Nachal novea; makor chochma -
A flowing river; the source of wisdom (Mish. 18:4)
In response to Moshe's (Moses's) complaint that he no longer could bear the burden of leadership alone, Hashem (G-d) commanded him to select seventy elders who would constitute a body known as the Sanhedrin. This was not a new concept, for there had been elders even in Egypt (Exodus 3:16, 4:29) , and Moshe had convened seventy elders before the Torah was given (Exodus 24:1) , but those Sages were killed by a Heavenly fire, sent to punish the rebellious Jews who complained against Hashem. (Exodus 11:1) Those Sages incurred punishment because they irreverently ate and drank while perceiving the revelation at Sinai (Exodus 24:11), an act of the greatest disrespect for the King of the world. Hashem deferred their punishment until this episode, so as not to mar the joy of receiving the Torah. To replace those elders, Hashem commanded Moshe to choose the men who had been the Jewish supervisors of the slaves in Egypt. These men had been beaten on account of their fellow Jews, for when Pharaoh ordered them to force their charges to work harder, they refused, and were beaten as a result. For their act of bravery and dedication to their people, they deserved to be elevated to high positions. Our verse tells us that some of the holy spirit of prophecy that Moshe possessed was placed upon these elders.
There is a rule that whatever is mentioned in the Torah applies for all time. Therefore, that the verse associates prophecy with the elders must indicate that there is some general connection between prophecy and all elders. What is that connection? Why was it necessary for the elders to be given the gift of prophecy? Why could they not fulfill their tasks without prophecy? Western culture tends to view aging and elderly people negatively. Many of the elderly are relegated to nursing homes and await death in relative isolation. The young look upon the elderly as an unproductive segment of society, a nuisance and a burden to their limited resources. Youth and a youthful appearance are worshipped. This is why many middle-aged people try to preserve their fading youthful appearance, attempting to cover up the outward signs of aging through all sorts of artificial methods. Conversely, the Torah does not consider the elderly or the aging process to be a liability. Although old age has ma ny obvious negatives, the Torah considers the elderly to have many advantages as well. Based on the teachings of Rabbi Nachman and his student Rav Noson we will endeavor to explore the dynamics of old age and its connection with prophecy.
Today, the only way to elevate Hashem's Glory is through Torah, as our
sages teach, "There is no glory other than Torah." (Talmud: Avoth 6:3)
(1 Lekutai MoHaran 14) In other words, all goodness, prosperity, and joy
is dependent upon Hashem. In order to reap these benefits, we must
reveal Hashem's authority in the world. The more apparent His king ship,
the more of His goodness He can bestow upon the world. The more we
acknowledge Hashem, the more power and authority He and the side of
holiness has in the world, enabling Him to act on behalf of those who
adhere to His ways, as the verse says, "[Those who adhere to His ways]
give might to Hashem, [i.e. the strength of Israel's commitment gives
might to Hashem (Rashbam)]." (Psalms 68:35) In order to reveal Hashem's
kingship in the world, it is necessary to magnify His Glory and Honor
through the observance of the Torah. Kavod, respect is associated with
the spiritual characteristic known as Malchut, rulership. Rulership is
dependent upon the acknowledgment of others. A king cannot rule unless
his authority is accepted. Prestige and respect are very important
because the the greater one is, the more he is listened or adhered to.
Therefore, the more Hashem is venerated in the eyes of the world, the
more the world follows His ways of righteousness and goodness. People
are drawn to evil or unG-dly ways only because of the immense respect
evil is given. This diminishes respect for Hashem in the world,
resulting in the reduction of the powers of holiness, and in Hashem's
ability to bestow His bounty. Thus guarding and preserving Hashem's
Honor is exceedingly important.
There are many Psalms that begin with the words Mizmor L'David, A song
to David, and there are many other Psalms that begin with these words in
the reverse order, L'David Mizmor, To David a song. The Talmud explains
the difference between these two phrases, "Wherever the name David
occurs before the phrase, 'A song' (L'David Mizmor), Divine Inspiration
came first and the song--which was its outpouring--followed. But
wherever the phrase 'A song' preceded David's name (Mizmor L'David),
David elevated himself to the level of Divine exultation upon the wings
of his own song." (Talmud: Pesachim 117a) Thus L'David, 'to David' is
the Divine Inspiration descending to David--sometimes it came before and
inspired the song and, at other times, it occurred as a result of the
song. In other words, at times King David's imagination was purified
through his own efforts and at other times the Divine Inspiration that
descended upon him did it. Rav Noson says that regardless of whether the
state of Divine Inspiration was induced by King David himself or whether
it spontaneously descended upon him, in both instances he uttered song
to give honor to Hashem's Glory. From this, we see that in order to
receive Divine Inspiration, we must perceive Hashem's magnified Glory
and in order to perceive Hashem's Glory, we must first purify our
imagination. When one perceives more of Hashem through Divine
Inspiration, it naturally increases his faith. Once King David reached a
heightened, almost tangible level of faith in and awareness of Hashem,
it inspired him to sing. In part, the reason why many people are not
enthusiastic about their prayers or about spirituality in general is
that they lack this high level of faith, because they are unable to
visualize the spiritual realms through their imaginations.
