by Rabbi E. Tauger

Iyar

A Month of Healing

The name of the present month, Iyar serves as an acronym for the verse: Ani Hashem Refoechah, "I G-d am your Healer." Now, in many sources, it is explained that this verse is a blessing that one will never become sick, as it is stated: "All of the diseases with which I plagued Egypt, I will not visit upon you." From one perspective, there is a disadvantage to such health because, after all, the person became sick and there is nothing that can compare with sustained robust health. On the other hand, there is an advantage to the healing that enables a person to overcome sickness. For a person who overcomes sickness is able to develop an immune system that is resistant to infection and illness.

The Spiritual Counterpart of Sickness

Our Rabbis give two metaphors for illness:
a) sin and in a more general sense, preoccupation with material things. Spirituality and more particularly, G-dliness, is identified with life and vitality, as it is written: "G-d, your Lord is true. He is the living G-d. " Those entities which are not identified with G-d are, conversely, identified with death and illness. This includes sin, for it is directly opposed to His will. And in a larger sense, it relates to over-involvement in material things, for a body without a soul is death and health reflects a situation where the soul takes primacy over the body. Just like a healthy person is not conscious of his body and moves freely, the soul of a spiritually healthy person is not encumbered by the body's restraints.
b) a yearning for G-dliness. Following the technique of numerology known as im hakollel,
Choli, "sickness" in Hebrew, is numerically equivalent to 49. Our Sages tell us that there are 50 Gates of Wisdom. When a person has attained 49 of these gates, but is lacking the fiftieth, he is overcome by a sense of yearning and desire for completion. A person who is on a lesser rung of awareness does not know what he is missing and hence, does not feel such a sense of yearning. On the contrary, he is content with his present situation, because he does not know of anything more. When, by contrast, a person has developed himself and attained 49 of the Gates of Wisdom, he is aware of the existence of the fiftieth rung and is overcome by yearning and desire for that higher level.
In both these instances, being healed from such a state of sickness elevates one to a higher state of health than he would be able to experience had he not become sick. Indeed, when one takes a long-term conception, the sickness was the only means possible to reach this higher state.

Merits of a Different Nature

To explain: Our Sages teach us that even completely righteous men cannot approach the level of a baal teshuvah, a person who has sinned and repented. Why is his level higher? Because first he descended lower and tasted spiritual sickness. The fact that he experienced sin and then rejected it places him on a higher level than a person who had never approached sin at all. The only way a person can break a habit that is already entrenched is by summoning up resources of inner strength. Similarly, for a person who has sinned to change course, he must tap his innermost spiritual resources, potentials that a righteous man does not have to - and therefore, may not always - access.
From a mystical perspective, the advantage of a baal teshuvah is even greater. The kabbalists interpret the verse: "I have seen an advantage… like the advantage of light over darkness" to mean that the advantage, i.e., the higher quality of light, comes from darkness. For it is the transformation of darkness into light that yields a quality of light that is truly superior.
There are sparks of Divine light enclothed in every entity. At times, that light can be appreciated. In other instances, it is hidden, and in still others, it is in a state of absolute concealment. The kabbalists explain that those sparks tha
at contain the most powerful sparks of light have fallen furthest away. In their fallen state, they are so removed from G-dliness that their G-dly source cannot be revealed in an ordinary way. This is indicated by the Hebrew term for "forbidden," Assur. This term also means "bound," i.e., these sparks of G-dliness are bound to the material realm and cannot be elevated by the usual patterns of Divine service. Only a baal teshuvah, who as explained above taps inner and deeper spiritual energies than usual, can elevate such sparks and reveal the powerful light they contain.

To Approach Higher Truth

A similar concept applies with regard to the second interpretation of sickness mentioned above, the intense yearning for G-dliness that comes from a state of heightened awareness. Our Sages state: "One should reveal the secrets of Torah only to a person's whose heart is anxious within." A person who is content and satisfied is not open to accept a new impetus for growth. True, he may be able to make relative progress, but to advance drastically, one must have a genuine thirst and desire. The inner drive it produces pushes him past his inhibitions and restraints and opens him up to sublime levels of understanding.

