Tisa 5631 Second Ma'amar

How to Take Advantage of the Shabbos Neshama Yeseira/נשמה יתירה Experience

Chazal[1]  tell us that although every mitzvah was given to the nation of Israel publicly, Shabbos was given privately as the Torah tells us in this week’s parshah, “בֵּינִי וּבֵין בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אוֹת הִוא .../It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel …” (31:17) What do Chazal mean when they say that Shabbos was given to us privately?  Obviously, the nations of the world know about Shabbos.  In answer to this question, Chazal explain that although the nations of the world know about Shabbos, there are aspects of Shabbos that the nations of the world do not – cannot - know about.  There is an aspect of Shabbos called, “נְשָׁמָה יְתֵרָה/additional soul,” which only Jews can experience.  Only Jews can experience it because Shabbos was given only to the nation of Israel to experience.  

 

The Torah alludes to the additional soul in the words, “... וּבַיוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שָׁבַת וַיִּנָּפַֽשׁ/… and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.” (Shmos 31:17)  In a play on the word “וַיִּנָּפַשׁ/He was refreshed,” Chazal say that it suggests, “וַוי אָבְדָה נֶפֶשׁ/Woe, the soul is lost.,”  Chazal therefore translate the pasuk, “Since He rested, woe, the soul is lost.”  This Chazal is difficult.  The plain meaning of the Chazal is that the additional soul is lost as a result of His resting.  How can this be?  The additional soul is given specifically when He rests.  It takes leave when Shabbos ends.

The Sfas Emes explains that Chazal’s hint derives specifically because we experience Shabbos.  Since we experience the additional soul on Shabbos and feel its loss when Shabbos ends, we know that it exists.  In the words of Chazal, “Since He rested, woe the soul is lost.”  Only because we experience Shabbos can we experience the loss of the additional soul when Shabbos ends.

The Ba’al Shem Tov takes this idea a step further.  The Ba’al Shem Tov[2] says that knowing about the additional soul can help us to serve God better.  The Torah’s allusion to the additional soul – it leaves when the day ends – is given on Shabbos specifically (שבת וינפש), to encourage us to take advantage of it.  The additional soul helps us experience a closeness to God that we would otherwise not be able to experience.  To take advantage of this gift we need to cultivate a sensitivity towards it.

The Sfas Emes explains further, that cultivating a sensitivity towards experiencing the additional soul thereby being sensitive to its loss with the onset of the coming week, can lead us to repentance.  After such an enlightening experience, who would not want to forsake his sins in its favor.  The end result of this sensitivity is that the enlightenment spills over to the following week making it easier for us to experience and serve God during the weekdays as well.  May we merit it!

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[1]Beitza 16a

[2]Zikaron Zos Ki Sisa addenda

Tisa 5632 First Ma'amar

In this week's parsha God commands us to keep the Shabbos, "אך את שבתותי תשמורו ... לדעת כי אני ה' מקדשכם/Only keep My Shabbosim … to know that I am God Who sanctifies you." (Shmos 31:13) and a few pesukim later, "ושמרו בני ישראל את השבת לעשות את השבת לדורותם ברית עולם/The children of Israel will keep the Shabbos to make the Shabbos throughout their generations an eternal covenant." (Shmos 31:16)  The word שמור/keep connotes guarding.  What does the Torah mean when it tells us to "keep/guard" the Shabbos?  It cannot be understood literally because it is the Shabbos that "keeps/guards" us, not the other way around.  

In order to understand how we "guard" Shabbos, the Sfas Emes teaches us a deeper understanding of what Shabbos is.  The Sfas Emes explains elsewhere[1] that Shabbos can be defined as a state of Godly revelation.  This state occurs naturally on the day that we call Shabbos.  However, it is not bound only to that day.  In fact, Godliness permeates the Creation.  So, we can say that an aspect of Shabbos permeates the Creation.  We are not generally aware of this because it is hidden.  On Shabbos it is more revealed.

This hidden Godliness is alluded to by the word את in the pasuk, "את שבתותי תשמורו/Keep My Shabbosim."  This is because Chazal in many places understand the word את to include things that are subordinate to the main object of the pasuk.[2]  The main object of this pasuk is Shabbos.  The word את includes that aspect of Shabbos that is hidden in the Creation.  

It is this hidden holiness that the Torah enjoins us to guard.  How?  Our mission is to recognize and reveal the Godliness that is in everything.  Not only is this Godliness inherent in everything, it is the motive force within our very actions.  Our activities, although physical, have a spiritual component.  In fact, the spiritual component of our actions is really the main thing.  What is this spiritual component?  Everything that we do either brings us closer to God or distances us from Him.  Many times an action is neutral and it is our intent that makes all the difference.  Do we eat solely for the physical pleasure or do we eat to live in order to perform God's mitzvos?  The former hides the spiritual.  The latter reveals it.

