The Mysterious Brackets

When the Ark went forth, Moses said, “Arise, O God, and scatter your enemies! Let your foes flee before You!” When it came to rest, he said, “Return, O God, the myriads of Israel’s thousands” – this week’s Torah portion (Numbers 10:35-36).

Whoever reads this chapter daily with proper intention will not be hurt, even when he may travel to a place of thieves, be at sea or in another dangerous location – Emek HaMelech Gate I section 59

Life can often be quite difficult. Who amongst us has not had to contend, at times, with the tentacles of darkness? Whether it be tangible enemies, driven by violence, hate, envy and greed, or psychological demons and fears; whether it be emotional losses and betrayals, or pain and suffering due to health and other frailties, or the basic dangers that lurk about, much about life can present quite a daunting challenge.

Indeed, the first and still the largest best-seller of the modern-day so-called self-help book genre, The Road Less Traveled, begins with the line: Life is difficult. And many people, who never got beyond the first line, cite these words as the reason that made this book so memorable for them. I guess life’s difficulties resonate with everyone and just confirming the fact goes a long way.

Long before The Road Less Traveled people knew life was difficult. Many, many books over the ages have documented the fact, beginning with the Bible (which actually remains the largest best-seller of all time, to the point that they don’t even count it in the charts; but that’s a story for another time).

It must be stated that there is also much beauty in life. Just witness the delight and joy of newlyweds or new parents. We all hopefully have many radiant experiences – of love and splendor, both in our personal and social lives, moments of peace and kindness, encounters with nobility or the calm of a simple walk in nature. Yet, despite the beauty, without invalidating it, the pains of life remain a haunting force, that all too often overwhelms us.

What can we do about that? Denial and sticking one’s head in sand hoping for the best is not the option of the wise. Faith and support of others are surely excellent tools to combat adversity. But are there measures we can take to minimize (or even prevent) suffering, are there actions we can do to counter the forces of darkness?

In an idiosyncratic section consisting of two verses, this week’s Torah portion provides us with a relevant answer and a practical approach to facing hardships.

As the Jews began their long and arduous journey through the harsh Sinai wilderness, a “great, terrifying desert, where there were snakes, vipers, scorpions and thirst, with no water” (Deuteronomy 8:15), they were led by the Holy Ark which contained the Torah within (the Tablets, both the second complete ones and the first broken ones).

In dramatic fashion, the Torah describes the scene of this journey:

When the Ark went forth, Moses said, “Arise, O God, and scatter your enemies! Let your foes flee before You!” When it came to rest, he said, “Return, O God, the myriads of Israel’s thousands” (Numbers 10:35-36).

The power of these two verses is captured by the 17^th century Kabbalist, Rabbi Naftali Hertz Bachrach of Frankfurt. In his classic work, Emek HaMelech, he writes:

Whoever reads this chapter daily with proper intention will not be hurt, even when he may travel to a place of thieves, at sea or in another dangerous location.

These two verses capture the challenging story of our lives – and we actually say these verses till this day every time the Torah is taken out from the synagogue Ark: Despite life’s hardships, we do not come unarmed. The Holy Ark leads the way, and in its wake “enemies” are scattered and “foes” flee. The Torah – called “Torah of life” and the “Torah of light” – illuminates the dark and lonely paths of existence and empowers us with direction, fortitude and commitment to make it through the most challenging experiences of life.

Torah is not just a book or a Bible. It is a blueprint. A spiritual guide. Just as every machine comes with an operator’s manual, Torah is life’s operator’s manual, offering us the inner workings of existence and of ourselves. Every character, every story, every episode relates another aspect of your spiritual DNA, teaching you what “makes you tick” and the power of your soul; a manual that instructs us as to which paths will make our “machine” work best and which ones will not.

This interpretation of Torah may seem new to some. Our schools, after all, do not teach us that Torah is a spiritual blueprint (only written in cryptic form and “speaking in the language of man’). But frankly, without seeing Torah as telling our spiritual story, what relevance can an ancient text, relating events that happened in a different time and place, have to our lives today?

Yes, life presents many difficulties, often harsh ones. But the most dangerous of them all is ignorance, and the confusion and demoralization it creates. Look at any suffering and you will see that often the worst part of it is the sense of loneliness and despair it creates, the plaguing doubts whether a remedy can be found, the agonizing over an unknown future, the hopelessness of it all. Torah illuminates the inner path, and as such may not always take away the pain, but allows us to see beyond it, helping us transcend it, infusing with hope and fortitude to fight on. And despite the questions, it empowers us to forge ahead and thrive, not just survive. This is the power and blessing of a spiritual blueprint – the power of faith, but faith that comes together with a guide that directs our actions.

The ultimate way to protect against any adversary is to come armed with spiritual strength and resilience. By holding onto and following the lead of the Ark – to the point that we actually declare this commitment by stating the words “when the Ark went forth…” – we march not alone, but with the enormous might of the timeless Torah, which has carried us for over three millennia, through the worst and best of times.

“When you are bound above,” our masters say, “you will not fall below.”

*  *  *

If you wish you can stop reading here (not that you need my permission). Especially if your attention span has been taxed.

But if you read on you will find that the story is far more interesting and far-reaching.

