TAMMUZ- STARTING AGAIN…AGAIN.
BSD
The month of Tammuz has arrived, and with it, another chance for renewal and Geula. Here is an audio shiur given Erev Rosh Chodesh in Yerushalayim Ir Hakodesh. May the holy Jews who lost their lives at almost the same time this shiur was given be raised to the highest heavenly heights and may those who remain be comforted.
This posting is Leilui Nishmat Simcha Daniel Ben Menachem Mendel who returned his soul to his Creator on Rosh Chodesh Tammuz 5768. He was a happy, sincere and honest man, who was beloved by everyone. He worked hard to support his family and raised generations of honest, Torah observant and proud Jews. May Hashem comfort his family and may he be a Gutter Bayter for them and for all of Klal Yisrael. Yehi Zichro Baruch.
Tammuz and Av
BSD Tammuz-Av 5767 Yerushalayim IHK
The Sefer Hayitzira teaches that every month in the Jewish calendar has its specific energy. This energy, when properly harnessed, maximizes the time frame, maximizes a persons own life and ultimately fulfills the spiritual hole in the heart of every Jew.
Traditionally, the months of Tammuz and Av have been hard for our people. The fasts of 17th of Tammuz and 9th of Av are the endpoints of the mourning period called the Three Weeks. Biblically, the entire month of Tammuz and the first third of Av was the time frame when the spies were in The Land, and the seed of their sin began to sprout. The Jewish world is still suffering to this day from that terrible error.
Looking at the hints given by the Sefer Hayitzira about these months adds to our concern. Each month is enlivened by an energy that is rooted in one of the letters of the Aleph Bait. Tammuz is ruled by the letter Chet and Av by the letter Tet. The two letters, Chet and Tet together spell out the word Chet, sin. No wonder that major sin of the spies happened in these two months.
Looking at Jewish history, so many tragedies spanned these two months. In recent history, the Inquisition, both World Wars had their beginnings in these months. The expulsion of Gush Katif and the last
The tribes associated with the months are Reuvain and Shimon, each of whom lost his entitlement because of a Chet. Reuvain lost his birthright because of the error in judgment he made by not saving Yosef Hatzadik and Shimon lost his Chelek in The Land because of his killing of Shechem.
These months are called ‘hot months’ and we are cautioned to guard our tempers, which have a tendency to flare as the temperature increases. As an aside, the weather here in Yerushalayim is very hot, and the predictions are for temperatures close to 100 degrees for Shabbat and Sunday. Hot months, hot tempers, hot issues, a hot nuclear threat hovering over our heads and the world are putting such unreasonable heated pressure on
Baruch Hashem, Torah teaches that there is a correction for every difficulty. There is a built in remedy for every illness and predicament. For every negative in this world, there exists a positive corresponding energy. In the science of physics, this opposite energy is always equal, but the Torah reveals to us that the positive aspect of any negative person, place, thing, attitude or event is much greater than its negative power. And the positive aspect, the ‘cure’ is actually within the impurity of its negativity.
The letter Chet is created as a combination of the preceding letters Vav and Zayin, with a triangle shaped ‘bridge’ on top connecting them. This is how the letter Chet is written in a Sefer Torah, in the script taught by the Ari Hakadosh. The aspect of Chet revealed by its shape is that of a man, the Vav, and a woman, the Zayin, uniting under a Chupa, the Chet itself. Thus, the letter Chet represents the unification, the joining, the marriage of the masculine element in nature and its partner, the feminine element. The letter Tet is shaped like a womb, within which an embryo grows. The inverted Yod is inserted within the two vertical and one horizontal line that form the Tet. Of course, Chet is the first letter in the word Chupa and the numerical value of Tet is nine, the number of months in a pregnancy. These two letters can therefore be elevated, the cure for the illness of Chayt error. They represent the reason Hashem created the world- the unification of man and woman to produce a child. The next letter in the Aleph Bait, the Yod (which is the letter of the month of Elul) represents this child- its soul being a part of Hashem.
Tammuz and Av can therefore be times of tremendous unity with Hashem, within body and soul and with our Nation and our Land. It just depends on how you look at the letters.
