(Click on the image above)

Best wishes to all our readers and friends for a ksivah v'chasimah tovah, a good and sweet new year -- and for those traveling to Uman for Rosh Hashanah, may it be a meaningful and uplifting trip without any obstacle or mishap, that will bring blessing to Klal Yisrael and the entire world.

"V'yeidah kol pa'ool ki Atah pi'altah, vi'yavin kol yitzur ki Atah yitzarto!"

The Breslov Center

"Eizer L'Eizer"

Received from Rabbi Binyamin Rosenberg of Tzefas

We’re getting closer to the Yom HaDin
When our deeds will be examined as worthy or as sin
We all want to be inscribed to a sweet new year
So let’s increase our charity to show we care

A great way to acquire merit is by sponsoring a weekly food package. One that feeds a large poverty-stricken family is only $100. A package for a medium-sized family is $75. One for a small family is $50. Your money goes directly to the needy; no overhead involved. You can sponsor for a month or a year. This will take an unbelievable burden off our shoulders. So please help Eizer L'Shabbos, and in that zekhus may you be inscribed for a healthy, prosperous, and sweet new year!

Please spread the word. Tell your friends and families about the critical situation in Tzfas. People literally don’t have food, and you can have a part in helping them. Do it L’ILUY NISHMAS a niftar; as a zekhus for a Refuah Shleimah for a loved one; in honor of a birthday or anniversary. Just give us the Hebrew name, write it on the memo line of your check, and we will be mention the names by the mekomos kedoshim, the holy burial places of our tzaddikim in Tzfas.

Gemar Chasima Tovah

Rabbi B. Rosenberg

www.eizerlshabbos.com

20 Elul: Yahrtzeit of Reb Avraham Sternhartz

The twentieth of Elul is the yahrtzeit of Reb Avraham Sternhartz (1862‐1955), grandson of the Tcheriner Rav, great‐grandson of Reb Noson, and teacher of Reb Gedaliah Kenig and numerous other Breslover Gedolim.

An orphan, Reb Avraham was raised by the Tcheriner Rov, and during his youth met all of the living talmidim of Reb Noson, including Reb Moshe Breslover. He was Ba’al Mussaf and Ba’al Tokei’a for many decades in Uman, and served as Rav of Kremenchug and later in Uman until he escaped the U.S.S.R. at the height of the Stalinist purges, arriving in Yerushalayim in 1936. Reb Avraham immediately became a key figure in the Yerushalayim community, attracting many talmidim (disciples), and soon established the Rosh Hashanah kibbutz in Meron. After Reb Avraham’s histalkus (passing) in 1955, Reb Gedaliah devoted himself to carrying on his revered teacher’s legacy.

In Eretz Yisrael, se’udos are held in Reb Avraham’s honor on the evening of Khof Elul. During the afternoon, Reb Elazar and a group from the Tzefas Breslov community travel to Har Menuchos in Yerushalayim to recite Tehillim and pray beside Reb Avraham’s grave. Many Breslover Chassidim also light a candle, give tzedakah, share a se’udoh in his honor, and learn some of his teachings from Tovos Zichronos, etc.

After Reb Avraham’s histalkus, Reb Gedaliah published his teacher’s Tovos Zichronos, Breslover mesorahs / oral traditions related to the first ten lessons in Likkutei Moharan, together with the Tcheriner Rov’s Yerach ha‐Eisanim, chiddushim on Likkutei Moharan related to Rosh Hashanah, and Reb Avraham’s Imros Tehoros on the importance of traveling to tzaddikim, particularly Rabbi Nachman, for Rosh Hashanah. Some of Reb Avraham’s letters were published by Reb Noson Zvi Kenig of Bnei Brak as Rinas Tzion. A scholarly biography of Reb Avraham is presently being prepared for publication by Rabbi Nachman Burshteyn of Jerusalem.

"My House is a House of Prayer"

Received from Rabbi Shraga Fisher of Yerushalayim

Keren Beniyat HaKloyz

In 1831 Reb Noson started to build the Kloyz in Uman. Due to the constantly growing influx of people attending the annual Kibbutz for Rosh Hashanah in Uman, one of Reb Noson's students, Reb Mendel of Ladizin, told Reb Noson: "If we don't build our own Kloyz (synagogue), there will be no future for the Rebbe's Rosh Hashanah.” So Reb Noson initiated this great undertaking.

