שלהבות של אמונה ט״וFlames of Faith 15

א׳

1WHY EVIL IS CALLED A KELIPPAH

ב׳

2The nefesh ha-bahamis, the animal-like life of the body, emerged from the realm of the kelippos, the shells of evil.²⁶⁵The Tanya first describes the part of man that came from the kelippah, and only afterwards does he discuss the heavenly soul. The reason for that is that in our world evil precedes holiness. For example, according to Jewish law, night precedes day, one is first born with the body and only later does the heavenly soul enter, and the Jewish nation were initially idolators, and it took time until we arrived at the truth of monotheistic practice. The Tanya is a guide to virtue in this world, so he too first discussed the realm of evil and only after conquering the world of darkness does he reveal the realm of light (the Stitchiner Rebbe). There are several reasons why Chasidic literature refers to all evil entities such as lustful urges, sinful deeds, wicked individuals, tragedies, suffering, and painful experiences, with the term kelippos.

ג׳

3Evil is a Veil

ד׳

4Imagine a magical kingdom with a king who sought to determine the dedication of his subjects. He built a magnificent palace and surrounded it with seven steep walls. The regent then publicized an edict, “Whoever scales the barriers I constructed will be richly rewarded.”

ה׳

5Thousands of loyal subjects converged on the royal compound and attempted to climb the first wall. For most, it was an impossible feat. The wall’s height was stupefying; there were few ledges to grab, and the crevices that existed harbored hidden knives submerged in dirt. Only a few hundred hardy souls reached the other side of the wall.

ו׳

6Behind the barrier they discovered a garden filled with numerous rewards. Musicians were playing enchanting songs, gourmet chefs were cooking exquisite cuisine for each climber, and fresh water flowed from natural springs. Many decided to stay in the king’s garden and satiate themselves with its pleasures. Only a few attempted to scale the second wall.

ז׳

7The second wall was steeper, taller, and more violent. In addition to hidden knives, it had soldiers stationed on its top firing arrows and throwing spears at all who approached. The wall claimed its victims, and only several dozen climbers reached the other side.

ח׳

8Behind the wall was another paradise. In addition to all that the first garden contained, butlers of the king stood with piles of gold coins that they distributed to the climbers. A large percentage of the seekers decided to end their pilgrimage.

ט׳

9This process was repeated at each wall. Each barrier was a greater challenge than its predecessor, behind each wall stood better rewards, and the number of climbers drastically fell.

י׳

10Only two people, an idealistic teenage boy and the bravest warrior in the country, succeeded in mastering the fifth wall. Behind it they discovered all the possible pleasures the king could award. His royal treasury was opened wide, and the climbers were given free rein to take whatever they desired. The knight decided to stop. He reasoned that the king could not give anything else so there was no reason to bother with the trouble of the most difficult barriers. The teenager announced that he was continuing onward.

י״א

11The warrior turned to the boy and attempted to talk sense into him. “Why risk your life?” he asked. “The place we have reached provides us with every possible delight. What more could you want?”

י״ב

12“You do not understand.” The boy answered, “I am not seeking reward. I am the king’s son. I want to see my father.”

י״ג

13The boy battled the last two walls and prevailed. He arrived at the king’s palace and found his father. He seized him, locked his arms around the king, and started to cry. “Why did you make it so hard? Why are there so many walls preventing us from seeing you?” he wailed.

י״ד

14The king took hold of his son’s shoulder and gently turned him around. The boy looked back to where he had come from. All the walls were gone.

ט״ו

15The Baal Shem Tov related this story as a parable.²⁶⁶See further Degel Machaneh Efraim on the Haftarah of Parashas Ki Savo. God is the king. The Jewish nation, or the tzaddik who represents it, is the teenage boy. The seven walls hiding the king represent all the forms of evil: evil desires and deeds (sins), and evil events (tragedies).²⁶⁷Judaism believes in a Just God. Therefore, suffering and tragedy are usu-ally the results of our misdeeds. “The punishment of sin is sin,” the sages say (Avos 4:2). This means that each misdeed creates a spiritual force. This spiritual agent is what reappears in the form of a tragedy that the transgressor might suffer (See further Sichas Malachei Ha-Shareis of Rabbi Tzadok Ha-Cohen of Lublin, and Shem Mi-Shmuel on Parashas Vayechi pg. 320). Thus moral evil (sin) and historical evil (suffering) coalesce into a single category.

ט״ז

16In Chasidic literature an evil force is called a kelippah (pl., kelippos). These are the same Hebrew words for “shell” and “peel” that surround fruits and nuts, since evil functions like the husk surrounding the grain. A shell conceals the essence of the item, the edible part. Evil is a shell inasmuch as it hides God, who is the true life of the universe. In the parable, walls hid the king; those walls are the forces of evil that obscure sight of the Ultimate King, God, who in truth directs all.

