At the end of this week’s Parsha, which talks mainly about the laws of the Sabbatical year and the Jubilee year, the Torah says: “For the Children of Israel are servants to Me, they are My servants, whom I have taken out of the land of Egypt- I am Hashem, your God.” (Chapter 25, Verse 55)

Regarding this verse, which teaches us both the fact that we are the children of Hashem and that we are his servants, Rebbe Noson discusses how most of the world relates to the concepts of servitude and freedom.  For most people eating and drinking and other physical desires are not called work or labor whatsoever.  However on the other hand, they call mitzvahs and good deeds work.  Meaning that the service of God, mitzvahs and good deeds seem like servitude to them.  Rebbe Noson says that this is the aspect of the exchange which Rebbe Nachman tells about in his story, the Exchanged Children, where the son of the maidservant and the son of the king were exchanged at birth.  The son of the king grows up not knowing who he really is.  People mistakenly think that the body is the king over the soul.  However, in truth, the opposite is the case.  The true king is our neshama, our soul.  Our body was created to serve as a vessel for our soul, and not the opposite.  Just as the servant needs to serve his master and do his will, so to our body needs to serve our soul.  Rebbe Noson adds that even though it’s praiseworthy to serve Hashem and do His will, despite our struggles with the physical desires of the body nevertheless that is not the greatest level which we can obtain.  The highest level a person can obtain is when their body and physical desires become so subdued to the will of their soul, that the body also wants to do only what the neshama wants to do, which is to serve Hashem.  This is the highest aspect of being the children of Hashem which we can obtain, that our only will is to do the will of our King.    (Likutei Halachot, Laws of the Morning Blessings, 3^rd teaching)

How do we return to our true role in life, being the children of the King and making our soul the king over our physicality?

Rebbe Nachman discusses in several places in his book Rebbe Nachman’s Wisdom (Sichot HaRan) our relationship with Hashem as our father.  He says that it’s very good when a person can pour out his words before Hashem in supplication, like a son who is longing for their father. (7^th teaching)  He also describes having a broken heart as someone who is like a son longing for their father, like a small child who is crying because their father went away. (42^nd teaching)  Being the children of Hashem means that we have an eternal bond of love with Him, and we are truly longing to be close to God.

Rabbi Shlomo Katz, a teacher and musician here in Israel, is giving daily, short video teachings about the special attributes of the Sefirat HaOmer, the special mitzvah of counting the 49 days between Pesach and Shavuot.  Each week has a special attribute to it, and each day contains a more detailed aspect of this character trait.  This week is the week of נצח, eternity.  He says that an aspect of חסד שבנצח, the kindness of eternity, is that Hashem is always there for us.  He is eternal and it is a tremendous kindness that we can always turn to Him in prayer.  Rebbe Nachman taught his students and anyone who learns his teachings to speak to Hashem every day, in their own words.  He gave us the incredible gift of personal prayer.  When we make this a part of our lives every day, we begin to re-discover our true connection to Hashem, that we are his children, the children of the King, and He loves each and every one of us like His only child.  We merit to develop and re-discover a close relationship with Hashem.  We feel his help and protection.  We can tell him anything, like a true, good friend (as Rebbe Nachman described personal prayer to his student Reb Noson).  We discover the true and eternal love which exists between us, and we begin to feel again like the children of the King.  When a child truly feels how much their parents love them and that they only want the best for them, they too in return want to help their parents and do their will.  The same is true in our relationship with God.  Hashem is pained by our distance from Him, he wants us to be close to Him, just like a parent who is longing to see their child again after a long separation.

We should all merit to know how much Hashem loves us as his children, and we should fulfill the Torah and the mitzvahs with joy, knowing that we are doing the will of our God!

(Inspired by the video of R’ Shlomo Katz mentioned above and a recent class by Rav Erez Moshe Doron)

(The image is courteous of Chabad.org)

In the second teaching of his book, Likutei Moharan, Rebbe Nachman brings the first verse of this week’s Torah portion at the beginning of his teaching about prayer and redemption.  “Hashem said to Moshe: Say to the Kohanim, the sons of Aaron, and tell them: Each of you shall not contaminate himself to a (dead) person among his people…” (Chapter 21, Verse 1)  Many times in his teachings Rebbe Nachman brings a verse from the Bible or a teaching from the Sages and then shows you later on in his teaching how everything he just talked about is alluded to in the verse he brought at the beginning.  In this verse the word ‘say’, “Say to the Kohanim”, is referring to prayer.  Rebbe Nachman teaches in this lesson that the main weapon which a Jewish person has is prayer.  All of the battles which they need to conquer, whether they are with the evil inclination or with others who are trying to prevent them from doing something good; all of these battles can (only) be conquered through prayer.  Therefore, Rebbe Nachman says that someone who wants to truly merit to reveal the holiness of being a Jew- they need to pray a lot and speak with Hashem.  This is the main weapon which they have to win the battle of overcoming the evil forces which try to prevent them from revealing their light. (Likutei Moharan & the Abridged Likutei Moharan, 2^nd teaching, Part One)

