THE AURA OF KEDUSHA

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Ok here is a new one, something I plucked from a reputable news source this very morning. The headline exclaimed: “Humans emit an ‘aura’ made up of molecules that purify the air!”  The article went on to tell us that it seems scientists have found that humans have an invisible emanation around their bodies that clears the air we breathe. It all has to do with an indiscernible haze of air cleansing molecules which are produced on human bodies when ozone in the air reacts with the oil made by the skin. I won’t bore you with the nitty gritty of how this all works nor what it means to our daily existence, but what caught my eye was something our Tzadikim often speak about. That is how each neshomah has the ability to purify the world around us.

I leave it to the worthy professors and their conjecture about how we are purifying the air we breathe, however, when it comes to how Torah Yidden create the sweet aura of kedushah in their daily mitzvos, well that is something we all must focus upon.

Rosh Hashonah is upon us, the words of selichos are being reborn on the tongues of Klall Yisroel, and it is time to discuss how we must purify the very essence that brings us life.

Ours is a hasty generation, one where there is much yet very little. Homes are built with a measure of luxury that has no parallel yet many are broken at their very door. Our lives are depicted in large flashing symbols, yet for many, the truth lies in the small print of pain. We are walking at the cusp of our Redemption yet for many we seem asleep. Their neshomahs slumber in the spiritual miasma of the indolent, because the torrent of plenty has wormed its way into the everyday, and dulled our sensitivities.

The month of Elul comes with a holy acronym, “Ani Ledodi vedodi li”, “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine. “These words from Shir Hashirim depict the symbiotic love that the Yiddisher Neshomah has with the Eibishter. Ours is a connection forged with this love, and this in truth is the “aura” that surrounds each Yied. The Tzadikim tell us, if a Yied knows and acts upon his attachment with the Eibishter, “Ani Ledodi, I am personally connected and loving of Hashem,” then automatically he will be aware of “Vedodi Li, that Hashem truly does love him.”

This love has to be nurtured for it to be lived in real time. Let the professors speak about how “Humans emit an ‘aura’ made up of molecules that purify the air.”. We have a much greater understanding of life’s certainties. We have an aura of kedushah that is deep and total. It cant be expunged nor destroyed.

As a young bochur I had the merit to experience the start of the Slichos Tage (Days when Slichos are recited) by the Bobover Rebbe Rav Shlomo Ztl. On Motzei Shabbos there would be the usual Melavah Malkah, at which time the Rav would share stories, but on this occasion there was a pronounced air of spiritual anticipation.  It was in the dawn moments when the Rav would return to the Bais Medrash and step in front of the Omud. Ashrai Yoshvai …. The voices rose up, the Rav would cry out, the symphony of kedushah had started, and would not end till after Succos. Those weeks went by with an atmosphere of unbelievable vibrant Yiddishkiet. Days slipped into nights, tired eyes would never close, the energy was driven by the Rav’s unfathomable Avodah. Through it all there was one focus, one goal, that Hashem loved us and sought our mitzvahs. We all strove to bring nachas to the Rebono Shel Olam and felt His love throughout the process.

I was a youngster, around me stood true heroes, the Shearis Hapleitoh that had survived the Churban and set themselves the goal of moving forward, never asking, nor questioning, just uncovering the wellsprings our enemies sought to destroy.

I speak today to a new generation, wherein my tales may sometimes seem to be ancient history. No matter, it is real, and the challenges of today seek that same aura of warmth to keep the flames alight. Our young thirst for a reason to love yiddishkiet. Beneath all the dross of today’s flashing lights lays a pintela Yied that seeks to grow. Let us all take this opportunity, the days of Selichos, to find and replenish the holy Aura of kedushah that lives within each and every one of us, and in that Zechus may we be blessed with a Kesivah veChasima Tovah.

Tags: Bobov