a people that shall dwell alone
Parshas Balak, 5766
excerpts from a discourse of Rav Itchie Mayer Morgenstern
The verse says, “Come, my people, enter you into your chambers, and shut your doors about you; hide yourself for a little moment, until the indignation passes over.” (Yeshayah 26:20) Whenever a person confronts obstacles in his avodas Hashem, when all of his good desires and longing to act in accordance with Hashem’s will seem to come to naught no matter how many times he tries, it is because the sitra achra has set many internal and external pitfalls so that he should give up in despair.
This is the “indignation” of which the verse speaks - this feeling of distance from Hashem and failure. The solution is to, “enter into your chambers, and shut your doors about you,” to seek out a private place and sit there with Hashem alone. There, one can speak all of his heart out to Hashem and tell Him of all his desires for holiness. This is what mitigates the judgment, “the indignation passes over.”
In this world, the obstacles to holiness are considerable, the evils of jealousy, lust, and the pursuit of honor prevail and keep a person from serving Hashem. To counteract their pull, we need to be a people that “dwells alone” - that rises to the world of Atzilus which is known as the “World of Solitude” where one nullifies himself completely before the Creator.
Sitting in solitude with Hashem and pouring one’s heart out before Him as with a good friend, openly speaking of all that one goes through in this world, nullifies all of the vanities of this world. One must speak to Hashem literally as he would to his best friend, about absolutely everything, and this makes him a part of the people that, “verily, dwells alone.” At this level of aloneness with Hashem, one becomes bound to Him in every possible way. All that we go through in this world is only a means through which we can develop a relationship with Hashem. When a person falls into exile in this world, he is a wanderer “to and fro upon the earth” like Kayin—he wanders back and forth among a field of obstacles that disturb his soul. The only real solution is to “dwell alone” — to rise to the World of Solitude — and “shut your doors about you” and bide a while until the anger passes. By speaking all of his heart out to Hashem, we will merit all of the good in all of the worlds.
As the Komarna Rebbe taught, in these latter generations one must rise to dveikus and beg Hashem for mercy to help him achieve every single thing that he needs to achieve, because now is the time when the sitra achra stand against the Jewish people to block us from actualizing our avodah. One must be obstinate and keep on praying, and believe completely that prayer has the power to be effective. And the main aspect of prayer in this sense is hisbodedus. This is what is meant by, “the tzaddik decrees and Hashem fulfills it.” Hashem wants us to be obstinate and continue to pray for everything, since “the stubborn one succeeds” just like a child who is stubborn eventually wins his father over. Yet although the tzaddik is obstinate, he is also patient and does not “steal” anything from heaven. He believes in Hashem absolutely and accepts that everything difficult is for the purpose of spiritual repair, yet still holds strong to keep on praying.
This is the meaning of: — “Let your soul(nefesh) know (d’ei) wisdom (Chochmah) and it will be a crown (Kesser) for your head.” It is not enough to do hisbodedus; one must become bound up with the supernal yichud and draw the dveikus of Abba down to “your soul”—the realm of Malchus which is hidden in the upper three lights. We do this by asking Hashem plainly and clearly, constantly and patiently, for every single thing that we need spiritually and physically. Then it will be “a crown to your head”—the flow of Divine abundance will come down uninterrupted from the highest levels of Kesser to absolutely everywhere. Then we will come to bind ourselves to Hashem in the way of the tzaddikim, to be constantly connected above and to always feel the delight of unity with our Source. With the arrival of our righteous redeemer in mercy, speedily and in our days. Amen.
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