After the Election- Lech Lecha!?
Many people noticed that the Parsha of the week that the elections were completed begins with the command to our ancestor Avraham to leave his birthplace and come up to the Land of Israel.
Whoever would have won the election would not have mattered in the message of the Parsha…
However, you all know that I am not officially crusading (yet..) for you to all make aliyah, as much as I hope and pray that you all will. Soon!
The message of the tests of Avraham Avinu is current, definitive and perhaps urgent- how do these tests relate to each of us?
Listen here for a new take on an old problem…
HOSHANAS
BSD
HOSHANA-HELP US, HASHEM…
Tefilla is the ability to go into the essence of who we are and be there. In that place, is our soul, and in that place, we sense the closeness of The Creator.
The great prophets, judges and Torah scholars set up the Siddur as a guidebook in to our self. Often, we simple people don’t have the tools to dive deeply inward- we are afraid, unaccustomed, or clueless as to how to find our inner soul. The Siddur helps us in a step by step process inward.
I just want to focus for now on the past 6 weeks of Jewish life- from Elul, we have been saying Selichot, and during Sukkot we say the Hoshanot. Many of the Selichot and all of the Hoshanot prayers are in alphabetical order. Many other Tefillot on the Siddur and in Tehillim are written alphabetically. The Gemara tells us that this is to show the importance and beloved status of these Tefillot.
The Creator, may He be always blessed, created the entire creation using the Hebrew alphabet. Kabbalists know the shape, sound, energy, color, rhythm, movement and power of each letter of the Aleph Bait. These Mekubalim know and understand the mystery of the Aleph Bait. They invested much time, effort and prayer into setting up the system for us, simple Jews, to utilize the power of the 22 letters of the Aleph Bait in our Tefillot.
There is great spiritual power in the words of the Hoshanot. They can soften our hearts, open our hearts and cleanse our hearts.
Sometimes, with our very own hands, mind or free choice, we can bring destruction to ourselves. Our personal world can be a mess, and we blame ourselves. Rebbe Nachman says that if a person believes that they can destroy, then they must also believe that they can repair. By saying the Tefillot in the order of the AlephBait, we take the creative power of the 22 Hebrew letters and use that to repair our inner world. The same ability to harm, which came from the 22 primordial letters, is transformed into creative, protective and healing. We also have permission to compose our own personal Tefillot.
Make up your own alphabetized, personalized Tefilla- and may you succeed beyond your wildest dreams.
One of the gifts of Sukkot- Hoshana!!
May HKBH bring our Geula quickly and with Rachamim.
ONLY IN YERUSHALAYIM
Bsd
Stories from Yerushalayim:
In Har Nof, as in every neighborhood, there are many interesting characters. One of my favorites is our Yarkan- the man who is in charge of the fruits and vegetable department in the large supermarket. He is a quiet, unassuming person, who surprised me one Thursday many years ago. I was picking out some bug free, clean Gush Katif lettuce that he had just put out, and he said in a sage-like, singsong voice, “Kol Hakniyot Lechvod Shabbat Kodesh.’ I did a double take, not quite taking in what he had said, and he saw that and dutifully repeated for me, the obvious new American Olah- Kol Hakniyot Lechvod Shabbat Kodesh- all purchases are in honor of the Holy Shabbat.
I have gotten used to many holy and beautiful things here, and his weekly reminder is one of them. Nevertheless, it always gladdens my heart when I hear his song. At first I had thought that perhaps he only said this around people like me- who looked non-Yerushalmi and who perhaps really needed to be reminded that our food and all of our treats are indeed Lekavod Shabbos Kodesh, but I have observed him muttering this refrain to himself, when no one is around and he is just stacking potatoes or picking up fallen fruit.