Therefore the Sefer HaYitzira goes on to teach that the body functions associated with these two months are vision and hearing. Tammuz is the month set aside to correct a person’s vision and outlook on life, and Av is set aside to repair a person’s ability to hear and listen.
Look at what the spies did. Instead of seeing the beauty of Eretz Yisrael, they saw its danger. Instead of focusing on its spiritual supremacy, they focused on the giants who they feared would destroy us. And instead of listening to the praises of the Land voiced by Yehoshua and Calev, the Jewish People heard the fears and worries and confusion of the other 10 spies. Instead of trying to hear behind the voices of the fallen spies and to understand what motivated them to speak badly of the Land, the Jewish people took their words at face value.
To correct the ability to see clearly and to hear correctly is the work and the gift of Tammuz and Av.
Specifically to see the beauty of our Land, and to hear Her song. To train our eyes in general to see the good in life and in everyone in our sphere of influence. And too train our ears to sift through the data that bombards us and choose wisely what to accept and to internalize.
Moshe Rabbeinu told the spies to ‘Latour Et HaAretz’. The word Latour is similar to the English word ‘tour’ and it means the same thing- to travel and see. Like every word in Torah, it was chosen carefully for its deeper meaning. Tour (Tav Vav Reish) is the same root letters as Torah. The deeper meaning that Moshe Rabbeinu was telling these great men was to go to Eretz Yisrael, keep the Torah and the rest would be left to Hashem. the keeping of Torah in the Land of Torah would clear their eyes, minds, hearts to such a level where they would be privileged to truly ‘see’ the Land and ‘hear’ the Voice of the Land. The spies erred; their Chet-Tet was incorrectly aligned. Instead of seeing the depth of holiness in Eretz Yisrael, instead of feeling the profound difference in keeping Mitzvos in The Land as compared with keeping these same Mitzvos in the desert, instead of seeing the literal beauty of the Land, they saw through eyes of exile. They saw the problems, the barriers, the enemies, the economy, the change in education and occupation that comes along with The Land. And they were thus blinded to Her beauty.
A person sees themselves reflected in every attitude they profess. A person sees themselves reflected in every vision they create and absorb. A person hears their own soul in every opinion they record or accept. And a person sees life and hears Hashem commensurate with their desire for reality and goodness.
Tammuz and Av are times to restructure our senses. What do you want to see in your self, in your life? What do you want other people to see in you and about you? What do you want Hashem to see in you? What do you want to hear and absorb into your being, and what do you want people to hear about you? What messages from Hashem can you hear in your daily life? Are you insufficiently attuned and therefore done ‘hear’ any spiritual messages? Are your eyes so blemished that they see beauty in foreign lands, cultures and couture and fail to see beauty in the Jewish way to live and dress?
What is the vision you have for your life? Do you have a vision for your life? Are you reflecting the vision of who you are or want to be?
We are told that the sad and painful events of Tammuz and Avs past which resulted in days of fasting and limited joy will one day soon be transformed into days of feasting and celebration. In general, the concept of transforming the negative into positive is rooted deeply in Torah, and how much more so in this time of the year, in this year so close to the end of time, as we enter into Shemitta.
May we all see correctly, hear constructively and be reborn into Mashiach’s generation.
Chodesh Shevat
BSD
We are in the time frame called Shevat. The Sefer Hayitzirah, ascribed to Avraham Avinu, teaches that each month has a particular energy and a particular Avoda that can be fixed and elevated. The Koach Hanefesh this month is Tikun Achila-fixing the activity called eating.
One way we get direction into the corrected activity of Achila is by observing the Derech Achila of a Tzaddik. The passuk teaches Tzaddik Ochel Lesova Nafsho. A Tzaddik eats to satisfy the soul, as opposed to only satisfying the body. The Baal Shem Tov teaches that just as a person is made of body and soul, every object in the universe has a body and soul. And just as the human body needs nourishment, nutrients, fiber, and water, so does the soul. What will feed the soul? What is true soul food? That which the Tzaddik eats. And since the passuk also says Ve’Amech Kulam Tzaddikim, we each have the ability to eat on a level that sustains and highlights our soul, as well as our body.
