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Shalosh SeudosofParshas Tazria 5765
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Milah and the Purification of theMetzora
It is important to understand why the mitzvah of circumcision on the eighth dayis juxtaposed with the mitzvos of the purification of a new mother and the metzora. The
sages taught that this juxtaposition teaches us that milah takes precedence over
Shabbos.1 They mean to say that despite the great sanctity of the Shabbos, the holy
Torah nevertheless comes to teach us that the sanctity of milah is even higher. The
Arizal taught that while Shabbos is rooted in the spiritual world ofAtzilus, milah is
rooted in the higher world ofAdam Kadmon.2 This parallels another Talmudic concept:
While the harp used in the Sanctuary was of seven strings, the one that will exist during
the times ofMoshiach will be of eight. As the verse says, To the choirmaster, upon theeight-stringed harp
3The seven-stringed harp alludes to the Shabbos, to the attribute
to Chochmah and the world ofAtzilus, while the eight-stringed harp alludes to the
milah, for on the eighth day you shall circumcise the flesh of his orlah.
The Arizal explained that the phrase, If a man shall have on the skin of his
flesh a blemish of tzoraas, refers to the Adam HaElyon, the supernal man, the six
sefiros ofZeir Anpin that are reflected in the form of the human body.4
As the verse
says, I will be like the image of the supernal5
[Note: The human form is a reflection
of the order of the upper worlds and the sefiros.]Even though the laws of blemishes no
1Sanhedrin 59b
2Eitz Chaim, Shaar HaHonaah chapter 4
3Erchin 13b, based upon Tehillim 12:1
4Likutei Torah, Tazria
5Yeshayahu 14:14
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longer apply, that is only on the physical plane. On the spiritual plane, they do indeed
still apply.
TheArizal and theRashash explain that the inner meaning of all of the festivals
is to repair the sin ofAdam HaRishon.6 In our verse we also find an allusion to this
concept: ..." " If a man (Adam) shall have a blemish in the skin
of his flesh This is the blemish that affected Adam HaRishon after he fell and ate
from the Tree of Knowledge. Every single Jew was incorporated within the collective
body ofAdam HaRishon, and therefore every single Jew has a connection with that sin.
7
The repair of the sin ofAdam HaRishon is the main task that one must fulfill in this
world, and this is all the more true during the festivals. It is also the core reason why we
have suffered in this exile for so long, for all of exile is a result of the obscuring of
Hashems presence. TheArizal taught the when Adam HaRishon sinned, he blemished
thepartzufor supernal image of the days, which parallels the middle triad ofsefiros of
Chessed, Gevurah, and Tiferes; and the partzufof the times, which parallels the lower
triad ofsefiros:Netzach,Hod, and Yesod. Despite the fact that the blemish reached both
areas, the main damage was incurred in the lower region ofNetzach,Hod, and Yesod. Soeven though one must work to repair the sin ofAdam HaRishon all year long (the days),
nevertheless the main area of work is during the festivals themselves (the times).
The Sin ofAdam HaRishon
First and foremost, we must understand the nature of the blemish that damaged
the sefiros ofNetzach,Hod, and Yesod. They parallel the three marks oftzoraas: seis,
sapachas, and baheres.8 Seis has the connotation of elevation and was a mental
blemish, in that Adam sought to aggrandize himself. Sapachas [which has the
connotation of making additions] is a flaw of self-promotion and splendor /Hod, while
baheres parallels the attribute of Yesod. These three flaws are very internal, and the
6Nahar Shalom 33a
7Shaar HaKavanos,Drush Birchas HaShachar, loc cit: Al ha omrim Elokai neshamah
shenasata bi tehora hi8Likutei Torah, Tazria
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Arizal explained that they are like two spies who infiltrate a persons avodas Hashem to
corrupt it from within.9
Even when a person is really serving Hashem with very lofty
avodos, these spies instigate a chain reaction that can bring a person to the lowest place.
(These spies are not to be confused with the holy spies who examine the avodos of
others in order to glean from them ever-expanding methods and paths to serve Hashem.)
Since the person suffers from the three flaws, his avodah is not for the sake of heaven,
and so he begins to scrutinize others and judge their avodah. His mind is preoccupied
with thoughts of others all day long until he descends to the level of the two dadim ofthe cattle that exist in the realm of the klippos, that are associated with the negative
manifestation of feminine energy. [Note: This aspect is known as the ishah zonah, the
inverse of the holy side of femininity, the eishes chayil. Just as the human place of
infant nourishment is located in the region of the heart, above the diaphragm, we find
that the place of animal nourishment is in the lower regions of the belly. This is a
symbol of the difference between nukvah dkedushah and nukvah dklippah.]
After a person begins to scrutinize the activities of others, like the sons of
Elokim who descended to examine the daughters of man, he ultimately falls into the sinof spreading slander about others in deed. And the starting point of all of this descent
was his failure to serve Hashem lshem shomayim. The end result is the appearance of
tzoraas. One could ask how great people could be afflicted by such signsbut when
we know that the outward marks are only signs of inner corruption that is rooted in
prideful attitudes, everything is made clear. And this entire process has its source in the
sin ofAdam HaRishon, for when he ate from the Tree of Knowledge his aspect ofDaas
fell from the level of the head to the level of the shoulders. This teaches us that the true
goal ofavodas Hashem is to return to the rectified state ofAdam HaRishon before the
sin. In the beginning, Adam only sought to hasten the redemption; he strolled through
Gan Eden and saw that everything is just a manifestation of the light and life-force of
Hashem. Every single Jew has hidden within him this level of the avodah ofAdam
9Ibid.