The story behind the story of fortitude in the face of adversity, the power behind the power of the Torah, can be appreciated by a rare anomaly, occurring only once in the entire Torah: The two verses in this week’s chapter are preceded and followed by two inverted Hebrew letters Nun, like this [  ], enclosing this section, as it were, between two brackets, separating them from the verses before and after.

Explains the Talmud: For this section G-d placed symbols above and below… because it ranks as a significant book unto itself (Talmud, Shabbat 115b).

[In effect, this renders the Torah into seven books. 1) Genesis, 2) Exodus, 3) Leviticus. 4) The beginning of the book of Numbers up to these two verses, 5) These two verses, 6) The rest of the book of Numbers, and 7) Deuteronomy].

But what is the deeper meaning and significance of these brackets? Why would two verses be singled out to create an entire new book of Torah?

The mystics offer a fascinating explanation in the meaning of these brackets – as elucidated in a discourse which was delivered by the Rebbe Rashab 100 years ago this week (1909)*:

The two brackets combined create an image of a square. This square symbolizes the “square garment” which explains the mystery of existence.

In the words of the above-cited Kabbalistic work, Emek Hamelech:

This garment carries the secret of the square and closed mem [], because the garment is square, which then divides into two and becomes two nuns, and these are the two nuns written in the chapter “when the ark went forth…,” which is shaped like an open inverted nun like this [ ]…

This constitutes a great secret: Whoever reads this chapter daily with kavanah (proper intention) will not be hurt, even when he may travel to a place of thieves, be at sea or in another dangerous location. As long as he keeps in mind the two-abovementioned nuns that hint to the two halves of the garment. This is the secret of Moses’ prayer, “when the Ark went forth, Moses said, “Arise, O God, and scatter your enemies. Let your foes flee before You,” and also the Rashbi said that “taking out the Torah scroll in public opens up the gates of compassion, which is why we say this prayer when the ark is opened… (Emek HaMelech Gate I section 59. See also Mikdash Melech, Zohar I 15a).

Picture a garment – a beautiful tapestry – both concealing and revealing. Concealing and revealing something very intimate and profound beneath. This “garment” is made up of two sections, one translucent, the other opaque. Existence hangs in the balance.

Kabbalists use the example of this square garment to explain the bridge between our perception of reality and the deeper higher reality that lies behind the curtain.

At times we all sense something “behind the scenes” – a force above and beyond our own existence. But true reality is like a brilliant light, an unbridled flow of energy. Unshielded we would be blinded by the light, overwhelmed by the energy force, not merely unable to see, but unable to be. Our independent existence could not survive, our independent sense of self would cease to exist were we submerged in the boundless energy of higher reality.

Consciousness, therefore, is actually a state of concealment. Our sense of existence – the feeling that “I am” – is possible only due to shrouded energy. Paradoxically, true awareness is not what we fathom, but that which we don’t fathom; to be awake means to be aware that we are asleep. True awareness is when we are aware of something beyond our awareness.

Yet, we are not trapped in an airtight prison. A delicate drape conceals the higher reality. As you look at the garment you sense that it is beckoning you while protecting you, drawing you closer while keeping you away. But when you look closely, you can discern the fine fibers, threads and filaments engraved in the cloth, which in turn allow you to sense the powerful rumblings behind the screen.

Our life’s work on this side of the “curtain” is to channel and draw into our beings and our environments the light and energy from behind the curtain, in effect reconnecting both sides of the curtain.

This “dressing room” is the basis of an entire mystical treatise, which explains the magnitude of the “significant book onto itself” of the two verses in our chapter.

With its own elegant brand of poetry, the mystics paint a graceful portrait – call it mystical poetry – that allows us to envision our limited perception juxtaposed against the backdrop of a higher reality, with an opaque curtain in between.

With this imagery we return to the two-bracketed verses:

The two verses, “when the ark went forth…” framed by the two nuns, are brackets, which together create a square [] (the closed mem in the Hebrew alphabet). This square forms a “significant book onto itself,” and this “book” tells the story of our lives, as captured in the portrait of the garment that both conceals and reveals the light beyond.

As the Midrash explains it: From whence was light created? G-d wrapped Himself in a white tallit (a shawl) and he shone forth from one end of the world to the next, as it says (Psalms 104:2) You are clothed with light like a robe (Midrash, Shemos Rabba 50:1).

Why the wonder about the creation of light more than all other creations? Because light reflects and is drawn to the Divine, thus begging the question, how can light be drawn down into creation when its personality is to ascend upward, like a flame that expires without a grounding wick? The answer is that the Divine “dresses up” in the garment of light, thus allowing the light to be drawn down and contained in our finite existence.

The garment of light is the Torah, which manifests and “clothes” the Divine in ways that can be contained by our limited beings (see Tanya ch. 52). When you read the verse carefully, “You are clothed with light like a robe,” two dimensions are described: 1) The Divine is clothed with light, and this is 2) like a robe.

These refer to two dimensions in Torah, the revealed and the esoteric, the outer and the inner, which correspond to the two sections of the “garment,” the two letters nun. Like any effective intermediary, the garment must have an element of the source it is emanating and transmitting – the light, and an element that allows the light to be contained by the recipient – the robe.

