IN PRAISE OF THE ARIZA'L

 

IN PRAISE OF THE ARIZA'L

Dear friends,

In honor of tomorow night's [-the 5th of AV] Yahrtzeit of the Arizal, I feel it’s important to see this excerpt from what his main student –R.Chaim Vitale [ztz'l]-- has to say about his Rebbe [from Shaar Hakdamot];

''The Ari overflowed with Torah. He was thoroughly expert in Scripture, Mishnah, Talmud, Pilpul, Midrash, Agada, Maaseh Bereishit and Maaseh Merkava. He was expert in the language of trees, the language of birds, and the speech of angels. He could read faces in the manner outlined in the Zohar (vol. II, p. 74b).

He could discern all that any individual had done, and could see what they would do in the future. He could read people's thoughts, often before the thought even entered their mind. He knew future events, was aware of everything happening here on earth, and what was decreed in heaven. He knew the mysteries of gilgul [reincarnation], who had been born previously, and who was here for the first time. He could look at a person and tell him how he was connected to higher spiritual levels, and his original root in Adam. The Ari could read wondrous things [about people] in the light of a candle or in the flame of a fire. With his eyes he gazed and was able to see the souls of the righteous, both those who had died recently and those who had lived in ancient times. Together/from these departed souls, he studied the true mysteries. From a person's scent, he was able to know all that he had done. (See Zohar, Yenuka vol. III p. 188a). It was as if the answers to all these mysteries lay dormant within him, waiting to be activated whenever he desired. These are not things that we heard from others. They were wondrous things that had not been seen on earth since the time of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.

None of this was attained through magic, heaven forbid. There is a strong prohibition against these arts. Instead, it came automatically, as a result of his saintliness and asceticism, after many years of study in both the ancient and the newer Kabbalistic texts. He then increased his piety, asceticism, purity and holiness until he reached a level where Elijah would constantly reveal himself to him, speaking to him "mouth to mouth," teaching him these secrets. This is what happened to Raavad, as Recanti states. Although complete prophecy no longer exists, Ruah Hakodesh is still here, manifest via Elijah. It is as Elijah the Prophet taught his students, commenting on the verse, “Devorah was a prophetess,” (Shoftim 4:4): “I call heaven and earth to bear witness, that any individual man or woman, Jew or gentile, freeman or slave, can have Ruah HaKodesh bestowed upon him. It all depends on their deeds.”

ARIZAL MEDITATIONS

[** – insired by and drawn from one of the Arizal's master works----Shaar Ruach HaKodesh, The Gate of The Holy Spirit

in honor of the Hoy Ari today on his Yahrtzeit**]

1. Prophesy. The Ari described prophesy and Ruach HaKodesh, saying when we use our voice for some type of Holy articulation, and all the conditions are right, meaning we are pure enough and holy enough, a past voice of our own or of someone else meshes into our present voice. These two voices merging will speak to us in a way only we can hear, and tell us about the future. It provides hidden information or analogies, which need to be interpreted, but we’re given the interpretation as well. That’s what’s called prophesy and Ruach HaKodesh.

2. Moses. Moses is preferred over all other prophets because what he was receiving is called a clear aspakleria, which means it was so clear it was like one person speaking to another person. It was that clear. Others received prophetic messages that were garbed in an analogy requiring interpretation, based on the language and the interpretation and the sophistication of the receiver, the prophet himself.

The highest level of Ruach HaKodesh was found in King David, and specifically in the Psalms he wrote, and one of the manifestations of that was staying power and eternal renewing power. Since they were composed, about 3500 years ago, everyone who has spoken those Psalms finds themselves, their life situations, their heart stirrings in those Psalms, as if they are speaking those Psalms originally. That is the Ruach HaKodesh in those Psalms.

These are very high levels, and this kind of Ruach HaKodesh is available to special people in our times, but prophesy is something that will only come into the world in Messianic times, under certain conditions. But we are getting impressions of it already. I like to suggest, as an experiential part of this, to consider whenever you’re learning something holy, take yourself to the side and make a list of questions. You’ll find that because you’re involved in holy learning, you’ll get answers. Associated ideas will come to your mind when you’re in an elevated state where there is access to higher information.

If you want to bring down higher information into your life, start to keep a notebook of your dreams, right next to your bed. Mark down a word or two, and when you recall the dream later, when you’re awake, you can begin to see how that dream is a revelation of inner thoughts and possibly future events in your life.

Recite the Psalms as though you’re the author of those Psalms, and you’ll see how powerful, how transcendent those words are for you.

3. Maggid. A maggid is a spiritual being that’s created as a result of something you do or something you say, because it has to have some kind of substance to rest upon. Rav Joseph Caro, the famous author of The Shulkan Aruch, 500 years ago, was so prolific and efficient and holy in his studies that he created a maggid from his study of the Mishnah. Rav Caro wrote an entire book about the conversations between himself and this maggid, this spiritual being.

The Arizal teaches us that, according to the purity of the recital of your articulations the purity and wholeness of the spiritual being will be completed. So, ask yourself, “If I could have a maggid, what would my spiritual being advise me to do in any particular situation?" That’s one thing you can do.

Another thing is to be a channeler. While you’re singing, while you’re teaching, while you’re in your zone. In an effortless, elevated way, try to allow the forces to come through you in a holy way. That’s Divine help coming through, and assisting you with what you need.

4. Another area the Arizal discusses is this work is yichud, a unification. The Arizal was a master of drawing from the teachings of the Zohar some practical unifications, meaning an intertwining of Divine letters and Divine concepts into each other. These unifications elicited very powerful results. They were safer than anything that came toward the Arizal because they were strictly in the realm of though, not spoken.

From that whole concept we have a pre-practicing intention, which we do before saying any prayer or mitzvah, when we say, “For the name of the unification of the Holy One, blessed be He and his Divine Presence.” We say that before we do something, in order to mesh and blend the male and female aspects of the Divine into the act we are about to produce.

This is a practice and it’s rare. I was privileged to know a few people who were involved in these unifications 24/7, keeping them in mind while they were eating, walking, talking, doing mitzvoth, and anything and everything else. They also did certain rectifications for sins, and recipes for higher consciousness, etc. And there is even a rectification for exorcizing a person who is trapped inside another body. That’s the power of these unifications.

Their lives were completely immersed, and they lived in a constant state of higher consciousness. I was amazed when I had the opportunity to see all this in action. And I think the proper way to experience this is to empty your mind and to fill it up with a Hebrew letter. You’ll get the feel of the power of Hebrew letters that way. Or, fill your mind with the Divine Name, the yud and the hey and the vav and the hey and take note of what you experience.

