The Secret of the Hairs and the Ears: The Power of a Cry to Sweeten Harsh Judgments

Lesson No. 24 | Lesson 1: Monday Morning, Parashas Pinchas, 12 Tammuz 5755, in the Yeshiva

A profound discourse explaining the spiritual reality during times of distress, and the necessity to cry out to Hashem in order to reveal the covered Supernal Ears. The Rav explains the intention behind the Korbanos (sacrificial offerings) as literal mesiras nefesh (self-sacrifice), and the Kabbalistic secret of piercing the ear of hearing in order to draw down new mochin (spiritual intellect and awareness) to the world.

First of all, I wanted to share a simple halacha (Jewish law) that anyone who knows it must fulfill. It involves an effort of merely a third of a second, in the category of "sit and do nothing" (passive restraint). When reciting the blessing of the Shema, "Blessed are You, Hashem, Who redeemed Israel (Ga'al Yisrael)," one must know that the word "Yisrael" is not said aloud. There are those who say the phrase "Ga'al Yisrael" loudly, and this places us in a state of doubt regarding whether to answer "Amen" (for someone who has not yet begun the silent Amidah prayer, "Hashem, open my lips"). In order not to enter into this doubt, the halacha is to say the word "Yisrael" quietly. This is a minor effort of a third of a second, and I hope we can maintain it.

The Harsh Reality and the Cry of the Jewish People

We need to restrain ourselves during "Ga'al Yisrael," but the reality is that the Jewish people are currently facing harsh judgments. It is said that the Nation of Israel is in terrible danger. The Torah leaders of a century ago, and the Satmar Rebbe zt"l forty years ago, already foresaw this situation where the Jewish people would be abandoned. We see Jews being stabbed and killed every day, while the ruling faction fills its mouth with laughter and mockery, and for their part, they do not care at all.

Perhaps this situation is meant to bring us back in teshuvah (repentance). It is like the story of a cowboy who came from California, from a secular kibbutz where he was educated to believe that there is no such concept as a "Jew" in the world. He was like a tinok shenishba (a captured infant, raised without Torah knowledge). One day, his manager, who was a Nazi, began to slander the Jews. The cowboy said to him, "Listen, I am also a Jew." The manager replied, "You are sweet, except for you... but the rest must be destroyed." This answer shocked him and brought him to teshuvah (repentance). He realized that a Jew and a non-Jew are not the same; the Jew loves the non-Jew, but the non-Jew wants to slaughter him.

The Secret of the Hairs Covering the Ears

In these moments, these very seconds require sweetening. Now we must cry out to Hashem day and night. The holy Zohar states that at the time when the Children of Israel scream and cry out from their distress, the hairs are then revealed and lifted from above the Supernal Ears.

"And at the hour when Israel cries out in distress, then the hairs are nullified above, from over the ears."

There are spiritual hairs that cover the ears of Divine Providence. Harsh judgments descend due to the accumulation of sins over decades, and now this is coming to fruition. Hashem waited for us; He waited for tzaddikim like Rabbi Shmuel Horowitz zt"l and Rabbi Shmuel Shapiro zt"l to protect the generation, but now they have been taken from us, and all we have left is to cry out to Hashem. A person does not understand the meaning of standing before Hashem. He thinks, "Thank God, I am healthy, I eat well, I sleep well—why do I need to cry out?" But in order to open the ears Above, one must scream.

The Intention of the Korbanos – Literal Self-Sacrifice

Before approaching to make requests of the King, we must first sing, play music, and begin to open the gates through the recitation of the Korbanos (sacrificial offerings). When a person recites the Korbanos, he must imagine that he is being stoned and burned, "a pleasing fragrance and entirely consumed by the fire." I must literally feel as if my skin is being flayed off me like Rabbi Akiva, and that I am being burned alive—because this is what I truly deserve for the spiritual blemishes I have caused.

A person commits sins, introducing impurity into the space of the world through forbidden thoughts and sights. If a person does not recite the Korbanos with this intention, he has accomplished nothing. How can you come to the King and say, "Give me, give me, give me"? First, do teshuvah (repentance)! Ask for forgiveness for what you have done in the past 24 hours, during which you caused sorrow to the Shechinah (Divine Presence). Always say aloud: "I am willing to be burned, to be stoned, to be strangled." The very fact that you accept the judgment upon yourself and admit to it—this is the true intention of the Korbanos.

Piercing the Supernal Ear of Hearing

The goal is to create a new piercing in the Supernal Ears. The cry must enter inward, piercing the ear, passing through all the curves and spirals of the ear (akima d'udnin) until it reaches the inner depths of the auditory nerves.

When a person asks quietly, Hashem certainly hears, but in order for the request to ascend and achieve its effect perfectly, a person must cry out with tremendous shouts. Only through these cries is the piercing of the ear broken through, and the voice reaches the very essence of Hashem's hearing. Then the voice ascends to Binah (Understanding), and just like on Yom Kippur, one cries out with shouts that can bring the Geulah (Redemption). Through the voice that cries out from distress, "new mochin" (spiritual intellect and awareness)—Chochmah (Wisdom), Binah (Understanding), and Daas (Knowledge) (ChaBaD)—are drawn down, illuminating the person and the entire world with a new awareness.

Part 1 of 4 — Lesson No. 24

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