י״ז

17The physical world has a trace of evil. Consider pursuit of excess material wealth, or the physical desires of man, they are the paths to evil deeds, such as theft and adultery.²⁶⁸See further the earlier lessons where biological and “this-worldly” life was categorized as the nefesh ha-bahamis and yetzer hara, “the evil urge.” Chomrius, “physicality,” obscures God’s light, causing it to be ignored. The Hebrew term for “world” is olam. This word derives from the same root as the words he’elem, and ne’elam, that mean “hidden” or “concealed.” One reason for this confluence of terms is that the physical world conceals the Almighty. Consider success in business: it seems that success is the fruit of human toil and failure the result of cunning competitors. Such a perspective is an excessively physical point of view; it hides the truth. In reality, God’s grace is the only cause for blessing or its opposite. Consider, God sometimes showers wealth on the laziest fools and He sometimes denies material blessing to the most industrious laborer. Once you don the lenses of a spiritual perspective you will peer through the lattices of evil and find the hand of God in all that occurs.

י״ח

18In the Besht’s parable, “The king was hidden behind seven walls,” God is hidden in the physical universe that was created in seven days. “To approach the king, challenging obstacles had to be surmounted.” To approach God, walls must be scaled; to use the terminology of kelippos, the shells must be shattered. Observance is a battle. Consider lust— if I lust for a piece of property that is not my own, it is a wall I must scale. I have to battle my desires and transform the selfish fantasy into a Heavenly urge to give generously. When I try to improve my moral behavior I will often feel that I am slipping off of an impossible wall and that the goal is unattainable. I have to remind myself of the parable of the king’s walls, then I might hear a voice that insists, “Keep fighting!”

י״ט

19In Genesis, the path to the tree of life was blocked with an angel wielding a revolving sword; this angel represents the kelippah. If you want to taste from the tree of life you must battle, let no one stand in your way, not even a seraph! Remember, holiness is like the fruit, to enjoy it you first must tear apart the peel. This lesson is a source of comfort to us all. Do not be dismayed by difficulty and failure. The path to feeling Divine holiness is characterized with initial challenge.²⁶⁹Rav Tzadok Ha-Cohen of Lublin teaches, “The Midrash states that tzad-dikim initially suffer afflictions and at their end arrive at tranquility. The reason for this process is that entry into a good behavior or emotion entails suffering, as it said, ‘All beginnings are difficult,’ and, ‘A scholar will only know a discipline once he has first stumbled about in error within that field’ (Gittin 43a). There are three great gifts that God has given to the Jewish people: Torah, the Land of Israel, and the World-to-Come, and they are all given through suffering and travails (Berachos 5a). The world was created in a manner in which darkness was created first only afterwards light appeared (Shabbos 77b). For this world (that is linked with the spiritual world of asiyah) is mostly evil (asiyah is mostly evil with a minority of holiness, yetzirah has an even split between the forces of holiness and their opposite, beriah is mostly pure and holy with a minority of evil, and atzilus is all good with no evil at all) that is why initially what one sees is the evil, the sorrows and difficulty, yet if one perseveres one will see the tranquility, the good” (Tzidkas Ha-Tzaddik, note 170). See further Sfas Emes on Parashas Yisro (5637) s.v. ba-midrash, and Rabbi Nachman of Breslov’s Likkutei Moharan version one, Chapter 62, letter 5.

כ׳

20“After every wall there were rewards.” Mitzvah observance is innately rewarding, and every step along the path to the Divine brings added blessings. “Each wall was progressively more difficult.” The Talmud teaches that one who has a greater level of virtue has more challenging temptations. As climbers scaled more walls they achieved higher and more powerful feelings of holiness thus becoming greater. Hence, the more trying next step. “The king’s son felt an inner calling to overcome all the barriers and reach his father while the knight stopped after the fifth wall.” The Jewish nation is named in the Bible, “Children to God your Lord” (Deut. 14:1). All of us innately, and tzaddikim actually, sense that the King is behind the walls, and we are to struggle with all the seemingly insurmountable mountains to embrace our Father. The knight represented individuals who pursue a life of virtue due to desire for reward and fear of punishment. “The knight scaled five walls.” Motivations of suffering and benefit may lead to a high level of spiritual achievement, but at some point before the apex such a seeker will stop climbing. “The King’s son insisted on scaling all of the walls.” Those who feel that they are children of God are motivated by love and as a result will scale all the barriers to arrive at God’s door. “The king responded to his son’s complaints by showing him that the walls were gone.” Once the righteous individual reaches the heights of spiritual attainment, he turns back and all the struggles vanish. After years of challenge, virtuous behavior becomes second nature. Furthermore, moral behavior becomes immensely rewarding and pleasurable, thereby denying material concerns the ability to tempt.

