Teachings of RAV DOV BER, the MAGGID of MEZRITCH

6. Teachings of RAV DOV BER, the MAGGID of MEZRITCH

[The Ba’al Shem Tov’s successor, also known as “Der Groisser Maggid”, THE GREAT MAGGID]

HIDDEN WITHIN THE SIN

Just as olive oil is hidden within the olive, so is teshuvah hidden within the sin itself. This is because, although repentance is one of the 613 commandments, one cannot repent unless he has sinned in the first place. Teshuvah, the possibility of repentance, is already hidden in its initial state of potential within the sin itself. LIKUTEI AMARIM

DISGUISED AS A MITZVAH

There are two types of people. One is truly wicked; he recognizes his Master and nonetheless rebels against Him. The other has been so blinded by his evil inclination that he and others around him are fooled into thinking that what he is doing is really good. They believe that he is a righteous Tzaddik. He might even study Torah and pray and afflict himself, but since he lacks true sincerity and faith in Hashem, his whole path is crooked and false.

The difference between the two is that there is hope for the truly wicked one. If he will one day pay heed to his feelings of remorse and does teshuvah wholeheartedly and beseeches Hashem for guidance, he can be saved.

The same cannot be said of someone who is fooled into thinking himself a Tzaddik! How can such a person ever do teshuvah when he does not even know that he is mistaken in the first place?

This is why, when the yetzer hara tries to seduce us into sinning he tries to convince us that our misdeeds are actually mitzvos. This is a clever ploy ­­– it prevents us from doing teshuvah over what we have done, because we don’t think we have done anything that requires repentance! OHR TORAH

THE BROKEN EGG

There are two types of sin: when a person transgresses the word of G-d and he knows it, and when a person is so full of himself that he thinks he is truly serving Hashem and doing mitzvos like a Tzaddik. When the first type of person encounters thoughts of repentance and feelings of remorse, he simply thinks more highly of himself for feeling this way, and his vanity only women. This effectively prevents him from doing teshuvah.

It is like the woman who was holding an egg and boasted to all who would hear her how this little egg was going to make her rich. “This egg will make me a wealthy woman”, she declared.

“First I will hatch it and raise the click, and she will grow to be a chicken. Instead of slaughtering the hen, I will let her lay more eggs, and those eggs will also hatch, and soon I will have an entire coop of chickens laying eggs for me. I shall sell some of them and buy a calf and raise her to be a cow. Instead of slaughtering the cow, I will breed more calves until I have a herd, and then I will sell some of them and buy a field…”

As she went on and on, bragging and boasting, she dropped the egg and it broke, and so did all her foolish fantasies come to an end.

When we first begin to learn and we tell ourselves. “One day I will be a great scholar and a true chassid”, these vain fantasies are so full of arrogance that they cancel out any possibility of attaining true spiritual greatness from the outset. OHR TORAH; DARKEI CHAIM

HASHEM’S PRIDE IN THE BA’AL TESHUVAH

There was once a king who had two sons. One son was faithful and dutiful toward the king. He could always be found at his father’s side. The second son was wayward and reckless. He could happily go for long periods of time without seeing his father more than once a week.

Eventually he grew so distant and rebellious that he took off and ran away. He disregarded his father’s deep, abiding love for him. Instead he blatantly shook off his father’s rule and decided to follow his own heart’s desires. He took up company with a band of vagabonds, thieves, and cutthroats.

The king could have sent armed guards after his son to force his return, but instead he exercised great mercy and restraint. Rather than punish his son, he pined after him and sighed longingly, “Woe is he who has exiled himself from his home and birthplace, and woe is the son who is not found at his father’s table!”

One day the wayward son came to his senses and regretted his ways. He recalled his father’s love and compassion and decided to return home. He would prostrate himself before his father, the king and plead with him that he take him back.

And so he did. He prostrated himself and begged his father’s forgiveness. “Father”, he pleaded, “I have sinned and seen the error of my ways. Please forgive me!”.

