WHY STUDY CHASIDDUS? ESOTERICISM
Question:
Dear Rabbi,
I noticed you give a daily class on Chassidus – isn’t my study of Torah, Talmud and Halacha enough? Could you tell me why I should Study Kabbalah & Chassidic Philosophy?
ANSWER:
Your question is a valid one and a great one at that. Being that we are learning a Text Book from Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the first Chabad Rebbe, I will share with you a teaching he brings in his book, it’s called Likkutei Torah on p. 51b. I hope by explaining you what he teaches here you can come to somewhat of an appreciation of the nature of this study and a good reason why one should study it.
Jews are like Sailors – Actions like Boats
In the Hebrew language the word for a Sailor is Salter or Saltee. This is simply because they are the one’s spending much time on the sea which has a large part salt.
This is in fact based on a verse in the Book of Yonah 1,5: “Vayiru hamalachim – and the mariners were afraid” - as this is explained in Rashi to Shemos 30,35.
The Ramban However opines and explains, that in fact the sailors who were at the oares rowing are in fact not called Salters-malachim, but rather rowers-Shatim, but rather there is another person at sea, and that they are the one’s who are called Salters, who were perhaps the navigators or meteorologists, because “they know the sweetness and saltiness of the sea”. They are trained into the good and bad times to go out to sea. And he brings the verses from Yecheskel to prove this idea.
Ezekiel 27, 8: “The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were thy rowers - Shatim; thy wise men, O Tyre, were in thee, they were thy pilots- Chovlayich.
Ezekiel 27, 9: “The elders of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers; all the ships of the sea with their mariners –Malachayhem- were in thee to exchange thy merchandise.”
So clearly Rashi and Ramban seem to be agreeing as to who goes out to sea, but are disputing who really get’s the Title – Malach –Salter, the navigator or the oar master.
Comes the Rabeinu Bachya and he says: “Those that go out to sea are some of the most humble of men because of the dangers at sea. The fine line between them and death is very thin and therefore their hearts and eyes and minds are always pointed to the Almighty, because they don’t see earth-land, rather heaven and sea all day - and this has a humbling affect on them.
As King David so prolifically writes in Tehillim:
Psalms 107, 23 -24: “They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters--These saw the works of the LORD, and His wonders in the deep.”
Firstly, in their sailing and journeys they see the amazing creatures of the sea, and more importantly, when storms strike and the sea gets rough and wild they are well aware of what the consequences can be, to the point where death is imminent - and this humbles them profoundly.
As the Talmud in Kedushin 82a goes as far as awarding sailors a great title, pay attention to the choice of words the Talmud uses:
“Most Sefanim- Ship goers [be it navigators, pilots or ore masters] are Chassidim – righteous people, because without the mercy of G-d all their knowledge of the sea is worth nothing.”
This above is an introduction to the following words of the Alter Rebbe, Reb Shneur Zalman:
[Because the words of the Alter Rebbe are a fine mixture of Talmudic and Kabalistic verbage most of us are not familiar with the Alter Rebbe’s words I bring them here in their original format for you to see his vast wisdom and profundity.]
ולכן הספנים נקראו מלחים. כי פי' הנותן בים דרך היינו בים החכמה והדרך הוא ע"י הלבושים הנעשים מתומ"צ שבהם ועל ידם יוכל להשיג ים החכמה. וגם פי' בים דרך ע"ד בים דרכך שהוא המשכת אור א"ס בחו"ב. וזהו ושמרו דרך הוי'. אך הלבושים הנ"ל שהם הספינות צריכים למלח המנהיגם והוא ענין מצות צריכות כוונה ועמ"ש מזה בד"ה לא הביט און ביעקב בפ' בלק וע"כ נקראו מלחים לשון תערובות שממשיכים בחי' בים דרכך ובחינת הנותן בים דרך כו'.
“ The Sefanim- ship goers are called Salters [sailors or navigators as mentioned above], they set pathways in the water - - as it is written in Isaiah 43,16: “Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters” - - corresponding to the “sea of wisdom “– and how does one navigate water, with “garments” , that are made from Torah study and performance of mitzvot, which through them one can come to better understand the “sea of Wisdom”. – So Torah and Mitzvos are [like the] boats we create, to serve as vessels to help one journey through the seas of life.
“Additionally, the verse “…a way in the Sea” – this causes a flow of the Divine energy into the realms of Wisdom and Understanding. And this is what it means when it it is written in Bereishis 18,19: “…that they may keep the way of the LORD”. G-d gives us a course and path of life and He also gives us the tools to navigate them and complete them.
However the “garments” as mentioned which are the boats need the Malach – the sea goers to operate the boats – and this is the idea of “ Mitzvos need Intention” and understanding -[and see the further sources I bring elsewhere] – and therefore the malachim – the sea goers are called by a term of mixture, a mixture of the “sea goers set the path” and the “Lord sets the path” – Hashem does his part we do ours.
