Lift the Veil

 Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

In an earlier post, we explained the difference between gashmiyus—“physicality” and chumriyus—“coarseness.”

This also explains the lowly state of our world. In reality, within every being in our universe there is a chayus Eloki, a divine vitalizing force, that creates it as it is, maintains its existence, and without which it could not exist. Yet although it is right here within every single being, we do not feel it.

But it wasn’t always this way. In the world’s original state, before the sin of Adam and Chava, “the divine presence dwelt in this lowly world.”  Then one could sense tangibly how the existence of every physical being stems from the chayus Eloki, and so one naturally submitted to that vitality, and therefore to Hashem.

But the sin of eating from the Tree of Knowledge tainted the cosmos as a whole. It created an intense veil over the chayus Eloki. Chassidus calls this veil chumriyus, and the chumriyus in our world is very great.

However, during the period of exile, we are charged with the mission of rectifying the cosmos though our performance of Torah and Mitzvos, and this gradually diminishes the chumriyus. The veil of chumriyus will be completely lifted when Moshiach comes, and all will “see”  the underlying reality of the chayus Eloki (may it happen now!).

This is true not only on a grand scale, but also on a miniature scale, even before Moshiach comes. We may not yet be able to refine ourselves to the point of literally seeing the chayus Eloki, but though hard work, we are all fully able to reach a far deeper level of inner sensitivity to G–dliness (see here and here).

The principle here is that the more a vessel is refined, the more it can contain. Consider the mind: The more one’s mental capacities are refined and sharpened, the deeper the concepts one is able to grasp. Likewise, the more the person engages in avodah (see here) to refine the coarseness within of the Bestial Soul and the body, the more he becomes open and receptive to awareness of Hashem (see here).

This means that when he meditates upon Hashem’s greatness before prayer, his mind becomes much more receptive, and the concept he reflects upon is truly absorbed and integrated into his mind and heart. Likewise, when he studies Torah, he will sense the divine light within Torah (see here).

And then, when he goes out to engage with the outside world, not only will this interaction not adversely affect him by detracting from his sensitivity to G–dliness (as it would otherwise), but it will enhance it:

In the world at large, he will sense the world’s dependence on the chayus Eloki. On a personal level, he will be imbued with the awareness that all his blessings come from Hashem alone; he will notice Hashem’s guiding hand, intimately controlling every aspect of his life; and he will succeed at illuminating everyone and everything in his surroundings with an ever-greater awareness of Hashem’s presence.

Based on the Rebbe Rashab’s Sefer HaMaamarim 5678, p. 85.

Dedicated in honor of the birthday of my dear daughter, Shaina bas Atarah Arielle, on 22 Tammuz.

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Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for (at least) $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

The Intellectual Soul (pt. 3): The Boost from the Divine Soul

The Intellectual Soul (pt. 3)

The Boost from the Divine Soul

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

(Continued from The Intellectual Soul, pt. 1 and The Intellectual Soul, pt. 2.)

But if so, how is the Intellectual Soul of a Jew any better? It too consists of worldly, human intellect; by what virtue does it also “sense spiritual refinement”?

Rather, the Jew’s Intellectual Soul itself is not inherently different from the non-Jew’s. However, since the Jew possesses the Divine Soul (a.k.a., Nefesh HoElokis) that transcends the world completely, and the Nefesh HoElokis becomes vested within the Nefesh HoElokis, this proximity subdues the Nefesh HoElokis’ natural sense of ego and enables it to “sense spiritual refinement” in a way that makes it possible for the Jew to attain true objectivity in intellectual judgments, and thus fully fulfill the potential of the Intellectual Soul. It emerges that the verse, “The spirit ... of man rises upwards” refers primarily to the Jew’s Intellectual Soul.

Perhaps this is comparable to the difference between two people of equal intelligence. One constantly keeps the company of a very spiritual, inspired, and sagely rabbi, while the other keeps no such company, and so he is left to live a life focused on materialism. All things being equal, the former will be much more spiritually inclined than the other.

This explains the double expression in the Mishnah cited above: “Beloved is man ... it is by special divine love ... ”

The first phrase refers to the Intellectual Soul within all mankind, while the second phrase refers to the Intellectual Soul within the Jewish people. “Beloved is man ... ” tells us that the non-Jew is beloved to Hashem because of his Intellectual Soul. In contrast, “it is by special divine love that he is informed that he was created in the image of G–d” tells us that a Jew is beloved to Hashem because of his Divine Soul. Because of this belovedness, Hashem also gives the Jew an Intellectual Soul.

