The seven lamps of the head

To gain spiritual understanding and awareness, you must sanctify the seven “lamps” of your head: your mouth, nostrils, ears and eyes.

Guard your mouth from speaking any falsehood.

Sanctify your nostrils with the fear of Heaven, as it is written: “...he will scent the fear of God” (Isaiah 11:3). The way to sanctify the nostrils is through meekness and humility. You must be patient and not let anger burn inside you, even if people treat you badly.

Use your ears to listen to the words of the Sages: believe in what they say. The way to sanctify your ears is through discretion and loyalty. If people tell you secrets, be sure to keep them and not reveal them to anyone.

Lower your eyes and avert them from evil.

Sanctifying the seven “lamps” of the head can bring you to complete spiritual understanding and awareness. Your heart will then burn with passion for God, because the activity of the mind generates heat and fervor in the heart. The more you occupy your mind with thoughts of Torah and devotion, the more your heart will burn for God. The deeper your understanding, the greater your fervor will become. This fervor purifies the heart, protecting it from becoming inflamed with evil desires, which merely pollute it. When a person’s heart is pure, he will never be at a loss for words when he speaks to God. He will always find new words and new approaches.

One who sanctifies the seven “lamps of the head” can attain awesome levels of perception of God. These heights of understanding are a blessing from God which is bestowed from above without any preliminaries and introductions. This is the gift of ruach hakodesh: holy spirit.

Likutey Moharan I, 21

 

Taken from The Essential Rabbi Nachman.

ORCHARD OF DELIGHTS by Rabbi Avraham Arieh Trugman [Book Review]

Title: ORCHARD OF DELIGHTS “The Ohr Chadash Torah Commentary”

Published by: Ohr Chadash

Distributed by: Targum Press USA

Printed in Israel

Language: English

Binding: Hardcover

Pages: 670

Website: www.thetrugmans.com

Jew or non-Jew seeking to learn the holy Torah, this book is sure to find inspiration, knowledge, new insights. Who is studying Kabbalistic literature, can benefit in learning the holy Parashot which "Orchard of Delights" uses the PaRDeS system to an understanding in the true depths of its meaning.

The author, Rabbi Avraham Arieh Trugman have demonstrated how the Torah’s inner dimensions relate to the mundane world and each, every individual – with the possibility to engage Divine service, realize personal Tikkun and mitzvoth. Orchard of Delights was carefully noted with insights last thirty years of study into compiling this commentary, so the Torah portions nourish us perfectly, Rabbi’s finest illumination guide us as if a teacher is in our front, answering our questions. The comments of the Parashas are extensive, 8-10 pages, or sometimes may be longer. Rabbi Avraham Trugman explains the lessons of Bereishit, Shemot, Vayikra, Bamidbar, Devarim using the four levels of interpretation, known as PaRDeS (peshat, remez, derash, sod), however, the explanations brings an easy way to read details of the Torah’s narrative, even in sod system, which is Kabbalistic teaching for more advanced students, one less advanced must find this in a logical, comprehensible manner to help clarify difficult passages and concepts.

As mentioned by author, “Kabbalah and Chassidut explain that not only all the mitzvoth but every story, chapter, verse and letter in the Torah yields layer upon layer of symbolic and associative meanings. Throughout the book the term PaRDeS will apply to both the four specific levels and to the myriad possible interpretations implicit in the very notion of PaRDeS.”

My Rebbe –– By Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz (Book review)

Title: My Rebbe
Published by: Maggid/Shefa/Koren Publishers Jerusalem
Manufactured: Israel
Language: English
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 250  
Official Website: https://www.korenpub.com/

The biography is about the meeting of two minds, two extraordinary rabbis that fills the Jewish people and world with Divine Wisdom; we are talking about ‘tzaddik’ Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, Torah luminary of our time, of blessed memory, and his student is in action until today, the disciple Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz, well-known for hosting the monumental work of the Talmud, now all forty-four volumes have been completed and edited.

This is relatively a small book page numbers, a total of seventeen chapters, however, it is very big and rich in teachings and important information that summarizes all a brilliant life of the Rebbe, describing deep details, behavior, achievements what Menachem Mendel Schneerson (of blessed memory) did through Chabad-Lubavitch, a highly readable, well-argued yet honest portrayal of the Rebbe and his movement.

The topics have focused on the mission and Divine service, a vision of the work of Chabad-Lubavitch movement not only to understand what the Rebbe did, but also how we can understand and follow the straight ways, mitzvot.

Some words of Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz says about the Rebbe during "yechudut" with a Chassid:

"The Rebbe was not in a normal state of consciousness, but in a state of heightened consciousness. In the yechiduyot with him, it seemed that he was taken over by some sort of divine inspiration. Latent powers within his soul seemed to me - and to many, many others - to manifest themselves in these moments, and the words that issued from his mouth during the yechiduyot were at the very least, I and others believe, "hidden prophecy" - words emanating from a place beyond the Rebbe's conscious rational intellection, even if no explicitly prophetic vision was expressed. I reported in the early pages of this book my personal impression that the Rebbe was clearly a holy man, a tzaddik. I firmly believe that he possessed some sort of supernatural capability, and that he was in contact with another level of being - which I do not hesitate to call Divine."

