Wednesday, June 24, 2015

The Meaning of the Keitz is the Yetzer Hara turns into Yetzer Tov

Just a reminder about the end of days (seems off topic in this comment stream).  We are in the year 5775, the beita year and the keitz based on the posuk speaking about the Kesef HaPekudim the 1,775 which were made into VVim for the Amudim.

As the Etz Chaim concludes (this is the the 50th Gate of the Etz Chaim, the final gate of the entire work, end of chapter 3), that in the end of days, this verse hints to the keitz, and what is the keitz - the secret of the Vav (as the Zohar brings so often that it is with the Vav that we are redeemed).  What is the secret of the Vav?  The two letters Vav that make up a Vav (VV = Vav + Vav).  Each Vav as we know is the structure of the emotive attributes.  And as the Etz Chaim brings there each of us has two complete sets of emotive attributes, one for Good, and one for Evil.  AKA the Yetzer Tov and Yetzer Hara.

And what is the secret of the VV?  That the Yetzer Hara is transformed into Yetzer Tov.  Then there are two identical sets of emotive attributes, both good, two Yetzer Tov, and then the person becomes a "hook" (a "vav") to bind together the "Amudim", the pillars.

In the discourse including his famous keitz, the Alter Rebbe, the Baal HaTanya (sorry David M.) brings this Eitz Chaim and explains that the Amudim are the sefirot of Netzach and Hod of Atzilut, which the Arizal describes as the source and/or level of prophecy of Moshe Rabeinu.  The Alter Rebbe in his maamar explains that when the Yetzer HaRa is transformed into Yetzer Tov, each and every Jew becomes a pillar bringing down the levels of NEtzach and Hod of Atzilut to this physical and material world, literally every Jew attaining the level of prophecy of Moshe Rabeinu.

This is what is meant in the keitz, and in the redemption.  The Alter Rebbe explains that this magnificent feat required 1775 years of exile.  The Alter Rebbe started counting the days of exile with the destruction of the Temple, 172 (Eikev) years before the beginning of the 5th Millenium.  This made the keitz 5603.  When the 4th Lubavitcher Rebbe the Rebbe Maharash asked his father the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek "this is the year of the keitz of our grandfather the Alter Rebbe, so where is Moshiach?"  The Tzemach Tzedek answered "this year we published the Likutey Torah".  And indeed the Likutey Torah (for anyone who has merited to taste from it), is the length and breadth of the teachings of the secrets of the Torah, with it one can transform him or her self, unlocking the mysteries of the Zohar and writings of the Ari.  It has been said by the Rabeim that the Light of Moshiach is indeed in the Likutey Torah.  Of course the Rebbe Maharash (a child at the time) answered his father the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek "I want a Moshiach I can see!".

This year, we are 172 years (Eikev) after the printing of the Likutey Torah.  In the Zohar, the students of Rabbi Shimon cried when they hears the 5th Millenium had to be "paid in full" (כל היום דוה - דוה = הוד).

The 6,000 "weekday" cosmic years are grouped in 3 sets of 2,000 years - 2,000 years of "Chaos", 2,000 years of "Torah", and 2,000 years "The Days of Moshiach".  Out of the 2,000 years "Days of Moshiach", 1,775 were required to created the hooks, Vavim to the Amudim.  This is the inner meaning of the keitz.

What this means in our individual divine service of Hashem?  That the power was given to us, not by our merit or good deeds, but simply because the time has come, to transform our yetzer hara into a second (better) yetzer tov.  To server Hashem with all our hearts (both of them) simply and consistently.

Yes, we have the power to transform our yetzer hara completely, we just have to open our eyes.  And when only one of us does this, he or she will bring salvation to the entire world, bringing about the miraculous dimension of the true and complete redemption by Moshiach.  This is a halacha in Rambam's hilchot teshuva by the way.

It's not about signs and catastrophe, it's about one of us finally doing it, one doing real teshuva and bringing salvation to the entire world.

Moshiach Now!

Monday, June 22, 2015

Moshiach Comes with Lack of Attention

BS"D

Inner meaning of this statement is that we need to "remove our attention", remove our sense of self, our attention to ourselves.

The coming of Moshiach in an individual's service of Hashem is stopping to be associated with my personality, with my animal soul, and to meet, greet, and receive my Neshama.  This is how Tzadikim lived, and now it's available to each and every one of us.

Come out of my exiled mentality, my habitual existence, my habits.  There is no more power to the anuimal soul to control and hide my G-dly soul, only when I am used to experiencing life through my personality, then by my habitual behavior I add more vitality in my animal soul and this is what is now concealing my G-dly soul.

When we exit our habitual consciousness and meet our neshama, we become G-dly beings, like we were meant to be, this is receiving Moshiach on an individual level.  This is also what it means to do Teshuva, since Teshuva is "and the soul shall return to the G-d that created it" as is explained in Tanya.  This is why "they do Teshuva and immediately are redeemed".

To experience how Ronnie the soul is seeing Ronnie the person behaving in the physical material world.  Sweetening (hamtaka).

To experience our G-dly soul, not our animal soul.  To get used to it.  This is Chukas - burning the desires and will of the material personality and thus G-dliness is revealed, in me, my life, and the world.