"The Duties of the Heart" Gate 8, Ch. 6

"In Search of Spiritual Excellence"

-- A Reworking of Classical Mussar Texts

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman's series on www.torah.org
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"The Duties of the Heart" Gate 8, Ch. 6

What are we to do after having dwelt upon all we have in this chapter? Are we just to go about our business and find another "project" to busy ourselves with? Are we to just begin again from the beginning (after all, weren't we told to ponder what we'd come upon in this chapter "deeply and repeatedly" [8:3 Part 9])? Or is there yet another factor to consider?

The two best things to do after engaging in introspection clearly and intelligently, we're told, is to understand what we're meant to accomplish by it, and to dedicate ourselves to G–d in the process. That's to say, to always remind ourselves to practice introspection consciously and purposefully rather by rote and to emphasise our relationship with G-d.

For when you do, we're all promised, G-d will help you fulfill His mitzvot, and He'll also "teach you by the light of wisdom and enlighten you with the radiance of reason". As a result "you'll enjoy serenity and your mind will be free of the world's anxieties and attractions. You'll rejoice in the service of the Creator and delight in the fact that you peered into some of wisdom's mysteries in all their brilliance."

And you'll be counted among those who "fulfill the duties of the heart and the physical duties easily, eagerly and enthusiastically", who "have come upon wisdom" and "act righteously all the time".

Ibn Pakudah then concludes this chapter with the plea that "G–d in His compassion place us in their midst, and include us in their category".

(c) 2005 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman and Torah.org

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

********************************
AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*! You can order it right now by logging onto www.tinyurl.com/49s8t (or by going to www.rowman.com and searching for it). Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has translated and commented upon "The Gates of Repentance", "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). And his new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available from Judaica Press.
His works are available in bookstores and in various locations on the Web.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled "Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal".

R' Ashlag Ch. 19 (sect. 1)

Rabbi Yehudah Ashlag's "Introduction to the Zohar"

-- as translated and commented on by Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

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Ch. 19

1.

"We can now also settle the fourth inquiry."

-- See 1:5.

"(Which was this:) How could G-d, who is all-good and innately benevolent, have purposefully created so many people who suffer and are tried their whole lives long?"

-- After all, as the question continues in the orginal, “Wouldn’t an all-good Creator be expected to be benevolent -- if not at least less malevolent?”

"It thus comes to this. The (reality of the) first era necessitated all our trials and tribulations. For we humans have to choose either the path of Torah or the path of trial and tribulation in order to achieve the complete immortality that’s due us (either way) in the third era (see Ch. 15)."

-- That is, the third era will come about one way or the other, as a natural outcome of the fact that the first era had *already* been. And since we learned that there are only two ways to earn a place in the third era: by either faithfully adhering to G-d’s mitzvot, or by suffering trials and tribulations (see 16:2), it’s clear that we shouldn’t be suprised by the existence of trials and tribulations, since they serve a profound and ultimately *benevolent* end.

"And (besides,) all those trials and tribulations only affect the husk that is our body (and person, but no deeper), which was only created (in the first place) to perish and be interred."

-- So while pain does indeed ache and oftentimes gnaws at our beings and grates at our bones, in the end that’s as far as it will ever go. For it will inevitably end up being nothing but a bitter and black memory that will itself vanish in the end, too (even though we *never* thought it would), much as our physical beings will.

(c) 2005 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

********************************
AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*! You can order it right now by logging onto www.tinyurl.com/49s8t (or by going to www.rowman.com and searching for it). Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has translated and commented upon "The Gates of Repentance", "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). And his new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available from Judaica Press.
His works are available in bookstores and in various locations on the Web.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled "Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal".

"The Way of G-d", Ch. 6, Paragraph 10

RAMCHAL

-- A Reworking of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto's "The Way of G-d"

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman's series on www.torah.org

__________________________________________________

"The Way of G-d", Ch. 6, Paragraph 10

Knowing that G-d listens to our prayers and changes things and circumstances as a consequence of them, our sages set out to formulate the very prayers that would foster the sort of effects needed, as we said earlier (4:5:4). So let's now concentrate somewhat on what's affected by our morning prayers.