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HaRishon before the sin, he knows that all of reality is only Hashem and that He
orchestrates absolutely everything, that there is no existence but Him. This light of
awareness is mainly manifest within the realm of to work it and to guard it, the realm
of the positive and negative commandments. Hashem toldAdam HaRishon that he could
eat from all the trees of the garden, but not to eat from the Tree of Knowledgefor all
of a persons avodah really comes down to working it and guarding it, to listening to
Hashems voice and command. In reality, every single Jew has within him a powerful
longing and thirst for G-dliness, to love Him and fear Him, and to cleave to Himabsolutely.
The Seder of Drawing down Hashems Light
This is certainly the will of the Creator, that a person should be filled with
powerful longing and a fiery yearning for Him. Yet the primary element of avodas
Hashem is simply to work it and to guard it in the right order and manner. A Jew must
know that there is a certain order to the descent of Hashems light, and when it is
reversed and the light enters into a person out of order, it causes severe damage and
can confuse and corrupt the person completely.
The lights ofImma /Binah are the mentalities of longing to love and fear
Hashem and cling to Him, while the lights ofAbba /Chochmah are the mentalities of
self-nullification that an emanation has in relation to the One who brought it into
independent existence. [Note: It always feels as nothing when aware of its Creator.] This
latter light is the light of working and guarding it, it is the desire to hear and know the
will of Hashem. Sometimes, the emanation (the person), seeks to give precedence to the
lights ofdveikus (Imma), but he must know that the lights ofAbba, of selfless seeking to
hear and act upon the expressed will of Hashem, must always come first. The first step
in every matter is to nullify oneself through absolute dedication to the halachah and
before the tzaddikim of every generation. This is a very deep aspect ofavodas Hashem
that unfortunately even many otherwise worthy people either relegate to a secondary
position or ignore altogether. They make the error of giving pride of place to the
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emotional and spiritual experience of longing for Hashem and dveikus. They study
works that will enhance their prayer so that it will fulfill their own expectations and
vision, and consider that study for its own sake and bittul before the tzaddikim is more
of an additional avodah and not the main element.
This is why the Arizal taught that the attempt to bring in the lights ofImma
before the lights ofAbba was the main aspect of the sin ofAdam HaRishon, for he
wanted to bring the entire universe to repentance, even the more external spiritual forces
that were to ultimately bring vitality to the non-Jewish nations. However, the time forsuch work had not yet arrived and it was not in line with the true will of Hashem.
Therefore, when the festivals arrive and the time is again ripe to rectify the sin ofAdam
HaRishon, the main spiritual work is for a person to beg Hashems mercy so that he will
merit to fulfill all of His commands in simplicity, for this is the most important thing of
all. Such a prayer must be offered with an attitude of self-nullification and absolute
willingness to attend to Hashems voice and command and to obey the tzaddikim down
to the last detail. When a person acts in this way, he also merits to receive the lights of
Imma, the lights of longing and yearning for ever-higher levels of connection withHashemand when developed in this way, his yearning has genuine power and
significance.
Illusory and GenuineDveikus
All that we have said until now is the underlying reason why milah takes
precedence over Shabbos. The milah is the embodiment of the covenantal relationship
that the Jewish people has with Hashem, a relationship of total obedience. While the
light of Shabbos which is the light ofImma is very great, one must know that the light of
the milah which is the light ofAbba must take precedence. Before one experiences the
light ofdveikus, he must ensure that he is receiving it in the way of the Jewish people,
not in the way of the nations. The dveikus of the nations is a constant race after spiritual
experiences without the obligating covenantal relationship with Hashem. When the
milah takes precedence over Shabbos, it is our way of saying that we have no interest in
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the dveikus of the nations, and that we want to follow in the footsteps of the tzaddikim
who only sought to fulfill the will of the King. This is the main avodah of a Jewto
work and guard the garden and not to taste of the Tree of Knowledge, not to seek
dveikus divorced from obedience to the expressed will of the Creator.
Unfortunately, when a person delves into non-Torah works, even if connection
with Hashem is discussed there, he transgresses the Torahs command: You shall have
no false gods before Me. According to the Rambam, it is prohibited to delve into such
works even for the sake of heaven, and this is all the more true when the content is notfocused on spiritual growth. This prohibition also applies to the many people who err
and flaunt the rulings of the sages with the excuse that they are learning seforim
chitzoniim for the sake of heaven, in order to help other Jews. That may be all well and
good, but nevertheless they are not following the command of our King, for Hashem
said: One who listens and obeys is preferable to he who brings a fine sacrifice.10
Straight and simple obedience to Hashems word is the greatest service of all, even
when it appears as though the light he could attain through some other means is much
more powerful. It is important to remember that this light is an illusion, it is the light ofthe klippah of flashing fire of Yechezkels vision, it is the dveikus of the sitra achra.
11
Any feeling of spiritual connection that comes without the elevated aspect of the bris
milah is tainted by the sitra achra, it is not genuine dveikus at all. Those who serve
Hashem while simultaneously defying the rulings of the sages are caught in the illusion
of the samech-mem; no real sanctity enlivens their actions and they have no connection
with the holiness of the Shabbos.
In order for a person to ensure that he is not beset by the blemishes of pride that
manifest as seis, sapachas, and baheres, he must take stock of himself and his
motivations and examine whether or not he is really nullified before the tzaddikim and
unquestioningly fulfilling every detail of the Shulchan Aruch. And the common
sentiment that pride is not really relevant today, since we have nothing to be proud of,
10Shmuel I:15:22
11Yechezkel 1:4
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is meaningless. A persons degree of pride is directly proportionate to the extent that he
disobeys the halachah and the tzaddikim. And even though this pride can be the result of
the persons genuine desire to connect with Hashem and pursue many lofty avodos, it
will still destroy his ability to attain true dveikus. If he only knew to what extent his
partaking of the Tree of Knowledge separates him from the Source of all life, from
being worthy of the Tree of Life, he would first work to attain the state of bittul before
attempting to receive the light ofdveikus. When the light ofAbba descends first, then
the light ofImma do not foster any pride or blemish in him and he is free of the plaguesofseis, sapachas, and baheres.
