The other day my wife was moving something bulky and heavy. Right before she began lifting it up, I suggested she clear a place to put it down first. I said, "That's what HaShem did, first he cleared a place for the world and then he created it." (To me, this was an implicit part of the teaching of the initial Tzimtzum)
Some people, when they learn Torah concepts, they stick them in a compartment called 'Torah.' Then they start to move things from 'Torah' into 'Something to ponder' eventually some of them get through to 'Affects Everyday Life.' (Of course there may be all different boxes with all different names.)
I don't have those intermediary boxes. I only have the 'Life' box. Everything that I hear and learn, everything that I think, automatically goes into my life. Things eventually get deeply piled into the box and I need to rummage around to bring them back into affect, but I don't have different category-boxes, there's only the one box.
This, I suspect, makes prayer a very different experience for me. Knowledge, experience, action, life, they're all synonyms for me.
People sometimes try to re-center, re-balance, or change my hashkafa. I don't really understand why, because generally, I don't see any point of conflict in particular. I agree with their ideals, it's just that God dealt me my cards, and dealt them theirs, each of us needs to play the hand we've been dealt.
For me Hassidut is a brilliant light that illuminates my world--the whole box. No item in there remains unturned when I'm learning. Maybe if people understood that I don't have the other boxes they wouldn't try so hard to change me. They would realize they don't have to; by simply telling me points of Torah they've already made it into the box, they've already won me over. [I don't even know if using the term Hassidut casts the net too small--I see Hassidut as the union of the entire Torah, what I mean by Hassidut is the totality of Torah.]
Only today, via an email from Yitz over at Heichal HaNeginah, did I really understand the difference, what it is that has got everyone so confused about me.
Thank God, I've reached (ie. God has brought me to) a point in my life where this is something that helps me and makes my life-experience richer. For years I struggled with this and suffered not understanding this not-so-subtle-difference. I'm happy for that time too, because it's a part of me, a part of the experience HaShem gave me -- straight from him to me.
B'ezrath HaShem each of us will succeed in playing their part of the whole that we are meant to be.
29.3.07
more life-fu
From yesterday's Hayom Yom:
I always had trouble with mussar, it always depressed me. Focusing on all of my failings only made me think the road to change was infinite. My solution to the problem was a little bit different. I started to find the good things I was doing, and do more of them. If I'm taking up all of my time with the good things where I'm successful, I've no time left to indulge my unfavorable tendancies.
Once I was able to focus on the good until I had no time left for the bad--a very Rebbe Nachman inspired avodah--Then I could start to introduce good versions of the practices I had eliminated because they were so poor.
This obviously doesn't mean stop doing mitzwoth that you aren't good at. Instead it means do more of the mitzwoth you are good at.
This adheres to סור מרע ועשה טוב - turn from evil and do good on two levels:
Every soul has its particular avoda, in the areas of intellect and emotions, in accordance with that soul's nature and character. It is written: "From my foes have You given me wisdom"; from the evil tendencies one detects in his natural traits, he can become wise and know how to handle the correction of these traits, and how to subordinate his powers, in the service of G-d.This is one of the lessons that really helped me to gain better control of my life. Find the places where your mitzwah observance is most lax, and put in the effort there. But there was another lesson I had to learn first:
I always had trouble with mussar, it always depressed me. Focusing on all of my failings only made me think the road to change was infinite. My solution to the problem was a little bit different. I started to find the good things I was doing, and do more of them. If I'm taking up all of my time with the good things where I'm successful, I've no time left to indulge my unfavorable tendancies.
Once I was able to focus on the good until I had no time left for the bad--a very Rebbe Nachman inspired avodah--Then I could start to introduce good versions of the practices I had eliminated because they were so poor.
This obviously doesn't mean stop doing mitzwoth that you aren't good at. Instead it means do more of the mitzwoth you are good at.
This adheres to סור מרע ועשה טוב - turn from evil and do good on two levels:
- It is very literally true, by doing good you are eliminating or turning from evil,
- And, by first eliminating the evil through doing good, you can later return to those evil acts and change them, channeling their energy into doing good actions based on the same desires.
time chametz
Reb Moish posted a great conversation about Becoming free. (Here's the follow up post)
(Here's a modified version of my comments over there)
Before we get to breaking out of the patterns of our life, what about first really recognising them?
I've gotten good at the life-fu of the day to day.. even making improvement in the weekly patterns.. but monthly and especially yearly patterns are so hard to connect to .. because it takes such a long perspective to even catch a glimpse of our real yearly patterns.
I think the Chagim really help us with this. For example I've learned the lesson that Pesah without family is always a downer. I tried to fight it for a couple of (miserable-pesah) years, but then I figured, if being with family on Pesah is what it takes to be happy on Pesah, then that's what I'll do.
But the ebb and flow of creativity and knowledge-hunger that ride over me year after year, interfere with normal human interaction, and interfere with a 9to5 job are still mostly mysteries to me.
I only started to be aware that there were even patterns like this when two years ago I started keeping a journal to get a glimpse of these patterns, a week into the journal, I dug up an old journal from EXACTLY two years previous when I had happened to start journaling, thinking it would help focus my energies and remember the valuable lessons I was learning every day. Apparently I have a two-year cycle where I decide to journal and track my long term cycles?!?!
I think only time and maturity allow us to grow to observe greater cycles. So perhaps, its important to first assess one's level, see what cycles you are aware of and break out of those.
(I used to love the cold and hate the warmth---one summer I wore sweaters all summer to adjust to the heat, now I love the whole year instead of half of it! The biggest cost was that my wife now grimaces whenever anyone reminds her of how weird I used to be (and still am))
So, also as to whether we have the tools to break the patterns of our life, we need the tools to recognise the patterns and the tools to break the patterns. The tools then have to grow along with you, if you recognise and break the smaller patterns, you will be able to wield the tools at the bigger patterns with more skill and accuracy. [After all, God put us here with the ability to grow and learn, fully intending that we will start small and grow from there.]
I'm looking forward to growing and recognising newer and bigger patterns, and breaking them.. perhaps years from now, I'll appreciate Reb Moish in a new light when I recognise more of the patterns he's broken out of.. ones that I don't (yet) know even exist.
Apropos of Pesah, I'd just like to point out that the patterns and cycles we are trapped in are an entirely different kind of Chametz in our daily (weekly, monthly, yearly, etc) lives.
(Here's a modified version of my comments over there)
Before we get to breaking out of the patterns of our life, what about first really recognising them?
I've gotten good at the life-fu of the day to day.. even making improvement in the weekly patterns.. but monthly and especially yearly patterns are so hard to connect to .. because it takes such a long perspective to even catch a glimpse of our real yearly patterns.
I think the Chagim really help us with this. For example I've learned the lesson that Pesah without family is always a downer. I tried to fight it for a couple of (miserable-pesah) years, but then I figured, if being with family on Pesah is what it takes to be happy on Pesah, then that's what I'll do.
But the ebb and flow of creativity and knowledge-hunger that ride over me year after year, interfere with normal human interaction, and interfere with a 9to5 job are still mostly mysteries to me.
I only started to be aware that there were even patterns like this when two years ago I started keeping a journal to get a glimpse of these patterns, a week into the journal, I dug up an old journal from EXACTLY two years previous when I had happened to start journaling, thinking it would help focus my energies and remember the valuable lessons I was learning every day. Apparently I have a two-year cycle where I decide to journal and track my long term cycles?!?!
I think only time and maturity allow us to grow to observe greater cycles. So perhaps, its important to first assess one's level, see what cycles you are aware of and break out of those.
(I used to love the cold and hate the warmth---one summer I wore sweaters all summer to adjust to the heat, now I love the whole year instead of half of it! The biggest cost was that my wife now grimaces whenever anyone reminds her of how weird I used to be (and still am))
So, also as to whether we have the tools to break the patterns of our life, we need the tools to recognise the patterns and the tools to break the patterns. The tools then have to grow along with you, if you recognise and break the smaller patterns, you will be able to wield the tools at the bigger patterns with more skill and accuracy. [After all, God put us here with the ability to grow and learn, fully intending that we will start small and grow from there.]
I'm looking forward to growing and recognising newer and bigger patterns, and breaking them.. perhaps years from now, I'll appreciate Reb Moish in a new light when I recognise more of the patterns he's broken out of.. ones that I don't (yet) know even exist.
Apropos of Pesah, I'd just like to point out that the patterns and cycles we are trapped in are an entirely different kind of Chametz in our daily (weekly, monthly, yearly, etc) lives.
performance enhancers
Nothing connects to everything else in the world like anything under discussion in Likkutei Halachoth.
Case in point: Tzitzith. It's hard to find a subject Reb Natan hasn't brought up in the discussion of the deeper dimensions of Tzitzith. Here's a few of my personal favorites:
Tzitzith connect you to the heart of the Torah. There are 32 strings, which is gematria for לב, heart. The Torah begins, as we know, with the letter ב and ends with the letter ל, so simply by putting on Tzitzith, one is connecting to the entirety of the Torah. (more about 32-heart [1] [2])
Rebbe Natan says that Tzitzith is all about purification of one's imagination--taking control of it to use it for holy purposes, rather than letting it control you and your thoughts. One's actions (especially one's mitzwoth) are referred to as one's clothes and these clothes, when our actions are imperfect are said to be filthy. Tzitzith are utterly white, hinting to their purification of one's clothes, one's mitzwoth, one's actions through the purification of one's imagination.
Similarly, by purifying one's imagination, one can connect to the aspect of Tzitzith that encompasses all places, being that it has four corners, like the four corners of the world, when one returns to this place, one can truly judge everyone justly, for he has found the true place of each of them. (Since he has returned to HaShem, who is called "the place of the world, whom the world is not His place." He can then see the place of each person in the world, and judge them. Just as Chazal say, do not judge your fellow until you arrive at his place.) This judging with mercy is the rope of Hesed (חוט של חסד) that one otherwise may bring down through learning in the evening. (Another means of purifying one's imagination)
The Tzitzith, as the rope of Hesed, become the strings of David's harp that begins to play at midnight, because once one's imagination is purified, God's hidden spirit, רוח צפון, is revealed. (iirc) This connects Tzitzith to music, a connection that is made through wine as well, because the essence of the song of the Leviim in the Temple was when the wine libation was poured. Wine, as we mentioned in a previous post, is of the nature that when your imagination has already been purified, it releases all of the fallen sparks from the dark (aka other) side. So, when we clarify the imagination, we release song, the song of David's harp at midnight, the song of the coming Redemption, which is the source of all songs, and all happiness.
Needless to say, Tzitzith also connects to Yetziath Mizrayim. The imagination-connection once again לא תתורו אחרי לבבכם ואחרי עיניכם - don't stray after your hearts (see Kriath Shema)
[I'm beginning to think that perhaps Likkutei Halachoth can't be paraphrased]
What is the best part about all this? When I put on tzitzith, I'm no longer just putting on tzitzith. You can't do the mitzwoth like an automaton when you start to learn about the mitzwoth. The biggest set back to doing the mitzwoth with real intention (כוונה) is not the energy it takes, but our lack of learning. (This is more or less one of the Ramhal's messages in Mesilath Yesharim זריזות & זהירות)
Learning the Beit Yosef (R' Yosef Karo's in-depth derivation of all the halachoth in his Shulchan Aruch) can do the same thing. So can learning the text of the Torah itself, the Talmud, or whatever you connect to, whatever is most thrilling to you to learn. The best part is, the learning itself is great, and your mitzwah performance improves because of it. (Shimon at a Jewish Blog points out that enhancement of your mitzwah performance indicates that you are on a good path. This is also something I saw in the Noam Elimelech (מקץ) yesterday.)
For me, Likkutei Halachoth really brings the mitzwoth to life. [When I wash my hands in the morning now, I'm revealing God's light in the world and driving the dark side out of it.] For people with a more Chabad leaning there is the Derech Mitzwothecha of the Tzemach Tzedek. (I learned his chapter on Tefillin while debating taking on Rabbeinu Tam tefillin and it was tremendously exciting)
Case in point: Tzitzith. It's hard to find a subject Reb Natan hasn't brought up in the discussion of the deeper dimensions of Tzitzith. Here's a few of my personal favorites:
Tzitzith connect you to the heart of the Torah. There are 32 strings, which is gematria for לב, heart. The Torah begins, as we know, with the letter ב and ends with the letter ל, so simply by putting on Tzitzith, one is connecting to the entirety of the Torah. (more about 32-heart [1] [2])
Rebbe Natan says that Tzitzith is all about purification of one's imagination--taking control of it to use it for holy purposes, rather than letting it control you and your thoughts. One's actions (especially one's mitzwoth) are referred to as one's clothes and these clothes, when our actions are imperfect are said to be filthy. Tzitzith are utterly white, hinting to their purification of one's clothes, one's mitzwoth, one's actions through the purification of one's imagination.
Similarly, by purifying one's imagination, one can connect to the aspect of Tzitzith that encompasses all places, being that it has four corners, like the four corners of the world, when one returns to this place, one can truly judge everyone justly, for he has found the true place of each of them. (Since he has returned to HaShem, who is called "the place of the world, whom the world is not His place." He can then see the place of each person in the world, and judge them. Just as Chazal say, do not judge your fellow until you arrive at his place.) This judging with mercy is the rope of Hesed (חוט של חסד) that one otherwise may bring down through learning in the evening. (Another means of purifying one's imagination)
The Tzitzith, as the rope of Hesed, become the strings of David's harp that begins to play at midnight, because once one's imagination is purified, God's hidden spirit, רוח צפון, is revealed. (iirc) This connects Tzitzith to music, a connection that is made through wine as well, because the essence of the song of the Leviim in the Temple was when the wine libation was poured. Wine, as we mentioned in a previous post, is of the nature that when your imagination has already been purified, it releases all of the fallen sparks from the dark (aka other) side. So, when we clarify the imagination, we release song, the song of David's harp at midnight, the song of the coming Redemption, which is the source of all songs, and all happiness.
Needless to say, Tzitzith also connects to Yetziath Mizrayim. The imagination-connection once again לא תתורו אחרי לבבכם ואחרי עיניכם - don't stray after your hearts (see Kriath Shema)
[I'm beginning to think that perhaps Likkutei Halachoth can't be paraphrased]
What is the best part about all this? When I put on tzitzith, I'm no longer just putting on tzitzith. You can't do the mitzwoth like an automaton when you start to learn about the mitzwoth. The biggest set back to doing the mitzwoth with real intention (כוונה) is not the energy it takes, but our lack of learning. (This is more or less one of the Ramhal's messages in Mesilath Yesharim זריזות & זהירות)
Learning the Beit Yosef (R' Yosef Karo's in-depth derivation of all the halachoth in his Shulchan Aruch) can do the same thing. So can learning the text of the Torah itself, the Talmud, or whatever you connect to, whatever is most thrilling to you to learn. The best part is, the learning itself is great, and your mitzwah performance improves because of it. (Shimon at a Jewish Blog points out that enhancement of your mitzwah performance indicates that you are on a good path. This is also something I saw in the Noam Elimelech (מקץ) yesterday.)
