Question & Answer With Chabakuk Elisha - Above & Below

(Picture by J. Gerien)

A Simple Jew asks:

It is well known that an isarusa d’l’eila (arousal from above) comes only in response to a isarusa d’lesata (arousal below).

How do you think this concept should be best taught so that a person doesn't draw the mistaken conclusion that he can "control" Hashem's actions, so to speak, by performing actions that he believes constitutes Hashem's will down in this physical world with the hopes that Hashem takes notice and changes His course of action in the person's favor?

Chabakuk Elisha answers:

Before I get to your question, let me take it a step beyond isarausa; there is in inherent paradox between Hashgocha and Bechira that has to be addressed first. Does G-d control the world b’hashgocha (through Divine providence), and everything runs exactly as He sees fit, or do we have bechira (free will) to make decisions and thus impact the direction that things take? Simply stated: Do we run the world, does G-d, or is it a shared endeavor?

And there is no single answer (as with all things Jewish) – there are many opinions and nuances to those opinions. Chassidus generally focuses on Hashgocha as primary (with Ishbitz to one extreme) while others emphasize Bechira and personal responsibility – but in any case, there is an element of paradox that remains (and some, such as Breslov, even emphasize the paradox itself).

The Mitteler Rebbe in the beginning of Derech Chaim explains the paradox as essentially about point of view: When viewed from Above, it is indeed b’hashgocha, and when viewed from the perspective of the observer (us) it is (appears to be) bechira based. Or, in other words, one is how it is, and the other is how it appears.

Nevertheless, as long as we remain in this world, it is our perspective that is most essential to our success; we need to take responsibility for our actions and our role. We need to make responsible decisions and maximize our bechira for the good, as the Torah cautions us, “u’vacharta b’chaim (chose life)!” It is our role in this world of action to act properly and seek to cleave to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Indeed, it is His desire that we do our best to change the world for good – and He charges and empowers us to achieve that task.

Yet, we all have our ups and down, as “there is no righteous man on earth who does good and does not sin” (Koheles). In Yiddishkeit one does not stand in one place – we are rising or we are falling – and through our actions we create a chain of events, along the lines of “mitzvah goreres mitzvah (one good deed brings another).” But G-d plays a role – we aren’t left to our own devices – which brings us to Isarusa d’lesata and Isarusa d’l’eila.

Isarusa d’leila: An awakening (inspiration) that is initiated from above. Hashem does us a favor and inspires us. Suddenly we have new-found energy in avodas Hashem, etc, that we didn’t have before – but since it isn’t internal it doesn’t last on its own. On a more macrocosmic level, some well-known examples of isarusa d’leila would be the festival of Pesach, or Creation for that matter.

Isarusa d’lesata: An awakening (inspiration) from below. Here, we take the initiative and create our own inspiration – which gives Hashem great delight, and He responds by drawing us closer. This time it’s our own, so to speak, so while it’s less powerful, is more lasting and internalized. Now, whether our inspiration is self-induced or induced from Above, that results in a reaction. When we experience an arousal or awakening from above it is less powerful – as it’s not really ours. It’s a fleeting feeling that can be easily wasted and we only use whatever limited amount we take advantage of. However, when it is self-induced, it if far more powerful, as G-d responds with energy far surpassing that which we put in. And most commonly, we experience an arousal or awakening from Above that initiates us to experience an additional arousal or awakening from below and in return a more powerful awakening from above.