כ״א

21Our attitude toward the struggle of life can be greatly enhanced by consideration of this parable. Is observance difficult? Yes. There are walls in our lives, periods when we are tempted or when God seems to be missing. But the King is waiting for us to scale them, and once we succeed, all the pain will melt away. Apply this lesson to human suffering, evil in history; it is a wall hiding the Creator. Break the wall. Realize that God is causing the moment of suffering and trial, and He is with you even during trials. You might feel the burden lifted and your pain alleviated.²⁷⁰The Sfas Emes writes, “And Yehudah stepped forward to him (Gen. 44:18): this is the advice to surmount any moment of travail or when God seems to be hiding His face, accept the will of God and acknowledge that it is God’s doing. Clarify to yourself that what you are experiencing is coming from God, and that while He is hidden His life force is what sustains the predicament you are in.
Yehudah stepped forward to Him, he accepted that his difficult trial came from God Once it is clear to you that all comes from God, that essence is revealed, disaster is averted, the stresses relax, and you sense God’s grace in a revealed manner” Parashas Vayigash (5631) s.v. Vayigash.

כ״ב

22The young grandson of Rabbi Boruch of Mezhibuzh²⁷¹Rabbi Boruch was the grandson of the Baal Shem Tov. once burst into his study with rivulets of tears flowing down his cheeks. “Zaidy, I was playing hide-and-go-seek with my friend,” he stammered, “I went to hide and no one came to look for me.” Rabbi Boruch nodded with understanding and then sobbed uncontrollably.

כ״ג

23The students in the Rabbi’s room were shocked. They appreciated the grandfather’s empathy but they could not understand why Rabbi Boruch shed hot tears for a minor event. When the Rabbi calmed down he explained his sadness, “Every experience is a direct encounter with God. My child cried to me with this complaint because God wished to direct his words to me as a message, ‘God is hidden in this world and He is crying because no one is trying to find Him.’ I cried when I realized that I am causing Divine tears with my neglect.”

כ״ד

24When playing hide-and-go-seek, one hides in order to be found. God is hiding in the material world for the same reason. He wants each of us to seek and find. We have found God when we constantly feel that our financial security is a result of His blessing and that it is His support that sustains us during moments of trial and pain. We are not looking for Him if we arrogantly presume that success is a result of our own effort and that He is not in charge. Children in hiding cry when their friends decide not to seek them. God might be crying if we do not search for Him. Dare we allow those tears to continue to fall?

כ״ה

25Abraham and Isaac were moved by the Divine sobs. They were inspired to expend much time and energy in well-digging. The Torah spends enormous amounts of ink detailing the efforts of Abraham and Isaac to discover wells in the desert. The Torah is a very exact document, so why did it talk so extensively about an ancient and seemingly irrelevant historical fact? Their well-digging was a symbolic act. To discover a well they had to remove many external layers of sand to uncover water, the source of life. This symbolized the struggles with the shells of evil, removing them to reveal the source of life, the Divine.

כ״ו

26Abraham and Isaac engaged the walls around the king in combat, they battled temptation, and at times of tragedy declared with faith that God was with them, even when it seemed that He was not. Their life of battling kelippos is symbolized by their life-long endeavors to reveal water underneath scorching sand. Their efforts paved the way for the Jewish nation; since their descendants are inspired and encouraged through their example, we seek to continue their ways and remove the veils that hide God from us.²⁷²See further Sefer Ha-Zechus on Parashas Toldos, “The purpose of the wells that our forefathers dug was for our benefit. Prior to their efforts, the Divine Light [feelings of closeness to Him] was hidden in the dust. Material matters concealed the Divine while the goal of creation was that man would feel the Divine in all matters. They dug deep, they removed the dirt, until the waters emerged. This was all for our benefit, so that we would be able to dig and find God even during moments of His Hiddenness.” See further Be’er Mayim Chaim on Parashas Toldos.

כ״ז

27Evil is Distance

כ״ח

28Another explanation for the term kelippah as “evil” is that sin creates dis- tance from the Divine as shells separate the eater from nourishment.²⁷³Just as sin distances men from feeling Divinity, tragedy, which is the force of the sin in another form, also causes one to feel detached from the Almighty. We only perform sins when we feel estranged or alienated from God. Someone who feels a deeply joyous bond with the Divine will never violate his “Best Friend’s” wishes. Even one who does not relate to God with love, but merely fears God as the Divine Judge who punishes infractions, would not commit misdeeds were he to feel that the Judge is near. The mistake of imagining Divine distance facilitates sin.

כ״ט

29R. Zhisha of Anipoli,²⁷⁴R. Zhisha was the brother of Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk. He too was a student of the great Maggid of Mezeritch. He was born in 1718 and passed away in 1800. before he was famous as a righteous man, was once the lone traveler in the buggy of a simple peasant. Along the way, the wagon passed an orchard filled with ripe fruit. Noticing that there was no guard nearby, the peasant stopped his wagon. He hopped off and told R. Zhisha, “Keep watch, if you notice someone observing me, yell.” He then ambled over the fence that surrounded the orchard and began to pick fruit. After a few moments, R. Zhisha started to scream, “They see you! They’re after you!” The startled driver dropped the stolen apples, jumped into his wagon, and quickly snapped his whip to set the horses into gallop. After ten minutes he realized that no one was following him and the entire region seemed deserted. He slowed his wagon, turned to R. Zhisha and said, “Who saw me? There is no one here.” R. Zhisha smiled and pointed his finger toward Heaven as if to say, “He saw.”

