G-d
Gave Himself Over To The Jewish People
Sichos
in English
Shabbos
Parshas Eikev; Chaf Av, 5750
1.
Each year, a yahrtzeit involves an ascent to a higher spiritual
level. This year, the 46th anniversary of Rav Levi Yitzchok’s yahrtzeit
is unique, for 46 is numerically equivalent to “Levi,” Rav Levi
Yitzchok’s first and primary name. Significantly, this week’s Torah
portion also mentions the uniqueness of the tribe of Levi.
The
service of Levi is alluded to in the verse which the Matriarch Leah used
to explain the rationale for the name Levi, “This time, my man will
become attached to me.” This alludes to the ultimate marriage bond,
with “my man” referring to G-d, and “me” referring to the Jewish
people. This attachment to G-d is reflected in the Levites’ service:
“To stand before G-d, to serve Him... G-d is their portion.”
Nevertheless, these qualities are not exclusive to the tribe of Levi
alone, as the Rambam writes: “Not only the tribe of Levi...but each
and every person...whose generous spirit and intellectual understanding
motivate him to separate himself and stand before G-d and serve
Him...becomes sanctified as holy of holies.” This implies that every
individual has the potential to reach the level of the Levites.
Furthermore, the expression “holy of holies” is an allusion to the
High Priest, the most distinguished individual of the tribe of Levi.
Even his spiritual level can be reached by others.
The
service of the Levites is characterized by two qualities: On the one
hand, the Levites are separated from the people at large, as our Torah
portion relates, “At this time, G-d separated the tribe of Levi.”
However, the Levites were charged with instructing the masses in His
just ways and righteous judgments, as it is written, “They shall
instruct Yaakov in Your judgments and Yisroel in Your Torah.”
Thus,
it was their task to reach out to the entire Jewish people and lift them
up to a higher level. This applies even when the Jewish people are on a
low spiritual rung, as implied by the fact that the selection of the
Levites came, as our parsha relates, after the sin of the Golden
Calf. Although the Jewish people had sunken to such a level, the Levites
were able to lift them higher and motivate them to teshuva.
These
two extremes are also seen in the Beis HaMikdash, the place of
the Levites’ service. The Beis HaMikdash — and in particular,
the Holy of Holies — is the holiest place in the world. The Beis
HaMikdash’s windows were structured so that “light would go out
from there to the entire world.” Similarly, the concept of a dwelling
for G-d’s presence, the function of the Holy of Holies, is intended to
be extended throughout the entire world until the world at large becomes
“a dwelling for G-d,” a place where His essence is revealed.
These
two extremes are also reflected in the primary service of the Beis
HaMikdash, the offering of the sacrifices. The Seifer HaBahir
states: “The secret of the sacrifices ascends to the secret of the Ein
Sof.” From that level, influence is drawn down into this world,
elevating all the animal, vegetable, and mineral elements (i.e., the
lowest level) of existence.
This
fusion of opposites was revealed within Rav Levi Yitzchok’s life. On
the one hand, he was an elevated individual, uplifted by his immense
Torah knowledge, which included both the revealed realm of Torah law and
the hidden secrets of p’nimiyus ha’Torah. And on the other
hand, he also served as a rav of a large city and was responsible
for spreading Torah and strengthening Jewish practice throughout the
region.
These
activities were particularly significant because, at that time, the
persecution of the Soviet government had forced many rabbis to reduce
their public activities. They were limited to observing Torah and mitzvos
among only a small core of followers, and at times, by themselves. Some
rabbis were even coerced into signing statements for the government that
ran contrary to their own convictions and contrary to the teachings of
the Torah.
In
this environment, Rav Levi Yitzchok continued to carry on his rabbinic
functions proudly and openly. Indeed, due to the vacuum of rabbinic
leadership, he spread his activities throughout Russia. Not only did he
refuse to concede to the Russians’ demands, he traveled to Moscow and
interceded on behalf of the Jewish people and Torah and mitzvos,
meeting with high government officials, including the President.
Furthermore, he was successful in ensuring the observance of certain mitzvos,
for example, shmura matza.
His
activities were carried out at risk to his life. As a result of this
activity he was exiled, a punishment that is, in a sense,
more severe than death. Ultimately, he passed away in exile.