Or, without Divine Names, bring into your minds-eye a trait you have which is weak and mesh it together with a trait you have which is strong. Watch what occurs.

5. This last topic is not in the Ari’s book Ruach HaKodesh, but it’s connected to it. It’s the different ways the Arizal knew about souls. One of the ways he knew about souls was by taking the soul out of a person’s body and talking to it, interviewing it, checking its pulse Spherotically.

The Ari could look at a person’s forehead and see what they are thinking and what mitzvah they have done. When he was learning, the Ari could manifest the Sage or teacher simply by pronouncing their name or quoting them, and he would actually manifest them, and all affiliated souls. The experience here would be for us to just ask questions, and a good one is, “What does G-d say about this?” Or “What does my soul say about this situation?”

We can feel a resonation, a smoothness about situation, or not. Or, all of a sudden you may feel out of place. You may feel an out-of-context emotional burst. Know that’s your soul talking to you, and ask it what the emotion means

A FEW OF THE WONDER-FUL THINGS THAT THE HOLY ARIZAL --R. ISSAC LURIA ZATZ'L-- TAUGHT US

[*A PERSONAL COLLECTION IN HONOR OF HIS YAHRTZEIT *]

1.The Arizal spent years and years going over one piece of Torah, just a few lines. And he’d come up with more Torah on that one little piece, a few lines, than anyone could handle. He’d produce an exponential amount of Torah, in quantity and quality of teachings.

2. One of the things the Arizal taught us is this – the deeper we go in receptivity (Kabbalah is receptivity) and the more we remain open to the finest nuances of our study, the more we need to be able to be able to plug in with our soul and tap into the ultimate wellsprings of wisdom.

3.He taught us about partzufim, about the idea of persona and seeing spirituality and the sefirot as worlds that are all interconnected, all outside of us as well as inside of us. We need to be aware of and connect up with those worlds, as much as possible, to advance our souls.

4.The Arizal taught us about tzimzum, the constriction of creation, and how that from the most constricted places come the most potential, expansive, divine, infinite places where we need to reveal G-d in all these constricted places, as the Arizal taught us.

5. The Arizal taught us about worlds, one higher consciousness, world outlook, and ways of creation and ways of relating to reality. We need to emulate his teachings. We need to look at these teachings and see how it applies to us, so we can step into these worlds in practical ways in our lives.

6.The Arizal taught us that the whole world, after the breakdown of reality, is filled with sparks that are found in the mundane places of life, and they are calling out to us. To advance our souls as much as possible we need to be able to hear those calls, to feel that drive inside to reveal G-d’s light in places he’s normally not found.

7.The Arizal taught us all about bringing expanded consciousness into our lives so that we can grasp that which is beyond us, that outer light beyond us, in order to fill ourselves and to grow our soul. That is how our souls grow.

8.The Arizal taught us the idea of an externality and an internality of life. That internality is what we need to search for because it seems that everything has an external look and feel, but under the surface and over the starts there’s the most beautiful light we could ever see, and we need to keep our soul focused on that, to expand it.

9.The Arizal taught us about the idea of unification, about connecting things that don’t seem to be connected in order to produce and reproduce new aspects of being and of life that wouldn’t be birthed without our connection. Ultimately, we need to see the multiplicity of life as oneness. That’s what unification is all about.

10.The Arizal taught us about Adam Ha Rishon, about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, as a place we are driven, in everything that we do as humanity and as individuals. We need to get there with the ultimate being and G-d connection.

11.The Arizal taught us that the world is made up of holiness and anti-holiness. This is our struggle inside, and we need to step up as much as possible with our souls, in order to fight this eternal holy war we are fighting.

12.The Arizal taught us that worlds ascend. There is an ascent, an elevation of reality at all times, and we see it especially on Shabbos. That’s when we go to a place where there is nothing lacking, and everything is perfect As-Is. We need to learn to take that ride, not only on Shabbos but on other holidays and also personal times in our lives. We need to ascend that ladder as often as possible to purify our souls.

13.The Arizal taught us that we have had previous incarnations. We were here before and we’re here to finish our unfinished business now, and then to carry on our perfected business, engaged in the world on a much wider scale of personal and cosmic tikkun.

14.The Arizal taught us the world is made from the universal principle of male and female, masculine and feminine, the Zeir Anpin and the Nukva. As much as we possibly can, we need to unite them until they complement each other within each of us, and interpersonally as well

Blessings,

Yitzchak Schwartz

A COLLECTION OF TEACHINGS FOR LAG BA-OMER - Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai

A COLLECTION OF TEACHINGS FOR LAG BA-OMER

Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai’s Last Day

The day of Lag B’Omer commemorates [according to most opinions] the last day of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai’s life, I would like to share [in a personalized way] from his classic work, the Zohar. Based partially on the translation of Daniel Matt in his version of the Zohar, I will share this story in honor of Lag B’Omer this year.

On the day that Rabbi Shimon was to leave this world, he was arranging his affairs. All of his chaverim, his colleagues, assembled at his house. Among them were Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Abba, but the whole house was full.

On this last day of his life, Rabbi Shimon raised his eyes and saw that the house was full. He began to cry, and he said, “The other time I was ill, R. Yitzchak was in my presence. I was already selecting my place in Paradise, next to his, but I didn’t die then. They extended our lives until now. When I returned, fire was whirling in front of me and it’s never gone out. No human has entered without permission. Now I see the fire is out and the house is filled.”
Rabbi Shimon opened his eyes again, and he saw what he saw. There was a fire whirling throughout the house, which is one of the reasons we light bonfires on Lag B’Omer. And with that fire, everybody left, except for his son, Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Abba.

Rabbi Shimon told his son, Rabbi Elazar, “Tell him [R. Abba] to arrange my affairs and sit by my side. Happy is his portion.”

That’s exactly what they did. They sat down and Rabbi Shimon began to reveal to them the secrets-the deepest secrets he’d never revealed. Rabbi Shimon said, “This gathering is different than our previous gatherings. In the previous gatherings, the Blessed Holy One and his chariots, they convened.

But now, he comes with all the Righteous from the Garden of Eden and he wants the Righteous to be honored… Rabbi Shimon quoted a verse from the Song of Songs, verse 7:11, “I am my beloved’s, his desire is upon me.”

He went on to explain, “All the days I have been bound to this world, I am bound in a single bond with the Blessed Holy One. That is why his desire is upon me, he and his Holy company have come to hear and enjoy concealed words of praise for the Holy Ancient One, the Concealed of All Concealed, separated from all, yet not separate.”

