Every Second is a New World

 

 

Rabbi Chaim Vital.                                                                    

 

 

Every second is an entirely new creation. This fact is recognized by astronomers, who see the entire universe in constantly changing patterns. Likewise, a person born one minute will be completely different from someone born the next. Even if they are born at the same moment, but in two different places in the world, their lives will be different.  According to the Kabbalah, the same holds true for the spiritual worlds. The upper worlds, endless in number, go through amazing permutations each and every second, so that there are major differences in the mystical intentions from one day’s prayer to the next. From the beginning of creation until the end, no two prayers are ever the same. One reason why we recite Kriat Shema both morning and evening is because each time we do, we create new realities in the supernal worlds (Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 1, Anaf 5; Sha’ar HaKavanot, Shinui HaTefilot 59a).

 

According to Kabbalah, the twelve hours of the day and of the night correspond respectively to the twelve possible permutations of God’s four-letter Name (There are twelve possible combinations of the four letters of God’s Name, YHVH. See Reishit Chochmah, Sha’ar HaYirah 10). Furthermore, there are 1,080 divisions in an hour, coinciding to the 1,080 divisions in the breaths a person draws in that time (Ibid.) Each breath corresponds to a different arrangement of the letters of God’s Name (Based upon the kabbalistic principle of letter permutations. See Sefer Pardes by the Ramak, Sha’ar 21, chapter 2). It comes out that there are 25,920 (24 x 1,080) different permutations of God’s Name occurring every day (Likutey Moharan I:8). Each Name represents a totally different revelation of God’s presence. A person who is spiritually conscious of his breaths, can know how they correspond to these permutations in the Shechinah (Tikuney Zohar 69, 104). 

 

We see from Reb Nosson’s writings that he knew the secret of moment to moment renewal and how to tap into the flow of illumination that constantly descends from Above. He learned how to serve God from all the occurrences in life, and from every halacha of the Torah. Since every minute is an entirely new creation, each one offers us a chance to serve God in a way that was never possible before.

 

God’s words are living and eternal. “By the word of God the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth, all their hosts” (Tehillim 33:6). The word chaim – life – suggests “flowing life,” like a rushing stream, full of life and abundance. In the blessings of the morning Kriat Shema, we say, “In His goodness, He renews each day the work of creation.”  “God’s goodness,” refers to the Torah, as Chazal say: “There is no good except the Torah” (Pirkei Avot 6:3; Brochot 5a; Kallah Rabboti 8; Likutey Moharan I:31). “He renews each day” – with new revelations of Torah. Chazal say that every day the Holy One originates new halachot in Gan Eden.  Avraham (Abraham) knew of these halachot, thus he kept the entire Torah even before it was given (Bereshit Rabbah 49:6). These halachot are the source of all the insights and approaches to avodat Hashem that emerge in the world, as well as all the wondrous deeds of tzaddikim and the new levels of understanding that they reach (Degel Machaneh Ephraim, parashat Bo; Zohar 3:287b).

 

Chazal say that tzaddikim exist in a continual state of renewal, flowing with life, as the verse states: “And Benayahu ben Yehoyada, the son of a living man …” (II Shmuel 23:20). (Meaning to say that his father, a tzaddik, was alive, whereas the wicked are considered as dead. Brochot 18b). The Torah is new to them each day. Rabbi Nachman spoke about this a great deal. “It is not good to become old,” he declared (Sichot HaRan 51). He explained that his own consciousness was in such a constant state of renewal that with every breath he took he was completely new!” (Chayei Moharan 384).

 

 

I heard a story about Rabbi Avraham Chaim Levin, a tzaddik of the previous generation.  He once called his family together. “Come and I will show you something that never existed since the creation of the world, and will never exist again.” He took out … an apple! “This apple was never in the world before and in just a moment, it won’t be any longer!” He concluded, “If a person takes this apple and eats it without making a blessing, or without proper intention, he has lost something forever. The opposite is also true – if the person makes the proper blessing and eats slowly, mindfully, and uses the strength he derives from the apple to serve God, he will have performed a unique and eternal repair, necessary at that moment, for that fruit, in a way applicable specifically to him.”

 

Rabbi Nachman said that God does not do the same thing twice, meaning to say, there is a wondrous newness in all things in creation. In this respect, everything is completely unique. (Sichot HaRan 54).

   

 

(Used with permission from the author. Taken from the book "In all my Ways" Keren Ohr Publications.)