Nachal novea; makor chochma -
A flowing river; the source of wisdom (Mish. 18:4)
When the Jews activated the spiritual energies of joy, they were
redeemed, as the verse says, "For you will go [out from exile] with
joy." (Isaiah 55:12) Rabbi Nachman says that joy is ethereally
associated with freedom, the energies of which are derived from the
chamber of freedom located in the upper worlds. The spiritual energies
of depression are the cause of physical imprisonment and exile. We Jews
are strongly connected to the Divine Presence. This is why the Divine
Presence falls into spiritual exile, held captive by the forces of evil,
when any Jew is depressed or placed in physical exile. The forces of
evil are nourished by depression. They use depression to build a
spiritual barrier or partition between the person and Hashem. Therefore,
the only way for the individual, the nation, and the Divine Presence to
gain physical, mental, and spiritual emancipation, is to break down this
barrier by converting the spiritual energies of sadness to joy.
The holy Ari says that the Jews were exiled specifically to Egypt to
rectify Adam's sin. Egypt was the most materialistic and immoral society
the world has ever known. Rabbi Nachman says that immorality and the
pursuit of materialism is the cause of depression. Therefore, Egypt was
the most depressed and spiritually darkened society that ever existed.
There is an axiom of spirituality that evil can be broken only at its
source. Since the Jews were the spiritual heirs of Adam, they were
required to descend to the depths of the spiritual darkness of Egypt and
experience the torment of slavery, associated with the strongest
spiritual energies of depression, and break these spiritual energies, by
converting the darkness and depression of that horrible situation to
joy. Therefore, because they rectified much of the spiritual damage of
Adam's sin, the Jews were ultimately redeemed.
A thing's name tells us about it's spiritual essence. The Torah calls
matzah by a second name--lechem ONi, the bread of affliction. The word
oni, affliction, comes from the same root as the word ONeh, to proclaim.
And so, our sages say that matzah is bread upon which many words are
proclaimed. This refers to our telling the story of the exodus at the
Passover Seder (ritual meal), while the matzah lies before us on the
table. Therefore, matzah's other name, lechem oni, indicates that matzah
also contains the spiritual energies of holy speech, i.e. prayer and
praises to Hashem. Through these we are able to come to a state of joy.
Thus, eating matzah nourishes both the mind and the emotions with joy.
Indeed, consuming matzah draws forth all of the spiritual energies of
joy, associated with the ten types of song. And, as mentioned above,
this enables the ten pulses of the body to function optimally, improving
our health.
This is the bread of affliction DiY our fathers ate(" we are saying that
this matzah contains the energies of joy which, by their consuming it,
enabled our fathers to be redeemed.] Thus, the redemption from Egypt was
dependent upon eating matzah and refraining from chametz which the Jews
were commanded the night before they left Egypt.
A wedding is one of the most joyous events in life. This shows that the
Torah contains the spiritual energies of joy.] (Song of Songs 3:11)
Therefore, the energies of joy are the greatest on Shavuot, the holiday
that commemorates the giving of the Torah. The joy at the giving of the
Torah was so great that the forces of evil were totally subdued on
Shavuot. Even death, which engenders the most intense manifestation of
sadness of all, became nullified on that day. As mentioned above, Rabbi
Nachman says that true joy is when one can take depression and turn it
into joy. Since the spiritual energies of joy are so powerful on
Shavuot, it contains the necessary spiritual strength to transform the
spiritual energies of depression contained in chametz. Thus chametz was
included in the Temple service only on Shavuot, and excluded at all
other times.
The Chametz of the Thanksgiving Offering: Giving Rise to the Messianic
Era. The thanksgiving offering, as mentioned above, is the only other
offering that contained chametz. In the future, Messianic era [may it
come speedily, in our days], the thanksgiving offering, with its chametz
component, will be the only sacrifice not to become insignificant. For
the joy of the Messianic era will be so great, that even the spiritual
energies of depression associated with chametz will be converted to joy.
Shavuot is associated with the hereafter, which will be like "one long
day". Therefore, in Israel, Shavuot is celebrated for only one day, as
opposed to two days in the diaspora.
In summation, on Passover chametz is strictly forbidden because the
negative spiritual energies of hedonism, created by the Egyptians,
contained in chametz, are too powerful to be neutralized. Passover
neutralizes these negative spiritual energies, so that chametz can
safely be eaten during the remainder of the year. The positive spiritual
energies of joy, activated through the ten commandments and ten word
benediction associated with chametz, is sufficient to remove the
remaining spiritual impurities in the chametz we eat during the
remainder of the year. This is why, except for Passover, chametz is
permitted all year round.
