What Is Chanuka?

Chasidic Discourse, or “derashot” go deep into the inner meaning of the texts of the Bible and the Talmud. Below we find a prime example of Chassidic “drash” on the subject of Chanuka in the words of one of the recognized geniouses among the Chassidic Rebbes, Mordechai Yosef of Isbitsa. His explanations serve to reveal the messianic illuminations and their obsidian glow within in the well known laws of Chanuka and verses from the Psalms. Such “derashot” are focus-points for meditation which leads the open hearted into worlds of light they only dreamed of.

A Chassidic Discourse on the meaning of Chanuka by Rav Mordechai Yosef of Isbitza (1800-1854) Translated and Adapted by Betzalel Edwards


The Talmud asks, “What is Chanuka?” (Shabbat 21b) We find it written in the Psalms (119: 105), “Your word is a candle to my feet, and light for my path.” “A candle to my feet,” meaning that God illuminates into us the Torah in a way that we may know how, “His Kingship in all of His dominion,” (Tehillim, 103:19), and be aware of God’s dominion in each detail of action. “A light for my path,” means that God illuminates a special recognition also in a general way, for, “the kingdom is His.” We can understand the imagery of the candle and light a little better now, because a candle is a specific, even private illumination, and light is a general, all-inclusive illumination.

God created the world in general, and divided it into three categories - time, place, and person. We find the Psalms (139:16) saying, “He fashioned days, and it is in one of them.” (This is generally understood as meaning that when God created each of the six days of creation He knew everything, every detail, that would ever happen in that day for all time to come.) From this verse we can see how in these three categories, God the choicest element chose in particular through which to illuminate in a revealed way a specific light and the recognition of His sovereignty.

In the category of place we find concentric circles of sanctity. God created the world in general, where the land of Israel is sanctified above the whole earth (See Mishna Kelim, Ch. 1:6), Jerusalem sanctified above all the land of Israel, the five hundred square cubits of the temple mount sanctified above Jerusalem, and the courtyard and the chamber of the Holy Temple sanctified above them all. God commanded us to light the Menorah in the chamber of the Holy Temple in order to shine His light at the choicest level of sanctity of place.

In the category of time He created the six days of creation, in particular the day of Shabbat, and then we also find the commandment to kindle the light of Shabbat.

In the category of person He chose specifically the nation of Israel out of all the nations. For now, until the final refinement (birrur) in Israel, He chose the tribe of Levi, and among them the Cohanim, and among them the High Priest, and gave him in particular the commandment to light the Menorah. In the days of the Hasmoneans, the Holy One, blessed be He, shined into them with an illumination from the future, for at that time the Cohanim merited sovereignty (Malchut). In the same way, with the coming of Moshiach ben David, when the process of spirit refinement will be complete, it will become apparent that then the chosen tribe is Yehuda (the tribe of King David and the Messianic lineage). So then, when the Hasmonean (Cohanim, from the tribe of Levi, and not of the tribe of Yehuda) merited this sovereignty (Malchut), the light that recognizes the chosen status of each individual soul in Israel shined with great intensity. The miracle of the Menorah established an individual “candle” or illumination to mark the chosen status of each individual soul in Israel.

This is as King David said in the Psalms (87:6), “God will count, when He writes down the nations, and for Zion He will say each one born to her.” “Count, when He writes down the nations,” for with the nations, God’s Providence is only for the endurance of the species, like other parts of creation. “And for Zion He will say each one born to her,” is that for Israel the Providence of the Holy One, blessed be He, is for each individual soul, each individual one born to her. The verse continues, “and He will establish her at the highest,” means that for every one born to Israel, immediately upon birth, there is a recognition that the choicest soul has been born anew, and this is as it is said, “a candle for every one.”

This is hinted at in the difference of opinion between the house of Shammai and the house of Hillel about how to light the menorah. Shammai teaches us to start with all of the eight lights, and reduce one each night until on the eighth night we light only one. Hillel teaches us to light one candle on the first night and add a candle each night, so we end up with eight candles on the eighth night. We follow the practice of the house of Hillel. What they are really arguing about is how the final, “birrur,” the spiritual refinement necessary for the messianic age, will take place in Israel.

The house of Shammai asserts that we light all eight on the first night, and remove a candle each night, which represents the refinement as destroying the waste, decreasing and continuing until the Kedusha (holiness) remains, completely clarified. The house of Hillel asserts that we add and continue, adding a candle each night, for here the principle is to cause the Kedusha to spread forth at all times, and from this it follows that the waste will be nullified. This is also of the meaning of the Halacha for the time of lighting the candles, “from the setting of the sun until the foot – regel, in Hebrew- finishes from the market, (meaning at the time they would close the Market in ancient days, just after nightfall). Homiletically, or “on the inside” this is saying that (when we light the candles) no force of habit – “hergel,” in Hebrew - will be found in any soul in Israel. This is the mitsvah to light it in the doorway of the house from outside, meaning that the candle – this recognition discussed above – should shine a light so that every step we take is for the sake of Heaven.

There is another version of the time for candle lighting, based on the statement in the Talmud (Shabbat, 21b), “(You can light) until the wood-sellers will leave the market (who would stay after everyone else had left to gather leftover wood, meaning later into the evening).” This hints at the time when the final clarification in Israel will be complete. Concerning this it is explained in the Tractate Yevamot (17b), “they established six thousand archers (who went and raped the daughters of Jerusalem at the time of the destruction),” meaning that their seed was mixed into Israel. Such a mixture of external influences among Israel is the principle reason for the lengthening of the exile.

When this becomes clarified, then the will of God will be explicit before us, and this is, “from the setting of the sun,” for the sun hints at the principles of the words of Torah, and in the future these principles will not be necessary, (meaning you won’t need to look into the Torah or ask a Rabbi), but rather God will cause an effluence of explicit understanding to each one in Israel for each specific action. This is as it is said, “a Chanuka candle that is placed above ten cubits is invalid,” which is true for a sukkah and a “mavoy,” (an open street or alley, concerning its width in the laws of Eruvin, symbolic Shabbat boundaries). (So for the three general divisions of existence) the Chanuka candle represents person, sukkah represents place, and the mavoy (in the laws of Shabbat) represents time, for the choicest of times is Shabbat.

Health and Healing. Shevet MiYehuda on VaYishlach

“If you possess Da’at, than you lack nothing.” (Midrash Rabba, Vayikra)


What is the connection between Sabbath Observance, the Torah, and mental health? Below we will discover not just hints at health and healing in the Bible, but the health benefits hinted at in the practice and study of the Torah. The assumption is that there is a spiritual source to physical wellbeing. If you do not believe that health has anything to do with a man’s inner world or spirit, or that the teachings, even the very letters of the Torah are the root and source of the spiritual live of the Jews and many among the nations of the world, then there may be little point in continuing to read this blog. But first, some key background information.

