What is the Secret of the Healing Power of “Shema Yisrael”?

Parashat Va’etchanan

Why am I so Careful to Recite Shema with its Three Paragraphs Daily?

The one prayer, that is most well-known to even the most assimilated Jew, is without doubt the Shema Yisrael. This succinct, six-worded phrase is on a Jew’s lips throughout the cycles of life –

from the baby’s Brit Mila (circumcision) ceremony to his very last breath – until 120! After the Holocaust, R. Yosef Kahaneman zt’l, the Ponevezhe Rav, began looking for Jewish children who had survived the war. It was known that some of the children had ended up in churches and were being raised as Christians. The Rav encountered one church that denied the existence and presence of Jewish children within their midst. He was granted permission to enter the children’s quarters to inspect for himself. When he entered, he began calling out “Shema Yisrael” and instinctively many of the children raised their hands to cover their eyes and started calling out, “Mama! Mama!”   

The Shema Yisrael is known for expressing the essence of Judaism’s monotheistic faith. Yet, more than the quintessential declaration of Jewish belief, reciting the Shema Yisrael together with its three following paragraphs, is one of the many Jewish spiritual healing practices. I have always been familiar with the Shema, all the way back to my assimilated childhood. Since I embarked on the Torah path, I have been careful to recite it together with all its three paragraphs, even after I learned that women are only obligated to recite the first two sentences of Shema Yisrael. This is because we are still obligated in the mitzvah of emunah (faith in G-d), and therefore it is proper that we accept the yoke of heaven daily by reciting the two verses “Shema Yisrael” and “Baruch Shem” (Shulchan Aruch 70:1; Mishna Berurah 5; Kaf Ha-ĥayim 5). The reason why I am so meticulous about reciting all the three paragraphs following the Shema, is that since my first year in Yeshiva, I heard that these texts bring about healing. Our Sages teach that Shema is comprised of 248 words and that in a person’s body there are 248 organs. When we recite Shema properly, each and every organ is healed by the word corresponding to it. 

The Healing of Shema in Halacha

The Torah provides life and healing to the world and to all humanity. This is especially true concerning Shema Yisrael, in which the fundamentals of faith and the fulfillment of the mitzvot are included. “Rav Nehorai said in the name of Rav Nechemia: Shema Yisrael has 248 words, corresponding to the 248 organs of man. When we recite Shema properly, every single organ takes one word and is healed thereby, as it is written ‘They [the words of Torah] will be healing for your navel, and fat on your bones’ (Mishlei 3:8)...” (Midrash Ne’elam, Zohar Chadash Ruth 95a). Further on in that Zohar, the child prodigy brings to the attention of the Rabbis, that if you count the words of the Shema with its following three paragraphs, you’ll actually come up with only 245 rather than 248 words. The Rabbis in the Zohar then explain, that in order to make up the missing three words, the prayer leader should repeat the last three words of Shema, “Hashem Elokeichem Emet” (Hashem, your G-d, is Truth). This became the accepted halacha (Shulchan Aruch 61:3). What if you pray alone, without a minyan, which the majority of women do most of the time? Rabbi Moshe Isserless, the Ashkenazi commentary to the Shulchan Aruch, mentions the custom, that one who prays without a congregation prefaces the Shema with the words “El Melech Ne’eman” (G-d, Faithful King). Therefore, Ashkenazim, who say Shema without a minyan, should preface the Shema with these words (Mishna Berurah, Orach Chayim 239:1-4). The custom of most Sephardim is that a person praying individually should complete the three missing words on his own and repeat, “Hashem Elokeichem emet.” I find it interesting that the Halachic sources all quote the Zohar, about the healing powers of the Shema and are concerned about how to best ensure access to this healing, for all of our 248 organs. This teaches us, that reciting the Shema Yisrael engenders infinite potential for the healing and rectification of both the physical and spiritual bodies. Furthermore, the Shema contains within it the power of all 248 mitzvot, and it can provide opportunities for the tikkun (rectification) of mitzvot that are not even possible to fulfill today.
 
Does the Healing Powers of Shema Apply to Women?
You may be wondering about women, who have four additional organs: the fallopian tubes and the ovaries. If there are 252, rather than 248 limbs in the female body, how would the healing power of the 248 words apply to women as well? The Minchat Elazar was asked this question and he replied, that since the idea is Zoharic, it follows that the reasoning is too. He suggests that the limbs to which the words correspond pertain to the spiritual realm. Therefore, even a woman, whose physical limbs aren’t equal to a male, can still recite the supplementary Shema words (R. Hamburger, Shorashei Minhag Ashkenaz vol. 2 pg. 58, citing ME vol. 2:28).

Additionally, according to a more literal approach: The female shares the same essential 248 limbs as the male – indeed a woman’s additional limbs do not generate impurity as they are enclosed in the body – and therefore it’s “perhaps good for her to recite the words too.” In this vein we find other examples of women doing/saying things that correspond to the 248 limbs. One notable example is the ‘Mi She’berach’ for an ill woman in which the accepted text is “for all her 248 limbs.” (R. Yitzchak Weiss of  Vrbové, Siach Yitzchak vol. 1:29).

The Shema – A Bridge between Worlds and Souls שַׁחֲרִית, מִנְחָה, מַעֲרִיב 

In Parashat Va’etchan, just after giving over the Ten Commandments, Moshe channeled the Shema Yisrael followed by the paragraph mentioning the mitzvah to love Hashem with our entire being. The second paragraph is mentioned in the following Parasha (Devarim 11:13-21), Whereas, the third paragraph was already mentioned in Bamidbar 15:37-41. 