The Jew’s responsibility to elevate the nations

This is also the reason that Torah instructs, and even obligates the Jew to influence non-Jews positively by teaching them the Noahide laws, as the Rambam rules explicitly: “Moshe was commanded via a direct divine revelation [to tell the Jewish people] to compel all the world’s inhabitants to undertake the laws commanded to Noah’s descendants.”[1] The Tosafos Yom Tov explains[2] that the expression “compel” also includes the imperative to use verbal persuasion, to explain to someone resistant the necessity to adhere to the Noahide laws. Of course, [3] at the same time one should be careful to influence non-Jews in a pleasant, peaceful manner, for it is written of the Torah, “Its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace.”[4]

Why was the Jew in particular assigned with this mission? Because provided that the Jew is refined and G–d-fearing, his more sensitive Intellectual Soul enables him to serve as a true guide for the non-Jew, elevating him above the limitation of his Intellectual Soul, and bringing him to relate to the world, and to the moral choices he is constantly called upon to render, in a manner that is truly objective, and therefore truly correct and truly ethical.

Based on the Rebbe's Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 15, pp. 58 ff.

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[1] Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings, 8:10.

[2] Tosafos Yom Tov, Avos 3:14.

[3] Hisva’aduyos 5747, Vol. 1, p. 82.

[4] Mishlei 3:17.



This article was dedicated by Moshe Maaravi and family as a merit for the refuah sheleimah of Yehoshua ben Sheva.



Dedicated in the merit of a speedy release for the captives Yonasan ben Malka (Jonathan Pollard), Jacob Ostreicher (Yaakov Yehuda ben Shaindel), Alan Gross (Aba Chonah ben Hava Chana), Sholom Mordechai Halevi ben Rivka (Sholom Rubashkin), and Zeva Rochel bas Chaya (Wendy Weiner Runge).

Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for (at least) $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

Chanukah: Hiskashrus cleanses from spiritual defilement

Hiskashrus cleanses from spiritual defilement

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

“They found one flask of pure olive oil sealed with the imprint of the Cohen Gadol (the High Priest).”[1]

The physical defilement of the oil in the Beis HaMikdash was merely an external, physical manifestation of the inner malaise—the popularity that secular wisdom had gained among the Jewish people in general, and particularly among the Misyavnim, or Hellenists—the assimilationist Jews who had adopted Greek philosophy as their lifestyle.

This represents a certain kind of inner spiritual decline from which we can derive a lesson today.

Every Jew has a natural sensitivity to the refined spiritual explanations of G–d’s greatness, particularly as explained in the teachings of Kabbalah and Chassidus. This is found in the intellect of his Nefesh HoElokis, the Divine Soul.

A spiritually healthy Jew limits the intellect of the Nefesh HaSichlis, the Intellectual Soul (see here), and subjugates it to the ends of the Nefesh HoElokis.

However, when one becomes preoccupied with using one’s intellect in a way that lacks submission to the will of Hashem and of the Divine Soul, instead pursuing secular pursuits and studies for their own sake (as explained earlier here), the intellect of the Nefesh HaSichlis has become predominant.

This “defiles” the “pure olive oil”—the natural sensitivity to G–dliness of the intellect of the Divine Soul.[2] In this state, although the Jew is fully intellectually capable of grasping secular studies that discuss physical phenomena, he comes up against a dullness and resistance when he attempts to study spiritual concepts.

How can he possibly emerge from such a degenerate state? This is the lesson of Chanukah. There always remains “one flask of pure olive oil sealed with the imprint of the Cohen Gadol (the High Priest).”

To explain, it is stated of the Cohen Gadol: “His glory and beauty consist of sitting in the Beis HaMikdash all day. ... His house shall be in Yerushalayim, and he should never depart from there.”[3] Yerushalayim represents yirah shaleim,[4] complete fear of Hashem.

Thus, the Cohen Gadol represents the very core of the Jew’s soul, the Pinteleh Yid, the soul-level of Yechidah, a level that “never departs from Yerushalayim”—from complete fear of Hashem. This level is completely united with Hashem and can never be sullied by the person’s actions, although it can definitely be “asleep”—hidden and dormant in one who has fallen.

Now, the Yechidah may “wake up” when the Jew is faced with a test of faith, and inspire him to give up his life rather than deny Hashem. [5] However, that is an extreme circumstance. How does one awaken the Yechidah of oneself or others in the state described above, and bring it to fully illuminate the flame of the Neshamah[6]—which is compared to a flame, as it is written, “The Neshamah of a man is Hashem’s candle”—on all levels?

