A Selection of Teachings, Stories, and Parables from Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk.
By Rabbi Tal Moshe Zwecker.
Discover the greatness of the Noam Elimelech, Reb Elimelech from Lizhensk, the Rebbe of all Rebbes, in the only English rendition of his classic hasidic mussar sefer Noam Elimelech. Includes segulos, famous Jewish prayers, and core Jewish beliefs of chassidus & chassidism.
Noach
MAKING THE WORDS OF OUR PRAYERS SHINE
Make an opening or window [tzohar] for the ark, and to a cubit finish it from above...(Bereishis 6:16)
The great commentator Rashi explains that the word tzohar connotes a precious stone. We can also suggest that the Hebrew word for “ark,” teivah, can also mean “word.” Therefore the verse can be read: “Make your words into a precious stone.” This teaches us that all the words we speak should shine with the luster of a precious stone. *
“And to a cubit finish it from above” - this alludes to true unity, since the Tzaddik must walk in unity in the higher worlds.
[An amah, a cubit, is a unit of measurement. When we measure something, we unify it. Rebbe Elimelech is implying that the pasuk hints that a Tzaddik’s task is to see to it that there is unity in the higher worlds - that our intentions are solely for G-d and that there is no separation from His unity.]
On a slightly different note, the verse teaches us that we should “make atzohar, a light, through the words [teivah].” Through the words of Torah that the Tzaddik learns, he can transform öøä into öäø - “calamity” and “disaster” can be changed into “radiance” and “light.”1
[Tzarah and tzohar are both spelled with the same three letters: tzaddi, hei, and reish, but each in a different order. The Rebbe is saying that the Torah is indicating: “Make your words (implied by ‘teivah’) shine forth.” Transform the words of pain and darkness - i.e., the bad decrees - into good.]
THE TZADDIK WORKS TOGETHER WITH HASHEM TO ABOLISH HARSH DECREES
And to a cubit finish it from above.(Bereishis 6:16)
The Gemara in Shabbos (119b) says: “He who prays reciting the verse ‘Vayechulu...’ regarding the completion of the world’s creation with Shabbos becomes a partner with Hashem in the act of creation, as it says, ‘Vayechulu...
- And Heaven and Earth were completed’ (Bereishis 2:1) - do not read ‘vayechulu,’ completed, but rather read it as ‘vayichlu,’ they finished it together [meaning to say that Hashem and man finished it together].”
This can be explained as referring to the Tzaddik, who nullifies harsh decrees and judgments by elevating them back to their source, thereby sweetening them.
[The source of everything is ultimately Hashem and His divine attributes. Hashem is absolute good and mercy, so all decrees and judgments - even those perceived as evil - are rooted in sources of holiness and good, as it says, “All bitter things have sweet roots” (Ramak, Tomer Devorah, ch. 4). So, for example, love of money and lust has an original source in love of good and love of the divine. When a person overcomes his urges and desires and uses them for a higher purpose, such as diverting those desires to love of Torah and Hashem, he is elevating these attributes and returning them to their source. A decree is also “sweetened” in this way.]
Thus, “one who prays reciting the verse ‘Vayechulu...’ ” refers to the Tzaddik who prays to end and nullify the harsh decrees and judgments. [In Hebrew, the word ìëìåú , “to end,” is spelled with the letters of the word [.åéëìå In this way he becomes a partner with Hashem: G-d decrees and the Tzaddik abolishes the decree, as it says: “Do not read ‘vayechulu,’ completed, but rather read it as ‘vayichlu,’ they ended or were nullified.” The harsh decrees and judgments are nullified by the Tzaddik who elevates them to the heavens, back to their source in holiness.
Thus it says, “Make a tzohar for the teivah” - cause the words of your prayers to sparkle with brilliance like the luster of a precious stone in order to abolish the verdicts and decrees that have been pronounced against the Jewish people.2 How can these judgments be eliminated? The Torah says: “To a cubit finish it from above.” The word for “cubit,” àîä , also connotes ,àí “mother.” Divine mercy is symbolized by the merciful mother bird hovering above its young protecting them from all harm. Therefore, through divine mercy, “techalenah” - finish it. End the decrees with the mercy of the divine mother by elevating them back to their source above.3 *
[We therefore read the verse “V’el amah techalenah milema’alah - To a cubit finish it from above” as “Through the divine mercy of the mother we end and abolish (the decrees) by elevating them to their source in holiness.”]
THE TESHUVAH OF THE TZADDIK
Put the entrance to the ark on its side. (Bereishis 6:16)
This hints at the teaching that a Tzaddik must constantly be involved in repentance and returning to Hashem, as the Gemara teaches: “Why does the bottom leg of the letter hei hang unattached? This teaches that whoever wishes to return to Hashem should enter through there” (Menachos 29b).