The morning prayer service is divided into four major components, as we'd said. The first ("korbanot") is centered on the sacrificial offerings, the second ("p'sukei pezimrah") consists of praises of G-d, the third is concerned with the recitation of Sh'ma Yisroel and its blessings, and the fourth focuses upon the Sh'mone Esrei and the various prayers that follow it. There's a lot to be said about all this, but we'll touch upon only some of the broader purposes served by the recitation of each.

The readings centered on the sacrificial order are arranged to help us uplift and purify the physical world (much the way a mere beast-of-burden would be uplifted and made as pure as possible when offered in the Holy Temple), and to remove any impediments to the world's physical and spiritual sustenance (much the way we'd take pains to prepare our food well enough to make it fit to eat).

The praises of G-d we enunciate in the second component serve to encourage G-d to shine His presence upon us (which we can only appreciate once we recognize how great and luminous He is by thanking Him for His rich favors).

We've already explained the significance of Sh'ma Yisroel and its blessings at great length from one perspective (see 4:4:1-12), but there's another way of approaching it altogether. And it's based on this.

As we'd discussed early on, the universe is comprised of a series of spiritual impetuses and infrastructures (see 1:5:3), and everything in it plays a part in the grand sequence of events cascading downward from the transcendent forces to the physical world.

We're taught that everything must be bound to everything else before G-d's material and spiritual sustenance can reach them. And that happens as follows: the most mundane of things attach themselves on to higher entities (on some recondite level), which then attach themselves on to yet higher entities, until the highest among them attaches themselves on to the transcendent forces which draw their sustenance from G-d Himself. G-d can then extend His sustenance to the transcendent forces, and they can then pass that downward until they reach the material realm in such a way that everything can be sustained and retain its status and function.

The point is that our recitation of the praises in the blessings before and after Sh'ma Yisroel allow for all that to happen. And the process is then enforced and strengthened by our recitation of the Sh'mone Esrei prayer, which we'll discuss in the next chapter from yet another perspective.

(c) 2005 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman and Torah.org

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

********************************
AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*! You can order it right now by logging onto www.tinyurl.com/49s8t (or by going to www.rowman.com and searching for it). Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has translated and commented upon "The Gates of Repentance", "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). And his new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available from Judaica Press.
His works are available in bookstores and in various locations on the Web.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled "Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal".

Purim and Humility

Haman was a self-made man. His background isn't enunciated in the Megillah nor is what catapulted him to his high position. He just seemed destined for greatness (or meanness, as we come to learn) from the start, and he was thus out of the experience of most of us. But at one point he seemed very much like us: when he allowed himself to boast to his wife and close friends about how well things were going for him -- ironically, though, right before his downfall.

"You know," he said, though in other words, "I'm a very wealthy man with a large family who's become a great success in my field" (see Esther 5:11-12). "And now on top of all that Queen Esther has invited me, and me alone, to join her and the king at a private banquet" (v. 12). "Can you imagine?" he must have said.

And who among us but the greatest hasn't come home and shared much the same with his or her spouse about personal and professional successes and peaks. "I was promoted!" we might say, " ... I can't believe how far I've come, considering where I started out ...." , etc.

Now, would anyone blame us for allowing ourselves a little credit with our loved ones or for glowing just a bit in the face of great good fortune? Why, we'd undoubtedly inject a number of humble recitations of "boruch Hashem" (thank G-d) as well as an appropriate "blee ayin harah" (I hope nothing ruins it for us) here and there. Would anyone really accuse us of arrogance? I doubt it.

And yet we scorn Haman for his remarks, and even pat ourselves on the back for not making the mistake he subsequently made when he said that, despite all his good fortune, he was depressed and enraged because one guy -- and a Jew no less, Mordechai -- refused to bow down to him (see Esther 5:9,13).

