Weekly Story: Why Doesn’t Hashem Reveal Himself To Me?
by Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon
This Shabbos is Chof Cheshvan, the 166th birthday of the Rebbe Rashab.
Being that there are only 150 kapitalach (chapters) in Tehillim, so when we were to say kapital 151, we start anew and say kapital 1. Therefore, being that this year we were to say kapital 167 (which doesn’t exist), the Rebbe Rashab’s new kapital is, kapital 17.
With this in mind, I decided to pause the 3rd article about Chitas, which would have been on the history of saying Tanya, and for this week I will be farbrengening about what we can learn from a famous episode of the Rebbe Rashab’s youth.
As always, your feedback and comments are greatly appreciated and most welcome.
One of the stories that the Rebbe mentions extremely often at farbrengens, about the Rebbe Rashab and he says it on or around Chof Cheshvan. So we will focus on that story, and farbreng on how it we can apply it to us.
When the Rebbe Rashab was four or five years old, he once came home from cheder and went to his grandfather, the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek crying. He said to him, I learned today in Cheder, that Hashem appeared to Avrohom, why doesn’t He appear to me?
The Tzemach Tzedek replied, “When a Jew, a tzaddik resolves at ninety-nine to have a bris, he is deserving that Hashem should reveal Himself to Him.”
The Rebbe often notes that some people may think or even say, we could understand that a child of the Rebbe Rashab’s stature, could be perturbed to the point of actually crying why Hashem doesn’t reveal Himself to me. However, is and how is that to be expected even from regular people like us, and especially our children?!
But, the Rebbe continues, since this is a story that my father-in-law, the Rebbe publicized, that demonstrates that it is applicable to everyone. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have publicized this story, just as he didn’t reveal many other stories and incidents.
So yes, the Rebbe is telling us, do not sell you children and today’s youth cheap. They are pure and sincere. They can and desire to be raised in an environment that having this sort of feeling can be a given.
But as I was thinking into these sichos, I began to wonder, this is not the only incident of the Rebbe Rashab’s youth that the Rebbe and Frierdiker Rebbe revealed to us. So why does the Rebbe repeat this story many times more than the other stories of the Rebbe Rashab’s childhood.
It dawned on me that perhaps or even evidently, the lesson of this story is so important that we have to hear and rehear it, until it becomes part of us. In other words the Rebbe did so in order to ingrain the question and especially the answer or solution into us, that it becomes part of our psyche (mind-set).
Simply speaking, the Rebbe foresaw our present situation; when we hear from our children and even some elders who attended the Rebbe’s farbrengens, etc., the question: why don’t we see the Rebbe as the chassidim were able to thirty and forty years ago.
In essence that is the exact question of the Rebbe Rashab, why isn’t Hashem revealing Himself to me, just as He revealed Himself to Avrohom Avinu?
The first point to realize, be proud of your child if this is the question they are asking. It powerfully demonstrates that they strongly desire to have a connection to the Rebbe, and they are in pain that they don’t see him.
Subsequently, the answer that the Tzemach Tzedek gave his grandson, is the answer that we should also give our children, youth and all who ask this question, and it will resolve our situation as well.
The Tzemach Tzedek replied, Avrohom did something special and earned it, so you should do something special and then you will also merit it. Indeed, years later, the Rebbe Rashab stated, that when I concentrate on Likkutei Torah, I am able to see Atzmus.
What exactly is each one of us to do, I can’t say, but evidently it means that we are to take a quantum jump. In other words, we are to do something that is much more than we did until now.
As the Tzemach Tzedek replied, when a Jew who us a tzaddik, that tells us that Avrohom already did wonderful things; he allowed himself to be thrown into Nimrod’s fiery furnace and passed other tests as well. But he said, I must do something much more than this for Hashem, that is when Hashem reveals Himself to us.
In other words, it is measure for measure, the closer we come to Hashem, the closer Hashem comes to us. This is basically the thought that the Alter Rebbe wrote in the two letters, that we learned this and last week in Tanya, “How one can become closer to a Tzaddik, after their physical histalkus.
Similarly in our situation, when we live a life that is permeated with the Rebbe’s directives, we are bringing the Rebbe into our life, and then as in a mirror, we will merit feeling that the Rebbe is close to us.
A Taste of Chassidus
ארדה נא Torah Ohr (Bereishis 14D)
The Possuk states that Hashem said, “I will go down and see if the cry that has come to Me, is as it is said to be or not and then I will know [what to do].”
The obvious question on this possuk is, what does it mean that Hashem has to go down to see? Doesn’t he see everything automatically? And then the possuk also says, and if it is not. than I will know; doesn’t Hashem know everything even before it occurred?