In the second and third centuries of the Common Era the Rabbis of the Talmud in the Land of Israel and in Babylon would say “Shabbos keeps us from crying out in pain, and healing will soon come.” (Talmud, Shabbat, 12a) when visiting a sick person on Shabbos. Observant Jews through the ages have used these words when praying for a person to be healthy on Shabbos, and also in order to give a word of comfort and encouragement to a sick person on Shabbos. And we still say it today.

Another time honored mitzvah is the public reading of the Torah. The five books of Moses are divided into 53 sections, and one section, called the Parsha, is chanted in public in the Synagogue every Shabbos. (the beginning of every Parsha is also chanted publicly in the morning service every Monday and Thursday.) Dedicated Jews do not only hear the Torah being read in public, but they take care to fulfill the mitzvah of studying the parsha independent of the synagogue ritual. At the very least, they read it themselves.

Everything is included in the Parsha. That is to say, if you reflect upon your life while reading, or even better, studying the Parsha, then you will hear God speak to you. This does not mean that you will hear a supernatural voice, or a voice from heaven. If you do, I would seek counseling. But if you listen carefully, you will hear that little voice that everyone has which we vaguely call thoughts of personal reflection. Some might call it a conscience. (I once asked some Jewish children from a modern assimilated background if they believed in God, and they answered me, “we don’t believe in God. Our grandmother taught us to believe in the conscience.” To this I asked them, “In the beginning, did your conscience create the world?”) Torah belief teaches us that God looked into the Torah, and created the world. Therefore, everything that happened or will happen is rooted in the letters of the Torah, and if you listen and reflect, you can hear it. Whether you call it your conscience or the voice of God, there is a hint of everything you need to know in the words of the weekly Parsha.

Specifically, the Parsha contains hints about health and healing. Rabbi Avraham Eiger, may his memory be for a blessing, was a Torah scholar from Lublin, Poland in the beginning of the twentieth century. His great grandfather was Rabbi Akiva Eiger, Zts’l, one of the pre-eminent Talmudic scholars of all times. Rabbi Avraham knew a life of sickness and suffering. In the midst of physical hardship, he took refuge in the holy study of Torah so as to reveal the roots of healing so abundant, yet so hidden, in every passage of the Torah. His refuge was not only for his own selfish interests, but in writing and teaching, it was a selfless act of giving Torah to others. Because of his suffering, he was only able to complete his discourses on hints of healing in the Parsha’s of the book of Genesis and the book of Exodus. But what words, what revelations!

What follows is my translation of a passage in his book, the Shevet MiYehuda. I must add that in his great humility and out of respect and love for his father, the great Chassid and Scholar, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Eiger of Lublin, Zts”L, Rabbi Avraham’s name appears nowhere in his holy book. Shevet MiYehuda means, “Tribe of Yehuda,” and is titled in reference to his father, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Eiger, affectionately known among the Chassidim as “Reb Leible.”

Shevet MiYehuda.
Parshat VaYishlach
This discourse was delivered at the Second Meal of Shabbat, 5667 (A Saturday in November, 1907)


“Shabbos keeps us from crying out in pain, and healing will soon come!” (Talmud, Shabbat, 12a)

On this Shabbat, Parshat Vayishlach, healing will come quickly especially for those who need “shleimut hada’at,” healing and completeness of mind, completeness of consciousness. (In modern language, we might call this, “mental health.”) Completeness of mind is the very principle of the kedusha (sanctity) of Shabbos. True completeness of mind is when one possesses the consciousness that, “Ani Hashem Mekadishchem – I am God who sanctifies you.” (Exodus, 31:13) This consciousness is particularly strong in this weeks Parsha, Vayishlach, where Yaakov Avinu says (Genesis, 33:11), “for E-lohim has been gracious with me and I have all that I need.”

The statement, “chanani - has been gracious [kind] with me,” directly represents Yaakov Avinu’s completeness of mind. According to the Kabbalah, Yaakov Avinu represents consciousness [Da’at], as it is known that the three Patriarchs represent the three upper sefiros, or Godly luminations, of intellectual capabilities, Chochma [widsom], Bina [understanding], and Da’at [consciousness, or synthesis]. Yaakov’s statement, “chanani E-lohim, God has graciously bestowed upon me,” hints at the completeness of consciousness, for he has an absolute knowledge that from his own side he has no consciousness, no Da’at, rather all he possesses comes from the One who is, “chonen adam Da’at – graciously bestowing consciousness unto man.” (This is the fourth blessing we say in the Shmonei-Esrei – the Amida prayer, blessed is God who bestows [chonen] consciousness unto man.) Knowing and appreciating such a gracious gift from God is the consciousness of Shabbat, knowing, “I am God who sanctifies you.” This is why he followed this statement by saying, “and I have all that I need.” This is as our sages say (Midrash Rabba, Vayikra), “if you possess Da’at, than you lack nothing.” This is, “God has been gracious in giving to me,” for the One who graciously bestows consciousness unto man has given me the mind which knows that I lack nothing, “and I have all that I need.”

It was taught by my father, the holy Rav (Yehuda Leib Eiger), that any event possessing kedusha (sanctity) that happens on any day of the week has its source and root in the previous Shabbat. Shabbat is the source of all blessing, and all kedusha comes forth from it, in particular the kedusha of a soul of Israel who becomes a bar Mitzvah, at the age of thirteen when he takes upon the responsibility of Mitzvot. A bar Mitzvah goes out of his childhood and becomes an adult, which means he possesses Da’as, (consciousness, knowledge, or the power of reconciling contradictions.)

The root and source of the power of Da’as in the holy Shabbat, which itself represents and is considered as equal to the entire Torah. All of the 613 commandments are included in Shabbat. (This is evinced from the statement in the Talmud, “If you keep Shabbos according to the Law, it equivalent to keeping the entire Torah. Keeping Shabbos means not going to work, not driving, not cooking, and refraining from doing many other things in order to show proper respect for God. For more on Shabbos observance, see, Shemirath Shabbath: A Guide to the Practical Observance of Shabbath 3 Volume Set, by HaRav Yehoshua Y. Neuwirth. B.E.) In particular, this week’s Torah Portion, Parshas Vayishlach, clarifies the, “shelimut haDa’at,” the completeness of mind, according to our explanation of the verse, “E-lohim has graciously given to me.”