The “outer” revealed dimension of Torah teaches us the mechanics and the rules, the do’s and don’ts, of life. The “inner” hidden dimension lifts us to the light. The outer is finite; the inner infinite. Both are necessary. One provides revelation and transcendence, the other concealment and grounding. Without the inner we can succumb to the trappings of material life and its seductive powers. The mechanics alone are not always immune to self-interest. Without the outer our existence would be annihilated in face of the blinding light. The outer manifests and contains Torah-light in the defined structure and boundaries of existence. The challenge is not to escape life and its difficulties, not to deny the harsh wilderness, but to enter it, to tame, sublimate and refine the arid desert and its toxicity.

This is the deeper significance of the two verses – the book of its own – framed by the two nuns: These two verses encompass the central theme of the entire Torah, and are thus framed like a “square garment,” which can also be seen as a mini Torah scroll, within which is etched the two letters nun, corresponding to the two dimensions in Torah, the inner and outer, “light” and “robe,” each containing 50 (nun) gates of understanding:

“When the Ark will travel” refers to the light’s journey to Earth. The ark in Hebrew is “ohron,” which consists of the letters ohr (light) and nun. Its journey through the wilderness reflects the journey of each of our lives through this dark universe, each of us with our set of particular challenges. [These two verses also consist of 85 letters, the gematria of “ha’tevah,” the Hebrew for nature, signifying that Torah refines the nature of existence].

But we come well prepared to face all adversaries. With the light of the ark leading the way, we have the power to “scatter” all enemies” and cause all foes to flee: Armed with both “brackets” (the two letters nun) we are able to be both immersed in this world and remain above it, immunizing us and blunting the stark realities of life on Earth.

And we recite these verses each time we open the ark, telling us that at all times, even today, the journey of the Ark leads our way and protects us from harm.

To survive and grow in our harsh world we need two things: revelation and concealment. And this is what this “significant book” offers us: Framed by two nuns the book is a “square garment” that reveals as it conceals the higher light.

One of many practical applications of this message is in the way it affects our attitudes and relationships: How should we tackle a difficult situation or person? Should we ignore it or fight it? When faced with something that reflects the dark side of life, a painful experience or a person resistant to love, should we run the other way or fight and overwhelm the adversary? When our child has done a serious wrong, do you excuse or scold the child?

The bracketed “book” teaches us a third path: You have the power to look head-on at the challenge, without fear or retreat, and then find a way to present a loving message in ways that the child can contain.

The same with the other situations: We were sent – purposefully sent – on a journey to a wilderness, a world with many difficulties, precisely for the purpose of sublimating and refining this hostile environment, for which we were given all the necessary tools. A challenge need not cause us to go from one extreme to the next, escapism or war.

Many protective measures and defensive strategies have been posited over the ages to shield us from harm. The Torah’s approach is that the best defense is offense – wise offense. Preventive rather than protective measures, is the way that this week’s chapter teaches us the secret of the “garment” approach: Conceal while you reveal. Craft solutions in shapes and forms that can be contained. And above all, follow and connect to a force beyond our own resources, and draw that into your life, clothe and integrate the light into your structures.

When you stay the course, led by the Ark, surrounded by its brackets, nothing can harm you.

*) The discourse that begins Vayehi Binsoyah Ha’Aron 5669. Based on the discourse with the same name in Ohr HaTorah BeHaalotcha p. 371. See also Vayehi Binsoyah Ha’Aron 5699.,

As we come close to concluding the 49 days of counting the Omer, we begin the fourth book of the Torah, the Book of Numbers, or the Book of Counting (Talmud Sotah 36b).

Why is an entire book titled “Numbers?” Technically, because this book begins with the census of the Jewish people, and the later in the same book another census is taken (Numbers 26). But this only carries over the question to the actual census: Why in the first place is it so important to count the people, especially considering that G-d in His all encompassing knowledge knows their precise number?!

Indeed, the Midrash tells us that there are a total of ten censuses. Once when they went down to Egypt (Genesis 46). A second time when they came out (Exodus 12:37). A third time after the incident of the Golden Calf (30:12). Twice in the Book of Numbers: once in formation of the camps, and once in connection with the division of the land. Twice in the days of Saul (Samuel I 11:8; 15:4). The eighth time in the days of David (Samuel II 24:9). The ninth time in the days of Ezra (Ezra 2:64; Nehemiah 7:66). The tenth time will be in the future era of Moshiach, when “The flocks shall again pass under the hands of Him that counts them” (Jeremiah 33:13).

What is the great significance of counting the people? So important that a census was taken nine times in history – and one more will be taken in Messianic times; so important that an entire book of Torah is named “Numbers?”

Rashi, the classic Biblical commentator, says:

“Because the people were dear to G-d, He counts them all the time. He counted them when they left Egypt. He counted them after they fell in the wake of the sin of the Golden Calf, to know the number of the survivors. And He counted them when He came to manifest His presence within them: on the first of Nissan the Sanctuary was erected, and [one month later] on the first of Iyar He counted them.”

Ramban (Nachmanides) adds that the Hebrew word for “count”, pakod, also means to “remember” and “be concerned with.”

