The remainder of the parshah speaks of the grain, wine and oil offerings that should accompany one’s sacrifice. It speaks of the mitzvah of offering a portion of one’s kneaded dough to the Kohen (the mitzvah of Challah) and proceeds to inform us of the sin-offering sacrifices brought if one commits idolatry. The parshah continues with the story of Tzelaphchad, who desecrated the Shabbos, and his punishment, and concludes with the mitzvah of Tzitzit.

Let us examine the story of the spies. Moshe chose twelve Tzaddikim—yes, very righteous men—and asked them to check out the Land. He recommended what to look for and advised them about their trip. They spent forty days spying out the Land. They were overwhelmed and impressed by what they saw. They brought back with them some of the incredible fruits of the Land: it took eight men to carry a cluster of grapes, and two men each carried a single fruit – a pomegranate and a fig! Yet despite how incredible the fruits were, they then slandered the Land and its inhabitants. As the Talmud states, “Just as the fruit is different, so too the inhabitants are different. They are too powerful to conquer.”

The nation rebelled and refused to ascend to the Land. God had promised it to them, and were they to strengthen their belief in Him, they would have been able to enter the Land and conquer it even without the use of weapons! (see Rashi on Deuteronomy 1:8) But they failed. Such is the power of slander – it can destroy a person, a community, even a nation.

Reb Noson writes that the parshah’s contents speak of the rectification of the spies. The offerings when bringing a sacrifice represent the ability to sing to HaShem even if one has sinned and brought a sacrifice for repentance. It is followed by the mitzvah of Challah, about which the Torah states, “When you come to the Land…” (Numbers 15:18), indicating that performing this mitzvah causes one to enter the Land. It is followed by the sin-offering sacrifices for idolatry, a reference to strengthening our faith in HaShem and rejecting idolatry. Following this is the story of one who desecrated Shabbos, for Shabbos represents all sanctity and the holy moments a person can acquire during life, and this means the strengthening of our faith in HaShem at all times.

All of these ideas are included in the mitzvah of Tzitzit. The Tzitzit are four and have thirty-two strings. This represents our faith, as the Torah begins with a Bet (value of 2) and concludes with a Lamed (value of 30, together 32), representing our faith in HaShem. With that faith, we can conquer all our enemies, all our opposition, and overcome all our challenges.

May we merit to reject slander, ascend to the Land, and merit to see the Mashiach and the redemption of all Israel, Amen.

Have a great Shabbos

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The following may only be performed in the presence of ten men: the repetition of the introduction to the Shema; praying as a minyan; the Blessing of the Kohanim; reading the Torah; reading the Haftorah; … the blessing of the bridegroom; invoking God’s Name in the invitation to say the Grace after Meals. How do we know that at least ten are required? From the verse “How long will this evil congregation persist?” Without Yehoshua and Kalev, they were ten (Megillah 23b; see Rashi).

Every year it strikes me as being curious and ironic. From two of the most anti-communal episodes in the Torah—this week’s mutiny of the spies and next week’s rebellion of Korach and his congregation—we Jews learn the halakhah that to perform a public davar she-be-kedushah (sacred function/service) a minyan (quorum of ten adult Jewish men*) is required. Some might say it’s Divine humor. (God does laugh; see Psalms 2:4). It certainly can be seen as Divine compassion—their very mistake, misusing the power of community to strip and distance the Jewish people from glorifying God, is transformed into being the necessary forum for sanctifying God’s Name.

Reb Noson writes about the power of community and the importance of being actively involved in any mitzvah Jewish people are performing. This is important in and of itself. It is doubly important to note this in regard to an overall Breslov outlook. Why? Since Breslov literature greatly emphasizes the individual’s connection with the tzaddik, and the individual’s hitbodedut (private prayer), one who doesn’t actually have the good mazel to live in proximity to other Breslovers (or other Jews, for that matter) may think that community is a nice extra, but not of primary importance. Think again. We have this, à la Reb Noson:

God’s way and the human way aren’t always parallel. The more people move into a neighborhood, the more congested it gets. The more people enter a room, the more crowded it gets. Space becomes tighter and tighter. But in kedushah, when another person joins the minyan, the prayer grows dynamically. Just as Sefer Yetzirah teaches that five “stones” (letters) build 120 “houses” (words) and six build 720, Rebbe Nachman teaches that each person who joins a minyan, or any mitzvah, increases the power of the minyan and the mitzvah.