Reb Mendel's words entered Reb Nosson’s heart, and he immediately understood that they were true -- because the focal point of the "Rebbe’s Rosh Hashanah" is the Rosh Hashanah prayers, meaning when the Breslover Chasidim are praying together.

So Reb Noson used all of his strength to make the construction of the Kloyz in Uman a reality. With the support of his followers and other good-hearted Jews, he built the first Kloyz in Uman (still visible on a nearby hill today). And the Rosh Hashanah gathering in Uman has continued until today.


* * *

Based on this, undoubtedly one of the main and most important ingredients during Rebbe Nachman's Rosh Hashanah in Uman is the Kloyz.

Reb Avraham Sternhartz zatzal, one of Reb Nosson's grandchildren, and a leader of the Breslover Chasidim both in Uman and in Jerusalem, wrote regarding the Kloyz: "The posuk says 'My house is a house of prayer …' We believe that this alludes to our Kloyz. "And this is the Shaar HaShomayim, the Gate of Heaven," from which all the prayers of the whole year ascend to Heaven, through the holy gathering on Rosh Hashanah of those who both pray according to the da'as of the "Nachal Novea Mekor Chochmah" (i.e., Rebbe Nachman) and those who are attached to him" (Shearis Yisroel, beginning of Letter 36).

It is thus only fitting that such a holy and necessary edifice as the Kloyz be appropriate to its unbelievable and incredible purpose in the tikkun (world-rectification) that this holy gathering accomplishes. It should have a respectable and proper shape and design, as is due to the Kloyz.

The Keren HaBinyan of the Kloyz is thus honoring you with the very great zekhus (source of merit) and mitzvah in participating in this holy cause of supporting "the Rebbe's Kloyz."

Doors and Windows and are available for dedications.

We just spoke about how Reb Avraham Sternhartz understood that the Kloyz is the "Shaar HaShomayim" from which all of the prayers from the whole year go up to Heaven.

We are offering the opportunity to dedicate Shaarim (doors) of the Kloyz. Two are already being dedicated. Such a dedication is $18,000. The dedication can be in honor or in memory of parents, teachers, loved ones. etc.

Each window can be dedicated for a donation of $2,600. Perhaps in a future note we can speak about the spiritual significance of Windows in the Kloyz.

For more information please contact:

1. Shraga Fisher at: shragafisher@gmail.com or 972-2-532-2735

2. Meir Elkabas at: 972-57-317-2332

3. Pinchus Zilberman: 972-50-412-2840

P.S. At this moment, seats in the new gallery are for sale. First 2 rows: $3,000 per seat. From the third row and back: $2,000 each. Contact us for more details.

The Baal Shem Tov’s Way of Meditation

According to Chassidic tradition, Rabbi Yisrael ben Eliezer, the Baal Shem Tov, was born on “Chai Elul” in 5458 / 1698 C.E. (the Hebrew acronymn for 5458 being “NaCHaS,” or gratification). This year the 18th of Elul coincides with Shabbos Ki Tavo (September 17th). In honor of the holy Baal Shem Tov, we are posting this discussion of his teachings on meditation and deveykus (cleaving to God).

The Baal Shem Tov’s Way of Meditation
Dovid Sears

First posted on ASimple Jew.Blogspot.Com

I. Direct Encounter of the Mind

From Dor Dorim, Chapter 1: “The Light of Israel”

“Dor Dorim (Throughout the Generations)” is an intellectual history of the origins of the Chassidic movement and its most prominent leaders written during the early 1900s by Rabbi Yekusiel Aryeh Kamelhar of Stanislav, Galitzia. Rabbi Kamelhar was an accomplished Torah scholar, expert in both Halakhah and Kabbalah. He was also knowledgeable in many areas of secular thought, which he felt was necessary in order to reach out to the religiously disaffected Jewish youth of his day. Rabbi Kamelhar spent his last years in the Bronx until his passing in 1937. This lengthy introduction to Jewish mysticism was but one of many of his published works, today known only to bibliophiles and historians.

