Perek 88

[Bentzion Meltzer]

The Baal Shem Tov taught:

Every human being is composed of the Ten Sefirah, since every human
being is a microcosm of Creation, and whatever is present in the
dimension of "world," is present in the dimensions of time and soul,1
as alluded to in the verse, "Mount Sinai was full of smoke/ASHaN."2

The lowest level in man is connected with pain and suffering, and
corresponds to the Sefirah of Malkhus, as the verse [alluding to
Malkhus] says, "Her feet descend to death."3 The Sefirah of Netzach
and Hod are paralleled in man by the pillars of faith upon which he
stands, which establish one's firm faith in G•d. The Sefirah of Yesod
represents one finding more pleasure in serving G•d than from any
other pleasure.4

1 From here, and from the next paragraph, we see that this lesson is
speaking about the human soul, and not the human body. The Sefirah are
certainly represented in the human body, but that is included in the
dimension of "world." Also, the specific "sites" of the Sefirah within
their traditional depiction are also paralleled in the human body, as
we also see from the next paragraph, with lowest Sefirah, Malkhus,
represented by the bottom of the feet, Netzach and Hod represented by
the legs, and Yesod represented by the organs of pleasure.
2 This Hebrew word is an acronym of world (haolam), time (shanah), and
soul (nefesh). The reason why these three levels of existence are
alluded to with the word smoke is because G•d reveals Himself through
these three channels, which are in fact veils - "smoke screens" - that
conceal G•d as well as manifest Him (Mei HaShiloach VaYaytzay,
V'hineh).
3 Proverbs 5:5
4 Toldoth Yaakov Yoseph, Lekh Lekha #4

Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Yehoshua Starrett and reprinted
with the kind permission of the Baal Shem Tov Foundation. Please visit
www.baalshemtov.com

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[Chava Mozes]

Dear Reb Ben Zion,

Very interesting- - but how is this actualized in our lives?

And what do we learn from this?

 

Many thanks for all your emails & efforts.

 

B'kavod rav.

C.Mozes.

--

[Bentzion Meltzer]

A very tough question, Chava. The answer lies, I think, in the
attributes of the Sefirah Netzach, Hod, Yesod and Malchus.
Netzach has the attribute of bitochen or as can be seen as
confidence. But not your average everyday, run of the mill
confidence, it is rather: complete certainty, utter lack of doubt in
the outcome. There is no regret... ever. It is the Gom Zu l'Tova of
Nochum Ish Gomzu. It is the right leg. It is ones readiness to
sacrifice ones life for Hashem and Torah

Hod and Netzach are paired sefirah. Hod is the left leg. Hod is the
attribute of sincerity, unabashed truthfulness. It is the attribute to
go viter with no regard to cost. It is both acknowledgment of a
supreme purpose in life and splendor in the acceptance of the total
submission of self that the acknowledgment of a supreme purpose
brings.

The two must go together as right and left legs to be able to walk
with equilibrium, physically and spiritually.

The perek is teaching us, I believe, Chava, that we can no longer fool
ourselves into thinking that our bodies are in any way separate from
the spiritual world. In fact, spiritual worlds find their way into
our lowest world of action, Assiya, through their association with our
body parts. Each major body part is the embodiment of a world, and
each muscle and each bone is the embodiments of a Mitzvah. Once the
Netzach within us takes hold of this with absolute certainty, it needs
the balance of Hod of complete sincerity to make a balanced human
being. This is the allusion to the right and left legs. We need both
legs in good working order for a balanced stride and to run. Our
ability to understand legs gives us the boost that we need to
understand the Sefirah.

We'll tackle Malchus and Yesod at a later time, if that is ok?

Thank you for asking. All the best,
Bentzion

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