Daily Tanya Wednesday 8th Teves: Chapter 8 Part 2 – The contamination Kelipos cause to body and soul and its Tikkun

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  • Tikkun for Devarim Beteilim:
  • Kaf Hakela: One who speaks words of vanity and purposeless conversation [i.e. Devarim Beteilim:] defiles his soul with impurity and after his death needs to purify his soul from this impurity through his soul experiencing Kaf Hakela as written in the Zohar. [This involves the soul being thrown from one end of the world to the other by two angels who are positioned at opposite ends of the world. In a more mystical sense, the soul re-experiences itself sinning despite it already seeing and knowing and wanting the truth of G-d. This pain and remorse of the soul refines it from the impurity that it received through pointless speech.]
  • No prohibition in speech: The above need for the soul to receive purification through Kaf Hakela applies even if the person did not transgress anything in his purposeless speech, such as if he is an ignoramus who is unable to study Torah.
  • The impurity caused by speech of vanity: Words of vanity defile the character traits and emotions which are rooted in the holy element of wind of his G-dly soul. It defiles them with the impurity of Kelipas Noga which is found in words of vanity and derives from the evil element of wind which is found in his animal soul.
  1. Tikkun for forbidden speech:
  • Kaf Hakele and Gihennom: If, however, the speech itself was forbidden according to Jewish law, such as he spoke words of jest and gossip and the like which come from the three completely unclean Kelipos, then the experience of Kaf Hakela alone does not suffice to purify the soul from this impurity that it received through this forbidden speech, and the soul must rather descend to purgatory for purification.
  1. Tikkun for speech which involves Bittul Torah:
  • Kaf Hakela, severe punishments, and Gihennom of snow: Likewise, a person who is able to study Torah and instead uses his time for matters of vanity which have no purpose, then the experience of Kaf Hakela alone does not suffice to purify and refine his soul from this impurity that it received through this speech, and the soul must in addition experience various severe punishments that are given for the sin of nullifying Torah study. This is in addition to the general punishment that is given for anyone who nullifies a positive command due to laziness.
  1. Tikkun for nullifying positive command:
  • Gihennom of snow: The general punishment given for a person who nullifies a positive command due to laziness is purgatory of snow.
  1. Severity of studying secular wisdom:
  • Bittul Torah: Even the study of secular wisdoms of the nations are considered words of vanity in regard to the sin of nullifying Torah study, [and hence he is considered to have nullified the Mitzvah of studying Torah through studying these secular wisdom’s].
  • The severity of secular wisdoms: Furthermore, the impurity that is caused to the soul through the study of the wisdom of the nations of the world is even greater than the impurity which is caused to the soul through words of vanity. The reason for this is because words of vanity only defile one’s character traits and emotional aspects of his G-dly soul, and not his intellectual aspects of his G-dly soul. The reason for this is because words of vanity contain no purpose or intellectual substance to them and are utter nonsense which can be spoken of by the ignoramuses and mentally insane. This is in contrast to the external wisdom’s which invest and defile the intellectual aspects of one’s G-dly soul with the impurity of Kelipas Noga found in these wisdoms.
  • Their root in holiness: The root of the external wisdoms in holiness is from the external aspect of Chochmah of holiness which descended below through the process of Sheviras Hakeilim.
  • Studying them for a holy purpose: The one exception to the above is in a case that one studies the external wisdoms for the sake of making a good quality income so one can dedicate time for service of G-d. In such a case, the study of this wisdom does not defile the intellectual soul. Likewise, if he studies these wisdoms for the sake of using them for serving G-d or for the sake of helping him understand Torah, then it does not defile his soul.
  • Rambam and Ramban: This indeed was the purpose and reason behind the study of secular wisdoms by the great Torah luminaries such as Maimonides and Nachmanadies.

About The Author

Rabbi Yaakov Goldstein is a 6th generation descendent of the famous Chief Rabbi of Izhmir, Rav Yehoshua Avraham Krispin, who authored a number of Sefarim, and was a colleague of Rav Chaim Falagi, and father in-law of the Pesach Hadvir. He currently lives with his wife Shayna, and twelve children K”H, in Tzfas, Israel. Rabbi Goldstein received Semicha from Rabbi Schneur Zalman Labkowski of the Tomchei Temimim headquarters in 2005 and served as a chaplain in the Lotar/Kalatz and K9 unit of the IDF from years 2005-2008. He is also a certified Shochet, and has performed Hashgacha work in slaughterhouses. Rabbi Goldstein is the director of Shulchanaruchharav.com, the world’s leading web-based Halacha database, and is the director of the Home Study Semicha Program, a self-study web-based Semicha program. He is a prolific author of over 50 Sefarim studied by a wide range of readers throughout the world, which is used regularly in Semicha programs around the globe. He is a world renowned Posek, answering questions to a web-based market, and serves as a local Posek, Rav, and Lecturer, in the Tzemach Tzedek community Shul in Tzefas, Israel. His many classes can be heard both from his website, Vimeo and YouTube channel. Students can join live to classes given in the Tzemach Tzedek Shul, through the “בית חבד צפת Chabad Tsfat” YouTube channel.

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