Dvar Torah for Parshat Behaalotekha

'They said, ÔDid God speak only to Moshe? He spoke to us as well.'Ó Numbers 12:2

In order for a person to achieve the closeness to Hashem (God) for which he was created, he has to purify his medameh (power of imagination), which is the interface between the holiness of the intellect's essence and the traits of the heart (see Likutey Moharan I, Lesson #25, n.9). To accomplish this one needs a teacher.

Even Miriam the Prophetess and Aharon, the siblings of Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher), needed a teacher. They had the best, their brother Moshe Rabbeinu. They were aware of his greatness, but not aware enough.

It often happens that a person grows in spirituality and thinks that he has equaled, or surpassed, his teacher. This may often be true. One must, at some point, seek a teacher whom he will never outgrow. One must be willing to crawl on his hands and knees from one end of the earth to the other to find such a teacher. The more one searches, the more the medameh is purified.

If and when one finds such a teacher"Oy! how much we have to pray for such a find!"the only thing that will prevent continual purification of the medameh is the teacher's 'death.Ó The cause of 'deathÓ may be that one has hit a wall in personal growth or lost faith in the teacher; because the teacher has 'withdrawnÓ because of the student's lapses, or because the teacher has left this world.

Whenever a person realizes that his teacher has 'died,Ó he must realize that the teacher has not died, but that he"the student"has allowed the teacher to 'die.Ó Now he has to bring him back to life. This techiyat hameitim (resurrection) takes place through one's constant, continual yearning to receive the teacher's ruach hakodesh (holy spirit). One has to continually probe what has already been learned in order to draw more of that ruach hakodesh. One has to seek out other students of his teacher to see what they can share. Even if he finds that they have nothing to offer but their own yearning, he must ask Hashem to have pity on him so as to remain with them and not stray.

Finally, one has to be ready to hear new teachings. These new teachings may be found in one's Torah and prayer, or mitzvot and good deeds. Or they may be found on the road, while shopping"anywhere. One never knows. Whatever one does, one has to do it with the hope and intention that with this he will find his teacher.

agutn Shabbos!
Shabbat Shalom!