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)

A person’s evil inclination, or “Yetzer Hara,” comes in many shapes and disguises. There is a yetzer hara to engage in forbidden sexual relations. There is a yetzer hara to steal. There is a yetzer hara to stay in bed in the morning and not get up to pray. The list goes on and on.

In our last blog, we mentioned the yetzer hara to speak about life in the Land of Israel in a derogatory manner. There is another yetzer hara connected with the Land of Israel, and that is the yetzer hara to be afraid about making aliyah.

"Aliyah! Are you kidding?!"

Recognizing this yetzer hara, Moshe exhorted the nation, saying, “Behold, the L-rd thy G-d has set the Land before thee; go up and possess it, as the L-rd G-d of thy fathers has said to thee; fear not nor be discouraged” (Devarim, 1:21).

Because living in the Land of Israel is such a great mitzvah, being the mitzvah on which the completeness of the Torah depends, the yeter hara works overtime to dissuade Jews from coming. While most mitzvot take a few minutes, like putting on tefillin; or a day, like Shabbat; or a week, like Passover and Sukkot, the mitzvah of living in Israel is a constant, year-round mitzvah, encompassing everything a person does in his life, by dwelling in Israel, and working in Israel, and raising his children in Israel, by serving in the army in Israel, and buying his groceries in Israel, it is all one gigantic mitzvah. And it is through the mitzvah of the Nation of Israel living in Israel that the Kingdom of G-d is to be established in the world – so of course, the yeter hara does everything in his power to discourage Jews from coming.   

That’s why when a Jew contemplates making aliyah, the yetzer hara attacks him with all kinds of doubts and fears.       

Most of the reasons that people give for not coming on aliyah, whether it be that it’s hard to make a living, or that life there is dangerous, or the Israelis are rude, or secular Jews run the country, or I don’t want my children to serve in the army, are the work of the yetzer hara.

While some of these fears have a basis in reality, the yeter hara exaggerates them until they seem colossal in proportion, like the giants that the Spies saw in the Land. The truth is that with a little patience, and trust in G-d, everything works out just fine. By coming on aliyah, the Jew “goes up,” he becomes bigger in his or her service of G-d.

A recent talkback written by a woman who came on aliyah to Israel, that was sent in to Tamar Yonah’s blog, demonstrates this better than I can. So I am copying it here for the inspiration it can give all of us:

“I'm not out to judge other people, I only want to tell how it was for me: I made Aliyah with the equivalent of about 20.000 USD. That was all the money I had, a year and 3 months ago. I couldn't even afford to bring over any furniture - I gave most of my belongings away for free and came here with 2 suitcases in hand, alone, and lived in one room in a shared apartment in an Absorption Center for nearly a year. Because I couldn't afford a car, I walked on foot during that time. I knew in advance that my European medical license wouldn't be recognized here. Despite having worked as a Medical Doctor for already 5 years, I knew I'd have to pass a licensing exam again. And as a MD here I'd earn less than where I came from. My Hebrew was rudimentary at best. I, thank G-d, passed the licensing exam, had to give up my first job after that due to still-bad Hebrew, found a wonderful husband and a new job that, b'Ezrat HaShem keeps both of us afloat, as a Doctor in the Israeli Army. I've got a car again by now. And I'm living in the Shomron (Samaria) in a small house in a settlement because I want to emphasize the right of Jews to live everywhere in Eretz Israel. I came with pretty much nothing and HaShem blessed me with everything I ever wanted. If you put all your energy, trust and will into living in Israel and are willing to forgo some luxuries (are they really essential?), HaShem will help and bless you in the country He wants us to live in. It works. I've tried it.”

Shabbat Shalom

Everyone knows that one of the keys to Torah learning is reviewing what one has studied. So we won’t worry about sounding repetitive by explaining something from this week’s Torah portion which we have discussed in the past.

More than anything else, Moshe wanted to be in Eretz Yisrael. He prayed to Hashem again and again, hundreds of times, to be allowed to enter the Land, as it says, “I pray thee, let me go over and see the good Land that is beyond the Yarden, that good mountain region and the Lebanon” (Devarim, 3:25).

