Masei - Coverings and Contrasts

What is the concept of the Succah? How does it remind us of the Divine Presence? Why does the same force of protection of the Jordan river have the potential to destroy us? Why must we remove the nations of Canaan? What is the root of the word and concept of idolatry? How does that contrast with the concept of the Shechinah?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 21:17

Matos - humility and redemption

Why does Moshe forget a law? Why does he give Elazar Hakohen the chance to say the law? Why is it necessary for Elazar to quote Moshe by name? What is the concept of bringing redemption by quoting in someone's name? Why did Esther wait until the second party to cause Haman's downfall? Why was the point of redemption when Mordechai was honored? What is the connection between these two stories?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 22:15

An explanation

There is a lot going on in my life that led up to my decision to take down the blog. I can not share everything, but I would like to explain and respond to the numerous comments. First, I want to thank all those who gave their well wishes. I know that there are a lot of people who read the blog and find inspiration in it. I hope by the end of this post you will understand, and appreciate the greater lesson of removing the blog. I also want to say that all of the blog is archived in a blog called http://geulahperspectivesarchive.blogspot.com, but it is only accessible with permission. If there as an important reason to look at it, you can feel free to contact me at arigoldwag@gmail.com.

There is a post that I wrote in August of 2008 in which I actually discussed the reason I am stopping the blog. Only now have I taken my own words to heart. In that post, I quoted the statement of Chazal that one of the things that come with a היסח הדעת, a 'pause in knowledge,' is Moshiach. What is this 'pause in knowledge?'

In the deeper sources, there is the concept of the ten sefiros. The highest of the ten is called Keser, the crown, which is the transcendental realm. We can not access Keser in our lower level of reality. We can only access it by transcending into that higher realm. But there is a lower aspect of Keser, and it is called Da'as - knowledge. Whenever there is Da'as, there is not Keser. Whenever there is Keser, you do not have da'as. What this really means is that keser represents the myriad of possibilities. When one is in this state, he experiences many different contradictory aspects - as they have not been brought down into reality, and can coexist. Da'as represents the bringing down and limitation of possibility, a flattening of the higher reality, of a three dimensional world into a two dimensional world.

The problem is that as long as we live with evaluation and limitation - with da'as - we limit ourselves and preclude access to keser.

Understand this - in the world of Moshiach, opposites coexist. Both good and bad live in harmony. The lion lies with the lamb. Swords are beaten into plowshares. The evil inclination joins with the good inclination. Jew and Gentile serve Hashem together - "For my house shall be a house of prayer for all of the nations." This is the aspect of Keser.

When we evaluate events and say that they are Moshiach's advent - we are limiting the events and preventing Moshiach from coming! When I look at the calendar dates and I point out all of that which is going on - I am limiting - entering into a world of da'as. Da'as is synonymous with evil and separation - it is the loss of the greater holistic world of Keser where everything - even opposites - lives in harmony. The Moshiach blogs actually serve to prevent Moshiach from coming. My discussions of Moshiach prevent him from coming.

The truth is that there is validity to the concepts that I have been discussing - da'as is, in fact, a flattened version of keser - there is truth in da'as. But it is a limitation - it is two dimensional. In order for the picture to take on three dimensions, we need to stop flattening it. We need to stop saying that we understand. We need a היסח הדעת - a pause in knowledge.

For me, even from the beginning, the Moshiach obsession has worked to my detriment. Instead of spurring forward movement, it dragged me down and kept me from being who I need to be. In general, my podcasts served to act as an excuse for me to not pursue serious learning outside of them. I realized that most of Parsha podcasts just were a reflection of whatever ideas I was thinking of at the moment. Instead of looking for what the Torah was trying to teach me, instead of living in Keser - I was fitting my own da'as into the Torah. I was living in limitation.

We can not enter into a world of expansion as long as we hold onto limitation. I can not be who I need to be as long as I think I know how I am supposed to be. Yes, I can have a goal and a vision, but I can not allow that goal and vision to stunt my growth, and I can not be limited by that vision - I need to be open to a greater possibility. We can not look at events going on the world and even faintly believe that we understand them. This limits them. Our limitation affects the advent of Moshiach. This is clear from the statement of Chazal that Moshiach can only come when we pause our knowledge.