Furthermore, the first thing Yaakov Avinu had his messengers say to Eisav was, “eem Lavan garti – I have stayed with Lavan, (Yaakov’s father in law and uncle) and have delayed my return until now.” This statement also represents the entire Torah, as we know from Rashi, who comments that the word, “garti – have stayed,” is the same letters and the numerical equivalent of “613 - tar”iyag,” meaning the 613 commandments of the Torah. This is to say, even though I have been living with Lavan, which was a morally bereft environment, still I have kept the 613 commandments. Therefore, Eisav, do not think that you can rule over me since you are the first-born. The yetser hara (evil inclination) is also like the first-born, since it is born into all men immediately upon birth, but the yetser tov (inclination to morality and observence) “delays its return” and enters man at age thirteen. This is known from the holy Zohar.

The first struggle of the Tsaddik, the righteous man, is when he is beset upon by his own evil. He investigates it, and his yetser tov grows stronger within him. Then when the Tsaddik grows into adulthood, the power of his natural desire is clean from sin just as it was his youth when he did not even have the power of natural desire that overwhelms the adult. Before the age of thirteen, he is exempt from punishment, for he has not yet been commanded with active performance of mitzvot. This is why the blessed God first gives man the yetser hara in is youth, so then when he is an adult, and the power of desire comes to him from his yetser hara, he will then know that he can be on the level of his youth, when even thought he had a yetser hara, he was nonetheless free from all sin.

Yaakov Avinu was saying to Eisav, this was my whole occupation in the house of Lavan, “I stayed with Lavan,” like a man from his birth to age thirteen when he becomes a bar Mitzvah, where in this period he has no yetser tov to assist him with kedusha. He lived only with the yetser hara, and still, “I kept all of the 613 commandments,” with no hindrance from the yetser hara, represented by Lavan the Aramite, whose job is to cheat and tempt man, as is known from the holy Zohar. (Midrash haNe’elam, Parshat Vayeira, 111b) This is the reason why he said, “I have delayed my return until now.” He delayed so long in order that he could always be on the level of his youth as described above. This is why he said in his prayer (Genesis, 32:11), “I am not worthy of all the kindness You have shown me.” “I am not worthy,” is, “katonti,” “I am small,” like, “katnut,” or youth, meaning that I am on the level of youth when although I have a yetser hara, I kept the Torah by means of, “all the kindness You have shown me.” In this way even as an adult I can serve the blessed God with both my good and evil inclinations, which is the secret of what it says in the Shema’, to serve God with, “all your hearts (pl.),” with both the yetser tov and yetser hara. So may we all merit serving God with complete hearts. Amen.

Parshas Toldos - Sources of the Mei HaShiloach

"And truly, everywhere that one enters himself into uncertainties in the service of God and into matters that need clarification, if the matter is clarified for the good then he is greater than one who just removed himself from all doubts. Yet this is only for the seed of Yaakov..." (Mei HaShiloach)

Betzalel, slightly ticked off after a long day in his Ancestral Homeland somewhere between Jericho and Jerusalem. All Jews have an ancestral homeland. Some Jews even live there. When will you?

Dear friends. The chassidic writings do not exist in a vacuum. They are a response to a history of Bibilical Commentary going back to Sinai. So in order to know why the writings of the Chassidic masters, such as Rav Mordechai Yosef of Isbits, were such a novel conception (a "chiddush, in Hebrew) you need to develop the patience to study the classical commentaries, such as, with our example below, Rashi, Ramban, and Rabeynu BaChayei. Then your yield from the Masters of Chassidus will be all the richer.

Ramban, Introduction to the Book of Exodus.

The book of Genesis is the book of creation. The actions of the Patriarchs are a kind of creation of their progeny. This is because all of their actions are pictures of things to come, hints that tell of all future events. Then after the creation is finished, He started a new book to show the events that emerge from those hints in the stories of the Patriarchs.

(Keep the above in mind when considering how the qualities of the Jew were hinted at in the personality of Yaakov, and how Chazal saw the seeds of the behoavior of Roman and later european society in Eisav.)

Genesis. Chapter 25

And the children jostled to and fro within Rivka’s womb, and she said, “why is this happening to me?’ and went to ask of God. (She went to the house of study and asked the wise Shem, who told her God’s answer.) And He said, “there are two peoples in your womb, and two nations shall separate from your loins. One nation shall struggle with the other, and the older one will serve the younger one.”


As Rav Shlomo Carlebach once said, "you can't really learn the chumash without the Mei Hashiloach, (the commentary of Rav Mordechai Yosef of Isbitza.)" From the classical commentaries, we receive a fairly black and white picture, Esav BAD, Yaakov GOOD. but having the patience to get through the classical commentaries and to the bottom of the page with the Mei HaShilaoch, you will see that it is not so simple.


Rashi

Separate from your loins – one will go to wickedness and the other to honesty.
One nation will struggle with the other – they will not be equal in greatness. When one rises the other shall fall. This is as it is written (Ezekiel, 26), “I will fill the ruin.” Of which our Sages said, “Tsur (a Roman – or Edomite - city) was only filled from the destruction of Jerusalem.” (Only when Jerusalem and the Jews were defeated, did the Roman city of Tsur became great.”)

Genesis, Chapter 25, continued.

And the boys grew, and Eisav became a hunter, a man of the field. And Yaakov was a simple, honest man, sitting in the tent. And Yitschak loved Eisav because of the catch in his mouth, and Rivka loved Yaakov.

Rashi

A man of the field – He was an idle man, hunting birds and animals with his bow and arrow.
Simple, honest – Yaakov was not expert in all of these (forms of deception), but rather spoke his heart. Anyone who is not clever in the ways of deception is called, “tam.” Simple, whole hearted, or honest.

Rabeynu Bachayei

Eisav would hunt in two ways. He was literally a hunter of animals, but he would also trap people with his words. When he saw his father he would ask him clever questions, such as, “do you have to tithe salt and straw?” In this way he tricked his father into being proud of his sun, the hunter-scholar. He asked Eisav, “where have you been all day,” and Eisav would answer, “in the houses of study learning such and such a law and such and such a matter.” At that moment, Yitschak’s holy spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) would scream out, crying, “He who dissembles with his lips and lays up deceit within him, when he speaks fair, do not believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart.” (Mishlei, 26:25)

Ask yourself, "If Yitchak was a prophet, how could it be that he did not know that Eisav was just currying favor with him? How could he not have known that he was an evil man?"

Now, with the above commentaries in mind, consider the following teaching of the Mei HaShiloach.

“and Yitschok loved Eisav because of the taste of the meat he would trap (or, he would trap with his mouth),” (Bereshit, 25:28)

This is explained (Bereshit Rabba, 63:10), “that he would deceive his father into thinking that he was a scholar with fancy dilemmas in Torah, like how can one tithe salt and straw.” You can not understand this explanation literally, for surely Yitzchak Avinu was not mistaken in thinking he was actually genuine, when he was clearly cheating him. Yet from the beginning, Yaakov and Eisav were equal in their greatness. However, Eisav decided to make himself make himself more appealing in his father’s eyes, so as to find favor in his father’s sight. This accomplished, Yitzchak would pray to G-d to give his son Eisav more wisdom. Yaakov, however, went in the way of simplicity and said, “what need have of this? If I am worthy in the sight of G-d, He will cause the heart of my father Yitschok to pray for me.” Eisav’s way was not honest in Yaakov’s view, for this way needs clarification (“birrur”), for who can say if this way will be accepted, and perhaps he is only doing it to deceive. Since Yaakov Avinu had separated himself from all uncertainty, his heart trusted only in G-d.