"What a blowhard he was!", we'd say self-righteously, "and what a fool, since he was just about to lose it all" -- as if our *own* pride wouldn't be smashed if someone in the office kept sticking his tongue out at us and refused to pat us on the back despite our promotion or the like.

Notice Esther's diffidence on the other hand, though. Three separate times she was offered the greatest career-move imaginable -- control of half of the civilized world (see Esther 5:3,6 and 7:2)! -- and she never once mentioned it to anyone.

So what is it that separates Esther and others like her from the rest of us?

First off, we need to know that according to some, Mordechai could have been accused of arrogance when he refused to bow down to Haman! (After all, halachically he probably didn't need to refuse, since Haman wasn't an idol in fact [see Rashi to Esther 3:2]). His detractors claim he only refused to bow down to Haman because Mordechai had once saved Haman's life and Haman had become his slave in return for that as a result, and Mordechai wouldn't deign to bow down to him out of rank pride (see Yalkut Shimoni 956)!

It seems to be that what set Esther apart was the fact that she truly internalized a lesson Mordechai himself taught her at a crucial point in the Megillah (for, you see, while Mordechai might have exhibited hubris, he apparently came to do teshuvah for that error, as we all can, by reflecting upon the idea we'll soon expand on).

There came a point in the Megillah where the crisis was coming to a head -- the Jews were about to be annihilated (G-d forbid!) -- and something dire had to be done. Mordechai suggested that Esther was in a unique position to appeal to King Achashveirosh to end the decree against the Jews, but she was afraid to speak out. And that's when Mordechai offered the insight he himself had apparently come to that had lead to his own humility.

He said to her, You know, "if you remain silent now, then relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another place" since it was inevitable. "But you and your father's house will be destroyed" (Esther 4:14), because you'll have done nothing to help the process along.

For indeed, no one but G-d Himself is indispensable (see Derech Hashem 1:3-4 and Hilchot Yesodai Torah 1:1-3). Everything and everyone else is support staff at best and stage props at worst.

In fact, the halachic procedures involved in Purim make that point in a way as well. The Shulchan Aruch (Halachic Codes) points out that If the Megillah-reader, who plays such a vital role in the day, stops reciting the Megillah for one reason or another, that in fact someone else can quite simply step up in his place and continue on from where the first reader left off without a hitch (see O. C. 6:92:2). The point is that the all-important Megillah reading will always go on one way or another.

Apparently that was the lesson Mordechai himself came to learn and to pass on to Esther; and that seems to be what gave her the inner fortitude needed not to brag about her own accomplishments.

One thing does stand out, however. Even though Esther didn't publicize her good fortune, the facts are there for all to read; it's all recorded in the Book of Esther. We all know that she could have been in charge of half the world despite her not having enunciated it. And that underscores another point, that what must come to be known always will.

In fact, that allows us new insight into the Mishna in Pirke Avot that reads, “Contemplate three things and you'll never come to sin: know what's above you -- an eye that sees, an ear that hears; and that *all your deeds being are inscribed in a book*” (2:1).

That's to say that the only way to avoid the cardinal sin of arrogance is to know deep in your bones that G-d's "eyes" and "ears" know full-well what has to be done in the world, and what *will* be done in the end. And that the lesson for us is that if we assume the roles allotted us in the great drama without arrogance or an untoward degree of self-consciousness, that our part will be "inscribed" in a book, just as Esther's was. And that we will have mattered indeed -- without our having to assert that.

(c) 2005 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

"The Duties of the Heart" Gate 8, Ch. 5

"In Search of Spiritual Excellence"

-- A Reworking of Classical Mussar Texts

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman's series on www.torah.org
__________________________________________________

"The Duties of the Heart" Gate 8, Ch. 5

There's a question as to whether we should be introspective and dwell on the sorts of things we cited before all the time or not. After all, wouldn't that distract us from so many other things?