For me, Likkutei Halachoth really brings the mitzwoth to life. [When I wash my hands in the morning now, I'm revealing God's light in the world and driving the dark side out of it.] For people with a more Chabad leaning there is the Derech Mitzwothecha of the Tzemach Tzedek. (I learned his chapter on Tefillin while debating taking on Rabbeinu Tam tefillin and it was tremendously exciting)
28.3.07
flights of talmud
What happens when I learn gemara? Things like this happen.
I started Masechet Berachoth, I'm only just finishing the first daf, a week and a half later. (Right now my schedule hasn't seen fit to introduce a hevruta, but my hopes are high.) All of a sudden it hits me: What's going on here? Someone asked a question about time, (When do we say the evening Shema?) and all of a sudden everyone is talking about food. It's the time when the Kohanim can eat from terumah, no wait, it's the time a pauper enters his home to eat the evening meal, no wait, it's the time that everyone eats on friday evening. There's a whole machloket and everyone seems to take for granted that they are speaking in code about time when in fact they're all talking about eating.
What gives? Then it hit me. The Maor Eynayim says that the Shechinah brings down the livelihood in our food. (the מן) My Rav taught me a while ago that the whole concept of time is limited to the sephirah of Malchuth. More things click: על כל מוצא פי ה' יחיה האדם (on everything that comes from the mouth of God does man subside) מלכות פה - Malchuth is the proverbial mouth of God. (Why? because all the revellation of all of creation comes down through Malchuth, speech is the metaphor of revealing hidden 'thoughts' so Malchuth is the mouth through which God reveals his hidden thoughts into 'audible' speech.) The compilers of the Talmud and the Mishnah all take for granted this intrinsic connection between food and time. They both share the same heavenly source. It's obvious. Ok, now I can go on to the next page.
That's me learning Gemara.
Days later its reverberating inside me. (for reasons obvious to those who know me) Why the connection between food and time? Why are these two things so central to the whole world that we live in? This world. עולם הזה? A baby gestates in the womb of its mother, it is nourished from the placenta, it gets what she eats, when she eats it. It lives according to her motions, the everpresent beating of her heart ticks off time in waves of sound it feels with its whole body. If it weren't for these things, the baby would be oblivious to time altogether. The baby doesn't even really think about food, not until it's released into the world, and then it has to return to its mother for nourishment, at regular intervals. Time. Food. Mother. Intimately related symbols.
(It's easy to see how early cults worshipped some combination of mother-food-time ie. earth-bounty-harvest)
What can we learn from it all, what does this metaphor have to bring to our predicament in this world? Have we been born, are we waiting to be? Both are true, but when I learn Gemara, this is where my mind takes off and flies everytime---what am I missing when I take it at face value?
I started Masechet Berachoth, I'm only just finishing the first daf, a week and a half later. (Right now my schedule hasn't seen fit to introduce a hevruta, but my hopes are high.) All of a sudden it hits me: What's going on here? Someone asked a question about time, (When do we say the evening Shema?) and all of a sudden everyone is talking about food. It's the time when the Kohanim can eat from terumah, no wait, it's the time a pauper enters his home to eat the evening meal, no wait, it's the time that everyone eats on friday evening. There's a whole machloket and everyone seems to take for granted that they are speaking in code about time when in fact they're all talking about eating.
What gives? Then it hit me. The Maor Eynayim says that the Shechinah brings down the livelihood in our food. (the מן) My Rav taught me a while ago that the whole concept of time is limited to the sephirah of Malchuth. More things click: על כל מוצא פי ה' יחיה האדם (on everything that comes from the mouth of God does man subside) מלכות פה - Malchuth is the proverbial mouth of God. (Why? because all the revellation of all of creation comes down through Malchuth, speech is the metaphor of revealing hidden 'thoughts' so Malchuth is the mouth through which God reveals his hidden thoughts into 'audible' speech.) The compilers of the Talmud and the Mishnah all take for granted this intrinsic connection between food and time. They both share the same heavenly source. It's obvious. Ok, now I can go on to the next page.
That's me learning Gemara.
Days later its reverberating inside me. (for reasons obvious to those who know me) Why the connection between food and time? Why are these two things so central to the whole world that we live in? This world. עולם הזה? A baby gestates in the womb of its mother, it is nourished from the placenta, it gets what she eats, when she eats it. It lives according to her motions, the everpresent beating of her heart ticks off time in waves of sound it feels with its whole body. If it weren't for these things, the baby would be oblivious to time altogether. The baby doesn't even really think about food, not until it's released into the world, and then it has to return to its mother for nourishment, at regular intervals. Time. Food. Mother. Intimately related symbols.
(It's easy to see how early cults worshipped some combination of mother-food-time ie. earth-bounty-harvest)
What can we learn from it all, what does this metaphor have to bring to our predicament in this world? Have we been born, are we waiting to be? Both are true, but when I learn Gemara, this is where my mind takes off and flies everytime---what am I missing when I take it at face value?
building bridges
The Noam Elimelech (parashath מקץ) explains that when a Tzaddik wants to bring down livelihood, health, or any other blessing upon someone, he must attach his soul to theirs.
Yosef HaTzadik didn't want to attach to such an evil soul as Pharoah's soul, so rather than interpreting Pharoah's dream himself, he preferred that it was interpreted straight from Heaven.
What can you and I take away from this? That the more we feel a common bond with someone, the more effective our prayers for them will be. If you pray on behalf of someone, first bring them into your heart and awaken deep feelings towards them, then pray for them from this place.
Yosef HaTzadik didn't want to attach to such an evil soul as Pharoah's soul, so rather than interpreting Pharoah's dream himself, he preferred that it was interpreted straight from Heaven.
What can you and I take away from this? That the more we feel a common bond with someone, the more effective our prayers for them will be. If you pray on behalf of someone, first bring them into your heart and awaken deep feelings towards them, then pray for them from this place.
27.3.07
ladders for prayers
The Noam Elimelech brings down that Tzaddikim work always on two levels. They make sure that all of their actions are necesary and for the sake of Heaven. On top of this (what would seem to us as an already impossible task) they also maintain intense focus that everything they are doing should effect tremendous unifications in the upper realms.
It seems as if on the level of their minds, they are off in another world entirely, performing intense meditations, while simultaneously, on the level of their body, unifying Godliness with the physical world.
To me this smacks of סולם מוצב ארצה וראשו מגיע השמימה (the ladder in Yaakov Avinu's dream is standing on the ground, its top reaching to the heavens) The Ba'al Shem Tov explains this passuk as referring to a Jew, whose body is based firmly on the ground, but whose soul reaches into the heavens. He goes on to say that the angels climbing the ladder are the prayers offered up to God, and the angels coming down the ladder are the blessings received from HaShem.
This is also a phenomenal ability to multi-task that the Tzaddikim show in their parallel actions. The Noam Elimelech actually says in the same parashah (מקץ) that Tzaddikim are seen to be insane because they have been endowed with unbelievable awe and love of God but it has been hidden in their hearts and only their actions are visible.
It seems as if on the level of their minds, they are off in another world entirely, performing intense meditations, while simultaneously, on the level of their body, unifying Godliness with the physical world.
To me this smacks of סולם מוצב ארצה וראשו מגיע השמימה (the ladder in Yaakov Avinu's dream is standing on the ground, its top reaching to the heavens) The Ba'al Shem Tov explains this passuk as referring to a Jew, whose body is based firmly on the ground, but whose soul reaches into the heavens. He goes on to say that the angels climbing the ladder are the prayers offered up to God, and the angels coming down the ladder are the blessings received from HaShem.
This is also a phenomenal ability to multi-task that the Tzaddikim show in their parallel actions. The Noam Elimelech actually says in the same parashah (מקץ) that Tzaddikim are seen to be insane because they have been endowed with unbelievable awe and love of God but it has been hidden in their hearts and only their actions are visible.
26.3.07
stiching time
Sometimes life gives you crazy pressure. But Chazal tell us that if you uphold Torah in poverty, you will one day uphold Torah in wealth.
Pressure and deadlines are all just time-poverty. If we take the time to study anyways, even with intense time-poverty. God will one day give us Torah study without any boundaries of time.
I'm posting this dvar Torah now to show HaShem that I don't want to sacrifice my Torah because of the constraints of time. God-willing we will feel the freedom to pursue Torah and Mitzwoth always.
Pressure and deadlines are all just time-poverty. If we take the time to study anyways, even with intense time-poverty. God will one day give us Torah study without any boundaries of time.
I'm posting this dvar Torah now to show HaShem that I don't want to sacrifice my Torah because of the constraints of time. God-willing we will feel the freedom to pursue Torah and Mitzwoth always.
25.3.07
returning to zion
I want to explain the last post just a little more:
ציון במשפט תפדה ושביה בצדקה
We said we wanted God's Judgement to come down on our enemies, which means for God to break his normally merciful nature. In order to achieve this end, we need to break our own selfish nature, and be involved in hesed, in tzeddakah. (You can do this in so many different ways, but two big blog-based tzeddakah efforts for pesah are here (A Simple Jew) or here (Mystical Paths))
This is my interpretation of the passuk: ציון במשפט תפדה - we're asking HaShem to redeem Zion with judgement. And for ourselves we know ושביה בצדקה - we have to do our part through tzeddakah.
The simplest and most powerful tzeddakah is the giving of our time to those around us, instead of answering and greeting unthinkingly, giving of our time to actually show our affection and appreciation of our fellow Jew.
ציון במשפט תפדה ושביה בצדקה
We said we wanted God's Judgement to come down on our enemies, which means for God to break his normally merciful nature. In order to achieve this end, we need to break our own selfish nature, and be involved in hesed, in tzeddakah. (You can do this in so many different ways, but two big blog-based tzeddakah efforts for pesah are here (A Simple Jew) or here (Mystical Paths))
This is my interpretation of the passuk: ציון במשפט תפדה - we're asking HaShem to redeem Zion with judgement. And for ourselves we know ושביה בצדקה - we have to do our part through tzeddakah.
The simplest and most powerful tzeddakah is the giving of our time to those around us, instead of answering and greeting unthinkingly, giving of our time to actually show our affection and appreciation of our fellow Jew.
23.3.07
the thought that counts
In previous generations, people spoke what they meant. Nowadays we say all kinds of stuff.
In our generation, it's the thought that counts. It's what we mean when we say things.
We have to care. We have to grow beyond ourselves.
God's nature is to give. We ask him to break his nature and bring down gevurah and din on our enemies. Our nature is to take, if we want God to change his nature, we have to change ours.
ציון במשפט תפדה ושביה בצדקה
Shabbath shalom.
In our generation, it's the thought that counts. It's what we mean when we say things.
We have to care. We have to grow beyond ourselves.
God's nature is to give. We ask him to break his nature and bring down gevurah and din on our enemies. Our nature is to take, if we want God to change his nature, we have to change ours.
ציון במשפט תפדה ושביה בצדקה
Shabbath shalom.
22.3.07
preparing the last meal
Lately I've been so tired of eating food. The process seems so unappealing, so unexciting, not because of the options of what to eat, but because it just feels wrong. I'm tired of eating. My last respite is praying the geulah is days and not years or even months away.
Clearly, as we've mentioned in the past, eating is the essence of why we are here in this world, at least according to the Noam Elimelech. (he's not the kind of person I would doubt under any circumstances) Whenever I get into a funk about having to eat, it's this Torah that uplifts me.
God willing, this Pesah, we will have a Karbon Pesah to eat along with all the matzah.
The Rebbe M'Komarna explains that the reason Achashveyrosh had a huge seudah in Shushan was a revellation of the fact that when HaShem (He who is the beginning and end of all things, an idea hinted at by the name אחשורש) ascends to the throne of the world, he will create a feast for all of Bnei Yisrael. (Consisting of the לויתן the שור הבור and יין מרקחים) All this will Bnei Yisrael attain not through their deeds, but from the point of one-ness within them that is called the שושנה (Shoshanah) hinted at by the name of the city Shushan. [שושן he says, (and I checked. twice.) actually shares the gematria (656) of ריח ניחוח אשה לי-ה-ו-ה]
So, it seems there will be more feasting after the Geulah, maybe I'm just tired of the klipoth.
Thankfully all sources seem to agree that in Gan Eden, we will eat from our Torah learning, that sounds like something I'd prefer to chow down on, though I'd best get cracking so I have something to eat when the Moshiah arrives.
Clearly, as we've mentioned in the past, eating is the essence of why we are here in this world, at least according to the Noam Elimelech. (he's not the kind of person I would doubt under any circumstances) Whenever I get into a funk about having to eat, it's this Torah that uplifts me.
God willing, this Pesah, we will have a Karbon Pesah to eat along with all the matzah.
The Rebbe M'Komarna explains that the reason Achashveyrosh had a huge seudah in Shushan was a revellation of the fact that when HaShem (He who is the beginning and end of all things, an idea hinted at by the name אחשורש) ascends to the throne of the world, he will create a feast for all of Bnei Yisrael. (Consisting of the לויתן the שור הבור and יין מרקחים) All this will Bnei Yisrael attain not through their deeds, but from the point of one-ness within them that is called the שושנה (Shoshanah) hinted at by the name of the city Shushan. [שושן he says, (and I checked. twice.) actually shares the gematria (656) of ריח ניחוח אשה לי-ה-ו-ה]
So, it seems there will be more feasting after the Geulah, maybe I'm just tired of the klipoth.
Thankfully all sources seem to agree that in Gan Eden, we will eat from our Torah learning, that sounds like something I'd prefer to chow down on, though I'd best get cracking so I have something to eat when the Moshiah arrives.
your hearts desire
We've discussed the relative importance of Gemara to learning Hassidut and other kinds of learning. In fact, the Jewish Blogosphere is pretty thoroughly hashing out this issue.
I'd just like to bring the words of the Notzer Hesed, the Rebbe Yitzhak Isaac [Yehuda Yechiel Safrin] M'Komarna, who comments on Pirkei Avot 3:8 saying (I'm translating fairly closely to the original) A person learns Torah from a place that his heart desires. Still, he is required to learn all of the Oral Torah- Talmud, and poskim, but there are those who שתקפה עליו משנתו - that he greatly desires to learn a certain aspect of Torah, there are those who focus in pshat, (simplicity) those in remez, (hints) those in drash, (findings) those in sod, (secrets) those who desire greatly Gemara (Talmud), those who greatly desire learning the Zohar and Ma'aseh HaMerkava, because they need to rectify a certain aspect of learning in this gilgul. (incarnation)
He goes on to explain the mishna to say that he is not held accountable if all his energies are focused in this one particular aspect of study, and because of this, he doesn't remember his other learning. (I assume this refers to the Oral Torah he is required to learn.) [ כי תקפה עליו משנתו - He learns this out from the word משנתו - from his learning specifically, in other words from the learning which is personal to him.]
