 |
| Art Baruch Nachshon |
"Chai Elul" -- the 18th day of the Hebrew month of Elul -- is a most significant date on the Chassidic calendar. The founder of Chassidism, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, was born on this date, in 1698. It is also the day, 36 years later, on which the Baal Shem Tov began to publicly disseminate his teachings, after many years as a member of the society of "hidden tzaddikim" during which he lived disguised as a simple innkeeper and clay-digger, his greatness known only to a very small circle of fellow mystics and disciples.
Elul 18 is also the birthday -- in 1745 -- of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, who often referred to himself as the Baal Shem Tov's "spiritual grandson" [Rabbi Schneur Zalman was the disciple of Rabbi Israel's disciple, Rabbi DovBer of Mezeritch]. After gaining fame as a child prodigy and young Talmudic genius, Rabbi Schneur Zalman journeyed to Mezeritch to study under the tutelage of the Baal Shem Tov's successor--as he later explained, "to study I knew somewhat, but I needed to learn how to pray"--and was soon accepted into the intimate circle of Rabbi DovBer's leading disciples. Rabbi Schneur Zalman established the "Chabad" branch of Chassidism, which emphasizes in-depth study and intense contemplation as the key to vitalizing the entire person, from sublime mind to practical deed.
The final 12 days of Elul are incredibly powerful. Each day corresponds to one month of the year that has passed, giving us an opportunity to reflect, repair and rectify each month.
ReplyDeleteBH
ReplyDeleteThank you Shirat Devorah! Wishing you and your blog Mishpacha a Happy and Sweet year filled with only goodness, happiness and revealed Brochos. Moshiach Now!
ReplyDelete🚨J-TV Founder Warns the Climax of Human History Is Near
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQy4jPp586Q
Aug 31, 2026
Just wanted to share, that Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov wrote in Tzava'at Harivash:
ReplyDeleteSometimes you need to gaze in different directions in order to attach your thought to the Creator, blessed be He. This is necessitated by the materiality of the body which is an obstructing barrier to the soul.
(note: The materiality of the body can be overcome by diffusing it. Gazing in different directions will break the body’s concentration on any of its physical pursuits.)
That's interesting, thanks for sharing it.
DeleteSome people say Rabbi Baal Shem Tov’s concept is a source for the EMDR technique (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) that was discovered in 1986, but I believe it's much deeper and bigger than this. I use this concept to augment my psyche and upgrade perspective, and to increase the size of my vessel as I’m davening and connecting to Hashem. I try to get beyond my limited existence and pray from other parts of myself (earlier parts of self – ego states – from different ages). It’s kind of like praying to Hashem with 3 parts of me instead of just 1. Instead of praying to Hashem from just my present self, I pray to Him from multiple parts of me (at least 3: right, left, and me at the center). I do this by periodically during my davening, moving my eyes back and forth (usually with my eyelids closed so as to not draw attention). It’s about what my mind’s eye sees.
DeleteHashem is the Everpresent (Was, Is, and Will Be, at the same moment), and every moment exists right now in Him. We also have an everpresence, but in a much more limited way. We have many intrapsychic parts, including those from different ages (such as the inner child, of which there are actuality multiple). These parts exist in us, in our psyches, right now, and we can access them. Often they take the stage without our consciously willing it, like when we are wounded. Connecting with our everpresence in this way, using Rabbi Baal Shem Tov’s concept, can help us to get our foot in the door, to see a little into Hashem's Everpresence (His Havayah), as it were. We are so limited, and with sorely limited perspective and perception, but we can make this small augmentation of our psyches and our existence. “Open for me an opening like the eye of a needle, and I’ll open it wide like a big hall,” it says in the Talmud.
I believe that the redemption is not just a redemption for the present moment alone, but rather each and every moment in history will be redeemed all at once, in Hashem’s Everpresence. For example: the person who is being gassed in the camps (which is actually occurring right now in Hashem's Everpresence) will be redeemed. They will understand the “why”, grasp the meaning of their suffering and know how it all fits perfectly into the redemption progression and that it is needed. They will know deeply that everything has to be exactly the way it was, the way it is, and the way it will be. There will be no questions, everything will fit.
This is part of what I think when I pray using Rabbi Baal Shem Tov’s concept.
I have been working on this for a long time, and I welcome feedback and discussion. I invite the Jews and Noahides who read this to add to what I’ve started.
Let’s get the redemption on the road already, and show Hashem that we are offering a hisorerus d’lisata (and awakening from below) that will invite a hisorerus d’lieila (and awakening from Above)!
Yesterday I couldn't focus, there was so much going on, so I only just read this properly. It sounds amazing, I'm going to read it again and try it, I guess it's something that needs work, although some people could do it instantly, depends on the person.
DeleteThank you Kalman.
I’ve been thinking about how to guide you in developing this technique.
ReplyDeleteAs you’re looking (gazing) to the right and to the left, imagine that you are looking into Hashem’s Everpresence. Of course, you can only see so little. Maybe just the right side and left side of your visual field, but that’s at least an opening. I recommend spending time practicing gazing like this, trying to see and get a glimpse of what’s out there beyond your limits. You don’t have to focus on moving your eyes like in EMDR. You can turn your head to the right and to the left, even with micro movements, as long as you are connecting with the right and left sides.
The right and left foci can be anything. If intrapsychic ego states work for you, then practice focusing on 2 pictures of yourself from different ages in front of you, one at the right and 1 at the left. It’s good to select pictures of strong memories, like at your wedding, or bar/bat mitzvah. One of the pictures I use is my leaning against my first car when I was buying it at 16 years old. That memory stands out and feels alive for me. Then, look back and forth at each picture alternately, at your pace, being aware that your present self is the one at the center.
You can play with the placement of these pictures and identify where they are easiest for you to focus on.
----------------------------------------------
Another way to do it is to use a 3 mirror medicine cabinet, like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Medicine-Aluminum-Bathroom-Mirrored-Adjustable/dp/B0DRFFLPCC/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=FWF6WV5XX5PZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6rRHHT5litz_G0PgdF39qwDDYCtQ4AC-C8NTAXKjczsedZzrkMuB8P210xExyNL-gud08adzn7ankydE7UPu1apB5x3nZ7KTeD6k_yY9z6Bq6p1HPG_UD17XQAjMTAniVJkcZTWpT-Lju6NaxC8TeWGu6q-pQdGAqlO-iyZWjW6HD3E3w_QsWVEEW6_rMjs2pgs31l250xBJVC875rP9-Fm0n8e9McH0i_iGkZTdHUJVst8Lnu5nQDZHeubzMOIM34wV3C-n4uGX1BNdXHwpyWcbbXMT-QcPGi4NXVpH7zQ.qgAsQqUAtIeXpnWK2VbGugo725rEul91LIBjtfx-Tks&dib_tag=se&keywords=3%2Bmirror%2Bmedicine%2Bcabinet&qid=1788460507&sprefix=3%2Bmirror%2Bmedicin%2Caps%2C281&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1
Angle the 2 side mirrors until you see yourself in each and practice with this. If you angle the 2 side mirrors closer together just right, you can see 2 reflections on the sides looking back at you. This is very effective to practice with.
Another way to practice this is to stand in the doorway between 2 rooms, facing the mezuzah, so that 1 room is to my right and the other is to my right. As you look straight ahead, notice each room on the sides, then practice also looking back and forth from room to room. Be aware that Hashem is in this room and in that room, as well as in all the other rooms that you can’t see in your field of vision right now. It can also be helpful to rest your forehead on the mezuzah in between sweeps from right to left, in order to strengthen your focus on your center. This reminds me of wearing tefillin on my head, with the parchments in the middle and the two Shin’s, one on each side.
ReplyDeleteThose who wear tefillin can also practice this technique by shifting their awareness between the left and the right Shins, while maintaining their awareness on center (the 4 scriptural portions in the middle of the box).
If I can, I would like to share a dream I had the first time I was in Tzfat, that was part of my process of becoming religious.
ReplyDeleteI was sitting down in a long earthen dark tunnel. Objects that seemed like black trucks were whooshing past me on both sides. I wasn’t really paying too much attention to them, though, and they were just background noise.
Then, one of these “objects” grabbed my hand and pulled me to a standing position, and I became aware of where I was: I was in a tunnel, and those “objects” passing by me were people wearing black clothes and black hats, shuckling and praying, as they were whooshing by, going a destination at the end that had a far off light. I realized that “I’ve been sitting down here all this time (wasting my time), not knowing where I was. I didn’t know that I was supposed to be moving along and progressing with the others towards the destination. Then I woke up and decided to keep shabbos.
I’ve been progressing through this tunnel ever since, and gazing into Hashem’s Everpresence is a more recent part of that journey. I invite you to borrow this metaphor and utilize it if it fits, as you gaze deeper and deeper into Hashem’s Everpresence, looking down that tunnel. Maybe you’ll be able to connect with other parts, such as our forefather Abraham (since you know he is somewhere out there in that Everpresence space). Maybe you will feel like you are one of many, as you focus on the plural nature of the prayer words: “Redeem US; WE give thanks to You; OUR Gd and Gd of OUR forefathers”
I know I wrote a lot, so please take your time to process it.