REACHING OUR PERSONAL REDEMPTION
Devarim - Tisha B'Av
Chassidus identifies a fundamental divergence between the G-dly perspective and our worldly, created perspective on the truth of reality.
We refer to Creation as being Yesh Meayin - something from nothing. From our perspective, the world is a Yesh, a true and tangible reality. That which lies beyond us, the source of Creation in the spiritual and G-dly worlds, we call Ayin - nothingness, because we cannot grasp or relate to it.
The perspective from Above is the complete opposite. Hashem alone is the true Being (Yesh). In comparison to the truth of His Being, everything created is nothingness (Ayin). The further down the chain of spiritual worlds and the more ’distant’ one is from the Source, the more nothing it truly is.
We do not understand this perspective or see it in our reality. But we can embrace it in a way of Hodaah. Hodaah means to acquiesce, to surrender and defer to another’s perspective or opinion. When we say the words Modim Anachnu Lach in Davening, we are declaring that we accept the truth of Hashem’s perspective.
This Hodaah exists within the essence of every soul. This is why we are called Yehudi, coming from the word Hod.
The problem is that this Makif experience remains in the state of Emunah - faith, which can be detached from our consciousness.
Chassidus illustrates this with the Talmudic example of a thief praying to Hashem for success in his robbery. Because his belief in Hashem is transcendent, it is divorced from his conscious thinking and does not influence his actions; so, he can believe and steal at the same time.
Our conscious relationship with Hashem comes through meditation. They word Mitzvah means to connect. The observance of Mitzvos and study of Torah in this world connects us with the essence of Hashem, transcending all of the delights of the spiritual worlds. When we meditate on this truth, we will bind ourselves to the fulfillment of the Mitzvos with great feeling, love and desire.
This love is בכל לבבך, filling both sides of our heart. In one side we feel great joy in the service of Hashem and fulfilment of His Mitzvos. In the other side, we sense deep bitterness over the fact that we find ourselves stuck in materialism. The more we feel this bitterness, the greater our Simcha will be in the Mitzvos that we do.
This is how things should be; when we live in alignment with our soul. This is a state of personal redemption.
But we sometimes find ourselves in a state of personal Golus. Instead of being focused on the service of Hashem, the emotions of our soul are taken captive, to become enslaved and subservient to our animalistic self.
Instead of coming from Torah and Mitzvos, our joy and excitement comes from worldly pleasures and physicality. And in place of being embittered by our immersion in materialism, we feel bitter and upset by our material lackings.
The Haftorah this week is the last and harshest of three Haftorahs of retribution. Yishayahu rebukes the Jewish people for their sins and describes the punishment of exile that will come upon them.
But the Haftorah concludes with a verse of hope; צוין במשפט תפדה ושביה בצדקה - Zion will be redeemed with justice (Mishpat) and her returnees (Shaveha) with righteousness (Tzedaka).
The Alter Rebbe explains that in these words is the key to redemption; not just from our physical, national exile, but from our personal inner Golus.
The word Shaveha also mean captives, referring to our misplaced feelings that have been taken captive in our Golus mindset.
Zion, meaning a sign, refers to the essence of the soul, which is a mere sign and reflection of the Divine. The essence of the soul, our surrender to Hashem, cannot be enslaved or ‘taken captive’. But when we sin, the essence is affected, like a person who trips over their feet, causing even the head to fall. So our Zion may not be captive, but still needs redemption from our Golus mindset.
Zion, the essence of our soul is redeemed through Mishpat, a reference to the study of Torah, the laws of Hashem. Our captive emotions, our misplaced joy and pain, will return through Tzedaka.
Tzedaka is an expression of compassion, where we display compassion on the pauper and our desire to help alleviate his situation. When we show compassion to others, Hashem responds in kind. He will have compassion on us and give us the strength to ensure that our mediations and understandings will flow through to influence our emotions and our priorities to once again be in a state of Geulah.
We refer to Creation as being Yesh Meayin - something from nothing. From our perspective, the world is a Yesh, a true and tangible reality. That which lies beyond us, the source of Creation in the spiritual and G-dly worlds, we call Ayin - nothingness, because we cannot grasp or relate to it.
The perspective from Above is the complete opposite. Hashem alone is the true Being (Yesh). In comparison to the truth of His Being, everything created is nothingness (Ayin). The further down the chain of spiritual worlds and the more ’distant’ one is from the Source, the more nothing it truly is.
We do not understand this perspective or see it in our reality. But we can embrace it in a way of Hodaah. Hodaah means to acquiesce, to surrender and defer to another’s perspective or opinion. When we say the words Modim Anachnu Lach in Davening, we are declaring that we accept the truth of Hashem’s perspective.
This Hodaah exists within the essence of every soul. This is why we are called Yehudi, coming from the word Hod.
The problem is that this Makif experience remains in the state of Emunah - faith, which can be detached from our consciousness.
Chassidus illustrates this with the Talmudic example of a thief praying to Hashem for success in his robbery. Because his belief in Hashem is transcendent, it is divorced from his conscious thinking and does not influence his actions; so, he can believe and steal at the same time.
Our conscious relationship with Hashem comes through meditation. They word Mitzvah means to connect. The observance of Mitzvos and study of Torah in this world connects us with the essence of Hashem, transcending all of the delights of the spiritual worlds. When we meditate on this truth, we will bind ourselves to the fulfillment of the Mitzvos with great feeling, love and desire.
This love is בכל לבבך, filling both sides of our heart. In one side we feel great joy in the service of Hashem and fulfilment of His Mitzvos. In the other side, we sense deep bitterness over the fact that we find ourselves stuck in materialism. The more we feel this bitterness, the greater our Simcha will be in the Mitzvos that we do.
This is how things should be; when we live in alignment with our soul. This is a state of personal redemption.
But we sometimes find ourselves in a state of personal Golus. Instead of being focused on the service of Hashem, the emotions of our soul are taken captive, to become enslaved and subservient to our animalistic self.
Instead of coming from Torah and Mitzvos, our joy and excitement comes from worldly pleasures and physicality. And in place of being embittered by our immersion in materialism, we feel bitter and upset by our material lackings.
The Haftorah this week is the last and harshest of three Haftorahs of retribution. Yishayahu rebukes the Jewish people for their sins and describes the punishment of exile that will come upon them.
But the Haftorah concludes with a verse of hope; צוין במשפט תפדה ושביה בצדקה - Zion will be redeemed with justice (Mishpat) and her returnees (Shaveha) with righteousness (Tzedaka).
The Alter Rebbe explains that in these words is the key to redemption; not just from our physical, national exile, but from our personal inner Golus.
The word Shaveha also mean captives, referring to our misplaced feelings that have been taken captive in our Golus mindset.
Zion, meaning a sign, refers to the essence of the soul, which is a mere sign and reflection of the Divine. The essence of the soul, our surrender to Hashem, cannot be enslaved or ‘taken captive’. But when we sin, the essence is affected, like a person who trips over their feet, causing even the head to fall. So our Zion may not be captive, but still needs redemption from our Golus mindset.
Zion, the essence of our soul is redeemed through Mishpat, a reference to the study of Torah, the laws of Hashem. Our captive emotions, our misplaced joy and pain, will return through Tzedaka.
Tzedaka is an expression of compassion, where we display compassion on the pauper and our desire to help alleviate his situation. When we show compassion to others, Hashem responds in kind. He will have compassion on us and give us the strength to ensure that our mediations and understandings will flow through to influence our emotions and our priorities to once again be in a state of Geulah.