Rebbe Nachman also teaches in the 7^th teaching in the first part of Likutei Moharan that the main aspect of bringing the redemption depends upon prayer, because the main reason for the exile is due to a lack of faith.  Prayer is the aspect of faith, which means that a person believes that Hashem can create and renew anything in His will, and therefore he prays to Hashem to fulfill his request.  Things in our lives which might seem unrealistic or impossible can become a reality through the power of our prayers.  Through having strong faith, and faith that our prayers are heard by God, we can merit to see miracles in our lives.  Rebbe Nachman also teaches in this lesson that the main revelation of faith is in the Land of Israel. (The Abridged Likutei Moharan, 7th teaching, Part One)

This week in Israel we observe Remembrance Day for the fallen soldiers and terror victims and then the following day celebrate Independence Day.  For me personally, I have connected the past few years to this day of celebrating our independence as a day to thank Hashem for gift of living in the land of Israel.  Thanking Hashem for the amazing positive changes which have happened in my life since moving to Israel, and for the merit to live here.  When it becomes your daily life to live here, like anything which becomes routine, we tend to take it for granted.  Naturally we become focused on other things in our lives.  Therefore, I think that these special days of Remembrance Day and Independence Day help us to reflect on the meaning of living here in the land of Israel during these special and turbulent times in our history.

My wife and I spoke the other day about how it’s really a miracle that we merited to be part of all of the thousands and hundreds of thousands of Jews from around the world who have returned to the land of Israel.  By what merit where we able to make Aliyah and live here?  I didn’t grow up praying and wanting to make Aliyah to Israel.  It just wasn’t in my consciousness.  We really feel in our hearts and believe that it’s due to the merit of our ancestors, who prayed for the redemption and prayed for the re-building of Jerusalem and the ingathering of the exiles for so many hundreds and thousands of years.  Also for us today, we need to know and believe that our prayers are helping to bring the redemption.  Rebbe Nachman says further on in the first teaching that I brought above, “When we see the length of the exile, and (that) every day we scream out to Hashem and still we are not redeemed; there are those amongst our people who mistakenly think in their hearts that all of our prayers are for nothing.  However in truth, all of the prayers are lifted up to Heaven by the Tzaddikim of each generation, as it is written, ‘and Moshe established the Tabernacle.’  (Our prayers are part of re-building the Temple)  The Tzaddikm raise up each prayer to its proper place and this is what helps to bring the return of G-d’s presence (the shechinah) amongst us.  Then the Messiah will come and complete the rebuilding of the Temple.”  Amen.

 

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“You shall love your fellow as yourself” a well-known commandment, is one of the many mitzvahs between man and his fellow which we learn about in this week’s Torah portion.  Before bringing this mitzvah, the Torah also commands us, “You shall not hate your brother in your heart; you shall reprove your fellow and do not bear a sin because of him.  You shall not take revenge and you shall not bear a grudge against the members of your people; you shall love your fellow as yourself- I am Hashem.” (Chapter 19, Verses 17-18)

Regarding this mitzvah, Rebbe Noson teaches that part of loving the other person is to be careful how you speak to them and how you try to rebuke them for their misdeeds.  He says that there is no other aspect of human relationships in which the yetzer hara (evil inclination) fools people into making serious sins seem like mitzvahs, like arguments.  In this matter the evil inclination can easily ‘clothe’ itself as a mitzvah, because it incites a person to think that it’s a mitzvah to rebuke him harshly for what he’s done.  We all know that there is no person who doesn’t have some negative character traits or actions.  However, says Rebbe Noson, we are instructed by the Torah and by the Tzaddikim not to look at the bad of other Jews; we should only look at their good aspects and judge them favorably, like the Sages teach in several places.  Even regarding someone who sins, the Torah warned us: “you shall reprove your fellow and do not bear a sin because of him”, meaning that you are not allowed to rebuke him in public and sin yourself in order to reprimand him.  Therefore one of the Sages said, ‘I wonder if there is anyone in this generation who knows how to rebuke’.  This is even truer, says Rebbe Noson, in these generations.  So how can we help our friends when they make mistakes or sin, G-d forbid?  Reb Noson says, it is a great mitzvah to speak heart to heart with our friend or loved one, to speak with them words of truth in a loving and respectful way regarding their situation and how to improve their actions.  To rebuke someone publicly and to cause them embarrassment, G-d forbid, or to continue or begin an argument just causes further damage.  Each person needs to be very careful not to continue an argument and not to fool themselves that they are doing a mitzvah by rebuking someone harshly. (Likutei Halachot, Laws of Impure Wine, 4^th teaching)

If it does not help to rebuke someone in an argumentative, negative way, then how can we help a friend or loved one when we see them making a mistake?  I have mentioned before Rebbe Nachman’s important teaching about searching for the good points in ourselves and in others, Azamra, Lesson 282 in Likutei Moharan.  Regarding interpersonal relationships, Azamra is the true way to help another person correct their mistakes.  By looking at our fellow’s good points, their good deeds and qualities, and focusing on them, we can truly help them grow and improve.  Rebbe Nachman says that when you judge someone favorably, in your mind, and all the more so when you speak with them about their good points, you raise them up from the side of sin to the side of merit.  This then gives them an opening to do teshuva, to correct their ways.

