The Holiness of a Yid
Reb Yeruchem of Mir zt'l spoke about the first people who moved to America from Spain and other countries, around five hundred years ago. They rode horses, just as they did when they lived in Europe. To the native Indians who lived in America for centuries, this was a novelty. They knew that there were horses, and they knew that there were people, but they never thought that they could go together, and that a person could ride a horse. Therefore, when the Indians saw the newcomers riding on horses, they thought it was a new kind of creation, something like a human with four feet.
But when they saw the human get off his horse, they discovered that they were two entities, the horse and the human being. Reb Yeruchem explained that every person is a combination of human and animal. His neshamah and his good desires are his human side, and his physical drives are his animal side. He must know that he isn't a person and an animal. He is a human being, and only a human being. He has lofty desires, and the good that's in him is his genuine self. He was placed together with animalistic drives. Just like a person riding a horse isn't the horse, the negative isn't a part of his true self.
During Shovavim, a person purifies himself and trains himself to desire ruchniyus. When this occurs, it is compared to when the rider descended from the horse, and it was clear that they were two entities. It states (24:10) ַרָטֹהל ַיִםָמַּׁשה ֶםֶצוּכְע, "Like the essence of the heaven in purity."
The Divrei Binah of Biala zt'l explains that the pure heaven is a description of Bnei Yisrael. Although there are times when the sky is covered with clouds, it is a temporary situation. When the clouds part, you see that the heaven is pure. The same is with a Yid. Although, due to aveiros, it can appear that he is covered with clouds and aveiros, the essence of a Yid is always beautiful and pure.
Chazal (Succah 29a) say ללבנה מונין ישראל, that the Jewish nation's calendar follows the path of the moon. This tells us that there is a comparison between Bnei Yisrael and the moon. The Lubavitcher Rebbe zt'l explained that there are times when the moon is covered over with clouds, but it is still there. Similarly, there are times when we don't see the beauty of the Jewish nation since they are covered with aveiros, but the Yid is still there. Just beneath the clouds is a heilige, holy Yid.