:ספר דברים פרק ו פסוק ד שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל הָשֵׁם אֱלֹהֵינו הָשֵׁם אֶחָד

“Hear O Israel, Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One” (Devarim 6:4). 

The Shema prayer is the centerpiece of spiritual healing, because it is a bridge between this physical world, and the spiritual, eternal world. The morning and evening recitations of the Shema can be likened to the morning and evening of our lives: birth and death. The Shema is our guide; we are greeted with it and sent off with it. This is not merely a custom, but an incredibly important gift, given to those traveling between worlds. Without it, their journey lacks focus and clarity. By greeting the new day with gratitude and recognizing Hashem in light, we are reconnecting with the blessings of birth. By saying the Shema in the evening, when the light is gone and faith is more challenging, we prepare for the ultimate challenge: death. The morning Shema is connected to Avraham, who instituted Shacharit, because the morning time relates to chesed (loving/kindness). The evening Shema is connected with Ya’acov, who taught us, through his dying process and death, about the tremendous opportunity for tikkun in death itself. Just as Ya’acov suffered tremendously in his life, but maintained faith in the oneness of Hashem’s plan, the evening Shema embodies the quality of emunah (faith) needed to believe that, despite apparent darkness, the light will return. 

The Shema Overcoming Negativity

The beginning of tefilah is to recognize Who we are praying to and try to grasp His Oneness. The Shema Yisrael calls us to hear and experience Hashem’s Oneness. Through internalizing Hashem’s unity, we have the ability to expel negativity and heal ourselves and others. If G-d is One, His Oneness must include all existence. Another central Jewish belief is, that G-d is good. Therefore, unifying G-d leaves no place for the existence of evil. “The root of the annihilation and removal of evil, as well as the perpetuation of good, in all creatures, is the revelation of Hashem’s unity. The ultimate rectification of all creation depends on this (Ramchal, Derech Hashem, Part 4, Chapter 4, The Shema and its Blessings). Believing that Hashem is One, and that all forces in the world are under His control, is our ultimate service of unifying Hashem. This emunah is our beacon of light, through the dark times of our lives. Ba’al Shem Tov says, that with every recital of Shema, we bring down Hashem’s light: “I heard an amazing secret from the secret of the great, powerful and awesome unification of the secret of “One” in the Shema prayer… All the thoughts and exterior existence of the other side will be completely nullified, for they will no longer have any vitality or light from any holy sparks, at all. Then, there will no longer be any death or sickness at all, in the secret of, “He will swallow up death forever” (Yesha’yahu 25:8; Ba’al Shem Tov, Parashat Va’etchanan). 

Shema – Igniting the Pilot Light of the Jewish Neshama

The Shema has the ability to call each of the lost ten tribes back to Israel, and each of us back from whatever blockage that may be separating us from our own soul and from connecting with Hashem in the highest way. The Shema contains the power to draw us back to our soul’s purpose: loving G-d, and sanctifying the Name as One, thus enabling the total healing of the world. During Operation Protective Edge in Israel, 2014, IDF soldiers had gone into a mosque in Gaza searching for tunnels and weapons, etc. A door opened, and a female suicide bomber walked into the room, ready to explode herself near the soldiers. One of the soldiers realized that their end was near and screamed “Shema Yisrael!” These words made the female suicide bomber tremble, unable to carry out her plan. After the army dismantled the bomb, they took her for questioning. They discovered that she was a Jewish woman, who had married an Arab and was taken to Gaza and beaten. Her two children were also suffering terribly. She told the army where her children were and gave them information about the whereabouts of additional terrorists, including the identity of the terrorist leader, who had sent her to bomb soldiers. The army brought her and her children to safety in Israel. This is a prime example of the power of Shema Yisrael to ignite the spark of Jewish Neshama. There is a spiritual pilot light, or Pintele Yid, in every Jew, that never is extinguished. The Shema is the spark that causes that hidden light to grow and strengthen. Every time we say the Shema, the light that is within us grows stronger, purifying us with the truth and connecting us to a wellspring of emunah. We suffer when we are not connected to this truth. Without understanding why there is always a feeling that there exists the presence of that pilot light, but it is being obscured by layers of worldly impurity that comes with exile, true exile: the distance from knowing HashemThe beginning of tefilah is to recognize Who we are praying to and try to grasp His Oneness (Based on an article by Tziona Achishena).

Awaiting the Redemption of Speech

Parashat Devarim

Can the Torah Heal Speech Defects?

Since I began to speak before I could walk, I have always been a woman of words. Yet, my speech was flawed by a noticeable lisp. It was a bit of an issue when I was a child, however, since I embarked on the Torah path, no one ever mentioned it. I just asked my husband if he noticed my lisp. I was happy that he replied, “only very slightly sometimes.” I was looking for an example of how the Torah heals speech defects, to introduce Healing in Parashat Devarim – the parasha of words. So, my own speech defect, which has somewhat been healed by the Torah, qualifies as a perfect example. I recall in high school; my heart would be pounding before I could offer a comment at the school assembly. Others were able to formulate exquisite sentences, with eloquent words, whereas I was shy when it came to public speaking. Yet, learning and living the Torah has opened me up, and now I can address even 100 women without batting an eyelash. Over the years, I have witnessed how learning Torah has healed countless young women. Many new, quiet students, who hardly opened their mouths in class, went through remarkable transformations in our midrasha. One such young woman, let’s call her Sarah, was especially shy like a wallflower. This was partly due to her low self-esteem, after having suffered child abuse. Sarah never volunteered to answer the teachers’ questions. She certainly shied away from asking questions of her own. It was beautiful to notice, that as the Torah began to penetrate her heart, Sarah slowly opened up like a purplish fuchsia flower, unfolding in in the morning sun. With a lot of support and encouragement, she started to participate in class discussions, posing questions and volunteering answers. As speech returned to her lips, she became more animated, and her face started to light up. She even gave over a beautiful, well-formulated student presentation. It is such a pleasure to witness, how the healing power of the Torah affected Sarah and so many others. 

