By: Yisrael Yitzchak Rosenfeld
What long, sleepless summer nights can be good for… I found myself reflecting on a topic that, especially in our generation, is unfortunately becoming increasingly widespread in a negative way…
Drasha: “Tarud”
– When a person is occupied by the world and searches for
יִשּׁוּב הַדַּעַת (inner peace)
The expression טָרוּד (Tarud) in its simple meaning refers to:
- being occupied,
- being troubled,
- being preoccupied or absorbed.
A person can become so consumed by:
- his work,
- his worries,
- his thoughts,
- or his responsibilities,
that his mind no longer has any free space for HaShem.
The Gemara often uses this concept when describing a person who, because of a certain occupation or concern, is prevented from fully focusing on other matters.
However, especially in Chassidut, we are shown a deeper level:
The problem is not only external busyness —
it is the condition of the soul.
A person lives in a world filled with noise and constant concerns about:
- money and the future,
- recognition,
- health,
- relationships,
- and success.
His body may be in the Beis Midrash,
but his mind is somewhere else.
He is טָרוּד (Tarud)
— his Da’at (conscious awareness) is scattered.
The Baal Shem Tov, zt”l, taught that the most important service of a person is:
to sanctify his thoughts.
Because wherever a person’s thoughts are, there his soul is also found.
The Root of Tarud: Distance from the Present Moment
In Kabbalah, a person’s thoughts either connect him to the Source of Life or distance him from it.
When a person’s thoughts are constantly trapped in the past or the future, he loses his connection to the present moment — the place where the Shechinah reveals itself to him.
The opposite of Tarud is:
יִשּׁוּב הַדַּעַת (Yishuv HaDa’at)
— a calm, settled and composed mind.
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, zt”l, speaks extensively about this state.
He explains that without Yishuv HaDa’at, a person cannot truly serve HaShem.
For when the mind is filled with confusion and worries, a person cannot recognize that HaShem is also present in his current situation.
The Rebbe’s Path: The Way Out of Tarud
Rebbe Nachman, zt”l, teaches in Likkutei Moharan (I, 282) the path of Azamra
— “I will sing”:
עוֹד מְעַט וְאֵין רָשָׁע וְהִתְבּוֹנַנְתָּ עַל מְקוֹמוֹ וְאֵינֶנּוּ
“Yet a little while, and the wicked one will be no more; you will look at his place, and he will not be there.”
Rabbeinu explains:
Search for the small point of goodness within yourself.
Often a person becomes overwhelmed by his own thoughts:
“I am not good enough.”
“I have failed.”
“I am far away.”
This too is a form of Tarud —
the person becomes trapped in a negative image of himself and can no longer see HaShem’s closeness.
The path is to find one small point of goodness:
- an honest thought,
- a verse of Tehillim,
- a simple prayer,
- a good deed.
Through this, the scattered mind becomes gathered again.
The Breslov Perspective: The Greatest Battle Is Over the Mind
Reb Nosson of Breslov, zt”l, writes in Likkutei Halachot that the true struggle of a person is not only about external actions,
but about the Mochin — the holy intellect and consciousness.
The Yetzer Hara seeks to bring a person into a state of Tarud:
- constantly occupied,
- confused,
- without inner peace.
Because a person without inner calm cannot:
- pray properly,
- study Torah properly,
- or experience joy in HaShem.
Therefore, Hisbodedut (התבודדות) — personal conversation with HaShem — is a remedy:
“Ribono Shel Olam, I am so busy and my mind is so scattered. Help me return to You.”
Peace does not come from the absence of problems.
Rather, it comes from the awareness that even in the middle of difficulties, one remains connected to HaShem.
The Deepest Level (Sod): From Tarud to Echad
On the level of Sod (the hidden mystical dimension), one can say:
טָרוּד (Tarud) represents a soul whose powers have become scattered.
The thoughts run in many different directions.
The person becomes internally divided.
But the mission of Yisrael is:
יִחוּד (Yichud)
— unity and bringing everything together.
To return all thoughts back to:
HaShem Echad.
When a person gathers his mind and says:
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ה׳ אֱלֹקֵינוּ ה׳ אֶחָד
“Listen, Israel: HaShem is our G-d, HaShem is One,”
he gathers the scattered sparks of his soul once again.
The greatest Tikkun of Tarud is therefore not:
to have fewer responsibilities,
but rather:
to find HaShem even in the midst of those responsibilities.
A person should not wait until life becomes peaceful before serving HaShem.
The true spiritual work is precisely within the confusion and challenges.
The path of Rebbe Nachman, zt”l, is:
מִטָּרוּד לְיִשּׁוּב הַדַּעַת
“From a state of distraction to a gathered and settled mind.”
Through Hisbodedut, Simcha (joy), finding the good point, and simple trust in HaShem, a person transforms from someone who is:
controlled by the world
into someone who:
places the world in the service of HaShem.
Because the highest spiritual state is not that a person has:
no worries at all —
but rather that he knows:
גם שם נמצא השם יתברך
“Even there — precisely there — HaShem is with me.”
