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Each Hebrew month is connected to one of the soul's
twelve senses and has defining parameters (i.e. an organ in the body, letter,
tribe, constellation, etc.) which help us focus our spiritual service on the
particular sense and discover how to use it to serve G-d. Just as our acceptance
of the yoke of heaven on Rosh Hashanah improves our ability to serve G-d with
humility the whole following year, and eating matza on Pesach helps us
serve G-d with pure faith the whole year round, a person's spiritual service in
each month is an auspicious time to inspire his soul to serve G-d with that
month's particular sense for the entire year.
The Arizal's Opinion
According to the Arizal's (Rabbi Yitzchak Luria,
1534-1572) version of Sefer Yetzira (one of the oldest works of Kabbala,
traditionally attributed to the patriarch Abraham!) the ability associated with
the month of Sivan is the power to walk. The sense associated with the
month that follows it, Tammuz, is vision.  | | " Sivan is the power to walk...Tammuz is vision..." | | |
Sivan, the month in which we received the Torah, is
connected to our ability to "walk", i.e. move and accelerate in our service of
G-d. During Tammuz was the main part of the spies' trip to "see" the Land of
Israel took place.
The Gaon of Vilna's Opinion
The Gra [Rabbi Eliyahu, the Gaon of Vilna,
1710-1797] disagrees. He claims that the month of vision should be Sivan, and
the month of walking should be Tammuz. In Sivan everybody saw the revelation on
Mount Sinai. Even the sounds were elevated to the level of seeing, because
everybody saw the divine voice (Ex. 20:15 and commentaries). While in Tammuz,
the spies walked in the land.
I suggest that these two opinions are the root of two
quite different philosophies, and that the Arizal's teaching laid the
foundation of Chasidut. But first let us cite how classic Torah interpretation
supports the approach of the Arizal.
The Spies and The Eyes
In parashat Shelach, the spies were sent
to tour (in Hebrew, "latur") - to walk/see - in the Holy Land
(Num.13:17). But which element is primary - to walk or to see?
According to Rashi (ibid. 25), the spies did not walk
much, because they had, a miraculous "shortening of the way". In actuality, the
distance they had to cover should have taken them much more than the 40 days it
did. Walking, apparently, did not pose a problem for the spies. Eventually,
however, they were punished for misinterpreting what they saw. For example,
instead of seeing the king-size fruit as an expression of the Land's greatness,
they drew the conclusion that such enormous produce indicates that the
inhabitants of the Land were gigantic, and therefore invincible. | | " The spies believed that staying in the desert would advance the cause of Torah..." | | |
Every weekly reading is an organic whole; its
beginning is connected to and explains its end. The concluding section in
Shelach about tzitzit, is the third paragraph of the Shema
prayer. In it is the command "Don't follow your eyes" after all the negative
things in the world, because when you look at something your heart will desire
it. Instead, look at the tzitzit, so that you will remember all the 613
commandments. Clearly, one message of tzitzit is seeing.
At the beginning of the portion, Rashi explains that
walking was not the main activity of the spies. At the end of the portion, the
Torah itself uses the same verb ("latur") in relation to tzitzit
(ibid 14:39), and Rashi notes this. Further, Rashi emphasizes that the eyes are
the "spies of the body", which establishes a third connection between the month
of Tammuz and the sense of vision. Thus we see that the concepts established by
the Arizal are rooted in the Torah.
Two Opinions, Two Philosophies
Chasidut adds a deeper dimension to the sin of the
spies. The spies believed that staying in the desert would advance the cause of
Torah. There, everything was provided - no need to worry about food, laundry,
clothes, medicine, etc. You only needed to learn Torah. Entering the land,
however, would necessitate becoming involved with the physical world and dealing
with numerous mundane affairs. Therefore, the spies were afraid that the Jews
might lose their perspective, become too worldly, and compromise their
connection to Torah. | " The dark outside is actually the highest form
of G-dly revelation..." | | |
This attitude is similar to the outlook which claims
that the ideal state is to be in yeshiva - safely encased in the holiness of
continual Torah study. For this reason, according to the Gaon of Vilna, the
month of vision is Sivan. If you want to see G-d, you will see Him in the
yeshiva: the isolated, ideal environment, where you are supported, free to learn
Torah, and where its power is the strongest. If you cannot maintain such a
situation, or if you do not know how to learn, you will be on the outside where
you just hang around, walk. It is dangerous, because you can be attracted by the
world, and be corrupted. The power of Torah to protect you is less on the
outside.
The Chasidic point of view, following the Arizal, is
the opposite. The central meaning of Sivan is that the power of Torah gives you
the ability to walk. Only when you go out into the land, outside to the world
where you realize how the Torah is energizing you to help repair and light up
the world, will you really see G-d. The dark outside is actually the highest
form of G-dly revelation.
G-d reveals his infinite power by garbing Himself in
the standards of Torah, which fuel you as you walk out and teach the world how
to organize itself within the divine borders of Torah. If you restrict yourself
to your own four cubits, you will never get to realize how the Torah enables you
to make the darkness outside reveal its G-dliness. The more you connect with the
world, the more you come into contact with the entire spectrum of divinity -
concealed and revealed. | | " As you go out into the world, you will become even more impressed with Torah..." | | |
In particular, you will become more sensitive to how
G-d speaks to you from the concealed aspects of Creation, as He uses the
concealment to attract you to where you are needed. This, by itself, will give a
new meaning to the revealed aspects of the divine light. Before your contact
with darkness, the light of Torah inspired you because of its brightness. But as
you go out into the world, you will become even more impressed with Torah. You
will see it's incredible power to diffuse itself and light up the external
darkness, making the realm that the Torah rules not only the yeshiva and the
synagogue, but the whole world. This is what is called "seeing G-dliness". G-d
is talking to you much more from the darkness than from the revealed light.
From Darkness to Light
The same concept applies to Adam and Eve in the Garden
of Eden; it was part of the Divine Plan for them to leave Eden, so that they
(and their descendants) could purify the outer darkness. Adam's departure gave
new meaning to the Garden: until that moment it was just a beautiful place;
suddenly it became a light to illuminate darkness.
In other words, darkness exists outside the Garden
only to attract the light from within, and show it where it needs to shine. It
is the stimulus for us to reveal more and more G-dliness, much more than if we
just restricted ourselves to the domain of Eden, the domain of the Sinai desert.
The particular way that the non-Chasidic streams in
Judaism interpret the concept of tzimtzum causes them to consider
darkness (i.e. those domains in reality where Divinity is concealed by some kind
of kelipa) as a place where divinity does not exist, and should be
avoided at all costs. In contrast, the Chassidic interpretation of tzimtzum
enables them to see the darkness as a place that they need to focus their
use of the revealed aspects of holiness in order to expose the hidden divinity
in the world.
Chasidut sees the world as a divine theater which G-d,
the director, has entirely lit with His light, while the "spotlight" He uses is
dark in order to attract our attention, and show us where to look. In this way,
we see where to focus our efforts as we go out to expose the divinity hidden in
the world, so that the entire stage will be lit. This explains the connection
between Sivan and Tammuz.
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