The Story of the Lost Princess - 1

Rav Kluger has a two commentaries on each of the stories of Rebbe Nachman. The first one he calls דרך עבודה, it is meant to give us life lessons in how to conduct ourselves. The second one elucidates the kabbalistic concepts that lie behind Rebbe Nachman's stories. As has always been the case I will share Rav Kluger's words through my own eyes. By that I mean that I am not attempting to create a word for word translation, I'd much prefer restating his words in a way that is more palatable to an English speaking audience, and therefore I can only say that what I write is inspired by his commentary and may be, or may not be, what he intended.
Rav Kluger first brings down the entire story in Hebrew and Yiddish and then breaks it into pieces for the commentary. If you would like to read the entire story please look here. I will be primarily utilizing their translation:

There once was a king, who had six sons and one daughter. This daughter was very precious to him. He loved her exceptionally, and took great delight in her. Once time, he met with her on a certain day and he lost his temper at her, and an utterance escaped his mouth: "May the no-good-one take you!" In the evening she went to her room, and in the morning, no one knew where she was. Her father became very distraught, and he went everywhere looking for her.

The viceroy stood up, for he saw that the king was very troubled, and asked that the king  provide him with a servant, a horse, and money for the journey, and set out to ask for her. He searched exhaustingly for a very long time, until he found her. (And following is the account of how he searched for her until he found her). He went from place to place for a very long time, in deserts, fields and forests. And he searched for her a very long time. As he was crossing a desert, he saw a path to the side, and he resolved to himself: "Seeing that I've been going such a long time in the desert and I cannot find her, I'll try this path - maybe I'll come to a settled area." And he went a very long time on that path

It is evident that the lost princess is a metaphor for the neshama which falls to the No-Good-One when it enters the body and wanders like a lost sheep throughout a lifetime. Rebbe Nachman is pointing out that many people search for a lifetime and cannot find the path back to their neshama. Sometimes a person can search with great alacrity and deep down know that he is searching down the wrong path, as the story says, " He went from place to place, for a very long time, in deserts, fields and forests. And he searched for her a very long time." Non-stop searching and nothing found.

Rebbe Nachman is telling us that there is a way to get to civilization, "a path to the side," it's a path that long and narrow. Long in the sense that one who goes down this path must have great patience. Until now the viceroy was engaged in major undertakings that were very difficult, but he was certain that they would quickly lead him to the princess. But it became clear to him that they were not leading him to his destiny, it was not the right approach. major undertakings come from a lack of faith. the side path that leads him to his destiny is the one of patience and short (קצרה=נשמה) because it is built on faith and patience and connects him back to his neshama.

A person can spend years studying many seforim, listening to the lectures of rabbis and preachers and discover countless concepts that seem to sit well with him and that he is certain will bring him success. But when he takes each of these ideas he becomes disconnected because he is taking them to himself. He remains the same person as he has always been without the slightest change, but he takes all of these ideas and fits them in to who he is. The right path takes the opposite approach, "Make for yourself a teacher," give yourself over to the rabbi or sefer until you are like nothing before it and you give up your own view. Turn yourself into a receptacle for the path being shown, even if it is the opposite of what seemed right to you beforehand.

A genius has an advantage and a disadvantage. The advantage is obvious. The disadvantage is that he can grasp lofty intellectual concepts that do not truly sit well deep within himself. He is like a child trying on his mother's designer high heels. Inevitably he will trip and fall. This is why a child prodigy can have tremendous Torah knowledge and still be exempt from performing mitzvos. He does not have the maturity to really connect to what he is studying and is not an appropriate vessel.

One who spends years searching unsuccessfully needs to let go of the wide expanses of deserts, fields and forests and enter the path on the side. The path that is narrow and initially doesn't seem to be the right path. He needs to say to himself, "I've spent years searching, deep inside I know how miserable I am. I've searched all this time in the desert and I can't find her, let me go down this path, maybe I will find civilization."

