Is the soul infinite, pure, and beyond harm or can our actions blemish our souls?
Yes, the soul is a literal piece of Godliness, but in order to descend into this world, it needs to be clothed in a vessel, a body. Like water, the soul takes on the "shape" of its container. When the body is holy, the soul is holy, when the body is twisted, the soul becomes twisted.
We each have a fragment of infinity within us, but how it manifests is entirely dependent on our thoughts, our speech and our actions.
[based on the Pri Ha'aretz, parashath Beha'alotcha and Shelach L'cha.]
Showing posts with label pri haaretz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pri haaretz. Show all posts
18.12.08
the shame of poverty
Last night during my Hevruta on Notzer Hesed, I was able to gain a much clearer insight into something I had learned in the past in the Pri Ha'aretz, something that seems to happen a lot.
Normally, the ideal state of existence is the unification of the Shechinah with the Holy One Blessed be He. Now we aren't talking about two separate entities no matter how it may sound, we are simply talking about uniting the Revelation of Godliness, with the Hidden Godliness; it's all just God. (אין עוד מלבדו - there is none other than He) What this means in more practical or dynamic terms is that the revelation of Godliness is not missing from the world. Whenever a lack of Godliness becomes apparent, the Shechinah (its revelation) is said to be in exile. Because any need or emptiness is a function of the attribute of the Shechinah, of having nothing of her own.
The Pri Ha'aretz teaches that every single absence that is noticeable in the world is an instance where the Shechinah was forced into exile. She is in exile in the lack. When we pray for her return to her rightful place, then all of that which is lacking in the world will collectively vanish with the restoration of her true status.
It's a difficult concept to picture, but it does illustrate the connection that is often made that we should pray for the well-being (completion) of the Shechinah, rather than for our own personal needs.
Still, I want to bring it down to a level that's a little more within our grasp. Even if it will be a very esoteric grasp, we'll try to get some kind of grasp on the abstract metaphysics of the issue.
The Shechinah, in a sense, represents the revelation of Godliness in the world. Godliness permeates all of existence, but in the default state of this world it is hidden from sight. Any revellation of Godliness is a manifestation we call the Shechinah.
[One question that arises here is that if we see two different people whose lives are both a revellation of Godliness, this doesn't imply there are two Shechinahs, rather the Tanya explains that it is like sunlight shining through two windows in one room.]
Now, the nature of the Shechinah is that she has nothing of her own. (לית לה מגרמא כלום) And what we refer to as Godliness (that which is hidden) is the source of all the Shechinah's emanations.
Normally, the ideal state of existence is the unification of the Shechinah with the Holy One Blessed be He. Now we aren't talking about two separate entities no matter how it may sound, we are simply talking about uniting the Revelation of Godliness, with the Hidden Godliness; it's all just God. (אין עוד מלבדו - there is none other than He) What this means in more practical or dynamic terms is that the revelation of Godliness is not missing from the world. Whenever a lack of Godliness becomes apparent, the Shechinah (its revelation) is said to be in exile. Because any need or emptiness is a function of the attribute of the Shechinah, of having nothing of her own.
So, now that we kind of understand that idea. We understand perhaps the smallest part of what it means to say the Shechinah is in exile. (If we were delving into this discussion with the aid of describing and explaining the sefirot, some of the points might be more accessible, but others might be more confusing, so we will leave the matter of sefirot aside from this post. For those who would like to see a little bit of the connection, suffice it to say that Malchut which is also called the Shechinah is the vessel within which all of creation (revelation of Godliness) occurs.)
Now, having some basic framework from which to work with, lets try and take another step: When we sin, we cause the Godliness that was invested in that sin to become deeply hidden. We cause less revellation of Godliness in the world, we cause the exile of the Shechinah. The Shechinah, now in exile, is pained or suffers because her poverty, her lack of anything of her own, is revealed to everyone through this apparent lack of Godliness.
When we pray for the sake of the completion of the Shechinah, for the union of the Shechinah with The Holy One Blessed Be He, it is the same as saying we are praying for Godliness to be openly revealed in the whole world. In this way, the Shechinah no longer lacks for anything, she is no longer in exile, she no longer suffers the embarrassment of 'abject poverty.'
When we pray in this way, it not only addresses all of our own needs and lacks but those of all the world, for every need in the world is merely an expression of the Shechinah's having nothing of her own.
23.6.08
if you can't join em, beat em [1/2]
As we've mentioned previously, we think of food as something physical that we eat in order to give us life. That's one level, but there's a deeper truth in which the food itself is all but extraneous, it is purely a vehicle, a means, a vessel that contains the life force which HaShem gives to us.
We learn that the manna, (מן) was pure spiritual life, it didn't have any physical 'clothing.' This matter greatly troubles the Pri Ha'aretz on parashath Beha'alotecha (Rav Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk) who says that it is our understanding that the evil that one does is a function of the physical part of the food we consume. In the desert, when we were consuming food with no physical nature, how was it possible that people would fall in sin, whether it be a minor rebellious act, or a major infraction of Torah?
He explains that the equation isn't quite so simple. Yes, the physical side of food has the potential to weigh down a person and make them more physical, but the result ultimately rests with the person. Just as in the natural view, the proteins, nutrients, and amino acids all are absorbed and integrated into bodily systems, new bone, new blood, new skin etc. The spiritual life-force within food becomes a part of the person, it is transformed entirely into the nature of that person. When the person is a good person, always striving to perfect themselves, then the life-force makes the person better, more pure, more holy. When the opposite is the case, then the life-force can greatly strengthen one's physical/mundane nature. (heaven forebid)
I'd like to develop this idea a little further, thinking about eating and kashrut as well. The Baal HaTanya explains that when something is forebidden to us it is because we do not have the ability to rectify or raise that thing up to be used in holiness, instead that thing will bring us down and make us impure and more physical. There is a clear analog in the physical world: disease and infections. When we consume something that is infectious, rather than in the normal healthy model where what we consume becomes a part of us, the contagion consumes us and turns part of us into more contagion. (Whether it be bacterial, viral, cancerous, parasitic, symbiotic, etc)
If we look at non-kosher or forebidden food as spiritual contagions, we can at least draw a picture in our minds to understand what affect it has on us.
