Current Events - 2

The removal of an older mindset in order to make room for a new one is similar to what we find in the Talmud that when Rebbe Zaira moved from Babylonia to Israel he fasted one hundred times in order to forget the Torah he had learned in exile. He knew there was a new mindset awaiting him in Israel. He didn't have to completely remove himself from a Torah life in order to accomplish this. In this generation also we find many people who have successfully transitioned from an exile mentality to one of living in Israel without needing to remove themselves from Torah completely as part of their transition. They have kept their faith in Hashem and slowly slowly are adapting to the paradigm of Eretz Yisroel. This is one of the causes of all the fights about education that exist today in Israel between different religious factions. These arise from the changed nature of the Jewish soul in Israel, which requires a different form of education than that which was common in exile.

But for others the manner in which the old mindset was removed was through apostasy, as occurred at the time of the Purim story. Just as at that time, it was a prelude to salvation and led to a renewed commitment to Torah, one of people's own volition, so too will occur in our times. There will be a return to Torah based on people's own great desire. The entire nation will return to their Creator and nothing will remain of the present state. This has already been taking place for many years and we are now in the era of a new paradigm, that of the Torah of Eretz Yisroel.

Current Events - 1

Apostasy is certainly a terrible thing. There is nothing worse than demeaning the Torah and abandoning Mitzvot, which form the foundation of Judaism. But if your perspective is that apostasy comes from people and serves no Divine purpose then you are not understanding its deeper significance. A fundamental concept of Kabbalistic thought is that hidden deep within everything is a great light. This is true even in the darkness of apostasy. This is a light that shines only in the darkest moments and is, consequently, the greatest light. The wave that has overcome the Nation as a whole is not in the minds and hearts of individuals, but is something that moves within the entire nation. Surely, anything that affects the entire people is destined to bring about a great tikkun (improvement). Therefore even though when faced with acts of disbelief we must reject them out of hand as they are terrible, they are darkness, they are ignorant, they are distant from purity, and there is nothing more upsetting, we should not refrain from viewing it with an outlook informed by holiness to see the light that can only sprout forth from this darkness. This is the necessary perspective for our times, to see the light of Moshiach that will sort out the light from the darkness, the sweet from the bitter.
To understand this light we will point out a few things. You can then figure out on your own how to apply these concepts further. First of all, it is a well known principle that before the arrival of a new mindset (מוחין) it is necessary to completely remove the previous one. The Ariza"l teaches that each night the mindset of the previous day is removed, in order to allow for a fresh new day. This occurs primarily at the end of the night when it is darkest. This occurs on a daily as well as yearly basis. One example of this occurred in times of Mordechai and Esther. This was a time of needing to recreate the relationship between God and the Jewish Nation (נסירה). The first step to doing that was creating a state of slumber (דורמיטא), which is why our Sages teach us that the Jews were asleep from Mitzva performance and therefore enjoyed the Feast of Achasverosh. The basis of all the apostasy of these times is the removal of the (מוחין) mindset of Exile in order to prepare for a new mindset of life in the Land of Israel.

The Stunted Torah of Exile - 2

The diminshment of Exile created a situation in which people could no longer envision the service of God that existed in the Temple, and to fully comprehend the Torah in all its greatness. There was a huge gulf between the earlier form of divine service and that station of life in exile. The Torah had to climb down from its lofty height and constrain itself to a small grain, the four cubits of Halacha which reflect the life of Exile. Had the Torah remained in all its glory it would be impossible to grasp in all its facets during Exile because of the distance between the level of the people and the level of the Torah. The people would have remained without any spiritual sustenance.
The secrets of the Torah, the light of prophecy, the reasons behind the Torah and the wisdom of its secrets were hidden away. These are only relevant to the Jewish Nation living on its own land who have a grasp of what the Schechinah is. The Jew in Exile is left only with the Halacha, the practical application of the Torah which applies to those living with an individual mindset.
This is why our Sages taught that from the day of the Destruction, God only has the four cubits of Halacha. This denotes a limited, individual life of a person living in a plot the size of a grave. "He placed me in darkness, like those eternally dead," is a reference to the Babylonian Talmud.
But even that little bit of air carries a lot of power. It can bring the Nation to their redemption and help them rise at the Resurrection. Jeremiah taught that the Mitzvot are like ציונים. This can be understood to mean grave-markers, but also as signposts along the way through the travels of Exiles, leading us back to a greater past.