The Lights ofTeshuvah
Chazal taught that during the first three days after the childs birth, he sees from
one end of the earth to the other (some say even during all seven days before the bris).
This is the vision and light to which every Jew must aspire, the light of Kesserthat is
hidden within the Torah itself. This is the light that the four who entered the Pardes
sought; with this light it is possible to rectify the entire world. We find that Adam
HaRishon did penance for 130 years after his sin and even then he failed to draw down
the light of the redemption, and this is because he never sought to reach the essence of
teshuvah. What is it, then? The essence of teshuvah is faith in the sages, absolute
devotion to the true tzaddikim, and it makes no difference whether what they say makes
sense to the person or not. All the while that a person feels he is only willing to obey
that which he understands intellectually, he remains in the state of pride and cannot
complete his atonement properly. For the main way to ascend to the place of absolute
atonement and forgiveness is to enter the primal light ofKesserthat shines from one end
of the earth to the other. One must have a childlike desire to fulfill Hashems will, like
an infant who understands one thing only: that Hashems will is his own. Then the light
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of Kesser, of the Name EHYeH that is associated with the newborn state of total
repentance, shines upon the person.12
The First Two Cups of the Seder
Now we can better understand the teaching of the Arizal, that the sin ofAdam
HaRishon caused Daas to fall from the level of the head to the level between the
shoulders. The shoulders are the place where the child expresses his lack of will, his
eini rotzeh. In this sense, the place where the shoulders are shrugged is the symbol of
the relinquishing of personal will, and the concept of the childlike state of mind is one in
which the person has no will of his own, but is only interested in the will of his Source.
This can be seen on Sedernight, when we drink two cups of wine before we partake of
the matzah. Wine is associated with the light ofImma and the matzah represents the
mochin ofAbba. We first drink two cups to acknowledge that without some degree of
longing and yearning for dveikus, we will never get to the mochin dAbba at all. Even
so, the meal really begins with the matzah, with the light of self-nullification ofAbba/
Chochmah. Afterward, we continue the work we have begun with another two cups, we
receive another infusion of the light ofImma/Binah and longing for dveikus.
This is why we call the avodos of that night the Seder. Because there is a
proper order in which one comes to serve Hashem: first one works up the willingness to
strive for bittul, then one enjoys the complete experience ofdveikus as expressed in the
culmination of the Seder, the recitation ofShir HaShirim. Itbegins, May He kiss me
with the kisses of His mouth for this is the true will of, King Shlomo, the King to
Whom peace belongs. Even so, there is an established order how one can come to this;
if a person confuses the order, he can bring upon himself terrible plagues and can fall
into the sin oflashon hara.
This is really the root of our long exile, this terrible baseless hatred. And it can
all be attributed to the simple fact that we are insufficiently interested in what Hashem
12Likutei Moharan II:12
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wants from us, for the Torah itself tells us not to hate our brother in our heart, that we
must be unified and be on friendly terms with everyone. Anyone who is not on speaking
terms with another Jew transgresses this commandment and he is well aware of it, but
one day follows another and he continues to go to shul and put on his tallis and tefillin,
and he doesnt pay any attention to the fact that he is sinning. How can this be? It
happens when a person distorts the meaning ofYiddishkeitinto putting on his tallis and
tefillin rather than becoming nullified before the will of Hashem. If we really were so
nullified, we would never fall into the sin of baseless hatred which is the root of thisexileand this is actually the hardest thing, to never harbor resentments against other
Jews. Granted, there are 150 reasons to be angry with another person and it is difficult to
understand how the Torah commanded us not to bear a grudge. One can accept that the
Torah commands us to study Torah, pray, and do good deeds, but how could it
command us to do something as difficult as living without resentments? We see from
here that the main thing is coming to the state ofbittul to Hashems will, because then it
really is possible to fulfill this mitzvah. Then one becomes worthy of the primordial light
of creation that illuminates the world from one end to the other.In truth, the Ribbono shel olam wants to give everything good to every single
Jew and wishes to bestow His Shechinah upon us; He doesnt burden us with tasks that
are beyond our ability. The Medrash teaches that Hashem said to the Jewish people,
The entire Torah is easy to fulfill and I only ask of you that which is within your
human ability to fulfill. Even the holyAvos were only expected to do what they could.
Why, then, are we not worthy of experiencing prophecy? The Ribbono shel olam wants
to restore prophecy to the Jewish people. The reason why we arent worthy is because
we have yet to repair the sin ofAdam HaRishon, and all of our avodas Hashem is
twisted. Instead of realizing that the main thing is just to obey Hashems will, we think
that we have to do these very lofty types of avodos that will bring Him satisfaction. But
this is an error; the main way to bring Hashem nachas ruach is by simply longing to
nullify our will before His with every single motion and serve Him wholeheartedly. This
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will bring us to the mochin dAbba, and we will then be worthy of true longing and
dveikus, of the mochin dImma. Then we will come to true Daas so that at the end of
the Sederwe will be able to recite Shir HaShirim and really emerge fromMitzrayim like
the true tzaddikim.
It is possible to come to this state all year long, that Hashem will reveal to us
the inner meaning (taam, or taste) of the twelve breads,13 that we will taste the
sweetness of the twelvepartzufim of the world ofAtzilus. For Hashems will is that His
children come to enjoy all of the lights of the world ofAtzilus and that each and everyJew merit to cleave to Him and experience the light of prophecy and the Shechinah.