The Words of Torah are Healing

The Torah is called “A tree of life” (Mishlei 31:17). The healing of the Torah is specifically expressed through healing the ability to speak, as it states, “and its leaf for healing” (Yechezkiel 47:12). “He who is dumb, his tongue will be healed and cleansed immediately through the words of Torah. The language of the Torah heals the tongue, as it states, ‘The tree of life [the Torah] heals the tongue’” (Mishlei 15:4); (Yalkut Shimoni, 3:172). Moshe is a prime example of how Torah heals speech. When he was a baby on Pharaoh’s lap, he threatened Pharaoh by reaching for his golden crown. Yet, the angel Gavriel moved his hand to grab burning coals instead and put them into his mouth (Shemot Rabbah 1:26). Since then, Moshe stuttered (Rashi, Shemot 4:10), yet his involvement in Torah healed this speech defect. It is taught in the Zohar, that the Torah is compared to a tree with branches, fruit, leaves, bark, and a trunk all connected to one another. So, too, Torah gives sustenance and life to all creatures, for, through the Torah, G-d created the world. Every word is like a covering for the inner Divine essence. Rashi explains the phrase, “Moshe explicated the Torah” )Devarim 5:5), that Moshe translated the Torah into 70 languages. He translated it, in order to widen the light of the Torah into the outer coverings, so that all would draw closer to the inner essence, and thus the inner wellspring would become more accessible (Sefat Emet, Devarim 3:2). True healing is when we are firmly connected to the Divine essence of creation. Therefore, the words of Torah are healing, because they are the manifestation of the inner life-giving essence of creation. The more we are able to express the Torah in different languages and through various vehicles of creativity, the more healing we engender in the world.

How could Moshe, with his Speech Defect, Give an Eloquent 36-day Monologue? 

ספר דברים פרק א פסוק ג

:וַיְהִי בְּאַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה בְּעַשְׁתֵּי עָשָׂר חֹדֶשׁ בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ דִּבֶּר משֶׁה אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה הָשֵׂם אֹתוֹ אֲלֵהֶ

“It came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month that Moshe spoke to the children of Israel, according to all that Hashem had given him in commandment to them” (Devarim 1:3).

The Book of Devarim opens with Moshe’s 36-day monologue to the people of Israel, from Rosh Chodesh Shevat until his passing on the 7^th of Adar. Due to his serious speech defect, Moshe declined his Divine mission (at the burning bush) to go to Pharaoh, saying “I am not a man of words… for I am heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue” (Shemot 4:10). This same Moshe, who was not a man of “devarim,” now produces a lengthy book of “devarim,” teaching and instructing for the Israelites, before his passing. This teaches us the “healing” power of Torah, as the Midrash says: See how cherished the tongue of Torah is, as it heals the tongue… Before Moshe was privileged to receive the Torah, it is written about him, ‘I am not a man of words.’ But, once he was privileged to receive the Torah, his speech impediment was healed, and he began speaking words…” (Yalkut Shimoni, 4:172). How did the Torah heal Moshe’s speech defect? Moshe, the most humble of all men (Bamidbar 12:3), did not consider himself an “ish devarim” – a man of words, qualified to guide, teach and preach. Yet, when he received the Divine Torah, he turned into becoming the best communicator in the world. This is because, when Moshe received the Torah at Sinai, he became a channel for the word of G-d. Rather than expressing his own words and ideas, he understood, without any shadow of doubt, that he was communicating eternal truth. Specifically, because of his humility and his disinterest in expressing his personal opinion, Moshe became transformed into an “ish devarim,” a person with the ability to stand before the nation and continually instruct them. His firm belief in the truth of rah empowered him to assume the role of “ish devarim” and convey words of Torah to the world (Based on an article by Rav Oded Mittelman).

Torah Redeems and Heals the Exile of Speech

When the Israelites were in Egypt, speech was in exile. As long as speech was in exile, Moshe had difficulty expressing himself.The Zohar explains: When Moshe exclaimed, “but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue” (Shemot 4:10), Hashem responded, “Who gives a person speech?  I will be with your mouth (Shemot 4:10‐12). Although Hashem kept his promise, as long as speech was in exile, Moshe’s speech defect could not be completely healed. This is because the inner dimension of Moshe is קוֹל/kol – voice [ZEIR ANPIN/Male Archetype], but דִּבּוּר/dibur – speech [MALCHUT/Kingdom – the Female archetype], which entails words, was in exile. Because Moshe was blocked from being able to express words, he said, “how then will Pharaoh hear me” when my speech, [MALCHUT] is still in exile, and I am speechless, because of exile… Yet, when the Torah was given at Mount Sinai, voice joined with speech, and then he spoke words… Then Moshe became properly whole with speech, as voice and speech were finally united (Zohar, Part 2:25b).