From all this we learn two things:
We learn that the manna, (מן) was pure spiritual life, it didn't have any physical 'clothing.' This matter greatly troubles the Pri Ha'aretz on parashath Beha'alotecha (Rav Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk) who says that it is our understanding that the evil that one does is a function of the physical part of the food we consume. In the desert, when we were consuming food with no physical nature, how was it possible that people would fall in sin, whether it be a minor rebellious act, or a major infraction of Torah?
He explains that the equation isn't quite so simple. Yes, the physical side of food has the potential to weigh down a person and make them more physical, but the result ultimately rests with the person. Just as in the natural view, the proteins, nutrients, and amino acids all are absorbed and integrated into bodily systems, new bone, new blood, new skin etc. The spiritual life-force within food becomes a part of the person, it is transformed entirely into the nature of that person. When the person is a good person, always striving to perfect themselves, then the life-force makes the person better, more pure, more holy. When the opposite is the case, then the life-force can greatly strengthen one's physical/mundane nature. (heaven forebid)
I'd like to develop this idea a little further, thinking about eating and kashrut as well. The Baal HaTanya explains that when something is forebidden to us it is because we do not have the ability to rectify or raise that thing up to be used in holiness, instead that thing will bring us down and make us impure and more physical. There is a clear analog in the physical world: disease and infections. When we consume something that is infectious, rather than in the normal healthy model where what we consume becomes a part of us, the contagion consumes us and turns part of us into more contagion. (Whether it be bacterial, viral, cancerous, parasitic, symbiotic, etc)
If we look at non-kosher or forebidden food as spiritual contagions, we can at least draw a picture in our minds to understand what affect it has on us.
From all this we learn two things:
- Don't eat things that can be harmful to you, spiritually, because our soul cannot digest and elevate them.
- Even when eating the things permitted to us, we must remember that if we aren't careful to integrate and elevate them into our essence, they will bring us down to their level.
4.5.08
borrowed vessels
There's an idea, sort of a visual, that I've held for some time and it basically illustrates the point of our avodah. It explains why and how our actions in this world directly reflect our reward in the world to come.
Picture this, the sum total of your being is an empty vessel. It's a very crude empty vessel. What's it supposed to hold? Compressed light. Light, infinite light, under unimaginable pressure such that it will be contained within this now-empty vessel. The problem is this: You, the crude vessel, are riddled with imperfections. There's no way you could possibly survive the pressure of being filled. Before we can get to the purpose of the vessel, being filled, containing something, we need to perfect and complete this crude vessel.
That's this life, this world, perfecting the vessel. The world to come is what happens when the vessel is filled, or fulfilled. In our daily lives, with each mitzwah we seek out, we are hunting down those imperfections in the vessel and polishing them with the intense heat of Ahavat HaShem and Yirat Shamayim. Every now and then, the more the vessel is perfected, it is tested with the most minute amounts of light. Filled ever so slightly, so that the stresses on the vessel will reveal even more subtle imperfections. This is life, the revelations of Godliness, and the challenges of our daily toil, all to become a master craftsman, in hebrew that's an אומן, and complete the vessel. (I believe it was the Pri Ha'aretz that points out that Emunah shares the same root as Oman, a craftsman, because Emunah is something we perfect through constant effort.)
Today I came across the Noam Elimelech (Parashath Ekev) who fleshed out and sourced the idea nicely. He said that our Ahavah and Yirah coupled with our mitzwoth are what make the vessel a proper vessel. Then, just as when someone comes to you and asks you to borrow some oil or wine, they bring with them a vessel to carry the oil or wine back, in the very same way, we bring HaShem this vessel, and He fills it with His light and returns the vessel to us. This is the meaning of the verse מה ה' אלוקך שואל מעימך? - What does HaShem your lord [borrow] from you? HaShem 'borrows' the vessel from you, fills it with His light, and returns it.
26.2.08
don't mind the mess
The closer you come to HaShem in holiness, the further HaShem moves away from you. In this manner HaShem always pushes you to grow in devotion and make apparent your desire of His closeness. This is the secret of the Parah Adumah, the Red Heiffer, according to the Noam Elimelech (parashath Hukkath) that it makes those who are pure, impure. Meaning that it makes those who have achieved a certain level of purity, recognize just how impure they still are.
He marks this transition in the words פרה and אפר, the Parah, the Red Heiffer inspires us to Teshuvah, (symbolized by the ה) at which point we draw closer to HaShem's holiness, (symbolized by the א) and must acknowledge our own insignificance in the face of this, that we are like ashes, אפר. Just as we take the Red Heiffer and burn it into ash.
We see here two sort of contradictory images, one, we must learn to push with more and more effort, always seeking to grow and rise higher. At the same time, we must recognize our smallness and become like nothing.
This reminds me of a teaching of Rebbe Nachman that sometimes it seems as though our sins have returned to challenge us anew, even after we were sure we had overcome them. He explains that in fact these are new challenges clothed in the old clothes of previous challenges. So even as we climb sometimes it seems as if we have fallen.
Similarly he teaches (in yet another torah) that as we raise to newer levels we are pushed to the external aspect of newer and higher worlds which result in an apparent fall even though in truth we are always rising.
Likewise we find in the Pri Ha'aretz that the secret of ratz (running) and shav (returning) is that even the shav is actually an act of ratz.
What do we take away from all this? the only thing we really can: Pursue HaShem with everything you have and then pursue Him some more. The one catch that we learn here is, we have to keep putting in effort no matter whether we see any results (ever) because sometimes what looks like a backslide is just an invitation from HaShem for us to take another step closer.
