Parshas Eikev - The Secret of Dancing and Sweetening the Judgments

The Secret of Dancing and Joy

"And it shall come to pass, because (eikev) you listen..."

Rashi explains: "If you listen to the 'light' mitzvos that a person tramples with his heels (akeivav), then Hashem your God will keep the covenant with you, He will keep His promise to you." In Likutey Moharan (Torah 169), Rebbe Nachman explains the verse "And it shall come to pass (vehaya), because (eikev) you listen." The word vehaya denotes joy (as stated in Midrash Rabbah, Naso 13). Eikev you listen means that the heels (akeivaim) will hear the joy. This alludes to the mitzvos that depend on the heel—the feet—which are dancing and joy.

Rabbi Avraham b"r Nachman (author of Biur HaLikutim) says that there is a general rule: everything we learn in Likutey Moharan must be connected to the simple meaning brought by Rashi. Therefore, he reconciles Rebbe Nachman's teaching in Likutey Moharan with Rashi's commentary.

Rabbi Avraham b"r Nachman explains that when Rashi says all the curses and harsh judgments come because of the mitzvos that a person tramples with his heels, the true meaning is this: there are no mitzvos that a person tramples and disrespects more than the mitzvos that depend on the heel (the feet), which are the mitzvos of dancing and joy. Therefore, in the portion of the rebuke in Parshas Ki Savo, the Torah attributes all the curses to the fact that "you did not serve Hashem your God with joy and a glad heart out of an abundance of all things."

In truth, when there are many harsh judgments upon a person, the blood descends to the feet, making the feet heavy due to the blood that has spread there. When the feet are heavy and do not want to dance, it indicates the harsh judgments that the person is immersed in. Because when a person has judgments upon him, his soul feels those judgments, causing all the blood to descend to the feet, making them heavy.

A person might think that his lack of dancing is simply his own choice. He tells himself, "I don't feel like dancing," or "It's not dignified to dance," or "Dancing is for children and young yeshiva boys..." The real reason a person has no desire to dance is solely because there are such harsh judgments upon him that his desire for dancing and joy has been taken away.

The Arrogance of One Who Withholds Himself from Joy

The Rambam states in the Laws of Lulav (Chapter 8, Halacha 15):

"Anyone who withholds himself from this joy deserves to be punished, as it is stated: 'Because you did not serve Hashem your God with joy and a glad heart.' And anyone who is arrogant, seeks honor for himself, and acts haughtily in these situations is a sinner and a fool... True greatness and honor are only found in rejoicing before Hashem, as it is stated: 'And King David was leaping and dancing before Hashem...'"

The Rambam is teaching us that whoever withholds himself from the joy of a mitzvah deserves to be punished. "Anyone who is arrogant, seeks honor for himself, and acts haughtily"—someone who does not want to dance in the joy of a mitzvah is simply arrogant. A person who does not dance, does not rejoice in dancing, and does not feel the need to dance because he thinks he is an important person, is both a sinner and a fool.

He is both a sinner and a fool. He is a sinner because he does not honor Hashem. And he is a fool because he is being handed such a precious pearl, such a diamond—the gift of dancing—through which he can sweeten all the harsh judgments upon himself, yet he fails to take advantage of it.

The Spark of Mashiach and Sweetening the Judgments

The Talmud (Sanhedrin 94a) relates that Hashem wanted to make Chizkiyahu, the King of Judah, the Mashiach, but he did not merit it because he did not sing a song of praise. If a person wants to merit a spark of Mashiach, then after learning Torah, or during the joy of a mitzvah, he must sing, play music, and dance. Every time he dances, sings, and plays music, another spark is conceived within him. Because in every moment that a person brings joy to everyone, dancing and singing, the spark of Mashiach grows within him.

Rebbe Nachman teaches in Likutey Moharan (Torah 78) that there is no person who does not possess a spark of Mashiach. The verse says, "He will give strength to His king, and exalt the horn of His anointed (Mashiach)." When you give strength and power to the Sefirah (Divine emanation) of Malchus (Kingship), then "He will exalt the horn of His anointed"—you will magnify the spark of Mashiach within you. Greet everyone with a shining face, be joyous, and come home with joy.

Because if a person comes home with joy, with smiles, and with songs, it will positively influence his wife to walk in holiness and modesty. The children will see that their father is joyous, and they will not go astray. But if they see that their father is sad, the child will say to himself, "Why do I need to be in this sad house? I have friends who are happy and dancing..." And so, he will search for joy on the outside.

Therefore, before you arrive home, sit for five minutes on a bench and rest a little bit. Do not enter in a rush, with all the noise and nerves; enter your home with joy. Perhaps your wife is brokenhearted and needs encouragement. Perhaps your child fell and needs to be cheered up. When a child sees that his father is not happy and his mother is not happy, he is not willing to accept his parents' sadness. He is just starting his life; he is looking for joy, he wants joy.

Forcing Oneself to Dance

Why does a person have so many enemies? Because he does not dance, he does not sing. A person learns Torah, and he is filled with arrogance; he prays, and he is filled with arrogance. When does a person acquire humility? Specifically through dancing. That is why people do not like to dance—because dancing requires lowering oneself.

As long as a person is young, he has energy and can dance. What is this energy? When a baby is born and descends from the Garden of Eden, myriads of angels are imbued within him. That is why he dances the most, jumps the most, and is the most joyous. When a baby smiles, everyone around him smiles and rejoices, and this is due to those aforementioned angels. Up until the age of twenty, a person still has some desire and energy to dance, because a few angels are still imbued within him. But at the age of twenty, the angels have already disconnected and left him. And that is why he can no longer dance, and can no longer rejoice.

So now, at age 20, they tell him: Force yourself to dance and rejoice, and then all the angels will re-enter you. Because the moment you lift your feet to dance, you nullify all the harsh decrees and judgments. If you have a decree of debt hanging over you, if they are about to take your apartment, or if you don't have a shidduch (marriage match) - then lift your feet, dance with all your might, force yourself to rejoice, break the judgment, and sweeten the decree.

When a person dances, leaping and whirling, everyone laughs at him. And when everyone laughs, all the judgments are sweetened. Because the moment people start laughing at a person down on earth, saying, "Look at this fool," they also laugh up in Heaven. All the prosecuting angels laugh at him and consider him a fool, and therefore they do not judge him. Through this, the judgments are sweetened. Therefore, one must continue to dance and not stop until someone laughs or smiles, and through this, the judgments will be sweetened.

Pnei Melech (Face of the King): The Level of "Yechidah"

The highest level of the soul is called "Yechidah," and Yechidah means that it is unified—completely connected with Hashem. This means that the Divine Will becomes its own will; there is no difference between them. Yechidah is yichud (unification), it is connection. Just as the Shechinah (Divine Presence) is unified with Hashem, so too the soul is unified with Hashem.

The tzaddikim merit the level of Yechidah, meaning they essentially have no personal will in this world, only the Will of Hashem. It is not that they want Hashem to fulfill their will; rather, they completely and utterly no longer belong to themselves. This is what is called the level of Yechidah.

There is a well-known teaching in the world of Chassidus that the Baal Shem Tov experienced an aliyas neshamah (ascent of the soul) and entered the heavenly chamber of Mashiach. He asked him, "When will the Master come?" Mashiach answered him, "When your wellsprings spread outward, then I will arrive." This means: If you succeed in bringing even the simplest Jew to the level you are on—the level of Yechidah—then I will arrive. Because every Jew possesses a Yechidah. Every Jew has all the spiritual levels within them, but they are dormant. Through your teachings, through the light of Chassidus, you will awaken the level of Yechidah within every Jew, until even the simplest Jew will desire to connect with the Divine Will rather than his own.

Parparaos HaTorah (Gems of the Torah)

"And now, Israel, what does Hashem your God ask of you..." (Devarim 10:12)

According to the sages of the Mesorah (tradition), the expression "And now, Israel" is found only twice in the entire Torah. The first is in Parshas Vaeschanan, where it says:

"And now, Israel, listen to the decrees and the laws, which I teach you to perform."

The expression also appears in our parsha, Parshas Eikev:

"And now, Israel, what does Hashem your God ask of you, but to fear Hashem your God..."

The Rebbe, Rabbi Eliezer Tzvi of Komarno zt"l, commented on this matter: In this specific order of the verses that open with the call "And now, Israel," there is a hint directed at certain light-minded individuals. These people cling to the verse in our parsha and mislead others by claiming that there is no importance in practical mitzvos, and that one can fulfill their heavenly obligations through "service of the heart" alone—because Hashem "desires the heart" (meaning Hashem seeks a person's pure and sincere heart, as stated in Sanhedrin 106b).

For this reason, the Torah first presented the verse, "And now, Israel, listen to the decrees and the laws." By doing so, the Torah instructs every Jew that, first and foremost, one must fulfill all the mitzvos of the Torah perfectly. Only through the performance of practical mitzvos can one reach the level of awe and love of Hashem—which people refer to as "service of the heart."

"Take care lest you forget Hashem your God" (Devarim 8:11)

Once, the "Yid HaKadosh" (The Holy Jew of Peshischa) zt"l came to the holy Chozeh of Lublin zt"l and found him sighing deeply. He asked him why he was sighing, and the Chozeh replied that he had transgressed the negative commandment, "Take care lest you forget Hashem your God," because he had forgotten Hashem for a single moment.