There is a story brought in a new booklet I received this Pesach about a conversation between Rebbe Noson and one of his students, which illustrates the power of looking for the good in others.  Once a student named Rav Meir came to Rebbe Noson, and Rebbe Noson asked him about a man from the city of Teplik whom he had a connection with.  R’ Meir answered him that there’s nothing to talk about.  Reb Noson replied to him, listen to me, if you want to look with this kind of an eye at people you’ll find fault with the whole world!  Look at all of the residents of your city whom you know, and start from the one who dwells at the edge of the city.  When you look at him closely, surely you’ll find his faults.  This will also be the case as you go from house to house.  Until you come to your own house- are you the most kosher (righteous) Jew in the whole city?  R’ Meir answered him, I’m also not a kosher Jew.  Reb Noson answered him, you’re also not?!  If so, who is kosher?  Reb Noson continued his reply: However, if you’ll look with a good eye at others, then even when you’ll look at the worst of the worst you’ll find in him something good, and all the more so someone who is not so bad; and so too in every person.  Also inside of you there is good.  In this way you can find the merits of everyone in the whole world. (Kochvei Or, Rebbe Noson’s teachings, 18)

We learn here from Rebbe Nachman and his student Reb Noson that the true way to rebuke someone is to show them how good they really are, to speak to their heart and awaken their good points.  They are good and truly inside they only want to do good.  When we practice focusing on and emphasizing our good points, then we will see our actions and words, and think to ourselves, ‘hey, this is not me.  This is not how I want to speak, or think or act.  I’m good, I’m a beautiful soul!’

(The image is courteous of Chabad.org)

I wanted to share this week a few short ideas connected to Pesach.

As a follow-up to what I wrote two weeks ago in Parshat Tazria about the attribute of humility, I found in a booklet of Breslov teachings about Pesach a diary entry by Rebbe Noson.  He writes there that being able to combine greatness and submissiveness is the main aspect of complete humility.  When can we obtain this attribute on a higher level?  He says that expanded consciousness and constricted consciousness come together and are included together on the night of the Pesach Seder, which is one of the most special and inspirational nights of the year as we read the haggada together and celebrate Pesach.  This is the main aspect of completion which a person can obtain, true humility.  Meaning that on the one hand a person needs to know their strength, knowing that their soul has tremendous light and strength to overcome and abstain from sins and negative influences; yet on the other hand they are able to be truly humble and know their own meekness compared to the greatness of Hashem.  When Rebbe Nachman said that regarding humility many people are mistaken, he also said during the same discussion that a person needs to know his own strength. (Reb Noson’s diary, 57)

Pesach, and especially the Seder night, has the power to awaken us from our spiritual sleep.  Rebbe Noson teaches that the exile is the aspect of sleep and the redemption is the aspect of awakening from our slumber.  Therefore, the main aspect of the exodus from the Egyptian exile, which is the source of all the types of exile which the Jewish people have experienced, is awakening from our sleep.  What awakens us from our spiritual sleep?  What helps us to seek a true, close connection with Hashem?  Ancient Stories, meaning the stories told by the true tsaddikim which contain within them the deeper, hidden aspects of the Torah.  An example of this is Rebbe Nachman’s stories.  One of the main mitzvahs which we fulfill on the Seder night as we gather with family and friends to celebrate our freedom is telling the story of the exodus and Hashem’s miracles.  The main part of the story which we emphasize is Hashem’s kindnesses as He took us out of the Egyptian slavery.  Reading the haggada and discussing the Exodus has the power to awaken people from their sleep, every person on their level.  This night has the power to awaken us and help us come closer to Hashem, to remember his miracles which are always with us.  This will in turn awaken G-d’s mercy to bring us the final redemption, may it come speedily in our time. (Otsar HaYira on Pesach, 119; Adapted from Likutei Halachot, Laws of Vows, 5th teaching)

Once a student of Reb Noson was complaining to him shortly before Pesach, ‘how am I going to buy everything I need for the holiday?  There are so many expenses and I just can’t afford it!’  Reb Noson replied to him, ‘you’ll have what you need for Pesach, you don’t need to worry, Hashem will provide for you.  What you really need to focus on and be concerned about is how to take the Pesach (referring to the Pesach sacrifice which was brought at the time of the Temple).’  Meaning that we need to focus on bringing the spiritual light of Pesach inside of us, which should be our main concern. (Paraphrased from a story I heard on a Breslov Research Institute video)

Everyone should be blessed with a Happy and Kosher Passover!  We should be blessed through our physical and spiritual preparations for the holiday and our celebration of the holiday to true, personal freedom as individuals and as a people, amen.