And not only the power, but the extent as well. Because not only are there many, many more words when a letter is added, but each word is longer. Similarly, when you join in community to do a mitzvah, the mitzvah’s kedushah and power are vastly intensified and its reach, in this world and upper worlds, is greatly extended. So, run—don’t walk—to shul to pray, and to a beit midrash to study. Your presence, each time, is an incalculable contribution to the building of Jewishness and to the delight of Heaven. This is especially so if there wouldn’t be a minyan without you!

Yes, if you do the same mitzvah by yourself, you will be rewarded. If you do it. But a solo mitzvah is puny in comparison; the community’s mitzvah is tremendously diminished; and you will be MIA, out of the picture, an absence that can never be made up (Kohelet Rabbah 1:15).

A personal connection with the tzaddik is a necessity, time for yourself is critical. But don’t forget: No Jew is an island. Be involved with a genuine Torah community!

* In case I need to allay your feminist indignation, the mutinous spies are called, and thus define, a “congregation.” Since that congregation consisted of ten Jewish adult men, so does every future Jewish congregation. Nothing to do with patriarchal sexism, just cut-and-dry exegesis.

a gutn Shabbos!

Shabbat Shalom!

—Based on Likutey Halakhot,

Nizkei Shekheinim 4:8

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In Parsha Shelach, after hearing the report of the meraglim (the spies), the Jews complained to Moshe Rabbeinu and Aaron, saying If only we had died in Egypt.”

They were miserable. Things weren’t going the way they wanted them to go. So what did they do? What people have been doing since time immemorial—they played the blame game. They took it out on Moshe and Aaron. They spoke openly against these two great, humble men who led them out of Egypt. They stirred up machloket, conflict.

Reb Noson, teaches us that conflict is, and always has been the bane of our existence as Jews. We forget about the good. We complain. We whine. We stress. We stress others. We punish them with our anger, we punish them with the silent-treatment. We’re so busy pointing out the bad—in others, in our situation—that we overlook the clues to our own salvation. Our sages say that ridding ourselves of sinat chinam* and instead, trusting in Hashem, is the key to reliving our situation.

Rebbe Nachman tells us that we have a lot more power over our thoughts and feelings than we think we do. We don’t have to give into the urge to rage, blame and give in to despair.  How?

Slow down and pay attention to the times habitual negative thoughts, especially those that lead to conflict, arise. Replace those negative thoughts with positive thoughts: The other person in this situation meant well. I don’t have the whole picture. Nothing is worth getting embroiled in a conflict or controversy.  Have faith only in Hashem, only trust in Hashem and rely on Him.

Make hitbodedut about the conflicts in your life. Ask Hashem to help you truly destroy sinat chinam and fill your heart with ahavat Yisrael.

May you have a day of peace and freedom from strife.

*Sinat chinam, baseless hatred. What kind of hatred falls into the category of sinat chinam? Nearly every instance of hating other Jews is considered baseless. Why hate? Why not see the good and trust in Hashem.

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The topic that we will be dealing with this week is one of the great foundations on which the Holy Zohar and the writings of the Arizal (the famed Kabbalist, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria) are based on:

As a result of the sin of Adam HaRishon, the first man, and as a result of the sins of all the generations up until today, many sparks of holiness were scattered and dispersed among the goyim (Gentiles), falling everywhere, even to lowest depths. Those same sparks are constantly longing to be rectified and raised up, returning to their source in holiness. This is the reason that the sparks impatiently wait for a Jew to come to the place where they are located, and when he comes, they can cling to him and latch on to him in order to be rectified. This is especially true when a person is involved with matters of holiness, for this then becomes the time of the rectification of these sparks, when they are raised up to their root in holiness.

But because the sparks have sunk in and become surrounded by the goyim, when they come to a Jew, they bring along with them the klippot (negative energies) and evil thoughts that are surrounding the sparks, causing the person sorrow and anguish. This is because when the forces of the Sitra Achra (literally, “the other side” referring to “the Side of Evil” which opposes the forces of holiness), realize that the sparks of holiness seek to return to their root, they increase their resistance and refuse to allow the sparks to become rectified. This is the reason why the exile has been drawn out for such a long time, because at the time of redemption, all the sparks of holiness will return to their root, and the Sitra Achra seeks to prevent this.

