The Secret of the Heels: The Immense Power of Those Who Walk to Collect Charity
Lesson No. 76 | Thursday Night, Parashas Miketz, Eve of 3 Teves, Zos Chanukah 5757
A profound discourse explaining the secret of building the spiritual stature of Rachel through the self-sacrifice of those who travel the roads to collect charity. Through walking, humility, and guarding one's eyes, they merit to draw down the Clouds of Glory, rectify the secret of the heels, and support the Torah scholars and those who rise for Chatzos (midnight prayer), through whom the Geulah (Redemption) will come.
Those who merit to walk on their feet for days and nights, leaving their homes for long weeks and simply walking continuously by the power of their heart's command, merit that their feet become integrated into the spiritual feet of Leah (the higher, hidden realm), which pierce through into the crown of Rachel (the revealed realm of Kingship). The crown of Rachel clothes the two heels of Leah and absorbs all of their lights. Thus, the entire spiritual stature of Rachel is built from the heels of Leah.
A person does not always know what he is doing here in this world. We must know that we have already finished building the spiritual stature of Leah; she is already complete. The generation of the wilderness was a generation of Leah-souls, and after them, only isolated souls of this kind remained, the unique individuals of their generations. All of our spiritual work today, including all the Kabbalistic meditations of the Arizal, is solely to build the stature of Rachel—the Sefirah of Malchus (Kingship), the diminished moon that does not shine on its own. How do we build Rachel? Only through those who walk kilometers on their feet, days and nights, in snow, frost, and scorching heat.
The Secret of the Dust and the Clouds of Glory
This is the exact process that Bilaam and Balak wanted to destroy. Bilaam represents the secret of the light absorbed within the crown of Rachel, and Balak represents the light bursting forth from her heels. Both of them knew that at the end of the forty years in the wilderness, the generation entering the Land of Israel represented the stature of Rachel. They knew that their spiritual grip was located right there, in the heels of Leah that are absorbed into the crown of Rachel.
They wanted to draw all the spiritual lights to themselves, leaving the Jewish people without any light. But the Torah says:
"Who can count the dust of Yaakov, and number the seed of Israel?"
Who can count the mitzvos they perform in the dust? Those who walk in the dust from tent to tent to collect charity and perform acts of loving-kindness? Therefore, Bilaam was forced to bless them. "For he is blessed" — the Jewish people are already blessed, and it is impossible to take the light away from them.
Aharon HaKohen drew down the Clouds of Glory by walking from tent to tent. So too, those who walk today from house to house, from village to village, and from settlement to settlement—they draw the Clouds of Glory over the Jewish people and protect us from the nations of the world. Whoever does not go out to collect charity will never have their spiritual "heels" illuminated. All the tzaddikim and Torah geniuses, without exception, went into exile, knocked on doors, and collected charity. Rebbe Nachman says in Sichos HaRan: "Why don't you go collect charity?" A person might say, "I am an important man; I don't need to go." To this, Rebbe Nachman answers: "You will be an important man in the grave. The Torah also requires vessels of humility, lowliness, loving-kindness, and charity."
Humility and Humiliation on the Path of Charity
It is told about Rabbi Avish of Frankfurt zt"l, who was the greatest Torah leader of his generation, that he went to a fair to collect charity from merchant to merchant. He approached one merchant who was busy with his accounts. The merchant became angry and chased him away, and immediately afterward discovered that his silver walking stick had disappeared. He was certain that the poor man had stolen it, so he chased after him and beat him mercilessly until he bled. Rabbi Avish accepted the blows in complete silence.
Days later, that same merchant arrived in Frankfurt and went in to hear the Rav's sermon. To his absolute shock, he recognized that the great Rav was the very same "poor man" he had brutally beaten. He fainted again and again out of sheer terror and shame. When he recovered, he approached the Rav trembling to beg for forgiveness. Rabbi Avish, at the peak of his humility, simply told him: "Believe me, I didn't take your stick..." This is the humility and lowliness of the tzaddikim who walked from door to door. Yosef HaTzaddik merited to become the provider for the entire world only because he endured suffering, beatings, and humiliation along his path.
Supporting Those Who Rise for Chatzos
All of this greatness is achieved when a person walks days and nights to save a yeshiva, to save families whom others want to push away from serving Hashem, from prayer, from Chatzos, and from Hisbodedus. If people do not go out to help this corner, which is truly an oasis in a dark world, who will support them?
Reb Noson writes that the first redemption took place at midnight, and similarly, the third and final Geulah (Redemption) will only come about through those upright and God-fearing individuals who stand in prayer every night at Chatzos.
In order to support such a holy place, where people banish sleep from their eyes and study at Chatzos, one must walk. To walk in the snow, in the frost, without making calculations about whether it was profitable or not. The very act of walking is what brings about the tikkun (rectification). "Greater is the one who causes others to do [a mitzvah], than the one who does [it himself]" — a person can give charity, but one who raises funds from others, walking from house to house and bringing people back in teshuvah (repentance) through the good tidings he brings, accomplishes something exponentially greater.
Rectifying the Heels and Bringing the Light Down to Action
This is the most difficult tikkun — the rectification of the feet, the rectification of the heels. Regarding this, it is stated:
"Who have taunted the footsteps [heels] of Your Mashiach."
Therefore, these people are insulted and despised, because they were given the hardest tikkun (rectification) in the world. In their merit, the verse "And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives" will be fulfilled. They draw down the "feet" of Adam Kadmon (the Primordial Man, the highest spiritual realm), which have not yet descended into the world of Asiyah d'Asiyah (the lowest level of the physical world). No tzaddik, as great as he may be, can bring the light down to Asiyah d'Asiyah, except for those who walk with their feet on the dust, day and night without pause.
When they go to the most impure places in the world, and guard their eyes there, they accomplish a tikkun (rectification) that no tzaddik has merited. The Alter of Slabodka related that he chose to walk down a busy street in Moscow with his eyes completely closed, and said: "There is no tikkun higher than this. It cuts off and burns the kelipos (forces of impurity) in an unparalleled way."
Like the Children of Israel in the desert, who, had they walked without complaining, would have immediately cut off all the kelipos (forces of impurity) and entered the Land of Israel—so too are those who go from city to city. Doors are closed on them, people shout at them and spit on them, yet they accept everything with joy, close their eyes, and do their work for the sake of Heaven. The Geulah (Redemption) depends solely on them.
Lesson No. 76