The Secret of the Tzaddik in the Aspect of Leah and the Seal of Life

Lesson No. 538 | Motzaei Shabbat Kodesh 3rd of Chol HaMoed Sukkot, 18 Tishrei 5768 - Yahrzeit of the Holy Rebbe

An in-depth article based on the teachings of the Ari

The question is asked: Why do we need to travel to Uman? Why do we bring pure and innocent children, seemingly causing a neglect of Torah study for two days there and two days back, time in which they could have learned? The answer to all this is found in the words of the holy Ari in "Sha'ar HaKavanot".

Eight Hours of Sleep or Forty Hours of Study?

The Chatam Sofer explains the verse:

"I slept, then I would have been at rest"

That the word "az" (then) in gematria is eight. The Rambam rules that a person needs to sleep eight hours a day. But the Chatam Sofer says: "I slept, az" – if I sleep eight hours, it is only after I have studied for forty consecutive hours ("li" [to me] in gematria is forty). It is permissible to sleep four hours after twenty hours of study, but God forbid to sleep eight hours after sixteen hours of being awake.

Everyone is a tzaddik, everyone is beloved, everyone studies Torah day and night and does not sleep. If so, why do we need to travel specifically all the way to Uman?

Two Types of Tzaddikim: The Aspect of Leah and the Aspect of Rachel

The answer lies in the fifth discourse for Yom Kippur in the book "Sha'ar HaKavanot". The holy Ari explains that there are two types of tzaddikim: there are tzaddikim who are in the aspect of Leah, and there are tzaddikim who are in the aspect of Rachel. The difference between them is as far as heaven and earth. Indeed, all are beloved, all are pure, holy, and unblemished, but regarding the tzaddikim who are in the aspect of Leah, it is said in the Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 16b):

"Completely righteous people are immediately inscribed and sealed for a good life"

Already on the first night of Rosh Hashanah, they are sealed. The Rambam says that in every generation there is only one such tzaddik. There are not several tzaddikim in the aspect of Leah; there is only one tzaddik.

Rivers of Tears

The secret of Leah was hidden from Yaakov until after the passing of Rachel. The secret of these tzaddikim is "and Leah's eyes were tender" – they only cry and plead. They do not attain any spiritual attainment without prayer and without tears, in the aspect of "Pour out your heart like water before the presence of Hashem."

Rabbeinu asks: Why is a Talmudic tractate called a "Masechet"? From the expression "I have mingled (masachti) my drink with weeping". The tzaddikim mingle their study with tears. How did they manage to compile the Babylonian Talmud? Upon rivers of tears, as it is said:

"By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and also wept"

The Talmud was written by the Tanna'im and Amora'im who poured out rivers of tears, and therefore the least among them could resurrect the dead. The tzaddikim who are in the aspect of Leah do not approach anything or make any move before shedding rivers of tears.

The Ari explains that not every tzaddik is in the aspect of Leah. Breslov Chassidut is not, God forbid, a denial of any tzaddik – we believe in all the tzaddikim. But there is one tzaddik who is the aspect of Leah, and that is something else entirely. Whoever comes to this tzaddik, says the holy Ari, is immediately sealed for a good life already on the first night of Rosh Hashanah. Whoever comes to the tzaddik whose all attainments came through rivers of tears, merits to be sealed with him. The entire book "Likutey Moharan" was written out of rivers of tears.

Feeling the Sorrow of the Shechinah (Divine Presence)

Usually, a person is unable to cry if they do not have a trouble, God forbid, an illness, or a difficulty at home. It is hard for them to shed tears over the sorrow of the Shechinah (Divine Presence). It is brought in the name of one of the greatest tzaddikim that after he finished reciting Tikkun Chatzot, he said: "Now we need to recite another Tikkun Chatzot over the fact that I said the previous Tikkun Chatzot without crying enough." And he said this three times until the morning. This is called truly crying over the sorrow of the destruction and the sorrow of the Shechinah (Divine Presence).

The tzaddik who is in the aspect of Leah truly feels the sorrow of the Shechinah (Divine Presence), the destruction, and the exile of the people of Israel. Rabbeinu said: "I feel all the troubles of Israel even before they are decreed." He spoke about the decree of kidnapping children (the Cantonists) twenty-four years before it was implemented, and said that he postponed it. The tzaddik feels the troubles at their very root, before they even begin to awaken.

Why Do We Need Yom Kippur and Hoshana Rabbah?

If so, why do we wish each other on Rosh Hashanah "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year," and not "May you be inscribed and sealed immediately"? After all, the tzaddikim and those accompanying them receive the seal immediately in the foundation of Leah!

The answer is that even if we are inscribed for a good life, what kind of good life will it be if suddenly there is a decree upon the entirety of Israel? If Jews go into captivity? True, the tzaddik will remain alive, but he will suffer along with everyone else; he will have to hide in a basement or a cave. Therefore, after we have merited on Rosh Hashanah to be inscribed and sealed immediately for a good life in the merit of our inclusion in the tzaddik, we must now worry about the entirety of Israel.

We must pray for the intermediate ones who are sealed on Yom Kippur. And even this is not enough, because we need the third seal on Hoshana Rabbah, where even the wicked are sealed for a good life. Because if, God forbid, there is a decree upon the wicked, since permission is given to the destroyer, it does not distinguish between a tzaddik and a wicked person, and the tzaddikim and the intermediate ones will also be included in the decree.

Building the Stature of Rachel and the Self-Sacrifice of Gedaliah

The holy Ari explains that after we have merited to be in Uman and receive the seal of Leah on the first night, we need to build the stature of Rachel. Leah symbolizes the completely righteous, while the rest of the entirety of Israel is called "Rachel".

During the Ten Days of Repentance we build the Sefirot of Rachel day after day. On the first day we built the Keter, on the second the Chochmah, and on the third the Binah. On this day falls the Fast of Gedaliah, and on it Gedaliah ben Ahikam was killed. Why? Because the judgments of Keter and Chochmah are sweetened by the blowing of the shofar, but on the third day (3rd of Tishrei) there is no blowing of the shofar, and therefore there was nothing to sweeten the judgments.

Gedaliah ben Ahikam was the greatest of the generation, the aspect of Leah. He managed to sweeten his own judgments, but he did not manage to sweeten the judgments of the collective. A tzaddik sees Jews being killed, and he is ready for self-sacrifice. It is possible that Gedaliah saw that there was a decree, and agreed to be the atonement for the entirety of Israel.

Part 1 of 2 — Lesson No. 538

Next Part ←

All Parts: Part 1 (Current) | Part 2