(The image is courteous of Chabad.org)

“Hashem spoke to Moshe saying: This shall be the law of the metzora on the day of his purification: He shall be brought to the Kohen.” (Chapter 14, Verses 1-2)  The Sages learned from this verse (תורת המצורע) that even someone who has a type of skin blemish and is considered a metzora, or has a type of bodily fluid emission can learn Torah.  Rebbe Noson explains that through the holy Torah which Moshe brought down to us we are eternally connected to Hashem.  Even someone who has fallen to a very low and distant place from G-d because of his bad deeds, nevertheless he can easily come closer to Hashem again through learning Torah.  The Torah descends even to someone who is in the deepest depths of bad spiritual forces and awakens him and brings him closer to Hashem.  Even when a person feels spiritually like he’s lost and dead, even he can hear the voice of the holy Torah.  This is the aspect of what the Sages said that the words of the Torah don’t receive impurity.  Therefore we learn from this that since the day that the Jewish people received the Torah, there is never anything which can cause us to be permanently distant from G-d.  We are always close to Him through the holy Torah which reaches down to the Jewish people wherever they might find themselves.  This is the main aspect of the giving of the Torah.  Rebbe Noson adds that surely there were great Tzaddikim, like Avraham, Yitzhak and Ya’akov who were able to serve Hashem even before the Torah was given.  However, since we received the Torah, its light gives every Jewish person the ability to come closer to Hashem.  This is the meaning of what Bilaam said in one of his blessings when he wanted to curse the Jewish people and instead his words came out as a blessing:  “How goodly are your tents Ya’akov”, (Bamidbar, Chapter 24, Verse 5).  Your tents is a reference to study halls and shuls where people learn Torah.  Through the Torah the Jewish people are always connected to Hashem and the power of this connection is also what turned Bilaam’s curse into a blessing. (Likutei Halachot, Laws of Leasing and Contract Work, 2^nd teaching)

Rebbe Nachman teaches in the book Advice, based on the first teaching of Likutei Moharan, that through learning Torah a person gives strength to the kingdom of holiness, meaning the revelation of G-d as the King of the world, and he gives strength to his soul to overcome his evil inclination. (Torah Learning, 2^nd teaching)  The Torah gives strength to every person to come closer to G-d from wherever they might find themselves, no matter how far they might have fallen.  The Torah connects a person to their soul, which is a part of Hashem and rooted in the Torah.

On a personal level, everyone has a part of the Torah which they connect to in a deeper way.  For some people it’s learning Talmud, for others it’s learning Tanach (Bible), and for others it’s learning books about faith and ethics.  As I have tried to share and express this year by sharing these parsha articles, based each week on a teaching from Rebbe Noson, I feel a deep connection to the teachings of Rebbe Nachman (and his students).  I feel and experience that his teachings are helping me return to myself and to Hashem.  When we try to live by the teachings and good advice of the Tzaddikim, who make the deeper parts of the Torah accessible to each person on their level, over time we will start to realize that our lives are changing and developing in ways we never imagined.  For example, this week we hosted in our home a workshop and class on the subject of breathing, yes breathing, led by a local student of Rabbi Bezenson, whose book on breathing and its connection to spirituality I mentioned recently in Parshat Pekudei.  If someone had told me a few years ago that I would be hosting a workshop like this, and that I would make breathing a daily part of my service of Hashem, I would never have believed them.  It was something which I was not aware of at all. When we connect to the light of the Torah through learning it, and especially when we find our special connection with a certain subject or Tsaddik who revealed the inner teachings of the Torah, this helps us return to Hashem and discover new experiences and parts of ourselves which we never knew existed before.

We are now about a week away from the holiday of Pesach.  During this time of year there is a powerful energy of renewal with the arrival of spring and the holiday.  Every year during the holiday we need to see ourselves as if we too left the slavery of Eygpt, like our ancestors.  We can also be freed from our own personal exile at this time, all of those aspects of ‘chametz’ inside ourselves and in our lives which make us feel enslaved.  It is a time when we can also renew our connection to the Torah, which gives us the strength to overcome what holds us down and help us return to Hashem.  We should all merit this Pesach to feel renewed in our connection to our faith in Hashem and His Torah!

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“Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: “Speak to the Children of Israel, saying: When a woman conceives and gives birth to a male, she shall be contaminated for a seven day period, as during the days of her separation infirmity shall she be contaminated.” (Chapter 12, Verses 1-2)  After discussing the laws of impurity which result from dead animals at the end of last week’s parsha, the Torah turns to impurity that emanates from human beings and begins with a woman who gives birth (Artscroll commentary there).  Rashi quotes a Midrash which says, ‘Rebbe Simlai said that just as the creation of man was after Hashem created the birds and animals, so too the laws of humans are explained after animal life.’