Usually I repeat Lechvod Shabbos Kodesh after him, loud enough for him to hear. Let him get some Nachas from his ‘students’. One week, soon after Shmitta began, I heard his reminder, and as I dutifully repeated after him that all my purchases were to be in the honor of Holy Shabbos, I added something of my own. I said aloud, for him to hear, “Lekavod Shabbat Kodesh, and Lekavod Eretz Yisrael, and Lekavod Mitzvot Hatluyot BaAretz”. In honor of Shabbos, in honor of the holy Land and in honor of the Mitzvot that depend on our living here to fulfill them. He listened, thought a bit and shook his head. “Rak Lechvod Shabbat Kodesh” – only in honor of the holy Shabbos… He was very emphatic and it left me a bit puzzled and a bit in awe of his depth and understanding.
Zecharya, for that is his name, is a humble man. I see how he talks to the Arab boys that the store hires to do some of the heavy work. He treats them with respect, yet clearly maintains his dignity so that they know he means business. And his business is just to provide his customers with the best. He too is but an employee for the large chain store supermarket and he gets no kickback if his sales are high. Yet he is diligent and very trustworthy. Zecharya happily announces when ‘clean’ onions have arrived and will go to the back to schlep out a better watermelon if the ones he put out earlier are not to your liking.
A few weeks ago, I saw an ad in our local newsletter that Zecharya’s wife was ill and needed care. Everyone in the neighborhood, it seems, feels close to Zecharya and sees his unique way of serving Hashem with the carrots. So women were recruited to visit his wife while he was at work. From that ad I learned that he lived in a totally different part of town, and that his wife was bedridden. A few weeks later, there was a modest sign on the outside door of the ZolPo that he was sitting Shiva for his wife who had passed on.
The week passed and I wondered what to say to him when I saw him back at his job. I was after all just one of thousands of customers and perhaps it would be inappropriate for me to say anything. I had no idea the minhagim of his Aida and decided to just observe how others related to him.
It seems that I was not alone in not knowing what to say. He was his serious but cheerful self, muttering words of Torah under his breath as he recommended which beets were good and reminded people that the bananas have Kedushat Sheviit. But no women that I saw were speaking to him words of comfort. I puttered around the yams, observing that others were also doing the same. Till finally two other characters from Har Nof showed up. One was wearing a big cowboy hat- he does that regularly as his head covering. The other was a big jolly fellow who seems to be a famous and elusive person. They teamed up, as only men can do, and began to pelt Zecharya with questions about a certain sugya in Torah. They would not let him avoid their queries, and began to have a loud, lively Torah debate right there among the tomatoes and cucumbers. These two men made themselves seem a bit foolish, and they badgered Zecharya with different ideas, steering the conversation where they wanted it to go. I did not catch the intricacy of their pilpul, but the smiles at their silliness couldn’t escape notice. Zecharya was smiling. I don’t think I had seen him smile like that in a while.
The end words that I caught from the big jolly man were something about Mashiach coming, everybody ‘coming back’ and that then the real fun would begin. And then it became clear how these men sought to comfort Zecharya. It also obviously then became clear to him. He looked at them for a long while and then said repeatedly, Toda Raba Raba, Rav Todot, Toda, Toda. Thank you, thank you so much, thank you…
Five minutes in the vegetable section of ZolPo…witnessing greatness as only sincerity and kindheartedness can create.
Mi KeAmcha Yisrael. We Jews are amazing!
SHABBAT SHALOM AND MAY ALL YOUR JOYS BE IN HONOR OF SHABBAT KODESH
The Chacham and The Tam part 5
Here we learn why Hashem hides Himself from us, just as He reveals Himself to us…The sound should be better on this shiur.
http://www.mediamax.com/kolrena/Hosted/Sophisticate%20_simp
TZADDIK 1
BSD YERUSHALAYIMIH’K
Tzaddik B’Emunato Yichyeh
The Tzaddik, the righteous person lives from his Emuna, his faith and trust in Hashem
The secret of happiness…how many self help books have been written presenting opinions, manuals, directions on achieving happiness. How many stories have been hatched in minds of authors old and young in the attempt to portray, describe, illuminate or contrast this illusive emotion? Songs, poems, games, gyms, and toys all formed for the same reason- to make their owner happy. Restaurants, amusement parks, theaters, bars and jails filled with people searching for happiness. Governments were formed to keep citizens happy. Serfs slaved to keep their royalty happy. And of course, parents live to keep their children happy.