A person shows respect to his spiritual guide because he knows that his
teacher is the one best suited to reveal Hashem's glory to him and bring
him closer to Hashem. Thus, when we honor our spiritual mentor, we are
in effect giving honor to Hashem. The more one honors Hashem through his
teacher, the more Divine Inspiration the rabbi receives and the more his
faith grows. In turn the mentor uses his increased faith and spiritual
perceptions to help his follows increase their own faith and spiritual
perceptions. So we see that it is imperative to give the greatest
respect to our Torah guides. (2 Lekutei MoHaran 8) Rabbi Nachman taught
that we find in the Zohar, every time the students of Rebbe Shimon bar
Yochai praised him and gave him great respect, his Divine Inspiration
increased. Through this he was able to perceive deeper spiritual
concepts, which he conveyed to his students. (1 Lekutei MoHaran 126)
Rabbi Nachman also says that, in a similar fashion, in order to increase
the light of Hashem's Presence on Earth it is necessary to sing praises
to him. This is why our sages instituted P'sukei D'Zimra, the many
Psalms of praise to Hashem which we recite every morning. These songs of
praise, written by King David through Divine Inspiration, magnify
Hashem's honor and prestige in this world. As mentioned above, Divine
Inspiration is dependent upon increasing Hashem's prestige. Therefore,
when we utter Psalms, we ultimately draw a touch of Divine Inspiration
and purity to our imaginations, which increases our faith in Hashem.
King David's holy Psalms are able bring us to ever greater levels of
holiness and faith. This emphasizes Rabbi Nachman's earlier point, only
through the true Tzaddikim can one truly come to higher levels of faith
and purity.
The gift of prophecy, which heightens one's faith, became a necessary
component for the mission of the elders whom Moshe selected, because as
leaders and spiritual guides, their main job was to instill high levels
of faith into the next generation. Such a position requires pure faith
in Hashem. This is why prophecy was essential for the positions that
each elder held. In every generation there are true Tzaddikim and
elderly people who are endowed with high levels of purified faith. Since
a person's eternity is dependent upon faith, Hashem provides each
generation with such individuals to assist all those who want to come
close to Him. The fact that Hashem provides us with many forms of
assistance and avenues to help us come close to Him demonstrates how
much He cares for us and how much He wants us to succeed.
In reply to the Rabbi's question regarding the whereabouts of her
husband, she said that he would soon return. Earlier in the day the Baal
Shem Tov had slaughtered a chicken. The Baal Shem Tov's wife presented
the Rabbi with the slaughtering knife for his inspection so that he
might satisfy himself in regard to the kosher status of the chicken soup
she wished to serve him. The inspection convinced him that the chicken
was kosher and he accepted her invitation to join her and her husband
for dinner. The Baal Shem Tov meanwhile returned and joyfully served Rav
Dovid. He made his bed and prepared water for him to wash his hands.
They ate their meal and then went to sleep.
That night, Rav Dovid suddenly awoke to a fire blazing from beneath the
stove. Afraid that the blaze would spread he yelled, "Fire! Fire!"
grabbed a pitcher of water and ran to extinguish the flames. But when he
reached the blaze, he saw an unbelievable sight. The Baal Shem Tov was
seated next to the stove reciting Tikun Chatzos, the midnight lament
over the destruction of the Temple. Rav Dovid saw the Baal Shem Tov
aglow with a bright light about him and fainted from this awesome sight.
Rav Dovid lay almost lifeless on the floor until the Baal Shem Tov
revived him. Upon awakening, Rav Dovid asked the Baal Shem Tov for an
explanation of the strange sight he had seen. The Baal Shem Tov replied,
"I was only reciting some Psalms, but it is possible that my attachment
to Hashem was so strong that it produced the blazing light which you
saw."