Awaiting the Healing of Speech and the Restoration of Malchut

It seems that this unity between voice and speech has become undone, the way knitted socks unravel. Sadly, although the majority of Jews have now returned from exile to our Promised Land, our speech is once again in exile. The quality of our words has sunk to the rock bottom level. Even though, in general, people may have become more sophisticated and eloquent communicators, our speech is often disconnected from the Torah and from our inner lifegiving essence. Don’t we often ramble on non-stop about trivial matters and waste our time in chatting online about everything and nothing? Worse yet, how much bashing, gossiping and lashon hara do we hurl at others behind their back or even in their face? I’m especially vexed by the ferocious public bashing of Naftali Bennett – the first one, in more than 40 years, to thank Hashem for the privilege of becoming prime minister, by reciting Shehechiyanu at the Western Wall. I am ashamed of the way Charedi (ultra-Orthodox) parties, United Torah Judaism and Shas, denounced Bennett, calling him an ‘evil’ and ‘wicked’ Reform-Jew, who is going to rot. What a terrible chillul Hashem (desecration of Hashem’s name), that the whole world witnessed the ultimate exile of speech, as expressed by some of Israel’s religious parties. We await the redemption of Malchut from exile, the return of the Shechina, and the restoration of the pride of Jerusalem, as prophetically foretold at the closing of this week’s haftarah: “I will restore your judges as at first and your counsellors as in the beginning; afterward, you shall be called City of Righteousness, Faithful City” (Yesha’yahu 1:26).

 

How Can we Heal the Bitter State of Mind?

Parashat Masai 

Who Wants to Become a Bitter, Old Lady?

One thing I don’t want to become is a bitter, old woman. I don’t want to become like one of the many, elderly grannies, I’ve met, with marionette lines from the edges of their lower lip towards the chin, making their mouth pout. They can go on and on talking about their ailments and suffering, as if, there is nothing more interesting in the world than the details of their various aches and pain. I got a taste of this bitterness when I impaired my left leg while exercising too strenuously. Yet, I’m going to withstand the temptation to bother you with more details about it. We all go through our measure of suffering in this world, but whether it’s going to make us bitter or not, depends on our own choice and attitude. The life of Naomi in the Bible was greatly embittered, to the extent that she asked the women of Beit Lechem to call her Mara – ‘bitter.’ Yet, in the end, her nachat (Jewish delight) from her daughter-in-law, Ruth, who was better to her than seven sons, revived her spirit (Ruth 4:15). We are all aware that “all is well that ends well” (The Decameron, by Giovanni Boccacci, 1353). This implies that everything is always well, because one of the main principles of our emunah, is that everything that happens in the world and in each of our individual lives, is orchestrated by Hashem, Who is the ultimate good. Therefore, no bad or evil truly exists in the world, as eventually, everything will become good. The problem is, that we never know when that end will be. This is why we need Emunah. Although I have tried to live by emunah for several decades, I find the struggle with the yetzer hara especially fierce, when it comes to accepting our fate, and suffering in life with love and emunah. The negative impulse seems to creep in at every opportunity, infecting us with its poisonous venom, injecting bitter fear and worry about “what’s gonna be?” Then I tell myself, ‘Why needlessly add to your present suffering, by worrying about what will be in the future? This only extends and quadruples your suffering.’ Instead, we must get in touch with our present pain and turn it into prayer. For example, today I prayed, “Please Hashem, You know how much I want to serve you, using the precious time You grant me to learn Torah, teach, write and pray. Please do not make me waste my time going to doctors and dealing with medical procedures when it’s so easy for You, Healer of all flesh, to just fix my leg in the blink of the eye! Please remove the pain so I can sleep well and wake up full of energy to serve You!” 

From Bitterness to Repentance

Parashat Masai, repeats the 42 locations that the Israelites passed through in the desert on their way from Egypt to the Holy Land. Each station had a lesson to offer to refine their character. At the fourth station, מָּרָה/Marah – ‘the bitter waters,’ they were faced with their repressed bitterness – the residue of their embittered prior enslavement. Through the suffering of the bitter water, which acted as a mirror, they were able to become healed of their own bitterness according to the homeopathic principle that ‘likes cures likes.’ This healing propelled them forward to their fifth station: 

:ספר במדבר פרק לג פסוק ט וַיִּסְעוּ מִמָּרָה וַיָּבֹאוּ אֵילִמָה וּבְאֵילִם שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה עֵינֹת מַיִם וְשִׁבְעִים תְּמָרִים וַיַּחֲנוּ שָׁם

“They journeyed from Marah and arrived in Elim, and in Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there” (Bamidbar 33:9). 

From the fact that it didn’t state, “they encamped in Elim,” like at the other stations, we learn that they had in mind to just pass through. It was only due to the miracle of the 12 wellsprings, that they decided to encamp there (Ba’al HaTurim, Bamidbar 33:9). The Zohar explains, that the name Elima can be broken up into two words אֵלִ"י /Eli – ‘my G-d,’ מָ"ה/ma – ‘is what’ (meaning ‘is everything’ – that is, ‘G-d is all there is’). From this, we learn that when the Israelites arrived in Elim, they repented and returned to the service of Hashem, by accepting His decrees with a complete heart, and true emunah. Elim was blessed with the purest water in the entire world because the twelve wellsprings of water embodied the Written Torah. The seventy date palms represented the 70 members of the Sanhedrin (who established the Oral Torah), while being nourished from the wellsprings of the Written Torah. It was the teshuvah of the Israelites that propelled this process [of the living Torah] (Zohar Chadash, Parashat Beshalach).
 