The first chapter discusses the Baal Shem Tov’s youth and early influences. This excerpt defines the salient features of the Baal Shem Tov’s meditation more clearly than any discussion I have ever come across:

“While the Baal Shem Tov was in Kutov [sometimes rendered “Kitov” or “Kitiv”], he used to meditate in the mountains and fast from one Shabbos until the next. The purpose of his meditation (hisbodedus) in the mountains and wilds of the forests was this: he sought to become one with his inner being – with his feelings and thoughts; to hear the voice of his inner soul from her very depths, without any admixture of external influences, the hustle and bustle of the city and its surroundings; to become lucidly aware of the flow of his inner being and its inclinations, and to bring them entirely under the authority of the mind, freed from all external distraction. Prior to him, spiritual seekers devoted all of their energies to searching out all that exists above and below, and completely forget about themselves and their physical existence in order to know their ‘I.’ By contrast, the Baal Shem Tov introduced a new method of spiritual probing: a way to become an explorer of one’s inner being, and to vigilantly observe whatever took place in the chambers of one’s heart and soul, all of one’s inner faculties, and every movement, however great or small.

“His meditation had one other goal, as well, as the eminent scholar and kabbalist Rabbi Aaron Marcus states in his work HaChassidus:

“ ‘The atmosphere was fraught with terror due to fear of the enemy [i.e. the combined forces of Ukrainian Haidamaks and Cossacks]. Even the most stout-hearted feared for their lives, lest calamity befall from the marauders who lay in wait to put an end to them. Sounds of terror constantly filled their ears from horrendous incidents of pillage and murder, which were commonplace. In addition, the existential void of the Jewish world was filled with dreadful images of demons and ghosts. These were the causes of the widespread pietism of self-mortification and morbidity, due to the “lower fear,” external fear. The Arizal had already cautioned against this in his time – to keep far from external fears and to serve God with joy; as the Torah cautions, “Since you did not serve the Lord with joy…” (Deuteronomy 28:47). Therefore, the Baal Shem Tov meditated in the mountains and in uninhabited places to train himself to rule over the lower fear aroused by his desolate surroundings, and to transform it to the supernal fear, which is awe before God; to master his fear due to the awesome splendor of the Lord of Hosts.’ ”

“The Talmudic sages called sailors ‘chassidim (devout)’ – ‘Most sailors are devout’ (TB Kiddushin 82a). Men of the sea are habituated to overcoming their external fears because they often are faced with death, and this motivates them to attain the ultimate pristine fear, that sublime awe of which our holy master [Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev], the author of Kedushas Levi, states: ‘There is no delight like the delight of cleaving to God in pure awe.’ This is the spiritual rung of the true Chassidim; and there, in the mountains, among the caves and cliffs where the Baal Shem Tov meditated in seclusion, he attained this trait: mastery over all external fears by bringing them under the sovereignty of God, Who reigns forever in His might.”

Similarly, the Baal Shem Tov’s illustrious great-grandson, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, states in Likkutei Moharan I, 15, “Whoever wishes to glimpse the ‘hidden light (ohr ha-ganuz)’ – the ‘secrets of the Torah’ that will be revealed in time to come – must elevate the trait of fear to its spiritual source…”

II. “Hearing” the Silence

Although the Baal Shem Tov has much to say about the cultivation of holy speech and attaining deveykus, attachment to Godliness, through verbal prayer, it seems that the hisbodedus we have been discussing was silent meditation. At the very least, it was a combination of using speech in spontaneous personal prayer and silent meditation. This is suggested by the following teachings:

The Fence for Wisdom

“ ‘Silence is a fence for wisdom (chokhmah)’ (Avos 3:13). When one is silent, he is able to bind himself to the World of Thought (Olam ha-Machshavah), which is called ‘wisdom (chokhmah).’ “
Rabbi Aharon Hakohen of Zhelikhov, Keser Shem Tov 225

And in Tzava’as ha-Rivash (sec. 133), the Baal Shem Tov observes:

“Through silence, one can meditate upon the greatness of God and bind oneself to Him more completely than through speech.”

