Talkbackers - The Time for Repentance Has Come !

The month of Elul, the time most suited for repentance, is just a few days away. To get in the mood, here’s a little story that just happened.

When I first came to Israel, I had a friend, let’s call him Moshe, who was also exploring the world of Orthodox Judaism. But instead of having faith in the Torah, and in the Rabbis who were teaching him, he would always play a game of intellectual ping-pong, finding loopholes and doubts in every explanation he heard. I remember telling him at the time that he should flush his arrogance and ego down the toilet, along with all of his pseudo knowledge of the world, and open himself up to the wisdom of our Sages, but Moshe just couldn’t take the leap. He ended up leaving Israel, convinced that he was rejecting all of the imperfections he found in the religion and in the country, when in reality the Land was vomiting him out.

Back in America, giving up all ritual observance, the poor guy met one misfortune after the next, with his marriage, with his children, with his work. Then after almost 25 years, he began to have second thoughts, and began reading Arutz 7 and taking peeks at this blog and others. One day, not long ago, he wrote me, saying he was coming back to Israel for a short trip.

This Shabbat, he spent some time at our house, and filled me in on the sad events that had dominated his life since abandoning the Land. When he mentioned that he hadn’t put on tefillin in 25 years, I suggested he have his tefillin checked out, since tefillin should be checked every seven years, and I related some mystical, but true, stories about how a person’s behavior and transgressions affected their tefillin and caused blemishes in the letters of the parchments.

Time to check your tefillin!

I told him where he could have his tefillin checked, and yesterday morning he took them to the place I recommended. Sure enough, a word was missing in a parchment on the tefillin of the arm, making the tefillin not kosher. The missing word was in the verse, “you shouldn’t have chametz.” It blew him away.

This morning, he called me still dizzy from the revelation.

“Amazing!” he said. “It’s amazing. Chametz represents arrogance and pride, and that’s exactly what I have.  I know it. My heart is full of arrogance. Until now, I’ve been closed to believe what other people were trying to teach me about Judaism and to take their advice when I was here in Israel. For the first time, I feel that Hashem is really there, looking at me, one-on-one, giving me another chance to get my act together.”

With Elul a few days away, it’s a good time for everyone to check their tefillin –especially some of our more cacophonous talkbackers who are so arrogantly sure that they are right in their asinine opinions (like it's better to live amongst the obamanations in foreign lands than to live in Israel). I guarantee you, some of you are in for real surprises!

The Laws of Marital Relations

Every Motzei Shabbat, I go to the Kotel to read Tehillim with the revered Kabbalist, Rabbi Leon Levi, and students. At the end of the recital, Rabbi Leon speaks about the Torah portion.

Rabbi Leon Levi

According to the secrets of Torah, the opening verse of the Torah portion, “Ekev,” is talking about sexual transgression. G-d promises the Jewish People that if we guard ourselves from sexual transgression, He will guard over his side of the Brit, or Covenant, that he made with our Forefathers, and grant a unique, Divine kindness to us, blessing us in the Land of Israel with a life filled with material bounty, health, and victory over our enemies (Devarim, 7:12-16).

As usual, a large gathering crowded around to hear Rabbi Leon speak. He reminded everyone that the organ of the Brit, which is graced with the “stamp of the King” upon circumcision, possesses a special holiness. He said it had the holiness of a Torah scroll, and reminded us that both Avraham and Yaacov had made Eliezer and Yosef takes oaths by placing their hands under this sacred place. He said that the dream of Yaacov of a ladder reaching up to heaven symbolized the exalted holiness of the place of the Brit, and the spiritual sefirah (channel) of “Yesod” which is associated with it, as it says:

“How awesome is this place! This is no other than the house of G-d, and this is the gateway to Heaven! (Bereshit, 28:17).

Rabbi Leon said that the measure of a man’s holiness, and the determination of a “Tzaddik,” is the purity of his sexual life, as exemplified by Yosef, who is known as “Yosef the Tzaddik” for having overcome the temptations of Potifar’s wife.

A person’s attachment to G-d, he said, depends on the measure that he safeguards the Brit. If a man conducts his married life in a modest and holy fashion, then the blessings of health, livelihood, and security, stated in the Torah, will be granted to him. But if he falls into sexual transgression and wastes the holy, Divine energy contained in seminal seed, which is infused with holy souls, and radiates with the precious power of the Divine source of life, than the opposite will be his portion – sicknesses, hardships with children, and other painful sufferings, G-d forbid.

