The first letter of the first 6 Torah portions in the book of Shemos spell out the Hebrew word “Shovavim.” Shovavim, which comes from the root word “return,” is considered to be a powerful and auspicious time of year, during which Jews throughout the generations have found great heavenly assistance pulling themselves away from the deceiving lure of physical pleasure.
But if we look at Shovavim as merely a time of separating ourselves from the pleasure of temptations, this time period is bound to be associated with heaviness and difficulty. Who wants to separate from pleasure? That’s not a great sales pitch for Shovavim!
The Beyam Darkecha teaches us that the truth is the complete opposite. Shovavim is a time for increasing pleasure, not decreasing it! During Shovavim we discover that the pleasures of the world that we may have thought were wonderful, pale in comparison to the pleasure that we can access through a deep, warm, intimate relationship with Hashem.
The work we put into avoiding the world’s temptations is the way we avoid counterfeit pleasure, which offers only a temporary enjoyment , followed by a bitter ending. This work is the direct way we access the eternal bliss of a relationship with Hashem.
When we stay loyal to Hashem and fulfill our side of the Covenant, Hashem responds by fulfilling His part, as he promised Avraham Avinu: V’hakimosee es brisi..l’bris olam, l’heyos lecha l’Elokim ul’zarecha acharecha, I will maintain my covenant..to be Your God, to you and your offspring to come.” Hashem assures us that He will rest His Divine Presence amongst us, allowing us to experience the pleasure of a life of attachment, closeness, love, and faith.
Hashem created a balanced world, and empowered us with free will, by creating klipos in the form of physical pleasures all around us. If we connect with the klipos themselves, they accomplish their mission, concealing Hashem ‘behind them.’ If we can push ourselves to disconnect from them, we unlock the ability to experience the deep satisfaction and joy of a relationship with Hashem. The moment we peel away these klipos, we access what’s inside, and our neshamah gets lit up as it connects to its Source in a direct and unfiltered way.
The mission of Shovavim is to pursue pleasure, not to run away from it! It’s not about what we are not doing (סור מרע), but rather about what we are doing (עשה טוב). The goal is to pursue and achieve a deep, meaningful, pleasurable, intimate, loving connection with our Father in Heaven. Receiving this is conditioned on us fulfilling our side of the Covenant, which means to avoid the deceiving lure of physical pleasure and forbidden temptations. But that’s just a means to a greater goal, and the road to even more satisfying pleasure. This Shovavim, let’s keep our eye on the prize!
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 20.