Counting people is much more than a statistical census. It is about the people being cherished, recognized and cared about. When parents travel with their children, especially in foreign territories, they keep counting the children to make sure no one is lost.

This counting is not a mere technicality. It is about the inherent value we place in the person we count.

Psychologically speaking, the single biggest question we ask ourselves is: Do I matter? Do I truly matter? Amidst the billions of people in the world, and the myriad of different species and forms of life, let alone the trillions upon trillions of atoms and cells – one cannot help but wonder: Do I count? Does it make any real difference whether I exist or not?

Subjectively, of course each of us has our value to the people around us. And we make the best with what we have. And our egos of course work overtime to make us feel that we are self-important. But in the grand scheme of things is each one of us truly indispensable?

No small question. Because if you are dispensable, how invested will you be in your choices after all? If I don’t matter, then everything I do doesn’t matter.

Comes the book of Numbers and tells us: G-d counts each one of us. The greatest and the smallest are not more and not less than one unit. Because no one is optional, no one is dispensable.

You and you and you and you – and every individual on this earth – has a unique mission, an essential contribution to make that no one – NO ONE – else can accomplish but you!

And this inherent value is not just when you actually do the counting, but “all the time,” as Rashi says: “It validates you.”

Why then was the census only of those “From the age of twenty and upward?” Because this is the age, as the verse continues to explain, of “all who are fit to serve in the army.”

Every individual counts from the moment of birth throughout our entire lives (and beyond). But when individual indispensability is challenged and questioned, then it is especially necessary to emphasize and focus the power of each person’s inherent value.

A child born to healthy parents, nurtured and protected is constantly made to feel how he or she matters. Loving parents – the way it was meant to be – imbue their child with validation, confidence and a sense of absolute worth.

When do we need to be reminded – and empowered – that each of us is indispensable, when we go out into the “battlefield” of life, where people often live by the cruel “rule” of “survival of the fittest.” In a hostile environment, in an insecure world – where people threaten and feel threatened by each other – then we need to count each individual, essentially declaring: Don’t succumb to your depersonalization. You matter, you count, you are absolutely necessary.

This also explains why the census was taken only nine times throughout history and will be taken a tenth time in the future. If counting is vital to human value, why not count them “all the time” literally? Because during these ten times the essential indispensability of individuals was challenged – and they reflect the ten different universal situations when human worth is questioned – and that’s when we need the special emphasis of the census. But these countings infuse us with the constant feeling of importance, as if we are being counted “all the time.”

The vital message of individual worth – the indispensability of each of one us – is relevant today more than ever. Paradoxically, the more the world progresses technologically, the more depersonalized life seems to be. In this age of mass production, statistics and communications at the speed of light, our individual contribution can often get lost in the fast shuffle.

People today are often valued not for who they truly are – and for their unique contributions in life – but for their buying power, performance, looks, youth, and other superficial elements, rendering us into commodities rather than souls. Just read any marketing or advertising plan, how people are broken down into demographics that have little or nothing to do with their individual indispensable mission in life.

No wonder so many of us feel, despite all our comforts and high standards of living, insignificant. And nowhere is this more keenly felt than in the “battlefield” of the marketplace.

Indeed, the very nature of materialism can be seen as inherently impersonal. Can two bodies with no soul connect? Unless we find a deeper common denominator, one piece of matter will have no relationship with another except for selfish gain.

Add into the equation the dysfunctionality of our times. How many people today grew up in homes where not only were they not nurtured (which in itself is the greatest invalidation), but received the continuous message (in words, in absenteeism, or in outright abuse): “You don’t matter; your feelings don’t matter; you are only here to serve my needs; you are worthless; etc. etc.” – all the devastating forms of annihilating human dignity, of no less an innocent, vulnerable child…

[I’ll never forget the heart-wrenching letter I received from a woman describing her childhood trauma, and how she learned to discover that she did matter after all. Here is the text of the letter].

Thus we are told: Each of you entering into the “battle” of life is counted – counted as a unique individual. Regardless who you are, what you have accomplished, what class you occupy on the social scale, how much equity you have built up; regardless of what others think of you and what you think of yourself – you are absolutely significant.

And this count is “all the time.” The actual count is not all the time, but its effect is perpetual: It imbues you with a constant sense of value and self-worth; of always knowing that you are needed.

That is the message of the Book of Numbers: Birth is G-d saying that you matter.

Yes indeed, you matter and you are needed.

The Omer and Moshiach

And you shall count for yourselves… from the day on which you bring the Omer offering, seven complete weeks shall there be; until the morrow of the seventh week you shall count fifty days, and you shall proclaim that very day a holy festival – this week’s Torah portion (Leviticus 23:15)

A short Omer story:

I heard a story from my grandfather (Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi) that the holy R’ Avrohom (the son of the Maggid of Mezeritch) would direct his kavanah (intention) in the days of the Omer on Moshiach. Once he (someone?) was sick, and R’ Avrohom sent him to immerse in a mikveh and focus his intention on the corresponding “sefirah” of that day.