At bottom we're told that if we have the mentally acuity that something like that would call for -- which not everyone has -- that we're to be introspective "with every blink of the eye" and "each and every breath". Why? In order to "make sure that we stand in awe and dread before G–d *all the time*", not just when the spirit moves us.

But consider the ramifications of that. It implies that we're to concentrate on G-d's presence and His interactions with us wherever we are and with whomever we're with; that we're not to only talk and interact with those others, but with G-d too, who's also there (it should occur to us)! In other words, we're to perform on two different planes at once, if you will -- speak to two different "people" at the same time while taking each one's "feelings" into account, moment by moment. Few things are as fulfilling or as difficult to do, and little has the potential to extend our boundaries as far as that.

Is that difficult? To be sure. But is it for us? Yes -- after all, we're in search of spiritual excellence, which not only calls for the above-cited mental acuity but a lot of effort and dedication as well.

But, take heart, we're assured, and don't ever think your efforts to draw close to G-d that way -- no matter how small -- are ever in vain. For Ibn Pakudah reports that even "a little from you is a lot to Him", which he then offers an analogy for.

He asks us to consider how slowly sunlight seems to move on the ground, and to then realize that "even when it seems to only be moving a foot or so on the ground" at a time that "it's actually moving many miles" in the heavens. What that means to say is that no matter how little progress we detect in our Divine service "on the ground" day after day we're to know that we've actually managed to travel many, many miles in G-d's eyes.

(Unfortunately, though, the same is true of the effect our seemingly minor transgressions make in the heavens. For they too leave deep and long impressions in the cosmos even if we think otherwise.)

(c) 2005 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman and Torah.org

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

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AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*! You can order it right now by logging onto www.tinyurl.com/49s8t (or by going to www.rowman.com and searching for it). Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has translated and commented upon "The Gates of Repentance", "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). And his new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available from Judaica Press.
His works are available in bookstores and in various locations on the Web.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled "Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal".

"The Way of G-d", Ch. 6, Paragraph 9

RAMCHAL

-- A Reworking of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto's "The Way of G-d"

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman's series on www.torah.org

__________________________________________________

"The Way of G-d", Ch. 6, Paragraph 9

Once we understand that prayer is one of *the* best ways to draw close to G-d Almighty and to rectify the world, which is our life's goal, it becomes clear that nearly everything we do should prepare us for it. And that certainly goes for what we wear.

So we're charged to adorn ourselves with tallit and tephillin before we pray in the morning so as to be more elevated than we'd been before, to be ready to greet G-d Almighty in awe and wonder (having been sanctified and illumined by the tallit and tephillin), and in order to allow for the transmission of G-d's great and rectifying light throughout the universe.

The morning prayer service itself, as we'll see, is a multilayered and subtle series of petitions, praises, and expressions of gratitude. And it's comprised of four major components that correspond to the four Celestial Realms which are all adjusted to one degree or another when we pray, Realm by Realm.

In any event, the sequence begins with the donning of tallit and tephillin, as we'd said, which then serves as a sort of initiation into it the process.

(c) 2005 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman and Torah.org

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

********************************
AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*! You can order it right now by logging onto www.tinyurl.com/49s8t (or by going to www.rowman.com and searching for it). Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has translated and commented upon "The Gates of Repentance", "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). And his new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available from Judaica Press.
His works are available in bookstores and in various locations on the Web.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled "Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal".

A Side- Blog

I and others been invited to co-blog here: Der Alter . Please go there once in a while to see what's written.

R' Ashlag Ch. 18 (sect. 3)

Rabbi Yehudah Ashlag's "Introduction to the Zohar"

-- as translated and commented on by Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

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Ch. 18

3.

“(Understand, though, that) we needn’t raise questions about the place of other (animate or inanimate) beings in the world. For humankind is the focal point of creation, whereas other beings have no intrinsic worth. In fact they’re only of consequence when they (can) help humankind achieve perfection, and they only ascend and descend in relation to him and (thus) haven’t any personal standing.”