A Metaphor for the Sweetness of Torah

After facing their own bitterness at Marah, the Israelites were able to experience the sweetness of the Torah, when they arrived at Elim – the oasis of Torah in the desert – which can be compared to a life devoid of Torah. At Elim, the waters were sweet and good, since palm trees cannot thrive in soil where the waters are bitter. Dates, themselves, also allude to Torah, as they are called דְבָשׁ/devash – ‘honey’ (Devarim 8:8). Torah is compared to honey, as it states, “…sweeter than honey” (Tehillim 19:11). The date palm, nourished by the sweetness of Torah, represents the righteous person, as King David wrote, “The righteous person will flourish like the date palm” (Tehillim 92:13). We, Jews, all have a spark of righteousness within us, as it states, “Your people are all righteous, they shall inherit the land forever” (Yesha’yahu 60:21). The process of photosynthesis, by which a plant converts the light of the sun into leaves and fruits, teaches us to absorb Torah – Hashem’s light- deep within ourselves. This process can yield for us the fruit of inspiration and understanding. תָמָר/tamar – ‘date’ shares the numerical value (640) with the word  שֶׁמֶשׁ/shemesh – ‘sun.’ Dates only grow in hot climates with abundant sun. When we receive the Torah of Divine light, as we work on overcoming our ego, we can become transparent vessels, that convert light into the blood that flows in our veins, like a date palm, which is a pure conduit for transforming the sun’s energy into unadulterated sweetness (By Avraham Arieh Trugman https://www.chabad.org/kabbalah/article_cdo/aid/2097201/jewish/The-Healing-Power-of-Trees.htm).

Rectifying the Tree of Knowledge
The Israelites left the place of bitterness (Marah) and went to Elim, which also means ‘strength’ and ‘power.’ It has been said that, at that hour, Israel was perfected below according to her prototype above, for it is written, “and they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and 70 palm trees.” Now, the Holy Tree [Tiferet] spreads to twelve boundaries, on the four quarters of the earth, and to seventy branches closely intertwined, so that what was above is reflected in its counterpart below (Zohar, Shemot, 2, 62b). Through the sweet water and the 70 date palms at Elim, the Tree of Knowledge was rectified. The tall, stately date palms, furthermore, rectified the serpent, who crawls on its belly. This prepared Israel to receive the Torah at Sinai (Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac Chaver, Beit Olamim 138a). Rabbi Eleazar of Modaim said: “On the very day that the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world, He created twelve springs, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel, and seventy palm trees corresponding to the seventy elders.” Scripture, thus tells us, that each tribe encamped beside his spring and the elders sat in their shade praising G-d for them, because He had prepared for them [such a restful place] in a land of drought (Ramban, Shemot 15:27). Date palms correspond to Malchut (kingdom). The stately, tall and straight date palm, with its strong roots gleaning nourishment from deep within the poor desert soil, reflects the concept of Malchut: The channel that connects heaven and earth, allowing everything from above to manifest below. 

Dates, Wellsprings, and Unity
In order to understand the significance of the fact that Israel has 12 tribes, and 70 elders, we need to delve deeper. The Israelites left Egypt as distinct units. Every tribe had its own place, its own flag, even its own window in the sky, for its prayers to enter. This could easily induce each tribe to separate from the others, declaring itself a distinct and separate unit. That would not only cause the tribes to become 12 separate nations, but it would also generate a rift in the Torah. By the same token, the seventy elders were men of great wisdom and stature, each with his own students, school, and distinct style of learning. The potential surely existed for each elder to declare that only he possessed the truth and the true interpretations of the Torah. This could have, heaven forbid, turned the Torah into seventy Torot. The wells and the date palms symbolize the unity that prevented the rift among the Israelites. The word אֵילִם/Elim is an acronym for אָבִינוּ יַעֲקֹב לֹא מֵת – “Our father Ya’acov never died.” Each of the tribes was united under one father.  His spirit was in all of them and served to connect them as a nation, just as the Children of Israel declared at the end of their father’s life: “Hear, Israel, Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is one.” Although each tribe comprises its own well, it cannot separate from the other wells. In Elim, all 12 springs were in the same place, to show that they were available to the entire nation! The date palm also symbolizes unity, since it has only one trunk. Moreover, the stickiness of dates can serve as a unifier, when mixed with other substances. The seventy date palms further symbolize the seventy facets of our unified Torah. Although there is the potential for disparity, through the Sanhedrin, the elders can achieve unanimity in issues of the Torah. May we experience unity soon in our days, which will sweeten all bitterness and comprise the true healing of our nation!

How Can War Bring About Peace and Healing?

Parashat Pinchas

What is the Difference Between Shalom and Peace?

As a teenager, in the aftermath of the American counterculture of the sixties, my friends and I used to wear badges saying, “Make Love, not War!” Today, almost half a century later, as an observant Jewess, peace, and love, are still central to my beliefs. We are constantly greeting each other with Peace, aka שָׁלוֹם/Shalom, and wishing everyone we meet true peace and wholeness in life. Being so connected with this concept, I called my youngest son, Netanel Shalom which means, “G-d has given peace.” The word “shalom” is on my lips daily, not only when calling my son, but also, through the words of the prescribed prayers. Every Jewish prayer ends with Shalom: from Grace after Meals to the Silent Amida Prayer. The Blessing of the Kohanim, recited daily in synagogues in Israel, also culminates in שָׁלוֹם/Shalom, to bless us all with peace. My concept of peace, for which I yearn, has changed over the decades. ‘Shalom’ and ‘peace’ are not identical. Whereas the latter is defined as ‘freedom from disturbance’ or ‘absence of war,’ true shalom is a positive term, with its own value, rather than the absence of something undesirable, like disturbance and war. ‘Shalom’ derives from the Hebrew term שָׁלֵם/shalem, which means ‘complete’ or ‘whole.’ It is a state in which the opposing forces ofאֵשׁ /eish – ‘fire,’ represented by the ש/shin and מַיִם/mayim – ‘water’ represented by the מ/mem, coexist in perfect harmony. The greater the divergence and opposition, the greater the opportunity for true shalom. Not, that I want to get involved in a political discussion, but the new government in Israel, which comprises the greatest spectrum ever of parties, from the farthest right to the most extreme left, and includes an Arab party, has the greatest opportunity to engender true shalom. This unexpected unity government is truly from Hashem. Who understands His ways of bringing us our prayer for peace, healing, and redemption?  