And truly, everywhere that one enters himself into uncertainties in the service of G-d and into matters that need clarification, if the matter is clarified for the good then he is greater than one who just removed himself from all doubts. Yet this is only for the seed of Yaakov, since they have found a stronghold in G-d, that He will clarify all for the good, so it is permitted for him to enter into uncertainties. Yet whoever does not have this stronghold, it is forbidden for him to enter into uncertainty, in the way that Eisav entered himself into matters that were later clarified as being evil.

For the Holy One, blessed be He, will make it clear that all of Israel's actions are for the good, as is explained on the verse, “it will be tsedaka for us.” (Parshat Vaetchanan) For all who are not from the seed of Yaakov, it is good before Him for them to limit themselves with all kinds of constrictions, as is explained concerning converts, for whom it is forbidden for them to enter into uncertainties.

So therefore, when Yitzchak saw that Eisav was entering himself into these matters, he said that if they are clarified for the good, then Eisav would become greater than Yaakov, yet the blessed G-d then bared witness to him that Eisav’s intentions were not for the sake of Heaven.

Also within Israel, we find that there are some souls who may permit themselves to enter into uncertainty more than others, even though they both come from the seed of Yaakov. Take, for instance, Shimon and Dinah. Levi did not want to take her because he feared that maybe his intentions were not completely for the sake of Heaven, as all the tribe of Levi exist with the fear of G-d before them always, taking care to remove themselves from all doubts. This as it is said (Malachi, 2:5), “וָאֶתְּנֵם-לוֹ מוֹרָא וַיִּירָאֵנִי - and I gave them to him for the fear, etc.” Because of this He brought out of them Cohanim who would enter, “before Me and inside (the Holy of Holies),”and therefore their life was clarified immediately as explained in Parshat Korach (with the tribes, on the verse “and G-d said”). Shimon, however, entered himself into uncertainty, saying, “G-d forbid I would consider myself licentious,” and marrying Dinah. Thus he entered himself into a situation that needed clarification, saying he trusts that G-d will make it clear that it was good, that his intention was not only to take her out from Shchem and all his intentions were for the sake of Heaven. Therefore the tribe of Shimon needed all these kinds of clarifications, such as Zimri who also said that his intention was good, as explained in its place (Parshat Balak). And in the future, when the tribe of Shimon will be clarified, its level will be greater than Levi.

Sod Yesharim, Parshas Vayeira

Sod Yesharim, by Rav Gershon Chenoch of Radzin.

The Class in the Sod Yesharim takes place every Tuesday night, from 7 to 9 pm, at Yeshivat Simchat Shlomo, 18 HaGilboa Street, Nachlaot, Jerusalem. Israel
(The class is not free. Please speak with the administration about payment.) (02) 622-1456


Parshas Vayeira.
Translated and Annotated by B. Edwards

וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו ה' בְּאֵלנֵי מַמְרֵא וְהוּא ישֵׁב פֶּתַח הָאהֶל כְּחם הַיּוֹם:
“And God appeared unto him by the oaks of Mamre, and he was sitting in the tent in the heat of the day.”
The Gemara (Baba Metzia, 86b) tells us that this was on the third day after his circumcision.

(And then at the end of the Parsha we find it written) “On the third day, He saw the place from afar.”[1]
It is written, “After two days He will revive us, on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His presence.”[2] This is the third day of the shvatim, the tribal ancestors , the children of Jacob.

And Joseph said unto them the third day: This do, and live.[3]
On the third day of Revelation:
And it came to pass on the third day, when it was morning.[4]
On the third day of Joshua’s spies:
And hide yourselves there three days.[5]
On the third day of Jonah:
And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.[6]
On the third day of those returning from the Babylonian Exile:
And we abode there three days.[7]
On the third day of resurrection:
After two days He will revive us, on the third day He will raise us up;
On the third day of Esther:
Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel (Est. V, I)
She put on the royal apparel of her ancestor.
For whose sake did the relief and rescue come on the third day? The Rabbis say: For the sake of the third day, when Revelation took place.
R. Levi maintained: in all of these instances, relief came on the third day in the merit of what Abraham did on the third day, as it says, “And it was on the third day, He saw the place from afar …”
What did he see?
He saw a cloud enveloping the mountain, and said: ‘It appears that that is the place where the Holy One, blessed be He, told me to sacrifice my son.’
When explaining “shlishi l’milah,” the third day after circumcision, The Holy Isbitzer teaches us that by the third day it is fixed permanently. The Orlah (foreskin) has to be completely removed. This represents things that man has no use for and has to totally remove from his life. The second component of Milah is “Priah,” separating and moving the thin inner membrane to the side. (In the performance of a bris milah this is actually done before the removal of the orlah.) Priah is not the orlah, it is just adjacent to it. This represents klipas Noga, of which it is said in the book of Mishlei (4:15), פְּרָעֵהוּ אַל תַּעֲבָר בּוֹ שְׂטֵה מֵעָלָיו וַעֲבוֹ- avoid it, do not pass by it, turn from it and pass on.

The Radziner Rebbe mentions the discussion in the Talmud, Yevamos, 21b, about the decree of “divrei sofrim”) of certain marriages called, “shniyos l’arayos,” or secondary levels of forbidden marriages. Examples of “shiyos l’arayos,” are marriages between a man and his grandmother, or between a man and his child’s daughter in-law. The verse just quoted in Mishlei – where it says, avoid it - is the proof text for this rabbinic prohibition. The idea is as follows. A primary level of prohibition (Isurrei D’Oraita) is antithetical or even detrimental to the Jewish soul. A secondary level is no less forbidden, but its prohibition comes by close association with the primary level. (Of the rabbinic commandments we say, “your goodness is sweeter than wine.”) At the third level, we are not only free from danger, but enriching our souls. .

(The Sod Yesharim continues) Therefore at the third level, the kedushah is permanently instilled in the Jewish soul. At the third level, mans desires are in total agreement with the service of God.
This is as it is said in the Zohar (Kedoshim, 87a) on the verse “And in the fourth year, all of the land’s produce shall be holy and giving praise to God.” (Vayikra, 19:24), “The earth only gives its fruits because of another power that acts upon it, just as a woman does not give birth except by the power of the man. … Come and see! The fruit of her womb is only complete after three births.” (Re: Yehuda. Bear in mind that this is a spiritual idea regarding how forces in the upper world are created, and should in no way cast aspersions on people who only have two siblings or less, or on parents who have only had three children.)

