Supernal Unification

Versus Refining the Sparks

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

Adapted from the teachings of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneersohn זצ"ל

in honor of his yahrtzeit on 20 Av

“Yitzchak loved Esav because he would eat from his prey,[1] while Rivka loved Yaakov”.[2]

Although Yitzchak surely loved Esav as his son, how could Yitzchak have felt so favorably toward Esav that the Torah tells us that he specifically loved Esav, while it doesn’t declare that he loved Yaakov? Clearly Esav possessed some worthy quality that Yitzchak valued, and even more so than he valued the qualities of Yaakov!

Yitzchak’s divine service specifically resembled that of Esav, so he felt a special affinity with Esav.

Yitzchak was involved with “sowing” in “the field”, as it is written, “Yitzchak sowed in that year,”[3] and “Yitzchak went out to pray in the field”.[4]

The field, where plants grow and from which food is harvested, represents the spiritual task of birur hanitzutzos, refining the sparks of holiness trapped in physical objects. We accomplish this by being actively involved in the physical world and using it to serve Hashem. This was the focus of Yitzchak’s avodah—divine service.

Esav, too, was “a man of the field”,[5] whose main task was to be involved in the material world. (Unfortunately, he did not merit to do so by refining the sparks of holiness, as did Yitzchak.)

Moreover, the reason Yitzchak loved Esav was that “he would eat from his prey”, as Esav would bring him food from the field. In fact, Yitzchak desired not the food itself but the sparks of holiness hidden in the food that Esav would bring him.

Yaakov’s path was different. He had no connection to working in the field,[6] to active involvement in the physical world for the sake of refining sparks of holiness. He was a “man of simplicity who would sit in tents”.[7]

Rashi interprets that the plural “tents” refers to the two academies of the righteous Shem and Ever, where Yaakov would study Torah.[8]

Along these lines, the Medrash states that “tents” refers to “the tent of the Written Torah and the tent of the Oral Torah”.

Another interpretation is that a tent alludes to one’s wife and the mitzvah of marital relations, as in when Moshe instructed the Jewish men to “return to your tents”,[9] which our Sages explain[10] as granting permission to return to marital relations after a period in which it had been prohibited. Thus, Yaakov would “sit in the tents” of his wives, Leah and Rachel.

Modes of Malchus

On the kabalistic level, a wife corresponds to the sefirah of malchus of Atzilus, the feminine aspect of the divine. Thus, “sitting in the tents” means that Yaakov’s divine service was focused on malchus.

Yet we also find that the field, associated with the divine service of Yitzchak, alludes to malchus. How can this be, if the divine service of Yitzchak and Yaakov are different?

The “tent” and the “field” correspond to different aspects of malchus.

The “field” refers to the way malchus descends into Beriyah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah (b’ya for short) in order to refine the sparks of holiness found in the kelipos, negative spiritual energies, found there.

This is the meaning of “she gave teref—prey to her house”,[11] a reference to malchus. Teref (טרף) has the numerical value of 249, which corresponds to the 248 general sparks of holiness plus one (im hakolel).[12] Malchus descends to refine the sparks, which are then elevated to their supernal source.

In contrast, “tents” refers to marital relations, as above. Thus, “sitting in tents” represents ze’ir anpin, the masculine aspect of the divine, as it influences and unites with malchus, the feminine aspect of the divine. On this level, malchus remains in its original state in the utterly pure realm of Atzilus and is completely detached from the lower worlds of b’ya, where G–dliness is hidden in successively greater concealments.

Thus, a field alludes to the way malchus gives (shov)—the divine service of Yitzchak; while a tent, to the way it receives (ratzo)—the divine service of Yaakov.

Earth Versus Yerushalayim

This distinction parallels the difference between the earth (aretz) and Yerushalayim, which are also both said to refer to malchus.

The earth is the same concept as a field—it brings forth food.[13] Food represents refining the sparks because produce grown in a field contains an edible part—ochel and waste matter—pesoles. Eating involves birur—refinement, separating the useful part from what is to be discarded.

Thus, the earth/field is an analogy for the way malchus descends into b’ya in order to separate and refine the nitzotz, the spark of holiness, from the energy of kelipah in which it is encased there.

In contrast, Yerushalayim is called “the good [city]”,[14] which corresponds to the way malchus exists in Atzilus in a state of sublime purity.[15] The destruction of the physical city of Yerushalayim is merely a reflection and consequence of the “destruction” of the spiritual Yerushalayim, which is the estrangement between ze’ir anpin and malchus.

Rebuilding Yerushalayim means bringing ze’ir anpin to reunite with malchus, which we accomplish through Torah study.[16] Torah possesses this power because Torah, too, is pure goodness and holiness and is thus able to rebuild the spiritual Yerushalayim, which is similarly pure. This leads naturally to the rebuilding of the physical Yerushalayim as well.[17]

This is the deeper meaning of Yaakov, who corresponds to ze’ir anpin,[18] “sitting in the tents”—i.e., engaging in marital relations—with Leah and Rachel, who correspond to malchus. On a deeper level, this alludes to Yaakov’s Torah study, which effected the supernal unification of ze’ir anpin and malchus.

This fits nicely with the literal meaning of Yaakov “sitting in the tents”—Torah study.

Adapted from Yalkut Levi Yitzchak al HaTorah, Vol. 1, pp. 467-469.

________________________________

[1] This translation follows Onkelos.
[2] Bereshis 25:28.
[3] Ibid. 26:12
[4] Ibid. 24:63
[5] Ibid. 25:27.
[6] “לא היה שייך לשדה”.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Bereshis Rabbah 63:10.
[9] Devarim 5:27.
[10] Shabbos 87a.
[11] Mishlei 31:15.
[12] Cf. Sefer HaMaamarim 5663, p. 51.​​
[13] Berachos 49a.
[14] Berachos 48b.
[15] Cf. Likkutei Torah 15:3-4.
[16] Ibid. 29:3 ff.
[17] Ibid. 31:1-2.
[18] Cf. Reshimos vol. 169.

