THE BURNING CANDLE

Dear Family,

I hope that everyone is well.

Wishing a refuah shleimah for Yechezkiel ben Ester.

Mazal Tov to Reuven and Chana Lieba (Ravin and Annette) on their upcoming Anniversary. Wishing you many more happy and healthy years together with much nachas from all your children and grandchildren BEH!

Mazal Tov to Sara Glick on her birthday on the same day. Wishing you a very happy year Sara with much continued achievement!

This Sunday night is Shavuos, and we usually give each other Gut Yomtov wishes and add that we should 'Receive the Torah anew with Joy and Inwardness.'

It is interesting that tomorrow we are finishing the first Section of Tanya, which is a central book of Chassidus, the Pnimius or Inwardness of Torah.

So I thought that it would be nice to share (in a very summarised form ) the theme of the last 3 chapters of Likutei Amarim Tanya, Chaps 50-53, which is very much explaining the greatness of Torah and its physical application.

And connected, and highly recommended - please try and listen to the interview with Elisheva Martinetti who is staying with us at the moment, together with her family - see link at end of Dvar Torah.

The Shechina represents the channel through which Divine energy flows to the world.

This energy itself is too powerful for the world to bear, and therefore a garment or screen is needed to conceal this light.

This garment is the Torah which issues from the Supernal Wisdom.

As this wisdom came down by progressive descents from World to World, the Shechinah came too, extending a level of light to each World

The Written Law, Gemara, Mishnah, Halachah all derive at these various levels of World.

At the time of the First Temple, the Shechinah dwelled in the Ark with the Tablets containing the Ten Commandments in the Holy of Holies.

In the Second Temple there was a lesser level of Holiness.

Since the Destruction of the Second Temple, The Holy One Blessed Be He has only the 4 cubits of Halachah (Jewish Law) to dwell - a description of the space occupied by a person - (Gemara Brachot p8a)

And even if 1 Jew sits and engages in Torah Study, the Shechinah is with him!

The Shechinah descends into the level of action ie the 613 Mitzvot and the practical halachot.

This is beautifully compared in the Zohar as follows: "The Supernal Light that is kindled on a Jew's head, namely the Shechinah, requires oil, and these are the good deeds, namely the 613 Mitzvot, which derive from His Wisdom. Thereby the light of the Shechinah can cling to the wick, ie the vivifying soul in the body, which is metaphorically called a 'wick'...

This 'fire' needs constant daily feeding with Torah Study and good deeds.

In light of the above explanation, it just becomes so much more obvious to me, the magnitude of Rambam's work, Mishneh Torah, which includes the whole of Torah in practical format.

We can all join in with this learning of either 1 chapter per day over 3 years, or 3 chapters per day over 1 year, or just to learn his work Sefer HaMitzvot. Translations into English are available.

For those who have extra time, we have an interesting family staying with us from Milan. They came to London for the birth of their fourth child. The mother and father are both converts. She is from China, and coincidentally, Chabad.org featured an interview with her this week!

https://www.chabad.org/multimedia/video_cdo/aid/6878531/jewish/A-Chinese-Con verts-Global-Odyssey-of-Faith.htm

Gut Shabbos and Gut Yom Tov

Wishing all to renew our receiving of Torah this Shavuos, with Joy and Inwardness