By: Meir Elkabas
(a personal request is found at the end of the
Torah insight)
The Talmud/Midrash relates how once Rebbi Yossi ben Chalafta was asked by a roman empress what Hashem is involved with since the act of Creation. When he replied that He is involved in match-making - she laughed. He then replied to her: You may think it an easy thing to match two people together, but for Hashem it is as difficult as the splitting of the Red Sea!!!
The obvious question asked by everyone is : why? Why should there be anything as considered difficult for the Omnipresent One and Infinite One?
For this we need a little bit of background of the significance of the splitting of the Red Sea:
The Sages teach in Pirkey Avot that the world was created by Hashem using 10 utterances. These are the "And the Lord said, let there be..." mentioned at the beginning of Genesis. However, when counting them, there are only 9 utterances and not 10?! The answer given to this in the Talmud is that the first word - Bereishit/In the beginning is also an utterance, but it is called the Hidden Utterance.
The Talmud elsewhere also explains that the physical substance created from and representing the presence of this "Hidden Utterance" in this world is water. That is why the creation of water is not even mentioned in the act of creation - it is "hidden". Rather the Torah immediately states "and the spirit of the Lord was hovering over the water", with the understanding that this water was already created and present. Furthermore, the Sages explain that the creation of water is hinted to in the word B'eR'E'iS'hI'T' itself which can be rearranged as: B'aR'A' S'hI'T' - The Creation of the Foundation Tunnels underground (which consist of water) (see Sukkah 48).
Thus, water and the Hidden Utterance are both connected. In a sense, water is the substance which is "behind the scenes" and hidden behind Creation, since without water there is no life/growth/flora etc. So too, the Hidden Utterance/Bereishit is the root behind all of Creation too, since the other 9 utterances of Creation are also rooted in Bereishit (see Likutey Moharan II lesson 12)
With this, we can begin to understand the "difficulty" of the splitting of the Red Sea. To bring in air/wind to separate the water, reveal dried up land, and let the Jews cross specifically there is in a sense to separate water/the Hidden Utterance/Bereishit from the other factors of creation rooted in the other 9 utterances - the root of wind and land. How can this be? This is like separating the 9 utterances from the Hidden Utterance which is impossible since they are all rooted in the Hidden Utterance/water?!
And yet, this was needed in order to get the Jews to leave Egypt and enter into the Holy Land. Since water connotes concealment (just as water hides what is actually within it with constant intangibility) and air/land connotes revelation/concreteness, a separation was required in order to get the Jews out of Egypt/idolatry/immorality. This separation was to show the Jews that they must constantly connect and yearn to the highest level of existence - the Hidden Utterance/Bereishit/water and not get caught up with "this-worldly" values of Egypt which stress an existence outside of Hashem's sovereignty and presence.
So, in summary, it was "difficult" for Hashem to make this separation since it seemingly shows that the revealed part of Creation - the 9 utterances - are separate from the Hidden Utterance/Bereishit, but it was temporarily necessary in order to reawaken this realization to the Jews so that they reconnect to their true purpose in life, to connect to the Hidden Utterance "hidden" behind all facets of life, and not get caught up with the distractions found throughout creation reflected within the 9 utterances. By doing so, the Jew can be strong enough to work to "reveal" the light of the Hidden Utterance found within the other 9 utterances
* * *
Marriage, too, shares this similar concept.
Woman reflects the factor of the Hidden Utterance/water/concealment. This can be seen for example in the process of pregnancy which is "hidden" within the woman, and also the characteristics of modesty and discreteness which are natural and normal attributes of woman. They don't need an open "revelation" of Godliness, since "under-cover" and hidden is enough to get the message across.
Man, on the other hand, is meant to do the work of revealing the glory of Hashem "hidden" within the Hidden Utterance/Bereishit through the revealed parts of Creation - the 9 utterances. Since man has the normal tendency of being "out-going" and to connecting to his surrounding, it is very easy for him to get caught up in the distractions found within the 9 utterances that serve to block the work of revealing the "Hidden Utterance/water/life-source/Hashem's Glory through the revealed 9 utterances.