Thirsting for Redemption

"Days are coming… and I will bring about a famine in the land, not a famine for bread, nor a thirst for water, but to hear the word of G-d." The ultimate search is the thirst for redemption and that is why, in the present generation, the era immediately before the dawning of that great light, there is such a tremendous thirst for spirituality.
There are those who speak about the darkness of our times, how the material consciousness that pervades our contemporary experience has made people yearn and desire something higher. There is truth to that perspective, for we are forced to deal with many more concerns than our ancestors did. We are faced with a torrent of information that subjects us to pressure and stress. Overburdened with worry and apprehension, we search for something higher.
But that is only part of the story. In truth, Redemption is not a dream of the Future, but a dimension which we can integrate into our lives at present. The awareness and the mindset that will characterize that future era have been revealed to us through the teachings of Chassidus. This grants us the potential to live our lives in the spirit of redemption and apply the depth, understanding, and joy that will permeate the world at that time to our present experience. Thus there is no need to live in darkness; the light of redemption is accessible.
Yet this should not lead to tranquil contentment. The awareness of G-dliness that we appreciate whets our thirst for this awareness to spread throughout the world at large. Even though one's own life is permeated by G-dly light, he yearns that this light be diffused throughout the world until it encompasses all mankind. As more and more people internalize this spiritual state, the ripples of redemption will spread wider until they create a large wave that will turn the tide of history.

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Telling Tales

One of the holidays of the month of Iyar, Lag B'Omer, commemorates the yahrzeit of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the author of the Zohar, the fundamental text of Jewish mysticism. In that context, we would like to share this story which expresses the importance of tasting this type of knowledge in the present age.

Rav Tuvia Blau is a descendant of one of Jerusalem's renown Rabbinic families. As a youth, he was characterized by an intense quest for knowledge and truth that led him to explore several approaches to Jewish thought. In the process of this search, he met several Lubavitcher chassidim and was very impressed by the depth, meaning, and joy of their way of life. He began to study Chassidus and spend more time within the chassidic community.
Although he felt a strong attraction, many elements of the chassidic way of life differed from those practiced by his family and the yeshivah he attended. Hence, he decided to ask the Rebbe about his concerns and apprehensions.
A few weeks later, the Rebbe sent a detailed reply, answering all of Tuvia's questions. He felt satisfied and no longer hesitated about his involvement with Chassidus. The Rebbe also added a puzzling postscript: "There is no need to ask why Chassidus was not revealed in previous generations," and proceeded to explain that a) because of the spiritual darkness that permeated our time more light was necessary, and b) as a foretaste to the revelations of Mashiach, it was necessary to anticipate his teachings through the stidy of Chassidus.
Tuvia was surprised. That issue had not bothered him at all and he had mentioned nothing to this effect in his letter.
Soon Tuvia's interest in Chassidus became known in his yeshivah. One day, a Torah scholar whom he admired and respected asked me to have a talk with him. He knew that he wanted to discourage him from the new path which he had begun to explore.
The scholar presented many arguments against the study of Chas
sidus, but Tuvia countered all of them successfully. He realized that the scholar's objections stemmed only from his lack of familiarity with the subject.
The scholar then unsheathed what he thought would be his most convincing argument. "If Chassidus is so valuable, then why," he asked, "was its study not revealed to previous generations?"
He was surprised at both the depth and speed with which Tuvia answered this question.