Hashem Himself pleads with us not to be foolish, but rather to look upon reality as it is
truly and see that He orchestrates absolutely everything and we are in very close
proximity to holiness. All He wants is that we do our best to fulfill His will with every
movement and make an effort to learn Shulchan Aruch every day, since this is the main
rectification of every Jew. When a Jew studies Shulchan Aruch with the simple intention
of learning the details of Hashems will for him, he merits to experience the light of
Imma and the primordial light of creation open before him so that he can see from oneend of the world to the other.
Let Your Soul Know Wisdom
This is the meaning of the phrase: " " Let
your soul know (dei) wisdom (Chochmah), and it will be a crown (Kesser) for your
head.14
It is brought in the Arizals writings that the mistake ofAdam HaRishon was
that he attempted to draw down the supernal lights from below to above, he preceded
the light ofAbba with the light ofImma. In reality, one must first come to the mochin
dAbba and only afterward the mochin dImmaand one comes to the mochin dAbba
by obeying the tzaddikim who have already perfected their own aspect ofAbba and
Imma. One should follow the ways of the tzaddikim who have rectified the two spies
13From the Shabbos zemerof theArizal, Asader lSeudasa.
14From the Shabbos zemerDror Yikrah, based onMishlei 24:14.
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and only examine others in order to learn from them, to see the light that shines from
their faces because of the intense love and fear of Hashem that is within them. And even
if it seems as though a certain tzaddikis not acting in accordance with Hashems will,
one must immediately decide in his mind that he really is nullified before Hashem with
every single movement. One must accept that only the greatest sages of the generation
are arbiters of the avodos of other people, since they have mastered the thirteen means
of interpreting the Torah and know exactly how the mochin are bound with one another,
how on one occasion one must follow the opinion of a certain poseikin order to be ableto fulfill the halachah in accordance with a differentposeikon another occasion. All of
this is possible because the sages possess a rectified power of discernment and the
ability to make certain that the halchah suits each place and time.
Let your soul know (dei) wisdom (Chochmah), and it will be a crown (Kesser)
for your head. When the festivals, which are the inner essence of the entire year, arrive,
they are the aspect ofChochmah. Therefore, one must nullify himself completely before
the will of Hashem in order to repair the sin ofAdam HaRishon.
Now we can better understand why the Jewish people are so exceedinglyscrupulous about even the barest hint of chometz on Pesach. As the Baal Shem Tov
taught, even though it is best to refrain from extra stringencies all year long since they
can interrupt a persons dveikus, nevertheless anyone who adopts additional restrictions
on Pesach is considered praiseworthy. (It is important to bear in mind that the Likutei
Moharan taught that in these later, weaker, generations one should not adopt extreme
stringencies, and each of their opinions are correct based on the place and the time.)
However, everything must be in exact accordance with the halachah, and G-d forbid
that anyone should make light of it because the halachah must be the foundation of all
of a Jews avodah. Such devotion proves that the person is nullified before the tzaddikim
of every generation and before his ancestors customs; he should never make light of the
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chumros practiced in his family: Do not reject the Torah of your mother.15
We have
no idea how great this self-effacement is in the eyes of Hashem.
Let your soul know wisdomthe essence ofChochmah is self-nullification
before the will of Hashem. Guard the mitzvos of your Holy Onefulfill the
commandments in simplicity and you will come to guard your holy Shabbos, to
experience the light of dveikus symbolized by the Shabbos. May Hashem make us
worthy now of seeing His glory revealed. Then all flesh will see together that the
mouth of Hashem has spoken, with the arrival of our righteous redeemer in mercy.Speedily and in our days, amen.
Translated and Adapted by Rav Micha Golshevsky.
15Mishlei 1:8
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Nesiv Chaim 17
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Nesiv Chaim 17
Nesiv Mitzvosecha,Nesiv Emunah,Pathway 3:8:
"Know that it is impossible for any angel to be completely nullified in the
aspects ofayin because it would cease to exist entirely, and so it is impossible for
there to be anyyichudorzivug above through them; rather, it is accomplished by
Yisrael the holy people who have the ability to achieve the state ofayin, to be
completely nullified, literally nothing, completely and utterly nullified. And they
arouse all of the worlds to return to the aspect ofayin, and the yichud is
accomplished. For all of the aspects ofyichud and zivug are an ascent until the
aspects ofEin Sof, and all of the worlds would be nullified and would revert to
complete ayin to the aspects ofEin Sof, except for the fact that at this [level of]
bitul, Yisrael the holy people is also included, and they necessariliy have a body and
a vessel andyeishus and theani that is necessary foravodah, and so they draw all
of the worlds so that they should not completely cease to exist"
We have already explained that there are a number of degrees ofbitul:Malchus
is the bitul of acceptance of the Divine yoke;Ze'ir Anpin is the bitul ofdveikus;Binah is
the bitul of the yeish, which is humility; Chochmah is the bitul of reality, in that
everything in the world appears to the person to be the Divine light and nothing more;
the level ofKesseris absolute bituleverything that the person sees and encounters, all
the obstacles he faces and all of the mitzvos that he fulfills, are disassociated from
himself and all nullified to Hashem. Whether he succeeds or fails, no what happens to
him, he only becomes more nullified before Hashem.
It is to this degree ofbitul that the Komarna Rebbe refers when he says that it is
beyond the grasp of any angel, because that level of bitul would cause it to cease to
exist. The corollary of this is that no yichudon high can be accomplished by any angel;
rather, the yichud is brought about by Yisrael, the holy people, because we have the
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Nesiv Chaim 17
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potential to reach absolute ayin. The absolute ayin is accomplished through the human
experience of facing obstacles and nullifying one's will absolutely. This is the nature of
Yisrael, which is " " . [Note: See Nesiv Chaim, Lesson 12, for a detailed
explanation of the concept of " " .] Even when a Jew is in the state ofyeish and
suffering, or when he has a sense of having accomplished many things, his ani [still has
the potential to be] encompassed within the absolute ayin. This is something that
transcends logic. The light ofChochmah and its nullification of the individual's sense of
distinct reality other than Hashem would seem to contraindicate the capacity for yeish.A Jew, therefore, must reach the bitul ofKesser, beyond reason, where the bitul is so
absolute that even the existence of his ownyeish does not form a barrier to feeling ayin.
