thirty years to power

Today, the second of the month of Shvat is the 208th* hilullah/yahrtzeit of Rebbe Zusha of Anapoli, and (on a more personal note) the 30th anniversary of the day of my brith milah. (According to the mekubalim of Bet El, the anniversary of the brith milah is celebrated instead of the day of the birth) My wife went to great efforts to throw a wonderful party and my sister spoke beautifully from the Sfat Emeth about the aliyah upon which I was born. (shlishi parashath va'era)

On this special occassion I wanted to share some Torah that would inspire my friends my family and myself to serve HaShem with renewed vigor. The Torah that came to me is as follows:

We think that serving HaShem and performing the mitzwoth, learning Torah, praying authentic Tefillah and giving Tzedaka are things that are almost impossible to attain. We believe the hardest thing in the world is to overcome our Yetzer Hara, our evil urge, and to do good. It isn't so. Serving HaShem is the most natural, easiest, and most rewarding thing in the world. Going against the Will of HaShem, going against his decrees, that is truly impossible. How do we know? It says in Masechet Sotah 3a: אין אדם עובר עבירה אלא אם כן נכנס בו רוח שטות - a person could not transgress [HaShem's Mitzwoth] except that a spirit of folly enters him. From this we learn that it is literally impossible for a person to go against the Will of the Master of the world. The only way it could possibly happen is if an external (divine) force enters a person and causes him to sin.

From this we can learn that when it seems like we couldn't possibly perform HaShem's Will, keep the mitzwoth and be involved in the Torah, we can take comfort in the certain knowledge that since we have transgressed the mitzwoth in our lives, we have evidence that the impossible is within our grasp.

Instead of our sins being a source of difficulty and discouragement, they can be a fountain of strength, if we know we did them, then we can know with absolute certainty that we can and will succeed in the performance of HaShem's mitzwoth. Certainly we will succeed, HaShem Himself, our father, Abba, wants our success.

* note that the 208th yahrtzeit is special to me as the name yitzhak also has gematria 208

brit milah of the torah

In the system of the Arizal there are a number of inter-related structures, each one is simply another face, another facet of a united whole. The woven thoroughly intertwined nature of the whole world is mind-boggling. In a way it reminds me of an idea put forward in modern physics that the entire universe is made of a single particle threaded through spacetime. (I'm no expert on either topic, but i've been trying for years to wrap my head around both.)

My Rav constantly reminds me that these different Partzufim, faces, aren't actually anything, if they were something discrete and separate, created in any real way, then trying to connect to them would constitute Avodah Zara, idol worship. In our connecting or uniting these different facets we are, as we've mentioned in the past, trying to forge some kind of connection with HaShem, the underlying and overarching force in all of creation from the largest galaxy to the smallest microbe, and beyond.

As I've mentioned in the past, I'm always tempted to throw out these systems, cutting out the middle men. (k'vyachol) So the question remains, what do we gain from these systems?

On the one hand, if we really start to look at and recognize whats going on, all these systems are undifferentiated, united at their root, but when we look at them a certain way, from a certain perspective we're seeing a warped view, in which a particular attribute becomes more obvious, more emphasized.

Let's try and take a simple example. The partzuf, Atik Yomin, bears all the same sefirot as all the other partzufim, but from that perspective we are dealing with each sefira's aspect of keter. (Each of the ten sefirot are comprised of ten parts, each one represented by one of the sefirot. So for example the Sefira of Hesed has within it keter of hesed, hochmah of hesed, binah of hesed, hesed of hesed...etc.) If we look at Atik Yomin's sefira of hesed, it is actually the sefira of keter of hesed. If we look at Atik Yomin's sefira of hochmah, it is actually keter of hochmah.

If this isn't making sense, it's ok, this is really complicated and its not the kind of thing that really can fit into a single post or many posts. I don't want to get into it too much, only to illustrate that every perspective, every subset of the system, is simply a matter of focusing or emphasizing a particular part of the system over every other part of the system.

This is at the essence of all these systems. We are always narrowing down HaShem's infinite light into concepts or containers that we can hope to glean something from.

We'd like to say that this isn't necesary, lets connect to HaShem's light directly. We can't do that. Not yet. That is basically the goal. Everything in creation is working on bringing us to that goal where we no longer need these intermediate veils, bumper lanes, or training wheels.