If we want a good analog, perhaps we can look to relationships, we dread being in a conflict in our personal relationships, but when it happens and we successfully prove our love and devotion despite the temporary obstacles, the relationship is richer and closer than it was before.
Sometimes, when I'm particulary low, I rest my burden on Rebbe Nachman or the Baal Shem Tov, relying on them that everything that happened was meant to, and I only need to worry about moving forward, not cleaning up the messes I've made until now. Then, later, if and when I have renewed strength, I return to the massive task of cleaning up my act.
From here I can learn something even stronger, instead of just ignoring the mess, I now have a tool to use the mess to strengthen my resolve. This Torah basically teaches us that when things look bad, we can turn it on its head and see it as a sign that HaShem wants us all the more. Which can be a real comfort if we've learned to suspend that part of ourselves that always likes to raise doubts. (by the way that part of ourselves is the Amalek we are commanded to erase. ספק (doubt) = gematria 240 = עמלק)
He marks this transition in the words פרה and אפר, the Parah, the Red Heiffer inspires us to Teshuvah, (symbolized by the ה) at which point we draw closer to HaShem's holiness, (symbolized by the א) and must acknowledge our own insignificance in the face of this, that we are like ashes, אפר. Just as we take the Red Heiffer and burn it into ash.
We see here two sort of contradictory images, one, we must learn to push with more and more effort, always seeking to grow and rise higher. At the same time, we must recognize our smallness and become like nothing.
This reminds me of a teaching of Rebbe Nachman that sometimes it seems as though our sins have returned to challenge us anew, even after we were sure we had overcome them. He explains that in fact these are new challenges clothed in the old clothes of previous challenges. So even as we climb sometimes it seems as if we have fallen.
Similarly he teaches (in yet another torah) that as we raise to newer levels we are pushed to the external aspect of newer and higher worlds which result in an apparent fall even though in truth we are always rising.
Likewise we find in the Pri Ha'aretz that the secret of ratz (running) and shav (returning) is that even the shav is actually an act of ratz.
What do we take away from all this? the only thing we really can: Pursue HaShem with everything you have and then pursue Him some more. The one catch that we learn here is, we have to keep putting in effort no matter whether we see any results (ever) because sometimes what looks like a backslide is just an invitation from HaShem for us to take another step closer.
If we want a good analog, perhaps we can look to relationships, we dread being in a conflict in our personal relationships, but when it happens and we successfully prove our love and devotion despite the temporary obstacles, the relationship is richer and closer than it was before.
Sometimes, when I'm particulary low, I rest my burden on Rebbe Nachman or the Baal Shem Tov, relying on them that everything that happened was meant to, and I only need to worry about moving forward, not cleaning up the messes I've made until now. Then, later, if and when I have renewed strength, I return to the massive task of cleaning up my act.
From here I can learn something even stronger, instead of just ignoring the mess, I now have a tool to use the mess to strengthen my resolve. This Torah basically teaches us that when things look bad, we can turn it on its head and see it as a sign that HaShem wants us all the more. Which can be a real comfort if we've learned to suspend that part of ourselves that always likes to raise doubts. (by the way that part of ourselves is the Amalek we are commanded to erase. ספק (doubt) = gematria 240 = עמלק)
24.2.08
teaching our souls to enjoy life
The point of having a physical body that enjoys the world is to teach our souls to enjoy HaShem in the same way. This is the teaching of the Holy Pri Ha'aretz on Parashath Ki Tisa.
If we don't teach our neshama how to enjoy in HaShem, then when the body expires, the soul is left with no source of sustenance, and it expires as well (heaven forbid) this is what being cut off (כרת) is.
If we don't teach our neshama how to enjoy in HaShem, then when the body expires, the soul is left with no source of sustenance, and it expires as well (heaven forbid) this is what being cut off (כרת) is.
9.1.08
upon my word
In Pirkei Avoth, we learn that Avtalyon says "wisemen be careful with your words, lest you require an exile, and you will be exiled to a place of poisoned water, and your students will drink from it and die, and the name of heaven will be disgraced."
The Notzer Hesed explains this verse, emphasizing "be careful with your words." Everything else that comes about in the verse, he explains, comes from being careless and saying unnecesary words.
Tonight, learning this with my hevruta, Pesah, we arrived at an understanding of just how much our words affect our world, until even the meaningless unnecesary words have such an impact.
Only through this lesson was I able to understand the words of the Pri Ha'aretz that one who understands that it is not his own voice but the voice of HaShem speaking can create worlds. HaShem created us b'tzelem elokim, in His divine image. He gave us speech. Just as the world was created when He spoke, so too, when we speak we are creating worlds. If we do not heed our words, the worlds of our creation will be distorted and damaging. If we speak with the proper awareness and humility of where our voices, our words, come from, then we can create worlds of bounty and blessing.
[this is the 630th post to this blog, which is the gematria of קצתי בחיי which has special significance to me. Thank you HaShem for all of your beauty and kindness, I lack nothing, and have so very much. I am diminished from all of your kindness. טובה הארץ מאוד מאוד - the land is exceedingly good]
The Notzer Hesed explains this verse, emphasizing "be careful with your words." Everything else that comes about in the verse, he explains, comes from being careless and saying unnecesary words.
Tonight, learning this with my hevruta, Pesah, we arrived at an understanding of just how much our words affect our world, until even the meaningless unnecesary words have such an impact.
Only through this lesson was I able to understand the words of the Pri Ha'aretz that one who understands that it is not his own voice but the voice of HaShem speaking can create worlds. HaShem created us b'tzelem elokim, in His divine image. He gave us speech. Just as the world was created when He spoke, so too, when we speak we are creating worlds. If we do not heed our words, the worlds of our creation will be distorted and damaging. If we speak with the proper awareness and humility of where our voices, our words, come from, then we can create worlds of bounty and blessing.
