A HOLY LETTER

""He will not come to the land that I am giving the Israelites." (Chukat 20:24)

AND it happened that Reb Refoel of Bershid was a learned Talmud chochom and wholly devoted to his Rebbe, the Baal Shem Tov. He had a burning desire to settle in Eretz Yisroel (The Land of Israel), and sought his Rebbe's blessing to do so.

"Eretz Yisroel is Eretz HaKodesh (The Holy Land) only because the Torah makes it so. The holiness of Eretz Yisroel descends from Above to below. Poland needs you and the holy Torah you teach. You can create holiness from below to Above," the Baal Shem Tov told Reb Refoel.

Reb Refoel understood his Rebbe's words, that he was not yet destined to settle in Eretz Yisroel. He was disappointed but as a devoted chassid, he accepted the Baal Shem Tov's advice without question, and thought that perhaps at sometime in the future he would be able to fulfill his desire.

Many years passed and Reb Refoel, who had served his community as a rabbi, was now growing old. Again, the desire to move to the Holy Land awakened in him.

"I am too old to serve as a Rabbi," he thought, "and would like very much to live out my last days in the Holy Land." But he refrained from asking his Rebbe for his blessing to go. Somehow he knew that the Baal Shem Tov would not agree.

Soon thereafter, he received a letter from the Baal Shem Tov again discouraging him from the move. There was no doubt in Reb Refoel's mind that the Baal Shem Tov knew of his renewed plan through his holy vision.

Disappointed again, Reb Refoel decided to put the whole idea out of his mind. He dearly treasured the letter written with the holy hand of the Baal Shem Tov, and placed it in a locked box that he put in a safe place.

Many years later, after the Baal Shem Tov had left this world, Reb Refoel who was now very old and weak, again had thoughts of moving to the Holy Land.

"This is my last chance to move to the Holy Land before my time comes to leave this world." So he packed his possessions and put them on a wagon. When all his preparations were complete, Reb Refoel invited his friends and relatives for a farewell meal. In the midst of the celebration, he stepped outside the house to get a breath of air. It was not windy outdoors, yet suddenly from out of nowhere, a piece of paper fluttered down landing at Reb Refoel's feet. He bent down and picked it up. Looking at the paper in his hands, he turned white with shock! It was the Baal Shem Tov's letter that he had kept locked away for safekeeping all these years! How is it possible? He could not begin to guess, but he understood what had just occurred.

Reb Refoel returned to his guests, and placed the letter under the tablecloth. He then began to recount to his friends and relatives the entire history of his attempts to immigrate to the Holy Land. As he explained how the Baal Shem Tov had sent him a letter, he reached under the tablecloth, but to his amazement the letter had disappeared! Reb Refoel couldn't believe it!

He quickly retrieved the locked box where he kept the holy letter. Everyone gathered around with baited breath as he unlocked the box and lifted the lid. Sure enough, the letter was still there just as he had left it many years before.

"The bond between a chassid and his Rebbe transcends all worlds" he exclaimed. "It is clear that my holy Rebbe, the Baal Shem Tov knew from the very first time I asked for his blessing, that it was not my destiny to dwell in The Holy Land, but to remain here."

Reb Refoel lived to a ripe old age, and continued to enlighten his community with his wisdom and teachings of Torah, as he was destined to do.

And so it was.

Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane (Howard M. Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story in Pe'er Layeshorim as translated in Stories of the BAAL SHEM TOV by Y.Y. Klapholtz

This is the statute of the Torah, which the L-rd has commanded, saying: Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer, faultless, with no blemish. . . (Numbers 19:2)

All the commandments are eternal in the mind. Even though in practice they require a certain time and action, in thought, they exist forever. For the Torah partakes of G-d's divinity, and His divinity is eternal. As the disciples of the Baal Shem Tov said, the entire Torah must always be found applicable in the mind and intellect, and one can learn from every mitzvah its [spiritual] allusion. They asked the Baal Shem Tov how this applies to the mitzvah of the Red Heifer, which was rarely performed even in the day of the Holy Temple. Furthermore, what is the significance of its ability to purify the impure and make impure the pure?

