Why Should a Jew Lose His Life!? Parshas Vayishlach from the Gaon and Tzaddik

"And there are those who truly miss the Holy Temple"

"If a person knew what the Beis HaMikdash (Holy Temple) was, he would cry and mourn every night at Chatzos (midnight) and not just during the days of Bein HaMetzarim (the three weeks of mourning). But almost no one misses it! Almost no one feels they need the Holy Temple! Everyone has cake at home, they have good food, they have drinks at home—why do they need the Holy Temple!? Thank Hashem, everyone feels good until a hundred and twenty! But there are those who truly miss the Holy Temple! There are those who cry every night and recite Tikkun Chatzos (the Midnight Lamentation)."

"You don't miss the Holy Temple"

"It is told about Reb Nachman Schuster, who was a simple Jew who stayed for a period in Uman and saw how they prayed with such enthusiasm! How they recited Tikkun Chatzos with weeping! When he returned to the Land [of Israel], he began to say Tikkun Chatzos and cry over the Holy Temple. Everyone laughed at him because they saw he didn't know how to say the words; he only said half-words! They approached him and said, 'Why are you saying Tikkun Chatzos? First, learn the Aleph-Beis (alphabet)...' Reb Nachman Schuster answered them, 'You don't miss the Holy Temple; you are Torah scholars, geniuses, and Tzaddikim (righteous ones)—you don't need to say Kinnot (elegies) or Tikkun Chatzos. But I am a simple shoemaker; I miss the Holy Temple.' At that moment, Reb Mordechai Sokolov and Reb Shlomo Gabriel, who were immense geniuses, approached him and asked, 'Where did you get this heart?' He told them, 'I got it in Uman!' They said, 'If so, we are also traveling there.' And thus they merited to draw close to Breslov, all through a simple Jew who cried during Tikkun Chatzos."

"Chatzos is as powerful as a Pidyon"

"'At midnight I will rise to thank You' (Psalms 119:62). A person who merits to rise every night will merit to rectify everything! One who rises at Chatzos (midnight) or at the very least at Alos HaShachar (dawn) merits to leave all 'Mitzrayim' (straits and limitations)! Chatzos is as powerful as a Pidyon Nefesh (soul redemption)! Chatzos redeems him from all troubles!! The main charity should be given to the Tzaddikim who make peace, to those who believe in the true Tzaddikim, to those who rise at Chatzos. Rising for Chatzos is the most important thing of all spiritual services."

"This is what he needs to do!"

"If a person rises at Alos HaShachar (dawn) even before the blue streak appears in the sky, he can sweeten every judgment in Heaven—every judgment in the world! If a person rises early, he can escape all troubles! If a person lacks parnassah (livelihood), has a sick child Heaven forbid, or lacks a shidduch (marriage match), he only needs to rise at Alos HaShachar! He only needs to sing to Hashem! He only needs to say the morning songs and pray with kavannah (intention)! This is what he needs to do: rise at Chatzos, rise at Alos HaShachar, and everything will be given to you! They will give you healing, they will give you a shidduch, they will give you an apartment! Rise early and you will receive everything! The fact that you live now in some hole or basement is all because of your sins; do teshuvah (repentance), rise at Chatzos, rise before Alos HaShachar, and you will have miracles! Do not be lazy; be diligent! 'Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider her ways and be wise' (Proverbs 6:6). Be diligent and rise early! Start learning from the ant."

"King David sang to Hashem—who wouldn't wake up!"

"How can one sleep at night?! How can one sleep! How do people sleep from the hour of Chatzos (midnight) onwards! The Midrash Shocher Tov (Chapter 17) says that when King David would rise at Chatzos, he would play the harp! When he played, all of Jerusalem would wake up! King David sang to Hashem—who wouldn't wake up! They heard David's melodies, such melodies... such tunes... so everyone would wake up! Everyone heard the melodies of Chatzos! Everyone heard the voices of Chatzos! Everyone heard the Tehillim (Psalms)! When David would rise at Chatzos and play, everyone would wake up! They didn't call the police on him; he was the king, what could be done!? On the contrary, those sleeping woke up; they could no longer sleep! In the entire Land of Israel, by Alos HaShachar (dawn), everyone was awake."

"How can a person sleep all night?"

The time of Chatzos (midnight) has arrived—get up! Get up! Don't you hear the rooster crowing?! Don't you see that the rooster roars with seven voices! You hear the first call of the rooster—get up at the first call! If you hear the second call—get up at the second call! Or at the third call! How can a person sleep all night, how can he?! How do you not see the lights? How do you not hear the voices?! 'I remember my melody in the night; I commune with my heart, and my spirit searches' (Psalms 77:7). At night, one receives the spirit! At night, one receives the soul! The soul returns at night! You have no joy because you sleep at night."

"The problem is that they weaken the other"

"Fifty years ago, all of Jerusalem would rise for Chatzos! This was an unbreakable rule! Now people have become weak; it's hard for them to say Tikkun Chatzos every night. But the problem is that they also weaken the other person who *does* want to rise for Chatzos! And that is the tragedy! You are weak? Be quiet! Sit on the side! Let your sons rise for Chatzos! Let your students rise for Chatzos! Let your friends rise for Chatzos! Be quiet!! Don't tell anyone that you are weak and cannot rise at Chatzos."

