The Secret of Tikkun Chatzos: Building the New Day and Elevating the Highest Souls
Lesson No. 34 | Tuesday Morning, Parashas Masei, 27 Tammuz 5755, in the Yeshiva.
A profound discourse explaining the immense power of Tikkun Chatzos (the midnight lament over the Temple's destruction) according to the teachings of Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz zt"l. By reciting the Tikkun word by word, we elevate the highest souls that have fallen into the depths of the kelipos (forces of impurity), and we build the spiritual stature of the new day. The discourse emphasizes the importance of mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice) for Torah and the service of Hashem, similar to the holy Tanna'im who sacrificed themselves for uncompromising study.
Moshe Rabbeinu felt more like a baby every day than the day before; every day he became more lowly in his own eyes. This is the secret of "kala d'yanuka" (the voice of a child) – that the entire Torah emerges from the voice of a baby. When there are no tzaddikim in the generation who possess a breath free of sin, tzaddikim who are like infants who can say: "Like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me" (Tehillim 131:2), then it is difficult to achieve the yichud (spiritual unification) of the Cherubim.
Rabbi Avraham ben Rav Nachman zt"l explains that when we reach a generation where we no longer have such tzaddikim, and we do not merit to draw down the breath from the departed tzaddikim properly, there is no choice but to take actual infants. Infants who will cry out "Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad" with their pure breath and with the pinnacle of emunah (faith). Just as we heard about the million Jews who were taken to the Russian army, and half a million of them jumped into the Volga River and cried out "Shema Yisrael." From this mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice), spiritual unifications were made that could not be achieved through the service of any tzaddik in the world. Rebbe Nachman said that if everyone had united with him, we could have drawn down the breath of the infants without the need for such terrible self-sacrifice.
The Secret of Tikkun Chatzos and the Elevation of Souls
We are in a terrible generation, where we see children being killed almost every single day. A person up to the age of twenty is considered by the Heavenly Court as an infant who is not judged. Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz zt"l says that the only tikkun (rectification) to save the generation from all kinds of harsh decrees is solely through Tikkun Chatzos. He warns several times to recite Tikkun Chatzos, and specifically Tikkun Rachel, word by word.
When we begin to say "He shall strengthen himself like a lion," we elevate the souls that correspond to the face of the lion in the Divine Chariot. The earth is divided into fourteen types of souls: souls that correspond to the lion, the ox, the eagle, and the man. At midnight, we rectify the greatest souls, which correspond to the 'man' in the Divine Chariot.
The greater the souls are, the more "his hand takes hold of Esav's heel." The souls of converts, for example, are the greatest souls, and they are swallowed up in the heel of Esav. The entire mission of Yaakov Avinu is to extract the souls from the heel of Esav, and therefore this is the tikkun of Rachel and Leah, who are the sacrifice of Yaakov.
The High Souls That Fell into the Depths of the Kelipos
Whoever manages to recite Tikkun Chatzos word by word, with all sorts of melodies in some corner, elevates the souls with every single letter. Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz explains: There are souls that are the greatest in the world, and specifically they are "the souls that are chased away after the Holy One, Blessed be He, and His Shechinah (Divine Presence)" – souls that were banished and fell the deepest.
We find this with King David, who had the greatest soul, yet we find him originating in Sodom. He fell into the deepest depths of the kelipos (forces of impurity) because of the sin of Adam HaRishon. The lower souls did not fall deeply, but the great souls fell "from a high roof to a deep pit" (from the highest heights to the lowest depths) – to the most terrible places. Therefore, when Moshe wanted to destroy Moav, Hashem told him: "It is impossible to destroy them; I need the mother of royalty, the mother of David, to emerge specifically from there." Specifically from the lowest place in the world.
When Tikkun Chatzos arrives, we elevate the highest souls that descended into the depths of the kelipos. With every single letter, we elevate another soul and another soul.
Building the New Day
Chatzos is the hardest thing to recite, because it is in the middle of the night. There are those who say: "If I'm already up, I'll learn a little Gemara. What is the point of always saying the same chapters and the same verses?" This is the hardest thing in the world – to say the same Korbanos (sacrificial readings), the same Pesukei D'Zimrah (verses of praise), the same Shema Yisrael, and the same Shemoneh Esrei prayer every single day.
