 |
PARSHA TOOLS & RECIPES
This
book is a compilation of the weekly Parsha
Tools and
Recipes sent by Email from Rabbi Yitzchak Schwartz to his readers
from
November
2005 to January 2007 (#18- Mishpatim and #19- Terumah were skipped).
To
receive
his weekly Emails contact him at:
#1
BERESHIT - Soul Resonating (How to get answers from the
soul)
#2
NOACH - Seeing Negative People Positively
#3
LECH LECHA - Holy Selfishness
#4
VAYERA - Grooving on Giving
#5
CHAYEI SARAH "Never missing a day"
#6
TOLDOT – Bar/Bat Mitzva--ing at all ages
#7
VAYAITZEI -JACOB'S LADDER - My Personal Divine Coach
#8
VAYISHLACH - Yaakov Consciousness
#9
VAYEISEIV - All Encompassing
Communication
#10 MIKEITZ-CHANUKKAH
- Seeing in the Dark
#11 VAYIGASH - The Screams Of Birth
#12 VAYECHI - Coping With
Personal Exile
#13 SHMOT - Primal Scream
Therapy
#14 VAEIRA - The 10
Plagues Emuna Zap
#15 BO - The
Formula For Personal Redemption
#16 BESHALACH -
Impossible Cope
#17 YITRO - The
Power Of Receiving Torah
#20 TETZAVE-ZACHOR
- The Amalek Principle
#21 KI TISA - The
Purim Principle-'Pretense Busting'
#22 VAYAKHEL-PIKUDEI
- The Everyone In Me
#23 VAYIKRA -
Korbanot [The Holy Temple Offerings]
#24 TZAV – Korbanot
[The Holy Temple Offerings] - Part 2
#25 THE-PESACH-GET-YOURSELF-FREE-FORMULA
#27 TAZRIA-METZORA More Than
Skin Deep
#28 ACHAREI
MOT\KDOSHIM -
Holy Interpersonalizing
#29 EMOR - Light Into The
Darkness
#30 BEHAR-BECHUKOTAI -
Transcendent Torah Power
#31 BAMIDBAR -
Transcendent Torah Power [PART 2]
#32 SHAVUOT - Transcendent
Torah Tools [Part 3]
#33 NASO - Adultery
And The Revenge Of The Crying Waters
#34 BHAALOTCHA - The Graves
Of Lust
#35 SHELACH -
Above Nature Living
#36 KORACH -
Hierarchy Still Rules The Day
#37 CHUKAT-BALAK
(outside of Israel) - Battle Of The Eyes
#38 PINCHAS\3WEEKS - Blasting
Away The Fogging
#39 MATOT\ MASAI -
The Elevator Effect
#41 VAETCHANAN - Opening Up The
Love
#42 EIKEV -
Maximizing The Mitzvah
#43 REEH - Divine Guidance
24/7 - The Ultimate Blessing
#44 SHOFTIM - Chase After Truth
#45 KI TAIZAI - The Principle Of
Preemptive Initiating
#46 KI TAVO - Save
The Last For First
#47 NITZAVIM\VAYELECH
- You're Already Very Close
#49 HAAZINU - The
Essential Point Of Tshuvah & Yom Kippur
PARSHA RECIPES FOR HIGHER LIVING
24/7
#1
BERESHIT - Emulating Creation
#3
LECH LECHA - Me Against The
World
#4
VAYEIRA - What's The Big Deal Anyway
#7
VAYEITZEI - Coping With
Deception
#8
VAYISHLACH - The
Parenting Principle
#9
VAYEISHEV\CHANUKAH - HOD
Revisited [Selfless Glory Enabling] Part 1
#10 MIKEITZ\HANUKAH
- HOD Revisited – [Selfless Glory Enabling] Part
2
#11 VAYIGASH - Unifying The
Primal Schism
First edition (weeks 1-39)
August 2006
Second edition January 2007
Rabbi
Yitzchak Schwartz
Rabbi Yitzchak Schwartz, founder of the Paradise
Principle Institute (SM), has
been helping people develop personally with his
skills as a counselor for the last 10 years. He is rooted in 18 years
of study
with Jerusalem's leading Kabbalists. His teachers have included
Kabbalist Rabbi Shmuel Darzi (of Blessed Memory) head of Nayot B-Rama
Yeshiva
and Kabbalist Rabbi Yitzchak Bracha, head of Ateret Yitzchak Yeshiva. R.
Schwartz is
co-author with R. Yisrael Lugassi, of Gilgulei Yisrael, a book
on
reincarnation drawn from Isaac Luria’s classic work, Shaar Gilgullim.
Originally from El Paso, Texas and
graduated
from New Mexico State University, Rabbi Schwartz and his very devoted
wife Chana, whom he met in Jerusalem 21
years ago, are raising a large family
in the community of Beitar Elite
in the Judean Hills, near Jerusalem.
The current focus of the Paradise
Principle Institute is to 'Bring Back the Jewish Glory'.
The PPI
seeks to research and teach how to re-inspire our people to their own
roots by
offering an authentic Torah-based Kabbalistic perspective that features
teachings and life changing techniques to help access
'Paradised'
higher consciousness and to bridge secular wisdom to its Torah\Kabbalah
based
roots.
Dear Friends,
I’m happy to
see the first stages of the Parsha
Tools coming out in a rough draft book form. I thank HaShem and those 1
or 2
wonderful soul–family people (whom I don’t know yet if they want their
names
mentioned). This rough draft format sort of captures the ‘just do it’
free
spirited style of the Parsha
Tools ideas
from its inception till now. This spirit expresses itself in the way
that these
Parshas have evolved and changed over time from being a short ‘tool
focused’
essay to being a longer more idea centered presentation. Your guess is
as good
as mine as to what form these essays will take in the future…I’m a
natural
explorer who rejects being boxed in, in any way, shape or form (in case
you
haven’t yet noticed). I thank G-d that he created email…Why—you may
ask?
Because instead of me having to write an entire book that people may or
may not
buy, but almost surely won’t really read through to the end, now I have
the
satisfaction of knowing that the chances of people reading my writings
on a
weekly basis are much greater.
Writing your
own ‘take’ on the Parsha is a
wonderful and very important Tikun for the soul and a wonderful project
to take
on for the year. I highly recommend it to all of you out there. And if
you’re
saying to yourself, “How can I commit to a whole year’s worth?” My
answer to
you is, “Don’t commit to anything, and for that matter, don’t even
think about
it at all, just do it!"
One last
thought before, I just do it—and send
out this Email preface to be included in the rough draft book. ‘Tools’,
I
believe are a very important way of conveying wisdom and Torah in our
‘quick-fix’ generation. Not only because they are instant, but also
because
they serve to internalize intellectual principles in a way that goes
beyond
just the ‘wow’ effect that interesting Torah has on us.
I’m looking
forward to continuing our weekly
connection, G-d willing. Thanks for being a part of it.
Blessings to
you all,
Yitzchak
Av
5766/August 2006
Shalom and Happy New Year,
The New Year brings out in
me the desire to
share and communicate with you all....Maybe B"H if I'm worthy, the
sharing
and communication will flourish and reproduce itself---- in both
directions; me to you and you to me. I
have an idea for the year [.....let's see how far it really
goes...]---'THE
WEEKLY PARSHA TOOLS'. Tools are short, sweet and useful. They can also
change
our lives if we are inspired by them and practice them enough...Here's
a tool
for 'Parshat Breishit that we'll call---
''SOUL RESONATING''
1. A basic Kabbalistic
Creation principle
is that everything that will ever happen has always existed within the
realm of
the Infinite Being.
2.A person's soul which is
'A part of
Hashem....' , knows a lot more than we think,
a lot more Torah and truth and knowledge of what will take place
in life
in the future which means plugging in to the Divine realm of that which
has
always existed and will eventually happen.
3. Abraham plugged into or
'resonated' with
his soul & knew all of the Torah before it was given. Rebbe Chanina
ben
Dosa [ the Talmudic 'Wonder Rebbe'] resonated with his soul while in
prayer and
could tell if a sick person would live or die according to how
'fluently the
prayer came out of his mouth'. I told both of my daughters to resonate
with
their souls in making the biggest decision of their lives'...choosing
the right
husbands for themselves!
4. I'd like to propose this
tool to anyone
of you who is open enough and cautious enough [i.e. backing up your
resonating-choices with sound authoritative support and advice] to
engage an
unknown area in life that you need to reach some type of a decision
about.
Resonate the decision with your souls. The resonation could be done
while
praying, meditating, receiving Divine dictation or any other creative
activity
that suits you. Perhaps [as the 'Slonimer Rebbe' writes] you can get to
the
resonation point by asking yourself the question, 'Does this idea find
Favor in
Hashem's Eye’s?' Obviously there's a lot more sophisticated meditative
techniques to reach true resonation, but you know what---let's leave it
as
simple as possible---your Neshama will inform you how to do it!
I want to send you the
second Parsha at
this point in order to keep pace with the upcoming Shabbat Parshat
Noach. The
response to the 1st Parsha was positive and I was thrilled to connect
with a
few friends...Keep those cards and letters coming...
1. The entire Parsha of Noah
is an in-depth
study of how societies fail because of twisted philosophical outlooks.
340
years after humanity and all of creation was washed away in a flood,
the Torah
presents to us the generation of the Dispersion [the Tower of Babel
People].
2. The 'Babel Generation'
was even worse
than the 'Flood Generation' in that they declared outright rebellion
against
G-d being the Boss. The 'Flood People' were steeped in immorality and
theft and
got wiped off the face of the earth which was a lot worse punishment
than that
received by the 'Babel people' who were dispersed and confounded [by
everyone
speaking unintelligible languages]. Why did they suffer the less severe
fate if
what they were doing seemed to be worse?
3. Unlike the 'Flood
People', the 'Babel
People' practiced mutual love and unity amongst each other. Our sages
teach
that love often overcomes strict justice. If it worked to save the
generation
of the Tower of Babel rebels in the eyes of Hashem, then all the more
so it can
work for each of us in our interpersonal relationships. We can simply
reframe
the way we perceive the 'rebels' and 'criminals' [including the rebels
inside
of ourselves] in our lives by hyper- focusing on their good points. The
more
exclusively we just see the good in them, the more we can really help
them
become only good.
4. Here's the tool:
A. Identify a negative trait
that you're
bothered by in someone [or in yourself]
B. Identify a unique and
positive trait in
that person that you are impressed by and attracted to.
Contemplate it
deeply---Think of how you
can acquire this trait for yourself
C. Project in great detail
how the next
time you meet this person, you will 'groove' on this trait [and other
positive
traits] and nothing negative at all
D. Work towards changing
the image you have of this person and this can change how they see
themselves
in your eyes and even in their own eyes.
1. Abraham is depicted as
being the pillar
of 'Chesed' in the world. Every detail about his life is another aspect
illustrating the Torah's living lesson of this Sefirotic trait.
'Chesed' is
about overflow, going beyond limits, unconditional loving and selfless
giving
to others.
2. G-d's directive to
Abraham at the
beginning of the Parsha, are the 2 words 'Lech Lecha' that sum up the
whole
Parsha. G-d is telling Abraham, 'Since you're leaving behind your good
name or
fame, your livelihood and your home which gives you the stability to
give birth
and raise progeny---therefore I'll compensate all your losses and offer
you the
directive of 'Lech Lecha'---[which literally means go for yourself or
go to
yourself or in our case as Rashi points out 'Go for your own good and
benefit']. The rest of the Parsha describes Abraham's recovering his
losses
described above.
3.The question that should
scream out at
you is this, 'If Abraham is the world's pillar of selfless giving to
others,
then why is the beginning-hallmark-challenge of his life all about
selfishness;
'TO GO FORTH FOR HIMSELF AND FOR HIS OWN GOOD'? In other words why or
how does
a life of selflessness base itself on a foundation of seeming
selfishness?!
4. The answer is found in an
understanding
of the Divine Template of the personality as taught by the Kabbalistic
explanation of the sefirot. The highest or innermost motivator of the
psyche is
called 'Keter.' One aspect of Keter is all about being guided by
Hashem. This
naturally gives rise to another Keter trait [the 2nd deepest motivator
of the
psyche] which is being in sync with oneself. Only afterwards does the
rest of
the actualizing of the personality 'kick in"---which includes selfless
giving to others.
In summary, 1st comes a
Divine directive to
maximize ME and only afterwards a selfless giving to others [Chesed].
5. The tool is called 'Holy
Selfishness
Fusion'---
A. 1st contemplate or
meditate on some
upcoming situation where you have the opportunity to do Chesed with
others.
Visualize it in all of its fine detail and notice what parts of the
experience
you feel stronger or weaker in.
B. Now energize yourself
with 'Holy
Selfishness' by plugging in to your strongest personality traits such
as
perhaps humor, love, humility or leadership...etc...Next bring Hashem
into this
experience by noticing that in addition to making everything happen
while
you're in your strong-personality-trait-'ZONE’, also Hashem is enabling
you to
do all that you do and accomplish down to the last detail.
If you visualize this carefully, you'll feel
that you're doing your own thing and at the same time you’re being
infinitely
empowered!!
C. Now go back to your
original
interpersonal scenario with your new supercharged 'Holy Selfishness'
&
notice the difference. The goal is to act this out in reality and for
that
matter to supercharge all your other acts of Chesed!
1. Last week I threw a curve-ball at you. I explained how the basis
of Avraham's selfless giving was really Holy selfishness. I've
decided to keep things simple and straightforward this week--[most
people seem to like it better that way].
2. This week's Parsha, more than any other, highlights Abraham's
trait of Chesed which is selfless giving. Despite personal suffering
after his circumcision and unbearably hot weather conditions,
Abraham anxiously anticipates the 1st opportunity to provide
hospitality to anyone who crosses his path. The details as to how he
provides hospitality could make up a virtual guidebook on the art of
selfless giving. Another chapter in this guidebook would elaborate
on how to pray to prevent the immanent destruction of a society of
Sodomites. Their contribution to the world is the trait of
cruel-selfishness which is the diametrically opposite trait than that
which
Abraham represented. Further chapters depict Abraham practically
single-handedly defending in a war, underdog nations and also bestowing
maximal
honor to the dead...... and the list goes on and
on.......
3. We stand in awe of Abraham, but what about us?! The stories of the
forefathers and their personalities and for that matter all the
rest of the 5 Books of Moses as well are not meant to be
merely
history lessons. Rather they are meant to reflect to us what our
souls are made up of and what we can manifest in our own lives with
the right doses of clarity, inspiration, hard work and good
techniques. Sounds great, right? But pray tell, how am I going to
bring out the Abraham and the selfless giving inside of me for
real?!
4. Kabbalah teaches that one of the sefirotic personality traits of
'Keter'----[which is the deepest underlying motivation of our
psyche], is to take pleasure. In other words, in order to
maximally activate any part of my personality, I need to ‘groove' on
doing or being that trait!!
Here's the tool:
A. Choose a 5-minute slot in your day anchored next to a
'permanent' time slot such as wakeup time or morning-prayer
time or
breakfast...etc...
B. Use these 5 minutes to groove on giving as
follows;
Contemplate how wonderful it is to give to others and how wonderful
you feel about it and project yourself giving to someone later today
and how you will groove-out when you're doing it.....Groove on the
top 10 selfless givers in your life and on the top 10 giving
experiences in your past...etc..etc...you get the idea, don't
you---just go wild and ecstatic on the trait of giving!
Even though for realistic purposes I'm prescribing doing this at
this point for 5 minutes a day, ultimately the goal of this tool
[and all other tools for that matter] is to develop a 24\7
grooving-on-giving consciousness!!!
1.
This week's Parsha features
a verse that sums up Abraham's day to day relationship with G-d's
Divine
Providence. The verse is very cryptic and demands a deep explanation in
order
to fully uncover it's invaluable lesson in Higher--Consciousness
living. The
verse is, 'Abraham was old and came with his DAYS and Hashem blessed
Abraham
with KOL [everything]. The simple explanation is that Abraham captured
every
opportunity that came his way to elevate the mundane to the level of
the
Divine. These opportunities are referred to as DAYS---not merely
a 24 hour
unit of time, but rather an independent entity created by one's
meeting
TODAY'S UNIQUE CHALLENGE of elevating reality. Abraham, never missed a
DAY in
his life. Hashem responded measure for measure by blessing him with
KOL----the totality
of materialistic and spiritual goodness.
2.
The master Kabbalist
known as the ARIZAL teaches that every person is sent an individualized
customized daily quota called a DAY. This DAY is a 24 hour entity
composed of
all the daily challenges one is presented with to elevate all mundane
reality
to the level of the G-dly or spiritual. This DAY is a 1-time
opportunity
to rectify and actualize oneself and the entire world that
will
never ever be repeated. Like they say in Texas, 'If you
snooze you lose'.
3.
You're probably
bothered at this point and saying, 'Listen Yitzchak, that's fine for
Abraham
who was as close to being perfect as a human being could be, but what
about the
rest of us normal, fallible human beings---How can we break
through?!!!’ Well,
I'm glad that you asked that question...[especially since I've got an
answer
waiting for you]---The answer is based on the Talmudic story of the
potential
convert who approaches the great Hillel and asks to be taught the
entire Torah
while standing on 1 leg. Hillel answers, 'What's hateful to you, don't
do to
your CHAVER [literally friend]. The Chassidic twist to this story
[which
by the way answers the question of how this piece of wisdom contains
the entire
Torah---both between people and people and between people and Hashem]
is don't
do what's hateful to your CHIBUR [literally connection]...ie... don't do what's hateful or harmful to your
CONNECTION or relationship with Hashem!
4.
That brings us to our
tool for the week. In order to bring out in myself the Abrahamic
trait of
never missing a DAY, try getting accustomed to asking myself as
constantly
as possible----'Will this act or thought or word or decision that I'm
about to
make, enhance my connection to Hashem or the opposite' [I suggest you
reduce
the question to 1 anchor-word------ 'Connects?']
Have
a great Shabbos and
Let us all be blessed with the ability to capture our DAYS and to
draw
into our lives KOL--total wellbeing!
1.
I'm proud to announce
that my son Yisrael has made it to the ripe old age of 13 years
old....You know
what that means---- BAR MITZVAH--Just before you wish me a Mazel tov,
I'd 1st
like to offer you a challenge------Make a Bar or Bat Mitzvah for
yourself Now!!
After you do then you can wish yourself a hearty Mazel Tov, invite
some
friends, drink a few drinks, eat a few cookies and make a
L'Chaim!....Before you accuse me being intoxicated with Bar Mitzvah
euphoria,
allow me to explain my strange challenge to you....
2.
This week's Torah
portion begins by vividly pointing out the very stark differences
between the
personalities of the 'twin' brothers Yaakov and Eisav. Yaakov, we are
taught,
symbolizes the Yaitzer Hatov [good inclination] and Eisav the opposite,
the bad
inclination. All the teachings describing their personalities are meant
to
be profile-descriptions of these two opposing drives inside of us.
The
overt manifestations of these 2 very different personalities came into
play
when the 2 boys became 13 years old which is of course the Bar Mitzvah
age...
3.
Both earlier and more
contemporary sages illuminate for us what happens at that magic moment
when a
boy turns 13 or when a girl turns 12. First of all, they undergo a
major status
change----A minor turns into an adult. A boy\girl turns into a
man\woman. Small
mindedness gives way to expanded consciousness...One adds an additional
level
of soul....ie.. in addition to 'Nefesh', now one's 'Ruach' becomes
activated.
Until now they were exclusively driven by their Yaitzer Hara [evil
inclination], and from now on their good inclination begins to kick in
also to
make it a fair fight. But what is the underlying experiential &
psychological change that really happens? What is the Bar\Bat Mitzvah
transformation
that I the adult can internalize in my life?
4.
It all boils down to
being a Master of Free Will....not the lower level of free will [which
is not
so free] of just reacting to the various stimuli that come my way both
within
me and from without me......Rather, the more profound application
of free
will is to choose to be guided in how to live life by One
who's
knowledge in the matter is much greater than my own.
What that
means is to open myself up to merge my activities in life with the
infinite
wisdom of the Mitzvahs-----to be a child or a master of the
Mitzvahs-----to be
a Bar\Bat Mitzvah!!
5.
Whether you're 13, 40
or 70 years old and whether you choose to reframe 1%, 50% or 100%
of your
activities in a Mitzvah framework, here’s a tool for you to at
least get
started in the right direction:
Choose
any daily
activity in your life [whether it's between you and G-d, you and others
or you
and yourself]....then BAR\BAT MITZVAHIZE the activity by reframing it
as a
Mitzvah.....Check if it's actually a Mitzvah or how it can be, and
then
have the intention that 'I'm doing a Mitzvah!!'......Picture
yourself in
doing the Mitzvah merging with Divine Light and Infinite Wisdom and
Wellbeing
for yourself and the whole world...Do this act with as much enthusiasm
as if
you just won the 10 million dollar lottery!....etc..etc..I'm aware that
there's a lot more [in fact an entire lifetime may not cover
it] to
elaborate on to truly make this as powerful a tool as possible...but
we're only
opening the door.....
MAZEL
TOV!!
1.
Our forefather Jacob
saw 'a ladder standing on Earth whose top reaches the Heavens...and
behold
there were Angels of G-d climbing and descending it [the ladder]'.The
analogies
and their corresponding lessons abound in this classic prophetic vision:
a.
The ladder and its
ascending and descending angels represent the major exiles of Jewish
history
and their time spans.
b.
The ladder represents
the 'Sinai' experience of receiving the Torah. The numerical value of
'Sulam'[ladder] equals the numerical value of Sinai' [130] showing
the connection between the two. The Angels represented by Moshe
and Aaron
ascend to Heaven to bring down to us the Torah [Aaron didn't actually
ascend
but had a key role in the whole process].
c.
The ladder symbolizes
the Holy Temple's Altar grounded here on the earth, from which the
pleasing
aroma of the Korbanot [sacrifices] ascends and draws down Heavenly
wellbeing for the whole world… The
attending Priests fill the
role of the Angels on the ladder.
d.
The Baal Shem
Tov, the founder of the Chassidic movement, explains that the
ascending Angels represent our activities in life----every motion,
spoken
word, all our travels and every one of our affairs all make
their
mark on high and draw down [the descending Angels] incredible abundance
generated by the Divine Delight that we have aroused.
2.
A contemporary
teacher, Dr. Lisa Aiken, who lectures to audiences far and wide, writes
in the
'Forward' of one of her latest books, 'Tuning In' the
following insights; '... at least ninety % of Americans believe in
G-d,
and a majority of them believe that He guides them in their
daily lives.....we want to know [that Hashem] is involved in our
day to day
lives in a caring and loving way....If we would keep a daily log of our
experiences and start thinking about how they fit into a spiritual
framework,
we might be amazed at how frequently we receive Divine
messages...'
Based on this outlook, Dr. Aiken goes on in her book to tell many
Divine-Providential stories of a lot of the people she encountered in
her
travels.
3.
In light of the
above, perhaps we can humbly submit our own interpretation of
the
Jacob's ladder analogy; the descending Angels are our
G-d-sent daily experiences which are coming to direct us in
life and
to answer the questions and dilemmas that we are constantly asking
ourselves or G-d to clarify for us [the ascending Angels].....and
this is
all within the framework of discovering and actualizing our
calling or
mission in life!
4.
And what naturally
follows my friends is our tool of the week:
a.
At the beginning of
the week write down the various dilemmas, questions and challenges that
you
have in life...... both general questions, but even more
importantly,
questions and challenges that can elicit answers that will
direct you
to discovering and actualizing who you are and why you're here.
b.
At the end the week,
write down the highlight experiences of your week. I suggest to write
them down
in a way that's as effortless as possible [ie... work backward
to make it
easier to remember and let the recalling come to you without
straining
yourself. sort of like someone who is taking dictation].
c.
Now match your
[beginning of the week] dilemmas and challenges with your collected
corresponding experiences and see if you can shed some light on why the
things
that are happening to you are happening...... ***** a word of
note----the masters of Chassidut teach that the more real you are about
being
Divinely guided, the more real G-d will be in truly guiding you.
Happy
navigating!
1.
Our forefather
Yaakov almost completely defeated the Guardian angel of Esau in a
metaphysical wrestling match. The match represents, among other things,
the
paradigm struggle between our good and bad inclinations. By being
victorious,
Yaakov graduated to a higher level of spirituality and accordingly
receives the
message that he will now have a new name--Yisrael. Similarly Avraham
received
his new name [an additional letter of 'hei'] after having
been called Avram as a result of his elevation to a higher level
of
spirituality. Our sages teach that the main distinction between the
elevated
Avraham and the elevated Yisrael is that once Avraham is
called Avraham,
we are not to refer to him by his previous name, whereas the names
Yaakov and
Yirael are forever permitted to be used interchangeably. The
explanation
of this crucial distinction is explained in terms of our lives as
follows;
Avraham's graduation to a higher level is irreversible since it comes
as a
result of his circumcision. A circumcised person with all the
spiritual
advantages that are gained and forever etched
onto himself can never
go back to the state of being non-circumcised with all
the spiritual
disadvantages involved. However the difference between being
Yaakov or
Yisrael is the natural shift or swing that all of us
constantly
undergo between being in a state of constricted consciousness or
expanded
consciousness.
2. Let’s
explore
for a minute the more difficult of the two mind states ------the-
Yaakov-constricted-state-of-consciousness. Let's see how this is both
an
inescapable and crucial aspect of spiritual living;
A.
Rebbe Nachman
teaches that the purpose of a person's fall [the Yaakov state], is to
facilitate the ability to rise up to a whole new and higher level.
B.
The dynamic of the
'fallen state' expresses one of the primary purposes of life;
that of
clinging to Hashem and elevating ourselves and our world while in that
state:
1)
Moses at the end of his 120 year life states that I can no
longer come in
or go out ----which is interpreted to mean that he can no longer serve
Hashem
from a fallen state since he's arrived at place of being in a
constant elevation----------therefore the whole purpose for Moses
to keep
on living on this earthly plain no longer exists.
2)
R. Akiva in his early pre-religious years couldn't stand the sight of
Torah
scholars and wanted to violently bite them like a donkey---- R.
Akiva was
able to eventually not only come to terms with Torah scholars, but to
actually
understand their value on a level far above anyone of his
generation all
because he'd been to that fallen state [of being disgusted with
scholars]
and was able to elevate that fallen state. [*R. Akiva is the only
one of
his generation to eventually interpret a teaching based on a
difficult
verse which extols the virtues of Torah scholars almost equating their
virtue
to that of Hashem Himself]....[**this same principle explains why the
spiritual level of Baalei tshuvah {newcomers to traditional Jewish
practice} surpasses even that of the lifelong righteous
people---since
the newcomer has been to many fallen places and has redeemed or
uplifted
them]
3)
The point is that we are plunged periodically into a state of lower
consciousness for very good reasons and we are meant to hang on,
survive
and even more than this, to somehow redeem that fallen state...ie..to
identify
the light inside of that darkness!
3.
There are a number of
tools or techniques which will enable you to light up the darkness
while in
your constricted-Yaakov-state....Let's take a look at a few:
A.
'Find the Gift'
---whatever dark situation you find yourself in, identify what the
'Gift' is of
being in this state.
B.
'Minimalism'----When
constricted, don't think too much...... just sort of mechanically act
in a
minimalist way....ie... only try to hang on by a thread by expecting
yourself
to only accomplish 15% of what you can accomplish.
C.
'Wait it Out'-----If
you're constricted, don't make significant decisions and don't get
into
arguments which you'll only be sorry about afterwards when you
regain expanded consciousness....Wait it out and
postpone all other important activities till you become
'Yisrael'
again....
Shabbat
Shalom
to all you light-in-the darkness souls!
1.
The 2nd verse of our
Parsha states, 'These are the offspring of Jacob...' and immediately
without
even beginning a new verse goes on and says, 'Josef was 17 years
old...etc...etc...'...piecing the 2 ideas together we come up with,
'The
offspring of Jacob is Josef...'This begs explanation since we know that
the
offspring of Jacob are all of his 12 sons and his daughter----who
together make
up the 12 tribes, the roots of the entire nation of Israel. So why
are we
taught that the offspring of Jacob is only Josef? What we are being
taught is
that Josef somehow encompasses all of Jacob's offspring. This
needs
understanding.
2.
The Kabbalah teaches
that the 7 shepherds of Israel; Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron,
Josef and
David----correspond to the 7 lowest Sefirot or Divinely based character
traits.
Without going in to any deep explanations of what these traits are and
how
they express themselves in the lives of these 7 paradigm figures,
suffice
it to say that these 7 traits represent 7 shades of reality portrayed
by the
life stories of our 7 shepherds. All the details of Josef's
life
depict the Sefira 'Yesod'---Sefira # 6 out the 7.
3.
The sefira
Yesod can be understood by isolating the biological features found
in the
body part which corresponds to the Yesod, namely the male sexual organ.
Its primary function is to reproduce...ie...to
convey seed to
the female. This seed is drawn from the entire body. In a more
conceptual
sense, the Yesod or male organ's main task is that of all-encompassing communication.
Biologically we also find that the organ, when active is very
much alive,
literally freezing up the rest of the body and is the seat of the
greatest
pleasure, and when not in active use, it's totally
limp.
These functions point to a conceptual parallel; one’s ability to
know when
to remain silent and when one does communicate,
it should reflect an inner feeling of great pleasure.
4.
Yosef is known as the
Tzaddik, the one who's every act conveys the Divine Will. In real
life,
when one encounters a tzaddik one walks away smiling
& filled
with great pleasure that was radiated by the Tzadik. A tzadik's role
has
traditionally been that of the central pillar of society. All revolves
around
them. They represent the apex of their society or spiritual
community and
are able to communicate to their people when to hold back and when to
express
themselves and they're able to communicate to the outside world
the
essence of the community that they represent. All of these
traits depict
the major events of Josef’s life; his relationship with his
brothers
[their falling out with him and subsequent reunification are all
a struggle to establish Josef's role as their apex] as well
as Josef's later role as the 2nd in command in Egypt &
his family's main liaison as well as the person who conveys G-d's
physical
bounty of wealth and food to an entire world that is plagued
by
poverty and famine.
5. Here's a
couple possible tools to bring out at least a part of the Josef in
ourselves:
a. 'The all
encompassing tool'---In order to appreciate and improve on our
ability to
always retain and capitalize on all opportunities and experiences
and
lessons constantly being presented to us...in short to be an 'All
encompassing person'----try this; make a list of all the experiences
and events
[ ie..'highlights'] of your previous week. Next to every
highlight---
make the following assessment--------did I
really retain, capitalize
and maximize all I that I could from the experience?....and if the
answer is
yes than really groove on it, if the answer is that you could've
done
better---than resolve to do better. Do this on a weekly basis and your
friends
will ultimately describe you as a person who is good down to the last
drop.
b. 'Holistic
communication'----when you communicate, don't just say things
mindlessly, but
add to your words all the dimensions that make you a human
being--------happiness, intelligence, emotion, creativity,
spirituality...etc..etc... Like any other physical or spiritual
exercise---the more you do it the better you get at it.
Shabbat
Shalom from 'All
of Me to All of you'
1.
All the events of this week's Parsha culminate [in
next week's Parsha] in an awesome revelation. Joseph in his role as
viceroy of
Egypt and the global provider of economic sustenance is not
recognized by his brothers. He recognizes them though, and decides to
teach
them a series of life-lessons. This is in response to [and as
a 'Tikun'
for] their humiliating sale of him in slavery to a group of
Egypt-bound wayfarers many years before. They don't get it. Their
patience
and tolerance almost reach the breaking point...and right
before
these very capable brothers are about to declare an all out war on
Joseph
and Egypt, Joseph says 2 words that transform their lives' forever. He
says,
'I'm Joseph.’ They're overwhelmed with this revelation and too stunned
to
speak....all at once all the perennial puzzle pieces fit together. The
rhyme
and reason concerning all the years of their confrontation with Joseph
and all
the horrible ramifications becomes starkly clear. So too in
Messianic times, G-d will say the 2 words, 'I'm G-d'
and all
the scattered Providential puzzle pieces of our present individual
and
collective lives' will all unify into the most exquisite puzzle ever
assembled!
These weeks' Parshas always fall on the Holiday of Chanukkah
therefore
there must be a connection between this revelation and the essence of
Chanukkah......
2.
Chanukkah highlights a cosmic battle between Jewish
'HOD" and Greek "HOD"....'HOD' is [very briefly] the sefirotic
trait of glorifying someone or something that we adore. Greek Hod,
which is the
foundation to a large extent of modern western civilization, is all
about
celebrating and glorifying mankind's
measurable accomplishments.....in the areas of philosophy, art,
science,
sports and more. There is one important aspect that is crucial to
understand,
and that is that the accomplishment must be that which is seeable,
graspable
and measurable....'What you see is what you get'. Jewish 'HOD' on the
other
hand glorifies that which is unseen as being the spiritual source of
all that
which is seen....'What you don't see is what you get'.....
3.
This world outlook of glorifying that which is
hidden\unseen is the secret of Jewish survival. the Greeks were well
aware of
this and therefore instead of fighting a battle of genocide that others
have
unsuccessfully tried against us, they tried to 'darken the light
of our
eyes' with a series of decrees designed to blacken the
spiritual----hidden-----unseen---spiritual light that lights up all
forms of
darkness, This 'light in the dark principle' makes us the
glorious nation
that we are and is one of our most important contributions not
only to
western civilization but to all of mankind! In contrast to this
spiritual
light, all the HOD of the Greeks is pure darkness... a cosmic
battle
[still being fought today] of light versus darkness!
4.
There are many ways of being able to see light in the
darkness. One of the most important ways is what Joseph revealed to his
brothers----Being able to see here and now how all the hidden puzzle
pieces of
your life fit together. Certainly to the extent that we could
somehow
know this hidden information here and now, the more we could
actively
participate in the process. The answer is simple---just step into
the
future and check it out! The tool that I'm about to reveal to [most
of] you
is a real life-changer! It's my Chanukah present to you. It's
called
PRESUME---short for 'pre' [preceding] and 'resume'---ie...seeing and
actualizing our future now. Here's what you do:
Make a 'graduation speech' with great
joy----describe the end of this year's [or month's or week's or
however
long you'd like] accomplishments and how you accomplished them. Speak
as if
you're living in the future now. Describe accomplishments that are
beyond your
present capabilities. Make the accomplishments be representative of all
areas
of life---both materialistic and spiritual. Afterwards come back to the
present
and get yourself a good partner or counselor to help you along the
way....and
go to work....
1.
"...All the souls of the House of Jacob coming to Egypt are seventy"
[Vayigash...Genesis 46\27]. The Torah here is not merely informing us
of an
interesting historical fact or taking a census. Every word\idea in this
short
verse is pregnant with meaning of cosmic significance! Rebbe Nachman of
Breslov
[Likutei Maharan 26] illuminates this verse's incredible message as
follows;
Every
one of
our souls is rooted in these seventy souls of the House of Jacob.
Theses
seventy souls are rooted in the seventy 'Faces' [dimensions] of Torah.
There
are seventy nations of the world that correspond or counterbalance
these
seventy souls of Jacob and seventy 'Faces' of Torah. Their role can be
described as the 'spoilers'. Each of these nations embodies one unique
character trait that serves to obstruct or distance each of theses
seventy
souls from manifesting the seventy 'Faces' of Torah. If the obstruction
is
overcome, one gives birth to or reveals a new dimension of Torah and
also gives
birth to a new soul. These new souls are drawn down into the world both
in the
simple, literal sense and as new soul energy drawn down to those
who merit
it.
2.
Sounds
simple, right? Wrong! The whole topic is both difficult to comprehend
and
difficult to carry out. Exile is understood in the literal sense in
that each
of the seventy soul families are scattered across the earth
to cope with its corresponding nation [1 out of
70] and
that nation's negative character trait. Exile is also understood
in a
personal, spiritual sense; ie...the reality of being in a state of
internal
exile, distanced or blocked off [due to any one or some
or all of
these negative traits] from actualizing oneself. How does one
liberate oneself? Rebbe Nachman provides us with the following
solution; He
teaches that a woman can only give birth after
unleashing seventy
screams. So too we can give birth to these seventy 'Faces' or
aspects of
Torah and new soul energy, by shouting out seventy primal screams!
3.
R. Nachman
goes on to offer us a shortcut. He explains that the trait of
misdirected
lust is a trait that encompasses all the rest of the seventy
[we'll see
B"H later in the Torah that this was Bilaam's secret strategy in his
attempt to destroy the people of Israel in the desert]. Obsessive lust
blinds
one from being able to see anything but the object of the lust---a sort
of idol
worship. Therefore the antidote that R. Nachman prescribes to remove
this
idolatrous lust is to accept upon oneself G-d's
Executive rule
in all areas of our lives. To the extent that one does this, one
frees
oneself from lust's clutches. As a result, one loosens at least
partially
the shackles of these seventy negative traits. Now the screams
of labor or
birth-giving will be much more effective!
4.
Our Parsha
tool:
a.
Go into a
darkened, soundproof room or anywhere where you won't be disturbed or
disturb
others. I suggest if possible doing this exercise with a group of
likeminded friends for maximal effect.
b.
Make
a 'shopping' list of the various challenges in your life. Begin to
elaborate all that you are trying to do to cope with each
particular
challenge. When you reach the point that you realize that
you can't go any farther to cope to reach a
solution\breakthrough, then in a very emotionally vocal
[screaming] manner
toss it all up to Hashem. [King David in Psalms writes, 'Toss up your
burden to
Hashem and He'll take care of you']. Scream out with all your strength,
'You
take it from here on Hashem, I just can't go
any further'
****
By doing
this exercise, you give Executive rule to Hashem [make him be the
BOSS] in
the intimate aspects of your life. You're also screaming away the
blocks [the
70 traits] that are preventing you from becoming the best you can be.
You thereby can give birth to your own unique and brilliant
soul-filled
Torah insights.
Happy
birthday
to each and every one of you
1.
Yaakov our
forefather was very afraid to bring his clan of 70 souls down to Egypt.
He knew
that Egypt was the antithesis to the vision and the way of life that
he, his
father and grandfather spent their lives nurturing. [We hope to
further elaborate on this point in future Parshas B"H.]
Yaakov
knew better than anyone what a life of suffering can do to a person, no
less an
entire nation. G-d spoke to Yaakov at this crucial point and comforted
him with
2 promises [Vayigash 46\3-4]:
A.
'...don't
fear...I will make of you a great nation.'
B.
' I'll
descend with you to Egypt and I'll bring you up [out of there]...'
We
can
understand how the 2nd promise would comfort Yaakov. No matter what
darkness
and despair the people would face, their Father in Heaven would always
be with
them. The 1st promise however needs more understanding.
2. On
the
surface, it seems that G-d's 1st promise to Yaakov could be compared to
the
following analogy: A spy is assigned by his
country's secret
intelligence service to venture into the most hostile country on
earth at
the constant risk of his life for an unforeseen length of time. He's
promised
that when he finally succeeds in his mission, he'll be rewarded
handsomely and
will be showered with honor and fame! Surely that future reward just
wouldn't
be enough to allay his constant mortal fears. The comparison to
Yaakov's
situation is obvious. However when we look deeper and begin to fathom
who
Yaakov really is and his spiritual legacy that our nation
inherited, then
we can understand how G-d's promises provide precisely the
necessary
ingredients to comfort Yaakov and relieve his fears.
3.
