An Inseparable Unity

This week's Torah portion, Mishpatim, seems to be the most anti-climactic portion of the entire year. A real downer.
We began the Torah with the creation of the universe; the trials and experiences of our forefathers & mothers; the enslavement and ultimate miraculous redemption of the Jewish People from Egypt, leading to the greatest moment to date since the beginning of time: The giving of the Torah. Last week, we read about this momentous occasion. G-d Revealed His Presence on this earth, Speaking the 1st commandment: "I am the L-rd, your G-d."

The Zohar states that this sentence was uttered - not only from the sky, but actually emanated from every direction! Every flower; every blade of grass, said together: "I am the L-rd, your G-d." Since the Infinite Essence of G-d was revealed in the world; the truth of His Unity - that everything is one with Him - was revealed.
All of space & time became nullified in this unity & therefore spoke together with G-d.

But in this week's portion, the romance seems gone. The incredibly profound revelation gone. All we have is laws, laws, laws!
"What if my ox gores your cow?"
"What if I accidentally killed your cousin?"
"What if I dig a pit in the middle of the road and you fall in?"

Let's understand the meaning of this transition.

As great as the revelation of G-d was at the Giving of the Torah, at the end of the day, G-d's revealed Presence left.
How do we know if something became truly one with something else? When it doesn't leave; when it can't.

Let's take a dark room for instance. If you were to open the blinds &
the sunlight were to enter, you would now have an illuminated room.
But did the room change? Sure, there's light now.
But the room itself didn't change. An outside source is illuminating it, but the room is essentially dark. And the proof is that when the light leaves, the room returns to darkness. Take an even greater unity - like a soul with a body - ultimately we see that they are not totally unified, for at death they part.

In Chapter 5 of Tanya, when discussing the unity of G-d & a person who learns Torah, the Alter Rebbe gives the analogy of food.
"You are what you eat," is a scary, but true term. Food & drink actually become part of our flesh and blood.
So too, when learning even the most mundane monetary laws of Torah, one's soul is completely unifying with G-d's Infinite Being!
Like food to a body, G-d's Wisdom & Will, infused in the Torah, is ingested and becomes one with your soul.
The greatest unity possible - greater even than what occurred at the giving of the Torah.
Why is it like that? B/c now the unity is coming from us.
From our effort. No external light. No external revelation.

This seemingly unromantic transition is actually an elevation into a true, lasting connection.
And once we've permeated ourselves with the holiness of Torah & Mitzvot, we can move on to the laws of building G-d's Temple, His Sanctuary in this world (next week's Torah Portion), for now we are ready to permeate the world around us, in a lasting way, with G-d's Unity.

Shabbat Shalom,

Daniel

The Role of a Leaf

~I usually write my own thoughts, but this week I would like to share with you a little piece from the diary of the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson (1880-1950). Translated from the original Yiddish, to me he has one of the most beautiful styles of writing I have ever read (besides for having been a truly holy Tzaddik.) Enjoy!~


It was the summer of 1896, and father and myself were strolling in the fields of Balivka, a hamlet near Lubavitch. The grain was near to ripening, and the wheat and grass swayed gently in the breeze.

Said father to me: "See G-dliness! Every movement of each stalk and grass was included in G-d's Primordial Thought of Creation, in G-d's all-embracing vision of history, and is guided by Divine providence toward a G-dly purpose."

Walking, we entered the forest. Engrossed in what I had heard, excited by the gentleness and seriousness of father's words, I absentmindedly tore a leaf off a passing tree. Holding it a while in my hands, I continued my thoughtful pacing, occasionally tearing small pieces of the leaf and casting them to the winds.

"The Holy Arizal," said father to me, "says that not only is every leaf on a tree a creation invested with Divine life, created for a specific purpose within G-d's intent in creation, but also that within each and every leaf there is a spark of a soul that has descended to earth to find its correction and fulfillment.

"The Talmud," father continued, "rules that 'a man is always responsible for his actions, whether awake or asleep.' The difference between wakefulness and sleep is in the inner faculties of man, his intellect and emotions. The external faculties function equally well in sleep, only the inner faculties are confused. So dreams present us with contradictory truths. A waking man sees the real world, a sleeping man does not. This is the deeper significance of wakefulness and sleep: when one is awake one sees Divinity; when asleep, one does not.

"Nevertheless, our sages maintain that man is always responsible for his actions, whether awake or asleep. Only this moment we have spoken of Divine providence, and, unthinkingly, you tore off a leaf, played with it in your hands, twisting, squashing and tearing it to pieces, throwing it in all directions.

"How can one be so callous towards a creation of G-d? This leaf was created by the Almighty towards a specific purpose and is imbued with a Divine life-force. It has a body and it has its life. In what way is the 'I' of this leaf inferior to yours?"
-----
Everything in this universe has a special purpose, and is therefore of vital importance. If this be true of a leaf, how much more so the person next to us! As a Rabbi recently said to me: "If an angel were to enter the room right now, everyone would be amazed and in awe. So how come when a fellow Jew (of whose Divine soul, we are taught, comes from an even higher place than angels) walks into the room, we don't show him the proper kindness and respect!?"

