Above Time

 

There are all kinds of temptations. In general, however, what attracts people and tempts them is but pure illusion, gross mockery.  Anyone with a little shrewdness sees that animal passions are true folly. Nonetheless, he, too, will be enchanted by more refined forms of errors. 

 

The True Leader, for his part, is no longer tempted by evil, but he must combat the opposing spiritual forces, the angels.

 

 

Obstacles are not rejections but indications: the greater the obstacle, the more it indicates a great gain and eventually leads us to it, provided that we develop our will, we continue to want and we declare it – until we overcome the obstacles.

 

 

By our good acts, we produce bricks and mortar. The actual construction will be the work of the Sage to whom we have supplied these bricks and mortar:  he is the architect of the generation.

 

 

When we encourage a friend, we do not care how long his progress lasts; even if he falls subsequently, we will at least rejoice in the little that he has accomplished in the meantime.

 

 

"Do not be too righteous and do not be too wicked!"  This is the warning that we receive from Shlomo HaMelech (King Solomon) in Kohelet (Ecclesiastes).  The two extremes are closely connected:  Many people swing to extreme corruption because they were unable to attain the extreme perfection as quickly as they wished . . .

 

Rabbi Nachman brought to light an extremely wise answer to that contradiction:  "While you should always keep wishing for the maximum, don’t ever give up even on the smallest accomplishment that you can still achieve, wherever you find yourself at the moment!"

 

 

How could the poor, limited human being ever pretend to add anything to the Almighty?

 

We and certainly not add anything to God above, but within the creation, through our noble behavior, we do increase the Divine radiance and actually reinforce the Holy Kingdom on earth.

 

To understand that statement, one has to remember that in order to create the cosmos, the Lord had to restrict His Infinite Light and create thus a vacuum; He then instilled rays of energy into the empty space.  Those sparks dwell concealed in every fragment of the creation and even more so in our souls . . .

 

Therefore, doing ones best to comfort a broken heart, to strengthen a fragile spirit, to spread hope, love and care, a person has done good to the parcel of Godliness who dwells in that human being.  By encouraging a disadvantaged fellow man, one has accomplished the wish of the holy lyrist:  "Give reinforcement to the Lord!" (Tehillim 68)

 

 

In periods where everything is going well we have big ideas.  Our perspective is so broad that it encompasses audacious projects.  Whereas in trying times, we become often narrow-minded, to such an extent that even the smallest move can seem to us out of reach.

 

In this case, we would do better not to think too much and to limit ourselves simply to the good decisions that have guided us until now.

 

We sometimes lack wisdom when our spirit is weakened, but we can always hold on to faith; it will never leave us.

 

 

In this world where everything is hidden, appearances may be deceptive.  Only God, Who knows our innermost hearts, knows who is great.  We might imagine that we are very near the goal, when we are actually very far from it, or on the contrary, we may believe ourselves lower down the ladder when we only have one more rung to climb to cross the threshold of victory.

 

 

The words that we chant to God’s Glory, shine out and light our way even into the innermost recesses. The light of these words shines over the problems, showing us the solution, where there are errors to be corrected.

 

The source of that power comes from the fact that by creating man in His Image, God gave him speech, a creative capacity resembling His own. Therefore, when we articulate holy letters and words with appropriate orientation, we both create a new dynamism and awaken and increase all the potential energies within the matter around us.  By this means we can perform actual transformation and wonders.  This is why one should never wait for inspiration before starting to serve the Creator.  On the contrary, one should do so even in the darkest moments, because this is the time when one actually has the greatest need of light and one can generate it with the power of speech.

 

 

Repentance consists of bringing our soul back to the initial place from which it went astray trough wrongdoings.

 

The initial pace and origin of Jewish souls, the principle of their conception is called Simcha, ultimate beatitude.  Therefore, we can only accomplish perfect repentance through optimism and joy.

 

 

Evil thoughts are the enemies of true happiness: they plug up our heart and place a damper on our prayer.  We must banish them from our minds just as we eliminate a poison.

 

 

The sicker a person is, the more skillful has to be his consultant. The more complex our rectification seems to us, the greater the need will be to seek a very competent guide.

 

 

Sadness and laziness are called the bite of the snake.  They cover our hearts with dust.  With his powerful breath, the Holy Shepherd blows away this dust and rectifies our heart, until it begins to beat again.

 

 

Speculation is not the most important matter, but practice is. When we study the sacred texts, it is important to seek concrete enrichment in them. We shall seek to commune with them in order to draw from them the ideas and solutions to solve our personal problems.

 

The holy light that shines on the day of Shabbat allows our spirit to decipher mysteries and detect the practical implications concealed in the most enigmatic verses.

 

 

Mikvah, the Hebrew word for ritual immersion, comes from the same root as Tikvah, hope. This relationship reveals to us that frequent immersion in Mikvah saves us from all distress, purifies all blemishes, washes away all transgressions: hence we shall receive a new charge of hope, of Tikvah.

 

 

The concept of repentance transcends time, for it was created before the universe.  Thus, in one single moment of remorse, we can spiritually return back even higher than the level when our sin took place and hence eradicate years of blemishes.

 

 

Broken-heartedness and sadness are two opposites. The former is a noble sentiment (which must not be exaggerated, nonetheless), the latter is a serious transgression, a revolt.

 

 

(Used with permission from COURAGE by Israel Isaac Besancon. Published by Shir Chadash Publishers)