But how many people do you know who are truly, totally and consistently happy?
The secret of happiness is simple. Simply be connected to the source of happiness. Happiness is but a tool in the arsenal of mankind to keep him and her energized to live life. Some people don’t think they need this particular tool and use other tools to live. Torah teaches us that the tool of happiness is the strongest, most effective and most preferred tool for a person to use to maximize life’s opportunities and blessings.
Ivdu Et Hashem BeSimcha- serve Hashem with happiness, is the advice of Dovid Hamelech in Tehillim. Use this tool and not it’s opposite to get you ahead in life.
Hashem is clearly the root of happiness. He is its source, as He is the source of all things. He teaches us that He wants us to use this tool, this energy, to allow blessings to flow into our lives.
What is happiness then? It is feeling at peace, feeling that all is good, all is planned, all is functioning properly and all is rooted and sourced in Ratzon Hashem. it is being calm and seeing Hashem in all things. it is seeing the Alef in the Beit. It is having Emuna (in Hebrew, this word begins with Alef) and Bitachon (which begins with Beit).
A Tzaddik sees the whole picture of life, even as we see life in its confusing fragments. A Tzaddik is not worried, annoyed or angered, since the entire story is revealed to him. He feels calm, knowing Hashem has a plan. A perfect plan. A plan that no human mind could imagine, let alone create.
There was once a great Tzaddik named Reb Levi Yitzchak ben Sara Sasha from Berdichev. His book- Kedushat Levi- is a treasure chest of wisdom, kabala, down to earth advice and encouragement. Most of all, he was filled with love of Hashem, and as a result of this, love of his fellow man. R Levi Yitzchak was terribly impatient to bring Mashiach in this world, for although he ‘knew’ that there was a time and place for Geula, his love for Hashem couldn’t allow for the Chillul Hashem, the apparent desecration of His Name that exile birthed and sustained. Towards the end of his life, he convened a formal court of law and took witnesses to the fact that he intended, upon his death, to plead strongly before Hashem to bring Geula immediately. He would not take no for an answer and intended to force the Geula, the redemption.
That was two hundred years ago…
They say that after his death, the Kedushat Levi appeared in a dream to someone close to him. He explained that as great as he was in life, and as great as his understanding of Hashem, His ways and wants, still when he came to his heavenly understanding, he saw a different picture. R Levi Yitzchak no longer saw the divisiveness of life in the body. He did not see the pain of this world. He only saw the source of people’s pain, the source of history and the map of the entire plan. And that map and plan was perfect.
The way to be happy is to train yourself to see Hashem in every second of life. You are not really looking for anything else but Hashem. you are only really looking for a way to connect, attach, relate to and communicate with your true soul mate- and that is Hashem.
Everything in this world is a tool to get you to that place. And that place is literally that place you are in right now. For you are in, within, next to and connected in essence to Hashem anyway. It’s only a matter of knowing it, feeling it and living with this awareness.
Emuna is the food of the soul and it is what a Tzaddik lives by and from.
veAmeich Kulam Tzaddikim- and the entire Jewish nation are all Tzaddikim.
The reason a Jew is commanded to attach to a Tzaddik is to help with this attaining of happiness. A Tzaddik is a Jew with a highly refined soul. Sometimes the Tzaddik is born with this soul already revealed. Sometimes the Tzaddik has to work hard to reveal this pure and refined soul. Our history is full of Tzaddikim and the events of their lives. Our attachment to a Tzaddik can be personal and face to face. If we are lucky to have such a person in our lives, then we learn by observing them, by speaking to them, by following their advice. We are graced by their soul and just being in their presence enlivens illuminates and cheers us.
And then, there are the books of the Tzaddikim, full of the same encouragement, direction, love and advice. Each person, group and generation has their own particular Tzaddik. Many are hidden, and yet they do their work to inspire, elevate and help us albeit unbeknownst to us.
To be happy, be a Tzaddik, a little one or a big one. See Hashem in every whisper and cloud, in every day and food.