That very night the Baal Shem Tov revealed his true identity to Rav
Dovid. Rav Dovid swore his allegiance to the Baal Shem and eventually
developed into one of his foremost disciples and one of the greatest
disseminators of his teachings. (Ha'Besht V'Talmidov)
One of the main goals of the creation is that we freely choose to accept
Hashem as our King and adhere to His ways. The greatness of a king is
dependent upon the prestige and honor he is accorded by his subjects and
the world. This not only applies to earthly kings, but to Hashem's
Kingdom as well, as the Talmud teaches, "The earthly kingdom resembles
the Heavenly Kingdom." (Talmud: Berachot 58a) Rabbi Nachman taught that
"Hashem is good for all [things that one might need]." (Psalms 145:9)
This means that when a person believes that everything is dependent upon
Hashem, such as health, livelihood etc. then the main focus of his
efforts are directed to Hashem, rather than upon strategies for chasing
after physicality. When a person comes to the realization that
everything is dependent upon Hashem, he has fulfilled the purpose of
creation and has thus crowned Hashem as His king. In this way Hashem is
glorified. Thus, glorification is the acknowledgment of and adherence to
one's master. Free choice will come to an end in the Messianic era
because Hashem's Glory will be revealed from out of the darkness, and
all flesh shall see it--as the verse says, "[For at that time] they [all
the nations of the world] will all call upon the Name of Hashem, to
serve Him with one consent." (Zephaniah 3:9) Then the nations will say,
"Come let us walk in the light of Hashem." (Isaiah 2:5) Hashem's light
refers to His Glory, as the verse says, "And the earth was illuminated
with [the light of] His Glory." (Ezekiel 43:2) Thus, the verse informs
us that when Hashem's Glory is finally revealed and it becomes obvious
to all that Hashem is the Master of the world, then there will be
universal light, goodness, and peace and the purpose of creation will be
fulfilled. But now, since Hashem's Glory is in exile, we must do our
part to help bring the Messiah and the universal era of peace by using
our free choice to magnify Hashem's Glory as much as possible throughout
the world.
All our ideas, creativity, and perceptions are based upon the
imagination. An imagination that is impure makes sin seem very appealing
because it inundates the mind with a plethora of fantasies, illusions,
and falsehoods. Rav Noson says, just as an impure imagination leads one
to erroneously perceive sin as sweet, a purified imagination becomes the
vehicle for Divine Inspiration and increased faith because through it,
we can visualize the inner workings of the spiritual world. Because
Hashem and spirit cannot normally be seen with the human eye,
acknowledging them comes mainly through faith. Obviously, actually
seeing the object of one's faith would strengthen his beliefs
immeasurably. So because Divine Inspiration helps a person visualize the
deeper, more abstract concepts of Torah via his own imagination, it
therefore helps increase his faith. [For example, Divine Inspiration
could help a person imagine Hashem's light coming down to nourish the
Earth. Through this, his faith would be enhanced.] Once a person merits
Divine Inspiration, it purifies his imagination even further.
PURIFIED IMAGINATION
Rav Noson says that Divine Inspiration comes to those who honor Hashem
by accepting Him, His Torah, and His ways as the ultimate authority,
above all else. When we honor Hashem and thus accept Him as our king, we
are, so to speak, inviting Him into our domain and drawing Divine
Inspiration upon ourselves. Rabbi Nachman teaches that there is a
relationship between music and Divine Inspiration. Music is produced by
choosing the "good" notes over the "bad", just as Divine Inspiration is
the result of sifting good thoughts from bad. When our imagination is
purified, it can inspire us to sing lofty songs to Hashem. The following
teaching illustrates this point:
Every true leader of Israel has true faith and firmly adheres to
Hashem's ways. Their faith comes from a purified imagination, earning
them some form of Divine Inspiration. In order to access truly high
levels of faith, it is essential that we attach ourselves to such a sage
or Tzaddik (saint) and become his follower. Being a follower of such an
individual makes it easier to purify our own imaginations and come to
pure faith, because we are able to draw the necessary spiritual energies
of purity from the mentor. It is the exceedingly rare individual who can
eliminate the foolishness from his own imagination without first
attaching himself to a tzaddik. The vast majority, even if they study a
lot of Torah and perform many commandments cannot break away from an
imagination which leads to sin, falsehood, and a lack of faith unless
they become a disciple of a proper teacher. Thus Rabbi Nachman taught
that one's entire eternity is dependent on attaching oneself to such a
holy individual.