Yaakov
instilled into our nations collective subconscious, the awareness that
every
minute of our lives is meaningful. All that we experience whether
painful or
otherwise is G-d-sent. Everything coming at us in life is there to
build us
up rather than to knock us down. The Kabbalistic term for
this outlook
is 'Tikun' or rectification. The Baal Shem Tov teaches that the more
real we
are with the fact that every seemingly haphazard event is
specifically directed at each person as a guiding light
towards
one's Tikun, the more real we are with our being
constantly Divinely
Guided, the more we actually draw down this reality into our lives.
It's our
choice-- it's all either coincidental or every precious
minute becomes a customized and personalized opportunity to turn
us into
the best person we can be! Recently, the Dahli Lama who is considered
by many
to be a very sophisticated man of the spirit, requested of a select
delegation
of Jewish scholars to answer for him a very important
question. He
asked them what is the Jewish people's amazing secret of
survival
through all these 1000's of years of persecution and exile. I don't
know what
they answered him. However I believe that to the extent that we
understand
and internalize the message of 'Tikun', we can provide the
ultimate
answer.
4.
How can we
begin to open up this type of consciousness in our own personal lives,
in the
midst of our own sufferings and personal exiles? How can we see the
Tikun
of all of our life's experiences? How can our lives be
different than
that of the miserable spy, who's payoff is only at the end----how
can we
receive that payoff all the time and thereby become great individuals
and a
great nation?! Here's the tool [***If I brought
in
a previous week a similar I beg of your indulgence---this tool is
worth the
repetition and review--constantly!];
a.
Jump into a
real or imaginary Mikve [any body of natural running water
used for
spiritual purification]----before your 1st dunk, call up to your
mind any
negative experience that you recently had...try to feel for the
most
painful part of the experience...
b.
Now think to yourself that this painful negative experience is the
very
best thing that could happen to you and any other
substitute experience
just wouldn't be as good...[this outlook is based on the teachings
of our
sages that all that Hashem does and sends our way is for the
best ]....
c.
Now dunk...
d.
Next, in
your mind, complete the following phrase, 'the reason why this is
the best
thing for me is because______ then
dunk and
whatever answer 1st comes into your mind will probably be a very
good
indicator of what your specific experience's Tikun is....
e. Carry
on with your other experiences one at a time as described above...
1. 'And
in the midst of that very long period of time...and the children of
Israel
groaned from their slavery and they screamed...and G-d saw...and G-d
knew [and
the redemption process began].' The story that unfolds in front of us,
especially in the 1st few Parshas of this new Book 'Shmot', describe
both a
historical and a universal depiction of redemption from
exile. The
Egyptian exile\redemption process serves as a paradigm which demands
careful
study in order to draw out a formula or recipe of how to break out of
our own
personal exiles. In this week's parsha we learn how to begin that
process.
2.
Exile may
be defined as being stuck in a pressurized trap. This trap causes us to
be
disconnected from the world, Hashem and even from ourselves and our own
Divine
calling. Based on a tradition from the Baal Shem Tov, Chassidim recite
Psalm
107 at the onset of every Shabbat. The main theme of this Psalm is
the
same we find in our Parsha; the beginning of the redemption process is
to
recognize that one is in exile---and then one is to groan and
scream---and then
G-d does His part. Shabbat is redemption from the weekly exile. At the
time of
the ushering in of Shabbat, one can feel strongest the contrast between
weekday
exile consciousness and the Shabbat’s future idyllic atmosphere.
3. Throughout
all the long period of the Israelites enslavement, there was a constant
increase of strangling pressure. What was very curious about
this
period, was that for close to 210 years they weren't
groaning or
screaming. That means that somehow they were ok with life and perhaps
didn't
even feel, at least consciously, that their lives were one big
disconnect!
Only when the pressure grew unbearable did they begin to groan. R.
Nachman
[Likutei Maharan 8] says that when we sigh, it's a sign that we
recognize that
the essential spark of life is lacking in whatever troubled situation
that
we're focused on. He teaches that the sigh itself draws down that spark
of life
that was missing.
4.
What are
therefore the essential steps needed to begin to break out of
our
individual exiles?
a. Identify
one of my hardest struggles and recognize that my situation is not
ok.
It's lacking essence or life-force. I'm cut off from fully functioning,
and
from fully being alive vis a vi myself and G-d and others...
b.
Groan and
Scream about it [with wordless groans----- as in the beginning of the
Egyptian process---the ability to properly express
themselves with
eloquent prayer came only at a later more advanced stage of
redemption]...
c. When
you build yourself up to an emotional crescendo----when you can no
longer take
it or deal with it anymore, then throw your burden into Hashem's Hands.
Know
with a deep certainty that a Divine redemption process has already
begun
to take hold!
Shabbat
Shalom and may we all merit to break free
of the
chains that are holding us back!!
Shalom
and Blessings
1.
'...in order that you should know that I'm Hashem amidst the
Earth...' Moses was told by Hashem to
inform
Pharaoh and the Egyptians that the underlying reason for inflicting all
the 10
plagues on them was to thereby clear up any doubts they may have that
there
exists any other power or source of control than Hashem. Pharaoh
previously had declared, 'Who is this Hashem, that I should listen
to His
voice?' More than any nation on earth at the time, the Egyptians were
steeped
in idolatry, which by definition is a denial of G-d's omnipresence.
2.
The knowledge of G-d's total control which was conveyed by each of
the 10 plagues in all the different aspects of nature [as we
shall
soon see],accomplished 2 seemingly opposite effects; on the one hand,
it
wreaked havoc and destruction on Egypt. On the other hand the G-d
awareness
conveyed by the plagues served to heal and free the Israelites
from their
crippling slavery. Let us understand with an
analogy: A warrior infiltrates
behind enemy
lines into a prisoner of war camp and secretly makes contact
with every one of his fellow countrymen imprisoned there. He lets
them
know that their King deeply loves them all and has declared all out
war. The
prisoners are deeply moved by their King's message and gather up great
courage to break out of the prison. The news strikes terror
into the
hearts of their captors leaving them stunned and helpless to
react.
The inspiring image of the king causes one side to break
free
and the other side to be broken.
3.
The plagues are divided up into 3 groups. The 1st group focused
on areas that were concentrated mainly underneath the earth; the river
Nile
turned into blood and brought forth frogs and the dust of the ground
gave rise
to lice....The 2nd group of plagues dealt with an area that was on top
of the
earth; wild animals, diseased livestock and human skin disease. The 3rd
group,
that is in the airspace above the earth; hail, locusts, darkness and
the Angel
of death killing Egypt's 1st born. All these are realms of
nature which
could easily be considered to be chance occurrences. Hashem drove the
point
home that all is under His direct control!!
4.
The Slonim Rebbe [zatz'l] in his work 'Ntivot Shalom' ['Paths
of Peace'], teaches that the 10 plagues role as a
demonstration
of G-d's control of nature is actually reflected within the human
experience. The Egyptian inside of us, the denier, is being taught that
G-d
truly runs the show on every level. The plagues in the sky above
the
earth are meant to melt away the Egyptian voice inside of
us trying
to strangle the natural thoughts we have of Emuna [faith].
The
plagues on the face of the earth are meant to uproot
the denial of feelings
of Emuna we have in our hearts. The deepest and strongest of the
natural Emuna
is that which we know on the body or gut level---that which encourages
us to
give up even bodily comforts and needs and even our physical life.
The
plagues that are sourced underneath the earth provide the
healing for the
body-Emuna from its internal antagonist.
5.
Our Parsha tools follow the Slonimer Rebbe's approach:
a.
'Thought Emuna'---zap away all the emuna blocks you have in your
thoughts by saying to yourself whenever you encounter these
doubts, the
following; 'Even these doubt are from Hashem and it is
all for my
best and it's teaching me _____ [fill in the blank]...
b.
'Heart [feeling] Emuna'--- when you feel burnt out, dried
up and unenthusiastic in regards to your belief in G-d, yearn
deeply that
Hashem should open up your heart...
c.
' Body Emuna'---When you find that your body or lower soul sabotages
you in the area of Emuna, even when your mind and heart are on board,
tell
yourself [your lower-body part of yourself] that I totally
accept you just
the way you are, and ask yourself if we can make a win-win deal
and do the
Emuna activity in a way that's good [and fun and easy] for all parts of
myself!
1. '...in order that
you
should remember the day you left Egypt all the days of your lives'
[Devarim
16]. The Mitzvah of remembering our redemption applies in virtually
every
Holiday that we celebrate, and applies every day and night. The Mitzvah
is
fulfilled when we read the paragraphs that accompany the "Shema
Yisrael" verse that we recite in the evening and morning Prayer
Services. Why does the Torah as taught to us by our sages, place so
much
emphasis on remembering our coming out of Egypt? What piece of advice
or
soul-healing do we acquire? In order to begin to answer theses
questions, we
need to begin with an important premise: The Torah's purpose in
having us
remember is not just for us to focus on an historical
event.
Rather the idea is to personalize the historical lesson in our
lives. Our
Passover Haggadah states [based on our sages teachings], that every
person
should see themself as if they personally left Egypt. The
importance of
this Mitzvah is that we are learning how to free ourselves from
being slaves
in our own lives!! So we must seek out the recipe or the
formula.
What are the elements that comprise our original Egyptian
redemption?-----and
how do we extrapolate those elements into our own daily
and
periodic personal redemptions?!
2. When we examine
the Egyptian experience, we come up with the following significant
points
that led to the complete redemption:
a. The 1st
phase [the
'ITCHALTA DEGEULA' or the beginning of the redemption] began when
the
slave nation became aware that something's not right [it took 210 years
which
shows us that this 1st phase is very difficult]. At that point they
began to
moan and groan and scream. This immediately caught the merciful
attention
of Hashem who felt prompted to redeem them.
b. Moshe was chosen
to be G-d's
messenger to help carry out the Geula [we must mention at
this point
that the Geula was brought about by G-d alone and this fact has some
important
ramifications, nevertheless Hashem's way of making it happen
was
through his 'Trusted Shepherd' Moshe Our Teacher]. The Torah teaches
that Moshe
was the humblest person on the face of the planet. For our purposes [in
coming
up with a universal –personalized –Geula -formula], we can derive from
this,
that the 'Moshe' inside of everyone of us, is maximally revealed and
realized
when we display our most humble side.
c. The Kabbalists
teach
that G-d took us out of Egypt with such a powerful exhibition
of
Divine power and Light that the Egyptians had no choice but to
immediately
let us go. A popular saying says, 'Easy come, easy go', and
this is
approximately what happened to our people upon receiving this
super-powerful
Divine-Light which was way beyond their natural capacities at the
time. Their newly acquired spiritual level was soon lost and
needed
to be recovered over the next 49 days on their preparatory journey
to
receive the Torah at Sinai. Nevertheless, their newly acquired
super-levels
were what it took to leave Egypt forever and also served as an
inner guide
to be easily recovered. This powerful Divine light was partly displayed
in the
whole episode of the 10 Plagues [as we discussed last week], and partly
displayed in the very act of the redemption itself.
3. Now B"H let us
translate these events into a practical formula to be used for all
of our
own personal 'Geulas'----
a. PRIMAL SCREAM---I
need to
first realize that something's wrong in my recipe for living or for
part of it.
I'm a slave who needs to be freed. Then I begin to feel the affect of
being a
slave...I'm overwhelmed and I summon all the inner emotions &
yearnings
inside of myself & scream from the depths of my soul for
Hashem to
help me
b. HUMBLENESS---I
now get
myself out of the way and let Hashem get in the way. I do this in order
to enable my leap to freedom. I do this by focusing on the fact
that all
my accomplishments as a human being are all gifts from Hashem.
c. THE
DIVINE-LIGHT-LEAP---finally, in order to summon Divine energy that's
way beyond
my own capacity, I ask Hashem to help me commit to take upon
myself to
become a new me, someone who is the antithesis of
the 'slave'
that I've been until now.
1. 'And Hashem said to Moshe, “Why are you screaming [ie...praying
very intensely to Me]? Speak to the children of Israel and tell
them to proceed [ie...jump into the Red Sea]''’. Most of the
commentaries wonder why shouldn't the children of Israel be
desperately screaming in prayer? After all, they find themselves in
desperate straits. Every way they turn is immanently
dangerous----wild animals, an attacking blood-thirsty Egyptian army
and the ominous sea. Surely their shouts would be in order at this
point. Isn't
this the strategy that worked for them to set into
motion the whole process of redemption from the Egyptian exile?
2. The Holy Zohar teaches us that the danger of this situation was
beyond that of the Egyptian exile---both in the plain sense and in
the spiritual sense. What was demanded of the children of Israel in
the face of impossible odds, was a response of supernatural
proportions. As we've discussed a few times, Divine providence
reflects our behavior. Here the impossible challenge demanded of us
to react with an impossible response and thereby draw down in turn a
miraculous Divine display, the likes of which, have yet to be
experienced by mankind. In human terms, this would be expressed as
unleashing from deep within yourself a power only displayed by the
rarest of people in the rarest of situations. The Zohar's mystical
term for this phenomenon is 'ATIK.' The word ATIK means to remove
oneself...ie..to remove oneself from one's normal natural state and
thereby draw down the supernatural. ATIK is accessed by demonstrating
an Emuna [faith] that is proved by doing a corresponding extreme
action.
3. Esther's personal 'ATIK' story featured her risking her life at
the hands of the Persian King in order to save her people from a
holocaust. The Chanukah ATIK story depicts one brave Jewish family
willing to take on an entire Greek empire to uproot a spiritual
holocaust. People in all facets of everyday life are pushed into
situations demanding them to display these types of powers:
A recent story I heard, describes a mother who witnessed her young
child about to get hit by a huge truck [G-d Forbid]. With
supernatural speed and power she jumps into the street and with one
hand scoops up her shocked child and with the other hand
single-handedly stops the truck in its tracks. Superwoman?
No--she's just like you and me, but she unleashes ATIK! I'm sure if
we would jog our memories, we'd recall similar episodes involving
ourselves or others we may know......And what's the inevitable
Divine response----only the greatest and most supernatural miracles.
Now we understand a little better what G-d demanded of the
Israelites at the banks of the Red Sea. In order to respond with the
most awesome & miraculous spectacle known to mankind, the splitting
of the Red Sea, G-d demanded measure for measure the most awesome of
reactions
demanded of an entire nation who numbered in the
millions----'Everyone jump into the sea NOW!'
4. The tool---'An impossible response to an impossible
situation'----will by necessity vary from person to person and
situation to situation, but the essential elements remain the same:
a. After determining that you're in an impossible situation, where
even screaming and praying isn't enough [in order to clearly make
such an assessment, I suggest IF POSSIBLE, to take counsel with the
wisest people that are accessible to you----also it would be helpful
to scan your life history and find a similar situation that you can
compare to your present one and try to analyze what will work best.
b. Now comes the Emuna-filled'Leap' that your dire
straits-situation demands of you. Then with serene and crystal
clarity---- Leap my friend! And then be certain that G-d will
'follow suit' [so to speak].
[ ***note***This entire dynamic can be simulated even when there is
no urgency or danger---you can still take the LEAP to make an
'about-face' transformation in your life---more to come about
this....
1.
The
entirety of creation froze in deathly silent anticipation. The moment
of
ultimate cosmic destiny arrived. A select group of humanity completed
all their
historical preparations to unite with the Creator in an unprecedented
union so
awesome and powerful that all of existence would be utterly transformed
forever. This is 'Sinai', and this is the world's direct interface with
the
Creator. This is the focal point---everything before and after draws
from this
moment! The readiness of the 'bride' of this union and the manner of
the
'groom' serves as the universal paradigm of Divine interface. Every
detail must
be thoroughly studied, understood and internalized.
What
is the
manner of the 'groom' [the Creator]? The answer is 1 word; TORAH. The
means for
the Ineffable Infinite One to unite with His finite human bride is
through
Torah. The Torah is the Divine manifestation clothed in garments,
enabling the
bride [us-- His Holy people] to unite and fuse with Him in the most
brilliant
union imaginable. Through the union we access eternal life, all the
wisdom of
existence and the actualization and perfection of our souls
and of the entire creation.
2.
The Baal
Shem Tov offers an analogy as to why G-d chooses to relate to us
through His
garments [ie...why the nature of Torah--G-d's means of
communication--is
filtered down]. A prince is castigated by his father the King for being
spoiled
with the overabundance of living the regal life. In exile he eventually
forgets
his royal roots and the person that he once was. A sage who can
communicate to the prince on his present lowly level, slowly and
lovingly
nurtures the prince back to his royal status. We are in our raw state,
that fallen
prince, and Torah is that sage nurturing us back to our elevated state.
The
Torah garment aligns with us in its Bible stories, moral lessons, and
in its
template reflecting the human psyche. This template consists of:
a.
613 Mitzvot
[248 positive and 365 negative] paralleling the body's 248 organs
and 365
connective tissues.
b.
5
different levels of understanding [the Hebrew acronym P A R D E S
stands for simple, hinted
,homiletical, and 2 levels of mystical Torah interpretation] parallels
5 levels
of our soul that we can access through theses 5 levels of study.
c.
The Torah
template serves as our 'eyeglasses' enabling us to see the essence of
reality.
This is based on the axiom that G-d reality is based upon Torah--His
architectural blueprint map.
3.
Of course
we, the bride, must be as refined and aligned to the groom as possible
to
facilitate maximum receiving power of the Torah and thereby unify with
the
Groom. Here are a few possible approaches to help make this happen:
A.
Be present with
the knowledge that the Torah is a sort of filtered down manifestation
of our
Groom or our healing sage----wanting to align with us through the Torah
garments which parallel our bodies, soul and our world...
B.
Approach
Torah with humbleness, ego-nullification, complete openness to receive
its
Wisdom and good character traits...
C.
LEARN
IT and when you learn, have the
following
meditative intentions:
1.
The Torah provides us with a spiritual 'force field' and a source of
Eternal
spiritual nourishment...
2.
Any lack of clarity that you encounter should be overcome with a true
and
determined 'warrior spirit'...
3.
The Torah is a shimmering coal that we fan into a flame by deeply
digging for
all of its wisdom....
1.
We've arrived at a special time. Purim is a week away. The
Shabbat before Purim is the time that we read [and thereby fulfill
the Mitzvah] the verses of 'Zachor' ['Remember'];ie... recall
Amalek---what they did, who they are and what this means for us in
our
lives. This is the precondition of Purim. If you get the Amalek
principle
right, then you get Purim right also. Let's explore the particular
peculiarities involved and the implications for our Purim and our
lives' in
general.
2.
Amalek isn't merely a physical nation that once existed in Biblical
times, which gave the ancient Israelites a real hard time. Rather it's
an
eternal spiritual enemy within each and every one of us as well as
being a very
real enemy from without; in every generation it manifests
itself supernaturally in various guises as a nation or a movement
committed to the total destruction of our people!!
3.
Let's go through a number of brief descriptions our sages provide
for us to illustrate the Amalek phenomenon:
a.
It's the chief force among all the rest of the cosmic forces of
evil.
b.
The ultimate revelation of Tikun Olam [world rectification] is
dependent upon the absolute destruction of Amalek.
c.
Their power or lack of it is inversely related to Israel's power or
lack of it [and only through the agency of Israel can they be
destroyed].
d.
They thrive on Israel's lack of clarity regarding our role as a
nation that testifies to G-d's presence everywhere despite His being
hidden.
[Therefore, the numerical value of Amalek is equal to the Hebrew
word
'Safek' which means doubt {lack of clarity}]
e.
They also thrive on Israel's 'cooling down' i.e.. our lack of
enthusiasm in our spiritual devotions and service of Hashem.
f.
They always show up [both in a national\historical sense and in a
personal sense] at the most crucial junctures, when we are about to
leap
forward into a new era of Tikun Olam. Here are a few examples:
(1)
Adam, the 1st human, was held back by the 1st personification of
Amalek as the 'Snake'. The Snake succeeded in preventing Adam and
all of
humanity from entering into an eternal state of Paradise.
(2)
The Israelites were delayed by Amalek from entering into
the eternal paradisiacal state of 'Sinai'--a whole
new level of
Torah consciousness.
(3)
The Israelites in the desert were held back by Bilaam and Balak
[the last syllables of their names combine to spell out AMALEK thereby
revealing their true identity] from 1st entering, as a nation, the land
of
Israel on a very high national-spiritual level.
(4)
The Amalekite King 'Agag' and his nation weren't defeated by King
Saul with enough thoroughness [he spared
Amalekite animals and
humans and was chastised about it afterwards by the prophet Samuel so
severely
that it cost him his throne] and thereby lost the opportunity to build
the Holy
Temple in Jerusalem.
(5)
Haman, the infamous Persian Amalekite villain of the Purim
story did all he could to stop the Jews from rebuilding the 2nd Holy
Temple in
Jerusalem.
(6)
In contemporary times, our sages identified Amalek as the Nazis
[may their name, as well as all other Amalek representatives mentioned
here, be
blotted out]. They were committed to the genocide of our people in an
era that
is fitting to usher in Mashiach. [We see also most recently
the beast
rearing its ugly head in the guise of nations such as the Hamas and the
Iranians who are sworn to the total destruction of our people G-d
Forbid]
4.
Our challenge is to know the tools or strategies of
consciousness needed to undo these forces both from within
ourselves and
from without [and these 2 dimensions are dependent upon each other];
A.
1st of all be vigilantly aware and cautious of the 'Timing' factor
we elaborated on...ie... when you're about to graduate into a
whole
new level of spiritual excellence---that's when you're the
most
vulnerable...
B. Be
absolutely clear about your
personal-Divinely-inspired-mission and step into your future with
a
self-assured proactive sureness [don't be cocky, just confident]...
C. Be
passionate about what you're doing and don't lose an
iota of pleasure and joy [this is part of the connection between the
joy of
Purim and the vigilance of wiping out Amalek]...
D.
Be a spiritual warrior--don't give an inch and remember that the
best defense is a good offense...ie...your most potent weapon in
this fateful war is your own internal Divine light activated
by
Prayer, Mitzvot, Torah and all other means at your disposal...
1.
'Cut to the Chase'...'Cut the B.S.' [pardon my French]...We
live in a world of pretense. Everyone's pretending to be what they're
not to
some degree. Our sages say that a person's real self comes out when
they're
under the influence of one of 3 things---[I'll 1st say it in the
original
because it sounds so much better...bear with me]---'KOSO', 'KISO' AND
'KASO'---ONE'S CUP [being drunk], ONE'S POCKET [being in acute
financial
pressure] and ONE'S ANGER...in short, all classic examples of
situations where
pretense doesn't play a part and our true nature is
expressed...One
contemporary visionary Rabbi is quoted as saying, 'There's no atheist
in a
foxhole'...Our sages teach that after passing on from our present life
into the
afterlife, we no longer will have our bodies, clothes or any other
pretense to
hide behind---in that world, we 'wear our hearts on our sleeves' as
they
say....i.e... Our bodies and clothes will be the expression of our
deeds and
our true essences. No pretense...True authenticity with absolutely no
pretense is one of the most charming traits that a person can
have...The
richest humor surfaces when the contrast between the real person and
the
pretentious one is cleverly pointed out.....What's all this rambling
talk about
pretense have to do with Purim you must be asking by now [I thought
you'd never
ask]...
2.
In last week's Parsha Tools, we more or less defined Amalek as being
that perpetual thorn in the side of the Jewish people standing on the
threshold, blocking all of our major national
and personal
accomplishments. Amalek thrives on our lack of enthusiasm and our lack
of
clarity of purpose. Amalek reflects back to us our own pretense....
while we're
pretending to be ok, we're really not! Amalek can actually do this
because they
are the essence of pretense. The Holy Ari'zal taught that any
phenomenon in the
world, no matter how G-dlessly evil, has at least a drop of redeeming
goodness
keeping it alive. The only redeeming good in Amalek, the very root
of
evil, is the fact that it exists in order for it to be exposed for what
it
really is---pure evil---- lacking any substance whatsoever---pure
imaginative
pretense---i.e...Evil in its purest form is totally baseless---Break
the
pretense and you break the evil!---Break our own pretense to the very
core and
break Amalek and bring ourselves and the whole world to its ultimate
Tikun or
rectification!!
3.
Our sages taught us that the measure-for-measure-root-reason of
our being subjected to a potential Holocaust at the hands of Haman and
the
Persians of his time, was because we collectively bowed to an idol a
number of
years earlier in Babylon at the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar. There
however was
one key twist. We only PRETENDED to bow down to the G-dless
values of
our Babylonian captors. Therefore G-d, measure for measure, only
PRETENDED to
repay us with a potential holocaust a few years later. and the famous
'Megilla'
only PRETENDED to present a 'natural' historical episode of our
people.
And the day of Purim was chosen by a lottery, a seemingly haphazard
example of
Divine Providential PRETENSION. And on the day of Purim itself we
only
PRETEND to effect a Tikun through our conscientious spiritual
exertions expressed through the Mitzvot of the day of reading
and
understanding the Megilla and giving gifts to the poor and to our
friends----but the truth is that the order of the day is
that we're supposed to be so drunk during the day
that we barely
have a clue as to what we're doing...Actually all of the Tikun
is done by
Hashem and we're just like His puppets going through the
motions....But
what we do effect is to discover on Purim that despite all the
masks and
costumes and other various forms of PRETENSE, when all is
said and
done, when all the walls of PRETENSE come tumbling down...when all I
have left
is my true naked self, that's when the real me comes to the
surface and
the real me wants nothing else in the world except to cling to Hashem,
and when
that happens, I slam-dunk Amalek with all of it's PRETENSE!!!!!!!
4.
The tool:
a.
Phase 1 - after getting spiced [not
plastered],
play a game similar to the game, 'Truth or Dare' with your friends
daring each other to reveal the true UNPRETENTIOUS you!
b.
Phase 2 - after getting plastered,
just scream, 'All I really want is Hashem!!'
1.
"And Moshe assembled the entirety of the Children of Israel and
said these are the things that Hashem commanded to do." The
scenario
taking place is as follows: Moshe came down from his
3rd '40-day-ascent to
Mt. Sinai'. One of his purposes was to receive forgiveness for Israel's
participation in the in the collective act of idol-worship of the
Golden
calf. Our Parsha takes place on the day after Yom Kippur--the day of
Divine
forgiveness. It goes on to describe how the assembled crowd is
commanded to
keep the day of Shabbat. Afterwards everyone is asked to bring an
offering
which will go towards the building of the Sanctuary--the
Holy Temple--an
earthly dwelling place for Hashem that accompanied the nation
in
their desert wanderings. There’s a very lengthy description of the
people's
contributions--a potpourri of every type of gift representing all
the major elements of the physical world--mineral, plant, animal
and human
[ie... the people's participation in the process]. The Parsha
repeatedly points
out that everyone's offerings are given with great enthusiasm and that
each
person's gifts represent the essence of who they are. The culmination
of this
mass act of heartfelt giving is the description of the
activities of
Betzalel. Betzalel is the spiritual architect of the Sanctuary.
He makes
it all come together with Divinely inspired creative intelligence.
He is
able to enlist the unique and essential soul contribution of every
individual...He thereby creates
the ultimate masterpiece--G-d's
Dwelling Place here on earth...
2. The
above scenario is a carefully orchestrated
description of 'Tikun Olam' [i.e. rectification of the world]. In
this
case, we're talking about the rectification or the repair of the damage
done by
the episode of the Golden Calf. [The truth is that everything in
the
Torah, when understood on a deeper level, is directed towards the
perfection
and rectification of mankind and the world.] Every detail is vital for
the
'Tikun'; the assembling of the people for the Holy purposes of
learning
how to keep the Shabbat and of building the Sanctuary, is meant to
counteract
the assembling of the people for the unholy purpose of constructing an
idolatrous calf. The fact that everyone is contributing from the
essence of
themselves and that their contributions are representing all
elements of
the natural-physical world, rectifies and re-elevates their souls
and all
of reality's elements that sunk into the realms of the Sitra Achra
[the
realms of evil] as a result of the act of the Golden Calf. Finally
Betzalel,
in his Divinely inspired act of creative artistic expression,
bonds Heaven
and Earth & G-d and man, with the design and construction
of the
Sanctuary---the ultimate expression of 'Tikun Olam'.
3.
We are all mini-sanctuaries. The Torah beckons each of us to be
a dwelling place for the Divine [see verse 8 of chapter 25 of
the Book of
Shmot & the major commentaries there for an elaboration of this
idea].
Therefore the above account of all that went in to the
construction of the
Sanctuary, are pertinent to the construction of our own
personal-spiritual-sanctuaries'. Let's translate one of
these aspects
into our weekly Parsha Tool. Just like Betzalel enlisted
everyone's unique-soul-contribution in creating the sanctuary, let's do
something
similar. Do the following steps:
a.
Make a list of about 10-20 people you know...
b.
Search for and identify the unique talents and gifts that each
person has over and above everyone else...
c.
You're a mini-world [a microcosm] and a mini-sanctuary.
Therefore whatever unique gifts that your friends possess, are also
within
yourself. With that understanding, go inside of yourself &
identify
& groove on that unique aspect of your life. [Multiply that
by your
10-20 people\talents and you'll discover that you're a very wealthy
person
indeed]...
d.
From now on, try to see all your encounters with your friends as
tremendous opportunities for personal growth. Let their unique talents
shine
inside of you in an ever-expanding actualization of the Holy Sanctuary
that G-d
beckons you to be!
1.
This week’s
and next week’s Parshas focus on ‘Korbanot’ [animal and grain offered
up in the
Temple]. I approach this subject with trepidation. The audience that
this
weekly email addresses itself to represents a
mini- diversified-cross-section of Jewry today. Large segments of
this
population have very negative & [as we want to show in this
composition]
misconceived notions about Korbanot. As a result, there
are certain Jewish
groups who [very liberally] take the liberty of changing and
rearranging
various aspects of our tradition & either reinterpret the
concept
of Korbanot or remove it altogether. After all, they reason, how can we
modern
Jews living in the 21st century consider the idea of
sacrifices to
be valid?! How can the Bible be so insensitive and cruel to command the
slaughter of innocent animals?! And for what---for the sake of a
ritual which has nothing to do with these animals?! Isn’t it
downright primitive and pagan to portray G-d as being
so needy that
He can only be appeased by sacrificial offerings?! How can anyone take
seriously the idea of a person’s sins being atoned for by slaughtering
some
random animal that has nothing to do with the person receiving
atonement?!
2. Let’s
begin to chip away at some of the misconceptions. Let’s take the name
of the topic at hand, ‘Korbanot.’ The common English
translation, ‘Sacrifices’, is probably one of the most misleading
translations
that exists [...and there is a long-list of ‘translation-words’ that
don’t even
come close to capturing the essence of the concept—which can only be
properly
conveyed in the original Hebrew]. For this reason, I’m refusing to
translate
the word Korbanot in this essay. To sacrifice means to give up
something
in order to get something in return---‘No pain, no gain’ to
quote the
popular maxim. The reasoning would go something like this, ‘ If I
accept
upon myself the pain and sacrifice financially and otherwise, involved
in
offering an animal in the Temple, I would thereby gain for myself
Divine
atonement... NO!! That’s not the idea at all! ‘Korbanot’ come from the
root
word—Kiruv or Karov---meaning come close or bring someone closer [the
contemporary use of the word ‘Kiruv’ is a description of bringing a
penitent, a
Baal Teshuvah, closer to their Jewish and personal Divine roots. And
the word
even has a secular sense of being ‘Mkaraived’ or brought closer to any
concept] ....ie... so the idea in our topic, is to bring
oneself
closer to Hashem in the very act of bringing the Korban.
3.
The truth
of the matter is that the Torah considers Korbanot to be the peak
of true
enlightened spirituality. Consider this: This ritual of
Korbanot was
practiced daily by the nation of Israel for more than 1300 years [about
900
years altogether in Jerusalem’s 1st and 2nd
Temples, plus
over 400 years in temporary Sanctuaries in the desert and in Israel
proper in Shilo, Nov and Givon]. And the Korban rite will be
resumed in
the future Messianic times with the rebuilding of the Temple [speedily
in our
days B”H].Now how can it be that an entire nation, historically
famous
for it’s wisdom and sophistication and the legacy it has
given to
mankind in the areas of morality an and spirituality between man and
G-d, and
man and himself, could accept and cause to flourish this
seemingly
‘primitive ‘ notion of Korbanot for so much of it’s history and it’s
Messianic
enlightened future?! After all, we’re famous for being a nation of
stubborn,
skeptical stiff-necks---2 Jews=3 opinions etc. etc...-----Listen
to a few
superlatives and platitudes that our Sages described about
Korbanot:
a.
They are
one of 3 practices that ‘hold up the world’ [along with Doing charity or Chesed and Torah].
b.
They
provide a pleasing odor for Hashem.
c.
The
Biblical term Korban is always used in conjunction with the word Hashem
[the 4
letter proper Name of Hashem] which expresses Divine Love and Mercy and
Transcendence as opposed to being used in conjunction with the word
Elokim
which expresses Divine strict Judgment.
d.
The entire
realm of ‘Prayer’ is based on Korbanot, showing how central
Korbanot are
to our spiritual living.
e.
The Temple
when it exists represents the quintessence of spiritual enlightenment,
and the
main activity is the offering of a wide variety of Korbanot.
f.
The
Korbanot actually effect a rectification in a person’s soul.
4.
Ok, enough
of the praises and regard that our tradition has for Korbanot. The real
question on the table is, how can we bring close to our modern
sensitivities, the essence of Korbanot? How do they work? What are the
physics
involved? I therefore break with my normal custom of wrapping it all up
here at
the end of the essay with a tool or 2 to internalize the concept.
Instead, I’ll
leave you in suspense until next week’s concluding episode and instead
of a
normal tool, I’ll leave you with the task of anticipating for
yourselves the
answers to the questions at hand [this is actually a great tool in all
areas of
learning---i.e...First figure it out for yourself and then hear much
more clearly what the teacher teaches]...Here are some of the
highlights we’ll deal with next week:
a.
According
to the ‘Midrash’—the animals fight for the right to be offered as a
Korban—What’s the explanation?
b.
Reincarnation
of Humans into animals and other natural\physical elements.
c.
Elevating
the ‘Holy Sparks’.
d.
Man is a
‘microcosm unifying himself with the entire universe.
e.
How
Korbanot actually do effect atonement and actually do bond a person to
G-d.
1.
Last week we proposed a challenge. We said that according
to so-called modern sensitivities, the concept of Korbanot
[the
offerings in the Holy Temple] is very difficult to understand. How
can we
in the 21st century comprehend a ritual of slaughtering an
innocent,
randomly picked animal for the sake of securing atonement for someone
and to
appease G-d?! We added fuel to the fire by pointing out the incredible
esteem
and importance which our Sages and our nation placed in the institution
of
Korbanot. As opposed to being looked at it as an embarrassing
practice that's better kept low key, reinterpreted or perhaps omitted
altogether, it's seen as the pinnacle of Jewish spirituality.
Therefore,
our challenge is to bring closer to our sensibilities the concept
of
Korbanot [which is in keeping with the simple,
yet profound root-meaning of the word Korbanot...ie...to
bring
close].
A NEW PERSPCTIVE
2.
I'm going to ask you to do what my long-time
'mastermind-partner' always asks me to do when dealing with a difficult
issue;
'Go upstairs' he says...ie...let's reexamine the root of the issue and
thereby expand and reframe our perspective. What that does, is it
'flips a
switch' inside of us and we arrive at a place where we can say, 'Now I
get it,
now it all fits together.’ The world is seen by our Sages [both the
hidden mystics and the scholars of the revealed Torah] as a Divine
majestic kingdom. Everything is unified. Everything is significant and
meaningful. There's no such thing as coincidence. Everyone and
everything is on a path of perfection. Our role ideally as a
Chosen People
and a Light to the Nations, is to be witnesses. A key verse in last
week's
'Haftarah' reading states, 'Atem Aidai'--'You [the Jewish
people] are My
Witnesses' [ie..to G-d's all-encompassing presence and power in the
world]. Our
world outlook, teachings and very existence as a people depends on us
fulfilling this mission of testifying to the world about the otherwise
hidden
reality of the Divine Kingdom on earth where every aspect of humanity
and
nature are connecting together the pieces of a magnificent puzzle.
In this
majestic worldview, an animal is not merely an animal, a person's not
merely a person
& for that matter, all of nature and reality is much deeper than
what it
appears to be at 1st glance.
THE HOLY '4'S
3.
When we view the world as a Majestic Kingdom, then the
physical forms which animals appear as are
merely garments,
a representation of a universal trait. This trait is one of 4
Divine
traits. These traits are rooted in the 4 letters of the proper
Name of
Hashem. Each letter extends themselves into 4 universal traits which
manifest
themselves in various forms depending on how far they are from
their
Divine source. The farther they are, the more coarse and physical they
are. In
their highest manifestations, they are ineffable, and as they extend
downwards
[ie..farther from the source], they appear as the 4 images that
are etched
onto the 'Kisey Hakavod' [the 'Throne of Glory']; a man, an
ox, an
eagle and a lion. These 4 images then branch out into all
life forms in
all the lower worlds [the world of Briah, Yetzirah and Assiyah]. This
includes
the 4 elements [fire, wind, water and earth], the 4 life forms [man,
animal,
plant and mineral], the 4 main Sefirot [Chochma, Bina, Tifferet
and
Malchut], 4 levels of soul [Chaya , Neshama, Ruach and
Nefesh], and
all the other universal 4's that make up reality. These
traits,
though they have different constructs and functions all parallel each
other,
are all inter-included with each other and when they're broken down to
their essences are virtually the same. When one of them is tapped,
then all the other parallel manifestations in the whole
chain are in
turn effected. Who's the one to primally tap the chain? Of course it is
us. We
are created in the image of G-d. Each of us is a microcosm---a being
who
contains within itself all these 4 universal elements and the Divine
ability to activate
them properly. This activation is maximized when we are in sync
with
ourselves, our world and with Hashem.
THE
HOLY TEMPLE'S EFFECT
4. When
the Holy Temple exists then the entire earth's
spirituality is in sync. All people everywhere are more aware that
G-d's
central generator of 'shefa'[abundance]is pumping endlessly out of
Jerusalem's Beis Hamikdash [The Temple]. All the pure domesticated
animals
that are fit to be offered such as the cow, the sheep and the
goat, are
also more aware. They are aware that they are but a physical
manifestation
of the trait that's represented by the ox, that's carved out of
the Throne
of Glory [the birds of our world branch out from the trait
represented by the eagle of the Throne of Glory]. There are a
number of
Midrashim [Talmudic Homiletical Expositions], which describe certain
animals
vying for the privilege to be the chosen offering or Korban. On some
level,
they are aware that they will be instrumental in activating and
uniting the
Holy 4 traits that we discussed above, and thereby cause an 'arousal
from
below'[a cosmic igniting] of the Male and Female Divine
paradigms to come together in Divine Union and give birth to
and draw down Shefa needed for the world to exist and
flourish.
ATONEMENT-REALLIGNING FALLEN REALITY
5.
As we pointed out, the microcosmic person contains within
themself these 4 universal traits. Therefore when there is a fallout,
caused by
a person sinning or being out of sync, the solution is to
re--synchronize
or reactivate the grand chain of 4's. One would bring a
Korban
to elevate and reunify these traits both inside of themself
and as a
result, those same traits in the entire cosmos. A metaphysical healing
occurs
and atonement is achieved! Of course the person bringing the
animal [as
well as the animal on some level], realizes that this particular animal
is the
destined animal for this particular person at this particular time and
place.