The Sfas Emes teaches that when the purpose of our actions is to satisfy the will of God, we are acting for the sake of Shabbos which is the same as saying for the sake of revealing the hidden Godliness within our actions.  This is the meaning of the pasuk, "לעשות את השבת/to make the Shabbos."  Everything we do should be for the purpose of reaching that state of revelation that is called Shabbos.  In this way we "guard" Shabbos, keeping it vibrant within the Creation.

We learn this concept also from the word אך in the pasuk, "אך את שבתותי תשמורו/Only keep My Shabbosim."  Chazal[3] teach us that אך/Only connotes exclusion.  For example we find, the word אַךְ/only regarding purifying vessels that we receive from non-Jews, “אַךְ אֶת־הַזָּהָב וְאֶת־הַכָּסֶף .../only the gold and silver …” (Bamidbar 31:22)  From the word אַךְ/only we learn that the gold must be pure.  It must not have any rust on it.  אַךְ/Only tells us that only unsoiled gold can be purified.

So too, the "אך/only" in "אך את שבתותי תשמורו/Only keep My Shabbosim" teaches us that we should see through the physical that hides the spiritual that is inherent in our actions and in everything.  When we do this, we will see holiness everywhere.

Chazal[4] teach us that God considers Shabbos His gift to us.  What is the gift?  If Shabbos is simply a cessation from work, then there is nothing that is being given.  The Sfas Emes explains that the gift is the ability to connect to the aspect of Shabbos that is within everything.  This connection is alluded to by the words at the end of the pasuk, "... לדעת כי אני ה' .../… to know that I am God …"  דעת/Knowledge, in the Torah connotes attachment, connection.

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[1] Teitzei 5631 First Ma'amar

[2] Viz. Pesachim 22b, Rebbi Akiva teaches us that that we should be in awe of Torah scholars.  He learns this from the word את in the pasuk, "את ה' א-להיך תירא/Fear God, your Lord."

[3] Yalkut Shimoni 1:785

[4] Shabbos 10b

Tisa & Parshas Parah 5631 First Ma'amar

1. What is the nature of spiritual impurity (טומאה) and spiritual purity (טהרה)? The Chidushei HaRim explains that spiritual impurity means that one’s internal spiritual vitality has left him. The spiritually impure person can get it back by subordinating himself to God’s will. By disregarding his own life desires in favor of God’s he can renew his spiritual vitality. We learn this from the law of the Parah Adumah (red heifer). The ashes of the Parah Adumah are mixed with water and sprinkled on the impure person thus purifying him. According to the Chidushei HaRim these ashes suggest a nullification of one’s self. The lesson of the Parah Adumah is that by nullifying our own desires in favor of God’s, we come close to Him thereby renewing our own life force. This is why Parshas HaChodesh follows Parshas Parah. Parshas HaChodesh represents renewal (חודש/Month has the same root as חדש/new.)

The Sfas Emes understands this from the first Midrash in Chukas. The Midrash begins, “זאת חקת .../This is the law …” and then brings a pasuk from Iyov, “מי יתן טהור מטמא לא אחד/Who produces purity from impurity. No one!” The Midrash translates this pasuk, “Who produces purity from impurity? Is it not the One?” Producing purity from impurity seems impossible. However, it is only impossible if we believe that impurity has an autonomous existence. If we understand that even the impurity has a point of spiritual vitality at its core, that God gives existence to the impure as well, it becomes clear that the only difference between purity and impurity is how revealed that spiritual point of vitality is to us. This spiritual point is simply God’s life force.

Since this life force is ubiquitous and is the same for all, the Chidushei HaRim refers to it as, זאת/This (singular). The parsha of Parah Adumah appropriately begins with this word instead of אלה/These. The Parah Adumah contrasts with the golden calf where the idol worshipers said, “אלה אלהיך ישראל/Israel, these are your gods.” The ashes of the Parah Adumah teach us to subordinate ourselves to the One God, in contradistinction to idols that symbolize disparate forces in the world. In fact, Chazal teach us that the Parah Adumah is a rectification for the sin of the golden calf.

2. The Midrash says that we must keep the mitzvah of Parah Adumah simply because God decreed it. This implies that it has no reason. However another Midrash in the parsha tells us that God said He would reveal the reasons for this mitzvah to Moshe Rabeinu! Yet another Midrash tells us that Shlomo HaMelech understood the reason behind every mitzvah except for the mitzvah of Parah Adumah. Regarding Parah Adumah Shlomo HaMelech tells us in Koheles, “... אמרתי אחכמה והיא רחוקה ממני/… I said I will become wise but it eludes me.”

It is clear from these Midrashim that the mitzvah of Parah Adumah has reasons. The Sfas Emes explains that the reasons are above the natural world. A direct approach to finding the reasons therefore, will not work. The correct approach is to accept the mitzvah simply because God decreed it even though we do not understand. Then, paradoxically, God grants us an aspect of understanding as well. This is why God revealed the reasons to Moshe Rabeinu. Moshe Rabeinu represents the knowledge repository and highest level of the nation of Israel. On that level, God grants understanding. Shlomo HaMelech, on the other hand, wanted to understand the reasons for this mitzvah in order to become wise, “אמרתי אחכמה/I said I will become wise.” Because of his approach, understanding was kept from him, “והיא רחוקה ממני/but it eludes me.”