This then is the secret of a successful marriage of your body and soul which is the secret of happiness.
PATTERNS CHAPTER 2
BSD YERUSHALAYIM IHK
Patterns Perek Two
Histakel Be’Oraisa Uvara Olam
Hashem looked into the Torah and created the world.
The concept that the Torah is the blueprint for creation is well founded in Halacha, Hashkafa and kabala. The entire creation is a macrocosm of the outer aspect of Torah; the human is both a microcosm of the outer aspect of Torah and the inner aspect of Torah.
Hashem created with purpose and plan. Humankind, with the power of thought, speech and the resulting power of free choice is the pinnacle of creation. You are the highest level of creation. You, with your inadequacies and loftiness, with your inconsistencies and aspirations, with your good inclination and its opposite. You are the reason Hashem made the universe. He gave Torah as guidance, connection, communication, direction and roadmap. Torah contains all that is. Torah explains all that is. Torah defines and qualifies all that is. Torah is the gift of All That Is.
Torah begins with the letter Beit. This second of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet represents the idea of plurality. Of more than one. Of much and many. This world, this creation, is made of much and many.
The only time Hashem revealed Himself publicly on a grand scale, visually, audibly, conceptually, lovingly and powerfully was at Har Sinai. There He communicated/gave/impregnated into the Children of Yisrael the Ten Utterances, known as the Ten Commandments. And these Utterances began with the letter Alef, the first of the Hebrew letters. Alef represents unity, being one with Hashem.
This is then the task of man. To walk through this creation, which is made of so many things, and to search for Hashem Who is One. To use the many and much of this world in service of Hashem Echad. And this is the conflict that often pulls, tugs or rips apart the consciousness of your being.
Hebrew is the language of Torah and therefore the language that defines everything that exists. It is called Lashon Hakodesh, the holy tongue. The language of The Holy One, Blessed be He. In Hebrew, the root word for creativity is Barah, spelled Bait Raish Alef. Hashem has given us the power to mimic Him by being creative. Chava, the first woman, understood this gift and named her firstborn Kayin, saying that she has created a person in partnership with Hashem. Kabala explains in detail the creative nature of each Mitzva. Each word a Jew utters creates angels, forces. Each action a Jew does is empowered to create angels, forces, attitudes, experiences.
People spend their entire lives being creative, searching for various new ways to satisfy the creative urge and longing within. The creative gift and urge has given birth to the arts, the political scene, the economic scene, the scientific world, the free spirits, the reformers.
But the secret of Lashon Kodesh reveals to us that true, satisfying and eternal creativity means taking the power of the Bait, the multiplicity of things in this world, and restoring them to Hashem. To bring the many and much back to The One. To find the One in the many.
We use the Raish, the middle, connective letter of Barah as our tool in this process. Raish refers to many things. It means the ‘head’, referring to the power of thought and planning. It refers to the level of soul called Ruach, which is spirit, wind or energy. And it means poor, which is the quality of humility, of acknowledging that all we do and have is a gift from Hashem.
Real creativity can still be in the arts, the sciences, politics and society. However, in order for it to be real, lasting and truly satisfying, it must contain the commitment to bring all improvement to the universe for the sake of Hashem becoming more apparent and honored. This is a task and charge upon every person who has felt the burning desire to rise above his petty life, her meaningless chores, and do something worthwhile. Awareness of God as your motivating factor is the soul point of your gift to this world.
And this is the secret between your feeling happy or sad.
Patterns Chapter One
BSD YERUSHALAYIM IHK
Bayom HaHu, Yehiyeh Hashem Echad U’Shemo Echad
On that day (when Mashiach comes and is totally revealed and empowered), Hashem will be One and His Name will be One.
When Mashiach comes… this is a longing, a refrain that has been on the lips of Jews for millennia. Everything will be set right, once Mashiach comes. Everything, on every level, will be perfected. Human misery will end, exile will end, confusion will end. Illness will end, sadness will end, poverty and need will end. All will be correctly aligned and the world as we know it will become perfected. The universes will be correctly aligned, the angels will sing perfectly. All that is hidden will be revealed as a blessing.