According to the Halacha, if one has an intention for the wrong
time, place
or type of Korban, the Korban is disqualified. The person also has
the
intention that the slaughter & the burning of the carcass
are viewed
as being in place of themself being slaughtered and burnt and
what is
being affected is the subduing of the animalistic nature that
caused them
to sin in the 1st place. The Korban offerer is also aware that
sometimes
the animal being offered may be a sort of vessel containing lost souls
of
people who's post life Tikun is to be
'tossed around' in the atmosphere of this world. These lost souls
may have to go through a process of various incarnations in the
forms of
minerals, plants, animals. The offerer is aware that the Korban
offering
has the power to elevate and liberate a poor trapped soul
from their
painful Tikun. [This whole process also may happen at any
time when
we eat our meals]. But this whole process of elevating lost souls is
only
2ndary and incidental to the primary process we have described of
reunifying and resynchronizing reality into a revealed Divine
Majestic
Kingdom.
A DISTINCTION
6.
We must point out that the entire process that we've
described above actually happens [with a few minor differences] every
time we
pray and do Mitzvot and good deeds...etc...The main difference is that
when the
Temple exists, the Korbanot ritual activates this process in a
much more
intense and effective way, so as to literally transform
external and
internal reality for all to experience.
THE
PARSHA
TOOL--'COSMIC IMPACTING VISUALIZATION'
7.
Here's the tool;
Once
a day [or as often as you feel you are
ready for], choose any mundane activity and perform it in a way that
will
expand your own awareness of its cosmic impact and effect;
For
example---when you sit down to eat, be aware that when you
have the intention that your eating will strengthen your body and soul
to be
able to be more effective in your spiritual goals, such as being a
Holier
person. Focus on the fact that ultimately the food eaten with this
intention
will help you think holier thoughts, speak holier words and
perform holier
acts. This in turn will elevate
& effect people's eating
intentions in the entire world! Dwell on this thought..take time
to visualize it and contemplate it...Once you get the idea...you
can extend
this tool of 'Cosmic Impacting Visualization' to as many daily
activities
that you're able to do....
'...AS
IF I
LEFT EGYPT...'
1.
'...And
please give us, Hashem...this Holiday of Matzohs...the time of our
freedom' [
Holiday Siddur]. Every Holiday in the Jewish calendar has a central
theme. The
last of the prophets who made up the 'Men of the Great Assembly', put
together
a good part of the ritual service we have in our daily and Holiday
prayers.
We’re informed by the words of the main-theme prayer that the essence
of Pesach
is that it's 'the time of our freedom' [just as Shavuot is 'the time of
the
giving of our Torah' and Sukkot is the 'time of our happiness']. If I
properly
use this auspicious time, I can inoculate myself with my annual
dose of
freedom. Freedom's in the air...it's there for the taking. But how
do I
access it? Well, perhaps a direct way, is to make a list of all
areas,
major and minor, of my life in which I feel myself to be a
slave.
Next, I'd project into the future--Pesach, one year from now--and see
myself as
a gloriously free person, liberated from all of my personal slavery.
I'd
project how I achieved such a lofty goal and then I'd come back to
the
present and start to go for it! Not a bad plan, if you don't mind me
saying
so...but I'd like to add a very important dimension; Our Passover
Haggada
brings a quote from our sages, that says that every person should see
themself
as if they personally left Egypt. We can understand from this that the
key to
understanding how to break out of our personal Egyptian slavery, is to
learn how our ancestors did it--get the formula, and apply it in
our
lives.
THE
5-STEPS OF THE EGYPTIAN EXODUS
2.
Let's
present a very brief survey of the elements that make up the Egyptian
Redemption;
a.
'SHIABUD'
[TOTAL AND ABSOLUTE ENSLAVEMENT OF BODY AND SOUL]--- Our Sages brought
an
analogy comparing this initial phase in Egypt to that of a fetus of a
calf in
it's mother's womb. Like the fetus, our ancestors were so enveloped in
the
Egyptian experience that it didn't even occur to them to groan
and cry out to Hashem for the first 209 years out of their
210 year
exile! But alas they did finally become conscious that they
were enslaved in a terrible exile.
b.
GROANS AND
SCREAMS ---Their awareness of their predicament brought out
from
a deep gut level, wordless groans and screams. Hashem heard
them and
actively initiated the redemption process.
c. THE
OVERPOWERING DIVINE LIGHT---When the time came to leave Egypt, G-d
caused
to shine an incredibly powerful providential light into the
atmosphere of
Egypt and inside of these slaves' consciousness. On the strength of
that light,
an entire nation LEAPED out of Egypt. They did so suddenly,
not even
waiting for their dough to rise and transform their Matzohs into
Bread for
the long journey. This stage is compared in a certain Chassidic
work by R.
Yitzchak Issack of Homil, to a young student who is dazzled and swept
off his
feet by the brilliance of his new righteous and amazing teacher.
He has
awe and behaves with total self-nullification towards his new
spiritual master. The student however doesn't yet have the ability to
understand or internalize the teachings. He just says to himself,’
Wow',
and remains respectfully silent. Nevertheless, an impression is etched
deep in
his soul.
d. LOSING
THE 'LIGHT' AND RECOVERING IT INCREMENTALLY---This slave nation, the
children
of Israel, managed, with this incredible G-d given light power and
purity,
to temporarily transcend their spiritual sickness of being steeped in
all 49
gates of Teuma [impurity], long enough to escape out of
Egypt. But as
fast as they gained their instant light power, they lost
it. But the
impression it left deep in their souls would serve as a guiding light
at the
end of the tunnel constantly drawing them to recover it. In order
for them
to truly recover and internalize this power of soul-based and
Faith-based expanded G-d consciousness, they needed to get it back
slowly,
deliberately and 1 step at a time. The root-causes of their
exile...ie...
their spiritual perfection process, now had to be examined and
rectified. This
Tikun process is what we do annually for the 50 days between Pesach and
Shavuot. This is the counting and internalizing of the Holy
Sefirot of the
'Omer' period. This stage is compared to our young student who matures
to the
point of not being just satisfied with sitting in his master's presence
in
quiet awe. Rather, he seeks to understand the source of the wisdom
that
his teacher possesses. He engages his teacher in constant discussion,
and is
bold enough even to argue with him until he can figure it all out
for
himself!!
e.
'SINAI', LIVING IN THE LIGHT--- The culminating historical element
in the
Egyptian redemption process happens with the nation's receiving of
the
Torah at Sinai. The pure-G-dly-soulful-expanded-consciousness
level is now
fully and eternally acquired. This stage is compared to our
student's
reaching a level, where he's no longer in need of his teacher's wisdom.
He gets
it on his own straight from Hashem. He sees the wisdom in every aspect
of
reality. He is no longer the student. He is now the master!
'THE GET-YOURSELF-FREE-FORMULA'
3.
Now we're
ready for our Parsha Tool...for our freedom formula:
a.
Be aware of
your personal Egypts--large and small. Let your mind recall all
your
revealed and repressed enslavements...mark them down. You'll probably
be amazed
how much there is repressed inside of yourself....
b.
Now begin
to process them---First groan about them and then
wordlessly scream with
wild and emotional abandon..[if you’re in an embarrassing
environment,
then either take your chances and go for it, wait till your alone or do
it
right there, but in a silent way]...Try to get to the point of
helplessness, where you truly open your heart to Hashem
and
beseech Him for help....
c.
How do we
access the overpowering instantly liberating Divine Light which
is beyond our present capacities? We gave the
answer at the
beginning of this essay----project a whole 'new you' one year from
now on
Pesach 5767 [2007]. You'll be a person who enjoyed the most free and
liberated
year of your life. Make note of exactly how you achieved this
glorious
goal. Don't forget the aspect of soul, faith, G-dliness and expanded
consciousness...otherwise you never will truly escape from your
inner
slavery....
d.
Now just go
with the projected plan that you set up for yourself one step at a
time....
e. I
can't wait to see you on graduation day, telling me about how free and
liberated you truly are....
****sorry
for
being so lengthy AGAIN...maybe next time I'll get it right...I’m going
offline
about 1 day after you receive this essay till after Pesach, so if you
do want
to reply, do it now!
Have
a happy
and freedom-filled Pesach and year!
WHAT'S EATING HAVE TO DO WITH HOLINESS?!
1.
'...and you
should sanctify yourselves...and don't make your souls impure [by
consuming
impure animals]...' Our Parsha discusses the issue of refraining
from
eating certain animals and fowl which the Torah considers to be impure.
We're
taught that this selectivity will insure our status of being a Holy
People
[among a number of other requirements that the Torah considers as
Holy]. If
you've begun to pick up my style and my wavelength, then you've
probably
already anticipated what type of question I'm going to ask. What does
eating
have to do with being Holy?! Certainly we're all aware of the
connection that
eating has with physical health. We're living in a society replete with
individuals who are experts in the area of nutrition, and with an
expertise in
knowing which food is natural & organic. Most everybody can
tell you a
thing or two about dieting. But the idea of Holiness or spirituality
just
doesn't seem to go together with eating! In fact, at least on the
surface, most
people would say that eating removes a person from being spiritual.
MUST
BE MORE TO IT THAN JUST SIMPLY INJESTING...
2. Let's
begin in a very unconventional way; A long time ago, a friend of mine
related
to me all that he experienced while under the influence of the
psychedelic drug
LSD. Everything felt to him to be primal and profound.
Regarding the act
of eating, he described it as being a weird and foreign experience. He
wondered
why are these human creatures opening their mouths and sticking in this
weird
organic material. I was impressed by the way that he reexamined
normal
mundane activities from a fresh new perspective. I asked myself,
indeed, what
is it that we are really meant to be doing in this act of eating.
I know
that we eat because we feel a lacking, a hunger. We then ingest the
food and
the body's digestive system takes over. Enzymes digest the desired
nutrients--
that which isn't desired eventually filters out of my body. I know it's
very
important what I eat and how much I eat..etc...But what I
really want
to find out is what did G-d really have in
mind? All the Kabbalistic texts speak about the fact
that we're
living in a world of ‘Tikun’. The world, as reflected in every
individual's life, is constantly moving closer to perfection; to a
worldwide
consciousness that Hashem is everywhere and all reality unifies to
reflect
that omnipresence and omnipotence. How does all this express
itself in
the seemingly very non-G-dly act of eating?! Sure, you can answer
me that
without eating, our physical bodies wouldn't receive their basic needs
in order
to keep on living and thereby be enabled to fulfill our Tikun
in the
world! But there must be more to eating than just being an act of
'enabling'!
'...FROM
MY BODY, I SEE G-DLINESS...' [THE BOOK OF JOB]
3. Let's
try to
illustrate a G-dly way of eating by
tapping into a
one of the most important and fundamental Kabbalistic principles; 'FROM
MY
BODY, I SEE G-DLINESS'---what goes on in the physical world, and
more
specifically in my body, is an amazing reflection of the
constructs and
processes of the spiritual world, and more specifically, the
soul. I can extrapolate
the workings of the soul from proper understanding of the workings
of the
body. Consider the following 'extrapolations';
A. The
body has
an elaborate filtering system. It first digests that which is most
important to
itself, continuing on to extract that which is less and less important
to it
until it completely expels that which is useless to the body. The
body's
new intake reenergizes it...the stronger the process, the more
energy
there is..............so too by the soul---the purer and more
powerful the
'Kavana' [the intentions and motivations], the more the intended action
becomes elevated and spiritually energized. Proper holy
eating will
transform the ingested food from being a purely physical entity to
becoming pure spirituality energizing and rectifying the person
and the
entire world! Here too, there is an incremental selection process,
where
the soul retains that which is of greatest spiritual value and finally
expelling that which is useless. It should be noted here that this
selective-digestive process exists on a grand-mega scale also,
both in
physicality and spirituality. We call this the 'food chain.' Lower
life
forms such as plants and animals are ingested and thereby elevated
into
the realm of higher life forms such as humans and the process goes on
and on
until eventually all life forms regain their original pristine
status---both on
the physical and on the spiritual level [as regards souls and
their
climbing the ladder of ultimate perfection]....
B. If
food is
ingested in an impetuous, impatient manner, then at the very least, the
person
suffers from indigestion. If this continues for longer periods,
the improperly digested food can be a prime cause of sickness.
Similar is
the effect in the spiritual world; R. Tzadok Hacohen attributes this
'primal eating
disorder' or what we might call this 'grabbing effect' to be at
the root
of all the world's ills. We fill our hunger and lack .
0impatiently
without
projecting what will happen---and this includes all types of improper
consumption in all areas such as money, sex, drugs and
power..etc...We create for ourselves spiritual and cosmic
indigestion---which
reveals itself as mass neuroses, 'baggage', spiritual imbalances
&
frustrations...
C. A
popular maxim
states, 'you are what you eat.' Whatever we ingest into our bodies,
whether
mineral vegetable or animal, and whatever quantities and proportion
that we
ingest the food, will determine to a great extent who we are. This is
not only
true physically, but also spiritually; the Torah
distinguishes
between animals and fowl whether they are pure or impure
[ie..kosher or
not]. With the proper slaughtering and with our proper intentions in
eating,
the pure animals will become elevated and will in turn elevate us and
the
entire world. What makes the eating process, [or any other process for
that
matter], Holy? It's the elevation itself from a lower to a higher
level.
Perhaps the 2 areas that best illustrate this concept are food and
sex...Here there lays the median point between the physical and
spiritual. Here
lays the greatest opportunity to be Holy if practiced properly, or
conversely to do irreparable spiritual damage. Here lies the
most
potent Human challenge and inner battle. The term for bread in
Hebrew is
Lechem which is also the same root as a warrior [locheim]. The
real
war is won when one elevates their daily bread to become
pure
spirituality. Sex and eating [and not abstinence or
prayer...etc...] are
the 2 subjects that comprise the category of 'Holiness' in the
Rambam's
classic-all-encompassing Torah work entitled the 'Mishne Torah'.
When we
eat Holy foods in a Holy way---we spread Holiness in the world and
in
ourselves. Not only are we what we eat, but so is the entire
cosmos
affected by what we eat!
THE
TOOL; HOLY EATING---WHAT AND HOW
4. This
week's
1st Parsha Tool concerns 'what' you eat;
a. A lot
goes into a
commitment to eating Kosher food. This is beyond the scope of this
essay.
However, as a true believer in the power of 'minimalism’, I’d like to
make the
following suggestion; Determine what is your level of
keeping
Kosher [just like anything else there are countless levels]. Place
yourself on
a scale of 1-10 and try to commit to go up one number--- in a time
frame that
is comfortable for you...
The
2nd Parsha
Tool concerns 'how' you eat':
b.
During the
process of eating; ask yourself,' why do I eat'? Once
you access the
desired goal, ask yourself what deeper reason do I have for
eating? Keep
going deeper and deeper until you get to your primal motivation for
eating. Try
as often as possible to eat with this profound intention.
c. After
finishing
eating, and while in the process of digestion, ask yourself, 'How can I
digest
this food with the Holiest intentions possible?'---Keep going deeper as
we
described above!
Bon
appetite and
Shabbat shalom!
'Tzarat' ---the
basics
1.
'...a
person who has on their flesh...Tzarat [a soul-based body disease], and
is
brought to the Cohen...and the Cohen declares [the person] to be Tamei
[impure
due to being affected with the disease].'
In an
earlier and more pristine time in the history of our people, when the
Holy
Temple stood and when prophecy and Ruach Hakodesh [a somewhat lesser
degree of
prophecy], reigned freely amongst the many who sought it, there also
prevailed
a strange soul-body disease called 'Tzarat'. Our sages teach us that
the
disease appeared as a result of a person committing certain very
specific sins which were rooted in one's being out of
whack in terms of character traits or false pride...etc, etc...The
disease
first appeared on the walls of a person's house, and if it remained
untreated
or was a more severe strain, it appeared on a person's clothes. The
worst type
appeared on a person's skin. The Torah devotes two entire Parshas to
describe
the various manifestations and treatments of the disease. For our
purposes, we
need to know, that the Priest [in Temple times] would be the one to
diagnose if
the disease is a superficial skin disease or actually Tzarat [which was
identified as being more than skin deep, showing that the entire person
was
affected]. The person would then go in to a trial isolation period and
could
only be declared Tzarat-free by the Cohen himself. The questions to be
asked
are, first of all, what is the nature of this strange disease and its
curious
treatment. Why doesn't the disease appear on a wide scale basis in
our
modern times as it did then? Finally, what does the Torah mean to teach
us in
regard to Tzarat in our present day reality?
Engulfed
2. We
can
summarize from some key major mystical sources [the
Zohar, the
Ariza'l and various Chassidic works], the dynamic that takes place as
follows:
The
affected
person is basically engulfed by the forces of evil [literally by the
Sitra Achra
or the Other Side]. This has been caused by a person becoming so
habituated in
their crooked ways, that what is wrong seems to them to be right. There
is a
general numbing effect. The person's heart-based inner feelings are
practically
deadened. Even a person's remorse for their wayward actions isn't felt
at all.
The body produces a sort of spiritual antibody in order to make one
aware of
the problem. This is accomplished by causing the Tzarat to
surface----on the
walls of one's home, on one's clothes or on one's skin. This engulfed
or closed
up dynamic begins the process of transformation, from being closed
to
becoming opened [like they say, 1\2 of the solution, is identifying the
problem]. The healing process continues on when the affected one is
encountered
by the Cohen. Kabbalistically, the Cohen represents the Sefira
'Chochma'. This
very meeting activates 'Chochma's healing power. The diseased
one's
restricted state of consciousness which is greatly responsible for
their
fallout is now propelled into the opposite direction of internalizing
an
expanded state of consciousness [Chochma]. Other phases of the
atonement\healing process are also designed to 'open' up that which has
been
closed up.
Out of sync...
3.
There is
evidence of this soul based disease existing today also in its various
manifestations. I have even heard from one who is 'in the know' about
the field
of homeopathy, that it's founder [Hahnemann], after decades of
research,
found that the prime source of disease is a term he called 'Psora'. You
guessed
it, the word Psora is actually our Tzarat. Some
probable reasons why the disease doesn't manifest in such a wide
scale way
today as it once did, are first of all, because without the present-day
existence
of the Holy Temple, there is no complete atonement\treatment to rid a
person of
the disease. But beyond that, we are not as 'in sync' vis a vi our
body-soul connection as we were in earlier times. Personal experience
teaches
me that when I've taken upon myself a certain spiritual practice, such
as
studying at midnight or immersing daily to the Mikve [ritualistic
purifying natural waters], and I miss a day, my body [not only my soul]
feels
horrible [sort of like a daily bather feels after missing a number of
days].
Let's use a different type of illustration; I was told that when
anything goes
wrong in the slightest way with a BMW automobile, it will
immediately let
you know by just listening to its engine with a semi-sensitive ear. On
the other
hand when something goes wrong with an old beat up Chevy...you the
amateur
mechanic may never know about it...you get the idea, right? In an
earlier
prophetic, high-leveled, spiritually in sync generation, that
which
is not right on the inside gets manifested on the outside. This is
not to
suggest that we are totally out of sync nowadays, nor are we suggesting
that
the soul-body dynamic only applied once upon a time. The soul and its
health, is the main source of the body's health...this
is a
fundamental Torah and Kabbalistic tenet. I hope to get into this
whole fascinating subject at some other opportunity.
Chochma
healing
4.
Based on
what we just learned, let us suggest the following parsha tool to cope
with
what's possibly a modern day equivalent of the underlying causes of
Tzarat;
A.
Identify
those areas of your psyche which are numb or closed up. Where is it
that you
find that you just don't 'feel' anymore? Intellectually, you may
know that
some things are absolutely wrong, but you just don't feel it. You don't
feel
bad about it at all!
B.
Incur 'Chochma Healing' [which corresponds to the Cohen's
examination--treatment] as follows:
1.
Chochma or
expanded consciousness is accessed through the intense study of Torah,
in such
a way that any idea that one examines, expands one's mindset to be
able to
see the essential root of the concept along with all of it's
applications and how this fits in with much of the
other concepts and
wisdom one has acquired, thereby elevating a person in a very
profound
way. Now reexamine and open up one's source of 'numbness' in
the
light of this Chochma...
2.
'Feedback'-------Get feedback from your friends in the area[s] that you
feel
closed up in. Even better than that, is to find yourself a wise and
authoritative spiritual guide\counselor that can dependably break you
out of
it!!
LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF
1.
'...and
love your neighbor as yourself, I am Hashem' [Vayikra 19\18] ....Rabbi
Akiva
said that this is a 'Klal Gadol b'Torah' [ie... loving your neighbor as
yourself is a principle, that encompasses all of Torah!]. The Talmud
illustrates; A potential convert came to Hillel and asked to be taught
the
entire Torah while standing on one foot. Hillel replied [based on our
verse];
'What's hateful to you, don't do to your friend... That's the general
principle, now go and learn Torah which will fill you in on all the
specifics...'
I
hope that
you're anticipating the question that I'm about to ask. [If you are,
good for
you...if you're not, I'll let it slide this time]. The question is; why
is this
an all encompassing Torah principle? The Torah is divided into two
basic
areas----that which concerns our relationship with other people, and
that which
concerns our relationship with G-d. Its clear how not doing to
others what's hateful to myself can be used as a key
anchor
statement to gauge my relationship with other people. What's not clear
is how
this interpersonal gauge applies to the other 1\2 of Torah---that which
deals
with our relationship with G-d.
Assuming
that
we do find an answer to our question [chances are I'm not
going to
leave you hanging, right?], then we need to find out how we can
practically
carry out this principle in a way that will lift up our
interpersonalizing to such a Holy level that it
will encompass even
the Divine relationship realm of Torah....
24000
STUDENTS OF R. AKIVA
2.
A teacher
of mine here in Jerusalem shared with me the
following; it’s known that the 'Counting
of the
Omer' period that we are currently in, is characterized by both a
festive side [bridging the Holidays of Pesach and Shavuot] and a
mourning side. The mourning side is based on the fact that 24000
of R.
Akiva's students all passed away during this period of time. The
reason
offered by our sages for the Divine decree of their deaths, is
that they
didn't properly honor each other. The question to be asked is, how
could these
students of the very same R. Akiva who taught and lived the all
encompassing principle of 'Loving Your Neighbor As Yourself ', not
properly honor each other?! It's pointed out that they weren't accused
of not
loving each other, but rather not honoring each other. There
are 2 ways of expressing love---a self-centered way, and
an
other-centered way. The self-centered person showing love
doesn't
really consider that the other person has enough intrinsic
importance
or wisdom of their own. Therefore [especially when there is a
disagreement] they
show their love by showering the other person with their
viewpoint without trying to take into account that that person has
something special to say on the subject....sound familiar?...a
form of
gentle coercion! Other-centered love always seeks to find the unique
and
special point of view of the other person...and this will automatically
result
in a very different way of interpersonalizing...that which is
filled
with truly honoring the other person----that's the point
which 24000
students of R. Akiva didn't get right, and we need to get right in
this
'Omer' period.
THAT SPECIAL POINT
3.
R.
Nachman teaches [chapter 282 of his classic
work, 'Likutei
Maharan'] that every one of us has a special point that nobody else in
the
world has. This is a Divine part of our soul and everybody's soul. When
activating this point, the person is considered to be a Tzadik [a
saint] and a
King and is worthy of the respect of everyone. This special point is
so powerful, that R. Nachman teaches that you can totally
transform a
[nearly] worthless person into being totally righteous, by only
focusing
on this their 'special point' ! For a person to truly
perfect
themself, they need to seek out in all the people that they
encounter,
this special point, and do their best to internalize it. There can be
no
greater way for 2 people to lovingly bond, then to seek
out each
other’s special points and cause them to flourish! This Divine
point is
one of the most important manifestations of G-d's garbing Himself in
our world.
Now we can answer our original question. The real power of loving our
neighbor
as we do ourselves by not doing to others what's hateful to us,
centers
around this special point. What could be more hateful to a person than
denying
to recognize their Holy special essence point?! And on the other hand,
when we
do recognize and celebrate this point, than we are not
just practicing
superlative interpersonalizing, but we are also practicing superlative
relating
to Hashem Who Chooses to be encountered in this way. And
this is
what all of Torah is all about---the ability to see Hashem in all
aspects of
reality and to properly act upon this seeing! Do it with people in
your
life and you'll do it in all aspects of living! Now we can also
understand why
the verse,' Love your neighbor as yourself' concludes with the words,
'I am
Hashem'----the very act of properly loving our neighbor will
enable us to
encounter Hashem.....
HOLY INTERPERSONALIZING----A TOOL
4.
Make a list
of all the people that you know. Next to everyone's name,
mark down
that special Holy point that each person has that no one
else has.
This part of the exercise is very important in and of itself, but don't
stop
there...The real challenge is to engage the special points of as
many of
these people as you can when you are with them. I guarantee you that it
will be
a blessed activity, thoroughly pleasurable to both you and
your
friend....and chances are that they will seek to return the favor....
Happy
Holy
Interpersonalizing!
THE PASSWORD
1.
A
brokenhearted Rabbi Chiyah fasted for [a 2nd consecutive] 40 day
period. He was
hoping to be granted Divine permission to be able to visit his beloved
Rebbe,
R. Shimon Bar Yochai, who had recently passed away. R. Shimon was now
presiding
over one of the most important Heavenly Houses of Study, which was
attended by
the highest levels of saints and scholars of all generations.
Permission
was granted and R. Chiyah found himself standing at the entrance to
this
Heavenly Yeshiva. Suddenly a thundering 'Bat Kol' [Heavenly voice]
announced,
'...No one has permission to enter unless they have spent their entire
life-time engaged in transforming darkness into light...' [Zohar
Breishit].
We're quickly approaching the Holiday of Lag Baomer. Lag is the
numerical
acronym for the number 33 which stands for this day being the 33rd day
of the
Omer count----Spelled Backwards, Lag = 'Gal', which means to uncover or
reveal.
This festive day according to most traditions, is the 'Yahrtzeit' [day
of
death] of R. Shimon Bar Yochai; the 2nd century author of what is
Kabbalah's
most important classic work, 'The Zohar'. Annually, on this day, more
than 1\2
million people congregate at R. Shimon's gravesite in the upper
Gallilee
mountain village Meron. This gigantic gathering is not characterized by
weeping
or sadness at the loss of such a great luminary as R. Shimon.
No!---Quite the
contrary---it's the celebration of the year, drawing a very diversified
crowd
[every type of Jew found in the land of Israel] who come and sing and
dance in
incredible elated joy. And all these people present, share the
common
feeling [some more consciously than others] of having a mystical
soul-connected
affinity with R. Shimon! And each and every person is recharged by
their
encountering of the energy and presence of R. Shimon, with an
ability to
bring light into the dark areas of their lives.
HOD
OF HOD
2.
Each day of
the Omer, there shines forth the energy of a different Sefira [a trait
bridging
the Divine realm to the human realm]. If we understand the nature of
that
Sefira, then we would be able to perceive that everything that takes
place on
that day bespeaks the essential meaning of that day's Sefira. The
Sefira of Lag
Baomer is HOD of HOD, which represents the quintessence of HOD. HOD
expresses
the ability to enable others to bring out their glory. This power of
enabling
is motivated by the drive to reach down into the lowest levels of
darkness of
people's souls and of all aspects of reality, and reveal in that very
place of
darkness, a brilliant shining light. The word 'Zohar' means brilliant
light.
This dynamic describes the essence of who R. Shimon and his
teachings are.
All of the wisdom, secrets and stories filling the Zohar have one thing
in
common; shining light in areas of reality that would otherwise remain
unexplained, closed up, and darkened. A coal or an ember is fanned
into a
full-blown flame [this is the reason that it's customary to light
bonfires on
Lag Baomer].The Zohar mystically illuminates countless concepts
and
principles which span the entire scope of life and Torah. A
typical
passage penetrates to the soul of matter. The subject is
revealed and
reveals the following: its source in the Upper Worlds,
its
transcendent impact in the dimensions of time, space and souls
and its
purifying and microcosmic effect in the minds and hearts of those
who are
presently learning the passage. All the episodes and enchanting
descriptions of R. Shimon also convey the theme of light shining into
the
darkness----------from his 13 year hideaway period [from the
anti-Semitic
Romans] in a dark cave, where the entire scope of the
Zohar's Kabbalistic
wisdom was revealed to him----all the way to the very last day of
his
life, when he revealed to all attendant Heavenly and earthly beings,
the most
important secrets of the Zohar--------and it all culminated in his
passing away
with a smile on his face---the ultimate expression of light
banishing the
darkness!!
THE
DARKNESS
BUSTING TECHNIQUE
3. This
week's Parsha Tool is based on a teaching of the Baal Shem
Tov [one of the
greatest spiritual inheritors and teachers of R. Shimon bar
Yochai's Torah
and legacy]; He teaches that any pain or illness [or any negativity for
that
matter], is in essence only an illusory 'Klipa' [shell or covering] of
the
Divine presence that's trapped and hidden inside of it. Reveal the
hidden
Divine presence and you bust the illusion---and the pain and
the source of
the pain disappear. Here's the tool [as it was taught to me very
recently];
A.
Close your
eyes and choose the pain that you want to deal with. This may be a
physical, emotional, spiritual pain--or any other type....
B. Pay
attention to the form or image that the pain conjures up in your mind's
eye---such as a grey blob or a rock...etc...
C.
Place that
image in front of you and stare it 'straight in the eyes' [so
to
speak], and then begin to shine on it Divine light similarly to the way
one
shines a laser beam. The Divine Light energy consists of the
following;
1.
EMUNA
POWER--Fill yourself up with a deep Emuna that all is from Hashem
and
there is nothing but Hashem and all is for the best...etc..etc...and
then
direct that light of Emuna directly at this image saying, 'I know that
truly
there's nothing else there but Hashem'.
2. HELPLESS
DVAIKUS POWER--- Passionately ask Hashem to reveal Himself here
and now in
the midst of this pain because 'I simply have tried everything and am
helpless
to do it without Your[ Hashem's] help...
3. ANY
OTHER WAYS OF ACCESSING DIVINE LIGHT THAT WORKS FOR YOU--- such as
trusting
that Hashem will come through for you as he's done countless times
before.....or else unleash a primal gut level scream summoning Divine
help.....or else say Emuna-based Torah verses over and over
again...etc.. etc...
4.
DON'T
LET GO----Despite the fact that holding in front of you this
painful image
is in itself painful, DON'T LET GO and don't leave this place
until you've
obliterated all layers of darkness and all that fills your mind
is pure
light!
5.
SEAL AND
SOLIDIFY THIS HEALING PROCESS--- by thanking Hashem and then sending
this
brilliant released light to all other related pains and blocks
that you and everyone you know and love may have...
Have
an
enlightening Lag Baomer !
HOW
DOES EXTRAORDINARILY DILIGENT TORAH LEARNING DRAW DOWN BLESSED
DIVINE
PROVIDENCE?
1.
'If you
conduct yourselves according to my Laws and you guard my Mitzvot and
you do
them... Then I'll give you your rains in their
season...etc...'
[Vayikra 26 verses 3 & 4]. Rashi, the Torah's
main
commentary, brings from our earlier sages, that we are
urged [not
commanded] to engage in a deep effort-filled manner of Torah study, not
just
the normal Divinely commanded mitzvah of Torah study, but rather
what's
called being 'AMAL' [extraordinary concerted effort] in
Torah. To the
extent that we are 'AMAL' in Torah, we will draw down benevolent Divine
Providence. The Parsha goes on to list positive physical and spiritual
Providential Blessings----such as---abundant rain and crops in
their
proper seasons, success in peace and war, abundance in the area of
fertility and the Blessing of being able to walk fearlessly and
blissfully with
Hashem in our day to day lives. These Blessings are followed by Curses
or a
shutting down of Divine benevolent providence, resulting from a
lack of
'AMAL' in Torah......
For
those of
you who are starting to pick up on my style of asking questions
[i.e...not
taking any peculiarity for granted], you will probably anticipate what
we need
to ask at this point----------What does this 'AMAL' in Torah consist of
? How
does this type of Torah learning effect the learner and the world so
much that
it's considered to be the primary catalyst of Divine Providence
?! --------
I
can give you
the short answer or the long one. It would probably be easier for
both you
and I to go for the short answer. But you know what----I'm not
going to do
that. First of all, I couldn’t even begin to do justice to
the massive
topic of Torah and its transcendent power. Besides that, we're really
getting
close to SHAVUOT--the Holiday of receiving our annual individual
Torah
portions.....So get yourself comfortable, this might take a
while--but we're in no hurry , what we don't finish this
time, we can
always complete in the next week or two....
'HASHEM,
TORAH AND YISRAEL ARE ONE'
2.
It's taught
in the mystical writings of our Sages the following statement, 'HASHEM,
TORAH
AND YISRAEL ARE ONE.' I have to admit that this is the
most
mind-blowing---pregnant with meaning idea I've ever heard. In line
with
the tradition of my Rebbes, who taught me that when learning a Torah
concept,
first try to get your own 'take' on the meaning----and only afterwards,
check
out what the commentaries have to say about it [you'll actually
understand
both the concept and the commentaries understanding of it much
better, not
to mention the fact that you'll 'polish up' your soul more powerfully
by
primally engaging the concept], let us ponder the ramifications of this
mystical statement [I suggest that at this point, you avert your eyes
from the
computer screen for a few minutes and write down all the possible
ramifications
that you can come up with. This will serve actually as this week's
parsha Tool,
since the main tools will be featured in the continuation of
this
week's essay...].
Here
are a few
ramifications I came up with in my ponderings;
a.
THE
CORRESPONDENCE FACTOR The deeper I
properly connect with Torah, the deeper I connect with myself and
with
Hashem as well as with all of reality [since the Torah is a 'Blueprint
of
Reality' as our sages teach---Hashem looked into the Torah and
Created
the World {based on it}]. Conversely, the deeper I connect
with
myself, the deeper I connect with the other dimensions of Hashem and
Torah and
Reality. And finally, the deeper I connect with Hashem, the deeper I
connect
with all the other areas! Most likely, these types of correspondences
are
facilitated by some type of template common to all
these dimensions,
such as a universal persona [called in Kabbalah a
'partzuf']....Press
button A in the dimension of Torah and effect the corresponding button
A in the
G-d, Yisrael and Reality dimensions!
b.
THE
INFINITE INTERINCLUSION FACTOR Any part of
infinity is
as infinite as the whole of infinity. If you tap into one aspect of
infinite
G-dliness, you tap into all the rest! Since G-d, Torah and Yisrael are
all
one--the same rule holds true by all of them. The entire Torah can be
revealed
in any specific word of Torah. The totality of a person can be
found in
any specific body part or character trait...etc...[for example, a
proper foot
massage sends healing to the entire body and even more important than
this----the rectification of one character trait of one person,
can
rectify that identical point in many other people , and even in all of
mankind,
depending on how thorough the rectification was].All the realm of
space
can be tapped into by tapping into one area of space--[king Solomon,
with his
amazing wisdom, knew exactly which underground veins in the earth
of the
land of Israel, matched the corresponding terrains and plants all over
the
globe and was able to thereby grow all the earth's plants in
Israel]! The
same is true of the dimension of time [..ie..tap into the unique power
of a
certain Holiday, and that same power is activated the entire year].
c.
THE TIKUN
FACTOR The purpose and inner drive
of
Creation, as taught by our Sages, is to reveal Hashem's presence in the
world
where it's hidden. There are various expressions for this-------fixing
that
which is broken, raising that which is fallen, uniting that which is
disunited
or bringing order into that which is chaotic. In one
word----'TIKUN'. Certainly the mystical statement
that
Hashem, Torah and Yisrael are one---is coming to enable TIKUN. And sure
enough,
we find within each of these realms and in their interconnections,
built in
mechanisms facilitating TIKUN; The Torah has a higher
and a
lower manifestation, as does Hashem, Yisrael and the
world[s]--------all
designed to enable the higher levels to elevate and fix up the lower
levels.
UPCOMING ATTRACTIONS
3.
As you see,
this can get very lengthy. However it all comes together to reveal the
transcendent power of Torah and its effect on all other aspects of
reality.
What we hope to bring in the next week or two is a list
of transcendent
Torah approaches that will serve to do the following:
a.
Answer the
questions that we asked in the beginning of this essay...
b.
Illustrate
the ramifications of our essay's mystical statement.
c.
Provide
practical techniques for yourself in order to harness your own powers
of
transcendence in Torah learning...
SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S TORAH ESSAY
1.
I'll begin with the greatest tool of all--'REVIEW'---that which
separates the minor league Torah learners from the major league
scholars. As
you may recall, last week we discussed the concept of learning Torah
with
extraordinary effort, called 'Amal'. Amal effects not only the
wellbeing of the
Torah learner, but also draws down blessed Divine Providence for the
learner's
community and sometimes even for the entire world. In our efforts
to
fathom how that works, we brought our sages’ incredible mystical axiom;
'Hashem, Torah and Yisrael are one'. Our contemplations elicited 3
transcendent ramifications
[their acronym is C.I.T.];
a.
Correspondences-----[Activating one realm {ie...Hashem, Torah,
Yisrael or Reality}, automatically activates all the others]
b.
Infinite Interinclusiveness-----[Since G-d is infinite and is one
with the Torah, Yisrael and Reality, therefore, just as any PART of
infinity is
as infinite and all-containing as the WHOLE of infinity, so
too the
same is true of any part of Torah, Yisrael and Reality].
c.
Tikun-----[ the concepts brought in a and b above, are called into
action by the universe's constant drive to rectify
everything----ie...elevating
and Divinizing 'fallen' reality].
SOME CONTEMPLATIVE INSIGHTS
2. Let's
take our contemplations a step further. We now understand
that we have in our hands [if we harness the Torah learning
properly], the
ability to traverse and impact different dimensions. We also understand
that we
as microcosmic beings have the ability to press the right psychic
buttons
inside of ourselves & thereby fix up the whole world [including
ourselves].
Our means for accomplishing this is Torah learning in the proper
way. We
now have the ability to answer the question that we raised last week,
'How can
a person's [or a community's] concerted learning effort in
Torah draw
down blessed Divine Providence [or to the contrary, how
can the lack
of 'Amal' block it up G-d forbid].?' The answer is simply that
the Torah
is that which connects Hashem to us---and to the extent that we
activate this
amazing channel, we reap the fruits of our trans-dimensional
efforts.
THE
TORAH'S VERY CLOSE TO YOU
3. I
hope you're enjoying [at least a little bit] our
contemplations of the transcendent side of Torah. But I have to
interrupt at
this point. Torah is referred to as 'Torat Chayim' [A Living
Torah], which
means that it's meant to be learned as a recipe for living. Towards the
end of
the Chumash [5 Books of Moses], there is an amazing verse illustrating
this
point:
'Because
[the Torah] is very close to you, in your mouth and in your
heart to do it' [Parshat Nitzavim 30\14]. Our sages explain the verse
as
follows---If your intention is to do it [ ie... to actually carry
out the
concept that you are learning about], then Torah will be intimately
close to
you----open your mouth, it's right there---open your heart---it's right
there!! So without further ado, I present to you some techniques
for
accessing transcendence in Torah learning. We'll arrange the techniques
into various categories, all of which address various aspects
of
transcendence that we have been discussing. Due to time and space
limitations,
we will only begin the list this week and B"H continue next
week. It
is my hope and prayer that you find yourself resonating
with one or
more of these techiques so much so, that you'll be inspired to be a
true 'AMAL'
Torah learner. Once you taste a bit of the expanded consciousness that
Torah
can give to you, and understand the inexhaustible
blessing you can bring upon yourselves [and the whole world],
then
you will want more and more of it!! Who knows, you may just
become
seriously addicted to it, and go and hide out in a cave somewhere and
do
nothing but learn Torah all the time for 13 years like R. Shimon bar
Yochai !!