Reading becomes very engaging; the Enigma of the Rebbe is available.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: The Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz is a teacher, philosopher, social critic and prolific author who have been hailed by Time Magazine as a "once-in-a-millennium scholar." 

He has devoted his life to making the Talmud accessible to all Jews. After a 45-year effort, Rabbi Steinsaltz completed a monumental elucidation of the entire Talmud in modern Hebrew, now used all over the world. Rabbi Steinsaltz then partnered with Koren Publishers Jerusalem to launch the Koren Talmud Bavli, a groundbreaking new edition of the Talmud which includes modern English translation, color illustrations and previously-censored passages.

Rabbi Steinsaltz has written 60 books and hundreds of articles, has established the Makor Chaim network of schools in Israel and the former Soviet Union, and holds several honorary degrees. He was born and lives in Jerusalem.

Reviewed by: Gilson Rodrigues de Arruda.

Prayer - attachment and devotion to God

Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum

Prayer is the root of all attachment and devotion to God. Prayer is the gate through which we approach God, and through prayer we may come to know Him.

Likutey Moharan II, 84

Prayer helps for everything

Prayer helps for everything. Even if a person is unable to study Torah, he will be able to do so if he prays for it. Everything good can be attained through prayer: Torah, devotion, holiness... everything good in all the worlds! Amen.

Likutey Moharan II, 111

“The world was created for me”

“Every person must say: The whole world was created for me” (Sanhedrin 37a).

If the world was created for me, it is therefore my constant obligation to examine and consider what is needed to repair the world and provide everyone’s needs, and to pray for them.

Likutey Moharan 1, 5

Be bold

The secret of prayer is to be bold. We must have the audacity to ask God for everything we need – even if we need to ask Him to work miracles for us. Only with boldness and daring can we stand up and pray to God.

When we consider God’s utter greatness – if we can form any conception of it at all – and think of our own smallness and worthlessness, how can we stand up and pray before Him? Even so, when we pray, we must cast our timidity aside and boldly ask God for everything we need. Only with bold assertiveness can we overcome the obstacles and barriers that stand in the way of our service of God.

Likutey Moharan I, 30

Never insist

Never insist on anything in your prayers. Ask for what you want as a request. If God grants it, He will grant it. And if not, then not!

Regardless of what you need – livelihood, children or anything else – it is forbidden to insist stubbornly that God should fulfil exactly what you are asking for, because this is like taking something by force: it is a kind of robbery. Just pray and entreat God for kindness and mercy.

Likutey Moharan I, 20 & 196

God’s kindness

God does us a great kindness by allowing us to use human terms when addressing Him in prayer and by answering our requests. If it were not for His kindness, it would be completely inappropriate to address Him with names, descriptions and praises consisting of mere words and letters. The fact that we are able to do so is all due to God’s kindness.

The realization que, although God is exalted beyond all human titles and praises, it permits us to address Him in human terms in order to bind ourselves to Him, shouldnt be sufficient to inspire us to pray with fervor and passion. This is a sign of His great love and tender mercy. We should therefore at least be sincere when we address Him this way, since it is only through His love and mercy that we are able to do so at all.

Likutey Moharan I, 15

You must force yourself to pray

Pray with great strength, putting all your power into the words of your prayers.

You must force yourself to pray. Some people say that a person should not force himself to pray, but the opposite is true. You must force yourself to put all your strength into your prayers.

True devotion is to bind the thought to the word, focusing your mind on the words of the prayers by listening and paying careful attention to what you are saying. This way your inner power will enter your prayers automatically.

All your inner power waits for the moment when it is drawn into words of holiness. When you focus your thoughts on what you are saying, this power rushes forth into the words. Simply pay attention to the words and your inner power will enter your prayers without your having to force it.

Sichot Haran #66

FROM: The Essential Rabbi Nachman, edited by Azamra – Avraham Greenbaum.

1. Teachings of the BA’AL SHEM TOV

1. Teachings of the BA’AL SHEM TOV

[Rav Yisrael Ben Eliezer, known to Chassimim as the “Holy Ba’al Shem Tov,” the founder and leader of the Chassidic Movement.]

SPARKS OF TESHUVAH

During Creation, taught the holy Ba’al Shem Tov, when there was a shattering of the vessels (that is, when the sefiros, the divine attributes, which are compared to vessels, had been created to channel the light of the Infinite One into the world, but they could not contain the light and so “shattered”), sparks of divine light were scattered and dispersed all over the world. These holy sparks are found everywhere and in everything, even in such mundane things as trees and stones, even in our actions and deeds ­­– and even in our sins and transgressions. Our mission in this world is to release these holy sparks by performing the will of the Almighty using those mundane, physical things.

What are the sparks found in a transgression – and how can they be elevated? They are the sparks of teshuvah, repentance. When a person repents of his transgressions, he elevates those sparks to the highest spiritual realms on High.