Share Your Bread - 2

Anyone who has explored the Teshuva movement discovers that people are thirstier for Torah knowledge than they previously realized. Even if you meet people who are disinterested, don’t give up or become frustrated as there are many others who are thirsty and it is important to always be aware of them. There are many stories that illustrate this point.

The bottom line is that if a person makes even minimal efforts to bring people closer to Hashem, he will see and hear the great thirst. He will feel good about his efforts and redouble them to bring people closer to their Father in Heaven.

It’s worth thinking about the fact that whereas there are so many people thirsting, there are so few people worrying about them. There are many loyal believing Jews and each one needs to do his part. I want to say from the depths of my heart to anyone who has a true heart, anyone who has a desire to please Hashem:

Please, let’s change our usual approach. Change how we think about serving Hashem. We are very self-centered, we worry about our own service of Hashem – the Torah, the prayer, and the Mitzvot that we and our children perform. We need to grow and expand our minds and take our beloved bothers into our care. Children who have no parents who are hungry and thirsty and whose souls are fainting within.

Don’t allow our satiation to cause us to close our ears to our starving brothers. We can’t be satisfied, fat, and well irrigated with our storehouses full of Torah and Mitzvot while our brothers are shivering rom the cold, fainting from hunger, and wallowing in the mud of foreign culture, full of haughtiness and shouts of lust. Just as any person would be full of disgust if he saw a fat and wealthy person ignoring someone destitute who is fainting from hunger, or one who is living in the lap of luxury who ignores his poor neighbor, the same is true when it comes to spirituality. Spirituality works the same as physicality. Hunger for spirituality is no less real than that for physical things. This may seem to be a harsh way to speak and to hear, but the truth needs to be said. May Hashem help us to fulfill his will with a complete heart.

This is what we have discussed earlier about the need to change from the attitude of a single, individual, cell, to that of being part of a large body. This change leads to a feeling of mutual responsibility that is strong and deep. We all share the same fate and the idea that a person can only be concerned about his own improvement is faulty thinking. It is like the proverbial man who pokes a hole in a ship. It is certainly the concern of everyone on board and they all need to immediately concern themselves with his actions.

Share Your Bread - 1

“Share your bread with the hungry”

Kindness with those who hunger and thirst for spirituality

Thank G-d for not abandoning the Jewish people. The Teshuva movement and the inspiration among believers to teach Torah continues to grow. But it is still only a drop in the bucket and needs to turn into a river flowing with spirituality. Every Jew needs to feel the responsibility to adopt into his home and heart a Jew lacking Torah knowledge, one of the beloved children of Hashem. This is our responsibility to Hashem, to our hungry and thirsty brothers, to the Jewish Nation, and to one’s own integrity. As the prophet says:

Share your bread with the starving, and poor oppressed people bring into your home. When you see a naked person, cover him, and do not ignore your own flesh. Then your light will shine like the morning, and your healing will occur quickly. Your righteousness will precede you and the glory of Hashem will take you in. Then you will call and Hashem will answer, pray and He will say “Here I am.” (Is. 58:7-8)

Look carefully at his words. In our times there is almost no one who is starving for bread. For candies and luxuries perhaps, but not for a slice of bread. Thank G-d bread is plentiful today. But this prophecy is written for all generations, ours included. The prophet Amos already taught us that there is indeed a serious famine today – a famine of the word of Hashem. “Not a famine for bread, nor a thirst for water, but to hear the word of God.” (Amos 8:11) This is a terribly upsetting famine, with awful ramifications, because the root of all evil and suffering is the lack of the light of God. “And there will beset him many difficult sufferings and he will say on the day ‘Because my God is not within me, all these calamities have befallen me.’”

This is not a normal famine. In a normal famine people know what they are lacking and seek it. They extend their hands asking for bread. But in this famine people don’t know what they are seeking and what is troubling them. They don’t know what to look for and how to express what they want. Those who love Hashem, who have experienced the beauty of Torah, need to think about the fact that they couldn’t possibly live without Torah, without Tefillin, without Shabbos, without Family Purity. They couldn’t possibly survive one day without engaging in something holy because the soul needs this light more than the body needs air. This is true for all Jews. Imagine, then, how some are suffering due to the lack of light, the lack of a life of holiness. This should awaken them to the plight of their brothers and to this prophecy that was written for all times, to awaken them to share their bread, the Torah in its holy light.