These forms of isarusa obviously vary in degree and in circumstance, but the process isn’t as simple is either/or. The isarusa-d’lestata-isarusa-d’leila should bring a subsequent isarusa d’lesata, and so too should an isarusa d’leila-isarusa-d’lesata bring a subsequent isarusa d’laeila, and back-and-forth, on and on. So, who does it? G-d certainly sets it all up for us and it’s our job to take the baton and run with it. Does this mean that our avodah and our decisions control G-d?
We know the rule that “Torah lo baShomayim hi (the Torah is not in Heaven),” and G-d gives man the power to determine the Torah’s position. Furthermore, there is the rule that “Tzaddik gozer v’Hakadosh-Baruch-Hu mekayim (the Tzaddik decrees and G-d fulfills). So, it would seem that He gives us that ability and wants us to use it. It seems that it is His specific desire that we control His hand. In fact, all of Creation is really for the sake of the relationship between G-d and humanity, as the Zohar says “be’gin de’ishtimodin lei (or order to know Him),” which is what the isarusa reflects.

May we take advantage of our short opportunity in this world and not waste the awakenings from above or neglect our awakenings from below.

28 Tammuz Links - כח תמוז

Dixie Yid: Running After Emptiness

The Blog @ Breslov.org: Rashi

Wikibooks: Yiddish for Yeshivah Bachurim

Love For His Children

There are two aspects of an Eis Ratzon [an auspicious moments for gaining Hashem's attention]. There is Eis Ratzon regarding the King's wise and successful son... and there's another aspect of Eis Ratzon when the King has a retarded son who's incapable of doing most anything and one needs to do for him.

Now this latter Eis Ratzon is more powerful than that which the wise son aroused, for it's obvious that he can't succeed with anything! Such was the case at the time of Churban Beis HaMikdash. The situation then was the worst and most degraded it could be... Accordingly, we can understand how, by virtue of tremendous heavenly compassion the Kruvim [Cherubs on top of the Aron] were discovered interlocked with one another.

Thus we learn that Tzaddikim would sublimate every love of theirs except for that for their children – in order to feel this aspect of love that HaKadosh Baruch Hu has for Israel.

(Nesivos Sholom)

Question & Answer With Rabbi Micha Golshevsky - How To Learn Gemara

(Picture by Alfred Eisenstaed)

A Simple Jew asks:

There seems to be a never ending discussion about the merits and shortcomings to the plethora of scheduled "yomi" learning programs. Would you recommend that someone new to Gemara begin by learning Daf Yomi as a way to get a broad knowledge quickly or would you recommend that he take one masechta and go through it slowly and methodically?

Rabbi Micha Golshevsky answers:

Excellent question as always. Truth is that there is a lot of confusion regarding this issue for many people who are very experienced in Gemara. Should one focus more on bekiyus, trying to learn and remember what it says, or is he better off with iyun, learning slowly but with much more depth.

Rav Isser Zalman Melzer, Rav Shach's rebbe and uncle and the famed Rosh Yeshivah of Eitz Chaim, said that this was an unresolved question even in Yeshivas Volozhin. Some worked solely on bekiyus while others focused on iyun. Still others spent some time trying to attain depth in learning while also spending part of their time working on learning through the bredth of Torah.

Rav Melzer recounted, "Of those who learned only iyun, very few people attained greatness in Torah. Of those who learned only bekiyus, no one attained greatness in Torah. Most of those who attained Torah greatness used their time to gain mastery in both areas of Torah."

Now you may well ask: that's nice but what does it have to do with my question? Clearly Rav Melzer was discussing a young man who was willing and able to spend his entire day learning.

To this I would request that you give me a moment to explain.

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov also focuses on learning bekiyus and iyun. In Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom he adjures us to learn the entire Talmud every year! In addtion one must spend some part of his day learning "a little iyun."

As is be expected, Rebbe Nachman does not allow us to become depressed by this tall order. He immediately points out that one should not be discouraged if one does not manage to learn, since one can be a true tzaddik without knowing Gemara. But he adds that to be a true ba'al hasagah, a person who grasps things on a higher plane, one must be a lamdan, have deep understanding of Gemara Rashi and Tosefos. (Some say that a "little iyun" means enough to get to this level.)

Interestingly, iyun is an important part of Breslover avodah. Although it is well known that Rebbe Nachman said that it is a very great mitzvah to always be joyous, very few are aware that he also said, "It is a very great mitzvah to always sharpen one's intellect."