Thus, marriage is needed in order to maintain a continuous connection between the Hidden Utterance and the 9 utterances - man and wife.
But for marriage to actually happen, man has to seek out his connection to the Hidden Utterance - his wife.
To do so, Hashem with great "difficulty" makes a temporary but clear and solid separation between the Hidden Utterance and the 9 utterances in order to make man understand his purpose in life - to reveal the Hidden Utterance/water/Bereishit through the revealed part of Creation/9 utterances, and not "run after" the 9 utterances as an existence within themselves. By doing so, man yearns and prays to reconnect to Hashem through revealing the existence of the Hidden Utterance/water/Bereishit through the 9 utterances of existence.
This is what helps man to reconnect to his soul-mate.
(for more on these concepts please listen to the audio classes found at:
https://soundcloud.com/breslov-therapy/sets/likutey-moharan-part-2-lesson
and:
https://soundcloud.com/breslov-therapy/sets/likutey-moharan-part-ii)
* * *
A PERSONAL REQUEST
My oldest son, Menachem, is presently attending an amazing yeshiva which has succeeded in transforming him into a little boy to a mature and responsible/confidant young Jewish man with a positive direction in life.
Because the yeshiva invests a lot in building-up the students, the costs are extremely heavy (for the first year) - $1,200/month.
With a family of 10 (bli ayin hara) living here in the religious section of Jerusalem, I am simply not able to come up with all the tuition costs for my son. There may be other subsidized institutions, but this yeshiva succeeded in helping my son.
I have, BH, come up with $300 for this upcoming month's tuition. Any further help towards this end would be greatly appreciated and considered as saving a Jewish soul.
As a token of appreciation for those who can help, I will add their names to my 40-day davening list which also - bli neder - include sporadic davening at the Holy Cites here in the Holy Land.
The Talmud/Midrash relates how once Rebbi Yossi ben Chalafta was asked by a roman empress what Hashem is involved with since the act of Creation. When he replied that He is involved in match-making - she laughed. He then replied to her: You may think it an easy thing to match two people together, but for Hashem it is as difficult as the splitting of the Red Sea!!!
The obvious question asked by everyone is : why? Why should there be anything as considered difficult for the Omnipresent One and Infinite One?
For this we need a little bit of background of the significance of the splitting of the Red Sea:
The Sages teach in Pirkey Avot that the world was created by Hashem using 10 utterances. These are the "And the Lord said, let there be..." mentioned at the beginning of Genesis. However, when counting them, there are only 9 utterances and not 10?! The answer given to this in the Talmud is that the first word - Bereishit/In the beginning is also an utterance, but it is called the Hidden Utterance.
The Talmud elsewhere also explains that the physical substance created from and representing the presence of this "Hidden Utterance" in this world is water. That is why the creation of water is not even mentioned in the act of creation - it is "hidden". Rather the Torah immediately states "and the spirit of the Lord was hovering over the water", with the understanding that this water was already created and present. Furthermore, the Sages explain that the creation of water is hinted to in the word B'eR'E'iS'hI'T' itself which can be rearranged as: B'aR'A' S'hI'T' - The Creation of the Foundation Tunnels underground (which consist of water) (see Sukkah 48).
Thus, water and the Hidden Utterance are both connected. In a sense, water is the substance which is "behind the scenes" and hidden behind Creation, since without water there is no life/growth/flora etc. So too, the Hidden Utterance/Bereishit is the root behind all of Creation too, since the other 9 utterances of Creation are also rooted in Bereishit (see Likutey Moharan II lesson 12)
With this, we can begin to understand the "difficulty" of the splitting of the Red Sea. To bring in air/wind to separate the water, reveal dried up land, and let the Jews cross specifically there is in a sense to separate water/the Hidden Utterance/Bereishit from the other factors of creation rooted in the other 9 utterances - the root of wind and land. How can this be? This is like separating the 9 utterances from the Hidden Utterance which is impossible since they are all rooted in the Hidden Utterance/water?!
