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            The time of the giving of the Torah, and the meaning of a wedding.     

By Hirschel Pekkar.  

It is written, “On the day of His wedding, this refers to the day that the Torah was given” because, The Holy One Blessed Be He, is called “Bridegroom,” and the Jewish Assembly (the Jewish nation) is called “Bride” What lesson can we learn from a wedding, especially, one between The Al-Mighty and the people of Israel, as it was at the time of the giving of the Torah?.   
By a choson-a bridegroom, we find an amazing phenomenon. We know that a choson is compared to a King, he becomes an everlasting entity, and he also becomes a complete person.  What does one have to do to achieve these three most elevated capacities?, answer,- he has to take a wife, and to acquire a wife, he needs only to give to the kallah a mere prutah, the smallest coin,( it is a coin, like a cent, that some people would not even bother to pick up. )  and say- “harei at mekudeshes lee b-prutah zu  k-das Mosheh v-Yisroel”- you are hereby sanctified to me with this pruta, according to the law of Mosheh and Israel. The question is begged to be asked-how can one achieve so much, with a mere prutah?
Once, in a dream,   I asked The Lubavitcher Rebbe, “how does one know if a Torah insight is a true one? “ The Rebbe answered in Yiddish-“az si doh ah p-nimius” –  that there should be also an instruction on an inner spiritual level. ( then, this insight has a soul.) Like it says in Psalms-62:12, “achas diber elokim shtaim zu shomoti”-G-D spoke one thing, I heard two. In Yiddish there is an expression, “heren und derheren”-to understand literally, and also, on a deeper spiritual level.
Therefore, following this instruction, the answer to the question on “how can one achieve so much with a mere pruta”, will have to be both on a physical level, and also, on a spiritual inner level.
All through life, a Jew is bound up with Torah and Mitzvot, which is an aspect of Holiness. The word “holy”, means something separated.  So, when a person fulfills a Torah commandment with a physical object, he infuses this item with holiness, and separates it from things which are as yet mundane.    A wedding, is called “kiddushin”- sanctification, which seperates his kallah from others, to become “his”. This aspect of sanctifying and the separation, is more evident by a wedding, than by other mitzvos.
Some mitzvos, require concentrated focus in their observance, due to the complexity of their details,
while others, are easy to perform.  The simplicity of their performance can sometimes lead to a lack of intensity in their observance, even to a stage of being ignored, G-D forbid, this can have an effect on the observance of the other commandments also. That is why we are told in parshas Eikev, “vhoyo eikev tishm-un” and it will be that because you will harken (to) these judgements. On the word “eikev” which also means “heel”, the commentator Rashi says, that this refers to the easy commandments that a person treads on with his heel,(like some do on the smallest coin -a cent) so, The Torah says, “ if to these you will hearken”, then the Torah gives a long list of blessings that G-D will bless you with, and after this extensive list, one cannot imagine of any other blessing that he may ever require, so the question can be asked, what blessings  remain, for the   fulfillment of the more difficult mitzvos?  The answer is, that, the way a person handles the easy mitzvos, is an indication of how he will handle the more difficult mitzvos, therefore, all mitzvos are included, in these blessings. If a person wants to know, how he rates in his observance of Judaism, let him examine on how he dedicates himself to the performance of the easy mitzvos, like putting a coin into a charity box on a regular basis, a positive mitzvah, or not allowing a derogatory remark about a friend ( any Jew ) to slip from his lips, a negative commandment that is held lightly, Etc..   A physical example, if a person is in the dark and he wants to put on his shirt, (mitzvos are compared to garments) but he does not know which way the shirt is facing, he feels for the buttons, the small part of his shirt, and how they are facing, he will know how the main garment is facing. (the meaning of “polishing specifically the buttons” whose purpose is to connect opposite sides, namely, ahavas Yisroel.  Then the entire garment hangs correctly,.)
The Bal Shem Tov, may his merit protect us, and all Israel, once said, that, everything in the creation has been placed, in its time and space, by Divine Providence, so also the advice of how to make certain that one will comply with all the instructions of The Torah, to heed, specifically the easy commandments, which will automatically be followed by the more difficult mitzvos, is also, by Divine providence, found in chapter 10 of the same portion of Eikev, 10, is represented by the Hebrew  letter “yud” the smallest letter, a dot, from which all letters emanate, the writing of which begin with a dot, similar to the “pruta” the smallest coin which is also found in all other denominations, indicating, as mentioned above, that the “bigger” ones, are supported by the “smaller” ones, and this instruction is also specifically in sentence 12, in Hebrew –yud beis, which spells out the word “bee”-(that it should be) in me, and this instruction the Torah is now telling us “v-ato yisroel moh hashem elokecho shoel me-imoch”-and now Yisroel, “moh”- what does G-D. you ‘r G-D require?, Hashem requires the “moh”-the humility and subjugation, and this has to come “me-imoch”-from within you, so that when it comes to the “ki im” the milsa zutresa- the seemingly small-easy mitzvah, that it will also be infused with “l-yiro” with the fear of Heaven, because, when a person has this subjugation, he will do every commandment with the same fear of Heaven.  This is the lesson that we can take from a wedding;- that, when the “pruta” (the seemingly small mitzvah) is, “k-das Mosheh v-Yisroel” in every detail, one becomes a king to whome everything belongs, everlasting, and complete, because the small supports the larger, and of course, these qualities are shared by the bride the queen. 
As a lesson of “derherren” on a spiritual inner level, it means, to draw closer another Jew, with love, to sanctify him (kidushin), by involving him in the observance of G-D’s commandments, Which seperates him (meaning of kidushin) from his previous mode of living, and instruct him to the smallest details- a pruta, in order to certify that all mitzvos remain everlasting, a binyan adei ad, as mentioned above, this will reveal in him his latent qualities of “King”, “Everlasting”, and “Complete”, which are all an aspect of the G-Dly soul, found in every Jew, but till now, were hidden in him. The difference between the two is, that, in the case of a wedding, after the decree of Rabbeinu Gershon, a Jew, was not allowed to have more than one wife, but on a spiritual level,  one can go ahead and draw as many Jews as one can, to Torah and Mitzvos, without limit ( the lesson of “derheren” from a wedding, and the achievement of a single “pruta” ).
The Gemorro in Sanhedrin, says, “ein ben Dovid bo, ad shetchale pruta min ha-kis”- the son of Dovid (meaning Moshiach,) will not come, until the (last) pruta is removed from the purse.

