Hayom Yom 27 Adar 2 - Enter before G‑d by actual practice down below

The daily Hayom Yom with Rabbi Yosef Katzman

Parshas HaChodesh

מְבָרְכִים רֹאשׁ חֹדֶשׁ נִיסָן

[On the Shabbos preceding Rosh Chodesh,] we bless the new month, Nissan.

אֲמִירַת כָּל הַתְּהִלִּים בְּהַשְׁכָּמָה. יוֹם הִתְוַעֲדוּת

[It is our custom] to recite the entire Book of Tehillim early in the morning and to hold a farbrengen on that day.

הפטורה: כֹּה אָמַר - עוֹלַת תָּמִיד

The haftarah [of Parshas HaChodesh] begins Ko amar and ends olas tamid (Yechezkel 45:18 - 46:15).

מִשִּׂיחַת אַאַמוּ"ר

The following teaching is drawn from a sichah of my revered father, the Rebbe [Rashab]:

חֵטְא בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן הָיָ' בְּקָרְבָתָם לִפְנֵי ה' וַיָּמוּתוּ

The sin of Aharon’s sons was that “when they drew near before G‑d, they died.”

רָצוֹא בְּלִי שׁוֹב

[They experienced] ratzo without shov.

דעֶר אֱמֶת אִיז אַז מְ'קוּמְט לִפְנֵי ה' דאַרְף זַיין תִּטְהָרוּ, רֵיין אוּן קְלאָהְר

In truth, when one comes “before G‑d” he must be pure and clear,

עֶס מוּז זִיךְ דעֶרְהעֶרעֶן אִין מַעֲשֶׂה בְּפוֹעַל

and this must find expression in one’s actual practice,

כָּל הַגָּבוֹהַּ גָּבוֹהַּ בְּיוֹתֵר יוֹרֵד לְמַטָּה מַטָּה בְּיוֹתֵר

for the higher a level is, the lower it descends.

וְרָצוֹא בְּלִי שׁוֹב, הִיא מִיתָה

Indeed, ratzo without shov is death.

וְעַל זֶה בָּא צִוּוּי ה' אֶל מֹשֶׁה (וַיִּקְרָא טז בּ)

For this reason, G‑d commanded Moshe

שֶׁיּאֹמַר לְאַהֲרֹן, אוֹתִיּוֹת נִרְאֶה,

to tell Aharon - the name Aharon (אהרן) comprises the same letters as the word meaning “seen” י,(נראה)י

וּבְכֹחוֹת הַנֶּפֶשׁ הוּא הַשְׂכָּלָה

which, in terms of our spiritual faculties, is identified with the intellect.

לֵאמֹר

[“He shall not enter the holy chamber at all times — beyond the curtain, in front of the cover that is upon the Ark — so that he shall not die, for I appear upon the cover in a cloud. With this [offering], Aharon may enter the holy chamber….”]

בִּשְׁבִיל לָבוֹא אֶל הַקֹּדֶשׁ גַּם מִבֵּית לַפָּרוֹכֶת שֶׁהוּא לִפְנֵי הַצִּמְצוּם

[The above-quoted verse continues, speaking of] “enter[ing] the holy chamber, beyond the curtain.” [In spiritual terms, this refers to the highest levels of Divinity] that “precede” the tzimtzum.

דאַרְף מעֶן ווִיסעֶן

One must realize

אַז עַל הָאָרֹן, אוֹתִיוֹת נִרְאֶה, הַשְׂכָּלָה

that “upon the Ark (הארן)” — which also shares the letters of the word נראה, thus also referring to intellect —

אִיז פאַראַן אַ כַּפּוֹרֶת, אַ כַּוָּנָה פוּן אַ פאַרשְׁטעֶל, וואָס דאָס אִיז דעֶר פְּנֵי הַכַּפּוֹרֶת

there is a cover, an intended self-concealment that is alluded to by the phrase, “in front of the cover.”

אֲשֶׁר עַל כֵּן וְלֹא יָמוּת

And one is told: “He shall not die” —

זאָל מעֶן נִיט בְּלַייבּעֶן בַּאם רָצוֹא אַלֵיין

one should not content himself with the thrust of ratzo alone.

כִּי בֶּעָנָן אֵרָאֶה עַל הַכַּפּוֹרֶת

[The rationale is that] “I appear in a cloud upon the cover.”

דעֶר צִמְצוּם הָרִאשׁוֹן אִיז כַּוָּנָתוֹ הַגִּלּוּי

[Paradoxically, the intentional self-screening that is called] the First Tzimztum exists for the sake of [G‑d’s ultimate] self-revelation [to man].

אוּן דעֶר מָבוֹא צוּ דעֶם אִיז דעֶר וְאַל

The prerequisite to that revelation is hinted at by the phrase “he shall not,”

בִּטּוּל עַצְמִי

humbling one’s ego,

טאָן וואָס חֲסִידוּת הֵייסְט, נִיט דאָס וואָס דעֶר שֵׂכֶל זאָגְט

which means doing what Chassidus demands, not what one’s own intellect dictates.

דאַן אִיז יָבוֹא אֶל הַקֹּדֶשׁ

With this preparation, one “may enter the holy chamber.”

Text and Translation courtesy of Sichos in English

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