This rule applies to all forms of exile, physical or mental. Even being distanced spiritually is considered to be a form of exile for all intents and purposes (see Likutei Moharan I, 163: “Regarding the issue of emotional suffering…one can suffer torture and torment and great upheavals.”) The advice for this is to increase our desire for holiness, to stand firm and to anticipate G-d’s salvation. In the end, G-d will help us. It is not enough for us to merit to return on our own, because we can raise up with us many sparks to their roots.

These wondrous teachings come from a lesson that Rebbe Nachman gave over regarding this matter:

“Wherever Jews go, they become ministers to their masters” (Sanhedrin 104a). That is, in each and every place that the Jews go, they are at first in exile and humiliated and exploited, but afterwards they elevate the place where they reside, raising it up and become ministers to their masters. In the future, the theaters of Edom (Rome, the descendants of Eisav), will be turned into batei midrash (study halls for learning Torah), about which is written, “and they also will remain for our G-d” (Megillah 6a). The meaning of this is that in addition to the original holiness, countless numbers of them will join them from the darkness of the exile, and many sparks will return to the side of holiness. Thus G-d’s name will be sanctified and raised up (Likutei Moharan II, 76).

The sparks impatiently wait for a Jew to come to the place where they are located, and when he comes, they can cling to him and latch on to him in order to be rectified.

Let us now turn to the Torah portion of the week. The Torah commands us to separate some of the dough (when we make bread) and to give it to the Kohen: “And it shall be that when you eat from the bread of the land… The first portion of your dough, you shall separate a loaf as trumah [gift to Kohen]” (Numbers 15:19-20). Rabbi Natan connects the teaching concerning the sparks with the mitzvah of separating the challah. He teaches:

Most of the sparks of holiness which were scattered are found mainly in food. This is because the sin of Adam HaRishon, which caused the sparks to be scattered, was his eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This is the reason food requires a lot of preparation and great efforts in order to make it fit for consumption. For example: ten separate operations are required from the stage of harvesting wheat until we can eat it as bread. In spirituality, too, there are ten mitzvot regarding the bread, because in order to clarify the sparks from food, a lot of preparation and complex procedures are required.

The more important the food is and the closer it gets to its final stage of being fit for consumption, the clarification of the sparts in it will be more important and significant. Bread is the food which most satiates a person’s appetite. The rolling out of the dough just before it is about to be baked, following which it will actually have the taste of bread, is precisely the time when the sparks can receive their rectification, and so this is the time for the separating of the challah. Why?

Satiety originates in the Ratzon HaElyon, the Supreme Will of the Creator, as it is written in the verse: “You open Your hand and satisfy every living thing [with] its desire” (Psalms 145). It is the Supreme Will which is the source of all the taste and pleasure there is in food. Our job is to reveal this enlightenment of the Supreme Will at the time when we are eating, that is to say, to raise up the sparks which make up the flavor of the bread that originates in the Ratzon HaElyon to their root in holiness. This is the completion of the clarification of the sparks and their being raised up.

How is this done? Rebbe Nachman teaches: The role of the Tzaddik in this world is to radiate daat (knowledge) and emunah (faith) in G-d in order separate Am Yisrael from iniquity. To those who are on a higher level (who he refers to as the “darei ma’alah”), he shows them that they have not yet begun to understand who G-d truly is, so that they realize that they must strive for even higher levels. And on the other hand, those who are on lower levels (who he refers to as the “darei matah”), like the “shochnei afar” (“those who dwell in dust”), he inspires them, as in the verse: “Awaken and sing, you who dwell in the dust” (Isaiah 26:19). That is, he shows them that G-d is still with them and desires them, and thus he inspires in them a spirit of hope that they should not despair of meriting to aspiration and exalted yearnings for the Creator. This enlightenment shines the most at the time of eating.

We can now understand how these ideas are woven together in a wonderful way. “Challah” is separated from bread which is the most satisfying food. Satisfaction is, in its root, the Ratzon HaElyon, the Supreme Will. In addition, challah is taken when the dough is rolled out just before baking, right before the sparks give the bread its pleasant taste. So, this is the main time for clarification of the sparks and for raising them up back to their root in holiness, the Ratzon HaElyon.