Because of the great importance of this fundamental matter to every person, and to the Jewish Nation as a whole, we are undertaking to translate the Laws of Marital Relations, from the book, “Darkei Taharah,” by the saintly Rabbi Mordechai Eliahu, former Chief Rabbi of Israel. The first chapters have been posted on our website, jewishsexuality.com, and, with G-d’s help, we will endeavor to post additional chapters in the coming weeks. Like all aspects of Torah learning, these matters should be reviewed to strengthen our observance of the proper Torah conduct and in the many details involved. Especially in a matter where the evil inclination is so great and temptations abound, it is wise for all people to go over these laws, along with the guidelines that Rabbi Leon has set forth in his writings to help people achieve enhanced health and blessing in their lives.        

The Land of Giants

If we could dissect a soul, what would we discover inside? What would a microscopic examination reveal? What are a soul's components? Its atoms? When we probe as deeply as we can into the anatomy of the soul, suddenly under our high-powered lens, an Alef comes into focus. Then we see a Mem, and a Taf. If a soul had a genetic make-up, we would discover that its DNA helix is made up of Hebrew letters.

Hebrew Letters - the DNA of Creation

In the wisdom of the Kabbalah, letters are understood to be powerful, life-giving forces. The Gemara teaches that the Hebrew letters were used to create the heaven and earth (Berachot 55A). Bezalel knew how to combine the letters which were used in Creation. It was this secret wisdom which enabled him to build the Mishkan (Ibid).

Just as the Hebrew letters are the building blocks of Torah, and of the world, they combine to form the molecular blueprint of the soul. What atoms are to the physical world, Hebrew letters are to the spiritual.

Rabbi Kook writes:

“The soul is filled with letters which are infused with the light of life, full of knowledge and will, full of spiritual seeking, and full existence," (Orot, 1:7).

 The soul is filled with letters which contain the Divine life-force which grants us existence. They themselves have knowledge and will and a quest for spiritual inspiration. All of a Jew's primary activities, whether his thought, will, deed, and imagination, stem from the letters of his soul. Different combinations of letters make for different types of souls. There are high-powered combinations, and there are souls of lesser might. According to the brilliance of these life-giving letters, a man's soul radiates with more and more energy.

Not only is the soul filled with Hebrew letters, mitzvot are filled with them too. Rabbi Kook writes:

"Upon approaching a mitzvah, the mitzvah is always full of the light of life of all of the worlds - every mitzvah is filled with letters, big, incredible letters from among all of the 613 precepts” (Ibid).

The mitzvot are the channels which enable letters to flow from their Divine source to the soul. The life-force in the mitzvot adds vitality to the life-force in man. They are the circuits and conduits of life. And they too, like the letters, are microcosms of existence, bursting with the energy that G-d supplies to the world.

When a Jew performs a mitzvah, he receives a new dose of energy and life. When the letters of his soul collide and combine with the letters of the mitzvah, an explosion occurs. Like a fusion of atoms, new life is released to the soul and to all of the worlds. The union of the soul and the mitzvah is what gives the world its constant renewal. And because each individual mitzvah is integrally connected to all of the 613 precepts of the Torah, when we perform one mitzvah, we release the power of them all in a chain reaction which sends waves of holiness and light throughout the universe. This is the mechanism which brings life to the world. Thus, our Sages have taught that if the Jews were to stop learning Torah, G-d forbid, for even a moment, the whole world would come to an end (Shabbat 88A).

This is how Rabbi Kook describes it:

 "As soon as we approach a commandment's performance, all of the living letters which constitute our essence expand - we grow bigger, and become stronger and more forceful in the light of life and sublime existence which is resplendent and rich with the wealth of universal holiness and with the light of Torah and of wisdom....and all of the universe is renewed with light and life. The judgment of the world turns meritorious because of our deeds; light and truth, good will and inward satisfaction grace every face."

When a Jew performs a mitzvah, the letters of his or her soul are magnified with an accelerated life-force. Letters of Torah from the upper worlds of existence merge with the letters of the individual soul. This "wedding" between the upper and lower worlds causes a union of splendor and joy. Our will and G-d's will become one. We and the world are filled with supernal strength, wisdom, holiness, valor, harmony, and joy. The same wholeness which returned to the world upon the giving of the Torah now returns to our souls. In the meeting of man and the mitzvah, the purpose of life is achieved. Man stands in line with G-d's will for existence. The soul cleaves to G-d. Worlds merge, and the union brings rebirth to all of Creation.

Because of the soul's connection to all the world, each seemingly small mitzvah is, in truth, a cosmic deed which fills the world with untold blessing. The performance of a mitzvah fills the world with Torah, and with inner goodness and truth. We hold in our hands the fate of existence. Our good deeds infuse the world with merit. By observing the commandments of the Torah, we not only elevate our own life, we make the world a better place. In the Heavenly court, G-d's judgment is sweetened.

In effect, the Almighty has put in our hands the key to existence. Divine blessing and life are released in the world according to what we do (Nefesh HaChaim, Gate 1:3).