All I can add is לא בשמים היא...כי קרוב אליך הדבר, בפיך ובלבבך לעשתו (Devarim 30:14)
I'd just like to bring the words of the Notzer Hesed, the Rebbe Yitzhak Isaac [Yehuda Yechiel Safrin] M'Komarna, who comments on Pirkei Avot 3:8 saying (I'm translating fairly closely to the original) A person learns Torah from a place that his heart desires. Still, he is required to learn all of the Oral Torah- Talmud, and poskim, but there are those who שתקפה עליו משנתו - that he greatly desires to learn a certain aspect of Torah, there are those who focus in pshat, (simplicity) those in remez, (hints) those in drash, (findings) those in sod, (secrets) those who desire greatly Gemara (Talmud), those who greatly desire learning the Zohar and Ma'aseh HaMerkava, because they need to rectify a certain aspect of learning in this gilgul. (incarnation)
He goes on to explain the mishna to say that he is not held accountable if all his energies are focused in this one particular aspect of study, and because of this, he doesn't remember his other learning. (I assume this refers to the Oral Torah he is required to learn.) [ כי תקפה עליו משנתו - He learns this out from the word משנתו - from his learning specifically, in other words from the learning which is personal to him.]
All I can add is לא בשמים היא...כי קרוב אליך הדבר, בפיך ובלבבך לעשתו (Devarim 30:14)
that little voice in your head
On פרשת ויקרא (VaYikra 1:1) the Maor Eynayim explains that the small א (aleph) in the first word, ויקרא teaches us that God shrinks (by way of צימצום) himself down to fit inside each one of us, and calls to us all to do teshuvah, to return to HaShem, we just don't always recognise that call.
To my limited understanding, in the passuk, the call is to Mosheh, because Mosheh represents the da'ath, the connection with God. So God is calling to the part of each of us that is meant to connect.
The important message here is that God is calling to each of us all the time. We have to call back, to make the connection. (see the last post about calling HaShem through Torah.)
To my limited understanding, in the passuk, the call is to Mosheh, because Mosheh represents the da'ath, the connection with God. So God is calling to the part of each of us that is meant to connect.
The important message here is that God is calling to each of us all the time. We have to call back, to make the connection. (see the last post about calling HaShem through Torah.)
the call of truth
The Tanya from two days ago brings down the teaching that our Torah Learning needs to be a calling out to HaShem. קרוב ה' לכל קוראיו לכל אשר יקראוהו באמת HaShem is close to all those who call him through אמת, truth, and there is no truth but Torah, so HaShem is close to all those who call to him through Torah.
This principle has been the basis of my Torah study for as long as I can remember.
We can also introduce this in the reverse, that our Tefillot should make use of passukim from Torah, to ensure that God will heed our call.
This principle has been the basis of my Torah study for as long as I can remember.
We can also introduce this in the reverse, that our Tefillot should make use of passukim from Torah, to ensure that God will heed our call.
21.3.07
home court advantage
Yosef sent animals (the blessings of Egypt) to Yaakov Avinu who was still in Eretz Yisrael, because Egypt represented the dark side, and it's easier to rectify the dark side in Eretz Yisrael, because of its inherent holiness. (Noam Elimelech - end of פרשת וישב)We learn so many things from this simple, yet profound, teaching. Two things being the most important.
- Living in Israel allows you to grow spiritually at a very accelerated pace. (because of the inherent Kedushah of the land) The yetzer just doesn't have the same power here. (He's the away team.)
- The ability to live in Eretz Yisrael is a huge blessing in itself. HaShem is giving us an open-ended ticket to do all that we are capable of and more. For this reason, it doesn't matter whether God has given us the land back officially, whether we are still in galut, as long as the possibility exists for us to live in Israel, how could we live anywhere else? Essentially choosing to live elsewhere is living a life of spiritual sludge, of slow and plodding growth, fighting just to live. Here (in Israel) we live, here we were meant to live, here we have the home-court advantage!
the wisdom to heal
In the same breath, God tells us he won't plague us with all the illnesses he pours down upon our enemies, AND he tells us that he is our healer. The Noam Elimelech asks a great question on this, one that should be apparent to all. If he isn't going to bring down illness upon us, what is he healing?
To explain the answer, he brings down a great chidush: Why does God prefer to be praised by the fact that he brought us out of Egypt, instead of being praised by the fact that he created the whole world in the first place? Because bringing us out of Egypt is a greater feat than creating the world.
How could that be possible? It's in God's nature to be giving and kind, so creating everything was natural for God. Removing us from Egypt through bringing down harsh blows on the Egyptians, such a thing is against the nature of God. But, he broke his nature out of his love for us. This is why speaking of the redemption from Egypt is even greater praise than recalling his creation of the world.
Similarly, HaShem won't ever bring down plagues on us because He loves us. But, when He makes us ill because it is truly in our best interest, He is our healer.
My father-in-law is in the hospital now, since erev Shabbath. He's had a number of set-backs, but we are all utterly devoted to his well-being and are there with him, praying for him. If anyone can find time in their busy Pesah-cleansing to say some tehillim or devote some of their prayers or Torah learning, it would be greatly appreciated. His name is Meir Benayahu ben Victoria (מאיר בניהו בן ויקטוריה) He is a national treasure, a professor who wrote over 30 books on the transmission of Jewish knowledge throughout our history, (including works on the Arizal, Ramhal, the ChiDa and many others) unbeknownst to many he is a pioneer of the Open Source philosophy freely sharing access to his formidable library with any and all who are interested in research. (this before the internet even existed) His father was the Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel (Rishon L'Tzion) for eighteen years, including during the six day war. In particular saying these three perakim of tehillim would be greatly appreciated: מב, פד, and קכו. That's perek 42, 84, and 126.
To explain the answer, he brings down a great chidush: Why does God prefer to be praised by the fact that he brought us out of Egypt, instead of being praised by the fact that he created the whole world in the first place? Because bringing us out of Egypt is a greater feat than creating the world.
How could that be possible? It's in God's nature to be giving and kind, so creating everything was natural for God. Removing us from Egypt through bringing down harsh blows on the Egyptians, such a thing is against the nature of God. But, he broke his nature out of his love for us. This is why speaking of the redemption from Egypt is even greater praise than recalling his creation of the world.
Similarly, HaShem won't ever bring down plagues on us because He loves us. But, when He makes us ill because it is truly in our best interest, He is our healer.
My father-in-law is in the hospital now, since erev Shabbath. He's had a number of set-backs, but we are all utterly devoted to his well-being and are there with him, praying for him. If anyone can find time in their busy Pesah-cleansing to say some tehillim or devote some of their prayers or Torah learning, it would be greatly appreciated. His name is Meir Benayahu ben Victoria (מאיר בניהו בן ויקטוריה) He is a national treasure, a professor who wrote over 30 books on the transmission of Jewish knowledge throughout our history, (including works on the Arizal, Ramhal, the ChiDa and many others) unbeknownst to many he is a pioneer of the Open Source philosophy freely sharing access to his formidable library with any and all who are interested in research. (this before the internet even existed) His father was the Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel (Rishon L'Tzion) for eighteen years, including during the six day war. In particular saying these three perakim of tehillim would be greatly appreciated: מב, פד, and קכו. That's perek 42, 84, and 126.
20.3.07
dancing breath
Once again, I return to my favorite topic, tefillah (תפילה) or prayer.
This kind of connection, this kind of constant searching for any connection with God, in everything in existence, this finding of that point from which we can jump from that thing back to God, that is the essence of prayer.
Would it were that man would spend all his days searching out these points of light in each and every thing, each and every person, each and every place, that he encounters. This is what the Notzer Hesed is talking about as well, when he says praying all day actually refers to performing yichudim (unifications) all day long.
[The Maor Eynayim might explain the first word of Parashath ואתחנן the same way, that moshe connected all the letters, from alef (א) to tav (ת) in his prayers to God.]
What is the purpose of this tefillah? One of the main purposes, is to enjoy our relationship to God, to experience HaShem, to grow closer to Him. Just as we talk out of respect to our parents but also in humor in mutual enjoyment, part of our prayers to God must be this mutual enjoyment. Prayer is saying pleasing things to God, as we say in the kavanah before all mitzwoth, לעשות נחת רוח ליוצרנו - to please our creator. The part of any mitzwah that is the desire to please God, and the joy we share with him in our performance, is tefillah. The dialog of our lives, that the Baal Shem Tov said is the total of our existence, this is tefillah.
The more we enjoy praying, the more HaShem enjoys our prayers. כמים הפנים אל הפנים (when we are happy speaking to someone it arouses similar feelings in that person as well. So too all the moreso with God, who loves us and cares for us always.) Be aware that this relationship has to be pure, with no ulterior motivations, (including the motivation to get high on God, instead of getting high to be with God.) otherwise who knows how far it can rip us away from our goal, before we even realize it, HaShem yishmor!.
From here we get to a place of the desire to make HaShem happy, לשעשע. Here we get to the story of David HaMelech who danced before the ארון הקודש. (the ark of the covenant) His wife, Michal, didn't understand the pure abandon of David who danced out of the pure desire to please his Father, his King, his Creator. [I have a nephew who enjoys moving, you can see when he moves that he is half-dancing simply because it's fun to move, a simple prayer to God from the breath of a baby] Michal, instead saw the dancing and thought it was low and petty, beneath the royalty of David HaMelech's position. She didn't know it was the highest prayer.
Rebbe Nachman has a very short Torah at the heart of his sefer Likkutei Moharan, I:32. (לב is heart, and its gematria is 32) It's been on my mind, why that Torah was chosen as the heart of all of his Torah. This morning when I actually completed the circuit between dancing and prayer, finally got to some simple beginnings of understanding that David HaMelech was praying with all of his being, that I understood why it was that Likkutei Moharan at its heart mentions two things. Prayer and Dancing.
Raising up our voices is high, we can alight to the supernal realms. Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan talks about the various forms of Jewish meditation through song or speech that would allow Kabbalists to rise through the heavenly halls. But our voices are too thin, too ethereal to really bring God down here. We have bodies that are thick with physicality, dirty with grime and sweat. Our bodies, when we use them to pray, we make a real dwelling place for God in the darkest, rankest places of creation. We are dust and ashes, injected with holy breath. The breath and the dust are most at one, most united in serving HaShem in our dancing for His joy, to please Him at His creation.
All of our prayers should be like David HaMelech's dancing, wherever we are, whatever we are involved in, our bodies can be doing the same motions, the very same actions, but with completely different intent, we can be dancing and praying on the inside, until we get to the end of tehillim and כל הנשמה תהלל י-ה הללוי-ה! (all of our breath is praise to God)
כרבי יוחנן דא"ר יוחנן ולואי שיתפלל אדם כל היום כולו למה שאין תפילה מפסדתPrayer is a form of connecting with HaShem. We can actually see why it is that Rabi Yochanan is the one who make's this claim. Rebbe Nachman says (Likkutei Moharan I:34) that one has to connect the uniqueness of each individual Jew (including the uniqueness of the collective) to the heart, in order to bring out God's kindness, to bring down blessing. He says that the point of uniqueness is the letter yud (י) the first letter of Rabi Yochanan's name. The heart, he says, is represented by the letter vav (ו) which we can see, happens to be the second letter of Rabi Yochanan's name. The remainder of his name is חנן beseeching, a word for prayer. So Rabi Yochanan's name embodies the nature of prayer according to Rebbe Nachman.
Like Rabi Yochanan, who says: would it were that man would pray throughout the entire day, why? because prayer is never lost.
תלמוד ירושלמי ברכות א:א - Talmud Yerushalmi Berachot 1:1
This kind of connection, this kind of constant searching for any connection with God, in everything in existence, this finding of that point from which we can jump from that thing back to God, that is the essence of prayer.
Would it were that man would spend all his days searching out these points of light in each and every thing, each and every person, each and every place, that he encounters. This is what the Notzer Hesed is talking about as well, when he says praying all day actually refers to performing yichudim (unifications) all day long.
[The Maor Eynayim might explain the first word of Parashath ואתחנן the same way, that moshe connected all the letters, from alef (א) to tav (ת) in his prayers to God.]
What is the purpose of this tefillah? One of the main purposes, is to enjoy our relationship to God, to experience HaShem, to grow closer to Him. Just as we talk out of respect to our parents but also in humor in mutual enjoyment, part of our prayers to God must be this mutual enjoyment. Prayer is saying pleasing things to God, as we say in the kavanah before all mitzwoth, לעשות נחת רוח ליוצרנו - to please our creator. The part of any mitzwah that is the desire to please God, and the joy we share with him in our performance, is tefillah. The dialog of our lives, that the Baal Shem Tov said is the total of our existence, this is tefillah.
The more we enjoy praying, the more HaShem enjoys our prayers. כמים הפנים אל הפנים (when we are happy speaking to someone it arouses similar feelings in that person as well. So too all the moreso with God, who loves us and cares for us always.) Be aware that this relationship has to be pure, with no ulterior motivations, (including the motivation to get high on God, instead of getting high to be with God.) otherwise who knows how far it can rip us away from our goal, before we even realize it, HaShem yishmor!.
From here we get to a place of the desire to make HaShem happy, לשעשע. Here we get to the story of David HaMelech who danced before the ארון הקודש. (the ark of the covenant) His wife, Michal, didn't understand the pure abandon of David who danced out of the pure desire to please his Father, his King, his Creator. [I have a nephew who enjoys moving, you can see when he moves that he is half-dancing simply because it's fun to move, a simple prayer to God from the breath of a baby] Michal, instead saw the dancing and thought it was low and petty, beneath the royalty of David HaMelech's position. She didn't know it was the highest prayer.
Rebbe Nachman has a very short Torah at the heart of his sefer Likkutei Moharan, I:32. (לב is heart, and its gematria is 32) It's been on my mind, why that Torah was chosen as the heart of all of his Torah. This morning when I actually completed the circuit between dancing and prayer, finally got to some simple beginnings of understanding that David HaMelech was praying with all of his being, that I understood why it was that Likkutei Moharan at its heart mentions two things. Prayer and Dancing.
Raising up our voices is high, we can alight to the supernal realms. Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan talks about the various forms of Jewish meditation through song or speech that would allow Kabbalists to rise through the heavenly halls. But our voices are too thin, too ethereal to really bring God down here. We have bodies that are thick with physicality, dirty with grime and sweat. Our bodies, when we use them to pray, we make a real dwelling place for God in the darkest, rankest places of creation. We are dust and ashes, injected with holy breath. The breath and the dust are most at one, most united in serving HaShem in our dancing for His joy, to please Him at His creation.