ל׳

30Pride and egocentrism are the foundation of the kelippah. The kelippos are sometimes called eser kisrin de-misaavusa,²⁷⁵See further Tanya, Chapter 6. “the ten crown of impurity.” They are called a crown, for their source is a sense of privilege and a large ego, as if they were kings.²⁷⁶The kelippah says, Ana emloch, “I will rule,” while holiness states, Attah hu Melech Malchei Ha-Melachim, “You, God rule over all kings.” Evil’s root is a self- aggrandizement that causes one to imagine that God is not the absolute authority and to imagine the thought, “I control my destiny.” Ego is what creates the distance between man and God that causes sin.²⁷⁷Consider the following explanation of the Maharal of Prague: “Akavia ben Mehalel’s advice addresses the root cause of sin. God placed in mankind a drive for sin, which is personified as the yetzer hara…. The power of the yetzer hara arises from arrogance. All desire, jealousy and other causes of sin originate from a heart that swells in pride…” (Maharal of Prague on Pirkei Avos 1:1, pg. 142-143).
Evil will always try first and foremost to overcome man by making him prideful, for nothing is more fundamentally destructive of man’s spiritual life than pride. This is part of what King Solomon meant when he said, “Pride comes before the fall” (Prov. 16:18): a man’s pride is what precipitates the fall of the soul into the dark prison of materialism (The Juggler and the King, pg. 37). Chametz, leavened dough, is the symbol and embodiment of this arrogance.

ל״א

31Commentators are troubled with the many prohibitions surrounding leavened dough on Passover. It may not be eaten. Nor may any enjoyment be derived from it. Furthermore, it cannot be left in one’s residence. Nor may one own it in any location. The night before the holiday of Pesach there is a Rabbinic law mandating the owner of the house to conduct a thorough search of the house to find and then destroy all chametz crumbs. Why is eating chametz on Passover such a delicate prohibition that there are so many fences to prevent its violation? The Radbaz²⁷⁸Rabbi David ben Solomon ibn Avi Zimra was born in 1479 and he passed away in 1573. He emigrated from Spain to Safed in Israel and later to Cairo, where he headed the local Jewish community. answered that chametz represents the evil urge. The Talmud calls the evil urge “leaven in the bread”²⁷⁹Berachos 17a. because evil is essentially hubris. Leavened dough rises, and evil is when I allow my ego to rise. In truth, the dough has no reason to feel arrogant; it is merely water and flour that are sitting still. Similarly, there is no legitimate basis for arrogance. The source of the evil urge must be treated with utmost caution, hence all the prohibitions that surround chametz.

ל״ב

32In the Zohar, the realm of evil is called alma di-prodah, “the world of separation.” Evil deeds stem from a feeling of separateness, the sense of a multitude of disconnected strands. Arrogance and ego spawn that emotion. The sinner deludes himself into thinking that God is divorced and disconnected from this world. If one can imagine that God is detached, then one might imagine that people are detached and that we do not share a common soul that unites us. Furthermore, this divisive thought leads to a fragmentation of life suggesting a lack of an overarching single purpose to life. As a result, one will sin. A life of holiness is achieved through a sense of oneness. The attitude that the Almighty inheres within all, that all mankind partake of a common soul and their acts influence each other, and that there is a single goal and purpose to all of life’s activities, ensures that no sins will be performed.

ל״ג

33There are very few Mitzvos that call for an act to be performed exclusively in the public street, the reshus ha-rabbim. According to Jewish law, the public street belongs to many different owners, thus it represents the realm of kelippos, the arrogant disconnected peels, alma di-prodah. Mitzvos are primarily performed in the reshus ha-yachid, the private domain that belongs to a single owner symbolizing oneness.

ל״ד

34The ancient pagans fully accepted the premises that foster evil. They worshipped many gods. They saw a world filled with millions of different and disconnected forces. Due to this fractured world-view, within their community there was a sense of alienation and differentiation. Esau (Hebrew, Esav), according to traditional commentary, was an idol- worshipper. The Torah describes the six members of Esau’s family as nafshos beiso, “the souls of his home,” indicating that even a group of six could not forge a single unit.

ל״ה

35On the other hand, the Jewish nation’s weltanschauung is pure monotheism. We see the One everywhere. As a result, the seventy members of Jacob’s family are referred to in the Torah as ha-nefesh le- bais le-Yaakov, “the soul to the house of Jacob” (Gen. 46:27). Seventy different bodies were all parts of one soul.²⁸⁰Rashi ibid. See further Da’as Tefillah pg. 155.