Who Doesn’t Want Peace?

Western society emphasizes the competitive mode of self-preservation, encompassed by the seventh of the Ten Sefirot, נֶצַח/netzach – ‘victory.’ Simultaneously, it is inclined to tolerate and even empower adversaries, who are often viewed as victims. In that spirit, Israel is continually being condemned for the crimes of apartheid, and subjugation of so-called ‘refuges.’ This trend is rampant not only in Europe and North America, but even in Israel itself, represented by the Shalom Achshav – ‘Peace Now’ movement. The yearning for peace is definitely a beautiful trait, that harbingers the dawn of the messianic age. However, the leftist Shalom Achshav movement does not have a monopoly on desiring peace. Their most ‘hawkist’ opponents are no less adamant proponents of peace. Who wants to live in a place where rockets rain down daily, and our boys are killed and maimed in war? Who yearns more for true shalom and global healing than the followers of Torah? The difference lays not in the end goal shared by us all, but rather, in the method of attaining true peace. The question is whether giving in to terrorists and relinquishing land will ever afford us the peace that we all seek.
 
King Solomon as the Model of Peace
When we look at Jewish biblical history, we notice that King Solomon’s reign is a model for peace. This is why his name was Solomon, which in Hebrew is שְׁלֹמֹה/Shlomo, from the word שָׁלוֹם/Shalom. This prompts the midrash to describe Shlomo as “the king to whom shalom belongs” (Midrash Shir HaShirim Rabbah 3:19). It is interesting to notice, that the king who engendered the greatest world peace, was known for his military strength. As soon as he ascended the throne, King Solomon got rid of his foes by liquidating his opponents ruthlessly. In addition to infantry, he had at his disposal impressive chariotry and cavalry, through which he carried out successful military operations in Syria (See II Divrei Hayamim, Chapter 8; https://www.britannica.com/biography/Solomon). The neighboring countries were kept under strict control through heavy taxes, and no one dared to lift as much as a rock, against the Kingdom of Israel, under Shlomo’s rule. Without any terrorists or countries threatening warfare, Israel experienced the greatest peace. This is due to the fact that it is against Jewish nature to attack. Our current army is called IDF – ‘Israel Defense Forces’ because its purpose is not to attack but rather to defend. Yet, King Solomon’s reign proves that the greatest peace is achieved through showing a strong hand to potential enemies. 

Make War Not Love!

Parashat Pinchas opens with Hashem’s endorsing and extending the covenant of peace to Pinchas because he stopped the plague, by killing a couple engaged in sexual immorality (Bamidbar 25:7-8). For the Westerner reading about Pinchas’ killing a couple engaged in lovemaking, these verses can be jarring, especially for the proponents, even the ex-proponents of “make love, not war!” Nevertheless, it was explicitly this hawkish act that brought peace and healing to our people:
 

ספר במדבר פרק כה פסוק יא פִּינְחָס בֶּן אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵן הֵשִׁיב אֶת חֲמָתִי מֵעַל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּקַנְאוֹ אֶת קִנְאָתִי בְּתוֹכָם וְלֹא כִלִּיתִי אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּקִנְאָתִי: (יב) לָכֵן אֱמֹר הִנְנִי נֹתֵן לוֹ אֶת בְּרִיתִי שָׁלוֹם:(יג) וְהָיְתָה לּוֹ וּלְזַרְעוֹ אַחֲרָיו בְּרִית כְּהֻנַּת עוֹלָם תַּחַת אֲשֶׁר קִנֵּא לֵאלֹהָיו וַיְכַפֵּר עַל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל: 

“Pinchas the son of Eleazar the son of Aharon the kohen has turned My anger away from the children of Israel by his zealously avenging Me among them, so that I did not destroy the children of Israel because of My zeal. Therefore, say, ‘I hereby give him My covenant of peace. It shall be for him and for his descendants after him [as] an eternal covenant of kehunah, because he was zealous for his G-d and atoned for the children of Israel’” (Bamidbar 25:11). 

Due to falling prey to the Midianite enticement of sexual immorality meshed with idolatry, Hashem had caused a plague upon the Israelites, which killed twenty-four thousand people (ibid. verse 9). The deadly plague ceased as soon as Pinchas took the spear in his hand, driving it through the prince of the tribe of Shimon, as he was engaged in illicit relations with the Midianite woman, the daughter of the national leader of a paternal house in Midian. 