Most of the sparks of holiness which were scattered are found mainly in food.

The portion of the challah is given to the Kohen because the Kohen is included in the two enlightenments: the enlightenment of those on a high level, who are required to strive for higher levels, and the enlightenment of the people on the lower levels, who need to know that G-d is constantly with them. Since bread contains most of the sparks, and since the moment before baking is the time for raising up the sparks, it is also the time to illuminate the people on lower levels with the Ratzon HaElyon, i.e., the desire to cling to the Creator in any situation. There is no greater perfection than raising up the sparks, as it says in the verse: “And it, too, shall remain to our God” (Zechariah 9:7), since everything is then returned and completely included in the holiness.

When all this happens, the Ratzon HaElyon is reawakened, the wonderous exalted connection between the Nation of Israel and HaKadosh Baruch Hu is strengthened, and then nothing in the world can extinguish or even diminish our desire and longing for G-d or can distance us from Him. And this itself connects us to and hastens the Geulah (the Final Redemption).

This is how the Nation of Israel answers the nations of the world: “that you neither awaken nor arouse the love until it is desirous” (Song of Songs 2:7), meaning that in the merit of the mitzvah of taking the challah from the dough—which we continue to do even when we are in galut (exile)—there is a raising up of the sparks which were scattered in the galut, which then reveal and shine into the Ratzon HaElyon, the yearning to be connected to the Creator. And as long as we have the love and desire for Him, none of the temptations and tricks will be able to entice us to become distanced from the Creator, and we will remain steadfast in our clinging to Him forever.

Now we will connect these ideas to the sin of the spies. They were in the Land of Israel while it was still in the aspect of exile, under the control of the seven nations. They were full of fear due to their small stature and lowliness, as they themselves said: “In our eyes, we seemed like grasshoppers” (Numbers 13:33). They should have strengthened their emunah (faith) in G-d and in Moses, his servant, who had all the power necessary to overturn the exile and to raise up and return everything to G-d and to Israel, as actually happened later on. However, they refused to do this, and therefore it was decreed because of them that there would be tears of crying for many generations, an exile that has continued until this day…

The rectification for this is that we should listen to the Tzaddikim who enlighten us in each and every situation and awaken within us the koach ratzon, the power of will, and strengthen us to believe that G-d will conquer all the evil that confronts us. Through this, Moshiach Tzidkeinu (our Righteous Messiah) will come and will redeem us soon, and everything will return back to G-d as we explained above.

Now we can understand why the Ratzon HaElyon is revealed at the time that we are eating and how this is connected to the spies. Most of the sparks are scattered in food, and when the portion of challah is separated, they are raised up. The Ratzon HaElyon becomes revealed, and everything returns to holiness. And this is the main rectification for the sin of the spies.

(Based on Likutei Halachot, Challah 4:1-10)

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Twelve Spies

The Torah tells us that it is when Moshe Rabbeinu chose his closest student, Yehoshua, to be part of the expedition of the twelve spies, that he changed his name from Hoshea to Yehoshua (Bamidbar 13:16), implying the blessing: “May HaShem save you (Kah Yoshiecha) from the evil counsel of the spies” (Sotah 34b).

But how about Kalev, his partner? What blessing did he receive? The Gemara tells us that Kalev received his blessing directly from our Forefathers. Upon entering the land, he immediately went on his own to Chevron, which was populated by the four giants, in order to pray at the Tomb of our Forefathers that he be saved from the counsel of the other spies.

Without regard for the risk to his life, and armed with a faith as strong as Yehoshua’s, he made his way to the Cave of Machpelah and prayed there.

A Lesson To All

This is a lesson to all who doubt the value of visiting and praying by the graves of our great tzaddikim. As far back as the time of Kalev, this was a tried and true method of obtaining Divine protection. The Zohar HaKadosh (Zohar, Acharei Mos 71b) states that those in need of help can do no better than visit the graves of tzaddikim and solicit their help in entreating HaShem on their behalf. It is important to note that one is not praying to the tzaddikim but to HaShem.

But Isn’t It Forbidden?