As each holiday approaches, our hearts are excited to greet it, to receive its inspirational light. If certain constraints create a situation in which the holiday passes with no feeling, no light, the heart hurts and feels that something is lacking. The holy soul of each Jew feels the approaching holiday as if it is a prisoner who can see through the cracks in the door people who would free her. She cries like a dove, wants to hold him, to enjoy his light. That is how the Neshama feels before every holiday, before each Shabbat. Anytime it can engage in something holy or perform a Mitzvah. It cries painfully when prohibited and impure things enter its house. But these are silent cries, buried deep within the heart. Cries to which we need to listen, to feel, to empathize, and to awaken to bring light to them.

When the Body Speaks, the Soul is Silent

This is from the discourses of HaChalban on Bereishis. Although it is not from the book we have been translating, when I saw this today, I wished to share it.
The Mahara"l teaches that when the body speaks, the soul is silent. In other words, the more one is listening to the noise of the external world, the more distant he is from hearing the whispering of his soul. Why is he deaf to his soul? Because he doesn't know how to listen to it. Why can't he listen? Because he is too busy speaking, and when a person is speaking he is incapable of listening. A person can only listen to his soul when he first learns how to be silent.
This doesn't refer only to verbal communication, but to all those things which a person is engaged with the external world. Imagine that you have a great idea which you wish to share with your friend, but the friend one stop speaking. As soon as the desire to share your idea has popped into your mind, you no longer hear anything your friend says. The desire to speak overtakes your entire self and prevents you from hearing anything. The same is true for a student who raises his hand to ask a question. Nothing the teacher says from that point on is heard.
A person has many concerns, making a living, health, other personal matters. These fill his mind to the point that he can't feel the needs of others.
The Navi teaches us that לא ברעש ה', you won't find God in noise. All deeper concepts are only experienced in whispers. By contrast, external matters are in your face and noisy and when you are enveloped by them it is difficult to hear the whispers.

The Stunted Torah of Exile - 1

Similar to the way we described the national state of exile, is the state of the Torah. It too fell at the time of the Destruction until much of its holy light was hidden.
The Torah of Eretz Yisroel at the time of the Bais HaMikdosh is very lofty and beyond the comprehension of those of us living in exile where the soul is gone and the body is shattered. The Torah of the Schechina, in its full shining glory, cannot be absorbed by people living in darkness under the influence of alien cultures who are lacking the Schechina.
This is not just an incremental distinction like the difference between a child and an adult, but it is like the distinction between being alive and being dead. During Temple times the soul shone in a complete body, the Schechina pounded in every person's heart. Prophecy shone forth and people were able to achieve great spiritual heights, they experienced their united existence as a nation whose purpose was to be the beloved of Hashem as expressed in the Song of Songs.
It was unnecessary to speak of the purpose of Mitzvos or their reward because each person could experience the spiritual world personally. The prophets did not speak about the World to Come and of this world as a means to an end. Spiritual realities were so clearly present that there was no need for any explanation.
That was the state of richness that enveloped us. But in exile the world is dark. The Scheniah is gone, the Neshama is hidden, the body is alone, lying in the dirt. We have been broken multiple times and remain just as light dust, spread around the world with no Schechina, no spiritual revelations, no glorious monarchy, no Sanctuary and no prophets.

Small-Mindedness מוחין דקטנות in Exile

How does the slumber of Exile manifest itself? It is the removal of the מוחין (Mochin), the understanding of a person. Although the Arizal explains that people always have Mochin, otherwise they would die, in exile they have small Mochin, which remain there until the time for expansive-mindedness arrives again. This is similar to one who is asleep. His mind is not completely gone, it remains to keep his basic bodily functions working.
Even posthumously, the Ariza"l writes, there is a spark of life that remains with the body so that it can ultimately be resurrected.
This is true not only on an individual basis, but on a national one as well. Even in Exile, akin to a national death, there is a little bit of life appropriate for the crushed bones, similar to that which accompanies a body to the grave. This bit of life is the Mochin Dikatnus, small-mindedness, which matches our exiled state of a scattered and broken nation. They give life and enable the Nation to serve Hashem during the time of Exile - a service of individuals working on their own. But during exile we cannot feel the entire body.
This is a childlike state which is focused on the self and cannot expand its mind to incorporate others. It is very distant from comprehending that we are all truly one. A child thinks that his needs are all there is, and he worries only about himself.
Exile is compared to sleep and death. Redemption is like awakening. It is the time of Mochin Digadlus, an expansive mindset, like one who awakens and his mind is refreshed and raring to go. 