Healing Hod by Distinguishing Friend from Foe

Pinchas, a grandson of Aharon, who is known for pursuing peace (Pirkei Avot 1:12), was awarded the eternal covenant of kehunah (of being a priest), specifically through killing a couple engaged in lovemaking. By the same token, he was granted the covenant of peace, as it is the perpetual role of the Kohanim to bless Israel with peace. The attribute of peace is connected to the eighth of the Ten Sefirot, הוֹד/hod – ‘empathy/recognition.’ Each of the lower sefirot is attributed to one of our seven shepherds, from Avraham to David, and the sefirah of hod is attributed to Aharon. Rabbi Ginsburg, in his book Body, Mind & Soul, connects each of the sefirot with one of the physiological systems. The immune system is associated with הוֹד/hod. He explains that when the sefirot of the left side – including the sefirah of hod – become estranged from the sefirot of the right – including the sefirah of Netzach – disease manifests through malfunction of the immune system. A healthy immune system annihilates destructive, foreign intrusions into the body, whereas an unhealthy immune system turns on the body itself. Hod is related to the Hebrew word תּוֹדָה/todah – ‘thanks and recognition.’ A messed-up immune system results from an inability to recognize and distinguish friend from foe. Not only in our Western culture is it hard to recognize that sometimes making love is detrimental to peace. Therefore, only one person: Pinchas, who had mastered the quality of hod – as bequeathed to him from his grandfather Aharon, was able to recognize the peril to healthy peace and carry out this recognition into action.

 

Healing our Immune System

Balance is always the key to ultimate health. In a Netzach-focused society, we need to reclaim our hod to attain balance and health. I believe that the reason why we struggle today with several diseases connected to the immune system, including a number of auto-immune illnesses, is because we have become so alienated from our true sense of hod. When a person has AIDS (G-d forbid), the virus kills the immune system, instead of the immune system killing the virus. Seasonal allergies are caused when a person’s immune system misconceives healthy pollen seeds for invading enemy cells. 

ספר ישעיה פרק ה פסוק כ

:הוֹי הָאֹמְרִים לָרַע טוֹב וְלַטּוֹב רָע שָׂמִים חֹשֶׁךְ לְאוֹר וְאוֹר לְחֹשֶׁךְ שָׂמִים מַר לְמָתוֹק וּמָתוֹק לְמָר

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that change darkness to light, and light to darkness; that change bitter into sweet, and sweet into bitter!” (Yesha’yahu 5:20).
 
We can heal our immune system by learning to cultivate a sense of thanks to all who are benevolent to us and acknowledge our indebtedness to them, both for their physical and spiritual gifts. Simultaneously, we must recognize the nature of our foes, against whom we must be strong. When we master linking to the ally and fighting off the foe, like Pinchas, we can bring about Hashem’s blessing of peace and ultimate healing for body and soul, both for Israel and the entire world.

Why Did Hashem Imbue a Wicked Gentile with Prophetic Powers on par with Moshe’s?

 

Parashat Balak

Keeping Ourselves and the Others Alive by Seeing the Good

Since I began primary school, it was discovered that I was farsighted, because I had trouble reading the blackboard. Even after the ridge of my nose became bespectacled with a pair of disdained glasses, I still needed to sit in the front row to be able to follow the lessons. The sense of vision – which is the sense of the month of Tamuz – is so vital, that a blind person is considered as dead (Babylonian Talmud 64b). Yet, there are many nuances of both physical and spiritual vision. The right eye is supposed to be the good eye, with which we connect to spiritual vision, viewing reality from the Divine perspective, and seeing the good points in others. It hit me, that I must have a lot of work to do in this area, since I was afflicted with a severe eye infection, specifically in the right eye, on the eve of Rosh Chodesh Tamuz. Always looking for the good, in ourselves and in others, can be very challenging. Perfectionistic people, like me, who want to better themselves and the world, naturally focus on what needs to be improved. If we could only integrate the lesson, that by focusing on the good, we actually cause everything we see to become better, as I will explain below. Seeing the good enables us to keep ourselves and the objects of our vision alive. This is because, the good points within every living being, are sparks of the Divine life force. By searching out the good, we emulate Hashem, as it is Hashem’s way to look at the good that we do, even if some of our actions are not good. We learn this from the Torah verse in Parashat Balak, “He has not seen iniquity in Ya’acov” (Bamidbar 23:21). Likewise, we need to give the benefit of the doubt, even to a completely wicked person, because it is impossible, that no good point can be found in him. Likewise, we need to find good points in ourselves. Even when we feel really bad about ourselves, we need to look at ourselves in a different light and search from within all the negative, for some good points, in order to revive ourselves” (Rebbe Natan of Breslev, Likutei Halachot, Hilchot Techumin v’Aruvei Techumin 6:11).

The Dichotomy of Vision in Parashat Balak

As we proceed further into the zenith of the month of Tamuz – the month for rectifying our eyes – we read about this dichotomy of vision in Parashat Balak. The visual theme, which is the red thread of the parasha, is completely shrouded in mystery. How can it be, that Bilam, the gentile prophet who was blind in one eye, the eye with which we connect to the spiritual world, is compared to Moshe in prophetic powers? “In Israel, there was no prophet like Moshe…” (Devarim 34:10), but amongst the non-Jewish nations, there was... i.e., Bilam (Midrash Bamidbar Rabbah 14:20). Why would Hashem endow a wicked anti-Semite with prophetic powers? If Bilam was such a great prophet, then why did only his donkey – known to be a coarse materialistic animal – see the angel blocking their way, while Bilam remained oblivious? Lastly, why did the most beautiful blessings exude from the mouth of Bilam, whose main objective was to harm Israel with vile curses?
 