Many people have received the light of a Tzaddik shining brightly in the absence of a teacher who can help them fit the light to themselves. Over time it becomes light without a container and they don't know how to integrate it. They have no interest or ability to seek out an alternative light, and they have no way to grasp the great light that they have. They are in a Catch-22 in that if they are not willing to give themselves over completely to a particular path they will never have the ability to integrate the light in a manner that fits who they are.

The Power of a Story

In the introduction to Rav Chesed, a collection of explanations on Rebbe Nachman's stories based on shiurim of Rav Avraham Zvi Kluger, Rav Kluger explains why it is that Rebbe Nachman often told the stories while traveling. What follows is my adaptation of what he says.
When a person is following his daily routine at home and work he usually lacks the ability to step outside of himself and take a good look at how he is conducting his life. It is only when he travels and enters into a situation where things are out of the regular order that he finds himself in unanticipated situations, he discovers ideas that he never knew about and sometimes realizes that while he thought the trip was for one purpose, it was really for another. This was especially true in previous generations when travel was dangerous and a person had no idea what would happen to him until, if, he returned home. Because of the poor communication in the past he could travel long distances expecting to meet with someone and discover that the entire journey appears to be for naught. And even in today's word of instant communication, we still recite tefilas haderech, because traveling still contains an element of the frightening unknown.
Telling a story can be quite trippy as well. Story telling, and listening, is an opportunity to take our minds out of the rote and mundane lives we live and to go on a flight of fancy and view life and existence from a very different perspective. We may still be physically in the same space where we were to begin with, but our minds can now travel across the universe and experience new paradigms of thought that would remain locked to someone who doesn't travel in a coach or in his mind.
רב חסד א' ט"ו

Untying the Knots

Every experience that a person undergoes should change him to the extent that he begins to reassess and come to new understandings of everything he has undergone in his lifetime. This does not occur because a person feels tied to ideas that come from her family background or country of origin which prevents her from changing.
Avraham had to arrive at that point where he was all by himself, where he had released all of the ropes that tied him down and prevented him from properly serving Hashem. It was only at that point that the "Master of the castle glanced down at him." It was at that point that he recognized the Creator of his own accord and not just because of his ties. Not just because of what he was taught but not really tied to. When a person achieves an understanding of truth like this and an untying of all that binds him, then he leaves prison and becomes a true believer, even though that is not how it may appear to the eye.
This is the true birth of his soul when it is revealed as an independent entity and not merely an appendage of the ideas of others. "Therefore shall a man leave his mother and father and cleave to his wife," wife referring to the Schechinah and true belief.
מכון שבתך ס"ד

Don't Worry...Be Happy

During the Omer we are working on good middos and concern for others as well as treating others with respect. One should also expend some effort towards having some kindness for himself and to stop getting on his own case for no reason. Getting on one's own case is worse than attacking someone else. Getting on your own case is a 24/7 effort whereas with someone else there are limited opportunities. In the case of another person your behavior is in response to something you saw him do or some perceived character deficiency and there is a limit to what you can see, in the case of yourself it comes from an inner knowledge of your imperfections, and dissatisfaction with who you are which causes a lack of self-mercy and not a single moment of respite.
Just as with regards to material wealth some people can never stop trying to grab and improve their standing, the same is true with spiritual wealth; there are people who feel they never have enough and cannot stop the pressure to grab more for even a moment. The person might coat his attitude and behavior in the words of Chazal that encourage grabbing every opportunity, but in reality it is rooted in a lack of inner peace (we are not discussing people who are unfortunately suffering from clinical anxiety. We are discussing serving God, which is not intended to lead to nervousness and a lack of inner peace.)
One should not chastisse himself with thoughts that perhaps he has not done enough with regards to his Mitzvah performance. This overthinking actually drives people away from serving Hashem, to overly analyze ones actions and wonder if he has sufficiently fulfilled his religious duties. No one is perfect and God does not come with unreasonable criticisms. With regards to those who add additional stringencies the Torah says that "You should live by it," and not die by it. They have no life and are constantly depressed as they think that they are failing. They don't enjoy the Mitzvos due to all the details about which they are being overly scrupulous and the depression it is causing (and in reality the stringency probably has no basis).
After all of their smart ideas of how to be careful, even if they truly are smart ideas, we must set aside those smart ideas and serve Hashem simply with no smart ideas. That is the smartest idea of all!
Returning to our original point, when a person finds a need to grab mitzvah opportunities, that is the opposite of being alive and connecting to Hashem. Take for example of person who is studying Torah and his wife asks him to help with some household chores. There is no one else to help other than he and there is no doubt that according to Torah law he is supposed to stop learning and help her. Is he learning with no intention of fulfilling what he is studying? If he helps her, but the entire time his mind is on when he will be done and can return to studying in order to grab more Torah, that is the opposite of living. If a person has a view of eternity then he is aware that as he stands in his house assisting his wife he is connected to God by performing kind deeds. He is truly in the palace of the king, and his mind needs to be in the chamber of good deeds. He will only connect if his mind is relaxed and not when he is focused on what he wants to do next.
It is impossible to enjoy what one is doing unless he is focused on it and not hurrying to the next thing. The pleasure of the World to Come is the ability to enjoy without worrying about what to do next. In this world as well one can only enjoy and relax when one is not worried about what will be next and he isn't trying to grab the next thing. It is like someone who goes on vacation and from the first moment is worried about how to make sure he isn't wasting a moment. Right away he is not relaxing and ruining everyone else's vacation as well.
This occurs often by a holiday. The moment the holiday begins people are worried about not asting time and making sure they get all they can out of every minute of the Yom Tov. Such a person is disconnected from the holiday., He should not be running to do anything. He should be enjoying every moment for itself.

