Nachal novea; makor chochma -
A flowing river; the source of wisdom (Mish. 18:4)
The first paragraph in the tefilin states, "Sanctify to Me
(Hashem) every firstborn ... of man and beast..." (Exodus 13:1-10) The
verses in this paragraph instruct us to give each firstborn male child
and animal to Hashem, to remember the Exodus from Egypt, and to wear
tefilin, indicating that all three of these topics are related.
The Jewish firstborn males are consecrated to Hashem because He saved
them from the plague that killed all the Egyptian firstborn males. By
extending his protection over the Jewish firstborn, Hashem "acquired"
them. This sanctification was in addition to their position as
performers of the sacrificial service. Whereas the Jewish firstborn were
accorded special status and given certain duties because they were saved
from the plague, the Jewish nation as a whole became obligated to
dedicate itself to Hashem -- in deed, as symbolized by the
tefilin of the arm, and in thought as symbolized by the
tefilin of the head -- in recognition of all of the miracles,
associated with the Exodus, that Hashem performed for them. So we see,
the sanctity of the firstborn, the Exodus from Egypt, and the
tefilin arc all interrelated and therefore, share similar
spiritual energies. Miracles, and in particular the miracles performed
at the Exodus, are based on faith in Hashem, indicating that the
tefilin and the sanctity of the firstborn are also connected to
the spiritual energies of faith associated with the Exodus. Again, we
see that the three things are connected to the same spiritual root.
Based on the above, Rav Noson says that in order for one to come to
absolute faith in Hashem and in the true Tzaddikim who emulate Him, he
must eventually come to ignore all of his own intelligence and rely
exclusively upon the superior and infinite Divine intelligence. As
mentioned above, this level can only be achieved after using one's
intellect to filter out all false ideas come to the awareness of the
intcllect's inadequacies. Faith is defined as the acceptance of
something despite the mind's inability to understand or grasp it.
Whenever the acceptance of something is derived from and dependent upon
the mind's ability to comprehend, it cannot be called an act of faith.
Surprisingly however, faith not only enables one reach the highest
spiritual levels, but also the highest intellectual levels. King David,
who was multitalented, a great sage, Divinely inspired in all his
undertakings, and a man who attained awesome levels of faith and
closeness to Hashem, explained to others how he reached such awesome
levels, "And I (King David) am ignorant and know nothing, as a beast was
I with You (Hashem)." [King David realized and acknowledged his absolute
ignorance and the inadequacy of his own intellect before Hashem. This
attitude enabled him to be nourished from the spiritual energies of
faith, through which he achieved all of his greatness.] (Psalms 73:22)
In another verse King David writes, "Man and beast You deliver, Hashem."
(Psalms 36:7) The sages comment that this verse refers to those
individuals who are highly intelligent, similar to Adam, the first man,
but who make themselves like animals [meaning to say that if one has
absolute faith in Hashem, as an animal trusts its master, this is the
highest form of intelligence]. The wisest of all men, King Solomon,
echoed this theme in (Proverbs 30:2), "Because I am uncouth [more] than
any man, and have not the understanding of a man [I was able to reach
such awesome levels of wisdom, because I was aware of the limitations of
my own intellect]." In addition he wrote, "I (King Solomon) said, I will
be wise; but it was far from me [after all my efforts to discover the
deep mysteries of the universe, I realized that they, and Hashem, Who
created the universe, are even beyond the comprehension of someone like
myself, the wisest of all men and I must depend upon faith in Hashem's
superior wisdom]." (Eccl. 7:23) From these verses, we can clearly see
that the only way to attach oneself to Hashem and merit eternal life is
to ignore one's own intelligence and defer to faith in Hashem's infinite
intelligence.
When the above mentioned verses exhort us to have faith in line with the
intelligence or questioning ability of the animals, they refer to kosher
animals, which have the quality of helping a person come closer to
Hashem, but not like non-kosher animals, which lead an individual to
distance himself from Hashem. Rav Noson says that this explains why the
the seven spiritual shepherds of the Jewish nation (Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph, and David) all raised cattle. They worked
to activate the spiritual energies of simple faith that are contained in
cattle and used these spiritual energies to spread and inculcate the
world with faith. The seven shepherds were the epitome of those who had
faith which is why they were called shepherds. They shepherded their
flocks, spreading faith in Hwhem over the world.
There is a rule that all items which share the same spiritual energies
are connected at their spiritual roots. As mentioned above, water
contains the spiritual energies of faith. Therefore, in order for a man
to merit to find and properly merge with his mate, creating the proper
foundations of marriage, he must first activate the spiritual energies
of faith that are contained in water, because it is rooted in the same
place as the spiritual energies of faith found in women. Since the
unions of Yitzchak, Ya'akov, and Moshe would have the greatest impact on
the spiritual destiny of the holy nation, it was imperative that their
faith be of the purest and highest caliber, therefore these couples
needed to activate the highest levels of faith possible which could only
be derived from underground waters. The Zohar says that underground
water contains the highest levels of the spiritual energies faith, as
the verse says, "Counsel in the heart of man [the heart contains the
greatest energies of faith] is like deep water, but a man of
understanding will draw it out." (Proverbs 20:5) [Note: Rav Noson says
that underground water is devoid of spiritual pollution because it is
not exposed to the atmosphere where water is subjected to spiritual
pollution)].
