The Secret of Yielding: The Cry That Shakes the World and the Way to Rectify It

Lesson No. 20 | Lesson 1: (Continued from No. 19) Thursday Morning, Parashas Chukas, 1 Tammuz 5755 - After the Prayer

A profound article explaining the cosmic impact of our actions, from cutting down a tree to the dismantling of a Jewish home. Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a

The blood of milah (circumcision) corresponds to Knesses Yisrael (the Congregation of Israel), and the blood of priah (uncovering the corona) corresponds to the Tzaddik Yesod Olam (the Tzaddik who is the foundation of the world). These are the two things through which all impurity is removed from the baby, and thus he can grow up completely pure. This is the secret of the verse:

"In your blood, live"

Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai says regarding the verse:

"The secret of Hashem is to those who fear Him, and His covenant to make it known to them"

"The secret of Hashem is to those who fear Him" refers to Knesses Yisrael, and "His covenant to make it known to them" refers to the Tzaddik Yesod Olam. Whoever merits to guard the holy covenant, and cries and feels sorrow over it, is revealed who the Tzaddik Yesod Olam is. If not, a person is liable to spend his entire life in the state of "Do not be like a horse or a mule, which have no understanding," living only to eat and drink until the age of one hundred and twenty.

The Emunah of a Five-Year-Old Girl

We saw this absolute emunah (faith) in the power of the tzaddik with Miriam the Prophetess. When she was a five-year-old girl, she came to her father Amram, who was the greatest of the generation, and said to him: "Pharaoh decreed only against the males, but you decreed against both the males and the females! Pharaoh decreed only in this world, but you are withholding them from the World to Come as well!"

Miriam said to her father: "Who is the wicked Pharaoh anyway? It is doubtful whether his decree will be fulfilled, and doubtful whether it will not be fulfilled. But you are the tzaddik—certainly your decree will be fulfilled! I have no doubt about that." A five-year-old girl says to her father: Who are you afraid of? Say a chapter of Tehillim (Psalms) and Pharaoh will turn into flying dust! I believe with complete faith that with one prayer of yours, you will cut off Pharaoh. Immediately, Amram arose and took back his wife.

The Cry That Shakes the Creation

The return of Amram and Yocheved symbolizes the building of the home, in contrast to the months of Tammuz and Av, which are the months of destruction. During these months, there was destruction in all the homes. The Sages say in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer that whoever divorces his wife, the Altar sheds tears over him.

When a woman gets divorced, her voice travels from one end of the world to the other. It is an immense pain. She lets out such an internal cry that it shakes the entire world. When the Nation of Israel was exiled, the world shook, and to this day, the months of Tammuz and Av are months in which the entire world is shaken by historical calamities.

This cry exists in all layers of creation. The Sages say that even when a tree is cut down, its voice travels from one end of the world to the other. Today, science already knows how to prove this—there are sensitive instruments that record the waves and vibrations emitted from a plucked flower or a felled tree. Conversely, when people play music near plants or pray in the field, they see how the plants grow better. Rebbe Nachman teaches that the flowers and grasses pray and yearn for Hashem. Through praying in the field, the verse is fulfilled:

"May God, our God, bless us; the earth has yielded its produce"

The Secret of Lowering the Head

What is the root of all the destruction and the dismantling of homes? Everything stems from arrogance. A person does not know how to lower his head. Once, a man came to Rabbi Shmuel Shapiro zt"l and told him that he wanted to divorce his wife. Rabbi Shmuel answered him: "In Breslov, they teach only one thing—to lower the head! You came to Breslov? Now you need to walk every day with your head down."

When the wife shouts, or when the husband is angry, the solution is to lower the head, smile, and calm things down. Rebbe Nachman explains that when the Nation of Israel behaves with arrogance, then, as it were, Hashem also behaves with arrogance, measure for measure, and this brings about the destruction of the world. Hashem says: "You want to show who you are? I will also show you who I am!" But if a person makes himself into 'ayin' (nothingness) and does not show himself off, Hashem also behaves with him with mercy.

In Sefer HaMiddos (The Book of Attributes, Letter Vav), Rebbe Nachman writes: "Whoever is yielding, his sins cannot outweigh his merits." When you yield, forgive, and pardon someone who hurt you, Hashem says: "Just as he behaves, so will I behave with him." The very fact that you yield and do not hold a grudge is the reason Hashem forgives you for all your sins.

Part 2 of 4 — Lesson No. 20

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