THROUGH ATTACHEMENT TO TZADDIK
Rabbi Nachman taught that the ultimate reason a person is sent into this
world is to know and acknowledge the Creator. Amazingly, the soul is
unable to achieve this goal while residing in the upper worlds, because
it cannot fathom the infinity of Hashem from within infinity. Only
through this limited dimension can the unlimited nature of Hashem, His
infinite essence be better understood. And it is impossible in this
world to attain true knowledge about Hashem without the help of a true
Tzaddik to enlighten us. (1 Lekutei MoHaran 39) The prophetic spirit of
the true Tzaddik makes it possible for him to purify his imagination and
distinguish between illusion and truth. Once a person has found truth,
he can come to perfect faith. Faith is complete only to the extent that
one has cleansed himself of illusion and falsehood. Genuine faith is the
belief that Hashem created the world from nothing and controls its every
aspect to the minutest detail. Our finite minds can never grasp the
secret of how Hashem created and runs the world. Only through faith--the
purified faith we receive from the true Tzaddikim--can we hope to
glimpse that which is beyond our intellect. (2 Lekutei MoHaran 8)
Now we can understand the reasoning behind the commandment, "In the
presence of an old person [who is past seventy, even if he is unlearned]
shall you rise [as a show of respect] and you shall honor the presence
of a sage [even if he is young] and you shall revere your G-d--I am
Hashem." (Lev. 19:32) Rav Noson says that elderly people draw the
spiritual energies of old age from the upper worlds and that their
physical appearance is a reflection of those energies. The spiritual
energies of old age are derived from the same area in heaven as prophecy
and the roots of the upper Torah. Rav Noson explains: At the time of the
giving of the Torah, the entire Jewish nation reached the level of
prophecy and heard the voice of Hashem, as the verse says, "Face to face
did Hashem speak with you (the Jews) on the mountain, from amidst the
fire." (Deut. 5:4) The Midrash says, "At Sinai [at the giving of the
Torah], they (the Jews) 'saw' Him (Hashem) as an elderly, compassionate
Father." (Rashi quoting Midrash Mechilta) the juxtaposition of Torah,
prophecy, and old age is an indication of their common derivation. So an
elderly tzaddik resonates with the spiritual energies of old age which
automatically connect his imagination to prophecy, bringing him to a
very high level of faith. Rav Noson says that Hashem chooses certain
righteous individuals to have a long life just so they can benefit from
the spiritual energies of old age, enabling them to develop high levels
of faith that come from a purified imagination. These elderly people are
supposed to use their faith to guide and influence others to develop
higher levels of faith as well, as the verse says, "And even until old
age and hoary hairs, Hashem, do not forsake me until I declare Your
strength to the [next] generation, Your might, to all who are yet to
come." (Psalms 71:18) This same idea is expressed in another verse,
"Remember the days of yore, understand the years of generation after
generation. Ask your father [about faith in Hashem] and he will relate
it to you, and [ask] your elders [about faith in Hashem] and they will
tell you." (Deut. 32:7)
The Patriarch Avraham (Abraham) was the very first individual to
disseminate faith in Hashem throughout the world. The sages refer to
Avraham as "the chief amongst those who have faith." Avraham's perfect
faith was one of the crowning achievements of his long life. Rav Noson
says that based on our teaching, we can now understand the following
Talmudic teaching: "Until Avraham, there was no old age [there was no
physical signs of aging, everyone--even the old--appeared young. Fathers
and sons looked exactly alike. Thus], whoever wished to speak to Avraham
[mistakenly] would speak to Yitzchak (Isaac) [Avraham's son], and vice
verse [because they looked exactly alike]. Therefore, he (Avraham)
prayed, and old age came into existence, as it is written, 'And Avraham
was old and advanced in age(" [The verse emphasizes this fact to teach
that at Avraham's time, the signs of age was something new and
extraordinary.] (Genesis 24:1) (Talmud: Bava Metziah 8 7a) Avraham
wanted to look his age in order to arouse his students' respect for his
teachings about Hashem. He began the Jewish yeshiva (school for
intensive Torah learning) tradition by establishing and heading a
yeshiva, as the Talmud teaches, "Rav Chama bar Chanina said, '...Our
father Avraham was an elder and a member of the council of elders, as it
says, 'And Avraham was an elder [sage] and advanced in age.'" (Genesis
24:1) (Talmud: Yoma 28b) (Shaarai Yosher) Rav Noson explains that since
Avraham's most important contribution to the world was teaching faith in
Hashem and he was the very first person to teach such ideas, Avraham
felt that it was essential to his life-long mission that he increase his
faith and strengthen the channels to disseminate it. As mentioned above,
the spiritual energies of old age automatically result in higher levels
of faith. This is why Avraham prayed for old age.
Each part of the physical body is associated with and can access lofty
spiritual energies from the upper worlds. The holy Zohar talks at great
length about the lofty energies that the hair of the beard is able to
access. A rule governing spiritual relationships says that things which
have a common number share the same spiritual energies. The Zohar
mentions that there are thirteen points or areas on the human beard.