Rabbi Nachman explains how joy is able to remove the spiritual
impurities found in our food caused by Adam's sin: The ten types of song
are associated with the spiritual energies of music. To produce music,
one must select the good notes, while disregarding the "bad" or
inappropriate notes, otherwise, instead of music, noise will be
produced. The spiritual essence of music has the ability to sift and
separate good spiritual energies from bad, eliminating the negative
ones. Since the ten words of the benediction over bread are associated
with the good spiritual energies of music, reciting the benediction over
bread infuses the bread, and the other foods included in the meal, with
joy which rectifies Adam's sin.
Moshe (Moses), who possessed the light of joy, which he derived from his
strong attachment to Hashem, aroused the broken and depressed Jewish
slaves to reach high levels of joy. This is what enabled the Jews to be
redeemed from Egypt. May we all follow their example, and gain
liberation from our own personal and national bondage through joy.
Amen!
After the ceremonies were concluded and all of the guests went home, the
wealthy man sat down to study Torah, as was his usual practice.
Suddenly, a stranger appeared and summoned him outside. As soon as the
wealthy scholar went outside, a storm-wind came and lifted him up,
transporting him to a far away desert. He realized that this was his
punishment for publicly embarrassing the water-drawer. He then came to a
house and heard a loud voice proclaim, "Welcome David, King of Israel!"
Then he heard another loud voice proclaim, "Welcome Rebbe Yisroel, Baal
Shem Tov!" The Baal Shem asked King David why he was summoned and why a
Jewish man was standing outside. King David told the Baal Shem that he
had been called to be the judge between himself and the Jew who stood
outside. King David continued, "I begged Hashem that anyone who recites
my Psalms should be given credit as if he had studied the most difficult
laws of the Torah, which are the laws of leprous plagues and the laws of
ritual impurity. The man who stands outside has just ridiculed a simple
water-drawer, who spends many hours daily reciting my Psalms. [He
publicly proclaimed to all, that the recital of Psalms has little
value.] Therefore, I want you to pass judgment upon him. I suggest that
this man deserves to suffer a premature death at the hands of Heaven,
while within the privacy of his home."
However, the Baal Shem strongly disapproved of King David's suggestion.
"If he is punished in this fashion, no one will realize that he was
punished for discrediting the recital of book of Psalms. They won't come
to realize the great importance of reciting Psalms. Therefore, I suggest
that the wealthy scholar be permitted to return home. He should make
another big feast in the water-drawer's honor and publicly ask him for
forgiveness. This will make everyone realize how great is the recital of
the book of Psalms. A messenger went outside to the wealthy scholar and
asked him which of two sentences he would prefer. As expected, he chose
the Baal Shem Tov's suggestion.
The wealthy scholar returned home and did as he had promised. He made a
great feast in Yankel's honor, inviting everyone who had witnessed the
earlier disgrace and he publicly begged Yankel for forgiveness. After
the feast the wealthy man traveled to see the Baal Shem Tov, who lived
nearby. When he saw the Baal Shem Tov he fainted in shock, for he
realized that all that had happened, was not his imagination, but
reality. After he was revived, the wealthy scholar became a follower of
the Baal Shem for the rest of his days. (Shivachay Baal Shem Tov)
Rabbi Nachman taught that all illness results from damage to the
spiritual energies of joy. The proper rhythm of the body's ten pulses
which regulate blood flow, is intimately associated with good health.
The spiritual energies of joy, derived from the ten types of song from
which the book of Psalms was composed, enables the ten pulses to work
properly. The true definition of joy is when we totally reverse the
spiritual energies of depression--when we remain cheerful despite a bad
situation.
Depression is associated with the forces of evil and sin, and joy is
associated with holiness. When Adam sinned, he partially severed the
entire universe's connection to Hashem, the source of all joy and
holiness, spiritually polluting the world with depression, as the verse
says, "Through sorrow you shall eat of it [the earth and all material
things dependent upon the ground] all the days of your life." (Genesis
3:17) In order to rectify Adam's sin, his descendants [i.e. mankind]
must encounter every sort of sad situation and convert it to joy.
Through connecting the sadness of this world to joy, the creation
becomes reunited with Hashem, rectifying Adam's damage.
