The Secret of Soul Connection and Sweetening Judgments on Tu B'Av

Lesson No. 63 | Tuesday, Parashas Eikev, the Eve of Tu B'Av 5756 - To the Yeshiva Students of the Kloyz in Beis Yisrael

A profound discourse on the essence of Tu B'Av as a day of the Giving of the Torah and spiritual resurrection of the dead. The Rav explains how through mesiras nefesh (self-sacrifice) in prayer and cleaving to holy speech, one can nullify harsh decrees, merit complete healing, and find their true soulmate from the root of their soul.

Tu B'Av is a great and awesome day when one can achieve everything. There is nothing that cannot be attained on this day. On this day, harsh decrees and negative prophecies are nullified. All sorts of things that Hashem seemingly decreed for generations, on Tu B'Av He seemingly retracts and cancels those decrees. Now it is possible to nullify all decrees, even decrees that Hashem swore upon by His very Life—everything is nullified on the fifteenth of Av.

The first thing one must know is that this day is exactly like the day of the Giving of the Torah. Just like Yom Kippur, when the second Tablets were given, so too now—everyone receives the Tablets and can hear the Ten Commandments and the voice of Hashem. Regarding the Giving of the Torah, it is said:

"My soul departed when He spoke."

With every single utterance that emerged from the mouth of Hashem, their souls departed.

A person must reach such a spiritual level that with every single holy utterance, his soul departs. When he hears a word of Gemara, a word of Torah, a teaching from Rebbe Nachman, or from Likutey Halachos—his soul departs. The moment a person becomes so pure and holy, he can merit that with every single word, his soul will literally depart. This, in fact, was the entire purpose of the creation of the world. If Adam HaRishon (the First Man) had not sinned, with every word of Torah and prayer his soul would have departed, creating a tremendous deveikus (cleaving) to Hashem.

It is our sins that prevent our spirit from cleaving to Hashem, causing our spirit to cling instead to foolishness and forbidden thoughts. Had it not been for the sin of Adam HaRishon, the state that existed at the Giving of the Torah would have been a constant reality at every moment. With every utterance, the soul would have departed, and we would have immediately received a new soul. We would have reached a state of cleaving "spirit to spirit"—cleaving to Hashem with every single word. Every word of Torah, every word of Pesukei D'Zimrah (Verses of Praise), the Korbanos (Offerings), or "Ma Tovu," when said with complete mesiras nefesh (self-sacrifice), brings us to this profound connection.

Mesiras Nefesh in the Shemoneh Esrei Prayer

We must pray with such mesiras nefesh (self-sacrifice) that the soul literally departs. One cannot simply recite the Shemoneh Esrei (the standing prayer), stare blankly, and move on. We must approach the Shemoneh Esrei with such lowliness that truly, with every word, the soul departs. One must feel as though they are dying with every utterance. Only someone who is in a state of humility and lowliness merits this; then he truly feels that he could pass away with every word, completely detaching from all worldly matters.

The Maggid of Kozhnitz zt"l said that when one comes to pray, they must cast everything else aside. A person might think he needs to rush to the emergency room with his child, so he prays Minchah in one minute, Maariv in a minute and a half, and runs. But if you had first prayed Minchah slowly and Maariv slowly, you would have discovered that everything worked out and the child is healthy. They would have told you, "It's a good thing you didn't come, it was a mistake, everything is fine."

They give you the blessing of "Heal us" (Refaeinu), they give you the blessing of "Bless this year for us" (Bareich Aleinu), they give you all the salvations right there within the Shemoneh Esrei prayer. Where is your emunah (faith)? Do you really believe the doctor will heal the child? After all, we say, "For You are God, King, the faithful and compassionate Healer." Only Hashem is the sole Healer; He is the only faithful One. There is only one faithful Doctor in Heaven, and He is the only compassionate One.

The Secret of the Tablets and the Resurrection of the Dead on Tu B'Av

For every word in prayer, one needs mesiras nefesh (self-sacrifice), to the point that the soul departs. And when your soul departs through your holy speech, you will receive a new soul, the baby will receive a new soul, your wife will receive a new soul, and everyone connected to you will receive new souls.

This is the secret of the fifteenth of Av; this is the secret of the Giving of the Torah and the Tablets. At the Giving of the Torah, when Hashem said, "I am Hashem your God," "You shall not murder," "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not steal"—seemingly, what is the novelty here? Rather, with every utterance, the soul departed, because it was direct speech from Hashem. It was not just a law written in a book. Hashem in all His glory, the purest of the pure and the holiest of the holy, is the One who spoke these words. Therefore, "My soul departed when He spoke"—the soul departed with every single word.

Hashem wants us to reach this state with every word we speak. This is an aspect of the resurrection of the dead, and this is what we can merit on Tu B'Av, which is a day uniquely capable of bringing about a spiritual resurrection of the dead.

Revealing the Root of the Soul and Finding One's Soulmate

Since on this day we ascend to the roots of the souls and the roots of creation, it is a day especially auspicious for finding shidduchim (marriage matches). On Tu B'Av, all sins are forgiven, and we ascend to the world where the souls were created, to the place where the souls were a single entity before they split into two following the sin of Adam HaRishon and the sin of the Golden Calf.

Now, everyone must search for their soulmate through prayers and tears. Hashem is with us, and we only need to reveal Him. This depends on weeping, going out to the fields to cry out to Hashem in hisbodedus (personal prayer), guarding one's eyes, and maintaining the holiness of the covenant. Through these practices, a person can accomplish on Tu B'Av the finding of their shidduch (marriage match). The holy Arizal says that the more hidden a shidduch is, and the more they appear as two opposites, it is a sign that it is a more perfect match, because two opposites make up the true shidduch.

This is the secret of the Tablets—the two Tablets correspond to a groom and a bride. If the Jewish people had received the Torah without sin, there would be no concept of searching for shidduchim at all, and there would be no difficulties. From a young age, everyone would immediately know who their soulmate was. The entire essence of the fifteenth of Av is the return to that state of the Giving of the Torah, of cleaving "spirit to spirit," where every word brings a new soul and a complete connection to Hashem.

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