The Secret of Dancing: How Lifting the Feet Sweetens All the Judgments
Lesson No. 105 | *Sunday, Parashat Re'eh, 21 Menachem Av 5753 *Monday, Parashat Re'eh, 22 Menachem Av 5757
Dancing is not merely an expression of joy, but a tremendous spiritual tool for sweetening judgments and drawing down abundance. When a person humbles himself, dances with enthusiasm, and lifts his feet off the ground, he elevates all the kavanot of the Arizal and brings about salvations in Heaven.
The Secret of the Angels and the Humility in Dancing
When does a person acquire humility? Through dancing. Therefore, people do not like to dance, because dancing requires humbling oneself. When a person is still young, he has energy, and what is this energy? These are the angels that are impregnated within him. A person descends into the world with tens of thousands of angels, and therefore, until the age of twenty, he still has a few angels left that give him the desire to dance. But after the age of twenty, the angels detach and leave him, and then it is hard for him to dance. Therefore, a person is told: Force yourself to dance! The moment you force yourself, the angels will re-enter you.
This can be seen in a baby who has just descended from Heaven, from the Garden of Eden. A baby dances and jumps the most, because he descends with billions of angels who jump along with him. When the baby smiles, the angels smile, and he is happy all day because he descended with entourages of tens of thousands of billions of angels.
When the Accusers Laugh – The Judgments are Sweetened
Through dancing, a person becomes the aspect of the Name Ekyeh. When a person dances with enthusiasm, everyone looks and laughs at him. The Ben Ish Chai says: The moment everyone laughs at him – all the judgments are sweetened. A person needs to check if they are already laughing at him; if they are laughing, it is fine. But as long as they are not laughing, he must continue to dance. Sometimes a person dances at the Kotel and no one pays attention to him, so he must continue dancing until someone starts to smile and says, "Look at these crazy people."
The moment they start laughing at him below, a sweetening takes place in Heaven. In Heaven too, they laugh, and all the accusers say: "These are just crazy people, they cannot be judged." This is how the judgments are sweetened. Through dancing, one merits to sweeten the five Alephs of the five Names of Ekyeh, which, if not sweetened, fall into the kelipot of "The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil."
Detaching the Heels from the Earth
The main thing in dancing out of the joy of the heart is to lift the heels. Regarding Yaakov Avinu it is said:
"Then Yaakov lifted his feet" (Genesis 29:1)
Chazal say that his heart lifted his feet. Through dancing, one ascends to the sefirah of Binah, which is the heart, and then the feet are lifted. As long as the feet are not lifted above the earth – the judgments have not yet been sweetened.
The judgments are sweetened only when the feet are lifted above the ground. The Torah says:
"And it shall come to pass, because (Eikev) you hearken" (Deuteronomy 7:12)
"Vehaya" hints at the world of Atzilut, and "Eikev" hints at the world of Asiyah. The feet, which are the aspect of the heel, must be lifted. A person must detach and lift his feet above the earth in order to sweeten the judgments completely.
Dancing with the Kavanot of the Arizal
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov teaches (Likutey Moharan, Torah 32) that when a person goes to dance, he must dance with the kavanot of the Arizal. One needs to know what the secret of dancing is and literally intend the kavanot of the Arizal brought in the book 'Pri Etz Chaim'. A person can study the kavanot of the Arizal and remain below, but what truly elevates the kavanot upward – is the dancing.
Through dancing with the kavanot, a person sweetens the 320 judgments. Dancing is exactly like the Shemoneh Esrei prayer. Just as we say at the beginning of the prayer:
"O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare Your praise" (Psalms 51:17)
The lips are the aspect of the sefirot of Netzach and Hod, and similarly, the feet are the aspect of Netzach and Hod. Dancing is simply like the Shemoneh Esrei prayer, the aspect of 'O Lord, open my lips'.
Part 2 of 4 — Lesson No. 105