-- R’ Ashlag now addresses a very serious objection some might have. That’s all very good as far as humankind is concerned, since it’s subsumed in G-d’s Presence in the first and third eras, and it need only endure the second so as to get from one to the other. But what of entities, pehnomena, beings, etc, that will never be subsumed in His Presence and thus don’t seem to matter at all?
-- He indicates though that that’s a moot point, since *nothing but humankind matters at bottom in the great rush and struggle to adhere unto G-d’s Presence that is corporeal existence*, other than as a subsidiary help or deterrent.

(c) 2005 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

********************************
AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*! You can order it right now by logging onto www.tinyurl.com/49s8t (or by going to www.rowman.com and searching for it). Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has translated and commented upon "The Gates of Repentance", "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). And his new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available from Judaica Press.
His works are available in bookstores and in various locations on the Web.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled "Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal".

"The Duties of the Heart" Gate 8, Ch. 4

"In Search of Spiritual Excellence"

-- A Reworking of Classical Mussar Texts

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman's series on www.torah.org
__________________________________________________

"The Duties of the Heart" Gate 8, Ch. 4

Essential truth is always stunning and usually sudden, and it's also alternatively wonderful or unsettling when it's met head on. So seeing as we'd faced a lot of it in the last chapter, and considering that our discussion has touched on vital things like our raison d'être, our relationship to G-d, and more, our having encountered all that truth is bound to have affected us deeply. Ibn Pakudah's promise to us is that the encounter will prove to be positively life-altering and enlightening in the end if we take what we learned to heart.

Concentrate upon these thirty instances of introspection in the spirit in which we're asked to, and "an exquisite and lofty change will come about from within" he assures us. For one thing, all the "ambiguities of ignorance" and the "darkness of doubt" -- all the apprehensions and qualms that riddle our souls when we don't know what life is about -- will be gone. Because the rock-bottom truths of life will have been established in our souls, which will help us understand so much.

Reflect whole–heartedly and devoutly on what we'd come upon, we're assured, "and you'll find your way to the higher planes, and your yetzer harah will be unable to reach or beguile you". You'll come to be "one of G–d's treasured ones", and "a curious celestial capacity never before known to you will overcome you". Not only that, but "you'll come to comprehend great things and unravel profound mysteries ... and you'll never be without joy in this world and the next".

And he then draws a tantalizing analogy to what would be required of us as well as what we could expect. He asks us to imagine we were "standing someplace, when suddenly above you to the side, stood an object you couldn't see. Imagine (as well that) someone were to tell you that if you were to make a metal plate, buff it until it was no longer dull, polish it for a long time with a lot of ointment, then place it in front of your face that you'd be able to see the object above you whose shape you can't now make out, and that you could then delight in its pleasant reflection".

What is the mysterious object standing off to the side we'd have now come to see? It's "the Creator's wisdom and abilities, and the beauty of the supernal world whose form and make-up are usually hidden from us". The lense we'd produced stands for "the human soul", the buffing and polishing processes represent "involvement in logic– and Torah–based wisdom and ethics", and the ointments used are "the thirty instances of introspection" we'd presented.

His point is that the only way to actually catch sight of G-d's ways in the world and beyond is to "buff", or refine and hone, your being by delving into G-dly wisdom, ethics, and into the thirty instances of introspection at great length.

"Affix those instances of introspection to your heart and go over them in your mind" Ibn Pakudah concludes, "and your soul will become pure, your mind enlightened, and you'll come to see everything that was ever hidden from you, and the true form of things. The gate to elevation will be opened to you, the curtain between you and the wisdom of the Creator will be drawn from your eyes, and G–d will instruct you in transcendental wisdom". And in the end, we're informed, "the spirit of G–d will rest upon (you), the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of insight and the fear of G–d" (Isaiah 11:2).

(c) 2005 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman and Torah.org

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

********************************
AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*! You can order it right now by logging onto www.tinyurl.com/49s8t (or by going to www.rowman.com and searching for it). Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has translated and commented upon "The Gates of Repentance", "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). And his new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available from Judaica Press.
His works are available in bookstores and in various locations on the Web.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled "Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal".

