Thursday, May 25, 2006

Shaking Out Yerushalayim

Chesed L'Avraham 1:17, R' Avraham Azulai, ztzvk"l (Free Translation)

Just like the verse in Yechezkiel states, that the Holy One blessed be He wants to shake out the land of Israel and Yerushalayim like a man shakes out his tallis, so will He shake out all the idoloters from Yerushalayim as well as the idolatry itself which is in Yerushalayim and the impure corpses which are buried around the holy place and all the filthy places in it.

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Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Knowledge of Future Events by Holiest Tzaddikim

Chesed L'Avraham 4:26, R' Avraham Azulai זצוק"ל (Free Translation)

The reason for [the knowledge of future events by the Holiest tzaddikim] is that the neshoma is suited to know everything that will be in existence....Like a physical person knows his entire body as one entity, similarly that which is spiritual knows the entirety of existence as one because there are no obstructions.

The neshoma, a spiritual entity, draws down from the source of supernal spirituality. It is like a small version of the supernal intellect that influences everything and knows all the details of existence -- ongoing events as well as sudden events -- in the same way the intellect knows what happens in the body of a person. Thus, that neshoma which cleaves to the spiritual intellect which influences everything [in existence], knows all the details of existence. All neshomas are suited to comprehend this, but due to the fact that they are enclothed in physicality, the physical becomes a mask which separates and darkens the eyes of the intellect so that it can only comprehend the body in which it dwells.

Tzaddikim, whose neshomas are not enclothed in materiality but rather they cleave to the supernal spirituality, they will always know all the details of existence because their souls draw down from the supernal source.... Thus the Rashbi and [his son] R' Elazer and taddikim like them were able to know the totality of existence from the "eyes" of their neshomas, because their neshomas would cleave to the supernal spirituality and the entire world is like their "body", and their souls would cleave with the Intellect which governs everything and knows everything.

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Tuesday, May 16, 2006

L'ag BaOmer, Rashbi, and Moshiach

Mitteler Rebbe, Biurei Zohar, Parshas Balak (Free Translation)

...the thirty-three days after which a woman returns to purity [following the birth of a male child] (which is the level of L'ag BaOmer) because the first day of Pesach is [spiritually] the day of Tisha B'Av, the day on which Moshiach is born. L'ag BaOmer is the end of thirty three days of purification, etc., and then it is said "I will turn their mourning to joy" and this is the hilula of Rashbi, a spark of Moshe who is a level of Moshiach as it states "send the one whom you will send" and he [Moshe] is called the first redeemer and Moshiach is the final redeemer, as is known.

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Friday, May 12, 2006

Pesach Sheni: "Why should we be deprived?"

Lubavitcher Rebbe, Pesach Sheni 5744

A plain Jew may think that he is unworthy of making demands, and that his demands wouldn’t be accepted anyway. Pesach Sheni teaches otherwise: The gulf between Jew and G-d is immensely wider than that between a plain Jew and one who is “the head of your tribe.” Yet, despite the vast gulf between a Jew and G-d, Jews demanded of G-d, “Why should we be deprived” — and their demand was accepted and Pesach Sheni was given as a mitzvah.

A Jew can learn from this how much power he has: Although there is such a gulf between him and G-d, he is able to demand something that concerns him — and G-d will accept the demand. Although this power is not of the Jew’s making but comes from G-d, he must know that G-d wants that a Jew should show that the lack of something concerning fear of Heaven affects him deeply.

It follows from the above that when Jews plead for the redemption they effect that it come more quickly than without their heartfelt cries.

http://www.sichosinenglish.org/books/sichos-in-english/20/18.htm

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Sunday, May 07, 2006

The Fall of Paras and the Coming of Moshiach (updated)

A more substantial version of the essay "The Fall of Paras and the Coming of Moshiach" (orignally posted here on 4/28/06) including detailed footnotes is now available online here.

If anyone would like a Word copy of the essay, please contact YNathan358@gmail.com.