Eliyahu HaNavi and the Secrets of Angels

Standing as one of the greatest prophets of all timeis Eliyahu HaNavi who’s known and cherished by every Jewish household, especially during the Seder of Pesach. As we spoke before, he was one of the few individuals that left this world alive and entered Gan Eden with his body, after refining it to the limit.

Most of us know Eliyahu HaNavi as the angel that attends every Brit Milah and the one who will announce the final redemption. However, there are many more teachings we can enjoy from this incredibly high prophet, who was in some aspects on par with Moshe Rabbenu.

We all know many of Eliyahu HaNavi’s stories, but as always, we will focus more on the secrets they teach and how they can improve our lives.

Angels and the Supreme Illumination

​There were only a few individuals called angels throughout scripture. The Arizal explains in Sha’ar HaGilgulim (“Gate of Reincarnations”) that these individuals received what is called the Zihara Ila’ah (“Supreme Illumination”) from the world of Atzilut and their bodies literally turned to be higher than those of angels. Pinchas was one of them, and we find prooffor that from the Book of Yehoshua. When he was dispatched to Jericho with Calev to spy on it, it’s written that Rachav the innkeeper hid “him” from the scouting soldiers, but not “them”. This means she only needed to hide one of them, since the other, an angel, could just make himself invisible. Other examples include Chizkiyah and Rav Yehuda from the Talmudand many others.

​Accoding to the Zohar, Pinchas who fought for Hashem’s honor in the dreadful episode after Parshat Balak became Eliyahu HaNavi. He was blessed with also becoming a Kohen, but most important to note is that he didn’t tolerate sin, even though Zimri had many justifications. Sha’ar HaGilgulim adds that there were actually 2 souls of Eliyahu HaNavi, one from the tribe of Gad and one from Binyamin.

​Challenging Idolatry

We know that in every spiritual system there are Mokhin (divine consciousness in the Sephirotic array) and 5 Chassadim (benevolences) and 5 Gevurot (judgments). These Chassadim and Gevurot are what effectively cause us to grow spiritual, the first one causing men to grow spiritually and the second one causing women to grow spiritually. Moshe Rabbenu was sort of a supervisor over all Chassadim in Creation, while Eliyahu HaNavi had that same job over the Gevurot.

This explains a little about Pinchas and Eliyahu’sstrict mindset of not tolerating sins which is, in a certain measure, a requirement for Creation to be sustained. Like Pinchas, who killed Zimri for an immoral act with Kozbi the Midianite Princess, Eliyahu was also zealous for Hashem’s covenant. The covenant, symbolized by the Brit Milah, is rooted in the Sephirah of Yesod. R’ Yosef Gikatilla, based on that, teaches us in Sha’arei Orah, that the word for “kinah” (zealotry / jealousness) is used in connection with Pinchas and in the instructions for the Sotah procedure (the suspected wife), since both deal with issues of the covenant.

But perhaps the biggest contribution to Eliyahu was not tolerating idolatry at his time and fighting with all his might against it. Many Jews were serving Hashem and keeping Mitzvot, but were also engaging in foreign practices and polluting the land. Eliyahu HaNavi issued a stern warning that “if Hashem is God, then you should follow him, but if the Ba’al (the idol) is God, then you should follow him”. This led to the incident at Mount Carmel when he challenged 400 “prophets” of Ba’al to see who has the real God. It then happened that no matter how much the “prophets” tried to summon their god, even to the point of drawing out their own blood, they failed. When Eliyahu HaNavi called to Hashem, he was immediately answered with a pillar (yesod) of fire (a symbol of Gevurot), to consume not only the sacrifice he had made, but also its wet stones.

This shows how much Hashem values those who fight for His sake.

Teachings from Eliyahu HaNavi

There’s a time and place for pretty much everything in life. Except the two worst Middot, anger and haughtiness which must be eliminated completely, everything else can be used for divine service, according to many Rabbis including the Rambam and Rav Chaim Vital.

Pinchas and Eliyahu HaNavi both teach that we need to fight for Hashem’s honor and be jealous. Clearly one cannot do it out of anger or out of personal interest, but if he does for Hashem’s sake, then he will surely be blessed greatly. Even if we don’t turn into angels, we still come closer to that ideal.

May Hashem help us in our avodah and bless us with all the blessings from the Torah.

This was written in the merit of Yehudit simcha bas chaya yitta and Meir yisroel Ben yehudit. May HaShem bless them with complete emuna, simcha and success in all their endeavors speedily!

If you would like to sponsor 1 hour of Kabbalah study in your merit, the opportunity is available.

The Power of Nigunim

​A nigun (pl. nigunim) is more than just a wordless melody. It is nothing less than an incredibly powerful method for stirring the soul and coming closer to Hashem, as well removing blockages. Many people have composed nigunim for themselves, but they go much farther than simply a nice song to be sung.

We all feel sometimes sad, insecure, afraid, despondent or simply slow. That’s part of life. A nigunis an incredible tool available at our disposal to return ourselves back on track.

Let’s explore a bit more on the power of nigunim.

Above words

Some truths cannot be expressed in words. This is especially true for those that in the realm of experience, which is in a sense, the highest form of knowledge. It cannot be taught to others, but it’s there and a person knows it’s true. This is one of the meanings of the level of “secrets of Torah”. It’s not so much that it’s forbidden to teach, but one simply cannot. For example, one cannot teach what love is to another who’s never experienced it. Or teach what colors are to one who’s colorblind.

A niggun enables us to dive deeper into the recesses of the soul and uncover hidden truths we often need reminders. Some of these reminders can include the fact that you are holy, that Hashem is with you even with your flaws, that you are important, that there’s meaning in your suffering and so on. Each person has to discover the niggun that best fits him or create his own, as that’s also a possibility.

There was this episode in the Torah, when the sons of Yaakov came back from Egypt with bad news that Shimon was arrested by the viceroy (who was actually Yosef). Not only had Yaakov lost one son, the brothers wanted to take Binyamin with them for next time and run an even greater risk! It took Yehuda to finally convince his father that Binyanim would be in good hands and returned safely. Yaakov Avinu, despite his grief, then said something very strange like “If it must be so, do this: take some of the choice products of the land in your baggage, and carry them down as a gift for the man—some balm and some honey, gum, ladanum, pistachio nuts, and almonds.”

Many questions arise: What would some honey and a few pistachio nuts or almonds do to convince the most powerful man in the world to free some prisoner? Did Yaakov think that Egypt, the richest land in the world, lacked these things? What in his mind changed that he’s now ready to take a gamble with Binyanim?

The answer lies in the underlined word for zimrat(זמרת) which is usually translated as “choice products”. Zimra is also a code word for music, or nigun as, in Hebrew, a singer is called Zamar. The Arizal in Sha’arHaPesukim writes that the brothers reported the viceroy had a very big overpowering angel next to him all the time. This was the Ish (=man, often a reference to an angel) that was speaking harshly against them and wouldn’t budge from the accusations. Yaakov then realized that his sons needed to nullify the power of this accusing angel in order to get to the viceroy’s heart. And the solution to that was precisely a nigun(plus some divine names encoded in the Hebrew names for the foodstuffs)! This is taught in many places, including Likutey Moharan from Rebbe Nachman of Breslov.

Nigun as meditation

Many masters of Mussar and Kabbalah teach us that we must long for Hashem like one longs for a loved one. This is an incredibly difficult work to do, but it’s achievable if a person puts his mind and heart to it. The benefits can indeed be tremendous. 

In Mishneh Torah, the Rambam gives a great advice and writes that when one meditates upon the great wonders of Creation, he can be filled with love and awe for the Creator. This is essential for bringing one closer to Hashem, as Rabbi Chaim Vital writes in Sha’arei Kedusha that one should ideally never take Hashem’s presence from his heart, and this is called Dvekut (bonding) throughout literature. And this bonding is the beginning of true perception of the divine wisdom.

A niggun allows a person to be completely subsumed in his own thoughts and isolate himself from negative influences. With the help of the melody, he can then channel his intention to opening his mind and heart, and coming closer to Hashem, expressing his longing, purifying himself and even uniting with Hashem. Each person has to see which nigun works best for him and in which situation.

It’s also well known in Kabbalistic literature, especially the Etz Chaim that the 4 spiritual worlds (Atzilut, Beriyah, Yetzirah and Assiyah) correspond respectively to the 4 levels of marks in the Torah which are the Ta’amim (cantilliation marks), Nekudot (vowel points), Taguin (crowns) and Otiot (letters). As the Nigun forms a melody (just like the Ta’amim in the Torah reading), many Chassidic masters have classified it as coming from the world of Atzilut. Indeed, it’s a supremely exalted level of divine service.

We see then that nigunim are an essential part of Avodat Hashem. Many Chassidic masters have created their own nigun in their high state of dvekut, but the truth is anyone can (and is encouraged to) create his own melodies and use them whenever needed.

May we all merit to find the nigunim from our souls and come ever closer to Hashem!

Do you have any nigunim you like or have you created some?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments and share this article around!

Esther and the Secrets of Purim

​When we speak about Esther, we immediately think about the story of Purim and how she was the main protagonist of the story. It was in her merit that the entire Jewish People was saved and so, she received the honor of having an entire book of Tanachin her name.

​We all know the story of Purim, some people know more or less the main lessons, but very few know the Kabbalistic secrets that this festival and its heroine teach us. As it turns out, the sages say in MassechetMegillah that Purim is the only festival that will not be cancelled in the Olam HaBah (World to Come).

​Let’s delve in it.

​The Heights of Purim

​On a simple sense, Purim is held as the highest of the festivals, because even Yom Kippur is interpretedby the sages in Hebrew to be Ki (like) Pur (=Purim), meaning it resembles it, but doesn’t reach its level. The Rash’ash (Rabbi Shalom Sharabi) based on the Zohar, teaches us that Purim has the energy of the Sephira of Netzach which not only means victory as we saw in the previous article, but also eternity. In this sense, when the entire Creation is elevated and all the lights of the other festivals are nullified, Purim remains forever.

​The festival of Purim also has 2 tremendously high lights, which in Kabbalistic terms are called “YesodD’Chokhmah” and “Malkhut D’Binah”. Both these lights, which came from the 8th Millenium (for comparison, we are in the 6th Millenium, year 5782) according to the Kabbalist Shemen Sasson (R’ SassonParsiado) were vested in Mordechai and Esther accordingly, in order to bring about the great salvation. And, as we know, in Jewish thought, history is a cyclical running of events, which means these lights are available to us every year on the appointed time of Purim.

​Drinking to convert evil to light

​We’d be remiss not to write on the very strange Mitzvah of drinking until one cannot differentiate between “blessed is Mordechai” and “cursed is Haman”. In no other place in Jewish observance do we find that we need to get drunk. But herein lies the greatness of Purim and Esther.

​In Sha’ar HaKavanot (Gate of Mystical Intentions), the Arizal writes that the way to perform the Berurim (sifting of the sparks), is by indeed getting drunk. When we are in that state, we can reach to the deepest levels, to the most impure klipot (husks) and extract from them their sparks. The way to know whether one is inebriated enough is by thinking (but not saying out loud) in a convoluted way (the opposite “blessed is Mordechai” and “cursed is Haman”). However we can only do that when these incredibly holy lights we spoke of are available, on Purim. It is well known also from the Kavanot (mystical intentions) that on this very special day all the gates of Heaven are open and the supremely elevated 50th Gate of Understanding and the lights of Keter (crown) are available to us.

​What Esther teaches us

​Esther was a tremendously holy woman, who could dress up in Ruach HaKodesh (holy spirit). All her moves were incredibly well calculated and based on divine inspiration. One would be excused for wondering whether she was really intimated with the evil king Achashverosh, who, as a top idolater of his time, also acted according to the Sitrah Achrah’s (the other side, evil) benefit.

​However, in Etz Chaim, we learn from Rav Chaim Vital that Esther made use of a certain demoness in her shape to avoid being intimate with Achashverosh. For many many years since the beginning of the story of Purim, Esther used this demoness in order to avoid being polluted by him. We learn from this how Hashem protects the righteous and truly looks out for them.

​The story of Esther teaches us many things, but perhaps the most important is how far a woman can go to protect the Jewish People, how much she can be rewarded and how Hashem truly values that.

​Esther and Mordechai are currently buried in Iran, where the old kingdom of Persia was located. Unfortunately, we cannot go there yet, but there are many places inside of Israel where we can, like Binyamin, son of Yaakov, from whose tribe Esther and Mordechai descend from. May we derive inspiration from Esther and receive all the great blessings we can on Purim.