We'd like to look at and examine the system, recognize that it is all different expressions of the underlying singularity and then ignore the systems and go straight for the singularly unique creator of it all.

Instead of trying to fight the system, we can actually work a little differently, something I've spoken about in the past, and we can engage the system. As we take the different systems and connect to them, clothing our thoughts, our desires our intentions within these systems, we are taking these manifold systems and putting them on as clothes. When we dress ourselves in these systems, they become a protective layer that allows us to connect to the essence of HaShem's light without being harmed.

The Rosh Yeshiva of Shuvu Bonim, Rav Berland (shlita) brings down a related teaching about the oneness of Bnei Yisrael, in this shiur he gave. He explains that each Jew is unique and bears a unique spark of mental accuity necesary to understand the Torah in its entirety. The only way for us to ever achieve total knowledge and understanding of the Torah is to connect to and love every one of the Jewish people. Every person we hold a grudge against ensures that some part of Torah will be blocked and unclear to us. Only by clothing our intellects in the love of each and every one of klal Yisrael can we truly connect to the unified Torah.

HaShem created the world in such a way that if we try to hide ourselves away from the world, we can't find Him. But, if we turn around and dive into the world in its multifaceted brilliance, striving to find the hidden intellect within each and every part, then that's where we will find HaShem.

This is, I think, the hardest stage in the service of HaShem. First we need to cleanse and rectify our body through the performance of the mitzwoth. This is the removal of the orlah of the foreskin.

Then we need to serve HaShem with tremendous love and affection, with total devotion out of the joy of fulfilling His command. This is the removal of the orlah of the heart.

Then we need to recognize the insignificance of ourselves in the scheme of things, to complete eliminate our personal interests from playing any part in our actions. This is the removal of the orlah of the mind.

But the final orlah, is the orlah of the Torah. We need to cut to the heart of the Torah, bind ourselves to it until there is no Torah left, only HaShem.

At each stage the bitul of the essence of the stage is the removal of the orlah. It's not that the bitul eliminates something but rather it reveals that something's oneness with HaShem in an undeniable way. In the first stage it is our physical needs, in the second our emotional needs, in the third the needs of our ego, and finally the veil of the Torah, the paradox of the Torah being separate and one with HaShem is nullified until there is only the constant experience of HaShem, something that is [practically] beyond achievable in this world, but will be the day to day reality at the right time.

[i'm sure there is also a bitul of the soul, meaning a removal of the orlah of the soul, essentially killing the yetzer hara, but that (i think) happens simultaneously with the final stage of removal of the orlah of the Torah.]

second chances on first principles

Today is Pesach Sheini, which coincides with Rebbe Meir Baal HaNess' hillulah. It's a good day to share part of the Torah I gave over on my son's brit.

A few days after he was born, I went to buy him some sefarim. (continuing a minhag from my father of buying your children things when their born that they will grow to use when they're older) What should I buy for my first born son? I was looking for the book פרי הארץ Pri Ha'aretz - Fruit of the Land, written by the first Hassidic Rebbe to make aliyah, Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk.

I consider this to be the Bikurim, the first fruits of Hassidut, because the first fruit is an offering brought only in the land of Israel. What better to bring my firstborn son (who was born in Israel) as a first present than the first fruits of Hassidut?

So, while learning all about the ritual and mitzwah of Brith Milah for the upcoming occasion, I learned a little from my son's Pri Ha'aretz. All of the sefarim I had looked at outlined different aspects of the spiritual undergoings up in the supernal realms that are carried out through the performance of the mitzwah of the Brith Milah. The Pri Ha'aretz mentioned them as well, but then he went on to say that the essence of the Brith Milah is in the emunah that we express through the mitzwah. That is the heart, the true depth of the mitzwah of Brith Milah, we are performing this mitzwah out of a boundless faith in HaShem.

This is a wonderful and deep expression of the Torah of Eretz Yisrael, the land of Israel. The reason behind our every mitzwah, our fulfillment of every one of God's commandments, is our deep faith in Him.

Unfortunately in our generation there are many who believe that having faith is enough. They think it is enough to believe there is a God, and then to go about their daily business with no awareness of this Godliness. Everyone draws the line at some point and says "I don't really need to do this.. it's enough that I know it's the right thing to do. I would really do it if I could.." There's this mistaken belief in the world, that the belief, the understanding, the intention, is enough, is the requirement. Why then did God command us to do all these actions?

Now, the Noam Elimelech brings down about Akeidath Yitzhak, the binding of Yitzhak, that both Avraham and Yitzhak knew that the true goal was for them to be ready and willing to offer Yitzhak as an offering, but that in reality he would not be sacrificed. Yitzhak turns to his father and asks him: "If we both know that I'm ready to offer myself, and God certainly knows, why do we have to go through the ritual, the actions of offering me? We both know that I won't be sacrificed, why show HaShem something he already knows?" Avraham answered him like so, "The whole point of our existence in this world of action is to bring our certainty in HaShem, our Emunah, into expression through physical action. Until you have ascended the mountain and been bound to the altar, you haven't accomplished anything."

This then, is the first fruits of Hassidut, the root of its strength: We were put in this world to perform the mitzwoth out of a boundless faith in HaShem.

This was the Torah that I chose to share on the occasion of the brith milah of my firstborn son.

Why is it special to share this Torah in relation with Pesach Sheini? Because normally, when we miss out on performing a mitzwah, there's little we can do, we missed out on an oppurtunity to do something meaningful with that slice of our lives. Offering the karbon pesach, the pascal lamb, is such a special mitzwah however, that those that missed out of the first pesach offering came to Mosheh to ask HaShem if there wasn't some way for them to still perform the mitzwah. They, and anyone similarly indisposed in all future generations, received a special dispensation for this particular mitzwah, they would get a second chance one month later (on what became Pesach Sheini - a second Pesach) to perform the mitzwah, so that they wouldn't miss out on the oppurtunity to show their devotion to, and emunah in, HaShem.

after the seal

Here's a brit milah Torah, not one I gave over at my son's brit (I'll try and summarize part of that one in the next post) but rather a Torah that can only be seen when immediately involved in the matters of brit milah. Thank HaShem, I merited to perform the first cut in my son's brit milah yesterday. (The more complicated parts of the milah I left to the experienced mohel to perform.)

Yoseph Leib asked a question about an earlier post: The work behind you, (in which I brought down the Noam Elimelech saying that Yichudim are the highest level of spiritual work but not the meat of the labor--more like the dessert) Yoseph's question is as follows:

this raises a very deep question for me: what are the kavanos in davening for, if not for the world? If not for specific things bound to the world?

What's a prayer for Hashem's wholeness, if not a prayer for the world? If we're not davening for specific, worldly things, what could we be davening for?

I thought about the question for about a week before answering it and only in the hind-sight of the brit milah of my first-born son can I properly answer the question:

When you retire, there's still tons of really important things you have to do with your life. But somehow, it isn't the same as when you were killing yourself night and day to put food on the table. Instead, on your pension, you're living off the fruits of your previous labor.

You will tell me that Spiritual Avodah is different.

True, our spiritual Avodah is something which should always be growing and we should go from strength to strength like the tzaddikim in shamayim who never rest, BUT, even to them, the work they are doing in shamayim isn't the same and isn't as precious (to them) as the work they did in this world - olam hazeh.

When we reach the point of sweet sweet yichudim, we've already broken through all the really tough barriers to avodat HaShem. We already know who the King of the world is beyond a doubt, we are already striving to perform His Will in the world.

In essence, removing the orla (foreskin) is the lion's share of the brit milah, however, once this is done, we still need to do the peri'ah (and the metzitzah) and as we know, if someone only removed the foreskin and didn't do peri'ah it isn't a valid brit milah.

Similarly, yichudim are like the peri'ah, it's the seal on one's life, but the ikar, the essential part of one's life is the removing of the orla, that thick foreskin of lies and physicality, that stand between one and serving HaShem. True, the yichudim are sweet, they are the perfect end to the perfect life, but its hard to see them as anything but the dessert.

Nonetheless, without the yichudim, (read: without study of the Kabbalah) as without the peri'ah, we haven't done the job properly and will be sent back to do the job again. Properly.

In order to make sure I'm not bringing down harsh judgement on the majority of the world, myself included, I'm going to interpret it like so: As in the case of my son, I removed the foreskin, but the Mohel did the peri'ah, (and the metzitzah) so too each of us needs to remove the spiritual orla (foreskin) whereas the work of the peri'ah -- the practice of yichudim is reserved for those who are able to perform them, and through them, the rest of us may reach completion.