What is the connection between the two? Moshiach represents the time when the world will be cleansed from evil and will be “filled with Divine knowledge,” and this is the work we do in the days of the Omer: To refine ourselves and the world. It is thus fitting that when we do this work of refinement during the days of the Omer we should focus our attention on the full realization of this refinement: Moshiach.*

 The Tzemach Tzedek (Biurei haZohar vol. 2 p. 945)

With all this talk about the global economic crisis and our other current challenges, things can get quite depressing. People everywhere, and our institutions in particular – the ones in which we placed our trust – have been, shall we say, humbled. Or worse: shattered.

Our leaders are scrambling to find solutions, mostly short-term, to stem the tide and stop the bleeding, so that we can then think of restoring and rebuilding the crippled infrastructures.

And where does that leave most of us today? Cowering in fear and insecurity of an unstable present and an uncertain future. Truth be told, there are many people looking for opportunities and surely finding some; there are those that have put away for a “rainy day” and are cruising along. But overall, a cloud of doom and gloom hangs over us, and affects anyone and everyone, some in very financial and tangible ways, and all others in psychological ways. Demoralization is felt in almost every circle.

So when I tell one of our supporters these days: “Now is the time to create global change; Now we have an opportunity, when our “systems” have failed us, to introduce a new spiritual consciousness and help create a new “world order”– my friend nervously laughs and shrugs me off: “No, now is a time to hunker down, lick our wounds and wait until the storm passes.”

When I hear such resignation, all my antennae go up. Everything I was ever taught, all my training, causes my juices to begin flowing and my instincts to sharpen up, telling me that this attitude is wrong. Absolutely wrong. We are not victims of circumstance. We create circumstances. No big feat to be riding high when everything is going smoothly and the economy is humming along. The challenge is can you rise to the occasion when things are not going that well and people are fearful and weak?

This is the deeper meaning of Counting the Omer: That we have the power to change ourselves and the world. That we have the ability to refine the unrefined and transform, the selfish into the selfless. That we can bring on a better world – a Messianic world, where people are driven not by self-interest and material gain, but by sublime and spiritual goals. A world where materialism is not an end in itself but a means to Divine knowledge – a world “filled with Divine knowledge as the waters cover the sea.”

And we therefore focus our refinement work in these days of the Omer on the ultimate refinement of the Messianic age.

Personal and global refinement may all sound so beautiful and glorious. In fact, however, these concepts are actually quite revolutionary.  Let us study them a bit in more depth.

The power to change yourself; the power to change the world. These are not small statements. A scientific argument can be made that we are all hard-wired creatures, following the cardinal rule of “survival of the fittest.” Yes, personal refinement may be a very noble ideal, but humans like all animals on this earth are guided by self-preservation and self- interest. If it serves their interests they can be very kind and sensitive; but if it doesn’t, all these aspirations are nothing more than highfalutin flights of fancy…

History is a brutal testament to the capacity of people annihilating each other. And we need not look far: In our own, so-called progressive times, we see the far-reaching effects of greed and self-interest on our economy and institutions.

To claim, therefore, that we can refine our emotions and perfect our personalities, can be simply dismissed as fantasy.

And yet, that is exactly what Judaism expects and demands of us: To go against the “natural” tide of self-worship and yes, refine our very personalities. You were born with certain personality traits and genetic tendencies – now go and work hard to discipline them, refine them, channel them, direct them to higher ends. You came to earth in a certain package; you have the ability – and responsibility – to perfect the package. Like raw material, we can polish, shine and transform the raw matter into a jewel. If you have a bad habit you can break it. If you have an evil streak, you can change it. Bad can become good. If you are good you can become better. And when you become better, you can become even better than that.

Yes, my friends, that is exactly what we are capable of. Being created in the Divine Image gives us abilities and resources far beyond the ones we can ever imagine.

The days of the Omer, are thus, days of majesty – a time when we celebrate the power of mortals to become something greater than their pre-destined natures.

V’sefartem lochem, and you shall count for yourselves: Sefirah (count) in Hebrew also means to relate, to tell a story. It also means to shine and illuminate (like the sapphire). The additional word lochem, which seems superfluous (what would be missing without this word?), emphasizes the story and the illumination is to be directed “to yourselves,” in your material world and selfish involvements, and it is this world of (“your selves”) – your selfish emotions, drives and desires – which you must refine.

V’sefartem lochem, thus, means: You shall tell a story to your selves, you shall illuminate to your selves – to your personalities – your ability to change; to refine and transform you very characters. This is a time when we must rise to towering heights of character development and personality refinement. A period when we can and ought to change ourselves for the better. And in doing so, we tell the illuminating story, thereby illuminating a dark work around us; we demonstrate the power of the Divine in this world; the power to take a raw human being and transform him/her into a beacon of compassion and love.

This is the ultimate meaning of Moshiach – and the reason why people have always aspired to the Messianic age: It captures the dreams and highest aspirations of human beings to change themselves and the world for the better. This dream has taken on many shapes in history – many isms – but they all boil down to the firm belief that we can create a better world.

Counter to some cold scientific arguments, counter to the pessimism of some cynics, counter to the general resignation that many naturally gravitate to (especially in times of crisis and uncertainty) – we humans also have the capacity to dream and aspire to a more prefect universe. And it is this deep-rooted feeling that has actually driven human beings to improve their lives, through medicine, technology and above all (and the most difficult of them all) – in the moral standards of ourselves and our neighbors.