All of our prayers should be like David HaMelech's dancing, wherever we are, whatever we are involved in, our bodies can be doing the same motions, the very same actions, but with completely different intent, we can be dancing and praying on the inside, until we get to the end of tehillim and כל הנשמה תהלל י-ה הללוי-ה! (all of our breath is praise to God)
out drink the dark side
I saw a great Torah special for today, Rebbe Nachman's Birthday!!
In Likkutei Halachoth, (Hilchot Tzitzith 5:12) which I learned yesterday with my chevruta Oren, Rebbe Natan brings down that those who have yet to rectify their imagination (a power that can be used for good or evil) when they drink wine, it makes them vomit. But those who have rectified their imagination, when they drink wine, it makes the sitra achra vomit out all of the kedusha it has swallowed!!
We started laughing so much when we learned that one.
Hodesh tov!
In Likkutei Halachoth, (Hilchot Tzitzith 5:12) which I learned yesterday with my chevruta Oren, Rebbe Natan brings down that those who have yet to rectify their imagination (a power that can be used for good or evil) when they drink wine, it makes them vomit. But those who have rectified their imagination, when they drink wine, it makes the sitra achra vomit out all of the kedusha it has swallowed!!
We started laughing so much when we learned that one.
Hodesh tov!
19.3.07
the winds of the road
The Noam Elimelech asks a great question and answers it with a great parable. (There really isn't another sefer like the Noam Elimelech)
The question: Why is it that in the time of the Prophets, people had to undergo tremendous hardship and sacrifice to attain levels of prophecy and divine inspiration (ruach HaKodesh) when we know that in our day, simple people attain levels of divine inspiration significantly less effort?
The parable: When the King is at home in his castle, it is below his dignity to visit someone else in their home. To entice the King to visit requires extraordinary efforts sending diplomats and gifts all at tremendous expense. However when the King is on the road, travelling, He will stop in an inn if he finds it is clean and dignified.
The explanation: When the Beit HaMikdash existed, the Shechinah dwelled within it, and a person had to go to great lengths to entice the Shechinah to dwell upon him. Nowadays, that the Shechinah is in galut with us, on the road, the Shechinah will dwell upon anyone found adequately clean. Here, in this galut, we find that a fine attention to cleanliness of body and soul, being without sin, is sufficient to earn divine inspiration.
The question: Why is it that in the time of the Prophets, people had to undergo tremendous hardship and sacrifice to attain levels of prophecy and divine inspiration (ruach HaKodesh) when we know that in our day, simple people attain levels of divine inspiration significantly less effort?
The parable: When the King is at home in his castle, it is below his dignity to visit someone else in their home. To entice the King to visit requires extraordinary efforts sending diplomats and gifts all at tremendous expense. However when the King is on the road, travelling, He will stop in an inn if he finds it is clean and dignified.
The explanation: When the Beit HaMikdash existed, the Shechinah dwelled within it, and a person had to go to great lengths to entice the Shechinah to dwell upon him. Nowadays, that the Shechinah is in galut with us, on the road, the Shechinah will dwell upon anyone found adequately clean. Here, in this galut, we find that a fine attention to cleanliness of body and soul, being without sin, is sufficient to earn divine inspiration.
a life of prayer
The Tanya today points out that learning Torah overrides any mitzwoth that one can perform through a messenger. However, any mitzwah that requires one to do themselves, overrides the mitzwah to learn Torah.
Here's a quote from the commentary of Lessons in Tanya explaining why:
I'd just like to interject that there is a notion that yichudim and tefillah effect a higher union than even Torah study, and prayer actually brings you to new levels of learning and vice versa, as we've mentioned in the past here.
The Talmud says that ideally man should pray all day. Prayer is connected to the קרבן תמיד the eternal offering. Torah commands us in the mitzwah of Torah Learning night and day, והגית בו יומם ולילה.
We can see from this that a Jew's life is a constant struggle between prayer and learning, running (רץ) and sitting. (שב) But, to me, there's a level of performance of a mitzwah that is prayer, and a level of learning that is also prayer. Whereas Torah Learning may have to stop sometimes, prayer never does.
Here's a quote from the commentary of Lessons in Tanya explaining why:
Thus, the goal of making this world an abode for G‑d is achieved primarily through mitzvot of action. Therefore, when presented with the opportunity of performing a mitzvah that others cannot fulfill, one must fulfill this mitzvah even at the cost of interrrupting his Torah studies, so that G‑d’s desire for “an abode in the lower realms” be realized.If, however, the mitzvah that clashes with one’s Torah study can be fulfilled by others, the choice is no longer between respecting or ignoring G‑d’s desire for “an abode...” — whether he suspends his Torah study to perform the mitzvah, or continues his studies and leaves the mitzvah to others, this objective will be realized regardless. The choice is now between studying Torah and actively performing a mitzvah; and here Torah study prevails because of the superior level of unity that it effects between the Torah student’s soul and G‑d.
I'd just like to interject that there is a notion that yichudim and tefillah effect a higher union than even Torah study, and prayer actually brings you to new levels of learning and vice versa, as we've mentioned in the past here.
The Talmud says that ideally man should pray all day. Prayer is connected to the קרבן תמיד the eternal offering. Torah commands us in the mitzwah of Torah Learning night and day, והגית בו יומם ולילה.
We can see from this that a Jew's life is a constant struggle between prayer and learning, running (רץ) and sitting. (שב) But, to me, there's a level of performance of a mitzwah that is prayer, and a level of learning that is also prayer. Whereas Torah Learning may have to stop sometimes, prayer never does.
increase bloodflow
God's kindness (חסד) is at the heart of everything. That force which gives each thing its existence, is ultimately, underneath everything else, God's kindness; His desire to give to those who are in need. Now, this world is a complicated place, with many systems in place to ensure that everything that does happen is to the benefit of all those in need, namely all of creation.
Certain forces are set in place, first as safeguards (like the bumpers in kiddie-bowling) and then as boundaries to break free of. (like Gravity) Each person has within them these forces or attributes that begin by allowing them to survive and grow and flourish. Like the desire for food. Then as a person grows and becomes more aware of his or her surroundings, s/he must start to pay more attention to what they consume, and how they consume it such that it will be most beneficial to them. This is true of the sexual desire. It is also true of the desire to communicate and to know. If we don't have any interest in knowing, we would never learn to speak. If we couldn't speak, our survival would be severely curtailed. Once we do speak, we learn that there are settings where certain speech is beneficial and other speech isn't.
The desire to know also can lead to harm, if misused or unchecked. Sometimes I have a compulsive need to finish a story I've begun to read. The need is so great that for the day and a half it takes me to read the book, I can't get to work or interact in social settings. Same thing for people who want to see everything that is on TV. The point here is not that everything is bad, or even that everything must be in moderation. The point is simply that it is necesary for a person who grows in awareness throughout their life to similarly examine their desires and channel them in healthy and productive ways.
Doing this, Rebbe Nachman explains, (Likkutei Moharan I:33) curbing your desires to serve your will (instead of your will slaving after your desires) uncovers God's Kindness that runs in veins throughout all of creation. Once these veins of kindness, חסד, are uncovered, God pumps ever greater amounts of kindness through them, direct to you. By drawing down this supernal kindness, Rebbe Nachman continues, one brings peace between God and his People, which brings peace to the whole world.
These veins of kindness throughout the world, are the letters of the Torah that are at the heart of every created thing. They are the vessels through which God pours his light into creation. Each created thing has only a very small amount of light in it, naturally. But, when that creation is removed from its natural state and turned to divine service, the letters are made accessible and a tremendous influx of light can come down through those revealed letters.
Each of our natural desires can be bent to the service of God, and through the letters revealed within them God's kindness flows and brings peace to us and the whole of creation.
[The vein metaphor is not used by Rebbe Nachman, it was added by me as an intermediary step to first understand the idea, before connecting it to the letters of Torah.]
Certain forces are set in place, first as safeguards (like the bumpers in kiddie-bowling) and then as boundaries to break free of. (like Gravity) Each person has within them these forces or attributes that begin by allowing them to survive and grow and flourish. Like the desire for food. Then as a person grows and becomes more aware of his or her surroundings, s/he must start to pay more attention to what they consume, and how they consume it such that it will be most beneficial to them. This is true of the sexual desire. It is also true of the desire to communicate and to know. If we don't have any interest in knowing, we would never learn to speak. If we couldn't speak, our survival would be severely curtailed. Once we do speak, we learn that there are settings where certain speech is beneficial and other speech isn't.
The desire to know also can lead to harm, if misused or unchecked. Sometimes I have a compulsive need to finish a story I've begun to read. The need is so great that for the day and a half it takes me to read the book, I can't get to work or interact in social settings. Same thing for people who want to see everything that is on TV. The point here is not that everything is bad, or even that everything must be in moderation. The point is simply that it is necesary for a person who grows in awareness throughout their life to similarly examine their desires and channel them in healthy and productive ways.
Doing this, Rebbe Nachman explains, (Likkutei Moharan I:33) curbing your desires to serve your will (instead of your will slaving after your desires) uncovers God's Kindness that runs in veins throughout all of creation. Once these veins of kindness, חסד, are uncovered, God pumps ever greater amounts of kindness through them, direct to you. By drawing down this supernal kindness, Rebbe Nachman continues, one brings peace between God and his People, which brings peace to the whole world.
These veins of kindness throughout the world, are the letters of the Torah that are at the heart of every created thing. They are the vessels through which God pours his light into creation. Each created thing has only a very small amount of light in it, naturally. But, when that creation is removed from its natural state and turned to divine service, the letters are made accessible and a tremendous influx of light can come down through those revealed letters.
Each of our natural desires can be bent to the service of God, and through the letters revealed within them God's kindness flows and brings peace to us and the whole of creation.
[The vein metaphor is not used by Rebbe Nachman, it was added by me as an intermediary step to first understand the idea, before connecting it to the letters of Torah.]
18.3.07
under pressure
The name of God, יהו"ה when taken in simple gematria, has a value of 17. Namely: yud is 1, heh 5, vav 6, heh 5 = 1+5+6+5 = 17. (simple gematria means you add the digits of the value of each letter--in example: yud in normal gematria is 10, in simple gematria it's 1 + 0 = 1)
The Noam Elimelech shares this, explaining that HaShem's kindness, even when it is compressed in tzimtzum, is still good. (טוב = 17 = good)
In other words, even when God hides himself from us, it is for our own good.
The Noam Elimelech shares this, explaining that HaShem's kindness, even when it is compressed in tzimtzum, is still good. (טוב = 17 = good)
In other words, even when God hides himself from us, it is for our own good.
amounting to something
The Brisker said that you only get reward for the Torah you understand. How does that square with our previous post about Hassidut enlivening you even when you don't understand it?
Not to mention, something you learned years before can be understood anew many times over the course of your life. Which time counts as you 'learning it' if each time you understand it better than the last, only the last time? This also raises the question of does understanding it later even count as learning it, if you aren't learning it when you understand it?
At this point, I think it would be prudent to simply mention נעשה ונשמע - we will do, and we will hear. שמיעה or hearing is normally associated with בינה (understanding) which is actually the root of the Oral Torah. Whereas עשיה, action, relates back to Will, or desire, which is רצון which relates above the intellect (of which בינה is a part) entirely to the level of כתר or God's Crown.
So, it still seems that learning Torah even without understanding it, is doing. The most important part of the learning in this case is speaking it aloud while you are learning. (The speaking is the essence of the doing.) In this way, there is still a basis to say you are 'doing and hearing' since you are speaking the Torah aloud, and your ears are hearing your voice.
In short, just keep learning as we are fulfilling the letter of נעשה ונשמע by reading it out loud and hearing it with our ears, and fulfilling the spirit of נעשה ונשמע by moving forward with our learning even though we haven't yet heard (understood) the proper way to learn.
I have one more subtle nuance: the Oral Torah is rooted, as we said, in בינה. Whereas Hassidut is actually rooted not in בינה but in חכמה (wisdom) the source of the Written Torah. Understanding is something we need to work for, Wisdom comes on its own, it's like receiving a present. So, it makes perfect sense that the Brisker, (Rav Hayyim of Brisk) who was talking about the Oral Torah says you don't get any reward unless you understand, and Hassidut explains that even if you don't understand Hassiduth the reward comes anyways.
The moral of the story? When in doubt, learn Hassidut.
Not to mention, something you learned years before can be understood anew many times over the course of your life. Which time counts as you 'learning it' if each time you understand it better than the last, only the last time? This also raises the question of does understanding it later even count as learning it, if you aren't learning it when you understand it?
At this point, I think it would be prudent to simply mention נעשה ונשמע - we will do, and we will hear. שמיעה or hearing is normally associated with בינה (understanding) which is actually the root of the Oral Torah. Whereas עשיה, action, relates back to Will, or desire, which is רצון which relates above the intellect (of which בינה is a part) entirely to the level of כתר or God's Crown.
So, it still seems that learning Torah even without understanding it, is doing. The most important part of the learning in this case is speaking it aloud while you are learning. (The speaking is the essence of the doing.) In this way, there is still a basis to say you are 'doing and hearing' since you are speaking the Torah aloud, and your ears are hearing your voice.
In short, just keep learning as we are fulfilling the letter of נעשה ונשמע by reading it out loud and hearing it with our ears, and fulfilling the spirit of נעשה ונשמע by moving forward with our learning even though we haven't yet heard (understood) the proper way to learn.
I have one more subtle nuance: the Oral Torah is rooted, as we said, in בינה. Whereas Hassidut is actually rooted not in בינה but in חכמה (wisdom) the source of the Written Torah. Understanding is something we need to work for, Wisdom comes on its own, it's like receiving a present. So, it makes perfect sense that the Brisker, (Rav Hayyim of Brisk) who was talking about the Oral Torah says you don't get any reward unless you understand, and Hassidut explains that even if you don't understand Hassiduth the reward comes anyways.
The moral of the story? When in doubt, learn Hassidut.
16.3.07
circumcisions of the heart
In the 32 chapter of Likkutei Moharan, the ל"ב (gematria 32) or heart of Likkutei Moharan if you will, Rebbe Nachman gives a concise torah, but I'd like to trim it down even further, obviously losing 99% of the content, but all the same, I think we can learn something from it. May God keep me from erring in my adaptation.
He says that through revealing the א (aleph) in our heart, we can change (judgements) דין into אדנ"י God's name for His Might. This name is the palace in which dwells the name יהו"ה, HaShem's name of kindness and mercy. (this I saw most recently mentioned in the Noam Elimelech)
So, by revealing God, the alupho shel olam, in our hearts, (essentially circumcising our hearts, as Moshe tells us to in the Torah) we can find the Godly kindness within all of our hardship, bringing it over to the side of kindness.
This Rebbe Nachman says, is the secret of the short request we make before starting the amidah, אדנ"י open my lips and my mouth will draw out your prayer.
