Nachal novea; makor chochma -
A flowing river; the source of wisdom (Mish. 18:4)
Purification requires additional sources of heat, other than spiritual
inspiration and enthusiasm, in order to effect spiritual cleansing, such
as experiencing periods of agitation, conflict, and confusion.
Initially, a person is totally immersed in materialism. When he starts
coming closer to Hashem, it is impossible to remove the spiritual dirt
all at once, because his mind is completely intermingled with it. If it
was removed all at once, his mind would be drawn out with it, causing
great damage. Therefore, one must be purified little by little, in
gradual stages. In the end, through a slow process, the person will
truly become pure and clear. [Note: This purification process is needed
even by the righteous and good people, due to having to contend with,
participate, and deal with the material world]. (Sichot HaRan 79)
The final day of the holiday of Sukkot is called Hoshana Rabba, when we
take branches from the willow-of-the-brook and activate their spiritual
energies, which are associated with the spiritual energies of the upper
waters (the word 'brook' in their name implies that the willow branches
are apsociated with the spiritual energies of water). By activating the
power of the willow branches on Hoshana Rabba, true knowledge from upper
waters are drawn down to earth. The rectifications accomplished on the
aforementioned holidays purify and enable us to receive the pure waters
from the upper worlds on Hoshana Rabba. The holy Ari says that
unleashing the spiritual energies contained in the willow branches
causes the spiritual energies of true knowledge to be drawn to the
kidneys, which are the organs that are energetically involved in
decision making. This enables a person to more easily discover the
pathways which brings him closer to Hashem. The spiritual energies from
the upper waters that are drawn into the world through the willow
branches activated on Hoshana Rabba have the same effect upon the world
as the wells that Avraham dug centuries earlier.
Today we, who have inherited our forefathers' lofty mission, must
continue to dig wells, as they did. We must continue to dig wells
through Torah study, prayer, and the performance of good deeds in order
to spread the knowledge of Hashem throughout the world. Amen! (Lekutai
Halachot: Orach Chaim: Hilchot Hoshana Rabba 2:1-3)
It once happened that most of [the Hebrew] month of Adar had passed and
no rains had [yet] fallen [that season. In the land of Israel the rainy
season ends shortly after the end of Adar]. [The sages] sent [a message]
to Choni the Circle-Maker, "Pray that rain should fall!" He prayed, but
no rain fell. He drew a circle and stood within it, in the same fashion
that the prophet Habbakuk had done [centuries earlier]. as it is written
"I (Habbakuk) will stand at my post and I will set myself for a siege
[until I get an explanation from Hashem as to why the wicked often
succeed and the righteous often suffer. He declared his intention to
stand in a cirular pit than he had dug until he got an answer (Rashi)]."
(Habbakuk 2:1) [Choni] said before Hashem, "Master of the Universe! Your
children have turned their faces to me because I am like a member of the
household before You [but I am not really worthy]. I swear by Your great
Name that I will not budge from here until You take pity on Your
children!" [In response to Choni's words] rain began to sprinkle. His
disciples said to him, "Our teacher, we wish to [continue] to see you
and not die [a sprinkling is not enough rain to save us from dying from
drought]. It seems to us that the [sprinkling of] rain is falling only
to release [you from] your oath. [The meager sprinkling of rain was
certainly insufficient to end the drought. Therefore, the only
possibility was that it was only meant to free Choni from his oath that
he made not to leave the circle until it rained and thus more rain would
not be provided] (Maharsha)]." [Choni] said [before Hashem], "Not such
[rains] have I requested, but rains [ample enough to fill the] water
holes, ditches, and caves [where water is stored]." [Rain began] to fall
with great force, until each drop was the size of the mouth of a jug ...
