We Can Tap into אלוקים קרבת Every Day
The Ribbono shel Olam wants us to remember the love of מצרים יציאת and Matan Torah every day. He wants us to draw strength from the “אתה בחרתנו” even in the days of חוננתנו“! ”אתה
A Yid finds himself at work, and he conducts himself with yiras Shamayim...because he is drawing strength from בחרתנו אתהeht of Yom Tov! Because he invoked מצרים יציאת that morning during davening—and he remembered the deep, indescribable love of the Ribbono shel Olam. When he remembers this, it helps him even in the dark days of winter. It accompanies him and warms him and elevates him. The Aibishter gave us Yamim Tovim so that we should recall this love all year. והשיאנו ...ולשלום לחיים מועדיך ברכת את אלוקינו ה› these berachos accompany us and help us for the real work ahead in the cold days of winter.
The Point of Creation Is for People, Not Angels
Angels don’t have weekdays, days of mundanity. And the Torah was indeed not given to malachim, only to us. This was the dialogue that the Ribbono shel Olam had with the angels when they wanted to keep the Torah in the Heavens. “Do you have a yetzer hara?!” He asked them.
That is, to have servants in a constant state of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkos... the Ribbono shel Olam has enough of those in the Heavens. He davka wanted humans, who have difficulties and challenges, states of darkness, and right there, amid the darkness, to remember Him through the light of the exalted days of Yom Tov. During these exalted days, we take in the tremendous love that Hashem has for us, to understand how good the life of אלוקים קרבת is, and with this elevate the mundane days.
When we ask the question: Hashem gave the Yidden the Torah... what happened afterward? Was it a success?! The answer is that, of course, it was the greatest success! Moshe Rabbeinu was extremely and perfectly successful! He managed to elevate Klal Yisrael to such an extent that they continued to serve Hashem through all the nisyonos and failures in the Midbar. Of course it was a success! Moshe Rabbeinu was a human being who managed to serve the Aibishter on This World at the pinnacle of perfection—despite all the challenges and difficulties.
The Greatest Sheleimus Is to Stay with Hashem in All Situations
When a Yid learns and understands this, he understands Parashas Bereishis in a different light. He begins to learn the Torah with a fresh understanding. He understands that the Torah is telling him: You should know that a Yid can become very elevated, no matter how dark it is, no matter how lowly the world is, to the contrary! This is the story of the Torah!
A young mind who doesn’t yet grasp what Torah is can understand a success story only as a situation where there are no problems at all. A person remained learning his whole life, a person has good children and a respectable livelihood. This is all very nice and wonderful. But it has nothing to do with Torah. Torah means when a Yid withstands a nisayon—and withstanding a nisayon doesn’t necessarily mean that he withstood it the first time! The main thing is to remember that there is a G‑d on This World. How did the Dor HaMidbar attain their madreigos? How did Moshe Rabbeinu reach his lofty levels? Because they always kept in mind the elevated situation that the Ribbono shel Olam loves them and that He took them out of Mitzrayim.
Preparing for Tishrei All Year
The Ribbono shel Olam gives us the holy Yamim Tovim and such uplifting times so we will take them along for the entire year, to remember the love all year, to remember how sweet the אלוקים קרבת is.
If we take along these feelings, we will be able to feel אלוקים קרבת throughout the winter. There is no decree that a person must live in the darkness.... To the contrary, if a Yid serves the Aibishter properly, he can remain with the impressions of that closeness to Hashem that he had on Yom Tov, and he can infuse the weekdays with a spirit of Yom Tov! Later, when the next Yom Tov will come, his connection and hasagos will be on a much higher level!
The more we bring “Yom Tov” into the weekdays; the more we “dance with the sefer Torah” when there are difficult nisyonos; that much more will there be the אלוקים קרבת during the coming Yom Tov! The work begins on Motza’ei Simchas Torah so that a Yid will be able to come prepared, with so much more revelation and light, to the coming Chodesh Tishrei next year.