Meraglim: Inappropriate Fear of Tests

Meraglim: Inappropriate Fear of Tests

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

The spies were the emissaries of the generation of the desert, and they were the Nesi’im, the leaders of their respective tribes. Thus, when they refused to enter the Land, this reflected on the level of their generation—the entire generation did not want to enter Eretz Yisrael.

What was the complaint of the generation of the desert? Why did they not want to enter the Land? Chassidus, as is typical, explains their refusal to enter on a deeper level than the peshat, the basic level of understanding. They were on a very advanced spiritual level, and they had a very profound reason, but they erred in their assessment because they lacked Kabbolas Ol—submission to the divine yoke, and this is the reason that they were so harshly punished.

They didn’t want to enter the land because they feared the detrimental effect that it would have upon them.

First, in the desert, they were enveloped in a cocoon of sublime holiness. They were eating the mon, drinking water from Miriam’s well, and being protected by the Clouds of Glory. They could not bring themselves to tear themselves away from this blissful, pure state, and enter the land of Canaan, where they would fall from their spiritual high.

Second, they were afraid of being tested. One test was related to Hashem’s instruction to observe the Shemitah year by letting the soil lie fallow: Hashem had instructed the Jewish people to enter the Land and “Let the Land rest for Hashem as a Shabbos; for six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops.”[1]

To act with the appropriate bitachon, trust, in Hashem,[2] and not work the Land, required tremendous self-sacrifice, and they did not want to enter such a test.

And even during the other six years, the Jewish people knew that they would have to work the soil, and they were afraid that lowering themselves to this mundane, physical task, and being so preoccupied with materialistic concerns might lead them astray from devotion to spirituality and Hashem.

Why is descending into the realm of the physical so spiritually dangerous? Because it involves getting “down and dirty” in enemy territory—the territory of Kelipah. One gets involved with Kelipas Nogah in order to refine it, and one comes into contact with Sholosh Kelipos Hatemei’os in order to reject it.

According to valid, Torah-based, holy calculations, their reluctance to engage in this activity had validity, and in a sense, it even stemmed from their humility. They were reluctant to enter into a situation in which their devotion to Hashem would be tested. For when you fight against a formidable enemy, you might very well lose. As we beseech Hashem in our prayers, “lead us not to temptation”[3]—and if one genuinely asks Hashem not to put oneself in such circumstances, one will surely not do so of one’s own initiative.

Now, even if one has sinned, all is not lost—ultimately, every Jew will do Teshuvah.[4] However, this is important to remind ourselves of after sin occurs, but we must never allow that awareness to detract from our fear of sin. Firstly, it is inherently wrong to sin, even if one does Teshuvah afterward, [5] for one severs one’s soul from Hashem.[6] Moreover, one has no way of knowing when one will do Teshuvah. One might not even end up doing Teshuvah in one’s lifetime, leaving one’s poor, suffering soul to do Teshuvah in a future incarnation,[7] or only after Moshiach comes. (The tremendous divine revelation of the time of Moshiach will make the Neshamah very embarrassed at being “caught” with the stains of sins for which the person has not done Teshuvah.)

This is why the generation of the desert reported that in the Land they saw the Nefilim, lit., “the fallen ones.”[8] These were angels that had fallen from the higher spiritual realms,[9] and observing this led the members of that generation to believe that by descending to refine a low level, they too might fall drastically in their spiritual level.

But although the fear of being led into temptation has validity, Moshe Rabeinu—who was Hashem’s spokesperson, as it is written, “The Shechinah speaks from his throat”[10]—instructed them to enter the land regardless, in order to engage in the task of refining the sparks of holiness in the material world. This was Hashem’s desire, as Yehoshua and Calev said of entering the Land, “If Hashem desires us.”[11]

And since this is what Hashem desired, even a well-meaning person who refused to obey because of the above concern was considered to be rebelling against Hashem, may G–d save us. This is the meaning of the verse, “Only, do not rebel against Hashem...”[12] Refusing to enter the Land, even on account of an otherwise legitimate concern, constitutes rebellion against Hashem’s desires.

Moreover, Moshe sought to bring them to grasp this intellectually by telling them: “The Land is very, very good.”[13] This implies that by entering the Land and working it, one connects to a level even higher than that revealed at the beginning of the creation, before the sin, when “The world was created whole,”[14] for then it was only written “very good” once,[15] while by descending into the Land, which represents the material world, one comes ultimately to an even higher level—“very, very good,” which refers to an incomparably higher spiritual level.[16]

The reason for this is that the higher the source of the spark, the further down it falls,[17] and so when we occupy ourselves with the lowly, physical world, we refine these exceedingly lofty sparks of holiness. By faithfully performing the task required on the lowly level, we reveal the true reality of the lofty source of the sparks that lie there.

This is why it was not enough to serve Hashem in the desert—they had to enter the land of Canaan, which was a low, degenerate land, and serve Hashem there and thereby bring holiness into it, making it into a holy land, and in this way they refined the sparks there.

We find a parallel concept in our divine service. There are two different kinds of souls:[18] those of Torah scholars, and of businesspeople.[19] Torah scholars correspond to the generation of the desert, whose main task was not refining sparks of holiness, while businesspeople correspond to the generation that entered the Land, whose main task was to refine sparks of holiness.