The Slumber of Exile - 2

The Zohar explains that real redemption incorporates a revelation of the concept of unity, the concept of the Shechina. But first we need to awaken from our current slumber.

"Lofty ones, the ones who sleep in Hebron as well as Moshe, listen and awaken from your slumber. Awake and sing all those dwelling in the earth, all the righteous who connect to the Schechina who are asleep but whose hearts are awake and are not truly dead. Awaken and sing! Get up Moshe and Forefathers, respond to the awakening of the Schechina which has been asleep in Exile. Right now, all the righteous are deeply asleep."

 "My head is full of dew," is a reference to the dew of resurrection, waking up from the death of Exile.

The End of Days is referred to as קץ, a term that can also mean awakening. Exile is sleeping and it ends when there is an awakening to the light of redemption that is shining upon us.
We need to better understand this slumber before we can awaken from it...

The Slumber of Exile - 1

We have become accustomed through the many years of Exile to feel ourselves as separate from others and to concern ourselves with our individual advancement, both physical and spiritual. Included within this slumber is the creation of sharp distinctions between ourselves and those who are different than we are. We view others as endangering our being and way of life, and we become protective when we have to relate to them. There is an attitude of only feeling secure when we are with those who live a similar lifestyle, or come from our community of origin. We are closed and even strongly opposed to any group that is different than ours.
This deeply entrenched attitude is part of the slumber of Galus (exile). We are asleep in our relationship with the Schechina, in relationship to the Nation as a whole. This concept is beyond our comprehension and from our outlook on life.
If we were awake to the reality of the entirety of the Nation, if we felt like one large body, the entire basis of our interpersonal relationships would be vastly different. The need for unity would be clear and we would find ways to work out the differences between the limbs. Just as a body is fully functional due to the fact that it consists of disparate limbs that have unique functions, and together they form a perfect body, so too we could even find the light and blessing that come from the distinctions between people.

Our Generation - The Ingathering of Exiles

The bringing of the spirit is the task of the current generation, the generation that follows the gathering of the exiles.The first generation had to focus on the external aspect of redemption, the gathering of the limbs and placing them side-by-side. This consisted of preparing the way for living together, the building of the Land of Israel and arranging the practicalities of life there. These are represented by the flesh and sinews growing on the bones. But at this stage the bones are still separate, and hence the people are still divided into different groups, and there are many areas of division. This is all a result of the lack of a spiritual basis which only comes in stage two. That will bring the body to life and combine the limbs into one entity. It will be accompanied by a purifying spirit of Teshuva which will uplift the entire people.
This generation is the time for the spiritual redemption which will infuse life into the entire people. This is as the Zohar teaches that in the future the secrets of the Torah will be revealed and they will lead Israel out of Exile. This is the light that burrows into each soul and reminds it that it is a cell in a body, and not merely an independent being. It inspires people to increase their connection to the Schechina, to feel as part of the Nation, and to act out of a sense of belonging, love and a deep sense of unity for the sake of unifying with Hashem and no other motives.
This is the cause of the deep thirst for Kabbalistic knowledge that exists in current times. It is a sign that the time has come for this era to come into being, the time of the spirit. The Zohar and related works are the spirit of Moshiach. They are the spirit that comes into the bones to give them one life, complete and fresh.

Two Stages of Geula (Redemption): 2

The rearrangement of the bones is the first step and is accompanied by flesh and sinews growing on the bones. This indicates the stirrings of life for each limb, but they are still lifeless. Life would unite all the bones to work together to one purpose.
The next prophecy expresses the second stage of Redemption:
And He said to me, "Prophecize about the spirit, Son of Man. And say to the spirit, 'So says the God Hashem from the four winds the spirit will come and blow into these murdered people, and they will live.'" And I prophecized as I was commanded, and the spirit came into them. They came alive, and stood on their feet a great multitude."
So far the prophet has offered us a parable. At this point he explains the message. The Nation of Israel will return from Exile which is akin to death. They will come to Redemption, which is an awakening to a new life.
And he said to me, "Son of Man, these bones are the entire House of Israel which is currently saying our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, we have been destroyed. Therefore, prophecize and say to them, 'So says God Hashem I am opening your graves and lifting you out of your graves to me and I will bring you to the Land of Israel. And you will know that I am Hashem when I open your graves and take you from your graves to me.'"
The opening of the graves and the return to the Land of Israel are analogous to the bones coming near each other while still lacking any life. There is only a gathering of bones. Then comes stage two:
And I will place my spirit within you and you will come to life. I will place you in your land and you will know that I am Hashem. I have spoken and I have done!
Only after the Aliyah to the land will the spirit be given. Only then will we truly live in our land. We will comprehend our redemption and hold onto our land and discover our mission.

