread will definitely fall upon him and he won't err [in believing] that he is a tzadik; and he will endeavor to bring and return all the prayers to the true tzadikim because only they know to pray and to raise up prayer properly, and the Holy One Blessed is He desires their prayers and sends an ordered prayer to their mouths. (From Likutei Moharan I, 10)
6. These arrogant ones who prevent themselves and others from going to the tzadikim for [them, the tzadikim] to pray over them - they delay HaShem's desire. (There^)
7. To annul pride, which is idolatry, is mainly through drawing closer to the tzadikim. (There^)
8. Through annulling pride, wisdom is on its rectification, and one merits life and length of days, and judgments are sweetened; and one merits faith and great joy and to reaching the Torah [both in its] revealed and hidden [states], and [one merits] the aspect of Ruah HaKodesh. (There^)
9. Pride corresponds to idolatry. Through pride, one cannot open his mouth and he doesn't have strength of speech to speak illuminating words. And when Torah comes into his mouth, it isn't only that the words of Torah don't shine for him to return him to good, rather that even the Torah itself becomes physical and darkened there in his mouth. (From Likutei Moharan I, 11)
10. Pride and promiscuity are interdependent, and when one guards his brit, he is saved from pride and merits the light that shines for him to repentance - until he merits to come to contemplation of the Torah in its depth.
11. There is humility that the ultimate end of is greatness, that is, that one is humble as a result of him knowing that greatness is very despised; therefore he is humble in order to become precious and honored. Hence, he is humble for greatness and honor. Hence, one must be wise over his matters and distance himself from greatness to the ultimate end until the other end, as our Sages of blessed memory said, "be very, very low of spirit", for greatness is the aspect of the seven houses of idolatry, that through this Israel was exiled from their land and through this we haven't yet returned; as a result of running after honor through the greatness. (There^)
12. A person does not merit Torah except through lowliness - that he'll break his pride from the four aspects of lowliness. For he must make himself smaller before those greater than him, before people according to his worth, and before those lesser than him. Sometimes - when he himself is the smallest of the small, he needs to make himself small according to his own level, and it will seem in his eyes that he is below his level. (From Likutei Moharan I, 14)
13. One must guard himself from all the things that people make themselves great in, and they are three things: wisdom, might, and wealth. That is, he needs to break [any of] his pride that he has in all these things and be humble and lowly in all of them. (There^)
14. According to [the amount] that one breaks his pride, thus is the [amount] that he merits Torah. Through this he merits to draw those far away closer to HaShem, and through this HaShem's honor is made great and elevated, and [thus] he raises honor to its source and [through that] merits fear. Through this, he merits peace [in his] home, peace in his bones, and through this he merits prayer and through that he merits all-encompassing peace, peace in all the worlds. (There^)
15. Through greatness one falls into arrest [that is, being arrested by authorities]. (From Likutei Moharan I, 22)
16. When [those of] the generation don't watch their mouths, through this the good people of the generation stumble, God forbid, into pride. Therefore these good people of the generation must much contemplate the greatness, splendor, and importance that comes to them, for every one according to his worth, little or much, to contemplate and to look upon himself that he doesn't stumble by pride which is the exile of the divine presence, God forbid. (From Likutei Moharan I, 58)
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