The Zohar writes (Vayera, 97a),
“And God appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, and he sad in the entrance to the tent in the heat of the day.” “Rabbi Chiya opened. “The buds are seen on the land, the time of pruning has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in the land.” (Song of Songs). “The buds are seen on the land.” When God created the world, he suited the perfect strength to each part of creation. Everything was in the land, but the land did not bring forth its fruits until man was created. Once man was created, all of the powers of creation appeared and the land brought forth its produce. In a similar way, the heavens did not give their powers to the land until the arrival of man. This is as it is written in Parshas Bereshis, “and all the plants of the fields had not yet grown from the land, and all the grasses of the field had not yet bloomed because Hashem Elokim had not brought the rains, and there was no man to work the land.” All of these generations were hidden and not revealed. The heavens were prevented and the rains did not fall because man was not on the land at that time … “The time of pruning has come,” (Zamir means both pruning and singing.) He established the power of singing in prayer before God, a power that was not there before man was created. “The voice of the turtledove is heard in our land,” this is the word of God that was not present in the world until man was created. (It was thought that) since man was there, everything was there. But when man sinned … the land was cursed. “when you work the land, it will not give of its powers, your efforts will grow thorns and thistles … Then Noach came and established with his plows and pruning hooks. He planted a vineyard and got drunk, exposing himself in his tent. Men came in the coming generation and sinned before God (with the tower of Babylon and the idolatry of Terach’s generation.) The powers of the earth departed once more. …
And then with the coming of Avraham, “the buds are seen on the land, the time of pruning has come, and the voice of the turtle dove is heard in our land.” The time of pruning refers to the bris Milah. When the time of this covenant arrived, the power was given to Avraham he circumcised himself. This bris Milah was the fulfillment of these words in the Song of Songs. The earth was sustained, and it bloomed. This revealed God’s word.

(The Sod Yesharim continues.) The world was created when God sent forth His word from His simple desire to create. In the place of His greatness, He brought forth His modesty and meekness. That is to say, He wanted rule over the lower world, known as the physical earth. He hid His Godly desire in the garments of the creation (with garment after garment) to the point where His Godly desire became completely hidden. He hid Himself with covering after covering, concealment after concealment, down to the creation of physical matter. The treasure of God’s desire was hidden so deeply in physical matter that the creation could not raise itself up and return face to face to unite with its source in God. For this reason God created man. Man was created so that the buds could be seen and the time of pruning and prayer could come to pass. That is to say, man was created in order to bring the power of the earth back God. He does this by using worldly and material existence, and raise them up through the path of Avodas Hashem. (Food is a simple example.)
Adam HaRishon’s sin (and the source of all deviation from God’s path) flowed from his mistaken belief that since the world is indeed conducted through man (Not just God’s partner, but as the direct creation of God, as Adam was God’s own handwork, as it were), then therefore he has a separate power to ascend, and also to elevate the entire creation. He mistakenly believed that there was nothing that he could not elevate and every place and every time. (This is “Tekifus.”)
Consider the commandment not to eat from the fruit of the tree of knowledge. The Pri Eytz Chaiim of the Arizal explains that this fruit was only forbidden until the onset of Shabbos. Once Shabbos came, it was to be permitted. This hints as how man becomes perfected through Avodas Hashem. (Practice makes perfect.) Completeness and perfection involves man taking the powers in the created world and using them in the service of God.
Everything in the creation is lacking. (See Sod Yesharim, Lech Lcha. People cannot exist without other people or without the powers of the earth.) This is as Isaiah said, “For with Yud Hei, Hashem formed the worlds.” (Why not with the complete four letter name? It is in order to show how the creation is incomplete.) This was in order to allow man to complete creation through his active service. “Everything that was created in the six days of creation needs fixing or preparation. Turmus (a kind of bean) needs to be cooked seven times before it can be eaten. It starts off inedible, and through man’s efforts, becomes sweet and nourishing.” We see how man needs to farm, mill, and make bread. He needs to grow flax and cotton in order to make clothing. In a similar way, God has to prepare His word in order for man to receive it. God’s word starts of as pure light (and light is only an analogy, we have no concept of God’s pure power), and is then dressed in layer after layer of concealment in world upon world, sefirah upon sefirah. The downward linkage and process of greater and greater concealment (tsimstusm) is the way God makes His word comprehensible to man.
Time is also a garment, or a force of concealment and preparation. God’s word must also pass through the garment of time. This is hinted at in Shabbos, the seventh day. Shabbos hints at the attribute of Malchus SHamayim, the sovereignty of Heaven. It is, “Reshis Chochma Yiras Hashem,” “the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God.” (Yirat Hashem means refraining from action based the awe of the Almighty, or at least, the belief that God is faithful to punish all wrongdoing. Refraining from work on Shabbos is an expression of Yiras Hashem. The Idea is that we can only have any real wisdom if we stop and look see how God is in charge.) Yiras Hashem causes man to serve God. Man realizes that all power comes from God, and without God’s power, the creation would be nullified. This is Malchus Shamayim, when we feel God’s leadership in all facets of our life. Of Malchus Shamayim, the Zohar tells us, “d’leit lei megarma clum – it does nothing and effects nothing.” (Malchus is a vessel which is filled by God, whose whole life and existence depends on receiving from God.) God does not need the creation. He is not beholden to the creation in any way. He creates us purely because He wants to and not because He needs to. From our point of view, from the point of view of Malchus, we could forget that we are created, and all the power of our life could return and be subsumed within Godliness. (Re: story of moth and flame, lehavdil.)
Therefore, man needs a constant awakening of Avodas Hashem. This comes with the consciousness knowledge that God is always renewing the power within the creation, and without God’s providence on all details of creation the world would cease to exist. There is no life in the foundation of creation unless man wakes up and looks (hebit) towards the Creator. This consciousness is revealed on Shabbos, because on it God ceased from all of His work. This cessation also nullified all forces which conceal and darken the light of God’s constant creation. This is the Gate of Heaven that man needs to enter, where he may look into all places that the power of God’s creation spreads forth, and there see the Pride of God’s Majesty. (Hashem malach, Geut lavesh - see Psalms.)
This is how the Arizal explains the sin of Adam. Adam wanted to enlarge the crown of Zeir Anpin before Shabbos, when there is still the “power of work.” At this time, Zeir Anpin did not yet have mochin (spiritual intelligence). When man still has the power to work (and think that he is doing the work), then his mochin is not complete. Mochin Mochin has to do with the light that we receive and gives us the ability to return and look at the (source of the light.) As it was with Zeir Anpin in the metaphysical realm, so it was with Adam HaRishon. He did not have the power of awakening needed in order to know that nothing can exist without receiving a constant flow of God’s abundance and power.
The Arizal also says that Adam also sinned with regards to the female. The female power is the power of reception. In the upper worlds, the female was not yet face to face with the male. When the force of reception does not stand face to face with God, the source of giving, then man thinks that he is separate from God, and has his own separate power. He makes the mistake of thinking that God created him with a separate power. Since all forces of creation need a vessel like man to receive their power and use them, then (God’s power within) creation cannot exist without him. (This was his mistake.)