TRANSCENDENT
TORAH LEARNING TECHNIQUES
4.
Let's begin with techniques that can all fit into the category
of self-actualization....ie....methods or strategies of Torah
learning designed to lead you to achieve self perfection and
self actualization;
a.
'YOUR TAKE'----based on the teachings of the Arizal, a very
powerful way to actualize our soul's potential is to express
our
'take' in Torah. We are all unique and we all have therefore a
unique way
of seeing reality and understanding Torah. Just like any master of
creative
expression needs to grow to maturity by actually expressing
themselves in
the context of their particular art form, the more we
express
our unique perspective in Torah--which is the ultimate
reflection of
our soul---the more we mature and perfect ourselves. The
Arizal speaks
about going through all of the Torah [ie..all the weekly Parshas] and
basically
writing your own commentary. This may be a bit of a leap for
many
people. I would suggest to start on a
smaller scale. Choose one
particular topic in any Parsha in the Torah that truly speaks to
you, and
simply write [or teach] a commentary that expresses your unique
perspective. Once you've got the hang of it--Expand!
b. 'BE
A WARRIOR FOR CLARITY'-----here we learn another way
of self actualization from the Arizal---The Arizal would enter
into a
study session with the goal in mind of identifying all areas of
the topic
at hand that were unclear, difficult or contradictory...etc...He
saw these
grey areas as being 'Klipot' [ie..representatives of the realm of
evil]. He
then, like a spiritual warrior, would unrelentingly pursue
the absolute truth of the matter, leaving no room for doubts,
inconsistencies or unclarities of any kind. By the end of a learning
session,
he would literally be drenched in sweat from exerting himself so much.
The important
point to understand, is that those doubts 'on the page', in
a different garb, are the roots of the same blocks,
doubts,
fears and baggage that we have in our lives. Clear up the former ones
and the
latter ones automatically clear up also. We can
easily understand
how to carry this out, the hard part is the actual clarifying. Take any
piece
of Torah that you encounter [from anywhere in the Written or
Oral Torah],
and go to work. Try to locate that which is unclear or somehow
inconsistent with other
aspects of the text, or with what you understand to be true, and keep
fighting
for an explanation that rings true.
c.
' 5 LEVELS OF SOUL TORAH'----Here too, the Arizal guides us to
soul actualization. This approach is based on the principle that
the layout of Torah parallels the layout of a person. Just
as we
have 5 levels of soul, so too are there 5 corresponding approaches
to
learning Torah---whose acronym is P R D S [ the word PaRDeS is a
garden as
in PaRaDiSe--the garden of Eden--- which a person can get to by
carrying
out the holistic Torah approaches we are discussing]---
P=
Pshat= [the simple understanding]-----learning a Torah
topic in it's simple or plain sense. This type of
learning rectifies one's lowest soul level of Nefesh ....
R=Remez=[the hinted
understanding]---- learning the hinted
messages that are usually conveyed through numerical values of key
words, or
acronyms..[recently someone presented to me a Torah work
which matched the 5800 plus verses of Torah with the 5800 plus
years since
the Creation showing how the verse that corresponds to that year
accurately
describes the corresponding historical events of that
year--probably
this too would qualify as Remez or the hinted Torah realm]. There are
specific
Torah works that concentrate on this area, if someone would like
more
info, please contact me...This type of learning rectifies the soul
level
called Ruach...
D=Drash=[the
homiletical understanding]---this area of Torah is built
on an Oral Tradition that derives moralistic lessons and spiritual
concepts and
principles from the verses of the written Torah. There is a vast
Torah
literature in this realm, including the 'Midrash' and the
'Aggadah' and
all of their commentary spanning thousands of years...This type of
learning
rectifies one's soul level of Neshama...
S=Sod=[the
secret understanding]---the Kabbalah is the secret area of
Torah---over the ages, it has been transmitted in a very discreet and
secretive
manner. It's content is an expression of the verses of
Torah in a
subtle, mystical and Prophetic manner. There are a lot of books on
the
market for those who want to open up this part of Torah and their souls
but I
would suggest a lot of discretion in getting only those that are really
dependable. I would just like to make an important point.
Just as the
lower soul levels are accessed before the higher ones are, so too
in
learning, stability and being properly grounded in Torah is
achieved by
going and growing in order....This type of learning rectifies the level
of soul
called the Chayah...
.[
the 5th level of soul, the Yechidah is accesed by a totally
transcendent level of mysticism which is beyond the scope of this essay
and for
that matter beyond words altogether]...
There's
more folks, but yours truly has run out of energy, and I'm sure
you too could use a break until we continue next week...
WE MADE IT TO THE MOUNTAIN
1.
We've come
a long way since Pesach...seven full weeks of preparation. The
preparation
focused on trying to open up a series of inner awakenings. First
we tried
to awaken in ourselves the various nuances and shades of being enslaved
and
then to groan and scream about it. Than we merited to be heard on High
and with
a magnificent Divine light, we were liberated and swept off
our feet
onto the Divine Wings of the eagle....We were carried miraculously
right
into the heart of a parted sea, and than across a treacherous desert.
We tried
to awaken ourselves to ever-deepening levels of freedom and psychic
self
awareness by counting the Sefirot and internalizing the consciousness
they
imparted upon every aspect of our personality----especially our
hearts'
[The 49 day Sefirotic 'Omer' count equals numerically the phrase 'Laiv
Tov'--'A
good heart']. Some of us have experienced 1% of these timeless
spiritual
awakenings; some of us have experienced more. However much we have
experienced
until now, we have available to us this template or
formula of
liberation whenever we need it. But now we go beyond the preparations.
Our eyes
are focused on the mountain---Mt. Sinai!! The experience of the
mountain has
been etched onto the Jewish-collective-subconscious for well over 3000
years.
Not only were our souls there, but more important than this, the
experience of
receiving Torah [like all other Jewish Holiday experiences] is not
confined to
the permanent past-tense of history. Sinai is right now! The gates are
open to
receive and activate our own personal portions of Torah. With that
quest in
mind, let us carry on with our lists of transcendent
Torah-learning
approaches that we began last week. Our goal is to discover
in these
approaches, elements that resonate with us so much that we
can utilize
them in order to actualize ourselves and embrace
our newly-received portion
of Torah.
CONTINUATION
OF TRANSCENDENT LEARNING APPROACHES
2.
Let’s
continue our learning approaches with a different category that we'll
just call
'TIKUN'. We'll split up TIKUN into 2 areas:
a.
The
rectification of the entire world [Tikun Olam]
b.
The
rectification of the individual [Tikun Ha-adam]
A.
TIKUN
OLAM----When we fully understand that the world is an environment
where
Hashem hides Himself, and therefore the world's Tikun is to
reveal
Hashem in His hiding, then we'll be naturally motivated to become
world-wide ambassadors to reveal Hashem in His hiding! A
Torah-learning
approach that would facilitate this would be concerned with a few basic
elements:
1.
There would
be an awareness of the Torah's ability to serve as a world-wide
generator of
G-dliness, staving off all of the negativity that's caused by an
absence of
G-dliness.[There are scholars who upon learning about
any type
of malady facing any part of the world, or any part of a person's
life, are
able to point out the exact area of Torah that corresponds to the
problem,
and then prescribe a regimen of learning this particular Torah
topic with
concerted enthusiasm until the problem is eliminated]. This was the
strategy of
such famous Yeshivas [Torah-learning academies] as 'Volozhin' and
the Ramchal's Yeshiva...They kept the learning going for 24
hours-a-day in
shifts in order to protect the well being of every corner of the world.
For
those of you who are motivated to participate in a Tikun-Olam type
of direction,
either find yourself a 24\7 Yeshiva or read on to our last
category called
24\7 Torah learning.
2. TORAH
OR---the Slonimer Rebbe teaches in volume 1 of his series called
'Netivot
Shalom', that any area of life or reality that is not actively learned
in a Torah
framework is by definition in a state of chaos. The
Torah's dealing
with that area or topic brings order and unity into the chaos. The
more one learns about it in breadth and depth, the more order and
Tikun there will be.
3.
MARTIAN
TORAH---A huge majority of our people today remain ignorant about what
Torah is
all about. A Tikun Olam motivated person would be therefore naturally
called
into action to try their best to remedy this situation. This would
involve
developing an approach to learning taught to me by my 3rd grade
teacher
[and I remain as impacted today as I was back then]. I was taught
to try
to see the other person as a Martian who is starting from point
zero---no
preconceptions---and I must take them by the hand and explain
everything in
a crystal clear manner. All that I learn would be with the altruistic
goal in
mind of clearly giving it all over to someone else. The truth of
the
matter [as taught by our sages in 'The Sayings of our Fathers'] is
that
this type of Torah learning not only benefits others, but also one's
own
learning is greatly enhanced enabling one to understand in a
much
deeper and clearer fashion.
B.
TIKUN
OF THE INDIVIDUAL----The main application that this
learning approach focuses on, is healing and
solutionizing. The Baba
Sali, a famous Tzadik who passed away about 20 years ago, used to
have a
long line of people seeking out his wonder cures on a daily basis. He
would
always have any one of a number of Torah texts open in front of him,
and upon
receiving the written or oral request for his help, he would simply
recite
whatever verse or sentence he got up to. That very same verse
would
always be the key to the person's Tikun or healing salvation! This
miraculous phenomenon was not only reflective of the cure-all power of
Torah,
but also it was reflective of the power of the Tzadik on the level of
the Baba
Sali. Perhaps we could suggest something similar which would be more
appropriate for the common-person. List on the upper side of a
sheet of
paper the problems, challenges and dilemmas in life that you need
solutions
and\or healings for. While engaged in a Torah learning session, pay
attention
to the 'flashes' [the solutions] that Hashem is sending you
'in
between the lines', usually having nothing to do with the topic you are
learning. Quickly write them down, before they become forgotten. A more
direct
cure-all use of Torah learning is provided for us by our
Sages. They
teach that whatever problem a person faces, engaging in Torah is an
instant
cure, whether it be a physical ailment, emotional turmoil, confusion,
making a
living...etc. And if a person is already a Torah learner and is still
suffering, the solution is to engage in Torah twice as much and twice
as
intently as before.
C.
TORAH
LEARNING 24\7----The natural outcome of all that we have been
discussing until
now [ i.e. the transcendent side of Torah, and all the
infinite power
and benefits involved in learning it properly], may inspire a few of us
[present company included] to yearn to go all the way and
fuse all of
life, as it's lived 24\7 with Torah learning 24\7 [or maybe 20\7 or
18\7 etc..
you got the idea, right?]. It stands to reason that the more we're
involved in
Torah, the more we tap in to all of it's amazing impact...You may
be thinking at this point, that perhaps I've been over-exerting
myself
recently, and I just sort of went off the deep end----Well, I won't try
to
argue my way out that point right now, but what I will do is to throw
at you an
imaginary portrait of a person who is a modern-day
24\7 Torah
learner:
This
person is
walking, talking, eating and even dreaming his Torah. Perhaps all of
their
attention is focused on 1 topic, constantly contemplating deeper and
deeper
ramifications [The Baal Shem Tov taught that any one aspect or word of
any part
of Torah contains all the rest of Torah. The Vilna Gaon spent a
lifetime
almost literally in a 24\ 7 Torah learning regimen, revealing how
all the
rest of the written and oral Torah were all contained in the first Book
of the
Chumash--'Braishit', and then in the 1st Parsha and finally in the 1st
word!!].
Perhaps this person is walking around with 10 topics at once in their
mind, and
all the inquiries that such a big list entails, and everything that
they learn
and encounter in life would provide answers....The person may be a
singer, poet
or creative artist of some type, and Torah is their mode of expression.
Their
type of Torah not only engages their intellect, but also their emotions
and all
the rest of the various aspects of the human psyche. They may have set
for
themselves a goal of covering as much territory as possible in the
Written and
Oral Torah---this year all of the Mishna, next year all of
the
Midrash...etc...For this person to succeed , they would need to have
'staying
power' through thick and thin with a healthy attitude of
commitment and
hard work, but probably even more important, a great 'geshmak' [taking
great
pleasure] in jumping out of bed everyday for another full day
of
Torah. I could go on and on and tell you about how this person
'Torah-izes' all
'secular' aspects of life by pointing out their source in Torah and
other
realms of this transcendent persons portrait, but literally the Holiday
is soon
coming in and I must stop!
I
sincerely
hope and pray that we can all open up our hearts and souls to receive
our
annual portion of Torah, whether in grand portions or in
small bite-sized
chunks....
ADULTERY THEN AND NOW
1. 'And
He [the Cohen] gives her [the adulteress] the bitter waters to drink
and [if
she's guilty] and became impure [through adultery], the bitter
waters will
cause her stomach to explode...and if the woman is pure, she will be
condoned
and bear children [in a much easier and improved fashion]. [Parshat
Naso---chapter 5, verses 27-28].
Adultery!!
In modern western society, that term doesn't have the shock
value
that it once had. True, everyone is aware of the devastation that
it can
cause to a marriage and to an otherwise healthy family unit.
But take
a look around; it seems that every other popular song, novel, movie,
mid-age
crisis drama and social\psychological philosophy is either
romanticizing it, or
else views it as even being sometimes necessary for happiness or
[ironically
enough] for keeping a marriage together. The chances are that
there are
people that I'm presently writing to who are affected one way or
another by
adultery in their lives. Who am I to be coming to judge or moralize
anyone? The
last thing I want to do is to alienate people. What I DO want to
do, is to
try to show how this 'hot' topic, along with all other Torah
topics, teach
a lesson [beyond the obvious moral lesson] that is vital and applicable
for all
of us---& in a positive and hopefully inspiring way.
Let's
look at
the peculiar elements of the 'adultery check' that was carried out in
the times
that the Holy Temple was standing;
A.
The jealous
spouse sees to it that his partner's act of adultery is properly
witnessed...etc...and then brings her to the Holy Temple to undergo all
ritual
procedures involved...
B.
The Cohen
offers the suspected adulteress a choice of admitting her guilt or
being tested
[to determine her guilt] by a mixture of water, earth and a piece of
Torah parchment together with it's Divine Names, all erased
in the
water...
C.
If she
chooses not to confess, and is guilty, the water causes her belly and
lower
body parts to swell up to the point of death. The same fate occurs
to the man that she committed adultery with, wherever he may be at
the
time. This supernatural event only occurs if:
1.
Her husband
is innocent.
2.
Their
generation is not overflowing with adultery.
In
either of
the above cases, the water’s effect will not take place.
D.
If she is
innocent, not only will she be exempt from this horrible fate, but she
will be
blessed with a blessed birth and fertility way beyond what she would
have
otherwise.
THE EQUILIBRIUM-INVADER DETECTION PROCESS
2.
One of the
greatest Torah commentators, Rabbi Chaim Ben Attar [his work is
entitled 'The
Ohr Hachaim' {'The Light of Life}, was written about 300 years ago],
brings a
major spiritual principle to explain and tie together all the
peculiarities of this strange ceremony. The principle is that when a
person or
an aspect of spirituality is elevated to a pristine state, then it has
the
sensitivity and clarity to detect that which is a pure and natural part
of
one's flow, as opposed to that which is impure and is felt to be a
'foreign
invader' which needs to be cast off. If the invader isn't cast off,
then the
Divine consciousness state disappears. [This whole dynamic is the
mystical
state referred to as Hashem’s desire to dwell with us in this
world. The
opposite dynamic is referred to as The Exile of the Shechina {The
Divine
Presence}]. When one isn't holding by this pristine state, then
the
sensitivity to detect foreign invaders is also lacking. The 'Ohr
HaChaim'
brings the Midrash that explains that the waters of creation [the lower
waters], in the creation process, were crying when they were cut off
from the
upper waters of the Heavenly realms. The trauma that the
lower
earthly waters suffered was healed upon the building of the Holy
Temple, when
the waters were reunited with the Heavenly realms and
thereby re-elevated
to their original pristine state. These very same liberated waters
are
chosen to be the factor that checks the purity or impurity of the
suspected
adulteress. If guilty, these waters, who remember their fallen state,
and
recognize that this act of adultery is the culprit that
partially causes reality to plunge to a fallen state
[including these
very waters], immediately act in order to restore equilibrium.
They do
this by rising up and removing the adulterer & adulteress
'invaders'
thereby avoiding falling back to their once bitter and tearful
fate of
being in a state of separation.
THE
THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL APPLICATION TO OUR LIVES
3.
As we've
often pointed out, Torah is not only a historical account; rather
it
contains valuable recipes for living. We can all access in our psyche,
these
very same 'waters' of pristine sensitivity to all that is
natural and
Holy and on the other hand be sensitive to the
'foreign
invaders'. Biologically, these waters function in the same way as does
our
immune system. When this vital system is functioning properly, any
'foreign
invader' is immediately detected and the body goes to work to castigate
it with
antibodies and other internal defense mechanisms. Auto-immune
diseases such as AIDS or LUPUS are extreme cases
of a dysfunctional immune system. With no internal defense system, the
body can be easily destroyed G-d forbid. A parallel correspondence
occurs in the spiritual immune system which we have been
discussing.
This
week's
Parsha Tool aims at activating this sublime sensitivity inside of us;
A.
In order to
begin to raise yourself up to the level of internal purity and
sensitivity that is required, you need to first fill yourself up
with
Divine consciousness. Here's a few possible ways to do that. I suggest
using a
more than one way plus any other way that will help you get there:
1.
YEARNING----simply yearn and pray to be filled up with Divine purity.
2.
CORE
MOTIVATION----keep probing deeper and deeper into your core motivations
for
doing all that you do, until you get to the core. Do this by asking
yourself,
'If I could have x what more would I want’? Keep asking
until you
reach a state where there is nothing more to want, and all the 'bells'
go
off...
3.
ENERGETICS----keep filling yourself up with the Light of
Hashem's unconditional love for you, and your desire to pass it
on, until
you're all lit up...
B.
Now try to
detect any foreign or invading aspects of your life that don't jive
with your
lit up Divine essence. Draw a circle with lines coming out all around
the
circumference [a spider chart]. Write in the circle, 'These are the
areas of my
life now which either upset my equilibrium or are a contradiction to my
natural
Divine essential self.' Now simply let the
answers
come to you and write them down at the ends of the spider chart.
Afterwards
prioritize them and begin working first on your prioritized
choices...
C.
The way to
rid yourself of these invaders, depends upon their intensity and
severity. For
starters, I refer you back to A above and steps 1, 2 and 3....but
this
time do them with the goal in mind of liberating yourself by zapping
these
invaders with your inner Divine energy. We have brought other 'zaps' in
previous editions of 'Parsha Tools' and we'll most likely bring more in
the
future....
THE
TEST OF PURE
UNADULTERATED SPIRITUALITY
1.
Before we examine what the lesson is that Hashem is teaching
in this message to the people, let's first pull back a step, and try to
understand
the bigger picture. Here we have an entire nation, 3-4 million people
strong,
literally out in the middle of the desert. They are being groomed
towards
spiritual perfection----to living a miraculous, above nature existence.
If they
would have stood up to their trials, they would have been the
world's vanguard, leading all humanity then and there to global
enlightenment and Tikun. The entire 4th book of the '5 BOOKS OF
MOSES'--'BAMIDBAR' [literally meaning --'in the desert'], is a study of
the trials,
failures AND successes of a people whose lessons apply to all
generations
including our own.
This
nation was driven to rise up to whole new level of pure
unadulterated spirituality. They were given Heavenly food, called
Manna. The
effect of the Manna was to fill them up with pure spirituality, so much
so that
it even spiritualized their bodies; they no longer needed to
relieve
themselves---nor launder their clothes-- nor shower themselves. The
spiritual
effect was unlike normal food intake which often causes negative
psychological
heaviness..etc. The Manna caused them to be internally
motivated to
study Torah and to get close to Hashem. To top it all off, the Manna
provided
them with the taste of any food in the world that they desired,
yet left
them totally free of any lower level desires! However, this gift of
packaged spirituality that G-d granted them, was exactly their
point
of greatest difficulty. The weakest elements of the nation,
referred to as
the Eiruv Rav or mixed multitude, dragged down the stronger factions of
the people, into a 'lusting'. It was a lusting for the good
old days
when they were able to pamper their lower animalistic selves with meat,
sexual
lust and all other standard forms of bodily desires that Hashem was
trying to wean
them from. The battle lines were drawn; pure
higher soul
spiritually pitted against lower animal-soul
lust.
MOSHE'S REACTION
2.
Moshe was more than just a leader of the people. He was the
'Tzadik Yesod
Olam' [the righteous person who is the pivotal apex of all of his
people
and the entire world]. In the world of souls as well as in this
world,
Moshe was charged with the responsibility of the Tikun of all those who
are
connected to his soul root--------and this encompassed the entire
nation. This
takes place not only on a conscious level, but also on a
super-conscious level.
Moshe rises and falls with the people's risings and fallings. In Egypt,
before
the Hebrew slave nation could speak properly, Moshe also
couldn't---he
stammered and stuttered. And when the people arrived at Sinai in a
united and
elevated state, Moshe reached his highest personal levels, climbing up
to
the Heavens in a supernatural way to bring down the Word Of G-d to
mankind.
Here
in our Parsha's episode---the people had a fallout; their
lower
soul overpowered their higher soul. Moshe's reaction was to grow very
weak---as
he does time and time again in all the Parshas of 'Bamidbar'. He, in
his
weakness, informs Hashem, that he's not able to bear the burden of this
people
alone. The Slonimer Rebbe in his work, 'The Paths of Peace', teaches
that when
a person is under stress or is in the midst of a trial, crisis or
breakdown----all the 'extras' disappear; the
extra dose
of expanded consciousness & the extra dose of clearly-felt help
from On
High...etc. Moshe's 'extras' disappeared with his
people's
fallout. [It nevertheless must be pointed out here, that the reason
that we
are often placed in an ordeal without the 'extras' is to
force us to
discover levels of inner strengths previously untapped and sometimes
it's to
force us to act in impossible situations and thereby draw down G-d's
miraculous
salvation].
HASHEM'S REPLY
3.
The Divine response, at Moshe's request, was to provide
collaborative
help for Moshe. A small part of Moshe's level of
prophecy was
apportioned amongst the 'Elders of The People', as well
as was a
part of his burden. There were a number of rectifications that were
dealt out
to the people [some involving death ---thus the place-name of our
Parsha--'The Graves of Lust']. Everyone received the dosage of
rectification
that was appropriate to their level of sunkenness. The
rectifications were
administered in a gradual way, allowing the people to continuously
reassess
their lot and choose to behave differently. The rectification that the
Parsha
seems to stress the most, is when they get so much of their
lusted-after
meat [quail] '...until it comes out of their noses'. They partake until
they
become thoroughly disgusted with it. This Tikun [like 1 or 2
others in the
Chumash], recalls the principle of homeopathy----- which gives the sick
person
an additional dose of their sickness until they are
healed.
THE
FORMULA
4.
We all have inside of us a Moshe and a mixed multitude and all
the other
levels in between. We are all faced with the constant battle between
the higher
and lower soul that our Parsha describes. In fact this [higher
soul--lower soul
battle and struggle for inner harmony, perhaps is the single most
important
factor involved in achieving wellbeing. A lot of careful study
&
expert strategizing is needed in order to be successful. We will
focus
only on one aspect---that which our Parsha focuses on. We'll bring the
Parsha
tool that you can use for your own personal struggle. Be wise
as the
maxim points out; 'Give to the wise, and they'll become even
wiser'. Use this formula as it's presented, and
then apply
it to all other areas of your life, such as teaching, parenting,
healing,
relationships etc...etc;
a.
Identify the lower soul aspect of yourself that demands immediate
gratification in the areas of food and other types
of lust-------the part
that absolutely doesn't want anything to do with higher spirituality in
all of
its various forms. Whatever method you use to identify this part,
energetically, meditatively or cognitively, the main thing is to
tangibly feel
this part as a very real independent personality....
b.
Present this lower-soul part of yourself with the very real possibility
of
receiving the object of its desire here and now.....
c.
Now present to it the 'payoff'---ie....the immediate gain involved,
such as the
sensation of filling of your stomach with delicious food...etc.
Now
present the 'price' it must pay. This is the crucial part----here, one
must
take the lower soul by the hand and show it all the negative impact
it's
lusting has cast upon you and your higher soul; the
emotional
breakdown, the spiritual and physical fallout, other people in your
life who
are affected negatively...etc.. The more you expand the
list
and the deeper you feel the impact, the more thorough will be the
healing.
d.
In order to re-create a conscientious harmony---choose at this point a
whole
new possibility, a win--win agreement between your lower
and
higher souls!!
WHY SPY OUT THE LAND?!
1. 'And
Hashem spoke to Moshe saying, “Send for yourself people and let them
spy out
the land of Canaan..." [Parshat Beshalach verses 1-2]
There
are many
different reasons offered by commentaries over the ages as to why at
all was
there a request to spy out the land of Canaan [soon afterwards to be
called the
land of Israel]. This land will serve as the future home of the
generation of
the wilderness [or the generation of 'Daat' or knowing]. Despite the
fact that
they had all been living a life of miraculous G-d
infused day-to-day
living, more so than any other people in history, and this should have
been
enough to reassure them that they could trust with 100% security that
Hashem
would bring them successfully into the land, despite any and all
possible
obstacles, nevertheless they needed more reassurance. Despite the
fact
that G-d had promised to the forefathers of the nation that they would
successfully
be brought into the land, it wasn't enough. Their reasons and
justifications
were varied;
a.
The common
people wanted to know what was waiting for them. They had heard stories
of
giants and of fierce warrior-nations lurking in the land. They told
Moshe that
it was worth checking it out--------perhaps they could discover
the hiding
places of the treasures that were meant for them. Perhaps they could
discover
which routes were more advantageous to begin their conquest.
b.
The leaders
of the 12 tribes-------the ones who were handpicked to be the spies,
also had
various rationalizations for spying out the land. Perhaps the
nation
wouldn't be ready to descend from a level of pure spirituality 24\7
to a
more natural materialistic reality of plowing the earth and worrying
about
making a living on their own.
c.
Moshe asked
Hashem what to do. Hashem replied, "Send FOR YOURSELF spies..." I,
Hashem, am not telling you to do it, but I am not opposing you
either.
Some commentaries suggest that Hashem was advising Moshe to send spies
with
Moshe's own elevated and profound intentions [ie.send FOR YOURSELF
means
send according to your own intentions]. Moshe's reasoning is
that if
the spying would actually be done by the highest elements of the people
[the
tribal leaders], they would rise to the occasion and bring back such a
favorable report [a natural consequence of their elevated status], that
the
people would be so inspired to enter the land, that their
reinforced
'Emuna' [faith] itself would help them to overcome all obstacles.
INHERITING
THE
SUPERNATURAL LAND MEANS HAVING A TRUST OF G-D
2. All
of
the people's rationalizations proved not only fruitless, but they all
backfired
in a disastrous way. The spies themselves fell from their high
level and
came back with an evil report about the essence of the Land. The people
bought
it, and the result was a Divine decree to not allow anyone over the age
of 20 [with very few exceptions], to merit entering the land. They
all
died out in the desert over a period of the next 40 years. This
national
calamity became the forerunner of a string of national tragedies
that we
are mourning for and still trying to correct all the way until our
present times [we won't deal in this essay with the question
of why
the punishment was so severe]. At this point, we must ask, what was the
lesson
and the Divine message that they [and we] need to understand?!
The
answer is
simple to comprehend, but incredibly difficult to carry out! The
land of
Israel is a supernatural entity-------in order to inherit such an
above-nature-home, they must show themselves to be a supernatural
nation by
leaping into the task in a supernatural way. Anything short of that
just won't
do!
This
isn't the
first time the nation was prompted to jump into the supernatural;
a.
They were
born as a nation in a supernatural fashion. They needed to leave Egypt
so fast
that their bread didn't have time to leaven [thus we eat Matzoh on
Pesach]. One
of the reasons offered to explain their need to leap out of Egypt, was
so that
they would inscribe into their very national character from the
beginning, a
detachment from the realm of time. A fast exodus from Egypt would lift
them
above time and nature forever!
b.
So too, the
proper preparation for receiving Torah, which is essentially a
guidebook for
living in an above-nature fashion, is to declare [in a very non-natural
fashion], 'We will do and we will hear'. They committed to carry out
all that
they will be taught sight unseen. Only afterwards will they 'hear' and
learn
how to carry it all out.
c.
All the
tests that our Forefathers were tested with throughout the first
of the
5 Books Of Moses, called 'Braishit', were all designed to
integrate into
themselves and into their people after them, the principle, that even
if an
ordeal seems impossible to cope with, if they faithfully and
fearlessly
take the necessary steps, then they would be helped supernaturally and
miraculously by G-d.
d.
So too, the
lesson of supernatural preparation applies in our Parsha. In order to
inherit a
supernatural land, where the rules of the game are different than other
lands------where actually the only rule to deal with is
a full-time national and individual Divine Providence, the
nation
must faithfully and fearlessly trust in G-d and choose to be led into
the land
without any reassurances that 'spying things out' could give them.
That's how
they could inherit the realm of the supernatural.
ABOVE NATURE LIVING----A TOOL
3.
Our Parsha
is speaking literally about the going up to the land of
Israel
[referred to as 'Aliyah' in modern day jargon]. Certainly the recipe
for
successfully [deciding and] settling in the land is no different
today
then it was some 3500 years ago. It's all about synchronizing
yourself to
live in an above-nature way. But we can abstract this recipe into
all
areas of our lives that require us to be supernatural. Here's the tool;
A.
Identify an
area or challenge in your life which seems to fall in the category
of
'mission impossible'. Your only possible successful response is to act
in a
supernatural way...
B.
Now
CREATE A NEW REALITY! Create [first of all in your mind] the perfect
and
ideal scenario where your 'mission impossible' works out
wonderfully!!
C.
Now become
Hashem's main messenger to make it happen. You will continually
receive
Divine directives which you will be able to hear [AND TRUST] with
your
intuitive sense [that voice of 'knowing and clarity' inside of
yourself], which
will constantly guide you step by step to make your 'creation' a
reality
on the ground!
D.
Leave all
the results and outcomes to Hashem, and to Hashem alone. Your part is
to
proactively create and to be a vehicle for making it happen, but
be 100%
clear that whatever, however and whenever the final product
appears is
only in Hashem's hands and will therefore be absolutely for the
best!
E.
The more
you repeat this whole process with the various challenges in your life,
the
more you will draw down miracles and truly live a supernatural
life!!
THE DEPTH OF KORACH'S REBELLION
1.
'And they
[Korach and his followers] said to them [Moshe and Aaron], "you took
upon
yourselves too much [authority], the entire community is Holy and
Hashem is
with them, so why do you lord over the people of Hashem?!" '[Parshat
Korach verse 3]. Upon first glance we may think that this is just
a
standard case of a jealous rebel [Korach], who can't stand the fact
that Moshe
and Aaron are occupying the positions of power and authority that
he feels
he deserves ----so he stages a rebellion. However when
we examine the Midrash and the classic commentaries, the real
picture
that emerges is of a very wealthy, powerful and clever person who dares
to
challenge the very foundations that hold together human society.
The Holy
Zohar teaches that Korach opposes the whole concept of 'peace'.
The peace
that he opposes is not simply an absence of argument, but it's much
deeper than
that. The Slonimer Rebbe explains that the peace that he
opposes can be
understood as the need for any type of intermediary between G-d and
ourselves.
You may ask at this point, 'what’s wrong with that?! The answer is that
our
present era of 'Tikun' is an era where the entire world and all of its
inhabitants are here to take care of unfinished business. The world at
this
point is in a state of lacking, and the way to meet the challenge of
overcoming
the lacking [until we eventually arrive at a world order of perfection
and
wholeness] is to have a system of 'hierarchy'.
HIERARCHY EXPLAINED
2.
Hierarchy
or one-upmanship is a setup whereby everyone has someone who is above
them and
below them. This enables growth. Whoever is lacking has someone to look
up to
in order to fulfill their needs [as well as an opportunity to help
others who
are more needy than oneself]. To keep this system smoothly and
peacefully
running, one constantly needs intermediaries to filter down the
information
between the higher-ups and the lower-downs. The formula is; ---When in
a state
of lacking, an intermediary-based-hierarchy-system is needed in order
to fill
up the lackings and bring everything to a state of wholeness. The word
Peace [Shalom] has the same Hebrew root as the
word wholeness
[Shalem].The role of peace in a lacking world is to act as
the factor that
enables the achievement of wholeness. Korach opposed all this. Korach
opposed peace. The spread of his philosophy would
have
resulted in a world where the attainment of perfection, wholeness and
peace
would be a hopeless dream. Therefore the Divine response to Korach was
very
severe indeed. The earth literally swallowed him [and his followers] up
and
he's still down there until this very day!!
KORACH
JUMPED THE GUN
3.
I think I
can guess what some of you may be thinking at this point. You may be
asking,
'But wasn't Korach really on to something?! Isn't it far superior for
all
people to equally have a direct line to G-d--without any hierarchal
system to
filter it down?! Isn't true that all of us, in our unique way, are just
as Holy
and special as anyone else?! Wouldn't it be better if society was
filled
up with totally independent people not lacking anything or in need of
anybody,
because they and the world are totally perfect already as is, right
here and
now?!' The answer to all of your questions is a
resounding YES!! And this will in the future be the essence of
reality. Our sages reveal to us that the world's inhabitants
will
be perfected beings and will all be standing around in
a circle
pointing to G-d in the middle...ie...expressing their own unique and
independent 'take' of G-d and reality. However all this is true
ONLY when
there really aren't any lackings in people, society and reality. If
this type
of philosophy takes hold too early, before it's time, it's a sure
recipe for
zero-growth, no Tikun Olam, and worse than these, it's the catalyst for
what
the Kabbalist refer to as 'Shvira'----cosmic breakdown---too much
'shefa'
or abundance to be properly processed, resulting in mass chaos!!
Korach
jumped the gun. We can perhaps understand why he did, after he
experienced an
entire nation living a day to day miraculous existence, as well as
experiencing a few outstanding Divine demonstrations of
future-perfected-world
displays such as the crossing of the Red Sea and Sinai. However his
fatal
mistake [certainly partly influenced by his tainted jealousy and other
fallen
desires], was that he jumped the gun. The era of Tikun is a time for
hierarchy
and not an era for carrying on as if everyone and everything is perfect
as is!!
You could perhaps make a case for devoting part of your time and
energy
to PREPARING for the future 'perfect era' , by practicing
seeing
people and reality as being whole and perfect right now---this is
actually the
essential point of what Shabbat is, and a few other
important areas of
life---but when confronting the reality of LACKING, we need to
kick in the
old system in order to to bring the world to it's Tikun!
HITCALLELUT---A
TOOL FOR TAKING MAXIMAL ADVANTAGE OF HIERARCHY
4.
Here's an
approach for maximally taking advantage of the hierarchal world
that we
live in. The underlying principle is a very profound one taught by one
of the
greatest Kabbalists of the last 300 years--R. Shalom Sharabi--The
Rashash. He
taught that this concept is the very essence of Tikun. The
approach\concept is
called 'Hitcallelut' or inter-inclusion. The essential working
definition is
that any and all components that exist in a certain framework contain
to a
certain extent, all that all the other components contain. To the
extent that
all the components are inter-included with each other, to that extent
there is
a state of 'tikun'. I hope that our weekly tool presentation
will
help to illustrate this very important principle:
a.
Make a list
on the left hand column of your paper going from the top to the bottom
of your
page of 10 people that you know...
b.
On the top
of the page, cover the top horizontal column from left to right with a
list of
10 desirable character traits [10 sefirotic traits that you can use
are;
spirituality, wisdom, creativity, loving, caring, caution, overcoming,
enabling, communicating and receiving]...
c. Now
fill in the chart by grading the 10 people that you know on a scale of
1-10 [10
being the highest] with regard to each of these traits...
4.
Now comes
the most important step. When you next encounter any of these
10
people, make it a point to groove on their special trait[s] so much so
that you
strengthen and acquire that same trait for yourself...
5.
Use this
same system to inter-include into yourself endless other realms of the
world's
abundance and you will thereby make great strides in your own personal
Tikun
and that of the entire world!
AN OVERVIEW
1.
'And
Bilaam lifted up his eyes and he saw Israel dwelling...' [Parshat Balak
chapter
23 verse 2].
The
classic
commentary of Rashi states that Bilaam wanted to attack Israel with
'AYIN
HARA'--the Evil Eye. I'd like to jump right in at this point and
describe to
you what the evil-eye-attack that Bilaam intended to inflict is, but
first,
let's get a bit oriented. Bilaam was one of the most
powerful
magicians or sorcerers ever to walk the face of the earth. He was
commissioned
by another sorcerer of his stature, named Balak, after whom our Parsha
is
named. The Moabite King, Balak, was in great fear of the Children of
Israel,
and together with Bilaam they set out to unleash the full force of
their deadly
magic and curses in order to stop the Israelites in their tracks.
Bilaam was
Divinely granted a very high level of prophecy [in order to counter the
claims
of the Gentiles of his day, who felt that it wasn't fair that only the
Israelites
should receive high-level-prophecy]. Despite all of Bilaam's and
Balak's
attempts to find the weak point or the Achilles heal of the
Israeli
nation, he couldn't. Instead, all of his attempts to curse the
Israelites
turned into blessings. [Its important to point out, that much later in
history,
most of the intended effects of his curses, did come into being]. At
the end of
the Parsha, sort of as an afterthought, these men's evil
deigns succeeded.
There was a cunning trap set in the wilderness in a place called
Shittim [a
place of extreme danger and vulnerability]. The morally weakest
elements
of the nation fell into a 'lusting' that ultimately was
responsible for a
deathly plague causing the loss of 24000 lives.
CORRECT SEEING
2.
In
order to understand the underlying dynamic of our Parsha, I'd like to
introduce
an extremely important principle which we'll call "Correct Seeing'.
There
are 3 phases involved in seeing correctly;
a.
SEE AND
KEEP QUIET-----When we first see something, we see the whole scope or
panorama,
but generally speaking we see what we see in an external, surface
level way. Rather than jumping to any conclusions, saying anything
or
taking action based on this first impression, Correct Seeing dictates
to us to
look and keep quiet. Our sages teach, 'An aid to wisdom is keeping
quiet'
[Kabbalah equates seeing with wisdom]!
b.
ANALYZE
WHAT YOU SEE----- After seeing what you see, engage in an in-depth
analysis of
what you saw [interestingly enough, the Hebrew word for this type
of
analysis is 'IYUN' which comes from the root-word 'AYIN' or EYE]. Ask
yourself,
'What will result if I think, speak or act upon what I saw in a certain
way?
What does Hashem want of me?'
c.
NOW ACT
UPON IT------Only after you've analyzed, then make your decisions,
speak your
mind or do whatever actions are called for.
The
crucial
distinction is to not jump from phase A of initial seeing straight to
phase C
of acting upon it, unless you interject Phase B of analysis first!!
CORRECT
SEEING----SUMMER'S TIKUN
3.