Thinking about the future is what the Alter of Novahardok calls דאגת מחר - worry about tomorrow. This is what prevents a person from the level of bitachon where Hashem acts with miracles. The thoughts and predictions define and limit, creating a reality that is only what we think, with our limited minds. It is essential that we stop evaluating in order to get to the time of Moshiach. We can't evaluate that time. We can't think about the future. עין לא ראתה אלוקים זולתיך - No eye has beholden it, Elokim, except for You. It is beyond our dimension. When we quantify it, we can't get to it.

Our job is to live in the present. When we bring the past into the present, we are limiting the present. When we bring a belief about the future into the present, we are also limiting the present. Our job is to realize that there is no other moment except for the current moment. The Leshem writes that Hashem's name י-ה-ו-ה means something more than the classic translation. Classically, we understand it to mean that Hashem was, Hashem is, and Hashem will be. He says a higher understanding. The name means that for Hashem, all times are present. All times are now. When we live in the present, we are emulating Hashem. When we live with a future time or a past time, we are disconnecting from Hashem, because for Him, all times are present. This is a deep idea, and I know that it is something that can easily be misunderstood to mean the opposite of what I am saying. But think about it well.

The bottom line of it all is that Hashem wants us to live in the present - to live in the moment - now. If we are constantly evaluating, than we are like the tourist in Israel who is taking videos the entire time, and not actually experiencing anything. He saves his video for some later time, so that at that point he can live in the past. He never lives in the present. And that is what we are doing here.

I think it is important that the blog be erased, to bring home the message that we can not live in the future, and we can not live in the past. We can not live with predictions, and we can not live - even understanding the structure of the months and the year. I personally have found this evaluation to be extremely destructive, and my conscience does not permit me to do it to others. I can not tell you what you should do personally. I can offer advice. If you have come here before, and were consistently reading, you may respect my opinion.

I advise you to live your life and try your best to serve Hashem with all of your heart. Ask Hashem to guide you. Let Him into your life. Let go of your version of reality, and allow His version of reality to take over. His version is so much grander than my version.

May we all merit to greet Moshiach together very soon.

Amen.

End of Geulah Perspectives

I have decided to erase this blog. It has taken up too much of my time and emotion. I realized that we need to live in the present and stop thinking about the future. It does not truly do us too much good. Personally, it has distracted me from my life and has caused me to be less effective as a human being. I would like to move past this, and I encourage others to do so as well.

Pinchas - Shmini Atzeres and Pinchas

What is the connection between Pinchas and Shmini Atzeres? What is the connection between Shmini atzeres and Shavuos? What is the connection between Shmini atzeres and Chanukah?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 19:53

Moshiach 9 podcast document

Here is a text document of the Moshiach 9 podcast.

Click here to download.

Something Different

Here is a song that I wrote today, called Something Different.

Please don't distribute beyond this blog and/or my facebook page.

Enjoy!

There's something different in the air
Things are changing everywhere
All the walls are crumbling down
Emptiness is all around

Angry voices serenade
tauntingly their music plays
Somewhere in the raucous din
A quiet voice is there within

Peel away the layers of anger and sorrow
Open up your heart to the gift of tomorrow
Find the love, accept what you're given with gladness
Open up the door and escape from your sadness

The darkness that surrounds us now
Is a chance, I'll show you how
to uncover endless light
Lift your wings, begin your flight

In the darkest depths of night
When it seems no hope's in sight
It's that very place you'll find
The still, fine voice of peace of mind

The secret hidden in your heart
Hashem has been there from the start
Waiting for you patiently
to open up your destiny

All you need to see His hand
to begin to understand
Move beyond the selfish drive
Reveal the love you have inside

Moshiach podcast 9 - 9 Av, Shmini Atzeres, Zos Chanukah

We discuss two more sets of seventy days - from the 9th of Av until Shmini Atzeres, and from Shmini Atzeres until the last day of Chanukah. We discuss the ramification of these days, their connection, and what it means for us.