He says that through revealing the א (aleph) in our heart, we can change (judgements) דין into אדנ"י God's name for His Might. This name is the palace in which dwells the name יהו"ה, HaShem's name of kindness and mercy. (this I saw most recently mentioned in the Noam Elimelech)
So, by revealing God, the alupho shel olam, in our hearts, (essentially circumcising our hearts, as Moshe tells us to in the Torah) we can find the Godly kindness within all of our hardship, bringing it over to the side of kindness.
This Rebbe Nachman says, is the secret of the short request we make before starting the amidah, אדנ"י open my lips and my mouth will draw out your prayer.
15.3.07
a crown of kings
When a man marries a woman, through the marriage (kiddushin) he encompasses her in an additional spirit. This is her mazal, her luck if you will. When the man consumates the marriage he invests in her an [additional] inner spirit.So, the world was created to encourage and protect the union between a husband and wife. This is most evident in the halachah of Sotah (a wife suspected of being unfaithful -chas v'shalom) the only situation in which it is permissible to erase the name of God. The only time God permits His name to be erased, is in this instance, in order to bring peace between a husband and a wife. Certainly, the world, created through God's name has a similar motivation, to protect this entity, the nucleus of a family.
It is nice, as a husband, to know that marrying your wife brings with it an extra measure of protection for your wife.
Conversely, when the husband lives properly with his wife, creating a proper Jewish home, then, in her merit, the Shechinah, the divine presence, dwells on her husband (and guards and protects him) in all of his travels.
(based on Notzer Hesed perek 3)
Shabbath is said to be the wife to her husband Israel, when we are worthy. In this context, who are our children? All of our mitzwoth. Every mitzwah performed appropriately creates an angel. These angels go up to HaShem as offerings. אלא תולדות יצחק - these are the generations if Yitzhak
From this passuk we learn that a person's mitzwoth are considered his children. Similarly according to some interpretations וכל הנפש אשר עשו בחרן - and all the souls they created in Charan also refers to the mitzwoth that Avraham performed.
Not only does every mitzwah go up to God as an pleasant-smelling offering. But actually, all of the mitzwoth we perform over the course of the week only go up to God on Shabbath, when Israel is completely re-united as a whole, and we can raise them up, as we mentioned yesterday.
So, to sum things up, all of creation builds towards and protects the union of husband and wife. The ultimate expression of this is the union of Israel and Shabbath, through which all of our mitzwoth can be paraded in front of HaShem.
HaShem who is known as מלך מלכי המלכים the king of the kings of kings. In this case, we can read it slightly differently and understand that the fullest expression of God's kingship in the world is that his children, Bnei Yisrael create for him מלאכים angels. We end up with מלך מלאכי הממלכים - The King of the angels of those who crown the King. All that was added to the phrase to obtain this change is two letters א"ם or mother, the Shabbath. On Shabbath we crown the King through the angels created from our mitzwoth. We (Bnei Yisrael) father angels through the mother (Shabbath) to crown the King.
two is really just one
Keeping two Shabbatot is a famous issue, the Talmud said (almost a thousand years ago) that if (all) Bnei Yisrael would keep two (consecutive) Shabbatot, they would immediately be redeemed and the exile would be brought to an end.
Seeing as how almost a thousand years have passed and that hasn't happened yet, it's not as easy as it seems.
There have been many explanations of exactly what Two Shabbatot mean. Here I will bring down a brief version of the Maor Eynayim's explanation.
The Maor Eynayim, as we've mentioned in a number of posts recently, [1] [2] [3] explains that Shabbath observance has two major components, Shabbath itself, and the six days of the week preceding the Shabbath. If we don't put in the effort on the six workdays, we can't connect to the essential nature of Shabbath on the seventh day.
What kind of effort are we talking about? Performing our actions with emunah or certain faith in God's complete dominion over the world around us. Everything we do during the week, from the most mundane to the most spiritual, it all needs to be performed with equal devotion to God, recognising that God equally fills all the world with His Light. This recognition mean honesty in business dealings, compassion and empathy in relationships, selflessness in lending and charity, prayer in earnest, eating pragmatically to gain strength to serve your creator.
Basically devoting all of one's time and energy that is un-proscribed already in particular mitzwoth to the recognition and revellation of God through your True piety. We are not talking about acting in a manner which seems holy, we are talking about true dedication to the reality of something bigger than yourself.
This is the first Shabbath, this is the body, or the vessel.
The second Shabbath, is the observance of Shabbath itself, witholding from all the forebidden activities (the 39 melachoth and their derivatives) and internalizing the next deeper level-That not only does God permeate everything and everywhere, but that he will actually provide for all your needs on Shabbath. This complete and utter relinquishment of all your basic needs in light of your faith in God allows you to receive the infinite light of Shabbath.
This is the second of the two Shabbatoth, this is the soul within the body, or the light within the vessel.
We see from the Maor Eynayim, that through one properly observed seven-day week, we can attain the redemption.
May it be speedily in our days.
Seeing as how almost a thousand years have passed and that hasn't happened yet, it's not as easy as it seems.
There have been many explanations of exactly what Two Shabbatot mean. Here I will bring down a brief version of the Maor Eynayim's explanation.
The Maor Eynayim, as we've mentioned in a number of posts recently, [1] [2] [3] explains that Shabbath observance has two major components, Shabbath itself, and the six days of the week preceding the Shabbath. If we don't put in the effort on the six workdays, we can't connect to the essential nature of Shabbath on the seventh day.
What kind of effort are we talking about? Performing our actions with emunah or certain faith in God's complete dominion over the world around us. Everything we do during the week, from the most mundane to the most spiritual, it all needs to be performed with equal devotion to God, recognising that God equally fills all the world with His Light. This recognition mean honesty in business dealings, compassion and empathy in relationships, selflessness in lending and charity, prayer in earnest, eating pragmatically to gain strength to serve your creator.
Basically devoting all of one's time and energy that is un-proscribed already in particular mitzwoth to the recognition and revellation of God through your True piety. We are not talking about acting in a manner which seems holy, we are talking about true dedication to the reality of something bigger than yourself.
This is the first Shabbath, this is the body, or the vessel.
The second Shabbath, is the observance of Shabbath itself, witholding from all the forebidden activities (the 39 melachoth and their derivatives) and internalizing the next deeper level-That not only does God permeate everything and everywhere, but that he will actually provide for all your needs on Shabbath. This complete and utter relinquishment of all your basic needs in light of your faith in God allows you to receive the infinite light of Shabbath.
This is the second of the two Shabbatoth, this is the soul within the body, or the light within the vessel.
We see from the Maor Eynayim, that through one properly observed seven-day week, we can attain the redemption.
May it be speedily in our days.
14.3.07
the length of your days
I'm in a long machloket with someone (a young Rav who is so brilliant, I'm literally dust before all his learning) about the importance of learning Gemara. Not about it in general, but about me learning Gemara in particular. It's a question of how central it should be to my learning.
Right now, all the Hassidut I am learning feels like I'm on the right path, it keeps me up, it keeps me happy, it protects me from all the troubles that try to trip me up in the world. It's my life-line.
I don't learn except according to daily or weekly sedarim that I can maintain, because anything else is just going to ultimately hold me back or confuse and trip me up. Having said that, there are times in my life where I've learned a lot of Halachah, (Ben Ish Hai, Yalkut Yosef, Mishnah Torah, Mishnah+Bartenura, Mishnah Berurah) and I greatly enjoy it.
Pouring in my energies into the bottomless pit of Gemara just seems terrifying, and whenever I start to, I feel my life drifting away. I feel like it is drowning me in a see of unknown, lies, and ego.
Mainly, in our argument I maintain that now is not the time in my life to study Gemara. As much as I'm affraid I might be wrong about this, right now I know it to be true. Really, I'm not yet on the level. I haven't learned Tanach and Mishna as the necesary prerequisites, and I'm still, to my mind at my earliest stages of self-chinnuch. Right now, I need to absorb all of Hassidut or as close as I possibly can come to that. I'd like to (B'Ezrat HaShem) read most of the major early works at least once. (Something I'm saying in innocence and probably ignorance.) The daunting ones for me (that I currently own but have yet to start) are the Toldot Yaakov Yosef, and the Maor V'Shemesh. I'm sure there are many others I have yet to learn about, but I need to at least get through the Noam Elimelech first.
Anyways I started learning Gemara again. (in case you were worried) But here's a quote from the Hayom Yom of today that I think adequately explains what I feel when learning Hassidut:
Rebbe Nachman said something very similar in his Sichot HaRan about hearing the words of a Tzaddik.
Right now, all the Hassidut I am learning feels like I'm on the right path, it keeps me up, it keeps me happy, it protects me from all the troubles that try to trip me up in the world. It's my life-line.
I don't learn except according to daily or weekly sedarim that I can maintain, because anything else is just going to ultimately hold me back or confuse and trip me up. Having said that, there are times in my life where I've learned a lot of Halachah, (Ben Ish Hai, Yalkut Yosef, Mishnah Torah, Mishnah+Bartenura, Mishnah Berurah) and I greatly enjoy it.
Pouring in my energies into the bottomless pit of Gemara just seems terrifying, and whenever I start to, I feel my life drifting away. I feel like it is drowning me in a see of unknown, lies, and ego.
Mainly, in our argument I maintain that now is not the time in my life to study Gemara. As much as I'm affraid I might be wrong about this, right now I know it to be true. Really, I'm not yet on the level. I haven't learned Tanach and Mishna as the necesary prerequisites, and I'm still, to my mind at my earliest stages of self-chinnuch. Right now, I need to absorb all of Hassidut or as close as I possibly can come to that. I'd like to (B'Ezrat HaShem) read most of the major early works at least once. (Something I'm saying in innocence and probably ignorance.) The daunting ones for me (that I currently own but have yet to start) are the Toldot Yaakov Yosef, and the Maor V'Shemesh. I'm sure there are many others I have yet to learn about, but I need to at least get through the Noam Elimelech first.
Anyways I started learning Gemara again. (in case you were worried) But here's a quote from the Hayom Yom of today that I think adequately explains what I feel when learning Hassidut:
To R. Hillel Paritcher's question whether to review Chassidus even in towns where the people have no conception of Chassidus, the Mitteler Rebbe responded: "The soul hears words of Chassidus." It is written, "Flowing from Lebanon." Lebanon is spelled (in Hebrew) l'b nu'n. (ל"ב נו"ן) "Lebanon" thus represents chochma and bina of the soul. When the soul hears, from there issues a "flow", a "stream of droplets" into that "radiance" or ha'ara of the soul which vitalizes the body; this results in a strengthening of "do good" expressed in the 248 positive mitzvot, and of "turn from evil" expressed in the 365 prohibitions.In very short summary, understanding Hassidut is not a prerequisite to learning it, it enters your soul and your soul understands. It draws life through your soul down into your body.
Rebbe Nachman said something very similar in his Sichot HaRan about hearing the words of a Tzaddik.
momentum of ages
This morning in Today's Tanya I noticed something I hadn't really seen previously:
The Baal HaTanya says that when we perform any action with Holiness, for the sake of God's name, then the energy and life-force expended in that action is engulfed in holiness and becomes itself entirely holy. This is special, because the life-force we receive daily is from our animal soul, which as we've mentioned in the past is rooted in klipath nogah, which is mixed half and half of good and evil. When we use that power for good, it is entirely encompassed in God's supernal light and becomes entirely good.
He goes on to say that this actually leads to the eventual result that the totality of klipath nogah will become thoroughly invested in holiness. This is the job of each Jewish soul in the world, to override the animalistic tendancies of klipath nogah, and instead to channel that energy, that power into the service of God. Lo and behold, through the tireless practice of the 248 positive mitzwoth, and the unblinking avoidance of the 365 negative mitwoth, the collective soul of the Jewish people will achieve this end.
This raises an interesting question, because in the case of the Karbonoth, the animal sacrifices in the temple, the Baal HaTanya explained that raising up one animal in sacrifice actually achieved the effect of raising up all the animals in the world. If this is so with the animal sacrifice, why isn't the performance of one mitzwah enough to raise up the entire klipath nogah?
To this question I have to venture my own answer, potentially frought with many mistakes and misunderstandings, but it seems to my simple mind to be fairly obvious. This difference is all rooted in the collective whole of the Jewish people. The daily animal sacrifices in the temple were funded and represented the whole of the Jewish people. To this end every Jew(ish male of maturity) is commanded to bring one half-shekel to the temple in order to be part of this wonderous effort. Each one brings only one half-shekel, no more, no less. It's a half-shekel to show us that it is incomplete just like every Jew is only completed when they recognise that they are part of the whole of the collective. These half-shekels pay for the daily animal offerings.
So, unlike the daily animal offerings in the Holy Temple, the mitzwoth are performed by individuals, working towards, but not yet actively part of, the collective whole of the Jewish nation. The Temple is a focus, a locus, where all of us can center our energies and our efforts and rally around that singular point. From there all our efforts rise up to God. We can see this with our prayers which today replace the daily animal offerings until the Holy Temple is rebuilt, may it be speedily in our days. The Talmud tells us to focus our prayers always towards Israel, towards Jerusalem, towards the Temple Mount, towards the Temple, and towards the Holy of Holies, in ascending order of priority and foucs. Even when we don't have the Temple, it is still the common focus of the collective whole to raise up all of our deeds and actions to God.
In performance of the mitzwoth it is important to always perform them with the intention of connecting to the collective whole, being but one performer of part of a greater common work. This is why in Chassidut it is stressed that we should have the intent
This is also an amazing aid in focus and kavanah in prayer. When we think of the entire Jewish Nation standing in prayer around the globe and throughout time alongside with us, how can we not be inspired to pour out our hearts and do our part. We are standing not only with our brothers and sisters, our grandparents, but all our ancestors, Avraham Avinu, Moshe Rabeinu, David HaMelech, the whole nation. When we pray like that, what could possibly stand in our way.
These mitzwoth are bigger than us, we're just taking part in actions begun thousands of years ago, completing God's will that is infinite and that has existed literally forever.
The Baal HaTanya says that when we perform any action with Holiness, for the sake of God's name, then the energy and life-force expended in that action is engulfed in holiness and becomes itself entirely holy. This is special, because the life-force we receive daily is from our animal soul, which as we've mentioned in the past is rooted in klipath nogah, which is mixed half and half of good and evil. When we use that power for good, it is entirely encompassed in God's supernal light and becomes entirely good.
He goes on to say that this actually leads to the eventual result that the totality of klipath nogah will become thoroughly invested in holiness. This is the job of each Jewish soul in the world, to override the animalistic tendancies of klipath nogah, and instead to channel that energy, that power into the service of God. Lo and behold, through the tireless practice of the 248 positive mitzwoth, and the unblinking avoidance of the 365 negative mitwoth, the collective soul of the Jewish people will achieve this end.