The
ancient Kabbalistic classic, 'Sefer Yetzira', teaches that the Summer
Hebrew
Calendar months, Tamuz, Av and Elul [loosely paralleling the period
from
late June till early September], correspond to the three senses
or traits
of seeing, hearing and acting. These 3 traits are themselves the same 3
phases
that we have been discussing [Kabbalah equates hearing to the Sefira
'Bina'--analysis or the process of understanding one thing from another
and
coming up with the appropriate conclusions]. If we were to
look at
the underlying and essential point of all the Parshas that take place
in this
summer period, we'd see that they are all stressing this
3-step-process. We'd
see that all failures resulted from not injecting the middle step, and
all their successes came from doing it right. Now let's
get
back to the main point which we began our essay with.
BATTLE
OF THE EYES
4.
'AYIN
TOVA' a good eye, can be conveyed by describing a person who engages in
Correct
Seeing. A verse states ' Ayin Tov Yevorach' [a good eyed person is a
source of
Blessing]. When a person's actions are calculated and merged with their
deepest
Divinely inspired will, then all that this person sets their eyes on
will be
blessed. 'AYIN HARA' -an evil eye, works in a diametrically opposite
fashion. A
person sees something, and immediately without thinking, jumps! They
want it
for themselves now, and they're jealous of the fact that the other
person has
it and not them. The danger involved to all sides is huge. When a
person
engages life and people with an AYIN HARA approach, the Kabbalah
teaches that
they join forces with the powers of evil in the world and can inflict
incredible harm! The Talmud states that the root cause of an
overwhelming majority of people's deaths is AYIN HARA! There
are a
number of ways of protecting oneself from AYIN HARA, such as being very
pure,
keeping secluded, not giving it any credence, seeing others with a good
eye and
other ways...
The
source of
Bilaam's and anyone else's power of black magic and sorcery [ which may
be
loosely defined as a drawing down energy from a G-dless
lower level
realm in order to manipulate nature and people] is AYIN
HARA---purposely not
seeing G-d's perfect unified purpose in all that they
encounter!!
Bilaam enlisted AYIN HARA to attempt to bring on the downfall of
the
Children of Israel. Israel was however too absorbed in AYIN
TOVA--Correct
Seeing--- for Bilaam to succeed for the most part. Israel won
the 'Battle
of the Eyes'. Can we today in our lives do the same?! Here's
a tool
to help us;
CORRECT SEEING--A TOOL
5.
a.
Journalize all that you SEE in life; the past, present and
all that
you expect to be seeing in the future. You can make your lists as
limited or expanded as you wish...
b.
Now judge
how much of what you see is 'correct seeing'----Do you analyze what you
see, or
jump to premature conclusions?
c.
The Tikun
is to take upon yourself for the present and future [and you can
do Tshuva
for the past] to begin applying the principle of Correct Seeing. Begin
by
getting use to asking yourself the questions that we discussed
earlier---i.e.
'What would happen if I react in various ways? What does Hashem want of
me in
this situation?'
PINCHAS
MERITS HASHEM'S COVENANT OF PEACE
1.
'Therefore [you Moshe] say [to Pinchas], "Behold I [Hashem]
bestow upon him my Covenant of Peace".' [Parshat Pinchas chapter 25
verse
12]
It
is no simple matter to receive Hashem's Covenant of Peace. The root
of the word Shalom-peace is the word Shaleim--a state of being perfect
or
whole. The Kabbalah teaches that Pinchas went on to become Elijah the
Prophet
and Elijah never died! His body and soul went up into the Heavens in
the
presence of his main disciple, Elisha the Prophet. But he never died,
and he
continues until this day to come back in various bodies [not
reincarnations] as
a Divine messenger in a myriad of benevolent missions. What did Pinchas
do to
receive such a distinguished lot in life? He 'blasted
away
the fogging.' You may be presently saying to yourselves, 'There
goes
Yitzchak again, boldly recreating the English language to convey some
esoteric
concept---well, you're right and let me explain;
Let's
define 'fogging' as transforming a perfectly clear, lucid, and
self-contained reality into a mishmash, fogged over, chaotic mess!
THE
CONNECTION BETWEEN PINCHAS AND
THE 3 WEEKS
2.
The Holy Zohar teaches that the episode that Pinchas was
involved in, and that earned for him the "The Divine Covenant of
Peace", was the most dangerous chapter in the history of our nation.
Bilaam's and Balak's evil designs to 'fog' the pure and majestic
level of
the Israelites, was tragically succeeding. A part of the nation was
publicly
acting in a way that violated all that was held sacred. Total
annihilation
was close at hand G-d forbid. Pinchas rose to the occasion, and in an
act of
true zealousness, he nipped the potential devastation in the bud!
Pinchas
reinstated a state of peace between Hashem, and His people,
and
between Hashem and His Creation. The 'fog' cleared. How does this
connect with
the nature of the present calendar period which Parshat Pinchas
always
coincides with? We are now entering into a 3 week period referred to as
'In
Between the Straits' [ Megillat Eicha].The 3 weeks are sandwiched in
between 2
fast days---the 17th of Tamuz and the 9th of Av[Tisha b' av]. It's
the harshest period of the entire Jewish calendar year. All that
anyone
would not want to go wrong, goes wrong! And, you guessed it the
root-cause
is 'fogging'. Let's look into it in a deeper way;
FOGGING
AND THE 5 CATACLYSMS OF THE 17TH OF TAMUZ
3.
The 5 events that occurred at various times in History, all on
the 17th of Tamuz [ and which are complimented and completed by another
5
events which all take place on Tisha b'Av at the end of the 3
weeks], all
had a 'fogging' element:
a.
THE SIN OF THE GOLDEN CALF AND THE RESULTING BREAKING OF
THE 10-COMMANDMENT-TABLETS-----if it weren't for the calf and the
broken
tablets, the Israelites and the entire world would’ve lived on the
level
of pre-sin-Garden of Eden paradise in all ways. Everyone would’ve
been
unified around the instantly accessible, infinite wisdom of the
Torah.
Instead 'fogging' resulted---chaos and unclarity rule the day in
the areas
of human consciousness, wellbeing, spirituality and interaction....
b.
THE ROMAN CONQUEROR APOSTOMUS BURNED A SCROLL OF THE TORAH-----this
is explained by the Holy Arizal as not only a burning of one isolated
Torah
scroll [which is certainly bad enough], but the ramifications are much
more
deep and far reaching than that. The burning of the Torah represents a
situation called 'Torah in Exile’. The Torah, as explained by the
Zohar, was
what Hashem used as a blueprint to create the word. That means that all
of the
wisdom in the Universe is rooted in the Torah. Prior to this cosmic
fallout [of
the Torah being in Exile], there still existed the ability to easily
access all
the world's wisdom inside of Torah alone, without the need to refer to
outside
sources [granted that even this level was a lower level than that which
would've been achieved had the Tablets not been
broken]. Instead
'fogging' resulted----nowadays in order to access and reunify the
exiled
Torah, we need to understand the spiritual directives of how to redeem
it [the
subject of another essay].
c. THE
BREAKDOWN OF THE OUTER WALL PROTECTING JERUSALEM'S
HOLY TEMPLE-----after years of struggle for control of
Jerusalem, 'fogging' resulted-----instead of Jerusalem properly
serving as
a 'Dira b'Tachtonim' [the main Dwelling Place on Earth
of the
Divine Presence], the city instead became a gathering place
for many of
the world's philosophies and religions, though in itself not
necessarily a bad
phenomenon, but in the case of Jerusalem, this was enough to drive away
much of
the unique Divine Presence that existed at the time, and
also contributed in setting up the scenario for the 'Churban' [the
destruction of the Temple and the Exile of the Jews, the
Torah and
the Divine Presence across the globe].
d.
THE CESSATION OF THE DAILY 'TAMID' OFFERIND AND OTHER
OFFERINGS-----the 'Tamid' [literally 'Always'] offering was instituted
for the
sake of achieving atonement for the sin of the Golden Calf. Therefore
it's
cessation represented the 'fogging' effect of being exposed to all the
negative
influences we spoke about concerning the Calf and the broken Tablets.
e. THE
SETTING UP OF AN IDOLATROUS OBJECT OF WORSHIP IN THE
'HEICHAL [MAIN HALL] OF THE TEMPLE-----The 'fogging' effect here is
obvious.
The Holy Temple, the single most powerful place of G-d's
omnipotence
became invaded by idolatry which represents the possibility of
thinking that
there are powers other than G-d [G-d forbid].
'ALL WHO CHASE IT CATCH IT IN-BETWEEN THE
STRAITS'
4.
There is contained in the prophetic writings of Jeremiah, a pivotal
verse, 'All
who chase it [or her] catch up to it in-between the straits'. The
simple
meaning is that these 3 weeks are dangerously vulnerable for bad
tidings to
occur more so than the rest of the year. However a deep Chassidic
explanation
explains this verse very differently; All those who chase G-D during
these
three weeks can catch up to Him more so than the rest of the year!
We’ve
explained recently in' Parsha Tools', the esoteric concept of
'opposites'----just beyond and deep inside the worst negativities and
darknesses of life, hides Hashem's Presence, to be accessed by
those who
truly reach out! Ironically these 3 weeks are meant to eventually turn
out to
be the 3 happiest weeks of the year in Messianic times [soon in our day
please
G-d]. Tradition teaches that the Mashiach is born on Tisha b'Av at the
peak of
all of this darkness. If we look deep inside of the 'foggings' of all 5
cataclysmic events, there lays hidden incredible Divine light and
salvation. We
just need to know how to access it...ie...to Blast away the Fogging.
THE FOGGING BLASTING TOOL
5.
a. Identify the 'Foggings' in your life...ie...those area in your life
that
could potentially be powerfully lucid and enlightened, but instead are
a
darkened chaotic mess...
b. Merge
with Hashem. This can be done in many ways---prayer, asking Hashem to
be with
you, trusting in Him, keeping up a written correspondence with Him
[ie.. simulating what you think Hashem would reply]...
c. Co-create
a reality where Hashem is guiding you step by step to blast away the
'foggings'
of your life...
d.
Now commit to be Hashem's chief agent or 'right-hand' person in making
your
co-creation happen. Listen to your inner guiding voice and trust it.
This stage
is perhaps also best accomplished by exchanging written
correspondence
with Hashem--the Divine Guidance Counselor....
THE TRUE PURPOSE OF THE 42 JOURNEYS
1.
'These are the journeys of the Children of Israel...' [Parsha Masai 1st
verse].
The
Parsha
opens up by listing the 42 different stations that the Israelites
camped in
their 40 years in the desert. They stayed very briefly in some of the
places.
In others, such as 'Kadesh', they stayed for 19 years. They were
directed by
Hashem, through the agency of Moshe and Aaron, where to go and how long
to
stay. A few key Chasidic commentaries go into great length explaining
that the
real underlying reason for the specific choice of stations they
arrived
at, was based exclusively on the effect that each station would
have on
their souls [and on the world at large]. The desert [and this
particular
desert] environment that they passed through, was considered to be the
ideal
backdrop for the Tikun of their souls. Mystical sources consider
the
desert, as beautiful as it appears to be, to be a place overflowing
with every
type of negative spiritual force or power imaginable.
This qualifies it for being the perfect candidate to raise up
fallen
or lost ' Divine sparks' trapped in this massive world of negative
forces. The
Kabbalistic\ Chassidic understanding of raising up sparks is that
we come
into life with crucial pieces of our soul missing [and all of
reality for
that matter]. We are Divinely guided to redeem these missing soul
parts, by
successfully coping with and elevating all kinds of ordeals, decisions
and
clarifications. We 'elevate' by reframing or reorienting any
uncertainty to its
proper Divine place in the scheme of our lives and of all reality. A
foreboding
desert scenario affords the Israelites the ability to massively elevate
lost
sparks and thereby advance in leaps and bounds towards full
'Tikun'. Each
of the 42 place names represent 42 specific 'lackings' in the
people and
in reality which are in need of elevation or Tikun. The length of stay
at each
place represents the Amount of Tikun-time needed to successfully
elevate that
'lacking'.
THE ELEVATOR
2.
What
is the nature of this mystical concept of '42', and how does this
shed
light on our ancestors 'sparks' elevating journeys? How does this
principle
apply in our own lives?
Kabbalah
teaches
that there are a few different variations of the 42 letter Name. What
they all
have in common is the 'ascending elevator' effect. An ascending
elevator
takes us from a lower floor to a higher one. Kabbalah explains
that the
morning prayer service consists of a series of ascents. One part of the
service
represents a specific Kabbalistic world. We ascend to the next
higher
world [which is the next part of the prayer service] by the
means of
an 'elevator'-----one of the 42 letter Name elevators. Each of the
42 places that the Israelites passed through, not only had an
elevating effect, but when we view all 42 places as a whole unit, we
see an
overall ascent. A nation born out of slavery matures
and ascends
through their 42 major ordeals until they are ready to step in to
the Chosen Land. The Baal Shem Tov teaches that each of us are
meant to go
through 42 key ordeals, meant to raise us up to a state of readiness
needed in
order to enter our personal post-life 'chosen land'. It's hard
to point out specifically when we are going through one of
these elevating ordeals, but we can understand though a few
practical lessons from this Parsha's principle of the 42
journeys;
THE
ELEVATOR
EFFECT APPLIED
3.
a. Understand
that Hashem brings me to key places or ordeals or choices in
life[that have the effect of elevating me]....
b.
Each place is an opportunity for Tikun and self-perfection. The same is
true of
my life as a whole....
c.
The way to take advantage of, or to elevate each opportunity, is to:
1. Identify the challenge as
being
Divinely sent.
2. Understand
that what's involved is a challenge of redeeming a lost or fallen
aspect
of myself.
3. Reframe
the challenge as being the best and most inspiring, since it is
G-d-sent, and
an opportunity to connect even deeper with G-d and with the Divine
aspect of
myself.
4. Integrate
the lesson learned into my outlook on life in general.
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING AWARE OF
ONE'S PAST
1.
'These are the words that Moshe spoke to all of Israel on the other
side of the Jordan...' [first verse on the Parsha and Book of Devarim].
Rashi---the Master commentator explains that Moshe is speaking words of
rebuke
in a way that will be properly taken to heart:
A. right before his death
B. not overtly--but rather
covertly through
hints...etc...
C. at a point where the
reality of their crossing
over into the land of Israel is at hand
Rebuke
and a call for repentance is not the only message that's
conveyed by the Torah. At most of the significant crossroads that the
Children
of Israel pass through, taking them from one spiritual environment to a
different one, there is some type of accounting, reflection or
inventory of
what they have or haven't accomplished. This is a phenomenon that
expresses
itself in many ways as well. At the end of every year, we're encouraged
to take
stock of our lives and determine if we are true to ourselves and our
personal
calling, or perhaps we've veered off the course and we need to realign.
The
masters of the Mussar movement [a movement stressing constant
self--improvement] stress that we should be doing this weekly and
even
daily. Our sages say that if you see a Torah scholar who does something
that
looks wrong or even questionable at night, you can be sure that by the
next
morning they've corrected themselves---they've done Tshuvah. In fact
this
entire 5th Book of the 5 Books of Moses, 'Devarim', is also referred to
as the
'Mishne Torah' or the 'Repeat of the Torah.' For the
Torah to
be properly internalized, we need to review & understand what has
happened
up to this point. I recently encountered an entire book proving that
the common
denominator & perhaps secret recipe of all of the greatest Torah
scholars
of history was that they were driven to constantly review their studies.
MALCHUT AND REVIEW POWER
2.
Let's explore the principle a bit deeper. According to the
Kabbalah, the last of the 10 Sefirot [a Divine-based template bridging
the
infinite and the finite] is the Sefira of Malchut. Malchut is defined
[in the
Zohar] as a trait that has nothing of her own, except from what is
given to her
from what precedes her. Then, as a result of her being filled up with
all of
the 10 Sefirot [the entire Sefirotic Unit], she becomes the prime
candidate to
carry the torch and communicate the message of the Sefirotic
unit outside
of itself to others. In effect, she's giving birth, based on the past,
to the
future. In the light of this definition, we can properly
understand the
principle at hand. The lesson of the Mishne Torah [which is
Sefirotically
categorized as Malchut], and all the other examples of
'self--review--power'
that we've mentioned so far, are teaching us a universal formula
for
successfully moving or growing from one period to the next one. Let's
give this
formula practical application;
THE INVENTORY TOOL
3.
A. Make a list of the highlights of
your previous week. Once you recall as much as you can recall, then
pick out
those accomplishments, experiences or events that stand out---THE
GREATEST
HITS! Even without going further in this process, this in and of itself
should
bring you alot of inner joy---something, I'm sure we could all use as
much of
as possible in our lives.
B. Now begin to process the
GREATEST
HITS. Take notice of what you thought would happen, and what
actually
happened. What's the lesson you can derive from this for the future?!
Which
experiences had the most impact on your lives?! How can you apply these
'impacts'
into your future?!
C. Now begin to project the
lessons you've learned
into what you want to accomplish in your upcoming week.
4.
Our sages teach that when you give over wisdom to the wise, they'll
expand the wisdom even more. I encourage all of you wise people
out there
to take this principle, and create for yourself a beautiful new future
out of
your past!!
THE
OBLIGATION OF LOVING HASHEM
1.
'You shall love the Lord your G-d with all your heart, all
your soul, and all your might' [Parsha Vaetchanan--- chap. 6, verse 5].
Our
Sages learn from this verse that the level that we are expected to
reach in loving Hashem is very high indeed. We are to love Hashem with
all of
higher Divine Soul as well as all of our lower animalistic Soul. We are
to love
Hashem so much, that if we are forced into a situation demanding us to
give up
our lives for Hashem, we would gladly comply. We are to love Hashem so
much
that if we are forced to give up all of our money for Him, we
would gladly
do so. We are to love in Hashem in all situations and ordeals in life
that He
chooses to lead us in. The Rambam [R. Moshe ben Maimon; Maimonides]
describes
one of the highest levels of loving Hashem as being an experience
of being
'love-sick'. All you can think about all the time in everything that
you do is
this love!
THE IMPACT OF LOVING HASHEM
2.
The impact of this Divine love is a direct reflection of the
intensity of the obligation. The general rule regarding the impact
of all
of our efforts directed in the service of Hashem is that they draw
down a
reflective or mirror effect from on High. The words in the Psalms
'Hashem
Tzilcha' or 'Hashem is your shadow’, are interpreted by the Baal
Shem Tov
to mean that G-d is your mirror. Whatever we do down here, G-d
reflects it
back to us. So if we walk through life with a superhuman love of Him,
He
reciprocates and Providentially pervades our lives with
a corresponding
extraordinary display of His Love.
THE
MITZVAH ISN'T THE FEELING, BUT THE HEART-OPENING
3.
The question that must be asked is how anyone can be commanded
to FEEL anything! The commentary of the 'Ohr Hachaim' ['The Light of
Life']
provides us with a beautiful answer. The very next verse [after our
essay's
verse] states, 'You shall place these words...on your hearts...' We are
meant
to utilize anything and everything that that can open our hearts.
For
example, we should focus on how much Hashem loves us and has come
through for
us consistently throughout our lives. We will bring a fuller list
in the
Tools--section of this essay, but the main point is to understand that
we're
not commanded to FEEL the love of Hashem. Rather our Mitzvah is to
do all
we can to open up the heart to feel this love.
EXTRAORDINARY LEVELS OF
HEART OPENING
4.
What we still need to ask however is how in the world can we open
the heart so much so, that we can reach the extraordinary
levels
described earlier. Part of the answer, we've already revealed; Our
obligation
isn't the feeling, but the preparations needed to access that
feeling--What I'm
trying to say is that we can only do our best and the level of
feeling
we achieve is a gift from Above. In order to give you an idea of
what it means
to do our best to open our hearts [and minds for that matter], let me
present
to you a very brief illustration of one who is unanimously
considered to
be the greatest Kabbalist of the last 2000 years or so--the Holy Arizal
[R. Yitzchak Luria whose 'Yahrtzeit--day of death, about 470 years
ago,
falls this week]. He stressed that he achieved what he achieved as a
result of
trying harder than anyone in his generation. He sat on the banks of the
Nile
River all week long, actively engaged in his concerted study
efforts nearly
24 hours of the day, for seven straight years! He was always deep in
contemplating and clarifying one or 2 sentences a week of the classic
kabbalistic work, the Zohar. G-d reciprocated measure for measure and
the rest
is legendary. The Arizal was given the angelic prophet Elijah to teach
and
reveal to him the mysteries of the Torah and of the universe
full
time. He was able to see the secrets of people's souls, their thoughts
and
their Tikunim [rectifications] any time he wanted. He understood the
spoken
language of birds, plants, rocks...etc..etc.. And all that is just a
very small
drop in the bucket of what he revealed. And what he revealed is a drop
in the
bucket of what he knew. The principle is clear, to the extent that you
invest a
concerted effort to open up your heart or mind, to that extent you will
be
Divinely bestowed with corresponding levels of an open loving heart and
a
brilliant lucid mind!
TOOLS FOR OPENING THE HEART TO LOVE
HASHEM
5.a
CONTEMPLATION OF G-D'S RUNNING OF THE WORLD-----Perhaps one
of the best ways to do this type of contemplation is a way that
was
used in an article by R. Arye Kaplan called 'If you were G-d'.
Pretend
that you are G-d! You are given an island and your task is to bring
everyone on
the island to a state of perfection. You are hidden and everyone has
free
choice. Take the scenario as far as you like and contemplate
deeply all
the insights you come up with. This type of contemplation can bring you
to a
deep love and appreciation for G-d and what He's constantly doing for
us...
b. EMOTING-----Grab
a private sound-proof corner where no one will
bother you and start emoting. Cry, scream, sing, dance, shout and do
anything
else that will help to open up your emotions. Once opened up, have a
heart to
heart talk with Hashem! As one person in our weekly emoting group
recently
said, “Praying and talking to HaShem from the heart is a whole
different level
than doing it from the head."
c. FEELING
HASHEM'S PERSONAL LOVE FOR YOU----- There's perhaps
nothing stronger to spark love of another, than when you feel their
love for
you. One of many possible ways to do this is as
follows; When you're walking down the
street [or
perhaps just sitting at home], start bringing to mind all the
wonderful
things G-d has and is [and will be] doing for you at all times. Start
with the
most obvious ones such as how G-d enables you to walk, talk, breathe
etc.. and
then allow your mind to flow with all the other associated Divine
gifts
that come to you. This may be written down and collected at the end of
a day,
week or a longer period. In addition, you can learn from authentic
Jewish
sources, all the manifold displays of love that G-d shows us at all
times....
d. CATALYZING
EXTRAORDINARY LOVE----- As we discussed earlier, this
type of love is one that reflects the quality of effort invested
& the
sky is the limit [literally]. First, double up your efforts in A, B and
C
above. Now ask g-d to saturate you at all times with feelings and
insights that
focus on loving Him. Write down or take mental note of all the
Divine-sent
flashes that come to you. Let it be His Will that they
will come
in greater and greater quantity and quality until you will be a
wellspring of
Divine love---Amen!
'ALL THE MITZVAH'
1.
'All
the Mitzvah that I command you today, you should take care to
fulfill, in order to live and multiply and come to inherit the land
that Hashem
swore to [give to] your forefathers.' [Parsha Eikev, chap.8, verse 1]
All
of the
commentaries jump on the strange wording of this verse. Instead of
saying 'All
the Mitzvah', it should say either 'every Mitzvah' or 'all the
Mitzvahs'. The
master commentary, 'Rashi', brings 2 possible answers. The meaning is
either to
do the entire body of Mitzvahs or else to complete the performance of
any and
every Mitzvah from it's beginning all the way through to the
end, and
thereby gain the Blessings of life, reproduction and inheriting
the
land. Let's study another explanation which points out a way
of
plugging a mitzvah for all it's worth!
THE 5 SOUL LEVELS OF A MITZVAH
2.
Like
a person, a Mitzvah is a spiritual being. A Mitzvah has a body and
soul. Just
like a person takes action with their body, so too the body of a
Mitzvah is its
actual performance. Just like a person's soul is multi-dimensional [5
levels;
Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Chayah and Yechidah], the same is true of
the soul
of a Mitzvah. The performance of the Mitzvah encompasses both the
body of
the Mitzvah as well as the level of Nefesh. The level of Ruach of the
Mitzvah
is the knowledge of the Mitzvah...ie...knowing all of the
'Torah' that's
taught concerning the Mitzvah. The Neshamah level of the Mitzvah is the
'Kavanah' or intention...ie..the awareness or presence of mind one has
when
doing the Mitzvah [on the simplest level one is aware that one is
in fact
involved in doing a Mitzvah]. The reason why this is considered to be
such a
high level [ie..Neshama], is because it requires one to basically be in
a
meditative state of focus while involved. The next soul level of a
Mitzvah, called Chayah, is achieved by having the intention of
doing the
Mitzvah for the 'Sake of Heaven'...ie... doing it altruistically in
order to
magnify Hashem's Prescence. Finally, the highest level of doing a
Mitzvah,
Yechidah, is the doing of the Mitzvah with maximal heartfelt
enthusiasm.
THE COSMIC EFFECTS OF MAXIMIZING THE MITZVAH
3.
A
Mitzvah, like a human being, has a microcosmic effect; A
Mitzvah that's
maximally activated by performing it with all 5 levels of soul,
will in
turn effect every other dimension that's related to it in the
spiritual
world. Here are a few illustrations of this microcosmic effect:
a.
THE
MITZVAH'S EFFECT ON MYSELF-----When I open up the 5 levels of a
Mitzvah, I
in turn open up the 5 levels of myself or my soul. To the extent
that I do
any particular Mitzvah with knowledge, presence of mind, altruism and
enthusiasm, I in turn open up these realms in everything
that I
do. Also, since each Mitzvah is related to a specific body part and
character
trait, the specific mitzvah that I do will awaken and
heal that
particular channel in my body and soul. Now we understand what our
verse
means when it states that when I do 'all the Mizvah' I merit to LIVE!
b.
THE
MITZVAH'S EFFECT ON THE WORLD------The world also has the dimensions of
body
and soul. The more 'soul' I incorporate into my Mitzvahs [and into
all
actions that I do for that matter], the more influence I have on
the
entire world. Here too, each Mitzvah corresponds to a particular place
on the
globe and the type of people living there. Awaken the Mitzvah and
awaken that
part of the globe!! in addition, according to the amount of soul
that I do
the Mitzvah with, I will inherit my share of the 'Promised Land',
which is
also a spiritual being made up of body and soul. This applies literally
[ie....my merited portion in the land of Israel], and on a deeper
level--I
merit my share of the post-life, which is the cosmic realm of the
'Promised
Land'. Now we understand what the verse means by promising an
inheritance
in the land of Israel to the one who fulfills 'all the Mitzvah'.
c.
THE
MITZVAH'S REPRODUCTIVE EFFECT------- Another aspect of the
microcosmic
effect of the fully actualized Mitzvah is its reproductive effect;
one
Mitzvah begets another mitzvah & another & another until
one
becomes surrounded and encompassed by Mitzvahs. Since the purpose
of the
Mitzvahs is to Divinize our lives 24\7, the effort that we
invest
in maximizing one Mitzvah, serves to maximize every moment of our
lives!!
Now we understand what the verse means by stating that if you perform
'all the
Mitzvah', you merit to multiply [ie.. to multiply the richness of
living]!
OUR TOOL; MAXIMIZING THE MITZVAH
4.
a. Choose
a common Mitzvah that generally comes your way such as Loving your
neighbor,
prayer, or studying Torah....
b.
Perform
that Mitzvah with all the soul levels that we've mentioned:
1)
Learn all
that you can about the Mitzvah and perform it with this wisdom in a
fully
integrated way.
2)
Do the
Mitzvah with meditative presence; remove all other thoughts from your
mind
except what you're doing at the time.
3)
Do it for
the Sake of Hashem and the Tikun of the world! Based on what we said
earlier
about the global microcosmic effects of the Mitzvah, focus your
intention to
effect all corresponding parts of the globe with your particular
Mitzvah.
4)
Do it with
maximum heartfelt enthusiasm. If you have a hard time to open up your
heart
with enthusiasm, then do the next best thing - FAKE IT TILL YOU
MAKE IT!!
A NEW INTERPRETATION
1.
'See that I place before you today Blessing
and Curse. The Blessing is
that
you listen to my Mitzvahs.....' [1st 2 verses of Parsha Reeh].
The
simple interpretation of this verse is fraught with difficulties. The
simple
meaning would be that the condition for the Israelites receiving
Blessing, would
be that they abide by the Mitzvahs. That seems to be a pretty straight
forward
way of Divine interaction. The verse's inconsistencies however scream
out for a
different interpretation:
a.
The proper result of the Children of Israel's obeying the Mitzvahs
would be
reward and not BLESSING...
b.
They didn't receive the Mitzvahs 'TODAY' but rather 40 years earlier at
Mt.
Sinai ...
c.
The Mitvahs aren't 'PLACED BEFORE YOU', but rather commanded...
d.
What the Parsha goes on to describe for the supposed reward for keeping
the
Mitzvahs, doesn't at all jive with what our Sages depict
as the recompense for Mitzvah observance
[what's depicted is a blessed environmental reality...]. In fact, they
teach
that this materialistic world that we live in, isn't capable of paying
off that
which we deservedly have coming to us for keeping Mitzvahs. Mitzvahs
are purely
spiritual entities, and this world [and it's 'desserts'] just isn't
made out of
the same stuff that Mitzvahs are made of.
This
leads at least one commentary [The 'Netivot Shalom'] to come up with an
entirely new interpretation; 'See that I place before you today
Blessing and
Curse, The Blessing is when you listen to the Mitzvahs....' means that
the
source of blessing in our lives comes when we receive G-d's Divine
Guidance at
all times, guiding us to fulfill our calling in life. The word
'BLESSING' now
fits in fine with what comes before and after...the word 'TODAY' simply
means
that we are always present to receive G-d's guidance, as do the words
'PLACED BEFORE
YOU'. Finally, the continuation of the
Parsha is truly a description of a Blessed scenario, the result of our
people's
connecting to the Holy One's Guidance. The word 'Mitzvah' in the verse
doesn't
literally mean commandment, but rather our bonding with Hashem [Mitzvah
in
Hebrew comes from the same root as 'Tzavta' which is a sort of
interpersonal
bonding.
The
bottom line in this new interpretation of the verse is that the
ultimate
Blessing is when we are connected and guided by Hashem all the time!
WHAT
IS A BLESSING
2. You
may be wondering why indeed the ultimate
state of Blessing is a connection with fulltime Divine guidance. Let's
look at
the essence of the concept of Bracha or Blessing. The word shares the
same root
letters with the word 'Braicha' which means 'wellspring'. A Bracha is,
like a
wellspring, the source of an overflowing abundance. What is the
phenomenon in
life that is the greatest source of overflowing abundance? Hashem--of
course!!
It's brought in the classic work by the Ramchal, 'The Way of G-d'
[section
1/2/3], that all wellbeing and everything good and perfect [including
overflowing Blessed Abundance and Blessing itself for that matter] is
accessed
when we cling to G-d's presence. So the formula is very
straight--forward; the essence
of Blessing is clinging to or being present with Hashem. People ask
Blessings
from 'Tzadikim' because their lives radiate G-dliness. The reality,
therefore,
of a life that is lived in constant and intimate connection to Hashem
and to
His guidance is a life that has the greatest Blessing. This is the
basic
concept. Take it and extend it to any and all areas of life, such as
healing,
making a living and relationships ...etc...and you'll find the secret
recipe
for Blessed success!
A
FEW TOOLS FOR ACCESSING BLESSED DIVINE
GUIDANCE 24/7
3.
A. DICTATION-----Take a walk around the block. Talk to Hashem about
anything
you want to receive Divine Guidance about. At a certain point in your
walk,
switch roles. Let Hashem do the talking to you through your own voice.
Take
note of all that's been said and utilize this information as a sort of
ongoing
counsel from above..[I'm not saying that what you're hearing is really
G-d's
voice, but the very fact that you simulate it, opens up the Divine
voice in
yourself and is a very valuable resource for you]
B.
TO DO SHEETS------On The top horizontal column of a piece of paper that
you
want to keep as close to yourself at all times as possible, write down
all the
questions and challenges that you would want Hashem to counsel you on.
Put the
paper away and then go into a state of receptivity and wait for the
answers to
flash at you at any time...Remember, G-d speaks [oftentimes] in between
the
lines---so keep your ears perked for His subtle messages.
C.
'HAYITAV' ['DOES IT FIND FAVOUR IN THE EYES OF HASHEM?]-----Anytime you
would
like to know the Divine answer to a certain question concerning your
direction
in life, or anything else for that matter, simply ask this
question---'Does it
find favor in the Eyes of Hashem?' The immediate clear answer that you
receive
is the truest one...
Shalom
and Blessings
1. “Chase after justice concertedly in order to live and inherit the
land that
Hashem your G-d gives you.” [Parsha Shoftim, Chapter 16, Verse 20].
The Hebrew word used in the verse in our Parsha that we’re exploring is
“Tzedek” or “Justice” (which by the way conveys the nature of what most
of the
rest of the Parsha deals with.) The Aramaic translation is “Kushta” or
“Truth”.
The entire Torah is translated into Aramaic. The Aramaic historically
served
the people of their day as a translation to a language that is
understandable.
Kabbalistically, the Aramaic serves as a bridge into the real world.
The
original Biblical Hebrew, the Holy tongue, defines the inner essence of
reality. Explore the original Hebrew word and thereby understand the
essential
concept of that word. Aramaic then takes that essential definition and
describes its place or application in day-to-day reality. In light of
our
explanation, we now understand that the way to properly apply justice
i.e. to
get to the bottom of it or to give it “staying power”, is to get to the
truth
of the matter. Regarding justice – there are many shades – I’m right,
you’re
right, they’re right, we’re all right. In regard to truth – our Sages
teach us
there’s only one Truth. But to get that one Truth you have to search
concertedly for it. You need to search for the inner truth. When you
do, you
arrive at a level described as Hashem’s seal, i.e. Hashem’s stamp of
approval.
Thus our verse teaches to chase justice in order to live and inherit
the land.
This is the natural result of your acting according to Hashem’s Truth
and
Justice.
A FEW THOUGHTS
2. I’d like to share a few thoughts before I humbly submit to you a
multi-step
formula for getting to this level of the deepest truth. Far be it from
me to
say that the formula I suggest is the only way or the all-encompassing
way. I’m
very far from that!! I’m just interested in providing concrete steps to
get
there. As you may have noticed, I’m a great believer in formulas
and
techniques. I’ve seen this go a long way in bringing closer people who
feel
themselves to be far away from Judaism with all of its demanding
devotion and
Avoda (service to Hashem).
As I was saying, far be it from me to discuss the exclusive recipe for
truth
checking – I feel dwarfed by the Great Pillars of Truth (those people
still
alive and those who are living in the “World of Truth” – the
Afterlife.) These
are my true heroes. I’ve drawn incredible inspiration from their
fearless
uncompromising truth causing them to often go against the entire
generation.
Each one of them deserves a book or at least an essay and each of them
could
probably teach their own truth formula, placing mine in their
proverbial “back
pockets”. And one more thing: There are some things in life that are
worth
fighting for. You may find yourselves in a crisis or challenge where it
seems
as if everything and everybody is going against you – and deep down
you’re
very, very clear and you know that the truth is with you and not with
the rest
of the world. Be fearless and stick to your guns and fight for the
truth. Let’s
get to work. I hope the following steps will help. Perhaps assign a
truth value
score of 1-10 to each of these steps and then an overall average
score.
Be brave and stubborn to chase after the truth until you can work up to
scoring
nines and tens consistently.
A TRUTH CHASING FORMULA
3. Take these steps as a sort of technique, formula or gauge to check
the truth
value of any principle, decision or piece of wisdom that you encounter.
A. TRUTH STANDS THE TEST OF TIME. This verse in Proverbs states “The
expression
of truth stands forever.” Our Sages teach, “Falsehood has legs to stand
on”,
i.e. staying power. Does it stand up to the test of time? Though you
can’t know
this ingredient of the real truth of anything until a reasonably
considerable
amount of time will pass in the future, nevertheless you can compare
any
similar phenomenon that occurred in the past. If it stood the test of
time, so
can your present topic at hand.
B. TRUTH RESONATES AND BREEDS HOLINESS. Our Sages interpret the
verse
“Distance yourself from falseness” thusly; Falseness distances you from
Hashem. You can feel or resonate with the Divine Truth in a
situation,
statement or idea… not only does it feel to be something that Hashem
would
approve of, but also you’ll find yourself being drawn to think, feel,
speak and
act out in a Holy way. Falseness produces the opposite results (the
higher that
you go in Kabbalah’s spiritual worlds or soul levels, the more Divinity
and
Truth will you experience).
C. TRUTH IS RECOGNIZED IN AN ATMOSPHERE OF DECEIT AS LIGHT IS IN
DARKNESS. Our
Sages also teach that our world is a world of the hiddenness of G-d’s
presence
(the word “Olam” which means world comes from the Hebrew root for
hidden). An
even stronger expression offered is that this world is a “world of lies
or
deceptions” (Alma D’shikra). In a world of lies or deception, the
truth, by
contrast is very apparent and recognized. (Our sages’ phrase is Emet
Nikeret –
the Truth is recognized). This power of truth to be recognized in
darkness is
manifest in the trait of authenticity, where a person fearlessly shines
forth
the “real me” – even when it would be more comfortable to stay hidden
behind
their politically correct façade!! Integrity also is an
attractive trait where
people recognize in the person that they prefer to be courageously
truthful
rather than comfortably deceitful.
D. TRUTH IS ACCESSED BY SEEING THE WHOLE PICTURE. The Kabbalists
teach
that truth is one of the traits of the sefira of Tiferet. Tiferet is
the sefira
that bridges or connects together all the rest of the sefirot of the
personality – those above it (the spiritual and intellectual) with
those below
it (the actual), those to the right of it (the expansive and
free-flowing
traits) with those to the left of it (the constrictive and limiting
traits). In
other words, it takes into account the whole picture. Other similar
areas that
fall into this category are:
1. Torah – the truth that encompasses all elements
2. A judge – needs to rule based on all the factors
3. A Halachic “Poseik” (Authority) – needs to decide based on all the
factors
4. Our forefather Jacob – the patriarch who embodied all sides of life,
the
spiritual with the physical bridged in all areas of life
5. My good friend’s constant advice in times of being confused about
which
direction to go was, “Go up to a higher level and see the whole
picture –
and then everything will fit into its proper place.”
E.
KEEP PURSUING THE TRUTH UNTIL YOU GET IT. This step or
element of truth gauging brings us back to the original verse and theme
of this
essay – “Pursue the Truth.” The Truth by its nature is something like
Divinity
itself that is hidden and makes itself increasingly available to a
person
according to their determination to get it!!
THE
PRINCIPLE'S SOURCE VERSE
1. 'When
you go out to battle your enemy and Hashem places
[victory] into your hands...' [Parsha Ki Teizei 1st verse]
This
verse informs us how to be victorious both on the battlefield in a
wartime situation and on the battlefield of life. A careful reading
reveals an
incredible insight; if you GO OUT to battle your enemy [ie...when you
initiate
the battle], then Hashem places victory into your hand! Many
commentaries point
out that this verse applies to both our wartime enemy and to our
personal
infamous 'enemy', the Evil inclination'---the inner drive to do the
opposite of
what Hashem wants us to do. Actually the principle that we learn from
this
verse can be applied even beyond the scope of coping with our
'Yaitzer
Hara' [Evil Inclination]. Any battle in life that we anticipate whether
it be within ourselves or with other people or challenges fits the
bill.