Now, my friends, fasten your seat belts.

IN ERETZ YISRAEL, THE LETTERS OF OUR SOUL GROW BIGGER. THEY ARE MAGNIFIED THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF TIMES, EVEN WITHOUT DOING A MITZVAH, BECAUSE JUST BEING IN ISRAEL IS A MITZVAH IN ITSELF.

Rabbi Kook writes:

"In Eretz Yisrael, the letters of our souls grow bigger; there they reveal shining light; they are nurtured with independent life from the light of life of the whole Congregation of Israel; they are directly influenced from the secret of their original creation."

In simple language, Rabbi Kook is saying that if there were a Geiger counter which could measure the existence of Hebrew letters, it would start to crackle with a thunderous noise the moment it approached the borders of Israel. For Eretz Yisrael is the land of gigantic, 3-D letters. It is the land of indigenous ALEFS and BETS. Like the giants which the Spies encountered in Hevron, and the gigantic fruit they found in the Land, the alphabet of Eretz Yisrael dwarfs the Lilliputian alphabet of the Diaspora. The letters thrive in the air of Israel and draw body-building nutrients from its holy soil. In contrast, the letters of Chut'z L'Aretz (outside of the Land) are stunted, like plants grown outside of their natural climate.

When a Jew makes Aliyah to Eretz Yisrael, his letters shift into high gear and multiply in size. All of his being gets bigger. He grows closer to G-d. Compared to the person he was in Galut, he becomes larger than life. He transforms into a giant, filled with greater valor, greater holiness, greater happiness, and wisdom.

Jew from Israel (right) with friend from the Diaspora

What is the secret of this change?

IN ERETZ YISRAEL, OUR LETTERS, LIKE OUR SOULS, BECOME THE GIGANTIC LETTERS OF CLAL YISRAEL. They are no longer small, private, individual letters of the Diaspora, living private individual lives - THEY MULTIPLY AND MULTIPLY THROUGH THEIR UNION WITH THE NATION OF ISRAEL. IN THE LAND OF CLAL YISRAEL, OUR LETTERS MERGE WITH THE MEGA-SOUL OF THE NATION, and not just with the neighborhood shul.

In his connection to the NATION, the Oleh (immigrant) to Israel becomes a more complete Jew. He becomes a co-builder of the Jewish NATION. He becomes independent in his own Land. His aspirations are filled with idealism. He becomes an architect of history, an active partner of Redemption. His outlook and psyche are exponentially expanded by his new identification with the NATIONAL aspiration and will.

Because he is living in Israel, his whole life is a mitzvah. A mitzvah which is equal in weight to all of the mitzvot of the Torah (Sifre, Reah, 12:29). Divine life flows and flows into his being through the infinite channel of his new mitzvah life. His house is a mitzvah, his job is a mitzvah, every step which he takes in the Holy Land is a mitzvah, every four cubits earns him a greater share in the world to come (Ketubot 111A). Every holy breath he takes fills him with holy life. Letters and letters of Torah pour into his soul.

In his essay, Rabbi Kook quotes a verse from the book of Isaiah:

"And it shall come to pass, that he who is left in Zion, and he that remains in Jerusalem, they shall be called holy, everyone in Jerusalem who is written to life" (Isaiah, 4:3).

In Eretz Yisrael and Jerusalem, the letters of our souls are inscribed for eternal life. Like the Land's giant letters, the mitzvot of the Land are giant mitzvot too, performed where the commandments are supposed to be performed, as the Ramban writes: “For the essence of all the mitzvot is that they be performed in the Land of Hashem (Ramban of the Torah, Vayikra, 18:25; also Kuzari, 5:22). They burst with energy and life through the full force of their value. In Israel, the performance of the mitzvot is pure, without static and pollution, when performed in the land of G-d. In Israel, each mitzvah reverberates through the myriad of souls of the Clal, multiplying beyond measure, echoing through the universe, filling the world with harmony, completeness, and order. When the nation is living its true Torah life in Israel, G-d's will for the world is fulfilled. The vaults of heaven spread open, and Divine blessing flows uninterrupted to all of creation.

So too, the Torah of Eretz Yisrael is the complete Torah. As our Sages teach: “There is no Torah like the Torah of Eretz Yisrael” (Midrash Tehillim 105). The Torah in Israel is the all-encompassing Torah, the Torah of the nation, the Torah of the Clal, none of whose mitzvot or letters are missing. In the Land of Israel, The Torah is in its true place, radiating its influence in intimate pleasantness, its heavenly letters glowing with the light of the Shekhinah (Ketubot 75A).

I ask you my friends, could anything be better than this?

(Excerpted from the book, “Lights on Orot” by Rabbi David Samson and yours truly. Chapter Seven)