BS"D Parshath Masei by Yitzhak Kolakowski ------- ------- My dear friends, in His abundant love for us, G-d made an entire chain of worlds upon worlds of which this is the lowest, in order to give us the ability to exist. All of the upper spiritual worlds; all are made for the sake of this world, the world of action - the lowest world (Malkhuth - see below). And all of this world is made for our sake, so we should exist and strive to find G-d through all of the masks He has concealed Himself with - and receive reward for the effort. So, obviously we have to be the lowest world, because it would be pointless for there to be anything under us, because all that G-d created above was only for our sake, to show His love for us - the human race - the purpose of all Creation. In the world, that which seems to be lowest is that which is under our feet, the earth. Thus, my dear friends, the earth, then, must be a metaphor for humanity. (As is known to those familiar with the esoteric secrets of the Torah, for Land is the sefirah of Malkhuth - the lowest of the ten sefiroth, and our world is the lowest, etc.) Just as there is a people distinctly chosen for a priestly duty, the Children of Israel - so too there is a land distinctly chosen for a priestly land, the Land of Israel. But, my dear friends, there is so much more to this metaphor... For many generations before Joshua led the Israelites into the Holy Land, the Canaanites were there. G-d told us how to deal with foreign peoples in the Land. He said first to try to make peace, by offering them the status of "Ger Toshav" "Resident Stranger" (a gentile who keeps the Seven Laws of Noah and dwells in the Holy Land) Make peace with them by teaching them Torah. If they don't want that, G-d says "then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you" (Numbers 33:52) - and if they don't want to live in the Land peacefully or leave the Land peacefully it is a mitzvah to make war against them and wipe them out. Now for many years before the Yetzer Tov (good inclination) enters a person at adulthood, the Yetzer Hara (bad inclination) was there. G-d told us how to deal with the Yetzer Hara He placed within us. "I have created the Yetzer Hara, and I have created the Torah as its antidote." The first thing to do is to teach the bad traits within us, turn them around, and use them to serve G-d. This is the ideal and this is what we must try to do with every negative trait we might have. But sometimes, we can't do that. Sometimes a trait will not turn around, it refuses to learn. Sometimes a trait just can't be dealt with, it's too dangerous. Sometimes a Yetzer Hara makes an "intafada" against us. When this happens, we have to banish the Yetzer Hara from us. "Destroy all their graven stones, and destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places." (ibid.) Get rid of everything the Yetzer Hara has graven into us, get rid of everything the Yetzer Hara has burned into us, get rid of everything the Yetzer Hara has made us think is so important and placed high on our list of priorities. "And ye shall drive out the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein; for unto you have I given the land to possess it." (ibid. 53) Hashem gave us our life to live, to possess it, not to be ruled over by foreign influences. "But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then shall those that ye let remain of them be as thorns in your eyes, and as pricks in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land wherein ye dwell. And it shall come to pass, that as I thought to do unto them, so will I do unto you." (ibid. 55-56) If you want to be happy, get rid of all the things that come between you and G-d. By doing so, you elevate these things to holiness because they are being used to come closer to G-d. If you want peace, either teach the Yetzer Hara Torah or get rid of it. Get rid of all the foreign influences from your life. ---- When the Baal HaTanya, the Alter Rebbe of Habad, zy"a, was a little child, he was asked, "where is G-d?" He said, "Where ever the heart of man lets Him in." ---- "The L-RD is King for ever and ever; the nations are perished out of His land." (Psalm 10:16) When Hashem is allowed even to the level of Malkhuth, Kingship, even to the heart of man, all the foreign influences will perish even out of this lowest level. ---- And if the internal Canaanites - the foreign influences of the Yetzer Hara - were driven out of our lives, then the external Canaanites would melt away and there would be peace in the Land. The only reason we're having trouble with the Ishmaelite foreigners in the Holy Land is because the Holy People have not yet expelled the foreign influences from their hearts. If the hearts of Israel were turned to the ways of peace - the ways of the Torah - if we would allow the L-RD to reign instead of men of flesh and blood, then the inhabitants of the land would be turned to peace and would leave us in peace. If we wanted to make a war for G-d's sake (with Him on our side we'd be sure to win) against our internal spiritual enemies, we would easily beat our external physical enemies. The problem is that too many people just want to stay still and not go one way or the other. We just have to break down all of the heathen altars in our hearts - and then we'll have peace in the land. And from there, the peace will go from the bottom - the lowest sefirah - Malchuth (Royalty) - all the way to the top - the King Messiah. And then will there be Peace in the hearts of men and in the Land of our hearts. May it be so soon. Gut Shabbos - - - (c) 2001 J. Kolakowski. All rights reserved. Copying and distribution is permitted and encouraged as long as due credit is given.