Tikun Now!

(Excerpted from his book, "Tza'akat Yisrael")

Dear and Holy Jewish People:

In these difficult times when we find ourselves in a raging conflagration, the time has come to cry out to our Father in Heaven to ask that He bestow great mercy upon us, and upon all of the Nation of Israel, and grant us an everlasting salvation.

This is most particularly the case in our Holy Land, that no part or parcel of our Holy Land be given over to foreign peoples who rise up each morning to attack and draw blood from our dear brethren, the blessed Nation of G-d. They come with great cruelty, with no compassion toward the Jewish People, a people who has suffered so much terrible hardship.

Suicide Bus Bombing, Meron, Israel

Let Us Examine Our Ways and Return to G-d!

An examination of our deeds reveals the reason for the tribulations which fall upon us each day, and almost every hour. Our holy Torah, and our holy Forefathers have made this reason known to us ever since the creation of the world until today. The reason is because the G-d of Israel abhors licentiousness, sexual immorality, and impure thoughts, all of which bring ruin to the holy camp of the pure and holy People of Israel.

For this and other reasons, the Holy One Blessed Be He distances Himself from us, and we are left to fend for ourselves, and to rely on the more enlightened nations that can't provide any true salvation to our battered people. Each day that we do not turn back to G-d in heartfelt repentance, the toll we pay gets higher, exacting great anguish from the Nation of Israel in the form of terrifying terrorist attacks, rocket assaults, bombings, and the loss of life and property. These attacks bring grave suffering and consequences in their wake, including severe anxiety, phobias, illnesses, and serious mental disturbances. And to add to this the fact that the nations of the world rise against us from all sides. This difficult time is a time of anguish, a time to scream out with a great cry to our Father in Heaven that He hear our call:

"Please, G-d, save us; please G-d, save us! Save us from the vicissitudes of our exile, and grant us a true and mighty salvation!"

But there is no one to save us.

All of this has come upon us because we have not understood the situation, in order to determine how we can return in complete penitence to the exalted sources of our holiness. This and only this has brought these troubles upon us. We need only contemplate on what is taking place in our nation during the recent chain of events to see the daily sufferings and the depth of the confusion affecting everyone, where this person offers one solution, and the next person offers another.

This resembles the Exodus from Egypt, when the Jewish People were encamped before the sea, all in great despair and confusion, and nothing could help them, not their own strength, nor their outcries, nor their sack-cloths of anguish. Nothing helped until they repented with all of their hearts, with remorse over the past and a commitment to improve their ways in the future, and with such a profound and bitter outcry from the depths of their hearts. This is what caused the waters of the sea to part before them, bringing salvation, as it says, "And the L-rd saved Israel on this day from the hand of Egypt."

Today also, we are urgently called upon to return to our holy, most exalted sources. This we can do with various tikunim (methods of rectification), along with learning Torah with an added fear and reverence of G-d, and with a spirit of brotherhood, where each man helps his fellow in all of his physical and spiritual needs, including the proper guidance.

A Torah Educator

The Proper Guidance

A person must always strive to increase his fear and reverence of Heaven, especially when he is in a synagogue and in study halls of Torah where the Shechinah dwells.

A person must constantly strive to guard his eyes from seeing evil and forbidden images [e.g. gazing at attractive women]. http://www.jewishsexuality.com/content/view/76/69/

A person must carefully observe the laws of family purity so that he cleaves to our Father in Heaven.

A person must strive to learn Torah for its own sake, so that the fire of the Torah will always be raging in his heart.

A person must strive to recite all of the blessings with concentration, and also listen carefully to the blessings he hears, concentrating on the words.

Singing at Shabbat Table

• 1. He must be joyous in praising G-d and singing songs at the Sabbath table which is likened to the altar that atones for sins.
• 2. He should recite 26 Psalms during the Sabbath in order to cleanse his mouth from any evil speech.
• 3. He should try to read 13 pages of Zohar to polish the light of his soul. Even if he does not understand the meaning of the text, his reward from G-d will be abundant.
• 4. He should also learn six new explanations of the Torah portion commentaries, so that when his additional soul rises back to Heaven on Motzei Shabbat, all of his Sabbath learning with be crowned with an exalted holiness from G-d.
• 5. He should strive to learn four chapters of Mussar on proper ethical behavior to strengthen his service of G-d and his reverence for G-d's exalted transcendence, with an emphasis on attaining true humility.
• 6. He should also try to learn two pages of Gemara with a study partner or Torah scholar in order to sharpen the pure intelligence that is his inheritance. In studying the Talmudic argument, he will purify his mind in the service of G-d and renew his thought processes on their proper wavelength.

He should devote his remaining free time to sit with his children and go over their weekly learning, to spend time with his wife and his Sabbath guests, and encourage them in striving for greater holiness in their love of G-d. During the summer, one should enjoy a two-and-a-half-hour nap on the Sabbath in order to give his mind the rest it needs.