His disciples said to him "Our teacher, we wish to see you and not die
[we will all drown if the rains continue to fall in this manner]. It
seems to us that the [heavy] rains are not falling except to destroy the
world!" [Choni] said before [Hashem], "Not such [rains] have I requested
but rains of goodwill, blessing, and benevolence." [The rains then] fell
normally, [and continued] until all the people [were forced to] go up
onto the Temple Mount. [The people went to the high elevation of the
Temple Mount to escape the floods in low lying area (Meiri)]. They said
to him, "Our teacher, just as you prayed for the [rains to] fall so pray
that they should depart!' Choni replied, "I have a tradition [from my
teachers] that we may not pray regarding an abundance of good [that it
should cease]. Nevertheless, bring me a bull for confession." ...He
leaned his two hands upon [the bull, which is a rite performed for
almost all personal offerings] and said before [Hashem]. "Master of the
Universe! Your nation, Israel whom You have taken out of Egypt, they
cannot [bear] either an abundance of good or an abundance of misfortune
[This aspect of Israel's nature was evident even in their earliest days,
when they left Egypt. In the desert when they lacked water, they
complained bitterly (Numbers 20:1-12) and when they tired of the
wonderful manna, they complained bitterly (Numbers 11:15) Choni was in
effect saying that there is nothing new about their current behavior,
and their inability to stand extremes was a national trait of long
standing (Maharsha)]. You became angry with them, [and] they cannot bear
it [the drought]; You bestowed upon them [an abundance of] good
[excessive rain], [and] they cannot bear it. May it be Your will that
the rains cease and relief should come to the world."
Immediately,...[the rains stopped.] ... Shimon ben Shetach [the leading
sage] sent (Choni) [the following message], "Were you not Choni, I would
excommunicate you [for being disrespectful to Hashem by twice saying
"Not such rains have I requested [Rashi])! 1 ... But what shall I do to
you, that you misbehave before Hashcm [by boldly demanding rain from
Him, which would be improper for anyone else to do] and He fulfills your
wish, like a son who misbehaves towards his father (by demanding
whatever he desires], and [his father] fulfills his wish ... Concerning
[people such as] younelf, the verse says, 'May your father and mother
rejoice, and may she who bore you be glad."' (Proverbs 23:25) [Since
Hashem grants your wishes, it must be that you find grace in His eyes.
and therefore, I, Shimon ben Shetach, cannot excommunicate you.]
(Talmud: Taanis 23a)
The wells that the Patriarchs had dug in the land of Israel, which
received special mention in the Torah, were more than just mere sources
of water. The holy Ari says that when a well of water is dug on earth, a
corresponding well is opened in heaven, causing the spiritual energies
of water to flow to earth. Water's spiritual essence contains
information that better enables man to understand and perceive Hashem,
as the verse says, "The earth shall be full of the knowledpe of Hashem
(G-d), as the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah 11:9) Rav Noson says that
underground water is spiritually more pure than rain water, because
underground water does not come into contact with the atmosphere. Rain
water, by passing through the atmosphere, absorbs the spiritual
pollutants generated by man's sins. Well water injects the lowly earth
(resonance of gross materialism) with the Hashem's life-giving vitality,
as the verse says, "The earth is Hashem's and its fullness ... for He
founded it upon seas, and established it upon rivers [waters which
contain the life-giving spiritual energies of the knowledge of Hashem]."
(Psalms 24:1, 2) The more wells that are dug on earth, the more of
Hashem's light is drawn to this world from the upper worlds. This is why
the Torah, which never wastes words, makes a special reference to the
wells that the Patriarchs dug to inform us that they worked
unrelentingly to spread the knowledge of Hashem throughout the world.
Conversely, the idolatrous Philistines, who were opposed to the
philosophy of the Patriarchs, strove to prevent the awareness of Hashem
from spreading throughout the world. Therefore, the Philistines seized
and covered-over all of the wells that the Patriarchs had dug. This was
the point of contention in our introductory verse.