Rebbe Noson explains that the creation of man came after the creation of animals so that man would learn to subdue his coarseness and arrogance and truly merit to learn Torah and serve Hashem.  It’s impossible to merit knowledge of the Torah and good deeds and teshuva, each person according to their level, unless somebody is able to break their arrogance and coarseness.  It was for this reason that man was created last.  The Sages said- man was created last in order to enter the festive meal of Shabbos immediately; alternatively, if he will become arrogant, people will remind him, ‘a mosquito was created before you during the act of creation.’  This means that man was created only to learn Torah and serve Hashem all of the days of his life, therefore the the meal is already prepared for him, everything that he needs for his livelihood and peace of mind was already created before him.  On the other hand, the Sages said that a person can’t merit the holy meal of Shabbos, which represents the Torah and the service of Hashem, unless they have humility.  Only through humility can a person merit to truly serve Hashem and come closer to Him.  However, when a person becomes arrogant, then people say ‘a mosquito came before you’, because then the animals rule over him, it is like he’s lower than them because of his arrogant behavior.  Rebbe Noson says that the same is true today, man is blessed by Hashem with possessions and a livelihood in order to fulfill his true purpose in the world, but this blessing depends upon him striving to be truly humble.  We find that the main reason for creating man after all of the animals was for humility, which is the attribute needed to properly receive and connect to the Torah.  This is also the reason, says Rebbe Noson, that after this chapter in the Torah about a woman giving birth the Torah brings the laws of skin blemishes, which come as a result of haughtiness. (Likutei Halachot, Laws of Orlah, 5^th teaching)

What does it mean to be humble?  How can we merit the attribute of humility?

In a teaching that I learned this week, Rebbe Nachman says that regarding the attribute of humility people make a lot of mistakes.  I think this means that they think they have already attained the attribute of humility or they are mistaken about what it means to be humble.  He says that we need a lot of spiritual knowledge in order to know how to be truly humble, and really, only Moshe, because of his incredible knowledge of Hashem could be truly humble.  The more that we are able to obtain knowledge of Hashem, knowledge of the Torah, the more we are able to recognize Hashem’s greatness and realize our own humility. (Likutei Moharan, 22^nd teaching, Part 2)  Rebbe Nachman also says in his book, Sefer HaMiddos, his book about character traits, that through faith a person comes to humility. (Humility, 3^rd teaching)  In his teaching above, Rebbe Noson says that only through humility can a person merit to learn Torah and come closer to Hashem.  However, I think that Rebbe Nachman is teaching us here that trying to know Hashem and His Torah also brings us to humility.  Humility is being able to accept that I don’t know and it’s okay not to know something.  It’s being real with where we are holding in life and wanting to grow from there.  It’s also recognizing our attributes and strengths, but knowing that they are gifts from God, who blessed us with these gifts in order for us to help others and do good in the world.

I have felt a lot recently like I’m just not myself, I’m so far from who I truly am or I have just forgotten who I really am.  I thought recently about the story of the sophisticate and the simpleton from Rebbe Nachman’s Stories.  The simpleton is humble, simple and he has a pure heart.  He is not concerned with what other people think of him or how much money they are making etc., he’s not stuck in comparisons, he’s happy with his portion in life.  Through his simplicity and faith he ultimately merits to achieve greatness and become an important minister in the kingdom.  I thought about this teaching this past Shabbat, and thought to myself and then prayed, I want to be like the simpleton, I want to be happy and humble.  I want to be kind-hearted to others.  I want to live with simple faith.  I want to live in the moment.  The beginning of this parsha teaches us that man was created last in order to overcome his arrogance and become a truly humble servant of Hashem.

Chodesh Tov! Good Shabbos!

(The image is courteous of Chabad.org)

At the end of this week’s parsha there is a chapter which talks about the laws of kashrut, which types of animals are kosher to eat and which are not.  This chapter also discusses which objects become contaminated due to contact with a non-kosher small, creeping animal: “And if its carcass will fall upon any edible seed that has been planted, it remains pure.  But if water has been placed upon a seed and then their carcass falls upon it, it is contaminated to you.” (Chapter 11, Verses 37-38)

Rebbe Noson teaches that water, in general, represents our faith in Hashem as the creator of the world, this is called אמונת חידוש העולם.  The Sages teach in the Talmud Yerushalmi, as does Rashi on the first verse of the book of Bereshit, that water preceded the creation of the physical world- plants, animal life, human life, etc.  The main aspect of believing in the renewal and creation of the world, Rebbe Noson says, is to believe in the beginning of creation which was the water, which means to believe that Hashem created the world something from completely nothing.  Afterwards from the water he created the rest of creation.  The main part where we need to strengthen ourselves to believe in Hashem’s creation of the world is the beginning, because the rest of the world which Hashem created after the beginning is not as much a wondrous thing for people, we see the wonders of creation each day.  We see every day and every moment the renewal of Hashem’s creation.  For example, we see that the sun sets in the evening and it becomes dark, and in the morning God renews the light of the sun and the sun rises.  Another example of the wonder of creation, Rebbe Noson says, is how from one grain of wheat there can grow from it many high stalks with several hundred grains of wheat… Because water has this special quality that it was created before all the other physical creations, it purifies somebody or something from impurity.  It’s impossible to enter into any aspect of holiness without water, without immersing in a mikveh or washing your hands or your body in water.  For example, the Kohanim need to wash their hands before they bless the congregation at shul.  On the other hand, we find that water can also receive impurity, and food does not receive impurity unless it comes in contact with water first.  The main aspect of holiness and purity comes from belief in Hashem’s renewal of creation.  Emunah (faith) is the main vessel to achieve holiness and purity, and the opposite is true, the main aspect of impurity and strict judgement comes from heresy.  They are both connected to water.  Someone who merits to have true faith will receive all of the levels of holiness and purity, and these levels are drawn from the beginning of creation, when Hashem created water something from nothing. (Likutei Halachot, Laws of Blessings on Smells, 4^th teaching)