So now you understand the connection: it is best that every person should spend some time each day doing both.

But the Gemara says that only learn where his heart feels an interest. Rav Binyaman Zilber comments that the same is true regarding what part of Torah one should spend his time in. As Rebbe Nachman explains there is no point to learning out of a feeling of pressure. That will get you nowhere. Instead one must learn with pleasure where he feels like learning.

But the importance of gemara cannot be diminished. Rebbe Nachman and many other tzaddikim point out that the word Gemara is an acronym for Gavriel, Michael, Rephael and Uriel, since learning Gemara affords a very great protection from any troubles and especially spiritual hardship.

Rav Ben Tzion Abbah Shaul, pointed out that the word Gemara has the same root as the Aramaic word gumrah which means coals, to teach that the back and forth of Gemara burns out all evil like buring coals.

It is precisely because of the difficult to learn Gemara that it is so efficacious.

Interestingly, the Arizal makes the very same point. He explains that every person has kelipos, evil within that must be conquered. It is precisely through the toil we exert while learning that we break through these barriers to spiritual connection.

Interestingly, both the Chofetz Chaim and Rav Shmuel Shapiro would encourage people to learn Daf Yomi with the Midrash that states that in the ultimate future, Hashem will reveal the deep secrets of the sugyos of Shas but one who has never even learned through a mesechtah will not merit to enter the shiur. Even one who read through the Gemara but did not understand it will be allowed entry into the shiur. (The part about sodos is not explicit in the midrash but this is how the Chofetz Chaim explains it.)

So this is yet another reason.

But you make a good point: what about retention?

First of all, I would like to share an essential parable Rebbe Nachman said (from the Arizal.) This can be compared to some workers the king hired to empty an immense vessel of water into a pit using bottomless recepticles.

The foolish among them felt that the work was meaningless since hardly any water was transfered. The wiser did what the king said anyway. They reasoned that it was not their concerned how much work got done since they were well paid for this seemingly meaningless job. Besides, the work certainly served to cleanse the bottomless vessels.

Even when we do not retain what we learn, it still serves to cleanse us. In additon, exerting oneself to understand seemingly difficult sugyos is excellent preparation with dealing with one's fellow man. It is for this reason that Rav Aharon of Belz learned pilpul (as I once wrote in a piece for you.) Similarly, it is easier to see another's point of view even if it appears a bit specious or improbable.

The Gra would also say that one who learns Gemara has an easier time changing the bad within himself since he sees how little he knows and how often he is mistaken or that there is a side that he would not have thought of.

In addition, most people who stick it out and go through the Daf Yomi are able to learn Gemara anywhere with relative ease. When they are on the second cycle they find that they comprehend and retain with much less effort, even though it does not appear that they retained too much from the first time around.

So I think it is worthwhile to stick it out and make the difficulty into an avodah. If it takes you half hour or whatever a day to go through the daf - even in English, I think you should so. But if you see that even any of this advice doesn't work for you or you feel that it is disastrous or even just a recipe for failure, then you should learn however you feel drawn to learn! Most importantly : don't give up!

As you may know, the Chofetz Chaim said that Jews in earlier generations who could not attain mastery in Shas, would at least learn Rif with Rashi, and he lamented that people stoped learning Rif.

It is much less well known that the Ramah MiPano actually made a Kitzur Rif. It follows that even just reading through the daily daf in the English mini summary on Revach L'Daf is very worthwhile. This takes maybe two or three minutes and it adds up to a huge storehouse of essential concepts which also make learning Gemara.