This raises an interesting question, because in the case of the Karbonoth, the animal sacrifices in the temple, the Baal HaTanya explained that raising up one animal in sacrifice actually achieved the effect of raising up all the animals in the world. If this is so with the animal sacrifice, why isn't the performance of one mitzwah enough to raise up the entire klipath nogah?
To this question I have to venture my own answer, potentially frought with many mistakes and misunderstandings, but it seems to my simple mind to be fairly obvious. This difference is all rooted in the collective whole of the Jewish people. The daily animal sacrifices in the temple were funded and represented the whole of the Jewish people. To this end every Jew(ish male of maturity) is commanded to bring one half-shekel to the temple in order to be part of this wonderous effort. Each one brings only one half-shekel, no more, no less. It's a half-shekel to show us that it is incomplete just like every Jew is only completed when they recognise that they are part of the whole of the collective. These half-shekels pay for the daily animal offerings.
So, unlike the daily animal offerings in the Holy Temple, the mitzwoth are performed by individuals, working towards, but not yet actively part of, the collective whole of the Jewish nation. The Temple is a focus, a locus, where all of us can center our energies and our efforts and rally around that singular point. From there all our efforts rise up to God. We can see this with our prayers which today replace the daily animal offerings until the Holy Temple is rebuilt, may it be speedily in our days. The Talmud tells us to focus our prayers always towards Israel, towards Jerusalem, towards the Temple Mount, towards the Temple, and towards the Holy of Holies, in ascending order of priority and foucs. Even when we don't have the Temple, it is still the common focus of the collective whole to raise up all of our deeds and actions to God.
In performance of the mitzwoth it is important to always perform them with the intention of connecting to the collective whole, being but one performer of part of a greater common work. This is why in Chassidut it is stressed that we should have the intent
"לשם יחוד קודשא בריך הוא ושכינתיה בשם כל ישראל - for the sake of the Holy One Blessed be He and His Divine Presence, in the name of all Israel"when performing any mitzwah at all. In this manner, when the collective whole has performed this mitzwah properly, the klipath nogah will be raised up in its entirety in holiness. Just as the daily sacrifices of the Holy Temple were able to raise up all the animals in the world in holiness.
This is also an amazing aid in focus and kavanah in prayer. When we think of the entire Jewish Nation standing in prayer around the globe and throughout time alongside with us, how can we not be inspired to pour out our hearts and do our part. We are standing not only with our brothers and sisters, our grandparents, but all our ancestors, Avraham Avinu, Moshe Rabeinu, David HaMelech, the whole nation. When we pray like that, what could possibly stand in our way.
These mitzwoth are bigger than us, we're just taking part in actions begun thousands of years ago, completing God's will that is infinite and that has existed literally forever.
cosmic knowledge fish
Found over on scienceblog.com, an article about omega-3 fatty acid:
The Torah corollary is plain: The Talmud says there's no שמחה (happiness) without meat and fish. We learn from this statement that it is important to eat meat and/or fish on Shabbath and holidays. It isn't a real celebration without fish and/or meat.
Fish especially are associated with many positive spiritual attributes, their always-open eyes are said to ward off the evil eye. Similarly, the fact that they dwell under the water (ie. out of sight) protects them from the evil eye. Rebbe Akiva also compares the Jews and Torah to fish and water, one can't survive without the other.
Omega-3 fatty acids, found in fatty fish like salmon, are associated with increased grey matter volume in areas of the brain commonly linked to mood and behavior according to a University of Pittsburgh study.This is pretty crazy, because when I first began eating fish I discovered that the day after eating fish I was always happy--regardless of how the day went. Some days I had a really positive attitude, and for me it was mind-boggling. I finally tracked it down to having eaten fish the day before. Nowadays the result isn't so strong--I don't notice it at all, but it's interesting to uncover scientific research that creates some basis for explanation of my own experiences.
The Torah corollary is plain: The Talmud says there's no שמחה (happiness) without meat and fish. We learn from this statement that it is important to eat meat and/or fish on Shabbath and holidays. It isn't a real celebration without fish and/or meat.
Fish especially are associated with many positive spiritual attributes, their always-open eyes are said to ward off the evil eye. Similarly, the fact that they dwell under the water (ie. out of sight) protects them from the evil eye. Rebbe Akiva also compares the Jews and Torah to fish and water, one can't survive without the other.
13.3.07
letter infusion
כל המענג את השבת, נותנין לו נחלה בלי מצרים - Every one who enjoys the Shabbath, they give him a settlement without boundaries.
The Maor Eynayim (פרשת ויקהל) explains this statement in the Talmud as follows: Anyone who, through their labor during the six weekdays, brings the joy of Shabbath into the letters (המענג א"ת - brings joy from א aleph to ת tav) of their prayers, they receive the supernal joy of limitless proportions.
This is all rooted of course in the last two posts regarding Shabbath: which explained how the weekdays play into Shabbath, and how the intellect becomes boundless on Shabbath.
The Maor Eynayim (פרשת ויקהל) explains this statement in the Talmud as follows: Anyone who, through their labor during the six weekdays, brings the joy of Shabbath into the letters (המענג א"ת - brings joy from א aleph to ת tav) of their prayers, they receive the supernal joy of limitless proportions.
This is all rooted of course in the last two posts regarding Shabbath: which explained how the weekdays play into Shabbath, and how the intellect becomes boundless on Shabbath.
eXtreme shabbath
Keep Shabbath (שבת) once, and you've got it made. Keeping Shabbath includes working and striving all six days of the week to make a little space in our lives for Godliness. Then, come Shabbath, if we let go of any and all control of the physical world, reverse the six-day trend, our minds are freed and we can rejoice in the revellation of unfettered joy. (עונג בלי צמצומים)
This actually makes a lot of sense in simple physical principles. The best way to relax your muscles is to stretch them as far as possible and then let go. It also conforms to the extreme lifestyle--work hard. play hard. If we work hard during the six-day week, we can relax and enjoy harder on the seventh day of מנוחה.
But, still, why does doing it once mean you've got it made? The Maor Eynayim (פרשת ויקהל) explains that if you keep Shabbath properly once, then it sticks around with you during the following week, and hands you off to the coming Shabbath, all the while aiding you in your intense work-week easing your labors, helping you succeed. So, by the time you get to the next Shabbath, you've had another successful and spiritually productive six-day week, and you can groove right into Shabbath. Now you're on a roll, you've built up the momentum and objects in motion tend to stay in motion. Now, the week is a down-hill instead of an uphill and you can push harder, pedal faster, and you fly into the next Shabbath.
Rinse and repeat. This never needs to end. You can get higher and higher every Shabbath. Only you can get in the way of yourself. [That last part was a note to myself :)]
This actually makes a lot of sense in simple physical principles. The best way to relax your muscles is to stretch them as far as possible and then let go. It also conforms to the extreme lifestyle--work hard. play hard. If we work hard during the six-day week, we can relax and enjoy harder on the seventh day of מנוחה.
But, still, why does doing it once mean you've got it made? The Maor Eynayim (פרשת ויקהל) explains that if you keep Shabbath properly once, then it sticks around with you during the following week, and hands you off to the coming Shabbath, all the while aiding you in your intense work-week easing your labors, helping you succeed. So, by the time you get to the next Shabbath, you've had another successful and spiritually productive six-day week, and you can groove right into Shabbath. Now you're on a roll, you've built up the momentum and objects in motion tend to stay in motion. Now, the week is a down-hill instead of an uphill and you can push harder, pedal faster, and you fly into the next Shabbath.
Rinse and repeat. This never needs to end. You can get higher and higher every Shabbath. Only you can get in the way of yourself. [That last part was a note to myself :)]
woe to blogger
(temporary down time while i try out the new blogger layout system -- hope it'll be straightened out in a day)
[updated: i'm back. there was no point trying out the new layout system.. it doesn't support my blog. (I publish to my domain, not directly on blogspot.) i will have to shop around for alternative blog tools. feel free to point me in usefull directions.]
[updated: i'm back. there was no point trying out the new layout system.. it doesn't support my blog. (I publish to my domain, not directly on blogspot.) i will have to shop around for alternative blog tools. feel free to point me in usefull directions.]
12.3.07
putting nature on hold
This past Shabbath I noticed an interesting parallel.
During the plagues in Egypt, wherever an Egyptian would go, the plague would be. If a Jew and an Egyptian simultaneously drank from the same river or even jug of water, the Egyptian would be drinking blood and the Jew water.
The Maharal, Rabbi Yehuda Loew of Prague, does an amazing job (in the introduction to his sefer Gevurot HaShem) explaining the metaphysics of such a miracle in a way simple enough for anyone to understand. There is a dimension called 'nivdal.' (separate and holy) This dimension can envelope and override the physical world. When this happens, those who are a party to this dimension experience something completely other than those who exist only in the physical world. In such a way, all miracles involve the nivdal superceding the mundane.
There's a duality there that even surpasses both Quantum Mechanics and Relativity in it's complexity. Two observers can not only observe two different outcomes, but they can be affected differently even while occupying the same space. It's like a Quantum wave that collapses into two separate solutions simultaneously, depending on two observers.
Anyways, back to my point. In the same way that the Plagues were super-natural, so too is Shabbath super-natural. Wherever a Jew may go, he brings Shabbath with him. On the day of Shabbath, in the same room, a non-jew can be ruled by the laws of nature, and a Jew can be forebidden to relate to and interact with those laws. The Jew is beyond nature, and the non-jew trapped within it.
What's the common link in both cases, the Jew of course. God gave us the Torah and with it the ability to separate. The ability to envelope the physical world within the nivdal - the separate.
Every Jew has a mitzwah to separate himself, to draw down expression of the nivdal into what is otherwise the normal world. [This is a different way to express an idea that is very similar to creating a dwelling for HaShem]
During the plagues in Egypt, wherever an Egyptian would go, the plague would be. If a Jew and an Egyptian simultaneously drank from the same river or even jug of water, the Egyptian would be drinking blood and the Jew water.
The Maharal, Rabbi Yehuda Loew of Prague, does an amazing job (in the introduction to his sefer Gevurot HaShem) explaining the metaphysics of such a miracle in a way simple enough for anyone to understand. There is a dimension called 'nivdal.' (separate and holy) This dimension can envelope and override the physical world. When this happens, those who are a party to this dimension experience something completely other than those who exist only in the physical world. In such a way, all miracles involve the nivdal superceding the mundane.
There's a duality there that even surpasses both Quantum Mechanics and Relativity in it's complexity. Two observers can not only observe two different outcomes, but they can be affected differently even while occupying the same space. It's like a Quantum wave that collapses into two separate solutions simultaneously, depending on two observers.
Anyways, back to my point. In the same way that the Plagues were super-natural, so too is Shabbath super-natural. Wherever a Jew may go, he brings Shabbath with him. On the day of Shabbath, in the same room, a non-jew can be ruled by the laws of nature, and a Jew can be forebidden to relate to and interact with those laws. The Jew is beyond nature, and the non-jew trapped within it.
What's the common link in both cases, the Jew of course. God gave us the Torah and with it the ability to separate. The ability to envelope the physical world within the nivdal - the separate.
Every Jew has a mitzwah to separate himself, to draw down expression of the nivdal into what is otherwise the normal world. [This is a different way to express an idea that is very similar to creating a dwelling for HaShem]
raising the roof
Every interaction of ours in this world, be it through thought, speech, or action is an oppurtunity to connect to the Godliness that permeates us. We are surrounded and submerged in God's emanations more thoroughly even than we are awash in the sun's electro-magnetic radiation. We are more tightly held than we are by the gravity of everything around us. There's no escaping God. But, we were created with the ability to be oblivious to it. Just as we rarely think about the oxygen we breathe, or the billions of cells that work together constantly to ensure a smooth solipsistic experience.
Whenever we make a choice in this world, that choice can bear within it the kernel of absolute Truth that acknowledges God's imminence or it may flaunt our God-given right to ignorance of the Truth. When we do choose to involve Godliness in our actions, to think in terms larger and less selfish than ourselves, we create a micro-haven for Godly revellation in our midst. The once-hidden Godliness in which we are all awash becomes a little more visible, a little harder to ignore.
The Maor Eynayim calls this work on creating a dwelling for God in this world: מלאכת המשכן - the labors of the Tabernacle. (Tabernacle (משכן) literally means 'dwelling place') This is the work that consumes us for the six days of the week. On Shabbath, if we did our work (during the week) adequately, we are only involved in הקמת המשכן - raising the Tabernacle.
On Shabbath, through our greater intellects, מוחין דגדלות, (limitless ahavah and yirah of da'ath) granted us on Shabbath, we can delight in the fruits of our labor, raise all of our weekly work up to its source in the supernal realms, heightening our enjoyment, ענג.
It occurs to me that the Tanya explains that children, who have small minds (without meaning to condescend) derive great joy from simple things, toys, candy and the like. From this we can apply the Maor Eynayim and learn deep lessons about ourselves. During the week, our intellects are greatly diminished and so, like children, we can find joy only in simple things. Things that are easier to grasp, like a joke, a workout, a movie, a bath, or more to our purposes: the presence of a loved-one. Only on Shabbath when our intellects grow without limit can we truly enjoy the divine presence, something far more rewarding (beyond compare) even than being with our most intimate soulmate during the week.
[Obviously when we relate to our soulmate, the connection with them on Shabbath is far beyond the connection with the very same person during the week--because during the week, we are (ourselves) smaller, we have less to give and are able to receive less.] (for your perusing pleasure, previous posts about shabbath)
Whenever we make a choice in this world, that choice can bear within it the kernel of absolute Truth that acknowledges God's imminence or it may flaunt our God-given right to ignorance of the Truth. When we do choose to involve Godliness in our actions, to think in terms larger and less selfish than ourselves, we create a micro-haven for Godly revellation in our midst. The once-hidden Godliness in which we are all awash becomes a little more visible, a little harder to ignore.
The Maor Eynayim calls this work on creating a dwelling for God in this world: מלאכת המשכן - the labors of the Tabernacle. (Tabernacle (משכן) literally means 'dwelling place') This is the work that consumes us for the six days of the week. On Shabbath, if we did our work (during the week) adequately, we are only involved in הקמת המשכן - raising the Tabernacle.
On Shabbath, through our greater intellects, מוחין דגדלות, (limitless ahavah and yirah of da'ath) granted us on Shabbath, we can delight in the fruits of our labor, raise all of our weekly work up to its source in the supernal realms, heightening our enjoyment, ענג.
It occurs to me that the Tanya explains that children, who have small minds (without meaning to condescend) derive great joy from simple things, toys, candy and the like. From this we can apply the Maor Eynayim and learn deep lessons about ourselves. During the week, our intellects are greatly diminished and so, like children, we can find joy only in simple things. Things that are easier to grasp, like a joke, a workout, a movie, a bath, or more to our purposes: the presence of a loved-one. Only on Shabbath when our intellects grow without limit can we truly enjoy the divine presence, something far more rewarding (beyond compare) even than being with our most intimate soulmate during the week.