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Torah readings of the month

Parshas Kedoshim

Our Torah reading begins with the charge "Be holy," but it continues with a variety of commandments that focus on the day-to-day details of our lives. In a similar vein, in the Introduction to his Mishneh Torah, the Rambam explains that Sefer Kedushah, the Book of Holiness, was given that title because that book contains the laws governing forbidden foods and forbidden sexual relations, because "it is in these two matters that G-d has sanctified us and separated us from the [other] nations." Implied is that the holiness the Torah asks of us is not otherworldly, but instead anchored firmly in man's experience in this world.
Now developing such holiness is not easy, because we have a natural tendency to polarities: either to seek gratification through indulgence in material pleasures or to renounce them and search for spiritual fulfillment in an ascetic lifestyle. Judaism teaches that neither of these extremes is desirable, neither for man, nor for G-d d. Instead, we must appreciate that G-d did not create material existence for the sake of indulgence. He invested Himself in the material realm, infusing sparks of holiness into every material entity. What He desires is that we uncover those sparks by using the material entities for His intent. That is the holiness the Torah desires of us.

Parshas Emor

Our Sages explain that the opening verse of our Torah reading teaches us lihazhir gedolim al hakatanim, which literally translates as "to warn the elders concerning the children." Implied is that a parent must take responsibility for the education of his children. This does not mean merely looking for an appropriate school for the children. Instead, it involves thinking of how to structure an environment so that the child will truly grow. For education is not merely the transfer of knowledge, but the molding of character. While imparting information is important, of far greater priority is giving him the tools to enhance his personal development throughout his life.

Parshas Behar

This Torah reading contains the prohibition against charging interest. Like all the other mitzvos, this prohibition has a parallel in our Divine service. What does charging interest involve? Receiving benefit for money that was earned once without investing any effort at present. In a spiritual sense, this refers to resting on one's laurels, continuing to take credit for one's spiritual achievements of the past without seeking to advance further.

Parshas Bechukosai

This Torah reading contains the Tocheichah, the series of 49 curses that G-d will visit upon the Jewish people for their lack of observance.
This conjures up images of a vengeful G-d, carefully scrutinizing man's actions and waiting for the moment when man has sinned enough to deserve retribution.
How far from the truth! The world is created as an expression of G-d's kindness. People who speak of an angry and wrathful G-d are expressing anger they have inside.
It's true that not everything that happens to us is overt and revealed good, but we must appreciate that this is His doing. With careful providence, He is guiding everything that happens in this world from the turning of a leaf in the wind to the relations between nations. Surely, this applies with regard to the particular events that happen in our lives.
But we don't understand: How can a G-d who is good and kind do things which to us are so clearly the opposite of goodness and kindness?
There are some who, because of this question, say that G-d is not doing it. He has left the world to nature. He does not, they maintain, interfere with the existential reality that governs our existence.
Well, if He does not govern our existence, how is He our G-d?
Instead of resolving the issue by taking Him out of the picture, we have to learn to trust Him, to feel confident that even if we do not understand everything He does, He is doing good. We offer such trust to a doctor when we take medicine and even undergo surgery, although we do not understand exactly why we should and how this will help us. Similarly, we should trust our Creator and appreciate that even what does not overtly appear as good is really for our benefit.

Parshas Bamidbar

Every year, the Torah portion Bamidbar, "in the desert," is read before the holiday of Shavuos. This sequence is intentional, highlighting the fact that the Torah was given in such a barren setting.
Why did G-d choose such surroundings? To teach several fundamental lessons:
a) A desert has no owner. By giving the Torah in the desert, G-d showed that no one person or tribe can control it; every Jew has an equal claim.
b) To approach the Torah, we must make ourselves ownerless by stepping beyond our individual personalities. The Torah reflects G-d's infinity, transcending our understanding. To relate to this infinity, we must transcend our personal selves.
c) The desert is barren and desolate. Thus when our ancestors received the Torah, they had to depend on G-d for food, water, and clothing. Yet far from worrying, they received the Torah with loving trust.
Similarly, instead of giving primacy to our material concerns, we should consider the Torah our priority, and remain confident that G-d will provide us with our needs as He provided for our ancestors.

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