Question. Why does it promise the coming of Moshiach in a negative way, “Ben Dovid will not come, until?

Also, when promising a reward, one enumerates it’s value, in the highest terms, in order that people should want it more, so why here it speaks of Moshiach as being “the son of Dovid” as if this is his only noteworthiness, that he is the son of Dovid, and not to mention that he is the Moshiach, and all that this stands for? another question, why specifically a pruta and not another coin, and what does the pruta have to do with the coming of Moshiach? Also, why specifically from a “kis”- a purse? Answer. The pruta signifies the essence of the G-Dly soul, in every Jew. Just as the pruta itself, cannot be subdivided, yet it supports all other denominations that can be subdivided, so it is with the essence of the G-Dly soul, it is a part of G-D Himself, which cannot be subdivided, but it supports all aspects of the world, which is called “alma d-pruda” a world of division. The problem is, that this connection of the  G-Dly soul to G-D Himself, is in a state of being hidden- in a “kis”- from the Hebrew word “kissui” – something hidden, the  revelation  of this connection depends on our yearning for it,  the yearning –techale, from the word “kiloyon” which means “yearning”, that through “techale”, the pruta – his essence, becomes “min hakis”, it comes out from the state of being hidden. This yearning reveals the connection of the soul of a Jew with G-D, in a way, like the pruta, that cannot be subdivided. This revelation will come about when Moshiach will come, and to bring about His coming, we have to demonstrate our yearning to the G-Dliness that Moshiach will bring with him, namely chassidus, through our humility, subjugation and submissiveness in performing G-D’s will, like the kallah (from the word kiloyon, to do the “rotzon”- will of her husband) – to the choson.
This then is the meaning of “ein ben Dovid bo” that through our demonstration of “ein”, our humility and subjugation, “ben Dovid bo” that ben Dovid- Moshiach will come, and the term “ben Dovid” is used, because it denotes humility, for this is the greatest noteworthiness that there is. ( Rambam – “ein bein olom hazeh limos hamoshiach” it is the “ein” the subjugation,  that stands between our days, and the days of Moshiach.)
B-ge-ula ho-amitis v-hashleimo, The word g-ula, means “redemption,- the going out of limitations and borders, which can only be brought about by a king, because only a king, can break through all borders, this is the aspect of “KING” of a choson, “ho-amitis”- the true one, truth is something that is without interruption, the “EVERLASTING” aspect of a choson, “V-hashleimo”, the “COMPLETE” aspect of the choson, ( That His Name will be Complete, and His Throne will be Complete,) and these qualities will also be revealed in the Kallah, that is the Jewish nation, the revelation of being one soul with Hashem, as by a choson and kallah, it is revealed that they are both the same soul, the fact that was hidden till then, which is the reason for the extra joy by a wedding, so also with the coming of Moshiach, when it will be revealed (min hakis – from being hidden) the connection as ONE of the essence of a Jew and Hashem, like it says –( and Hashem will be “LMELECH” etc.) “ushmo echod” that His name will be “ONE”, the name that the Children of Israel share- “goi ECHOD”, like a husband and wife share the same surname. With great joy, with the building of the “BINYAN ADEI AD” the everlasting ETERNAL BEIS HAMIKDOSH, where it will be revealed The KING, the EVERLASTING, and the COMPLETE, and the Torah, which also possesses the name “achas”-ONE, is like the prutah from which everything begins, which connects the Bridegroom Hashem, and the Bride The Bnei Yisroel,  the aspect of Matan Torah,  very very soon omein.     

From Hirschel Pekkar

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