R' Ashlag Ch. 18 (sect. 2)

Rabbi Yehudah Ashlag's "Introduction to the Zohar"

-- as translated and commented on by Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

__________________________________________________

2.

“And (we can now understand too that) it's our eternal nature that (actually) made it necessary for the husk that is our body (i.e., self) which was granted us (as the means) to serve (G-d) to be mortal and ephemeral. For had it remained in a state of eternity -- G-d forbid! -- we'd have been separated from the Eternal forever!”

-- Now, the notion that we'd have been separated from the Eternal forever had our essences remained in its primal state in the first era for eternity seems odd. After all, wouldn't we have just remained conjoined with Him?

-- But as we learned in Ch. 15, all three era are interdependent; so, again, era one needed era two in order to eventually bring about era three.

“For as we said in Ch. 13, the tsurah of our body (i.e., our self) which is (at bottom nothing but) the willingness to accept things for our own purposes (as opposed to our essence, which is conjoined with G-d's Being and thus above that), wasn't part of the (ultimate) intentions for eternity. For we're already in the state we'll be in, in the third era”.

(c) 2005 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

********************************
AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*! You can order it right now by logging onto www.tinyurl.com/49s8t (or by going to www.rowman.com and searching for it). Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has translated and commented upon "The Gates of Repentance", "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). And his new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available from Judaica Press.
His works are available in bookstores and in various locations on the Web.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled "Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal".

"The Way of G-d", Ch. 6, Para's 7 & 8

RAMCHAL

-- A Reworking of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto's "The Way of G-d"

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman's series on www.torah.org

__________________________________________________

"The Way of G-d", Ch. 6, Para's 7 & 8

While tzitzit speak to our role in life and our relationship to everyday things, tephillin have contact with even higher elements, like G-d's light and how we use it to help rectify the universe.

For G-d wants us to be awash with the light of His holiness from head to toe, to irradiate that out to the rest of the world, and to thus allow for a great deal of rectification. And we do just that when we don tephillin. (And not only do we do that then, but we're taught that each element of our being reflects the light of holiness back to its Source then too, which allows for a complete circuit of give-and-take and a whole other order of rectification.)

The experience is known as "being called by G-d's name" (see Deuteronomy 28:10) presumably because of the fact that so much of G-d's light envelops us when we don tephillin and we're in such close contact with Him then that our beings could almost be confused for His presence (though there's certainly no real comparison). In any event, this is how it happens.

We're taught that our soul most especially exhibits itself in our heart and brain, and that we're thus to place tephillin in close proximity to both. So one tephilla (singular for tephillin) lays upon above our forehead while the other one is set upon our arm (which is connected to the artery that leads to and from the heart).

The head-tephilla allows the holiness we spoke of before to infuse the brain, and the arm-tephilla allows it to infuse the heart. Thus both our brain and heart -- and the whole of our being, accordingly -- are rectified in the process, awash in G-d's holiness, and thus sanctified. There are many, many halachic details involved in the make-up, writing, setting, and maintaining of tephillin, but suffice it to say that each of them plays a unique role in the transmission of that holiness.

Now that should seemingly be done every day, seeing how much darkness there is in the world, but that's not so. For we're actually *not permitted* to don tephillin on Shabbat and Yom Tov. Since a higher, bolder light emanates from Heaven on Shabbat and Yom Tov than tephillin can provide; thus we're already awash with it each and every Shabbat and Yom Tov, know it or not (which makes the donning of tephillin then superfluous, and while a superabundance of light and holiness might seem to be a good thing, it's actually not).

(c) 2005 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman and Torah.org

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

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AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*! You can order it right now by logging onto www.tinyurl.com/49s8t (or by going to www.rowman.com and searching for it). Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has translated and commented upon "The Gates of Repentance", "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). And his new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available from Judaica Press.
His works are available in bookstores and in various locations on the Web.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled "Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal".

