The Secret of Mesirus Nefesh: The Immense Stature of the Martyrs
Lesson No. 30 | * Tuesday, Parshas Matos, 20 Tammuz 5755 - Morning Class at the Yeshiva
According to Kabbalah, Jews who are killed al kiddush Hashem (sanctifying God's Name) enact supernal unifications that sustain the world until the coming of Mashiach. Their spiritual stature is so great that no creature can stand in their presence, and even great tzaddikim living in a generation of tranquility regret that they do not merit this level. Today, one can attain this level through true intention of mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice) during the recitation of the Shema.
During the years of wrath, when six million Jews were murdered, the extermination could have been stopped. In the year 5704 (1944), the annihilation was carried out under a veil of silence and concealment, as various entities prevented every newspaper in the world from publishing news about the Holocaust. They stood at all the press offices and claimed it was merely a rumor, that the Germans were good people, and they did not allow any news to be published—partly out of fear that many Jews would come to the Land of Israel.
In the face of such harsh decrees, one must know how to perform the supernal unifications. This is called "the unification of Abba and Imma" (the continuous flow of Divine intellect and understanding)—a constant, unceasing unification that draws miracles into the world. During the First Temple era, they would perform this unification, but today, the one who truly performs this unification is the one who is killed al kiddush Hashem.
The Question of Sefer Chasidim: Do the Tzaddikim Lose Out?
The Sefer Chasidim asks a piercing question: There are tzaddikim who live in a generation of peace, and they grieve and cry, asking, "Why do we not live in a generation of religious persecution? Why were we not born fifty years earlier, together with the six million? If we had been in a time of persecution, we would have been killed al kiddush Hashem and merited to perform these immense unifications." So why did they lose out?
It is brought down in the holy books that whoever wishes to die al kiddush Hashem must pray for it all his days, even if he ultimately dies in his bed. He can merit this through suffering, similar to Rabbi Elazar b'Rebbi Shimon and Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, who suffered terrible afflictions to the point that sixty basins of blood were drawn from them every day. A person can lie in bed and endure suffering that is equivalent to mesirus nefesh.
Suffering as Mesirus Nefesh: The Story of Rabbi Shlomo Molcho
This was the case with Rabbi Shlomo Molcho. Within a single year, he mastered the entire Torah, including all the Kabbalistic secrets that were known before the holy Arizal. He had been the secretary to the King of Portugal, and the moment he did teshuvah (repentance), all of Portugal was in an uproar. He went to the Pope, and ultimately, he was handed over and burned at the stake al kiddush Hashem.
The heavenly Maggid promised Maran the Beis Yosef, "I will grant you the merit to die al kiddush Hashem like Shlomo Molcho." Everyone asks: But didn't the Beis Yosef die a regular death in his bed? The answer is that tzaddikim can draw upon themselves such severe suffering in the final days of their lives that it is even greater than the agony of being burned alive, and through this, they are considered as having died al kiddush Hashem.
No Creature Can Stand in Their Presence
Nevertheless, the Sefer Chasidim asks: What will those tzaddikim do who did not merit to die al kiddush Hashem? Why should they lose out on the greatest privilege in the world?
"The martyrs who are killed by the government—no creature can stand in their presence." (Bava Basra 10b)
A person could perform mitzvos for a million years, and it would not equal a single second of being killed al kiddush Hashem! No tzaddik in the world can stand in the presence of those who merited fifty years ago to die al kiddush Hashem.
About whom was it said that no creature can stand in their presence? Was it about Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues? Rabbi Akiva is a spark of Moshe Rabbeinu; we have no comprehension of him whatsoever, as he is entirely beyond the definition of "no creature can stand in their presence." Rather, this statement was said about the most simple Jews. Even a Jew who is far from Torah observance, the moment he is killed by a non-Jew in terrible agony simply for being a Jew, he attains this lofty level.
The six million—it was not a holocaust (destruction), it was a salvation! These were souls that descended to the world specifically to perform the highest unifications through their passing, unifications that will sustain us until the coming of our righteous Mashiach.
When Reality Prevents the Suffering
Therefore, the Sefer Chasidim draws a piercing conclusion: Those tzaddikim who live in a generation of tranquility, even though they were ready to sacrifice their lives at any given moment—they truly lost out! They do not possess this immense spiritual level where no creature can stand in their presence.
There are people who think they are ready to die al kiddush Hashem, but in practice, reality prevents them from doing so. It is just like the man who married a wicked wife who made his life a living hell. Once, she heard him whispering to himself, "Whoever has a bad wife will not see the face of Gehenna (Hell)." The next day, she transformed into a good and devoted wife, serving him everything. When he asked her what happened, she replied, "I heard that whoever has a bad wife is saved from Gehenna—I am going to put you in Gehenna! I won't cause you any trouble so that your sins won't be atoned for!" So too with the nations of the world; often, they do not want to give a Jew the privilege of sanctifying God's Name.
Mesirus Nefesh During the Recitation of the Shema
The sefer Emek HaMelech explains: After the destruction of the Second Temple, Hashem saw that the world was beginning to collapse and there was no one to perform the supernal unifications (yichudim). Therefore, Rabbi Akiva and his companions sacrificed their lives (mesirus nefesh), and with their unification, the Jewish people live on until the end of all generations. All those who are killed Al Kiddush Hashem (in sanctification of God's Name) in every generation are sparks of Rabbi Akiva and his companions, and in their merit, the complete Geulah (Redemption) will come.
But what are we to do, living in a generation of loving-kindness and abundant goodness? The Emek HaMelech says: Today, we perform these unifications through the recitation of "Shema Yisrael." Even now, when a person has the intention to sacrifice his life Al Kiddush Hashem while saying "Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad," he can accomplish those same supernal spiritual works and draw down miracles and wonders.
When we say in Tehillim (Psalms):
"O God of vengeance, Hashem, O God of vengeance, appear!"
Our intention is that Hashem should appear and illuminate those holy souls who died Al Kiddush Hashem. May Hashem give them the strength to protect us, to fight for us from above, and through this, may we merit the complete Geulah (Redemption) speedily in our days, Amen.
Part 2 of 2 — Lesson No. 30
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