When one sees that his efforts in avodas Hashem are not bearing fruit, the main
reason is because he is a distinct and self-focused aspect ofyeish; if he were to succeed
at his spiritual goals, his yeish would only grow [and he would fall into pride]. Hashem
has mercy on him, and causes him to fail so that he can learn just who he really is. There
are those who don't even have the merit [to be deflated by Hashem in this way]. Such a
person's successes cause his yeish-aspect to blow up, and then "he and I [Hashem]cannot live together as one" But when one is worthy, Hashem saves him from this.
Even so, when he struggles further and attaches himself to the absolute ayin, he no
longer needs to fall so much anymore in order to be saved from pride. If, later, he should
happen to fail, he will attach himself to the holiness of total ayin. One does the spiritual
work here not by removing the obstacle that caused him to fall, but in focusing himself
on the absolute ayinby knowing that there is nothing but the Creatortranscending
reason and understanding. He must go not with the level of the light and clarity and
vitality of Chochmah, but with the higher power of Kesserself-sacrifice to serveHashem with total bitul, both physical and spiritual. This will allow him to enjoy the
lofty delight of the level ofKesser.
This is why the truth ofyichudcan only be accomplished by the Jewish people,
becauseyichuddepends on being encompassed within Hashem, and this is only possible
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with bitul. The beginning level ofbitul is that ofMalchus: acceptance of His will as it is
revealed in His holy Torah. Later, the heart begins to feel Hashem's reality, and the
mochin begin to achieve dveikus with HisElokus.
It is this power of bitul and yeishthe capacity of Yisrael for yichudthat
keeps all of the worlds from reverting to Ein Sof. Every Jew contributes to the light of
yichudin his own way, however the yichudis really accomplished in its fullness by the
greatest of tzaddikim. We see this dynamic when it comes to communal prayer. Each
person does his own avodah to the best of his ability, but the avodah of the true tzaddikis what uplifts andbinds all of the prayers of the souls of the Jewish people together as
one. This is the real meaning of binding oneself to the tzaddik: to apply oneself to the
avodah as the tzaddiktaught, and then his own avodah will be united with the avodah of
the tzaddikso that it can rise to the place on high where it will accomplish all that it
needs to, and arouse the trueyichud.
Nesiv Mitzvosecha,Nesiv Emunah, Pathway 3:9
"Know that the aspects ofElokus, oneness, Ohr Ein Sof[extends] until the
end ofAsiyah, for there are within them the aspects ofAni and Ayin, to beencompassed within the Ohr Ein Sof. Even while there are millions and billions and
trillions of vessels, nevertheless every Divine spark and holy aspect of G-dliness
within each of them is what enlivens it, and it is nullified as it if it nothing, and it
becomes one in unity with the Ohr Ein Sof, and in absolutebitulit becomes united
fully with G-dliness, literally without any distinction between them. He and His
vitality are one within them.
"However, theklippos and the evil have only the aspect ofani andyeishus
and materiality, he grasps it all to himself, and this is idolatry, the three impure
klippos, until they made themselves into Elokus. This is pride, which is literally
avodah zarah, a self divided and putrid, and anyone who is prideful is himself a
kind of idolatry, as we see in Sotah 4. 'A foreign god, a strange god, another god,
disgusting and abominable, boiling excrement.' But the ani of holiness does not
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grab hold of self for any reason other than that it should not cease to exist entirely,
and [only in] the degree that is necessary to serve Hashem. The King's scepter is
pride, and with His pride, 'I dwell with the downtrodden,'1
'and the lowly of
spirit,'2
and 'the brokenhearted'3"
There are the three lower worlds ofBeriyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, and each of
them have different natures. Beriyah is mostly good and it has a minority of evil;
Yetzirah is evenly split between good and evil; andAsiyah is mostly evil and only partly
good. Paralleling the three worlds in holiness, there are theBY"A aspects within klippah.When a person falls into bad middos, when he seeks his own honor, he falls
away from the aspect ofAtzilus. While it is true that we are not possessed of the aspect
ofAtzilusthe Vilna Gaon already taught that Daniel "Ish Chamudos" only attained the
uppermost degree ofAsiyah4
andAtzilus is a level of which only the greatest tzaddikim
of the generations are worthynevertheless, all of the levels from Adam Kadmon until
Asiyah apply to each person in his own way. Whenever a person devotes his thoughts to
the Creator and feels incorporated within Hashem, this is his personal world ofAtzilus.
When he falls into considerations of his own honor, he falls to Beriyah. When he fallsinto material desires, he descends to Yetzirah. And when he falls into jealousy, he enters
Asiyah. Each of these descents has further ramifications. Yet one should not imagine
that, in falling, one is any more distant from Hashem, because the Ohr Ein Sofexists
everywhere and it is possible to reveal Hashem's glory anywhere, by accessing the
Divine spark that exists within the lower worlds ofBY"A when one is united with the
Ein Sof.
