When Rebbe Nachman speaks of finding the נקודה טובה , good point, within each person, he doesn't mean that when you find it then that good point is all that is good about the person, Rather, the good point tells us about the person in general, it reveals to us that in reality he is permeated with good.
We can compare this to Shabbos. Shabbos is not merely the best day of the week, such that theoretically something could happen and some other day of the week could wrest the title of "best" from Shabbos. Rather, the function of Shabbos is to reveal to us the godliness that underlies each and every day of the week. We can see it most clearly on Shabbos, but Shabbos then teaches us about all the rest of the days.
This is why we say in davening every day היום יום פלוני בשבת, this is such and such a day in Shabbos. In another vein, there is a Halacha that if a person is lost and loses track of what day of the week it is, he should choose any day and observe it as Shabbos. On that day he can recite Kiddush using the name of Hashem despite the lack of clarity as to whether or not it is truly Shabbos. This is because Shabbos really underlies the entirety of Creation every single day, but we only actually experience it once a week.
The same is true for the good points of a person. They are not just a portion, one of many aspects of who the person is - that he has many facets that are less than desirable and this good one. Rather, he is inherently good. The little bit of good that you can find tells you about the rest of him that it is good.
When Rebbe Nachman said to find the good point in every person, and especially with oneself, this was his way of saying, "Be aware of your essential goodness. If it is currently hidden from your eyes go and find something that will point you in the direction of finding it." Even if you find just one thing, that is not indicative of the one thing alone, but it tells us about the entire person. His essential goodness is revealed through the one shining point.
ראצ"ק א"ב שמות
We can compare this to Shabbos. Shabbos is not merely the best day of the week, such that theoretically something could happen and some other day of the week could wrest the title of "best" from Shabbos. Rather, the function of Shabbos is to reveal to us the godliness that underlies each and every day of the week. We can see it most clearly on Shabbos, but Shabbos then teaches us about all the rest of the days.
This is why we say in davening every day היום יום פלוני בשבת, this is such and such a day in Shabbos. In another vein, there is a Halacha that if a person is lost and loses track of what day of the week it is, he should choose any day and observe it as Shabbos. On that day he can recite Kiddush using the name of Hashem despite the lack of clarity as to whether or not it is truly Shabbos. This is because Shabbos really underlies the entirety of Creation every single day, but we only actually experience it once a week.
The same is true for the good points of a person. They are not just a portion, one of many aspects of who the person is - that he has many facets that are less than desirable and this good one. Rather, he is inherently good. The little bit of good that you can find tells you about the rest of him that it is good.
When Rebbe Nachman said to find the good point in every person, and especially with oneself, this was his way of saying, "Be aware of your essential goodness. If it is currently hidden from your eyes go and find something that will point you in the direction of finding it." Even if you find just one thing, that is not indicative of the one thing alone, but it tells us about the entire person. His essential goodness is revealed through the one shining point.
ראצ"ק א"ב שמות
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