However, when he stands face to face, then he has a connection to the supernal light. He then knows that his existence is just a gift of God’s Chesed. God desired to improve His creation. All of his power is only at the time when he receives God’s light.

This is the mystery of the case that the moon brought before God:
R. Simeon b. Pazzi pointed out a contradiction [between verses]. One verse says: And God made the two great light, and immediately the verse continues: The greater light . . . and the lesser light. The moon said unto the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘Sovereign of the Universe! Is it possible for two kings to wear one crown’? He answered: ‘Go then and make thyself smaller’. ‘Sovereign of the Universe’! cried the moon, ‘Because I have suggested that which is proper must I then make myself smaller’? He replied: ‘Go and thou wilt rule by day and by night’. ‘But what is the value of this’? cried the moon; ‘Of what use is a lamp in broad daylight’? He replied: ‘Go. Israel shall reckon by thee the days and the years’. ‘But it is impossible’, said the moon, ‘to do without the sun for the reckoning of the seasons, as it is written: And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years’. ‘Go. The righteous shall be named after thee4 as we find, Jacob the Small, Samuel the Small, David the Small’, On seeing that it would not be consoled the Holy One, blessed be He, said: ‘Bring an atonement for Me for making the moon smaller’. This is what was meant by R. Simeon b. Lakish when he declared: Why is it that the he-goat offered on the new moon is distinguished in that there is written concerning it unto the Lord? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let this he-goat be an atonement for Me for making the moon smaller. (Soncino Translation)

The case of the moon is compared to the sin of Adam. The moon was blemished in order that the power of reception in creation would feel its own incompleteness. When man feels his own incompleteness, he understand that from his own side he has nothing, and how God doesn’t have to sustain us, but rather He desires to sustain us and improve us. This is why there are different seasons. Summer will see that the world does not always have to be summer, it could also be fall or winter. The world can change and still exist. In this way, man was created incomplete to drive him to go back and look at the word with God’s light.


[1] Gen. XXII, 4
[2] Hos. VI, 2
[3] Gen. XLII, 18
[4] Ex. XIX, 16
[5] Josh. II, 16
[6] Jonah II. 1
[7] Ezra VIII, 32

Kever Rachel and the late Yitschak Rabin

Today, I heard an interesting story about Rachel's tomb and Itschak Rabin. Rachel was the wife of the Patriarch Jacob, and together with Leah, is the matriarch of the Jewish people. Her tomb, a holy site in Israel, is just south of Jerusalem in Bethlehem, a town in the land of Judea. Jews offer prayers to God every day and night by her tomb, which has been renovated into a synagogue and yeshiva.

The aniversary of her passing, or yahrtseit, is on the eleventh day of the month of Cheshvan (around october). On her yahrtzeit, thousands of devoted and righteous Jews flock to her tomb to pray for the welfare of Israel and the whole world. We call the yahrtseit of a Holy man or woman a "hillula," or wedding, as the power of the holy man to pray and intercede before the One and only is increased when he or she has shuffled off the mortal coil and reuintes with God in Heaven.

On one such "hillula" of the Matriarch Rachel I went with my wife and a friend of ours to pray at Rachel's tomb. Standing room only is an understatement. All of the devout were cleaved together and prayingwith one voice, filling the room with light and tears of fire.
When we got back to the car, we turned on the radio. Yitchak Rabin had just been assasinated. This was the last time I visited Rachel's tomb.

This is that was repudedly said on the Israeli Radio in an interview with Chanan Porat, a former knesset member, and a founder of the national religious party (Mafdal). Rabin had just signed and agreement with the Arabs to give away certain terretories of the Jewish homeland. The land of Israel was to be divided into three areas, area A (under full Israeli soveriegnty), Area B (under Arab control but under Israeli military control), and Area C (Arab conrol and no Israeli Military presence). The Tomb of Rachel was designated as area B. Chanan Porat made and appointment to meet with Rabin in order to try to convince him to keep Rachel's tomb under full Israeli sovereignty (Area A). As he reached Rabin's office, he saw Rav Menachem Porush, a knesset member and leader of the Agudat Israel (charedi) Party. Rav Porush asked if he could join Porat in the meeting with the prime minister, to which Porat gladly agreed. As they sat before Rabin, Porat took out a number of maps and set out to work convincing Rabin to reconsider, to which Rabin responded by saying that the deals were already signed and sealed and there is no return (Of course, as a third hand story, I don't know exactly what was said.)
After several minutes of claims and counter claims, logical arguments and sighing about tied hands, Porush grabbed the prime minister by his shoulders, shook him and cried out from his broken heart, "reb yitchak, die mamae rachel vilst du ibber lozin bie die araber - Reb Yitschak, are you going to give our mother Rachel to the Arabs!!" Rabin started to cry together with Porush. After things calmed down, and the meeting ended, Rabin called the foriegn minister, who was at that time Shimon Peres, and discussed the possibility of renegotioating to place Rachels tomb in area A. Peres was against it, saying again how its already a done deal, signed and sealed. After Peres's rejections, Rabin told him, "look, he (Arafat) needs us more than we need him."

Chanan Porat and Rav Porush succeded in covincing Rabin, and it seems that Rabin covinced Peres. Rachel's tomb is an enclave of Area A just across the border from the Jerusalem municipality. All Israelis and visitors have free and unfettered access to go there and pray day and night. Rachel's tomb, bordering the Judean desert just down the road from Kibbutz Ramat Rachel, where I taught my kids how to swim. Someday I will take them to the synagogue at Rachel's tomb and Die heilige Mamme Rachel will teach them how to pray.

I don't know what God is trying to tell us, but who could not pause in wonder at how Rabin was killed on the same day that Rachel Imenu left the world, and the role he had in providing Jewish access to the tomb of their anscestor.

I was told by a student of a well known Rabbi, "the posek of chortkov," (I forgot his name), that Yitchak Rabin, of blessed memory, would "always," call the Rabbi when making significant decisions. What kinds of situations, what kind of questions? The student could not tell me.