In the days of the Omer, we therefore concentrate and focus on Moshiach – the power to refine and transform the world into a Divine home, “filled with Divine knowledge as the waters cover the sea.”

So, in addition to the focus each day on refining the respective emotion of the day, it is also beneficial to step back and concentrate on the overarching theme of this forty-nine day Omer counting period – how our work in personal refinement is infused with the overall Messianic refinement of the universe.

Take pride that you have chosen a path – the one less traveled – of believing and working on improving your character and bettering the world around you. Feel proud that you have chosen a life of vision where everything is possible.

Stand tall with the knowledge that your personal choices in how you will behave today move the universe to a better place; a step closer to Moshiach.

Go in and change yourself.

Go out and change the world!

——-

* Though the Tzemach Tzedek doesn’t specifically spell it out, it appears that this also explains the connection with healing illness through the cleansing of the mikveh and concentrating on the corresponding day of the Omer.

“You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your G-d, am holy.”

This opening verse in this week’s Torah portion contains some of the most profound lessons in life.

It dispels fundamental myths about G-d.

It teaches us the meaning of true love.

It uncovers our enormous potential.

It empowers and inspires us to change the world.

The verse is simple, deceptively simple: “You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your G-d, am holy.” But this simple statement carries layers of meaning – as illuminated by a strange Midrash.

The Midrash states: When the verse commands us “be holy” we may think that we humans can be as holy as G-d Himself. Therefore the verse qualifies “for I, the Lord your G-d am holy” – “My (G-d’s) holiness is above (i.e. greater than) your (human) holiness.”

What is the Midrash trying to tell us? Why in the first place would we consider that humans can be as holy as G-d? And what is the point of emphasizing here that we are not as holy? The verse is telling us to emulate G-d’s holiness and sanctify our lives. In this uplifting and motivational context what benefit is it to remind us that we cannot be as holy as G-d – the exact opposite intention of the verse that compares our holiness to the Divine!

These and other questions compel Chassidic masters to interpret the Midrash in a novel way, offering us a revolutionary way to look at ourselves:

The Midrash is not to be read as a question and answer but rather as a statement of fact: “you shall be holy” can actually be equated with G-d’s holiness. And the power to achieve this level of sanctity is (as the verse continues) “for I, the Lord your G-s, am holy” and have the power to impart My holiness to you humans.

The reason for this is – and here is the real twist – because “My holiness above is (derived) from your holiness,” when we humans sanctify our lives we sanctify G-d.

Not only can we be as holy as G-d, but we actually cause G-d’s holiness!

The implications of this statement are fascinating – and far-reaching.

Our conventional view about the human relationship with G-d is a linear one: G-d is the Creator and we are the creatures. G-d is the “all powerful Father in heaven” and we are mere mortals on Earth. G-d gives and we receive. We are subjects; G-d is King.

In truth however our relationship with G-d is far more complex. What point is there to create humans as dependent creatures that only take? Is G-d “insecure” that He needs subjects to serve Him! [I am using the male “He” simply for convenience; G-d is neither He nor She].

G-d created the human being in the “Divine Image” as an equal “partner” in creation. G-d chose to have a full relationship with us – one of “give and take.” We contribute as much and even more than we receive.

Indeed, the sages tell us that the good deeds of the righteous are greater than G-d’s creation of heaven and earth. The reason: G-d created matter from spirit, and we create spirit from matter.

Yes, G-d chose to be “vulnerable” and to be “dependent” on us. We have the power to sanctify or desecrate G-d in this universe. “Love G-d” is interpreted as meaning “make G-d beloved to others.” We humans are representatives of G-d on Earth. As G-d’s children, our behavior either makes G-d look good or bad. When we behave in an exemplary way, we make G-d beloved to all those that look at us – and the Divine Image within us.

This approach challenges the premise that many people have of religion and G-d. We and G-d are in this together as partners in the unfolding drama of life. We need each other; G-d chose to need us and bound Himself to our behavior: We can deny G-d’s existence and defile His investment in us; or we can illuminate our environment with the Divine.

This is the essence of the most powerful of all miztvot: The mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem – sanctifying G-d. And its converse – the grave sin of desecrating G-d.

The six million killed in the Holocaust – and all those that were ever killed simply for their faith – are called “kedoshim” (as in the name of this chapter), the sanctified. By dying in the name of G-d they sanctify G-d – in direct disproportion to G-d’s desecration at the hands of the barbarians.

As one Holocaust victim told his Nazi tormentor just before the beast put him to death: “I thank G-d for not creating me like you”…

*

So here are the some of the powerful messages in the opening verse: “You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your G-d, am holy.”

1. G-d as a powerful “grandfather figure” in heaven waiting to “strike us with lightning” and we as helpless subjects is nothing more than a myth. G-d does not exist in one place and we humans in another; we are bound together in a relationship, in a symbiotic and synergetic partnership. G-d is the “investor” and each of us is the “producer,” developing product from the resources with which we are blessed.

We are dependent on G-d for life, health and all blessings. G-d’s conscious presence and sanctity in the universe is dependent (kavyochol) on us. We have the power to sanctify G-d and make Him beloved among people, or tragically the opposite.