This teaching caught my attention this week I think because of how Purim was for me last week.  On Purim it’s a mitzvah to drink more than you usually would and become drunk until you can’t tell the difference between Mordechai and Haman.  I took things too far this year, drank too much at the festive meal and by the time we got home from the family’s house who hosted us, I was vomiting in our parking lot.  The next thing I knew I woke up the next morning at 6:15am in our reclining chair in the living room in a bad state.  I was sick all day that day, Friday, and still felt very weak on Shabbos.  My family was scared that I had lost control and gotten so sick from the drinking.  I felt terrible both physically and emotionally.  I knew that I had messed up.  I thought to myself however- ‘all that I can do is to start over and make teshuva (apologize and take responsibility)’.  Despite feeling so terrible I wanted to begin again.  The only way that I can explain this is faith.  Faith is above our understanding and our feelings.  Faith is believing that even if today was (really) bad, tomorrow can be completely different, because tomorrow is a different creation.  We believe that Hashem renews creation every day.  I’m thankful that Hashem gave me the strength and the good thoughts to begin again, from the beginning.  When we are trying to grow and change and improve ourselves and we turn to Hashem to ask for help, even if we fall down, Rebbe Nachman says that in the end everything will turn around for the best and we will reach our goals.  This teaching means on a practical level that we can always renew ourselves, we can truly change and we don’t need to stay stuck in all kinds of bad behaviors and thinking patterns which we feel we have no way of changing.  We can change things for the better in our lives and begin again.

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“This is the law of the feast peace-offering that one will offer to Hashem: If he shall offer it for a thanksgiving-offering, he shall offer with the feast thanksgiving-offering unleavened loaves mixed with oil, unleavened wafers smeared with oil, and loaves of scalded fine flour mixed with oil.” (Chapter 7, Verses 11-12)  Rebbe Noson teaches that the thanksgiving offering is the aspect of the obligation of anyone who is rescued from a difficult situation or sickness to thank Hashem upon their recovery.  The four types of situations for which a person needs to give thanks and say a special blessing are: one who travels through a wilderness or desert, one who is freed from prison, a sick person who is healed and someone who travels across the sea (or by airplane today).  All of the different types of suffering we experience are the aspect of the exile of Hashem’s presence in the world (גלות השכינה), because in all of our sorrows He also feels the sorrow.  His presence is in exile with us.  The main expression of the exile is when sadness enters a person’s heart, because all of the negative desires which someone is trapped by happen because of sadness, and as a result of this a person suffers from being far from Hashem, which is exile.  Therefore, when Hashem helps somebody be rescued from their difficulty they need to bring a thanksgiving offering.  Today, when we are not able to bring this offering, we need to thank Hashem with a full heart, which is the aspect of happiness.  The main expression of happiness is when a person thanks Hashem, because this is the main simcha which we will experience in the future, “Give thanks to Hashem with a harp, with a ten-stringed lyre make music to Him.” (Psalms, Chapter 33, Verse 2)  It is also written in another chapter of Psalms, “A psalm of thanksgiving, call out to Hashem, all the earth.  Serve Hashem with gladness, come before Him with joyous song.” (Chapter 100, Verses 1-2)  By thanking Hashem when we come out of a difficult situation, we are able to rectify the sadness which caused us to fall into a state of suffering.  When a person lives with happiness, he will be saved from all types of suffering.  Therefore, the Sages taught that in the future, when the Temple is re-built, all of the sacrifices will be nullified, except for the thanksgiving offering. (Likutei Halachot, Laws of Thanksgiving, 6^th teaching)

The special mitzvah of this month of Adar is simcha!  Praying for simcha and trying to increase the happiness in our lives.  One of Rebbe Nachman’s most famous statements is ‘It’s a great mitzvah to always be happy.’  I decided recently to learn more in depth this teaching (and the one preceding it) about joy in the second part of Likutei Moharan, the 23^rd and 24^th teachings.  Rebbe Nachman concludes the second teaching by saying, “And the general principle is that a person needs to overcome and strengthen themselves to be happy always… and to make themselves happy in any way possible, even by telling jokes and doing something silly.”  Rebbe Noson adds in his prayer based on this teaching that the main revelation of holiness and our main source of life and vitality comes through happiness.  Simcha is also a remedy for a kinds of illnesses and pains.  This is how vital it is to our lives.  Rebbe Noson teaches us from this parsha that by looking for all of the blessings and good we have in our lives and thanking Hashem and focusing on them, we can increase our happiness and be saved from suffering.  We need to thank Hashem as well for all of the times that he has helped us in difficult situations.  This is an additional advice for bringing ourselves to a state of happiness.

