I heard from R' Naftali Jeger, R"Y of Sho'r Yoshuv, in the name of Rav Hutner, that on Yov Tov a person can receive amazing aliyah in Torah and ruchniyus. When a person finds himself in such a position, why think small? You have to seize the opportunity -- reach for the stars and aspire for the most lofty ideals and ideas, as represented by the ma'aseh merkava. Don't let the Yom Tov go to waste!
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
what is the ma'aseh merkava doing in mes. chagiga?
It is said in the name of the GR"A (R' Tzadok also has it in many places) that every aggadita in sha"s fits exactly to the masechta it is placed in. The description of the churban habayis appears in Mes. Gittin, because at the time of churban we became k'almanah, waiting for Hashem to take us back. The aggadita that speaks of mattan Torah appears in Mes. Shabbos because according to all opinions the Torah was given on Shabbos and relates to the day of Shabbos. Why does the topic of ma'aseh merkava, the mystical vision of the Heavens as shown to Yechezkel haNavi, which is incomprehensible except for those on a very high spiritual level, appear in Mes. Chagigah, which deals with aliya la'regel and Tom Tov?
Are you talking about the arbaa nichnesu on 14b?
ReplyDeleteyes, but lav davka that alone -- why should the mishna mention ma'aseh merkava there?
ReplyDelete"on Yov Tov a person can receive amazing aliyah in Torah and ruchniyus. When a person finds himself in such a position, why think small? You have to seize the opportunity -- reach for the stars and aspire for the most lofty ideals and ideas, as represented by the ma'aseh merkava. Don't let the Yom Tov go to waste!"
ReplyDeleteHow do you do this? Daven for it on Yom Tov? learn a lot of bava basra on Yom Tov? What is this avodah exactly?
For the specifics you need to 1) ask someone who knows you personally and is a bar hachi to advise you; 2) reflect on what you think you should be doing. I don't think it's something I can write about.
ReplyDelete>>> Why does...ma'aseh merkava... appear...with aliya la'regel and [Y]om Tov?
ReplyDeletePesach--ox; He empowered us to
bear the wealth of Egypt out from
there
Shavuos--lion; Hashem's roaring
Presence atop the mountain
Succot--eagle; Devarim 32:11 etc.,
amid Clouds of Glory
Yom Tov--adam; enactment, year-to-year, l'dor v'dor
simchas bais hashoeva >>> ruach hakodesh
ReplyDeleteain shechina shoreh ... ela mitoch simcha shel mitzva
Those who seek to enter the Pardes [i.e., internalize kabbala] without being in a state of simcha [and certainly if they are in a state of yuhara] may feel they are in a state of spiritual elevation, but actually, they have their coordinates reversed.
Similarly, the energy of the simcha of Yom Tov, if it is a true simcha shel mitzva, should lead to greater deveikus through ahava. And ahava mekalkelas es hashura - the previous boundaries - to allow and drive a person to greater avoda in limud and mitzvot.
[This is one well-known pshat why Yaakov said Shma when he saw Yosef...]
ah varemeh vinter...