ל״ו

36Distance is not only what leads to sin; it is also the fruit of misdeed. A sinner loses his sense of spirituality and becomes estranged from his innate Godly voice that advocates holiness.²⁸¹In the earlier lessons this voice was identified as chayah or yechidah. This part of the personality is the tzaddik aspect within each person. As it is written, Avonoseichem hayu mavdilim beinchem le-vein Elokeichem, “Your sins separated you from God” (Isa. 59:2).

ל״ז

37Since sin causes a distance in the inner world of man’s personality, it fosters distance in the external realm of physical reality.²⁸²The inner spiritual universe of man is a perfect parallel to the external physical universe.
The Talmud in Berachos (17a) records that in truth we all wish to serve God. “What impedes us is the leaven in the bread and the yoke of foreign govern-ments.” Rabbi Tzadok Ha-Cohen of Lublin explained that the two powers mentioned in the Talmud parallel each other. The evil inclination is an internal foreign power, just as oppressive foreign rulers are powers in the external world. If we allow our internal evil urge to be our ruler then the same will occur in the external universe, and foreign governments will overwhelm us and promulgate laws to lower our spirituality. For example, when Adam was first created he resided in God’s garden. After his sin, he was banished from God’s presence. Similarly, the land of Israel is a miniature Garden of Eden. It is the place where Tamid einei Hashem Elokecha bah, “God’s eyes are constantly focused upon it” (Deut. 11:12). Due to national sins the Jewish nation was exiled from the land, and we lost the sense of closeness to the Divine that a life in Israel endows.²⁸³The nation of Amalek is the paragon of evil. They are called reishis goyim, the “first of the multitudes.” They embody the principles and foundations of all the negative ideologies that can be found among the many nations. Since they are so evil, the Torah demands that Jewry wage eternal war against them.
Amalek embodies arrogance and distance from God. The gematria of the name Amalek (240) is the same as the word ram (240), “high and arrogant.” Amalek is arrogant. This consideration of self leads them to create distance between man and God. Amalek also equals safek, “doubt,” for they create alienation and distance between the created and the Creator through raising questions and doubts about His existence. In all the sections about Amalek in the Torah, the words karcha or karahu appear. These terms shares a similarity with the word mikreh, “happenstance.” Ego leads to distance from God to doubts about His supervision to a claim that the indications of His presence are mere coincidences and no more. See further Worldmask, Chapter 17, pgs. 193-205. Entrance to the Land of Israel, the place of closeness to the Divine, also requires that the scourge of Amalek be confronted. “The Jews are commanded in three obligations upon entry to the Land, to appoint a king, to destroy Amalek, and to build the Temple in Jerusalem.” (See further Sanhedrin 20a, Shem Mi-Shmuel, Parashas Shoftim, pg. 113, s.v. Be-Midrash Rabbah).

ל״ח

38Evil is not all Bad

ל״ט

39In the Besht’s parable of scaling walls, the barriers provided many benefits. In addition to the sense of satisfaction that the climbers must have felt once they scaled the walls, the walls strengthened the climbers’ bodies and character, and for every successful scaling they entered gardens stocked with rewards. The walls also successfully ferreted out the insincere, preserving a relationship with the king for those who truly deserved it. A shell has many benefits—it preserves the fruit. Without the shell one would never have been able to enjoy the fruit, for the elements or the animals would have consumed it first. Evil is a shell, and it too has beneficial qualities.

מ׳

40Evil is like physical therapy. It hurts but it helps. A physical therapist must push a patient through painful exercises in order to restore muscle strength. Similarly evil is a barrier that pains us for our ultimate good.

מ״א

41In the Zohar the role of evil temptations is symbolized with a tale of a hired harlot:

מ״ב

42A king loved his son with abiding passion. He knew that if his son frequented houses of ill repute he would have to disown the child. He warned the boy to never succumb to a harlot’s temptations. The boy swore to his father that he would maintain his chastity.

מ״ג

43Later, the king desired to enjoy a display of his son’s loyalty. He hired a woman and paid for her cosmetics, jewelry, and dress. He then sent her to seduce his son. The immoral woman fulfilled the king’s directive by tempting the prince. The prince fulfilled his father’s innermost wishes when he withstood her affections.

מ״ד

44The king was so excited with his son’s loyalty that he rewarded him with a state dinner. Who caused the rewards? The harlot did. As a result, she too entered the royal banquet when the prince was honored.²⁸⁴Zohar 2:163a.

מ״ה

45The harlot helped the prince, since she enabled his special dinner and his ascension to the throne. Without her tempting him, he might never have revealed his father’s affection. Similarly, kelippos are from God, sent for us to resist their tempting. when we ignore their claims, we benefit, thus they are good for us, and not fully evil.²⁸⁵“Once the prince realized that the harlot was sent from his father, he remembered his oath (to maintain his virtue) and withstood her charms. Similar-ly once we internalize that evil comes from God to be rejected, we will not lose ourselves in the allures of passion and our good will shall prevail” (Innerspace, pg. 84, and footnote 40).

