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 )

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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 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".