And yet, each one must engage in the other’s divine service as well. In the context of this article, it is noteworthy that Torah scholars should also give some amount of money to charity, albeit a very small amount.[20] True, the Torah study and prayer of Torah scholars also refines sparks of holiness, and on the contrary, for the Torah scholars, refining these sparks is their main task in the world. However, since the sparks in the physical stem from an even higher source, even Torah scholars must give some charity, in order to refine at least some of these sparks.

Based on the Rebbe's Hisva’aduyos 5746, Vol. 2, p. 626 ff.

_______________________________
[1] Vayikra 25:2-4.
[2] Vayikra Rabbah 1:1.
[3] Morning blessings. Cf. Berachos 60b.
[4] II Shmuel 14:14.
[5] Tanya ch. 25.
[6] Ibid. ch. 24.
[7] Shulchan Aruch Admur HaZakein, Laws of Torah Study, 4:3. Tanya, end ch. 39.
[8] Bamidbar 13:33.
[9] Yalkut Shimoni, Bereshis, 44. Cf. Pirkei DeRebbi Elazar ch. 22, Bereshis Rabbah, end ch. 26.
[10] Cf. Mechilta, Shemos 19:19.
[11] Bamidbar 14:9.
[12] Ibid. 14:8.
[13] Ibid. 14:7.
[14] Bereshis Rabba 14:7.
[15] Bereshis 1:31.
[16] Sefer HaMa’amarim 5567, p. 235.
[17] Likkutei Torah, Re’ei, 12a ff.
[18] Tanya 109a.
[19] Bereshis Rabbah 99:9. Rashi on Bereshis 49:13. Devarim 33:18.
[20] Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Dei’ah 248:1. If one gives less than a third of a shekel to charity in the course of a year, one has not fulfilled the Mitzvah of giving charity.


Dedicated by Reb Yisrael Meir Rafael and family.

Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for (at least) $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

Why work?

Why work?
Or: The Deeper Significance of the Weekdays

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

When we examine our mundane lives, it seems that the true spiritual experience is to be had on Shabbos, when we are able to withdraw from our mundane concerns and devote ourselves to Torah study and prayer. After all, what could be spiritual about the rat race of pursuing a livelihood and the numerous tasks of cooking, cleaning, and the like necessary to maintain a household?

Yet Chassidus, known as the “inner dimension of the Torah”, sheds light on this aspect of the inner dimension of our mundane lives. It explains that in fact, everything we do during the week, even the most mundane activity, has an underlying spiritual purpose.

The main purpose of our divine service during the weekdays is to create a birur, a spiritual separation and refinement, of the impure spiritual energy that permeates the physical world known as kelipas nogah. The Jew accomplishes this goal through engaging in various kinds of work, which are encompassed by the thirty-nine categories of work forbidden on Shabbos, known as melachos.

The melachos are closely related to eating, for, among other things, they encompass all the stages necessary in the process of preparing food—from the earliest stage of sowing the seeds, to the final stage of baking or cooking. And since the goal of all the efforts necessary to prepare the food is that it be eaten, eating food is the culmination of this step in refining Kelipas Nogah (albeit only the first stage; see below).

This parallels the process of refinement that takes place during physical eating, in which the stomach and the liver process the food. The higher-quality nutrients are extracted from the food’s inferior aspects and are absorbed into the body, even rising up to the level of the superior faculties of the mind and heart. The inferior aspects, however, are eliminated.

Likewise, when one eats in the proper way, the sparks of holiness that lie in the physical are extracted from the “shell” of the forces of the Kelipah, which is rejected.

The above is the first stage in the weekday birur of Kelipas Nogah. However, a further birur of Kelipas Nogah occurs when one uses the energy from the food one eats[1] to recite the weekday prayers.

Prayer is compared to eating, for just as eating involves birur, so does prayer.

The highlight of Tefillah is the Shema, in which one declares Hashem’s absolute unity, and that one is willing to give up one’s life for it.[2]

This creates a birur comparable to that of eating:

When the heart and mind of the Jew become inspired with the desire to become subsumed in the sublime G–dliness that lies at the source of the Jew’s soul,[3] this parallels the way that the energy of the food becomes absorbed in the body’s higher organs.

Likewise, Tefillah draws one closer to Hashem, and this experience humbles the person and impresses upon him just how distant he is from Hashem during the rest of the day. This realization crushes his ego and eliminates a significant amount of the Kelipas Nogah within his Bestial Soul.

This is the reason that Tachanun follows the earlier parts of the Tefillah, for once one has reached the sublime spiritual heights, he senses his lowliness all the more, and turns to Hashem and begs for forgiveness.

We can carry the comparison to digestion further. The more thoroughly the food is digested, the more nutrients are separated from the food for constructive use, and the more the waste matter that is eliminated is truly bereft of any beneficial components. Likewise, the more attention one devotes to Tefillah, the more one’s intellect and emotions become inspired to submit to Hashem, and the more one comes to realize one’s lowliness before Hashem.

This is the meaning of “The belly of the wicked is lacking”[4]: “The wicked” refers to the forces of Kelipah, which are “lacking” the sparks of holiness that were extracted through the Jew’s efforts to accomplish the weekday birurim.

Sefer HaLikkutim, Shin, pp. 93-94.

__________________________________________________
[1] Cf. Tanya, beg. ch. 8, “be’ko’ach achilah ha’hi.”
[2] In the original, “limsor nafsho be’echad.”
[3] In the original, “le’ishto’avo begufa de’Malko.”
[4] Mishlei 13:25.


Dedicated by Reb Yisrael Meir Rafael and family.

Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for (at least) $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

Ridicule: The Ultimate Test

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

Earlier, we explained that the Jewish people refine the sparks of holiness in their host countries through their tenacity in observing Torah and Mitzvos despite the physical suffering that they endure there. In most times and places of our exile, this was our main test—the test of physical suffering. 

