Shabbat Shuvah 5783 - TBZ

“If you come upon a bird’s nest on the road, on a tree or on the ground, and within it chicks or eggs… You should send away the mother…”

This points us towards a very important aspect of serving the blessed Name. Everyone knows that the month of Elul is the season of teshuvah awakening. During this time, you should dedicate thought to evaluating your ways and correcting what you have done wrong even more than you do during the rest of the year…

In prior generations, before the light of the Ba’al Shem Tov spread through the world, we witnessed a specific form of practice during this season, from Rosh Hodesh Elul onwards. People whose hearts were touched by divine awe, who experienced fear and trembling at the approach of the high and holy days, would shut themselves in rooms within rooms. They would engage in solitary reflection in their homes or in the synagogue. Some would fast multiple fasts, engage in ascetic practices and eschew human companionship.

It is true that “the Compassionate One desires your heart” (Zohar 3:281b based on Sanhedrin 106b) and whatever you do with the exclusive intention of serving God is pleasing to God. However, this is not the main way to serve the blessed Name. Rather, the essential path of service, the hook that everything else hangs on, the correct content of teshuvah is found in the practices of loving friends, connecting to friends and (together) seeking the closeness of the spiritual leaders of your generation. These practices will help you achieve full submission (to God). By witnessing your friends service, the way their hearts are aflame with dedication to serving God, you too will learn to serve like that. You will recognize your own mistakes and turn towards complete transformation (teshuvah shlemah).

You may imagine that the practice of seclusion is more conducive to awakening your heart, to transformation and connecting to God than being in the company of friends and attentive companions. You may experience human companionship as disrupting your connection to God. Still, it is preferable and more appropriate to hang on to the refuge of friend’s love and bring them along on God’s way. With others you can create a sustainable practice (lit. draw light for many days) but what you achieve in isolation is only temporary.

It is known from the “Tikunei Zohar” that the holy Shekhinah is referred to as “the bird’s nest”. This is because “bird” is a symbol of the soul, and wherever Israelite souls gather to serve God, whether it is in prayer or in Torah, the Shekhinah is present amongst them and hovers over them like a mother (bird) over her children.

This is the meaning of the verses:

“If you come upon a bird’s nest” – when you witness the divine presence brought about by the gathering of attentive friends to serve the blessed Creator, when the souls of the people of Israel gather to turn towards teshuvah,

“On the road” – Alludes to the world of teshuvah as in the verse “Who creates a road in the ocean” (Isaiah 43:16).

“In a tree or on the ground” – Whether they are people of great spiritual development (as in the verse “Are there trees there” Numbers 13:20, and see Rashi on the verse) or they are of a lesser rung,

“Chicks or eggs” – Whether they are like chicks who have begun to sprout wings, or they are still eggs and have no wings at all,

“And the mother is sitting on the chicks, etc” – This alludes to the supernal Mother who is the World of Teshuvah.

“Do not take the mother from her children” – You might want to seclude yourself, separate yourself from the children and take only the Mother, meaning you might want to engage in teshuvah by yourself without connecting to the children. Do not do this. Rather –

“Send away the mother and take the children for yourself” – Even if you have to “send away the Mother” and disrupt your connection to God, or the practices of teshuvah that you could have done in seclusion from human interaction… Still, “send away the Mother” – it is better that you disrupt your practices of teshuvah, and “take the children” – bring them closer to serving the Creator and unite with them,

“So you will benefit and live long” – The light you draw through close friendship and connection will endure for a long time and will not disappear soon.