Since every Jewish couple creates awesome unions of holiness which is
dependent upon faith, it is imperative, that at certain specified times,
before a man can consort with his wife, she must immerse in a
mikva (ritual bath). Since the spiritual energies of faith are
strongest in women, it is the woman who must immerse herself in the
mikva in order to draw the strong spiritual energies of faith
from those holy waters and ensure that her contribution to the union is
as pure and strong as possible. Conversely, the faith that a woman
possesses can become tainted if she chooses to believe in false
ideologies. This can have serious negative consequences upon her husband
and children. Since the Patriarchs laid the foundations of the holy
nation, it was necessary that their unions draw from the purest
spiritual energies of faith, which is contained in well water, as
explained above. However, it is not necessary for all other Jews to draw
from the spiritual energies of well water. Immersion in a mikva
is sufficient. For all Jews are their spiritual heirs and automatically
draw from the spiritual foundations and reservoirs of faith that the
Patriarchs established. (Lekutai Halachot: Yora Daya: Bechor Behama
Ti'Hora 3:1-2)
That Hashem (G-d) created the world is a matter of faith. Water was the
first material thing created as something from nothing (yesh
meayin). Therefore, water is the bridge connecting "after the
creation" to "before the creation" and is the foundation upon which the
material world was formed. Belief that Hashem created the world is
dependent upon and includes the belief that Hashem first created water,
from which He formed the rest of the universe. This indicates that water
possesses the spiritual energies of faith. Hashem is the source of all
physical existence and is responsible for all growth. Faith, belief in
Hashem, links or connects a person (depending on the degree of his
faith) to Hashem and His unlimited powers, and in particular with
Hashem's powers that cause things to grow. The Talmud says, "rain falls
only in the merit of those who have faith." (Talmud: Ta'anis 8) Since
all life and growth is dependent upon water, and water is dependent upon
faith, then belief in Hashem is responsible for all life and growth in
this world. In other words, nothing can grow or flourish in this world
without belief in Hashem.
THE WELLSPRINGS OF FAITH
[Note: The tefilin are two perfectly square black boxes, made out
of the hide of a kosher animal. One box is worn on the head and the
other on the biceps of the weaker arm. Each box contains parchment, on
which are written four paragraphs from the Torah that are associated
with the Exodus from Egypt. The Torah requires all Jewish males, above
the age of thirteen, to don tefilin daily, except on Shabbos (the
Sabbath) and festivals].
That both firstborn male humans and animals are to be sanctified implies
that they are somehow related. Rav Noson explains their relationship as
follows: As mentioned above, the spiritual energies associated with the
sanctity of the firstborn is related to the spiritual energies of faith.
Man in order to develop absolute faith in Hashem, must sublimate his own
ideas, prejudices, and intellect, believing in Hashem even when
occurances in the world are beyond his understanding. When one thus
surrenders his intellect, he is much like an animal who is devoid of
such higher levels of intelligence. Therefore, in this way, man must
strive to be like an animal. This is why the verse equates the sanctity
of man with the sanctity of the animal. [Note: Since faith enables one
to derive information, guidance, and direction from the source of all
wisdom -- Hashem -- it is therefore the highest level of intelligence.
Rav Noson adds that the process of the development of faith does not
negate or totally rule out the use of one's intellect; for, if so, one
would be likely to come to believe in false things as well. Through
one's intellect, one should filter out false ideas and realize the
limitations of that intellect. With these realizations, one is able to
place his faith in Hashem, according to his particular level of
awareness.]
As was mentioned above, belief in Hashem is the greatest wisdom of all,
surpassing all other wisdom. Rav Noson adds that the person who goes
through life with simple faith in Hashem's superior wisdom will
eventually merit to understand all those things that the human mind
would normally be unable to comprehend. Therefore, the main thing is
that one should live with simple faith in Hashem. Ideally, an individual
must behave, in this matter, like an animal which lacks the mental
capacity to doubt or question its owner. However, he must be ever so
careful not to come to believe in false things. Discretion is needed
only for the purposes of illuminating false ideas, but when one has
discovered the truth, he should not question it.