This is what the verse means: “Put the entrance on the side.” Enter through the opening on the side of the letter hei that symbolizes the path of the penitent.4
** The Light of the Rebbe’s Gartel **
Related by the rav of Madin, a grandson of the Ropshitzer: Rebbe Elimelech had a custom that after the afternoon minchah service he would converse with his close followers. He would then proceed to a special private room to pray the evening ma’ariv service in seclusion, purity, and sanctity. Rav Naftali Ropshitzer, a disciple of the Rebbe, yearned to also be in that room. He constantly wished to observe the deeds of his Rebbe and so wanted to see how he prayed there. Once, he stole into the room unnoticed and hid beneath the bed. The holy Rebbe entered and closed the door behind him. He took out his gartel and proceeded to fasten it about himself.5
The first time the Rebbe wound the gartel about his waist, the entire room was filled with an awesome unbelievable light. The second time he tied the gartel, the light grew in intensity until the Ropshitzer could no longer endure it. He grew weak and found himself feeling faint. He could not help himself and called out in a loud voice. Rebbe Elimelech heard the cries of distress coming from his disciple and recognized their source. “Naftali, my son, are you here?” the Rebbe asked. “Fortunately you did not remain here for the third and final time I wound the gartel. If you had remained, your soul would have surely left your body from the intensity of the great light.” (Eser Tzachtzachos 27; Ohel Elimelech 248)
THE TZADDIK CAN RECTIFY ALL THREE LEVELS OF HUMANITY
Make the ark with a lower, middle, and upper deck. (Bereishis 6:16)
These three physical levels in the ark hint at the three levels of mankind: the completely pious righteous ones, the average man, and the wicked evil ones. The lower level hints at the wicked, for, as Rashi explains, it was used to store waste, since the wicked are constantly involved in wasteful and disgusting loathsome actions. Rashi explains that the middle level was to be used for the animal dwellings. The average man lives and dwells in the pleasures of the physical animalistic world - though he is free of sin, he is immersed in the material aspect. The upper level is for “adam,” man - the completely righteous Tzaddik who dwells in the upper worlds.
The Tzaddik must rectify all of these levels with his holy deeds. Thus in this verse, the action verb ta’aseh, “you shall make,” is right next to shelishim, the word for “the third upper level.” The Tzaddik must take action, actively doing all he can to repair and rectify all the levels of humanity.
The three levels can also be seen as a metaphor for man himself. In his youth, man is engaged in lowly and loathsome pursuits. In his middle years, he is active in the matters of this world. By his final days, he must seek to rectify it all rather than sin and defile his soul.
** The Angel of His Youth **
Once, Reb Mendel of Rimanov told his teacher, Rebbe Elimelech, that he actually saw the angel who removes the light before the darkness and the darkness before the light (as described in the first blessing of the ma’ariv service). The Rebbe Reb Elimelech responded: “But I have already seen this angel in my youth!” (Ohel Elimelech 156)
Notes:
1. See the Degel Machaneh Efraim on parashas Emor, in the name of his grandfather the Ba’al Shem Tov. He says there that the Tzaddik has the power to change the letters of bad decrees, transforming one word into another; for example, making îú , “death,” into úí , “perfection,” and ðâò , “affliction,” into òðâ , “delight.” This is also taught in the name of the Ba’al Shem Tov in the Komarna Rebbe’s Nesiv Mitzvosecha (Nesiv Emunah 3:15): “The principal application of prayer is for others, as it says, ‘From on High no evil comes forth’ (Eichah 3:38). Only letter combinations come from on High. He [the Ba’al Shem Tov] explained, based on what Achiyah HaShiloni taught, that...one can change çøí to öøä ,øçí to öø ,öäø to øòù ,øõ to îú ,òåùø to úí , and îåú to åàîú . [All of these decrees share the same letters and are transformed from the negative to the positive: from a ban or ex-communication to mercy, from tragedy and calamity to light, from pain and suffering to ‘run away from it,’ from noise to wealth, from dead to perfection, from death to truth.] All this can be done by those of great sincere faith who attach and cling to the Tzaddik.” See also Vayishlach below, “Altering the Decrees Against Us,” where we learn how this is accomplished through the prayers of the Tzaddik.
2. This is also taught in the name of the Ba’al Shem Tov: “Make all the words of your prayers and Torah study shine.” See Ba’al Shem Tov on the Torah, Noach, Amud HaTefillah 15 (quoted by Tzav’as HaRivash) and 17 (quoted by Degel Machaneh Efraim) on this verse.
3. See also Lech Lecha, “Going Out of Ourselves: Perfecting Our Character Traits,” below, for a further discussion on how to bring negative character traits back to holiness.
4. See Tomer Devorah, ch. 1, attribute 7, “He will show us compassion once more,” where the Ramak teaches that the word for repentance, teshuvah, is a composite of the words “tashuv hei,” return the letter hei to its source, or alternatively, return through the opening in the hei.
5. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 91:1–2; see also Mishnah Berurah there) prescribes that a special separation be made between the lofty thoughts of the heart and the base lowly desires of the reproductive organs during prayer. This is usually accomplished through wearing pants or the like, which form a barrier between these two areas of the body. Chassidim, however, follow a more stringent opinion that a special belt or sash be used especially for the prayer service, fulfilling the verse “Hachon likras Elokecha Yisrael - Ready yourself before your Maker” (Amos 4:12). In Yiddish this belt is called a “gartel.”
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