The Robe Not Taken: Levi Yitzchak on Parasha Tetzaveh

One of the reasons I love studying Chassidus is that these Rabbis use the weekly Torah portion merely as a jumping off point for their own philosophical and spiritual exegesis. The discussion of the Torah portion is often so short lived, it makes me laugh. This week is no exception when it comes to Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev's famous book Kedushat Levi. This is all to the good, because Reb Levi Yitzchak has offered us some beautiful gems which once again support my contention that nondualism has been a vibrant and essential part of Judaic thought well before the Neo-Hasidic movement popularized it.

Levi Yitzchak begins his exegesis thusly: "When reflecting...[man] realizes that even opposites possess a common denominator, they emerged into existence as an expression of the will of the One...It follows that they should perceive themselves as being part of the great whole...Unity in our world is the result of the recognition that we all share the same root. The awe inspired by this realization should inspire Unity."

Here we get as plain a statement as we can on the fundamental belief in nondual theology in a very traditional source.

In a nice turn of metaphor, Levi Yitzchak then shows how, though we seem or appear different to one another, this is only on the level of the constricted mind. He does this by discussing the different color robes that different High Priests donned. Apparently, though the details are unimportant to me, Yitzchak wore green, Yaakov wore red and both Moshe and Aaron wore their own particular choice of vestments (he doesn't say what). Then Levi Yitzchak says:

"Similarly, every tzaddik wears a garment tailored to his specific measurements. When these tzaddikim look at the Ein Sof [the most abstract of abstract notions of God, lit. 'without end']., they divest themselves of all that marks them as distinct individuals."

I always, and then is very idiosyncratic to me, interpret the term tzaddik to mean simply, holy person or righteous person. The rabbis surely meant someone who was without sin and in complete perfection. No matter. This line functions beautifully as an image of life as a nondual Jew. Each of us wears the "garments" [self-hood] tailored to our requirements, but in light of the expanded mind and the Unity of God, these "garments" divest! as they are all that mark us as distinct individuals.

Levi Yitzchak even goes on to show how the running and returning, the ratzo v'shov of our constricted and expanded mind, was commonplace among even the most holy tzaddikim:

"There are tzaddikim who after reaching the level of complete self-negation and attachment to the Ein Sof, nonetheless revert to a degree of individuality"

He even holds that with the understanding of the ideal nondual mindset, we get an answer to the long standing Rabbinic question as to why Moshe's name is not mentioned at all in this week's portion.

Levi Yitzchak holds that "it is a compliment to Moshe. It would not have been appropriate to mention his name, which is, after all, a reference to individuality at a time when Moshe had already ascended Sinai to be face to face with the Ein Sof and thus divested himself of his individuality."

When I read these passages, I am so full of fire and light. This is the Jewish life I want. These are the Jewish words that inspire me. These are the Rabbis who light my path. May we all deserve the title of tzaddik through our recognition of everything as One thing

Good Shabbos.