And they all noticed the presence of this Supernal Company.

Rabbi Shimon said, “Until now, all the words I am going to declare were concealed, for I was scared to reveal them. Yet, now they have been revealed. And it is known by the Holy Blessed One, blessed be he, that I have not acted on this last day of my life for my own honor, nor for the honor of my family. But rather, that I would not enter his Holy Palace ashamed.

Furthermore, I see that the Holy Blessed One and all his Righteous Ones approve. I see all of them rejoicing at this, my wedding celebration.”

He called the last day of his life his “wedding celebration.”

“All of them, in that world, are invited to my wedding celebration. Happy is my portion.”
Rabbi Shimon went on to explain his deepest Kabbalistic Secrets. The Supernal crowd that was there took note of every word. And the description of each word was a description of sparks that are sparkling from the highest spark, from the hidden of all hidden. Levels upon levels of enlightenment, there is revealed upon revealed and these lights were all connected.

The lights of each and every spark were ornaments of the King, the crowns of the King. Every light shines and joins onto the Light within, not separating at all. The Light that is revealed is called the Garment of the King. The Light within is a concealed light. All those sparks and all those Lights sparkle from the Holy Ancient One, the concealed of all concealed, the high spark.
Rabbi Abba said, “Before the Holy Spark finished saying the word, “life,” (which was the last word Rabbi Shimon said in his life) his words subsided.”

Rabbi Abba was still writing. He was the one taking notes. He was the scribe of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. He said, “I was still writing and intending to write more, but then I heard nothing. I did not raise my head because the light was so overwhelming I could not look. Then I started trembling and I heard a heavenly voice calling, “Length of days and years of life.”

All day long, the fire did not go out in the house. No one could reach the house; fire surrounded it, a heavenly fire. All day long I lay on the ground and wailed. After the fire disappeared I saw the Holy Spark, the Holy of Holies leaving the world. And he had a smile on his face on the last day of his life, which he, himself, called his, “wedding celebration,” his passage into the higher world.

Rabbi Chiya rose to his feet and said, “Until now the Holy Spark has looked after us. Now is the time to engage in honoring him.”

They carried his body out, lifted the bed he was lying on, and after the bed emerged from the house it rose and a fire blazed before it. They heard a voice saying, “Come and enter. Assemble for the wedding celebration of Rabbi Shimon. They shall come to peace. They shall rest on their couches.” [Isaiah 57\2]

As they entered the cave for burial, they heard a [Heavenly] voice from inside that said, “This is the man who shook the earth, who made kingdoms tremble. Many open mouths of accusation up in heaven subside today because of you, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Happy is his portion above and below. Many sublime treasures lie in store for him. With him it is said, ‘’As for you , go to the end and take your rest; you will rise for your reward at the end of days.”

LIGHT INTO THE DARKNESS
THE PASSWORD

1.       A brokenhearted Rabbi Chiyah fasted for a [2nd consecutive] 40 day period. He was hoping to be granted Divine permission to be able to visit his beloved Rebbe, R. Shimon Bar Yochai, who had recently passed away.
R. Shimon was now presiding over one of the most important Heavenly Houses of Study, which was attended by the highest levels of saints and scholars of all generations.
Permission was granted and R. Chiyah found himself standing at the entrance to this Heavenly Yeshiva. Suddenly a thundering 'Bat Kol' [Heavenly voice] announced, '...No one has permission to enter unless they have spent their entire life-time engaged in transforming darkness into light...' [Zohar Breishit].
We're quickly approaching the Holiday of Lag Baomer. Lag is the numerical acronym for the number 33 which stands for this day being the 33rd day of the Omer count----Spelled Backwards, Lag = 'Gal', which means to uncover or reveal.
This festive day according to most traditions, is the 'Yahrtzeit' [day of death] of R. Shimon Bar Yochai; the 2ndcentury author of what is Kabbalah's most important classic work, 'The Zohar'.
Annually, on this day, more than 1\2 million people congregate at R. Shimon's gravesite in the upper Gallilee mountain village Meron. This gigantic gathering is not characterized by weeping or sadness at the loss of such a great luminary as R. Shimon. No!---Quite the contrary---it's the celebration of the year, drawing a very diversified crowd [every type of Jew found in the land of Israel] who come and sing and dance in incredible elated joy.
And all these people present, share the common feeling [some more consciously than others] of having a mystical soul-connected affinity with R. Shimon! And each and every person is recharged by their encountering of the energy and presence of R. Shimon, with an ability to bring light into the dark areas of their lives.

Blessings,
yitzchak

HOD OF HOD

Each day of the Omer, there shines forth the energy of a different Sefira [a trait bridging the Divine realm to the human realm]. If we understand the nature of that Sefira, then we would be able to perceive that everything that takes place on that day bespeaks the essential meaning of that day's Sefira.

The Sefira of Lag Baomer is HOD of HOD, which represents the quintessence of HOD. HOD expresses the ability to enable others to bring out their glory. This power of enabling is motivated by the drive to reach down into the lowest levels of darkness of people's souls and of all aspects of reality, and reveal in that very place of darkness, a brilliant shining light.
The word 'Zohar' means brilliant light. This dynamic describes the essence of who R. Shimon and his teachings are. All of the wisdom, secrets and stories filling the Zohar have one thing in common; shining light in areas of reality that would otherwise remain unexplained, closed up, and darkened. A coal or an ember is fanned into a full-blown flame [this is the reason that it's customary to light bonfires on Lag Baomer].

The Zohar mystically illuminates countless concepts and principles which span the entire scope of life and Torah. A typical passage penetrates to the soul of matter. The subject is revealed and reveals the following: its source in “Gal (= GEMATRIA 33 ) ennai/unveil my eyes so I can see the wonders of Your Torah!” the Upper Worlds, its transcendent impact in the dimensions of time, space and souls and its purifying and microcosmic effect in the minds and hearts of those who are presently learning the passage.

All the episodes and enchanting descriptions of R. Shimon also convey the theme of light shining into the darkness----------from his 13 year hideaway period [from the anti-Semitic Romans] in a dark cave, where the entire scope of the Zohar's Kabbalistic wisdom was revealed to him----all the way to the very last day of his life, when he revealed to all attendant Heavenly and earthly beings, the most important secrets of the Zohar--------and it all culminated in his passing away with a smile on his face---the ultimate expression of light banishing the darkness!!

