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MJL Kislev Handout Kislev: Close Your Eyes Section 1: Rest Your Weary Head Sefer Yetzirah (The Book of Formation) is a work of meditative proto-Kabbalah with strong magical elements. It is the earliest extant work of Jewish mysticism, and it is traditionally attributed to Abraham (18th Century BCE) and/or Rabbi Akiva (2nd Century CE). In it, each month is associated with a Hebrew letter, a constellation, a part of the human body and a human emotion, sense, or faculty. What does this passage suggest we should be paying attention to this month, and how does this relate to what is happening in nature, and your own inner experience of this time of year? ספר היצירה ה:ט (Sefer Yetzirah 5:9 (trans. adapted from R' Aryeh Kaplan המליך אות ס' בשינה He made the letter Samech king over sleep וקשר לו כתר And He bound a crown to it וצרפן זה בזה And He combined one with another וצר בהם And with them He formed קשת בעולם Sagittarius in the Universe וכסלו בשנה Kislev in the Year וקבה בנפש And the stomach in the Soul זכר ונקבה Male and female R' Tzadok haKohen Rabinowitz of Lublin (1823 – 1900), usually referred to as Rav Tzadok, was a major figure in Polish Chasidut. He started life in a prominent Lithuanian rabbinic family who were opposed to Chasidut, but was won over to Chasidut by R' Mordechai Yosef Leiner of Izhbitz, known as the Mei HaShiloach. His classes on Shabbat and festivals were transcribed by his students and compiled in Pri Tzadik (The Fruit of the Righteous) after his death. How does the below teaching connect us to our season and our ongoing work of Teshuvah (returning to our best selves)? פרי צדיק לראש חודש כסלו ג:א Pri Tzadik on Rosh Chodesh Kislev 3:1 כל חודש יש לו עסק בפ"ע Every month has its own work, and was created ונברא באות מיוחד מי"ב פשוטות with a particular letter from the twelve simple כמ"ש בסי"צ המליך אות ס׳ בשינה ones, as is written in Sefer Yetzirah: “Samech כסלו בשנה וקיבה בנפש וכולי over sleep...Kislev in the Year and the stomach in והוא עפמ"ש בגמרא the Soul etc.” As the Talmud teaches, “the קיבה ישנה .(stomach brings sleep” (Brachot 61b ואות ס׳ מורה The letter Samech refers to, “The Eternal supports סומך ה׳ לכל הנופלים .(all the fallen ones” (Psalm 145:14 … … וכן אות ס׳ ראשונה הוא הסובב ,And the first Samech [in the Torah] is in the word והיינו surrounding” (Gen. 2:11), referring to G!d“ שהשי"ת סובב ואור מקיף surrounding [everything] and the Transcendent וע"י כן סומך לכל הנופלים Light, through which G!d “supports all the fallen.” וכן תמונת אות ס׳ הוא היקף .And the image of the letter Samech is a circle Page 1 / My Jewish Learning / R' Daniel Raphael Silverstein / [email protected] / www.appliedjewishspirituality.org … … וזה עסק חודש זה להיות מבטח עז בהשי"ת And this is the work of this month: To stubbornly שישמרהו ויסייעהו trust that the blessed G!d will guard and help you אף אם קלקל ח"ו .even if you have acted destructively, G!d forbid יוכל לתקן הכל ע"י תשובה .You can fix everything through Teshuvah This month's faculty of sleep occupies a unique and quite problematic place in our lives. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2015 that 35% of US adults suffer from sleep deprivation, which causes a wide array of potentially serious physiological and psychological ailments. What does this ancient midrash have to say about our need for sleep? בראשית רבה ח:י Genesis Rabbah 8:10 בשעה שברא הקב"ה את אדם הראשון When the blessed Holy One created the first טעו בו מלאכי השרת human, the ministering angels erred because of ובקשו לומר לפניו קדוש ”!him, and sought to say before him, “Holy מה עשה הקדוש ב"ה ?Isaiah 6:3). What did the blessed Holy One do) הפיל עליו תרדמה He caused a deep sleep to fall upon him, then וידעו הכל שהוא אדם .everyone knew that he was human Many of our traditional sources emphasize the merits of sleeping as little as possible, to (supposedly) maximize the positive activities we can engage in. What assumptions about sleep are evident here? בראשית רבה ט:ו Genesis Rabbah 9:6 הנה טוב מאד .