What is the soul aspect of food? What is the soul aspect of anything? It is that part that is more closely identifiable and attachable to the Divine. On a certain level, every aspect of us can ultimately attach to Hashem. Yet, the soul, with all its levels, is particularly close to Hashem, and actually is made of Divine matter. Every created item, animate as well as inanimate must by necessity contain a spark of Elokut-godliness. Otherwise, it simply would not exist. Only Hashem has inherent existence, only Hashem exists independently. The rest of the universe, including the angels, sefirot and the energy of our thoughts and emotions, are only a physical construct representing the Ratzon Hashem. On a certain level, we are all just figments of Hashem’s imagination. The spark of energy that gives anything its existence is its soul, the filament of Ratzon Hashem.
There are certain elements of the created world that are closer to the essential point of Hashem. The soul of a Jew is that created entity closest to and most identifiable with Hashem. Those objects in the created world that we are permitted to consume have an energetic and spiritual frequency that resonates with our own. By taking them into ourselves correctly, we release their frequency, their energy and transform them into us. As Chazal say, the food chain is about raising the inanimate into the animate, and then transforming it into man. The minerals leech into the vegetation, which we eat directly, or we eat animals products which were themselves nourished through vegetation. Ultimately, what we do with the energy given to us through the foods we eat can elevate them into the highest level, the Mitzva level, which connect them to Hashem.
So, eating can be seen as the process whereby the world is transformed into Godliness. The vehicle is the body of a Jew. The Tzaddik, who is keenly aware of the soul of every particle of matter, takes into his or her body the elements needed to be raised to Elokut. The Tzaddik is raising the soul of the food through the filter of his/her body. He satisfies his own soul as well as the soul of the food. She truly eats to satisfy the element called soul.
The Baal Shem Tov reveals that the spark of Kedusha in the food is released when we utter the name of Hashem in the Bracha Rishona. Vocalizing the Name, slowly and meditatively, helps focus our being on the awesomeness of what we are about to participate in. Although in the laws of physical physics, opposites attract, one of the laws of spiritual physics is that similar things attract. The Name of Hashem is the point of Elokut in the Bracha and it arouses the point of Elokut in the food, releasing it and enabling it to enter into the body of a Jew and be transformed into the energy of Mitzva.
We are made of different layers of body. We have the body which we observe and feel. Then we have an emotional and light body, remains of the original body of Adam Harishon. Chazal say that the number of physical limbs we have, 248, corresponds directly to the number of limbs in our spiritual or soul body. These must be nourished and are done so by reading carefully the 248 words of the Shema, and by carefully performing the 248 positive Mitzvot.
Just like we have weaknesses in certain areas of physical health, we have corresponding areas of weakness in the soul. One person might be prone to headaches, one to colds and a third to anxiety. While no one today knows which Mitzva and which word of Shema corresponds to which particular ailment and body part, the idea of the correspondence is present. The Mitzvos we are most weak in are probably the ones we came here in this life to fix and strengthen. The foods we are most drawn to can either be the ones we are in need of, or ones that we are actually allergic to. The body is funny that way. We also develop allergies to foods that we have made it a habit of always eating in great quantities. The body simply is telling us that it is not in need of them anymore. There is a theory that each item that we might consume be it vegetable or animal has a basic defense system against predators. This can be in the form of a subtle chemical interference. The person who eats large quantities of one food will ingest these natural chemicals and eventually have so much in the body that they naturally repel the original food.
Food that is not kosher has its spiritual soul in a configuration that cannot be elevated through the body of a Jew. It will have its tikun differently. Not every item on the planet has the same amount of soul. We are required to work with what is given to us, and what we are drawn to. Kabbalah, the science of parallels and correspondences, teaches that each Jewish soul has sparks that are specific and familiar to its self. When we are drawn towards something or someone, it probably means there is a natural spiritual connection. Sometimes the test is about verifying the total kashrus of the item or person. We are often attracted to situations for the purpose of evaluating and rejecting them. All this comes under the category of Achila. And the month of Shevat is the most opportune time for this fixing.
