Issue (# 18) A Tzaddik, or righteous person makes everyone else appear righteous before Hashem by advocating for them and finding their merits. (Kedushas Levi, Parshas Noach; Sefer Bereishis 7:1) Parshas Terumah Kedushas Ha'Levi'im THE MISHKAN AND MAN: MICROCOSMS OF THE UNIVERSE In the rings of the Ark the staves shall remain; they may not be removed from it. You shall place in the Ark the testimonial tablets that I will give you... (Shemos 25:15–16) The holy Berditchever asked in Kedushas Levi: Why is there an extra warning against removing the staves from the Ark, unlike any other precaution regarding the holy vessels? To make the answer to this question clear, the Berditchever tells us that he must give a bit of a lengthy explanation. He says that it is well known that man is called an “olam katan,” a small world, and that he is a microcosm of the universe, and that his 248 limbs correspond spiritually to the 248 positive commandments, and that his 365 sinews correspond spiritually to the 365 negative commandments. Similarly, explains the Berditchever, the Mishkan and all of its vessels correspond to the spiritual forces behind the mitzvos, each vessel alluding to a different mitzvah. [For example: The Zohar II 152b-153b teaches that the Shulchan corresponds to the mitzvah of Birkas haMazon, just as the shulchan draws down blessings and sustenance to the whole world so does the grace after meals which we recite.] The Kedushas Levi reminds us that there are several mitzvos that man is obligated to always have in mind and remember constantly, at every moment. Then, there are other mitzvos that we need to think about only at certain times. These are the mitzvos that the Berditchever says we must always have in mind: 1. There is a Creator who created the world and fashioned all of existence. 2. He is one, single, and unique being. [1] 3. We must love Him to the point that we desire to give pleasure and delight to the Creator through our Torah study, prayer, charity, and performance of commandments, to bring joy and pleasure to the Creator, as it were. 4. We must fear Him and be in awe of Him so that we fear transgressing His commandments and going against His will, Heaven forbid. All of these mitzvos are obligatory, and one must always remember them and have full and complete faith in these principles. Then there are mitzvos, such as tzitzis and tefillin, that are obligatory only by day and not at night. The sacrifices and other related mitzvos are not even performed in our times at all [since the Beis HaMikdash is not standing]. The Aron corresponds to those mitzvos mentioned above on which all of Judaism hinges — belief in the Creator’s existence and unity and the love and fear of Him. These principles encompass all of the mitzvos [since all of the mitzvos are based on these fundamental beliefs], and they are obligatory. Thus the vessel that corresponds to them is the Aron, which contained the tablets of testimony, which themselves contained the Ten Commandments that included the commandments “I am Hashem, your G- d” and “You shall have no other gods before me” [which are among the mitzvos that we are obligated to have in mind constantly]. Among these commandments are mitzvos that allude to other mitzvos that we are not obligated to have in mind constantly like those aforementioned mitzvos. The Shulchan was the vessel that corresponds to these other commandments. (Translator's Note: Perhaps because as opposed to these spiritual mitzvos which are constant and fulfilled by the mind and heart the Shulchan represents the physical world, like a table used for eating and thus it represents physical mitzvos). Now the staves were fashioned to carry the Aron, as it says, “Since it is a holy service, they carried [it] on their shoulders” (Bamidbar 7:9), meaning that the Levites had to carry the Aron. In this way, the Levites were our emissaries and the emissaries of the Merciful One to draw down the spiritual light of these mitzvos to which the Aron, the Shulchan, and the Menorah allude into the Mishkan so that they will be fulfilled. Since the Aron alludes to the constant mitzvos, which are the fundamentals of our faith and their remembrance is obligatory at all times, we find a hint to this in the fact that the staves should never be removed from the Aron. This hints at the mitzvos that the Jewish people require at all times. [The rest of the text is missing.] Translators Note: Although the rest of the piece is unfortunately missing, I believe the Kedushas Levi is saying that just as the staves were used to carry and transport the Aron, so too these mitzvos uphold the Jewish faith. Standing in the Sanctuary Rav Aharon of Zhitomir