The Gemara puts it this way-
Tishbi Yetaretz Kushyot Ubaayot. Mashiach will clear up all questions and problems.
We cannot imagine such a world, such a life. Indeed, when discussing this idea in different forums, one honest or perhaps lively ( gutsy, raunchy) student will remark that it sounds pretty boring to live in a world with no challenges, no hardships. Clearly, since general human experience can only remember life as a challenge, the idea of a rat race world is embedded in our DNA. We are so used to living with dishonesty, with graft and corruption, with pain that we consider this normal and often just search for and are satisfied with temporary reprieves in the journey for survival.
And yet, a deep part of every person knows and yearns for something higher, something happier and holier than what is being presented by the world as ‘life’. The body understands and is familiar with ‘lackings’ and either accepts this as a fact of life, or tries to find a solution and some satisfaction. Nevertheless, the yearning, the searching, the inner disquiet resurfaces.
What does it mean that when Mashiach comes, Hashem and His Name will be One? Hashem is the ultimate ‘One’. The idea of ‘onlyness’, of total internal unity, of uniqueness belongs only and totally to Hashem. Is Hashem then, not ‘One’ before Mashiach comes?
Kabala and Chassidut talk about the difference between Hashem in His Essence and Hashem in His Behavior. In His Essence, Hashem is One, Perfect, Only, Unique and all the words and phrases language has to explain and describe ‘Perfect Onlyness’. A human, who for his greatness and gifts is after all only a created being, was not hardwired to comprehend Hashem in His Essence. Whatever words, ideas, parallels, examples, models or imaginations we can conjure up, we created beings cannot fathom what exactly Hashem ‘is’.
But Hashem has gifted us with an understanding and a vision of what He ‘does’, of how He relates to His creation. This is the secret of His Name (or names).
A person has no need for his own name if he dwells totally isolated from society. Only when he has to interact with other humans is the need for a name, which both defines and separates.
Hashem in His Essence is perfect oneness. This world is multitudinous. The universe contains too many ‘things’ to enumerate. There are things like physical matter which can be described, defined and measured. There are concepts like gravity which can be described, defined and measured. There are emotions like love which cannot be defined or measured, yet are describable and palpable. There are angelic beings which can be neither defined, measured nor felt by the common man, yet which are immensely powerful. There are ideas of kindness, trust and honesty…There is an imagination, a brain, forces…The list is endless almost infinite.
In His ‘behavior’ towards His creation, Hashem is multimediatic. He has created a universe of many. He ‘acts’ towards creation in many ways. Sometimes He reveals Himself, as on Har Sinai. Most of the time, He is concealed. He sometimes makes miracles, of biblical proportions, yet most of the time nature seems to be just natural and predictable. Sometimes we feel He loves us, sometimes not. Sometimes we feel Him close, sometimes not. There seems to be no consistency, no absolute. No ‘Oneness’.
It is this situation of duplicity, of more than oneness, which allows for our basic friend, our profitable angel called ‘free choice’ to survive.
Thousands of years of choices. Billions upon trillions of choices made by mankind, leading up to and creating the world we now live in.
Yet, it is all leading up to a time when we will live with Hashem in His Oneness. When Mashiach comes, when the game is over, Hashem in His Essence will be revealed and perceived by every human alive. His Name which is how we relate to Him now, how even the greatest Torah scholar understands Him now will be unified with His Being.
And this is the secret of the desire for love and unification that burns within your heart.
The Month of Av
BSD SHABBAT CHAZON 5767 YERUSHALAYIM IH’K
MISHENICHNAS AV MIMA’ATIN BESIMCHA –when the month of Av enters, we diminish joy. This is reflected in Halacha- we don’t make weddings, don’t celebrate with music, refrain from activities of levity and merriment, refrain from eating meat and drinking wine. Nevertheless, a Jew cannot live without Simcha. We are not allowed to fall into despair and depression. The Baal Shem Tov taught that the impurity that falls upon a sad, despondent, and unnecessarily depressed person is stronger than the impurity of the worst sin. And so, what is the posture of a Jew during the Nine Days, between Rosh Chodesh Av and Tisha B’Av?