Each month has a group of Jews who identify strongest with the month. Each Tribe was ascribed to a different month. And although the Tribe of Shevat is Asher, the Bnai Yissasschar teaches that really the energy of Shevat resonates universally within every Jew. The nature and Mazal of Shevat is the Mazal of the Nation of Yisrael. The first sin was done by eating and plunged the world into the form it presently finds itself. B’nai Yisrael has been given the task of fixing this world. We all therefore resonate with Chodesh Shevat, the Chodesh of Tikun Achila.
The astrological configuration of Shevat is called D’li- the bucket which is lowered into a well to draw water. The Shem Mishmuel teaches that this refers to the ability of each Jew to delve deeply into every aspect of life and creation, and search for its point of Elokut. It is also about our ability and need to search deeply with ourselves for points that need to be perfected, and to search deeply within Torah for the correct method of correction.
The pail is totally subservient in relation to the water it carries. It passively allows itself to be lowered into the well, to draw water up and out. Such is the nature of a Jew, to be a vessel for channeling the healing waters of Torah the Be’er Mayim Chayim. Our nature allows for humility as a vehicle for personal elevation and cosmic elevation.
The Torah readings in Shevat are from the beginning of Sefer Shemos. The acrostic formed by the first letters of the names of the first six Parshiyos in Sefer Shemos is ShOVaVIM. Traditionally these are the weeks we focus on correcting relationships, purifying and elevating ourselves. In Modern Hebrew, Shovav means wild and uncontrollable. Shuvu Banin Shovavim, the Navi begs. Return, O wayward children. Correct eating and its corresponding proper and healthy digestion and subsequent nourishing of the body begins with correct, healthy choices. So do correct, holy, and appropriate relationships. The process of digestion is about separating the useful from the non useful. The body then extracts the nutrients, the soul extracts its nutrients, and the waste is eliminated. In the body, what is not needed doesn’t just remain neutral, it actually becomes toxic. This parallels the idea that anything that we cannot use for Avodas Hashem and cannot be elevated, needs to be eliminated.
Rebbe Nachman teaches that correct eating needs to be done slowly, in a controlled and non wild manner. Eating, not shoveling. Chewing, not gulping. Eating with awareness, being mindfull and with joy and gratitude. He promises that eating in this way will clear the mind from confusion. Rebbe Nachman blames much of the fog of mind on eating hurriedly and without calm. Not being Shovav when we eat will allow for clarity of thought.
The Yom Tov of Tu B’Shevat is called Rosh Hashanah LaIlan and it reminds us about the fruit trees. The Gemara reveals a secret of nature. Although we are still in the midst of the winter months and the trees appear to be hibernating and barren, the inner activity of the trees has begun. In Israel, the majority of the rains have fallen, the sap within the roots of the tree begins to rise, and the inner life of the tree starts to resonate. As much as the world appears to be in the dark unproductive and on the brink of extermination, there is vitality within the Jewish People that begins to pulsate. We are being called upon by our teachers, Masters and hidden ones to open our hearts now more than ever and cry out for life. Ki Haadam Eitz Hasadeh; a Jew is compared to the trees of the field. They, and we, are being judged now. Will we be allowed to cling to the Eitz HaChayim, the Tree of Life this year? Will we choose correctly from the Tree of Good and Evil?