But the truth is that every day you elevate completely new souls! There is no connection between yesterday's Pesukei D'Zimrah and today's. A person thinks that today is just like yesterday, and therefore he lacks enthusiasm; he wants something new. But if you know that this day is completely new, you understand that midnight is what builds the new day.
The building blocks are the same stones. One builds a palace or a hut from the same bricks and the same sand. The building blocks of every day are the same words, and when a person truly begins at the point of midnight and continues word by word with songs and melodies, he builds the spiritual stature of the new day. Through this, he saves the Jewish people from all harsh decrees and merits the sin-free breath of infants.
The Secret of the Ashes and the Sweetening of Judgments
When a person wakes up at midnight and recites Tikkun Rachel word by word with tears, and sits on the ground, he must place a little ash on his head. One can take a piece of paper, light it, and apply a drop of ash. This ash sweetens all the "Par Dinim" (the 280 severe judgments - 'Par' equals 280 in gematria) that surround the person and prevent him from ascending.
Through the ash (Efer - אפר), the person is incorporated into the letter Aleph (א), which represents the Sefirah of Binah (Understanding) (Aleph + Par = Efer). All the judgments depart from him, and he immediately ascends to the supernal Sefirah of Binah. It is written in the writings of the holy Arizal that it is impossible to be incorporated into Binah at any hour of the day, except at midnight.
Therefore, Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz warns that one must pay close attention to where Hashem is found. "And Moshe approached the thick cloud where God was" (Shemos 20:21) – specifically at the moment when it is hardest to wake up, that is where Hashem is hiding. There are 86,400 seconds in a day, and specifically the exact second of midnight is the key to the entire day.
Self-Sacrifice for Torah: The Path of the Tanna'im
There are people who think it is possible to sleep in late, skip Shacharis (the morning prayer), or travel to Meron just to sleep there until ten in the morning. They think this is how Rashbi (Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai) acted. But Rashbi, immediately after his wedding, went to study Torah for thirteen consecutive years and did not see his wife and children!
Tosafos (Shabbos 9a) recounts the dispute between Rav and Rabbi Chanina regarding the beginning of a meal and washing hands. Tosafos learns from there that it is impossible to study Torah near one's home. At home, it is so pleasant and good to sleep; there is the "pleasantness of Hashem" there, but to truly merit Torah, one must go out.
Rabbi Chanina ben Chakinai went to study in Bnei Brak immediately after his Sheva Brachos (seven days of wedding celebrations). He did not even wait one day for Rashbi. It is brought in the Midrash that two friends went to study, and one did not agree to wait for the other even a single day so he could finish his Sheva Brachos. Because of that one day he preceded him, the second was never able to reach his spiritual attainments!
It is impossible to create a new Torah or new practices. One must be like a baby, to be obedient. If you are told to sit and learn – sit and learn. Do not be smarter than Rashbi.
In the Place Where the Shechinah Dwells
Rabbi Chanina ben Chakinai studied for thirteen years and did not know what was happening in his home, until Rabbi Akiva shouted at him: "Your daughter has matured; you must marry her off immediately!" A person thinks that if he is a tzaddik and has gone through his spiritual refinements, his children are also immune to tests. But children must not have tests; one must watch over them, learn with them, and pray with them.
When Rabbi Chanina returned to his home, he did not even recognize the city. When his wife saw him, she fainted and her soul departed, and he had to revive her. From here we see that it pays to study for thirteen years with self-sacrifice – one merits the power to revive the dead.
We will conclude with the words of Rabbi Pinchas of Koritz: Hashem hides in the point of Chatzos (midnight). A person must always aim to wake up a few minutes earlier, to recite Tikkun Rachel and Tikkun Leah, and to truly awaken. Whoever merits to wake up at Chatzos is in the place where the Shechinah (Divine Presence) dwells. He merits great protection from everything in the world, and through this, we will merit the complete Geulah (Redemption) speedily in our days, Amen.
Part 3 of 3 — Lesson No. 34