Years ago, I had the great zechut of speaking to R’Yaakov Meir Schechter, a great Tzaddik and Mekubal here in Yerushalyim. One of the things he ezxplained was about the nature of Simcha- joy. There is a difference between joy and merriment. The Mitzva of the Torah is to be in a state of Simcha at all times- this does not mean to be cheerful, or lively. Simcha is closely connected to Shalva which is more like tranquility. The Rav said that a person who really trusts Hashem and knows that everything, absolutely everything, is ultimately for the best, can relax and stay calm. This is Simcha- a calm, trusting demeanor which in turn empowers a Jew to do their inner work with confidence.
Therefore, the Baal Shem Tov taught that the way to diminish all harsh judgments is to remain in a state of Simcha- in a trusting, confident and wholesome closeness to Hashem. Mishenichnas Av- when the month of Av enters and we understand and remember our losses and our errors, MiMatin- we diminish the harshness of the time, BeSimcha- with inner quiet, joy born of Emuna and Bitachon.
Eretz Yisrael, the
establishment of an independent Jewish government, this land was
barren. Malaria plagued, bug infested, parched, she did not produce
enough food to sustain a population. Even water was bought from
Arabs. In the half century of Jewish independence, the Land has
flowered, blossomed, produced. We are agriculturally wealthy and
exporters of beautiful produce. And the heroes of this Land are
prepared to sacrifice even more to keep Her children within Her
borders.
The Kedushas Levi teaches that when Mashiach will come, and we will
celebrate Tisha B'Av as a Yom Tov, we will then read Megillas Eicha
with the Bracha of Shehecheyanu. We will see then, that all the
trouble we suffered was mysteriously a cover up for the blessed
process of Geula revelation. Now, we read the Pesukim of Eicha and
only see their pain and tragic memories, yet at the end of time, we
will understand deeper. He gives an example. The first Passuk
says, "Alas, how alone she sits, the city that was once so full of
people." This can be alternatively read as, "How could it be that
this city was so deserted, which is now so full of people." The
Rebbe says that the Passuk "Ein Menachem La- there is no comfort for
her," means that at the end of time, there will be no comfort for
Yerushalayim because there will be no need for comfort. All pain
will be forgotten in the ecstasy of Geula.
The Kotsker Rebbe elaborates on this idea. He says that Yirmiyahu
Hanavi alone understood the tragic loss of the Bais Hamikdash, while
even the greatest Jews did not comprehend the depth of their loss.
It's like when a young child loses a parent. The child is sad, but
with an immature comprehension of his loss. Only an adult truly
understands the greatness of the loss. So, Yirmiyahu was broken to
his core. At that point, the only thing he could do to prevent
himself from falling into total depression and despair, was to go
back to simple basics. Simple Aleph Bais, the Aleph of Emuna, the
Bais of Bitachon. This is why he wrote Eicha in alphabetical order.
Furthermore, says the Kotsker, the Aleph Bais teaches us profound
lessons in attitude. Take any word in Lashon Kodesh, permute the
letters, and you get other related or corresponding or complementary
words. Lashon Kodesh and the Aleph Bait are the primary energetic
building blocks of the universe. The energy can be rearranged to
create new entities. So too, says the Rebbe, Yirmiyahu sought to
hint to us, by using Aleph Bait order, that events can be re-framed
and change in appearance and result.
The famous story of Rabbi Akiva and his companions walking near the
Har Habayit and seeing the fox emerge from the Holy of Holiest
illustrates this. Rabbi Akiva laughed, the others cried. They
thought he had gone mad from pain, and asked him why he laughed; he
asked them why they cried. "How can we not, seeing the destruction
of our very core?" He answered, "Just as the prophecy of Churban has
come true, so will the prophecy of Geula come true. We are only
seeing the groundbreaking ceremony which must always precede the
actual rebuilding of a site."
