ENERGY OF THE WEEK – Middas Tiferes
Bs"d
As you know, every week of sfiras haomer we work on a specific middah – character trait. This week's middah is "Middas Tiferes". But what is Tiferes, and how do we work on it?
The root of the Hebrew word Tiferes is "Pe'er" (Peh, Alef, Reish). The word Pe'er means beauty, but it can also mean a branch (of a tree). Now, what could possibly be the connection between beauty and a branch? We know that in Hebrew, all the words that have the same letters are somehow related, so there must be some connection between the concept of beauty and branches of a tree. And even once we understand that, what does all this have to do with a character trait?
The Sefer Derech Mitzvosecha (written by the Tzemach Tzedek, the third Lubavitcher Rebbe zy"a) explains1, that beauty is perceived only when there exists a contrast. For example, imagine a flowerpot that holds in it some beautifully formed tulips – but everything around them is all the same color. Imagine that the tulips are white, the stems and leaves are white, the soil is white, and even the flowerpot itself is white,. Would that be beautiful? It really wouldn't be very nice at all. Rather, the beauty is exhibited only when there is contrast. When the flowerpot is a red-brown and some of the tulips are white but some others are pink and red, and the leaves are green and the soil is brown – that contrast is what awards the perception of the flowerpot and its flowers its beauty.
- Maamar Ma Yafu Paamayich, ois gimel. ↩
ENERGY OF THE WEEK – Absorbing the Affect of Pesach
Bs"d
"Everything that goes up, must come down".
ENERGY OF THE WEEK – “Completing” Your Preparations
Bs"d
It is known from the Ari z"l, that every time a Yom Tov arrives, our celebration is not just a commemoration of something that took place in the past, but rather it is an actual spiritual experience in a small way of what went on originally.
It therefore follows, that on the Yom Tov of Pesach, we actually experience even today, a little bit of what went on spiritually when the Jewish Nation left Egypt. We can look forward to sensing on Pesach a similar type of freedom from our "Mitzraim"1 – those boundries that restrict us from moving upwards in our own Torah and avodah.
According to this it also follows, that whatever the Jews experienced immediately prior to their redemption from Egypt, we also experience immediately prior to our upcoming Yom Tov even today.
- The word Mitzraim in Hebrew, is also the Hebrew name for Egypt, and is also a derivative of the root word maitzarim, which literally translated means "boundries". ↩
ENERGY OF THE WEEK – Chodesh of Rachamim
Bs"d
The Bnei Yissaschar brings from the Ari z"l, that each month has its specific tzairuf (order of the letters) of Hashem's Name1.
The specific tzairuf for this month – the month of Nisan – is one with the letters arranged completely in the normal forward order that we find Hashem's Name spelled in the Torah2.
The Kedushas Levi explains when discussing the difference between Chodesh Nisan and Chodesh Tishrei3, that whenever the order of Hebrew letters in a word follows in a progression that is similar to their forward progression in the Alef-Beis, that indicates an "ohr yashar"; and whenever the order of the Hebrew letters follows a progression that is backwards to their order in the Alef-Beis, that indicates an "ohr chozer". In deeper sforim it is explained4, that "ohr yashar" infuses our lives with rachamim and mercy, and "ohr chozer" with din and judgment.
Bs"d by Rabbi Nachum Chaimowitz Another statement that one should just never say: 3. Never compare yourselves to any other couple. The person that Hashem has introduced and ultimately united you with, is someone who is exactly what you need in order for you to reach your highest level of completeness. Realize that [...]