[Obviously when we relate to our soulmate, the connection with them on Shabbath is far beyond the connection with the very same person during the week--because during the week, we are (ourselves) smaller, we have less to give and are able to receive less.] (for your perusing pleasure, previous posts about shabbath)
11.3.07
disguised prayers
On parashath VaYishlah, The Noam Elimelech explains that a Tzaddik's words always bare a simple meaning to those who hear them, and a hidden deeper prayer to God. [In this manner the prayers are camouflaged from any who might try to oppose the Tzaddik.]
Related to this, The Notzer Hesed says that when the Talmud says, "ideally a person should pray all day long," It means that they should always have lofty intentions to perform unifications even in the most simple of daily interactions.
Since this previous post, we now have the tools to understand this idea. The simplest unification is to have the intention to reveal the hidden Godliness in each and every aspect of creation. The Tzaddikim are on a level where every single word they utter is steeped in deep intentions and lofty unifications.
The Noam Elimelech also says the letters and words spoken by a Tzaddik are angels.
Related to this, The Notzer Hesed says that when the Talmud says, "ideally a person should pray all day long," It means that they should always have lofty intentions to perform unifications even in the most simple of daily interactions.
Since this previous post, we now have the tools to understand this idea. The simplest unification is to have the intention to reveal the hidden Godliness in each and every aspect of creation. The Tzaddikim are on a level where every single word they utter is steeped in deep intentions and lofty unifications.
The Noam Elimelech also says the letters and words spoken by a Tzaddik are angels.
the best day.
Today the Twenty First of Adar (כא אדר) is the Hillulah of the Noam Elimelech, Reb Elimelech m'Lizhensk. He was a student of the Maggid of Mesritch. There was no one else like the Noam Elimelech ever. He said about himself that:
His sefer, the Noam Elimelech, is known as the Sefer HaTzaddikim. Click here to see all of the Torahs we've mentioned here at A Waxing Wellspring that include the Noam Elimelech's insights.
Last night I couldn't sleep, I'd been thinking about Gemara and Achronim on hilchot shabbath for hours, I had to sit down and learn some Chassidut to settle myself. I learned a large section of the Notzer Hesed, (Pirkei Avot 3:1) about the two kinds of Tzaddikim, those who serve HaShem through the Hesed of their Da'ath, through intense ahavath yisrael and yichudim, and those who sever HaShem through the Gevurah of their Da'ath, through intense personal suffering accepting always with great joy. It's my belief the Noam Elimelech was complete in his Da'ath and served HaShem always through both of these aspects, if such is even possible.
Update: I just realised that last night from about 12:00 till 2:00 am when I couldn't sleep, the passuk (Esther 6:1) בַּלַּיְלָה הַהוּא, נָדְדָה שְׁנַת הַמֶּלֶךְ was circling in my head over and over again. I was thinking, how much ego I have to keep relating the King's inability to sleep to my own. I couldn't figure out why it was repeating in my head. But, now I know, the Noam Elimelech was often referred to as מלך - melech. My sleep, on the night of the hillulah of מלך was disturbed.
Rebbe Elimelech himself is quoted as saying “It is a wonder that the Rabbis saw through divine inspiration that the final generations would suffer so terribly and didn’t they know that Elimelech would come and nullify and sweeten the harsh decrees?” (Nesiv Mitzvosecha Emunah 4:8 also in Eser TzachTzachos #35)He and his brother Reb Zusha of Anipoli were two of the most unusual neshamoth that the Jewish nation has ever known. They asked their Rebbe, the Maggid of Mesritch once, "It is said that Adam HaRishon contained all the souls of everyone that will ever exist. If this is true, and we were a part of Adam, we never would have let him sin. So how did he sin?" The Maggid explained that, "before the sin, some of the souls left Adam HaRishon in order that he would be able to commit the sin, and you, Reb Zusha and Reb Elimelech were among those souls that departed Adam before the sin."
His sefer, the Noam Elimelech, is known as the Sefer HaTzaddikim. Click here to see all of the Torahs we've mentioned here at A Waxing Wellspring that include the Noam Elimelech's insights.
Last night I couldn't sleep, I'd been thinking about Gemara and Achronim on hilchot shabbath for hours, I had to sit down and learn some Chassidut to settle myself. I learned a large section of the Notzer Hesed, (Pirkei Avot 3:1) about the two kinds of Tzaddikim, those who serve HaShem through the Hesed of their Da'ath, through intense ahavath yisrael and yichudim, and those who sever HaShem through the Gevurah of their Da'ath, through intense personal suffering accepting always with great joy. It's my belief the Noam Elimelech was complete in his Da'ath and served HaShem always through both of these aspects, if such is even possible.
Update: I just realised that last night from about 12:00 till 2:00 am when I couldn't sleep, the passuk (Esther 6:1) בַּלַּיְלָה הַהוּא, נָדְדָה שְׁנַת הַמֶּלֶךְ was circling in my head over and over again. I was thinking, how much ego I have to keep relating the King's inability to sleep to my own. I couldn't figure out why it was repeating in my head. But, now I know, the Noam Elimelech was often referred to as מלך - melech. My sleep, on the night of the hillulah of מלך was disturbed.
8.3.07
aikido for the soul
The Notzer Hesed mentions throwing out the yetzer harah whole, and then returning the good that was in the yetzer harah.
You see, the yetzer harah, the evil urge, is rooted in klipat nogah. Klipat Nogah is the only klipah that isn't entirely detrimental, but is rather mixed of good and bad. Refining the good of klipat nogah (as I understand it) is actually the rectification of eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
So, the Notzer Hesed explains that first we have to drive out the yetzer harah in its entirety. Only once we have cleansed ourselves of its influence, only then can we return and reclaim the holiness that has been trapped in it.
My Rav said this idea is based in סור מרע ועשה טוב - first it says turn from evil (sur m'ra) and only then it says and do good. (v'aseh tov)
Today I only just understood that the reason we first have the beracha of למינים (la'minim - against the r'shaim, the transgressors) and then we have על הצדיקים. (al haTzadikim - upon the righteous) The two berachot are talking about before and after. In la'minim we pray that God removes the רשע - the yetzer harah from our midst, and only then we pray that he grants good upon the righteous, that he restores the holiness that was trapped in the yetzer harah back to the now-cleansed person, the Tzaddik.
You see, the yetzer harah, the evil urge, is rooted in klipat nogah. Klipat Nogah is the only klipah that isn't entirely detrimental, but is rather mixed of good and bad. Refining the good of klipat nogah (as I understand it) is actually the rectification of eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
So, the Notzer Hesed explains that first we have to drive out the yetzer harah in its entirety. Only once we have cleansed ourselves of its influence, only then can we return and reclaim the holiness that has been trapped in it.
My Rav said this idea is based in סור מרע ועשה טוב - first it says turn from evil (sur m'ra) and only then it says and do good. (v'aseh tov)
Today I only just understood that the reason we first have the beracha of למינים (la'minim - against the r'shaim, the transgressors) and then we have על הצדיקים. (al haTzadikim - upon the righteous) The two berachot are talking about before and after. In la'minim we pray that God removes the רשע - the yetzer harah from our midst, and only then we pray that he grants good upon the righteous, that he restores the holiness that was trapped in the yetzer harah back to the now-cleansed person, the Tzaddik.
post 316
The Notzer Hesed (Komarna Rebbe) brings down in his introduction to Ketem Ofir, his perush on Megillat Esther, that the Holy Ariz"l said it is good to find God's names unified in your name. He brings an explanation of how Ketem Ofir is actually the same gematria as his name which is the same gematria as a long string of mystical names of God.
As this is post 316 on this blog, and my name חנן יצחק has gematria 316, I will take this oppurtunity to bring a simple unification of God's names that shares the same gematria as my name.
Six times shem ב"ן (which is יו"ד ה"ה ו"ו ה"ה) is 312 plus אב"א is 316 - which is nice because in tehillim perek 36 (לו) the phrase באורך נראה אור - in your light we will see light has as it's first letters (roshei tevoth) אבן, literally stone. Which is explained like this: The strength of stone comes from the strong connection between father (אב) and son. (בן)
[note: purely by coincidence, I finished this post at 3:16 pm. weird.]
As this is post 316 on this blog, and my name חנן יצחק has gematria 316, I will take this oppurtunity to bring a simple unification of God's names that shares the same gematria as my name.
Six times shem ב"ן (which is יו"ד ה"ה ו"ו ה"ה) is 312 plus אב"א is 316 - which is nice because in tehillim perek 36 (לו) the phrase באורך נראה אור - in your light we will see light has as it's first letters (roshei tevoth) אבן, literally stone. Which is explained like this: The strength of stone comes from the strong connection between father (אב) and son. (בן)
[note: purely by coincidence, I finished this post at 3:16 pm. weird.]
clothes of the King
[I just wanted to discuss and illustrate a few ideas from the last post on what God's Divine Presence actually means]
Clothes serve two purposes, one is to protect you from the elements, but the other is to enable you to function in those same elements. In other words, a cave is better than a raincoat at protecting you from getting wet, but you can't wear a cave while you are out travelling on a rainy day. The raincoat protects you from the rain in a way that allows you a maximum amount of freedom to do what it is you would do, despite the rain.
Similarly the King's clothes serve the same function. The world cannot survive a momentary lapse in God's infusion of the world with life. Still, the world cannot survive if God's presence were apparent to all. Nothing exists in the presence of God. So, the clothes that God wears (k'v'yachol) serve a double purpose, 1) To shield us from God's revellation which would instantaneously annihilate us, and 2) To allow us to develop a relationship with God in a gradual manner that can grow greatly with time and investment of energies. (Just like all of our other terrestrial relationships)
Like we've said in a previous post the Hebrew letters are God's clothes. These clothes, the Maor Eynayim explains, (parashath כי תשא) that the Hebrew letters, through which HaShem created the world, can be permuted to affect changes in the world. Essentially, in our prayers, he says, we can permute the very reality of the world, through permuting the Hebrew letters in our prayers. Our words have the potential to recreate the heavens and the earth. (As the Noam Elimelech explains that this is what Tzaddikim do.)
We see from here, that the letters work just like our own clothes, both to protect us from the raw-undigestible revellation of Godliness, and to allow us to interact with that same Godliness in a more limited revellation that is tollerable to our human frailty.
I wanted to talk more about how this hiding of Godliness is more similar to an awareness so overwhelming that we are reflexively in denial of it, than that it is something actually hidden. It's like the light of the sun, for example. When sunlight shines on a tree, the tree is lit up and we find it beautiful. If we follow the light, back to its source in the sun, it is too bright for us to look at. We don't walk around all day accidentally glancing directly into the sun, in reality, most of the time we subconsciously avoid looking at the sun because it is too painful. Similarly (l'havdil ein sof havdalot) we spend most of our day subconsciously avoiding the brilliance of divine revellation. We were created this way, just as how our eyelids close involuntarily when we look towards the sun, we automatically blind ourselves to the revellation of Godliness that is unbearable.
The Shechinah is described as a lens that allows us to actually look at that Godliness, just as (again l'havdil l'havdil l'havdil) strong sunglasses make the presence of the sun in our periphery more tolerable.
So, while the clothes of the King, the Hebrew letters, allow us to interact with the King in a safer more palatable, less dangerous interaction, The Shechinah, and our relationship to Her, allow us to increase that interaction and remove some of the layers of clothing, in a measured and protected way.
No matter what level we are on however, the Baal HaTanya reminds us that this world is entirely special in that these clothes the King is wearing allow us to approach and hug the King, something we wouldn't be allowed to do if we were to approach the King in his throne-room with his honor guard all around him. Just like when you hug someone, you don't care about how many layers of clothes they are wearing, so too, we can delight in embracing the King, even if he is hidden in many layers of clothing.
Clothes serve two purposes, one is to protect you from the elements, but the other is to enable you to function in those same elements. In other words, a cave is better than a raincoat at protecting you from getting wet, but you can't wear a cave while you are out travelling on a rainy day. The raincoat protects you from the rain in a way that allows you a maximum amount of freedom to do what it is you would do, despite the rain.
Similarly the King's clothes serve the same function. The world cannot survive a momentary lapse in God's infusion of the world with life. Still, the world cannot survive if God's presence were apparent to all. Nothing exists in the presence of God. So, the clothes that God wears (k'v'yachol) serve a double purpose, 1) To shield us from God's revellation which would instantaneously annihilate us, and 2) To allow us to develop a relationship with God in a gradual manner that can grow greatly with time and investment of energies. (Just like all of our other terrestrial relationships)
Like we've said in a previous post the Hebrew letters are God's clothes. These clothes, the Maor Eynayim explains, (parashath כי תשא) that the Hebrew letters, through which HaShem created the world, can be permuted to affect changes in the world. Essentially, in our prayers, he says, we can permute the very reality of the world, through permuting the Hebrew letters in our prayers. Our words have the potential to recreate the heavens and the earth. (As the Noam Elimelech explains that this is what Tzaddikim do.)
We see from here, that the letters work just like our own clothes, both to protect us from the raw-undigestible revellation of Godliness, and to allow us to interact with that same Godliness in a more limited revellation that is tollerable to our human frailty.
I wanted to talk more about how this hiding of Godliness is more similar to an awareness so overwhelming that we are reflexively in denial of it, than that it is something actually hidden. It's like the light of the sun, for example. When sunlight shines on a tree, the tree is lit up and we find it beautiful. If we follow the light, back to its source in the sun, it is too bright for us to look at. We don't walk around all day accidentally glancing directly into the sun, in reality, most of the time we subconsciously avoid looking at the sun because it is too painful. Similarly (l'havdil ein sof havdalot) we spend most of our day subconsciously avoiding the brilliance of divine revellation. We were created this way, just as how our eyelids close involuntarily when we look towards the sun, we automatically blind ourselves to the revellation of Godliness that is unbearable.
The Shechinah is described as a lens that allows us to actually look at that Godliness, just as (again l'havdil l'havdil l'havdil) strong sunglasses make the presence of the sun in our periphery more tolerable.
So, while the clothes of the King, the Hebrew letters, allow us to interact with the King in a safer more palatable, less dangerous interaction, The Shechinah, and our relationship to Her, allow us to increase that interaction and remove some of the layers of clothing, in a measured and protected way.
No matter what level we are on however, the Baal HaTanya reminds us that this world is entirely special in that these clothes the King is wearing allow us to approach and hug the King, something we wouldn't be allowed to do if we were to approach the King in his throne-room with his honor guard all around him. Just like when you hug someone, you don't care about how many layers of clothes they are wearing, so too, we can delight in embracing the King, even if he is hidden in many layers of clothing.
the word of the King is law
I was just thinking today that I don't get the whole "לשם יחוד קודשא בריך הוא ושכינתה" (trans: for the sake of the union of the Holy One blessed be he, and his dwelling/divine presence) thing.
