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How did the resurrection take place? Do we have the power to revive others?

BEGIN WITH A GRIN

A rabbi in the Holy Land is trying to get a minyan together for Maariv on 7 Cheshvan without success. Suddenly, two people pass by who look very distant from Torah and Mitzvos.

The rabbi begs them, “Can you complete a minyan for Maariv?” They tell him they don’t believe in anything. The rabbi says, “It’ll be worthwhile for you. Tonight we start asking ‘v’sein tal u’matar livracha’ (give dew and rain for blessing).”

The two of them say, “Does it look like people like us can bring dew or rain?”

The rabbi says, “People like you already brought a Flood so why not rain…”

DEW OF LIFE

Mattan Torah, which we will read this Shabbos in parshas Yisro, is definitely the most foundational, historic event in the annals of the Jewish people. Very many of the events which occurred then are directly connected with the true and complete Geula. A new Torah, perfect unity (“as one man, with one heart”), infinite G-dly revelation. These are only a small selection of the common elements which connect Mattan Torah and the future redemption.

This week, we will focus on a less famous event which happened at Mattan Torah, which teaches us a lot about one of the main features of the future redemption, i.e. Techiyas HaMeisim (Resurrection of the Dead). Our Sages says (Shabbos 88) that with every utterance from G-d, the souls of the Jewish people flew out. The intense G-dly revelation at Mattan Torah caused the Jews to expire from the first utterance. The question is, how then did the Jewish people hear the subsequent utterances?

The Gemara answers, “He brought down the dew which will revive the dead in the future and revived them.” The Jewish people experienced the future Resurrection of the Dead at Mattan Torah and this was through a mysterious “dew” which can even revive the dead.

What is this dew? Where is it? How can we discover it even now? And, what is the lesson for us?

The Alter Rebbe explains in Tanya (chapter 36) that the power for Techiyas HaMeisim is hidden within the Torah. The Alter Rebbe bases himself on the Medrash (Yalkut Shimoni, 431), “Whoever is involved in the dew of Torah, the dew of Torah revives him,” and he explains that the dew of resurrection is the dew of Torah. G-d will revive the dead in the future with the dew of Torah, just as He did at Mattan Torah for the Jewish people

Why dew? Why not rain, hail or snow? Why does G-d choose dew with which to revive the dead, both then and in the future?

Chassidus explains that there are two general categories in Torah, one is called rain and one is called dew. Our Sages differentiate between rain and dew when they say that rain depends on man deserving it and by his prayers, while dew is never withheld from the world. Rain is formed by drops of water on the earth which evaporate into the air. At a certain height in the atmosphere they become clouds and they eventually return to earth as drops of rain.

As proof for this natural phenomenon we can quote the verse in Bereishis (2:6), “And a mist rose from the earth and quenched the entire face of the earth.” That mist which rises from the earth turns into a cloud which waters the earth. These and other phenomena are brought in Chassidus as proof that physical rain is a result of the avodas ha’tachtonim, the avoda of those down below, i.e. the service of the Jewish people in learning Torah and doing mitzvos. Therefore, there can be a drought, when the rain is withheld if there is something lacking, G-d forbid, in their service.

Dew, on the other hand, represents something which comes directly from above that is not dependent on the actions of those down below. The Gemara (Taanis 3a) brings proof to this from the story of Eliyahu HaNavi who swore to the wicked Jewish king Achav that there would be no dew and rain except upon Eliyahu’s say-so. In the end, although rain did not fall, dew did continue to fall, because dew is never withheld and is not contingent on merits or demerits, mitzvos or sins.

EVERY JEW CAN ‘DEW’

These two types of G-dly effects, one conditional on Jews’ service (rain) and the other not dependent on anything (dew) exist in the holy Torah too. The “rain” of the Torah represents the Nigleh, external, part of Torah, the study of Gemara and halacha. This study is dependent on man’s hard work, “yogaata u’matzasa taamin” (you toiled and found, believe that). The one who toils more will find a lot more!