When the king heard his son’s earnest entreaties, the king’s compassion was roused and he took his son back. Seeing that his son’s remorse was genuine filled him with joy. Finally he had his son back, the one whom he had almost given up any hope of ever seeing again. He took pride in his son for returning of his own good sense and was filled with love for him, for returning out of love for his father.

The king’s affection and pride in the wayward son who had returned surpassed even those feelings he had for his dutiful son. He took the dutiful son’s obedience for granted since it had never wavered, but the sudden upsurge of emotions that he felt at being reunited with his lost son was much greater.

The king forgave his son completely and absolved him of all wrongdoing. He raised his once – wayward son in stature and gave him a station above that of all his brothers.

This parable, explains the Maggid, illustrates how Hashem feels differently toward the ba’al teshuvah than for the Tzaddik who has never sinned. Like the wayward son of the king, a wicked sinner who once turned away from Hashem evokes great pride and joy when he finally returns. OHR TORAH

Taken from Returnity with permission of Rabbi Tal Moshe Zwecker.

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

Website: www.chassidusonline.com

Email: chassidusonline@gmail.com

Take it to Heart

In this amazing personal revelation, Rabbi Shalom Arush tells the moving and thought-provoking story of how he became a believing Jew, and his first steps to seeking Hashem…

*By: Rabbi Shalom Arush.

Translated by Rabbi Lazer Brody

Editor's note: The following is an amazing segment of the eulogy that Rav Shalom Arush said on the last day of shiva for Yosef Nechama's father, Shlomo ben Shmuel of blessed memory.

King Solomon, the wisest of all men, said, "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for that is the end of all man, and the living should take it to heart" (Ecclesiastes 7:2).

No one thinks about the meaning of life when he or she is having a good time, eating steaks and drinking beer. But, when we finally depart from someone close to us, we start thinking. It's therefore clear that a funeral is more thought-provoking than a party. Anyone with a brain in his head knows that the funeral is the eventual end of everyone's go-around in this world. Yet, people ignore the message that King Solomon implored, that "the living should take it to heart."

The message in that passage made me a believer.

Let me share a bit of my past with you. When I was in high school, I observed nothing. Although my parents were G-d-fearing Jews, when we came to Israel from Morocco, I attended secular schools and had very secular friends. By the time I went into the army, I was eating on Yom Kippur and eating bread on Pesach. That's how far away I was. Yet, Hashem blessed me with common sense and conviction. I didn't buckle to peer pressure when it came to things that were damaging to one's health and well-being like cigarettes and alcohol. I enjoyed my complete freedom, which included freedom from substances of any kind.

In the army, my buddies used to make fun of me because I shunned cigarettes during a time when almost everyone smoked. Yet, one winter when our base up in the mountains was snowed in, the supply trucks couldn't reach us. The base canteen ran out of cigarettes. My friends were going berserk without their nicotine fix; they were scavenging around the base looking for cigarette butts that they could squeeze a puff or two out of. I was the one who ended up laughing at them. They were acting like ridiculous addicts and I was enjoying my freedom.

When the Yom Kippur War of 1973 broke out, I was an airborne medic in a helicopter crew. 

Although our main task was rescuing downed pilots, we spent hours on end evacuating wounded and killed soldiers from combat areas. My unit consisted of three helicopter crews of four soldiers each. One would think that the constant contact with death would get us to start thinking, but not a single one of us made teshuva; we all remained very secular.

Partially as a psychological defense mechanism, we'd make sordid jokes with the dead. We'd say such things as, "Hey pal, don't you have the brains to stay alive?" Yes, it sounded sick, but it kept us from going crazy. We had a job to do and we couldn't afford to come apart at our emotional seams. Yet, I always thought the dying only pertained to the dead; I never related to death, nor did I stop and think that eventually, I'd be in the same boat.

After the war, when four of my fellow crewmen got killed in a helicopter crash during reserve duty in 1974, I still had my nonchalant attitude even during and after their funerals, all of which I attended in one day. Then, I ran across King Solomon's saying from Ecclesiastes, "The living should take it to heart." Those words entered my heart like arrows…

I had all kinds of aspirations. I aspired to be a great doctor and to earn a lot of money. I asked myself: "Suppose you succeed, Shalom, and you become a world-renowned physician; suppose you amass a huge fortune of money. Does it make sense to spend whatever time and effort required in toiling on this earth, when you end up buried six-feet under the ground? What're all the achievements worth when your body decomposes into the same exact elements as animal fertilizer? Is that all a person is worth?"