However, there is another test of exile through which we refine the sparks of holiness, one that relates more to the divine service of recent generations, and especially for Jews living in the western world, which comprise the majority of the Jewish people. This is the test of the age known as ikvesa diMeshicha, the generations directly preceding the arrival of Moshiach.

During this period, belief in Hashem and adherence to the strict standards of Torah are widely regarded with disdain and dismissed with ridicule. In fact, our sages predicted this state of the world:[1]

The government will turn to heresy. ... The wisdom of scribes [Torah scholars] will decay, and those who dread sin will be despised.

Indeed, modern secular thought is permeated with an attitude of cynicism and apathy toward belief in Hashem and careful religious adherence, and one encounters this especially when one goes out into the workplace and comes into direct contact with the secular world. Unless one is careful, it is human nature for this ridicule, whether overt or hidden, to wear a person down and weaken his observance, until over time, he could come to abandon observance of Torah and Mitzvos altogether, G–d forbid.

The only way to overcome this pressure is by standing upright and proud and maintaining one’s observance of Torah and Mitzvos without compromise. This is the test of “Do not be embarrassed before the scoffers.”[2] 

If anything, the opposition should make one stronger, along the lines of the verse concerning the suffering of the Jewish people in Egypt: “And as they afflicted them, so did they increase, and so did they grow strong.”[3]

This fearlessness in the face of ridicule of one’s Torah observance is in fact required by Jewish law,[4] and considered so important that it is placed at the very beginning of the entire Code of Jewish Law—in the first volume (Orach Chaim), in the first section (siman), and in the very first subsection (se’if). Why is it is placed at the very beginning? For without this precondition, the Jew cannot consistently abide by Hashem’s law. For as soon as anyone says a derogatory word, e.g., by branding him as an “extremist” or a “fanatic,” he will become intimidated, and his observance will decline.

Although this character trait was always necessary (which is why it is included in Shulchan Aruch), in our times it is so crucial that it is the main test of our generation. Now that we face it, we should know that comparatively speaking, if anything this test is the most difficult of all, requiring mesiras nefesh, self-sacrifice, in a sense more than that required of those who suffered physical afflictions for the sake of their Torah observance.[5]

The intense difficulty of this challenge is evident from the Alter Rebbe’s interpretation of the verse (and I have translated it literally, to show how he interprets it): “The man Moshe was exceedingly humble from every man on the face of the earth.”[6] Moshe Rabeinu was shown a prophetic vision[7] of “every man on the face of the earth”—the generation of Ikvesa DiMeshicha. He foresaw how the Jewish people would be tested in general, and with ridicule of their observance in particular, and yet would cling to observance of Torah and Mitzvos regardless. When he saw this, he became “exceedingly humble” from them, i.e., from his high esteem for their fortitude. Despite Moshe Rabeinu’s awesome greatness, he felt genuinely humble and what’s more, exceedingly humble, when he witnessed the trials that we face in our generation.

Based on Sefer HaMa’amarim Melukat, Vol. 2, p. 187.

___________________________________________________________

[1] Sotah 49b.
[2] Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim, 1:1, Tur, Ramo. Shulchan Aruch Admur HaZakein, mahadura basra, 1:3.
[3] Shemos 1:12.
[4] One of the many “duties of the heart” that Torah requires.
[5] Or, as the Previous Rebbe puts it, self sacrifice is the primary area in which our generation excels (Sefer HaMa’amarim 5709, p. 104).
[6] Bamidbar 12:3.

[7] Cf. Devarim 34:2, where Rashi states that Moshe Rabeinu was shown a vision of all the events that would occur to the Jewish people until the Resurrection of the Dead.

This post was dedicated by Avi Turner and family as a merit for Nechama Bas Luba to have a complete recovery.

Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

Refining the Sparks Through the Suffering of Exile

Refining the Sparks Through
the Suffering of Exile

Rabbi Y. Oliver

We have spoken about how when the Jewish people use objects in the world to serve Hashem, they refine the sparks of holiness in those objects.

Another significant way in which the Jewish people refine the sparks of holiness in exile relates to their suffering in their alien environment. Over the course of Jewish history, the Jewish people have been “hosted” by various nations because those nations held sparks of holiness that the Jewish people were expected to refine. When the Jewish people are oppressed by their host nations in various ways, and yet remain firm in their observance of Torah and Mitzvos, they pull out the sparks of holiness in the nations and in their countries.

When the Jewish people have completed their task of refining the sparks within a specific nation, they are released from it, and that nation is left lowly and disgraced, for it has been deprived of its extra life-force—the sparks of holiness that lay within it.[1]

When Adam HaRishon sinned, he caused the sparks of holiness to fall into the forces of Kelipah (see here),[2] and the Jewish people refine these sparks through their suffering in exile. This is the meaning of “All who cause the Jewish people to suffer become the ‘head’ [i.e., the leading nation].”[3] When the gentile nations oppress the Jewish people, we take their “head.” The head, which is above the rest of the body, represents a high level—the lofty sparks of holiness that lie within the nations, that are the true source of their prosperity.

This is the deeper meaning of the verse, “One man dominates over another man, to his detriment,”[4] for the detriment of “the evil man,” i.e., the spiritual forces of Kelipah, which give sustenance to the nations who oppress us. When they dominate over us and oppress us, it is in fact to their detriment, for in this way the sparks of holiness are refined from their midst, and then they lose the blessings that those sparks brought them.

To explain further, each nation draws its sustenance from a particular force of Kelipah. Thus, there are seventy nations, corresponding to the “seventy ministers of Nogah”—the seventy spiritual forces of Kelipas Nogah (the level of Kelipah that sustains the physical world in general, but not things that are forbidden for a Jew),[5] from which each of the seventy gentile nations draws its sustenance, respectively.[6]

As long as the Jewish people are being hosted by a particular country in order to refine the sparks of holiness trapped there, the “minister,” the angel from which that country derives its sustenance, benefits greatly, causing that angel’s nation to be blessed with material prosperity.

