Parashat Beshalach: What Can We Learn from the Manna About Bringing About Redemption?

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Parashat Beshalach
What Can We Learn from the Manna About Bringing About Redemption?

What is Our Main Mission that is Amplified During the Month of Shevat?

The main mission of the Jewish people is to rectify the downfall of the first couple, Adam and Chava. The final redemption can only occur when we have completed this calling and become worthy of returning to the spiritual existence in the Garden of Eden, before the fall.  The first step is to rectify our problematic relationship with food which has plagued us ever since eating from the Tree of Knowledge. As we enter the month of Shevat, our work on rectifying eating from the Tree of Knowledge intensifies, with its corresponding challenges. In my experience as soon as we arrive at the month of Shevat, it becomes much more difficult to eat mindfully. I believe that this is because when the rectification is vital for holiness and redemption the sitra atra (opposing forces) muster all their strength to do everything in their power to prevent this rectification. Therefore, holy people from Avraham to King David faced numerous obstacles and enemies. This also explains why throughout the ages “…not only one arose and tried to destroy us, rather in every generation they try to destroy us” (The Pesach Hagaddah). The midrash explains why Avraham is called “the Ivri” (From the other side) because “The entire world is on one side, but he is on the other side” (Midrash Bereishit Rabbah 42:8). This sadly pertains no less to the Jewish people today, for we are also called “Ivrim.” “Returning to our topic about rectified eating, the lust to quickly mumble the blessings and stuff our faces is the “enemy” of holy eating that I often encounter during the month of Shevat. This is because the tikun (rectification) of the Shevat is precisely לְעִיטָה/Le’itah – ‘Eating’ or literally ‘pouring into me,’ for this is the word used by Esav when he expressed the epitome of unholy eating in his desire for “the red, red lentil soup,” exclaiming הַלְעִיטֵנִי/haliteini… (Bereishit 25:30).  Rashi explains, “I will open my mouth, and [you] pour very much into it.” So, during Shevat, more than ever we need to mobilize our self-discipline and strength against the ‘enemies’ of holy eating to focus on the words of the blessings before and after eating, recognizing deeply that Hashem is the source of the food and pleasure we ingest while chewing mindfully and curbing our appetites to eat only the food that is healthy and beneficial for us, as well as only the needed amounts.

Transforming Earthly Food into Manna from Heaven

During the month of Shevat, we read the Torah portion of Parashat Beshalach, most often during the week of Tu b’Shevat. This Torah portion is connected with the tikun and energy of Shevat through its description of the manna – the spiritual food from heaven. Manna, like the fruits of Paradise, was supernal light in physical form that contained no waste and was, therefore, absorbed completely into the body.  It included no mixture of Evil, since only Goodness descends from Heaven (Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin Ruach Chayim on Pirkei Avot, Chapter 3). When we express our recognition that the entire whole world belongs to G-d through our blessings before and after eating, we can transform Earth into Heaven; resembling the World to Come where neither food nor drink exist, and only righteous people enjoy the Divine splendor.  In this world, spiritual food is covered in a physical garment, yet the blessing reveals its inner essence.  By accessing the spiritual life force of food, it will taste whatever flavor we desire, as it states about the spiritual manna that they tasted the flavor of all types of food in the manna (Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 75a). This is in contrast to the personification of physical desire – the snake, who is nourished by physicality and “everything he eats will taste like the dust of the ground” (Bereishit 3:14).  By blessing Hashem for our food, we free ourselves from the curse of the snake and enjoy the Divine life force within the food.  This helps us understand why “The Torah was only given to the generation who ate manna” (Yalkut Shimoni, Chapter 15, allusion 258).  In every generation, the Torah is given to those who purify the food from the snake bite and transform it into manna. Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi, one of the richest men who ever lived, never took any pleasure from this world.  Although he had a table of kings, his awareness of G-d as the source of all his abundance turned his worldly pleasure into Divine pleasure, transforming earthly food into manna from Heaven.  Because Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi elevated his food into manna, he was given the ability to compile the Mishna (The main body of the Oral Torah).

How do we Extract Divine Sparks from Human-Produced Food?