Blessings,
yitzchak

THE POWER OF KABBALISTIC LEARNING [according to the Holy Zohar]

1. There is not a letter or word in the Torah that does not contain Kabbalistic secrets

2. True Kabbalah causes the world to be filled with the knowledge of Hashem

3. One who goes on to the post-life without Kabbalistic knowledge, though they may be filled with
Mitzvot and good deeds, will not be able to enter the [innermost] gates of the world to come

4. The one who occupies them self with Kabbalah, is able to sweeten up all that's difficult, cast aside harsh judgements and purify them self

5. One who ignores to pay proper attention to Kabbalah, causes p-overty and the elongation of the exile

6. Every Kabbalistic word properly learned, creates entire worlds

7. The masters of Kabbalah will be the first to rise in the ressurection of the dead

8. The prayers of the Masters of Kabbalah will be received and answered

9. The masters of Kabbala have the power to nullify harsh decrees, to be in constant connectio to Hashem, to bring down blessing and are called Tzadikim [righteous ones]

10. There is no wisdom that compares to that of Kabbalistic wisdom

11. The knowledge of Mitzvot are considered to be the BODY of the Torah, whereas it's SOUL is the secrets of the Torah [ie...The Kabbalah]

12. The masters of Kabbalah, relative to others , are referred to as the children of Hashem, as opposed to being Hashem's servants, and this s because they know Hashem inimately and not just in a general way.

TIKUNEI ZOHAR
HAKDAMA\ INTRODUCTORY TIKUNIM

Dear friends ------in the spirit of the upcoming Holy Day of Lag Ba-Omer---I want to share with you some of the 1st Zohar \ Kabbalistic teachings…. these 'summary notes' ---that I have collected while learning the Tikunei Zohar-and the Zohar itself --I realize that they are only summary notes---and they may be not so clear at all for you---but I feel they do have value ---when all is said and done----at least to get a feel of the amazing depth and breadth of the holy Zohar

TORAH LISHMA—613 MITZVOT LISHMA \FOR THE SAKE OF HASHEM….UNIFICATION OF HASHEM AND THE SHECHINA=DON’T TAKE THE MOTHER WITH THE CHIDREN
IMMATURE LEARNERS=MASTERS OF MIKRA \CHUMASH=CHICKS…MASTERS OF MISHNA=CHICKS…MASTERS OF KABBALAH=SONS
MOSHE RECEIVED 49 FACES LEVELS OF THE WRITTEN TORAH…RSHBI RECEIVED 70=THE TORAH’S SECRETS—WHICH COMPLETED THE SIN OF ADAM
THE UPPER TZADIK STANDS HIDDEN FROM THE WORLD AND THE LOWER TZADIK IS REVEALED
KETER=HIDDEN [TAMIR \GANIZ] ZOHAR [SUPERNAL LIGHT], CHOCHMA=’AIN’=THE SHINING [BAHIR] ZOHAR, BINA=ZOHAR THAT ELICITS SPARKS, CHESED= WHITE ZOHAR, GVURA =RED ZOHAR [MARS], TIFFERET=GREEN ZOHAR [SUN], NETZACH=GREEN ZOHAR [KOKHAVV], HOD=RED AND WHITE ZOHAR [POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE MITZVOT], YESOD =THE ZOHAR THAT SHINES EVRYWHERE [‘THE HAMMER THAT EXPLODES THE ROCK INTO SPARKS]
‘RAKIA’=’IKAR [SKY=THE MAIN POINT]---YESOD=TZION [SAME NUMBER],
A NEW LIGHT WILL SHINE ON ZION----THE TORAH \TEMPLE LIGHT=CORRESPONDS TO YISRAEL , SEERS, PROPHETS AND KINGS
SINCE THE DESTRUCTION---TZADIKIM HAVE BEEN IN EXILE
A HOME WHERE TORAH IS HEARD SUSTAINS
A LEARNER OF THE PSHAT [SIMPLE EXPLANATION] OF TORAH –INHERITS THIS WORLD AND A LEARNER OF THE DRASH AND THE HALACHOT OF TORAH INHERITS THE WORLD TO COME AND THE LOWER GAN EDEN AND THE LEARNER OF THE ESOTERICS INHERITS THE WORLD THAT IS ALL GOOD
THE NAME ‘ZOHAR’ COMES FROM DANIEL’S VERSE –HAMASKILIM YAZHIRU K’ZOHAR HARAKIA----THE ENLIGHTENED ONES WILL SHINE LIKE THE SPLENDOR OF THE FIRMAMENT
PRAYER MAKES A UNIFICATION BETWEEN THE MALE AND FEMALE DIVINE PARADIGM—THEREFORE ONE NEEDS TO SAY IT [AMIDA] SILENTLY
THE TORAH WAS GIVEN WITH FEAR AND LOVE THEREFORE ‘AN AM HAARETZ CANNOT BE A CHASID ‘ NOR CAN AN IGNORAMOUS BE A FEARER OF SIN’
ONE WHO SAYS ‘AMEN YEHEI SHMEI RABBA ‘ WITH ALL THEIR STRENGTH –TEARS UP 70 YEARS OF THE PRE-MESSIANIC PANGS YEARS
THE HUMAN IMAGE IS THE IMAGE OF ALL THE WORLDS
THE EIRUV RAV---THOUGH CONNECTED TO YAAKOV ---AND THOUGH THEY LEARN TORAH—ARE VERY HARD ON YISRAEL AND DON’T SUPPORT TORAH AND ARE MISERLY AND ARE THE KLIPA OF SINAT CHINAM
PROPHETS ARE FROM THE SIDE OF NETZACH AND HOD—WHICH IS THE COLOR BLEND OF RED AND WHITE
CORRESPONDING TO THE 4 LETTERS OF HAVAYA, IS THE VERSE ‘PITCHCHI LI ACHOTI [YUD], RAAYATI [HEI], YONATI [VAV], TAMATI [HEI], [THE RAAYA MEHEMNA [MOSHE] SPEAKING IN THE NAME OF HASHEM TO THE SHECHINA]
NEED 2 SIGNS [OTS] TO CONNECT TO THE SHECHINA
SHILUACH HA KEIN –COMPARISON TO LEVELS OF INTENTION OF LEARNING\MITZVOT
PROPHET---1ST PROPHETS==CLEAR LENS….. SEER=LAST PROPHETS/ CLOUDY LENS
SOULS DUNK IN THE NAHAR DINOR TO PURIFY THEMSELVES FROM THIS WORLD’S SPIRITUAL POISON
MICRFOCOSMIC MAN—YUD \KEI \ VAV=CHABAD AND 12 INNER ORGANS=12 PERNUTATIONS OF THE HAVAYOT AND 12 MONTHS OF THE YEAR
MEVOI=SMALL YUD=SHECHINA NEEDS A ‘KOREI’\ROOF ABOVE 10 AND LESS THAN 20 [KETER]
THE LAST 70 YEARS OF EXILE WILL BE THE TRIBULATION OF POVERTY
WE LOOK AT THE LIGHT IN THE FINGERNAILS IN HAVDALAH TO TRANSFORM THE SNAKESKIN INTO LIGHT SKIN
ONLY TZADIKIM WHO ARE GUARDERS OF THE BRIT---DO NOT NEED THE POST DEATH DIRT [AFAR] PURIFICATION FROM THE SNAKE SKIN POISON NOR THE CHIBUT HAKEVER
SHABBAT CLOTHES ARE IN HONOR OF THE ‘LIGHT’ CLOTHES OF GAN EDEN
THE BURIAL OF THE FORESKIN [OF THE BRIT MILA] PREVENTS CHIBUT HAKEVER [EXCEPT FOR ONE WHO IS A MAMZER]
‘8’=PROTECTION FROM HARMFUL EVENTS =[8 DAYS OF MILA AND 8 THOUSAND AMA TCHUM SHABBAT AND 8 PARSHAS OF THE TEFILLIN]
MASTERS OF TORAH AND MISHNA AND KABBALAH KEEP THE PRESENCE OF THE SHECHINA IN YISRAEL [IN THEIR MERIT]
THE MISHKAN IS THE PATTERN OF THE CREATION AND OF GAN EDEN
PURIM IS HINTED AT IN THE TORAH’S VERSE –‘YAD AL KAIS KA’ [14 LETTERS=14TH OF ADAR]
YAD [14] [HAND] ---THE MITZVOT [DATE] OF PURIM AND THE DAY OF BDIKAT CHAMETZ
THE ‘SIN’ OF ADAM CHANGED THE \HIS STAUS FROM ‘LIGHT’ SKIN [BLINDING THE SUN] TO SNAKE SKIN [OR WITH AN AYIN] WHICH WE TRY TO REVERSE WITH THE HAVDALA CEREMONY
THE 10 COMMANDMENTS CORRESPOND TO THE 10 TYPES OF PEOPLE [ROSHEICHEM, SHIVTEICHEM, WATER CARRIERS…ETC..]
SOMEONE WHO MERITS TO LEARN ONE TRACTATE OF HALACHOT MERITS ONE WORLD
THE SHULCHAN [THE HEART]=THE PETILA\WICK---THE THE SHECHINA……THE SHEMEN\OIL=THE RUACH\TZADIK….THE LIGHT =THE NESHAMA
AIN DORSHIM ---ONE SHOULD NOT ELABORATE THE AACOUNT OF CREATION W\ 2 PEOPLE –CAUSING PIRUD….OR ARAYOT W\ 3 [THE SITRA ACHRA]
25=THE LETTERS OF THE SHEMA VERSE=IMA=UPPER UNIFICATIO….24=BARUCH SHEM VERSE=MALCHUT=LOWER UNIFICATION….THE 49 LETTERS= THE MEM TET TET \PANIM TAHOT \TAMEI
IN THE PRESENT TIMES[UNLIKE THE FUTURE TIMES] THE REVELATION OF HASHEM IS THROUGH ‘KINUYIM’ [COINED NAMES]
THE 6 PERMUTAIONS OF THE LETTERS YUD, KEI, VAV=18 LETTERS\WORLDS [W\MALCHUT=BAT SHEVA]