However, once the Jewish people have finished refining all the sparks there, then, of course, no sparks are left, and so the individual Kelipah from which that nation had drawn its sustenance becomes greatly weakened, causing the nation to which it gives sustenance to lose, or at least experience a significant decline, in its prosperity and prominent position on the world stage.

The Jewish people are then relocated to another country, in order to refine the sparks of holiness that await them there. Once they have refined all the sparks of holiness in all the lands of exile, Moshiach will come and redeem them, bringing them to Eretz Yisrael forever.
___________________________
[1] Igra DeKallah, Bereshis, p. 496.
[2] Likkutei Torah lehoArizal, Tetzei.
[3] Gittin 56b.
[4] Koheles 8:9.
[5] Cf. Tanya, Iggeres HaKodesh ch. 25.
[6] Cf. Toras Sholom p. 204.

This post was dedicated by Reb Kasriel ben Yehudis and Chana Feige bas Reizl (my parents, tzu langeh, gezunteh, zisseh yoren) in honor of their 36th wedding anniversary. This post was also dedicated by Reb Menachem Kovacs, who requested that this message be attached:

"Zachor: to mark the 6th anniversary of the expulsion of the Jews from Gush Katif and the Northern Shomron; we continue to pray and work for their restoration and for the Ge'ula Shlayma. Thank you."

Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

Refining the sparks within the nations

The Rebbe Maharash teaches:

“Hashem did a charity for us by scattering us among the nations.”[1] Why was this a charity? For by scattering us among the nations, He enabled us to fulfill a special mission: To refine the sparks of holiness hidden within them.

This is the deeper meaning of Hashem’s blessing to the Jewish people, “You will eat all the nations.”[2] Eating represents birur, refinement, and G–d then declared that the Jewish people would ultimately “eat up” and refine the sparks of holiness that lie hidden within the nations and their countries.

This is also the deeper meaning of Hashem’s statement to the Jewish people: “You shall be for me a segulah from all the nations”[3]—from all the gentile nations. I.e., when we refine them, we, the Jewish people, become a segulah, a beloved treasure, for Hashem.

Based on Sefer HaMa’amarim Toras Shmuel 5729, p. 65.

Jews refine non-Jews in several ways. When Jews interact with non-Jews in an upstanding, righteous manner, and make a kiddush Hashem (“sanctification of Hashem’s Name”):

– they[4] act as a “Light unto the nations,”[5] inspiring certain non-Jews to adopt a more refined, wholesome, G–d-centered lifestyle, seeing the shining example set by the Jewish people;

– they inspire certain non-Jews to come and learn from Jews how to serve Hashem as is required for them, by keeping the Noahide laws; moreover, Jews who have the opportunity (especially when they already have connections with non-Jews for business purposes, or the like) even approach non-Jews and convince them to undertake to follow the Noahide laws, and in this way they fulfill Rambam’s ruling[6] that Jews must encourage non-Jews to fulfill their laws;

– they inspire certain non-Jews to convert, for “Hashem only exiled the Jewish people among the nations in order to increase converts.”[7]

_______________
[1] Pesachim 87b.
[2] Devarim 7:16.
[3] Ibid. 7:6
[4] In connection with this point and the following one, see Hisva’aduyos 5744, Vol. 3, p. 1813.
[5] Yeshayah 49:6, 42:6.
[6] Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings, 8:10.
[7] Pesachim 87b. See Orchos Tzaddikim, Gate of Truth: “One should not lie to a Jew or a non-Jew, or deceive them in any matter. ... Hashem only exiled the Jewish people in order to increase converts, and as long as they [Jews] behave with them [non-Jews] without deception, [non-Jews] will attach themselves to them [Jews].”

This post was dedicated by Reb Yeshayahu Don ben Chayah Tsipah and Sheila Shulamit bas Sarah Beila in honor of their wedding anniversary, and in honor of the yohrtzeit of Tsvi Horst Lubinizki.

Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

Food: The fusion of body and soul

Since[1] the body is physical and the soul is spiritual, there is a vast gap between them. Even the most refined limb in the body, the physical brain, which is a vessel for the most refined soul-faculty, the mind, is still physical, and so it cannot be compared to even the lowest level of the soul.

Since the body and the soul are so vastly different from each other, they need a force to combine them. This is the purpose of food—to bring the vitality of the soul to infuse the body with life, making one healthy. Thus, lack of food weakens a person’s vitality to the point that if he is deprived of food for a long time, he will die.

What gives food this power? It is written, “A man does not live on bread alone; rather, a man lives on that which comes out of the mouth of Havayeh.”[2] “Mouth of Havayeh” refers to the divine vitality, the spark of G–dliness within the food, and the verse is telling us that it is this G–dly energy that truly sustains the person. We will discuss this process further in future posts, G–d-willing.

This is not to say that the body is not sustained by the nutrients and vitamins in the physical food, which it absorbs through the physical, chemical process of digestion. Rather, this is an external process that is merely a vessel for the deeper reality of the deeper, spiritual process by which the food is refined, which is primary.

_________________________________________
[1] Sefer HaMa’amarim 5670, p. 335-336.
[2] Devarim 8:3.

The interdependence in the echelons of creation

There are four levels of creation, in ascending order: domem—inorganic objects; tzomei’ach—plant life; chai—animal life; medaber—mankind (for more elaboration, see here).

Why did Hashem create mankind in a way that he must eat in order to survive? Moreover, food comes from domem, tzomei’ach, and chai. Why should mankind be dependent upon the creatures at lower echelons than his own?