Rabbi Nachman says that the ten pulses of the body bridge the spiritual
with the physical. As mentioned above, the health of the body is
determined by how well the ten pulses regulate blood flow. The body is
sustained by blood transporting vital nutrients wherever they are
needed. Therefore, health is dependent upon a balanced blood flow and
good blood circulation. The ability of the pulses to regulate blood
circulation is dependent upon the spiritual energies of joy. When one is
happy, the pulses work properly, promoting good health. Depression
causes erratic pulsations, which can result in a chemical imbalance,
jeopardizing the body's health. Eating in holiness accesses the
spiritual energies of joy. Therefore, since the pulses are dependent
upon joy, eating in holiness enables them to work properly, thus
promoting good health, as the verse says, "Eat your bread with joy and
drink your wine with a happy heart [so that you will preserve your
health]." (Eccl. 9:7)
As mentioned above, activating the spiritual energies of joy is the only
avenue, through which both physical and spiritual freedom can be
attained. Eating and drinking in holiness is one of the main ways
through which the spiritual energies of joy can be accessed, which, as
mentioned above, is the essential ingredient upon which redemption is
reliant. This is why Hashem commanded the Jews to eat matzah as well as
several other types of food during the night of the redemption from
Egypt. Matzah has the ability to activate the spiritual energies of joy
more than any other food. Chametz (leaven) appears inflated and
elevated. Conversely, the appearance of matzah is flat and low. The
shape of any physical item reflects the spiritual energies it contains.
So inflated leaven swells the ego and increases the mind's desire to
satisfy the self, causing one to ignore Hashem's will. The low
appearance of matzah indicates that it has the opposite effect,
diminishing self just enough to clearly perceive Hashem in this world.
This helps us realize that doing Hashem's will is in our best interests,
because the only way that we can perceive Hashem in this world is
through humility. The food we consume, especially bread, has a strong
influence upon the brain. Therefore, eating matzah, a form of bread,
causes happiness, because it contains the spiritual energies of
humility, which best enables us to perceive and thus connect ourselves
to Hashem, the source of all joy.
The Hebrew word for leaven is chaMeTZ, which contains the same letters
as the word MaTZah, except that chametz has the letter chet whereas
matzah has a hay. The seder opens with our pointing to the matzah and
saying in Aramaic, "Haw lachma an'yaw DiY a'chee'lu av'haw'saw'naw( This
is the bread of affliction that our fathers ate(" The holy Ari says that
the word DiY is spelled with the Hebrew letters daled and yud. The
Hebrew letter hay is a composite of the daled and yud. Daled has a
numerical value of four and resonates with the four different types of
voices through which song can be expressed. Yud has a value of ten and
is thus connected to all of the spiritual energies of joy, associated
with the ten different types of song, which brings redemption.
Therefore, that matzah and chametz have the same letters but for the hay
in matzah indicates that the distinction between them is that matzah
contains the spiritual energies joy, through which redemption is
brought. [So when we say, "
Chametz represents luxury--that which is beyond necessity--and is
associated with the spiritual energies of hedonism which arouse the
desires of the heart. Conversely, matzah is plain and simple, it is the
bare minimum of what can be called bread, therefore it is associated
with the spiritual energies that nourish the intellect. When the
intellect is properly nourished, it is easier to find Hashem, the source
of all joy. Thus, eating matzah increases one's joy and eating chametz
decreases it, leaving depression in its wake. The Egyptians, through
their immoral and hedonistic behavior, created energies that cause
depression, which were so potent that they had the ability to cloud,
distort, and pollute the mind, making it extremely difficult to find
Hashem. The Jews were unable to negate these powerful spiritual energies
until the Egyptians drowned in the Red Sea. It was only then that the
spiritual essence of Egypt was completely subdued. When an event occurs
it creates spiritual energies that are eternal and reoccur annually on
the anniversary of the original event. Therefore, on each subsequent
Passover, the strong negative spiritual energies of the hedonism that
the Egyptians created are at their peak, so we must be extra vigilant to
protect our minds by not eating any chametz, which nourishes these
negative energies.
