Borrow From Your Tzadiks
December 25th – December 31st, 2005
As you learned last week, there are moments in life when you want to restrict, but you feel like you can’t. You are aware of what you need to do, yet you just can’t seem to pull the trigger.
It’s in those moments that you need to borrow from your tzadik.
Last week I wrote that through Joseph’s restriction he attained the level of tzadik (righteous person). This is the level where a human has completely dominated the desire to receive for the self alone and exists in this world purely for the sake of helping others.
As my father and teacher Kabbalist Rav Berg learned from his teacher, Rav Brandwein, every single one us will eventually achieve this perfection - whether it takes one incarnation or one hundred incarnations.
And as there is no time, space, or motion in the spiritual world, this perfected self exists right now.
As I explain in The Power of Kabbalah, each of us comes to this world with our tikune/correction. But on some level - in a parallel universe – our correction has been perfected already. The spiritual work is to uncover our klippot (shells of negativity) that conceal it so we can “borrow from it.”
Rav Brandwein explains that “borrow from it” means calling upon your inner-strength and certainty to help you accomplish whatever seems impossible.
Accomplishment relies on knowing you are perfect right now, the way you are. Of course, you must always be open to facing uncomfortable truths about yourself and changing accordingly, but you must simultaneously be in awe of the perfection that is your life.
Have you ever survived a difficult period in your life and realized that the whole journey of struggle had perfect meaning? That’s because the Sages say that perfection is always within you, and the goal of life is to live from that perfect place. That perfect place is the spark of God.
Most religions or philosophies put God out there as some force that is waiting on a throne for you to tap into. But Kabbalah says no, the force that wants to give you all the fulfillment in the world is inside of you. Well, it’s actually locked up inside of you.
Which is the beauty of borrowing from your tzadik – you’re making contact with and unleashing the Godly aspect of yourself.
This week’s Zohar portion contains a section that kabbalists have used for centuries to borrow from their tzadik. Scanning these verses (Mikketz, vol. 6, verses 32-57) acts as a metaphysical bridge to that aspect of yourself that is totally perfected.
Crossing this bridge requires a shift in your consciousness. It requires you to surrender that part of yourself that constantly says ”I can do it, and if I can’t, then no one can.” It’s the part of you that thinks you are actually alone in this fight.
You’re not alone. You’ve got a pretty special person in there with you. It’s the YOU that likes to go the extra mile and think about the other person’s feelings first and share and love without strings attached, and act with willpower…
…it’s the real you. And it’s the perfect week to let him or her out.
I remember this time last year I shared this teaching with a student of mine who used it to experience a tremendous breakthrough at work. This student was, by her own admission, a bit weak in the knees. Every time she was given a project, she got stuck in the safety zone of gathering the information rather than jumping in and taking action. By the time she did get around to taking action, her bosses were so often annoyed with her that they gave the assignment to someone else.
But this time she borrowed from her tzadik and did the unthinkable (as far as her ego was concerned). She went back to her bosses and asked that she be reassigned the project. And guess what? They granted her wish. They were so impressed by her integrity and resolution that they gave her a second chance.
This might not seem like a miracle to some, but then, again, what is a miracle? It’s all about doing what is unthinkable for you. This is certainly the week to ask that question, as we are now in the holiday of miracles – Chanukah. And we know that the original miracle of Chanukah occurred because a small group of people overturned the entire Greek Empire, certainly an instance of accomplishing the unthinkable.
So what was the unthinkable for my student? Well, usually in this situation she would sink into a sea of self-doubt, convincing herself “next time, next time I’ll do it differently.” But through the scanning of Mikketz and meditating on borrowing from her tzadik, she found the strength to go against her nature and to fight for her opportunity to get it right this time.
This week you have an added support to tap into the version of yourself that has gone through every test you will ever face and has passed them all. Use that support to make great improvements in your relationships, your work situation, your physical and mental health, and everywhere your life calls out for transformation.
All the Best,
Yehuda