Rabbi Shalom Gold, who came on aliyah from New York, points out the Moshe employs the word “good” two times in this verse. Moshe is asking Hashem not only to enter the good Land, but also to continue to see it in a good light once he was there.

This is because there is an evil inclination to see the Land of Israel in a negative light. The Spies succumbed to this “yetzer” when they brought back an evil report of the things they saw in the Land. Their description of great walled cities, giants, and non-stop funerals, discouraged the nation and turned their hearts away from making aliyah – perhaps the greatest sin of Jewish history, the sin which ultimately led to the destruction of Jerusalem, and the expulsion of the nation from Eretz Yisrael to the sewers of galut. Only Joshua and Calev spoke out in praise of the Land, and only they, out of all of the men, merited to enter it.  

This “yetzer” of seeing the Land of Israel in a negative light is very much with us today. Some complain about the arrogant Israelis. Others complain about the irreligious. Others about the obligation to serve in the army. Still others about the dangers of terrorism. Yet others claim you can’t make a living.

All of these negative claims stem from this evil inclination of saying bad things about Israel. The people who say these things are unaware that they have fallen prey to this terrible, invisible yetzer. They believe they are right. They believe they are justified. They don’t see or understand how they have fallen to engage in the sin of the Spies. They don’t realize that they are adding to the embers of destruction, preventing the Temple’s rebuilding, and prolonging the curse of galut.

From the tragedy of the Spies, we learn that a Jew should be extremely careful not to speak badly about the Land of Israel. Rather, he or she should always strive to see the good aspects of the Land. And they are many indeed. For instance, there are more Jews in Israel than anywhere else. There is more Torah learning in Israel than anywhere else. There are more Torah giants in Israel than anywhere else. There are more organizations dedicated to Hesed (charitable organizations) than anywhere else. There is less assimilation than anywhere else. Not to mention the staggering achievements in science, technology, agriculture, medicine, computer wizardry, and a dozen other fields.

Of course, there is always room for constructive criticism and suggestions on how to improve things, but to find fault and reject living in Israel because of it, this is way of the Spies.

As we learn from Joshua and Calev, the commandment to live in Israel applies even if there are giants and idol worshippers all over the country. It applies even if there are non-religious Jews, and lefties, economic fluctuations and wars. In fact, the halachah states that a Jew should always live in the Land of Israel, even in a city where the majority of the residents are pagans, rather than live in the Diaspora, even in a city where the majority of the residents are Jews.

We live in the Holy Land because it is the Holy Land. The mitzvah to live here doesn’t depend on the politics of the government, nor on whether a person is afraid to serve in the army, or whether he likes falafel or not. There is a mitzvah to live in Eretz Yisrael, period, which is not dependent on any others factors. Certainly not on the personal opinions and preferences of this Jew or that.

We have said this all before, but the review is important, again and again if need be, until the learning sinks in.

In the meantime, may all of the Jews in Diaspora come home to Israel today, so that the fast of Tisha B’Av will be canceled and transformed into a feast of joy.   

Unlike our blogger from Shilo, I will be at the demonstration today, protesting US pressure to expel the idealistic Jews of Judea and Samaria from their homes. Bloggers from Shilo, and the rest of the brave Jews of Yesha, are exempt from this protest, since they are already doing more than their part of the battle by holding down the fort, day and night, so that the Jewish People can hold on to our Biblical homeland. My presence at the protest is the least I can do as a resident of Jerusalem. I also think that all of the steppinfetchits who voted for Obama should be there too, for giving him the mandate to throw Jews out of their homes. Shame on you.

The Sin of the Spies:       

How said it is today to see our beloved Jewish brethren fall into the sin of the Spies. In the Torah portion we read on Shabbat, Moshe recounts what is probably the most ignominious and tragic debacle in Jewish history, the Sin of the Spies.