For this one must connect with the Cohen Gadol of the generation, a Jew who “sits all day in the Beis HaMikdash”—in an atmosphere of holiness and purity; moreover, he “never departs from Yerushalayim”—from a state of pure and complete fear of Hashem.

The Cohen Gadol, the Rebbe,[7] gives to all those who connect themselves with him a “flask of pure olive oil” with which to kindle and illuminate their own Neshamos despite its defilement and desecration.

However, just as on Chanukah, we are required to celebrate through both “Hallel vehoda’ah,” praise and acknowledgement, so is it with hiskashrus, bonding with the Rebbe. Hoda’ah, acknowledgement and faith are indeed necessary, but not sufficient. One must also engage Hallel, praise,[8] which represents investing intellectual effort to understand the greatness of Hashem (see here) as explained in Chassidus (which is compared to oil), thereby fulfilling the exhortation, “Know the G–d of your father”[9] until it illuminates every level of our souls with purity and holiness.

Adapted from the Rebbe’s Igros Kodesh, Vol. 2, pp. 277-278.

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[1] Shabbos 21b.
[2] For oil is compared to wisdom (Zohar 3:7b).
[3] Mishneh Torah, Hilchos K’lei HaMikdash, 5:7.
[4] Likkutei Torah, Rosh HaShanah 60b.
[5] Tanya ch. 19.
[6] Mishlei 20:27.
[7] Cf. Igros Kodesh, Vol. 5, p. 33.
[8] Shabbos ibid..
[9] I Divrei HaYomim 28:9.

• Dedicated by Reb Yitzchak Kruk and family in the memory of Aryeh ben Yitzchak.
• Dedicated by Yehoshua Solomon and family in the memory of Mrs. Molly Mitnick (Malah bas Elchanan).

Dedicated in the merit of a speedy release for the captives Yonasan ben Malka (Jonathan Pollard), Jacob Ostreicher (Yaakov Yehuda ben Shaindel), Alan Gross (Aba Chonah ben Hava Chana), Sholom Mordechai Halevi ben Rivka (Sholom Rubashkin), and Zeva Rochel bas Chaya (Wendy Weiner Runge).

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Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for (at least) $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

The Intellectual Soul (pt. 1): "In the image of G-d"

The Intellectual Soul (pt. 1)

All mankind is created “in the image of G–d”

The Mishnah states:[1]

Beloved is man, for he was created in the image of G–d; it is by special divine love that he was informed that he was created in the image of G–d. As it is stated: “For G–d made man in His own image.”[2]

The Tosafos Yom Tov notes that the Mishnah cites a verse addressed to Noach and his descendants, who were not Jewish. He interprets that “beloved is man” refers not only to Jews, but to all mankind. All mankind is created “in the image of G–d,” and is therefore beloved to G–d. And since human beings are beloved to G–d, all mankind should also respect, value, and love one another.

Of course, although in this context “man” refers to all mankind, not only the Jewish people, it surely includes Jews as well. Although Jews possess an additional soul that is “literally a part of Hashem above,”[3] they too were created “in the image of G–d.”

The Intellectual Soul

What indeed does it mean to have been created “in the image of G–d,” and why is this “beloved to G–d”? To state the obvious, G–d has no image or form, neither material nor spiritual.[4] Rather, echoing the Rambam,[5] Chassidus explains[6] that “the image of G–d” refers to the Nefesh HaSichlis, the Intellectual Soul.

The Intellectual Soul is the mind, the spiritual faculty that enables a person to think in a uniquely human way. Its goal is to transcend personal interest and pursue abstract, objective truth. This is alluded to in the verse, “The spirit ... of man rises upwards”[7]; i.e., man—and the faculty that defines man as different from animals, the Intellectual Soul—naturally yearns upward, to transcend itself.

Both Jews and non-Jews possess an Intellectual Soul. However, the Jew’s Intellectual Soul is higher than the non-Jew’s, for it “senses spiritual refinement, so although it is by nature human intellect, it has a feel for spiritual refinement.”[8]

This sensitivity to spiritual refinement enables the Jew who follows Torah properly to truly transcend his own self-interest in his intellectual strivings.

By contrast, the non-Jew’s Intellectual Soul naturally relates to the world in a coarse, materialistic way, lacking the Jew’s natural sensitivity to the spirituality that underlies the world.