מ״ו

46When we withstand evil’s attractions we give God great joy.²⁸⁶We are fulfilling our commitment to him that we accepted with birth when we swore to be a tzaddik. See further Matok Mi-Devash on the Zohar 2:163a. He then rewards us in the next world. According to the above cited passage from the Zohar, since Evil caused our reward, the evil urge is allowed entry into the Garden of Eden.

מ״ז

47In the book of Genesis, after every day of God’s creation, He examined His handiwork and declared that it was good. On the sixth day He reviewed all and declared, Ve-hinneh tov me’od, “And behold it is very good” (Gen. 1:31). The Midrash²⁸⁷Bereishis Rabbah, Chapter 9. explains the phrase “very good” as referring to Gehinnom, death, and the evil inclination. How can the Midrash call these disasters “very good”? The answer is that deep down even the worst evils are good. A kelippah (a shell) fulfills an important function, it preserves the fruit. Kelippos in the moral sense, such as evil desires, help maintain the pleasure that is slated for man.²⁸⁸Innerspace pg. 71.

מ״ח

48In a world with no kelippos, God is apparent. If God is apparent then man deserves no reward for following God’s commands. There would be no free choice were man to constantly feel that the Divine is close as long as he observes His commands. If God were not hidden at all, we would be unable to appreciate God’s gifts, for we would not have been able to do anything to deserve reward. Kelippos hide God. It is not easy to be observant. As a result, those who battle and draw near to God earn Divine pleasure. Without the shell, we would not enjoy the fruit; and without a temptation we would never enjoy Divinity, for we would be embarrassed since it would be given to us without any effort on our part. The embarrassment of receiving pleasure without earning it is called nehama de-kissufa, “the bread of shame.”

מ״ט

49On a deeper level, the kelippos enable us to resemble God. Resem- blance causes spiritual closeness. Closeness to God is the greatest pleasure imaginable. God wants us to be like Him and to feel the deepest possible sense of fulfillment. The Almighty is independent and creative. When we exercise our free choice and pick the good, we resemble Him. Through that decision we are creative since we fashion our character. Furthermore, we display independence by listening to conscience instead of lust. Without the option of evil, there would be no choice, we would be neither creative nor independent, and we would not truly enjoy what God has in store for us.²⁸⁹See further Innerspace pgs. 155-156, 9-15, 84-91, 71-73.

נ׳

50A shell keeps the fruit from flies and harsh winds that might damage it. In the Garden of Eden story, the tree of life was guarded by an angel with the revolving sword. That kelippah prevented Adam, who was no longer deserving, from eating of the tree. Similarly, the kelippos hide God’s light so that only the righteous will reach it and the wicked will not use it.

נ״א

51The Messiah Will Break the Kelippos

נ״ב

52At the end of the Besht’s parable, the “King turned his son around and all the walls were gone.” This means that in the future, during the Messianic era, the Almighty will reveal how there really never was evil.²⁹⁰Perhaps another explanation for the end of the parable is that once we appreciate the joy of redemption the evil and the sorrows of the past will be forgotten and viewed as merely a passing dream. Perhaps this is the intent of King David when he wrote in Psalm 126, “When God will restore the returnees to Zion, we will be like dreamers.” The past will be a mere dream because the joy of the present will be tangibly real. Perhaps this is also the reason why God revealed to Abraham the exiles that his descendants will undergo while Abraham was in a sleeplike trance. Abraham’s trance symbolized that exile and suffering is a dream and the ultimate redemption will be so real that it will cause the sorrows of the present to fade like dreams (see further Emunas Etecha, Parashas Lech Lecha s. v. vayehi, pg. 23).

נ״ג

53Consider lustful urges. Evil desires are referred to as Shav she-barasi be-olami, “the emptiness that I created in My World.”²⁹¹Bereishis Rabbah 63 s.v. va-yikra’u shemo eisav. It passes and dissipates. Furthermore, the prophet promised in God’s name that in the messianic era, Ve-es ruach ha-tumah a’avir min ha-aretz, “I will remove the spirit of impurity from the land” (Zech 13:2).

נ״ד

54One of the barriers hiding God is the theological problem of evil. Many ask, “Why do bad things happen to good people and good things to bad people?” The final redemption will bring answers to these questions. We will then see how in truth the righteous were rewarded and the wicked individuals were punished.