The dew aspect of Torah represents pnimiyus ha’Torah, the inner part of Torah, the secrets, lofty levels which are beyond man’s grasp. These levels are drawn down to the world of themselves, not because of man’s state.

In general, the “rain” of Torah is accessible to all now, while the “dew” of Torah will be revealed in the world (only) in the era of the Geula. However, since “Mattan Torah will not occur again,” and at Mattan Torah, G-d gave us the entire Torah, therefore, we find a mention of the “dew of Torah/dew of resurrection” already at Mattan Torah.

Based on this, Techiyas HaMeisim will occur in the Geula through a revelation of pnimiyus ha’Torah, that pnimiyus which we can already “taste” now, by learning Chassidus, the secrets of the Torah.

But why will G-d resurrect the dead specifically with dew? Why not rain? Why not through the study of Nigleh of Torah, Gemara and Shulchan Aruch?

In an amazing maamar, the Rebbe explains that Techiyas HaMeisim comes from a spiritual level which is above the apprehension of created beings. Techiyas HaMeisim is a phenomenon which we cannot comprehend because it is sourced in a level so lofty that man cannot attain it, which is why is it also not contingent on man’s service; “an arousal from above” which is beyond any “arousal from below.” This is precisely the spiritual level of dew. Just as dew comes from above, without restraint, so too, Resurrection of the Dead comes from above without limitation. And just as Techiyas HaMeisim is beyond any grasp and understanding, so too, dew is beyond any change and withholding.

An example for this is the significant difference between Techiyas HaMeisim and Gan Eden. The period following the Resurrection is far loftier than the reward of Gan Eden, and yet, the reward of Gan Eden depends on man’s service while the reward of Techiyas HaMeisim is for every Jew! (as the mishna states, “Every Jew has a share in the World to Come, i.e. Techiyas HaMeisim).

What’s the logic here? How can the loftiest reward be given to everyone while the lower level reward depends on the individual service of man? How is that fair?

The answer is, the G-dly revelation in Gan Eden comes from a spiritual revelation that man can affect. He can add or detract, improve or destroy, repair or impair and therefore, one who adds, improves and fixes his deeds in this world, will receive his portion in (the upper) Gan Eden, and one who doesn’t…

But the G-dly revelation of the Geula is from the spiritual level of the infinite, the level of dew, which is never withheld, a level so lofty that even when Eliyahu HaNavi wanted to stop it, he couldn’t.

On this level, in this revelation, a person doesn’t have the ability or power to change anything. Mitzvos won’t add anything and sins won’t change anything. Prayers won’t improve anything and sins won’t detract. Every Jew has (and will have) a portion in Techiyas HaMeisim because Resurrection of the Dead comes from the dew of Torah, the dew that is never withheld!

As for us, we have a taste of this dew already now! Chassidus, with all its maamarim and chiddushim is a taste of the G-dly revelation of pnimiyus ha’Torah which will be fully revealed in the Geula. We see that the spiritual resurrection of the dead of the souls of Israel, the drawing close to their Father in heaven, the revival of Jewish youth today, is possible only through learning Chassidus. So, if we want to revive our souls and the souls of those around us, we need to do more learning and spreading of Chassidus. And just like dew, which is never withheld, we too, can’t stop for a moment until the immediate hisgalus of Moshiach, now!

TO CONCLUDE WITH A STORY

We will end with a story about an herb which resurrects the dead, from which we can learn a moral lesson.

The Medrash tells a story about a certain person who was going from the land of Israel to Babylon. While he was eating, he saw two birds fighting with each other. One of them killed its companion. Then, it went to get an herb, [it placed it on its mouth,] and made it live again. That person [the one who saw what had happened] went and took the very herb that had fallen from the bird. Then he went to make the dead live with it. When he arrived in the area of Tzor, he found a dead lion lying in the open. He touched the herb to its mouth and made it live. The lion got up and ate him. About this, the Sages said, “Do not do good to the evil, and the evil will not fall upon you.”

Good Shabbos!

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