ועל הזועות: מאי זועות א"ר קטינא גוהא רב קטינא הוה קאזיל באורחא כי מטא אפתחא דבי אובא טמיא גנח גוהא אמר מי ידע אובא טמיא האי גוהא מהו רמא ליה קלא קטינא קטינא אמאי לא ידענא בשעה שהקב"ה זוכר את בניו ששרויים בצער בין אומות העולם מוריד שתי דמעות לים הגדול וקולו נשמע מסוף העולם ועד סופו והיינו גוהא
And for earthquakes. What is an earthquake? Rab Kattina said : A subterranean rumbling. Rab Kattina was journeying by the way, and when he reached the entrance of the house of a necromancer a rumbling noise broke forth. He said, "Does the necromancer know what this rumbling is?" The latter called to him, "Kattina, Kattina ! Why should I not know? When the Holy One, blessed be He, remembers His children who dwell in misery among the nations of the world. He causes two tears to descend to the Ocean, and the sound is heard from one end of the world to the other ; and that is the rumbling."
Likutei Halakhot
1. Regarding washing the hands in the morning upon awakening from sleep. This can be understood according to the Rebbe z"l's teaching in Likutei Moharan 250 regarding the necromancer who answered the question (Berakhot 59b) "What is an earthquake?" by saying "When Hashem recalls His children who are in distress among the nations, He sheds two tears into the great sea, and the sound reverberates through the world. See there. The essence of all of the tribulations that befall mankind, G-d forbid, is only from a lack of da'at/knowledge. He who has da'at and knows that everything is divine providence from Hashem Yisbarach has no tribulations and does not feel any suffering, etc. The essence of the Jewish people's pain in exile is only because they fell from da'at and attributed things to nature and fortune, G-d forbid {Note: R' Nassan means here that instead of believing that everything is determined by Hashem, we have relied upon the natural sciences}. Because of this they {we} have sadness/pain. And this is because we have dwelt among the gentiles and learned from them, etc. In truth, the Jewish people are above nature, only when they sin, G-d forbid, then, etc. {This sentence is unfinished}. When Hashem wants to save the Jewish people from their exile, he then bestows upon them divine providence from the ends of the earth. In the future, nature will be nullified completely and there will be nothing except divine providence alone, as it is written (Isaiah 51:6) "for the heavens shall vanish like smoke", etc. In other words, nature - which depends upon the arrangement of the constellations - will be no more, etc. Then the Jewish people will be above {nature}. Therefore even now, when Hashem Yisbarach wants to bring down the gentiles and lift up the Jewish people above, He evokes divine providence upon them from the ends of the earth, so then there will be nothing but providence. Because of this divine providence, Israel is elevated and makes, etc. See there very well. And this is 'G-d recalls', see there.
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