Blessings,
Yitzchak

THE ZOHAR'S MYSTICAL PERSPECTIVE HIGHTLIGHTS

ZOHAR INTRO.

1. R. Chiyah's revelation is that mystics change dark into light [war]
2. Rshbi 13 years in the cave and the supernatural acheivements [above]
THE BOOK OF BRAISHIT

PARSHA BRAISHIT/NOAH

3. 5 types of Eiruv Rav souls and their being our transgenerational thorn in the side [soul\ war]
4. the Hidden Light enabling endless perception [above]
5. the fallen angels and their inability to cope like a human [war]
6. 'The Book of the Generations of Adam'[above nature]
7. the upper-world chambers of the garden of Eden [upper]
8. the 7 levels of lower or middle earth [upper]
9. the wise ones of the East and theri similarities and distinctions from our Sages [sparks]
10. future revelations to the tzaddik of future events in order to fix/prepare the generation [auspicious]
11. the year 5600-- the fountains of the lower and higher
wisdom open up [auspicious]
12. the magicians and sorcerers must make themselves impure in order to be successful -the opposite of the Holy realm [war]
13. studier of Kabbalah --highest level of all [micro]
14. A Jewish body is impure upon death and pure in life --opposite dynamic than a non-Jew [soul]
15. the liberated freedom gained by Torah learning [soul]
16. Abraham's historical-cosmic 'gifts' to the East [sparks]

LECH LECHA

17. When Abraham got to the Holy Land, he discovered that there was no intermediary [above nature]
18. a midnight learner lives forever and receives a share of next world also in this word...and also never tastes death and is the most fitting blesser of Hashem [auspicious]
19. the prosperity of the non-Jew is dependent on Israel dwelling in their land [soul]
20. nothing is ever lost ---not even sounds [eternal]

CHAYEI SARAH

21. the nature of judgement---for the good things it is past , present and future....for the bad things it's only present [auspicious]

22. interincluded size/space dimensions;
a. all of the land of Israel is doubled under Jerusaem
b. the 'Upper Jerusalem' is inside of the 'lower Jerusalem'
c. The garden of Eden is inside of this world
d. The upper world is inside of the Lower one
e. The infinite is inside of the finite
f. the entirety of the land of Israel is folded up under the
head of Yaakov[ auspicious]
23. Abraham was in a state of constant ascent and sparks collection [sparks]
24. 'All-ness' ---the source of all blessing [upper]
25. the level of the 'baal tshuvah'[penitent] is greater than even that of the 'tzadik' since thier'brokenness takes them to the level of the world of 'Bina' ---to be a Chassid [soul/upper]
26. in the future world , one is 'burned by the canopy of their friend'---meaning that the truth will be then revealed that their friend put out much more effort[eternal]