And yet, this was needed in order to get the Jews to leave Egypt and enter into the Holy Land. Since water connotes concealment (just as water hides what is actually within it with constant intangibility) and air/land connotes revelation/concreteness, a separation was required in order to get the Jews out of Egypt/idolatry/immorality. This separation was to show the Jews that they must constantly connect and yearn to the highest level of existence - the Hidden Utterance/Bereishit/water and not get caught up with "this-worldly" values of Egypt which stress an existence outside of Hashem's sovereignty and presence.
So, in summary, it was "difficult" for Hashem to make this separation since it seemingly shows that the revealed part of Creation - the 9 utterances - are separate from the Hidden Utterance/Bereishit, but it was temporarily necessary in order to reawaken this realization to the Jews so that they reconnect to their true purpose in life, to connect to the Hidden Utterance "hidden" behind all facets of life, and not get caught up with the distractions found throughout creation reflected within the 9 utterances. By doing so, the Jew can be strong enough to work to "reveal" the light of the Hidden Utterance found within the other 9 utterances
* * *
Marriage, too, shares this similar concept.
Woman reflects the factor of the Hidden Utterance/water/concealment. This can be seen for example in the process of pregnancy which is "hidden" within the woman, and also the characteristics of modesty and discreteness which are natural and normal attributes of woman. They don't need an open "revelation" of Godliness, since "under-cover" and hidden is enough to get the message across.
Man, on the other hand, is meant to do the work of revealing the glory of Hashem "hidden" within the Hidden Utterance/Bereishit through the revealed parts of Creation - the 9 utterances. Since man has the normal tendency of being "out-going" and to connecting to his surrounding, it is very easy for him to get caught up in the distractions found within the 9 utterances that serve to block the work of revealing the "Hidden Utterance/water/life-source/Hashem's Glory through the revealed 9 utterances.
Thus, marriage is needed in order to maintain a continuous connection between the Hidden Utterance and the 9 utterances - man and wife.
But for marriage to actually happen, man has to seek out his connection to the Hidden Utterance - his wife.
To do so, Hashem with great "difficulty" makes a temporary but clear and solid separation between the Hidden Utterance and the 9 utterances in order to make man understand his purpose in life - to reveal the Hidden Utterance/water/Bereishit through the revealed part of Creation/9 utterances, and not "run after" the 9 utterances as an existence within themselves. By doing so, man yearns and prays to reconnect to Hashem through revealing the existence of the Hidden Utterance/water/Bereishit through the 9 utterances of existence.
This is what helps man to reconnect to his soul-mate.
(for more on these concepts please listen to the audio classes found at:
https://soundcloud.com/breslov-therapy/sets/likutey-moharan-part-2-lesson
and:
https://soundcloud.com/breslov-therapy/sets/likutey-moharan-part-ii)
* * *
A PERSONAL REQUEST
My oldest son, Menachem, is presently attending an amazing yeshiva which has succeeded in transforming him into a little boy to a mature and responsible/confidant young Jewish man with a positive direction in life.
Because the yeshiva invests a lot in building-up the students, the costs are extremely heavy (for the first year) - $1,200/month.
With a family of 10 (bli ayin hara) living here in the religious section of Jerusalem, I am simply not able to come up with all the tuition costs for my son. There may be other subsidized institutions, but this yeshiva succeeded in helping my son.
I have, BH, come up with $300 for this upcoming month's tuition. Any further help towards this end would be greatly appreciated and considered as saving a Jewish soul.
As a token of appreciation for those who can help, I will add their names to my 40-day davening list which also - bli neder - include sporadic davening at the Holy Cites here in the Holy Land.
For more
details about my situation, you can contact medirectly by email or by phone at
(in Israel): 972-57-317-2332.
Immediate
support can be sent through a bank money transfer. My IBAN number
is: IL400521840000000655848.
or through
paypal at: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=43L2R4XSC7GL4
Sincere thanks
for your help and consideration.
No comments:
Post a Comment