Bahalotecha
בס”ד
It says in this weeks parsha “ When you go to war against an enemy in your land, you shall sound the trumpets “. Concerning this verse the Shalah haKodesh says that the enemy referred here is the evil inclination. Like an invader he is always trying to nourish from Holiness. Time and time again he comes to do battle. This battle should not be taken lying down, but one must
sound the trumpets. Meaning one must arouse their Nashama with great vigor. This is done by performing the mitzvot (commandment) with great kavana (intent). The sages mean this when they say that if
one’s evil inclination rises up against him let him take it to the bait midrash (place of learning). If this does not work he should say the sma (Meditate on the Name of God), and if this does not work let him think of the day of death. Now we
must also consider “When you go to war against an enemy in your land” in its most simple sense,
as there is no doubt that The Jewish people have enemies in the Holy Land now. Know that these
enemies are a manifestation of our evil inclinations, by this they are given force. By our adherence to the Torah, and standing strongly against those who are against God’s Torah. We shall conquer all our enemies, with the help of God.
One when assaulted by their evil inclination needs to run into Holiness, as it says “the chyot (angels) ran and returned” (Ezekial). By this running we will find ourselves in a new place with a new awareness far from the thoughts of the sitra achra (other side). As it is taught by Elijah the Prophet in Tana DebElyahu that to prevent the evil inclination from gaining a foothold, like Aaron haKohen one should daily light the Manorah so that it is always burning. As the Manorah has 7 openings, so are there found 7 openings in one’s head. We have 2 eyes. We must prevent our vision from leading us astray. One’s eyes need to be dedicated only for the use of Holiness. The eyes are conduits of Chuchmah (Divine wisdom, Creativity, inspiration). Let all ones inspiration lead to Holiness. Likewise one’s ears should not listen to evil. The ears are conduits of Divine understanding. Let all one’s understanding be found in the Torah. The nose is the sense by which mashiach (Messiah) shall discern judgment. It is a conduit for Dat (Divine knowledge). Let one know before they proceed that what they will do will be Holy. While the mouth should be used to speak words of Torah and prayer, not lushon hora (evil speech). The mouth is the conduit of Malchut. Let it be that all one’s actions drive them closer to Holiness in the governance of God. If one guards these portals they will not nourish the evil inclination, and it will not come to slay them. When one is doing mitzvot it will have less strength to interfere. Like during tefila (prayer) the evil inclination will not interfere with their thoughts to distract his mind from his Divine contemplation. He will be able to perform his mitzvot with kavana (intention). By following such instruction we will win our battle against the yetzer hora (evil inclination). The yetzer hora will have no way to gain ascendency over us. Evil will have no way to gain nourishment. Then there will be yielded from the mitzvot that will be done in purity with great kavana a great degree of light ultimately heralding in with a great shofar blast out righteous mashich, when evil shall finally be defeated. Then we shall rejoice with God in His Holy Temple and may this be quickly in our days.
Filed under: other dimensions, Renewal, Running and Returning-Ratzo v Shuv, teshuva, The Guide, Transformational Experience
How can one not feel shame and loathe past behavior when he realizes, as taught by Rabbi Chaim Volozhin in Nefesh HaChaim, that each transgression causes damage in the upper worlds. The level of one’s understanding determines the extent of damage that results.13 Obviously an unlearned unintentional sinner14 does less damage than the sin of a holy man who has revealed the essence of his soul, because at that level, Heaven forbid, from his transgression the damage begins, affecting many worlds, while the unintentional sinner was only acting with his animal soul so the damage is less widespread.
This is one reason it is difficult to ascend into Holiness, to reveal the higher powers of your soul. One who only has a Nefesh, his sin only damages in peoples “animal souls”. If one acquires their Ruach, they by sin can damage the flow of Divine abundance going to Ruchot “the emotional soul”. If a man acquires his Nashama “Soul of Divine intellect”, he can damage the way people think by his errors, God forbid. Such a man by his foolish thoughts can lead many astray by the power of their thoughts and their words.
Rebbe Nachman teaches that in order to avoid temptation one must direct his mind away from the object of his desire completely; he must not confront the desire at all. Nor should he speak, think, or wonder about it; he should totally avoid letting his thoughts confuse him. 15 This applies to the unlearned man, but the scholar all the more so, so that he does not defile his intellect with impure thought; he should turn to the Torah and meditate upon it, putting sin out of mind.
In the prophecy of Ezekiel, it says: “The Chayot ran and returned” (Ezek. 1: 14). The sages say that this running is entering into holiness, contemplation of the divine, and returning is descending back to the more physical level. We too,
12.Tanya 155.
13.Nefesh HaChaim..
14.Rabbi Nachman’s Stories 21.
15.Duties of the Heart 295.
when faced with temptation, can run, approaching God and freeing ourselves from the temptation, and when we return we’re in a different place. King Solomon is talking about this running in the Song of Songs when he says, “Draw me and I will run after thee; the king has brought me into his inner chambers” (Songs 1: 4). Elijah the Prophet explains this as meaning that the Holy One has an innermost sanctum in the innermost chambers of the Torah that he has composed, so the disciples of the wise, each and every one of them, have an innermost sanctum in the innermost chambers of the Torah. If you see afflictions creeping up nearer and nearer to you, run to words deep within the Torah, and afflictions will at once flee from you as Isaiah teaches, “Come my people, enter into thy chambers … until the indignation is past” (Is. 26:20).
There are many Holy places to go to with your soul!
This idea of running and returning also applies in the physical sense, as it is known that wandering causes humility and a lowly spirit fitting for teshuvah(returning to God) . The breaking of arrogance of spirit by wandering is like the decomposition of a seed before it begins to grow; likewise in spiritual growth the ego must be broken so that divinity may permeate. The breaking of the seed coat from sprouting of Godly revelation can be difficult to handle at times but one must always remember, as the Malbim teaches, that all precious things together cannot compare with the survival of the soul, which is the end purpose of man and of his hopes. 16 It is taught, in tractate Magilla, that snow is good for mountains, heavy rain good for trees, gentle rain for fruits of the field, and drizzling rain to seeds under a hard clod. A young scholar is like a seed under a hard clod; once he has sprouted he soon shoots forth. A scholar is inflamed by the Torah, and should be as hard as iron that can break a rock into many pieces. When the young
16.Malbim parsha Chayah Sarah
scholar’s seed coat is breaking and he finds it difficult, let him become inflamed by the Torah and his difficulties will be as nothing, as he is then as hard as the iron that breaks rock. From becoming inflamed by the Torah one can see, as Rebbe Nachman teaches, that there is always rejoicing in the Holy One’s presence-so even if one falls one must remain happy. Whenever a person falls it is for the sake of ultimately elevating them further; when a person remains happy he will eventually reach the higher level. 17 And one should never despair no matter how bad the situation may look, for as Rabbi Avraham teaches in his book Meditation of the Sad Soul when God is angry with those that fear Him He punishes them in a natural way, but when He delivers them He employs wonders and supernatural means. 18
We are talking about a complete transformational experience here. It is and will be dramatic. But by this “reassembly” you will become purified and refined, you can acquire the higher levels of your Soul your Ruach, Nashama, Chayah and Revelation of Yachida.
17.Rabbi Nachman’s Stories 355.
18.Meditation of the Sad Soul 91.
