The Secret of Absolute Nullification: From Supernal Attainments to Humility and Faith
Lesson No. 38 | Tuesday and Wednesday, Parashas Ki Savo, 17-18 Elul 5755
The lesson explains how the study of the secrets of the Torah and the service of Hisbodedus (secluded prayer) must lead a person to humility and lowliness. Through a comparison between Moshe Rabbeinu and Nadav and Avihu, it is revealed that the pinnacle of spiritual attainment is not pride, but rather absolute nullification that brings about fearless faith in Hashem alone.
The Obligation to Protest in Peaceful Ways
A woman must know that if her husband is doing something that is not good, the obligation rests upon her to protest his actions. She does not have to protest at that exact moment or second, but rather she must seek the right way to do so—by telling his Rav or a friend. If she does not do this, she may bear his punishment and sit with him in Gehenna. As the days pass and he continues on his path, the situation only worsens.
Nevertheless, in order not to ruin the shalom bayis (marital harmony), and so that she will not be considered a brazen woman or arouse his vengeance, she must seek wise methods: through a Rav, through a friend, by writing a letter, or by crying before him. If the wife of that holy man who was killed had protested to her husband, she would not have been killed and her husband would not have been burned, even though dying Al Kiddush Hashem (in sanctification of God's Name) like the Ten Martyrs is the greatest thing in the world. However, there are lofty spiritual levels in which we have absolutely no comprehension.
Accepting the Will of Hashem with Love
We spoke about this regarding Menashe, who killed Yeshayahu the prophet. The first time, Yeshayahu pronounced the Ineffable Name of Hashem and was swallowed inside a cedar tree in order to be saved. But the second time, he no longer said a word. He understood that up until now he had used the Ineffable Name, but this is not the way. The true path is through prayers and tears, and if not—to accept the will of Hashem with love.
One should not try to appease Hashem or force a salvation through holy names and matters of Kabbalah. We study Kabbalah in order to know the secrets of the Torah, to be renewed, and to become ignited with enthusiasm from it, not to forcefully change the will of Hashem.
The Secret of Hisbodedus and the Meditations on the Name of Havayah
A person needs to enter through two gates, and this is the secret of Hisbodedus (secluded prayer) through which he will merit to become a prophet. The holy Zohar explains the statement:
"A wise man is greater than a prophet."
Prophecy belongs to the external realm, whereas wisdom belongs to the internal realm, to the mind. A prophet can reach up to the Divine attribute of Tiferes (Beauty/Harmony), but a wise man reaches all the way to the Sefirah of Chochmah of Zeir Anpin (the Supernal Wisdom of the Divine Countenance).
When a person practices Hisbodedus, he must direct his intentions to the Name of Havayah (the Tetragrammaton). The holy Arizal and the disciple of the Ramban explain how to visualize the Name. If a person visualizes the Name of Havayah with its spelled-out letters (Yud, Hei, Vav, Hei), he ascends to the World of Atzilus (Emanation). There are different colors in this spiritual attainment: if he sees the Name in the color black, it is a sign that he is in the World of Asiyah (Action). If it is white—he is in the World of Beriah (Creation). But if he merits to see it in the sparkling of intertwined hues, it is a sign that he has ascended to the World of Atzilus. When a person is in the World of Atzilus, no harm can possibly befall him.
The Service of Nullification: The Difference Between Moshe and Nadav and Avihu
The Sefer Chareidim brings down that an auspicious time of grace is when a person goes to a special place, far away from other people, and lifts his eyes to the Heavens, to the Unique King Who is the Cause of all causes and the Reason for all reasons. When a person turns his face to his God, Hashem also turns His face to him, and together they become bound in devotion. This was the practice of holy chassidim such as Rabbi Yosef Sagis and Rabbi Yitzchak of Akko. The Mesillas Yesharim (Chapter 15) writes that the most precious and difficult service of all is the service of Hisbodedus, and the author of Chovos HaLevavos also emphasizes that the essence of Divine service is to go out to the deserts and mountains, and there to seclude oneself with Hashem.
However, it is impossible to truly visualize the Name of Havayah without working on the trait of bittul (self-nullification). Herein lies the difference between Moshe Rabbeinu and Nadav and Avihu, as the Ruzhiner Rebbe explains. Nadav and Avihu worked every single day to be "more than yesterday," to ascend from level to level. This was their mistake. In contrast, the service of Moshe Rabbeinu, who was the most humble of all men, was to feel every day that he was "less than yesterday" and to view himself as lower than every other person.
Regarding the verse:
"With this shall Aharon come into the Holy"
The Ruzhiner Rebbe explains that Hashem revealed to Aharon the reason for the passing of his sons. They thought that the goal was to ascend spiritual levels, but the true service of a person is to be completely nullified to Hashem. When a person works on self-nullification, he has absolutely no fear.
Shaking Off Pride After the Lesson
A person can listen to a deep Torah class, learn from Kabbalah and Chassidus books like Etz Chaim and Tikkunei Zohar, and walk out full of pride as if he is an "entire library." This pride brings troubles to the Jewish people. The Gemara relates:
"The Rabbis would stand up before Rav Huna, and they would shake out their cloaks."
The students would shake out their cloaks after Rav Huna's class, in order to shatter and shake off the pride. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov says (Likutey Moharan, Torah 72) that a true Torah class must bring a person to humility, shame, and lowliness. If after the class you do not feel humility and lowliness – you heard nothing. Instead of shame, you received pride. The pride that rises after a class is like a cloud covering the eye of the sun; it causes one to forget Divine Providence and makes a person forget that there is Hashem.
The shame of fearing anything besides Hashem
The goal of all learning is to reach emunah (faith) and bitachon (trust), to know that "I, Hashem, have not changed." One who has acquired emunah can walk in dangerous places without fearing anything, because he knows that everything is an illusion and only Hashem guides the world.
The author of Chovos HaLevavos (Duties of the Heart) tells of a certain pious man who was found sleeping in the heart of the desert, lying on the ground in the terrible heat, in a place of danger filled with lions, leopards, cheetahs, and snakes. Passersby asked him: "How are you just sleeping like this? Why don't you go into a cave or build yourself a pile of stones for shelter? How are you not afraid?". That pious man answered them: "I am ashamed before Hashem. I am ashamed to fear anything else, when I know that He sees me at every moment."
Part 2 of 2 — Class No. 38
All parts: Part 1 | Part 2 (current)