This relates to the thirteen rules of Torah interpretation which Hashem
taught Moshe on Mt. Sinai. Thus the beard resonates with the root of the
Torah. There is yet another rule that something's color reflects its
spiritual essence. The color white is always an indication of purity.
Therefore, the outward signs of old age, such as white hair and a long
beard are manifestations of the purity, prophecy, and Torah that a
person connects to by virtue of accessing the energies of old age which
purify his imagination, bringing him to high levels of faith to pass on
to the next generation. Since Avraham's whole life was about spreading
faith throughout the world, he therefore prayed to access the spiritual
energies of old age. [Note: There is a good reason why old age not only
manifests itself with a change in appearance, but also with the
deterioration the body, reduction of its strength and its ability to
function. All human flesh became spiritually polluted through Adam's
sin. As a result, the urges of the body became an impediment to coming
close to Hashem. As mentioned above, old age is associated with the
spiritual energies of prophecy. Prophecy involves a degree of real
attachment to Hashem. The urges of a strong and healthy body would be an
impediment to such an attachment. The animal part of man cannot tolerate
Hashem's great light. Therefore, except for Moshe, all of the prophets
lost control of their senses during their prophetic experiences. Their
limbs trembled, their physical strength ebbed, and they became
disoriented. This caused their minds to become like a vacuum, enabling
them to receive and comprehend Divine messages. Because old age is
associated with the spiritual energies of prophecy, the symptoms of old
age are much like a prophetic experience. That being the case, the
bodies of the elderly are automatically put into weakened state, which
is more conducive to receiving the energies of Divine Intuition, a lower
form of prophecy. Further note: The weakness of old age discussed here
does not refer to the type of weakness that comes with illness. That
type of weakness comes from years of neglecting the body/mind--abusing
it through improper eating habits, lack of exercise, poor posture,
smoking, overmedicating, unwillingness to acknowledge strong "negative"
emotions, poor mental attitude, etc. Living a long life does not have to
mean living a sick life.]
As mentioned above, the ability to access the energies of prophecy that
lead to faith are increased through receiving respect. The energies of
old age associated with exceptionally high levels of faith are also
increased due to respect. In addition, when we respect the elderly, we
draw to ourselves those very same powers of prophecy and faith, as the
verse says, "In the presence of an old person [even if he is unlearned]
shall you rise [to give him respect]...and [through this] you shall
[come to] revere your G-d(" [The verse associates respecting the elderly
with fear of Hashem, teaching that through giving respect, one can
access the energies of old age that enables one to come to fear
Hashem.]" (Lev. 19:32) This is why we are commanded give respect to the
elderly. [In Exodus 6:16-21, which gives the account of the Egypt
bondage, the Torah enumerates the ages of death only for the tribal
leaders of the tribe of Levi, and not any other tribe. The Sforno
explains the reason for this, "The Torah gives the ages of the Levite
ancestors to suggest a reason for the superiority of Moshe and Aaron
[and the entire tribe of Levi] over the rest of the nation. Since Levi,
the founder of the tribe of Levi, outlived his brothers, the founders of
the other eleven tribes; and Kohath [Moshe's grandfather] and Amram
[Moshe's father], also lived long lives, they were able to play major
parts in the education and rearing of their children and grandchildren,
a benefit not enjoyed to the same extent by the other tribes. In other
words, the reason why the tribe of Levi emerged to be the leading tribe
in spirituality is consistent with our teaching. Their spiritual success
was mainly due to the fact that for a longer period of time than any
other tribe, they were able to draw upon the spiritual energies of old
age from their ancestors.] This is why holy elders are so important for
one's spiritual growth. (Lekutei Halachot: Yorah Dayah: Hilchot Kovad
Rabo V'Talmud Chachom 3:1-5)
We mentioned the importance of honoring sages and that the more one
glorifies Hashem by reciting Psalms, etc., the more one brings Hashem
into his domain. The following true story illustrates this point(When it
came time for the holy Baal Shem Tov to reveal himself to the world, he
was informed by Heaven that first, he had to fulfill the commandment of
serving Torah Scholars. The Baal Shem Tov then proceeded to seek out
Torah Scholars so he could serve them and he came across several and
served them in many different ways. In one case, he assisted Rabbi Dovid
of Kolomal. Once, Rav Dovid lost his way when he was on a trip to
collect money in order to ransom Jewish captives. He wandered into the
house of the Baal Shem Tov, the greatness of whom at that time was
unknown in the world. The Baal Shem Tov's wife welcomed the Rabbi,
prepared food for him and offered him a room in which to rest.