The 15^th of Shevat bespeaks the praise of the Land of Israel, for on this day the strength of the soil of the Land is renewed. The land of Israel is praised for its fruits and therefore on Tu b’Shevat, we praise Hashem for the delicious fruits He makes grow in our Land of Israel. By blessing the fruits during the Tu b’Shevat Seder we can raise up our relationship with food and transform our eating into the words of Torah. According to Pri Tzaddik, each fruit includes a part of both the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life – its antidote. It is the way we partake in the fruits that determines whether we are going to continue the sin of Adam and Chava by eating the Fruit of Knowledge or whether we will be able to relate to the fruits the way of a Tzaddik and then take each bite from the Tree of Life. Although the manna was heavenly food connected to the Tree of Life, and we may long for the time when we were fed directly by the hand of Hashem, it was not ideal.  Looking back at our days in the desert reminds us of the true Source of our sustenance, yet the goal is to come to the Land of Israel and work its soil. Our mission is to transform the Earth into Heaven by extracting divine sparks from human-produced food. This way we demonstrate how to serve G-d and reveal Him from within the material – from the very soil of the Land of Israel. Although growing our own food wherever we live is important, nothing compares to what grows in the Holy Land, upon which Hashem’s light shines directly. This is why the Torah emphasizes that Hashem fed us Manna until we could eat from the crop of the Land of Israel, to ensure that the transition from the holy food of heaven to the holy food of the land.

Why did the Israelites Eat Manna Only Until They Entered the Land of Israel?

ספר שמות פרק טז פסוק לה

וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אָכְלוּ אֶת הַמָּן אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה עַד בֹּאָם אֶל אֶרֶץ נוֹשָׁבֶת אֶת הַמָּן אָכְלוּ עַד בֹּאָם אֶל קְצֵה אֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן:

“The children of Israel ate the manna for forty years until they came to an inhabited land. They ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan” (Shemot 16:35).

The manna stopped falling on the 7^th of Adar, when Moshe passed over, (when they came to the settled land) but the manna lasted in their vessels for 40 days until the 16^th of Nissan, when they came to the land of Canaan. Rav Kook explains that the food in the Land of Israel is holy in its inner essence and only physical in its exterior. However, we need to be careful with the food from outside Israel. Only through the yearning for the land of Israel can the food outside of Israel be raised up as well. When we recite Shir Ha’ma’alot (on Shabbat) and Al Naharot Bavel (on weekdays) before Grace after Meals. We express our yearning for redemption through these particular Tehillim in conjunction with blessing Hashem for our sustenance. Expressing our yearning for the land of Israel when concluding our meal comes to refine the food that is not from Israel and make it close to the level of food from the Land of Israel. This is important even for those of us who have the merit to live in the Land of Israel, due to the decrease of holiness caused by the destruction of the Temple, which caused even the food in the Land of Israel to become less heavenly (Rav Kook, Orot Hakodesh part 3, The Holy Way, page. 295). Since I learned this, I have always been careful to recite Shir Hama’alot before Grace after Meals, with the intention to elevate my physical food to resemble the spiritual manna.

Turning Eating from the Tree of Knowledge into Eating from the Tree of Life

Eating from the Tree is rooted in all generations, and it will only be completely corrected when  Mashiach the son of David arrives. Therefore, the manna only descended until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. For it is known the land of Israel is Malchut, which is the attribute of King David and King Shlomo. The king is the source of the abundance of all kinds of delicacies connected to this world. Similarly, Eretz Yisrael was praised with all kinds of delicacies, yet these delicacies embody the spiritual aspect of Eretz Yisrael – the Holy Land. Her fruits are all in holiness, and when we partake in them, they imbue us with the recognition that they derive from the Creator. During all the 42 stations of our forty years of wilderness wandering, the words of Torah were absorbed by the Israelites each station brought us to a higher divine awareness. When we arrived at the forty-second station, even the physical desire for food – the utmost craving – entered into the highest holiness. This alludes to the future rectification when the Creator will reveal the hidden light to us (Rav Tzaddok of Lublin, Sefer Dover Tzeddek, Parashat Acharei Mot Letter 4). Just as the Israelites ate manna as a preparation for entering the land of Israel, in the future during the time of Mashiach we will once again eat the manna of the Face-to-Face unification with Hashem. Then the manna will truly rain down from the Tree of Life! (Heichal Habracha, Parashat Beshalach). May we merit mindful eating in holiness to turn our eating from the Tree of Knowledge into eating from the Tree of Life, so we can speed up the final redemption with the coming of Mashiach!

How Can We Transform Our Homes from the External to the Internal Dimension?

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 Parashat Metzora  How Can We Transform Our Homes from the External to the Internal Dimension?

 

How do I Reunite the Torn Apart Pieces of my Psyche? 

I feel the ground is being torn down from under my feet. Everything is topsy-turvy! The house never looks as messy as at the peak of Pesach cleaning. With my head in the depths of the kitchen cabinet and pots and pans scattered all over the kitchen floor, I am overwhelmed by a feeling of dissolvement.  It is as if all the different parts of myself are turning into torn-apart pieces, that I must sort out and bring back together in a different composition. There are treasured, vital items in the kitchen, and in my character that I must give their proper place, remove any external grime or dust, and make them shine. Some things are still important and usable, yet to a lesser degree. I will also remove their external attachment and keep them while relegating them to the backstage of my kitchen cabinet and psyche. There are other items that I painfully must be ready to let go of. It could be a favorite tunic or utensil that has been used up and become utterly threadbare and tattered or completely dilapidated. Correspondingly in my psyche, this could refer to a strong will to keep a thought, an attachment, or a relationship that no longer serves me. In the wake of Pesach, we are shedding layers on many levels and learning to let go. With every chametz crumb – we discard – we mustn’t forget to include its inner dimension and let go of any ego attachment. When I become humbled by feeling powerless and unable to keep my life under control, that is when I invite Hashem inside to help me reorganize my torn-apart pieces into a new and greater whole. 