נ״ה

55Mizmor shir le-yom ha-Shabbos, “A song for the Sabbath day,” (Psalm 92) was composed by Adam and is recited on Friday nights during the prayers that inaugurate the Shabbos. The psalm does not really describe Shabbos; it details the future age, the yom she-kullo Shabbos—an era that will be totally Shabbos.²⁹²According to Jewish tradition just as the world was created in six days and the seventh—Shabbos—was a day of rest. Similarly, humanity will have six thousand years to create a more wholesome world and then the seventh thousand will be a yom she-kullo Shabbos, a time of Shabbos (Sanhedrin 97a). Shabbos can be accepted early, and the Messiah can come before the end of the six thousand years. The psalm explains that presently fools are plentiful; they see the transient successes of evildoers and they deny God. However in the Messianic age it will be clear that Bi-froach resha’im kemo eisev, “The flowering of sinners was like plants” (it was temporal), and it was allowed, Le-hishamdam adei ad, “To destroy them for eternity” (Ps. 92:8).

נ״ו

56True pleasure is the joy of partaking in the World-to-Come. True pain is experienced by those who do not appreciate that world. Evildoers might receive physical blessings in this world, yet those gifts reduce whatever merits they have and in the next world they are denied the real pleasure. Righteous individuals partake of the pleasure in the World-to- Come. Their suffering in this world removes all their sins and in the next dimension they enjoy the infinite pleasure of Divine reward.

נ״ז

57Armed with this insight, the psalm continues, Le-haggid ki yashar Hashem, all will be able “to testify that God is just” (Ps. 92:16).²⁹³The Hebrew yashar is here translated as “just.” In truth, yashar means “straight” and “orderly.” The meaning of “straight” will also bring us to a conclusion similar to what was advanced in the text.
God’s name of being, Y-H-V-H, is the source of existence. The letters in this name can be rearranged in twelve different ways: YHVH, YHHV, YVHH, HVHY, HVYH, HHVY, VHYH, VHHY, VYHH, HYHV, HYVH, and HHYV.
These letter arrangements correspond to the twelve months and the twelve tribes of Israel. Different letter arrangements represent distinct spiritual influ-ences. Some months are times of blessings; others are times of harsh justice. The nature of the month is hinted in its letter pattern. The month with the most Divine blessings is the first month, Nisan. Nisan begins springtime when nature is reborn, its weather is usually pleasant, and Jewry was born (through the exodus from Egypt) during that month. The letter arrangement of Nisan is Y-H-V-H; the letters of this name are in their straightest and most fitting order. Other months were times of Divine harshness—their letter arrangements are relatively disorderly. In the future we will say that God is yashar, “straight,” for we will then see how all experiences were blessings like the exodus from Egypt (Rav Wolfson’s classes on prayer).

נ״ח

58When we merit the final redemption God’s hidden secrets will be revealed and we will see the good within the kelippah. We will then understand how all the suffering we personally experienced—evil in history—was ultimate good.

נ״ט

59There was a childless couple that lived near the Baal Shem Tov. Once the Baal Shem’s fame as a miracle-worker spread, they approached him and requested that he bless them with a child. The Besht promised to pray for their cause and a year later a boy was born to them. Filled with gratitude they brought the baby to him and the Rabbi served as the baby’s sandak (the man who holds the baby during the circumcision). The couple moved away from the Baal Shem, and the child developed to his parents’ unceasing delight.

ס׳

60The boy was special. He rarely cried, and he showed signs of great intelligence and ability. When he was one year old he started to speak and learn words of Torah. On his second birthday he suddenly died. The parents were heartbroken. The father ran to the Baal Shem and asked him, “Why did you torture me with such pain? We waited twenty years for a child. Why raise our hopes with a boy only to dash them with his death?”

ס״א

61The Baal Shem answered with a story:

ס״ב

62There was once a childless Russian nobleman who owned lands, serfs, and Jews. His personal priest was a vindictive Jew-hater who claimed that the nobleman was barren as a punishment for permitting Jews to live unmolested in his territory. The nobleman therefore decreed that all non-Christians must leave his land within two weeks.

ס״ג

63The Jews were shocked by the sudden decree and they sent an eminent delegation to beg the nobleman to change his mind. The nobleman’s heart was touched by the emotional pleas. He announced that the exile would be deferred for a year, and if he and his wife had a child during that year the decree would be rescinded entirely.

ס״ד

64Once they heard the news, the Jews were relieved but also quite apprehensive. As a response, they organized a day of public fasting, penitence, and prayer. The entire community gathered in the Synagogue and prayed with utmost devotion, begging the Almighty to send a child to their nobleman and save them from financial ruin.

ס״ה

65In Heaven, these prayers caused a tumult. One group of angels claimed that God should miraculously allow the noblewoman to conceive in order to save guiltless Jews. A different group of angels insisted that the nobleman did not deserve a son and God should not change the rules of nature to help a wicked man.

ס״ו

66The argument was not resolved by God. A soul in the Garden of Eden heard the commotion and volunteered to descend to earth and enter the nobleman’s family.

ס״ז

67All the celestial beings were awed by the soul’s generosity. A sojourn on earth entails great risks for a soul because listening to the evil urge could cause a forfeit of eternal pleasure. What a soul— its very birth was an act of sacrifice for the welfare of others! The nobleman had a boy within the year and the decree was annulled.

