The Secret of Bitul and Ahavas Yisrael: The Path to Splitting the Firmament and Receiving the Torah

Lesson No. 16 | Thursday, Parshas Nasso, 3 Sivan 5755 - Morning Class at the Yeshiva

A profound discourse on the importance of bitul (self-nullification), Ahavas Yisrael (love of fellow Jews), and sharing in the pain of others as a preparation for receiving the Torah. Through the stories of the mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice) of the Tannaim for Torah study and the secret of the angel 'Bazak', it is explained how a broken heart and true unity split all the firmaments.

The essence of serving Hashem is to reach a state of bitul. This is a person's life work—to not even know that he exists. If a person feels his own ego and existence, it is a state of 'Hashem yirachem' (may Hashem have mercy). The Avnei Nezer explains the profound difference between the unity of the nations of the world and the unity of the Jewish people. Regarding the Egyptians, it is written: "And Egypt journeyed after them" (Exodus 14:10)—with one heart, like one man. What was this 'one heart' of the non-Jews? To destroy, kill, and annihilate the Jewish people.

But with the Jews, it is completely different. Regarding the Jewish people, it is stated:

"And Israel encamped there opposite the mountain" (Exodus 19:2)

They encamped as one man with one heart. The meaning of 'as one man' among the Jewish people is that everyone is nullified to the other; everyone desires the success and well-being of his friend. The goal is to bring joy to the other and never cause him pain.

Concealing One's Joy and Feeling the Pain of Others

When a person merits joy, such as a groom on the day of his chuppah (wedding canopy), he must know how to be modest with his joy. This is a matter of derech eretz (proper conduct). We all thank Hashem and we are all considered like grooms, but we are obligated to always feel the pain of others. If you are happy right now, remember that there is a young man who has passed the age of twenty and still has not found his shidduch (marriage match), and for him, seeing overly displayed joy pierces like needles.

Furthermore, the engagement and wedding must not derail a person from his spiritual life path. There is a mistaken perception that when one gets married, they stop learning for half a year before and half a year after. What happened? The entire purpose of the wedding is for a person to have a clear mind and yishuv hadaas (peace of mind) to study Torah! A groom must sit and learn Gemara. Specifically now, when Hashem has taken him out of the thoughts of despair and the fear that he will remain single, he must study twice as much. If you do not learn now, how will you learn when you have ten children and a millstone around your neck (the burden of livelihood)?

Love of Torah and Mesirus Nefesh (Self-Sacrifice) Among the Tannaim

Among the Tannaim and Amoraim, there was no such concept that a wedding cancels Torah study. Rabbi Eliyahu Lopian zt"l related that in the yeshiva in Kfar Chasidim, there was a special kollel for married students who would only go home on Sukkos and Pesach. How can a person learn continuously if he has to run home every hour?

The Gemara relates about Rabbi Yosi ben Zimra, who immediately after the sheva brachos (seven days of wedding celebrations) went to study Torah for twelve consecutive years, until his wife aged and became barren, and he had to pray a special prayer to reverse her barrenness so she could be blessed with children. The same was true of Rabbi Chanina ben Chachinai and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (Rashbi), who got married within a day or two of each other. Rashbi asked Rabbi Chanina to wait for him until he finished the sheva brachos so they could go learn together under Rabbi Akiva in Bnei Brak. But Rabbi Chanina refused to lose even a single day of Torah study and set out on the journey immediately.

Rabbi Chanina ben Chachinai sat and learned for twelve years without writing even a single letter home. In contrast, Rashbi would correspond with his wife and maintain shalom bayis (marital harmony), and would even tell her that she was the wisest and most understanding of all. Only when Rabbi Akiva stood up and said, "Whoever has a daughter should go and marry her off," did Rabbi Chanina return to his city. He no longer recognized the city, and he followed his daughter after hearing people call her "the daughter of Chachinai." When he arrived at his home, his wife saw him and suffered a stroke from the overwhelming excitement, and he had to perform a miracle of techiyas hameisim (resurrection of the dead) to revive her.