Rebbe Nachman points out that Hashem only wants us to do our best, not to overextend ourselves beyond our present level. (This also comes out of Rabeinu Yonah on Avos and the writtings of the Gemara much easier. But one should only do this if he can manage to make this an avodah and feel pleasure in it. This means simply focuing on the connection to Hashem through the learning whatever one understands or retains. One who serves Hashem through his daily daf of Gemara, and yearns to truly understand and retain it all will eventually merit to do so. After all, Chazal tell us that Torah is a gift. Recalling our learning especially depends on siyatah d'Shmayah. One who uses the hardship in learning Torah to connect to Hashem will be afforded magnificent spiritual gifts that are literally beyond his wildest imagination- and the harder it is the greater the gifts. But this takes great perseverance and profound humility.

Please Help Breslov Research Institute Continue Their Work

We are on a worldwide search for just 1,000 people who will donate to us just $100!

Everyone is aware of the economic meltdown that took place around the world this year. Many who felt secure with their holdings no longer feel secure. Many who felt their jobs and income were considered stable no longer feel that stability. “God makes [the] poor and [the] rich; He lowers people and raises them up” (I Samuel 2:7). Nearly everyone we know has been some sort of recipient of the above verse, including us here at the Institute. God is sending His message to all of us.

For over 30 years, Breslov Research Institute has been producing high-quality publications of Rebbe Nachman’s teachings that speak to the soul and encourage people to recognize their self-worth. The Rebbe's teachings arouse from slumber and depression; they show us how to bring joy into our lives and heighten our awareness of God by forging our own personal connection to our Creator. “There is no despair!” cried the Rebbe. God waits patiently for each person to search for Him, even from the most difficult situation.

But this year has taken its toll on us, too. Between now and Rosh HaShanah (3 months), we are set to experience a shortfall of some $100,000(!), drastically down from last year’s income.

We ask you to do your best to help us cover this deficit. Think of it. If just 1,000 readers from around the world would send in just $100, we would reach our goal. This would enable us to continue our work uninterrupted, and not have to shelve important projects due to budget cuts. If just 1,000 readers send in just $100, it would enable us to keep up with those projects that are nearing completion.

These include: the Breslov Chumash, the Breslov Pirkey Avot, Likutey Moharan Volume 13, the Kitzur (Abridged) Likutey Moharan (2 volumes with facing Hebrew and English), More Blessed to Give: Rebbe Nachman on Charity, and Knights of the Rosh HaShanah Table – stories of the valiant “knights” who have faced obstacles and turbulence in their lives, yet overcame their difficulties to travel to Rebbe Nachman in Uman for Rosh HaShanah. We also have several books nearing completion in each of the following languages: Hebrew, Spanish and Russian.

Maybe $100 is a lot of money to ask for. But when we consider the mitzvah of tithing our income and then giving it to charity, it isn’t a large request at all. Consider: Tithes are just 10% of one’s income, and presumably one’s income is more than $1,000 per annum. Then the request for $100 is not a large sum after all! It might not be easy, but it’s not that difficult, either. Especially when the Talmud promises, “One who shears off money for charity will see his income increase!” (Gittin 7a).

We appeal to you, faithful followers of Rebbe Nachman’s teachings and readers who thirst, like us, to see more and better publications come into being. Please open your hearts and contribute life-sustaining money to continue our work! Of course, if you can send more, we appreciate it even more! And if you cannot afford $100, please contribute what you can. But please, everyone, help us out in these trying times. You know that we rarely make appeals, either by direct mail or internet. But in these financially difficult moments, we have also become desperate enough to feel the humiliation of asking for extra help.

May God bless you all with the Talmudic promise of increased wealth, together with good health, emotional stability, financial security and, most importantly, spiritual growth.

With deepest thanks,

Chaim Kramer
Executive Director
Breslov Research Institute

You can contribute US currency on line on our website.

For checks, please mail to:

Breslov Research Institute
POB 5370, Jerusalem, Israel
(for all Israel & non North American addresses.)