Even
while in exile, he continued his activities to spread Yiddishkeit in
whatever degree possible. Furthermore, it was there in which he composed
his Torah writings, despite the difficulty in obtaining ink and paper,
with the intention that these eventually be published.
Rav
Levi Yitzchok’s activities extended to the lowest aspects of
existence. Thus, as rabbi and also while in exile, he worked to spread
justice and righteousness among gentiles. In this manner he reflected
the service of Levi, extending the highest levels of spirituality
throughout the world at large.
These
qualities receive greater emphasis today, Rav Levi Yitzchok’s yahrtzeit.
Although a yahrtzeit commemorates the departure of a soul from
the body and an ascent from this world, the Zohar teaches that
the presence of a tzaddik in all the worlds (even this physical
world) is felt more powerfully after his death than in his lifetime.
It
is possible to receive influence from a tzaddik by studying his
teachings, as implied by the Rebbe Rashab (Rav Levi Yitzchok’s Rebbe)
who told Chassidim at the time of his passing, “I am going to Heaven,
but I am leaving my writings for you.” This implies that through
studying his writings, it is possible to establish a connection with him
as he is “in Heaven.”
This
concept can be explained as follows: The word “Anochi”
(“I,” the first word of the Ten Commandments) is an acronym for the
Hebrew words meaning, “I wrote down and gave over Myself.” This
means that by giving the Torah, G-d gave Himself over to the Jewish
people. Since “the righteous resemble their Creator,” they also
invest themselves in the texts they compose.
Similarly,
in the world at large, after his passing, a tzaddik affects even
the lowest levels of existence: “All [a tzaddik’s] deeds,
teachings and service that he carried out throughout his lifetime are
revealed and shine...from Above downward at the time of his
passing...bringing about salvation in the world, atoning for the sins of
the generation.”
On
the day of a tzaddik’s yahrtzeit, he ascends to an even
higher level. Nevertheless, these high peaks are also drawn down into
this world — to those who follows the tzaddik’s teaching and
to the world at large — as evident from the text of the Kaddish:
“May His great name be exalted and hallowed... May His great name be
blessed forever and ever.” The Hebrew word for “blessed” also has
the connotation “be extended,” and the Hebrew for “forever” can
also mean “to the world.” Thus, the above verse can mean: “May G-d’s
great Name be extended into the world.”
To
explain this concept from a deeper perspective: Before the soul descends
into the world, it is described “as standing,” i.e., confined to a
particular level beyond which it cannot advance. Through the descent
into a physical body and the service of Torah and mitzvos in the
world, the soul is given the potential to proceed higher. Thus, all the
ascents of the soul in the spiritual worlds are dependent on the
soul’s service in the physical realm.
Since
the soul’s service in the physical plane is the source for its
potential to ascend, all the peaks to which it ascends have an effect in
the world, influencing the students who are connected to that soul.
This, in turn, gives the soul the potential for further and higher
ascents. In addition, it hastens the advent of the ultimate fulfillment
for the soul, when it will again clothe itself in this world, in the Era
of Resurrection.
2.
The date of Rav Levi Yitzchok’s yahrtzeit, the 20th of Av, also
provides us with a lesson. The Hebrew word for 20, esrim, is
numerically equivalent to the Hebrew word “kesser” (crown).
There are ten s’firos, each of which has a dimension that rises
upward, and a dimension that descends below, thus equaling 20. Kesser,
which is above all these levels, permeates and pervades them.
This
concept is also reflected in our service: Kesser is associated
with royalty, for a crown is the symbol of kingship. In describing the
effect of the Jewish people’s declaration of “naaseh v’nishma”
(we will do [the mitzvos] and we will [strive to] understand
[them]) the Midrash relates a parable which sheds light on the
relationship between a king and the crown: Subjects of a king made three
crowns for him. One he put on his own head, and two he placed on the
heads of his subjects. This implies that the three crowns are on the
same level; thus, the crowns given to the subjects are connected to the
crown worn by the king. Furthermore, even the crown worn by the king was
given to him by the subjects, suggesting that kingship is dependent on
the service of the Jewish people in this world.
This
concept is reflected in the verse, “A king is subjugated to the
field.” Although the people in the field are on a lower level than
those living in the king’s capitol, their service in the field crowns
the king, which is a metaphor for the fulfillment of G-d’s intent and
desire for a dwelling in the lower worlds.