The Power of Purim

In a certain respect the message of Purim is more powerful than that of Pesach in that the love of Hashem was revealed even after the people sinned. This demonstrated that the essential love of Hashem for His nation is not dependent on their actions. He does not only love them when their actions appear superficially to be perfect, but He loves their essence such that even if they fall wherever they fall, He is still with them and by them.
It is due to the fact that on Purim we see that Hashem's love for us is above and beyond all reason and understanding that we drink wine and rise to the point of not understanding. Above all limitations and constrictions.
The Chasam Sofer writes that it is for this reason that the miracle began in the middle of Achashverosh's party. Even as they were sinning against Hashem, He was already preparing the miracle that would save them. This shows His love at all times and all situations.

Hashgacha Pratis

"Hashgacha Pratis" is not just the answer to a person asking, "Why did this happen to me?" Rather, it is the fundamental answer to many questions people have about their lives. "Who am I? What is my purpose in life? What is happening to me?" The answer to all of these questions is, "Hashgacha Pratis." Your existence is in order for you to reveal God's majesty in a unique way that can only be expressed through your particular life. You need to move away from seeing your life only from your perspective and view it from the perspective of there being a loftier purpose to your existence.
א"ב לך לך

Where is Rosh Hashana?

In his Sefer אשיחה בחוקיך, Rav Avraham Zvi Kluger points out the many hidden aspects of Rosh Hashana. Within the Torah itself, the purpose of the holiday is absent. The Mitzvah of Shofar must be pieced together from several source. Indeed this is not the only area in which the concept of proclaiming a king is somewhat ambiguous in the Torah. The Mitzvah of appointing a king is not clearly explained, and one of the main functions of the king, namely the building of the Bais HaMikodosh, is poorly explained as well.
He explains that this is because it is necessary for a person to decide on his own to choose God as King, and it is not something that can be commanded. The same is true for the choosing of a human king, as well as the Temple.
There are those who understand that belief in God is not a Mitzvah. They explain that until someone understands that God created existence and remains intimately involved with its continued existence, one cannot be commanded to believe, that is precisely the issue, who commanded us? First one must choose to believe, then he can be commanded.
A מלך, Melech, king indicates a ruler who is accepted upon the people of their own volition. He is not someone who is forced upon the people. One Rosh Hashana when God asks us to make him Melech he is asking us to come to a point of being willing to accept him of our own volition and not as a result of force.
It is for this reason that the aspect of Rosh Hashana as the day to accept Hashem as King is hidden in the Torah. It cannot, by definition, be commanded. If it was commanded it would be lacking the main goal as it would not be emanating from our free will.