Rabbi Akiva himself also sat and learned for twelve years, and when he returned, he heard his wife from behind the door saying that she agreed he should learn for another twelve years, and he immediately returned to his studies. And so we find with Rav Yosef, who established to learn for six years after his wedding. When he arrived home on the eve of Yom Kippur after six years, the son of Rava came out toward him with weapons, claiming that the agreement was for six years and not for three, and they argued until they missed the seudah mafsekes (the final meal before the fast).

The Secret of the Dust and Self-Nullification

All these stories teach us that a person's entire spiritual work is to become "dust and ashes." In Parshas Nasso, we read about the Sotah (suspected adulteress) who drinks water mixed with dust. The dust symbolizes the preparation for the Giving of the Torah—when a person turns himself into dust and ashes, he becomes the foundation of the world.

Hashem created man as "dust from the earth" (Genesis 2:7). This dust was taken from the world of Atzilus (the highest spiritual realm of Emanation). When a person attaches himself to his inner root and declares, "I am but dust and ashes" (Genesis 18:27), he merits that his prayers and Torah study will ascend and enter the world of Atzilus, to the root of his soul.

The Angel 'Bazak' and Splitting the Firmament

Torah and prayer are the life-force of a person, reflecting the verse:

"And the Chayos (holy living creatures) ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning (bazak)" (Ezekiel 1:14)

There is a special angel called 'Bazak', and he is appointed over all the Chayos and over elevating the prayers and Torah study of every single Jew. This angel is entirely made of light, shining with a flaming fire, and from him, the light spreads to the chamber of the firmament which is the foundation of the 'sapphire brick' (Livnas HaSapir). He is so high that he is appointed over the Cherubim and over the angels Metatron and Sandalphon.

When a person prays and hews out flames of fire, these breaths fly upward and reach the entrance of the Livnas HaSapir. There, every single prayer is examined to see if it is worthy to enter and become a crown on the head of the Life of the Worlds (Hashem). All the prayers of the Jewish people gather in heaven and wait. There is no one to split the heavens until one Jew comes with a truly broken heart.

Hashem waits to see who will split the firmament so that all the prayers can enter. This power is given to those who rise at Chatzos (midnight), for through Chatzos (the midnight lament over the Temple's destruction), they draw down the attribute of loving-kindness and merit to split the heavens. When that tzaddik with a broken and contrite heart splits the firmament, the angel 'Bazak' lifts up all the prayers and all the Torah study, and makes awesome yichudim (spiritual unifications) out of them.

The Yetzer Hara (Evil Inclination) After the Giving of the Torah

The Jewish people saw all these secrets of the chamber of Livnas HaSapir and the ascent of the prayers before the Giving of the Torah. But immediately after they heard the Ten Commandments, on that very Shabbos afternoon, Moshe Rabbeinu began to teach them Parshas Mishpatim: "He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death" (Exodus 21:12), "And he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death" (Exodus 21:17), "And if men quarrel, and one strikes his fellow with a stone or with his fist" (Exodus 21:18).

Why? To teach us that a person can receive the Torah, but the Yetzer Hara (evil inclination) remains. The Yetzer Hara does not go anywhere. Even immediately after the Giving of the Torah, a person might, Heaven forbid, strike his friend or curse his parents. The Yetzer Hara accompanies a person until a hundred and twenty years, and therefore the spiritual work is constant.

To win this battle, a person needs that broken and contrite heart, to be in a state of "as one man with one heart" with the entire Jewish people. To feel absolute bitul (self-nullification) toward every single Jew. As Rabbi Yitzchak of Vurka zt"l explains on the verse "And Israel encamped (vayichan) there opposite the mountain"—the word vayichan shares a root with chen (grace). Everyone found grace in the eyes of his fellow, and only through this love and unity did they merit the Giving of the Torah.

Lesson No. 16