The Secret of Submission: When Hashem Knocks on the Door and Asks for Charity
Lesson No. 15 | Lesson 1 - Sunday Morning, Parashas Nasso, 28 Iyar 5755 - At the Yeshiva (Continued from No. 14)
Hashem constricts Himself to us only when we make ourselves small. Through the encounter with the poor person knocking on the door, and through the challenges of married life, a person learns the ultimate purpose of his life: to reach absolute humility and the realization that he is "dust and ashes." Only from this lowliness do the gates of Heaven open, and one merits the revelation of Godliness.
When a person makes himself small in the world, Hashem also "makes Himself small" and constricts Himself toward him, as it were, so that the person can contain the Divine light. But when a person thinks he is better than others and becomes arrogant, Hashem begins to show him His infinity. In such a state, the verse is fulfilled:
"Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You; how much less this house."
The destruction of the Holy Temple means that Hashem departed from His garments and His constrictions. If we had merited, we would have seen the Divine revelation eye to eye within the constriction. But the moment a person becomes arrogant, Hashem tears and nullifies the garment, in the aspect of "Hashem reigns, He is clothed in majesty." The Holy Temple can no longer tolerate the pride and majesty of the Creator, and the house is destroyed.
Hashem Stands Like a Poor Person at the Entrance
If we agree to constrict ourselves, Hashem comes and pleads before us. He comes in submission with a small request:
"And now, Israel, what does Hashem your God ask of you."
Hashem stands like a poor person at the entrance, knocking on the door of every Jew and asking for "charity." What kind of charity is He asking for? A little bit of submission. Hashem says: Give Me a drop of submission, and I will already return the Holy Temple to you, return the Land of Israel to you, bring the ingathering of the exiles and Mashiach ben David. Hashem knocks on the door every day and asks for just a drop of submission.
An encounter with a physical poor person who knocks on the door also requires submission from us. A person worked hard for his money, with self-sacrifice, not sleeping by day or by night, and now a poor person comes and he has to give him from his money. The whole point is that the person must believe that this poor person is greater than him.
Everything I earn and all my wealth – it is all in the merit of this poor person who is knocking on my door. This lowly and broken poor person, who cries out to Hashem, is the one who elevates the prayers and opens the gates of Heaven. The wealthy person must believe that all his abundance comes only in the merit of the miserable poor people who open the heavens with their prayers. Through the poor person, Hashem, as it were, knocks on everyone's door and asks for a drop of lowliness.
The Secret of Marriage: Reaching Dust and Ashes
This is also the entire concept of husband and wife. In the Torah portion of Sotah, the woman is given water mixed with dust to drink. The Sfas Emes explains that the entire essence of a human being is dust. Hashem saw that if man were alone, he would decide that he is omnipotent. He would think: "I am the strongest, the smartest, there is no one like me." Therefore, it is stated:
"It is not good for man to be alone."
If he were to remain alone, he would say: "I am unique in the lower realms just as Hashem is unique in the upper realms." What is done? He is given a wife. A woman has an extra measure of understanding. The Sages say: "If your wife is short, bend down and whisper to her." The wife creates "disorder" in a person's plans, changing his perspectives and ideas. She tells him to do things her way, and meanwhile, through the yielding and self-nullification, he becomes "dust and ashes."
On the other hand, the husband also asks things of his wife, and she too is required to yield and become "dust and ashes." The moment there are two people living together, each one turns the other into dust and ashes. This is the process of tikkun (rectification).
The Purpose of Life: Recognizing Our Nothingness
The Sfas Emes says: This is the entire essence of a human being. A person must reach the realization that he is dust and ashes. For this purpose, a person is given a hundred and twenty years to live in this world. Why specifically a hundred and twenty years? So that he will learn throughout his life that he is worth nothing on his own.
He sees that what he made has spoiled, what he built has been destroyed, and all his plans did not go as he expected. We saw this even with the holy Patriarchs: Avraham Avinu thought that Yishmael would be the righteous and pure one, and requested: "Oh that Yishmael might live before You." Yitzchak Avinu thought that he would bless Esav and thereby bring about the tikkun (rectification) of the world. But Hashem shows a person time and again that only through breaking one's pride and reaching absolute humility is the true will of Hashem revealed in the world.
Part 3 of 4 — Lesson No. 15