The Baal Shem Tov answered that this pertains to the ego. Because if a person acts wrongly and is far from G-d, the beginning of his reform depends upon the ego, and [actions that are] not for the sake of heaven.¹ For instance, in order to show off, or to merit the World to Come. For this too is a hidden type of egotism, in that he thinks it fitting for G-d to reward him for his deeds. He imagines that he has done something for G-d, when really, without G-d's influence in our lives, what are we? How can we possibly receive reward?

However, it is impossible to realize this at first, and the person would remain in the "externalities,"² G--d forbid. Therefore, it is permitted for him to use pride, ostentation and self- centered actions, for "amidst selfish reasons, one comes to selflessness."³

On the other hand, selfless worship must be pure and clean from all traces of ego, which will ruin the action. Ego, then, purifies the impure that are distant from G-d, and defiles the pure that are already close to Him, for if become prideful, they are despised by G-d.

This applies even to Tzaddikim, who are already pure. They, too, must always follow this path, that requires both pride and humility to draw close to G-d. Because before a person wants to come close to G-d through the performance of an important mitzvah, or Torah study, or prayer, he is still far-off. Compared to the degree of closeness he will attain through this deed, he is, in a sense, still impure. It is impossible for him to come close to G-d without his ego. For just as there is Smallness and Largeness in holiness, so do they exist on the side of evil,⁴ G-d forbid. Smallness in the Sitra Achra occurs when the evil inclination tells us, "You are not fit to perform such an important mitzvah or act of worship as this." Then, one must become proud in the way of G-d.⁵

This is as our Sages said: "Why was Adam created alone, so that a [each] person should say, 'The world depends upon me.'"⁶ Lacking this attitude, his evil inclination will tell him that he is unfit to approach G-d through his action. Thus, he must use his very ego to come close to G-d, for this is really humility, as we explained. It only seems like pride compared to the evil inclination, who seeks to deceive him into thinking that it is a mitzvah to be lowly. Thus, he pride purifies him and allow him to draw close to G-d through Torah study, prayer, or the commandments. However, afterward, when he is actually involved in the act, he must be on guard to all forms of pride. He must humble himself before G-d and others. This is holy Smallness - not thinking that he is better than anyone else because they do not do this deed. It turns out that feeling egotistical during the actual performance of the mitzvah, when a person is called pure, actually makes him impure, G-d forbid. Now, pride is called a Heifer, for it increases and enlarges a person's mind.⁷ It is also red, from the side of the "shells."⁸

Therefore, one must throw into the pyre of the Heifer cedar wood, hyssop and crimson [wool], as the Talmud says: "One who is as proud as a cedar should lower himself like a hyssop."⁹ And Maimonidies determined that the rod of cedar wood must be a hands breath long.¹⁰ That is, the power and the greatness that a person uses to perform the mitzvah has to be precisely measured to a hands breath, and immediately afterward, he must lower himself like a hyssop.

This is called the Red Heifer that purifies the impure, and makes impure the pure.
Kesser Shem Tov, part 2, p. 18a

¹I.e. not with selfless intent.
²In the chitzoniyut - i.e. trapped in a superficial relationship with life, and far from G-d.
³Pesachim 50b. The Talmud speaks about a person who studies Torah in order to be honored with the title "Rabbi." Even though his motivation is self- serving, the very act of studying Torah will purify him and bring him to a level of selflessness in his studies.
⁴The Sitra Achra - the "Other Side," referring to the forces in creation that appear opposite the Divine will.
⁵Based upon II Chronicles 17:6: "And [Jehoshaphat's] heart was lifted up in the ways of the L rd; and furthermore he took away the high places and the Asherim out of Judah."
⁶Sanhedrin 37a.
⁸The Hebrew word for "Heifer," Parah, is related to the word Pore'ah, "to be fruitful" - translated here as "to increase."
⁹The color red is usually associates with forces of negativity, such as blood, or the Sefirah of Gevurah. Here, it represents the kelipot - the impure shells that block the perception of G-d.
¹⁰Midrash Tanchuma, Metzora 3.