(And behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31“ והנה טובה שינה This means: “Behold, sleep is good!” But is sleep וכי שינה טובה מאד אתמהא actually very good?! After all, have we not been לא כן תנינן taught: “When the wicked drink wine and sleep, it יין ושינה לרשעים נאה להם ונאה לעולם ?”is good for them and good for the world אלא מתוך שאדם ישן קימעא However, because a person sleeps a little, they are הוא עומד ויגע בתורה הרבה .able to get up and toil greatly in Torah study Apart from as a prerequisite for learning Torah or dong other good deeds, how else might sleep be good, in the view of our early sages? בראשית רבה יז:ה Genesis Rabbah 17:5 ויפל יקוק אלקים תרדמה And the Eternal G!d caused a deep sleep to fall“ רבי יהושע דסכנין upon the human]...” (Gen. 2:21). R' Yehoshua of] בשם רבי לוי אמר Sichnin said in the name of R' Levi: the beginning תחלת מפלה שינה .of a person's downfall is sleep דמך ליה ולא לעי באורייתא When asleep, they do not engage in Torah or ולא עביד עבידתא .work רב אמר שלוש תרדמות הן Rav said: there are three types of deep sleep: the תרדמת שינה ותרדמת נבואה ;deep sleep of sleep; the deep sleep of prophecy ותרדמת מרמיטה .and the deep sleep of a trance … ... Page 2 / My Jewish Learning / R' Daniel Raphael Silverstein / [email protected] / www.appliedjewishspirituality.org רבנן אמרי The Rabbis said: [there is a fourth type] even the אף תרדמה של שטות .deep sleep of foolishness … ... רבי חנינא בר יצחק אמר שלושה נובלות הן R' Chanina bar Yitzchak said: there are three נובלת מיתה – שינה withered reflections: A withered reflection of נובלת נבואה – חלום death is sleep; a withered reflection of prophecy is נובלת העולם הבא – שבת dreaming; a withered reflection of the world to רבי אבין מוסיף עוד תרתין come is Shabbat. R' Avin added two more: a נובלת אורה של מעלה - גלגל חמה withered reflection of the heavenly light is the נובלת חכמה של מעלה - תורה sun; a withered reflection of heavenly wisdom is Torah. What attitudes towards sleep are revealed in this talmudic bedtime prayer? תלמוד בבלי – ברכות ס:ב Babylonian Talmud, Brachot 60b הנכנס לישן על מטתו אומר One who enters to sleep on their bed recites the משמע ישראל עד והיה אם שמוע .first paragraph of the Shema ואומר ברוך המפיל חבלי שינה על עיני Then they recite: Blessed [are You...] Who makes ותנומה על עפעפי the bonds of sleep fall upon my eyes and slumber ומאיר לאישון בת עין upon my eyelids, and illuminates the pupil of the eye. יהי רצון מלפניך ה׳ אלקי May it be Your will, O Eternal my G!d, that You שתשכיבני לשלום ותן חלקי בתורתך make me lie down in peace and give me my ותרגילני לידי מצוה portion in Your Torah, accustom me to mitzvot ואל תרגילני לידי עבירה and do not accustom me to transgression, lead me ואל תביאני לידי חטא ולא לידי עון not into error, nor into iniquity, nor into ולא לידי נסיון ולא לידי בזיון .temptation nor into disgrace וישלוט בי יצר טוב May the good inclination have dominion over me ואל ישלוט בי יצר הרע and may the evil inclination not have dominion ותצילני מפגע רע ומחלאים רעים over me. Save me from an evil mishap and evil ואל יבהלוני חלומות רעים diseases. Let neither bad dreams nor troubling הרהורים רעים ותהא מטתי שלמה לפניך thoughts disturb me. May my bed be flawless והאר עיני פן אישן המות before You. Enlighten my eyes in the morning lest I sleep [the sleep of] death. ברוך אתה השם Blessed are You, O Eternal, Who gives light to המאיר לעולם כולו בכבודו .the whole world in His glory Page 3 / My Jewish Learning / R' Daniel Raphael Silverstein / [email protected] / www.appliedjewishspirituality.org Section 2: Isn't Life a Dream? In the traditional annual Torah-reading cycle, this powerful story is always recited in Kislev. What does this text have to say about sleep and dreams, and what questions does it raise? בראשית כח:י-יח Genesis 28:10-18 וַיֵצֵ֥א יַעֲק֖ב מִבְאֵ֣ר שָ֑בַע וַיֵ֖לְֶ חָרֽנָה And Jacob left Be'er Sheva, and went toward וַיִפְגַ֨ע בַמָק֜ום וַיָ֤לֶן שָם֙ Charan. And he encountered the place, and he כִי־בָ֣א הַשֶ֔מֶש .slept there, because the sun set וַיִקַח֙ מֵאַבְנֵ֣י הַמָק֔ום וַיָ֖שֶם מְרֽאֲשֹתָ֑יו He took some of the stones of the place, he put וַיִשְכַ֖ב בַמָק֥ום הַהֽוא .them under his head and lay down in that place וַֽיַחֲל֗ם וְהִנֵ֤ה סֻלָם֙ מֻצָ֣ב אַ֔רצָה He dreamt a ladder was set on the ground and its וְראש֖ו מַגִ֣יעַ הַשָמָ֑יְמָה top reached to the sky, and angels of G!d were וְהִנֵה֙ מַלְאֲכֵ֣י אֱלקים עֹלִ֥ים וְיֹרד֖ים בֽו .going up and down on it וְהִנֵ֨ה יְקוָ֜ק נִצָ֣ב עָלָיו֮ וַיֹאמַר֒ And the Eternal was standing over him and He אֲנִ֣י יְקוָ֗ק אֱלקי֙ אַבְרהָ֣ם אָבִ֔יָ וֵאלקי יִצְחָ֑ק said, “I am the Eternal, the G!d of your father הָאָ֗רץ אֲשֶ֤ר אַתָה֙ שֹכֵ֣ב עָלֶ֔יהָ Abraham and the G!d of Isaac: the ground on לְָ֥ אֶתְנֶ֖נָה ולְזַרעֶָֽ which you are lying I will give to you and to your offspring. וְהָיָ֤ה זַרעֲָ֙ כַעֲפַ֣ר הָאָ֔רץ ;Your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth ופָרצְתָ֛ יָ֥מָה וָק֖דמָה you shall spread out to the west and to the east, to וְצָפֹ֣נָה וָנֶ֑גְבָה the north and to the south.
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