I know it seems a little bit shocking for me to have written all that I've written and then to write this, but it's true all the same. God's divine presence makes perfect sense, but what's the dichotomy (why do we always come back to seemingly two entities, male and female?) that we always have to think about?
I was going to go ask my Rav, but before I got the chance, Today's Tanya straightened me out:
I know it seems a little bit shocking for me to have written all that I've written and then to write this, but it's true all the same. God's divine presence makes perfect sense, but what's the dichotomy (why do we always come back to seemingly two entities, male and female?) that we always have to think about?
I was going to go ask my Rav, but before I got the chance, Today's Tanya straightened me out:
והנה ענין השראת השכינה הוא גילוי אלקותו יתברך ואור אין סוף ברוך הוא באיזה דברEssentially the idea is that the whole world is constantly filled with God, however this Godliness is hidden. This Godliness is The Holy One blessed be he. The Shechinah, or Divine Presence, is a revellation of that Godliness which is otherwise normally hidden.
Whenever we have the intent to unify the Holy One blessed be he, and the Divine Presence, we are focusing on revealing the hidden Godliness.
This jives really well with what the Maor Eynayim (Rebbe Menachem Nachum of Chernobyl) says about male and female aspects on Parashath VaYera. He explains that a man's will is normally hidden and is only exposed through his wife's actions. Basically, Men or the male aspect represent(s) the hidden world, and Women or the female aspect represent(s) the revealed world.
So too with God's revellation in the world. The Male aspect of HaShem's revellation The Holy One blessed be he is the hidden godliness that pervades all. The Divine Presence, the Female aspect of HaShem's revellation, is the revellation of that hidden godliness.
When we take into account that the sefirah Malchut and The Divine Presence are one and the same, this becomes much more clear. As Malchut is normally associated with speech. Speech (as explained in many places including the Tanya) is the revellation of hidden thoughts. Malchut literally means Kingship and as we learn in Megillat Esther, the word of the King is law. The decrees of the King are what establish his kingship.
7.3.07
of singular heart
It's not enough to be a cardiac jew. (To love God in your heart.) You need to give wings to that love, you need to pour it out of your mouth.
That's what Rebbe Nachman tells us in Likkutei Moharan I:31. HaShem wants our prayers. He explains that the letters of our speach are just letters. The love that infuses them creates the nikkudoth. (vowels) The nikkudoth are what give the letters the ability to move. [The very beginning of the Zohar mentions that the letters are the soldiers the צבאות of God's name; and that the nikkudot and the ta'amim make them march] Rebbe Nachman explains that the letters are just bodies, the nikkudoth are the souls (נפש - nefesh) that give these bodies life. Our love of God is the spirit that fills the lifeless bodies of the words of our prayer. [This, he explains, is the secret of נקודות הכסף in Shir HaShirim.]
Rebbe Nachman goes on to explain that the way to this deep love of God that pours out through our words is only accessible via the emunah (faith) of Shabbath. (and Brit Milah, but it's out of the scope of this little post.)
I learned that last Shabbath, but this morning I learned in the Maor Eynayim on our weekly parashah (כי תשא) that HaShem constricted himself into the letters of the Torah. And it is through speaking these letters with דעת - while connecting to HaShem, that we truly draw HaShem out through the letters. This is why it was on Shabbath, when we have complete דעת, that we received the Torah. (and all its letters) [He explains that the word היכל hints at this: ה"י כ"ל - the ה (ie. 5) different sounds that our mouths make, ie. our speech draws out the כל - everything, ie. God]
Now, we the little people, can tie this all together and see that, through Shabbath, we can come to the proper emunah and da'ath such that we elevate our words to God through deep love of God, which exposes the godliness hidden in the letters of creation. All of this is connected to the Beit HaMikdash, (היכל) in the deepest sense because God says about the Beit HaMikdash כי ביתי בית תפילה - my house is a house of prayer. The Beit HaMikdash is a place to go when we want to connect to God through our prayer.
Even greater, we can go even a level deeper and understand this passuk to mean that God's house is a בית - word of prayer. God's most profound dwelling place in this world is in the heart-felt prayer of the Jewish soul. (For a better explanation of בית meaning word see this post on houses for dwelling)
[not coincidentally, the Tanya today talks about this very idea, that the Shechinah is a fire that burns on the wick of the Jewish soul--but it can't burn without the oil created by the performance of the mitzwoth, in this case the speech of the prayer.]
We find that Rebbe Nachman, The Maor Eynayim (Menachem Nachum of Chernobyl), and the Baal HaTanya (Shneur Zalman of Liadi) all are urging us to unify our mouth and our heart.
It seems to me that we need to be אחד בפה ואחד בלב. (Normally this means: to think one thing and say another, but litterally it means to be one in mouth and one in heart.) The אחד of our Kriat Shema needs to be in our heart the same time it is in our mouth.
That's what Rebbe Nachman tells us in Likkutei Moharan I:31. HaShem wants our prayers. He explains that the letters of our speach are just letters. The love that infuses them creates the nikkudoth. (vowels) The nikkudoth are what give the letters the ability to move. [The very beginning of the Zohar mentions that the letters are the soldiers the צבאות of God's name; and that the nikkudot and the ta'amim make them march] Rebbe Nachman explains that the letters are just bodies, the nikkudoth are the souls (נפש - nefesh) that give these bodies life. Our love of God is the spirit that fills the lifeless bodies of the words of our prayer. [This, he explains, is the secret of נקודות הכסף in Shir HaShirim.]
Rebbe Nachman goes on to explain that the way to this deep love of God that pours out through our words is only accessible via the emunah (faith) of Shabbath. (and Brit Milah, but it's out of the scope of this little post.)
I learned that last Shabbath, but this morning I learned in the Maor Eynayim on our weekly parashah (כי תשא) that HaShem constricted himself into the letters of the Torah. And it is through speaking these letters with דעת - while connecting to HaShem, that we truly draw HaShem out through the letters. This is why it was on Shabbath, when we have complete דעת, that we received the Torah. (and all its letters) [He explains that the word היכל hints at this: ה"י כ"ל - the ה (ie. 5) different sounds that our mouths make, ie. our speech draws out the כל - everything, ie. God]
Now, we the little people, can tie this all together and see that, through Shabbath, we can come to the proper emunah and da'ath such that we elevate our words to God through deep love of God, which exposes the godliness hidden in the letters of creation. All of this is connected to the Beit HaMikdash, (היכל) in the deepest sense because God says about the Beit HaMikdash כי ביתי בית תפילה - my house is a house of prayer. The Beit HaMikdash is a place to go when we want to connect to God through our prayer.
Even greater, we can go even a level deeper and understand this passuk to mean that God's house is a בית - word of prayer. God's most profound dwelling place in this world is in the heart-felt prayer of the Jewish soul. (For a better explanation of בית meaning word see this post on houses for dwelling)
[not coincidentally, the Tanya today talks about this very idea, that the Shechinah is a fire that burns on the wick of the Jewish soul--but it can't burn without the oil created by the performance of the mitzwoth, in this case the speech of the prayer.]
We find that Rebbe Nachman, The Maor Eynayim (Menachem Nachum of Chernobyl), and the Baal HaTanya (Shneur Zalman of Liadi) all are urging us to unify our mouth and our heart.
It seems to me that we need to be אחד בפה ואחד בלב. (Normally this means: to think one thing and say another, but litterally it means to be one in mouth and one in heart.) The אחד of our Kriat Shema needs to be in our heart the same time it is in our mouth.
a good day
The past couple of years, I've started to get a sense for the state of the current day. I can generally divide when I'm having a good day and when the world is having a good day. Ditto for the reverse. I can generally tell when there is something external about the day that is influencing my mood, and when it comes from something internal.
Today is a day full of light. From the moment I woke up, I knew today was a special day. There was so much light, that I didn't believe my watch the first, second and third times I checked it. Today is a good day. I spent thirty minutes more in prayer than I normally do, just because it was such a joy to pray today. The words came easily, my mind was sharp and clear, able to focus on the meanings, desires, and intentions of my prayers.
Zchus Avos says that today was the Pachad Yitzhak's yahrtzeit, also the Chatam Sofer's.
The simplest reason why today is so good though, is it's Adar, the month of happiness, and today is the seventeenth day. In hebrew that's יז, and 17 is the gematria of the word טוב - good.
Today is such a good day.
I learned over Purim, that Adar is a month of Teshuvah, just like Elul, when you think about it, it's obvious, Nisan is the real start of the year, and Adar is the month preceding it. The difference is this: In Elul we do teshuvah - תשובה - repentance out of Fear. In Adar we repent out of Love!!!
Today is a day full of light. From the moment I woke up, I knew today was a special day. There was so much light, that I didn't believe my watch the first, second and third times I checked it. Today is a good day. I spent thirty minutes more in prayer than I normally do, just because it was such a joy to pray today. The words came easily, my mind was sharp and clear, able to focus on the meanings, desires, and intentions of my prayers.
Zchus Avos says that today was the Pachad Yitzhak's yahrtzeit, also the Chatam Sofer's.
The simplest reason why today is so good though, is it's Adar, the month of happiness, and today is the seventeenth day. In hebrew that's יז, and 17 is the gematria of the word טוב - good.
Today is such a good day.
I learned over Purim, that Adar is a month of Teshuvah, just like Elul, when you think about it, it's obvious, Nisan is the real start of the year, and Adar is the month preceding it. The difference is this: In Elul we do teshuvah - תשובה - repentance out of Fear. In Adar we repent out of Love!!!
privatizing the world
Great lesson from the end of perek 33 of Likkutei Amarim (Tanya):
He explains that this world is called רשות הרבים - a common space of the masses, because down here (as opposed to in the heavens) everyone thinks they exist separate from everyone else.
Our job is to turn this רשות הרבים into רשות היחיד - a private (singular) domain, by recognising God's one-ness in the world.
מלא כל הארץ כבודו - His glory fills the whole world.
He explains that this world is called רשות הרבים - a common space of the masses, because down here (as opposed to in the heavens) everyone thinks they exist separate from everyone else.
Our job is to turn this רשות הרבים into רשות היחיד - a private (singular) domain, by recognising God's one-ness in the world.
מלא כל הארץ כבודו - His glory fills the whole world.
6.3.07
what kind of costume is that?
It might be lame (if you were hoping for something more colorful or more shallow) but that was my purim costume. Elisha Ba'al Knafayim.from Talmud Bavli Masechet Shabbath:
דף מט,א גמרא א"ר ינאי תפילין צריכין גוף נקי כאלישע בעל כנפים מאי היא אביי אמר שלא יפיח בהן רבא אמר שלא יישן בהן ואמאי קרי ליה בעל כנפים שפעם אחת גזרה מלכות רומי הרשעה גזירה על ישראל שכל המניח תפילין ינקרו את מוחו והיה אלישע מניחם ויוצא לשוק ראהו קסדור אחד רץ מפניו ורץ אחריו וכיון שהגיע אצלו נטלן מראשו ואחזן בידו אמר לו מה זה בידך אמר לו כנפי יונה פשט את ידו ונמצאו כנפי יונה לפיכך קורין אותו אלישע בעל כנפים ומאי שנא כנפי יונה משאר עופות משום דאמתיל כנסת ישראל ליונה שנאמר (תהילים סח) כנפי יונה נחפה בכסף וגו' מה יונה כנפיה מגינות עליה אף ישראל מצות מגינות עליהןtranslation from Come and Hear:
"GEMARA. R. Jannai said: Tefillin demand a pure body, like Elisha, the man of wings. What does this mean? — Abaye said: That one must not pass wind while wearing them; Raba said: That one must not sleep in them. And why is he called the man of wings'? Because the wicked Roman government once proclaimed a decree against Israel that whoever donned tefillin should have his brains pierced through; yet Elisha put them on and went out into the streets. [When] a quaestor saw him, he fled before him, whereupon he gave pursuit. As he overtook him he [Elisha] removed them from his head and held them in his hand. 'What is that in your hand?' he demanded. 'The wings of a dove,' was his reply. He stretched out his hand and lo! they were the wings of a dove. Therefore he is called 'Elisha the man of the wings'. And why the wings of a dove rather than that of other birds? Because the Congregation of Israel is likened to a dove, as it is said, as the wings of a dove covered with silver: just as a dove is protected by its wings, so is Israel protected by the precepts."I found leather straps, feathers and fimo (clay) in an art supply store about an hour before purim started. It took like 5-6 minutes to fashion the tefillin from black fimo, and about as long to stick the feathers into a semi-convincing fimo dove's wing. It's one of those intellectually cool costumes that requires a long explanation every time, but it was a such a payoff when anyone actually figured it out for themselves :) Almost everyone thought the tefillin were real despite them being cartoony and ill-formed.
Of minor note: I also schlepped a shuk hand-cart around with me all day (which turned out to be convenient for mishloach manot) because the gemara said Elisha 'went out in the shuk' wearing his tefillin. (I also only made tefillin shel rosh because the story only mentions them.)
As I told some people, if I had had more Purim chutzpah I would have put Parshiot in the Tefillin with the passukim that God wears in his tefillin, according to the Talmud. [Berachot 6a][In english]
God wants the bimbo in each of us.
The Maor Eynayim (parashath כי תשא) has a great little language lesson: מוחין - intellect/brains comes from the same word as למחות - to protest (to restrain is my personal translation, perhaps fraught with error)
This, he explains is what מוחין really do. When God reveals his light to you, you are enlightened, you are intellectually stimulated and it becomes far more apparent to you what is the correct vs. the incorrect behavior. Through the revellation of greater intellect, you are aided in the task of restraining the יצר הרע, the evil urge. By making you more aware of what you are doing, God is in essence restraining you from doing evil.
In a sense then, God much prefers when we choose the right thing in a moment of darkness, than if we behave appropriately when our minds are clear and coherent. Our darkness and our confusion make our good deeds that much sweeter. Just like seeing your child behave appropriately in a difficult situation without any outside intervention. (without your child even being aware that you are noticing what s/he is doing)
This, he explains is what מוחין really do. When God reveals his light to you, you are enlightened, you are intellectually stimulated and it becomes far more apparent to you what is the correct vs. the incorrect behavior. Through the revellation of greater intellect, you are aided in the task of restraining the יצר הרע, the evil urge. By making you more aware of what you are doing, God is in essence restraining you from doing evil.
In a sense then, God much prefers when we choose the right thing in a moment of darkness, than if we behave appropriately when our minds are clear and coherent. Our darkness and our confusion make our good deeds that much sweeter. Just like seeing your child behave appropriately in a difficult situation without any outside intervention. (without your child even being aware that you are noticing what s/he is doing)
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