I had tons of questions. I didn't ask anyone about them, I only directed them to G-d, if He was really there. I genuinely and sincerely sought answers and He gave them to me. Sure, if the human is only a body, nothing makes sense when all one has to look forward to is a graveyard. Hashem made me aware of the soul, the spiritual aspect that is not only the true person but a tiny spark of the Almighty as well. Just as the Almighty is eternal, so is the soul. That's when life started making sense.

No one spoke to me and no one convinced me. It was King Solomon's passage in Ecclesiastes that triggered my in-depth thinking and made a believing Jew out of me. One thing that I was fortunate enough to learn at the outset was that if a person turns to Hashem in truth, Hashem answers all his questions. Since then, I've never stopped talking to Hashem, whenever I can, wherever I can, the more the better.

"The living should take it to heart." You can interpret this another way: if you don't take the message of death to heart and begin assessing what you're doing with your life, then you're already dead, for the living should take it to heart. Cherished brothers and sisters, start living!

Reissue with permission of BRESLEV.

http://www.breslev.co.il

How Do You Come to Love Hashem?

How Do You Come to Love Hashem?

The Chovos Halevovos says there's no love without fear. How can that be? The world thinks the contrary; that with fear there's no love. But it's just the opposite. Love of Hashem is built on awareness of Him. The way to acquire that is through fear. -- Asking Hashem

Living With Hashem by Simchas Hachaim Publishing 

Copyright © 2017 Simchas Hachaim Publishing, All rights reserved.

PART 2: Faith and Science

PART 2

Faith and Science

"The righteous shall live through his Emunah - faith!" (Habakuk 2:4)

"All Your commandments are Emunah - faith!" (Psalms 119:86)

"There are many searching questions about God. But it is only fitting and proper that this should be so. Indeed, such questions enhance the greatness of God and show His exaltedness. God is so great and exalted that He is beyond our ability to understand Him. It is obviously impossible for us, with our limited human intelligence, to understand His ways. Inevitably there are things that baffle us, and this is only fitting. If God's ways were in accordance with the limits of our meager understanding, there would be no difference between His understanding and ours, and this is inconceivable."

-- Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, Likutey Moharan II:52

"Science Works!"

The amazing achievements of modern science have given it unparalleled prestige in people's minds across the world. "Science works"!!!

Modern-day wonders like jet travel, space exploration, instant global communications, sophisticated medical procedures, nanotechnology and hosts of others were once inconceivable but today they are part of our everyday lives. They have been made possible only through careful research, experimentation and ingenious exploitation of the laws of nature.

In earlier times people could only hope and pray for divine help to provide them with their most basic food and other needs. But today many seem to believe that science and technology can accomplish almost anything, leaving no place for prayer, faith or belief in a Higher Power.

The truth is that there is no contradiction between science and faith in G-d. Many of the greatest scientists of all times came to the inescapable conclusion that behind the order, symmetry, harmony and beauty of the Universe lies the hand of G-d.

Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1726), one of the most influential scientists that ever lived, wrote:

"This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being....This Being governs all things, not as the soul of the world, but as Lord over all... Lord God or Universal Ruler" (Principia Mathematica Book III).

Albert Einstein (1879-1955), considered the outstanding scientific genius of the modern age, did not practice traditional religion yet he said:

"A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute the truly religious attitude; in this sense, and in this alone, I am a deeply religious man."