On the festival of Shavuot (the holiday that commemorates the giving of
the Torah on Mount Sinai, which occurs exactly seven weeks after
Passover) two loaves of leavened bread were presented in the Temple, as
part of the ritual service. Except for those two loaves of bread of
Shavuot and the thanksgiving offering, no other meal offering contained
any chametz whatsoever. [Note: For these two offerings the chametz was
only a part of the service, not actually offered upon the altar, for it
was forbidden to offer any leaven upon the altar. However, it was enough
to activate the spiritual energies that they contained.] Rav Noson
explains why the rituals of Shavuot specifically had to include chametz:
The Torah is associated with the spiritual energies of joy, as the verse
says, "On the day of his wedding, and the day of the gladness of his
heart(" [According to Rashi, the wedding in this verse refers to the
giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, where the Jews accepted Hashem as
their king.
The holy Zohar explains that after Passover, chametz is permitted to be
eaten for the remainder of the year, because through Passover, we
receive the remedy [partially subduing the negative resonance of
chametz]. Although, the positive forces of Passover neutralize much of
the negative forces of chametz, additional spiritual cleansing is needed
to filter out the remaining traces of spiritual contamination that
Passover is unable to remove. After Passover chametz is an admixture of
positive and negative spiritual forces. These energies are the same as
the energies contained in the tree of knowledge of the Garden of Eden.
Since food, chametz in particular, greatly influences our minds, it is
essential to remove as many of the spiritual impurities from our food as
possible. Rav Noson says that the most effective way to do this is
through the performance of the ten commandments associated with bread
(e.g. laws about the land and tithing, separating challah, etc.) and the
recitation of the ten words of the benediction said before partaking of
bread (baruch atah Hashem, Elokeinu melech ha'olam ha'motzi lechem min
ha'aretz). [Note: Items that share a common number are connected to each
other at their spiritual roots. Therefore, one thing can access the
spiritual energies of another.] By performing the ten commandments
associated with bread and reciting the ten words contained in the
benediction over bread, one accesses the spiritual energies of the ten
types of song, mentioned above, infusing the bread one eats with the
spiritual energies of joy. This filters out the remaining spiritual
toxins that Passover was unable to remove.
TO EAT CHAMETZ THE REST OF THE YEAR?
Rav Noson says that eating matzah on Passover and reciting a benediction
over the food we eat activates the energies of joy, which partially
negates the spiritual toxins from our food caused by Adam's sin of
eating the forbidden fruit. As mentioned above, the ten words contained
in the benediction over bread accesses joy associated with the ten types
of song. This explains why our initial benediction--ha'motzi--over bread
as part of a meal renders unnecessary all benedictions over any other
food included with the meal. The energies of joy activated by the
ha'motzi is so powerful that it is able to purify all of the other food
associated with that meal. [Note: Since many deserts are usually not
eaten together with bread, it is not considered to be part of the main
meal and therefore in many cases, a separate benediction is
required.]
COVERS ALL OTHER FOODS INCLUDED WITH A MEAL
The Zohar adds that stepping on bread crumbs can result in poverty. Rav
Noson explains that rectified bread contains the highest spiritual
energies of joy. Stepping on bread crumbs that contain these very holy
resonance, damages the spiritual energies of joy. This causes either
actual or intellectual poverty, because wealth and high intelligence are
associated with the spiritual energies of joy. (Lekutai Halachot: Orach
Chaim: Hilchot Pesach 2:1)
The spiritual energies of joy have the power of redemption, especially
those spiritual energies of joy derived from the ten types of song of
which the book of Psalms is composed(There was a wealthy Torah scholar
who lived near the town of Medzeboz. He once commissioned an expert
scribe to write the most perfect Torah scroll possible. He paid for all
of the scribe's expenses and, after several years, the Torah scroll was
completed. To celebrate, the wealthy man made a big feast and personally
delivered a very lengthy Torah discourse. Among the many guests, was
Yankel, the town's water drawer, who was known to spend many hours daily
reciting the book of Psalms. Through the merit of his constant recital
of Psalms, the town had been protected and redeemed from many
calamities. Before the commencement of the meal, bread was distributed
to all of the guests. Yankel, who sat unnoticed at the end of the table,
was very hungry and couldn't wait for the others to begin their meal.
Therefore, he decided that it would better if he fulfilled the ritual
washing of the hands before eating bread, quickly and unnoticed so he
could start eating without any further delay. When the wealthy man
noticed that the water-drawer had washed his hands before any of the
other guests, in a fit of rage, he screamed loudly and angrily, "What
gives you the right to wash your hands before anyone else!? Just because
you spend many hours daily, reciting the book of Psalms, that makes you
more important than anyone else?!" In response to the wealthy man's
angry rebuke; without a word, poor Yankel immediately returned home. His
absence went unnoticed by the other guests.