The Secret of Revealing Godliness: From the Sweetness of Shabbat to the Song of the Cherubim

Shiur No. 245 | Cassette No. 245 Wednesday, Parashas Nasso, the eve of the 4th of Sivan 5760. A class at the Yeshiva for Youth, Shaarei Torah, Jerusalem, Side A

A profound discourse explaining how the revelation of the sweetness of Shabbat and supernatural miracles bring the most distant people closer. Through the secrets of the Book of Ruth and the holy Zohar, it is explained how guarding the covenant and eating in holiness make one worthy to hear the song of the Cherubim and bring about the complete Geulah (Redemption).

A distant person arrives and witnesses true Oneg Shabbat (Shabbat delight). He hears songs and melodies full of flavor, goes to sleep in tranquility, wakes up in the morning for the synagogue, and tastes foods the likes of which he has never tasted in his life. In the secular world he comes from, he is used to grabbing a quick sandwich at a kiosk, where everything is chemical and industrial. But here, he eats real food, experiencing a delight he has never known. He sits peacefully for a full hour, watching a father and children singing together. In his world, he barely saw his parents—the mother is here, the father is there, and he runs back and forth between them. Suddenly, he experiences family unity and holiness.

After the morning seudah (festive meal), they rest, return from Minchah (afternoon prayer) for Shalosh Seudos (the third Shabbat meal), and each meal is filled with even greater delight than the one before. They finish Maariv (evening prayer) and Havdalah, and they ask him, "Well, where do you need to travel to? Maybe we can help you get out of here?" But he replies, "I am not traveling anywhere anymore. We are done, I am staying here. Teach me how." And today, he lives in Telz Stone, with peyos (sidelocks) and a beard.

The conclusion is that there is no such thing as "wicked people." We just need to create angels. When one sits for twelve and a half hours and learns Torah, they create angels. These angels go out, awaken the Jewish people to teshuvah (repentance), and spiritually impregnate each and every one of them. Now, on the holiday of Shavuot, when we sit all night, learn Torah, and recite the Tikkun (the customary all-night study), we can bring the entire Jewish people back in teshuvah (repentance). Through the Torah, we create angels that spiritually enter every Jew and awaken them to their Father in Heaven.

The Secret of Emunah (Faith): Revealing the Sweetness to the Distant

This is the secret hidden within the Book of Ruth. Emunah (faith) is an advocate for those who are distant. "Boaz" symbolizes, as it were, Hashem, and "Ruth" is the Congregation of Israel, the secret of emunah. Boaz says to Ruth: Start bringing them closer; start revealing to them that there is a God in the world. Show them what a wonder, what a delight, and what sweetness there is before Hashem, blessed be He, so that He may draw them near under the shadow of His wings.

The main mistake of those who are distant from the emunah (faith) of Hashem, blessed be He, is that they do not see Divine Providence; rather, they judge everything by what is visible. They think that the conduct of the world operates solely through the system of astrology and nature. They see that whoever is strong rules, and whoever is weak is murdered and trampled upon. Each person, according to their mistake, assumes that the world simply follows its natural course, and that one must serve the "intermediaries"—thinking that parnassah (livelihood) depends on natural causes, or that healing depends only on drugs and medicines.

But the truth is that this is not so. Hashem is the Cause of all causes and the Prime Mover of all events. One must not make natural causes the primary focus.

The Power of the Tzaddik to Overturn the Laws of Nature

When the tzaddik, through his prayer, nullifies the decree of the astrological system, the distant ones see this and are awakened. When they see that the tzaddik has brought about a salvation, that a sick child was healed against all odds, they witness a great miracle. We need to show them that the entire system of nature can be overturned; we need to pray for open miracles and wonders—and then everyone will do teshuvah (repentance).

They are not to blame at all; they simply have never seen a miracle that overturns the astrological system. When they see this, they are introduced from the revealed to the hidden—that there is a God who exists, who hears the prayer of a tzaddik and changes nature. All of this will happen in the future, when tzaddikim are destined to resurrect the dead and perform other wonders. Regarding this it is said:

"Then Judah approached him and said, 'Please, my lord, let your servant speak a word in my lord's ears'" (Genesis 44:18).

Judah symbolizes the holy Shechinah (Divine Presence), which asks Hashem, blessed be He, to reveal Himself to all those who are distant. "And no intermediary will be heard anymore." The name Pharaoh (Paroh) is related to the word for revelation (hipare'a). The Shechinah says: You are only known to people through what is revealed, and because You are only known through what is revealed, everyone has erred. But when You nullify Your will before the will of the tzaddik, Godliness is revealed.

The entire essence of the tzaddik is to reveal Godliness. Because he guards the covenant, he can demonstrate Godliness before everyone's eyes. As our Sages, of blessed memory, said: "The tzaddik decrees, and Hashem fulfills." It is possible to nullify all harsh decrees and heal all illnesses. And when people see that the astrological system dictated a certain decree and the tzaddik nullified it, everyone believes in the tzaddikim and knows that there is a God. That is why half a million people travel to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai—because the Jewish people believe that the tzaddik can bring about all salvations.

Eating in Holiness and Illuminating Speech

It is written, "And God led the people around (Vayasav)" (Exodus 13:18), and the Midrash explains that "Vayasav" is an expression of a seudah (festive meal). Through a seudah and eating in holiness, it is possible to bring the entire nation back in teshuvah (repentance). Through this, all the nations of the world will turn to the emunah (faith) of Israel and serve Hashem with one accord. Even the non-Jews will do teshuvah (repentance), just as it was during the time of King Hezekiah, when five cities spoke the language of Canaan and swore by the life of the Lord of Hosts.

So too in Egypt, everyone did teshuvah (repentance) after the great miracles. Regarding the future to come, it is said, "For then I will turn to the peoples a pure language" (Zephaniah 3:9). If we pray clearly, with melodies and holiness, all the nations will do teshuvah (repentance). The Exodus from Egypt (Mitzrayim) is the exodus from the "narrowness of the throat" (meitzar hagaron), from the root of all lusts. Clear and holy speech brings even the non-Jews back to the emunah (faith) of Israel. From every letter a person utters in holiness, an angel is created, which brings another person back in teshuvah (repentance).

The Song of the Cherubim and the Receiving of the Tablets

We will conclude with the words of the Zohar Chadash on the Book of Ruth. Boaz says to Ruth:

"And you shall cling to my youths"

The Zohar explains that "the youths" are the secret of the Cherubim. Boaz is saying to her: I will show you how to cling to the Cherubim and hear their song. Boaz, who symbolizes guarding the covenant, promises Ruth that if she guards the holy covenant and her eyes, and has no evil thoughts, she will be holy and pure with pure and clear blood, and she will be able to hear the song of the Cherubim—just as the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) merited on Yom Kippur.

The true desire and yearning of every Jew is to hear the song of the Cherubim. When the Kohen Gadol merited this on Yom Kippur, he knew that all the sins had been forgiven. When one merits to hear the song of the Cherubim, one merits to receive the Luchos (Tablets of the Law).

May it be His will that this year we receive the Luchos, that everyone will do teshuvah (repentance), that the Beis HaMikdash (Holy Temple) will be rebuilt, and that Mashiach ben David will come speedily in our days, in the blink of an eye, Amen.

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