ס״ח

68The child grew up and from a young age he stood out. In grade school he displayed an interest in questions of theology instead of sports and hunting. The priest tried to inculcate his hate into the child but the boy was too good to accept drivel.

ס״ט

69When the child was fifteen he met a Jew and began to ask about the Jewish faith. Inspired by the truth, he converted to Judaism and ran away from home to avoid the priest and his ilk. The teenager studied at yeshivas, married a righteous woman, and lived a life of simplicity and virtue. His death caused a tumult in Heaven.

ע׳

70On the one hand, there were those who claimed that the soul deserved the greatest possible reward, its birth saved a community and its life was holiness. Others claimed that, while the soul deserved reward, it should not ascend to the highest levels because for two adult years this soul ate pork, mistreated servants, and discriminated against Jews.

ע״א

71The decision of the High Court of Justice was that the soul should reenter the physical world for a short period. Were it to live a full life it might lose all the good it had earned, so it was sent for a life of two years to a home of supreme holiness, which deserved such a rarefied creation. For this tikkun, rectification, period it was to ingest kosher food, imbibe an atmosphere of respect, and be influenced with a spirit of love of Jews. Afterwards it would receive the highest levels of pleasure and reward.

ע״ב

72The Besht then concluded to his neighbor, “That soul was your son. Do you still have complaints?”

ע״ג

73Initially the neighbor of the Besht perceived the short life of his son as a painful curse, it was an insurmountable wall. After the Besht’s revelation it was perceived as a great blessing. Similarly when the Messiah will come he will reveal to us secrets that will shed light on the darkest periods of our lives and we will realize how they were really blessings.²⁹⁴In Rabbi Paysach Krohn’s book, Around the Maggid’s Table, there is a story that exemplifies this principle:
Moshe Rabi was a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany who had escaped to London. As the British began to suffer defeats, at the onset of the war, Moshe was deported with other refugees. He was placed on a ship, the Dunera, to Australia. Along the way the crew members would torment the passengers. Once a Nazi torpedo was fired at the ship and miraculously it just missed hitting the ship. The crew members were enraged. They took the last family heirlooms of the passengers and threw them overboard. Moshe was distraught since his family heirlooms were now forever lost.
Several years ago, the diary of the Nazi captain who had fired the torpedo at the Dunera was published. It turns out that after he missed the ship, he saw papers floating in the ocean. He sent divers to retrieve the materials since he thought they might be valuable for his nation’s intel-ligence. When the materials were brought to his ship he discovered that they were letters and diaries written in German. He realized that the ship was carrying German nationals. He radioed all the Nazi ships in the area to take care not to torpedo the ship since it carried their countrymen. After the passengers disembarked in Australia, he tracked the Dunera on its return home and he sank it with a torpedo blast.
When the letters and heirlooms were thrown overboard Moshe had thought it was a horrific tragedy. Years later he realized that it was a bless-ing. When the messiah will come we will all merit similar revelations. We will see how all of our tragedies were blessings (see further Around The Maggid’s Table, pgs. 194-197).

ע״ד

74This principle is also true in regards to sins. When the Messiah will come the inner will of good will be revealed, and all our evil deeds will be seen as not the real personality and thus fixed.²⁹⁵See the lessons about yechidah and the next world. Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan explains that even Adam’s first sin stemmed from a good intention. He thought that acquiring an innate attraction to evil and then overcoming that attraction would give God the greatest joy. In the future the Almighty will reveal all those good intentions and show how they caused blessings.

ע״ה

75Raising Nitzotzos

ע״ו

76Nothing can exist divorced from God. Even evil has a bit of Him in it to sustain it; this little bit of Godliness is called a nitzotz, a spark of Divine light. When a kelippah is broken, when I break a wall and find God behind it, then I am causing the spark of God that is hidden to be revealed, I am raising the sparks. For instance, the material world is a kelippah. Imagine a hot summer day; my body is sweating as it desires a bar of cool and refreshing ice cream. If I eat for the sake of my body then the act will be one in which I too become ensnared in the shell. My arrogance and sense of self-importance might be strengthened. However, if I resist the physical urge and eat in order to have the peace of mind in order to study God’s Torah, then I have broken the shell and redeemed the Godliness, the nitzotz, that was trapped.

ע״ז

77The same is true for historical evil. Tragedy enervates, frightens, and isolates man. Yet if one realizes that within the evil event there is a nitzotz, there is Godliness, and He is all good, then traces of that goodness must exist in this ordeal. If you focus on that good, if you begin to feel that good, you are raising the spark to the Ultimate source, it will reveal itself fully, and the experience will become revealed goodness and blessing.²⁹⁶See further Sfas Emes, Devarim pg. 6, s.v. ba-pasuk be-sinas Hashem.

ע״ח

78To determine which kelippos can be engaged with and broken and which are to be avoided, it is necessary to detail the different types of kelippos.