An additional reason why the wells were so important to the Patriarchs
is that the waters of the mikva (ritual bath, which stores water
much like a well) contain energies that spiritually connect one's soul
to Hashem, the source of all purity and salvation. This is why, before
receiving the Torah, the Jews had to immerse in a mikva and why a
convert must immerse as well. Rabbi Nachman says that the spiritual
energies contained in the mikva are so effective in connecting
one to Hashem, the source of all salvation, that regular immersion in a
mikva has the power to gradually minimize and eventually to
completely save a person from all of his troubles, as the verse says,
"Mikvay Yisrael ... The Hope of Israel, the savior in times of
trouble..." [The Hebrew word. mikvay (hope) has the same root as
mikva and is spelled the same, which, based on rules of Biblical
interpretation, allows us to understand the verse as, "The mikva
(ritual bath) of Israel, the savior in times of trouble..." (Jeremiah
14:8) (Lekutai Halachot: Yora Daya: Hilchot Mik'va'ot 1:4)
There is another type of water which affects us. Rabbi Nachman explains
that the spiritual energies contained in water derived from the upper
worlds is the primary source of human intelligence. These "waters"
nourish and influence the thought process of every human mind, as the
verse says, "Then I (Hashem) will sprinkle pure water upon you (the
Jews), and you shall be [spiritually] clean; from all your [spiritual]
filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you [in the future
era, as a result of the Jews having been sprinkled with the spiritually
pure water derived from the upper worlds, the intellects of the Jews
will expand causing them to fully understand that Hashem is the only
G-d, leading them to abandon any and all idol worship.]" (Ezekiel 36:25)
The phrase "I (Hashem) will sprinkle pure water upon you (the Jews), and
you shall be [spiritually] clean..." implies that there are also
spiritually impure waters which have the opposite effect, causing
confusion and leading to erroneous conclusions, as the verse says, "And
there [at the Tabernacle, situated in Nob] was a certain man of the
servants of [King] Saul that day, detained [lit. stopped up] before
Hashem; and his name was Doeg [who consistently gave King Saul bad
advice.]" [The word in this verse, "stopped up" alludes to the fact that
true knowledge, derived from the pure spiritual waters of the upper
worlds, were withheld from Doeg, despite his brilliance and vast
knowledge of the Torah. Thus, he always gave bad advice. (1 Samuel
21:8)
Due to Admn's sin, all of the spiritual energies of knowledge that flow
into and thus nourish the human intellect from the waters of the upper
worlds became spiritually polluted. As a result, the human mind became
spiritually clouded, causing a lack of clarity, confusion, and
uncertainty, making it very difficult to come to the right conclusions
and to discover Hashein. Rabbi Nachman says that the only way to purify
the spiritually impure waters is through the energies of friction
created by [holy] debate, argument and disagreement [which is for the
sake of arriving at truth]. The spiritual vibrations of friction rub
away, refine, and eliminate all of the impurities contained in the
spiritually impure waters, and works much like a water-filter. The
Talmud says that the Torah contains the spiritual energies of water, and
thus knowledge. The conclusions arrived at by the Oral Torah (the
Talmud) in determining the practical applications of the Written Torah
is the result of extensive debate. Debate involves examining every
aspect of an issue until the truth is discovered. The waters of strife
or debate (may m'riva) (c.f. Numbers 20), derived from the
spiritual energies of debate that are contained in the Oral Torah create
the aforementioned energies of friction that help refine, purify, and
organize the confused mind, enabling clear thought and correct
conclusions, as alluded to in the verse, "And I (Hashem) will make them
(the Jews) one nation [or of one mind as a result of the unifying
solutions derived from debate] in the land upon the mountains of Israel;
and one king shall be king to them all; they shall no longer be two
nations [one group of Jews debating with other groups of Jews], neither
shall they be divided [through philosophical debate] into two kingdoms
any more. [This unity of thought and purpose culminates in:] Neither
shall they defile themselves any more with their idols ... but I
[Hashem] will save them from out of their dwellings, where they have
sinned, and [I] will cleanse them." [Debate provides solutions that lead
to mental cleansing, which enables one to discover Hashem and the truth
and come to the right conclusions, and, from the, abandoning the most
erroneous conclusion of all, idol worship] (Ezekiel 37:22, 23) (1
Lekutai MoHaran 61)
AND HOW CAN THEY BE RECTIFIED?
To rectify the spiritual pollution caused by Adam's sin, Avraham and
Yitzchak (Isaac) were involved in digging wells that would draw true and
unpolluted knowledge from the pure, upper waters. In order to purify the
waters of the lower world which had become polluted through Adam's sin,
the Patriarchs had to endure many conflicts and disputes throughout
their lives with such personages as Pharaoh, king of Egypt Avimelech
king of the Philistines, and many others. The numerous wells that
Avraham and Yitzchak dug were at the center of some of the most bitter
controversies that the Patriarchs ever experienced, as the verse says,
"Then Avraham disputed with Avimelech [the king of the Philistines]
regarding the well of water that Avimelech's servants had seized."