[this is the 630th post to this blog, which is the gematria of קצתי בחיי which has special significance to me. Thank you HaShem for all of your beauty and kindness, I lack nothing, and have so very much. I am diminished from all of your kindness. טובה הארץ מאוד מאוד - the land is exceedingly good]
6.1.08
reviving the dead
On a note that is semi-related to the previous post, let's look at a chidush of the MaBiT on the Rambam's hilchoth Teshuvah 6:4. The Rambam states that there are certain great sins for which the punishment is that HaShem refuses to allow the sinner to do Teshuvah. He bases it on the passuk about HaShem hardening Pharo's heart. The MaBiT asks how is it that the Rambam can posit a new class of punishment not listed in the Torah? His answer goes like this: Sometimes someone wanders off the path (sins) and becomes somewhat lost from HaShem. The only way back to walking the path is to retrace one's steps. If someone sins many times, meaning he wandered far into the brambles, the path back may be lost to them. In this way, the Rambam isn't describing a new punishment, and HaShem doesn't bring the punishment upon him, rather the person brings the punishment upon himself.
My question here, is that just because the MaBiT explains the mechanics of the situation, it doesn't truly answer the question of why we never heard of this class of punishment until now, something I believe the MaBiT himself acknowledges in recognizing his isn't a complete answer to the original question.
There's actually another question of interest that I came across this Shabbath: Reb Natan in Likkutei Moharan I:112, brings down Masechet Menahoth 29b in which it is explained that a person cannot return through the same opening which he strayed, rather they must open for him a new opening. If this is the case, then the MaBiT's metaphor for Teshuvah seems to contradict our gemara here in Menahoth?
Since this whole post is sort of a side note, I'm compelled to take you on two more related tangents: In discussion of this idea, that someone cannot return through the portal through which they fell, Rebbe Nachman answers Reb Natan's question explaining something unbelievable: When one falls, one can ascend through an opening through which someone else, your friend, fell, because when someone (named A) falls from on high, he is still higher up than someone else. (named B) In this manner B can actually rise through the portal through which A fell. Meaning that when a person falls it is sometimes for the purpose of the aliyah (yeridah l'tzorech aliyah) of someone else.
The final step in this winding post is the Noam Elimelech's explanation in the end of parashath Naso, in which he explains what it means that someone could perform a sin for the sake of heaven: Sometimes a Tzaddik needs to perform what in his eyes would be a grave sin, so that he can reach down to such a level that he can have a connection with even the lowest of people such that he can bring them blessing and shefa. This, he explains, was the problem with Shaul HaMelech who was without sin, he couldn't relate to and bring blessing to the lowest of Bnei Yisrael, even though it is the King's duty to do just that, bring blessing to all of Bnei Yisrael.
To tie everything back to the previous post I must share two more points: Rebbe Nachman explains (in Likkutei Moharan I:112 mentioned above) that the only way to illuminate the darkness when you have fallen is through speaking words of Truth. Truth being the light of HaShem, nothing can hide from Truth, so even the lowest and darkest places are illuminated in the presence of spoken Truth.
Why spoken Truth? This plays off of the Pri Ha'aretz on parashath VaEra, the weekly parshah just passed. Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, the Pri Ha'aretz, reveals that when someone knows and recognizes that all his speech is not really his own but rather emanates from HaShem Himself, then through his speech he can create worlds, just as HaShem's speech did in the creation of the world. From this we can see, taken together with Rebbe Nachman, that when we speak Truth from the deepest places, it becomes clear that we are not speaking at all but instead it is only HaShem who speaks. (Perhaps this is one of the deep secrets of Mechayey HaMeitim, as we know that the Targum of a "living soul" is a "speaking spirit," and a sinner is considered to be dead in his lifetime.)
My question here, is that just because the MaBiT explains the mechanics of the situation, it doesn't truly answer the question of why we never heard of this class of punishment until now, something I believe the MaBiT himself acknowledges in recognizing his isn't a complete answer to the original question.
There's actually another question of interest that I came across this Shabbath: Reb Natan in Likkutei Moharan I:112, brings down Masechet Menahoth 29b in which it is explained that a person cannot return through the same opening which he strayed, rather they must open for him a new opening. If this is the case, then the MaBiT's metaphor for Teshuvah seems to contradict our gemara here in Menahoth?
Since this whole post is sort of a side note, I'm compelled to take you on two more related tangents: In discussion of this idea, that someone cannot return through the portal through which they fell, Rebbe Nachman answers Reb Natan's question explaining something unbelievable: When one falls, one can ascend through an opening through which someone else, your friend, fell, because when someone (named A) falls from on high, he is still higher up than someone else. (named B) In this manner B can actually rise through the portal through which A fell. Meaning that when a person falls it is sometimes for the purpose of the aliyah (yeridah l'tzorech aliyah) of someone else.
The final step in this winding post is the Noam Elimelech's explanation in the end of parashath Naso, in which he explains what it means that someone could perform a sin for the sake of heaven: Sometimes a Tzaddik needs to perform what in his eyes would be a grave sin, so that he can reach down to such a level that he can have a connection with even the lowest of people such that he can bring them blessing and shefa. This, he explains, was the problem with Shaul HaMelech who was without sin, he couldn't relate to and bring blessing to the lowest of Bnei Yisrael, even though it is the King's duty to do just that, bring blessing to all of Bnei Yisrael.
To tie everything back to the previous post I must share two more points: Rebbe Nachman explains (in Likkutei Moharan I:112 mentioned above) that the only way to illuminate the darkness when you have fallen is through speaking words of Truth. Truth being the light of HaShem, nothing can hide from Truth, so even the lowest and darkest places are illuminated in the presence of spoken Truth.