The non-Jewish Intellectual Soul comes fully manifest in secular wisdom, which is the culmination of the intellectual efforts of the finest of non-Jewish minds.

This wisdom naturally fosters a feeling of arrogance; in fact, it fosters a feeling of the utmost arrogance. Thus, ongoing study of secular wisdom without the spiritual fortification that Torah study provides will spoil the student spiritually until he or she ultimately degenerates to a state of spiritual and moral coarseness.[9]

To be continued, with the help of Hashem.

Based on the Rebbe's Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 15, pp. 58 ff.

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[1] Avos 3:18.
[2] Bereshis 1:17.
[3] Tanya ch. 2.
[4] See the Yigdal hymn: “He has no semblance of a body, nor is He corporeal.” Cf. Derech Mitzvosecha, Shoresh Mitzvas HaTefillah ch. 2.
[5] See Guide for the Perplexed 1:1:

Now man possesses as his proprium something that is very strange in that it is not found in anything else that exists under the sphere of the moon, namely, intellectual apprehension. In the exercise of this, neither sense, nor any part of the body, nor any of the extremities are used; and therefore this apprehension was compared to G–d’s apprehension, which does not require an instrument, although in reality it is not like the latter apprehension, but only appears so at first.

It is because of ... the divine intellect conjoined with man, that it is said of man that he is “in the image of G–d” and “after His likeness”—not that Hashem, may He be exalted, is a body and possesses a shape.

Likewise, Rashi explains kidmuseinu, “after our likeness” to mean “with the power to comprehend and discern.”
[6] Sefer HaMa’amarim 5702, p. 104 ff.
[7] Koheles 3:21.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Sefer HaMa’amarim 5709, p. 52 ff.


Dedicated in the merit of a speedy release for the captives Yonasan ben Malka (Jonathan Pollard), Jacob Ostreicher (Yaakov Yehuda ben Shaindel), Alan Gross (Aba Chonah ben Hava Chana), Sholom Mordechai Halevi ben Rivka (Sholom Rubashkin), and Zeva Rochel bas Chaya (Wendy Weiner Runge).


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Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for (at least) $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

The power of self-refinement

In addition to our strivings for self-refinement being an integral part of serving Hashem, they carry the fringe benefit of enabling us to overcome our physical enemies.

Dovid HaMelech speaks of two distinct types of foes whom the Jewish people face: “the enemy and avenger” (Tehillim 8:3): The “enemy,” who fights openly, directly, and unashamedly; and the “avenger,” a hidden enemy who schemes to commit vile deeds through stealth (today this is termed a terrorist).

The evil inclination is also referred to as the enemy, and it can be similarly divided into these two types. The open enemy within refers to coarse, vulgar desires, while the hidden enemy is the evil traits that are subtle and difficult to detect.

Yaakov Avinu alludes to these two levels of evil in his words, “ ... That I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow” (Bereishis 48:22). A sword can only slay an enemy who stands nearby, while a bow can even slay an enemy who stands from afar. The sword refers to eliminating the “close,” i.e., obvious and easily recognized unrefined character traits, while the bow refers to eliminating ugly character traits that are “distant,” i.e., subtle and insidious, and therefore unknown.

There is a direct causal correlation between the physical and the spiritual, between our conduct and the world around us. Thus, when the Jew strives to refine himself and eliminate his ugly character traits, both the obvious and the insidious, this results in the elimination of the literal “enemy and avenger” as well.

What a tremendous responsibility this charges us with! Normally we think of ourselves, not being generals or even foot-soldiers in the Israeli army, as powerless in overcoming scourges the likes of PLO, Hamas, Hezbollah, and their ilk. But in reality every single effort that we make to refine ourselves spiritually (and especially through prayer, as I will explain in a future post, with Hashem’s help) strikes these enemies with a powerful blow no less effective than that inflicted by a physical soldier.

Adapted from Sefer HaMa’amarim Melukat, Vol. 1, p. 321.

The frum blogosphere

The Kotzker Rebbe reputedly said, “Not everything one thinks should be said; not everything one says should be written; not everything one writes should be published; and not everything published should be read.”

This can perhaps be tied to a similar statement of the Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek: “A word spoken is public knowledge; in writing, it is for the entire world; and in print, it is for all future generations (Igros Kodesh HaRayatz, Vol. 2, Letter # 558).”

