בִּשְׁנַת תרמ"ח נִבְחַר אַאַמוּ"ר לְגַבַּאי דְחֶבְרָה קַדִישָׁא. וּכְפִי הַמִּנְהָג, הוֹבִילוּ אוֹתוֹ בְּשִׂמְחַת תּוֹרָה בְּלִוְיַת עַם רַב לְבֵית הַכְּנֶסֶת. אָמַר אָז הַמַּאֲמָר אֵין הקב"ה בָּא בִּטְרוּנְיָא. וְסִיּוּם דְּבָרָיו: גַּם הָאֲנָשִׁים בַּעֲלֵי מוֹחִין הַנִּמְצָאִים עַתָּה צְרִיכִים לְהָנִיחַ שִׂכְלָם וְלֹא לֵילֵךְ אַחֲרֵי הַטַּעַם וְדַעַת, כִּי יְכוֹלִים לְהַטוֹת עַל פִּי שִׂכְלָם כו' עַד כִּי חַס וְשָׁלוֹם מָרָה תִּהְיֶה בָּאַחֲרוֹנָה כו'. וְזֶהוּ הָעִקָּר בַּזְּמַן הַזֶּה בְּעִקְבוֹת דִמְשִׁיחָא, שֶׁלֹא לֵילֵךְ אַחַר הַשֵּׂכֶל וְטַעַם וָדַעַת, כִּי אִם לְקַיֵּם הַתּוֹרָה וְהַמִּצְוֹת בִּתְמִימוּת וֶאֱמוּנָה פְּשׁוּטָה בֵּאלֹקֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.

In 5648 (1887), my revered father, the Rebbe [Rashab], was elected gabbai of the Chevrah Kaddisha.1 Following the local custom, he was escorted by a large number of townsmen to the synagogue on Simchas Torah.There he delivered the maamar that begins, Ein HaKadosh-Baruch-Hu Ba BiTrunia,2 and concluded with these words: “Even those of superior intellect who are here now must put their minds aside and not follow their own reasoning, for their minds can mislead them to the extent of (Heaven forbid) a bitter end.”

This is the fundamental point in this era of ikvesa diMeshicha:3 not to follow one’s intellect and reasoning, but rather to observe the Torah and its mitzvos with artless sincerity4 and simple faith in the G‑d of Israel.

Probing Beneath the Surface

The core of the Jewish soul, the level of our being that is utterly united with G‑d, will be revealed by Mashiach. However, this inner core is revealed only after its innate simple commitment is activated. As the Rebbe Rayatz wrote when recalling the above maamar:5 “Whenever there is a call to duty in the Torah community, the artless and sincere believer is ready to act…. If a new Torah school is needed, he makes the first donation. Devotion to the point of self-sacrifice is not a difficult thing for him. An intellectual, by contrast, chews it over and over again in his mind. And in the end, his intellect does not consent to the superrational, self-sacrificing demands of mesirus nefesh.”

The rationale is that the essence of the soul transcends reason. And that essence is expressed in straightforward simplicity, rather than through intellectual sophistication.

To cite a frequently-cited parallel: If one must enter a very hot or very cold bath, it is relatively easy to submerge one’s foot. Immersing the more sensitive parts of one’s body is far more difficult.