Show me Yourself

Question: How do you translate the verse in the Torah, "haster astir es panai?"
Hester means concealment. The intensive "doubled form," one of God's favorites, takes a verb and intensifies its meaning by saying it twice, as in Deut: 'and it will be if you surely hearken (shamoah tishm'eu)," Or at the end of the song of ascents, "when God returns the captives we will be like dreamers" where he says, "he who is going and crying (haloch yelech, doubling the HL"Ch root)," meaning going with angst or intensely. And then in the next verse, "bo yavo," "he will surely come carrying his sheaves." This is literally translated, "come he shall come."

But I don't want to translate it as, "surely" because I keep thinking about that stupid joke from the movie, "Airplane," where one guy says, "Surely youre joking!!" and the other answers, "no I'm serious, and my name isn't Shirley." Yuk Yuk.


So what is the best way to translate, "haster astir es panai?"

"Hide will I Hide My face ..."

I will mammash hide My face ....

I will really really hide my face ....

I will hide my face to the max ....

None of the above .....

This has to do with the discoure of the Rebbe of Radzin in his work, Sod Yesharim, Parshas Lech L'cha. At the end of the discours, (in the previous post,) he talks about intense levety. Actually its more than that. Its scoffing and deriding the Torah and its followers ostensibly in order to entertain one's peers or even one's self. As a former clown (I am an old professor of goofing off,) well, not so former, this subject is close to home. As a kid, it became clear that making others laugh was not just a special gift that was prized at school and in the culture at large, but it was a power and a way to wield power. It was also a great way to hide from the world which I had determined was a nasty place. So lets roll up our sleeves and get into one of the deadliest subjects on the face of the planet, the "Theology of Humor."

In the last post I translated the following:

(King Solomon wrote in Misheli (proverbs), “(If you have been wise, you have been wise for yourself,) and if you are scoffer, you alone will bare it.” This is a case where a man holds on to concealment and amnesia. Scoffing (leitsanus in Hebrew) is the garment of concealment, where God’s light is not seen. The AriZal Calls it, “batei Elokim” (houses of Elokim - or a second outer shell which surrounds concealment. This is about as far as man can seem to be from God.) The powers that God dressed in the garments of creation are called “Elokim.” There are 120 permutations of the five letters of “Elokim.” The power of kedushah reaches as low as these levels, where God’s light may still be perceived. The garments where God’s light may not be seen are called, “Elohim acherim,” or false Gods. Wherever Gods light may not be seen is not “in the power of kedushah.” Even though God created all of the powers, as it is written (Isaiah,54), “I created a destroyer to destroy.” True, man must remove all of these garments, and illuminate the darkness, and when the light reaches so low, he will see how all is from God.

The doubled or intensive grammatical form in the Torah is not just a way to say, "surely," or "really." The classical commentaries, and "drashos" of the great Rabbis often explain a point about the repetition, or two levels, in order to show how there are two things going on, and this is hinted at in the repetition of the word. So God hides in the world He created. Take food, for instance. Once you have finnished the graduate seminar in Advanced Spiritual States, mazal Tov, you are now one of the cognoscenti, (and dont think for a Jerusalem second that just because I am scoffing at the Universities now by using what MW describes as "obsolete itallian," that this idea is also obsolete.) YOU KNOW that whenever you eat, God is sustaining you through the nutrients in the food. If you are a materialist, or as you might say, "the living dead," then you will say, "its chemical compounds sustaning an organism." But this would be shallow. How does something grow, how does a living organism live? No one really knows, but since we are alive, and life must be sustained somehow, so we see how, "God sustains all." We call the life force, "God's energy or soul." It is not God, God is hidden. The force which sustains life is an emanation flowing out of the source of all existence we call "God."


God's power or the soul that emanates from the source is hidden in the food we eat.

This is one level of concealment. The "Houses of Elokim" mentioned in the above quotation, based on the AriZal, Rav Luria, of blessed memory, are the second level of concealment, where not only is the Godly power concealed, but the living dead who poke fun at such ideas, with a hearty rotgreen laugh, are using their antagonism in the form of humor to deny it, that is to say, conceal it even further. Elokim equals 86 in jewish numerology. so does the word for "the nature," or HaTeva. The meaning is, "God hides in nature." This is Elokim. Scoffers (Leitsanim) conceal it even further. This is why God sighs in heaven, He who has no form, Raises His mighty arm that brough us out of Egypt, now used not as a sign of strenght but "netilas yadaim," or a sign of surrender, and says, "Hide I will hide my face when the clowns among you deride my Torah and my people." The study of Chassidus, in particular, the Chassidus of Isbitz-Radzin, is a way to console God, "NAchamu, Nachamu Ami." God is saying, console me that I have to hide my face in order for you to get credit for your belief and efforts in My service, and console me a second time when I hide my face in Divine shame because my creations insult Me. But I will be silent and thereby achieve atonement for having to be hidden at all. Chassidus is a path that breaks down the wall.

Once upon a time, the Maggid of Mezerich, Rav Dov Baer, was in his kitchen, and heard his little boy crying from inside a cabinet. He opened the door, and underneath a blanket, found his five year old boy sobbing. He picked him up in his arms and said, "my son, why are you crying? Why are you hiding in the cabinet?" "Father, we were playing hide and go seek. I hid here in the kitchen, and I hid so well, that the other boys gave up and stopped looking for me. I have been in here for an hour, Tatee, and they went to play somewhere else."

Tears started streaming down the Maggids cheeks. He cried and said,"Master of Heaven and Earth! Do you see what You have done! You have hidden your face from us. You hid yourself so well that your children have stopped even trying to find you. You have hidden Yourself so well that they have not only stopped looking for you, but they have forgotten that You are even there!"

Let me hear Your voice, let me see Your form,
for Your form is lovely ....

Rav Gershon Chenoch of Radzin - Parshas Lech L'cha

BS”D

Sod Yesharim.
Rav Gershon Chenoch of Radzin ZTs”L. Known as, "The Radziner Rebbe."
Here is one of his discourses on Parshas Lech Lcha (The story of Abraham.) The dude to the right is the blogger, if anyone asks.

It is written in the Torah ....
“And God said to Avraham, go from your land, from your birthplace, from the house of your father, to the land that I will show you.”

Zohar, Parshas Lech Lcha, 15b

Rabbi Abba opened (with the verse), “Listen to me, you stubborn of heart (abirei lev), who are far from righteousness (tsedaka).” (Isaiah, 46:12) How hard are the hearts of the wicked, who see the ways and paths of the Torah, and do not look into them! … Those who are far from tesdaka distance themselves from the Torah. Rabbi Chizkiya said, “they are far from haKadosh, Baruch Hu.(God) …
Come and see. Avraham wanted to come close to haKadosh, Baruch Hu, (and bring others close), and in doing so he brought himself close. This is as it is written (Tehilim, 45:8), “You love righteousness, and hate wickedness; (therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions.” The Zohar tells us that this statement in the psalms is in reference to Avraham)

(The Sod Yesharim explains.) “the stubborn of heart,” refers to those who rely on their foundations but have no actions. They assert that since God created a world where the Divine presence is concealed, then God must want it this way. God hides in a hidden garment (RE story of the Maggid and “hide and seek.”) His desires are not apparent in the garments of the world. If God wanted to reveal His desires with clarity, then why did He create these garments of concealment?