Rebbe Noson writes a beautiful prayer about Purim in his book Likutei T’filot, his book of prayers, that the miracle of Purim was greater and is greater than all the other miracles we have experienced as a people!  It is a time to pray and rejoice.  To pray for whatever we feel we are lacking in our lives, spiritually and physically, and to rejoice in Hashem’s miracles, which are always with us.  One of the special mitzvahs of Purim is to give tzedkah to the needy, as it’s said about the gifts to the poor on this holiday: כל הפושט יד נותנים לו.  The tsaddikim say that the same is true when we stretch out our hands in prayer on Purim, our prayers are accepted.  We should all merit during this week of Purim to be happy in our service of God, to make others happy, and as a result of this to see on own personal redemption and the redemption of all of the Jewish people.

Purim Sameach!

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This week we start reading the third book of the Torah, Vayikra, or Leviticus in English.  The beginning of this book has several parshas about the laws of offering sacrifices in the Tabernacle and the Holy Temple.  What can we learn from these laws today, when we don’t have the Temple and we don’t have sacrifices?  Regarding the Mincha offering, the meal offering, the Torah states: “When a person offers a meal-offering to Hashem, his offering shall be of fine flour; he shall pour oil upon it and place frankincense upon it.” (Chapter 2, Verse 1)

Rebbe Noson teaches us, based on this verse about meal offerings, an important lesson about teshuva, returning to Hashem.  He says that the main aspect of teshuva is the aspect of the mincha offering.  The meal offerings were brought by poor people who could not afford to offer an animal, and because of this these offerings were precious before God.  The same is true regarding returning to Hashem.  A person needs to pray with the knowledge that he is poor and lacking spiritually.  This means that on the one hand we should know and feel our meekness and impoverishment before God, but on the other hand our mistakes and sins should not cause us to become even more distant from Hashem; rather we need to trust in Hashem’s kindness, that we too have hope to merit to return to God from whatever situation we find ourselves in.  The mincha offering teaches us that God’s mercy is never depleted, his attribute of mercy is boundless.  Even if a person can’t return and correct his mistakes as he should according to the scope of his actions, nevertheless this should not prevent him from doing what he can to correct his ways.  Even one aspect of teshuva is very precious in the eyes of God, just like the mincha offering, which was offered by a poor person.  The Sages teach that our prayers are in place of sacrifices today.  Therefore, Rebbe Noson adds that the main aspect of teshuva is prayer, and the most important kind of prayer in God’s eyes is the prayer of a poor person.  The main principle which we learn from the mincha offering is to never cause yourself to despair, even when things feel really hard, just to try to overcome the situation you find yourself in and do what you can. (Likutei Halachot, Laws of the Mincha Prayer, 7^th teaching)

Rebbe Noson writes in Rebbe Nachman’s Wisdom: “He (Rebbe Nachman) also strongly emphasized the greatness of teshuva, even when a person falls very greatly, God forbid… nevertheless it’s forbidden for him to let himself despair, because teshuva is very lofty, even loftier than the Torah; therefore there is no reason to despair, because if a person returns to Hashem, his sins will be rectified and be turned into merits… The main principle is: from any fall and decline which somebody goes through, they can return to Hashem easily, because His greatness can’t be comprehended; and the main thing which everything depends on is not to let himself despair from screaming and praying to Hashem always.” (3^rd teaching)  Rebbe Noson writes in another teaching in Rebbe Nachman’s Wisdom regarding having faith in ourselves: “And the general principle which is understood from his words is that a person needs to have faith in himself, that he too is beloved to Hashem.  Since Hashem’s goodness is so boundless, he too is great and important in God’s eyes.” (140^th teaching)

Do whatever (good) you can, keep trying, keep going, keep praying, there’s no reason to despair!  How much do we need to hear these words every day!  This message you will find in many places in Rebbe Nachman’s teachings, and there is even an entire book called Restore My Soul, a compilation of Rebbe Nachman’s teachings about finding strength and encouragement in any situation.  Why does a person despair from trying to return to Hashem and to who they truly are?