"'He shall surely roar'—this casts fear upon all the nations of the world"

The gentiles, from then until today, seek to annihilate the People of Israel, and there are constant decrees. There is no counsel or understanding to be saved from them except through Tikkun Chatzos; we need the roars of Chatzos! As it is written, 'He shall surely roar over His habitation' (Jeremiah 25:30). When one says the words 'Sha'ag Yisha'ag' (He shall surely roar) in Tikkun Chatzos, it casts fear upon all the nations of the world! It casts fear upon all the wicked so they won't cause us any harm! In Heaven, there are three hundred and seventy thousand lions, and those who say Tikkun Chatzos awaken the lions above! Those who say 'He shall surely roar over His habitation' awaken these lions. There are such roars in Heaven that even the greatest villain can no longer do anything! All the wicked tremble with great fear! With every single roar, an immense fear falls upon everyone! With every roar, the wicked are shaken! And they cannot move a hand or foot out of great fear."

"He gives strength to the impurity"

"A person needs to begin to awaken the Supernal Mercies, to begin to awaken mercy for his soul and spirit, to cry to Hashem: 'What about my Divine soul?' He needs to awaken mercy over the fact that he severed himself from the Name Havayah (the Tetragrammaton), blessed be He! Over the fact that his soul fell into the 'Ten Crowns of Impurity' (Kabbalistic forces of evil)! He must cry that now his vitality comes from Pgam HaBris (covenantal/sexual impurity)! From unrefined things! From idle chatter! Now he is sustaining the chambers of the Sitra Achra (the 'Other Side'/evil)! Through evil thoughts and blemishes, he gives strength to the Tumah (impurity)! He sustains destroyers! He sustains murderers! He sustains Nazis! He causes the Shechinah (Divine Presence) to be in exile! As it is written, 'A king is held captive in the tresses' (Song of Songs 7:6). A person doesn't even know he is placed within the Ten Crowns of Impurity! He doesn't even know he needs to start pitying his soul! He feels good with his lusts! He feels good with his evil thoughts! It's wonderful for him, he's having fun! He doesn't feel bad about it at all! He doesn't even try to get out of it."

"How can I think about nonsense!?"

"So how does one begin to pity the soul? One sits on the ground, puts a little ash on the head, says Tikkun Chatzos, cries to Hashem, and when saying 'The crown of our head has fallen' (Lamentations 5:16), one intends that the crown of our head is the soul. One cries over how the soul is captive within the armies of impurity and the Sitra Achra (the 'Other Side'). How the body imprisons the soul? How the body overcomes the soul!? One cries over the soul that fell into the depth of the Klipos (husks of evil), 'The crown of our head has fallen,' 'Woe to us, for we have sinned.'"

"There is no greater insult than this: that a Divine soul, carved from the Throne of Glory, which is literally part of His Essence, is imprisoned within a body with lusts, with such low desires. Each person, according to the measure of his intellect and understanding, should begin to feel embittered by this: 'Where am I? How can I think about nonsense?' If a person says Tikkun Chatzos with such a broken heart, with such submission, then the Tikkun (rectification) will be such that it will draw down an abundance of life to all his 248 limbs and 365 sinews."

"Why should a Jew lose his life!?"

When we hear of a Jew dying, Heaven forbid, we must immediately scream!! A Jew is seriously injured? We must say several chapters of Tehillim (Psalms); perhaps we can succeed in reviving him. Every Jew is a soul from the Throne of Glory! From every Jew, 600,000 can emerge! Why should a Jew lose his life!? And over this, one must cry every day, and especially at Chatzos (midnight). The main thing is to know: it is my sins that caused this! I am the one making a joke of everything, making a joke of the service of prayer, making a joke of the Torah, making a joke of the service of rising for Chatzos."

"She only wants to see who cries with her"

"A person needs to know: 'Rachel weeps for her children' (Jeremiah 31:14). If Mother Rachel is crying, then one must rise for Chatzos and cry together with the Mother! One must participate in her weeping! A mother cries over the six million killed in the Holocaust! A mother cries over all those killed every day! A mother cries for the souls to return in teshuvah (repentance)! How can one know that Mother Rachel is crying at Chatzos and do other things at that time?! Rachel is the holy Shechinah (Divine Presence)!! Is it not fitting for you to participate with Rachel!? Is it not fitting for you to participate in her weeping!? A person needs to have a drop of a Jewish heart, a drop of feeling, to say Tikkun Chatzos, to feel Rachel's weeping, the pain of all the generations, of all those killed. We have a Mother who can accomplish everything! Rachel can do everything! Everything is in her hands! Mother Rachel is alive and exists!! She can take us out of exile in a second, at this very moment! She only wants to see who cries with her."

"She will protect us all day"

At Chatzos (midnight), everyone cries! The whole world cries! The stars cry! The constellations cry! Everyone cries with Rachel! Everyone cries with the Shechinah (Divine Presence)! It is told of Reb Zusha of Anipoli that in his old age, he saw he was weak and could not rise for Chatzos, so he informed everyone he would no longer come to the synagogue. Nevertheless, at the hour of Chatzos, they saw him in the synagogue again. They asked him, 'Why did you come?

You said you were weak?' He said to them, 'The old woman is crying! What can I do! The old woman is crying! Mother Rachel is crying! Her weeping does not let me sleep.' The moment we give strength to the Shechinah! We cry with the holy Shechinah! We cry together

with our Mother Rachel! She will give us everything!! She will protect us all day! Rachel rules over the whole world! Over all the treasures! She only wants to see who cries with her! She only wants to see who participates in her pain!

Illustration: Yehoshua Wiseman joshuawiseman.com.