The Kedushas Levi teaches that, besides the lesson of seeing the
good in every event, and having total trust in Hashem, that there is
another lesson here. A lesson most relevant to today, to right now.
He teaches that animals always thrive in unpopulated areas. When
humans encroach on empty land, the animals flee. When humans abandon
territory and move away, the animals slowly return. This is built
into nature and animals are sensitive to the Divine Will which
allows man dominion over them.
My apartment in Har Nof overlooks the
night, when the traffic quiets, the animals begin to peek out and
walk around. I have heard the most fascinating sounds, animal cries,
noises. Deer, foxes, wild dogs, animals that I have a hard time
identifying begin to wander around the periphery of the forest. As
soon as the dawn approaches, the sounds cease, the animals retreat
to their hiding places deep within the woods, and human machines
take over.
Animals fear human dominion. In the time of Rabbi Akiva, the Romans
were the governors of
them. Yerushalayim was a Roman city. And yet, the animals roamed the
city. To them, to the animals, the only humans to fear, to respect,
to move over for, are the rightful owners of the land. To animals,
Romans were foreign to
Rabbi Akiva took comfort in this, saying that the animals are
reflecting the natural attitude of the Land, who responds to
only. When Jews are not in charge of this land, it is as if it in
empty. The prophecy Rabbi Akiva referred to has been fulfilled in
our very day. When Jews returned to the Land, She awoke from Her
Galus and began to respond, to live, to be redeemed. Even though the
government is still in exile, the Land has been reborn.
Rabbi Akiva taught us to laugh in the face of pain, to realize that
what appears as a Churban is in truth, preparation for something
much greater than we had before.
Eicha Yashva Badad. Alas, how she sits alone. The Rebbe from Zitomir
comments, again in the same vein, that this Passuk can also be read
in a positive way. Eicha is an unusual word. It is a play on the
word, Eich, which means, `how'. We have the letters of the word
Eicha, read Ayecha in the conversation that Hashem had with Adam
after the Chet, when Hashem asks Adam where he is. Ayecka implies
looking deep into yourself, looking below the surface.
So, Yirmiyahu Hanavi begins his Megilla with an unusual word form,
begging us to look deeper into things. Indeed, for him to retain his
sanity, his equilibrium and the inner tranquility needed to compose
a Ruach Hakodesh work, he had to look deeply beneath the surface of
Churban.
The Rebbe teaches that Eicha Yashva means, Eich Hay, Yashuv Hay.
How can we bring Hashem into our lives? The answer- Badad. This is
usually translated as alone, a state of existential loneliness or
aloneness. It is also the root of the word Hitbodedut, which means
meditation. We are a nation that dwells apart from the ways of the
other nations. But Badad also is an acronym for another famous
Passuk in Mishlei- Bechol Derachecha Da'Eyhu. Know and integrate
Hashem in all your ways. Bring Him wherever you go. Into every
thought, every action, every dream. Every event is a way to see the
Yad Hashem, to feel the Divine hug.
The Tzaddikim teach that a person can actually see, sense or intuit the third and final Bait Hamikdash on Shabbos Chazon. Whatever this means to regular people like us, may it be a Shabbat of blessing, bringing a clarity and an ablity to daven deeper, with more concentration, with more feeling and connection. My we be able to meditate on the greatness of Hashem, on how the entire creation is nothing compared to Him, and on the fact that despite the infinity of Hashem, the Ain Sof of Hashem, He loves us, cares about us and waits patiently for us to open our minds and hearts to His Geula.
May this Tisha B'Av bring each of us, and the entire creation to the
next level of Geula, and may we be totally redeemed now. May we each
break through our internal mental and emotional barriers and see
that we are in Geula already, and may we be empowered thus to
proudly proclaim before the entire world, Hashem Elokeinu Hashem
Echad.