Or to:

Breslov Research Institute
POB 587
Monsey, NY 10952

Canadian Friends of Chasidei Breslov
c/o Levinson, 84 Regina Ave.
Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1V2, CANADA

Carrying A Weapon On Shabbos

A man should not go out with a sword, a bow, an alloh [round shield], or a spear. And if he did go out, he is liable for a sin offering. Rabbi Eliezer says: they are ornaments for him! But the Sages say: they are nothing but dishonorable, as it is said: "And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruninghooks: national shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."

(Mishnah - Shabbos 6:4)

Way Stations

Using Street View, I took a trip back to the neighborhood of my childhood. Navigating up and down the street I examined all the details: the yards that I use to play in, the curbs that I jumped off on my bike and skateboard, the bushes I used for hide and seek, and the house where the old man lived who would yell at us and chase us off his property.

This same neighborhood, city, state, area of the country is the where I so deparately desired to leave my senior year of high school; convinced that East Coast was where I needed to be. Now, I look back with nostalgia as I virtually navigate my route to the neighborhood elementary school, park, and friend's house.

Unexplainably, I seem to be perpetually drawn back to these way stations of my past; way stations that the Degel Machaneh Ephraim taught mirror the way stations of the Jewish people as they made there way across the desert until they arrived in Eretz Yisroel.

"These journeys are recorded in the Torah in order to teach us the right path to follow in our lives, and that all of our journeys are holy and pure."

How many more way stations are there left along my path? How much further is the final destination?

Learning Baal HaTurim

Excerpt from The Educator's Handbook:

It is a good idea to expose the children from time to time to some of the nuances of interpretation found in the Baal HaTurim, which brings out the richness and hidden complexities of the Torah, and which can bring us to a loftier appreciation of all that Torah is, to an abiding interest in the letters which compost it and their gematrios, and in comparing the expressions and words of the Torah, and so on.

Withholding Tzedaka

A gate that is not opened before the poor, will eventually be opened for a physician.

(Shir HaShirim Rabbah 6:11)

"You Seem To Have Removed Yourself From Your Blog"

Received via e-mail from a reader:

If you look back on your posts of a few years ago, you will see quite a difference: there were humorous anecdotes about your children, memoirs about your family and your ancestors, and articles of sincere personal introspection, which, I'm sure, many of your readers could relate to. I've noticed that, in the past year or so, your posts are more often written by guest contributors, and the topics are almost exclusively interpretations of Chassidic teachings. There is much less input of your own personal views, even on these topics (although you pose the questions, so, in a way, you are focusing and controlling the topics). Whether consciously or unconsciously, you seem to have removed yourself from your blog. It is more of a "vehicle" for impersonal religious discussions and the views of other people. Perhaps the reason you are deriving so little satisfaction from it, these days, is that it is no longer a way for you to express your own thoughts and feelings.

Question & Answer With Long Beach Chasid - Passion Burning Fiercely

A Simple Jew asks:

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov taught, "The very strength of desire which a person experiences to draw closer to Hashem can in fact be a danger thrown up by the yetzer hara. At times his "passion" burns far more fiercely than it should....You must daven that Hashem's loving-kindness will protect you from this."

In retrospect, can you think of any occasions when your passion for Yiddishkeit burned a little too intensely?

Long Beach Chasid answers:

I have a special love for davening with a minyan. The last time I didn't daven with a minyan when one was available was Hoshana Rabbah last year when I had food poisoning. It is something I am very passionate about and consider it one of most important things in my life.

This passion has many positive attributes but is not void of the negative. I am the gabbai at our shul's 7:30 minyan, and for over a year it went strong in the home of a member of the shul. When he no long had a chiyuv to say Kaddish the minyan moved to the shul's beis midrash. This move caused a great strain on the minyan and my struggle with the idea of the minyan ending was a painful one.

The rabbis told the shul members the importance of davening with a minyan and that with so many members in the community the 6:15 and 7:30 minyonim should be full. We tried time and time again but the minyan would fall short. Sometimes there would be eight or six and worsened to the point that we only had 3 show up.

It really bothered me that people passed up on davening with a minyan and the ones that did show up would supply one great excuse after another of why people couldn't show up. They worked, they had to watch the kids, its too early, and so on. It got to the point that I got in a full scale verbal argument with one member about how never davening with a minyan Shachris Mincha Maariv is unjustifiable. Then it clicked and I realized the error of my way thanks to a Chassidic teaching from the Baal Shem Tov, "When you see a flaw in your fellow, look into yourself to find the flaw and fix it." Paraphrased of course but the message is the same. What do you mean I said to myself? I never miss minyan! I am always here early and I always leave late. I learn Torah after I am done and I almost never speak during davening unless spoken to which I try to ignore if possible. I realized that my justifications were as long as the list of excuses why people don't come to minyan. This is when it hit me like a brick house. Am I really at minyan everyday? When my mind wanders to what I am going to do today or how I am going to finish a project am I really at minyan anymore? When I am in the middle of davening Shemoneh Esrei and I am thinking not about Gaal Yisroel or Shomeah Tefillah why does it matter that I'm here with a minyan. The Torah says that when you daven with a minyan even if your kavanah is weak, the collective brings your prayers to heaven. For all I know every absent member of the minyan davens with intense kavannah alone as I sit in shul complaining while my kavanah weakens.

This is just what the yetzer hara wants! He doesn't want me to work on my own davening, my own understanding of the prayers, and my own concentration and meditation. Such lofty thoughts make the yetzer hara sick to his stomach. So to divert me from any attempt at reaching such a level he will feed me lies of how I am at minyan everyday davening and how great I am for doing this and how could all these Yidden not come to shul. Once I realized this was happening I put a great deal of energy to repair this flaw in my soul. As I work on my davening it brings new appreciation of the ability to thank Hashem for bringing such blessing into my life. The blessing that I have had jobs that would let me daven and that I have a supportive wife would feels just as strongly about me davening with a minyan as I do. We haven't had a minyan since last Thursday and tomorrow could be a full week without hearing weekly Torah being read. Thank G-d though I have a passion for davening and a love for thanking G-d. This passion can be used for amazing things, but as you can see in my case it can also lead to much negativity.

My chevrusa and I will finish the first sefer of Mishneh Torah, Sefer HaMadda and begin the second book, Sefer Ahavah, which the Rambam's focuses on tefillah and the precepts which must be observed at all times if the love due to God is to be remembered continually. G-d willing, as I continue to learn and grow in my service of HaKadosh Baruch Hu I will learn to use my passion for the positive and to bring the Light of Torah and Emes into the world and with this help end this exile with the eminent redemption and the coming of Moshiach, Amen.

Rabbi Avraham Chaim Bloomenstiel: The Hebrew Letters

More on this project can be found here

Shmiras Einayim - A 30 Day Program

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The Left Side

The mezuzah belongs on the right which represents the positive, dominant aspect of things, specifically the right-hand side as we enter. The Zohar points out that as a result, as we leave the room the mezuzah is on our left - seemingly focusing our attention on the absence of holiness! Here is one understanding of this seeming paradox: As we enter our homes, where we have the ability to create a positive atmosphere of holiness, the mezuzah is on the positive side, the right, reminding us to "do good". As we move towards the street, where evil has sway, our main challenge is to "turn from evil". The mezuzah is found on our left side, where it can confront the negative challenges we face.

(Rabbi Asher Meir)

Shrugging Off Compliments

Most don't know how to accept a compliment. Instead of graciously accepting it, they bashfully shrug it off.

The Sudilkover Rebbe explained that it is not proper not to accept a compliment. "Receiving is the biggest part of giving", he told me. If a person does not acknowledge his own nekudos tovos, he will be unable to appreciate the nekudos tovos of other people. Additionally, he will discourage the person giving him a compliment from complimenting other people in the future.

The Rebbe instructed me that if I received a compliment, that I should accept it warmly. Later, however, I could uplift the compliment by telling Hashem that I understood that that this person had only remarked about a gift or talent that He had given me. Responding like this, the Rebbe remarked, would be exhibiting true humility.