The Baal Shem Tov further elaborates on how one is to weed out belief in
false ideas and come to faith in the truth. "We say in our prayers, 'Our
G-d and the G-d of our fathers...' The reason for this is that there are
two types of people who believe in Hashem. The first believes because he
follows the ways of his fathers, strongly maintaining their tradition of
faith. The second is the one who gains faith through reason and
analysis. There is an important difference between the two types of
individuals. The first one has the advantage that he cannot be tempted,
even if he is confronted with philosophical proofs that might contradict
his faith, because he relies upon the traditions of his fathers and his
faith is not dependent upon speculation. On the other hand, this person
also has a disadvantage. His faith is not well reasoned, nor thought
out, and is essentially based upon habit. The second type's advantage is
that he has discovered Hashem through logic, and is very strong in his
faith. [His faith is strongly bound to his mind which leads him to the
level of] absolute love. The flaw is this type is that he can be
persuaded by logic, and if confronted with proofs that tear down the
logical structure [of his faith], he can be tempted away. The person who
attains his faith through both these methods has every advantage. He
depends strongly on the traditions of his forefathers, while at the same
time taking advantage of his ability to think things out. He thus has
the best and most perfect faith. When we say, 'Our G-d and G-d of our
fathers..." [we thus allude to both paths of faith in Hashem]". (Sefer
Baal Shem Tov: Parshas Noach 141)
The Torah mentions that Avraham, the greatest of all who have been
strong in faith, worked extremely hard to dig wells of water. He did
this because, as mentioned above, water is associated with the spiritual
energies of faith. The holy Ari says that when a well of water is dug, a
corresponding spiritual well of water is opened in the upper worlds
which causes the spiritual energies of faith contained in the upper
waters to permeate the atmosphere, influencing people to believe in
Hashem. [Note: This works because any action done in the physical world
causes a corresponding action in the spiritual world.] Thus the Torah
also mentions wells in connection to Yitzchak (Isaac), Ya'akov (Jacob),
and Moshe (Moses) alluding to their efforts to spread belief in Hashem
to the world.
Women, by their nature, generally possess strong spiritual energies of
faith, as the verse says, "A G-d-fearing woman -- she should be
praised." [Fear of Hashem can only be derived from strong faith in
Hashem. Since women possess such strong energies of faith, if they
choose to come close to Hashem, the spiritual energies of faith they
possess enables them to reach high levels of fear of Hashem]. (Proverbs
31:30) The Talmud says that if a couple is worthy, the Divine Presence
rests upon them. The Divine Presence rests only upon people who have
faith. In the marriage union, the spiritual energies of faith must first
be activated and purified so that the Divine Presence can rest upon the
couple in order that they can produce holy children. [Thus, we bless a
newly married couple that they should build a bayit ne'eman -- a
faithful house in Israel.] Rabbi Nachman talked about the importance of
sanctifying the marriage union, "There are some souls conceived in
absolute holiness. When such a soul descends to this world, and is not
tainted with sin, it results in an individual who has perfect faith.
Such a person never has any doubts at all. Just as a eunuch is not
aroused by lewd conversation, people can express skepticism in such a
person's presence, but his faith is in no way disturbed, he is totally
oblivious to all doubts. (Sichot HaRan 32)
Now we can understand why such spiritual giants as Yitzchak, Ya'akov,
and Moshe all met their wives through wells of water. One of the main
goals of marriage is that the couple grow and develop together, so they
both can both come closer to Hashem. If the couple is able to draw the
Divine Presence -- the source of true life -- into their marriage, their
marriage will be full of happiness, blessing, growth, and prosperity. If
the couple's faith is tainted or lacks purity and they are unable to
draw the Divine Presence into their marriage, the couple could have the
opposite experience. Therefore, the foundation of any marriage must be
faith.
We mentioned that the greatest wisdom of all is to acknowledge the
superiority of Hashem's wisdom over one's own. Furthennore, we mentioned
the importance of one's mate contributing positive values to the
relationship. The follouing true story illustrates these points: A
rich, politically powerful Roman once asked Rebbe Yosi ben Chalafta, "In
how many days did Hashem create the world?" "Six," was his swift reply.
She continued to ask, "And since that time, what has He been doing?"
"Hashem is occupied with arranging marriages -- this man's son is to
marry that man's daughter, etc." "That's work?!" she asked in suprise.
"Why I can do that too! I have many men-servants and maid-servants. I
can match them up in no time!" Rebbe Yosi replied, "Perhaps you think
that matchinaking is easy work, but Hashem considers it as difficult as
the splitting of the sea!" The Roman matron went to her task. She took
one thousand men-servants and one thousand maid- servants and lined them
up side by side. Then she began pairing them off, two by two, until she
had gone down the entire line. The entire process did not take very
long. The next morning she was besieged by complaints. The men-servants
and maid-servants came to her, bruised and beaten, shouting and weeping,
"I don't want so-and-so for a wife! I cannot get along with my husband!"
And so on [until all of her servants registered their complaints]. [All]
one thousand pairs came before the matron, each one dissatisfied for a
different reason. The woman quickly summoned Rebbe Yosi and said,
"Rebbe, I see how right you were and how fine and true is your Torah.
Everything that you said is perfectly true. Matchmaking is not easy!"
(Midrash Rabba: Bereishis 68:4)