VAYEIRA

26. the tragedy of Eliezer the Great---His Torah works [210 commentaries on the Song of Songs] are lost to mankind and return back up to Heaven [eternal]
27. squinting of the eyes--a prophet consticts their vision to filter out the confusions of this world and let in only the spiritual[upper]
29. post life sync. with this life [upper]
30. varous accountsof 30, 36 and 72 Tzadikim that hold up the entire world [auspicious]

TOLDOT

31. The world is kept in existence solely because of the Torah
that people are engaged in [micro]
32. 3 parrallel 'Shiur Komas' [complete dimensions] --mankind, the world and the Torah and the ability to micro and macro-cosmicize [micro]
33. the ressurection---a time when the soul and the bodies will be in total sync [eternal/soul]
34.. ''40'' [the principle of closure] ---explains the age of Yitzchak when marrying and the days of the flood and Messianic 3 of years before the ressurection and # of years the Children of Israel were in the Desert and the # of days of the formation of the foetus...etc.. [upper]
35. Everything in Creation has a body and a soul[soul]

VAYEITZEI

36. King David wanted to bring the Holy Ark---which contained the 10 Commandments , back to it's rightful place in Jerusalem to create a Divine Unification [micro]
37. 12 hours of the night divide into 3 'watches' --each containing 'The Song of a group of Angels' [auspicious]
38. there is not one word of Torah that is not filled with gems of wisdom and depth [micro]
39. After a person [in the prayer of the Amidah] unifies all of the appropriate unifications , they must lower themselves down to the world of the Klipot [the realm of evil] in order to liberate from there all of the trapped Holy Sparks [micro]

Blessings ,
yitzchak

By Yitzchak Schwartz

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Yitzchak Schwartz

32 APPROACHES TO LEARNING TORAH

32 APPROACHES TO LEARNING TORAH

Dear friends,

Torah is infinite…..Years ago --- I was deeply exploring some creative personal approaches to learning Torah -----this is the list that I came up with…..maybe some of them can speak to you as well [the asterisk ones * spoke to me at the time---more than others]

Blessings,
Yitzchak

*1. 'YOUR TAKE'----Based on the teachings of the Arizal, a very powerful way to actualize our soul's potential is to express our 'take' in Torah. We are all unique and we all have therefore a unique way of seeing reality and understanding Torah. I would suggest to start on a smaller scale. Choose one particular topic in any Parsha in the Torah that truly speaks to you, and simply write [or teach] a commentary that expresses your unique perspective. Once you've got the hang of it--Expand!

2. 'BE A WARRIOR FOR CLARITY'-----Here we learn another way of self-actualization from the Arizal---The Arizal would enter into a study session with the goal in mind of identifying all areas of the topic at hand that were unclear, difficult or contradictory...etc... The important point to understand, is that those doubts 'on the page', in a different garb, are the roots of the same blocks, doubts, fears and baggage that we have in our lives. Clear up the former ones and the latter ones automatically clear up also. We can easily understand how to carry this out; the hard part is the actual clarifying. Take any piece of Torah that you encounter [from anywhere in the Written or Oral Torah], and go to work. Try to locate that which is unclear or somehow inconsistent with other aspects of the text, or with what you understand to be true, and keep fighting for an explanation that rings true.

3. ' 5 LEVELS OF SOUL TORAH'------ This approach is based on the principle that the layout of Torah parallels the layout of a person. Just as we have 5 levels of soul, so too are there 5 corresponding approaches to learning Torah---whose acronym is P R D S [the word PaRDeS is a garden as in PaRaDiSe--the garden of Eden].

4. TIKUN OLAM----When we fully understand that the world is an environment where Hashem hides Himself, and therefore the world's Tikun is to reveal Hashem in His hiding, then we'll be naturally motivated to become world-wide ambassadors to reveal Hashem in His hiding!

5. TORAH OR---the Slonimer Rebbe teaches in volume 1 of his series called 'Netivot Shalom', that any area of life or reality that is not actively learned in a Torah framework is by definition in a state of chaos. The Torah's dealing with that area or topic brings order and unity into the chaos. The more one learns about it in breadth and depth, the more order and Tikun there will be.

6. MARTIAN TORAH--- This would involve developing an approach to learning taught to me by my 3rd grade teacher [and I remain as impacted today as I was back then]. I was taught to try to see the other person as a Martian who is starting from point zero---no preconceptions---and I must take them by the hand and explain everything in a crystal clear manner. All that I learn would be with the altruistic goal in mind of clearly giving it all over to someone else.

*7. TIKUN OF THE INDIVIDUAL----The main application that this learning approach focuses on, is healing and solutionizing. List on the upper side of a sheet of paper the problems, challenges and dilemmas in life that you need solutions and\or healings for. While engaged in a Torah learning session, pay attention to the 'flashes' [the solutions] that Hashem is sending you 'in between the lines', usually having nothing to do with the topic you are learning. Quickly write them down, before they become forgotten.

*8. TORAH LEARNING 24\7---- This person is walking, talking, eating and even dreaming his Torah. !!]. Perhaps this person is walking around with 10 topics at once in their mind, and all the inquiries that such a big list entails, and everything that they learn and encounter in life would provide answers..... Their type of Torah not only engages their intellect, but also their emotions and all the rest of the various aspects of the human psyche. They may have set for themselves a goal of covering as much territory as possible in the Written and Oral Torah---this year all of the Mishna, next year all of the Midrash...etc...For this person to succeed , they would need to have 'staying power' through thick and thin with a healthy attitude of commitment and hard work, but probably even more important, a great 'geshmak' [taking great pleasure] in jumping out of bed every day for another full day of Torah.

9. ONE TORAH ----The Vilna Gaon's own personal approach [that kept him occupied 22 hours of the 24 hour day] consisted of trying to compact all of the written and oral Torah inside of the Book, the Parsha and the first verse of Bereshit [the first of the 5 books of Moses]. This comparison approach highlighted Torah's unique property of every part of Torah containing every other part of it.

*10. WALKING WITH ONE TORAH THOUGHT ALL WEEK---This was a practice that was done by the Arizal as well as some of the top contemporary Torah scholars that exist ---The idea is to go throughout your day while contemplating meditating and talking this one subject up to all that you know....

11. PRAYING FOR AND CO-CREATING TORAH UNDERSTANDING----R. Nachman as a child, in addition to learning properly would pray all day and night to understand the Mishna and Talmud...etc...he also teaches [in 'Sichot Haran '#62] the principle behind the "secret' or co-creating see our previous essays for more detail, and states clearly that this can be done for accessing Torah wisdom as well.