The principle can be summed up thusly: When we take PREEMPTIVE
INITIATIVE in
life, we succeed! Let's explore the principle and how we can apply it
in our
lives.
THE PRINCIPLE'S APPLICATIONS
2.
What we will now list will be a few various
applications of the preemptive initiating principle. View each
application as
not only a further elaboration of the principle in various areas of
life, but
also as tools or strategies to be applied in the appropriate situations.
A.
THE DIVINE PROVIDENTIAL EFFECT-----The major commentaries point out
[based on the Torah's expositional principle of learning the connection
between
2 different topics, based solely on their physical juxtaposition to
each other
{this is called 'SIMUCHIM' in Torah jargon}], that when one does
initiate
the battle, good things will Providentially follow in it's
wake-----stated
differently, when one does a Mitzvah or puts out positive energy
into the Universe,
they will be rewarded with the opportunity to do another Mitzvah or
continue to
put out more good energy. And the opposite also holds true----a sin or
negative
energy begets another sin or more negative energy. Related
to this
Providential effect, is the fact that G-d gave us the gift of knowing
when the
Day of Judgment [Rosh Hashanah] falls on the calendar, in order to take
the
preemptive initiative of preparing ourselves and thereby drawing down
the best
possible Providence in our coming year. The ultimate expression of our
nation's
collective preemptive initiative which served
to transform our
providential reality, was when at Sinai we all said, "We will do and we
will listen" [to all that Hashem will command us to do] which had the
immediate effect of bringing us back to a garden of Eden Paradise state
free of
death, confusion and all negativity!!
B.
PREEMPTING THE EVIL INCLINATION----- Our Sages say that we
should always preempt our inclination to do bad by instead doing
that
which is goodly and G-dly. We thereby avoid ever being captured in the
claws of
the Evil Inclination. Our parsha talks about a voluntary or permissible
war as
opposed to a mandatory war. The term used is a 'Milchemet
Reshut .' The
meaning in terms of the battles of life, is to be detached from all
entanglement in the 'permissible' areas of life, such
as overindulging and
the like, that would only hold us back. When we detach ourselves like
this, we never even come into the realm of the Evil Inclination
[and if we
do, then preemptive initiating will no longer be effective---thus our
Sages
recommend very different strategies when we're
entrapped---certainly
declaring war on our overpowering enemy would be disastrous, unless we
happen
to be on the level of R. Shimon Bar Yochai or any other absolutely pure
and
perfect 'Tzadik' who need never fear 'messing around' with
Evil].
C.
PREEMPTING BY BLINDING THE 'ENEMY' WITH THE 'FLIP SIDE' OF IT'S OWN
MEDICINE-----When you anticipate potential crippling opposition, then
preempt
it with a strong dose of its own medicine:
1. Initiate 'bundles of
Mitzvahs' to stave
off 'bundles of Sins'...
2. Initiate a strong dose of
Torah to stave off a
strong dose of self-destructive desires...
3. Initiate a strong dose of
Holy and
positive desires to stave off the opposite [and even if you only 'fake
it to
make it', our Sages say that this alone will eventually awaken the
heart
to true enthusiasm...
The
Chassidic Masters teach, "By doing 'Asei Tov' [positive
mitzvohs and actions], we stave off the need to do 'Sur Meira'
[preventative
Mitzvohs and actions---ie... actions designed to keep us away from
wrongdoing].
D.
DON'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN----The nature of life [and a well-known
physics principle] is that what goes up must come down. In order to
preempt
this principle, ALWAYS GO UP!! Our sages call this being 'Maalim
B'Kodesh'---always seek to preempt a potential fall by constantly being
more
Holy, going higher and starting anew!
Shalom
and
Blessings
THE
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FIRST FRUITS [BIKURIM]
1.
'And
it shall come to pass when you come into the land...and you shall take
of the
first of the fruits of the earth...' [Parsha Ki Tavo chap. 26 verses
1-2].
The
Talmud
describes at length the very colorful and celebratory ceremony involved
in the
bringing of the first fruits to the Holy Temple. The farmers, after
having
exerted themselves successfully, dedicate the first fruits of their
labor to
G-d. They brought the fruits up to Jerusalem and were received
with great
joy, music and fanfare. They declared to G-d that they've
done their
part in dedicating the first fruits to Him, so in return they ask
of
G-d, "Look down from your Holy Heavenly Dwelling Place and
Bless
your people Israel and the Land..." [chap. 26, verse 15]. Our
Sages
laud this whole affair with the greatest of praises saying that in the
merit of
the 'Bikurim' [first fruits offering], the whole world was created. We
are
taught that the reason that this Mitzvah fulfills the purpose of
creation is
because these fruits were the most precious thing to the farmers
and they
nevertheless selflessly dedicated the first [most important
part of]
portion to Hashem. G-d's purpose in creating the world, we are taught,
was for
Him to have a Dwelling Place or a significant presence of G-dliness in
a world
where G-d is normally hidden! When a farmer declares that G-d's portion
takes
precedence to their most precious possession that is a very powerful
testimony
to G-d's presence in the world!
FIRSTS
2.
In
light of our understanding of the special significance that there is in
dedicating the first and most precious portion of ourselves and our
possessions to G-d, we now have insight into why Judaism dedicates
virtually all 'Firsts' to G-d. Here are a few
representative examples:
a.
The First
of the mineral world----money is tithed for G-dly charity purposes.
b.
The First
of the plant world-----the First Fruits are dedicated to the Temple.
c.
The First
of the animal world----The tithes of animals are considered Holy.
d.
The First
of the Human world----The first-born are designated Holier in
certain respects. So too is the first stage of
marriage
as well as the initial phase in the history of our nation...
e.
The Firsts
in the realm of time----The new Year, the new month and even the newest
part of
the day all are set apart from the remainder of their respective time
frames as
having greater Holiness...
'FIRSTS'
IN
REGARD TO ELUL AND ROSH HASHONAH
3.
There
is a clear connection between our Parsha's theme of 'Firsts' and the
period
that we presently find ourselves in. We are rapidly approaching the
first part
of a new year [Rosh Hashonah]. Our new year is not merely meant to be
seen as
an occasion to raise our glasses in a toast to a healthy and
happy
new year. Our New Year, like all the other 'Firsts' we've been
discussing,
represents the dedication of that which is most important to us,
namely
our lives, first and foremost to Hashem's Service and to be Hashem's
special
'agents' committed to bringing the world to it's Tikun
[rectification or
perfection]!! The best way to accomplish this is to isolate and
identify that
which is the first and innermost part of our psyche, namely our
'Ratzon' [our
will, volition or primal desire], and then to dedicate it to be
the
Divinely directed C.E.O. of all that we do in life 24\7! The
Kabbalah
teaches that this 'Ratzon' [as well as all the other 'Firsts'
that we've
discussed so far] is the highest 'Sefira' called Keter. When it is
activated,
all the rest of the Sefirahs; traits or component parts of the
personality,
follow suit. [The same is true regarding the remainder of the
bodies of
all the Firsts we've discussed...ie... they follow the
lead or the
direction of what the 'First' does]. The Keter is the inner motivator.
If I do
what I want to do, then all the rest of my inner and outer world will
be in
sync--- if not , not!
Elul---the
last month of the old year is the time to get in sync with a new year
and a new
ME---dedicating the first and innermost aspect of myself, my will or
volition,
to be a partner with G-d. Let's check out a few tools that will
instruct us how
to awaken this 'Ratzon'.
A FEW ELUL RATZONING TOOLS
4.
a. BEYOND
LIMITS YEARNING AND VISIONING [BLYV]-------See yourself as someone who
has no
limitations regarding what you're capable of accomplishing. The sky's
the
limit. If you had all the money, power, talent, capabilities etc...ask
yourself
what more you really would want in life. This type
of exercise
produces the best results when you repeat it a number of times. In the
beginning, you just open up the 'yearning juices'---so have patience
and your true desires will really start opening up. When you
feel
you're 'there', then dedicate the choicest part of the 'new you' to
helping G-d
rectify the world1
b.
DIVINIZING
MY 'IN THE ZONE' STATE------Search for that area of your life where you
feel
that you're in your element and you're empowered, or as they say
nowadays,
'you're in your zone'. Visualize the experience of being 'in your
zone' in
the greatest of detail. Then go back and integrate G-d's role in
your
'zone' experience; His active direction and empowering of all the
multiple
aspects of your 'zone' experience.
c.
NEXT ELUL'S
'PRESUME' OR GRADUATION SPEECH-----Imagine that you are now in Elul one
year
from now and proudly reporting to a group of close friends, all that
you have
become and have accomplished throughout the entire year [especially
regarding
your dedication of yourself to be G-d's partner in doing 'Tikun Olam'
or to
being a G-d revealer where He's normally hiding]. Report on
how you
succeeded. Take good notes. Chances are [based on my personal
experience]
that even if you don't ever look at your notes until one year from now,
you'll
accomplish what you set out to do----all the more so if you really
actively
work on it during the coming year!
THE PARSHA OF TSHUVA
1.
'
Because this [Mitzvah or way of life] is very close to you [it's] in
your mouth
and in your heart to do it.' [Parsha Nitzavim chap. 30 verse 14]
Our
double
Parsha is the one that always falls on the Shabbat before Rosh
Hashonah. One of
the central topics is 'Tshuvah'; a return to G-d, Judaism and to our
true authentic
self. The description brought in our Parsha is a returning from a place
of
being totally down and out, as the verse says, "If you're cast away to
the
ends of the Heavens, from there, Hashem... will gather you..." [Ch. 30
verse 4]. Some commentaries point out that the type of Tshuvah dynamic
being
discussed here [there are endless levels of Tshuvah], is the most
extreme kind.
The Torah is here dealing with a situation where people fall in to such
a state
of hopelessness and despair, that there's almost nothing to be
done, short
of the most intense and radical Tshuvah possible-----a Tshuvah not
primarily motivated by fear of punishment or even fear of G-d,
but rather by a pure and powerful love of G-d.
TSHUVAH MOTIVATED BY LOVE OF G-D
2.
Our Sages
teach an amazing principle about a person whose return or Tshuvah
is based
on Love of G-d. Not only are their sins forgiven, as is the case by any
penitent, but their sins in retrospect are actually considered to
be
positive and a source of merit! Somehow their darkness, confusion and
waywardness served as the actual springboard for transforming their
lives. I believe that we all know or have heard of people who
can
testify that their worst hard luck story filled with struggle,
horrible
disease, death, abuse or any other type of unbearable
suffering,
became the very thing that caused their total life
transformation!
The Rambam [R. Moshe ben Mammon] in the 10th chapter of his treatise on
Tshuvah, portrays a portrait of a person who's Tshuvah is love
motivated. This
person is a walking, talking picture of love sickness. All they can
think,
speak and generally obsess about is their love of G-d. These spiritual
levels sound very fascinating and enticing, but what about those
of us who
don't drive around spiritual Rolls Royces, but rather old beat-up
chevys, and
who don't dine nightly on caviar on the Riviera, but rather settle for
peanut
butter and jelly sandwiches on the run-----How can we discover these
incredible
levels in our lives?!
YOU'RE VERY CLOSE RIGHT WHERE YOU'RE AT NOW!
3.
The
culmination of our Parsha's Tshuvah presentation is a small
group of
verses that reveal to us the essential point of the whole
Tshuvah
dynamic. Tshuvah isn't something 'in the Heavens' or 'over the
seas' [ie...very
far away from us], but rather it is so close to us that all we need to
do is to
open up our mouths and our hearts and it's right there---immediately
accessible! Do you want to be a SUPERJEW?! Do you want to
be
someone who's walking around lovesick for G-d 24\7?! Do you want to be
someone
who's transformed their entire inner--motivational--wiring--system to
the
extent that all you really want to do is what Hashem wants?! Don't look
outside
of yourself to those rare individuals who've MADE IT! You'll
probably
decide that that's fine for them----those elite souls who were
born [and
raised] with the proverbial [spiritual] spoon in their mouths. What's
really
going to make an impact in your life is something that is do-able
and relevant to you where you're at right now! Look inside of
yourself----it's RIGHT THERE!! You'd be amazed at how realistic it
already
is for you to truly be an incredible world--class Jew!! My
friends,
we're 2 weeks away from being Divinely video-taped and X-rayed on High
in order
to determine who we are and where we fit in to G-d's plan of Tikun
Olam
[rectification of the world]. So let's get to work;
A
STRATEGY
FOR YOU TO REVEAL THE SUPERJEW INSIDE OF YOU NOW!!
4.a. Make
a few lists of all of the values that you hold by in your life;
Let
1 list be
comprised of your top 10 moral values, another list ---your top 10
spiritual
values and another list your top 10 Mitzvahs----ie...what you think
that you're
doing right now that would qualify to be something that you're
pretty sure
G-d would categorize as being a Mitzvah.
b. Next
go through all of your above 30 entrees one by one----and
yearn to
improve their level [in a realistic way with minimal effort] to
the point
that you would consider them to be 'the stuff that SuperJews
are made
of', and then mark them down.
c.
Get an
outsider's objective truth check. Present your finished list to a
qualified, humble and compassionate expert on Judaism and see how you
measure
up. I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised!
NOT A STANDARD DAY OF JUDGEMENT
1.
'Today the World is born' [Talmud; Tractate Rosh Hashonah].
Our
Sages
teach us that all created beings come before Hashem to be judged on
Rosh
Hashonah [The 2 day Jewish New Year]. However the nature of the
judgment that
takes place is very different from what we would expect. As opposed to
a
scenario that depicts a detached and objective judge having no contact
whatsoever with any of the very worried litigants [which normally is
the case],
on Rosh Hashonah, together with a solemn and fearful mood, there also
prevails
a mood of Holiday joy; Many dress in festive white clothing. We eat our
Holiday
meals with rich ritual & with an inner trust that the Divine Judge
will see
in us only the best and grant us a year of goodness and
abundance. What's
even more unique is that this Divine Judge is rooting for us!! We are
taught
that the time of year that G-d is [so to speak] closest and most
accessible to us, are the '10 days of Tshuvah', beginning with
Rosh
Hashonah and concluding on Yom Kippur. In fact, we are assured that
this very
same Divine Judge will ultimately forgive us and grant us atonement for
our
sins. Obviously there must be more to the 'Day of Judgment' than just
straight
forward judgment. Let's look into it further:
THE KABBALISTIC VERSION
2.
The
Kabbalists present to us a very unique description of what takes place
in the
Spiritual World during this time period. The Divine Male and Female
'Partzufim'
[Kabbalistic personas] go through sort of a courting ritual reminiscent
of the
Torah's account of how Eve was bodily separated apart from a sleeping
Adam, and
was presented to him, upon his awakening, as being as being
his sole
soul partner in Creation. So too does the Divine Female Partzuf
[also
referred to as the 'Shechina' or 'Malchut'], go through a
separation
process from Her Divine Soul-Mate [who is referred to as 'The Holy
One' or
'Zeer Anpin'], starting on Rosh Hashonah and ending on Yom Kippur every
year
anew. The rest of the Jewish month of Tishrei's Holidays from
after ''Yom
Kippur', through 'Sukkot' until 'Simchat Torah', are depicted as a face
to face bonding process between the Male and Female
Partzufim,
culminating in their ultimate Union on Simchat Torah. Let's now try to
understand Rosh Hashonah in light of the translation of the mystical
concepts
we've brought so far from the Sages of both the revealed and the
Esoteric
Hidden realms of the Oral Torah.
RE-CREATION
OF THE WORLD
3.
Relative
to the Creator of the World, we his creations, take on the role of the
Female
paradigm or Partzuf. All that we discussed in the previous paragraph
about the
female being separated from a back to back attachment to her Male
counterpart during the 10 days from Rosh Hashonah untill Yom Kippur,
can be
understood as each one of us being granted free will
and independence. To
quote a line from a famous contemporary song, "If you love somebody,
set
them free." By being separated from the backside of G-d, so to
speak, we are not only realizing our independence, but we are being
granted the
ability to look at ourselves and deeply introspect into the essence of
who we
are. G-d's part in this separation dynamic, is to temporarily
stop the inertia of life [ie...the continued carrying on of
things
automatically as they have been going]. Also He takes an introspective
look at
what's going on in His World, and what each of us, His potential
Divine Creation partners, have been and can be contributing
to the purpose of Creation in the immediate future. All of this
comes into
crystal clear focus when we, in our state of
introspective independence,
see [along with G-d] who we truly are.
G-d re-creates
the World on Rosh Hashonah, and we are judged to see what we can
contribute to
this new World and to its rectification. As we said earlier, the
Judge
wants us to succeed. The Holiday's joyous spirit is based on the
incredible opportunity we have to merge or re-merge the essence of
ourselves
with the Creator. The main challenge is to look deep enough inside of
ourselves
to identify our inner Divine self that's inspired
to partnerize the
essence of who we are with G-d in bringing about Tikun Olam [the
rectification of the World].
ROSH
HASHONAH TOOLS AND STRATEGIES
4.
Here
are a few strategies that can help us to be successful in taking
advantage of
the incredible opportunities being presented to us on Rosh Hashonah:
a.
REDISCOVERING YOURSELF-----This tool requires the most time. I
realize
that time is short--- do your best;
1.
Draw up a list of the highlights of your year
2.
Find the underlying core motivation [why you did what you did]
3.
Now allow a birth to take place, based on last year’s highlights
and
their core motivation and a lot of concerted yearning and
brainstorming.
The birth should consist of a new, wonderful and inspired 'you'
and
a new recipe for living in the coming year
b.
PARTNERIZE
WITH G-D'S NEW YEAR CREATION PLAN------Take this 'new you' which you've
hopefully discovered in [a] above, and look deep inside to discover how
you can
best contribute of yourself towards G-d's Tikun Olam.
c.
CROWNING
THE KING------A major theme in the liturgy of the Prayers of Rosh
Hashonah
is our crowning of the King. Certainly by you partnerizing the
essence of
yourself with Hashem, you're accomplishing this. In addition, here's
a very useful anchoring statement that you can instantly access to
'Crown
the King'; Ask yourself [whenever you are making any decision], 'What
Does G-d
say about this?' Or better yet, 'Does this find
favor
in the Eyes of Hashem?'
d.
SHOFAR-------There are many 'Kavanot' or intentions one can have upon
hearing
the sounds of the Shofar. Here's a very powerful one----Think to
yourself
that the sound of the Shofar is like a primal cosmic scream penetrating
so deep
into the universal Soul and into your own, that it has the ability to
shatter
all obstacles separating you from Hashem and from your true self!
e.
NULLIFICATION OF ALL NEGATIVE DECREES------There's no better and more
auspicious
time for this, than from Rosh Hashonah until Yom Kippur. One of the
best ways
to connect with this energy and to effect a true nullification is
'Tshuvah'
[stay tuned for next week's Parsha Tools]. Actually all the tools
being
mentioned here work very well. The famous Prayer book line is
'Tshuvah,
Tefilla [prayer] and Tzedakah [charity] avert the evil
decree'..........another good piece of advice is to 'turn the
other cheek'
in all areas of life.
f.
SPIRITUAL
GENETIC ENGINEERING------How we are on Rosh Hashonah effects our entire
year,
so be righteous, happy and positive in thought, speech and action
and
everything is going to be all right!!
Shabbat
Shalom
and Shanah Tovah
Yitzchak
ORIENTATION
1.
'G-d,
[please] create for me a new heart & renew in me the proper spirit'
[Psalms
51].
Let's
get
oriented. We're in the midst of an annual renewal process. We
talked last
week about a Kabbalistic dynamic that's presently taking
place in the
spiritual world; The Divine Male and Female 'Partzufim' [personas] are
in a 10
day process of separating from a back to back connection. We
'translated'
that separation-metaphor to mean that G-d is granting us the free
willed
independent insight to introspect and see who we really are. G-d as
well,
temporarily free of us hanging on to His coat-tail [so to
speak],
i.e...a low-level inertia-fueled relationship, is
introspecting also.
He chooses to start the Creation and world rectification process
again---and this time around, He takes a real close look at each
of our
past, present and future essences and how we can contribute to
the re-creation and rectification of the world. That's the
judgment
dynamic of Rosh Hashonah.
THE
SIMPLE
EXPLANATION
2.
Where
are we at now, a few short days before Yom Kippur? The answer
on a
simple level is that this separation\independence\introspective process
continues and deepens. it is known as the '10 days of Tshuvah'. We
examine
deeply who we are---where did we miss the mark and lose our ability to
be in
sync with ourselves, G-d and life in general---How can we
resynchronize,
dedicate and partnerize our unique selves with Hashem's new
'Tikun
Olam' plan?!
This
intense
process culminates on Yom Kippur---A day of Divine pardon and
a
sealing of our annual fate! Most of us have experienced these
High--Holidays and even know a thing or two about this spiritual
process.
Unfortunately, many of us haven't felt the process to be relevant
enough to our
lives to jump out of bed in the morning in order to take
advantage of
the incredible Divine gifts of spiritual growth and purification that
this
period offers us [and for that matter, once we truly understand
the power
of Tshuva, any period is relevant]. In light of that,
let's
explore a bit deeper:
THE
FEAR
FACTOR
3.
The
Kabbalists teach us that this month of Holidays enable us to rectify
the
'Sefirah' called 'Gvurah'. Gvurah is the trait of withholding
or saying no
[ie...setting boundaries]. The inner motivation of Gvurah
is FEAR!! In
regard to the present 'Days of Awe', the fear is awakened by becoming
hyper-aware of myself [ the letters for the Hebrew word for
fear,
'Yira', can be rearranged to spell 'Reiya'--seeing or awareness].
I'm
aware of who I am and I'm aware that
G-d is aware of who I am and is watching me and judging me. This
hyper-awareness drives me to clearly recognize my potential and
actual
strengths and weaknesses. This recognition naturally opens up a deep
feeling of
fear inside of me---a fear of losing that which I have or
potentially
have. This includes my connection with the Divine both inside and
outside of
myself. I'm also afraid of losing the ability to live a quality life: a
life
filled with gusto, purpose, and power and directed by a drive to
actualize my
calling. All of this fear serves as a natural springboard
to take
action to protect all of the abundance that I may stand to lose if I'm
not
careful. I'm driven to make a better living-recipe that will enable me
to hold
on to what is precious. Our Sages teach us that this
type of
fear is an even greater way to insure that we reach self- perfection
than love
[of G-d and of our soul] is. However both fear and love are
necessary.
When the two of them are working together as our inner motivators, they
are
referred to as the 'wings to fly' in spiritual ascent and in doing
Mitzvahs. Fear without love is like a body without a soul
and results in
an empty and habitual way of living. Love without fear, like a
soul without
a body, won't allow my mundane life to be channeled to a level of
expressing
and experiencing the Infinite.
WHAT
IS TSHUVAH
4.
Now
that we more or less have a clear understanding of the 'fear factor',
we can
now begin to understand what 'Tshuvah' [PENITENCE] is [and what it
isn't].
First, by contrast, let's try to understand why the concept of Tshuvah
shuts a
lot of people down. A Baal Tshuva [ a
penitent] conjures up the
image of a cult-crazed, brainwashed, moralizing, guilt-ridden,
Divine
punishment-obsessed, emotionally-crushed, depressive, colorless robot!
That's
sure not a good reason to jump out of bed in the morning during
the 10
days of Tshuvah or on Yom Kippur! So let's try to describe the real
experience
of one involved in Tshuvah;
First
of
all, I pick up on the hyper-awareness that we are discussing,
along with
its accompanying sensitivity that what I have is precious and
therefore I'm afraid to lose any of it. That leads to deeper
introspection
about how I live my life. I don't want to lose all that is
potentially
available to me in conscientious living. I don't want to live a
lie
or to be a walking self contradiction. I don't want to
be trapped in
a state of personal exile, self betrayal, futility and meaninglessness
where I'm so out of touch with myself that my words and actions
never
properly bespeak the true desires of my soul, intellect and
emotions. I'm
relentlessly driven to be true to myself---all of
myself---my Divine self
within me and my receptive self to the Divine that's without
me. I'm
yearning to live life to the fullest--with gusto, meaning,
purpose,
in sync with my 'calling' in life. These are some of the inner
motivations of a
'Baal Tshuva' [literally a master of return or response [to
myself].
Tshuvah is something that a Baal Tshuvah seeks out constantly
365\24\7---it's a
drive. When the Baal Tshuvah recites the 'Viduyim'
[confessions] with
shame for where they went off the track and commitment to
change [these
are the basic Halachic components of the Tshuvah process],
they're
doing so because they're driven to return to their true authentic
self!
WHAT IS YOM KIPPUR
5.
I'll
be brief [hopefully]. The Kabbalah teaches that G-d raises us up on Yom
Kippur to a higher consciousness, an elevated space. They call it
'Bina'.
It's a place that transcends evil. It's a place of happiness, freedom;
redemption, ultimate clarity and the source of where our souls come
from. It's
the place where we can truly declare to Hashem that whenever we veered
from
synchronizing our will with His Will, it wasn't really us. It was only
externalities; the environment, our confusion, our constricted
consciousness,
our ignorance...etc. But here in this Holy Yom Kippur space, we're
truly with
Hashem....and you know what else, we're truly with ourselves
too! And the way we get to this place on Yom Kippur is
through
Tshuvah---real open hearted Tshuvah---the culmination of all of our
spiritual
work on these 'Days of Awe.'
And G-d's response----Atonement--- thusly He expresses to us
His love, and we rediscover ours for Him---therefore He signs
and
seals our annual fate in the best way possible for us and for His
Universe!
TOOLS FOR TSHUVAH AND YOM KIPPUR
6.
Here
are a few tools to help us along:
A.
TSHUVAH-- BEING TRUE TO MYSELF
1.
To reach
the inner truth factor, journalize where I'm off and inauthentic.
Ask
myself when I speak or act, if I am really representing
who I am, my desires, my feelings, my understandings, my gifts, my
powers,
my abundance, my interests, my true life-calling and my inner Divine
voice.
2.
Allow my
unbearable inner-exile and lack of true self-expression to fire me up
to
create a new recipe of living that will truly represent who I am!
B.
CONFESSIONS----Take
an existing list of confessions in any Yom Kippur prayer book [or
create my
own], and match my lackings that I came up with in [a] above with the
confessions list. Use this list as an anchor on Yom Kippur [or anytime]
to do
the inner work that's needed.
C.
THE 'YOM
KIPPUR' POINT----In a Prayer or discussion with G-d, declare that all
that I
have done which isn't in line with His Will, isn't really me!! It's
only
externalities,...etc..[see above].
D.
THE SIGNING
AND SEALING POINT----Towards the end of the day of Yom Kippur in
the 'Neila' service [the time of the closing or 'locking' of the
gates],
commit to live from now on from the vantage point of the newly
discovered
me!
Shabbat
Shalom
and you should have the greatest year possible!
*********************************************************************************
Shalom
and
Blessings,
****
Thank G-d
we completed an entire year of Parsha Tools. A lot of incredible energy
went
into and came out of the 'Tools' for myself and for a lot of other
individuals and groups of people. Stay tuned for some
future possibilities I'd like to suggest of how to keep
'riding
high' with this form of communication in the near future.
After a lot
of Hi-Holiday contemplations, I decided to keep going, with one
significant change---the name. We're going to call it 'Recipes' instead
of
tools, with the hope and prayer that we can live up to the challenge of
compiling, over the weeks and months ahead, a treasure
chest
[yours and mine] or a cookbook of RECIPES FOR HIGHER LIVING
24\7. A
spiritual recipe is more all-inclusive, systematized and
packaged
than a tool [which is only a part of a spiritual recipe], and it is my
hope
that we can all get joyfully chubby digesting all the psychic food
that
these recipes are guiding us to cook up and eat!
IN HIS IMAGE AND HIS LIKENESS
1.
' And
G-d said, let us make man in his Image and after His Likeness.....And
G-d Created
Man in His Image...' [Parsha Bereshit verses 26 & 27]. These verses
teach
us perhaps one of the most important principles found anywhere in the
Torah.
Man is G-dlike!! In one sense, man is G-d-like in that they contain
within
themselves the entire Universe---thus it is
written--'Let US make
man...etc..the US referring to all the components of the
Universe co-partnering with Hashem in literally being inside of
man
and creating the Universe and Man in the same master Divine
template.
The ramifications are awesome. Man is the microcosm of the world,
which
itself is a template of the Man model. If people press the right
buttons in
themselves, they activate in the world, the corresponding forces
involved. But
perhaps even more significant than man's microcosmic essence is
man's
Divine essence. We’re made in His Image ['Tzelem'] and in His Likeness
['Dmut].
Kabbalah explains that the 'Tzelem' or Image is based on a
Divine Male
paradigm ['The Holy One Blessed Be he], conveying the trait of
'Hashpaah' [reaching
out and influencing others]. The 'Dmut' or 'Likeness represents a
Divine Female
paradigm [the Shechinah]...ie... passively and selflessly receiving
influence
from others. The ramification that this has on our lives is that we're
hardwired to harness Divinity inside and outside of us, and thereby
reveal that
the world is one big G-dly Kingdom. We activate our Divine Feminine
side or
'Likeness' by clinging to G-d and doing his Will. We activate our
Divine
Masculine side by emulating G-d in all that we do and in the way that
we
influence the people in our lives.
EMULATING HIM
2.
One
of the last Mitzvahs in the Torah is the Mitzvah of emulating G-d's
Ways. The
verse states, '...And you should go in His Ways' [Parsha Ki Tavo
chapter 28
verse 9]. The Sages teach from this verse that just as G-d is
benevolent, so
too should we be. The scope and breadth of 'His Ways' for us to
emulate, is
expanded by more contemporary scholars to include His Divine
Sefirot
[which by definition, include everything]. The emulation principle, if
one
deeply contemplates it, opens up for us a unique dimension
or approach to
understanding Torah and life that has as yet to be fully tapped in to.
Study
the Creator's Ways carefully in order to know how to emulate them. And
what
better area to study and emulate than the Creator's Way of Creating!
Therefore
our goal in this essay is to study SOME of the significant phases of
Hashem's
Creation process, both the revealed and the hidden esoteric realms, in
order to
suggest an initial tentative Creation Recipe [to be constantly upgraded
B"H] to be used in our own lives whenever we creatively express
ourselves.
Let's begin our exploration into the significant phases of the Creation
process;
PHASE ONE---THE OHR GANUZ POINT
3.
What
I'm about to discuss is the most sublime, illusive, esoteric and
unfathomable
part of the Creation process. But at the same time, it's absolutely
crucial; to
the extent that you 'get it', all the other aspects will slip into
place with
corresponding ease. If you don't 'get it’, then any and all expressions
of
creativity will be like a creature or a creation with its head cut off.
The
point I'm referring to is called the 'Ohr Ganuz Point' [the Hidden
Light
Point]. In the Biblical Creation process, it is represented by the
words of the
3rd verse in the Torah, 'And G-d said let there be Light and there
was
Light.' Even thought this verse comes after the 1st 2 verses which
bring
up the concepts of Heaven and Earth and Chaos, our Sages reveal to
us that
this Light preceded everything [ the reason that it appears afterwards
is
because the 1st 2 verses represent a specific Kabbalistic period,
era or
process that preceded the Hidden Light Process. Nevertheless the main
order of
the Creation process needed for Tikun and for our intents and purposes
of
emulating creativity in our lives, requires that the Hidden Light
precedes
everything].This light is a nuclear [ie... all-encompassing] and
transcendent [
ie...beyond space and time, and with it
select people can see from one end of the world to the other,
and from
the beginning of time till the end of time] entity. To the extent that
you tap
into it, you give birth and rectification to all subsequent phases of
the
creative process that follow. This 'tapping in to', being as it is
the
first phase of the creative process, is the polar opposite of the way
that most
of us have been taught to create or develop things. First, we're
taught,
construct a vessel, vehicle or plan to encompass and convey our inner
ideas.
Then the idea will be properly packaged and expressed..etc. Ohr
Ganuz-based-creativity teaches the opposite----First go down as deep as
you
possibly can into your own Divinely inspired primal soul will and
wisdom until
all the bells sound off, everything fits together and you've reached
that
majestic inner essence point ! Once you've got there, don't worry about
creating vessels, plans, strategies or enlisting people to carry out
your
insights----IT ALL WILL HAPPEN AUTOMATICALLY ON IT'S OWN!! What you
need is
'Bitul'---selflessly removing yourself from getting in Hashem's Way.
Instead,
let Hashem open up your essence---your own personal 'Ohr Ganuz Point'.
Experientially, you should be feeling a strong dose of the transcendent
and
nuclear aspects we described earlier, along with a 'Knowing' that all
else in
the creative process will automatically follow suit. How do you get
there? How
do you dig deeper and deeper? The first part of the answer is 'Ratzon'
[Primal
Will]. You are what you Will. Therefore, get clarity on your deepest
unobstructed flow of 'Ratzon' and you thereby tap the 'Ohr Ganuz'!
ALL
THE REST FOLLOWS
4.
The
rest of the Torah's Creation account, as well as the rest of our
creation
process, follows naturally and automatically. The Torah first discusses
on day
one, the creation of Heaven, earth and the state of chaos. Some
commentaries teach that right after the revelation of the hidden light,
the
entirety of Creation...ie..all that will follow in the G-dly account of
Creation as well as all that will follow in History for the next 6000
years and
beyond, are all encoded in the 1st day of creation of Heaven and earth,
but
this is all manifested in a chaotic state...ie...no clear order,
definition or
delineation, rather it was all revealed in ONE WORD! Only afterwards
were the
details of each day manifested in their proper order. The 6 days of
creation
along with all the '1sts' in the Torah became the paradigms which gave
rise to
and were the basis of all subsequent manifestations in Creation!
THE CREATION RECIPE
5.
Before actually presenting a Creation Recipe with all of its
corresponding
tools, we need first to present a few points of clarification. In order
to
fully emulate the Creator's Creative process, we would need to
encompass, not
only what's being presented in this essay, but also the following
points, which
G-d Willing we'll be able to also deal with at some time in the future;
a.
THE
PRACTICAL RAMIFICATIONS OF THE PURPOSE OF CREATION--------there are
around 5 or
6 major reasons taught as to why G-d created the world. Living our
lives with
these reasons in the forefront of our minds certainly goes along way to
being
aligned with the 'Image of G-d' that we have been created in....
b.
YEISH MI
YEISH [SOMETHING FROM SOMETHING]-----------A big part of the Creation
process
and creativity in general is concerned with utilizing that which
already
is in existence, and then forming something new from it.....
c.
POST OHR
GANUZ PROCESSING--------In order to truly complete the creative process
presented in our essay, much more attention should be given to the
completion
or actualization stage....
NEVERTHELESS,
HERE IS THE 'OHR GANUZING CREATIVTY RECIPE' THAT WE CAN
EXTRAPOLATE SO
FAR:
1.
Keep going
deeper and deeper in clarifying your Will...this can be achieved by
asking
yourself what you want [in a general way or in any specific situation].
Keep
asking why you want this. As long as you can give an answer, you're not
there
yet until your true answer is 'JUST BECAUSE'.
2.
Another
Ratzon [will] probe is to do a resonation check inside of yourself to
see if
you are 100% flowing with no inner objecting voices holding you back.
The way
to deal with the objecting voices is to keep asking what it is that you
really
want and why [or why not this particular objective].
3.
A 3rd
Ratzon approach is to keep asking that if you could have what you want,
what
more would you want, until there's nothing else.
4.
Once you
know what you want, then in a state of mind that is as detached as
possible
[..ie..not caring if things work out for you or don't, and not caring
what
people think about you], hyper- focus with every fiber of your being
constantly
day and night, on the object of your desire until it manifests.
5.
Alternatively, you can co-create the perfect or ultimate desired
reality of
your life [or any other desired outcome], and then let go and allow G-d
to make
it happen through you.
6.
All the
rest of the coming into being of your desired outcome [after
reaching 'Ohr
Ganuz'], as we said earlier, will [according to the degree that you
tapped your
Inner Ohr Ganuz] happen on its own. So sit back and enjoy the
miraculous
unfolding in front of your eyes.
NOAH'S ATTEMPT
1.
'Noah, a man of the earth, planted a vineyard and drank from the wine,
got
drunk and became exposed in his tent' [Parsha Noah Ch. 9, verses 20 and
21].
In
the Parsha,
we're presented with a very long description of how Noah, with G-d's
constant
guidance, attempted to save humanity and all the globe's animals
from the
world-wide devastating flood. And the Torah goes on to describe
how the ark withstood the flood and finally found its way
to dry land.
What comes after that seems to be a very strange and incongruous
story of
how Noah got himself blindly drunk, became indecently exposed and was
subsequently covered up by his more righteous sons. I have no doubt
that a
modern day Hollywood scriptwriter would 'go to town' with this
scenario; The star actor, playing the lead role of
Noah,
would become America's latest heartthrob, appearing on the front covers
of the nation's top celebrity magazines in his movie's famous
'exposed' scene.
However, we're here to learn a Torah lesson to transform our lives, and
not to
just be tossed into the world of entertainment-fantasy!
The
Holy Zohar
enlightens us: Noah, as well as the rest of humanity throughout
history
until the Messianic times, was driven by the deepest of primal drives.
He
wanted to rectify the damage done by the fallout caused by Adam's
sin. Noah's getting drunk wasn't a weekend binge in order
to let his
hair down after a hard week of work. No! He wanted to rectify all of
creation.
He understood, just as did his predecessor Adam, that to do
this, he
needed to go down to the underbelly of the beast---straight down into
the realm
of chaos and evil, and attempt to raise it all back up to unify
with it's
Divine roots. Noah literally and conceptually got drunk, indecently
exposed and
failed!!
ADAM'S SIN
2.
Adam
sinned by disregarding the express Divine command of not eating from
the fruit
of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. R. Shlomo Elyashiv
[OB"M],
the author of the contemporary Kabbalistic series of
volumes called the
'Leshem', describes the sin at incredibly great length. The main point
is
this; Adam, who was practically an angelic being
and the composite of all the pure souls of humanity, was separated
from
any type of inner evil urge. Nevertheless, for truly altruistic
reasons, he was
driven to explore the 'forbidden fruit' of the realm of evil. His
exploration
caused evil itself to begin to become entrenched in his very
being,
further pulling him down to ultimately eat of the fruit [the word 'eat'
as it
is used in this context is a byword for both literal
and not so
literal eating---ie..having premature forbidden sexual relations with
his wife]
and thereby ingesting spiritual poison into himself, and causeing all
of
humanity to become a hopeless mixture of good and bad soul energy.
Humanity's
subsequent legacy, over the next 5767 years until this very day
and maybe
beyond, was to 'unmix the mix', and the rest as they say, is
history. The 'Leshem'
goes on to describe what Adam could've accomplished if he hadn't
sinned.
He could've tapped into the 'Ohr Ganuz' [The Hidden Light], Creation's
quintessential point [see last week's Parsha Recipes essay for more on
this
point], and in a relative easy, smooth and immediate fashion, elevate
the world
to it's ultimate pristine state [that humanity has been working to get
to,
consciously or not, for all of it's history]! Instead, we are not only
condemned to extricate ourselves from the clutches of evil, ingrained
in the
dimensions of time and space, in our own lives & throughout
history, but
also our deepest drives and our most difficult tests are the same as
Adam's.