In a teaching of his own, Rabbi Aharon Hakohen (who also authored the Chassidic commentary Keser Nehora, printed in the Siddur Tefillah Yesharah or “Berditchever Siddur”) develops this key element of the Baal Shem Tov’s approach:

Two Modes of Divine Service

“ ‘And it came to pass, when the Ark set forth, that Moses said: Rise up, O God, and let Your enemies disperse, and let those that hate You flee from Your Presence! And when it rested, he said: Return, O God, to the thousands of myriads of Israel!’ (Numbers 10:35-36)

“There is a type of divine service that entails movement (tenu’ah), which includes all of the positive mitzvos, Torah study, and prayer; and they all accomplish various mystical unifications. However, there is another type of divine service that entails repose (menuchah). One sits alone in silence and contemplates God’s loftiness. This relates to the World of Thought (Olam ha-Machshavah), which is also called the World of Rest; for one enters into a state of stillness. When one wishes to experiencedeveykus, he should sit in silence, with holy thoughts, in a state of awe and attachment to God.”

Ohr Ha-Ganuz La-Tzaddikim (B’ha’alosekha)

In a related vein, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov states in Likkutei Moharan I, 234:

“One who wishes to enter the World of Thought must be silent. Even to speak properly would detract from one’s state of mind – for thought is an extremely lofty thing, and even worthy speech would have a harmful affect on it. This is implied by [the Talmudic narrative, in which God shows Moses how Rabbi Akiva was destined to be burnt alive by the Romans, and tells Moses in his dismay:] ‘Be silent! Thus it arose in thought…’ (TB Menachos 29a). That is, in order to ascend to the [World of] Thought, one must be silent. And even if one were to remain absolutely still and not utter a word, in spite of this, there are confusions that disturb the mind and interfere with [one’s attempt to reach the essence of the mind]. Therefore, one must attain purification of the mind…”

Rabbi Nachman’s lesson is far too involved to present here, but it also reflects the “direct encounter of the mind” type of meditation taught by his holy great-grandfather. (In addition, see Reb Noson of Breslov’s Likkutei Halakhos, Hilkhos Shabbos6:5, 8; ibid. 7:43, translated in “The Tree That Stands Beyond Space,” pp. 70-73.)

III. God Is Right Here

Hand in hand with what Rabbi Kamelhar describes above as “becoming one with one’s inner being” is what scholars have called the Baal Shem Tov’s “immanentism”: the pervasive sense of God’s omnipresence experienced by one who is properly attuned to this reality. The discovery of God’s immanence and omnipresence is one of the primary goals of the Baal Shem Tov’s way of meditation. Several works citing oral traditions of the Baal Shem Tov attest to this.

Contemplating the Word “Echad (One)”

“ ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One’ (Deuteronomy 6:6). When during this part of the prayer service a person recites the word ‘One,’ he should contemplate that the Holy One, blessed be He, is all that truly exists in the universe, for ‘the entire world is filled with His Glory’ (Isaiah 6:3). One must realize that he is nothing, for the essence of a person is his soul, and the soul is but a ‘portion of God Above’ (Shefa Tal 1a). Therefore, nothing truly exists except the Holy One, blessed be He.”

Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezeritch, Likkutim Yekarim (sec. 161)

Banishing Spiritual Confusions

“When a person realizes that the Master of the Universe is actually present in his every word and gesture, however great or small, all spiritual confusions [literally “all workers of iniquity”] disperse that obscure the light of the mind.”

Rabbi Yitzchak Eizik Yehudah Yechiel Safrin of Komarno, Nesiv Mitzvosekha (cited in Sefer Baal Shem Tov, Vayelekh, note 6)

The True “I”

“ ‘I, I am the One Who consoles you…’ (Isaiah 51:12). When one realizes that the true ‘I’ is God, and nothing else exists besides Him, then [the divine promise is fulfilled that] ‘I am the One Who consoles you.’ “

Rabbi Gedaliah of Linitz, Teshu’os Chen, Tzav (cited in Me’iras Einayim, Inyan “Emunah”)
Similarly, Ohr Ha-Ganuz La-Tzaddikim (Mattos) states:

“One must realize that essentially he, too, is Godliness. When one considers that the ‘self’ is really nothing, then Godliness will rest upon him.”