A New Angle

When a person is thinking about a Torah idea and wants to find a new angle he must go over the verse or the subject again and again. He must knock on the door persistently until it opens for him.

(Rebbe Nachman of Breslov)

Question & Answer With Rabbi Fishel Jacobs - Coercion?

A Simple Jew asks:

In the first epistle of Iggeres HaKodesh, the Alter Rebbe wrote,

“It is my intention to send spies secretly to all congregations to find out and to notify about anyone who has the ability and the time to worship at length and to meditate while at prayer, but is slothful. He shall be punished by estrangement, being distanced by both hands when he comes here to hear Chassidic teachings.”

Instead of motivating people with warmth and love, why do you think that the Alter Rebbe felt it necessary to resort to a tactic that some people may view as coercion in this case?

Rabbi Fishel Jacobs answers:

The following is my reply to this observation. Though, I would like to point out that it only represents my personal thoughts, not, for example, a researched response.

To understand this Iggeres HaKodesh, I think it's important to remember the time period. Of course, it was written by the Alter Rebbe, the founder of the Chabad movement. And, of course, the movement was in "infantile" growing mode. After all, that was the first generation of Chabad Chassidim.

In that context, it was the Alter Rebbe's necessary goal to grow the group. The followers needed to be educated in the proper way to pray, study, and serve Hashem. As we all know, there are different outlooks and aspirations to the Chassidic movement as compared to other schools of thought.

A primary emphasis is learning Chassidus and proper prayer.

In that light, I simply see this Iggeres Hakodesh having been enacted as a necessary tool. Simply to emphasize to the newly educated Chassidim the importance of slow, thoughtful and meaningful prayer.

Is there an element of coercion? Perhaps. But, isn't there an element of coercion in any educational atmosphere?

In school, principles pay surprise visits. And they can punish, (within guidelines).

The army, of course, uses surprise visits by officers to keep troops on guard.

In prisons, where I served for thirteen years as a chaplain, surprise visits after which sanctions could be imposed were a daily experience.

The rabbinate here in Eretz Yisroel generally uses the halachic concept of "yotzeh v'nichnos." That roughly translates as "a supervisor who can enter the premises unannounced." When we gave kashrut certificates in our kitchens we always used this halachic "tool." In broad terms it meant: "We trust your work. But, be careful. If our supervisor comes in and finds you straying from our guidelines, you will pay the consequences (maybe lose your certificate)."

I think one would be hard pressed to find an area in the human experience (from government audits, to medical school, to who knows where) where surprise visits are not found in order to keep people on their toes.

In that sense, and in the context of education, I think this Iggeres HaKodesh makes complete sense. For, after all, the Alter Rebbe, first and foremost was a leader and educator.

Punished For Accepting Without Checking

Adam was punished for having accepted his wife's urgings without checking... In the future when he would have to labor to secure his food supply he would know exactly where it comes from.

(Ohr HaChaim)

Question & Answer With Rabbi Dovid Sears - “Today I Have Given Birth To You”

(Picture courtesy of zadikim.org*)

A Simple Jew asks:

Shivchei HaRan #3 states:

“When he [Rebbe Nachman of Breslov] became bar mitzvah, his uncle, the holy Rabbi Ephraim of Sudilkov, called him and pronounced over him the verse, ‘Today I have given birth to you.’ (Tehillim 2:7). This speaks of the day a person becomes bar mitzvah, as discussed in the sacred literature. His uncle then spoke to him briefly regarding religious devotion, and these words were as dear to the Rebbe as finding a great treasure.”