The main instigator was the drive to explore the ream of evil and fix
it up.
The subsequent effects of the ingestion of evil, included a
universal drive towards all fallen desires, fallen beliefs,
cardinal
and not so cardinal sins. If we want to get back to Paradise, we
need to
get right, what Adam got wrong! [It should be mentioned, that
as opposed
to Adam, who initially had no internal evil drive, and was
therefore tested to see if he could stay away from it, we, on the
other
hand are sunk inside of it, and our Tikun is to pull ourselves and
everything else out of it].
THE HISTORICAL DRIVE TO RECTIFY ADAM'S SIN
3.
The
'Leshem' explains at great length of how Adam's primal drive to
investigate and attempt to rectify the realm of evil was the primal
test
and subsequent fall or glorious victory of many of history's
primary
players including; all 3 Forefathers, Moshe, the entire generation that
wandered for forty years in the desert and King Solomon. We discussed
in an
earlier essay, a concept we called 'The Paratrooper Principle', where,
similar
to a paratrooper who is parachuted behind enemy lines in order
to rescue
his captured comrades, a spiritual paratrooper needs to be spotlessly
clean
[spiritually] and detached [so as not to be attached to the forces of
evil
that they'll encounter], and when inside of enemy territory,
they
need to have a crystal clear vision of the Ohr Ganuz-pristine roots
that they
came from & are heading back to.
SOME
RECIPES
FOR RECTIFYING HUMANITY [IE...ADAM'S FALL'S EFFECT ON HUMANITY]
4. A.
THE
DETACHED-OHR GANUZING RECIPE
1.
Get
yourself 'detached' as best as you can, to the point where it's all the
same to
you if you're praised and things work out well for you or just the
opposite. [
a suggestion; whatever it is that you’re stuck on---whether it be a
control
issue or approval issue----put it into a visual mind balloon and let it
float
on up to Hashem for Him to take care of]...
2.
Do the 'Ohr Ganuzing' tool that we described last week at
length------ in brief, try to get to the essence of your soul by first
discovering your Primal Will Point-----this you do by
constantly asking yourself why, until you finally get to the point
where
the only answer you can give is 'just because'!! Next take your newly
discovered primal will point and hyper focus on it actualizing in
reality,
enlisting all the powers of psyche that you've got, until it actually
manifests.
B.
THE SABA OF NEVORDIK'S 'NAASE VNISHMA' RECIPE
Just as the Israelites recaptured the
spiritual level of Adam before the sin, when they declared that they
would first obey [whatever Hashem will command us to do] and
afterwards
they would HEAR how to carry out the commands, so too by us here and
now----------Commit to do whatever Hashem wants, and then figure out
how to do
it [a suggestion---use as often as possible the anchor word 'HAYITAV',
which
means, does what I'm currently doing find favor in Hashem's
Eyes?].
C.
THE YOM KIPPUR RECIPE
On
Yom Kippur,
our consciousness becomes so elevated, that in that higher realm, it's
a
crystal clear fact of life that I'm a soul----and sinning is not what
I'm all
about---it's external to me---so I just throw all the sins away [a
suggestion----- to get into that elevated state---you need to engage
the world
with your G-dly side---ie...think, see, talk, listen...etc... with your
G-dly
side...].
D.
THE PARADISE NOW RECIPE
1.
P-L-U-G I-N-----maximize as much as you can your PRESCENCE, LOWER
SOUL
integration, GROOVING on life, INFINITIZING everything and
NITZULING
[ie..maximally utilizing all of your inner and outer resources]
side
is
totally involved in the process
3.
Be Hashem's
Divine messenger to reveal G-dliness wherever G-dliness is normally
hiding or
not felt.
AVRAM
THE ONE FROM THE OTHER SIDE
1. And
the refugee came and told Avram the 'Ivri' [literally the Hebrew
person]...' {Parsha Lech lecha ch. 14 verse 13}
The
sages
explain that the reason why Avram [Abraham's name before receiving an
extra
letter] is referred to as the 'Ivri' [from the Hebrew root meaning on
the other
side], is because the rest of mankind were on one side [of a world
outlook] and Avraham was on the other side. We, the Hebrew\Ivri
people
have spiritually inherited from the Patriarch of our people, Abraham,
the
ability to stand up to the entire world and say--'you're wrong, I'm
right'!
Sounds enticing, intriguing and impossible, right? I mean, just think
about
going contrary to the flow of your own family, and if you can do that,
then try
to imagine going up against your city, your country, the world!! It
would
probably demand of you to have steel fortitude, crystal-clear vision
and
incredible guts to stand up to the opposition. But that's who Abraham
was, and
so too by extension are we, his spiritual\genetic progeny! Our
mission-impossible challenge, if we so decide to accept it, is to find
out what
has made Abraham into an 'Ivri', and what formula or recipe can we come
up with
to be the 'Ivri\Hebrew' people ourselves [this tape will self-destruct
in 5
seconds].
FIRST FIND OUT WHO I REALLY AM
2.
In
order to truly understand what it means to be an Abraham, who
single-handedly
takes on the entire world, we need to first focus on his inner
dynamics...ie...what truly made him tick! Rabbi Kalonymous Kalman
Shapirah, the
Warsaw ghetto Rebbe, opens up for us a window to understand these
inner
dynamics. He explains the first verse of our Parsha in this way; 'And
Hashem
said to Avram, Go inside of yourself [ie...seek to reveal the essence
of your
being] BY DETACHING YOURSELF from seeing your self identity
as being
connected to your land, your birthplace, your father's house...'
G-d
instructed Abram, in order to be an Ivri and stand up to humanity
for all
time] to discover his essence by looking at his own identity totally
divorced
from the elements that most people use to define other
people---etc...their
nationality, religion, job, family, status etc...etc...Rather, start
without
any preconceived notions. In order to drive this point of
self-discovery home,
some of the Kabbalah's classic texts teach that our forefathers, along
with all
the rest of us, have a double identity. There's an Abraham of this
world, 'in
the flesh', but there's also an Abraham in the upper world, which
represents
our ultimate potential--what we're meant to live up to in our lifetime.
Numerous
stories are told of great people that were driven until their dying
day, by
this concept of the 'upper world me', and as a result, had incredible
achievements in life. Usually these people lived their lives by knowing
how to
read the Divine providential signposts and knowing at all times how to
answer
the question---'What is it that G-d is showing me personally that is
lacking in
the world, that only I can fix or improve?!'
THE
'SHLAIMUS'
[COMPLETE OR PERFECT] WAY TO EXPRESS IT
3.
Avram the
Ivri understood very clearly and lived a very important principle that
our
Sages teach us, "Every person should say to themself that the whole
world
was created for me." This is not meant to be understood in the sense
that
everyone and everything in Creation is meant to serve me, rather very
much to
the contrary--I'm meant to personally feel the responsibility
of perfecting Creation. Many commentaries explain that this is
exactly the
reason why Abraham is called the Patriarch of our people and not Noah.
Noah was
more of a follower of Hashem. Abraham was an initiator, G-d's
full-fledged
partner. Abraham saw himself in a role similar to that of a C.E.O., who
feels
personal responsibility that at the end of the day, his company should
be
successful and profitable. So too was Abraham's approach to G-d's
Creation. As
a result, Abraham understood that he not only needed to strive to
become
perfect, but also to make sure that he influenced the rest of the world
to do
the same. Here are a few cases in point:
A.
BEING G-D'S
MERKAVA—
-Abraham,
as
well as Yitzchak and Yaakov are known as 'THE MERKAVA'--- the human
vehicles of
G-dliness in this world. They achieved the level of being intimately
associated
with G-d's Name. In our Silent-Standing-Amidah Prayer, we address G-d
as being the
G-d of Abraham, the G-d of Yitzchak and the G-d of Yaakov. Not only in
regards
to prayer are the Patriarchs G-d's Vehicles, but also in every action
that they
took and every word that they spoke.
B.
BEING THE
WORLD'S PILLAR OF PERFECTED CHARACTER TRAITS----Every aspect of
Abraham's life
represented the Divine-Based Sefirah or trait of 'Chesed'---unlimited
giving
and love. If one wants to learn what the essence of Chesed is, let them
learn
from the sources, the portrait of Abraham that is portrayed, and
by doing
this, one can understand on a very deep level what Chesed is.
C.
ULTIMATE
PERFECTION IN INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS----Abraham lived in a generation
whose
approach to interpersonal relations was based on one of two strategies
[brought
in 'The Ethics of the Fathers' [ch. 5 Mishna
11]:
'What
is mine
is mine, and what is yours is mine' [the generation of the flood];
'What
is mine
is mine and what is yours is yours' [the generation of Sodom and
Gemarah].
One
who
carefully studies the behavior of these societies [and interestingly
enough,
our modern western society as well], will find that these 'mottos'
capture in
an incredibly accurate way, the underlying reason behind all of their
peculiar
laws and peculiar behavior. Abraham, on the other hand, based on all
that we've
said about him so far...ie...he was a global figure of G-dliness and
Chesed par
excellence, taught that everything belongs to Hashem, and therefore,
'What is
mine is yours, and what is yours is yours.'
THE 'AVRAM HAIVRI IN ME' RECIPE
4.
Let's put
it all together in order to fulfill what our Sages say, 'A person
should always
ask themselves, when will my actions reach the level of the actions of
our
Forefathers?'
a.
TAKING ON
THE CHALLENGE OF STANDING UP TO AND SINGLEHANDEDLY CORRECTING THAT
WHICH IS
WRONG IN THE WORLD--------This can be motivated by one of two things.
Firstly,
I may not be able to stand the injustice and all else that I see as
being wrong
with the world, whether it be on a global scale or on a much smaller
scale.
This approach will require me to be very clear
as to what are
the specific 'Tikunim' needed to right all that is
wrong. A
different
motivation would be starting from the positive side and asking
myself,
what Divine talent or gift do I possess more than anyone else in
the world
[as far as I can know] which is exactly what is needed to
correct
what's wrong!
b. DISCOVERING
MY ESSENCE-----if you really want to have a chance of
influencing people
in a grand Abrahamic way, you need to plug into your essence and
function from
that level. As we mentioned in earlier essays, this requires you
to;
1.
Tap your
essence in a detached way....the main thing is not the 'outer
trappings' that
the world identifies you as that matter; rather it is your essence. See
the
last 2 weeks' essays-recipes, where the description of the exercise, in
brief,
was to keep asking yourself why you want what you want until the
only
answer is 'just because'.
2.
Be
constantly aware of G-d's Providence guiding you to reach the
level of
your 'Upper World Essence' [ ...ie..the 'Abraham Abraham'
point ] and
be driven to constantly strive to reach that point.
c.
ACTUALIZING
MY ESSENCE AND INFLUENCING THOSE AROUND ME TO THE BEST OF MY
ABILITIES------
This
includes;
1.
Having the
perspective that the world was created for me and therefore I have the
sole
responsibility of perfecting it...
2.
Tapping in
to my strongest character trait and being driven to live up to it on
its
highest level, and to help others to do the same [with both my own
trait as
well as theirs]....
3.
Be a
wellspring of G-dliness---seeking to reveal G-d wherever He seems to be
hiding,
or wherever His Presence is not felt...
4.
Relate to
people as G-d does and as Abraham does, by being a living example of
the motto,
'What's mine is yours and what's yours is yours'....
TEN
ORDEALS
1.
'...Now I know that you are a fearer of G-d...' [Parsha
Vayeira Ch. 22 , verse12]
This
verse occurs after Abraham successfully copes with [what most
commentators consider] the last of the 10 major ordeals or tests that
Hashem
sends his way throughout the course of his life. The Mishna in 'Pirkei
Avot'
[Ch. 2, 4th Mishnah] states, 'Abraham was tested with 10 ordeals and
stood up
successfully to all of them...' Actually Abraham was tested by more
than 10
major ordeals [and if we include those relatively minor ordeals,
than we
will discover that Abraham successfully stood up to ordeals every
single day of
his life as the verse at the end of Abraham's life states,
'Abraham was
old and came with his days']. So why does the Mishnah limit the number
to 10?
The answer can be found right next to the place from which the
question arises
[as is true in many other places in Torah and in life for that
matter]....Our
Mishna lists many other units of 10, after bringing Abraham's 10
trials. Here
are some of them:
a. The
10 Divine sayings in the Creation process.
b.
The 10 generations from Noah to Abraham.
c.
The 10 trials that the Generation of the Desert tried Hashem with.
d.
The 10 phenomena that were created right before the first Shabbat of
Creation...
The
point is that the number 10 is what the Kabbalah calls a 'Komah
Shlaimah' or a complete unit. The source of all complete units are
the 10
Sefirot [Divine Traits which bridge all units which are finite to
the Infinite]. Various commentaries frame Abraham's trials into
units of
10 to teach us that the ordeals that he underwent represent the
totality of all
the types of ordeals that exist. And why was that necessary?! The
answer is
that Abraham was a Patriarch of our nation, and therefore all that
he
experiences and is challenged with, is automatically channeled towards
the
welfare of his progeny until the end of time. As a result, we the
Children of
Abraham have a built-in spiritual/genetic immunity from failure and
a maximal ability to succeed, when it comes to coping with any and
all
ordeals that come our way [perhaps this is another good answer to the
famous
question of how we Jews have such incredible resilience and ability to
survive]. As we mentioned, the 10 Sefirot represent a complete
Sefirotic unit.
Each of the ten are links in a chain of a lifelong refining
process.
Abraham's ordeals are a lifelong chain of customized and personalized
refinements of 'Emunah' [belief in the Divine]. He only
receives the
subsequent test when he has grown to that level. Each test reflects his
present
ability to stand up to it. Our challenge in exercising our built-in
'Abrahamic-ordeal-coping-powers', is to create a recipe that can help
us
maximally to take advantage of ordeals one at a time and all of them
[if and
when we can identify them as such] as one unified lifelong test.
WHAT IS AN ORDEAL?!
2.
In order to be able to recipe-ize [hey...when you write your
own compositions, you can also feel free to re-invent the English
language
to express yourselves as you wish], the realm of ordeals, we need
to
understand just what exactly an ordeal is. The Hebrew word is
'Nisayon.'
The root letters [from which we always can derive the word's conceptual
essence], are NEIS. There are 2 different meanings of the word NEIS,
each
representing a different type of ordeal. The first meaning is a
flag or a
banner that's hoisted up to a high place to broadcast its proud
message. When
we successfully undergo an ordeal, we are by definition ascending to a
higher
level by actualizing our hidden potential. The 2nd meaning of NEIS is a
miracle. When we have no choice but to cope with an impossible
situation, and
we understand that the only way to succeed is to surrender our fate to
G-d,
then we go way beyond just bringing out our natural hidden potential.
We bring
out the Divine side of ourselves and we draw down G-d into the
picture,
enabling us to succeed in a challenge which is way beyond
our natural
abilities. This is truly a miracle, or a miracle evoking process.
As
we mentioned above, ordeals are customized and personalized.
Hashem only sends to us an ordeal when we are ready, and can stand up
to it and
grow from it. In fact without ordeals, we wouldn't grow and we wouldn't
be able
to bring out our hidden and Divine potentials. And though we do have an
incredible advantage to succeed implanted inside of us by Abraham and
the
Patriarchs, we can still fall and fail the test, and subsequently
need to
be tested again to get back to our present level. The ordeal
reflects back
to us in an incredible way where we are holding in life and what we
need to do
to grow to the next level. The students of the 'Mussar giant', the
'Saba of
Nevordik', R.Yosef Yuzel Hurvitz, report that when they saw their Rebbe
walk in
the door with a huge smile on his face, they knew that he was in the
midst of
undergoing some type of ordeal. The 'Saba' knew that the ordeal was the
only
ticket to spiritual growth and that was the reason for his smiling
celebratory
attitude.
ORDEAL RECIPE-ING
3.
A. LIFELONG ORDEAL
RECIPE-ING---
1. Recall
the major ordeals of your life.
2.
Look for the common thread connecting them all together and identify
the lifelong theme of your life's ordeals.
3.
See all past, present and future ordeals as being a lifelong
refining process of your life's 'Tikun'. This wide-angled perspective
can help
you immensely to know how to properly react to all ordeals.
B. INDIVIDUAL ORDEALS
RECIPE-ING
1. BE
CELEBRATORY WHEN IN THE MIDST OF AN ORDEAL-----though your
natural tendency is to be upset and confused when you're thrust into
the thick
fog of being challenged by difficulties, hold your head high and know
that
Hashem is, so to speak, reaching his hand down to pull you up to a
whole
new level.
2. MAXIMIZE
YOUR AWARENESS OF WHAT THE ORDEAL IS ALL ABOUT-----one
way to do this is keep handy and close to you at all times a pen and a
sheet of
questions asking what is the Divine message that Hashem is sending to
you in
each and every one of your ordeals. Since Hashem is constantly speaking
to us
in 'instant flashes' and 'in between the lines', we need to be ready to
receive
His answers at all times with our question sheet handy and available to
quickly
write down the Divine-sent answers!
3.
WHEN HAVING TO REACT TO YOUR ORDEAL, ALWAYS ASK; 'HOW WOULD HASHEM
WANT ME TO REACT?'
4.
WHEN THE ORDEAL IS PARTICULARLY TOUGH;
A. DO TSHUVAH------our Sages
teach that there is
no suffering that does not reflect back to us our 'being off' in
some way.
Tshuvah will get you 'back on' again and eliminate the need to be
tested
further
B. CRY OUT TO HASHEM---that
you're helpless to
pass this test without His maximal intervention
5.
DEVELOP THE PROPER ATTITUDE TO BE ABLE TO PROCESS ORDEALS IN THE EST
WAY POSSIBLE;
A.
Get used to saying and thinking that this ordeal is the best
possible thing in the world that could've happened to you.
B.
Be flexible---expect the unexpected and go with whatever flow of
tests that Hashem sends your way.
C.
Avoid the 'Roller-coaster effect' of always having ups and downs in
life, by always seeing yourself as being on your way up.
D. See
yourself as being like Abraham, a Patriarch, who's every
ordeal is to be faced head-on with an inspired knowledge that you
are rectifying Creation, revealing hidden G-dliness and paving the
spiritual way for your children and your children's
children...etc...until the
end of time!
SUPREME
IMPORTANCE
1.
'...and bring a wife for my son, for Yitzchak...' [Parsha Chayei Sarah
Chap.
24\Verse 4].
Eliezer,
the
servant of Abraham, was sent by his elderly master to the place of
Abraham's
roots, to where his extended family resided. Eliezer's mission was of
utmost
importance. He was charged with finding a wife for Abraham's son
Yitzchak. The
scope of importance of such a mission cannot be underestimated. Any act
of
matchmaking must be approached with the proper degree of awe! The
potential
results are of cosmic importance. If the match is successful, and the
woman and
the man come to complete each other, and they come to be the prime
players
responsible for facilitating each others and their progeny's 'Tikun' or
reason
for being alive, then the matchmaker's holy task is ultimately
accomplished.
The matchmaker is thus truly partnerizing with and emulating
G-d, the
ultimate matchmaker.
G-D---THE ULTIMATE MATCHMAKER
2.
We're
taught by our Sages that G-d, so to speak, dedicates a large portion of
his
daily activities to matchmaking. We're informed by a Midrash, that upon
hearing
this [piece of info. about G-d's daily matchmaking activity], a certain
Roman
noblewoman scoffed and said, "What's the big deal?! Anyone can do
that." And to prove her point, she took 1000 of her male slaves and
matched them up with 1000 of her female slaves in a grand mass marriage
ceremony. Well, as you may have guessed, the next morning these
newlyweds'
lives were a mess----black eyes, violent arguments and absolute resolve
to
divorce each other...The point is clear; matchmaking is no casual
matter. In
fact the key to success for the matchmaker, is to synchronize their
matching
with G-d's matching, and that is no easy matter.
ONWARD
THROUGH THE FOG
3.
In
Eliezer's case, in addition to the crucial ramifications of a normal
matchmaking process, he was charged with securing a match for Yitzchak,
which
would influence in a very primal way, the future fate of the
Jewish people
and in a wider sense, that of all mankind. Now add to all of that,
the
fact that matchmaking involves making a fateful choice in an area
as blind
as it can be! After all, what can we really know about the life-long
compatibility of a couple from a limited knowledge of their character
traits?!
And even if they do meet and 'click', how can one really know what life
will be
like behind closed-matrimonial-doors for the rest of their lives. And
if you're
going to suggest to me at this point, to let them first live together
and see
if it works out, I'll suggest back to you, that besides other reasons
for not
doing it which I'll keep discreet at this point, there is the
solid reason
that it just doesn't work! Statistics , that I have here at my
disposal, show
that their chances for divorce are much higher than that of a couple
who commit
to marry without this trial marriage arrangement............So what's
poor
Eliezer to do?! And what are the 'poor' rest of us to
do?! The matchmaking challenge, or the search
for the
proper Divine-stamped-recipe, actually extends beyond the realm
of matrimony. It also involves matching up a person to their
'Beshert' [Divinely
sanctioned fate] in terms of their job, home, proper path and
proper
matches in all areas of life! So let's precede my friends in our
earnest
search....onward through the fog!
GETTING
ON
HASHEM'S WAVELENGTH [A FEW MATCHMAKING RECIPES]
4.
Dear friends,
please don't lose heart. I know that we've painted a pretty bleak
picture
so far regarding the specific question of knowing who or what it
is that
Hashem truly wants us to connect to. But, never fear, this 'shidduch'
[matchmaking] process goes back a long way---it's as old as our nation
is---so
we've managed to learn a few things along the way about how to get on
to
Hashem's wavelength---which is always the surest bet----whether in the
realm of
matchmaking or any other realm for that matter.
Here
are a few
recipes with a bit of background explanations;
A.
ELIEZER'S WAY--'ABOVE NATURING' AND 'OMENING'-----Eliezer's strategy
was not to
take any chances with the inherent hazards of a natural approach. He
chose,
rather, to approach the situation in an above-nature fashion. He first
prayed
that G-d should open his eyes to recognize Yitzchak's destined
wife in the
merit of his master Abraham. In addition, he asked G-d to show him
the
proper omens or signs to assure him that she [Rivka] is the one! His
demand
that the omen needs to take place in a very specific manner, caused the
Sages
to 'raise their eyebrows' and they engaged in a lengthy discussion to
determine
if Eliezer's approach to Omen-ing was Kosher or not. For our purpose,
we can
derive 2 recipes;
1. ABOVE
NATURE--ing-----------To be able to side-step nature to receive G-d's
above
nature assistance in opening our eyes to choose the proper match, is a
lengthy
discussion------however, this much we can say at this point----based on
the
fact that G-d reflects our actions ['G-d is your shadow' is the
source-verse in
Psalms], so if we act in an above-nature way [ specifically
with
regard to acting with clarity in spiritual matters], then G-d will
respond
in kind, by opening up our eyes to be able to see that which we
normally aren't
able to see.....
2.
OMEN--ing------------------The general distinction between
O.K.--OMEN-ing and
NOT O.K. OMEN-ing, is that we are allowed to take as an omen or a
sign of
G-ds sanction, those type of omens that clearly and logically seem to
be
directly sent to us from G-d in order to guide us...ie... the sign
shows
that Divine providence is clearly encouraging us to go in one
direction or another. Regarding those omens that don't seem to have any
direct
connection to the desired matter at hand, STAY CLEAR! Do me a
favor, when
in doubt, ask an authority---thanks!
B.
THE BAAL
SHEM TOV'S PERSONALIZED DIVINE PROVIDENCE PRINCIPLE---- [otherwise
fondly known
as THE PUPPET SHOW---where G-d the grand puppeteer is dangling in
front of
us the puppets {ie..people or situations} of our life 24\7 who are
sending us
subtle Divine messages about which direction to go in
life]----simply
stated, the more real or believing that you are with the fact that
Hashem is
personally guiding you to where you need to go in life, the more Hashem
will
actually guide you! This would
seem to
be the ultimate solution to all of our difficulties in matchmaking---IT
IS!!
However, there's just one small catch; unless you have what it takes to
just
jump right in to the 'Puppet Show' and be real with it 100%, it
can be a
lifetime growth process until you really 'get it down'.
C.
THE WANTING
TO KNOW WHAT G-D WANTS OF US RECIPE---This one is easier, not easy, but
easier----the greater that we want to know what G-d wants of us [in our
case in
terms of the proper shidduch], the more we will know!---So pray and
yearn with
all of your heart to know!!
D.
THE SLIDING
SCALE BITACHON [Divine trust] AND HISHTADLUT[ [concerted effort]
RECIPE--------------The greater Bitachon that you have, the less
Hishtadlut
that you need, and vice versa....so the recipe to truly get to
know
Hashem's 'take' on the situation is to
constantly increase the
amount of Bitachon, which not only will reduce your efforts, but also
open up your
awareness of the Divine Will. This too is a principle that applies in
all kinds
of other areas in life, but it's application in matchmaking, is
even more
crucial; After all, at one end of the spectrum, you’re walking up a
blind alley
which would demand of you to make the greatest concerted effort
and dig up
as much hidden information that you can---which probably would also
involve
doing a comprehensive check on the character profiles of him and her
and how
they match up! At the other end of the spectrum, don't forget that
the
match is truly MADE IN HEAVEN, so why not let Heaven take care of it.
E.
THE 'RED
LIGHT' RECIPE-------------This recipe is a favorite strategy of
our local
seasoned Jerusalem matchmakers who have been marrying off many many
young
people for many many generations--[so listen closely];----The very
fact
that you're already in the 'shidduch game' and have had
certain
people presented to you as being possibilities, is itself a CLEAR SIGN
OF
DIVINE PROVIDENCE---therefore go with the flow of it---and if you find
that
there are not too many RED LIGHTS----it's
Beshert! What
is too many red lights?! When do you back off?! Besides getting
yourself a good
solid authoritative 2nd opinion, the answer is to incorporate all
of the
above recipes together and G-d Willing, you'll know!!
F. PRAY
YOUR HEART OUT----the best recipe of all!!
AN EXECUTIVE DECISION
1.
'And
G-d should give to you from the Heavenly Dew and the fat places of the
earth...' [Parsha Toldot ch. 27, verse 28].
Our
Matriarch
Rivkah made an 'executive decision'. She masterminded a plan whereby
her son
Yaakov would dissuade her other son Esau from receiving the birthright
and [in
a hidden and cunning fashion] their father Yitzchak's
Blessing.
She knew, as did her husband Yitzchak, that these sons, who
represented
history's 2 most important dynasties----the nations Yisrael and
Edom, were
diametrically opposite personalities. When the nation of Edom,
symbolized by
their quality of 'hands' ['...the hands are the hands of Esau...'] or
the quality of doing [ie...the nation who would control the
world's
material\physical realm] was strong, then Yisrael, symbolized by
their
quality of 'voice' ['...the voice is the voice of Yaakov..'] or calling
out to
G-d in prayer and Torah learning [ie... the nation which would stand
out in the
spiritual realm], would be weak. And conversely, when Yisrael's
spirituality
was strong, Esau's or Edom's physicality would conversely be
weakened.
She knew that Yitzchak’s treasured Blessing was a Blessing of
wealth,
wealth-- pure and simple ['...the fat places of the earth']. And
she knew
that even if her son Yaakov received the blessing of earthly wealth, he
would still
be a person and a nation whose dominant characteristic and contribution
to
civilization would be spiritual----a spirituality that would be
expressed
throughout most of their history in a state of materialistic
poverty.
So why the deception?! Yaakov's receiving a blessing of material
wealth
would give him an eternal 'claim' to that wealth, even if he couldn't
actually
acquire it. This claim, in the distant future would enable his
nation to receive its due share & meanwhile to always
have a
legal claim on it in Heaven's Eyes. What is striking
from
this outlook is how earthly wealth is seen or viewed.
Yitzchak, our
Patriarch, and to a large extent Rivkah, our Matriarch, clearly felt
that the
nation of Yisrael would flourish spiritually, and carry out it's legacy
of beaming
to the world the light of G-dliness in all aspects of living, in
an
unhampered fashion, as an impoverished nation!
Our question or quest must be therefore, to explore why this is
so-----
What is the Torah's viewpoint of wealth, and how can we apply this to
our
lives?!
WEALTH AS A MEANS AND NOT AS AN END
2.
I'd
like to jump 'out of the box', out of my usual pattern of working
my way
through the essay, point by point ,until we reach the thesis of
the essay,
upon which to build the recipe at the end. Rather, let's
just reveal the
principle or thesis at this point: Wealth is a form of 'Shefa' or
abundance.
Just like all other forms of 'shefa' that are drawn down to us from
above,
like wisdom, all forms of wellbeing, prophecy and life
itself----we need
to play by the rules to get the proper effect. The most
important
rule of 'shefa--receiving' is that it must be properly channeled or
conducted.
Rather than receiving it as an end in itself, where once it's given to
us it
would be ours--period, 'shefa' is meant to be seen as essentially
something
that belongs to Hashem. It is temporarily deposited in our care, to be
channeled onwards in the best and wisest possible way that will
facilitate
doing 'Tikun of our lives and of the world. The Torah doesn't view
wealth as
well as other forms of 'shefa as something inherently bad, but only as
something to be avoided if one doesn't know how to handle
it! Jewish
History is illuminated by many outstanding saints and scholars who
possessed great wealth and always used it in ways that would
emulate G-d's
own benevolent way of utilizing 'shefa'---ie... as a means to
maximize
'Tikun Olam'.
In
short, our
wealth is a Divine deposit to be channeled in the best possible way.
When we
reframe our view of wealth as being a Holy channeling process, not
only do
we turn ourselves into a magnet to receive wealth, but we also avoid
all the
horrific pitfalls that our Sages, going all the way back to our
Patriarchs and
Matriarchs were wary of.
RECIPES
FOR CHANNELING WEALTH
3.
A. SEE
WEALTH AS A MEANS-------See your present and potential wealth as a
means and
not an end in and of itself [ie...hoarding money with the sole
intention of
status-seeking, power or money-lust]
B.
SEE
YOUR WEALTH AS BELONGING ULTIMATELY TO G-D-------See the wealth as
being a
borrowed deposit from Heaven and therefore as a sort of a Divine
test----to see
if you use the wealth to free you up from those burdens and
necessities that life demands of all of us, such as maintaining
mental,
emotional and physical health and wellbeing---- ALL IN ORDER TO ENABLE
YOU TO
DO THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE----ie...your personal mission in
life and
contribution towards 'Tikun Olam'!
C.
BE A
CAREFUL CONDUIT WHEN GENERATING TO YOURSELF WEALTH---------If you want
to
activate all of your powers of the psyche or personality to draw wealth
down to
yourself [as is popular in many "New Age' strategies]---be sure to see
the
potential wealth as being a Divine gift to be used as a means to
achieve
'Tachlis' [ie...to be used for the highest purpose].
D.
BE AWARE OF THE TRAPS AND THE PITFALLS OF WEATH---------
1.
Be aware of when the luxury turns into necessity...
2.
Be aware when the wealth is causing you to forget what
you're meant to do in life...
3.
Be aware when you begin becoming a slave to wealth, as opposed to
becoming
a masterful channeler of wealth...
4.
Be aware when you begin to cut corners, cheat and even steal from
other
people [even if it's in the most subtle ways]...
E.
BE APPRECIATIVE--------Be happy and even ecstatic with your lot in
life.
As we often mention, G-d reflects our actions and attitudes [He is
referred to
as 'Our Shadow']. He happily bestows all kinds of shefa
including
wealth to an appreciative person. Our Sages say, "Who is the wealthy,
one
who is happy with their lot".
F.
BE
REPRODUCTIVE WITH WEALTH----------Be a person who is constantly
involved in
creating ways and strategies that will enable the wealth received
to expand and reproduce itself for the benefit of the multitudes.
Hand in
hand with this dynamic, be a reproductive benefitter of the multitudes
with all
forms of 'shefa' you receive; Torah, healing, happiness, goodness and
life
itself.
Shabbat
Shalom
Yitzchak
YAAKOV
THE 'TAM'
1.
'...And
Yaakov told Rachel that he was her father's brother...' [Parsha
Vayeitzei, ch.
29, verse 12]
Here's
the
scenario; our forefather Yaakov has been commanded by his parents to
run for
his life from his brother Esau, who wanted to kill him. He was told to
go back
to his mother Rivkah's birthplace, and to seek out there, a marriage
partner
for himself from the household of her brother Lavan. Lavan is infamous.
He is
known as being a notorious swindler and deceiver. Yaakov has a
reputation of
being just the opposite. He grew up in his father's and grandfather's
holy
patriarchal home and spent 14 years in the Torah academy of Shem and
Eiver, so
engrossed in study, that he never even laid down at night to sleep.
Besides all
this, Yaakov's inherent trait was to be a 'Tam'. The Hebrew term 'Tam'
is very
difficult to translate into Engish, but it's approximate meaning is a
person
who has no deception in them at all----rather this person is truthful,
straightforward, authentic, happy with their lot, and has sort of a
holy
naiveté that allows this person to be beloved to Hashem and
achieve very high
levels. Now back to our
essay's opening
verse. Our commentaries teach us that Yaakov wasn't informing his
intended
bride-to-be, Rachel, how he was related to her. In fact Yaakov wasn't
her
father's brother at all. He was her father's sister's son. Rather
Yaakov was
informing his worried bride-to-be, that even though he was Yaakov, 'The
Tam', he
was a fitting match for her father Lavan-the-deciever [as the verse
states,
...'that he was her father's brother...']. What we need to understand
is how in
the world could Yaakov, being the antithesis of deception, cope
properly with
deception day in and day out for the next 20 years of his life,
and come
out of it not only surviving, but also smelling like 'a bed of roses',
and keep
his precious trait of being a 'Tam' intact. And of course, in
understanding how
Yaakov could do it, we will understand the recipes for us to be able to
do it
as well.
THE
PATH OF MIRRORING THE DECIEVER
2.
'Rashi' [R. Shlomo Yitzchaki], the Torah's most important
commentary,
brings a Midrash to explain Yaakov's anti-deception strategy. He says
basically, that Lavan is a deceiver and that Yaakov can match him,
deception for deception. King David [in the 2nd 'Book of Shmuel' Ch.
22, verses
26-27] teaches this mirroring -principle stating, ' With a
righteous
person, be righteous...with a 'tam', be a 'tam'...with a pure person,
be
pure...and with a crooked person, be
crooked.'
At this point, as opposed to transforming this principle into a tool or
recipe, I come to warn you about the dangers of this approach. If
you want
to play with fire, unless you're very careful, you just may get burned.
Yaakov
[and for that matter, King David also], became a walking , talking
and
living wellspring of wisdom and Torah.....this, combined with the fact
of his
being the paradigm of being a 'Tam'---the antithesis of deception,
enabled him
to tangle with someone as notorious as Lavan successfully. A lesser
person, or
a lower level society of people, attempting to do the same, are in real
danger
of being hurt----either by falling deeply from their present spiritual
level, or
else, by eliciting the wrath of the other person, to be worse than they
already
are.
[****I'm
saying what I'm saying with hesitation and trepidation. After all, how
could
the Torah be teaching us a way of coping that only applies to a very
few
special people. The Gemorah doesn't make this distinction, and we've
all
probably had to resort to matching deceit for deceit in our
lives
just to survive. So why my extra dose of caution?! It’s just that
I've
personally witnessed how easily a person or even an entire community
can
'deceive itself' in this area and be truly harmed.]
THE
PATH OF LIVING IN A HIGHER REALM
3.
R.
Chaim ben Attar, the author of the Torah commentary called 'Ohr
Hachayim'
[approximately 300 years ago], teaches that Yaakov points
out to
Rachel, that he indeed he was her father's match in terms of
deception,
but he would be able to pull it off in a kosher way [as is
evident
from the continuation of our essay's theme verse, where Yaakov
states that
he is Rivkah's son]. What was Yaakov's kosher way? In short,
Yaakov faced
every life challenge by reframing it as opportunity to further
contribute to
rectify the world. How did he accomplish this? Well, beyond a
very
detached and elevated mindset and character makeup that he possessed,
he also
didn't see the world the way that most people do. He managed to relate
to life
at its root level. People weren't just people, they were Kabalistic
paradigms; Rachel and Leah, Yaakov's 2 wives, were 2
aspects of the
'Shechinah'---the Female Divine paradigm expressed
as G-d's felt
presence in the world. Yaakov himself represented one aspect of
G-d's Male
Paradigm. Yaakov's pursuit of these 2 sister's hands for the sake
of being
his marriage partners, represented the Divine Male and Female
Paradigm's Unifications
of the Upper World. Even the 20 years of labor that Yaakov worked for
Lavan,
wasn't merely an exercise in sound animal husbandry, excellent breeding
practices and not even simply a demonstration of being honest when
working for
a crooked employer. Rather, the different type of sheep represented the
different phases in the Kabbalistic Creation process, and Yaakov's
choices of how to breed these sheep were determined by the deepest
contemplations of how to best facilitate the Creation process.
Yaakov saw
everything that came his way in life, as an opportunity to
unify the realm
of the mundane with it's G-dly source. All was seen as being good
and
sanctifiable. He lived above time [he stated that his 7-year-stint in
working for
Rachel's hand in marriage seemed to him like a few
days]. Everything was
done in a complete and 'Tam' fashion [he states to his
brother Esau,
after returning to Israel, that he lived with Lavan for 20 years and
kept
himself intact as the saying goes, 'with Lavan I lived and all of
the 613
Mitzvot I kept']. That's how Yaakov coped with Lavan's deceptive
ways for
so long.
So
you
may ask, that may be fine for Yaakov, and for anyone else that excels
in so
many profound and sublime areas, but what's the practical lesson to
be drawn for someone like me, who finds myself holding on a bit of
a more
simple level? Never fear!
Here's a
simple tool that's do-able and with a lot of persistence, can truly
help you to
see a world that's unified and rectifiable, and allows you the ability
to cope
with some of the toughest people and challenges. You've possibly heard
me at
previous times bring this tool, but I bring it again because its
application at this point is very appropriate. It's called the
'Mikve
Tool', and here's what you do: Simply dunk yourself
into a
real or imagined body of water. While dunking, say to yourself, that
all that's
recently happened to you is the best possible thing in the world for
you. Then
bring up into your mind a specific negative or painful experience that
you have
had recently. Come up for air and then dunk again and
say to
yourself that the reason why this experience is the best possible thing
that could've happened to you, is because________ and wait for an
answer to
come in to your mind. The answer usually has something to do with the
rectification of your personality or soul, such as a need to be more
humble,
loving, believing...etc...
ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES OR RECIPES
4.
We
wouldn't be doing even partial justice to the topic of coping with
deception, unless we brought a few other possible approaches. What I
would
suggest to you to do with all these approaches is to assess your
relative
strength to stand up to a deceiver or a deceptive environment, and then
choose the
appropriate approach. If you feel so threatened that any type of
interface at
all would be harmful for you, then keep your distance from the
deceptive
one[s]. If you feel more bold and confident in yourself and your
abilities to
survive and effect change, then choose a strategy that suits your style;
A. BE
A
RADICAL 'TAM' IN THE FACE OF DECEPTION---------------------------
****The
point here, is that one's 't-a-m ness' will draw down a
Divine-based-protective-force-field, and sometimes will even transform
the
deceiver into becoming a bit of a 'tam' also...Anyway here's a few
basic
steps in 'Tam-ing';
1.