Two Stages of Geula (Redemption): 1

Hashem remembered His Nation and with unbelievable miracles returned us to our land after a bitter Exile. Thank God for His kindness towards us that He took us from death to life, darkness to light, from subjugation to other nations to freedom in the Land of Israel which produces beautiful fruit to its returning children.
The Navi Yechezkel explains that Geula (Redemption) happens in stages. The first stage is the gathering of Exiles, which is analogous to bringing the limbs of the body close to one another so that they should be together. This is the concept of "And the bones came close, bone to bone (Ez. 37:7). A closeness akin to that of neighbors. This is what we experience now that we are gathered to our land and live in close proximity to one another and are no longer scattered to the fours winds of the heavens.
After this stage comes the life giving spirit; the Neshama that flows through the limbs to truly unite them. They are no longer a gathering of bones that are near each other. This is the real connection in which the individual identity of the limbs is subsumed to the creation of a complete being - a national life, a life with the Schechina.
These two stages are clearly explained in the verses about the Dry Bones:

 ז וְנִבֵּאתִי כַּאֲשֶׁר צֻוֵּיתִי וַיְהִי קוֹל כְּהִנָּבְאִי וְהִנֵּה רַעַשׁ וַתִּקְרְבוּ עֲצָמוֹת עֶצֶם אֶל עַצְמוֹ. ח וְרָאִיתִי וְהִנֵּה עֲלֵיהֶם גִּדִים וּבָשָׂר עָלָה וַיִּקְרַם עֲלֵיהֶם עוֹר מִלְמָעְלָה וְרוּחַ 

אֵין בָּהֶם

"And I prophesied as I was commanded, and there was a noise and the bones came close, bone to its bone. And I saw and there was growing upon them sinews and flesh, and they were covered by skin above, but there was no spirit in them."

Redemption & the Inner Torah

The Zohar and other Kabbalistic works are replete with comments indicating that in future times the prerequisite for leaving Exile will be that the the inner teachings of the Torah would have to be revealed in their fullest sense. Based on what we have written so far we can understand that this is due to the fact that Kabbalistic thought is the Torah of the Schechina. These are not teachings which relate only to few individuals or certain aspects of people, rather they are teachings that relate to the entire body - the essence of the Schechina. The Kabbalistic teachings come to educate people in how to focus their essential selves as part of the Schechina as opposed to individual work for one's own perfection.
Every aspect of Kabbalistic thought is directed towards לשם יחוד קודשא בריך הוא ושכינתיה, for the sake of the uniting the Holy One, Blessed be He and his Schechina, to focus on the rectification of the Schechina rather than on one's self individually. This concept is expressed as עבודת צורך גבוהה, namely that the most significant acts we can do, the ones that come from the deepest recesses of our souls are not distinct from the Schechina and the Nation, but are serving the entire Jewish Nation. This can be compared to a cell that serves the entire body and whose purpose is not self-preservation, but that of the entire corpus.
This is the life of גאולה, redemption, with the Jewish Nation on its land. A life of Inner Torah in which one is focused on the entire Schechina rather than on an individual cell alone. Redemption depends on achieving this consciousness which is why it is dependent on the Zohar and the revelation of Kabbalistic concepts. 

The Meaning of Exile

When Israel is exiled from its land it is death. This is expressed in Yechezkel's vision of the Dry Bones by the comparison of exile to a cemetery. Yirmiyahu also said "We have been placed in darkness like the eternal dead," on which the Midrash comments that Zion is like a dead person. Death takes a whole body and shreds it. Extending this metaphor to the Jewish people, exile is the state in which we are only living external lives, individual lives. We are no longer one body but ripped apart limbs, disparate parts scattered to the four corners of the earth. The Gaon of Vilna describes the long exile as a body slowly rotting from the outside in until there is nothing left whole.
The result of this is that each person serves Hashem in an external manner as well. And each person is focused only on himself. We lack the ability to view ourselves as our internal selves because of the shredding of the Nation. We view ourselves as independent entities looking out for our own good, both in this world and the World to Come. This self-centered view of Mitzvah observance is part of the curse of exile that results from the loss of an internal life which is only possible when we are reunited in our land. As the Zohar says, "'And who is like your nation Israel, one nation in the land,' they are only called One when in the land."