The answer to this will become clear when we understand the true purpose of eating. The food that we eat becomes transformed into blood, and blood is the key to life, as it is written: “The soul is blood,”[1] for life is maintained through the continuous circulation of blood through the body. Thus, our physical life comes from the food that we eat.

Once the food is converted into blood, the blood gathers in the liver. From there it is distributed throughout the body, giving energy to the mind and the heart and so enabling the person to function as a human being. Since it is the human being’s intellectual and emotional abilities that differentiate him from the lower echelons of creation, when products of the three lower echelons are eaten and absorbed into the body, which gives sustenance (not only to the lower human faculties, but also) to the mind and the heart, the three lower echelons are elevated to the highest level of medaber.

In this way, domem, tzomei’ach, and chai realize their purpose, for the purpose of everything is to become subsumed into the level above it. Thus, the purpose of domem is to become subsumed within tzomei’ach; the purpose of tzomei’ach is to become subsumed within chai; and the purpose of chai is to become subsumed—along with the elements of domem and tzomei’ach which now constitute it—into medaber.[2]

Moreover, since the soul needs the body to express itself in the world,[3] and the body can only serve this purpose when it is healthy, and food makes the body healthy, the food is not only elevated to the level of medaber, but when the Jew uses that energy to serve Hashem, the food becomes infused with the holiness of the Torah and Mitzvos that the Jew is using the food to perform.

To be specific, food enables one to serve Hashem with the heart, by becoming inspired with passionate love to Hashem in prayer. It also enables one to use one’s mind, including the intellect of the Divine Soul, to understand Hashem’s greatness.[4]

This is the meaning of the concept of birur, “refinement” discussed in the writings of the Arizal—that the food is transformed into the person.

This is one reason that Hashem made medaber dependent upon the creations of the three lower echelons—so that he will do his job of refining them.

Based on Torah Ohr, s.v. Yegalei lan taamei.

__________________________
[1] Devarim 12:23.
[2] Sefer HaIkkarim 3:1.
[3] Tanya ch. 37.
[4] Siddur Im Dach.

This post was dedicated by:
~Reb Kasriel ben Yehudis and Chana Feige bas Reizl (my parents, tzu langeh, gezunteh, zisseh yoren) in honor of their 36th wedding anniversary.
~Reb Menachem Kovacs, who requested that this message be attached:

"Zachor: to mark the 6th anniversary of the expulsion of the Jews from Gush Katif and the Northern Shomron; we continue to pray and work for their restoration and for the Ge'ula Shlayma. Thank you."

Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

The Jew's mission: Recovering Hashem's lost gems

The Baal Shem Tov[1] offers the following parable for the spiritual process by which the sparks of holiness came into our physical world:

A king once lost a precious gem from his ring, and many of his subjects—servants, ministers, generals, and so on—volunteered to search for it. However, the king refused to allow them to. Instead, he instructed his precious only son to search for the lost object and return it.

The king did not do so because he suspected that his other subjects might pocket the gem. Rather, he wanted to be able to give the opportunity to his son to find it, so that his son would receive the credit. Moreover, he even dropped his son several hints as to the whereabouts of the gem. But how did the king know so well where the gem was to be found? In fact, it was all a setup. The king had deliberately feigned to have accidentally lost the gem only so that his son would find it, and so that the father could beam with pride at his son’s accomplishment.

Likewise, Hashem deliberately caused the sparks to fall into the physical world, and then insisted that only the Jewish people, of whom it is written, “You are sons of Hashem, your G–d,”[2] be charged with the mission of refining them.

So when a non-Jew uses an object in the world with the intention to serve Hashem, careful to do so in a way that conforms both with the letter and the spirit of the Noahide laws, he performs his duty, pleases the King of all kings, Hashem, and civilizes the world and makes it a fit vessel for G–dliness. But refining the lofty sparks of holiness trapped in the physical world is a task and privilege specifically assigned to the Jewish people.

_______________________
[1] Kesser Shem Tov §194.
[2] Devarim 14:1.

This post was dedicated by Reb Kasriel ben Yehudis and Chana Feige bas Reizl (my parents, tzu langeh yoren) in honor of their 36th wedding anniversary. This post was also dedicated by Reb Menachem Kovacs, who requested that this message be attached:

"Zachor: to mark the 6th anniversary of the expulsion of the Jews from Gush Katif and the Northern Shomron; we continue to pray and work for their restoration and for the Ge'ula Shlayma. Thank you."

Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

Refining the sparks: An individual mission

We are told, “All your deeds should be for the sake of Heaven,”[1] and “In all your ways, you shall know Him.”[2]

The Rambam explains,[3] “One should attune all one’s actions to recognizing Hashem alone. One’s resting, rising, speaking, and everything else, should be for this end. How so? When one conducts business deals, or works for payment, one’s intention should not only be to amass money; rather, one should do business or work for payment in order to be able to obtain the things that the body needs, such as food, drink, a house, and a wife.”

There are no exceptions to this rule. We are obligated to treat all our mundane involvements, all our wealth, and every single object that we own, as items to be used to serve Hashem.[4]

Why is it so necessary to have the proper intention in all one’s mundane involvements?

The reason is that the mission of refining the sparks is not purely collective; if it were, although only Jews could refine these sparks, it would be irrelevant which Jews would refine which sparks. Rather, the purpose of the descent of each individual Jew’s soul into a body is to refine specific sparks, a task with which he alone has been charged.

This is the meaning of the statement of our sages, “One person cannot encroach upon that which has been designated for his fellow.”[5] The true reason that our income comes from one source and not another is not the whim of mere mortals, but divine decree alone.