The Blessings in Disguise within Plagues 

Even among the hardest tests we undergo, we can find many matters for which to be grateful. Parashat Metzora which is mostly about the plague of the spiritual skin disease of tzara’at, teaches us about the treasure found within the agony of the plagues.  Similarly, we have experienced positive effects during our recent plague of the coronavirus pandemic, such as reduced road traffic accidents, better communication, closeness among the family units, and other blessings in disguise. I believe the Coronavirus has helped us to discard the external or superfluous while treasuring the essential and internal. It has taught us that rather than dispersing our energy to the outside, it is vital to strengthen our connection with our loved ones, focusing, and investing more in them. In other words, the coronavirus has taught us a lesson on living more inner lives. 

ספר ויקרא פרק יד פסוק לד כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לָכֶם לַאֲחֻזָּה וְנָתַתִּי נֶגַע צָרַעַת בְּבֵית אֶרֶץ אֲחֻזַּתְכֶם:

“When you come to the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as a possession, I will place a lesion of tzara’at upon a house in the land of your ancestral possession” (Vayikra 14:34). 

This is [good] news for them that plagues would come upon them, (Torat Kohanim 14:75), because the Amorites [residents of Canaan] concealed treasures of gold in the walls of their houses during the entire forty years that the Israelites were in the desert, and in consequence of the plague they would demolish the house and discover them  [Vayikra Rabbah 17:6]; (Rashi, Vayikra 14:34).

How Can Plagues be a Result of Elevating the Sparks?

Rashi explains that the plague on the house is good ‎tidings for its owner because tzara’at required the owner to tear down the whole ‎house, which revealed treasures buried underneath by the previous ‎Canaanite owners, amounting to far more in value than the worth of the entire house.‎ The inner meaning of the “good tidings” is not only finding the material treasure” but the process of elevating divine fallen sparks. Kedushat HaLevi reminds us about the rule that the true joy we ‎experience is when we elevate the fallen sparks from the ‎‎Shechinah bringing them to the level of serving their ‎Creator. When we succeed in elevating fallen sparks, then the innerness within these sparks elevates not only the inner part of ourselves but even the sparks of the exterior part of ourselves, ‎known as the ‎חצוניות‎/chitzoniyut, so that we are enabled to discard this part of ourselves.‎ Our house has an internal and external dimension. The internal dimension is comprised of elevating the sparks, whereas the discarded parts constitute the external dimension. Comparing the human soul to the inner spark, and the body without the soul to the exterior, explains why the body of a deceased becomes impure. This is because it has lost the inner spark that connects it with the divine – the source of purity.  Similarly, once the sparks within the external parts of our home are elevated, then these external parts likewise become impure by losing their connection to the Divine. When our Torah verse speaks of the house’s exterior ‎suddenly displaying signs of a plague, this is nothing other than ‎the foul-smelling residue left behind in their house after the ‎Israelites had elevated fallen sparks by fulfilling G-d’s mitzvah (Devarim 20:16) ‎not to allow any of the Canaanite residents to survive.  ‎‎Rashi speaks of the glad tidings for the ‎Jewish people when they discover tzara’at upon the houses in the land of Israel that they newly conquered, referring to their joyful discovery of being able to raise the sparks so that they became elevated to spiritually higher regions. Yet after these sparks had left the houses, the houses became exterior and had to be demolished. This is the good news for the treasures that were found after demolishing the houses are the sparks, for the main happiness is to raise up sparks (Based on Kedushat Halevi, Parashat Metzora).

What is the Recipe for Elevating Sparks?

People often ask me “How do we elevate sparks?” I explain that raising sparks entails focusing on and connecting with Hashem through even the most pleasurable or the most painful experiences. For example, when we eat the most delicious Shabbat meal in a way that rather than succumbing to the temptation of taking selfish pleasure, we dedicate the pleasure we experience to serving Hashem by honoring Shabbat. Conversely, when we go through the hardest pain, which could easily make us feel that Hashem has forsaken us, yet we nevertheless choose to trust Hashem believing that this too is for the best, then we also elevate sparks. In both situations, a person is naturally so entrenched in the intensity of his experience that it is a great challenge to devote this personal experience completely to G-d. This principle applies firmly to the original war of conquering the Land of Israel without “allowing any soul to live from among these peoples’ cities, which Hashem, your G-d, gives you as an inheritance” (Devarim 20:16). Being a combat soldier ready to kill in a war is about the greatest pain a person can experience. It can tempt a person to succumb to his lowest animal instincts of anger and aggressiveness while fighting for the sake of victory for its own sake. When the soldier rises above his own selfish survival instinct to engage in violence and rather focuses on the mitzvah of serving Hashem by obliterating every single person among the evil enemy, what could be a greater way of raising up fallen sparks? 

