Torah In Tsfat Gets Dished Out With Extra Helpings Of Internalized Contemplations Into The Deaper Esoteric Meanings. The Rabbis Work Hard Towards Actualizing Their Motto... "What We Believe Today, We Will Know Tomorrow.
It was just yesterday that I walked past the Tsfat laundry mat and watched as my cleaned laundry sat folded nicely behind the locked door. I had missed the chance to pick up my clean underwear and socks due to my lack of money which was not all too uncommon for me in my late youth and the lifestyle that I held right up to my 40s. My clothing where in exile and they would be stuck in exile until I would be able to redeem them. My underwear and socks were in Galus and I walked around all day with literally no socks and no underwear. This gave a new and even harsher meaning to the term "double fold darkness." Double fold darkness was a term that we learned out to mean that we, our people, were in the darkness of Exile living our lives with little or no Torah values. The second darkness came in the thinking that our lives were righteous and that we were justified in being content in this spiraling path of spiritual sickness, a sickness that leads to all other sicknesses, heaven forbid. I was accustomed to wearing clean underwear everyday and most of my undergarments are white but as fait would dictate my last available pair where black and once used, I turned them inside out. Then again outside in and again until the black underwear showed signs of a doubled darkness that smelled as bad as they looked. But for now, my laundry would stay in Galus and I would need to learn why and how my garments had become so stained. I already understood that what happens in the physical world is a parallel to what happens in the spiritual world. I had heard from an older and very wise rabbi that when the house has a leak in the roof dripping water inside from the ceiling or the walls, it is because there is a spiritual leak and when the spiritual leak is fixed then the leak in the physical house will also be fixed. I had also learned that the garments of the soul are thought speech and action but how had my garments become so stained to the point of double fold darkness. Was I experiencing actions that were less than “G-dly” in the way I conducted myself, was I speaking in a negative way maybe complaining and putting things and people down was my thinking stinking. Yes to all of the above, I saw that I had a lot of work to do primarily on myself.
In order to redeem my laundry from exile I looked for a cure to my double fold darkness. I began by looking into the book that holds the remedy for all sicknesses... the Torah of Moshe.
Matos Maisai are the last two parshas in the fourth book of the Torah. Matos refers to a stick, something that does not bend much and is solid with weight and extension. This stiff force hints to the stature of a Tzadik; a completely righteous leader of Israel who subjugates his life to the Creator, Blessed Be He. Masai refers to journey, a trek, of which every Jew must travel, it is in fact the journey of a lifetime from birth to the last day may it come after 120 years. This Journey is a blueprint for the climb of the Balle Teshuva. The Rebbe relates in a sicha that when these two parshas are read together, they are synthesizing the two powers of the Tzadik and Balle Teshuva. No where is this recognized by myself more than in a Chabad Balle Teshuva Yeshiva, a special place where Tzadikim go to work and what kind of work do they do? They clean the stains of Jews who come to them for guidance in their approach to a Torah value way of life.
I heard someone once make an analogy of the job of those that manage Yeshivas and the lives of the students who come there to learn. The job is much like the job of people who wash and clean boats. Above the surface, very little is needed to be done more than a "once over" cleaning and maybe a little bit of paint on the numbers or the name of the vessel. Very little is noticeably different above the surface to show change from before to after. This is not the case with the job beneath the surface. Under the water algae and sea salt accumulate layer after layer and the water itself causes the dirt to bake into the surface making it almost impossible to remove. Cleaners incorporate many detergents and must scrub with power tools before the original coat of paint can be found. Then to paint a new coat, they must remove the entire vessel from the water in what is called a dry dock completely removing it from commission and paint multiple layers waiting several weeks for the solution to dry and bond before bringing the ship back into the water.
Torah is likened to water and a student studying in yeshiva is considered to be swimming constantly in the waters of the Torah. The process that a student of Torah in Yeshiva undergoes can be compared to the process that dirty clothes go through in the washing machine and this is what I had realized that I needed and the reason why I came to Yeshiva.
