Chasidut zu Ijow 29:2

2. According to the most awesome story of the Seven Beggars printed in the book Sipurei Ma`asiyoth: See there, on page 96, regarding the first beggar who was blind, who came to the groom and bride at the wedding after the canopy, and said to them that he gives them a wedding-discourse present, that they should be “old as I... that you should live a long life as I do. And you think that I am blind? Actually I am not blind at all. Only, the whole entire world does not amount to me so much as a blink of an eye, etc. for I am very old, but yet I am entirely yanik, יניק, [lit. suckling, nursing] (that is, young), and I have not yet begun to live at all. But nevertheless I am very old, etc. And I have a consensus on this from the Great Eagle”, etc. Take a very thorough look there at all this, and if you have intelligent eyes, you will discern from afar how utterly deep His thoughts are; and it is impossible to prolong discussion of this at all. But whoever truly desires will see and discern from there the greatness of Hashem Yisbarach and the greatness of the true great tzaddikim; the enormity of their greatness, as each and every one had attained what he boasted of there. For everything that is explained there in the story of each one, is regarding the boasting of some most very great and awesome tzaddik boasting in the upper worlds, in the place where he boasted that he attained what he attained in this world. His fortune! The fortune of his portion! For example, in the interest that will be explained below, that the elders boasted, and each one told what he remembers from his first memory etc.: The youngest of all was most utterly high, the enormity of his greatness and the validity of his sanctity inconceivable. For example, insofar as one of them boasted that he remembers what was happening to him when they cut his umbilical cord — look, discern, and see: is there even one person in the era who can boast like this one, that his material body is so pure and sanctified that he manages to remember what was happening to him then at the beginning of birth, when he emerged into the world's atmosphere, when they cut his umbilical cord? And he was merely the least of them. And from him, see how high is the sanctity of the second holy elder, in whose eyes the level of the first elder was laughable, and he said, in surprise, “That's an old story?! I remember that story, but I also remember when the light was shining,” and the Great Eagle later explained that this is his remembering even what happened to him when he was in his mother's womb, when a light was kindled over his head, as explained there. So behold, the level of the second is higher than the first. One can understand a little, from afar, even though we are most utterly far from this. For, the major difference in a person, before he emerges into the world's air versus afterwards, is explained in our Rabbis z"l's words in the Gemara (Niddah 30), and is explained in the holy Zohar: for, during pregnancy when he is in his mother's womb, a candle is alight over his head, and he can look and see from one end of the world to the other; but when he has emerged into the world's air immediately an angel comes and strikes him on his mouth and he forgets it all, and regarding this said Iyov (Job 29), “O that I were as in the first months, as in the days when my God watched over me” etc., as explained in our Rabbi z"l's words (there). And a man's entire work is to manage to know and attain what he knew before whilst a light was blazing over his head, which is when he gazed at the Light Stored Up From the Seven Days of Creation, with which the man saw from one end of the world to the other, as is brought. So, now see and discern how much greater is the second elder's level than the first; like the heavens are high above the earth, etc. And similarly the third more than the second, and so all of them. For, the least of them was so very utterly high that there is no one like him but one person in many generations, and nevertheless in comparison to the second who is greater than him he is considered a mere speck, and similarly the second versus the third etc. etc., on and on — up until the one who boasted that he was altogether a suckling babe then, who is the blind beggar himself, insofar as he said that he recalls all these stories, plus he remembers “Nothing At All” etc.; see there. For, this is a big rule and is explained and understood in the Chazal's words and the Arizal's writings, that even the highest level of all, nevertheless compared to the even higher level, everything is considered but a mere point, as written in the holy Zohar (Tikkun #70 p. 123). Even the Ket'h'er `Elyon is paltry in compare to the `Ilath ha`Iloth etc., and all these greatnesses and wonders are explained in the story of the First Day, and similarly each Day many, many wondrous things that each person boasted of are explained, for example on the Second Day regarding the good life, and similarly on the rest of the Days, regarding the Little Holding the Much, and regarding the Pair of Holy Birds, which he is able to reunite etc. etc. Open your eyes and see what a man can attain in this world, that a man born of a woman can attain such high things that Hashem Yithbarakh himself glories in them (and see more in our words in Even ha`Ezer Hilkhoth Ishuth, where we also talk a little regarding the holy story of the Sixth Day regarding the Power in the Hands; see there). And our holy Rabbi z"l knew about all of them, and had the knowledge to tell the story that happened at the place where it happened with all of them, and verily said of himself when he told this story, that if the world knew nothing else but this story, he would still be a most original person. But here is not the place to prolong discussing this. (See below at the end of the derush, what is brought there from the Yerushalmi Kethuboth regarding the aforementioned marvels of the elders' memories.)