ART OF ELEVATION

Dear Family,

I hope that everyone is well. We wish a refuah shleima to Shmuel Levy's father, Reb Ephraim.

Mazal Tov to Shmuel Levy on his birthday next week. Wishing you a wonderful year in both gashmius and ruchnius Shmuel, with nachas from the Family, together with Rivky, and with much joy!

Mazal tov to Chanie Davidoff on her birthday next week. Wishing you a year of happiness, good health, and much continued success in the education of your Family together with Pesach!

I heard an interesting explanation from Rabbi Manis Friedman, on Chap 7 of this week's Tanya learning, which gives us a small insight into how much precision and thought is found with Torah and with our Rebbeim.

The Alte Rebbe is discussing the forces which oppose Holiness.

This world is made up of mainly 'not-good', with a little bit of good mixed in. Ie Holiness on one side, total evil on the other side, and an intermediate zone called klipat nogah, which is a neutral zone, which can go either way (can be converted to good or the opposite)

The Alte Rebbe brings an example to illustrate how to handle the klipat nogah zone, with a stories from the Gemorra, about RAVA and RABBAH.

Eating food just for the sake of pleasure, is taking neutral food and demoting it and ourselves, towards not-good.

RAVA used to eat rich wine and meat to broaden and stimulate his mind to enhance his Torah learning and service of Hashem. Even although this appears to be an indulgence, he was doing it with the right intention, and so he elevated the food and himself towards Holiness.

Or on an even higher level, to have these foods on Shabbos and Yom Tov, when it is an actual Mitzvah to enjoy.

These actions convert the hidden energy inside the food

Another example is when someone makes a humorous remark to lighten the mind and heart so that we can serve Hashem with more joy.

As RABAH did with his students. He would take some time away from his Torah teaching, to make a humorous remark, related to his teaching, to bring additional joy to his students, to make their learning more effective.

However there is a more remote story, where RAVA also brought in humour to the study of his students, (as was the case with RABAH) and the Alte Rebbe carefully and precisely chooses this quote rather than the well known version about Rabah

Why?! (The Rebbe explains on this chap of Tanya)

Very briefly, each story in Torah has a new lesson for us.

So here we can see that even although RAVA already came to the Torah class with a happy heart and mind from the rich foods, he still used techniques to add to the joy of serving Hashem, by taking some time off Torah to make a focused humorous remark to further broaden and lighten the mind and heart of his students.

Even although we are already happy, we should make extra efforts TO SERVE HASHEM WITH MORE JOY, which will elevate ourselves and the world to the side of Good and Holiness.

Wishing everyone a Gut Shabbos with much enjoyment!