The
service of refining the lower levels shares an intrinsic connection to
the 20th of Av: The month of Av is connected with the transformation of
the lowest levels to holiness, as the Midrash states, “A lion (Nebuchadnetzar)
arose in the month whose sign is a lion (Av) and destroyed the lion of
G-d (the Beis HaMikdash) in order that a lion (G-d) should come
in the month whose sign is a lion and build the lion of G-d.”
Thus,
the revelation of the lion of holiness (which alludes to the level of kesser)
comes about through the transformation of the forces that destroyed the Beis
HaMikdash. This transformation begins on Shabbos Nachamu and
receives more intensity from Shabbos to Shabbos, with G-d promising the
Jewish people, “I, yes I, will console you.”
There
is also a connection between the above and the coming new year.
Aryeh,
Hebrew for lion, can be interpreted as an acronym for the Hebrew words:
Elul, Rosh HaShana, Yom Kippur, and Hoshana Rabba. From the 15th of Av,
when it is customary to wish a colleague to be inscribed for a good and
sweet year, and more particularly, from the 20th of Av onward, we begin
the preparations for the month of Elul, the month of teshuva and
mercy, when the King goes out into the field and the people in the field
greet Him. He receives them all pleasantly, showing a shining
countenance to all and fulfilling their requests. (This reflects the
advantage of the service of the people in the field, as explained
above.)
The
above concepts can be connected with the end of this week’s Torah
portion (11:24) which declares, “Every place upon which your feet will
tread will become yours. Your boundaries will extend from the desert to
Lebanon, from the river, the Euphrates river, until the Final Sea [i.e.,
the Mediterranean].”
By
referring to the Mediterranean as “the Final Sea” (instead of “the
Great Sea” as in Parshas Masei 34:6), the Torah alludes to the concept
that, ultimately, in the Messianic age, Eretz Yisroel will expand
throughout the entire world, thereby extending to “the Final Sea.”
The
Euphrates river mentioned is also significant, as we see that the Torah
(Dvarim 1:7) refers to the Euphrates as “the Great River.” In his
commentary on that verse, Rashi notes that the Euphrates is actually not
a large river and is referred to as “great” because it is next to
Eretz Yisroel. Rashi concludes, quoting a parable offered by our Sages,
“If you come close to a person anointed with oil (Eretz Yisroel, the
Chosen Land), oil will become attached to you (importance is also
attached to the Euphrates).”
The
significance of the latter statement can be understood in terms of our
Sages’ statement: “All the mitzvos the Patriarchs performed
before You, were vaporous in nature (i.e., they did not affect the
material substance of the world), but regarding us [i.e., our mitzvos],
“Your name is like oiled poured forth.” (“Like one who pours from
one vessel to another,” i.e., the mitzvos we perform have
actual substance.)
Oil
is connected with the essence and yet is drawn down into the lowest
levels. Similarly, after the giving of the Torah, holiness can be drawn
down into the material substance with which the mitzvos are
fulfilled.
This
concept is also related to the Euphrates River, which Seifer Bereishis
describes as the fourth of the rivers emanating from Eden. This implies
an association with the lowest levels. Thus, our Sages associate this
river with the fourth exile, which we are presently enduring. Through
oil, which alludes to the revelation of the essence which permeates
through all things, even this low level can be elevated.
…
This Shabbos follows the fifteenth of Av, which as mentioned previously,
is connected with an increase in Torah study. Preferably, this increase
should be expressed in communal study, in groups of three, and if
possible in groups of ten or more. G-d promises to bless those who
increase their study with extended life. Every Jew, men, women and
children, should make such an increase.
In
this context, it is worthy to mention the importance of the education of
young children, and the presence at this farbrengen of the
children from Camp Gan Yisroel, a camp “in the field.”
May
this increase in Torah study lead to the time when “a new Torah will
emerge from Me.” Then we will merit true extended life, the Era of
Resurrection, when “those who lie in the dust will arise and sing,”
with Rav Levi Yitzchok at their head (for today, the spiritual source of
his soul shines powerfully). May this take place immediately, in 5750,
“a year of miracles,” which will lead to 5751, a year when “I will
show you wonders.”
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