taught that he heard from his teacher, the renowned chassid Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, that it is forbidden for a person to think negative thoughts and foreign extraneous thoughts, Heaven forbid. “This is because,” he explained, “a person’s mind corresponds to the Holy of Holies, where the Aron, which contained the tablets, was kept. If a person thinks foreign, negative thoughts, it is as if he placed an idol in the Sanctuary! Instead, he must constantly dwell on his fear and awe of Hashem, His greatness, and the holy Torah. “This is why sometimes Tzaddikim lift their hands high in the midst of their prayers and devotions. Because of their intense love, ecstasy, and deveikus in Hashem, it is as if they are literally standing in the Sanctuary, and just like the cherubs on the Aron, with their wings spread wide toward Heaven, so do the Tzaddikim lift their hands in supplication to the One Above.” [2] Refuah Sheleima Besoch She'ar Cholei Yisroel ~ זיסל בת אידל סומא | Zisel Bas Aidel Sima ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ In Loving Memory of Our Dear Father and Teacher of Micula, Satmar ז״ל ,HaRav HaChossid Avraham Chaim ben Sholom and Frumit Goldenberg זצ״ל ,A beloved talmid of HaRav Yechezkel Shraga Schonfeld זי״ע ,”and of the Holy Satmar Rav, Ba’al “Divrei Yoel לעילוי נשמת הרה''ח ר' אברהם חיים ב''ר שלום ז''ל ▪ נפטר מוצש''ק כ''א שבט תשס''ו ▪ ת. נ. צ. ב. ה. To subscribe and/or add to the Refuah Sheleima list– Please email: [email protected] 1 Adar Rav Avraham Ibn Ezra (1089-1164). He was born in Tudela during the height of Spain’s Golden Age. There, he established a close friendship with Rav Yehuda Halevi. Three of his uncles were ministers in the royal palace. He moved to Toledo, during the benevolent rule of King Alfonso VI. After the Kinfg died, however, the anti-Semitic masses began to harass the Jews, so he headed south to Muslim Spain – to Granada, Cordova, and Lucena. In 1148, the barbaric Almohades overran Morocco and continued into Spain. He was forced to flee to Rome, Provence, and Rhodes (where he befriended Rabbeinu Tam and other grandsons of Rashi, as well as the Rosh). He traveled to Egypt and learned with the Rambam. He wrote a commentary on the Torah and Navi, based in large part on Hebrew grammar. He also wrote dozens of books on astronomy, astrology, and mathematics. Rav Shabsai HaKohen Katz, (Shach) author of Sifsei Kohen, recognized as one of the most basic and authoritative commentaries on the Shulchan Aruch (1622-1663). Born in Vilna. He learned in Tyktizin, Cracow and Lublin. He married a great grand-daughter of the Rema. In 1648 the communities of Russian Poland were devastated by Chmielnicki, and Rav Shabsai haKohen was among the sufferers. He authored selichos in tragic memory of the events. He was nifter at the age of 41 in Holleschau, Germany, having completed his commentary to 2 of the 4 sections of the Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah (at age 24) and Choshen Mishpat. Among his other works are Sefer Ha’Aruch on the Tur, Poel Tzedek on the 613 mitzvos, and Gevuros Anashim, on cases in which a wife can legally compel her husband to give her a get. Rav Azariya Figu (Figo) of Venice(1579-1647). Author of Binah La'itim and Gidulei Terumah. Rav Emanuel Chai Riki (1688-1743). Kabbalist; author of Mishnas Chassidim. He received semicha from Rav Chaim Abulafia in Tzefas. He is buried in Zento, Italy. He also wrote a commentary on Tehillim entitled Chozeh Tzion, and Yosher Leivav. Rav Yitzchak Eizik Safrin of Komarna (or Komarno) (1800). He was the author of Heichal HaBrachah and Zohar Chai. One son was Rav Tzvi Hirsch Aichenshtein of Zhidachov, the Ateres Tzvi. Another son was Rav Yissochor Berish Aichenshtein of Zhidachov. A third son was Rav Moshe Aichenshtein of Sambor, a fourth was Rav [3] Alexanfer Yom Tov Lipa Aichenshtein, a fifth was Rav Menachem Mendel Aichenshtein, and a sixth was Rav Eli Aichenshtein. Rav Menachem Mendel of Shklov (1827). He was the leader of the aliya of the followers of the Vilna Gaon to Eretz Yisrael. This is significant because of the many Minhagei Yerushalayim that were established by that Ashkenazi community. His leading student, Yitzchak Eizak Chaver Wildmann (1789-1853), perceived that the obscurity of the kabbalistic system was a major factor in the flight of students and thinkers from Torah to science, secular philosophy and atheism. In Pischey She'arim, Reb Yitzchak Eizak Haver vindicates the kabbalah against its detractors, showing that behind its metaphors lies the only system with the power to provide satisfying answers to man's deepest questions about the meaning and purpose of the universe.