Still, the Zohar HaKadosh quotes one of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s students as having asked, “But isn’t it forbidden in the Torah to be doresh el hamesim (Devarim 18:11), to enlist the aid of the dead?” Rav Shimon’s reply was that the prohibition applies only to dead gentiles who are considered “dead” even when they are alive. Jews, however, and especially tzaddikim, are considered alive even when they are dead.

The Gemara (Berachos 18b) states that any evil person, even a Jew, is considered “dead” even when alive, bringing proof from the verse that states with regard to a condemned murderer: “by testimony of two witnesses or three witnesses shall the condemned one be put to death (yumas hames)” (Devarim 17:6). These last two words literally mean “shall the dead one be put to death.” From here we see that a condemned murder is considered dead even when is still alive. Why? Because he is a rasha, a wicked person. The righteous one, however — the tzaddik — even after he passes from this world is considered alive. That is why there is no “enlisting the aid of the dead” when one visits the grave of a tzaddik.

No One Could Exist without it!

Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai further states (Zohar, Shemos 16b) that no one could exist for even half a day without the help of the prayers offered on our behalf by the tzaddikim in Gan Eden. Without their prayers, our “prosecutors” in Heaven would exert such a force that we could not survive more than half a day. Given that, we indeed have every reason to visit their graves and solicit their help by interesting them in our plight. One is certainly better off having these tzaddikim helping with their prayers than trying to make it on one’s own.

The mitzvah of visiting the graves of tzaddikim is all the more beneficial in Eretz Yisrael, where one can visit the graves of our forefathers, of our former kings and prophets, and of our holy Sages. Every one of these graves is extremely sacred and thus it is a great privilege to go there and pray.

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Wow! Our Rabbis are implying that the returnee is greater than the saint. But shouldn’t one who has spent his entire life in the service of God, and never really faltered, be considered supreme in every aspect? How could there be a “place” reserved for one who has erred?

This question is as old as the universe. You see, once there was only Oneness: only God existed. But God wanted to create a world where others would know Him and develop the deepest kinship with Him. Because He wanted us to appreciate and experience His ultimate kindness and greatness, He created our universe. But there was a problem. If we were to immediately recognize everything created as an obvious manifestation of Godliness, the world would automatically revert to its original state – we would be nullified in God’s awesomeness. Therefore God created freedom of choice and its many forms of multiplicity. By being able to experience the opposites of pure holiness, including our doubts and lusts, we have the space to develop our own identities while at the same time uplift and connect our every experience with God’s absolute unity.

This is life. God created an incomplete world, but He gave us the power to complete His creation. When we see through the “thick of things” and have emunah (faith) that everything comes from Him, we are able to reunite creation with its Source. Whenever we study Torah, pray or do a mitzvah, we express our emunah in the unity of creation, and reconnect ourselves in the highest way.

For someone who has lived a completely righteous life, there isn’t that great a distinction between God’s Oneness and creation. Such a person has more or less lived his life always connected to God, and is therefore, in a sense, living in the original, nullified state that God was not content with. On the other hand, the one who has fallen, the person who has done wrong and forgotten about God, best expresses the purpose of Creation. When that person returns, he exemplifies God’s purpose: to create a distinct being who achieves complete connection and unity with his Creator. The further removed we are from God, the greater is our capacity to experience and reflect the awesome Oneness of God. By being strong and having emunah in God when He feels distant, we are fulfilling the purpose of Creation to the ultimate degree – we are completing God’s creation!

The Jewish people lived a miraculous lifestyle in the desert for 40 years. The people who were living with such an obvious level of direct manifestation of Godliness were expected to enter the Holy Land, the land of Divine Providence, with emunah alone. The same God who fathered them at Sinai would also father them in the Land of Israel. Any challenge they encountered would ultimately serve to bring about God’s will. But instead, they resorted to the logical plan of sending spies to “check out” the Land – they made their own “creation.” Their newly-created burden and challenge of finding God in the multiplicity of things was now entrusted with the spies – and unfortunately, the spies did not live up to this challenge.

Each of us is an agent of God Himself. We have been entrusted with life and have been asked to carry out God’s will by connecting to Him in every situation. True, it would have been easier had we always made the right choices and lived on the level of the Jews in the desert. But even if we have erred, with our emunah, we have the awesome power to complete God’s creation!

Based on Likutey Halakhot, Shluchin 3
A Gutn Shabbos! Shabbat Shalom!

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