Many of you are likely familiar with the sefer Beyam Darkecha, whose seforim are frequently quoted and even translated from the original Hebrew in TYH Torah publications. In case you aren’t, I highly recommend buying a volume or two from the set! The messages of Beyam Darkecha emanate from the neshamah of its author and penetrate the neshamah of the reader, awakening neshamos of Yidden all over the world, empowering us all to access the inner dimension of avodas Hashem and to live a life of deep attachment to Hashem. Lofty concepts are distilled and presented in a clear and simple way, enabling us to use the secrets of pnimius ha’Torah and Kabbalah as a practical guide to serving Hashem, battling our yetzer hara, and navigating the challenges of our generation.
The author has chosen not to print his name in the sefer, for reasons we’ll explain shortly, but his identity is not a secret. His name is Harav Pinchos Halbershtat, shlita of Bnei Brak, and he is a close student of Harav Yitzchok Meir Morgenstern, shlita, the great mekubal and tzaddik of Yerushalayim, from whom the Torah of Beyam Darkecha is based. A few weeks ago, he took his first ever trip to the United States, spending a few days in the NY/NJ area and spending Shabbos Parshas Lech Lecha in the 5 Towns. I had the great zechus of spending this Shabbos with him, and I’ll share some reflections on this incredible experience.
The moment I saw Harav Pinchos, walking into Aish Kodesh on Friday night, I immediately understood two things. The first is that this is a living representation of the highest compliment a Yid can be given, the compliment Hashem gave Moshe Rabbeinu in the Torah: Eved Hashem, a servant of Hashem. I find it hard to explain this in a rational way. Everything about the tzaddik’s presence – his aura, his posture, the way he stood and walked, just conveyed this message that: “It’s not about me, it’s all Hashem, and all I want to do is serve Him. Come, my dear brother, let us serve Hashem together.” He carries himself with the quiet humility of a devoted servant of Hashem, as if to say, “There’s nothing remarkable to see here.
The second thing I understood was: “Of course he didn’t write his name in his seforim!” He is a living example of what he teaches us over and over again in his seforim: Ein Od Milvado! There is nothing other than Hashem, and nothing is separated or detached from His reality of Oneness. We are vessels through which Hashem shares His Light and orchestrates His Will. Indeed, when I directly asked him later why he didn’t write his name in it, his response was: “Should I also write the brand of the pen that I used? Should I write that it was written with a Pilot pen?” He felt that Hashem wrote the seforim through his hand, and that essentially he was nothing more than a pen.
He cannot contain his deep and profound love for every Jew. The warm smile he gives and the silent messages he conveys when shaking a Yid’s hand speak louder than any words that can be said. When I saw him speaking with a group of people, some of whom did not speak Hebrew, I heard him tell them: “Sometimes you can understand the message without understanding the words.” How true these words are when it comes to the Rebbe himself! He would sit with someone, or shake their hand, and spend many seconds or minutes in complete silence while communicating so much. In 60 quiet seconds, the Rebbe communicates: “I have such deep love and respect for you. You have such great qualities! You are a chelek elokai memal mamash, a literal piece of Hashem, and there is nothing you cannot do! You have it all within you: to fight your yetzer hara, to grow in Yiddishkeit, to cling to Hashem. You can be a tzaddik, and you already are a tzaddik!
This made me wonder how much I lose out by always jumping to speak. I don’t like silence, and I often need to fill every space with words and messages. When greeting another Yid, can I say less and convey more? Can I just bask in the specialness of being in the presence of another chelek elokai memal mamash, and communicate my love and connection without jumping to limit my connection by choosing words and speaking endlessly?!
Continued next week…
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 14.