Women’s Power of Protection
Chassidic commentaries give us a clue as to why Bilam was unable to place his evil eye on Israel, because, thank G-d, the Children of Israel belong to a protected species: 

ספר במדבר פרק כד פסוק ב וַיִּשָּׂא בִלְעָם אֶת עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל שֹׁכֵן לִשְׁבָטָיו וַתְּהִי עָלָיו רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים:

“Bilam raised his eyes and saw Israel dwelling according to its tribes and the spirit of G-d rested upon him” (Bamidbar 24:2) 

Rashi explains that, when Bilam “raised his eyes,” he sought to cast an evil eye upon Israel. The root of his evil eye is that whenever he would look at something, he would separate it from its upper root, which is the source of blessing. By eagerly desiring everything in the physical world for himself, he only looked at the exterior object of his craving, thereby separating it from its upper root in the source of life. This explains why, whatever Bilam would look at, would become infected by evil curses, since it was being detached from its lifegiving root (Avodat Yisrael, Parashat Pekudei). Yet, just as when Ya’acov placed his sons behind their holy mothers to protect them from Esav’s evil eye (Bereishit 33:1), so did the holy women of Israel, who were connected with their inner vision, protect the Children of Israel from Bilam’s evil eye (Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech of Dinov, Agra d’Kala, Parashat Balak). The dedication and emunah of the Israelite women became a spiritual fence, protecting Israel from the spiritual poison of Bilam’s evil eye. When, we women walk in the footsteps of our holy mothers, by developing positive spiritual vision, looking at the inner essence of all – at the Divine power that imbues everything with life – then, we too will attain their power of protection. 

Why was Bilam Blind in only One Eye?

ספר במדבר פרק כד פסוק ג וַיִּשָּׂא מְשָׁלוֹ וַיֹּאמַר נְאֻם בִּלְעָם בְּנוֹ בְעֹר וּנְאֻם הַגֶּבֶר שְׁתֻם הָעָיִן:

(ד) נְאֻם שֹׁמֵעַ אִמְרֵי אֵל אֲשֶׁר מַחֲזֵה שַׁדַּי יֶחֱזֶה נֹפֵל וּגְלוּי עֵינָיִם:

He took up his parable and said, "The word of Bilam, the son of Beor and the word of the man with a gouged-out eye. The word of the one who hears G-d’s sayings, who sees the vision of the Almighty, fallen yet with open eyes." (Bamidbar 24:3-4)

Rashi brings two interpretations of the phrase שְׁתֻם הָעָיִן/shetum ha’ayin – 1. ‘Of the open eye’ 2. ‘Blind in one eye.’ However, he concludes, “by saying, “with an open eye” rather than “with open eyes,” teaches us that he was blind in one eye (Rashi, Bamidbar 24:3, quoting Sanhedrin 105a). Most commentators agree that Bilam was blind, specifically in his right eye – the eye with which we look at the world through ‘G-d-colored glasses.’ He could only see through his left eye – the eye of judgment which separates everything from its spiritual root. When Adam and Chava ate from the Tree of Knowledge, two kinds of looking were conceived: The right eye became the eye of kindness, whereas the left eye became the eye of judgment. We learn this from the verse, “Both their eyes were opened, and they knew that they were naked” (Bereishit 3:7). Since then, the average person looks with both of his eyes, reflecting our negative and positive inclinations, respectively. However, both eyes of Moshe, the antipode to Bilam, were eyes of kindness, as it states, “…that he was good,” (Shemot 2:2). Because, his eyes saw beyond this physical world of division and deterioration, Moshe’s eyes never dimmed, even when he turned 120! (Devarim 34:7). We also learn that Moshe had two right eyes from the fact that “his eye” is written in singular language, for he had double vision of the right eye. Since Moshe Rabbeinu perceived spiritual revelation and saw everything with clear Divine vision, without any distortion whatsoever, even in this world, his eyes never became dim. Hashem created us as regular people, with two eyes, to allude to the fact that there are two kinds of seeing, with the right or the left – the world-to-come or this world. Since the vision of the eyes depends upon the heart, there are also two chambers in the heart. “The heart of the wise to his right, whereas the heart of the fool is at his left” (Kohelet 10:2); (Based on Shem M’Shemuel). We have the choice between looking at the negative lack with judgmental eyes like Bilam, or to elevate our eyes to focus on the good, beyond this world of division, like Moshe. 

Why was Bilam, with his Gross Soul, Granted Prophetic Powers?
I believe that the reason Hashem granted Bilam prophetic powers on par with Moshe’s, despite his spiritual blindness, was to disprove the mistaken outlook, that there exists two equal spiritual powers battling for dominion: the Divine power of good, versus the Satanic power of evil. Moshe Rabbeinu was G-d’s ambassador in the world, while the sorcerer, Bilam, the son of Be’or, represented the dark powers of the Satan. The Torah teaches us that ultimate power is not divided between the forces of good and evil, but that all power belongs to the One and only unified G-d. He is the Creator of both light and darkness, including the dark powers, in order to imbue humanity with free choice. He extended this free choice also to the nations. Therefore, he granted them a prophet, with prophetic powers equal to even Moshe, our teacher. This was also so that the non-Jews would have no opportunity to claim, ‘if we would have been led by a prophet on the level of Moshe, we would have served G-d, too. Opposed to Moshe, Bilam received his prophetic powers though the forces of impurity, that G‑d allows to govern part of nature. Yet, this power has no independent authority at all. It is but an agent of G‑d, Who in His unlimited power, can bestow it upon even the lowest beings. Bilam, with his evil eye, haughty spirit and gross soul (Pirkei Avot 5:11), was considered even lower than his donkey, who beheld the angel while Bilam was unaware. Nevertheless, according to the will of the Almighty, the vile curses, of the evil Bilam, were transformed into the most beautiful blessings. Hashem even opened the eyes and mouth of the coarse, material donkey, as well as the gouged-out eye of Bilam, in order to verify, once and for all, that spiritual power belongs to Hashem alone, and He grants it to whoever He pleases.