"My religiosity consists in a humble admiration of the infinitely superior spirit that reveals itself in the little that we, with our weak and transitory understanding, can comprehend of reality." (Albert Einstein, "The Human Side" Princeton University Press)

"The most beautiful and most profound experience is the sensation of the mystical. It is the sower of all true science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their primitive forms - this knowledge, this feeling is at the center of true religiousness." (Albert Einstein, "The Merging of Spirit and Science")

Numerous great rabbis throughout the generations were great scientists, such as Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (also known as RaMBaM or Maimonides, c. 1135-1204), the outstanding codifier of Torah law, who was also a philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, physician and pharmacologist whose medical works are studied until today. In recent times, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, (the Lubavitcher Rebbe 1902-1994), not only had mastery over the entire range of Torah literature but also gained university degrees in mathematics and engineering and astounded scientists, professional academics and medical doctors with his profound grasp of the sciences.

The War Against Faith

Starting in the west in the 1700's, a rapidly-expanding movement of thinkers, philosophers and scientists became so enthused with mankind's accelerating scientific knowledge and seeming control over nature that they convinced themselves the modern world has no more need of G-d.

Not only did they rebel against antiquated religious establishments that clung to outdated dogmas and superstitions while resisting all new approaches. In the name of "modernity" and "enlightenment", these self-proclaimed atheists rejected the very idea of G-d, embarking on an unremitting, aggressive war of refutation, mockery and scorn directed against any kind of traditional Faith. Their influence has today become dominant in schools and universities, popular culture and the mass media across much of the world.

In the words of the Bible depicting ancient civilizations that came to similar conclusions: "And they said to God: Turn away from us, we do not desire knowledge of Your ways!" (Job 21:14, see also Job 22:17)

It is true that modern science and technology have given us unparalleled knowledge and mastery over nature in many areas. Some claim that scientists will soon be able to bring the dead back to life! Yet even if this becomes possible, the conclusion that science therefore gives us control over the entire Universe simply defies logic and flies in the face of the realities of our existence.

It is mere arrogance to believe that because we know much, we can therefore know everything. This is not true science at all, because genuine science deals not in wild hypotheses but in meticulous enquiry and independently verifiable experimentation. True scientists have the humility to recognize that the more we know about the Universe, the more mysterious it becomes. The pseudo-scientific ideology that denies faith in a Higher Power is actually more prevalent among popular pundits whose scientific knowledge is second-hand than it is among those who are at the cutting edge of scientific research. This ideology is itself a kind of unprovable faith where humans serve and worship the works of their own hands.

The life-style to which this modern secular ideology leads is none other than the neo-pagan materialism rampant in the so-called "most advanced" and "developed" countries in the world today, where people spend their entire lives devoted to the pursuit of wealth, power, status, pleasure, excitement and every conceivable kind of physical gratification.

Evolution vs. Creationism

A leading example of such pseudo-science is the so-called "Theory of Evolution", which claims that humanity simply evolved gradually from more primitive life-forms through chance developmental "leaps" over the course of millions of years, and which today is accepted dogma in mainstream universities, colleges, schools, science textbooks and popular culture across much of the world. Accordingly, many people evidently believe that humans are nothing more than a highly-developed species of animals who are therefore justified in devoting their entire lives to material self-gratification.

None of the scientists who promote this theory were around all those millions of years ago. They are simply hypothesizing on the basis of limited and often dubious "evidence" with no decisive proofs. Nobody has yet found any explanation as to how the great genetic "leaps" which this theory postulates actually took place or why.

On the other hand, "Creationism" is the faith-based approach that even if the development of different species took place over lengthy timespans, it was directed by the unseen, unknown power that we call G-d. Creationism admits that our minds are too limited to comprehend how this took place and does not purport to explain it. Rather, Creationism gives a name to the mystery that any reasonable mind is compelled to acknowledge: that the unfathomably complex, subtle, diverse yet unified, harmonious, beautiful system we see before our eyes in this Universe cannot have come about by mere random chance. The name that Faith gives to the source of this mystery is G-d - by whatever name we call Him.

Limitations of Science

Science cannot explain how the Universe came into being or why, what is its purpose and what is the goal and purpose of our mortal human lives. As humans, we constantly set ourselves short- and long-term goals and strive to attain them. Since this is how our minds work, it is only natural that we ask what is the overall goal and purpose of life. Why is all this here?