The answer, of course, is because we don't see the reality of existence; the G-dliness inherent in creation. Our job is to be aware of the inner reality of all things. By taking a time-out from our usual activities, to devote ourselves a little bit to contemplation and reflection, to a mitzvah or a prayer, we become better at appreciating every inch & moment of G-d's Divine world and plan, and reveal in the world around us - and in ourselves - the inherent holiness which we all possess.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

Where Heaven & Earth Kiss

"De'nashki shmaya v'arah ahadadi" - Where Heaven and earth kissed. - The Talmud

The ultimate bond, the ultimate revealed connection between man and G-d, was expressed in the Beit Hamikdash - the holy temple
in Jerusalem (where the golden kippah is now :).
How do we see this aspect of connection in the temple?

The words of the Rabbis in the Talmud are known to always be exact. So the choice of language to describe the temple as a place,
"Where Heaven and Earth kissed," can't be just metaphorical, but rather an exact description of what the temple represented.
The mouth of a person is one's ultimate vehicle for expression and bonding. A kiss bonds 2 people. Speech as well connects two people. The mouth also connects by eating; an action which connects one's soul with one's body. Without it the soul would leave.

The temple was this connection between two sides: G-d and the world.
We therefore see these 3 activities of the mouth. Kissing - The intimate connection between G-d and the world/His People occurred here.
"Eating" - as seen by the sacrifices offered daily, was an act commanded by G-d in order to keep His Presence (Shechinah) invested in the world - this is where the world, so to speak, ate! Where the ultimate "soul" - G-d's Presence - was made to be attached to the body of the world (like we said regarding a soul staying in a body). And Speech - Where was G-d's Voice Heard from? From between the 2 kruvim (cherubs) over the ark, in the innermost chamber of the temple.

Now these 2 golden kruvim, one shaped like a female child's face, and one like a male child's face (the reason why, by the way, secular art depicts angels like children), was where the ultimate connection between the Jewish People & G-d took place. We are taught that when our relationship with
G-d was good, the angels faced each other in an embrace. When our relationship was weaker, they turned away from each other. On Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol would open up the inner curtains so that all the people could see the kruvim in embrace.

1,941 years ago, because of our immoral ways, G-d allowed the Romans to ransack Jerusalem and destroy our temple.
As they took all of the spoils, the Romans dragged the 2 kruvim in the street. At the point which would seem to be the lowest in the Jewish
People's connection with Hashem, as the temple burned and the Romans dragged the kruvim - they were seen to be in embrace.
G-d Was telling us: "Throughout your exile, until the 3rd temple is rebuilt and the final redemption ushered in, do not worry. We will
always be in embrace."

May it happen speedily in our days!

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

Like Fish in Water

The Talmud relates a very special story: There was a time in Israel, under Roman occupation, that if anyone were caught teaching Torah -
they would surely be put to death.
Yet the great Rabbi Akiva persisted teaching Torah to children. Those around him tried to reason with him, saying:
"If you continue, you'll surely be killed! Those you teach might be killed as well! If you stop though, at least there's a chance of survival!?"
Rabbi Akiva smiled and replied: "Let me explain with a parable.
There was once a fox resting by a river. Peering into the water, the fox saw a group of fish looking very worried. "What's the problem?" asked the fox. The fish answered: "There are fishermen waiting to catch us by the edge of the river!" "OK," said the fox after some thought, "I have a plan. Jump on my back and I'll secretly take you to the other end of the river, and drop you back in past the fisherman." The fish laughed at him and said: "I thought you foxes were sly?! If we leave the water, we'll perish for sure! We can't survive without water! If we stay in the water, at least we have a chance at survival..."

Torah, explained Rabbi Akiva, is the water of the Jewish people. It's our spiritual life force; strength for survival as Jews during a dark exile.

As we all know too well, there are many distractions and hardships for the Jew of 2011.
But this time it's unique. Instead of the usual physical hardships, like the threat of death for being a Jew, today there is a different challenge.
A spiritual, existential one.
The "fishermen" today are much more inviting and open armed.
We Jews are accepted into all areas of life in the modern world. And of course we excel at it!
But as Rabbi Akiva taught us, at the same time - we have to remain in our water.
To live as Jews and maintain our Jewish identity. To learn Torah and study our heritage.
Today it is easy to forget we are "fish" who depend on "water." Going out onto land looks like fun!
It's interesting that when fish are out of water, they do look like they're having fun! Not lying lifeless, dying, but flopping and dancing around!
But in truth they are dying.
Our soul, all souls, need spiritual nourishment. And that nourishment for a Jew is found in Torah, Mitzvot, prayer - spiritual growth.

Let us get involved in the world and succeed, influencing it in the proper direction.
But let us always stick to what's kept us existing as a strong Jewish people throughout history: the Torah.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel