Conceited Fool

 

You should have read this first. If you haven’t, please do. It will give (personal) context to what follows.

 

An irreligious man came to Rebbe Nachman and boasted that he was an expert in foreign (non-Jewish) languages. He had recently been in a government office and was able to interpret a word that even their professional interpreters did not know. He was very conceited because of this knowledge.

When the man left, the Rebbe ridiculed him for being conceited about such nonsense. One of the Rebbe’s disciples, an extraordinary God-fearing scholar, was there. He asked, “Maybe it is better to be conceited because of something foolish than to be conceited, God forbid, because of one’s Torah knowledge?”

The Rebbe was silent for a minute and then answered, “No. The opposite is true. Our Sages tell us that when Rebbe Akiva was in prison, Papus said to him, ‘Fortunate are you Rebbe Akiva, for you were imprisoned for the sake of the Torah. But woe unto Papus who was imprisoned for trivialities’” (Berakhot 61b).

It is brought in Likutey Moharan I, Lesson #22 that the punishment for conceit is imprisonment. See Likutey Moharan II, Lesson #63 which discusses the imprisonment of Rebbe Akiva. It is established that it is better to be conceited on account of Torah, than on account of trivialities.

Talents, skills, knowledge—they’re all fine and dandy. But ultimately they’re trivial. They have no meaning unless they are harnessed to that which is everlasting. And that’s why we are gifted with them. Capisce paisan?

© Copyright 2014 148west.com/O. Bergman

2 for Your Sukkah

#1

By properly performing the mitzvah of sukkah one is privileged to have a pure heart. That pure heart is your ticket to pouring out your heart to Hashem (God), telling Him your every concern.

The words you speak to Hashem are akin to ruach hakodesh.

OB: Our hearts lack purity because we are greedy. I don’t mean we are totally self-centered. I mean we indulge ourselves more than is necessary because we are selfish—we eat because we want to eat; we sleep because we want to sleep, etc. We focus on the pleasure for pleasure’s sake instead of doing what we need to do because we are responsible for taking care of our bodies.

But the primary mitzvah of sukkah—eating, drinking and sleeping withing its four walls—is an opportunity to re-focus, to remind ourselves that there is more to strive for. The quasi-roof of the sukkah (skhakh) may only be made from [1] materials that grow from the ground and [2] are insusceptible to tumah (ritual impurity). Part of the message of these qualifications is that we can elevate even the earthy to a higher-level of consciousness if we don’t corrupt it with impure motives and goals.

The openness of skhakh is flimsy from a material perspective. But from a spiritual perspective it is an invitation to realize higher levels of God-awareness. There is no pre-determined or fixed limit to how much you can grow. The limit is higher than the sky.

Once your hearts is freed—purified—from the petty pleasures of the body, she can speak openly to Hashem about her true concerns, about her aspirations and ambitions for coming close to Hashem. These words are not coming from a place within you that is constrained by your intellect. It is coming from an even more Divine, holy, point of contact that you have with Hashem. And it is even more than that, but what that “more” is cannot be told to you. You have to Divine/divine it yourself.

#2

Properly performing the mitzvah of sukkah:

  • Is a segulah (nostrum, preternatural charm) to have children.
  • Saves a person from strife and argument.
  • Sukkah dissipates falsehood and strengthens the truth.
  • Reveals the genuine rebbe of the era. This means that every person sees the truth and understands who is the genuine tzaddik who can bring people back to Hashem. As a result of the true tzaddik’s fame, even the nations of the world come closer to Hashem, all with one mind.

OB: A sukkah is the Shekhinah’s nest. Wherever you see a sukkah, you are looking at a place that is, or could be, a resting place for the Shekhinah. Being the Divine “Mother,” the Shekhinah can bring fertility with her. As we‘ve seen from our Zohar-based posts about Shabbos, the hallmark of the Shekhinah‘s presence is peace. True shalom cannot exist if people lie or are deceitful to one another, even if their intentions are noble. Sooner or later, the truth will slip out and there is no guarantee that everyone in the relationship will be able to maintain his/her pacific attitude in light of the revelations.

Finally, as we learn from Rebbe Nachman‘s story The Lost Princess, the tzaddik is the one who dedicates his life, his soul, his all, to finding the Shekhinah and bringing her back home. By locating ourselves in the Shekhinah’s (temporary) abode, the sukkah, we make ourselves more capable of receiving the tzaddik’s da’at (awareness, mind-set). First, moving out of our homes and into a sukkah is the Shekhinah-seeking that the tzaddik engages in. Second, by actually “dwelling” with the Shekhinah and re-focusing to a higher, tzaddik-like mind-set, we find the tzaddik‘s teachings—or they find us!

As is well-known, there were 70 korbanot (offerings) made on Sukkot in the Holy Temple. These korbanot were brought on behalf of the 70 non-Jewish nations of the world. Just as an individual becomes spiritual, more Jewish, so too the nations of the world become more Jewish.

 agut yomtov! Chag sameach!

© Copyright 2014 148west.com/O. Bergman

Yom Kippur 5775

Now, it is Yom Kippur and we are being weighed in the scales of justice. If you’re like the rest of us, and you imagine yourself standing outside the courtroom looking in, you’ll see yourself sitting on the balance-pan which has “Guilty” written on it. You’re probably frowning and nodding your head. “Yeah, that’s me alright. I did a lot of things wrong and a lot of wrong things. Did some good things too, just not a lot and just not enough.”

You step into the courtroom to get a better look at the judge. You see who it is, but you can’t believe your eyes. You rub them, shake your head and take another look. You’re astounded. That’s the judge?! Really? It’s no wonder you recognize the magistrate—it’s you!

God is going to judge us on Yom Kippur for what we did and for what we didn’t do. You (we) are responsible for what you (we) said and did and thought. Actions have consequences. We must own up to that. God will decide, in His mercy, how best to arrange our lives to correct our mistakes so that we learn how to not repeat them.

Our good behavior, the nice things we said, the mitzvahs we hoped or thought to do? God takes those into account too. In His mercy, He will decide how best to arrange our lives so that we can get better at these and do them more frequently.

If it ended with this weighing, most of us would end up in the guilty-pan. But while God is judging your other actions, He is waiting to see how you perform the act judging your self. Will you convict and condemn yourself to “guiltiness,” to being a person who can never grow out of wrong thinking/speaking/behavior? Or will you say, “Hey! Yes, I did those wrong things and a lot, lot more, but that’s not me. Kiddush, charity, being respectful to the Torah scroll—it’s not that much, but that’s who I am!”

Yom Kippur is the day to “judge” and define yourself, to return to your innate goodness. Identifying with the good you’ve done makes you meritorious. The old you is gone and the guilty-pan a thing of the past. Being meritorious may not bring you a life of wine and roses, but it will put a song of God in your heart on and on your lips, come what may.

May you and yours be sealed in the Book of Life for Good Life. Amen.

© Copyright 2014 148west.com/O. Bergman