No Need to Go Any Farther

“It is not necessary to ‘place’ oneself in Godliness – but only to realize that everything is subsumed in the Divine Light.”

Rabbi Aharon Hakohen of Zhelikhov, Ohr Ha-Ganuz La-Tzaddikim (Vayera)

The Inner Soul of Everything

“ ‘Why did the Torah begin with the account of creation? Because [the verse states], “The power of His acts He declared unto His people . . . “ ‘ (Rashi, Genesis 1:1, citing Psalms 11:6). This alludes to the soul contained within God’s ongoing act of creation at every moment. The Great Maggid (Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezeritch) received a path from the holy Baal Shem Tov by which one may perceive in everything the inner soul that gives life to its physical form.”

Rabbi Yitzchak Eizik of Homil (Chabad), Letter of Rabbi Raphael Kahan, cited in Ner Yisrael, Vol. IV (p. 237)

The catch is that this method seems to have been passed on from master to disciple as an oral tradition, and not put in writing. Therefore, one who is not merely curious but who wishes to embark on the Baal Shem Tov’s inner path is compelled to search for a qualified teacher – and as the old adage goes, “Those who know, don’t say; and those who say, don’t know.” So how can one know where to turn? It seems that the first way to recognize such a teacher (or at least a likely candidate) is by his demeanor – if he personifies the way of being that he seeks to impart. As the Talmudic sages recommend: “If a teacher is like an angel of the Lord of Hosts, seek instruction from his mouth!” (TB Chagigah 15b)

New Shiur starting this Tuesday

1909 New York Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11210 (718)851-9332

The Breslov shul of Flatbush is happy to announce a weekly Shiur in Emunah and Bitachon. Given by Rabbi Judah Cohen, a well-known Askan and dynamic speaker. Every Tuesday night at 9:30 pm. Please come and bring a friend!

Rabbi Elazar Mordechai Kenig on "The Rebbe's Rosh Hashanah"

Translated and summarized by Dovid Zeitlin and Dovid Sears

Rosh Hashanah and Purifying the Mind

In elaborating on this issue, Reb Elazar connected two lessons from Likkutei Moharan First we will present these teachings, followed by Rav Kenig’s explanations and remarks.

Likkutei Moharan I, 61:7:

This is why people travel for Rosh Hashanah to the tzaddikim. Rosh Hashanah is the day of judgment for the entire year. Each person comes with his holiness and his tzimtzumim (constrictions) to the tzaddik of the generation. He is the paradigm of the Holy of Holies, the paradigm of the Foundation Stone. This reflects the verse, "For unto God are the pillars of the earth; He has founded the world upon them" (I Samuel 2:8). These are the tzaddikim, upon whom the world was founded (Yoma 38b). Through this [i.e. by traveling to the tzaddikim], all harsh judgments are mitigated − through the aspect of the Foundation Stone, mentioned above [i.e., through the Sekhel HaKollel, the Universal or Collective Mind; see the original discourse at length].

Likkutei Moharan II, 94:

As for the reason why people travel to the tzaddikim for Rosh Hashanah, this is because the main “sweetening” of harsh judgments is accomplished only by the sanctification and purification of one's thoughts, for this is their source. "Everything is rectified in thought" (Zohar II, 254b). However, it is only possible to attain a pure mind through hiskashrus, that is, by spiritually binding oneself to the tzaddikim. Citing the verse "Then Moshe took the bones of Yosef" (Exodus 13:19), the Zohar explains that Moshe is the aspect of the mind, while Yosef is the aspect of tzaddik. That is, there can be no perfection of the mind except through hiskashrus to the tzaddikim. Rosh Hashanah is the source of judgments (dinim) for the entire year. A person must purify his thoughts in order to mitigate these judgments. This is why people travel to the tzaddikim: in order to attain purity of thought.