Explaining the meaning behind this chapter of Tehillim, Reb Nosson of Breslov wrote the following in Likutey Halachos, Hilchos Milah 4:17-19:

"When a person genuinely desires to return to Hashem and to enter the realm of holiness with a perfect heart, every day and every hour he should contemplate that he was born today. He can strengthen his faith by binding himself to the holy tzaddikim. For they are filled with the spirit of Moshiach, of whom it is written, ‘Today I have given birth to you’ (op cit.). Forget the days and years that have passed. From now on, if you only live with this thought [of being newly born] at every moment, you will be worthy of true closeness to Hashem, and healing will come for all the days which passed. Everything will be transformed to good through complete teshuvah."

Do you think that the Degel Machaneh Ephraim was trying to convey this very message to Rebbe Nachman at his bar mitzvah?

Rabbi Dovid Sears answers:

The teaching you quoted from Reb Noson seems to be a spin-off on Rabbi Nachman’s words in Likkutei Moharan I, 272 (“HaYom Im B’Kolo Tishma’u”), which discusses living in the present moment and indirectly relates this to the Moshiach, who will come “today” – i.e., who personifies this quality.

As is known, a bar mitzvah bochur is comparable to a newborn child, because the Yetzer Tov/Good Inclination associated with the Nefesh Elokis, or Divine soul, only becomes internalized within him on this day. This means that now he can do things because of their inherent virtue, rather than just because he knows that such-and-such is the right thing to do, since his parents and teachers have told him so. He also has a new spiritual capacity for an altruism that previously had not existed for him. (The same thing applies to a girl on the day that she becomes a bas mitzvah, at age twelve.)

As for what the Degel had to say about this concept when he gave the Rebbe his blessing, we have really don’t know. The quote from Shivchei HaRan only states that the Degel invoked this verse from Tehillim. But there is another Breslover tradition that when the tzaddik Reb Nochum of Chernobyl first saw Rabbi Nachman, he commented that the Rebbe had "beautiful eyes" (Siach Sarfei Kodesh II, 237; also ibid. II, 239) -- which was said of Dovid HaMelekh, and which also might be a remez, or hint, to one of the attributes of the Moshiach. This would correspond to Reb Noson's teaching in Likkutei Halakhos, cited above, about living in the present moment being one of the qualities of the Moshiach. So your speculation might not be so far-fetched.

There’s another related teaching about this in Chayei Moharan 568. Reb Noson writes: “The Rebbe once remarked that he revived himself with the aspect of “I have given birth to you today!’ [This indicates that everything is “newborn,” every instant.] God will help us to skip over everything that ever happened to us, and He will reveal the truth at last. We will all return to God, and the former days will fall away; for all time will be nullified and will merge into the category of ‘beyond time,’ where everything is remedied.”

The “good eye” (which I think is synonymous with the concept of “beautiful eyes”) and the ability to live fully in the here and now actually go together. In Rebbe Nachman’s story of the “Seven Beggars,” the Blind Beggar is not really blind, but only appears this way from a materialistic point of view. In truth, he possesses the perfection of vision, which is spiritual vision, cosmic vision – and when the various elders in his story-within-a-story make their various claims about how far back they can remember, the Blind Beggar alone declares, “Ich gedenk gohrnisht . . . I remember Nothing!” -- by which he means the Primordial Nothing from whence all existence derives. That is, he has transcended past, present, and future to live in the “eternal present.” So the Blind Beggar is a sort of perpetual bar mitvah bochur, newborn in every moment.

This is the Blind Beggar’s “wedding gift” to the chosson and kallah in the Rebbe’s story. And as Reb Noson tells us in the section cited from Likkutei Halakhos, living vividly in the present is an avodah that we may all accomplish – and must accomplish – because it is our common destiny. This is how we can live a true life and a “good life,” and it is the Blind Beggar’s wondrous gift to us all.

* The picture above is a replica of the Baal Shem Tov's Shul in Medzhibuz where Rebbe Nachman was first called to the Torah on his Bar Mitzvah.

Azamra In Gan Eden

It is a mitzvah to offer mitigating arguments in defense of Adam and Eve, the creations of Hashem's hands.

(Minchas Elazar)