R' Ashlag Ch. 18 (sect. 1)

Rabbi Yehudah Ashlag's "Introduction to the Zohar"

-- as translated and commented on by Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

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Ch. 18

1.

"Now we can now settle the fifth inquiry as well".

-- See 1:6.

"For we asked (there) how finite, mortal, and ephemeral creatures (like us) could ever derive from an Infinite Being".

"But it now becomes clear (how that’s so, given) that they (i.e., we) have already derived from Him, and are thus indeed (creations) of the caliber of (i.e., that one would expect to have emanated from) His infinite Being, since they’re (already) eternal, perfect beings".

(c) 2005 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

********************************
AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*! You can order it right now by logging onto www.tinyurl.com/49s8t (or by going to www.rowman.com and searching for it). Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has translated and commented upon "The Gates of Repentance", "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). And his new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available from Judaica Press.
His works are available in bookstores and in various locations on the Web.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled "Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal".

"The Duties of the Heart" Gate 8, Ch. 3 (Part 9)

"In Search of Spiritual Excellence"

-- A Reworking of Classical Mussar Texts

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman's series on www.torah.org
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"The Duties of the Heart" Gate 8, Ch. 3 (Part 9)

We're then asked to consider how we respond to changes in fortune and in a sense, to prayers turned on their head. Because there are times when we ask G-d for health, family, a livelihood, and the like which He grants us -- then takes away. Do we handle that with some degree of levelheadedness or are we set on edge?

The truth is that G-d does what He alone knows to be best, and can thus take back anything He'd granted us (much the way someone who loaned us his home could ask for it back before he said he would, for his own good reasons). So it really wouldn't do to "lament when (G-d) treats you the way He wants to and guides you as He sees fit," Ibn Pakudah suggests, "though it doesn't *seem* to be for your own good". Because at bottom "it's important to accept what G-d does and to rely upon His superior guidance and decree" in sheer humility and wonder. After all, aren't we each nothing more than "one of His creations; (whom) He formed, sustains and guides for our own ... good, even when that isn't apparent"?

Then we're counseled to have a broader perspective on how different an order of entity our soul is than our body, much the way some individuals are of a whole other order of person than others. "In fact," we're told, if it's true that "one person can be worth a thousand others, and not because of his physical strength (or the like), but rather because of the superiority of his self" and the loftiness of his personality -- then that's all the more so true of the difference between our soul and our body.

"So attend to your soul" as much as you can (without overlooking your body, as we indicated before), strive for spiritual excellence, "and realize that it's easier to cure your body from the most ominous disease than to heal your soul from the disease of a domineering yetzer harah".

And lastly, it's suggested that we not accept our status in this world as the be-all and end-all of our self-definition. In fact Ibn Pakudah suggests that we learn to see ourselves as "aliens in a foreign country" here. We're to imagine that someone of substance had compassion on us because we were strangers, and that he took it upon himself to provide us with our needs and to teach us how to get by here. What would such a kind soul tell us?

He'd let us know that we'd be leaving this land someday without warning, and that it would do us well while we're here (in the world) to learn to be humble and acquiescent, to not quite settle down permanently wherever we wander but to always be ready to move on, to abide by and be loyal to the leadership and rules of the land, to be helpful to others in our situation, to settle for humble accommodations and amenities, and to endure trial and tribulation as nobly and unassumedly as we can.

For indeed, we're each strangers in this world who have been wrought from foreign, otherworldly soil. And we'd all do well to accept that reality, and to accept G-d's rule over us, too. For we're each "nothing but a single, isolated individual" who'd be wise to "ally himself with G-d alone" who loves him. So, "dedicate yourself to His service, brother, just as He dedicates Himself to creating, guiding, sustaining you in life and in death. Always keep His Torah before your eyes; hope for reward from Him, and fear His punishment". For if you "accept your alienation while you're ... in this world" your home-away-from-home, "you'll enjoy the delight of the World to Come".