Likewise, Hashem orchestrates our lives such that we live in a specific place, come into contact with specific people, undergo certain experiences, and earn our living in a particular way, in order to enable us to refine our specific quota of sparks. Even if one tries, G–d forbid,[6] one cannot rob another person of the opportunity to refine the sparks that have been predestined for that person to refine.

Thus, the Talmud teaches: "Forty days before the child is formed, a Heavenly voice proclaims that the daughter of so-and-so will be his wife, that a certain house will be his home, and that a certain field will be his field."[7]

This also explains the fact that one may notice an important task that needs to be done that is being overlooked by everyone else, even scholars and leaders far greater than oneself.[8] Hashem is deliberately preventing them from noticing this breach, because it is not their personal task. Instead, Hashem brings someone else, even one of lesser stature, to notice the need because he is meant to accomplish this task. This is the reason that Hashem hid even from Moshe Rabeinu the Halacha concerning how to act when one sees a Jew publicly engaging in relations with a gentile woman, and only Pinchas remembered it—even though Moshe Rabeinu was the one to teach it! Hashem put this thought in Pinchas’ mind because he was meant to carry out this task so that he would acquire the status of a Kohen.[9]

This, the Baal Shem Tov teaches, is also the reason that some people have a natural strong liking for one thing, while another person despises that thing, and has a strong liking for something else.[10]

When you eat, it is not only about satisfying your body’s desires or maintaining its survival; when you sleep, it’s not only about resting your body; when you do business, it’s not about amassing money, whether out of a desire for wealth, or even simply to pay the bills. And the same goes for your possessions: Your cabinet, dining table, pillows, alarm clock—and even apparent luxury items, such as your tennis racket, iPod, and chess set—they all contain sparks of holiness that belong to you and you alone.

This is also the meaning of “Everything is in the hands of Heaven except the fear of Heaven.”[11] You think that you chose the décor of the lounge room because it looks pretty, that you bought your chess set because you like the marble it’s made of, that you chose to live in the city because you like the hustle and bustle. Think again. The only decision we can truly make is whether to do a Mitzvah or not, or whether to sin or not. And the reason that Hashem is deciding the course that the person takes in the physical world is in order to direct him along the path in which he will have the opportunity to refine the specific sparks of holiness that belong to his soul.

____________________________________
[1] Avos 2:12.
[2] Mishlei 3:6.
[3] Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Dei’os, 3:2.
[4] Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 12, p. 118.
[5] Yoma 38b; cf. Rashi there.
[6] Hisva’aduyos 5749, Vol. 2, p. 480.
[7] Sotah 2a.
[8] Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 2, pp. 342-343.
[9] Bamidbar Rabba 20:24.
[10] Tzavaas Harivash §109.
[11] Berachos 33b.

________________
Dedicated by Menachem Kovacs in honor of the Rebbe and Rebbetzin's arrival in New York on 28 Sivan 1941 (70 years ago), which began their countless accomplishments based in the USA.

Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

The inner harmony behind the conflict of souls

The inner harmony behind
the struggle of Souls

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

In order to enable us to have free choice, such that the task of refining the sparks be earned through our efforts, we were created in a way that we must constantly struggle.

Generally speaking, a Jew possesses two souls—the Bestial Soul, and the Divine Soul, or Neshamah. At first glance, the desires of these two souls are opposite. The Bestial Soul is drawn to the physical and coarse, while the Neshamah gravitates to the spiritual and G–dly.

The Bestial Soul seeks survival, self-interest, and self-gratification, while the Neshamah desires to serve Hashem, draw close to Him, and ultimately become subsumed within Him (Tanya ch. 19).

The Jew (with rare exceptions) was born to spend his entire life waging an intense struggle between the Bestial Soul and the Neshamah. These two souls struggle for total, absolute control of the Jew’s thought, speech, and action. This is akin to two kings locked in constant battle, each fighting for total control over a small city, with neither willing to allow one inch for the other (cf. ibid. chs. 9, 27, 35).

A deeper perspective

Despite this constant state of vehement conflict between the Neshamah and the Bestial Soul, when we view our inner selves as purely in a state of conflict, then once we follow the desires of the Bestial Soul and become immersed in the physical, we typically neglect the spiritual.

Yet this dichotomy is only true on the superficial level. The Baal Shem Tov teaches (as explained recently here) that the true reason for our attractions to particular material pursuits is that the Neshamah is pulling us in that direction because it senses the sparks of holiness that it needs to refine there. By being mindful of this, in a sense one has seen through the conflict (along the lines of the parable from a prostitute discussed here), and the struggle is no longer. Now, the goals of the Neshamah and the Bestial Soul can consciously converge.

How will this manifest itself? On the one hand, the person will not inappropriately pull away from the physical, thinking that any involvement with it is damaging to the Neshamah. At the same time, the awareness that the Neshamah in fact desires that one be involved with the physical grants one the inner strength not to become immersed and inappropriately preoccupied with one’s material pursuits. After all, if the true reason for one’s physical desire is the urging of the Neshamah, then that desire ought to be obtained in a way that the Neshamah would wish. (This is also the concept of balancing ratzo and shov—see here and here).

For example, a businessman will make sure to attend the Minyan, and fix times for Torah study. Likewise, he will be scrupulously honest in his business dealings, despite the constant temptations that he faces. Similarly, eating, drinking, and the like will be done in a refined manner and in moderation.

This goal is accomplished best when the person is not just aware of the above concept in general, but he reminds himself of it every single time that he engages in anything physical. This is the idea of having kavanah—the conscious intention to refine the sparks that lie within the physical object from which the person is benefiting.

In this way, the sparks of holiness in the physical world will be refined most effectively, and the Neshamah’s mission in this world will be fulfilled in the fullest manner.

