Knesseth Israel of Birmingham Shabbat Pekudei 3/5/2022Torah for the War in Ukraine

Knesseth Israel of Birmingham Shabbat Pekudei 3/5/2022 Torah for the War in Ukraine

כִּי֩ עֲנַ֨ן יְ עַֽל־הַמִּשְׁכָּן֙ יוֹמָ֔ם וְאֵ֕שׁ תִּהְיֶ֥ה לַ֖יְלָה בּ֑וֹ לְעֵינֵ֥י כׇל־בֵּֽית־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בְּכׇל־מַסְעֵיהֶֽם׃

Exodus 40:38

For over the Tabernacle a cloud of Hashem rested by day, and fire would appear in it by night, in the view of all the house of Israel throughout their journeys.

ספורנו על במדבר ל״ג:ב׳:ב׳

ואלה מסעיהם למוצאיהם ולפעמים קרה הפך זה. וכתב גם כן ענין המסע שהיה לצאת ממקום אל מקום בלי הקדמת ידיעה שהיה זה קשה מאד ובכל זה לא נמנעו ובכן נכתב בכל אחד מהם ויסעו ממקום פלוני ויחנו במקום פלוני כי המסע והחניה היה כל אחד מהם קשה:

Sforno on Numbers 33:2:2

The reason why we find sometimes the objective mentioned first and other times the place of departure, is due to the fact that sometimes the people were glad to get away from a certain place where unpleasantness had occurred, whereas other times they were merely glad to arrive at a new destination hoping for a pleasant stay in their new encampment. One of the most vexing aspects of all these journeys was that the new objective had never been announced beforehand, so that the people were always in the dark about what the next day would bring. In spite of all these uncertainties they never refused to follow the cloud and break camp at a moment’s notice when required. The reason that both the breaking of camp and the making of camp are mentioned separately is because both entailed a considerable amount of discomfort.

שיחות הר"ן קי״ז:א׳

בִּכְפַר אוֹסְיַאטִין סָמוּךְ לָעִיר מֶעדְוֶוידִוְוקֶע, שָׁם הָיָה דָּר חָמִיו ז"ל. וְשָׁם הָיָה עִקַּר גִּדּוּלוֹ. וְשָׁם הוֹלֵךְ נָהָר גָּדוֹל וְעָלָיו גְּדֵלִים קָנֶה וָסוּף הַרְבֵּה לִמְאֹד מְאֹד.

Sichot HaRan 117:1

These add to the earlier ones. Blossoms of wisdom gleaned from the conversations of Rebbe Nachman, previously existing only in manuscript form. The Rebbe spent most of his youth in the village of Ossatin near Medvedevka, where his father-in-law lived. This was near a large river with many reeds and rushes growing on its banks.

שיחות הר"ן קי״ז:ב׳

הָיָה דַּרְכּוֹ בַּקֹּדֶשׁ שֶׁל אֲדוֹנֵנוּ מוֹרֵנוּ וְרַבֵּנוּ זצוק"ל שֶׁהָיָה לוֹקֵחַ לִפְעָמִים סְפִינָה קְטַנָּה וְשָׁט עִמָּהּ בְּעַצְמוֹ לְתוֹךְ הַנָּהָר הַנַּ"ל. אַף־עַל־פִּי שֶׁלֹּא הָיָה יָכוֹל הֵיטֵב לְהַנְהִיג סְפִינָה זֹאת, אַף־עַל־פִּי־כֵן הָיָה שָׁט עִמָּהּ עַד אֲחוֹרֵי הַקָּנֶה וָסוּף, עַד הַמָּקוֹם שֶׁלֹּא הָיוּ רוֹאִין אוֹתוֹ עוֹד. וְשָׁם עָשָׂה מַה שֶּׁעָשָׂה בַּעֲבוֹדַת הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ בִּתְפִלָּה וְהִתְבּוֹדְדוּת. (אַשְׁרֵי לוֹ, כִּי בֶּאֱמֶת זָכָה לְמַה שֶּׁזָּכָה כַּנִּרְאֶה בְּחוּשׁ בִּסְפָרָיו הַקְּדוֹשִׁים).

Sichot HaRan 117:2

The Rebbe’s holy way involved his taking at times a small boat which he rowed by himself along the river. He could not control the boat very well, but would still take it beyond the rushes where he could not be seen. It was here that he served God, secluding himself in meditation and prayer. The Rebbe himself writes that it was here that he attained what he did.

שיחות הר"ן קי״ז:ג׳

מֵעִנְיַן הַסְּפִינָה הַנַּ"ל, שֶׁהָלַךְ עִם הַסְּפִינָה לְתוֹךְ הַנָּהָר וְהוּא לֹא יָדַע לְהַנְהִיג הַסְּפִינָה. וּכְשֶׁבָּא בְּתוֹךְ הַנָּהָר רָחוֹק מֵהַיַּבָּשָׁה וְלֹא יָדַע כְּלָל מַה לַּעֲשׂוֹת, כִּי הַסְּפִינָה מִתְנוֹדֶדֶת וְכִמְעַט שֶׁטָּבַע ח"ו. וְאָז צָעַק לְהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ וְהֵרִים יָדָיו אֵלָיו כָּרָאוּי.