After reconnoitering the Land of Israel, the Spies came back with their disenchanting report, saying: “One thing I can say is that I can't wait to go back to Australia. I can't stand the Israeli mentality and I think people here are too EXTREME! There is no way I can make aliyah with all the BS going on in this country!”

Their negative report discouraged their fellow Jews from journeying on into the Promised Land. Moshe calls them rebels for not obeying Hashem’s commandment to make aliyah, and Hashem terms them an “evil generation.”

If you don’t want to come on aliyah, that’s your loss. But why discourage others?

“By the Rivers of Brooklyn”

The prayers of mourning in Tikun Hatzot over the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile in the Diaspora begin with the Psalm, “By the Rivers of Brooklyn.”

By the Rivers of Brooklyn

The Psalm goes like this:

“By the rivers of Brooklyn, and Toronto, and Los Angeles, and Paris, and Melbourne, we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion.

“Upon the willows there we hung up our harps, when our captors demanded of us songs, our tormentors asked of us mirth, saying, ‘Sing us some songs of Zion.’

“How shall we sing the L-rd’s song in a foreign land?

"How shall we sing the L-rd's song in a foreign land?"

“If I ever forget you, O Jerusalem, withered be my right hand!

One-armed Bandit

“May my tongue cleave to my palate, if ever I not think of you, if I ever not set Jerusalem above my highest joy!”

In order that the centrality of Eretz Yisrael and Jerusalem always fill a Jews heart and thoughts, our Sages enacted that we recite this Psalm during the week after meals. To teach us that wherever we may stuff our faces with the finest of gourmet foods, or with the hot dogs, pizza, chop suey, and chicken pot pies of the goyim (kosher of course), we will always remember that we belong in the Land of Israel, and not in foreign countries, and that our crippled and shattered lives are empty of true Jewish joy.

Confucious says: "Jewboy go home!"

This Shabbat, we begin reading the Book of Devarim. With all the nation gathered before him, the Rabbi of all Rabbis, Moshe Rabainu, begins to explain the true meaning of the Torah, as it says:

“Moshe began to explain this Torah….” (Devarim, 1:6).

And what does he tell them?

“You have dwelt long enough in this mountain – turn and take up your journey….” (Ibid).

The Jewish Nation is not supposed to leave in the Diaspora. G-d wants the Jews to live in Israel, as Moshe relates to them the word of God, saying:

“Behold I have set the Land before you; go in and possess the Land which the L-rd swore to your fathers, to Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaacov, to give to them and to their offspring after them (Devarim, 1:8).

This is spoken to them in the language of a command. Living in the Land of Israel is a commandment of the Torah, in all generations, as the Ramban makes clear (Ramban on the Torah, BaMidbar, 33:53; and Ramban, Supplement to the Sefer HaMitzvot of the Rambam, Positive Commandment #4 ). All of the authorities of halachah, the Rishonim (early authorities) and Achronim (later authorities) agree with him (See “Pitchei Tshuva,” Shulchan Aruch, Even HaEzer, Section 75, sub-section 6).

In the verse, “Moshe began to explain this Torah….” The Hebrew word for “explain” is באר. Rashi clarifies the meaning of the word by saying that Moshe explained the Torah in 70 languages (See Rashi, loc. cited).

Whatever the language, a Jew is meant to live in Israel.

Moshe explained the Torah in 70 languages because he knew that in the future, the Jews would be scattered to the four corners of the world amongst the 70 nations, where they would speak English, and French, and Spanish, and German, and Russian, and Arabic, and Portuguese, Yiddish, Brooklynese, and all of the rest. He wanted each and everyone to know, in the languages that they spoke, that “You have dwelt long enough in the Diaspora – take up your journey - go in and possess the Land which the L-rd swore to your fathers, to Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaacov, to give to them and to their offspring after them.”

That way they wouldn’t have any excuses, claiming I didn’t know, I didn’t understand.

Pick any language you like. The Torah says the same thing in all of them. A Jew is supposed to live in the Land of Israel. Comprendo?