Nesiv Mitzvosecha,Nesiv Emunah, Pathway 3:10:
"This is the inner meaning of the spies that were sent by Moshe, the
supernalDa'as. Eretz Yisrael is the aspect of, 'I am yirah.' Whoever truly grabs
1Yeshayah 57:15
2Mishlei 29:23
3Tehillim 34:19
4Safra d'Tzniusa, Addenda
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hold of humility transforms the ani to ayin and only requiresyirah to inhabit the
'heel' levels, which of necessity sometimes descend to the place ofdinim andklippos
to uplift the souls to the light of life. One needsyirah in order not to fall downward,
and this is the, 'on the heels of humility is fear of G-d.' So too, when he returns on
high to the supernalayin, he maintains a hold on a small degree of 'I amyirah' at
his 'heels' [lower extreme] so that he should not cease to exist completely"
It is important to know that the avodah ofyirah is not one of sadness and
melancholy, even when one learns of the punishments of Gehinnomwhich are trulyhorrifying, even more so than they are depicted in the holy works. It is not G-d's will,
however, to think about such things too much; only to the extent that it brings one to
genuine yirah. [Note: The word yirah contains the same letters as the word re'iyah,
which means vision. Genuine, life-giving yirah is the awareness that I am in the
constant view of the Creator, and the concomitant thought that comes with this
awareness is that everything I do is significant if the Creator of the universe is attentive
to it. This is the basis of healthy "yirah l'chaim" which is necessary in avodas Hashem.]
The main avodah is to focus on dveikus and to only make use of the quality ofyirah as apreventative and protection against falling into sin. And if one did fall, yirah also can
inspire him to do teshuvah. All this, however, is only the aspect of the "heels" and is not
the "head" ofavodah, where one must place the greater part of his mind and energy. The
head and the focus of the thoughts should be in joy and dveikus.
We certainly do not mean this is the sense of those who claim that the main
avodah is dveikus and they fall away from yirah altogether, G-d forbid. This attitude
leads a person to fail to make distinctions between mitzvos and sins. There is no doubt
that the tzaddikim have yirah and fear, but it is in the "heels"because their thoughts
are preoccupied with joy and dveikus. This is the deeper meaning of, "On the heels of
humility"humility parallelsLeah and the contemplation of G-dliness, and the heels
parallelRachel, which is the lower form ofyirah. Therefore, even when one enters into
the state ofbitul and dveikus, he still needs the aspect ofyirah to "ground" him at the
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"heels" so that he should not cease to exist altogether. There are many levels to this, but
in terms of that which applies to us, we mean that no matter how deeply one seeks the
inner essence ofavodah, he must never lose his simpleyirah. We fine this echoed in the
warning written by Rav Chaim Vital at the beginning ofEitz Chaim: when one enters
the inner dimension of Torah, he requires even more protection and additional
safeguards.
While it is true that Rebbe Nachman of Breslov discouraged the adoption of
additional stringencies and said that they are unnecessary when it comes to Divineservice, he meant excessive chumros that wind up being obstacles to dveikus. When it
comes to personal sanctity and one's avodah, however, certainly one must add whatever
he can. Surely when a person is occupied with the inner dimension of Torah, he
naturally wants to distance himself from worldly desires and sanctify himself, and fulfill
the mitzvah, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." While it is true that there are endless
levels to this, at the very least the person who has begun to learn the Torah's secrets will
have theyirah to avoid luxuries, just as one has yirah to avoid that which is forbidden.
The beginning is to have a longing to rise out of his base material place. Even thoughthe main avodah is the search for dveikus, he needsyirah at his "heels."
"The matter is that the sending [of the spies] is for the sake of Moshe,
because the deeper works explain that in the ultimate future, at the time of
Moshiach,Malchus will merit to reach the level ofyechidah, the uppermost aspect
ofAtzilus. At that point, Malchus-Ani will rise to the head ofAyin, to Reisha d'lo
Isyadah, andbechirah will cease to exist. The knowledge, to know what exists above
that head, will be revealed, as explained inEitz Chaim, Sha'ar Arich, at the end of
Chapter 2. This allows you to understand the greatness ofMalchus in the future,
for it is the 'crown at the head of eachtzaddik,'5
and it will be, 'the cornerstone.'6
In
the future, its light will be greater than that of the sun, forMalchus will rise to the
head ofAyin, toReisha d'lo Isyadah"
5Sanhedrin 111b
6Tehillim 118:22
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There are sparks of Moshe Rabbeinu and the true tzaddikwithin each and every
Jew, and this means that everyone has some of the avodah of Moshe Rabbeinu to
perform to help reveal the light of the redeemer in the world.7
This is the way that each
person fulfills the mission of his portion of the soul of Moshiach.
During recent generations, we find so much in Reb Nosson of Breslov and Rav
Tzaddok HaKohen's writings about the importance of realizing that Hashem orchestrates
every event, and that all sins can be rectified through faithand that this is the light of
Moshiach. This is what is meant by Malchus rising to Reisha d'lo Isyadah. WhenMoshiach comes, emunah will be revealed to such an extent that it will be possible to
rectify everything through it. At the same time, this emunah-knowledge will require
yirah together with it to be really complete. This means avoiding sin as much as
possible, and if one fell, then doing teshuvah with all his might at all times. Once a
person hasyirah "in his heels," he can bind his mind and thoughts to the emunah that it
is possible to rectify everything through the light of Hashem's knowledgethis is the
light of Moshiach. But if a person lacks yirah in his "heels," talk of Hashem's
orchestrating all events and absolute faith only confuse him and distract him fromdveikus.
However, when a person does have this yirah he has the potential to be a
complete tzaddikand live with the knowledge that everything is from Hashem. This is
the "stone that the builders rejected," that became the "cornerstone." With this mentality
of the future worldbeing so bound up with emunahwe will see the Shechinah
everywhere and in every situation. This will naturally keep us from sin and bring us to
total teshuvah. "And you shall see it, to remember the everlasting covenant"when one
sees and binds himself to the light of emunah and yichud, one merits the everlasting
covenant. TheZoharsays, "When there will be bright shining colors in the rainbow, 'the
fury of the King is calmed.'"8
The rainbow represents the covenant. The rainbow in all
its colors represents binding oneself to Hashem and relying on Him with complete trust
7Likutei Moharan I:2,4,9; II:72
8Zohar, Pinchas 215
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through every situation, and turning to Him at all times just as Dovid HaMelech did.