(Genesis 21:25); "All the wells that (Yitzchak's) father's servants had
dug in the days of Avraham..., the Philistines stopped up and filled ...
with earth" (Genesis 26:15) As mentioned in the Torah, every time the
Patriarchs dug a new well, which meant they wanted to reveal more
information about Hashem to the world, a controversy ensued. Rav Noson
says that it was necessary for the Patriarchs to endure the aggravation
of those bitter disputes, for ultimately they produced the same type of
spiritual energies as the debates of the Talmud. These energies purified
the ethereal waters enabling the revelation of new information about
coming closer to Hashem and thus, the Patriarchs were more fully able to
purify the spiritual energies contained in the human mind.
THE PURIFYING ENERGIES OF FRICTION
Rabbi Nachman clarifies how conflict helps to purify the mind and why
the purification of the mind must be accomplished slowly and in gradual
stages. When one begins to attach himself to a great Tzaddik (saint) who
influences him to sincerely serve Hashem, he is often filled with great
confusion and evil thoughts derived from the negative energies created
by his involvement in the material world. These negative spiritual
energies had always been there, but only after attaching himself did
they begin to surface. This may be compared to apparently clear water in
a pot. When the pot is placed on a fire and the water begins to boil,
all its impurities are brought to the surface. The initial purity was an
illusion. The heat causes the impurities in the water to surface. Only
after the impurities are removed is the water truly pure and clear. The
same is true of a person. Before he begins serving Hashem, good and evil
spiritual energies are completely mlxed together within him. The
impurities are so closely united with the good that they cannot be
discerned. But when this person comes close to a true Tzaddik and begins
to burn with great feeling toward Hashem, he is touched with the heat of
purification, causing all of the negative spiritual energies and
impurities to surface, which must be removed as they surface.
The holidays of Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year), Yom Kippur (Day of
Atonement), Sukkot (Festival of Booths), and Hoshana Rabba (the final
day of judgment) are celebrated, in part, to rectify Adam's sin. At the
conclusion of these holidays' celebrations, we pray for rain. Our
prayers for rain at this time are actually petitions for Hashem to send
us the spiritual energies of knowledge derived from the pure waters of
the upper worlds, as mentioned above. In Psalm 29, King David mentions
that there are seven voices associated with water. These are expressed
as the seven different voices of prayer we utter on Rosh Hashana and Yom
Kippur as found in the Yom Kippur liturgy, "And I (Hashem) shall
sprinkle pure water upon you (the Jews), that you be cleaned. From all
your filth I will cleanse you." (Ezekiel 36:25) After we have achieved
atonement through the repentance of Yom Kippur, we enter the
sukkah (ritual temporary dwellings, i.e. booths), which access
the spiritual energies of knowledge from the upper waters, and nourish
and expand the intellect of all those who reside in them during the
holiday of Sukkot. The results of having an expanded intellect is that
one's understanding and tolerance of others is increased, which fosters
peace and brotherhood. That the sukkah contains energies which increase
one's understanding of others is the reason why it is also referred to
as the Tabernacle of Peace (Sukkat Shalom).
Now that we have explained how one can rectify his mind, how should this
faculty be expressed? After our minds have been rectified and purified
through the above-mentioned process, we are then able to properly
celebrate the final holiday of the holiday season, called Shemini
Atzeret (lit. the eighth day of detainment, the concluding holiday
when Hashem detains His beloved children for one last celebration before
they depart, so to speak.) The celebrations on this holiday are
different in that they are expressed through our rectified minds,
derived from the spiritual energies of the upper waters. Our rectified
and expanded intellect facilitates the expressions of utter joy that are
associated with this final holiday, through the rejoicing with the
Torah, which helps us come close to Hashem as never before, in a way
that would otherwise be impossible. Besides the deeper and more
meaningful appreciation of Hashem we have as a result of celebrating in
joy with a rectified mind on Shemini Atzeret, the celebrations also
neutralize the negative spiritual energies of confusion and deception
created by Doeg, whose mind was stopped up, and thus could not find
Hashem or the truth despite his vast Torah knowledge, as mentioned
above.
The great Tzaddikim, such as the Paitriarchs, have been able to draw
the waters from the upper worlds down to this world, increasing the
world's awareness of Hashem. Such an incident, which occured during the
time of the second Temple, is recorded in the Talmud: