Sukkos: The Secret of the Melody and Dance that Brings the Soul to Yearning

Lesson No. 2096 | * Friday, 3rd of Chol HaMoed Pesach 5753 - at the Yeshiva

A deep discourse on the immense spiritual power of melody and dance. Through the teachings of the Sfas Emes and the Chiddushei HaRim.

The world has not yet tasted me, they do not know who I am. In order to truly understand the Torah, one must first learn Gemara for long hours every day, because without knowing the Shas (Talmud), it is impossible to understand the Torah. However, even one who learns Torah must know that this is still not perfection – perfection is the melody within the Torah.

In every Torah teaching there is a melody and a dance, in every single letter there is a melody and a dance. If people were to hear the melody and the dance of every Torah teaching and of every letter, they would all be completely nullified. The entire world, the animals and the grasses, would all be nullified and turned into nothingness. Everything that exists in the world would be nullified in klos hanefesh (the soul's ultimate yearning), from the sheer magnitude of the wondrous and exceedingly extraordinary delight.

Nullifying All the Senses

Whoever has a sense for melody and dance understands that during the melody, all the senses are nullified. A melody has the nature and power to nullify all of a person's senses, to the point that even a mourner at the peak of his mourning is liable to forget his mourning due to the immense delight found in the melody and the dance. However, it is important to remember: melodies and dances are not meant merely for enjoyment in this world – this is literal avodas Hashem (service of God).

A melody has the power to bring a person to klos hanefesh (the soul's yearning). Every single movement in a melody has the power to break and awaken the soul, and to draw it along. There are dances in which a person reaches a broken heart and the nullification of the soul, to the point that he sheds tears like water and weeps more than in mourning.

One who knows how to play and sing with words knows how to precisely direct the rhythm of the song and the movement of the melody and the dance, so that they all connect to one another with great intention. When the words, the melodies, and the dances flow together in a single rhythm and with a single intention, all the limbs and sinews sing and delight from the intensity of the melody. This delight is not just any delight, but a delight that breaks the heart and cleanses it from all blemishes. There is no greater delight than a person being cleansed of all his blemishes, and whoever has not tasted this does not know what delight is at all.

Returning the Throne of Glory to the World

The Sfas Emes brings a tremendous foundation in the name of the Midrash on Parshas Beshalach and the Song of the Sea:

"Your throne is established from of old – You are from eternity."

When does a person crown Hashem? When does he bring the Throne of Glory down to the world? At the time of creation, and particularly after the sin of Adam HaRishon (the First Man), Hashem's conduct was hidden and the Shechinah (Divine Presence) departed, so to speak, from the world. The Throne of Glory disappeared and withdrew from firmament to firmament following the sins of the generations. The world looked like a pit full of snakes and scorpions, a place where "the earth is given into the hand of the wicked."

But when did the Throne of Glory return? The Midrash says: Only through dances and songs do we return the Throne of Glory to the world. Only through song and dances, when a person sings songs of verses, of prayer, and of yearning for Hashem, does he begin to crown Hashem. At the time of the redemption from Egypt, when the Jewish people sang their song, they suddenly saw that there are no snakes, there are no scorpions, and there are no Egyptians – they do not exist at all. The sins we have created do not truly exist in the face of the power of song.

A Person's Only Point of Truth

The Sfas Emes adds and explains the concept of "Perek Shirah" (the Song of Creation). When the Jewish people sang the Song of the Sea, they merited that all creations – inanimate, vegetative, animal, and human – sang together with them. When a person sings and plays a melody, the entire creation sings with him.

The Sfas Emes reveals an awesome secret: The only true point a person has in life, the only place where his pure truth is revealed – is song and melody.

When a person learns Torah, it is possible that he is learning for himself. He wants to be a Rosh Yeshiva, a Dayan (rabbinic judge), or for people to say he is a scholar. Even when he prays, he often has personal motives: he needs money, he asks for healing, or he concentrates on the blessing "You graciously endow man with knowledge" because he wants to be wise.

But the only place where there is no personal motive, where a person does not think about receiving honor or money – is the melody. When a person sings and praises Hashem, he is simply giving thanks for the very essence of life. A person can be drowning in debts and difficulties, feeling that he is always lacking, but when he begins to sing, he thanks Hashem that he is even breathing. As the verse says: "Why should a living man complain?" As long as a person is alive, he can rectify everything and reach infinity. Therefore, the point of song and dances is the only point of truth he possesses.

The Secret of the Melaveh Malkah Meal and the Resurrection of the Dead

According to the Chiddushei HaRim, song and dances are connected to the secret of the Melaveh Malkah meal (the post-Shabbat feast) and to the "Luz" bone – the bone from which a person is destined to be rebuilt during the Resurrection of the Dead.

If we were to truly dance and sing at the Melaveh Malkah seudah (festive meal), we could literally revive the dead. Through song and niggunim (melodies), one can completely transform and purify the entire body, until it reaches the level of the Yechidah soul, as it will be in the future to come.

Therefore, when a person sings the zemiros (songs) of Shabbos or Melaveh Malkah, they must do so with dveikus (deep attachment to Hashem) and awe. Most of these zemiros were written by great Kabbalists; every word and every letter in them is calculated and has the power to rectify immense blemishes made throughout the entire week.

There are people who think that singing zemiros is boring, and they prefer to speak mundane chatter or show off their wisdom. But the truth is that through zemiros, all healings and all salvations are brought about! It is told of one of the great Chassidic masters who had a child who was near death, literally on his deathbed. When they asked him what to do, he said, "Sing zemiros with intention!" They sang zemiros with intention, and the child, who was already on the verge of death, was completely healed.

When a person sings the songs and niggunim, they do not need to talk about their pains—the singing itself removes the pains and brings about salvations, both spiritually and physically. The word "shirah" (song) shares a root with "shurah" (line) and "mishor" (straight/level). When a person begins to sing and play music, all the matters in their life begin to straighten out, and they merit to remove all the concealments from upon themselves.

Part 1 of 3 — Lesson No. 2096

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