Why spoken Truth? This plays off of the Pri Ha'aretz on parashath VaEra, the weekly parshah just passed. Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, the Pri Ha'aretz, reveals that when someone knows and recognizes that all his speech is not really his own but rather emanates from HaShem Himself, then through his speech he can create worlds, just as HaShem's speech did in the creation of the world. From this we can see, taken together with Rebbe Nachman, that when we speak Truth from the deepest places, it becomes clear that we are not speaking at all but instead it is only HaShem who speaks. (Perhaps this is one of the deep secrets of Mechayey HaMeitim, as we know that the Targum of a "living soul" is a "speaking spirit," and a sinner is considered to be dead in his lifetime.)
30.12.07
ears falling on words
The Pri Ha'aretz taught a great Torah on parashath Shemoth, Mosheh complains to HaShem asking why did you treat your nation badly? Of course Mosheh, the humblest of all men, didn't presume to judge HaShem's actions, what did he mean?
He explains that a person's speech has the ability to raise up those that hear it and make them more spiritual, or to bring them down and make them more physical.
Mosheh naturally assumed the fault was with himself and that when he came a spoke to the people that he had brought them lower, made them more physical, and brought harsher judgement upon them. Therefore he questions his own purpose in HaShem's plans once again suggesting that perhaps someone else could be better suited to this particular mission.
This is a useful lesson to keep in mind, not only can our actions and speech affect us, they will have an effect on those that hear us. If the effect isn't positive, it's going to be negative. (chas v'shalom) We must work with great discipline to ensure that our words are aimed to elevate those around us.
He explains that a person's speech has the ability to raise up those that hear it and make them more spiritual, or to bring them down and make them more physical.
Mosheh naturally assumed the fault was with himself and that when he came a spoke to the people that he had brought them lower, made them more physical, and brought harsher judgement upon them. Therefore he questions his own purpose in HaShem's plans once again suggesting that perhaps someone else could be better suited to this particular mission.
This is a useful lesson to keep in mind, not only can our actions and speech affect us, they will have an effect on those that hear us. If the effect isn't positive, it's going to be negative. (chas v'shalom) We must work with great discipline to ensure that our words are aimed to elevate those around us.
11.12.07
burning with the light of hannukah
During mincha I had a momentary flash of understanding regarding the Pri Ha'aretz I discussed earlier:
The Pri Ha'aretz explains that during tefillah our eyes must be downward and our hearts upward. He relates the Torah in which he mentions this to Hannukah on the whole, but I didn't understand the depth he was hinting at.
When our eyes are focused downwards, on seeking out HaShem's deep Wisdom in even the simplest places, we become like the wick, who pulls up the oil (one of the secret names of HaShem's wisdom) and offers it to the flame, to our hearts which are burning with a great thirst for HaShem's Wisdom.
Through this Torah of the Vitebsker Rebbe we actually become the candle, we enlighten ourselves until we burn with the light of Hannukah.
The Pri Ha'aretz explains that during tefillah our eyes must be downward and our hearts upward. He relates the Torah in which he mentions this to Hannukah on the whole, but I didn't understand the depth he was hinting at.
When our eyes are focused downwards, on seeking out HaShem's deep Wisdom in even the simplest places, we become like the wick, who pulls up the oil (one of the secret names of HaShem's wisdom) and offers it to the flame, to our hearts which are burning with a great thirst for HaShem's Wisdom.
Through this Torah of the Vitebsker Rebbe we actually become the candle, we enlighten ourselves until we burn with the light of Hannukah.
eyes down, hearts up
In Pri Ha'aretz, Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk talks in passing about tefillah, prayer:
He explains that in Tefillah two things are supposed to happen simultaneously. Our eyes should be focused downwards while our hearts should be in the heavens.
I find this particularly challenging at least in a semi-literal sense, but lets try and understand what he's saying a little more. He actually goes into more detail and explains that the focus of our eyes should be on the low things to truly understand and internalize that HaShem imbues everything no matter how small and seemingly insignificant. Whereas our hearts should be in the heavens means above the seven middoth, the seven attributes, which represent the seven days of creation, all the way back to HaShem's Hochmah, His Wisdom that precedes everything.
We find when we look at it properly that, at least as it seems to me, the Rebbe is telling us that we have to unite everything back to its source. Meaning more simply, with our hearts we need to know that HaShem's Wisdom intimately pervades and plans everything in existence, while with our eyes we need to seek out the actual presence of HaShem's wisdom in even the lowest levels. In this way we become a ladder whose feet (and eyes) are firmly on the ground, but whose head (and heart) reach to the highest places in heaven.
It seems to me that this connection takes advantage of something Chazal tell us about the connection between the eyes and the heart, namely the eyes see and the heart desires. When we see something (desirable) with our eyes, it arouses a great desire for that object in our hearts. Here we make use of this by first seeking out HaShem's highest Wisdom in the lowest of places, those closest and most easily accessible to us, and once we begin to see this Wisdom, our hearts greatly desire it and run to the heights of heaven to acquire it. Perhaps this is why the Rebbe first mentions "lower your eyes", and only then, "and raise your heart to the heavens."
He explains that in Tefillah two things are supposed to happen simultaneously. Our eyes should be focused downwards while our hearts should be in the heavens.
I find this particularly challenging at least in a semi-literal sense, but lets try and understand what he's saying a little more. He actually goes into more detail and explains that the focus of our eyes should be on the low things to truly understand and internalize that HaShem imbues everything no matter how small and seemingly insignificant. Whereas our hearts should be in the heavens means above the seven middoth, the seven attributes, which represent the seven days of creation, all the way back to HaShem's Hochmah, His Wisdom that precedes everything.
We find when we look at it properly that, at least as it seems to me, the Rebbe is telling us that we have to unite everything back to its source. Meaning more simply, with our hearts we need to know that HaShem's Wisdom intimately pervades and plans everything in existence, while with our eyes we need to seek out the actual presence of HaShem's wisdom in even the lowest levels. In this way we become a ladder whose feet (and eyes) are firmly on the ground, but whose head (and heart) reach to the highest places in heaven.