This is the deeper meaning of “Nosei avon – Forgiver of sin” (Shemos 34:7), which literally means “Carries up sin.” Through repentance, the sin is elevated and refined. Similary, thi sis what Kayin meant when he complained, “My sin is too great to ‘carry up’ (Bereishis 4:13) – he felt he was unable to elevate it to the upper realms above with true repentance.  TZAVAS HARIVASH

MASTERS OF RETURN

Two types of Tzaddikim are hinted at in the verse “A Tzaddik will blossom like a date palm and grow tall as a cedar” (Tehillim 92:13). Our Sages noted (Ta’anis 25b) that the date palm is a fruit bearing tree, whereas the cedar does not produce fruits. So, too, there are righteous people who are involved in bearing fruit – in influencing others to do teshuvah and helping to produce more Tzaddikim in this world – and there are Tzaddikim who are more focused on deveikus, on attaching themselves to Hashem, but they are not engaged in influencing others.

With this idea, we can shed a different light on our Sages’ teaching that “in the place where ba’alei teshuvah stand, even the righteous cannot stand” (Berachos 34b). Usually ba’al teshuvah is interpreted to mean “penitent”. But we can also say that a Tzaddik can be known as a “ba’al teshuvah” – a master of return. Such a Tzaddik is one who has turned many away from sin and returned them to the path of Hashem. It is because of this Tzaddik that there is teshuvah in the world. His reward is many times greater than that of the other kind of Tzaddik, who, righteous as he is, does not seek to “bear fruit” and guide others onto the path of teshuvah. TZAVAS HARIVASH

A LOST OPPORTUNITY

There is no one in this world, not even the most lowly and wicked, who does not at some time experience pangs of remorse.

Those who cast these thoughts aside instead of seizing the opportunity to repent are like someone who takes the keys to the king’s treasury that the king himself handed him as a gift and throws them away. He is throwing away the opportunity Hashem gave him for teshuvah. KESSER SHEM TOV

THE FOUR MINISTERS WHO STOLE THE KING’S RICHES

A Parable By The Ba’al Shem Tov:

There was once a king who appointed four ministers over the royal treasury. Too greedy to control their desire for all that fabulous wealth, they each stole from the treasury and fled.

The first minister was soon seized by feelings of remorse and returned on his own.

The second minister, too, began to rethink what he had done. He sought out the counsel of a wise man who spoke to his heart, saying, “What have you done and why?” The wise man convinced the minister to give back the treasure he had taken, and the second minister, too, returned.

The third minister came across a thief who was sentenced and punished harshly for his act of robbery. Witnessing the thief’s punishment, he was seized with great fear – what would happen to him if he, too, were caught? His fear compelled him to return.

The fourth minister fled and never returned.

The king confronted the ministers who had come back. The minister who returned of his own volition was rewarded for his loyalty and sincerity with even greater wealth than he had taken.

To the second minister the king gave nothing. “If you had never found the counsel of the wise man, you would have never come back,” he admonished.

Finally, the third minister, who had returned out of fear after seeing the harsh punishment that thieves suffered, the king appointed to oversee all the sentences meted out to sinners, so that he would continually witness their sufferings.

“And that minister”, concluded the Ba’al Shem Tov, “is I.” KESSER SHEM TOV

THE BA’AL TESHUVAH’S PRAYERS AND THE BA’AL SHEM TOV

Once, the holy Ba’al Shem Tov prayed Minchah much later than usual. When he concluded his prayers, he turned to those assembled and explained his puzzling behavior.

“There was a ba’al teshuvah who committed the worst sins in the world until he had come to transgress almost the entire Torah! Now he has repented, and today he prayed a sincere Minchah from the very recesses of his heart. His prayers were so heartfelt that he broke through all the gates of prayer in the heavens on High. I prayed at the same time that he prayed, trying to elevate my own prayers to join his so that they would rise to the heavens together. That was why I prayed so late today.” YECHI REUVEN, CHAGIGAH

PEEKING THROUGH THE CRACKS

The holy Ba’al Shem Tov taught regarding the verse “He gazes through the windows and peeks through the cracks” (Shir HaShirim 2:9) that Hashem is always peeking at us through the cracks. Even when someone wishes to commit a sin, Heaven forbid, and he hides, worried that at any moment someone might see him, that at any moment someone might catch him in the act – Hashem is watching.

In truth, this feeling that he is being watched comes from Hashem, whose supernal fear has constricted itself and is pecking at that person, peering through the cracks at him, to prevent him from sinning. It tries to stop him from committing the transgression by causing him to fear that someone is watching (as indeed Someone is). ME’OR EINAYIM, BEREISHIS

Returnity – The Way Back To Eternity [Selected Teachings From The Chassidic Masters On Teshuvah] by Rabbi Tal Moshe Zwecker.

Rabbi Tal Moshe Zwecker is a chassid and teacher in Ramat Beit Shemesh. Translator of Noam Elimelech and other classics of Chassidus in English.

R' Tal Moshe Zwecker
Director Machon Be'er Mayim Chaim Publishing
Chassidic Classics in the English Language
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