*12. TOOLS TORAH----I have been exploring this realm for a few years now in these weekly essays as well as elsewhere---the general principle is to create an exercise , tool or meditation that will internalize the wisdom that you are learning...for more info of how to do this...email me....

13. ENLISTING ALL OF YOUR TORAH WISDOM [AS WELL AS YOUR WORDLY WISDOM] TO GET TO KNOW HASHEM AND HIS WAYS---R. Avigdor Miller [ob'm] dedicated his life to this approach and you can learn about it in all of his amazing Books and tapes. Simply reframe all that you learn to be one more uncovered puzzle piece instructing you in the ways of G-d...

*14. M.M.M. MUSICAL MYSTICAL MEDITATIONS---Utilizing All Other Creative and Non-Intellectual 'Intelligences' To Access and Express Torah.

*15. TANI VHADAR MEPHAREISH----Which means first learn or read the original Torah piece, and then use your infinite inner wellsprings of knowledge to expand upon the subject...you will be very pleasantly surprised to see how much you know, even though you didn't think that you did...

16. COMPARING SECULAR WISDOM TO TORAH WISDOM---Many people are attracted to this approach since they either have one or the other under their belts [secular or Torah wisdom] and therefore they can relate better to the as yet unknown wisdom they are encountering for the first time...

*17. TORAH IN EXILE---Utilizing secular wisdom to enhance the complete understanding of Torah wisdom as well as bringing the secular wisdom 'back home' to Torah.

18. TORAH AND TEFILLAH----Praying to actualize all that we learn [every detail].

19. HEALING TORAH---3 possible angles; a. Torah learned to expand consciousness and thereby open up the healing flow b. A mass 'diagnostic' whose essential appropriate Torah principles are prescribed for whatever is lacking or needs healing C. Torah learning in and of itself is a cure-all for whatever ails you.

*20. THE TORAH STORIES IN ME---- The Torah's 'Bible Stories' and characters and situations are related to as being various parts of my personality all waiting to be healed and expressed properly in life.

21. TORAH DVAIKUS----Every one of the 613 Mitzvot are different pieces of advice of how to cling to G-d [Dvaikus] in any and all of life's circumstances.

22. TAKING A TOUR OF THE WORLD AND NEVER LIFTING YOUR NOSE OUT OF THE TORAH----The world and the Torah are exactly parallel, allowing us to travel the entire world through Torah....be careful to leave enough time in each port to properly take a look around.

23. SEEING THE TORAH TEXT THAT YOU'RE PRESENTLY READING AS HOLDING THE ANSWER TO YOUR DILLEMMAS AND CHALLENGES IN LIFE.

24. 'TAP THE TANNA' TORAH---Our mystical texts teach us that when we learn the words of any Sage [who's already passed on] their lips move in their resting place] and in a certain way, they come inside of us when we learn their Torah...the ramifications are amazing.

25. LEARNING TORAH AT MANY DIFFERENT DEPTHS--- This can include anything from a simple browsing, a simple reading of the words [just to cover as much ground as possible], all the way to a very deep thorough analysis of 1 line, and everything in between.

*26. TORAH CHARTING ----Creating charts or series of charts that summarize in a very compact fashion, that summarize huge masses of wisdom, and possibly afterwards combine many charts into one large chart...

27. INTERINCLUSION TORAH------Viewing many different realms of Torah as all being included in each other and thereby discover whole new realms that only can be born and discovered in this fashion.

28. 'AL MENAT TORAH'----Learning Torah 'in order to'....i.e...Always learning in order to reach a higher goal such as teaching or practicing what's learned.

29. ''O.H.-ING' TORAH-----Reducing the essential concepts learned into a very short term [...i.e. An OH--omek Hamusag or essential point], and thinking and communicating with these terms...

30. CO-CREATION OR CAUSATIVE TORAH----When we align ourselves intensely enough to Torah, then Hashem promises that what we desire in life will manifest, and even beyond that, the Torah that we learn actually causes reality to come out the way it does....

31. 'BABA SALI' TORAH-----The Baba Sali as well as others when asked to solve any question or challenge in life, would simply open the Book [almost any Torah Work would do] and wherever they opened it up to, there would lay the answer.

32. 'TORAH GAUGING'------The soul level of a person can be measured by the level of understanding that they have with a corresponding piece of Torah appropriate for a certain soul level....they will fall asleep, or lose attention or be overwhelmed with that piece of Torah which is too 'high', whereas that Torah which resonates with their level will ring thoroughly true throughout their being.

Blessings,
Yitzchak

**Art by Leon Zernitski.

AUTHOR: Rabbi Yitzchak Schwartz

WEBSITE: http://www.paradiseprinciple.com/

FACEBOOK: Yitzchak Schwartz

ABOUT MY DAD [z'l]

ABOUT MY DAD [z'l]

My father, Leo Schwartz (Yaakov Aryeh ben Tzvi z'l), passed away fourteen years ago today. I feel moved to share with you some of my impressions. My father always derived a lot of pleasure from hearing me speak at family gatherings [though I was usually too shy to speak at the time]. What I would like to attempt briefly now, is to share with you [a sort of soul-family gathering] a few of my dad's outstanding traits in order to use the information to remind and re-inspire me and perhaps others, to internalize these traits in order to help in the process of elevating my father's soul. Truth be told, what can I say to do justice in a few brief lines to capture a lifetime of his humbleness and overflowing love of everybody, but nevertheless , a little bit is better than nothing?

It says in the holy Zohar that a child has the greatest potential for raising up their father's soul. There are conventional ways of doing this such as saying Kaddish, leading the prayer service and on an ever higher level to do Teshuvah and become a better person in their honor. Rabbi Dessler writes in ‘Michtav MeEliayhu’ that if a child can identify the good character traits that have been implanted in them by their parent, and the child concentrates on strengthening these traits in themselves in order to elevate their parent’s soul, than they have perhaps accomplished the most potent and intimate soul elevation dynamic possible.

The Ari'zal in his classic work on souls and reincarnation, ‘Shaar HaGilgulim’, delves in great detail into the personality traits, both good and bad, that are bestowed upon their children upon conception [and of course the parents are instrumental in guiding their children in making their good traits shine]. This conception based bond continues to connect parents and children beyond life.