______________

Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

The true purpose of thirst and hunger

Without intense Avodah (toil at self-refinement), most of us operate primarily on the basis of our natural desires, by the urgings of the Bestial Soul.[1] However, this level of motivation is superficial. On the conscious level, the Jew’s actions may be motivated by his Bestial Soul; however, in reality even these desires stem from the Neshamah.

E.g., on the external level, hunger and thirst for physical food and drink stem from the Bestial Soul’s desire to satisfy the body’s physical needs, or from the desire to indulge. For most of us in our default state of functioning, when we crave to sink our teeth into a succulent chop of steak, or lick a mouth-watering ice-cream with our tongue, or simply eat a tuna sandwich for lunch, we are following the lead of the body and the Bestial Soul. Fulfilling a divine mission is not at all on our minds.

However, the Baal Shem Tov teaches that deep down, our physical desires are motivated by pure, spiritual urges.[2] The Neshamah senses the sparks of holiness hidden in the physical (see here), knows that this is the entire purpose of its descent into the body, and yearns to accomplish this task.

Unfortunately, since regular people are not truly in touch with their Neshamos (only Tzaddikim are on this level—see Tanya, ch. 29, beg.), the Neshamah cannot communicate this directly to the conscious persona of the person. Instead, it must garb its message in the language of the Bestial Soul. So on the conscious level, the Neshamah’s craving for the spiritual manifests itself in an animalistic craving for the physical.

When it comes to food and drink, this urge manifests itself in pangs of physical thirst and hunger.

However, the same holds true for all aspects of life. The true reason that the Bestial Soul feels attracted toward anything is that the Neshamah is pushing the person to accomplish a certain spiritual task.

For example, the desire to enter into a particular line of work in order to earn a living stems from the sparks of holiness that this Jew has been charged with refining through doing such work.

Once, a Jew who was fit to become a rabbi chose for whatever reason to become a businessman instead. The Previous Rebbe wrote to him that the true reason that he chose as he did was that his Neshamah yearned for the sparks of holiness in the physical, and so he should not allow himself to become immersed in the desire for the physical and lose sight of the true purpose of his involvement there—refining the physical.[3]

Likewise, on a number of occasions, the Rebbe cited this teaching and used it to explain various phenomena:

· The desire to travel for a summer holiday to the mountains (“bungalow colony”), supposedly because of the clear air there, stems from the Neshamah’s desire for the opportunity to spread Torah and Mitzvos to an extent not ordinarily possible.[4]

· The desire to leave Eretz Yisroel and settle in the Diaspora stems from the inner desire to refine the sparks of holiness that those who leave are destined to refine in the Diaspora.[5]

__________________
[1] Tanya ch. 29.
[2] Kesser Shem Tov §194.
[3] Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 1, p. 177.
[4] Toras Menachem 5712, Vol. 6.

[5] Toras Menachem 5712, Vol. 5, p. 155.

This post has been dedicated by the Sager family in prayer for a refuah sheleima for their son, Eliyahu David ben Rut Sara, and by Menachem Kovacs in honor of the Yahrzeit of his father, Eliezer ben Shalom ע"ה, on 17 Sivan.

Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

The Jew's mission: Refining the sparks

Our entire physical universe is nothing but the lowest level in a mind-blowingly awesome, complex system of higher spiritual realms. This multiverse is known as Seder Hishtalshelus (literally, “The Order of the Chain [of worlds]”; for more explanation, see here).

The physical world in which we live is the lowest level of all.[1] Yet despite its lowliness, in our world there lie hidden, intensely lofty spiritual energies. How did they enter this world? During the preliminary stages to the process of the creation of Seder Hishtalshelus, sparks of intense divine light fell from the spiritual world of Tohu (lit., “chaos”), which is a level of intense divine revelation higher than all of Seder Hishtalshelus (further explanation of the concept of Tohu is beyond the scope of this essay), all the way down into the lowest level of Seder Hishtalshelus—our physical world.

What makes our world so low? The spiritual energy within it stems from the forces of Kelipah (lit., “shell”)—spiritual forces that conceal the true reality of ubiquitous G–dliness (for more explanation, see here). Moreover, ours is a world in which G–dliness is hidden to the utmost—to a degree more intense than in any of the higher realms. In fact, our physical world is filled with the forces of Kelipah.[1]

The forces of Kelipah in the physical world encompass the myriad sparks of holiness that fell from the world of Tohu, and hold them in a state of captivity.

How is this situation to be mended? The Jewish people have been charged with the mission of releasing these sparks of holiness from their captivity. And we have been endowed with the power to accomplish this through our having been given Torah and Mitzvos. By using physical objects either to perform Mitzvos or to serve Hashem “for the sake of Heaven”[2] in mundane matters (such as eating, drinking, pursuing a livelihood, etc.) according to the dictates of Shulchan Aruch (the Code of Jewish Law), the Jew extracts the divine sparks from within these objects, refines them, and elevates them back to their source in the world of Tohu.

This is the mission of the Jew in the world, the purpose of the descent of his or her soul into a body, and the collective mission of the Jewish people as a whole. When this task has been accomplished, Moshiach will come.[3]

(For more posts explaining this topic, see here, here, and here.)

________________________
[1] Tanya ch. 36. Cf. ibid. ch. 24: "הרע שבעוה"ז החומרי הוא שמרי הקליפות הגסות כו' והוא תכלית הבירור וכו' ולכן כל מעשה עוה"ז קשים ורעים והרשעים גוברים בו"

[2] Avos 2:12.
[2] Tanya ch. 37.

This post has been dedicated in memory of Shaina Hinda bas Tzvi ע"ה, by Dr. Jeffrey Kaufman, and by Menachem Kovacs in honor of the Yahrzeit of his father Eliezer ben Shalom ע"ה on 17 Sivan.

Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for (at least) $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.