The minhag on Tu B’Shevat is to eat different fruits and to eat of the seven species of Eretz Yisrael. They are: wheat, barley, grapes, figs pomegranates, olives, and dates. Perek Shira is an ancient text, ascribed to Dovid Hamelech and Shlomo Hamelech. As such, it is the only text we have authored by the first Mashiach Dovid, and a Mashiach Ben Dovid. It fulfills the Mashiach prediction of bringing the hearts of the fathers together with the hearts of the sons. Perek Shira gives us the Passuk that is associated with many elements of creation. The lesson of wheat, the energy of wheat and its life force is derived from its Passuk, Shir Hamaalos, Mimamakim Keraseecha Hashem. A song of ascents, from the depths, I call out to you, Hashem. The passuk of barley has a similar tone. Tefilla Le’ani Ki Yaatof Velifnei Hashem Yishpoch Sicho, The prayer of a poor person who is fainting from weakness yet he pours out his heart to Hashem. We know that a kernel of wheat can be used in two ways. It can be eaten, or it can be planted. When a seed is planted, it will eventually produce proportionately much more than itself. One seed can produce endless generations of fruit. But in order for the seed to grow, it must first lose its identity, decompose, and outwardly die. It loses all recognizable life force. Only then, the real, inner procreative life force is activated and released. This is the message of the primary grains, as taught in Perek Shira. When a Jew is in the depths of death and suffering, we need to direct our energy to Hashem, calling out to Him, connecting to Him. Begging to see the blessing hiding in the pain. Begging for resurrection from this death, Techiyas Hameisim. The Gemara in Sanhedrin teaches that we actually learn the concept of Techiyas Hameisim from wheat. And according to some opinions, the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil was really the grain wheat.
This year, Tu B’Shevat, the Rosh Hashanah LaIlan, falls on Shabbos. Rosh Hashanah also fell out on Shabbos. The Rosh Hashanah for people and for trees both fall out on Shabbos this year. We keep renewing our commitment to Kedushas Shabbos in this year of Tav Shin Samech Gimel, whose gematria is Yom HaShabbos.
Rebbe Nachman teaches that all food eaten on Shabbos is holy and the process of eating on Shabbos is also holy. Eating during the week with the thought of Shabbos is also holy. A Tzaddik lives each day of the week with Shabbos consciousness. Reb Shlomo used to tell of the simple Jew who would say Lekovod Shabbos every day, with every action and to every person. He was a porter, and as he carried the loads of shopping for the local women, he would remark, “Surely some of this food will be for Shabbos”. Although he became somewhat of a joke among the locals, when a visiting Tzaddik saw him, he transported him away and trained him to be a Tzaddik Nistar.
Darach Kochav MiYaakov, Sheyvet MiYisrael. The blessing and prophecy of Bilaam talks about a star making its way out of Yaakov, and a scepter coming from Yisrael. We are taught that this refers to the first Mashiach, Dovid, and to his final descendant, the Mashiach Ben Dovid whom we now await. The Sheyvet/scepter is longed for in the month of Shevat. The Kochav star is also connected to comets, and comets are most visible in Shevat. The tail of the comet refers to the trail left through the millennium by Mashiach in his path towards us. These traces of Mashiach are awakened in our hearts and minds in the month of Shevat. It increases the longing of the individual point of Tzaddik within our own self to connect to the true Tzaddik, Mashiach Tzidkeinu.
The weather here in Yerushalayim has been sunshiny, warm, and mild. It seems that this has been a yearly weather pattern for the month of Shevat. The warmth has enabled the almond trees here to blossom, so appropriate for the Yom Tov of Tu B’Shevat. The nature of the almond tree is that it blossoms quickly and brings forth its fruit quicker than other trees. The Navi Yermiyahu was once shown an almond tree in a vision and Hashem said that He will fulfill His word quickly, as an almond tree bears its fruit. In Hebrew and in Aramaic, which is a sister language to Lashon Hakodesh, the word for almond is Luz. This is the same word that refers to the bone or cells in the body of a Jew that doesn’t decompose after death. Chazal teach that the Luz will be the source of Techiyas Hameisim for the body. Rav Aryeh Kaplan suggests a connection between the Luz from which a Jewish body will be reconstructed in the time frame of Techiyas Hameisim and the process of cloning a human. Although cloning was generally purely theoretical when R’ Kaplan lived, we are presently seeing some form of this science emerging.
The Tefilla of every Jew and probably most of humanity is that we all pass through this frightening time without the need to resort to war. We see that there seems to be no solution Derech Hateva, through natural agency. We see the clear need for the world leader, Mashiach Tzidkeinu to step into his position. He must begin to teach and guide, clarify and remind the world of the basic truth of Hashem. We would like to begin to come back to life, on all levels. The Land is capable of absorbing all of Her children. Halevai that we be blessed to enter into the revealed time of Mashiach rulership when the knowledge of Hashem will fill the world as the water fill the oceans.
