The Secret of the Sanctity of the Covenant and the Humility of Mashiach
Lesson No. 129 | Wednesday, Parashas Beshalach, the eve of the 9th of Shevat 5758 - A lesson at the 'Simcha VeEmunah' Yeshiva (Ein Kerem neighborhood)
A profound discourse explaining how guarding the covenant is the key to having our prayers answered and the true distinction between the Jewish people and the nations. Through the secret of the humility of Mashiach and the awe-inspiring story of the tzaddikim of the generation with the false Maggid (angelic teacher), it is revealed that true spiritual attainments are acquired only through absolute lowliness.
The tikkun (rectification) of the covenant, which corresponds to the concept of a bow, begins first and foremost with guarding one's eyes—that a man should not look at a woman and a woman should not look at a man. One who merits the sanctity of the covenant, which is called a 'bow', can shoot the arrows. The letters of prayer are called arrows, and prayer corresponds to the concept of "life in prayer"—the eighteen blessings of the Shemoneh Esrei prayer which correspond to three times the letter Vav (each having the numerical value of six), and these are the arrows whose place is in the covenant. Regarding this, we find with our matriarch Rachel that it is written, "and she had hard labor (vatekash) in her childbirth," because she merited the bow (keshes) of the covenant. Similarly, Chana said, "For I am a woman of a sorrowful (keshas) spirit," as she too merited the sanctity of the covenant.
Only when a person guards the holy covenant does his prayer ascend and have an effect, and Hashem, may He be blessed, fulfills all the desires of his heart. A person can pray dozens of prayers and not be answered, because he is still not guarding the covenant, his eyes, and his thoughts. The moment he begins to properly guard the holy covenant, all his prayers will immediately be accepted, fulfilling the verse, "My covenant shall stand firm with him."
The Essential Difference Between the Jewish People and the Nations of the World
Emunah (faith) is the essence of prayer. Any person can have faith in Hashem; even the nations of the world have faith and go to their houses of worship, but they do not have the guarding of the covenant. Guarding the covenant belongs exclusively to the Jewish people. Therefore, we need both faith and the guarding of the covenant, so that we do not, Heaven forbid, become like them.
As Rebbe Nachman of Breslov told a certain man who was traveling to the Land of Israel during the days of Moharnat: "Know that Arabs also travel to the Land of Israel; what makes you better than them? You fast and pray, and they also fast and pray." The only difference between the Jewish people and the nations of the world is the guarding of the holy covenant. They have absolutely no concept of this, and therefore their prayers are not accepted in their entirety. The moment we guard the covenant, our eyes, and our ears properly, all the prayers we have prayed from the beginning of time until this very day will be accepted immediately, fulfilling the verse, "and his hands were steady (emunah)." And if a prayer is delayed, it is only to give the person a double portion of abundance, just as our patriarch Avraham was delayed until the age of one hundred in order to multiply his reward.
The Vision of Mashiach: The Pinnacle of Lowliness and Humility
From here begins the sprouting of the horn of Mashiach. The Talmud says:
"Rabbi Chanina said: I envision..." (Yevamos 111b)
The words "Rabbi Chanina chozeh" (Rabbi Chanina envisions) amount in gematria (numerical value) to exactly 358, which is the same numerical value as "Mashiach" (Rabbi = 212, Chanina = 119, Chozeh = 27). This is the vision of Mashiach. The Talmud continues and says that Mashiach is present in every generation, and Abaye adds: "Even the smallest amount (kol dehu)." The words "kol dehu" amount in gematria to 65, which is the numerical value of Hashem's name A-D-N-Y, because Mashiach will come to rectify the name A-D-N-Y. This is just as Yehoshua bin Nun merited to rectify all 24 times the name A-D-N-Y appears, and therefore he was told, "Stretch out the spear that is in your hand toward Ai," and then everything ascended to Heaven.