2. This complex relationship/partnership with G-d is the optimal model for true love. True love is embracing vulnerability. It is not about control, but about complementation – binding yourself with a partner, in a mutually dependent union.

By no means does this compromise the independence of each partner; on the contrary: healthy vulnerability enhances independence. The fact that G-d allows himself to be “vulnerable” and allows us the power to sanctify or desecrate His presence is a sign of G-d’s absolute independence and confidence that His gamble will “pay off” and that the Divine image in us will prevail.

Protecting oneself under the guise of “invulnerability” and lack of dependence on others is more weakness than strength. The ultimate statement of strength in love is that you have the power to be vulnerable – and celebrate your vulnerability – with the confidence and trust in your partner.

Only then do we have the ability to release all our potential. As long as we remain afraid to trust, we also remain locked and defined by nothing more than our own resources.

3. And what is our potential? We have the power to be like G-d! By imparting His holiness to us, G-d endowed us with the ability to be Divine. Moreover, the sanctity above is dependent on us. We control the fate of G-d ‘s presence in life.

“Be Holy” tells us about our infinite potential. We have the power not merely to be good human beings and make our world a better place – to tinker with the temporary and improve it a bit. We actually have the capacity to sanctify G-d; to make the mortal immortal and change the world forever.

How you behave in any given moment can either beautify or defile not only the universe but G-d!

We have unfortunately seen too many examples of people desecrating G-dliness, and its unfortunate consequences. Indeed, one of the formidable obstacles today in discussing spiritual ideals is due to the profound negative stereotypes that have been created by years of abuse and distortion of G-d related experiences.

When we reject G-d, are we rejecting G-d or the way G-d was presented to us?

4.      Finally, “Kedoshim tih’ue,” Be Holy, is our call to transform the universe. We have been charged with an enormous responsibility and a great gift. We human are the only ones that can change the course of history.

All our choices either sanctify or pollute our environment.

What can be more motivating than to know that the destiny of the universe – indeed the destiny of G-d Himself – is dependent on your actions?

These are some of the lessons in this one verse.

All in one simple verse…

Selfless in a Selfish World

Can one be selfless in a selfish world? This is one of the great moral questions plaguing mankind from the beginning of time.

Some argue that all people are fundamentally selfish creatures, driven by self-interest and survival. Even when we see glimpses of nobility, these are but anomalies amidst the predominant narcissism of the human race. Others adamantly disagree and feel that the human soul, created in the Divine Image, is fully capable of selfless behavior.

But, even according to this altruistic view, it is undoubtedly difficult, if not impossible, to maintain a selfless attitude amidst all the selfishness surrounding us. The only way to preserve our integrity, this perspective claims, is by separating ourselves (to some extent) from the powerful social currents and pressures to conform and compromise our selfless souls in order to compete and survive in an embattled environment driven by “survival of the fittest.” Some form of asceticism seems necessary in order to remain moral in an immoral world.

Where then does that leave us? It’s seems like an impossible choice: Either we must succumb to some selfishness in order to make it; or we have to remove ourselves from regular life to protect our virtue.

An enigmatic debate in… heaven (of all places) about the leper (of all things) in this week’s Torah portion, resolved by a human (of all creatures), sheds light on this timeless dilemma.

The Talmud relates the following episode (Bava Metzia 86a):

It was debated in the academy of heaven: If the white patch precedes the white hair, it is impure; if the white hair precedes the white patch, it is pure; but what if there is doubt (as to which came first)? The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: “It is pure.”

The entire academy of heaven said: “It is impure.” Said they: “Who shall decide it for us? Rabbah bar Nachmeini.” For Rabbah bar Nachmeini had declared: “I am singular in the laws of tzaraat (leprosy)…” They dispatched a messenger [to bring him to heaven]… Said [Rabbah]: “Tahor, tahor (‘Pure, pure’).”

This exchange seems strange from beginning to end. First of all, aren’t debates exclusive to the human condition on earth, where there are doubts and conflicting interests between mortals? How is there room for a debate in heaven where everything should seem clear and true, without any acrimony and disagreement?

Even more perplexing is the fact that the “entire academy of heaven” is arguing and disagreeing with “The Holy One, Blessed be He”? It’s one thing that flawed and arrogant humans on earth should quarrel with G-d (and feel entitled to do so), but how is it possible that an “academy in heaven,” and all its members without exception, should dispute G-d’s opinion, and in a Torah matter?! Wouldn’t G-d be the best One to interpret a law in His Own Torah?!

And what exactly is the argument about? “White patches” and “white hairs,” and which precedes which! Does G-d have nothing better to do then debate the intricacies of leper laws? (He could leave that for Rabbis to debate endlessly…) Doesn’t G-d have more serious problems to address – say, help alleviate our human suffering – than to quibble about these nuances?

And who is this Rabbah bar Nachmeini and what is the significance of him resolving this dispute? Commentaries explain that “Torah is not in heaven,” and therefore the legal ruling must be determined from a sage in Earth? But what did Rabbah bar Nachmeini know more than G-d to rule accordingly?

Cryptic is definitely an appropriate way to describe this Talmudic passage.