Your Special Purim Weapon
BSD 
PURIM 5767 YERUSHALAYIM IH’K
Imagine that you are a soul. Pure, simple and perfect. You are living in the world of souls, where all is bliss, clarity and the greatest joy is in perceiving the Presence of Hashem, The Creator and Only. Yet, you sense a slight stain, an imperceptible imperfection and as a soul, this bothers you. Also, as a soul, you perceive that your perception of Hashem is imperfect. Your awareness incomplete and this dissatisfies you. Yet, where you are in the world of souls, all is quiet, perfect and serene. This juggle between perfect tranquility and desire for further perfection in closeness to Hashem is a deep and constant inner rumble. Finally, you get the invitation, from the
Divine Court
And of course, you agree.
You, the soul, becomes slowly and steadily enclothed in a body. As a soul, you understand the rules of the game- the world you are leaving needs nothing physical, but the world that Hashem loves and ultimately chooses is a world of action, of activity, of physicality. So, you don your body with a certain understanding that it is your vehicle of transport and accomplishment in this world. You, the soul, often feel conflicted about the body, and as a newborn, you often cry with confusion at the restrictions of the body. Yet, the mature part of your soul, the understanding and remembering part, accepts, values, respects and makes peace with the body. You merge into yourself.
Hashem gives a person different goals and possibilities at different stages of the life of the body-soul. At birth, we forget everything that the soul knew of its opportunity and return privileges.
Faith is the only currency that keeps a person steady in the voyage on earth. Faith that Hashem is the One, the Only, the Ultimate and that Hashem is guiding you in absolute detail to repair, fix, elevate and create the new you. Faith in Hashem that there is nothing accidental, nothing superfluous, no mistakes. Faith in the power of your Tefilla to create vessels that will bring you more convenient and desired tools to get you through the journey.
Children are generally cheerful – they are glad to be alive. They have a soul understanding that just being a soul in a body is enough potentially to elevate the soul, and to bring the greatest joy to the Master Of The World.
Purim we return to a simple childlike way of serving Hashem. We let go of our complicated understandings, we dress up, share food and generally have a good time. It’s the greatest time to verbalize the following truism:
Hashem has created a force of evil that is given permission to challenge me, the holy Jew, and tempt me to leave Hashem. This challenge is just a game Hashem is playing with me. Hashem wants to see what I truly want in this gift of life that He has given me. Do I want closeness to Hashem, like I had in the world of souls? Or will I be distracted by the material and put Hashem in the second best category? The tests are scary, nations rise up to kill me, to attempt to anyway. They will all, of course, fail, since Hashem has promised
Nevertheless, as far as I might distance from Hashem, as tempted as I might be in the ways of the distracters, when I finally wake up and call out to Hashem He happily, and lovingly saves me.
Calling out to Hashem is my greatest power. It is my only power. It is my Hashem-given power. And even if I have not utilized this power for a long time, even if I have given up faith in this power, it is always totally available and returned to me instantaneously.
Mordechai HaYehudi, the Tzaddik, reminds us never to give up hope. He encourages Esther HaMalka, the soul, in her work of Tefilla and trust in Hashem. And the Hamans that try to make us feel weak, un-empowered and apathetic are just angels from Hashem to push us, Jews, to the furthermost edges of our greatness.
One of the great gifts that the Baal Shem Tov renewed in the world was to remind us, to rewire our consciousness, to reactivate our awareness to the fact, the absolute promise that Hashem totally and completely loves each of us. Hashem is here with each of us, and is guiding and directing each and every iota of life. Hashem loves every tiny baby step we take towards Him, and answers every word of Tefilla. Nothing in any action we do to be better people, better Jews and bring Nachas to Hashem, is lost or ignored. Nothing is lost or ignored, nothing insignificant.
Hashem loves us.
That’s why Hashem gave us Purim.
Use the days of Purim to talk to Hashem non-stop.
Ask Hashem for a strengthening in faith, and in trust- Emuna and Bitachon. Thank Hashem for the infinite blessings of daily life. And ask Hashem for your needs. Pray for others, for their needs and mostly for the greatest need- that Mashiach come in a revealed way, a final way, with great Rachamim and Bracha, without the need for more tests.
May we celebrate together here in Yerushalayim Ir Hakodesh with all the Tzaddikim and with Mashiach Tzidkeinu.