The Yid HaKadosh zt"l said to him: "Do we not find in the Mishnah (Peah 6:4) the law that a forgotten sheaf of two se'ahs (a large measure) is not subject to the laws of shikchah (the requirement to leave forgotten produce for the poor), even if the owner forgot it? The reason is that because of its large size, he is bound to remember it eventually. So too here, you have not transgressed the prohibition, since you were bound to remember Hashem momentarily."

"And you shall love the convert" (Devarim 10:19)

The Jewish people are one nation on earth, and through them, the essence of all diverse and changing actions is unified into the Simple One (Likutey Moharan I, 2). The more the souls of Israel multiply, the more they are integrated into this Simple Unity.

This reveals the immense greatness of a convert who embraces Judaism, regarding whom the Torah commands us to draw close and love, as it says, "And you shall love the convert." This is incredibly precious to Hashem, when diverse and distant elements are integrated into His Simple Unity. The more distant and different an element is, when it manages to overcome the distance and become included in the Simple Unity, the more precious it is. For it is Hashem's Will that specifically through the most distant and diverse elements, His Simple Unity will be revealed. (Likutey Halachos, Perikah U'Te'inah 4:3)

"For man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of Hashem does man live" (Devarim 8:3).

This means that the essence of vitality comes from the utterance of Hashem's mouth. The life-force is drawn down from the Life of Worlds through the blessing, which is the aspect of the utterance of Hashem's mouth. Because through an awakening from below, there is an awakening from above. When we recite the blessing with our mouths, we awaken, as it were, the mouth of Hashem to draw down vitality through speech. (Likutey Halachos, Hechsher Keilim 3:1)

Stories for the Parashah

"And He will hold back the heavens, and there will be no rain"

There was once a year of severe drought. The heavens were as hard as iron and did not drop even a single drop of water. What did the Jewish people do? They declared public fasts and turned with prayers and supplications to the One who dwells on high, asking Him to bring down rains of blessing and generosity—but they were not answered.

The tzaddik, Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov, saw a man in his study hall, one of the simple folk, who was reciting the paragraphs of the Shema with great devotion. When he reached the verse, "And He will hold back the heavens, and there will be no rain," the man said this verse with immense concentration and with a voice of weeping and crying out.

After the prayer, the Baal Shem Tov approached this simple Jew and asked him, "What intentions did you have in mind when you said the verse, 'And He will hold back the heavens, and there will be no rain'?" The man replied to the Baal Shem Tov, saying, "Rebbe, my intention was simple and straightforward: I asked with all my heart that Hashem, may He be blessed, should press and squeeze the heavens, just as one presses and squeezes grapes or olives [a play on the Hebrew word v'atzar, which means to hold back, but also to press], and then '...there will be no rain'—left up in the heavens, but rather it will all fall down to the earth..."

The Baal Shem Tov patted the simple Jew on the shoulder and exclaimed with a radiant face, "Indeed, you had true intentions in your prayer, and it is fitting for the rains to fall upon the earth—in the merit of your pure prayer, which flowed from the depths of the heart..."

"And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates"

Dr. Orlin, the director of the blood bank for the "Mayanei Hayeshua" and "HaSharon" hospitals, lived in California until a few years ago. There, he knew many doctors, including religious Jews as well as those who were not. A few years ago, he and his wife traveled to California for a visit, and they decided to bring a gift for three of their friends there, senior Jewish doctors.

This time, Dr. Orlin chose exquisite mezuzahs. He purchased the most beautiful, high-quality mezuzahs, and even the price—seventy dollars per mezuzah—did not deter him. Upon arriving in the United States, before he began his business and personal affairs, he approached the doctors. After inquiring about their well-being, he presented them with the gift—an exquisite mezuzah, placed in a magnificent case.

The first doctor treated the mezuzah with great disdain and returned the gift to Dr. Orlin. "I am not interested in such gifts," he said contemptuously. The second doctor did not show such a disgraceful attitude toward the gift, but he refused to affix it to the entrance of his home. The third doctor thanked Dr. Orlin, kissed the mezuzah with great warmth, and affixed it to the entrance of his home.

Two weeks later, a terrible hurricane struck California, the likes of which had not occurred there for many years, destroying vast areas of the massive state. And behold the wonder: Even though the three doctors lived right next to each other, within a radius of just a few meters, the damage from the storm was completely different for each of them.

The first doctor, who had displayed a blunt and disrespectful attitude toward the mezuzah, lost his home completely. The second doctor's home was also damaged—but compared to what happened to his first colleague's home, he escaped with a miracle. Meanwhile, the third doctor, who rejoiced over the mezuzah like one finding great treasure and affixed it with a blessing at the entrance of his home—emerged without any damage to his property whatsoever...!