Sichot HaRan 117:3

As he could not control his boat very well, when he came to the middle of the river, far from the shore, the boat would rock violently in the heavy current and seem ready to sink. The Rebbe had no idea how to remedy the situation and would lift his hands and cry out to God with true devotion.

שיחות הר"ן קי״ז:ד׳

וְכֵן כְּשֶׁהָיָה תָּלוּי בְּיָדָיו עַל הַחוֹמָה בִּטְבֶרְיָה כְּשֶׁרָצָה לִבְרֹחַ מֵהָעִפּוּשׁ רַחֲמָנָא לִצְלָן וְכוּ' וְרָאָה תַּחְתָּיו הַיָּם כִּנֶּרֶת וְכִמְעַט כִּמְעַט שֶׁיִּפֹּל (כַּמְבֹאָר בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר בְּסִפּוּר הַנְּסִיעָה שֶׁלּוֹ לְאֶרֶץ־יִשְׂרָאֵל) אָז גַּם־כֵּן צָעַק בְּלִבּוֹ לְהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ כָּרָאוּי.

Sichot HaRan 117:4

The same thing happened later when he was in Tiberias. Attempting to escape the plague, he found himself on a narrow wall, hanging by his fingertips above the Sea of Galilee (see “His Pilgrimage to the Holy Land” #19). When he felt that he would surely fall, he cried out in his heart to God.

שיחות הר"ן קי״ז:ה׳

וְהָיָה רָגִיל לְסַפֵּר זֹאת וְרָצָה לְהַכְנִיס בְּלִבֵּנוּ שֶׁכָּךְ צָרִיךְ כָּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד לִצְעֹק לְהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ וְלִשָּׂא לִבּוֹ אֵלָיו יִתְבָּרַךְ כְּאִלּוּ הוּא בְּאֶמְצַע הַיָּם תָּלוּי עַל חוּט הַשַּׂעֲרָה, וְהָרוּחַ סְעָרָה סוֹעֵר עַד לֵב הַשָּׁמַיִם, עַד שֶׁאֵין יוֹדְעִין מַה לַעֲשׂוֹת וְכִמְעַט אֵין פְּנַאי אֲפִלּוּ לִצְעֹק. אֲבָל בֶּאֱמֶת בְּוַדַּאי אֵין לוֹ עֵצָה וּמָנוֹס כִּי־אִם לִשָּׂא עֵינָיו וְלִבּוֹ לְהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ.

Sichot HaRan 117:5

The Rebbe constantly repeated these stories. They were a lesson that he wanted to impress on our hearts and minds. Imagine that you are in the middle of the sea, with a storm raging to the very heart of the heavens. You are hanging on by a hairsbreadth, not knowing what to do. You do not even have time to cry out. You can only lift your eyes and heart to God.

שיחות הר"ן קי״ז:ו׳

וְכָךְ צְרִיכִין בְּכָל עֵת לְהִתְבּוֹדֵד וְלִצְעֹק לְהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ. כִּי הָאָדָם בְּסַכָּנָה גְּדוֹלָה בְּזֶה הָעוֹלָם, כַּאֲשֶׁר יוֹדֵעַ כָּל אֶחָד בְּנַפְשׁוֹ.

Sichot HaRan 117:6

You should always lift your heart to God like this. Seclude yourself and cry out to God. The danger is more than imaginary. As you know deep down in your soul, every man is in great danger in this world.

Rabbi Moshe Rube for Knesseth Israel on Shabbat Pekudei 3/5

William James observed in his patients the remarkable amount of strength they derived from reaching out to a Higher Power. This gave them an avenue to be at their lowest points and not get lost in the darkness. As he said, "God is real because he has real effects".

These effects of God on people have even been shown experimentally in the work of Stanford anthropologist Tanya Marie Luhrmann, Lee Underwood, Lee Kirkpatrick and Philip Shaver.

But we miss something when we try to box God in as a Being with practical uses. It's one thing to write a paper on the effects of reaching out to a Higher Power but quite another to live it out. To do that, we must go somewhere where we usually don't go unless we are backed into a corner.

What is this space?

The poet Christian Wiman frequently wrote of a "bright abyss, a bottomless pit of great light" and wrote a poem after a terrible diagnosis that started with

"Once more I come to the edge of all I know.

And believing in nothing, believe in this".

Although we seek security and safety and we shouldn't wish insecurity on anyone, we must know that as humans it is apart of our nature, apart of our Divine makeup, to be able to find balance and relief no matter how deep the state of insecurity and darkness. No matter how precarious the edge. No matter the depth of the abyss.

No matter how fickle our cloud might be.