Dovid HaMelech said, "And I am prayer"he did not move a muscle without asking
permission of the Creator. Such a state of dveikus and trust is only possible when one
has great yirah in his "heels," without any melancholy or sadness, with the greatDa'as
of Moshiach.
We will now return to where we were holding in our study of the Otzros Chaim.
We learned earlier that the light that emerges from the "ear" ofAdam Kadmon
extends until the fullness of the beard; the light that emerges from the "nose" extends
until the level of the chest; and the light that extends from the "mouth" descends and
extends until the level of the navel. From the mouth emerges the world ofAkudim, and
its light exits, is revealed, and then returns and is hidden. This is the avodah of longing,
of living and yearning to cleave to one's Source and be subsumed within it so that one
can receive a greater degree of light. This is the light that we seek, and we long that our
existence and the revealed reality in which we exist should be subsumed within
Hashem. At the level ofAkudim we yearn that all of our yeishuseven our Torah and
prayershould return and be bound to Hashem so that we merit greater and greater
degrees ofbitul, and more and more diligence in Torah study. The world ofAkudim and
longing is that ofmati v'lo mati"touching and not touching"where one yearns for
more and more dveikus, and the dveikus that one achieves only leaves one yearning for
more.
We learned that, in this rule, the general dynamic is that the lower down a level
is, the more light it receives, because distance generates yearning. This is expressed by
Malchus having emerged first; because it is lowest, its longing is greatest and the light is
received in accordance with the yearning.
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After Malchus, the level ofYesodemerged. The aspect ofYesodis that of the
tzaddik"the tzaddik is the foundation-yesod of the world"he has this quality of
Yesodwhich includes all of the levels. All of the middos ofChessed-Gevurah-Tiferes-
Netzach-Hod influence Yesod. The Zoharteaches that the tzaddikis one who "guards
the covenant"the avodah of personal purity is a general avodah that is the foundation
of all others and the key to dveikus. Anyone who sanctifies the area ofYesodwill find
that he has the potential to enter into all avodos that exist.
The Zohar Hakadosh also teaches that Yesod is associated with the lettertzaddik, and Moshe Rabbeinu is also known as "My servant, Tzemach." The future
redemption will also occur via the nature of the letter tzaddik. [Note: Moshiach is also
called Tzemach, and the redemption is described as "sprouting"the "sprouting of the
keren of Dovid."] The exodus was associated with the letter pei "I shall
surely remember," but the final redemption will be associated with the letter tzaddik.
The Zoharexplains that the tzaddikis built of two letters: a nun [inclined] to one side,
and ayudbehind it, facing the other direction. The Ramak taught that the letter indicates
the Holy One [yud] and His Shechinah [nun, which indicatesMalchus
9
]. Each of them isdistinct from the other and is looking away from the other. The avodah of the tzaddikis
to turn them around so that they can face each other and join together.
In the realm of personal sanctity, there is an aspect of both "turning from evil"
and "doing good." Turning from evil means abandoning all pleasure that does not derive
from Hashem's existence. Doing good means that even when one feels distant from
Hashem, he does not fear and holds strong to his dveikus. "Say [to] the tzaddik, 'It is
good'"the tzaddik says that there is good. The Baal HaSulam explained that the
avodah of the tzaddik is to be matzdikto justifyHashem's actions; he knows that
Hashem only does good. The "do good" part of kedushah is the trust in and search for
Divine goodness in situations that are the opposite of pleasurable. When one enters into
this avodah, it serves as a gateway to all others, because all of the middos influence
9Likutei Moharan I:1
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Yesod. By sanctifying himself with the holiness ofYesod, one merits access to all of the
holy middos.
There is a Yesodlevel in each and every world. In the world ofAkudim, we said
that the greatest level is Malchus, since faith and the acceptance of the Divine yoke is
the main thing. The second avodah in the world ofAkudim is that ofYesod, which is the
pursuit of personal sanctity.
"Now, at first, Malchus emerged in the aspect ofnefesh, and afterward,
when the aspect ofYesodemerged, it was not revealed within Yesod, rather only theaspect ofnefesh alone. However, there was an additional illumination within
Malchus, that the ruach-aspect had been revealed within it. The reason for this is
since ruach comes from the six extensions [is associated with the sixmiddos from
Chessed to Yesod], therefore when Yesod came, the ruach-aspect began to be
revealed within Malchus, but it was not completed until all of the six extensions
emerged, which is Yesoduntil Chessed. It was only then that the ruach-aspect of
Malchus was completed. When each one came, another extension of theruach-
aspect was revealed withinMalchus, as explained in theZohar,Parshas Terumah."It is already known that Yesod is not one of the six extensions, because
there are only fivechassadim from Chesseduntil Hod, but Yesoddoes not take a
personal portion of Chessed to itself, rather all of the five extensions are
encompassed within it. This means that this all-encompassing aspect ofruach is
what was revealed withinMalchus when Yesodcame, but whenHodorNetzach or
another of thesefiros emerges, then the aspects of the extremities ofruach actually
emerge withinMalchus. All of this is that which applies to Malchus, but when it
comes to the six extremities ofZe'ir Anpin, it occurs in this way. When Yesod
emerges, the totality of the five extremities ofZe'ir Anpin in their aspect ofnefesh
alone, are revealed. But whenHodcomes, one extremity ofnefesh ofZe'ir Anpin is
revealed, and so it continues until all of the six extremities are completed."
