Recap Last week, we introduced the bracha of She’asah Li Kol Tzarchi, in which we thank Hashem for giving us shoes. We explained that just as shoes separate our feet from the ground, we need to maintain a certain separation between ourselves and the gashmiyus of olam hazeh. This week, we’ll take a deeper look at why this separation is so important and how it allows us to live in the physical world and use it to serve Hashem without becoming absorbed in it.
Deeper Dive:
She’asah Li Kol Tzorki
The Arizal teaches that this bracha corresponds to middas hagevurah. In order to properly use the shefa Hashem gives us, we need to maintain a separation between our inner spiritual light and the physical world around us. Without this separation, we can become so absorbed in gashmiyus that we lose the ability to influence the world in the right way.
Maintaining this separation isn’t always easy. In fact, knowing what not to do is often harder than knowing what to do. For example, knowing when to remain silent can be harder than knowing what to say.
We can understand this concept through the relationship between a Rebbi and his talmid. Chazal teach us that a talmid must have awe and respect for his Rebbi, which includes maintaining a certain distance. Why is this necessary? After all, a Rebbi is also human, and just a few years earlier, he himself was a talmid!
The answer is that a Rebbi doesn’t simply have more knowledge than his talmid. He also has a special spiritual light that Hashem has given him to share with his students. In order for the talmid to properly receive that light, there needs to be a certain distance and respect between them. If he views his Rebbi as merely someone who knows more than he does, he will quickly lose the ability to properly receive that spiritual influence.
The same principle applies to our relationship with olam hazeh. Although our job is to live in the physical world and use it to serve Hashem, we must remember that we are our own holy entity, and we are not blended with olam hazeh. A Yid is meant to be an ish haElokim, half human and half G-dly!
This brings us back to the simple meaning of the bracha. Our shoes protect our feet so that we can walk around in the physical world without constantly worrying about getting scratched or hurt. On a deeper level, our shoes lift us above the ground and create a separation between us and the gashmiyus of the world. This allows us to be mashpia (to influence the world) without becoming mushpa (influenced by it). We can walk through olam hazeh and use it to serve Hashem without becoming absorbed in it.
Continuing with the next brachos:
Ozer Yisroel Bigevurah
Blessed are You, Hashem, our God, King of the universe, Who girds Yisroel with strength. According to the Shulchan Aruch, this bracha was traditionally recited when putting on a belt or gartel, which separates between our heart and the lower parts of our body.
On a deeper level, the belt represents middas hagevurah, the strength to channel our inner spiritual light into practical action. It’s one thing to have ahavah and yirah for Hashem, but we also need the strength to direct those feelings in the right way and bring them into our everyday actions. Just as fire provides the heat needed to cook food, gevurah gives us the energy to take our spiritual feelings and actually do something with them.
We can see this idea in the uniform of a soldier. In every army, a belt is part of the uniform, representing the strength, swiftness, and readiness of the soldier to get things done. Similarly, our belt or gartel represents the strength to take the spiritual light within us and bring it into action.
Deeper Dive: Ozer Yisroel Bigevurah
There is another important aspect to the separation represented by our gartel. Our inner light and our actions are not the same thing. Even when I am not successful in my actions, my inner light isn’t affected at all! I am still fully connected to Hashem. At the same time, this separation also gives me the strength to bring that light into my actions, rather than allowing it to remain only an inner feeling.
The main thing is to live in olam hazeh, but to know what to take from it and what not to take, and how to be mashpia without becoming mushpa. I sometimes tell people that share with me that they are struggling with their yetzer hara that they should simply put on their shoes or gartel with the proper kavanah!
Inner Intention
Thank You, Hashem, for giving me the strength to put my inner spiritual light into action. Please help me channel my abilities and feelings into actions, while also remembering that even when I don’t succeed in my actions, my inner connection to You remains just as strong.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 105.