The Secret of the Fifteenth of Av: The Illumination of Teshuvah, the Crown of the Destruction, and the Rectification of the Eyes

Lesson No. 65 | (Continued from about minute 64) Wednesday morning, Parashas Eikev, 15th of Av 5756 - at the Yeshiva

The fifteenth of Av is a day of atonement in the aspect of Yom Kippur, which grows out of the shattering of Tisha B'Av. Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a

The Dead of the Wilderness and the Illumination of Yom Kippur

The fifteenth of Av is the aspect of Yom Kippur. As Rabbi Nosson says, for one who merits it, this day is truly like Yom Kippur. Regarding this, it is said: "There were no better days for Israel than the fifteenth of Av and Yom Kippur," because both represent a single aspect of atonement. On this day, the illumination of teshuvah (repentance) shines into the world, and it is a time of tikkun (rectification) and sweetening of judgments for the entire year. Whoever does teshuvah on the fifteenth of Av arrives at Rosh Hashanah completely clean, because on this day everything is atoned for and everyone receives an entirely new soul.

Our Sages teach us that on Tisha B'Av, the decree was sealed upon the generation of the wilderness, and every year those who reached the age of sixty would die in the desert. However, in the final year, as the Baalei Tosafos explain, the remaining ones did not die. Hashem forgave them for their sins. On the fifteenth of Av, the dying of the generation of the wilderness ceased, and therefore this day became a wondrous day of the forgiveness of sins. Anyone with a brain in his head can utilize this day in a wondrous way, as it constitutes the tikkun and the sweetening of Tisha B'Av.

Reaching the Crown Through Smallness

The path to reaching the immense illumination of the fifteenth of Av passes through Tisha B'Av. When we sit on the ground and weep over the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash (Holy Temple), we merit to receive the "Keser of Keser" (the highest level of the Divine Crown). The blemish of the destruction occurred in the Keser of Keser, and from there all the Sefiros (Divine emanations) fell. In order to elevate them back up, one must sit on the ground from sunset until midday, reaching the ultimate state of smallness (katnus). It is impossible to reach the Keser of Keser without first falling into the ultimate state of smallness. Only out of this lowliness of Tisha B'Av does the joy of the fifteenth of Av grow.

The Pri Tzaddik explains that in the future to come, there will be seven days of feasting from Tisha B'Av until the fifteenth of Av, with the seventh day being a day of dancing and rejoicing, similar to Simchas Torah. The Magen Avraham also rules that during the time of the Beis HaMikdash, the fifteenth of Av was a very great Yom Tov (festival).

The Consciousness of True Repentance

The primary virtue of this day, similar to Yom Kippur, is meriting the immense and wondrous mochin (Divine consciousness) that descend into the world from Binah (Understanding) — the consciousness of true teshuvah. A person receives such consciousness that for every sin, forbidden thought, or forbidden sight he has engaged in, he immediately does teshuvah and everything is atoned for him.

We are currently approaching Rosh Chodesh Elul, and the fifteenth of Av is the preparation for Rosh Hashanah. However, the Rambam in the Laws of Repentance warns us against taking lightly the prohibition of "Do not stray after your hearts and after your eyes." Guarding one's eyes is not an invention; it is an explicit halacha (Jewish law) in the Rambam. Whoever does not guard his eyes, his teshuvah is simply not accepted.

The Condition for Teshuvah: Guarding the Eyes

The Rambam lists twenty-four things that hold back teshuvah. One of them is "gazing at forbidden relations." Such a person is used to walking around with his eyes wide open, asking himself: "What did I do? What sin did I commit? Did I cohabit with her or come close to her?" It does not even cross his mind that he has committed a sin.

The holy Or HaChaim reveals the terrible spiritual reality hiding behind a forbidden sight. When a person looks at forbidden sights, he thinks he has not caused any blemish, but at that very moment, terrible and dreadful klipos (impure spiritual forces) clothe themselves upon him.

"He ties his foal to the vine, and his donkey's colt to the choice vine; he washes his garments in wine, and his robe in the blood of grapes. His eyes are red from wine, and his teeth white from milk" (Bereishis 49:11-12).

The Or HaChaim explains that this klipah can destroy the entire world. Every forbidden sight simply destroys the world — it causes car accidents, wars, and killings. When a person falls into this klipah, demons and spirits attach themselves to him to such a degree that even someone standing within his four amos (immediate vicinity) is liable to be harmed. Therefore, the decision to guard one's eyes is the basic and necessary condition for any process of teshuvah.

The Purity of the Kohen Gadol

To understand the intensity of purity required in order not to become attached to these klipos, the holy Zohar in Parashas Emor brings the law regarding the Kohen Gadol (High Priest). The Kohen Gadol, who must enter the innermost sanctum on Yom Kippur and atone for all the sins of Israel, must be in a state of ultimate purity, and so must his wife. The Zohar explains that they would raise special women for the Kohen Gadol, just as they would raise babies for the Parah Adumah (Red Heifer) on special bedrock so that they would not contract any impurity.

These girls grew up in absolute seclusion, in the aspect of "she shall not go out from the gate of the courtyard." They never left the doorway of their home and knew nothing of what was happening in the outside world. The Kohen Gadol and his wife had to be completely disconnected from any knowledge or "scent" of this world, so that no klipah could take hold of them.

The Shattering of the Vessels and the Rectification of the Eyes

The Etz Chaim and the Vilna Gaon explain that Hashem divided the world into two main types of kelipos (impure forces) and the yetzer hara (evil inclination), which are hinted at in the two commandments: "You shall not murder" and "You shall not commit adultery." The terrible kelipos of forbidden sights and the tests of "You shall not commit adultery" take hold primarily in the man, who must undergo terrible tests in the street every single day and every single moment. In contrast, the kelipah of anger ("You shall not murder") belongs to the world of dinim (strict judgments), and the holy Arizal explains that the trait of anger was given specifically to the woman, so that she can drive the world of action (Olam HaAsiyah) and ensure that things get moving.

Reb Noson of Breslov explains in Likutey Halachos why a man's primary test lies specifically in his eyes. During the "shattering of the vessels" (sheviras hakeilim) in the upper worlds, the lights emerged from the eyes and were immediately shattered. Therefore, the entire blemish and the entire tikkun (rectification) depend on the eyes.

A person can go through Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and travel to the tzaddik, but if he does not decide to guard his eyes—his teshuvah (repentance) is ineffective. The tzaddik can help a person, give him *mochin* (expanded consciousness) and open books for him, but only on the condition that the person himself decides to close his eyes and nullify the *yetzer hara* with all his strength. There is no such thing as transgressing the prohibition of "Do not stray after your eyes" a million times a day and thinking that the tzaddik will atone for everything. True teshuvah begins with the resolute decision to guard one's eyes.

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