CHASSIDIC PEARLS BY RABBI LAZER BRODY PARSHOS MATOS AND MASEI

(PLEASE LEARN THIS FOR THE REFUA SHELAMA OF Rav Shteinman - Aaron Yehuda Leib ben Gitel Feiga, Rav Weiss - Yitzchak Tuvia ben Rikal, Rav Belsky - NAME ADDDED Chaim Yisroel ben Chana Tzirtel, Rav Yosef - Yaakov Chai ben Margalit Harav Shlomo Leib Ben Miriam - HaRav Shlomo Brevda Harav Yeshaya Yaakov Ben Raizel - HaRav Yeshaya Yaakov Portugal Harav Meshulem Fish Ben Tziril - The Toshe Rebbe Rav Yerachmiel Shlomo Hakohen ben Raizel. -Rav Yerachmiel Shlomo Rothenberg, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva of Mountaindale Rav Shaul ben Pasha-Gavaad Zurich, Switzerland and rav of Beis Medrash Agudas Achim for a refuah shleima b’soch kol cholei am Yisrael.)(AND L"N RAV YOSEF SHALOM BEN RAV AVRAHAM(RAV ELYASHIV ZT"L)

PARSHAS MATOS "And we brought an offering for Hashem; whatever each person found of gold vessels, anklet and bracelet, ring, earring, and clasp, to atone for our souls before Hashem" (Bamidbar 31:50). The concept of Torah study and immersion in a mikva as conducive to purification of the heart permeate the writings of the holy Baal Shem Tov and his disciples. His great grandson, Rebbe Nachman of Breslev, teaches that in "spirituality, when one's thoughts are focused on the magnitude of Hashem and on His holy Torah, and move from one thought to another, a spiritual heat is created by the friction of the thought movement that is passed down to the heart and sets the heart ablaze in yearning for Hashem. This is the principle heat of the element of fire (Likutei Moharan I:156)". The above concept is the key to a superb spiritual ploy for teshuva and soul correction, which works much the same as libun, literally "whitening", or koshering a metal utensil by heating it until it becomes red-hot in a fire. Once the metal object or utensil is red-hot, all non-kosher substances that may have been absorbed in that utensil become null and void, and the utensil is rendered kosher. According to Rebbe Nachman's principle, contemplating the magnitude of Hashem excites the heart and thereby creates a spiritual fire that burns away any forbidden thoughts that may have lodged in the heart. As such, contemplating the magnitude of Hashem is capable of "koshering" the heart the same way that a blazing flame dislodges and destroys absorbed non-kosher substances from a skewer or grill. The ability of contemplating the magnitude of Hashem in purifying the heart has important and far-reaching ramifications. Contrary to what many think, a person doesn't have to subject himself to fasts and self-flagellation in order to purify the heart and get close to Hashem. On the contrary; by taking a walk in a lush green pasture, gazing at the royal-blue sky and contemplating the Creator of the sunset's dazzling gold and crimson rays, one's heart is kindled with the love of Hashem. A heart that blazes with the love of Hashem burns away the love of material follies and bodily lusts. PARSHAS MASEI "These are the journeys of the Children of Israel" (i). The Torah is neither a history book nor a biography of the Jewish people; the Torah is called "The Written Law" because it lists the six hundred thirteen commandments that govern how Jews must live their lives, as dictated from Hashem to Moses. One could therefore ask why the Torah lists every single journey. We know that the wisdom of the Torah is eternal; as such, what's the timeless message that we learn from the journeys of our forefathers in Sinai? Rebbe Nachman of Breslov teaches (Likutei Moharan I:25) that the klipot – the husks of impurity that surround the holiness in each spiritual level – are "the fantasies, the musings, the lusts, the confusions, and the obstacles" of each spiritual level, which one can only overcome by pondering the magnificence of Hashem. "Know," says Rebbe Nachman, "that each and every world and each and every spiritual level has its own set of fantasies and so forth; when a person progresses from level to level, then he must necessarily traverse these fantasies [confusions, obstacles, etc. – LB] in order to reach the holiness, and as soon as he ascends to a new spiritual level, then the klipot in that level are aroused to surround him; one must then subdue them and shatter them, in order to purify the place [level – LB] from the klipot." With Hashem's grace, if I'm not mistaken, the Torah's description of each of the journeys from place to place in the desert, together with the accounts of the trials and tribulations that the people of Israel experienced in each place on the way, allude to the individual spiritual odyssey of each Jew.