The connection is simple and straightforward: The further we express ourselves, the more of an impact we make upon the world. Thus self-expression requires caution, for we want to make sure our impact on the world is for the good. Thus, we are told to calculate our communication in every context of expression:

Some statements are constructive in the privacy of one’s thoughts, but better left unsaid.
Others statements may be communicated privately, but will be detrimental if communicated publicly.

Still other statements may be communicated publicly, but not in a way that affects future generations as well, for whom this statement may be confusing and misleading.

What irks me about the blogosphere, and I mean the “frum” Jewish blogosphere, is a widespread lack of ... refinement (following the “example” of the secular world, of course). People think that because they’re anonymous, or at least so they think, they can say whatever they like. So many blogs are:

• heretical, or bordering on it;
  

• cynical and totally uninspiring;
  

• nasty;
  

• silly;
  

• crude and foul;
  

• lacking a sensitivity for boundaries.
  

All of the above constitute either prohibited or inappropriate speech.

Sadly, these blogs are usually also the ones most widely read. Human nature is that negativity, crudeness, heresy, and the like, naturally attract much more attention, and unfortunately frum Jewry is no exception.

I’m not suggesting that important topics of public concern should be “shoved under the carpet.” Yes, there are times when someone needs to speak out against injustice, distortion, and so on. One should not be silent in the face of evil, lest one’s silence be taken as consent, G–d forbid.

But please, we’re supposed to be “A light unto the nations.” We don’t live in our own little box. Anything we say in public can and will be read by anyone and everyone. Frum Jews who lack guidance and have nowhere else to turn. Not-yet-frum Jews who have never come into contact with frum Jews. Non-Jews. Non-Jews who have never met frum Jews, and non-Jews who have never met any Jews. Let us ask ourselves: What sort of message are we sending all these people about frum Jews?

What should be our focus? Serving Hashem. Spreading light.

So there is a balance to be drawn, and not everyone succeeds. But are they mindful of the need to do so?

Even if there seems to be what to criticize, and even assuming that one is right, the whole world does not need to know what he is thinking. Think twice about just how constructive that criticism is. What does one hope to accomplish? Is he genuinely trying to help the situation, or just venting without thought?

I wonder how many of these bloggers went to the trouble to study the Chofetz Chaim’s laws of appropriate speech before posting content that is at the very least halachically questionable.

I understand that people are human, and have thoughts and feelings that they yearn to express, and the blogosphere is an outlet for such expression. But just because you are feeling something, that doesn’t mean you should express it. And if you need to discuss it with someone, perhaps speak to a Rav, a lay advisor, or a close friend. I’m not saying that one shouldn’t express one’s thoughts and feelings, but that one should “think twice.”

It's simple: You didn't have enough

Sometimes the solutions to our problems are easier than we realize:

Reb Abba Pliskin related in the name of Reb Meir Simcha Chein that three things are guaranteed to have an impact: Chassidus, mashkeh (alcohol), and money. Chassidus makes you refined, mashkeh makes you inebriated, and money makes you crazy.

Thus, if one of these things did not have its effect, this demonstrates only one thing—that the person didn’t have enough: He didn’t drink enough, or didn’t amass enough money, or didn’t internalize enough Chassidus.

What I like about this aphorism is that it flies in the face of the modern trend to complicate everything. To be sure, there are many truly complex, multifaceted issues that require much study and investigation for one to truly grasp, and such issues are often oversimplified by less discerning people. However, the opposite is also true: Not every issue is complex, and sometimes in pursuing our intellectually-driven desire for sophistication we stray from the truth and reject the simple and straightforward, but true answer.

More conventional wisdom dictates that if you’ve tried a certain approach and it hasn’t worked, it’s time to change your approach, and this is indeed often the case ... but not always. The evil inclination is very crafty. Sometimes this argument is itself a ploy to distract the person from the task that he ought to be doing. The true cause of the person’s failures is his personal weakness and lack of diligence, but he lacks the integrity to admit this. Thus, in an effort to save face and conceal his embarrassing shortcomings, he blames outside causes.

When a doctor prescribes that medicine on a certain schedule, it will only work when taken exactly at the proper time, according to the prescribed dosage, and so on. Likewise, Chassidus is the medicine prescribed by the expert spiritual doctors of our time, the Rebbeim. Studying Chassidus and following the ways of Chassidus in a serious way is intensely demanding, but when pursued with perseverance, it is infinitely rewarding. Put simply, it works. Therefore, if a person shirks his duties and therefore lacks the inspiration needed to press on in these dark times, this aphorism underlines the fact that he only has himself to blame.