We give up because we don’t believe in how much God loves us and how full of mercy he is.  We also despair because we don’t believe in ourselves, we don’t believe that we are beloved and still wanted by God and that we have the strength inside, in our souls, to keep trying.  We don’t value the mitzvahs and good deeds which we are doing.  I have been listening recently to an amazing series of classes by Rav Moshe Weinberger about Rebbe Nachman’s first story in the Thirteen Tales, the Lost Princess.  He says that one of the main expressions in our life of the fact that we have lost the Princess, meaning that we are far from our souls and therefore far from God, is that we don’t believe in ourselves.  We don’t believe in the power of our souls, we don’t believe in our talents and abilities, and we don’t believe that Hashem is with us and helping us in every situation.  We don’t believe that we have something special to share with the world.  We lost the feeling that Hashem is our loving father, and not only that, He’s the King of Kings, who can help us always and in any situation.  We don’t believe how much our lives could be completely different and change for the better if we try, on our level, to improve our ways and live a life of returning to Hashem.  Rebbe Nachman teaches us that the opposite is true.  Every prayer, every effort, every aspect of teshuva is very great and precious before Hashem, and He is with us every step of the way!

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Our Parsha, the concluding one in the book of Exodus, begins with a detailed listing of the amounts of gold, silver, and copper that were contributed for the construction of the Tabernacle (Artscroll commentary).  “These are the reckonings of the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle of Testimony, which were reckoned at Moshe’s bidding.” (Chapter 38, Verse 21)  The Sages learn from the fact that the Torah repeats the word Tabernacle twice in the verse that it is the same Mishkan (Tabernacle) when it was built and even when it was destroyed.  What does that mean?  We can connect to the holiness of the Tabernacle and the Temple even when we don’t have them with us.  Rebbe Noson says that we learn from this idea that Hashem gave the remedy before the illness.  He commanded the Jewish people to build the Tabernacle, which contained all of the holiness of the Holy Temple.  Hashem taught Moshe that the Jewish people could draw down the holiness of the future Temple also while they were travelling for forty years in the desolate wilderness.  Hashem also gave a remedy for future generations, that even after the Temple would be destroyed, due to our sins, we would have the strength to draw down the holiness of the Temple through our shuls and yeshivas.  The synagogue is called a מקדש מעט, a small version of the Temple.  The main influence which helps us draw down the lofty holiness of the Temple into our shuls, even while we are in exile, comes from the Tabernacle.  Moshe had the spiritual power to channel all of the holiness of the Temple into the Tabernacle, which was a temporary structure to be used by the Jewish people until the building of the Temple in Jerusalem.  This was the main aspect of establishing the Tabernacle: to give the nation of Israel the power to bring down the holiness of the Temple into their shuls and learning centers even during the time of exile. (Likutei Halachot, Laws of Chol HaMoed, 4^th teaching)

Healing is something which Rebbe Nachman discusses a lot in his teachings.  For example, Rebbe Nachman teaches that when a person’s lungs are complete and healthy, by way of this his trust in God is also complete.  What’s the connection?  He says that the main way to achieve complete trust in God is through a person’s mind, where spiritually his neshama (higher soul) resides.  A person’s mind can only become clear and filled with Godly knowledge and faith when his breathing is healthy.  He explains that the mind is influenced by the fluids in a person’s body, which are in turn influenced by a proper amount of breathing and healthy lungs. (Likutei Moharan, Torah 225, Part One) One the current Breslov Rabbis and teachers in Israel, Rav Yisrael Yitzhak Bezenson, printed recently a book about the spiritual power of breathing.  Aside from the physical healing which a person can merit when they are breathing correctly and breathing enough, Rav Bezenson reveals through Rebbe Nachman’s teachings the amazing spiritual benefits that somebody will receive through breathing.  Rebbe Nachman teaches us that through breathing we will gain bitachon (trust) in Hashem.  Rav Bezenson says that most of the tensions and stress we experience in life result from a lack of trust in God.  Only trust in God helps a person feel tranquility inside.  Trusting in Hashem means that I believe in God’s endless power to guide and protect every one of His creations only with what is best for them, to save each person from all of their troubles, and to care about their needs at every moment.  Hashem gave us the remedy to every situation of stress and pressure- breathing, taking deep breaths with the intention that Hashem is giving me this breath.  He loves me, He wants me and the special gift which I have to bring to the world, He is right with me.  By way of this we gain the attribute of trust. (Neshama Neshima, pages 35-36)

Learning this book about breathing and trying to practice it every day this year since the Jewish Holidays has been helping me greatly.  Just as I shared recently about the powerful change which personal prayer has had on my life, I feel like this teaching about the healing powers of breathing is also helping me see positive changes in my life.  Physically, I feel lighter and less tired.  Emotionally too, there are of course ups and downs, but overall I find myself in many situations feeling like I’m happier and more able to be myself.  I told a friend the other day who teaches workshops based on this book that now when I feel stress, fear, etc. many times I take a few deep breaths and try to slow things down.  It’s becoming almost like a reflex.

In every situation of pain, uncertainty, stress, etc. if we hold tight to our faith that Hashem is right with us and take some deep breaths, we will see the remedy and good advice, we will experience the healing of trust and faith.  We can find this healing is brought down through the holiness of the synagogue, through connecting to Torah learning and prayer.  We can connect to the holiness of the Tabernacle right now, even in our current state of exile.

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