It says in the story of the Akeida (the binding of Abraham's son Isaac) that Abraham rose early and saddled his donkey by himself even though he was one of the most important personalities of his generation and he should have had a servant doing this for him. We learn a universal principle from this. When a person acts out of deep love, he doesn't stand on his laurels or his honor. The reason is because love eliminates all formalities. Abraham loved Hashem and his love caused him to transcend all trivial concerns for honor etc…

My father was a great lover of everyone no matter who they were or what sub-category of society they belonged to, or whether he knew them or not. I remember going on a Jerusalem Egged bus with my dad and even though everybody was quiet and to themselves, my dad changed all that. He would speak up [in a voice louder than was socially acceptable] to who ever was next to him and ask questions like, “Who are you? Where do you come from? What's your story? What do you think about the politics here?” In a short time a very quiet Egged bus turned into a loud chirping celebration of Israelis who love nothing better than expressing their opinions. And –I also learned from this , a very important life-lesson…everybody has their story to tell—and really wants to tell it [especially here in the Land of the Ingathering of Exiles from all corners of the globe]…all these potential life-story tellers are lacking is the listening ear that my dad provided so generously….This was not an isolated incident, it happened usually daily in various places. My father’s daily trophies which he would brag about to my mom [A’H], would be the new people and their stories he discovered that day

May his memory continue to be such a rich blessing and source of inspiration.

And may he put in a good word upstairs for all of us in these crazy times we live in…

By: Yitzchak Schwartz.

****The photo is my dad and mom in El Paso way back when...

GO INTO THE ARK NOW

GO INTO THE ARK NOW
Spiritually Protecting Ourselves

Dear Friends,
We are in the midst of a deluge, a flood, a metaphysical and very real plague-like flood here in the streets of Israel. And it seems, by the way things are possibly going, that in a short time the streets of the world as well, people want to kill Jews simply because we exist, for no other reason at all.

Don’t buy all that other propaganda about territorial disputes, including the Temple Mount, or any of that other stuff. It’s all just to play upon the diplomatic sensibilities of the world.

It’s simply that we are Jewish. That’s our crime. That’s why they want to kill us.

We’re at a time now where we have to pay attention to what the Torah, the Bible is telling us in this parsha of Noach or Noah. The energy of the parsha of Noah is to our advantage right now because as we all know, it’s about a flood Noah’s Ark was destined to save that seedling of humans and animals from being completely wiped-out by a worldwide flood at that time. 

The parallels are strikingly clear right now, in Israel and in other countries around us, and all over the world, including Europe and America, everywhere. Right now, we ALL have to get ourselves into the Ark.

In the past, Noah’s Ark was a place of safety, a shelter from the storm, from the flood threatening to wipe out everyone and everything that wasn’t inside the Ark. 

So, we need to figure out how to build our Ark and how to get inside it, to save our lives and to be protected from the flood. So, what I’d like to share with you now is a list of what I believe to be ways we can create Arks in our own lives, to save us from the flood. The Ark is the antidote to the dire danger these current floods are creating.

• We need to jump into the Ark of being constructive, as opposed to the flood, which is destructive. We need to build ourselves an Ark which is celebrating LIFE, as opposed to the flood, which celebrates death and murder. We need to get ourselves into the Ark of G-d’s real, true Word, as opposed to murder in the name of G-d.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of being in-sync with our Holy Land here, as opposed to being out-of-sync with it, which is the flood we have threatening us as well.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of Shabbat, and realize that everything that’s happening in our lives is coming from above, as opposed to the flood of thinking that the strength of our hands is really going to save us.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of Prayer, saying to G-d, “I cannot, Hashem… I can only do it if you help me.” We need to save ourselves from the flood of saying we are the ones who determine what will happen with our own fate.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of having true pleasure in the service of G-d, and in the life force of Torah and mitzvoth, as opposed to the robotic, mechanical service in the world of the flood.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of understanding, “I am a wealthy person, an immense treasure chest, full of spiritual gifts I have amassed over the last few weeks of holidays, as opposed to thinking now it’s just the same-old, same-old schedule of the past.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of knowing we are a member of an eternal, invincible people, as opposed to the mindset, the flood-type thinking that we are vulnerable to everyone’s whims and horrible designs against us.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of knowing that every little bit of goodness and overcoming of evil we do in our lives moves worlds and elicits the support of millions and billions of people rooting for us, as opposed to falling into the flood of despair.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of radical belief, 24/7, that G-d is running our lives, no matter what we think is the cause of everything that’s going on, and that it’s coming from us, as opposed to thinking everything is by chance.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of knowing that every minute of our lives is precious, as opposed to the flood of wanting to kill time.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of trust in G-d, and knowing that G-d will come through for me, just as he has endless numbers of times before, as opposed to thinking that it’s all happenstance.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of knowing, “I am a soul and I have control of all the animal parts inside of me,” just like the animals in Noah’s Ark, as opposed to thinking, “I am a human animal who can only succeed with the laws of the jungle.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of encouragement and love for everybody we see and connect with in our lives, as opposed to the flood of hate and depression.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of seeing others with the eyes of G-d, with compassion and with vision of who they can be, as opposed to seeing others as infidels, not worthy of life.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of what G-d said to Noah, “Come into the Ark and make that light shine, meaning the teiva, the holy words of Torah and prayer. We must make that shine by going deeply into it, as opposed to the flood of thinking that everything is purposeless and lifeless, recital without any meaning.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of seeing goodness into being, as opposed to the opposite, which is seeing evil manifest.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of unifying with all the good, as opposed to the opposite.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of the good inclination inside ourselves, prompted by the spice of Torah, to counteract that flood of evil inclination, the Yetzer Hara.

• We need to get ourselves into the Ark of the mikvah, of purifying ourselves, to counteract the flood of impurity.

• We need to get ourselves into the act of being givers, to save ourselves from the flood of takers.

• We need to get ourselves into the act of 40 days of shelter, of going into a process and sticking with it until it gets done, just like the 40 days of the flood, as opposed to being exposed to whatever may happen in our lives and not completing them.

• We need to get into the Ark of seeing the good in people, even if it’s one little, tiny piece of good that will outshine all the bad inside of them, as opposed to the flood of the opposite.

• We need to get into the Ark of making sacred space of who we are, when we are, how we are, with whom we are, as opposed to seeing the exact opposite.

• We need to get into the Ark of talking soul and heart talk to other people, as opposed to talking hate talk, talking senseless externalities.

• We need to get into the Ark of seeing people as souls, as opposed to seeing them as enemies and something to be killed.

• We need to get into the Ark of the house of study and the house of prayer, as opposed to the flood of the opposite.

• We need to get into the Ark of modesty, as opposed to the flood of flagrancy.

• We need to get into the Ark of knowing that there is nothing else in the world, except for G-d.

Blessings,
Yitzchak Schwartz