We find the following discussion in the Gemara.

Hearken unto Me, you hard-hearted, who are far from righteousness. Rab and Samuel — according to others, R. Johanan and R. Eleazar — interpret this differently. One says: The whole world is sustained by [God's] charity, and they are sustained by their own force. The other says: All the world is sustained by their merit, and they are not sustained even by their own merit. This accords with the saying of Rab Judah in the name of Rab. For Rab Judah said in the name of Rab: Every day a divine voice goes forth from Mount Horeb (Sinai) and proclaims: The whole world is sustained for the sake of My son Hanina, and Hanina My son has to subsist on a kab of carobs from one week end to the next. This [explanation] conflicts with that of Rab Judah. For Rab Judah said: Who are the ‘hard-hearted’? The stupid Gubaeans.

(The Sod Yesharim continues.) Truly they are both true. (Abirei Lev means has the pejorative connotation of callous and heard-hearted, as well as the positive connotation of righteous and brave-hearted.) On the one hand, there is no shortage of heard hearted people who believe that since God created all kinds of pleasures in the world, then He must want us to extend ourselves in whatever suits our fancy. They put forth erronious ideas, saying, "If God had not wanted us to extend ourselves, then He would not have made the ways in which He is concealed so enticing to mortal men." In this sense they are, “far from righteousness,” for as we have found in the Zohar, “far from righteousness" means not wanting to come close to haKadosh Baruch Hu, and this is tantamount to not wanting to come close to the Torah. “Since they are far from tsedaka, they are far from Shalom, and they have no peace.”

“Tsedaka,” means connecting to another person in order to shine into a place that was lacking light. A poor person lacks sustenance and is forced to receive it from a person who is able to help. God arranged the entire creation on this principle. Everyone is incomplete. Everyone must necessarily receive from other people in one way or another. The Midrash teaches us that even the heavens is in need of peace. (Midrash Rabba, 96:9) God arranged the creation where completeness is only possible when people come together. When there is a willingness to give, then God shines his light into this place of giving and receiving. This is as it is written (Yeshayahu 6), “and they called out one to another,” where the Aramaic translation reads, “and they received one from the other.” (Received permission from the fellow angels in the heavenly choir to proclaim God’s holiness). Only when they received one from the other does God illuminate them with His light.

For this reason, God created a general incompleteness among his creation. God created the attribute of concealment (hester) – which is in itself Malchus Shamayim (the Sovereignty of Heaven), of with the Zohar tells us, “d’leit lei megarma clum – it does nothing on its own. (Malchus effects nothing from its own side, but rather is all about receiving from above. Malchus, or the Shechina, is a vessel for God’s abundance and light.) Only after the creation as a whole reaches a spiritual refinement (through Avodas Hashem, Tefilla, and Torah) and thereby returns to see the creation with God’s light (uses God’s light to see within the concealment of the garments), then, from the side of the creation, light will be drawn into that particular middah (sefirah) and facet of creation.

Man will then see that this concealment is also one of God’s creations and has an essential purpose. The concealment, like everything, is also created for God’s glory and honor. The greatest Glory of Heaven comes from seeing in this way. It all happens because the creation is lacking, and desires to unite with the source in order to fill the lack and reach wholeness. In this way the darkness is illuminated. This consciousness inspires Avodas Hashem and the desire to return and see the world with God’s light even amidst the greatest darkness. Now is becomes clear that the darkness is filled with God’s light.

For God’s point of view, the whole world is a complete unity, without any separation at all. Separation is only from the side of the creation. All who desire God’s light are filled with a giving spirit for the entire creation. This is because one who sees in this way is closer to the source, and at the source there is a complete wholeness and oneness. It is the, “Clall.” The closer you are to the source, the more you feel how you are a part of the source. The one who is closer to the source sees how the source also includes the concealment (and its purpose). He then sees how no matter how dark the evil, nothing in the world is not illuminated by God’s light.

Even one who thinks he is “his own man,” going after the desires of his own closed heart, and acting upon his own free choice, is unknowingly being led by God in a place beyond his comprehension. (this is the ohr makif – the surrounding light, which is akin to the phrase in the psalms, “yarumu selah” – it is above and beyond”)

Then he understands that even his Avodas Hashem is only something he is doing with regards to himself. This is as it is said, “If you have been wise, you have been wise only for yourself.” (Mishlei, 9:12) The Isbitzer Rebbe explained this by saying that if a man succeeded in understanding a matter of Torah, and reached even a sublime level of wisdom, he only really merited for himself, in the sense that he sees how the root of his own soul is in the wisdom of Torah that he revealed. Yet he did not add one iota to the Torah and its knowledge. For truly, all new understanding of the Torah, “even that which a seasoned scholar devises,” was already revealed to Moshe Rabeynu, who is the Daas (knowledge or consciousness) of All of Israel, meaning that it is all included in the words of Torah. That which David HaMelech said, “(Tehilim, 71), “I will always yearn, and I will add to Your praises (to the Torah),” In this case, David HaMelech is only illuminating within the darkenss, and showing how even there exists the light of the words of Torah. God then rewards him for his efforts in revealing the light, measure for measure, as it is considered the work of man’s own hands.


(The verse in Mishlei continues), “and if you are scoffer, you alone will bare it.” This is a case where a man holds on to concealment and amnesia. Scoffing (leitsanus) is the garment of concealment, where God’s light is not seen. The AriZal Calls it, “batei Elokim” (houses of Elokim - or a second outer shell which surrounds concealment. This is about as far as man can seem to be from God.) The powers that God dressed in the garments of creation are called “Elokim.” There are 120 permutations of the five letters of “Elokim.” The power of kedushah reaches as low as these levels, where God’s light may still be perceived. The garments where God’s light may not be seen are called, “Elohim acherim,” or false Gods. Wherever Gods light may not be seen is not “in the power of kedushah.” Even though God created all of the powers, as it is written (Isaiah,54), “I created a destroyer to destroy.” True, man must remove all of these garments, and illuminate the darkness, and when the light reaches so low, he will see how all is from God. Therefore, with Rabbi Chanina ben Dossa, even though power of his merit and Avodas Hashem sustained the whole world, he only saw how everything is only from God. This is called, “sustained by their own force.” (see Gemara Berachos above) He saw how everything was in the hands of Heaven, and did not want to enter into any worldly concealment. For this reason he did not want to benefit from his own portion. He did not even want to benefit from the fruits of the world. …..