In order to explain this, the Alter Rebbe clarifies certain basic and fundamental questions about reward and punishment, free choice and he focuses on the Oneness of Hashem to clarify it all.
He notes, that many philosophers ask a simple question; being that we say Hashem is one and there’s nothing besides Him, how is it that Hashem pays attention to every detail that happens in this world at universe?
To clarify their question we have to understand what our knowledge is and how our knowledge differs from Hashem’s knowledge As the possuk states כי לא מחשובתי מחשבתיכם which will answer all the questions.
For example, if this is the first time you are learning this maamor or any subject matter and you want to understand it clearly, you will focus on this and not think about other concepts. In Chassidic terminology this is called hislabshus, you are enclosed and deeply connected to the subject matter. Being that you had to remove your thoughts from other matters in order to comprehend this, that demonstrates that this thought and that thought are not the same. So, their question was, if you say that everything is part of Hashem and everything is really one, how is it possible that there are different aspects in Him, after all He is one unit!
In order to answer this question, the Alter Rebbe explains part of the process of creation.
It is noted in Pusach Eliyahu, that Hashem manages the world through the ten sefiros. Every sefira is made up of two components; the light (אור) and the vessel (כלי). While both of them are G-dly, there is a tremendous difference between them. The אור (light), is pure G-dliness, meaning it is not defined. While the כלי – vessel is G-dliness as it is being defined or presented. This sefira is Chesed (kindness), the next one is Gevura (strictness or judgemental) and so on.
The RaMaK, Rabbi Moshe Cordovera, explains this concept with the following analogy: you have water which is clear, meaning it is colorless. Then you take this water and begin pouring it into various colored cups or bottles. So in one bottle the water looks as if it is blue, in another bottle it seems as if it is yellow or other colors. But as soon as you pour the water out of that bottle it is once again colorless. Yes, the reality is it is still colorless because if you pour it into a different bottle the water will seemingly change colors and if you put into a clear bottle it will have no color whatsoever.
The light is what gives Life to Creation, and that is the level of Soivev Kol Almin. Soivev means it surrounds everything equally, because at that level there is nothing besides Hashem.
However, being that the light is not contained (it is unlimited), so therefore finite creation cannot come from them from it. For as soon as they recognize that their source is infinite G-dliness, they will nullify themselves.
However, Hashem desired that creations should serve Him, and the only way that the creations will exist, is if they don’t feel or automatically recognize what their source is. To accomplish this, Hashem made the light enter into the vessels. Vessels are finite, as we see that one vessel is called kindness the next vessel is called gevurah, and the third tiferes (beauty) etc.so each one is an attribute on and in itself.
So when the light passes through the vessel, that is where and when creation occurs. The vessels are therefore called mimaleh kol Almin, the light as if fills each creation in the universe.
Essentially, this is the concept that is discussed at length in Chassidus, on the possuk כי אל דעות ה׳ (which is written in the plural sense). When we are looking from the perspective of the light itself, the world is essentially non-existent, and subsequently whatever we would do is non-consequential. In Chassidic terminology, this is called Daas Elyon.
However, when we are looking at the world from the perspective of the vessels, the world is an entity, and subsequently, what creations do does affect the world, and has consequences. In Chassidic terminology, this is called Daas Tachton.
Now to answer the question, as to why Hashem said, I will go down and see, Didn’t He see and know everything already.
The demand for judgement and punishment came to Hashem (at the level of Soivev/Daas Elyon) from the attribute of judgement. So as Hashem (the light) descended into the vessels of Atzilus, He said, I am descending into the vessels, because of this strong accusation. However, everything (or at least most things) can be seen from two opposite perspectives.
We see that Hashem brought a flood and stated that the reason was because man is evil. Yet after Noach brought a sacrifice which gave Hashem pleasure, Hashem said, because the nature of mankind is evil, I will no longer destroy them.
So we see the same reason or cause, can cause two polar opposite outcomes.
Here too, Hashem said, I will go down and see if the attribute of kindness, can bring leniency to their actions. And if I will determine [while enclothed in the vessels of Atzilus] that the judgement must be carried out, as kindness cannot mitigate their offenses, I will know what to do.
So, yes, Hashem knows everything we do, however, that doesn’t cause us to do anything, as at that level the world is non-existent. And at the same time, we don’t feel His existence, so it doesn’t influence our decision to do it. Whatever we did, we chose to do so.
Rabbi Avtzon is a veteran mechanech and the author of numerous books on the Rebbeiim and their chassidim. He is available to farbreng in your community and can be contacted at avtzonbooks@gmail.com.