Rav Kenig explains:

The mitigating of all harsh judgments comes through chokhmah (wisdom) or sekhel (intellect / mind / consciousness). Thus, implicitly the avodah of Rosh Hashanah is that everyone should "come with his mind" (the terminology of Likkutei Moharan II, 94)—that is, one must guard the mind, and mitigate harsh judgments by purifying and sanctifying one's thoughts. A person should have holy thoughts, and be careful not to dwell upon unholy thoughts (see Sichos ha-Ran 21). The Rebbe says that one should think "good thoughts," in general and in particular: that Hashem will be good to Klal Yisrael, and that Hashem will be good to us. Meh darf zehn Rosh Hashanah tzu trachten gutt − gutteh machshovos − be-klalliyus u-bi-fratiyus. For purely spiritual reasons, we should have holy thoughts on Rosh Hashanah, and guard ourselves against dwelling upon evil thoughts. However, even regarding material concerns, we should think good thoughts: that Hashem wants to show us kindness in these areas of our lives. This is what the Rebbe means by everyone "coming with his mind."

In Likkutei Moharan I, 61, section six, the Rebbe quotes the Zohar to the effect that "everything is rectified in thought." He explains that the sekhel is the source of all judgments, and there, all judgments are "sweetened," because "din (judgment) is only 'sweetened' in its source" (see Rabbi Chaim Vital, Eitz Chaim, Heikhal ha-Ketarim 13:11). Every din reflects a certain tzimtzum (constriction); every din has a corresponding sekhel that sweetens this tzimtzum. The sekhel . . . this is the main thing. This is the fundamental task: to bind one's mind to the mind of the tzaddik. The Rebbe discusses this in Likkutei Moharan I, 211, citing the verse, "And Moshe took with him the bones of Yosef," a teaching that also has a connection to Likkutei Moharan I, 61. The "perfection of daas" is attained when one comes to the tzaddik ha-emes, particularly on Rosh Hashanah, which is the day of judgment. One comes with holy thoughts, good thoughts, spiritually and materially.

[The person who had asked for clarification mentioned to Rav Kenig that that on another occasion, he had said that one must also come to the tzaddik with "yishuv ha-daas." Reb Elazar commented: "Not to be mevulbal, unfocussed and confused." Then
he added: "Vos men tutt, tutt men . . . We do what we can do. But one doesn't need to
become obsessed with this..."]

Rosh Hashanah is the time of dinim. And the sweetening of the dinim is accomplished by coming to the tzaddik, the "head of the Children of Israel," on Rosh Hashanah, in order to purify one's mind. Because "everything is rectified in thought." Thought is the highest of the three garments of the soul: thought, speech, and action. Therefore, the faculty of thought needs the greatest shemirah (guarding). As the Rambam states, sometimes a person doesn't realize that he has damaged his mind by allowing his thoughts to stray. He may think, "After all, what did I do?" However, one must know that thought is extremely potent.

Rosh Hashanah and the Combination of Souls

[Rav Kenig was asked to repeat an insight he had shared a few years previously about the combinations of letters / souls, etc., which the Rebbe discusses in Likkutei Moharan II, 8.]

We spoke about the interconnectedness of those who come to the Rebbe on Rosh Hashanah, how everyone is bound to everyone else in multiple ways. We discussed the permutations of letters and souls. These permutations and combinations represent an awesome and profound unification, beyond order and hierarchy. For example, when these permutations occur in the form of letters, the tav [which is the last of the twentytwo Hebrew letters, symbolizing the lowest level] may precede the alef [which is the first letter, symbolizing the highest level], and may even infuse the rest of the letters of the alphabet with vitality. Likewise, at the level of souls, the smallest may energize the loftiest souls, in keeping with the verse, "And they receive from one another…" (Siddur; Targum Yonasan on Isaiah 6:3).

True, there is a hierarchy of souls, as we see from Likkutei Moharan I, 13 ("souls great and small"), and various other lessons. However, these new configurations become possible due to the intense love and unification of the souls that come to the tzaddik – to the point that the distinction between the alef and the tav, "greater souls" and "lesser souls," is entirely forgotten and disappears.