Before dissecting the process of a washing machine lets understand a bit into the nature of the stains that must be cleaned. Some stains come from every day use and some come from special use that needs greater toil in removing. In the case of a football player... he comes out to the field in a sparkling clean uniform and under orders of the coach, exerts himself with all of his might to accomplish the mission of making the goal (or stopping the opponent from making his goal). This is done with any and every means of force that is allowed by the rules of the game. Many times over and over the player may find himself face down in the mud weather successful or not with only stained garments to show for it. Other stains are harder to remove. In the case of a samurai warrior, the sword is removed in one fluid movement with the attacking stab, in one whip, the blood is shaken from the knife for returning to it's sheath. Here the stain of blood is a result of survival and cannot be avoided due to the nature of the life or death outcome of the battle. All of this to explain that weather a persons day to day life brings about stains from his mission of reaching his goal or simply survival in the world, the stains must be seen as needing to be cleaned.
Once the dirty garments are deposited in the washing machine, detergents in the water loosen up the stains and work passively in what is called the "soak" cycle. After a period of time the dirt loses it's bond with the material and becomes ready for removal from the garment.
The soak is likened to the actual life of being in a Yeshiva full time and living constantly in the waters of the Torah. It is in this fashion that the actual environment does the job of loosening the student from the ways of the world, the very lifestyle that outside has such a strong hold on his day to day life.
The next stage where the stains are washed out comes after the soak and is called the rinse cycle. A rinse is where water with soap is moved around with the fabric. Dirt comes off of the fabric and dilutes in the soapy water. This movement works in a way of making the fabric rub against itself, thereby pushing off the dirt from the fabric. In this stage of they cycle the water is drained and clean water is refreshed several times until all of the dirt has come off of the fabric and all of the surrounding water is also clean.
In Yeshiva, this cycle represents the hard work of studying and reviewing ones learning. It also includes the work that the Rabbis that take the position of Mashpiah "Influencer" take while advising each student individually of what specific areas of working on oneself should be emphasized. This stage of working on one self’s own flaws and refining one's own character continues as an ongoing project throughout the Balle Teshuva's life. This can easily be understood in the analogy of dirty clothing which upon being cleaned are worn again only to become dirty again to need at some time in the future another much needed cleaning.
Next is the spin cycle that uses centrifugal force to push out all excessive water and make the garments ready for drying. This is likened to the expression of joy and happiness in serving G-d. When a student comes to the completion of his studies, he has attained a foundation in which to launch his Jewish life in the world to include marriage, the raising of children and conducting himself as a Jew in the world wherever he may find himself.
When the Torah portions of Matos and Masai are combined, the synthesis of Tzadik and Balle Teshuva bring about the special synergy of a Yeshiva where Tzadikim provide the service of stain removal bringing the Balle Teshuva to a place where the tzadikim themselves can never attain as is said... The place in the world to come where the Balle Teshuva will hold not even a Tzadik can reach. And upon concluding the double Torah portions we remove the double fold darkness as the entire congregation joins together in the triple fold statement of Chazak, Chazak, Venitchazek. This the Rebbe explains in His Sicha correlates to one Chazak "strength" for each of the Holy Temples, The first two as stipulated in the Gemorah and the third one a tradition added by the children of Israel as an added custom showing love and praise for their Creator, blessed be He. And as the Rebbe explains, traditions are on a higher level than Mitzvas from the Torah as they are added by the Jewish people as a testament to their connection and devotion to their most cherished Holy Father, May His Countenance Shine Upon Them. This is hinted to in the difference between the first two strengths that are called "Chazak" (strength) and the third called "Nitchazek" meaning "strength in the future tense" when we will be strengthened referring to the time of the building of the Third Holy Temple, The Bais HaMikdash HaShlishi at the culmination of our thousands of years commitment to and anticipation for Moshiachs arrival at the final redemption after which there will be no other exiles and where we will be redeemed and witness miracles greater than when we came out of Egypt, may it be speedily in our days.