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There is the level of Chochmah, at which one learns Torah and gains Torah
wisdom.Binah is when one contemplates this wisdom. Da'as is when one understands
the ways of the Torah and applies his mind to it and remembers it and unites his mind to
it. He takes all that he learned during the day and joins his mind to it when he prays.
Within Da'as there are five chassadim; they are the root of the love that Da'as
engenders. There are also five gevuros, and they are the root of the yirah engendered by
Da'as. These five chassadim and five gevuros are the aspects of Chessed-Gevurah-
Tiferes-Netzach-Hod. All of them influence the all-encompassing middah, which isYesod, and it includes also the love rooted in the five chassadim, as well asyirah rooted
in the five gevuros. All of them are included within the middah ofYesod, because it is a
middah of inclusion and totality. It does not take any "personal" Chessed for itself;
rather all of the five extremities are included within it.
When the nefesh-level within Yesod emerged, it bestowed a general ruach
withinMalchus. Afterward, when each and every middah emerged in its nefesh-aspect,
it shone another extremity of the ruach-level withinMalchus. In avodas Hashem, at the
beginning one must enter into avodah generally, and afterward one begins to workspecifically on love of Hashem, fear of Hashem, dveikus, trust and gratitude.
It is said of the great Maggid that, after his marriage, he worked on a different
middah every day. On Sunday he bound himself to love of the Creator; on Monday he
focused on fear of the Creator, and so on. On Erev Shabbos, he served Hashem through
the middah ofYesod, and when Shabbos came, the light of all of the middos shone with
the brightest of lights. On Shabbos,, the mochin are revealed in accordance with the
extent to which one has worked on the middos during the week. And the main light that
shines on Shabbos is that ofemunah.
Now we can better understand what Rebbe Nachman of Breslov taught, that
when there is tikkun ha'bris [Yesod], "whiteness and rectification is drawn into all of the
sinews."10
One must begin by working on sanctifying Yesod, and this will pave the way
10Likutei Moharan I:29
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so that he can rise to all of the middos. The opposite is also true; when a person works
on his love of Hashem, he will also merit to attain greater personal sanctity, because
Chessedshines its influence to Yesod. While Yesodis, on the one hand, the totality of all
of the middos, the opposite is also true: every middah shines its influence into Yesod
with a new light. When one expends effort in Torah study and prayer, this also helps
him to gain greater sanctity, because all of the middos influence Yesod.
"There is another difference between Yesod and the other five
extremities. WhenHodcomes, it gives the totality of its force anew into thenefesh-aspect ofYesodalone, and this is true of all of them until Chessedemerges. When it
leaves, it too gives the totality of its force into Yesod[in a manner] unlike the other
five extremities. [With the others,] when one comes it does not add anything
additional to its fellow at all because all of them are equal. It is only when all six
are completed [when Chessedgoes out] then we find that all of thenefesh-aspect of
Ze'ir Anpin is completed.
"Afterward, thenefesh-aspect ofBinah emerges alone, and itsruach-aspect
goes to Ze'ir Anpin, and its neshamah aspect goes to Malchus. Then the nefesh-aspect ofChochmah emerges alone; itsruach-aspect goes toBinah; its neshamah-
aspect goes toZe'ir Anpin; and itschaya-aspect goes toMalchus. Then thenefesh-
aspect ofKesser emerges alone; itsruach-aspect goes toAbba; itsneshamah-aspect
goes toBinah; itschayah-aspect goes toZe'ir Anpin; and itsyechidah-aspect goes to
Malchus. We see, then, that whenKesser comes, the last one of all, it only emerges
with itsnefesh-aspect. And this is the deeper meaning of the verse, 'Hashem swore
with hisnefesh" as we have already explained.11
Even this aspect of thenefesh of
Kesser did not remain in the world of (Nekudim) Akudim as described; rather, it
returned and was hidden and remained bound up with its place within the One
that emanated it forth"
11SeeNesiv Chaim, Lesson 15.
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For our purposes, the main lesson from this teaching in the Otzros Chaim is
that, in the world ofAkudim, the beginning ofavodah is to yearn for emunah, which is
the aspect ofMalchus. Afterward, one must year for the light of the Torah, which is the
aspect ofZe'ir Anpin. The preliminary stage of yearning for Torah is to long for the
holiness of the Torah, which is Yesod. This then brings one to long for dveikus, yirah
and love of Hashemthis is the completion ofZe'ir Anpin with all of its elements.
Afterward, Binah emergesthis is the avodah of yearning to contemplate G-dliness,
and this is what bestows completion to ruach, which is Ze'ir Anpin. What this meanspractically is that when a person yearns for the avodah ofBinah, he finds that his bond
with the Torah and his bond with emunah is deeper. Further on, as he longs for the bitul
ofChochmah, everything else that he does is also being uplifted. Eventually he longs to
absolute mesirus nefesh and total bitulthat he should have no existence at alland
this is the level ofKesser. This bestows ruach toAbba, neshamah to Binah, chayah to
the Torah, and yechidah to Malchusin short, all of his avodos are uplifted, and his
emunah is complete.
The Otzros Chaim then says that afterward, the nefesh-aspect ofKesserreturnsto its source, because it is not satisfied with the avodah of longing alone which is the
realm of the mouth. It wants to rise to something higher, which is the aspect of the nose,
where one actually feels ["senses"] G-dliness, and the level of the ear, where one
contemplates G-dliness, and the level of the eyes where one actually sees G-dliness.
Beyond that is the actual place of the Kesser, where one merits to actually be
incorporated within Hashem. But the beginning of this entire process is the mouth,
which is the place of longing, and speaking out one's yearning before Hashem at all
times. The more one speaks to Hashem, the more he will yearn for G-d, and this is what
will uplift him to all of the levels. Blessed is Hashem forever, amen and amen.
Translated and Adapted by Rav Micha Golshevsky.
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