A Woman’s Pesach Cleaning – The Rectification from the Tree of Knowledge 

The strong connection with Hashem that is necessary against all the odds to raise up sparks transforms us from living in the חצוניות/chitzoniut – ‘exterior realm’ to entering into the פנימויות/penimiut – ‘internal realm.’ Rav Shlomo Carlebach teaches us that during Pesach Hashem illuminates such a great light for us, through our innerness, that we are bound to enter the internal realm. When Hashem wants to give us something so heavenly, we need to purify the external so we can stand completely ‘inside,’ without allowing any stronghold for the ‘exterior realm.’ Cleaning the house is one of the greatest rectifications for the sin of the Tree of Knowledge. This rectification is handed over to the woman. It may seem lonely at times, for as much as the husband and children try to help, they can never enter totally into the domain of the woman’s rectification. In the place where a woman cleans and organizes while investing so much depth and seriousness – in that place, she is truly alone (Based on Rav Shlomo Carlebach, Lev HaShamayim: Pesach pp.85-88). Everything about the Tree of Knowledge is about the external dimension. It is what brought about the very first exile, from the utmost innermost place – the Garden of Eden. When we clean the house mindfully, we shed its external layers of dust and grime and thereby transform our home from the external dimension of the Tree of Knowledge to enter the internal dimension of the Tree of Life. Through Pesach cleaning, we have the opportunity to touch such an elevated place, which only a woman can reach. 

                     

Gratitude Focus for the Week of Parashat Metzora

“Japanese people have always regarded cleaning as more than a common chore. It’s normal there for elementary and junior high school students to clean their classrooms together. Cleaning is carried out not because there is dirt, but because it’s an ascetic practice to cultivate the mind.” (Shoukei Matsumoto, Guide to a Clean House and Mind p. 3). Every year, before Pesach, we are commanded to prepare our homes by getting rid of all the chametz, to start fresh and clean, to sweep out all the gunk and crumbs. We can do the same thing with the homes called our bodies, where we store a lot of aches, pains, annoyances, disturbances, stresses, maladaptive habits, etc. Guided meditations are a great way to clear your mind/body of the “chametz” before Pesach.

• Invite Your Community to Join Your Guided Meditation – preparing their minds and psyches for Pesach. Set the mood by lighting candles or dimming lights and turning off phones and other distractions. You may ask the following four questions as part of your Pesach meditation. 

1. What will you be cleaning for Pesach?

2. Why will you be cleaning for Pesach?

3. Does cleaning your space free you to be able to focus your attention inwards?

4. Which items are meaningful to you? How will these items help inspire you this Pesach?

• “We are Closer to G-d when We are Asking Questions Than When We Think we Have Answers” (Avraham Yehoshua Heschel) – While you go about your Pesach cleaning ask yourself questions about the chores you are doing that will inspire you to shed exterior layers of yourself. For example, when cleaning a certain kitchen drawer, you could ask how this drawer is a reflection of the state of your psyche, and how you can reorganize it in a way that will affect your inner being positively. When you scrub suborn stains, you could ask, what are the stubborn stains of my character that I need to remove? and what would be the most effective way to remove them? How do you think the process of cleaning and searching for chametz impacts your spiritual preparation for Pesach?

• Look for Hidden Treasures – Pray to Hashem to find your lost objects while you clean for Pesach. Perhaps during your ordeal of Pesach cleaning you may find a long-lost precious earring or any other item you may have displaced. Rejoice and feel grateful to Hashem for opening your eyes to find hidden treasures!

• Allow Yourself to Be Grateful for the Healing Opportunity of Cleaning – While we focus on removing all of the physical chametz from our homes, notice how the act of cleaning can spark an internal process of introspection, and strengthen your connection to Hashem. You can make your Pesach cleaning a collaborative event by engaging in a post-cleaning discussion and celebration to share what you gained from the experience and discuss what stands out to you most about your experience of cleaning for Pesach.

• Set an Intention for Your Pesach Cleaning to Remove the External Chametz for the Sake of the Mitzvah – so that you can elevate the sparks and transform your home to be aligned with the inner dimension. Focus on how the process of cleaning for Pesach is a way to rectify eating from the Tree of Knowledge – the source of everything external.