Chassidic thought offers us an absolutely eloquent explanation, demonstrating how a seemingly obscure Talmud is both brilliantly coherent as well as illuminates for us one of the most fundamental and relevant lessons in the human moral struggle.

The laws of the “leprous curse” (negah tzaraat), discussed in this week’s double Torah sections of Tazria (Leviticus 12-13) and Metzora (14-15), is in essence the story of spiritual illness – a misalignment between the body and the soul, between our material drives and our transcendent yearnings, between who you are and what you do, resulting in the battle between matter and spirit and all the other struggles that plague human beings.

Tumah (usually inadequately translated as impurity) is a state of negative energy, made possible when the body is not aligned with the soul’s life force. Every illness (physical or spiritual) is some form of compromise of one’s life energy not being able to flow smoothly and seamlessly through the entire body.

The psychological root of the negative energy (tumah) in spiritual illness is arrogance: When someone is selfishly consumed with his own interests, blocking out others needs, his soul energy is drained from him. G-d, the Talmud says, cannot dwell under the same canopy together with an arrogant person; there simply is no room for both… (Healing this disease therefore requires immersion in a mikvah, called tevilah, which is the same letters as bittul, selflessness – the antithesis and antidote to arrogance).

Thus, the identifying mark of a leper was a “white patch” appearing on his skin (or in other areas of his environment) and “white hairs” growing from that spot, reflecting that the soul’s life and vitality (“blood is the life/soul”, dam hu ha’nefesh) have been drained from this part of the body.

Still, a white patch alone does not yet indicate a negative state (“tumah”). But when we see white hairs sprouting in the white patch — when we see dead things feeding on this dead place, indicating that the lifelessness has given birth to selfish characteristics and behaviors of the person — we have a full-blown case of spiritual illness (tumat (tzaraat). We all have potential elements of arrogance in our beings, but when the arrogance takes hold and become a breeding ground for the ugliest in human nature. Such a condition indicates that the person has to some extent abandoned his commitments to life and productivity, leaving behind a hollow, selfish and lifeless self that is a breeding ground for what is worst in human nature.

Hence the law that a white hair is a symptom of tzaraat only when “the white patch precedes the white hair,” indicating that this dead growth is the result of a certain area of the person’s life having been drained of its vitality.

With this backdrop we can now makes sense of the debate raging in heaven between the “The Holy One” and the “academy of heaven.” From the perspective of a perfect, sublime heaven earth is an inferior reality, fraught with selfishness and arrogance, which is simply intolerable and repulsive. Thus, if there is even a shred of doubt as to whether the “white hair” came before or after the “white patch,” the “academy of heaven” declares this as a case of disease. Heaven’s perspective is that man is inherently selfish, and even when he may appear pure, arrogance is always brewing just beneath the surface, waiting to rear its ugly head. If it’s possible that arrogance has taken hold, we must suspect that it has indeed occurred.

“The Holy One” however, who transcends event the perfection of heaven, and Who created the human in His Image, sees man as an essentially a selfless being. From the perspective of the Divine soul spiritual disease and arrogance is an anomaly (as the Zohar incredulously declares: “nefesh ki sechta, tevoha!” a soul to sin – how is it possible?!). If there is clear and conclusive evidence that a person’s arrogance has contaminated his life, we then can consider that the disease has taken hold. But where there is doubt, this divine perspective is inclined to declare him “pure.”

But this still suggests that to be selfless and pure one has to remove himself from earthy desires and elevate to a heavenly state. True, the Divine perspective sees man as essentially pure and selfless (as opposed to the heavenly academy, which sees primarily the impurity), but only by virtue of man’s Divine soul. The questions remains: Can man – as a soul in a very physical and selfish body – also experience selflessness and purity?

Enter Rabba bar Nachmeini, who delivers the verdict: G-d vested the power of the Divine Essence (Atzmus) in the human being on Earth – a power greater than heaven itself, even greater (kavyochol) than “The Holy One” Himself (which refers to the Divine dimension that transcends existence, but not the Divine Essence) – to determine the Torah ruling whether corporeal humans are inherently selfish or selfless.

Rabbah bar Nachmeini was “singular in the laws of tzaraat.” He was a human being, but a human being who had so thoroughly refined himself, so deeply devoted himself to the Divine Torah that he had uncovered its singular core—uncovered the divine vision of reality, seamless and pure, as it relates to the very essence of G-d.

And the verdict? Rabba bar Nachmeini declares – for all time – that man is: Pure, Pure! Pure in his soul, but also pure in his body.

This week we all have the power to be microcosmic Rabbah bar Nachmeini’s: As we ponder the laws of human selfishness and selflessness – as we look at others, as well as at ourselves – what do we see?

The “heaven” within may see impurity and arrogance. The pure eyes of the Divine emanation may see purity and selflessness. But then “singular” human on earth, the one who struggles daily with self interest and selfish desires, has the power of the Essence: To see not one dimension of purity, but two: How even our self-contained physical beings can and are channels for utter selflessness.

It all depends on the eyes we use to look at ourselves and at others. Projection. Look with selfish eyes and you see selfishness all around you. Peer with selfless eyes and you see selflessness all around you.