You can download the Moshiach podcast 9 here.

Running time: 46:00

Here is a typed version of Moshiach podcast 8.5.

I hope to have a typed version of this podcast by tomorrow, be'H.

Balak - Uncovering the still, fine voice

What is Bilam's underlying intention? Does Hashem want him to go with Balak's men or not? What is the understanding of Hashem's approach? What is the concept of the Yetzer Hara before and after? How does one access the still, fine voice that Hashem speaks about with Eliyahu?

Find out in this week's Parsha Podcast.

Running time: 16:27

Lev Tahor

Sometimes Hashem blesses us with a chance to touch a moment of spirituality and purity. King David asked that that pure heart be created within him, and that spirit be renewed within him. "Don't send me away from You, and do not take away Your holy spirit from me." (Tehillim/Psalms 51)

Thoughts on Yosef on his birthday

Yosef was born and died on the first day of Tamuz. It was exactly nine months after he was conceived, which was on Rosh Hashana, as per the Gemara in Rosh Hashana, which explicitly states that Sarah, Rochel and Chana all conceived on Rosh Hashana. Rosh Hashana was the day that the first man was created, and it was the day he sinned, creating the need for a Moshiach ben Yosef to come to rectify that sin. Rosh Hashana is a day of potential for Moshiach ben Yosef, and it was that day that not only was Yosef conceived, but he also completed his difficult trials and was miraculously raised to the post of second in command to Paroh on this day. But that day was only the beginning for him. It was a point in time of completion of his potential, and a point in time of the beginning of the seed starting to strike root. It would take time for that potential to become actualized. At first, only the Egyptian people knew of his greatness and humility. He ruled over them with great wisdom and concern for their welfare. This care became apparent as he continued to rule in his humble manner. It would be a significant amount of time until he would rule over his family, the children of Israel, and reveal himself to them. Only in the end would he finally reveal himself to his father. Similarly, it can be surmised that Rosh Hashana is a significant day for Moshiach ben Yosef. It is a day of potential being actualized, and it is a day that is the beginning of a greater revelation.

It is significant to note that Yosef's conception both for his birth and for beginning his role as leader occurred outside of the land of Israel. The trials that would lead him to Egypt began in Israel with his brothers selling him, but the main bulk of his trials and rise to greatness were outside of Israel. This would seem to coincide with the idea that Moshiach sits at the gates of Rome - this means that since Moshiach ben Yosef's purpose is to rectify the fall of Adam, so he enters into the physical realm, the darkest places, the depths of physicality and distance from Hashem, in order to bring everything back to its former state of perfection and equality. Interestingly, Yosef's first interaction with Esav was when Yakov and his family were returning from Lavan's house, on their way to Israel. It would be interesting to explore where that interaction took place, whether it was in Israel itself, or not.

It is interesting to note that Yosef Hatzadik was not born in a leap year. This is clear from the fact that he was born on the first of Tamuz, which is nine months after Rosh Hashana - without the leap month of a second Adar. This would seem to indicate the concept that when Yosef is in potential mode, he comes into the crass world we exist within - but in a very inconspicuous way. He is not born in a leap year where his presence is clear, where the idea of the 'ibbur' - the bringing down of the higher dimension - is apparent. Just as the Maharsha says that Yosef does his work in Av - in the month that Esav/Satan believes he has control, so too, Yosef enters the world in this secretive manner, with no show of glitter or glamor. His entire essence is pure humility. His brothers are even unaware that Yosef is leading them to their tikkun. He accomplishes his goal with the cover of darkness. His goal is never greatness or grandeur. His leadership is only a means to a pure end - to connect the people of Israel, and all of mankind, to their Creator. When that is the goal, there is no room for ego. Yosef excelled in this area, and was a paragon of egolessness, of pure recognition that everything is from Hashem, and his talent was given to him to serve mankind.

יהי זכרו ברוך