Be
radically authentic-----what you express on the outside, should be a
reflection
of what you feel on the inside...
2.
Be
radically happy with your lot.
3.
Make 'HOLY
SIMPLICITY' your primal value and ‘Modus
operandi’ in life....this includes all areas of life;
how you interact with people, with Hashem and with life itself...[Don't
forget
what the Breslov Chassidim are fond of saying, 'it's not
simple to be
simple! And don't forget what the Kabbalists are fond of saying
'Simplicity is
in the highest Sefirotic realm of 'KETER']....
B. LEVERAGING
1.
Identify
your strongest points. For example, you may be and
feel outstanding in the
realm of spirituality or learning or emoting or being creative or
getting
'results'...
2.
Leverage or
utilize this strong point[s] of yours when you are in the heat of an
encounter
with a deceptive person [rather than having to distance yourself from
them]....
3.
For
example, if you're a lover of wisdom, impress upon the deceptive one
how
fascinated you are by their depth and breadth of wisdom. Hopefully this
will
steer them away from feeling challenged by you and therefore
needing to
deceive you...
C. ESCAPE--------------Escape
when you need to escape in order to protect yourself. Get a good lawyer
if
necessary. Included in this 'escape clause' is the ability to not allow
the
deceiver to trap you into an abusive type of relationship or dynamic
that they
themself created, in order to always keep you defensive and under their
control....
THE
EYES AND HEARTS OF THE CHILDREN
1. At
the
end of Yaakov's life [Parsha Vayechi]], the Torah uses a textual device
to
teach a very profound lesson. Normally between any two significant
Torah
passages, there is a designated blank space to mark the end of one
passage and
the beginning of another, signifying a break by which to absorb the
previous
passage's lesson. This device is absent upon Yaakov's demise. Our Sages
teach
us that this is to signify that just as the textual spaces framing
Yaakov's passing are closed up, so were the eyes and hearts of his
descendants in Egypt after he passed away. His passing marks
the end
of the Patriarchal and Matriarchal Era. They, the paradigm parents,
die, and
the ability of their children to survive and thrive in a hostile
environment is
greatly diminished. Why is this so? What does a parent, even after
becoming
inactive, contribute to their children's wellbeing and power of
survival?
What is it that any parents essentially transmit to their children
that's
so irreplaceable and vital?
THE
HARDSHIPS OF RAISING CHILDREN
2.
Yaakov's life was full of challenges in general, and
specifically with
regard to his offspring. First of all, he was swindled by his
father-in-law,
and given the bride that he didn't ask for [Leah], forcing him to labor
for
another 7 years for Rachel. Yaakov lost his beloved wife, Rachel, in
the childbirth
of his youngest son Binyamin. Also in our Parsha [Vayishlach], he
was
tested by the episode of Shechem. His only daughter Dina, out
of
curiosity, ventured out alone one day, only to be raped by a
man named
Shechem, who as a consequence, was slaughtered along with his
people by two of Dina’s very zealous older brothers. Yaakov's
favorite son, Yosef, was sold by his jealous brothers as a slave and
taken down
to Egypt. The brothers reported to their father Yaakov, that
Yosef was savagely torn
to pieces by a wild animal. Finally Yaakov was forced to bring his
entire
family down to Egypt for a long and bitter exile. It was no wonder
that
upon being asked by Pharoh of his age, Yaakov replied that the
years of
his life were 'few and bad'. But despite all of this 'TZAR GIDUL
BANIM'
[the hardships involved in child raising], that Yaakov and his wives
went
through, we are taught that the quality of
their parenting is considered to be on the highest,
near-perfect
level. This family went on to become the Holy nation of Israel
[Yaakov's
other name]. What was Yaakov's and the Torah's secret recipe of
successful
parenting even amidst the toughest of
circumstances? Certainly with
the incredibly difficult challenges that we face nowadays
with regard
to family life in general and child raising specifically, we could all
do with
some good solid authoritative guidance. The topic at hand, as is
true of
almost all of the other Parshas and topics of the 'Book
of Bereshit',
features the Patriarchs and Matriarchs serving as a guiding light
in a
reality of extremely difficult life-challenges. This is one reason
why
the 'Book of Bereshit' is referred to as the 'Sefer Hayashar'--The
Book of
Straightness---where the Patriarchs guide us in the straight and
correct way of
dealing with the most difficult challenges.
THE
PARENTING PRINCIPLE
3.
In
order to understand the power of parenting used by Yaakov and all other
parents
whose parental influence serve as a constant guiding light, enabling
their children
to survive and thrive in even the most difficult of situations,
even though the parents may not be physically present, we
need to
go back to the roots. The Hebrew word for parents is
'Horim', which
stems form the root, 'Hor-e',which means teaching. The type of teaching
that
the word Hor-e signifies [as opposed to the word lameid], is not a
simple type
of teaching, but rather a type of life-guidance. It's the same
root-form as the
word 'Mor-e' [[a person's teacher] and 'Torah'---both terms
pointing to a
meaningful, profound and all-encompassing type of guidance. What
distinguishes
parental life guidance from Torah-guidance or Mor-e guidance?
The
Kabbalah
teaches us that the parents level of purity of thought and intention
that they
have at the time of conception, will be permanently transmitted to the
child,
so too regarding many other aspects of the child's personality. In
addition to this, a child receives a sort of metaphysical garb [called
a
'Levush'] in the birth canal at birth. This garb serves the children
during their entire lives, to properly receive Divine
spiritual
sustenance and to be guided by the parents influence in all
that they
encounter in life. Also according to Chassidic sources, the parents
have the
ability to greatly influence the childrens' wellbeing with
their thought-process alone. All that we have just mentioned are
esoteric
influences. We haven't even mentioned the parents direct education,
guidance
and influence that they have on their children
through
personal example, unconditional deeply caring love as well as
ceaseless
prayer on their behalf. A father and a mother, in their pure ideal
state, have only one thing in mind, and that is the well-being of
their
children. A Patriarch's or Matriarch's every activity is for the good
of their
future nation; their progeny, as a result, will be
cosmically guided
and protected in every step that they take in life.
Our
'FATHER-IN-HEAVEN' [who is also portrayed as 'IMA' or 'Mother' in
certain
Providential situations according to the Kabbalah], is Someone that we,
His
children can always turn to for help and guidance in any and
every
situation that we find ourselves in. So we see that a
parent,
even more so than a teacher, is the most intimate, caring, loving
source of
guidance that their children will ever receive. Any lacking in
this
all-encompassing flow of passionate guidance will be a source of pain
and
sorrow for both parent and child throughout their lifetimes
and
beyond.
RECIPES TO HELP THE PARENTAL GUIDANCE FLOW
4.
The
practical strategies that I offer this week are based on general
Torah--based wisdom and my own experience. In a very generic way, we
can
attribute the parental strategies of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs to
that of
the Torah's general approach. Nevertheless, it would be a very
worthwhile
research project to isolate the specific approaches that the Patriarchs
and
Matriarchs took...Perhaps sometime in the future....
A.
CONCEPTION
OR SPIRITUAL GENETIC ENGINEERING---------Keep in mind that you have
incredibly
powerful spiritual potency at the time of conception. Spend the
day
beforehand thinking Holy and positive thoughts. Be sure to communicate
your
love and affection to your spouse. Fortify yourselves with a strong
trust in
Hashem that the soul you are potentially conceiving, will be just the
right one
at the right time with all of the right circumstances for you and
for
the child [think positive and it'll be positive!]....
B.
JOYOUSLY
AND COMPLETELY ACCEPT UPON YOURSELVES THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PARENTING
1.
Develop an
constant inner awareness and consciousness of your children being
'center
stage' in all that you do------if you're shopping, consider what
they may
need....if you're involved in learning, learn it in a way that you
can teach it to them....
2.
Develop a
deep, unconditional love and care for them. Usually Hashem gives this
as a
natural gift to parents, but it never hurts to add a little bit extra.
Consider
each of your children to be worth more than billions of dollars,
and for
that matter, more than life itself. Look for ways to increase this love
daily
and as often as possible, convey your love to them both directly
and indirectly-----by your very actions, motivations and choices
that you
make in life. Remember that perhaps the most powerful way of
educating our children is through our own example....
3.
At any
rate, there will be times when you will be not so fired up to be a
first-rate
parent. You will need to give YOURSELF AND YOUR NEEDS more
attention. This
is natural. The children will understand and normally they'll give you
all the
space that you need. In fact, this itself is part of
the parental
guidance process. Just remember not to cross over the red
line between
doing for yourself what is needed, as opposed to abusing them to
get what you need for yourself, in any way whatsoever.
The price
that you and they will pay for abuse will be much too high, as we see
far too
often with too many people in our wounded generation.....
C.
CUSTOMIZE
YOUR PARENTAL GUIDANCE--------------Every child is a unique
personality, soul
and world. Therefore what works for their peers and siblings, doesn't
necessarily work for them. Our Sages teach, 'Educate the
youth
according to their own unique path, and when they become old they
won't
veer from it' [ie... from this personalized education approach].
Alternatively, there are commentaries who explain these words of the
Sages to
mean that you should personalize your child's education BECAUSE they
will
never change their essential nature even into old age. I would
suggest
that you look deeply into yourself, and identify that particular
child
inside of yourself [ie..the Joseph inside of me... etc..]. In this way,
you
can get to know that child and their needs very thoroughly.
Think of
which directions, plans, strategies and tools work best to bring out
the best
in them....and it goes without saying, PRAY ALOT...
D.
PREAPARING
YOUR CHILD TO BE INDEPENDENT---------------Ultimately we as parents are
given
the Holy task of being trainers. We train our children to succeed
in life
when we will no longer be there to hold their hands. This includes
training
them to become successful adults, spouses and parents of their own
children. Perhaps one of the most important lessons in this regard, is
to teach
them to be able to anticipate future consequences of their actions.
Here again,
our Sages provide wise council. They say, 'Who is the wise person, one
who
anticipates the future [literally the 'birth-product' of their
actions].' Of
course, the more that this future anticipation is coupled with a
consciousness
of blissful surrender to all that Hashem sends their way, the better
off that
they'll be in all ways....
*****As
both a
parent and a student of Torah and of life, I don't pretend to
have
even begun what needs to be covered in order to become
an enlightened parent. I leave that for the many authors of
books on
the subject. However I do feel it to be vitally important to explore
this topic
in the context of our weekly Parsha essay, as it is one of the major
life-lessons
that the Torah conveys to us through the spectrum of the lives of our
Patriarchs and Matriarchs.
OUR ANNUAL HOD VACCINATION
1.
'...And designated these eight days of Chanukah to thank ['Le-Hod-ot']
and
praise your great name...' [from the 'Al Ha-nissim' Chanukah prayer in
the
Siddur]...
The
Kabbalah
teaches that every one of the year's Holidays correspond to a
'Sefirah' [a
Divine-based character trait]. Some major historical event occurred at
this
time of year to offset some type of danger that our nation faced at the
time.
The historical event and all of its multifaceted components correspond
to a
specific 'Sefirah' which served as a shield that came to stave off
a
cosmic threat--which itself corresponds to the antithesis of that
Sefirah [or
to the 'fallen' expression of that Sefirah]. As we have often
encountered in
our essays, historical happenings in Torah actually take place inside
of us. So
what it all comes down to, is that Chanukah is the cosmic and
personal battle between the forces of rectified 'Hod' and
unrectified
'Hod'----between the glory of Yisrael and the glory of Greece. And our
revisiting of this Chanukah--Hod experience every year at this time,
points to
the fact that we are in need of this 'Hod' injection. So let's search
together
to find out just what 'Hod' is, in order to receive our annual 'Hod
vaccination'!
HOD AS ACKNOWLEDGMENT
2.
It's
not by chance that Chanukah always comes out at the same time as does
our
Parsha 'Vayeishev'. In general, any Parsha in the Torah, has a direct
connection to the events taking place at that particular time. I once
participated in a learning project that had us contemplating the
connection
between the events of our lives on any particular day, and the events
of that
day's 1\7 portion of the Parsha [every Parsha is divided up into 7
parts or
'Aliyot', corresponding to the seven days of the week]. In a similar
way, our Parsha-'Vayeishev',
bespeaks the essential Chanukah message. The most obvious
illustration of
this connection is found in the story of Yehudah. Yehudah's very name
is rooted
in the word 'Hod' [ye-HUD-ah]. His mother Leah named him Yehudah, in
acknowledgement
to Hashem of her meriting to give birth to more than her share of
Yaakov's
children, relative to Yaakov's other wives. Acknowledgement is one of
the
meanings of the Sefirotic word Hod and its correspondent Hebrew
word 'Hodaah'. Leah, our Sages teach us, introduced the trait of
'Hodaah'
to the world. The essence of acknowledgement is a selfless
concession or
admission to the other person, of receiving something not
fully deserved.
Leah's
son Yehudah, the very personification of this trait, also demonstrated
in his
life an act of selfless concession. His destitute and childless
daughter-in-law, Tamar, disguised herself as a prostitute, in order to
coax
Yehudah to have relations with her [which our Sages point out was
beyond
his control], in order to give birth to a child who would ultimately
carry on
the chain of propagation of the Davidic\Messianic line! Tamar is
eventually convicted of prostitution, and in a public act of
self-incrimination, the famous Yehudah admits [acknowledges] to having
been the
guilty culprit---thereby saving his
daughter-in-law's life. As a
reward for his act of 'Hod' or 'Hodaah', his tribe becomes the Tribe
that goes
on to claim the role of Kingship in the nation of Yisrael.
A
King,
we're taught, must be in sync with the heart of the people. Yehudah's
essential trait of selfless concession or acknowledgement is
exactly what
it takes for a king to be at one with his people. After all, the
common
folk are constantly falling down in the roller-coaster of
life's ups and
downs, and having a king who shows the people the way to admit their
failings
and raise themselves up again, is the perfect leader!
In
fact, as we mentioned, the pinnacle of Yehudah's future descendants is
the one and only King David, who is referred to as the father of
all
'Baalei Tshuvah' [penitents]----those 'masters of the getting back
up'.
And what has even farther reaching consequences of this 'Hod' dynamic,
is that
our entire nation, the Jewish people or the YEHUDIM, is named
after and
thereby deeply rooted in the trait of 'Hod'!
MEANWHILE...A
FEW YEHUDAH STYLE RECIPES UNTIL NEXT WEEK
3.
Before we
can fully grasp the connections between Yehudah's Hod and Chanukah's
Hod, we
need to probe deeper into the battle of Greek Hod versus Yisrael Hod,
and the
additional dimension of Hod that will be revealed as a
result. But alas, that is a huge amount of
Torah and
recipes, and this year we are fortunate to have Chanukah spread out
over 2
Shabbats----so in order to keep you on the edge of your seats[and to
give both
you and I a bit of a breather by shortening this essay], I'll continue
this
essay next week. However, I can't just leave you without any recipes
until the
second half of Chanukah, so here are a few Yehudah\ Hod recipes to keep
you
occupied in the meantime;
A.
HOD
WALKING--------------In order to open up in yourself the proper
consciousness
of appreciation of all of the wondrous favors and goodness being done
for you
at all times, take a HOD WALK; While walking down the
street,
express your thanks to Hashem for something good that recently happened
to you,
and then in a spontaneous fashion, say something else and something
else [no
matter how trivial or ridiculous], until you are overflowing with
thanks. Don't
worry about having to strain your brain to think of new things to be
thankful
for. The rhythm of your walking steps will naturally activate your
associative
mind... you'll be amazed at how much there really is to be thankful for!
B.
HOD
TALKING---------------When we say to someone, 'I thank you' or 'I'm
beholding
to you' or 'I acknowledge, admit or concede something to you', we are
slightly
lowering our ego, and in turn, elevating the other person's importance.
In
doing this, we are paying sort of a 'cosmic debt' owed somehow to that
person. If
this is done genuinely and not abusively, it goes a long way in
repairing or
solidifying our relationship with that person. Therefore the recipe
here is to
search out for even the slightest 'cosmic debts' we have with the
people
of our lives and to find the right time and setting to acknowledge to
them our
thanks, our concession or our admitting to them that we were wrong.
People are
sensitive beings, and a few simple well-placed words can go a
long long
way towards causing your relationship to flourish!
C.
HOD
ENABLING [OR EMPOWERING]--------------Another aspect of Hod that
we haven't yet discussed, is that of enabling or empowering the
other
person. Beyond just paying back a cosmic debt, as we discussed above,
we
achieve a higher level of Hod by selflessly enabling the other person
in some
important way. Here's what you can
do; Make
a list of the significant people in your life. Search for one trait
that they
may have, that you really respect. When you truly feel ready, let them
know how
much you respect them and their special trait, and the wonderful effect
that
they have on you and all those who are touched by
them...etc... One word
of
advice [or perhaps caution]-----if you feel inside of yourself that you
need
their mutuality---ie... you need them to enable you and praise you
right
back, and they're not responding, and as a result, you feel hurt
by them,
then don't pursue this Hod dynamic with them any further----only do it
with
those are giving you the reciprocity that you need!
A BRIEF REVIEW
1.
'...and
appointed these eight days of Hanukah to thank [Hodaah] and to praise
[Hallel]
your Great Name...' [from the 'Al Hanissim' Hanukah prayer in the
Siddur].
Let's
quickly
reorient ourselves. Last week we presented a part of the definition of
Hanukah's Sefirotic trait of 'Hod'. We said our goal was to fully
understand what Hod is, how it played itself out in history and to
understand how
it expresses itself in our own personal psyche, so that we can
fortify
ourselves with Hod [or as we so poetically stated, receive our
annual 'Hod
vaccination']. The partial definition of Hod that we gave was based on
the life
of Yehuda, whose name and personality as well as his mother Leah's and
his
future royal descendants all bespeak the trait of hod or
'acknowledgement'---an expression of making oneself small, undeserving
and
indebted, and the other person more important and
deserving of
praise. We did say that in order to fully understand the concept of Hod
and Hanukah, we would need to probe deeper into the battle between
Greek
Hod and Yisrael Hod. This new perspective brings us
beyond our
limited understanding of Hod that we have so far of
'acknowledgement',
to a fuller and more profound understanding of selfless
glory
enabling. So without further ado, let us
continue
our exploration...
GREEK HOD\GLORY
2.
Winston Churchill pointed out that the two civilizations that had the
greatest
effect on modern man are [you guessed it] the Greeks and the Jews.
Let's start
with the Greeks. It could be argued that the common thread linking all
the
various contributions that the Greeks gave to modern civilization was
the glorification
of man. They encouraged and celebrated man's achievements in the fields
of
philosophy, poetry, art, science and sports. To this day, most of the
nations
of the world compete in the Olympics. The gold medalists proudly bring
GLORY to
their counties of origin!! But the Greek influence was more subtle and
deep
than this picture we are presenting of the glory of proven and
competitive
human accomplishment. In fact at the time of the miracle of Hanukah,
well over
2000 years ago, a very large proportion of our people who were then
referred to
as Hellenists, took upon themselves a Greek outlook on
life
and all that implies. The Sages describe the Greek
contribution to
mankind as that of beauty, as expressed in their
Greek language, and
as a result the Greeks merited having the Written Torah translated into
their
tongue---the 'Septuagint'. All the Greek influences of
human-centered glory and culture posed a primal challenge for
the non
Hellenized Jews. It was left to them to discover and
actualize the
GLORY of Yisrael, which when it shines in all of its true glory,
it
represents the true antithesis of Greek glory. The two are as different
from
each other as light is from darkness. In fact, a Midrash points
out that
of the four major exiles that the Jewish people went through in their
history,
the Greek exile is referred to as 'DARKNESS' [as hinted at in the
Creation
verse, 'DARKNESS on the face of the deep'].
VISIBILITY
3.
Perhaps the most important distinction between Greek Hod\glory and
Yisrael
Hod\glory is VISIBILITY. The Greeks were all about visibility. Their
competitions were designed to visibly demonstrate one
person's
superiority over another. All achievements were measurable
and
visible demonstrations of human excellence. What then,
was blatantly
missing in all of this humanistic glory?! The answer
is
the invisible side of being a person; the soul, the G-dly and
that
which cannot be seen or measured in some type of competition. And
that's
exactly what bothered the Greeks so much about Yisrael. We
gave the
world the concept of man's invisible glory. The Greeks, in their
attempt to
force their world outlook and culture on the entire world, couldn't
deal with
our principle of invisible glory. So they outlawed it! They forced
us to
declare publicly, that we have [G-d forbid] 'no part in the G-d of
Israel'. They forced us to desist from learning the Oral Torah---that
part of
Torah which originally was not written down, and to this day remains in
its
essence oral and unseen!! They outlawed the keeping of 'Shabbat', which
is
based on a weekly declaration of [unseen] belief that
every
Shabbat observer makes, in the world's being created and run by G-d.
They
outlawed 'Brit Milah' [circumcision], whose unseen spiritual
effect is to
elevate the sexual act from that of being lustful to being Holy.
Anything
unseen was out of their realm. They went so far as to throw off
the edge
of high mountains, those babies whose bodies were born deformed as well
as well
as elderly people whose bodies and spirits no longer radiated relevance
and
physical beauty.
JEWISH GLORY FROM THE OHR HAGANUZ
4.
We Jews, on
the other hand, celebrate the invisible spirit of a person. Our concept
of
lighting up reality is based on the Hidden light---- the 'OHR
HAGANUZ',
which G-d created and hid away it's full use from all people [with
the
exception of an elitist group of a few privileged souls]
until
Messianic times, so that this light wouldn't be abused and misused
by
those who are unworthy of it. However we do have partial access to
it, to
the extent needed to express our unique Hod glory. The 'Ohr
Ha-ganuz'
allows one to see the invisible in that which is visible---to see
beyond
space and time, from one end of the globe and of history to the
other----to be
able to see the unseen deeper meaning of everything, the essence
of anything as it shines through it's external form, the
whole picture inside of a partial construct or concept-----the why
of
everything, and not just the what----the eternal and infinite inside of
the
temporal and finite----the soul inside of the body---G-d inside of a
world that
hides His Presence!!
We
light
altogether 36 candles on the 8 nights of Hanukah. The
Ohr
Ha-ganuz openly shone for Adam to see from one end of the world to the
other
during the first 36 hours of his life. There are 36 Hidden Saints
['Tzadikim
Nistarim'] whose righteousness serves to hold up the entire world. The
word LIGHT is mentioned in the Torah 36 times! So we begin to
see the
connection between our 'UNSEEN HOD GLORY' and the roots
of
spiritually as it applies to Hanukah and
beyond. It's not that we see the
Greek
concept of glory as itself being insignificant or unimportant, but
as long
as it's lacking the crucial element of the unseen, the spiritual and
the soul,
it's really only darkness, the antithesis of the Hidden Light.
Thus we're
taught that the Hebrew word for Greece is 'Yavan'--- and when you add
the
Hebrew letter 'Tzadi' [which is the concept of a human 'Tzadik', who
bonds
together unseen G-dliness to visible and external human-ness] to the
word
'Yavan', you come up with 'Tzion' [Zion]---which is Jerusalem, the city
that
our Sages teach, is the epitome of light and beauty and glory!
SEEING THE UNSEEN-----A HANUKAH MEDITATION
In
a deeply
relaxed state [induced through either breathing exercises, muscle
relaxation or
saying a phrase or verse over and over again], visualize the following
transcendent scenarios:
1.
SEEING
BEYOND SPACE------See every activity that you will do in your upcoming
day, as
being watched earnestly by every single person on the globe alive
today. Be
aware that every single act that you will perform, will have
an incredible
effect on that area of the psyche of everyone in the world. Notice
the
effect that this perspective has on everyone and also on yourself in
turn...
2.
SEEING
BEYOND TIME-------Now see your upcoming day's activities effecting
every person
that has ever lived and that will ever live [including yourself], from
the
beginning of Creation until time everlasting. Notice the effect...etc...
3.
SEEING
BEYOND SOUL LIMITATIONS-----Now notice the effect that your every
action will
have on your own soul, down to the last detail. Then expand
that 'effect'
to all souls, in this life or in the afterlife--first to those who are
your
'soul family', and then to everyone else. Again, take notice of
the effect
on yourself...etc...
4.
ADD ALL THE
OTHER DIMENSIONS----One by one add to this visualization, all the other
dimensions that we mentioned previously in our essay----
ie... seeing how your upcoming day's actions effect and are
effected
by seeing:
the deeper meaning of everything,
the
essence of everything,
the
whole picture,
the
reason why for everything,
the
eternal and infinite side of everything,
the
soul
of everything
and
the
G-dly side of everything...
Happy
Holiday
of Hidden Light and Glory!!
YEHUDA AND YOSEF
1.
'...Take a stick and write on it, "for Yehudah"...take [another]
stick and write on it, 'for Yosef "... and join them [the sticks]
together
and they shall be united...' [from the 'Haftorah'
{the weekly
additional prophetic reading} of Parsha 'Vayigash'---Ezekiel Ch. 37,
verses
16-17]
This
week, our Sages chose to feature in the weekly 'Haftorah', the Prophet
Ezekiel's vision of a future Messianic scenario, as represented by a
metaphor
of the uniting of the sticks or Kingdoms of Yehudah and Yosef. Our
Parsha opens
up with a critical meeting between the 2 brothers Yehudah and Yosef.
Yehudah,
on behalf of all the other brothers, the Tribes of Israel, comes to
Yosef, at
the time Egypt's second in command, as yet not known to the brothers as
being
one of their own, to release their little brother Binyamin and to grant
them
the food that they so desperately need in this time of worldwide
famine.
Our
Sages see more than just a meeting of brothers. This is a meeting of
Kings.
Both of these Kings' respective royal descendants will rule in future
times.
First comes Yosef's rule; presently in Egypt, in the times of the
original
conquest of the land of Israel by Yehoshuah and the rule of Israel's
first
King---Saul [a descendant of the tribe of Binyamin---Yosef's only other
brother
of the same mother Rachel]. This is followed by a long period of
history
where the two kingdoms are ruling simultaneously; Yehudah's kingdom to
the
south---starting with the rule of King David, and in the north, the
rule of the
descendants of Yosef----made up of the 10 Tribes. Ultimately the 10
Tribes are
exiled and become the '10 Lost Tribes', and to this day, there is a lot
of
research and speculation as to their whereabouts on the globe and when
will
be their eventual return home to be [re]integrated into our
nation. Nevertheless,
over the scope of history, Yehudah and Yosef continue to make up the
central
pillars of our nation;---Yehudah, in the form of the present day
Sephardi
[near--eastern] Jews and Yosef [and some say] Yosef's closest
brother
Binyamin being represented by his descendants, the Ashkenazi [European]
Jews.
Anyone
who is a long--time resident of the state of Israel, or anyone who
knows the
respective historical profiles of the Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews, know
that
they represent 2 very different personality types. And when we follow
through
to the culmination of their respective historical destinies, we come up
with
the prophet Ezekiel's vision of a Messianic scenario uniting the
two.
But
the story gets deeper---much deeper----so deep, in fact that we learn
that these two personalities are the very embodiment of the
universal
schism of creation---playing itself out in every aspect of life on the
macro
level, as well as the micro level inside of each and every one of us!
Until
these 2 sides are properly synthesized, harmonized and united, the
universe
will never reach a state of peace and Tikun. So let's explore a bit
further,
shall we...
THE PRIMAL SCHISM REVEALED
2.
Let's begin our search for the essence of this phenomenon, by going
back to the
roots of reality. The 'Leshem'-- R. Shlomo Elyashiv[ob'm], has an
article
dealing with these roots---his article is Kabbalistic physics in
it's
purist form. He lines up for us, these 2 antithetical traits and traces
them
back to the inner motivating drives of the [Kabbalistic version of the]
Creation process, and follows through to show that they are the
underlying
processes of virtually all major processes in reality. What I would
like to do,
is to line up the various manifestations of these traits in
a mini-graph.
Afterwards we will go on to explore how these traits correspond to the
traits
of the personas of Yehudah and Yosef. Finally, we'll try to bring
techniques
and approaches that we can all use to open up and harmonize these
traits
inside of ourselves.
First,
a very brief survey of the roots of the 2 traits
['Leshem'
from Sefer HaDeah']:
1. The
Yehudah trait's root is ’Chasadim’ The Yosef
trait's root is ‘Gvurot’
[the
primal process of
connecting] [the
primal process of disconnecting]
2.
The root of 'Chasadim' in the Creation
The root of the 'Gvurot' in Process
is the entrance of the 'Conduit'
the Creation process is the
[G-d-based life
energy] entering into
the 'Vacant
Space' dynamic
'Vacant
Space' [the space of all future created
itself
life
that was created by G-d's Hiding Himself]
3.
The 'Male
Paradigm' The
'Female Paradigm'
4.
'Orot' --the spiritual abundance that
The 'Vessels' themselves of
fills up the vessels of reality
reality
5.
A 'Generic'
orientation A
'Specific' orientation
6.
A quiet and internalized orientation An action-based or arousal orientation
Perhaps
the term that best sums up the above distinction is 'CONNECTION'----The
'Yehudah' based orientation is motivated to connect, and the 'Yosef'
based
orientation is motivated to disconnect.
Now,
let's bring a brief survey of the traits as they manifest in Yehudah's
and
Yosef's lives:
YEHUDAH YOSEF
1.
An orientation of following the rules
of An orientation of
an
agreed upon higher
purpose individualized
expression
2.
An orientation of
permanence An
orientation of transience
3.
A 'holistic'
orientation A
'parts of the whole’ orientation
4.
An orientation of selflessly
accepting An
orientation of being concerned
upon
themselves to carry the
burden with
elevating their lower desires
and
pleasures to a Holy and
sublime
level
5.
An orientation of preparing
themselves Oriented
towards spiritually for
'The
World to
Come' beautifying and maximally
expressing
their essence in
'This
World'
Although
it may seem over-simplified, it seems to me that we can sum up the
essential
distinction as being 'SELF'----how the 2 sides relate to
self: Yehudah with selflessness,
and Yosef,
with maximal self expression. So now, when we put the 2 surveys
together, we
come up with the following:
A
A 'Yehudah personality' that is primarily motivated by being
connected and connecting in a selfless and devoted way.
B.
A 'Yosef personality' that is primarily motivated to
liberate
themselves from all that holds back maximal self-expression.
A
RECIPE FOR IDENTIFYING AND UNIFYING THE PRIMAL SCHISM IN OURSELVES
A. IDENTIFY
IN YOURSELF YOUR 'YEHUDAH' AND 'YOSEF' SIDES-----Give yourself a score
of 1-10
[ 10 being the most pronounced expressions of your
selfless--connected
Yosef side, as well as your liberated--self expressed Yosef side].
To aid
you in assessing your score, go through the above surveys with
their
various sub-traits....
B. IDENTIFY YOUR
ACQUAINTANCES AS EITHER BEING 'YEHUDAH' OR 'YOSEF'
ORIENTED------Give
each acquaintance a score of 1-10 [again 10 being the most
pronounced...etc...]
and utilize the above surveys to help you...
C.
IDENTIFY ALL OF YOUR ACQUAINTANCES 'INSIDE OF
YOURSELF'
[ie...the Bobby and Lisa and Chaim inside of
me...etc...]-----------Feel how
these personalities express themselves in your life. The more time and
effort
you invest in doing this step, the more effective will be this whole
exercise...
D.
PRACTICE EXPRESSING YOUR OWN AND YOUR ACQUAINTANCES [INSIDE OF
YOU] 'YEHUDAH' AND 'YOSEF' SIDES-------------Here are a few ways
to do it:
1. Play-act
these personalities
alone or together with others.
2. Project in
a meditative or
contemplative way how you will in the near future express these
sides in
yourself.
3. Actually
practice expressing these
sides in yourself in your day to day life....
E. BALANCE OR
HARMONIZE THESE TRAITS
INSIDE OF YOURSELF----------In order to equalize as much as possible,
your
internal scores of these 2 sides[ that you scored in step A above],
practice
expressing your 'weaker side'---ie... your own and your
acquaintances 'Yehudah' or 'Yosef' side, who's
score was
lower than the other one. Keep on 'Expressing' until your scores become
more
and more equalized...
YAAKOV DIDN'T DIE?!
1.
'And
Yaakov finished conveying his will to his sons...and he expired and was
gathered to his people.' [Parsha Vayechi...chapter 49\verse 33]
The
master
commentary Rash'i, points out that the verse doesn't literally say that
Yaakov
died, rather that he expired and was gathered to his people. The Sages
of the
Talmud [Tractate Taanit pg. 5] teach that despite the fact that the
Torah
explicitly states that Yaakov was eulogized, embalmed and buried,
nevertheless
he didn't die! Another Tannaic source [historically from the
time of
the Talmud and Midrash] goes so far to say that right before being
buried,
Yaakov turned his head around and gave a proverbial smile or wink to
his
lifelong antagonist---his brother Esau! Very perplexing and amazing,
huh?! How
could it be?! And if you try to answer me that what is being taught, is
that
Yaakov's body died but his soul lived on, or that Yaakov lived on
through his
descendants [referred to as the 'House of Yaakov' or the 'Children of
Yisrael']---nice try, but as they say---no cigar. That's true of
all the
righteous people, who in their death are referred to as living---even
in a more
pronounced way then when they were alive. But here, we're being taught
that
only Yaakov didn't die, as opposed to all other righteous people. [For
truth's
sake, there actually is a similar teaching, about King David---thus the
popular
verse or song, 'David Melech Yisrael, chai chai vkayam'---'David King
of Israel lives and forever exists'].
Our
purpose in
conducting this inquiry is not only to simply understand the answer [a
worthwhile pursuit in and of itself], but rather to extrapolate
from
various approaches attempting to answer this perplexing question, the
answer to
an even deeper mystery---and that is-------- what is the
main distinction
between life and death! And if we can begin to probe to the roots of
this
distinction, perhaps we can begin to learn to stay alive even in the
face [or
many faces] of death!
A FEW APPROACHES.....
2. By
no means do I dare to suggest that what I will present to you now
will be
an exhaustive survey of commentaries dealing with this question. The
Torah is
more vast than the sea, and I extend a very welcome invitation to
anyone who is
motivated to search for other commentaries, viewpoints,
insights...etc...that deal with this very mysterious inquiry. Certainly
you
will thereby increase in the world Divine light! Here are a few
approaches:
A.
THE LEAVE
IT AS A MYSTERY APPROACH-------------This approach refuses to force the
issue
and limit something that they feel is meant to remain in the realm
of the
esoteric, to a constricting definition. Even though this approach may
leave us
a bit frustrated, the obvious benefit is that in regard to Yaakov's
'transition', the mystery or mystical power of it all remains intact.
By the
way, this type of approach characterizes the 'Sepharadi' style of
learning
Kabbalah. The Ashkenazi Kabbalists on the other hand are driven to
understand
these issues as deeply as possible. [****for more on Ashkenazi,
Sepharadi
personality distinctions, see last week's Parsha Recipe
essay]
B.
THE
INCREASING LIFE APPROACH----------------It's a very worthwhile pursuit
to maximize life and thereby defy death's clutches, both at the
time of
death and in the midst of our day to day lives. What is the idea of
LIFE---that
we can maximize? Again, I'm absolutely open to hear from you,
your ideas....here's
a few for starters;
1.
LIFE AS A
CYCLE-------------ie....Whatever 'Shefa' [abundance] that we receive
from
Heavenly or earthly sources, when we pass it on to others,
whether
through our intention in thought or our carrying it out
in deed,
we INCREASE LIFE both to ourselves and to others;
A.
IN
THOUGHT; Do the following life increasing breathing
exercise-----------When breathing in, have the intention that each
breath is a
process whereby Hashem is filling you up with Divine
life and
love. When you breathe out, have the intention that you are sending it
back to
Hashem and out to the entire world----only to be returned to you with
double
the intensity...continue each subsequent breath in this fashion...
B.
IN
DEED: Whenever you merit to receive a healthy dose of
Shefa\Abundance----PASS IT On------not necessarily the same thing you
received,
but in one form or another. Not only is this certain to draw
down to
yourself more Shefa\Abundance, but it also increases life [not only
Coca Cola
increases life!]
2.
LIFE
AS SELF EXPRESSION--------I have heard it stated that a very small
percentage [around 4% or a bit higher] of the key parts of
our
psyches are awakened and utilized. I'm not only referring to our
intellect, but
also to our creative, emotional, spiritual, interpersonal
and experiential
sides among others. The more that we can awaken these sides, the more
ALIVE we
are! Try this recipe:
a.
Project the
4 or 5 main activities of your upcoming day.
b. See
yourself carrying out these activities in a way that you normally do
c.
Now
project, 'turning up the volume' on all the above--mentioned sides or
powers
that you possess....ie...creative, emotional...etc...when you will
carry out
these activities.
d.
Now go
through your day and actually turn up the volume!
3.
LIFE
AS TAUGHT TO US BY YAAKOV-------------Our Sages say that one who
properly
engages in the 3rd meal of Shabbat---which corresponds to the 3rd
Patriarch--Yaakov, merits to draw down an 'inheritance which is
boundless'.
This is given from Above measure for measure. Yaakov's
approach to
living is to constantly bring the Divine into the realm of the
mundane, so
much so, that life becomes a perpetual G-dly realm. This
boundless
extension of G-dliness draws down a boundless inheritance for the
'Yaakov--type' practitioner of living. Here are a couple
of possible
ways to actualize this particular life increasing approach:
a.
THE 'ALL IS
GOOD' APPROACH----In both thought and deed, increase the level of
seeing all as
being for the best. Get used to saying it a lot to others and to
yourself. Get
used to reframing your perspective in this way, in seeing how
things did
turn out and will turn out. Boldly step into the future with a crystal
clear
knowledge that whatever will happen, will be for the best!
b.
THE 'ALL IS
HOLY'; APPROACH-------Here too, in thought, deed and verbal
expression,
frame the way that you see and engage reality. Get used to seeing
people
as being Holy. Say it out loud to them! Chances are that
this simple gesture will actually bring out their Holy
side
that's normally hidden....
3.
THE
PREPARATION FOR LIFE AFTER DEATH 'NOW' APPROACH
A.
THROUGH YOUR CHILDREN AND STUDENTS NOW-------Get used to
seeing and
relating to your children as being your representation in this
world after
you pass on. When you relate to them in this way, you will definitely
elevate
and enrich your relationship with them, and extend your and their sense
of
eternal living!
B. THROUGH
YOUR TORAH, MITZVOS AND GOOD DEEDS NOW---------When you focus on the
fact that
each piece of Torah learned or good deed performed, has the power to
extend and reverberate eternally, you will open up in yourself, an
infinite wellspring of life now and forever! [**** our Sages view
all Torah that we learned as being our source of post-life food or
nutrition which we will be always able to draw more and more from, and
our good
deeds will serve as our future-life clothing that always remains new
and
vital...]
C.
THROUGH ALLIGNING YOURSELF TO POST LIFE SPIRITUALITY NOW---------This
is a huge
topic and I can't do it justice with a few lines.....Let this suffice
for now
- the more that you become LITERAL about spirituality, and
literally see
G-d's hand everywhere and all the time, the more that you align
yourself
with this transcendent type of spirituality and thereby increase
eternal life
for yourself [and the whole world] now and forever...
****************************************************************************************
For more information
about Rabbi Yitzchak
Schwartz or the
Paradise
Principle Institute visit Paradiseprinciple.com
Questions?
Email
Rabbi Yitzchak Schwartz at yitzchakschwartz@msn.com
Back to OnlineBooklets
page.