GOOD SHABBOS, SHABBAT SHALOM
The Month of Kislev
BSD ROSH CHODESH KISLEV 5767 YERUSHALAYIM IH’K
The Shem MiShmuel brings a teaching based on the Sefer Hayitzira describing the month of Kislev with all its Kabalistic energies and tendencies.
Each month has a letter associated with it as well as a body function, a body part and a zodiac sign. Each month also has a tribe and a corresponding color from the stone of the Choshen. These elements all describe different aspects of the month, explain what specific Avoda is easier during the month and clarify the reasons for certain tendencies of people born in the month, as well as the tendencies of all people as the month enfolds.
Kislev was formed with the Hebrew letter Samech, with the element of sleep, is related to the stomach and has the constellation called Keshet, the bow and arrow.
Prayer is also called a bow and arrow, as Yaakov Avinu says in Parshat Vayechi, “I conquered the Land from the Emori with my sword and my bow”. Unkelos translates this as, “I conquered…with my wisdom and prayer.”
The Avnei Nezer remarks that the force of the arrow in the bow is enhanced, strengthened and empowered in direct proportion to the tension of the archer pulling back on the bow. The more force used to pull the bow taut, the farther the arrow will fly. So too, the more the heart contracts in intensity and in feeling, until the heart cannot contain its thoughts any longer and they burst forth, then, the prayer truly ascends.
Extending this thought helps us to understand the prayer of Chana, mother of Shmuel Hanavi. When Eli HaKohein found Chana murmuring silently to herself, flushed and agitated, he accused her of drinking too much. She responded with the words, “Lo Adoni, Isha Keshat Ruach Anochi”- “No my master, (I am not drunk, rather) I am of difficult spirit and have poured my spirit before Hashem”. The Gemara learns out from this conversation many of the laws of Tefilla, including the fact that our Amida is silent. Read more
CHESHVAN
BSD
LEILUI NISHMAT RUCHAMA YOCHEVED BAT AHARON 
Probably the most well known Perakim (chapters) of Tehillim is Perek 145. It begins with the words Tehilla LeDavid – A Song of Praise by Dovid, but because of two prefixed Pesukim- verses (one from Perek 82 and one from Perek 144), it has been nicknamed Ashrei. We say Ashrei daily three times in the Siddur davening- twice in Shacharis (once in Pesukei D’Zimra and once after Shmone Esray), and once in Mincha. Chazal teach that Ashrei is so fundamental to Jewish thought that a person who can say it three times daily with the proper understanding and intent is promised a soul that will evolve to enjoy Olam Haba.
The beginning letters of each verse of Ashrei are in alphabetical order, and according to the Gemara and Midrash Tehillim this signifies it as a particularly beloved Perek of Tehillim. It also indicates that Dovid Hamelech wanted us to learn the Perek by heart, and he made it easier by arranging the Pesukim alphabetically.
There is one letter however that is not included as a beginning letter of a Passuk- and it is the letter Nun. The Gemara (Brachos 4) asks:
For what reason is the Nun omitted (as a beginning letter to a verse) in Ashrei? Because that letter contains in it a hint to the decline of the ‘enemies’ of Israel, as it says (Amos 5:2) “She has fallen, the virgin of Israel, and will not rise נָפְלָה לֹא-תוֹסִיף קוּם, בְּתוּלַת יִשְׂרָאֵל. Nevertheless, even here, with his Ruach Hakodesh, his Divine spirit, Dovid went back and attached the letter Nun to the letter Samech as it says, “Hashem will raised all those who have fallen…
According to the Gemara, Dovid Hamelech chose to omit the letter Nun as a beginning letter to a verse in his famous song of praise to Hashem because of the negative connotation of that letter. This letter Nun is the first letter in another Passuk, a sad Passuk depicting the future failure of the Jewish Nation to succeed.
The obvious question begs clarification. There are many Pesukim in Tanach that foretell calamity and destruction, exile and dispersion. Why did Dovid Hamelech choose this Passuk, this word, this letter to omit from his song?
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