The Alter Rebbe is saying that Jews are essentially [like] sailors, navigators, oar masters and pilots and we must create rafts and boats and ships and must learn the seas well to navigate them to the best of our ability. And the way to do this is by learning the wisdom of the seas which includes what goes on under the surface. A sailor, when going out to sea could never even consider surviving if he is not learned at “sea-fare”, perhaps climatology etc. and even then he understands his knowledge and powers are limited. However it doesn’t stop him from always learning the sea even better, tasting the “sweet” and the “bitter”. And ultimately, it never stops him from going out to sea.
Similarly, if we were just ore masters, one could understand, but we are Holchay Yam – and we are Sefanim – we are navigators and pilots and we include in our training and learning experience the sub-surface knowledge, even if it way seem abstract, and even if we don’t fully grasp the complexities of it all.
And then the Rebbe takes a turn, with the following, and I abbreviate in the translation:
ואמנם יש עוד פי' הנותן בים דרך להיות הפך ים ליבשה וזהו ענין וביום השביעי עצרת והיינו כי בחינת מלחים הנ"ל מלשון מלח זהו רק המשכת הארה ולא העצמיות דבחי' א"א ומזה נמשך להיות הנותן בים דרך ע"י הארבין והספינות שהם הלבושים כנ"ל אבל בהתגלות עצמות הסוכ"ע אזי נעשה בחינה גבוה יותר להיות הפך ממש ים ליבשה כו'
“There is another explanation for the Sea goers,”… who makes a way in the sea” – it’s not making a path in the water but making a path withstanding the water, turning the water into dry land for man to travel – to remove all obscurities of the vast sea of waves and confusion of life – to draw down into the world a level of Divine energy that is a core energy and not a reflected and diminished energy – one which stems from the Etzem – the essence of G-d’s existence, which not only enlightens us on how to navigate life, but rather moves away all obstacles, and trials and tribulations.
STUDYING ESOTERICISM
In turn What the Alter Rebbe is saying is, that when one studies this aspect of Torah, the Kabalistic and hidden aspect of Torah – it’s ‘like’ one is studying Microbiology or Micro Marine Biology for that matter or, eventually we want to get to the bottom of it all, removing all concealments. We want to remove all the layers that block the essence from shining through brightly.
Even if one doesn’t get the essence right away, or even in our life time – we got a whole lot closer – and that closeness has a deep and profound effect on our level of commitment, devotion spirituality and G-dliness. We are hardwired in a way that we are intrigued by depth and profundity. Human beings are deep and profound and when we see profundity we are intrigued and passionately affected by it – making us more connected to whatever it may be – in this case but of course it being G-d.
Don’t forget the Salt
In conclusion, the Alter Rebbe states one page earlier on 50a the following.
המלח עצמו אין בו טעם ואעפ"כ הוא פועל טעם בהבשר. והיינו כי הוא מגבורות דאבא. ובחכמה אתברירו. ושרשו מבוצינא דקרדוניתא. וכמ"כ יש בחינה זו גם בתורה שבחי' חכמת הקבלה היא בעצמה אינה מושג כ"כ בטוב טעם כמו הנגלות שבתורה ואעפ"כ הוא הנותן טעם בלחם ובשר שהם הנגלות שבתורה. וזהו ולא תשבית מלח. (וע' במא"א אות מ' סעיף ע"א):
Salt by nature has no edibility, none the less it brings out the flavor in meat and the like. The reason for this is because of the great sources it has in great spiritual places. This idea, like salt, also exists within Torah itself – the Torah which is reveled to us, the surface Torah is like the meat, and the salt is that which is hidden, it also has the power and unique strength to reveal that which is hidden in the meat and the bread etc.
So in summary, studying all aspects of Torah and not studying Kabbalah and Chassidic philosophy is like eating meat and bread without salt – lacking all inner flavor and outer taste. It’s great you are learning all these other aspects of Torah – you need to – but don’t forget the “salt” of Torah.
Referring back to the Talmud in Kedushin mentioned earlier, we are all ‘Sailors of the sea of life’ and are all potentially “Chassidim” - therefore. Every Jew has a neshomah- a special G-dly soul that needs to be used and revealed so it can shine and maximize its potential. When one works on maximizing one’s potential one moves up in rank from ore master, to sailor to navigator to pilot etc. The more we do, and the more we know, the greater and more powerful generators of spiritual energy we become. If we sit around and just take up weight and space on the vessel and we don’t ride the vessel, we serve no purpose. However by studying these teaching we come to a much deeper and greater understanding into the deep and inner workings of the world – enabling us and empowering us to be the best we can be.