Tisa 5631 First Ma'amar

In the beginning of this week’s parsha, Bezalel is appointed to build the Mishkan and its vessels. This is followed by an admonition to keep the Shabbos, “אך את שבתתי תשמרו .../Only keep my Sabbaths …” The word אך/only, is used in the Torah to exclude. Rashi explains that it comes here to exclude Shabbos from the work of the Mishkan. Bezalel and his team were not permitted to build the Mishkan on Shabbos. The Ramban has difficulty with this. The Ramban explains that when the word אך/only precedes a mitzvah, it restricts the application of the mitzvah. (e.g. אך/Only restricts the mitzvah of Shabbos with regard to circumcision. We may perform circumcisions on Shabbos.) Applying this logic to the Mishkan, if the word אך/only were coming to restrict Shabbos with regard to work on the Mishkan, it should mean that work on the Mishkan is permitted on Shabbos. Why, then, does Rashi say that from אך/only we learn that work on the Mishkan is prohibited on Shabbos?

In order to answer the Ramban’s question, we need to understand the relationship between Shabbos and the work of the Mishkan.

On Shabbos we can more easily be aware of and experience God’s presence. God’s presence, of course, is everywhere always. However, during the week it is more difficult to experience. He is hidden, in a manner of speaking. There are people, though, who experience God’s presence during the week as well. Torah scholars, for example, through their Torah learning, are aware of and experience God’s presence even during the week. This is why the Zohar calls Torah scholars Shabbos. In fact, Shabbos can be defined as a state of being connected to the God, the source of life.

The Chidushei HaRim points out that like Shabbos, the purpose of the Mishkan is the revelation of God’s presence. Sefer Shmos ends with the building of the Mishkan and the revelation of God. The Ramban explains in his introduction to Sefer Shmos that the revelation of God at the end of Sefer Shmos was the culmination of the redemption from Egypt.

Chazal tell us that after the revelation at Mount Sinai and before the sin of the golden calf, we were on such a high spiritual level, God was so revealed to us, that we were free of the evil inclination and death. Chazal teach us that when we said, “נעשה ונשמע/we will do and we will listen” at Mount Sinai, we were each given two crowns, one for “נעשה/we will do” and one for “נשמע/we will listen.” These two crowns symbolized the high spiritual level we were on. Before the sin, we experienced closeness to God without the Mishkan.

After the sin of the golden calf, being on a lower spiritual level, the two crowns were taken away from us. God was hidden from us. We needed the Mishkan to be able to experience closeness to God. The Arizal taught that on Shabbos, though, Moshe Rabeinu returned the crowns to us. The Arizal is teaching us that on Shabbos, God reveals Himself. On Shabbos, God makes it easier for us to be aware of Him. On Shabbos we can feel close to God without the Mishkan. This is the meaning of the pasuk in this week’s parsha referring to keeping Shabbos, “... לדעת כי אני ה' מקדשכם/… to know that I am God who sanctifies you.”

This explains the relationship between the Mishkan and Shabbos. The purpose of both is to allow us to experience closeness with God.

We find another example of the word אך/only regarding purifying vessels that we receive from non-Jews, “אך את הזהב ואת הכסף .../only the gold and silver …” In this case, as well, אך/only qualifies that which follows it. When purifying the gold, it must not have any rust on it. אך/Only tells us that only unsoiled gold can be purified.

The Sfas Emes explains that in this sense אך/only qualifies the day of Shabbos, as well. On Shabbos, there is no barrier between us and God. Because there is no barrier, God’s presence is manifest even without the Mishkan. This is why Bezalel was not permitted to do the work of the Mishkan on Shabbos. The Torah is commanding us to experience God’s presence on Shabbos, through Shabbos alone, without the Mishkan.

For this reason, as well, Chazal learn that only the thirty nine types of work found in the Mishkan are prohibited on Shabbos. God is the life giving force behind every action that we do. It appears, though, as if we are autonomous, that we are running on our own power. The thirty nine different types of work that we do during the week, therefore, actually hide God. They act as a barrier. In reality, though, we only act because God gives us strength to do so. Our mission during the week is to realize that our actions and activities are being powered by God. This realization enables us to feel God’s presence during the week as well. Since Shabbos was given to us so that we can more easily experience closeness to God, the thirty nine types of work that hide His presence are prohibited.

Contemplating this during the week as we go about our daily activities is a kind of keeping the Shabbos even during the week. Chazal hint at this when they advise us that we can keep the mitzvah of remembering the Shabbos during the week as well. If we find something good during the week we should set it aside for Shabbos. We’ve explained that Shabbos can be defined as a state of connectedness to God. Accordingly, understanding that God is behind every activity and action that we do during the week is an aspect of keeping Shabbos.