Ibn Pakudah then ends this lengthy chapter that's so chock-full of wisdom and broad perspective with one last suggestion. He asks us to realize that these thirty instances in which we're to be introspective about what really matters and what doesn't, who we really are and who we're not, are just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. "Don't be satisfied with my few observations, or my limited treatment" he tells us. "For each instance requires a lot more explanation and definition than I've given it". So we're to ruminate about these themes on our own.

The best way to do that, we're told, is to "keep (the list of thirty instances enunciated in this entire chapter) before you all the time, set them in your heart and thoughts; and each time you review it you'll catch sight of another of the sublime mysteries and spiritual morals you didn't see before. But don't think you'll have unlocked their secrets" by settling for a quick rereading of the words. "Ponder them deeply and repeatedly, better yourself and others by means of them, and you'll earn G–d's greatest reward" -- closeness to Him.

(c) 2005 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman and Torah.org

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

********************************
AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*! You can order it right now by logging onto www.tinyurl.com/49s8t (or by going to www.rowman.com and searching for it). Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has translated and commented upon "The Gates of Repentance", "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). And his new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available from Judaica Press.
His works are available in bookstores and in various locations on the Web.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled "Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal".

"The Way of G-d", Ch. 6, Para's 5 & 6

RAMCHAL

-- A Reworking of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto's "The Way of G-d"

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman's series on www.torah.org

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"The Way of G-d", Ch. 6, Para's 5 & 6

Since our clothes reflect who we are and even foreshadow how we're likely to act the whole day long for the most part, it's clear that clothing can and should have spiritual significance. So we'll dwell on the role they play in our daily Divine service.

The mitzvot most obviously associated with our clothing are those of attaching "tzitzit" (tassels) onto our (four-cornered) garments, and of donning "tephillin" (the leather boxes that encase specific Torah verses that we wear on our forehead and arm). And both tzitzit and tephillin play an important role in our morning prayers, as we'll see. We'll focus upon tzitzit now and on tephillin next time, then upon the combination of the two.

Tzitzit are significant because they're one of the ways we fulfill G-d's wish for us to sanctify -- and be sanctified by -- even the most mundane of things, like our clothes. For G-d wants us to always have Him in mind no matter what we do, and to use everyday things like our clothing to help rectify the world. So, when we attach tzitzit to our clothes we consciously and willfully set them aside for G-d's purposes (i.e., we sanctify them).

But there's even more to it than that, having to do with our standing out as G-d's servants and devotees. For like all servants and devotees, we too are required to wear our Master's insignia on our person to show our unwavering allegiance and in order to follow His lead.

After all, we're charged with carrying out G-d's wishes on earth to rectify all of creation (see 1:4:7), and to maintain the order that G-d desires (which is why everything we do -- both the sacred and the profane -- matters).

Now, we're asked to accept G-d's "yoke upon our shoulders" before we set out to serve Him, much the way a beast of burden (though there's really no comparison) would be expected to allow a yoke to be placed upon his shoulders in order to be tethered to the task at hand and set on course. Rather than a physical yoke, though, the yoke we assume is our willingness to subjugate ourselves to G-d's will, to be lead by His guidance, and to never veer off-course. Our ability to rectify things is aided by this willingness; and our wearing tzitzit is one way we accept G-d's yoke (in fact, tzitzit were classically placed on poncho-like garments that were indeed laid on one's shoulders like a yoke).

This all comes into play in the morning prayer service, when we wear a tallit (a "ritual shawl" that's always attached with tzitzit) and thus actively accept the yoke of Divine service upon ourselves as we set out to do our part in the rectification of the world.

(c) 2005 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman and Torah.org

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

********************************
AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*! You can order it right now by logging onto www.tinyurl.com/49s8t (or by going to www.rowman.com and searching for it). Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has translated and commented upon "The Gates of Repentance", "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). And his new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available from Judaica Press.
His works are available in bookstores and in various locations on the Web.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled "Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal".