Counting the Omer - Yesod of Gevurah - Rabbi Alon Anava

There's other stuff tonight we're going to be reading. We're going to be counting in such a big war. We have a special week where we reveal the war of our nefesh. And Yesod is the sixth sphere from the seven spheres. And in the near zone when the spheres are explained that breed the Yesod is called breed. That's in regards to the position of the body. Then Hesed is the right hand. It's the left hand. But but Yesod specifically is the old breed code is where the male and the female organ is. That's the Yesod and it's called breed. Every time we refer to the sphere of Yesod we refer to it as a breed. Now really a breed if you want to translate it in some type of a way they can relate with breed is a covenant. Or maybe an alliance. And the way the world was created that we came down to this world. We I mean as our souls without having any covenants between ourselves. We came here as separate entities. The idea of a breed the idea of a covenant is a kidush is something that is new. We come together. We agree. And we and we come into a covenant into alliance. Like for example when a couple wants to get married. They agree to get married. And even in Hebrew to to get married is called breed swim. It's a covenant of marriage. So any type of covenant is a kidush something that is new cuz it wasn't there before. The same way is how the souls came down to the world. We didn't come together attached. The only two souls that were so to say created attached is Adam and Hava. Which we learned in the gates of reincarnation if you're following the class that specifically in chapter six in the gates of reincarnation of the result where he has explained that the first they were back to back they were attached to each other. So but when the souls come down here to the world they're not attached they're separated. Now we have to bring ourselves to a point that we make covenants between us. Now in English I don't know how it's said. Maybe you can help me. In Hebrew when you want to make a covenant it's called the road breed. In English I never found the actual term how you say what do you say make a covenant? In Hebrew you say the road which is a very interesting way of expressing himself cuz the road means to cut. But then again I'm doing a breed. Breed is a covenant. So are you cutting or you're connecting? In English it doesn't sit well. I mean you say you make a covenant. You don't say cut a covenant. But Exactly breed in a veteran. That's when they have a minute they cut the animal and they went through the through it. But nevertheless that's where the word comes the road breed. But in English I don't know I didn't find the right term how you say it. But nevertheless the idea is that we here as humans or I should say it more to be precise soul and bodies we are here to create covenants to initiate covenants between one and the other. That's why we came down to this world. Now the way it works that there's always going to be some type of a barrier or an obstacle that will not allow me to come into a covenant with somebody else. This is usually the case. You want to get married there's going to be all sorts of issues. You want to go into a business deal. You want to just have bite a piece between one person and another there's always going to be some type of force that will cause a separation. Not only a separation a disturbance. Now this comes to more into action on our day-to-day life. Not with every person I get along. Usually take now a community sit now here in a room 30 people the majority won't get along with each other. I'll get along with this guy and this guy and this guy with these two I'm not going to get along. Why? I don't know what. I don't know why. But that's the reality that we constantly find ourselves in frictions with other people. And really when you really go to the depth of it there's no reason why I should be in friction in any with any person. Doesn't mean I have to be crazy about every person is around me but on the other hand I should not have any arguments and frictions and disagreement with other people. They have our our part of the journey in this world part of our what we need to do is is to overcome these separations and obstacles between us. I like calling it like screens that are like a barrier something that is stopping for me and you to become more friendly or more connected to each other. I need to know how to break these barriers how to break these screens in order so I can reach out to another person. And it can be somebody as close to me as my wife and it can be somebody random in the street and it can be a fellow friend in the congregation or in the or wherever it is. Now there are two levels of these barriers. One of them is in the physical world and one of them is the spiritual world. So in the physical world this is a pretty obvious. There's some people that I don't get along with or they don't get along with me. I'm just I'm not looking for any argument here but they just don't get along with me. They don't like me. Maybe they're jealous. Maybe they're angry whatever it is. Nevertheless there's also these barriers in the spiritual level. And sometimes you see the two people on a spiritual level they can't connect. They might be able to connect in a physical way but not in a spiritual way. Nevertheless I need to break these barriers. How do I break these barriers? With a powerful power of war. There's no other way to to do that but with the power of war. And these this power of war which I mentioned yesterday the power of war is the power of the nefesh the energy of the nefesh is war. That is what allows me to break all these barriers between one person and another. Needless to say I need a very powerful part of war here. Now in the spheres Yesod is the power that can lead us here to give to to influence something else. To allow to overpower something else. This is the powers that is dwelling in the sphere of Yesod. Now when I put both of them together then I have the war the power to break the barriers but I also have the power of Yesod to give over. Lashpi is to give over. And it can be something positive can be something negative. But nevertheless the ultimate the ultimate giver is a sham. But since I'm created in the image of a sham I also have the ability to be a giver. I can give physical. I can give spiritual. I can give emotional. Some people say I don't need anything physical from you. I just need emotional support from you. I need spiritual support for you. Whatever it is. Maybe sometimes the physical. But nevertheless I have to become a giver. Now the whole idea of this coming into covenant between one person and another is for one major reason is not to be by yourself. There's many people that unfortunately for whatever reason they become isolated isolated from the community isolated from their family for many different reasons. One of the worst feelings one can have is being lonely. And you feel that the world is against you and everybody doesn't want to talk to you or everybody treats you not well or whatever. It's a very bad feeling to feel isolated from from the world. Sometimes it's the reality that the world around you really isolates you. Sometimes it's your own issues. But nevertheless we are creatures that were designed to be together. Very few people can live like lone wolves in the mountains quietly. I know many people say oh I wish I would just live by myself on some mountain. Yeah that will work maybe for a short period and then you need companion. You need some company. So the idea of coming into a covenant is to break the idea of this be dude of this loneliness. When he created gave him a few hours and says let's go home. Right away the Torah says it's not good for a man to be by himself. Doesn't bring any benefit when you're by yourself. You don't grow spiritually not emotionally. Nevertheless if somebody needs to scratch your back who's going to do it? Are you going to go on the tree like this? So you need somebody to scratch your back. Nevertheless in order for me to come into a covenant you need war. You must have war for that. Even when it comes to a coming into a covenant of marriage. You know what war you need to get into a marriage? Most people when they're dating after the period of dating comes the big question. How do I know that's the right one for me? Now whether it doesn't matter if it's in the secular world or in the observant world this is the major question that everybody has. I'm not sure. How many people that are dating in a in a talking in a kosher way not people who are friends. Sometimes people are dating for seven years. What about getting married? I still didn't decide. So but even when people are dating they find it hard to okay how do I know that's really the right person? So for that you need a lot of war. You war you need the the bravery to say okay I'm leaving my past so to say cuz now starting a new covenant here. It's going to be something new here. Now, going back to the mid of Gevurah, the mid mid of Gevurah has the ability to connect two souls together. When two souls need to come together, then it's it's by the power of mid of Gevurah. So, Gevurah has the ability to when there is a certain gap between me and another person, only Gevurah is going to be able to get the gap closer. And I'm sure you notice most of the siddurim when we open the the prayer of shacharit, we mention a certain mishnah that we say what are the things that are big mitzvah in this world, but you get your reward in the world to come, but also a reward in this world. And it says you know, a person who wakes up early in the morning and to come to pray, of course, not not to go for a jog in Central Park. You wake up in the early in the morning to go to to the prayer. And a person who visits a sick person, cholim, escorting a person who passed away on their last path, al via tamet, there's a whole list. And one of them is shalom ben adam lechavero. A person who can bring peace between one person and another. Because the Kadosh Baruch Hu is all about unity and love, not about separation. So, in order to bring two people together, you need to use the power of Gevurah. So, today we have not today, in about an hour, we're going to have the the auspicious time, the the energy of the universe is specifically the yesod of the Gevurah. Is taking the power of of the connection and the power of giving, the power of lashpia of yesod, and putting it together. Practically saying, since we like to take our learning to something practical, I need to observe my relationships and to see in which relationship that I have there's a barrier, there's a screen, there's a a some some something that forms a separation between me and that person. And you might be able to do it within 3 seconds, or you might have to really observe in which relationships there's no good communication here. Some relationships you need to know when there's zero communication and there's no point here even to get into a relationship and you want to back out. And this is not so common, but there are relationships that are toxic for you, they're not good for you, better to back up. Back off, back up, whatever it is, just leave the relationship. It doesn't do anything good. Sometimes it can be a very destructive relationship or one of one of the sides is maybe not necessarily so healthy, maybe a little bit ill emotionally, and it becomes already a very sick relationship. And that person on the other side says needs to know, okay, this is a very bad relationship for me to be in, very toxic. I I I need to step back. But in most cases, I need to look around me and observe the all the relationships that I have and to make an account as in this relationship is a good communication? Yes. In this relationship? Yes. In this this is not so great doing great so here. Ah, then that has to raise a red flag here. Not to just say, okay, that person is annoying. That person gets on my nerves. That person can't stand him. If there is if you detect a relationship that you're saying that person is driving me nuts or I don't get along with them, that is where you have to say, okay, now let me see how I'm bridging to that person. There shouldn't be such a thing that I'm not getting along with everybody. I would maybe give you a two people that you don't really get along with. But even those two people still have to create a bridge to know how am I coming into covenants with people. Now, I don't have to sign contracts. I don't have to shake hands. It's just connection between two souls. And specifically the ones that it is the most friction, these are these these are the relationships that you need to work on to bring it into a peaceful relationship. So, of course, like I said many times, in order to apply all that we're talking about, has to be no ego, no arrogance, no shoot, no selfness, humbleness. And I know it's usually the ego is going to say, "Huh, you want me now to make peace with this guy? Never." So, no, that's the one that you don't find the way how to bridge and to make peace, that's the that's the person that needs to to that you need to work on. That you say, "Okay, I need to work rise above my level." Today I met this person who told me whatever personal issues and I told him, "It's your responsibility to rise above your limitations and to reach out and to change." And he couldn't find the he says, "Okay, I'm not ready for that." At least he was honest to say, "I'm not ready for that. I know I'm not going to be able to do it." But I told him, "But the problem is you, not any not the other side. You are the problem. You have to work on yourself." And when you work on yourself, you're going to have to develop the bridge how to cross to the other side. And when you do that, you'll be the winner. You'll be the one who's getting two things together. Hashem doesn't have an agenda of separating things. Hashem has an agenda of only connecting things and unifying things. So, we need to be humble, we need to be truthful, and we need to say I don't want to have relationships that they that they're they're not work, and especially if it's coming from my side. If it's coming from the other side, I can try whatever I can, but if it's coming from my side, so much more so that I need to work on. So, the the the point is to really focus on the relationships that I have that focus first on the ones that are important, that are close to home, your wife, your husband, your kids, your parents, your siblings, your business partners, people around you that are close to you. Don't don't start looking for people from 40 years ago that you had an argument. Start with something close to home where you observe the relationship and you're saying, "Is there a place for me here to bridge to the other side? Where can I come into covenant in this person?" Again, it's not signing a contract, it's coming into an understanding, agreement, and a way that you can communicate in a very very healthy way. Hashem Hashem should make you very very successful.