Science has scored impressive successes in observing, measuring, understanding and exploiting the workings of the physical world. Yet science has no universally-accepted methods for defining, measuring, assessing and evaluating human goals and intentions. Science is at a loss to explain the complexity and subtlety of human motivation, ambition, vision, will-power, determination, self-discipline and the pursuit of excellence.

Technology is likewise value-neutral. Any technique can be used for good purposes or bad, but science and technology in themselves cannot evaluate the relative worth of these different purposes or prescribe how technology should be used. They cannot preach which values people should embrace or teach them what to pursue in life, and they cannot evaluate the relative merits of pursuing wealth, power, prestige, pleasure, physical gratification, entertainment, culture, intellectual stimulation, love, romance, family life or anything else.

Each person is entirely free to choose his or her own values. The challenge is to know what best to choose. Any self-proclaimed "scientist" who claims there is no purpose in life and that all that matters is self-gratification is in fact a pseudo-scientist who is using his "science" as a camouflage to justify a neo-pagan secular materialism.

Science can deal only with the observable material world, yet no honest, person can deny that the human mind has access to other, non-physical dimensions of existence which science cannot explain or measure. This is evident in the extensive documentation of paranormal phenomena, extra-sensory perception, telepathy, precognition, clinical death experiences and many more.

Did we exist before we were born, and if so, in what form? What will happen to us after we die? Why do we dream? Why do people have visions? Intuitions? Creative bursts in which they imagine and invent things never before thought of? What makes people want to go beyond normal human self-centeredness to help others, show kindness, demonstrate self-discipline, practice self-denial, take on obligations and duties of their own free will, develop themselves spiritually and seek prophecy, holy spirit and joy?

Science can often explain causes and effects and interrelationships but is unable to quantify purposeful action or evaluate between different purposes. Yet what distinguishes us as humans is precisely our free will and our ability to choose our own goals.

What is most important to us in our lives is what we want to attain and how we try to do so. If so, science has nothing to say in the most important area of our lives: purposeful action and where to direct it.

Emunah

"Taste and see that G-d is good, happy is the person that takes strength in Him!" (Psalms 34:9).

Answers to our questions about the purpose of our lives and where to direct them cannot be derived from science. They come into the realm of EMUNAH, a Hebrew word that is usually translated into English with the words FAITH or BELIEF, although these do not express the full, true meaning of EMUNAH.

EMUNAH derives from the Hebrew root AMEN with which we affirm what is firm, reliable, dependable and certain. EMUNAH is faith in what we believe to be ultimately true, certain and completely trustworthy. EMUNAH cannot be proven by logic or science. With EMUNAH we just feel and know the truth in our hearts and in the very depths of our being.

Many people seem to be born with an instinctive, basic faith in the Divine, but if it is not affirmed and strengthened by their upbringing and education, it can easily be weakened or even destroyed by surrounding influences and worldly temptations, leaving them with many doubts and questions.

EMUNAH is not based on science or logic though they may strengthen it. Nor is EMUNAH an irrational stab in the dark with no basis whatever. EMUNAH, the Faith of Israel, is based on our innate, inborn faith strengthened and developed through teachings and traditions that we have received from our parents, teachers and spiritual guides, who in turn received them from those who went before them going all the way back to the ancient prophets and sages.

The faith of Israel is enshrined in the written Torah - the Bible - and in the literature of the "Oral" Torah found in the Talmud, Midrash, Halachah, Kabbalah and Chassidut. With EMUNAH we accept and submit to the wisdom we have received from our sages and elders.

EMUNAH teaches us the true nature and purpose of world and our lives in it. EMUNAH is an attitude of mind that humbly admits that we have been placed in a world we did not create and that, whether we like it or not, we will have to leave here, and that our lives are surrounded by mysteries that are beyond our comprehension. Through EMUNAH we accept that despite its endless complexity, this Universe is not a random system with no meaning and purpose, but that all things happen for a purpose.

The essence of the faith of Israel is that despite the endless variety in the Creation, it is not a chance assembly of multiple powers but a single, unified Realm or Kingdom that is ruled and governed by a Ruler or King: the mysterious, unknown One that we call G-d. Since He is our King and Master, we are obliged to revere and obey him for our own good, because He is loving and compassionate and desires our good.