Leaving Eretz Yisrael to Go to the Tzaddik

Rabbi Avraham Sternhartz writes in his Amaros Tehoros: "According to what we may understand from Likkutei Moharan II, 67, the holiness of the Beis ha-Mikdash depends upon the tzaddik, whose light shines into it. Therefore, we must mourn the passing of the tzaddik all the more sorrowfully. Concerning this, my grandfather, the Rav of Tcherin, of blessed memory, states in his Zimras ha-Aretz that in these times, after the destruction of the Holy Temple, and especially after the passing of the tzaddikim, the entire holiness of Eretz Yisrael and Yerushalayim is damaged and concealed. Although they are aspects of the tzaddik − even the Western Wall, which is an aspect of the Foundation Stone [being a remnant of the Beis ha-Mikdash] − nevertheless, as long as they remain in a state of destruction, their entire holiness is damaged and hidden. This holiness devolves from the paradigm of the 'beginning of the year,' as the verse states: 'The watchful eyes of Hashem are there from the beginning of the year until the end of the year…' (Deuteronomy 11:12). − 'eyes' specifically; for [the 'eyes'] are the tzaddikim."

[Translator: The Rebbe, ad loc., relates the tzaddikim to the "eyes of the congregation" (Numbers 15:24). He also relates the eyes to the Beis ha-Mikdash, which is called "the desire of your eyes" (Ezekiel 24:16). The verse from Deuteronomy connects Rosh Hashanah and Eretz Yisrael. Thus, the holiness of Eretz Yisrael and Yerushalayim is contingent on the Rosh Hashanah of the tzaddik.]

Rav Kenig explains:

That we are still in a state of exile is readily apparent from the words of the Shemoneh Esreh ("VeYerushalaim Irkha") and Birkhas ha-Mazon ("U’venei Yerushalayim"), as well as the nusach of "Nachem," which we recite on Tisha be-Av. The holiness of Eretz Yisrael is still hidden and concealed. Therefore, to rectify this, we must go to the tzaddik for Rosh Hashanah, even if we live in Eretz Yisrael. This is because the tzaddik shines the light of holiness into the Holy Temple, from which the holiness of all Eretz Yisrael emanates, as the Rebbe states. Therefore, those who argue that it is unnecessary or even wrong to leave Eretz Yisrael in order to go to Uman for Rosh Hashanah are in error. The opposite is true. Our love of Eretz Yisrael and yearning for its rebirth mandates that we travel to the tzaddik for Rosh Hashanah.

"In the Merit of Righteous Women"

It is a great sacrifice for those women who make it possible for their husbands and sons to leave home and travel to Uman for Rosh Hashanah − especially since this is a Yom Tov, and many of them take upon themselves the extra burden of caring for the rest of their children alone. These women have a major share in all of the tikkunim of the tzaddik, and their merit is very great. They can be assured that when their husbands return home, they will bring back with them abundant shefa', both materially and spiritually.

"Le'eilah, Le'eilah / Beyond, Beyond"

It is customary to engage in various spiritual preparations before Rosh Hashanah, and to make good resolutions for the coming year. These things are most praiseworthy. However, the main tikkunim of Rosh Hashanah are those that the tzaddik uniquely accomplishes. These are on a completely different plane than our efforts—incomparably so. In fact, it is the power of the tzaddik that enables us to do whatever we do. Similarly, one may experience a great his'orerus (awakening) when one goes to the Rebbe's tziyun, or participates in the prayer services with thousands of others. These are surely experiences that we should treasure. However, we should know that the level on which the tikkunim of the tzaddik take place are far, far beyond what we can experience—even those experiences that we take to be the spiritual highpoints of our lives.

Uman Emergency Clinic Appeal

With Rosh HaShanah fast approaching, we are turning to you to help with the Uman Emergency Clinic (www.umanclinic.org) which provides a critical service for the over 25,000 people that come to Uman for Rosh HaShanah.

This appeal is urgent because we are completely dependent upon private funding for this critical service. The importance of public safety and health for this type of event is obvious to all Jews, as the Torah tenet states, "Saving one life is like saving the entire world."

For full details, visit our website www.umanclinic.org. All donations are tax-deductible. Any questions can be directed to info@umanclinic.org. Please spread the word to your family and friends.

Wishing you and your family k'tivah v'chatima tovah and may we merit to see the geula shleima this year.

Nachi Klein & Avigdor Landesman
Directors of the Uman Emergency Clinic and United Hatzolah Galilee
Tsfat, Israel

Interview with Rabbi Chaim Kramer - Volume 15 of Likutey Moharan

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