It seems to me that this connection takes advantage of something Chazal tell us about the connection between the eyes and the heart, namely the eyes see and the heart desires. When we see something (desirable) with our eyes, it arouses a great desire for that object in our hearts. Here we make use of this by first seeking out HaShem's highest Wisdom in the lowest of places, those closest and most easily accessible to us, and once we begin to see this Wisdom, our hearts greatly desire it and run to the heights of heaven to acquire it. Perhaps this is why the Rebbe first mentions "lower your eyes", and only then, "and raise your heart to the heavens."
4.11.07
clothes and stronger clothes
In yesterday's Tanya we learned that our mitzwoth are the clothes of our soul in the lower Gan Eden. In the Upper Gan Eden, the intentions, our love and fear of HaShem, with which we performed the mitzwoth are our clothes.
The Pri Ha'aretz might help us understand the ramifications of this a little. In parashath Hayyei Sarah, he explains that Avraham finally reached a level where he was untouchable by the Yetzer Hara. This level bears a little explaining: No matter how high a level we achieved yesterday, when the Yetzer Hara gets the best of us today, we will fall, and all of our previous level will be given over to the klippoth. So basically, the more we achieve, the more we feed the other side! We can't win!
The only way around this, he explains, is through attaining levels of emunah, pure faith in HaShem, and yirah, awe of HaShem's greatness. As you replace your performance of the mitzwoth for personal gain with your performance of the mitzwoth out of emunah and yirah, you free your mitzwoth of any foothold the Yetzer Hara might have. Once you gain no personal benefit from your actions, then the Yetzer Hara can't either. In the end, once all of your middot are perfected in this manner and turned to causes other than yourself, you are free from the stranglehold of the Yetzer Hara.
From here we can see the dynamic nature of the system and how our intentions in performing the mitzwah affect us on an even deeper level than the performance of the mitzwah itself.
The power of our mitzwoth are beyond compare. Even the simplest of physical actions, when elevated through the performance of a mitzwah, clothes our soul in the lower Gan Eden, allowing us to receive directly from HaShem's infinite light. Because these actions are still vulnerable to the Yetzer Hara while we are still in this world--as long as we derive some intended benefit from their practice--they have as well a spiritual weakness, and that weakness makes them over-sensitive to the greater divine illumination of the higher Gan Eden.
At the level of the higher Gan Eden, only the purest intentions that were clothed in our mitzwoth can offer us the necessary interface to fully receive HaShem's boundless radiance. This is because they are completely impervious to the taint of the Yetzer Hara.
The Pri Ha'aretz might help us understand the ramifications of this a little. In parashath Hayyei Sarah, he explains that Avraham finally reached a level where he was untouchable by the Yetzer Hara. This level bears a little explaining: No matter how high a level we achieved yesterday, when the Yetzer Hara gets the best of us today, we will fall, and all of our previous level will be given over to the klippoth. So basically, the more we achieve, the more we feed the other side! We can't win!
The only way around this, he explains, is through attaining levels of emunah, pure faith in HaShem, and yirah, awe of HaShem's greatness. As you replace your performance of the mitzwoth for personal gain with your performance of the mitzwoth out of emunah and yirah, you free your mitzwoth of any foothold the Yetzer Hara might have. Once you gain no personal benefit from your actions, then the Yetzer Hara can't either. In the end, once all of your middot are perfected in this manner and turned to causes other than yourself, you are free from the stranglehold of the Yetzer Hara.
From here we can see the dynamic nature of the system and how our intentions in performing the mitzwah affect us on an even deeper level than the performance of the mitzwah itself.
The power of our mitzwoth are beyond compare. Even the simplest of physical actions, when elevated through the performance of a mitzwah, clothes our soul in the lower Gan Eden, allowing us to receive directly from HaShem's infinite light. Because these actions are still vulnerable to the Yetzer Hara while we are still in this world--as long as we derive some intended benefit from their practice--they have as well a spiritual weakness, and that weakness makes them over-sensitive to the greater divine illumination of the higher Gan Eden.
At the level of the higher Gan Eden, only the purest intentions that were clothed in our mitzwoth can offer us the necessary interface to fully receive HaShem's boundless radiance. This is because they are completely impervious to the taint of the Yetzer Hara.
23.10.07
the power of abba
On Parashath Lech Lecha, the Pri Ha'aretz, Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk explains why Emunah is at the center of avodat HaShem in a great parable:
Just like a father greatly enjoys seeing his son call him 'abba,' even though his son is still so young and simple that he doesn't comprehend anything at all, so to HaShem, even though we can never really comprehend His being, greatly enjoys His children recognizing that He is 'Abba.'
Just like a father greatly enjoys seeing his son call him 'abba,' even though his son is still so young and simple that he doesn't comprehend anything at all, so to HaShem, even though we can never really comprehend His being, greatly enjoys His children recognizing that He is 'Abba.'
11.10.07
fusing will and action
The Pri Ha'aretz on Parashath Noah:
If a person lacks yirah (fear and awe of heaven) and deep intent in his mitzwah performance, than he will not be able to connect to the highest will of HaShem. Without this yirah and hitbonenut, his mitwah performance will be just as physical/corporeal as he is. Likewise, without the physical performance of the mitzwah, all his yirah and hitbonenut will not connect man to HaShem at all.
The proof he offers is this: Shlomo haMelech who was wiser than all men, when he went to act against the mitzwah, (and took many wives) no matter his great wisdom and lofty intent, he failed.
How does he relate this to Noah? He explains that Noah was especially careful in his kiyyum of the mitzwah peru u'revu (be fruitful and multiply) and through this mitzwah with deep intent he was able to connect to HaShem and all the other mitzwoth. This is why Noah is called a Tzaddik, complete in his generations.
If a person lacks yirah (fear and awe of heaven) and deep intent in his mitzwah performance, than he will not be able to connect to the highest will of HaShem. Without this yirah and hitbonenut, his mitwah performance will be just as physical/corporeal as he is. Likewise, without the physical performance of the mitzwah, all his yirah and hitbonenut will not connect man to HaShem at all.
The proof he offers is this: Shlomo haMelech who was wiser than all men, when he went to act against the mitzwah, (and took many wives) no matter his great wisdom and lofty intent, he failed.
How does he relate this to Noah? He explains that Noah was especially careful in his kiyyum of the mitzwah peru u'revu (be fruitful and multiply) and through this mitzwah with deep intent he was able to connect to HaShem and all the other mitzwoth. This is why Noah is called a Tzaddik, complete in his generations.
18.9.07
facing newness
In Likkutei Moharan [hilchot Tefillin, halachah ה (hei)] Rebbe Natan speaks about Rebbe Nachman's story the seven beggars and how the first beggar is the secret of being infinitely old and completely new/young all at once. This, he relates, is the secret of Tefillin.
What struck me most was Rebbe Nachman's statement (which I think he brings down in greater detail in Sichot HaRan) that one should always be new with HaShem.
About Rebbe Nachman himself he describes how he might have at some points just revealed amazing new depths of Torah and the next minute be lost in despair at knowing nothing at all.
This is an amazing challenge to really be new with HaShem at every moment, to acknowledge that this very moment HaShem created you and to bring to Him that which you have to give right now. Because we know that we will never come before HaShem empty handed. (לא יראו פני ריקם)
Wherever we are, whenever we are, we have a way to serve HaShem, to relate to HaShem, He always gives us something. If we really live in the now, in the newness of the moment, then we will feel a longing for HaShem with such intensity that we will search out something to offer to Him that we might enjoy His divine presence with the same intensity that a junky searches for a hit when withdrawal starts to really hurt.
Rav Yitzhak Ginsburg (in his introduction to the kabbalah of the Ariz"l) discusses how David HaMelech (who was destined to die the day he was born, but thanks to 70 years given from Adam HaRishon lived exactly 70 years) internalized the understanding that he was nothing except what HaShem made him and gave him. This is how he connected to the sefirah of Malchut. (לית לה מגרמה כלום)
The Talmud in Yoma actually echoes a similar idea in saying that Shaul's kingdom didn't last because he came from a line that was unflawed, whereas David came from a line of questionable background. This way, the Talmud explains, if he ever got out of control (lhavdil) the people could remind him of hist questionable background. (Ruth & Tamar) David always knew it was HaShem who made him king.
Similarly the Pri Ha'aretz (quoting the Kalisker in the first two Torahs of the sefer) describes how the Tzaddik reaches the level of Mah (מ’ה) wherein he recognizes that he possesses only that which HaShem gives him. (לית ליה מגרמיה כלום)
So as we can see, it's a very high level to aspire to, to be new in the face of HaShem every day. To truly face Him we need to put everything behind us, and seize whatever HaShem has given us today. Sometimes all we have are our past sins, to offer up to HaShem. Saying, this is what I have to give today, please forgive me and accept this Teshuvah, and let me see your countenance today.
Something to think about when donning tefillin.
What struck me most was Rebbe Nachman's statement (which I think he brings down in greater detail in Sichot HaRan) that one should always be new with HaShem.
About Rebbe Nachman himself he describes how he might have at some points just revealed amazing new depths of Torah and the next minute be lost in despair at knowing nothing at all.
This is an amazing challenge to really be new with HaShem at every moment, to acknowledge that this very moment HaShem created you and to bring to Him that which you have to give right now. Because we know that we will never come before HaShem empty handed. (לא יראו פני ריקם)
Wherever we are, whenever we are, we have a way to serve HaShem, to relate to HaShem, He always gives us something. If we really live in the now, in the newness of the moment, then we will feel a longing for HaShem with such intensity that we will search out something to offer to Him that we might enjoy His divine presence with the same intensity that a junky searches for a hit when withdrawal starts to really hurt.
Rav Yitzhak Ginsburg (in his introduction to the kabbalah of the Ariz"l) discusses how David HaMelech (who was destined to die the day he was born, but thanks to 70 years given from Adam HaRishon lived exactly 70 years) internalized the understanding that he was nothing except what HaShem made him and gave him. This is how he connected to the sefirah of Malchut. (לית לה מגרמה כלום)
The Talmud in Yoma actually echoes a similar idea in saying that Shaul's kingdom didn't last because he came from a line that was unflawed, whereas David came from a line of questionable background. This way, the Talmud explains, if he ever got out of control (lhavdil) the people could remind him of hist questionable background. (Ruth & Tamar) David always knew it was HaShem who made him king.
Similarly the Pri Ha'aretz (quoting the Kalisker in the first two Torahs of the sefer) describes how the Tzaddik reaches the level of Mah (מ’ה) wherein he recognizes that he possesses only that which HaShem gives him. (לית ליה מגרמיה כלום)
So as we can see, it's a very high level to aspire to, to be new in the face of HaShem every day. To truly face Him we need to put everything behind us, and seize whatever HaShem has given us today. Sometimes all we have are our past sins, to offer up to HaShem. Saying, this is what I have to give today, please forgive me and accept this Teshuvah, and let me see your countenance today.
Something to think about when donning tefillin.
23.7.07
until when?
When HaShem first sent for our geulah, our redemption, Mosheh Rabbeinu said to him שלח נא ביד תשלח - send, please, by the hand of the one you will send. He asked HaShem to find a more appropriate messenger than one so lowly and incomplete as himself.
I woke up in the middle of the night, the night before tisha b'av feeling sick. In my head this passuk kept repeating itself. I got up to learn a little and try and put myself to rest, because when you wake up in the middle of the night it is good to learn something in case you awoke for that very reason.
I started looking up perushim on the passuk but before I found anything, it had switched in my head to סלח נא ביד תסלח - forgive, please, by the hand of the one you will forgive.
In any case, I kept looking, Rashi, Ohr HaHayyim haKadosh, Ba'al Shem Tov, Heichal Berachah, I didn't find anything that explained my dilemma to me, or gave me any peace of mind. In the end I opened Pri Ha'aretz (Reb Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, the first Hassidic Rebbe to make it to Israel and write his perush on Torah here) and sought out parashath Shemoth. It seemed to have only a short paragraph on an earlier passuk in Shemoth, but once I looked into it, it did indeed mention the passuk in question--how could it not?--but I didn't get to finish reading the paragraph, instead I sneezed and the book flipped to Parashath Vayeshev. I looked down and there was a Torah on the holy hebrew letters, a topic dear to my heart and something I am currently learning in the Notzer Hesed so I kept reading, he is explaining how Tzaddikim rise up throught their tefilloth above the space of letters and bring about all the needs of Israel, on the second page we get to what I was looking for:
It is only through smallness, through lowliness that we can accomplish two things: 1. To raise ourselves up from lowliness to greatness, and more important 2. That we can raise the Shechinah up from lowliness back to Her rightful place of greatness.
Chazal explain that a person who wants to remain great always and never wants to fall is a fool, because he thinks he has intrinsic value to the world--man's only value is that in raising himself up again, he raises others (including the Shechinah) up with himself.
This he says, is the tikkun of the sin of Adam HaRishon. Both Yaakov Avinu and Mosheh Rabbeinu had the face of Adam HaRishon because it was there role to perform this Tikkun of Adam HaRishon. (This, he explains, is why Yaakov Avinu was punished for attempting to sit in peace rather than fighting the battle against the klippoth.)
Here, everything becomes clear. The Ohr HaHayyim explains that Mosheh tells HaShem בי אדני - the flaw is within me, I'm not a vessel fit to carry out Your will. Now, we can see from the Pri Ha'aretz why this was such a problem. The responsibility fell upon Mosheh to recognize that his flaw was precisely what made him worthy to perform such a mission. He could raise himself up and through this he could raise the Shechinah and all of Am Yisrael up with him. For someone lacking this flaw, like Aharon HaKohen, this could not have been possible.
So it is fitting that we read Mosheh Rabbeinu's words in this new way: סלח נא ביד תסלח - forgive please, by the hand of whom you will forgive. Since only someone who is lowly is in need of forgiveness, and HaShem forgives all those who turn to Him in Teshuvah. Let us ask HaShem to forgive all of klal Yisrael because it is appropriate that we ask it of Him, because only someone who has fallen has the power to rise up and raise up the Shechinah and the klal along with him.
It is our flaws that give us the leg to stand on, that we might be able to ask forgiveness not only for ourselves but for everyone and everything.
It is precisely because we are so flawed and so low and have so much left to do that we can bring about the geulah.
I woke up in the middle of the night, the night before tisha b'av feeling sick. In my head this passuk kept repeating itself. I got up to learn a little and try and put myself to rest, because when you wake up in the middle of the night it is good to learn something in case you awoke for that very reason.
I started looking up perushim on the passuk but before I found anything, it had switched in my head to סלח נא ביד תסלח - forgive, please, by the hand of the one you will forgive.
In any case, I kept looking, Rashi, Ohr HaHayyim haKadosh, Ba'al Shem Tov, Heichal Berachah, I didn't find anything that explained my dilemma to me, or gave me any peace of mind. In the end I opened Pri Ha'aretz (Reb Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, the first Hassidic Rebbe to make it to Israel and write his perush on Torah here) and sought out parashath Shemoth. It seemed to have only a short paragraph on an earlier passuk in Shemoth, but once I looked into it, it did indeed mention the passuk in question--how could it not?--but I didn't get to finish reading the paragraph, instead I sneezed and the book flipped to Parashath Vayeshev. I looked down and there was a Torah on the holy hebrew letters, a topic dear to my heart and something I am currently learning in the Notzer Hesed so I kept reading, he is explaining how Tzaddikim rise up throught their tefilloth above the space of letters and bring about all the needs of Israel, on the second page we get to what I was looking for:
It is only through smallness, through lowliness that we can accomplish two things: 1. To raise ourselves up from lowliness to greatness, and more important 2. That we can raise the Shechinah up from lowliness back to Her rightful place of greatness.
Chazal explain that a person who wants to remain great always and never wants to fall is a fool, because he thinks he has intrinsic value to the world--man's only value is that in raising himself up again, he raises others (including the Shechinah) up with himself.
This he says, is the tikkun of the sin of Adam HaRishon. Both Yaakov Avinu and Mosheh Rabbeinu had the face of Adam HaRishon because it was there role to perform this Tikkun of Adam HaRishon. (This, he explains, is why Yaakov Avinu was punished for attempting to sit in peace rather than fighting the battle against the klippoth.)
Here, everything becomes clear. The Ohr HaHayyim explains that Mosheh tells HaShem בי אדני - the flaw is within me, I'm not a vessel fit to carry out Your will. Now, we can see from the Pri Ha'aretz why this was such a problem. The responsibility fell upon Mosheh to recognize that his flaw was precisely what made him worthy to perform such a mission. He could raise himself up and through this he could raise the Shechinah and all of Am Yisrael up with him. For someone lacking this flaw, like Aharon HaKohen, this could not have been possible.
So it is fitting that we read Mosheh Rabbeinu's words in this new way: סלח נא ביד תסלח - forgive please, by the hand of whom you will forgive. Since only someone who is lowly is in need of forgiveness, and HaShem forgives all those who turn to Him in Teshuvah. Let us ask HaShem to forgive all of klal Yisrael because it is appropriate that we ask it of Him, because only someone who has fallen has the power to rise up and raise up the Shechinah and the klal along with him.
It is our flaws that give us the leg to stand on, that we might be able to ask forgiveness not only for ourselves but for everyone and everything.
It is precisely because we are so flawed and so low and have so much left to do that we can bring about the geulah.
2.5.07
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.
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.
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