Protection

from the writings of the Ben Ish Hai

"Hashem safeguards the faithful, and repays the one who goes beyond to make arrogance" [Psalms 31:24]

It is bad enough to give in to negative traits that are part of our nature. Much worse is to arouse or cultivate negative traits, as did the Erev Rav in the desert.

Ben Ish Chai

They "desired a desire" - they desired to have desire - and they said "Would that we were given meat to eat!" [Numbers 11:4]

Another example is a poor man who is haughty. Wealth naturally pushes people toward arrogance, but if a poor man is haughty, he has brought it on himself.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are those who overcome their nature to serve G-d faithfully. An example is sharp Torah scholars who could find grounds to permit the forbidden but do not [see Eruvin 13b].

G-d punishes or protects most people through angels. But He "repays the one who goes beyond to make arrogance" - G-d personally punishes anyone who goes beyond his nature to make himself arrogant. And "Hashem safeguards the faithful" - He personally protects those who go beyond their nature to serve Him faithfully.

All Coming to an End

There has been no new Rabbi Kessin shiur uploaded so far this week.... I am still hopeful there will be one but until then, here is a short video summing up the ''Messianic Process - Coming to an End'' - where he talks about the time-line that bloggers call the ''cosmic clock''.   Personally, I need to hear Rabbi Kessin at least once a week, as he gives me hope, in a world where there is seemingly not much hope to be found.

Mysticism: Manna For All

But the multitude among them began to have strong cravings. Then even the children of Israel once again began to cry, and they said, "Who will feed us meat?  [Beha'alotecha 11:4]

Ordinary bread [''bread from the earth''] which is the product of hard physical labor, is a metaphor for the ''revealed'' interpretations of the Torah [nigleh] found in the Talmud, which require arduous analysis, questioning etc.

On the other hand, manna [''bread from Heaven''] represents the mystical teachings of the Torah, which are of such a ''heavenly'' nature that there is no disagreement or argument.

Logically speaking, a person might think that it is necessary to have a firm grounding in classic texts, and achieve a certain degree of spiritual greatness before one can progress to the study of mysticism.  However, the Torah teaches here that even the wicked individuals who complained to Moshe ate manna.

From this we can learn that it is appropriate for people from all walks of life to study the mystical teachings of the Torah - particularly as they are formulated clearly and methodically in the teachings of Chassidus.

Based on Likutei Sichos Lubavitcher Rebbe

The Full Force of the Noahide

For all my non-Jewish readers, and I know there are a lot of you, Rabbi Tovia Singer has some very interesting things to say about Noahides, and those who believe they are really Jewish but can't prove it, and the role of Elijah before Moshiach.  The first 10 minutes of this video is taken up with ''thank yous'' so if you're in a hurry, fast forward.

Kabbalah and the Mysticism of Shavuot

Rabbi Alon Anava

President Trump and the Beginning of the Messianic Process

With a title like that, it can only be the latest Rabbi Kessin video.  

Eliyahu's Gift: Forgiveness

The Presence of Eliyahu Ha'navi at a Brit Mila by Rabbi Eli Mansour

Tradition teaches that Eliyahu Ha'navi is present – in one form or another – at every Brit Mila, and for this reason a chair must be designated for him. One should expressly designate the chair by saying, "Zeh Kisei Shel Eliyahu Ha'navi Zachur Latov" - ["This is the chair of Eliyahu Ha'navi"]

Why does Eliyahu attend every Brit? The Gemara tells that Eliyahu, who lived during the reign of the idolatrous king Achav when many Jews abandoned the Torah, came to God and complained that Bnei Yisrael were not observing the Mitzva of circumcision. God reprimanded Eliyahu, saying that He does not need a prophet to prosecute against His people, to accuse them of disloyalty. The prophet's job is to pray on their behalf and show them compassion even if they sin. God therefore decreed upon Eliyahu that for all time he must attend every circumcision ritual performed by Bnei Yisrael, and then return to God and report that the Jewish people faithfully observe this Mitzva.

It is further told that Eliyahu then told God that he would be unable to tolerate attending a Brit Mila if the child's father is a sinner. After all, Eliyahu was a zealot, who could not tolerate any sin or infringement upon the Almighty's honor. [The Sages teach that Eliyahu was Pinchas, who, as we know from the Torah, was a zealot when it came to God's honor.]  God replied that He will forgive all the father's sins. Eliyahu then noted that the Mohel, or perhaps one of the guests, might have a sinful record, and God again responded that He will forgive the sins committed by the Mohel and all the attendees. [See Taamei HaMinhagim]

For this reason, attending a Brit Mila is considered an effective means of achieving atonement. It should be noted that according to the Bnei Yissaschar [work by the Chassidic sage Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech of Dinov, 1783-1841], attending a Brit earns one atonement only if he stands near Eliyahu's seat. Given Eliyahu's zealotry, those near him at the Brit Mila require atonement lest he react angrily to their sins. One should therefore endeavor to stand near Eliyahu's chair at a Brit Mila.

Additionally, some Rabbis write that one earns atonement at a Brit Mila only if he performs Teshuva. Attending a Brit does not obviate the need for repentance, but rather allows a person to repent and earn atonement more easily. It is therefore appropriate when attending a Brit Mila to contemplate sincere thoughts of remorse and repentance.

Eliyahu Hanavi appears at a baby naming for a girl just as he appears at a bris [Rabbi Sholom of Belz]. This is hinted in the verse [Bereishis 2:19] vchol asher yikro lo haadam - the acrostic forming the word Eliyahu. [Divrei Naftali Berishis ibid]. in the name of the Yismach Moshe, it is reported that he also attends a pidyon haben, as alluded to in the words which follow the injunction of pidyon haben [Bo 13:2] "lee hu". These words can be rearranged to read Eliyahu [ibid].

The 50th Gate

The Kabbalah speaks of "50 gates of spiritual understanding", 49 of which can be achieved by a person as a result of his own initiative.  The final 50th gate is then granted by G-d from Above.

When Avraham had circumcised himself, he had reached the greatest degree of spiritual perfection that he could possibly achieve as a human being - the 49th gate - and he became "sick" yearning for the 50th gate.  This is alluded to by the fact that choleh חולה [the Hebrew term for "sick person"] has the numerical value [gematria] of 49.  Then "God appeared to him", revealing to him the 50th gate of spiritual understanding, which cured his spiritual sickness.

And, being that his physical sickness was a reflection of his spiritual dissatisfaction, the Divine revelation healed him physically too.

Based on Sichat Shabbos Parshas Vayeira 5750 - Lubavitcher Rebbe