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Chapter One: The Goodness of the Land, part 2
Translation and commentary by Rabbi David Slavin
Due to the inequities of the generation of the destruction of the
Holy Temple, the forces of the Other Side (the kelipot)
extended a membrane from all directions surrounding Eretz Yisrael towards the
middle of the opening (above the Land, as mentioned above)--to the extent of
sealing off the flow of divine connection from the supernal Jerusalem with the
physical Jerusalem, hence the destruction.
We must bear in mind that when the membrane of the Other Side
interfered, they didn't seal up the opening at one time (of the destruction),
rather the consequences of the idolatry and other transgressions drew forth
those forces little by little, until the opening was completely sealed, then
came the destruction. We see from the first destruction an example of this. In
that first destruction, the exile started with the portion of land under control
of the ten tribes, gradually working its way to the kingdom of Judah and finally
to the place of Zion, the temple, which is the center of the world.  | | " The Land itself is inherently holy..." | | |
Now we must know that the Land itself is inherently holy, having
been apportioned by G-d as special, as opposed to the rest of earth. Being thus,
how is possible for the kelipot to enter this G-dly portion of land?
Therefore the answer to this question is that in truth the kelipot have
absolutely no portion in the Land. The best way to understand the phenomena is
by parable: A landowner has a servant who has fled his master's servitude.
Instead, he works for another man. One day the original master walks in, finds
his servant, and takes him back to where he belongs. So too, the Jewish people
have acquired for themselves a master through their transgressions. This
"master" is the kelipot, and daily they sacrifice and serve their master.
Yet they live in a land not belonging to their "master"; the kelipot have
the right to enter the Land of Israel and take what is "rightfully" theirs,
forcibly removing them (their "servants") to their lands. Yet immediately after
that, the gate is reopened. One may ask if the holiness returned to its
original place, then how could the Land remain in a state of destruction? The
answer is, that the Shechina ascended to its heavenly abode, while the
Jews were exiled from their land to the land of the gentiles, leaving the land
desolate without her children or husband. Therefore it wasn't significantly
re-inhabited until that time when G-d gazed down from the heavens. The holiness
left in order not to dwell amongst the impurity, for that is its custom, as is
known from the secret of tumat met (impurity from the dead).
That being the situation, G-d has placed a curtain of holiness in that opening
in that firmament above the Land of Israel, thus creating a partition between
the impurity and the holiness. The Land is likened to an aguna
who can not marry another. | | " Israel remains desolate...from a lack of fulfilling positive mitzvot" | | |
The intention of this curtain
(according to Rav Chaim Vital's transmission of the Arizal's teachings) is: It
is known that at the time the malchut clothes itself with gevura
and din (judgment). At that time the din functions through the
external-most garment, which is the hue of techelet
which completes [from the root of the word "chole", which means to
finish] everything. Thus at that point even the chitzonim (external
forces, externalities) fear the malchut, as the wrath of the King.
Therefore when the external forces see the malchut thus clothed,
they flee from there. That is the essence of the "light covering" as is
mentioned in the holy Zohar (part two page 141), which is the secret of the
outermost garments, which in the end are the innermost garments; they are also
called the 'holy curtain' relative to the internal garments. Therefore the
external forces can't enter there. So too, the blessing and bounty are prevented
from entering due to the might of the din that is incorporated in that
veil. That din prevents the descent of the blessings which is all a
result of the lack of merits and abundance of inequities amongst the Jews. That
is why the land of Israel remains desolate: not because of the impurity, rather
from a lack of fulfilling positive mitzvot.
To return to the first article in this series on the Land of Israel,
The Goodness of the Land, Part 1 click here
To continue on to the next article in this series on the Land of Israel,
Inhabitants of the Land, Part 1 click here Footnotes:
1 Translated most literally as
"husks" or "shells", usually refers to the tendency of the forces of evil to try to
create barriers between the Jewish people and G-d, as well as.
2 Literally, the "impurity of the dead". The source of this impurity stems from the absence
of the soul, the holiness, from the body. This creates a sort of vacuum inviting
the impurity.
3 A woman whose husband is missing. Without any proof of
his whereabouts or death, she remains legally married to him despite his
absence; she is probably in the most tragic position.
4 A hue of blue which is described by Chazal as being like sea blue. This dye was
used for many sacred purposes, i.e. Tzitzit, the priestly garments, The
Mishkan (Tabernacle), etc. Techelet implies eternity as in the sea, the
sky, and G-d's throne.
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