EMUNAH guides and teaches us about the meaning and purpose of our lives. With an attitude of faith, we can accept that even if we are unable to understand it, there must be some purpose in the "accidents" of birth, health or illness, intelligence or the lack of it, wealth or poverty, beauty or ugliness, happiness or pain and grief that define and influence the lives of different people.

With EMUNAH we can accept that within our limitations, we have been granted free will and room for maneuver, independent action and a degree of control over our lives, even though we cannot escape death. With faith, we can accept that despite our mortality, life is not futile because there is a meaning and purpose in our very struggles and efforts. With EMUNAH we believe that G-d hears our prayers and responds to them for good.

EMUNAH guides us how to evaluate the different and contradictory paths and goals we may choose in in this world and how to distinguish between what is truly good and what is actually evil, since this is not always obvious from surface appearances. EMUNAH enables to see the priceless value of life-paths that lead beyond human selfishness and greed to self-control, self-discipline, justice, kindness, charity and the pursuit of truth.

You cannot prove EMUNAH. You must take the "leap of faith" and try it, taste it!

COURSE SEGMENTS

Torah for the Nations: Judaism 101

Ongoing course on the basics of Torah faith and practice for the burgeoning numbers across Africa, Asia and many other places throughout the world who seek reliable information about authentic Judaism in order to make informed choices about their pathway as Jews or Noahides in the face of widespread confusion and disinformation.

JUDAISM 101 is not a Jewish conversion course but may serve as a guide for students, teachers, community leaders, prospective converts, returnees to the Torah and people of all faiths and backgrounds who seek true understanding of the mission of the People of Israel.

Elijah the Prophet said: I call heaven and earth to witness for me, whether it is a Jew or a gentile, a man or a woman, a slave or a maid-servant, everything depends on the person's deeds: according to what the person does, so Holy Spirit rests upon them."

(Tanna d'vei Eliyahu 9:1)

By: Azamra Institute, Israel.

Life Buoy

There are two types of sleep: a physical one and a spiritual one. If the former is salutary, the second is dangerous and we must make every effort to get out of it.

The path that leads to the spiritual revival begins with our obligation to find in ourselves positive aspects, even if we find ourselves in an extremely difficult situation. Giving some value to our own person and clinging to the slightest aspect of joy that we can still feel are the beginning of our salvation.

Conversely, when we perceive that we are very far from Hashem, this shows that we are immersed in a spiritual sleep. How could we be so distant if we were awake!

We must know that our faults and transgressions are not only acts that cause great sorrow for the Creator. When an individual does not respect the Divine Will, he creates real enemies who will then be the source of a significant number of his vicissitudes.

It is this reality that King David expressed when he said: "O Lord, how many have my adversaries become! Great men rise up against me."(Psalms 3: 2). This means that the adversaries of our souls - that is, our faults and transgressions - are the main reasons for our daily suffering.

When these evil forces are strengthening against us, we must realize that their goal is to destroy us, purely and simply, G-d forbid. In these situations, we imagine having no hope, no way out to regain the joy and pleasure of living. This is also the meaning of the words of King David when he said, "Many say concerning myself: "He has no salvation to expect from G-d "(id. 3: 3).

Overwhelmed on all sides, the feeling of losing balance and diving surrounds us. The buoy that could save us is slow to show up and we lack the strength to meet the challenge. Then, we want only one thing: to lay down and to fall asleep (id 3: 6). Once at this stage, we are in full spiritual sleep and the chances of awakening move away with great strides.

Yet, the truth is different. We are forbidden to despair and above all to despair of ourselves. We must rather strengthen ourselves in order to get out of this awakening and to open our eyes as soon as possible. To that end, the best weapon is probably to start finding good aspects in us, even though their number would be reduced.

By: Dovid-Yitzhok Trauttman.

(Inspired by "Likoutey Halakhot" by Rabbi Nathan of Breslev, Orach Chaim, Hilkoth Hachkamath Haboker, 1: 2)