Mashiach will rectify the world by being at the absolute pinnacle of lowliness and humility. The Chasam Sofer (Part 6, Responsum 98) explains that Mashiach will embody the concept of "dust and ashes." Just as the first redeemer, Moshe Rabbeinu, argued with the Holy One, blessed be He, for seven days and seven nights, claiming, "I am not a man of words," so too will it be with the final redeemer. Moshe Rabbeinu was the pillar of truth, and he truly and sincerely felt that he was unworthy of anything.
So too, the final redeemer will not believe that he is Mashiach. A billion people will come, the entire world will shout to him, "Mashiach!", and he will say: "Have you gone mad? What happened to you? Have you grabbed onto another scarecrow like me?" Nothing will be able to convince him that he is Mashiach, not even the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself, until Hashem's anger flares up against him. He will argue: "I do not have words of charity, I do not have words of teshuvah (repentance), I do not know how to learn or pray. Perhaps this is entirely from the Palaces of Exchange (realms of impurity) trying to test me in order to make me stumble in arrogance?"
The False Maggid and the Test of the Tzaddikim of the Generation
This danger of arrogance and the Palaces of Exchange is illustrated in a story brought in the introduction to the book "Megaleh Amukos." In the generation before the decrees of 1648 and 1649 (Tach V'Tat), there were tremendous tzaddikim like the Bach and the Megaleh Amukos, and it was fitting for Mashiach to be revealed.
Eliyahu HaNavi would arrive every night, from Chatzos (midnight) until the morning, to learn with the Megaleh Amukos. Out of immense awe and humility, the Megaleh Amukos never raised his eyes to look at the face of Eliyahu HaNavi. One day, Eliyahu said to him: "Know that you are about to be tested from Heaven. An angel will come to you and tell you that you are Mashiach. He will not test you with blemishes of the covenant, Heaven forbid, but rather he will test you with attainments of Ruach HaKodesh (Divine Inspiration). He will reveal to you secrets and future events from one end of the world to the other, in order to make you stumble."
Before this, that same angel from the Sitra Achra (the Other Side, forces of impurity) came to the holy Bach and offered to learn Kabbalah with him, just as the Beis Yosef had a Maggid (angelic teacher) from Heaven. The Bach was not blinded by this. He asked for three days to practice Hisbodedus (secluded prayer) in order to investigate whether the angel was from the side of holiness or from the Sitra Achra. The Bach prayed and cried out to Hashem, and went to prostrate himself on his father's grave. In a dream that night, his father informed him not to learn with him. When the angel arrived at midnight, the Bach chased him away, shouting: "Get out of here immediately!"
The Humility of the Megaleh Amukos Saves His Soul
When the angel saw that the Bach could not be tempted, he went to the Megaleh Amukos. He offered to reveal supernal mysteries to him, the secrets of the Etz Chaim, and to give him powers to heal the sick and resurrect the dead. The Megaleh Amukos forgot Eliyahu HaNavi's warning at that moment and began to learn with him. Suddenly, he noticed that he was being taught too many secrets all at once. He made a soul-searching calculation: "Am I already worthy of so many secrets? After all, I am only a baal teshuvah (returnee to the faith); my mind is still not clean enough."
Out of his profound humility, even though he had a mind as pure and refined as refined silver, he understood that this was impossible. He decided to look at the angel's face—something he had never done even with Eliyahu HaNavi. The moment he examined him, he realized that he was from the Sitra Achra and chased him away, shouting: "Get out! I will drive you out with blows!"
From there, the angel went to the Taz (Rabbi David HaLevi Segal), who rejected him outright and told him, "Do not even start with me." Finally, seeing that he could not succeed with the true tzaddikim, he went to the false messiah Shabtai Tzvi, may his name be erased. He revealed to him sorcery, impure names, and tremendous powers, which enabled him to stay awake twenty-four hours a day and sing zemiros (holy songs) without stopping, until the entire world was misled by him. Thus, it becomes clear that the only protection against the forces of impurity and illusions is lowliness and true humility.
Part 1 of 4 — Lesson No. 129